Cl.'SO'i. 

TRINITY  COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 

DURHAM  :  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Rec’d 

(rfjur.  ‘frCL , 

"  - 


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POSTER’S  CYCLOPAEDIAS, 


CYCLOPAEDIA  OF  PROSE  ILLUSTRATIONS . Yol.  L 

CYCLOPaEDIA  OF  PROSE  ILLUSTRATIONS, . Yol.  II. 

CYCLOPAEDIA  OF  POETICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS, . Yol.  I. 

CYCLOPaEDIA  OF  POETICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  INDEXES,  .  .  Yol.  II. 


NEW  CYCLOPAEDIA 


OF 

PEOSE 

ILLUSTRATIONS, 

ADAPTED  TO 


CHRISTIAN  TEACHING; 

EMBRACING 


MYTHOLOGY,  ANALOGIES,  LEGENDS,  PARABLES,  EMBLEMS,  METAPHORS,  SIMILES, 
ALLEGORIES,  PROVERBS;  CLASSIC,  HISTORIC,  AND 
RELIGIOUS  ANECDOTES,  ETC. 


-  A- 

FIRST  SERIES. 


By  Rev.  ELON  FOSTER,  D.D. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  REV.  STEPHEN  H.  TYNG,  D.D. 


“  For  the  purpose  of  teaching,  one  illustration  Is  worth  a  thousand  abstractions." — E.  Paxton  Hood. 

“Because  the  Preacher  was  wise,  he  still  taught  the  people  knowledge;  yea.  he  sought  out  and  set  In  order  many  prov¬ 
erbs.  The  Preacher  sought  to  find  out  acceptable  words." — Kctxksiastes  xii.  9.  10. 

rO 

^  TWENTY-THIRD  THOUSAND. 


NEW  YORK: 


THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  &  CO., 


No.  13  Astor  Place. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 
REV.  ELON  FOSTER, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


yos 
F  7  S'  f  P 
o  ■  / 

INTRODUCTION. 


The  animated  and  intelligent  author  of  the  remarkable  production,  New  Cyclo¬ 
paedia  of  Illustrations,  has  honored  me  with  the  request  for  an  introductory  notice 
of  his  labor.  I  have  examined  several  portions  of  the  work  with  admiration  and 
pleasure.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  would  be  equally  agreeable  and  instructive  to  read  the 
whole  with  the  same  attention,  if  I  had  the  opportunity.  It  contains  a  vast  amount 
and  variety  of  substance  and  suggestion.  Its  arrangement  is  distinguished  by  an 
order,  a  fulness  of  detail,  and  a  compactness  of  statement,  which  leave  nothing  to  be 
desired  in  such  a  work. 

Public  speakers,  in  every  branch  of  their  art,  will  be  grateful  to  the  compiler  for  the 
patient  labor  and  the  unquestioned  skill  which  he  has  devoted  to  their  aid  and  con¬ 
venience.  Many  a  pen  will  be  dipped  into  his  copious  fountain,  and  many  an  inspiring 
thought  will  be  laved  from  its  flowing  stream,  by  those  who  come  after  him.  All  who 
“draw”  from  his  “well  ”  will  find  that  it  is  “deep”  and  abundant,  and  thank  him  for 
the  provision  which  he  has  made  for  them  “  to  draw  with.” 

In  the  appropriate  use  of  such  a  work,  there  is  required  a  skill  scarcely  less  than  that 
demanded  for  its  preparation.  The  difference  between  the  skilful  and  the  bungling 
use  of  an  illustration  in  public  speaking  is  kindred  and  about  equal  to  the  difference 
between  the  art  of  the  practised  fencer  and  the  rough  plunges  of  the  excited  rustic. 
The  one,  with  half  the  labor,  does  twice  the  execution  of  the  other.  The  adequate  and 
effective  employment  of  an  illustration  in  speaking  requires  a  very  distinct  perception 
of  the  point  to  be  illuminated,  and  of  the  precise  analogy  of  the  fact  or  character  em¬ 
ployed  in  its  discriminate  expression.  Beyond  this,  there  must  be,  for  the  successful 
introduction  of  such  a  system  of  teaching,  a  gracefulness  of  presentation  which  shall 
not  allow  the  figure  to  appear  blunt,  inadequate,  or  inappropriate.  For  all  this,  there 
is,  perhaps,  as  real  a  demand  for  an  original  refinement  of  thought  as  for  a  practised 
cultivation  of  expression. 

When  such  qualifications  are  possessed  and  exercised,  no  one  can  wisely  depreciate 
the  employment  of  an  illustrative  habit  of  speaking,  in  addressing  a  public  audience. 
It  gives  to  an  address  all  the  life  and  demonstration  which  the  experiments  of  the 
skilful  chemist  give  to  the  abstract  theories  and  distinctions  of  his  lecture.  And  the 
speaker  who  is  able  skilfully  and  effectively  to  illustrate  his  theme  of  discourse  will 
retain  possession  of  the  attention  and  interest  of  his  audience  far  longer  and  far  more 
completely  than  by  any  mere  skill  in  logic,  however  manifest,  or  accuracy  in  statement, 
however  undeniable.  As  a  helpful  provision  for  the  acquisition  and  exercise  of  this 
art,  the  present  varied  compilation  of  themes  and  analogies  will  be  found  most  valuable 
and  important. 

Stephen  H.  Tyng. 

St.  George’s  Rectory,  New  York,  January,  1870. 


PREFACE. 


The  practice  of  illustration  in  religious  teaching  is  sanctioned  by  the  example  of 
prophets,  apostles,  the  great  preachers  of  all  ages,  and,  most  of  all,  by  our  Lord  himself ; 
for  “  without  a  parable  spake  he  not  unto  them.”  Its  importance  has  never  been  more 
appreciated  than  now,  and  that,  too,  by  the  most  earnest  laborers,  both  in  the  pulpit 
and  in  the  Sunday  school. 

The  aim  of  this  work  has  been  to  furnish  a  treasury  of  illustrations  so  complete,  that 
the  preacher  or  teacher  need  not  look  in  vain  for  some  apt  analogy,  fable,  simile, 
proverb,  or  anecdote  with  which  to  make  clear  or  impress  any  subject  he  may  wish  to 
discuss.  Its  success  cannot  be  decided  by  a  casual  glance.  The  more  it  is  used  and 
studied,  the  richer  its  contents  will  be  discovered  to  be.  While  this  work  has  this 
specific  adaptation,  it  is  not  without  interest  for  casual  or  fireside  reading. 

The  field  from  which  these  illustrations  are  drawn  is  very  broad.  More  than  five 
hundred  different  authors  have  been  quoted ;  and  more  than  six  thousand  distinct 
illustrations  are  given.  Here  nature  and  art,  literature  and  science,  sculpture  and 
painting,  eloquence  and  imagination,  astronomy  and  geology,  mythology  and  history, 
legend  and  anecdote,  parable  and  metaphor,  blend  their  most  fascinating  strains  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  lessons  of  the  Christian  religion. 

An  enumeration  of  the  many  works  from  which  the  matter  has  been  drawn  would 
only  be  tiresome  to  the  reader :  the  names  of  authors,  given  wherever  known,  except 
as  to  original  items,  will  sufficiently  indicate  this.  In  the  arrangement  of  the  work, 
we  have  followed  the  alphabetical  method  as  the  most  simple  and  practicable.  Turn 
to  the  subject  as  to  a  word  in  a  dictionary,  and  look  not  only  for  the  subject,  but  also 
for  the  predicate  of  the  subject.  For  example,  if  you  wish  to  illustrate  the  compassion 
of  Christ,  turn  to  Christ,  and  follow  down  the  predicates  till  you  find  Christ,  Com¬ 
passion  of.  If  a  satisfactory  illustration  is  not  found  under  the  subject,  turn  to  the 
same  topic  in  the  index,  and  trace  out  the  numbers  appended  to  it,  which  will  lead  you 
to  synonymous  and  affiliated  subjects  and  scattered  items. 

Each  illustration  has  been  numbered,  and  a  copious  index  prepared  on  the  basis  of 
these  numbers.  So  many  of  them  are  adapted  to  more  than  one  subject,  that  it  was 
thought  best  to  bring  them  together  in  a  general  index.  This  affords  all  the  advantage 

of  a  logical  arrangement.  In  reference,  the  numbers  enable  you  to  find  the  item 

7 


8 


PREFACE. 


desired  at  once,  which  otherwise  might  not  be  found  without  reading  a  whole  page. 
In  using  this  work,  the  numbers  may  be  set  down  for  reference  in  the  preacher’s  or 
teacher's  notes,  and  the  labor  of  transcription  be  avoided. 

Out  of  the  material  collected  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  many  volumes  might 
have  been  made,  with  less  labor  than  the  single  one  now  presented.  It  was  thought 
best  to  limit  the  Cyclopjedia  to  one  volume  to  bring  it  within  the  reach  of  the  masses 
of  Christian  laborers.  To  do  this,  the  best  matter  only  could  be  used,  diffusiveness 
had  to  be  avoided,  and  compression  as  to  type  secured.  This  book  contains  as  much 
printed-matter  as  six  ordinary  12mo  volumes.  It  presents  and  utilizes  many  of  the 
gems  of  literature.  Many  go  hunting  as  travellers  through  the  world,  or  labor  through 
volume  after  volume  in  search  of  appropriate  illustrative  matter.  If  they  were  search¬ 
ing  for  gold  or  diamonds,  they  would  go  to  Australia  or  Golconda.  This  book  opens 
the  treasure-house,  and  invites  each  to  take  and  use  for  the  Master. 


Elon  Foster. 


NEW  CYCLOPEDIA  OF  PROSE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FIRST  SERIES. 


ABITJTIES. 

1.  ABILITIES,  Human.  The  abilities  of  man 
must  fall  short  on  one  side  or  other,  like  too 
scanty  a  blanket  when  you  are  abed  :  if  you 
pull  it  upon  your  shoulders,  you  leave  your 
feet  bare ;  if  you  thrust  it  down  upon  your 
feet,  your  shoulders  are  uncovered. 

Sir  W.  Temple. 

2 .  ABILITIES,  Useful.  The  raven  was  an 
unclean  bird ;  God  makes  use  of  her  to  feed 
Elijah :  though  she  was  not  good  meat,  yet  it 
was  good  meat  she  brought.  A  lame  man 
may  with  his  crutch  point  out  to  you  the  right 
way,  and  yet  not  be  able  to  walk  in  it  himself. 

Mead. 

3.  ABSENT-MINDEDNESS,  Example  of.  Mr. 
Lawson  once  left  his  lecture-room,  taking  with 
him  a  student’s  hat,  instead  of  his  own  book, 
which  he  was  to  carry  home.  Once  he  was 
on  the  point  of  leaving  his  house,  having  put 
on  his  head  a  lady’s  bonnet,  which  had  been 
left  hanging  on  the  peg  where  his  own  hat 
ought  to  have  been.  Once,  walking  in  a  co¬ 
pious  shower,  a  friend  took  pity  on  him  and 
loaned  him  an  umbrella,  which  the  meditative 
divine  put  under  his  coat,  through  fear  of  wet¬ 
ting  and  thus  injuring  what  had  been  kindly 
loaned  to  him.  While  intent  on  his  books,  his 
frightened  servant  opened  his  study  door,  and 
shrieked  out  abruptly,  “  Sir,  the  house  is  on 
fire  I  ”  The  doctor  did  not  intermit  his  studies 
for  a  minute,  but  simply  remarked,  “  Go  and 
tell  your  mistress :  you  know  I  have  no  charge 
of  household  matters.” 

4.  ABSTINENCE,  as  a  Remedy.  An  elderly 
gentleman,  accustomed  to  indulge,  entered  the 
room  of  a  certain  inn,  where  sat  a  grave  friend 
by  the  fire.  Lifting  a  pair  of  green  spectacles 
upon  his  forehead,  rubbing  his  inflamed  eyes, 
and  calling  for  hot  brandy  and  water,  he  com¬ 
plained  that  “his  eyes  were  getting  weaker 
and  weaker,  and  that  even  spectacles  didn’t 
seem  to  do  them  any  good.”  —  “I’ll  tell  thee, 
friend,”  replied  the  Quaker,  “  what  I  think. 
If  thee  was  to  wear  thy  spectacles  over  thy 
mouth  for  a  few  months,  tliy  eyes  would  get 
round  again.” 


ABSTINENCE. 

5.  ABSTINENCE,  Compulsory.  A  drunkard 
was  often  urged  by  his  wife  to  sign  the  pledge. 
He  would  reply,  “  I’ll  sign  it  after  a  while ; 
but  I  don’t  like  to  break  off  at  once.  The  best 
way  is  to  get  used  to  a  thing.”  —  “  Very  well, 
old  man,”  said  she,  “  see  if  you  don’t  fall  into 
a  hole,  one  of  these  days,  with  nobody  to  help 
you  out.”  Strangely  enough,  as  he  returned 
home,  drunk,  one  day,  he  fell  into  a  shallow 
well,  and  shouted  for  help.  His  forbearing 
wife  came  to  his  rescue,  saying,  “  Didn’t  I  tell 
you  so  ?  It’s  lucky  I  was  in  hearing,  or  you 
might  have  drowned.”  Then  she  let  down 
the  bucket,  and  told  him  to  “  take  hold.”  She 
tugged  at  the  windlass ;  but,  when  he  was  near 
the  top,  her  grasp  slipped,  and  down  he  went 
into  his  cold  bath  again.  This  was  repeated  till 
he  grew  suspicious  and  furious,  and  screamed, 
“  Look  here  1  you’re  doing  that  on  purpose :  I 
know  you  are.”  —  “  Well,  now,  I  am,”  said  the 
woman,  conscious  of  her  opportunity.  “  Don’t 
you  remember  telling  me  it’s  best  to  get  used 
to  a  thing  by  degrees  ?  I’m  afraid,  if  I  bring 
you  up  sudden,  you  would  not  find  it  whole¬ 
some.”  He  could  but  laugh  at  this  application 
of  his  own  logic,  but  felt  liis  case  growing  des¬ 
perate,  and  promised  to  sign  the  pledge  at 
once,  if  she  would  lift  him  out.  This  she  did, 
and  started  him  off  immediately  to  sign  the 
pledge ;  warning  him,  that,  if  he  ever  fell  into 
the  ditch  again,  she  would  leave  him  there. 

6.  ABSTINENCE,  Decided.  A  heathen  king, 
who  had  been  for  years  confirmed  in  the  sin  of 
drunkenness,  had  been  led  to  forsake  the  habit, 
lie  said  to  a  missionary,  “  Suppose  you  put 
four  thousand  dollars  in  one  hand,  and  a  glass 
of  rum  in  the  other.  You  say,  ‘  You  drink 
this  ruin,  I  give  you  four  thousand  dollars.’  I 
no  drink  it.  You  say  you  kill  me.  I  no  drink 
it.” 

7.  ABSTINENCE,  Gain  of.  A  man,  long 
noted  for  intemperate  habits,  was  induced  by 
Rev.  John  Abbott  to  sign  the  pledge  “  in  his 
own  way,”  which  he  did  in  these  words :  “  I 
pledge  myself  to  drink  no  more  intoxicating 
drinks  for  one  year.”  Near  the  end  of  the 

9 


10 


■ABSTESTENCIE. 


ACTION. 


year,  he  again  appeared  at  a  temperance  meet¬ 
ing,  without  having  once  touched  a  drop.  “Are 
you  not  going  to  sign  again  ?  ”  asked  Mr.  Ab¬ 
bott.  “Yes,”  replied  he,  “  if  I  can  do  it  in 
my  own  way.”  And,  accordingly,  he  wrote, 
“  I  sign  this  pledge  for  nine  hundred  and  nine¬ 
ty-nine  years ;  and,  if  I  live  to  that  time,  I  in¬ 
tend  to  take  out  a  life-lease  !  ”  A  tew  days 
after,  he  called  upon  the  tavern-keeper,  who 
■welcomed  him  back  to  his  old  haunt.  “  Ob  1 
landlord,”  said  he,  as  in  pain,  “  I  have  such  a 
lump  on  my  side  !  ”  —  “  That’s  because  you 
have  stopped  drinking,”  said  the  landlord  : 
“  you  won’t  live  long  if  you  keep  on.”  —  “  Will 
drink  take  the  lump  away  ?  ”  —  “  Yes  ;  and,  if 
you  don’t  drink,  you’ll  soon  have  a  lump  on 
the  other  side.  Come,  let’s  drink  together ;  ” 
and  he  poured  out  two  glasses  of  whiskey.  “  I 
guess  I  won’t  drink,”  said  the  former  inebriate, 
“  especially  if  keeping  the  pledge  will  bring 
another  lump ;  for  it  isn’t  very  hard  to  bear, 
alter  all.”  And  with  this  he  drew  the  lump  — 
a  bag  of  dollars  —  from  his  side-pocket,  and 
walked  off,  leaving  the  landlord  to  his  re- 
flections. 

8.  ABSTINENCE,  Pledge  of.  A  young  sol¬ 
dier  was  promoted  to  he  a  second  lieutenant  in 
one  of  the  colored  regiments.  “  Now  let  me 
sign  the  pledge,”  said  he.  Free  drinking  was 
then  too  common  in  officers’  quarters.  “  Why, 
you  don’t  like  drink,”  said  one  of  his  com¬ 
rades  :  “  there  is  no  danger  of  your  drinking 
too  much.”  —  “  No,”  answered  the  young  sol¬ 
dier,  “  I  don’t  like  the  taste  of  liquor,  and, 
what  is  more,  1  don’t  mean  to  like  it ;  so  I  in¬ 
tend  to  take  my  stand  as  an  officer  pledged 
against  it.”  Not  finding  a  temperance  society 
to  join,  he  wrote  a  pledge  of  total  abstinence, 
signed  his  name  to  it,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 
“  Let  this  never  witness  against  me,  so  help 
me  God,”  he  said. 

9.  ABSTINENCE,  Reason  for.  “  1  took  the 
pledge,”  said  an  old  man,  “  at  the  foot  of  the 
gallows,  when  I  saw  a  young  man  hung.  The 
sheriff  took  out  his  watch,  and  said,  ‘  If  you 
have  anything  to  say,  speak  now,  for  you  have 
only  five  minutes  to  live.’  The  young  man 
burst  into  tears,  and  said,  ‘  I  have  to  die  !  I 
had  only  one  little  brother ;  he  had  beautiful 
blue  eyes  and  flaxen  hair ;  and  I  loved  him. 
But  one  day  I  got  drunk,  and,  coming  home, 
found  him  gathering  berries  in  the  garden,  and 
I  became  angry  without  cause,  and  killed  him 
with  one  blow  with  a  rake.  Drink  has  done 
it :  it  has  ruined  me  1  I  have  but  one  word 
more  to  say  :  Never  !  never  1  NEVER  1  touch 
any  thing  that  can  intoxicate  1  ’  ” 

10.  ABSTRACTION,  Dangerous.  Sir  Isaac  New¬ 
ton,  finding  himself  extremely  cold,  one  evening 
in  winter,  drew  his  chair  very  close  to  the  grate, 
in  which  a  large  fire  had  recently  been  lighted. 
By  degrees,  the  fire  having  completely  kindled, 
Sir  Isaac  felt  the  heat  intolerably  intense,  and 
rang  his  bell  with  unusual  violence.  His  ser¬ 
vant  was  not  at  hand  at  the  moment,  but  he 
soon  made  his  appearance.  By  this  time,  Sir 
Isaac  was  almost  literally  roasted.  “  Remove 
the  grate,  you  lazy  rascal  1  ”  he  exclaimed,  in  a 


tone  of  irritation  very  uncommon  with  that 
amiable  and  bland  philosopher  ;  “  remove  the 
grate,  before  I  am  burnt  to  death  1  ”  —  “  And 
pray,  master,”  said  the  servant,  “  might  you 
not  rather  draw  back  your  chair  ?  ”  —  “  Upon 
my  word,”  said  Sir  Isaac,  smiling,  “I  never 
thought  of  that.”  Percy. 

11.  ABSTRACTION,  Fatal.  When  Syracuse 
was  taken,  Archimedes  was  describing  mathe¬ 
matical  figures  upon  the  earth ;  and  when  one  of 
the  enemy  came  upon  him,  sword  in  hand,  and 
asked  his  name,  he  was  so  engrossed  with  the 
desire  of  preserving  the  figures  entire,  that  he 
answered  only  by  an  earnest  request  to  the 
soldier  to  keep  off,  and  not  break  in  upon  his 
circle.  The  soldier,  conceiving  himself  scorned, 
ran  Archimedes  through  the  body,  the  purple 
streams  gushing  from  which  soon  obscured  all 
traces  of  the  problem  on  which  he  had  been 
so  intent.  Thus  fell  this  illustrious  man,  from 
the  mere  neglect  to  tell  his  name.  Percy. 

12.  ACTION,  Bible  Rale  of.  Boleslaus,  one 
of  the  kings  of  Poland,  carried  about  him  the 
picture  of  bis  father;  and  when  he  was  to  do 
any  great  work,  or  set  upon  any  design  extra¬ 
ordinary,  he  would  look  on  the  picture,  and 
pray  that  he  might  do  nothing  unworthy  of 
such  a  father’s  name.  Thus  it  is  that  the 
Scriptures  are  the  picture  of  God’s  will.  Be¬ 
fore  a  man  engages  in  any  business  whatso¬ 
ever,  let  him  look  there,  and  read  what  is  to 
be  done,  what  to  be  omitted. 

13.  ACTION,  Effect  of.  “  Don’t  write  there,” 
said  one  to  a  lad,  who  was  writing  with  a  dia¬ 
mond  pin  on  a  pane  of  glass  in  the  window  of 
a  hotel. 

“  Why  ?  ”  said  he. 

“  Because  you  can’t  rub  it  out.” 

The  glass  may  be  destroyed,  but  the  human 
soul  is  immortal.  How  careful,  then,  should 
we  be  of  the  impressions  we  make  on  death¬ 
less  souls  ! 

14.  ACTION,  Enduring.  The  famous  rose-tree 
planted  a  thousand  years  ago  by  the  Emperor 
Louis  le  Debonnaire,  in  the  eastern  choir  of 
the  Cathedral  at  Ilildersheim,  has  been  in  par¬ 
ticularly  fine  bloom  this  season,  and  looks 
fresher  and  greener  than  ever.  Two  shoots, 
which  sprang  up  from  the  knotty  millennial 
roots  in  1863,  have  attained  already  the  height 
of  the  roof. 

15.  ACTION,  Exhortation  to.  Let  not  your 
exertions  end  in  tears ;  mere  weeping  will  do 
nothing  without  action.  Get  on  your  feet :  ye 
that  have  voices  and  might,  go  forth  and  preach 
the  gospel ;  preach  it  in  every  street  and  lane 
of  this  huge  city  ;  ye  that  have  wealth,  go 
forth  and  spend  it  for  the  poor  and  sick  and 
needy  and  dying,  the  uneducated,  the  unen¬ 
lightened  ;  ye  that  have  time,  go  forth  and 
spend  it  in  deeds  of  goodness ;  ye  that  have 
power  in  prayer,  go  forth  and  pray  ;  ye  that  can 
handle  the  pen,  go  forth  and  write  down  iniqui¬ 
ty,  —  every  one  to  his  post ;  every  one  of  you 
to  your  gun  in  this  day  of  battle  ;  now  for 
God  and  for  his  truth ;  for  God  and  for  the 
right ;  let  every  one  of  us  who  knows  the  Lord 
seek  to  fight  under  his  banner.  Spurgeon. 


ACTION'. 


ACTIVITY. 


11 


16.  ACTION,  Important.  A  certain  king  would 

build  a  cathedral ;  and,  that  the  credit  of‘  it 
might  be  all  his  own,  he  forbade  any  from  con¬ 
tributing  to  its  erection  in  the  least  degree.  A 
tablet  was  placed  in  the  side  of  the  building, 
and  on  it  his  name  was  carved,  as  the  builder. 
But  that  night  he  saw,  in  a  dream,  an  angel, 
who  came  down  and  erased  his  name,  and  the 
name  of  a  poor  widow  appeared  in  its  stead. 
This  was  three  times  repeated ;  when  the  en¬ 
raged  king  summoned  the  woman  before  him, 
and  demanded,  “  What  have  you  been  doin^  ? 
and  why  have  you  broken  my  commandment  ?  ” 
The  trembling  woman  replied,  “  I  love  the 
Lord,  and  longed  to  do  something  for  his  name, 
and  for  the  building  up  of  his  church.  I  was 
forbidden  to  touch  it  in  any  way ;  so,  in  iny 
poverty,  I  brought  a  wisp  of  hay  lor  the 
horses  that  drew  the  stones.”  And  the  king  saw 
that  he  had  labored  for  his  own  glory,  but  the 
widow  for  the  glory  of  God ;  and  he  command¬ 
ed  that  her  name  should  be  inscribed  upon  the 
tablet.  Ralph  Well s. 

17.  ACTION,  Motive  of.  Zinzendorf  owed 
much  of  his  religious  fervor  to  the  casual  sight 
of  a  picture  of  the  crucifixion,  with  this  sim¬ 
ple  inscription  at  the  bottom:  “All  this  for 
thee :  hoio  much  for  me  f  ” 

18.  ACTION,  Necessary  to  Life.  Whilst  the 

stream  keeps  running,  it  keeps  clear ;  but  if  it 
comes  once  to  a  standing  water,  then  it  breeds 
toads  and  frogs,  and  all  manner  of  filth.  The 
keys  that  men  keep  in  their  pockets,  and  use 
everyday,  wax  brighter  and  brighter;  but  if  they 
be  laid  aside,  and  hang  by  the  walls,  they  soon 
grow  rusty.  Thus  it  is  that  action  is  the  very 
life  of  the  soul :  whilst  we  keep  going  and 
running  in  the  ways  of  God’s  commandments, 
we  keep  clear  and  free  from  the  world’s  pollu¬ 
tions  ;  but  if  we  once  flag  in  our  diligence,  and 
stand  still,  oh,  what  a  puddle  of  sin  will  the 
heart  be  1  How  rusty  and  useless  will  the 
graces  grow !  Spencer. 

19.  ACTION,  Quality  of.  The  Hebrews  have 
a  saving,  that  God  is  more  delighted  in  adverbs 
than  in”  nouns ;  ’tis  not  so  much  the  matter 
that’s  done,  but  the  matter  how  ’tis  done,  that 
God  minds.  Not  how  much,  hut  how  well ! 
’Tis  the  well-doing  that  meets  with  a  well- 
done.  Let  us,  therefore,  serve  God  not  nomi¬ 
nally  or  verbally,  but  adverbially.  Venning. 

20.  ACTION,  Universal.  Man  was  not  made 
to  live  merely  for  the  possible  reception  of  ex¬ 
ternal  impressions,  a  harp  upon  which  every 
fitful  wind  might  blow :  he  was  made  to  act, 
to  will,  to  influence,  to  become  a  power,  and 
the  living  centre  of  ever-radiating  impressions. 
It  were  strange,  indeed,  if,  in  a  laborious  uni¬ 
verse,  man  should  be  the  only  idler  among  the 
works  of  the  Creator’s  hands.  While  all 
around  are  working,  from  the  wavelet’s  tiniest 
ripple,  and  from  the  rosebud’s  heart,  ever  glow¬ 
ing  into  deeper  crimson,  to  the  tireless  ocean, 
and  the  menial  and  monarch  sun  ;  whilst  un¬ 
wearied  labor  was  the  condition  of  Paradise, 
and  angels  cease  not  in  their  ministry,  and 
there  is  no  faltering  in  the  march  of  the  heav¬ 
ens,  and  the  Son  went  about  doing  good,  and  the 


Eternal  Father,  the  Watchman  of  Israel,  neithei 
slumberetli  nor  sleepeth,  you  will  not  wonder 
that,  by  a  law  as  benign  as  it  is  authoritative, 
God  has  impressed  activity  upon  his  favorite 
creature,  man,  and  has  provided  that  his  shall 
not  be  a  zoophite  existence,  clinging  in  blind 
helplessness  as  a  parasite  to  its  guardian  rock, 
but  a  life  beautiful  and  holy,  a  life  of  quickened 
pulses,  and  an  activity  and  an  energy  of  which 
insensate  matter  knows  not ;  and  finding  in 
the  rapturous  doing  of  every-day  life  its  very 
soul  and  essence  of  joy.  There  is  a  necessity 
in  man,  then,  for  activity.  Act  he  must  and 
will ;  and  it  is  the  province  of  religion  to  direct 
and  control  this  tendency,  so  that  his  doing 
may  be  according  to  that  which  is  right. 

IF.  M.  Punshon. 

21.  ACTIONS,  Record  of.  Every  man,  says  a 
Turkish  allegory,  has  two  angels,  one  on  the 
right  shoulder  and  another  on  his  left.  When 
he  does  any  thing  good,  the  angel  on  the  right 
shoulder  writes  it  down  and  seals  it,  because 
what  is  done  is  done  forever.  When  he  does 
evil,  the  angel  on  the  left  shoulder  writes  it 
down.  He  waits  till  midnight.  If  before  that 
time  the  man  bows  down  his  head,  and  ex¬ 
claims,  “  Gracious  Allah  ;  I  have  sinned  :  for¬ 
give  me  1  ”  the  angel  rubs  it  out ;  and  if  not,  at 
midnight  he  seals  it,  and  the  angel  upon  the 
right  shoulder  weeps. 

22.  ACTIONS,  Responsibility  for.  Just  as  the 
tiny  shells  make  up  the  chalk  hills,  and  the 
chalk  hills  together  make  up  the  range,  so  the 
trifling  actions  make  up  the  whole  account, 
and  each  of  these  must  be  pulled  asunder 
separately.  You  had  an  hour  to  spare  the 
other  day  —  what  did  you  do?  You  had  a 
voice  —  how  did  you  use  it  ?  Each  particular 
shall  be  brought  out,  and  there  shall  be  de¬ 
manded  an  account  tor  each  one.  Spurgeon. 

23.  ACTIONS,  Usefulness  of  Common.  It  is 
the  bubbling  stream  that  flows  gently;  the 
little  rivulet  which  runs  along  day  and  night 
by  the  farm-house,  that  is  useful,  rather  than 
the  swollen  flood  or  warring  cataract.  Niagara 
excites  our  wonder ;  and  we  stand  amazed  at 
the  powerful  greatness  of  God  there,  as  he 
pours  in  from  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  But  one 
Niagara  is  enough  for  the  continent  of  the 
world,  while  the  same  world  requires  thou¬ 
sands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  silver  fountains 
and  gently  flowing  rivulets  that  water  every 
farm  and  meadow,  and  every  garden,  and 
shall  flow  on  every  day  and  night  with  their 
gentle,  quiet  beauty.  So  with  the  acts  of 
our  lives.  It  is  not  by  great  deeds,  like 
those  of  the  martyrs,  good  is  to  be  done,  but 
by  the  daily  and  quiet  virtues  of  life. 

Rev.  Albert  Barnes. 

24.  ACTIVITY,  Achievements  of.  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke  said  that  •*  the  old  proverb  about  having 
too  many  irons  in  the  fire  was  an  abominable 
old  lie.  Have  all  in  it,  —  shovel,  tongs,  and 
poker.”  Wesley  said,  “  I  am  always  in  haste, 
but  never  in  a  hurry :  leisure  and  I  have  long 
taken  leave  of  each  other.”  He  travelled  about 
five  thousand  miles  in  a  year ;  preached  about 
three  times  a  day,  commencing  at  five  o’clock 


12 


ACTIVITY. 


ADAPTATION. 


in  the  morning;  and  his  published  works 
amounted  to  about  two  hundred  volumes. 
Asbury  travelled  six  thousand  miles  a  year, 
and  preached  incessantly.  Coke  crossed  the 
Atlantic  eighteen  times,  preached,  wrote,  trav¬ 
elled,  established  missions,  begged  from  door 
to  door  for  them,  and  labored  in  all  respects 
as  if,  like  the  apostles,  He  would  “  turn  the 
world  upside  down.”  At  nearly  seventy  years 
of  age  he  started  to  Christianize  India. 

Dr.  Stevens. 

25.  ACTIVITY,  Importance  of.  It  is  good 
policy  to  strike  while  the  iron  is  hot :  it  is  still 
better  to  adopt  Cromwell’s  procedure,'  and 
make  the  iron  hot  by  striking.  The  master-spirit 
who  can  rule  the  storm  is  great,  but  he  is  much 
greater  who  can  both  raise  and  rule  it.  To 
attain  that  grand  power,  one  must  possess  the 
brave  and  indomitable  soul  of  activity  which 
prompted  Edmund  Burke  to  exclaim  to  his 
constituents  in  his  famous  speech  at  Bristol, 
“Applaud  us  when  we  run;  console  us  when 
we  fall ;  cheer  us  when  we  recover :  but  let  us 
pass  on,  —  for  God’s  sake,  let  us  pass  on.” 

E.  L.  Magoon. 

26.  ACTIVITY,  Incitement  to.  Were  the 

Olympian  Agonistae  inspired  by  the  admiring 
gaze  of  applauding  thousands  ?  Did  the  thun¬ 
ders  of  acclamation  which  awoke  the  echoes 
of  Olympus  excite  the  Athletse  to  higher  ener¬ 
gies?  llow,  then,  shall  we  be  affected,  who 
believe  that  we  are  under  the  watchful  eye  of 
the  Dread  Supreme  ?  The  King  looks  on 
those  who  are  running  the  heavenly  race,  vi  ho 
are  wrestling  with  spiritual  antagonists,  and 
who  are  handing  “  a  cup  of  cold  water  ”  to 
some  drooping  and  thirsty  disciple  1  As  the 
King’s  eye  brightens  with  approbation,  let  us 
resolve  to  climb  the  highest  steps  of  duty,  and 
to  walk  on  the  loftiest  mountains  of  holy  enter¬ 
prise.  Dr.  J.  Parker. 

27.  ACTIVITY,  Result  of.  If  we  travel 

slowly,  and  loiter  on  the  road,  Jesus  will  go  on 
before  us,  and  sin  will  overtake  us.  If  we  are 
dilatory  and  lazy  in  the  vineyard,  the  Master 
will  not  smile  on  us  when  he  walks  through 
his  garden.  Be  active,  and  expect  Christ  to 
be  with  thee  :  be  idle,  and  the  thorns  and 
briers  will  grow  so  thickly,  that  he  will  be 
shut  out  of  thy  door.  Spurgeon. 

28.  ACTIVITY,  Reward  of.  History  informs 

us  of  an  old  Roman  soldier  who  served  forty 
years  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  —  ten  as  a  pri¬ 
vate,  and  thirty  as  an  officer.  He  had  been 
present  in  one  hundred  and  twenty  battles, 
and  had  forty-five  times  been  severely  wounded. 
He  had  obtained  fourteen  civic  crowns  for 
having  saved  the  life  of  a  Roman  citizen,  three 
mural  crowns  for  having  been  the  first  to 
mount  the  breach,  and  eight  golden  crowns  for 
having  rescued  the  standard  of  a  Roman  legion 
from  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  He  had  in  his 
house  eighty-three  gold  chains,  sixty  bracelets, 
eighteen  golden  spears,  and  twenty-three  horse- 
trappings.  the  spoil  of  war.  Let  the  Christian 
be  equally  faithful  to  his  Saviour,  and  the 
elory  and  value  of  his  reward  shall  far  exceed 
that  of  this  old  Roman  soldier.  Bate. 


29.  ADAPTATION,  Force  of.  A  French¬ 
man  of  infidel  principles  was  walking  one 
evening  beneath  the  shade  of  some  noble  trees, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  B.  “  How  grand  and 
beautiful,  are  these  noble  trees  I  ”  said  the 
wanderer,  as  he  looked  up  into  their  branches ; 
“  but  how  singular  that  so  large  a  tree  should 
bear  a  fruit  so  small  as  the  acorn !  ”  Still 
wondering,  he  cast  his  eye  upon  a  gourd-vine 
running  along  the  hedgerow,  with  its  stem  so 
tender,  that  the  slightest  pressure  would  have 
severed  it,  and  yet  yielding  a  fruit  weighing 
one  hundred  pounds.  “  IIow  singular,”  said 
the  wanderer,  “  that  so  small  a  plant  should 
grow  so  large  a  fruit !  If  I  had  been  God,” 
said  he,  “  I  would  have  managed  creation 
better  than  this.  I  would  have  put  the  small 
fruit  on  the  small  plant,  and  I  would  have 
placed  the  large  gourd  on  this  noble  oak.” 
And  then,  wearied  with  the  heat  of  the  day, 
he  laid  himself  beneath  the  shade  of  its  spread¬ 
ing  branches,  and  fell  asleep.  An  acorn, 
already  ripe,  fell  on  the  face  of  the  sleeper. 
Awakened  by  the  falling  of  the  little  fruit,  the 
thought  flashed  upon  his  mind,  “  Had  that 
been  the  gourd  of  one  hundred  pounds  weight, 
I  should  probably,  by  this  time,  have  been  a 
corpse.”  He  immediately  went  on  his  knees 
to  ask  forgiveness  of  God.  He  saw  that  the 
Author  of  all  good  had  rightly  disposed  of 
every  tree,  and  the  fruit  thereof.  Conviction 
went  on,  under  Divine  direction,  until  conver¬ 
sion  took  its  place,  and  the  thoughtless  blas¬ 
phemer  became  a  servant  of  the  Most  High 
God.  Clements. 

3®.  ADAPTATION,  in  Nature.  The  bodies 
of  animals  hold  in  their  constitution  and  prop¬ 
erties  a  great  and  important  relation  to  the 
elements  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  The 
wings  of  birds  bear  a  relation  to  air,  and  the 
fins  of  fishes  to  water. 

Throughout  the  universe  there  is  a  won¬ 
derful  proportioning  of  one  thing  to  another. 
The  size  of  animals,  of  man  especially,  when 
considered  with  respect  to  other  animals,  or  to 
the  plants  which  grow  around  him,  is  such  as 
a  regard  to  his  conveniency  would  have  pointed 
out.  A  giant  or  a  pygmy  could  not  have  milked 
goats,  reaped  corn,  or  mowed  grass ;  a  giant 
could  not  have  rode  a  horse,  trained  a  vine,  or 
shorn  a  sheep,  with  the  same  bodily  ease  as  we 
do,  if  at  all.  A  pygmy  would  have  been  lost 
amongst  rushes,  or  carried  off  by  birds  of  prey. 

It  may  be  observed,  likewise,  that  the  model 
and  the  materials  of  the  human  body  being 
what  they  are,  a  much  greater  bulk  would  have 
broken  down  by  its  own  weight.  The  persons 
of  men  who  much  exceed  the  ordinary  stature 
betray  this  tendency. 

How  close  is  the  suitableness  of  the  earth 
and  sea  to  their  several  inhabitants,  and  of 
these  inhabitants  to  the  places  of  their  ap¬ 
pointed  residence  1 

Take  the  earth  as  it  is;  and  consider  the 
correspondency  of  the  powers  of  its  inhabitants 
with  the  properties  and  condition  of  the  soil 
which  they  tread.  Take  the  inhabitants  as 
they  are ;  and  consider  the  substances  which 


ADAPTATION. 


the  earth  yields  for  their  use.  They  can  open 
its  surface ;  and  its  surface  supplies  all  which 
they  want.  Such  is  the  length  of  their  facul¬ 
ties,  and  such  the  constitution  of  the  globe, 
that  this  is  sufficient  for  all  their  occa¬ 
sions. 

When  we  pass  from  the  earth  to  the  sea, 
from  land  to  water,  we  pass  through  a  great 
change ;  but  an  adequate  change  accompanies 
us  of  animal  forms  and  functions,  of  animal 
capacities  and  wants.  The  earth  in  its  nature 
is  very  different  from  the  sea,  and  the  sea  from 
the  earth ;  but  one  accords  with  its  inhabitants 
as  exactly  as  the  other ;  and  the  correspondency 
instituted  by  Divine  Wisdom  pervades  and 
harmonizes  the  whole.  Paley. 

31.  ADAPTATION,  Proves  a  Creator.  The 
earth  is  adapted  as  the  home  of  man.  The 
sun  is  at  the  right  distance  from  the  earth  to 
give  light,  heat,  and  life.  The  opposite  wants 
of  animal  and  vegetable  life  secure  the  purity 
of  the  atmosphere.  Animals  consume  oxygen 
and  exhale  carbon,  while  with  plants  the  opera¬ 
tion  is  reversed.  Without  the  plants  the 
animals  would  soon  perish,  and  the  plants 
could  not  exist  without  the  carbonic  acid 
which  animals  are  constantly  imparting  to 
the  air.  The  equilibrium  of  the  atmosphere 
is  further  maintained  by  the  great  system  of 
the  winds,  which  force  the  air  in  perpetual 
currents  from  the  equator  to  the  poles,  and  the 
reverse. 

32.  ADAPTATION,  Wisdom  of.  He  alone  is 

wise  who  can  accommodate  himself  to  all  the 
contingencies  of  life  ;  but  the  fool  contends, 
and  is  struggling  like  a  swimmer  against  the 
stream.  From  the  Latin. 

33.  ADOPTION,  Definitions  of.  Adoption  is 
that  act  of  God  by  which  we  who  were  alien¬ 
ated,  and  enemies,  and  disinherited,  are  made 
the  sons  of  God,  and  heirs  of  his  eternal 

glory.  —  R.  IKats- cm. - Adoption  is  an  action 

whereby  a  man  takes  a  person  into  his  family, 
in  order  to  make  him  part  of  it,  acknowledges 
him  for  his  son,  and  receives  him  into  the 
number,  and  gives  him  a  right  to  the  privileges 
of  his  children.  Pharaoh’s  daughter  adopted 
young  Moses,  and  Mordeeai  Esther.  Ex.  ii. 
1 0  ;  Esther  ii.  7,  15.  A.  Cruden. 

34.  ADOPTION,  Dignity  of.  IIow  high  is  this 
dignity  !  To  be  called  the  sons  of  God  1  this 
is  our  prerogative  royal.  We  tell  you  not  of 
a  kindred  imperial,  adopted  into  some  of  the 
Ctesars’  families;  nor  of  David  matching  into 
the  house  of  Saul,  which  seemed  to  him  no 
small  preferment ;  we  blazon  not  your  arms 
with  the  mixture  of  noble  ingressions,  nor 
fetch  your  lineal  descents  from  heroes  and 
monarchs.  You  are  made  the  sons  and  daugh¬ 
ters  of  God :  this  is  honor  amply  sufficient. 

T.  Adams. 

35.  ADOPTION,  Honor  of.  When  the  Dan¬ 
ish  missionaries  stationed  at  Malabar  set  some 
of  their  converts  to  translate  a  Catechism,  in 
which  it  was  asserted  that  believers  became 
the  sons  of  God,  one  of  the  translators  was  so 
startled  that  he  suddenly  laid  down  his  pen, 
and  exclaimed,  “  It  is  too  much  :  let  me  rather 


ADVERSITY.  13 

render  it,  ‘  They  shall  be  permitted  to  kiss 
his  feet !  ’  ” 

30.  ADOPTION,  Sacred  and  Secular.  Betwixt 
civil  and  sacred  adoption,  there  is  a  two-fold 
agreement  and  disagreement.  They  agree  in 
this,  that  both  flow  from  the  pleasure  and  good 
will  of  the  adoptant ;  and  in  this,  that  both 
confer  a  right  to  privileges  which  we  have  not 
by  nature ;  but  in  this  they  differ :  one  is  an 
act  imitating  nature,  the  other  transcends  na¬ 
ture  :  the  one  was  found  out  for  the  comfort 
of  them  that  had  no  children,  the  other  for  the 
comfort  of  them  that  had  no  Father.  Divine 
adoption  is  in  Scripture  either  taken  properly 
for  that  act  or  sentence  of  God  by  which  we 
arc  made  sons,  or  for  the  privileges  with  which 
the  adopted  are  invested.  We  lost  our  inher¬ 
itance  by  the  fall  of  Adam :  we  receive  it  by 
the  death  of  Christ,  which  restores  it  again  to 
us  by  a  new  and  better  title.  ./.  Flavel. 

37.  ADORNMENT,  Rebuked.  A  Quaker  gen¬ 
tleman,  riding  in  a  carriage  with  a  fashionable 
lady  decked  with  a  profusion  of  jewelry,  heard 
her  complain  of  the  cold.  Shivering  in  her 
lace  bonnet  and  shawl  as  light  as  cobweb,  she 
exclaimed,  — 

“  What  shall  I  do  to  get  warm  ?  ” 

“  1  really  don’t  know,”  replied  the  Quaker 
solemnly,  “  unless  thee  should  put  on  another 
breast-pin  !  ” 

38.  ADVENT,  The  Second.  Did  you  ever 
hear  the  sound  of  the  trumpets  which  are 
blown  before  the  judges  as  they  come  into  a 
city  to  open  the  assizes  ?  Did  you  ever  reflect 
how  different  are  the  feelings  which  those 
trumpets  awaken  in  the  minds  of  different  men  ? 
The  innocent  man,  who  has  no  cause  to  be 
tried,  hears  them  unmoved.  They  proclaim 
no  terrors  to  him.  lie  listens  and  looks  on 
quietly,  and  is  not  afraid.  But  often  there  is 
some  poor  wretch  waiting  his  trial,  in  a  silent 
cell,  to  whom  those  trumpets  are  a  knell  of 
despair.  They  tell  him  that  the  day  of  trial 
is  at  hand.  Yet  a  little  time,  and  he  will 
stand  at  the  bar  of  justice,  and  hear  witness 
after  witness  telling  the  story  of  his  misdeeds. 
Yet  a  little  time  and  all  will  be  over,  —  the  trial, 
the  verdict,  the  sentence ;  and  there  will  re¬ 
main  nothing  for  him  but  punishment  and  dis¬ 
grace.  No  wonder  the  prisoner’s  heart  beats 
when  he  hears  the  trumpet’s  sound  !  So  shall 
the  sound  be  of  the  archangel’s  trump. 

J.  C.  Ryle. 

30.  ADVERSITY,  Discipline  of.  As  weeds 
grow  fastest  in  a  fat  and  rank  soil,  so  our  cor¬ 
ruptions  grow  and  thrive,  and  are  ready  to 
overrun  our  souls,  when  our  outward  state  and 
condition  is  most  prosperous  and  successful ; 
and,  therefore,  God’s  love  and  care  of  us  con¬ 
strain  him  sometimes  to  use  severe  discipline, 
to  nip  those  luxuriances,  and  to  cut  us  short 
in  our  temporal  enjoyments  ;  which  else,  he 
sees,  we  should  only  turn  into  provision  for  our 
lusts.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

40.  ADVERSITY,  Effect  of.  Adversity  has 
the  effect  of  eliciting  talents,  which,  in  pros¬ 
perous  circumstances,  would  have  lain  dor¬ 
mant.  Horace. 


14 


.AJDATFCRSITY. 


-A^DVTCE. 


41.  ADVERSITY,  Friendlessness  in.  As  it  is 
•with  tlie  deer  that  is  hunted,  when  the  hunts¬ 
man  goes  into  the  park,  lie  rouses  the  whole 
herd,  and  they  all  run  together ;  but  if  one  be 
shot,  and  they  see  the  blood  run  down,  they 
will  soon  push  him  out  of  their  company.  Or, 
as  a  man  being  in  his  travel  upon  the  road, 
and  there  being  a  sun-dial  set  up  in  the  way, 
if  the  sun  shine,  he  will  step  out  of  his  way  to 
take  notice  of  it ;  but  if  the  sun  do  not  shine, 
he  will  go  by  a  hundred  times  and  never  re¬ 
gard  it.  So  let  but  the  sun  of  prosperity  shine 
upon  a  man,  then  who  but  he  ?  he  shall  have 
friends  more  than  a  good  many  ;  but  if  a  cloudy 
day  come,  and  take  away  the  sunshine,  he  may 
easily  number  his  acquaintance.  And  so  when 
a  man  goes  on  in  the  credit  of  the  world,  he 
6hall  be  welcome  into  all  companies,  and  much 
made  of  by  every  one ;  but  if  he  come  once  to 
be  shot,  and  disgrace  put  upon  him,  then  he 
shall  soon  perceive  a  cloud  in  every  man’s 
face,  no  one  so  much  as  regardinshim. 

y  o  o 

Spencer. 

42.  ADVERSITY,  Influence  of.  There  are 
minerals  called  hydrophanous,  which  are  not 
transparent  till  they  are  immersed  in  water, 
when  they  become  so ;  as  the  hydrophane,  a 
variety  of  opal.  So  it  is  with  many  a  Chris¬ 
tian.  Till  the  floods  of  adversity  have  been 
poured  over  him,  his  character  appears  marred 
and  clouded  by  selfishness  and  worldly  in¬ 
fluences.  But  trials  clear  away  the  obscurity, 
and  give  distinctness  and  beauty  to  his  piety. 

Prof.  Hitchcock. 

43.  ADVERSITY,  Lesson  of.  Should  the 
native  of  some  distant  world,  on  which  the  sun 
always  shines,  visit  our  globe,  he  would  be 
filled  with  dismay  as  he  beheld  the  sun  disap¬ 
pear,  and  darkness  envelope  nature  as  in  a 
funeral  pall.  Mow  would  his  astonishment 
increase,  as,  amid  the  increasing  darkness, 
myriads  of  worlds,  of  which  he  never  dreamed, 
blazed  forth  upon  his  vision.  Thus,  often, 
adversity  affrights  us  ;  but,  instead  of  contract¬ 
ing  our  blessings,  it  reveals  to  us  new  sources 
of  comfort,  worlds  of  joy,  hidden  while  the  veil 
of  prosperity  hung  about  us. 

44.  ADVERSITY,  Philosophy  of.  It  was  a 
high  speech  of  Seneca  (after  the  manner  of 
stoics),  that  the  good  things  which  belong  to 
prosperity  are  to  be  wished,  but  the  good 
things  that  belong  to  adversity  are  to  be  ad¬ 
mired  :  “  Bona  veram  secundarwn  optabilia , 
adoersarum  mirabilia.”  Certainly,  if  miracles 
be  the  command  over  nature,  they  appear 
most  in  adversity.  It  is  yet  a  higher  speech 
of  his  than  the  other  (much  too  high  for  a 
heathen),  “  It  is  true  greatness  to  have  in  one 
the  frailty  of  a  man  and  the  security  of  a  God.” 
“  Vcre  magnum  habere  fragilitatem  hominis, 
securilalem  Dei."  This  would  have  done  bet¬ 
ter  in  poesy,  where  transcendencies  are  more 
allowed  ;  and  the  poets,  indeed,  have  been  busy 
with  it;  for  it  is,  in  effect,  that  strange  thing 
which  is  figured  in  that  strange  fiction  of  the 
ancient  poets,  which  seemeth  not  to  be  without 
mystery;  nay,  and  to  have  some  approach  to 
the  state  of  a  Christian :  “  That  Hercules, 


when  he  went  to  unbind  Prometheus  (by  whom 
human  nature  is  represented)  sailed  the  length 
of  the  great  ocean  in  an  earthen  pot  or  pitcher, 
lively  describing  Christian  resolution,  that 
saileth  in  the  frail  bark  of  the  flesh  through 
the  waves  of  the  world.”  But  to  speak  in  a 
mean,  the  virtue  of  prosperity  is  temperance, 
the  virtue  of  adversity  is  fortitude,  which  in 
morals  is  the  more  heroical  virtue.  Prosperity 
is  the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testament:  adversity 
is  the  blessing  of  the  New,  which  carrieth  the 
greater  benediction,  and  the  clearer  revelation 
of  God’s  favor.  Yet,  even  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  if  you  listen  to  David’s  harp,  you  shall 
hear  as  many  hearse-like  airs  as  carols ;  and 
the  pencil  of  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  labored 
more  in  describing  the  affliction  of  Job  than 
the  felicities  of  Solomon.  Prosperity  is  not 
without  many  fears  and  distaste ;  and  adversity 
is  not  without  comforts  and  hopes. 

Lord  Bacon. 

45.  ADVERSITY,  a  Test.  Ask  the  man 
of  adversity  how  other  men  act  towards  him; 
ask  those  others  how  he  acts  towards  them. 
Adversity  is  the  true  touchstone  of  merit  in 
both ;  happy  if  it  does  not  produce  the  dis¬ 
honesty  of  meanness  in  one,  and  that  of  inso¬ 
lence  and  pride  in  the  other.  Lord  Greville. 

46.  ADVERSITY,  Use  of.  A  man  who 
had  enjoyed  great  prosperity,  and  amassed 
considerable  wealth,  without  thought  of  God, 
was  at  length  overwhelmed  with  calamities. 
His  life  was  imperilled,  his  property  was  lost, 
his  family  were  sick  nigh  unto  death,  he  lost 
his  eyes,  and,  last  of  all,  his  boy  died.  He 
desired  to  be  led  to  the  side  of  his  dead  son, 
and  handled  the  loved  form  which  he  could 
no  longer  see.  There  he  exclaimed,  “  O  God  1 
it  is  enough  !  Stricken,  smitten,  and  afflicted, 
the  wandering  child  of  pious  parents,  who 
have  long  since  gone  to  heaven,  will  yield.  I 
will  kiss  the  rod  that  smites  me ;  and,  though 
I  cannot  now  see  thee  in  all  nature,  as  once  I 
might  have  done,  yet  I  do  and  will  hear  thee 
in  the  silence  of  my  heart.”  They  came  to  re¬ 
move  him ;  but  he  said,  “  Oh,  no  1  not  yet ;  not 
until  here,  audibly,  in  your  presence,  and,  above 
all,  in  the  presence  of  the  all-seeing  God,  I 
make  my  vows.  Samuel  1  dearest  Samuel  1 
thou  wilt  never  come  to  me,  but  I  will  go  to 
thee,  in  that  world  where  the  wicked  cease 
from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest.” 

47.  ADVICE,  Danger  of  Disregarding.  “  Be 
sure,  Herbert,”  said  Mr.  Wise  to  his  son, 
“  not  to  go  beyond  your  depth  in  the  river : 
the  surface  looks  very  fair  and  sparkling,  but 
there  is  an  ugly  eddy  beneath,  that  may  prove 
too  strong  for  you.” 

“  How  do  you  know,  father  ?  ”  asked  Her¬ 
bert. 

“  I  have  tried  it,”  was  the  reply.  “  It  nearly 
overcame  me ;  but  I  could  swim,  and  so  got 
beyond  it.  Remember  what  I  tell  you  :  be¬ 
ware  of  the  undertow.” 

Herbert  went  in  to  bathe,  and  was  very 
careful  to  keep  near  the  shore  every  time. 
“  It  cannot  be  very  dangerous  here,”  he 
thought,  and  uttered  it  aloud  to  his  companion. 


ajd'vtce:. 


.AJF'IT'ECTION'. 


15 


“  It  is  as  smooth  as  glass ;  and  I  can  easily  re¬ 
turn  if  it  is  rough  beneath,  for  I  can  swim  now.” 

“  You  had  better  not  go,”  urged  his  friend  : 
“  my  father  knows  this  river  well,  and  he  says 
the  undertow  is  very  dangerous.” 

“  I  will  go  in  a  little  ways,”  replied  Herbert, 
“  and,  if  I  find  it  dangerous,  come  back.”  And 
he  started  vigorously  for  the  middle  of  the 
river.  Ilis  companion,  watching  him,  saw 
him  throw  up  his  arms  wildly,  and  heard  his 
shout  for  help;  but,  when  help  reached  him,  it 
was  too  late.  The  undertow  had  got  him. 
He  was  drowned  in  the  treacherous  river ! 

Mrs.  M.  L.  Rai/ne. 

48.  ADVICE,  Taking.  He  who  can  take 

advice  is  sometimes  superior  to  him  who  can 
give  it.  Von  Ktteble. 

49.  ADVOCATE,  Advantage  of  an.  Juvenalis,  a 
widow,  complained  to  Theodoric,  king  of  the 
Romans,  that  a  suit  of  hers  had  been  in  court 
three  years,  which  might -have  been  decided  in 
a  few  days.  The  king,  being  informed  who 
were  her  judges,  gave  orders  that  they  should 
give  all  expedition  to  the  poor  woman’s  cause ; 
and  in  two  days  it  was  decided  to  her  satisfac¬ 
tion.  Theodoric  then  summoned  the  judges 
before  him,  and  inquired  how  it  was  that  they 
had  done  in  two  days  what  they  had  delayed 
for  three  years.  “  The  recommendation  of 
your  majesty,”  was  the  reply.  “  How,”  said 
the  king :  “  when  I  put  you  in  office,  did  I  not 
consign  all  pleas  and  proceedings  to  you  ? 
You  deserve  death  for  having  delayed  that 
justice,  for  three  years,  which  two  days  could 
accomplish.”  And,  at  that  instant,  he  com¬ 
manded  their  heads  to  be  struck  olF.  Percy. 

50.  AFFECTATION,  Avoiding.  Be  yourself. 
Ape  no  greatness.  Be  willing  to  pass  for  what 

ou  are.  A  good  farthing  is  better  than  a 
ad  sovereign.  Affect  no  oddness ;  but  dare 
to  be  right,  though  you  have  to  be  singular. 

A.  Coley. 

51.  AFFECTATION,  Cure  of.  When  Cicero 

consulted  the  oracle  at  Delphos,  concerning 
what  course  of  studies  he  should  pursue,  the 
answer  was,  “  Follow  Nature.”  If  every  one 
would  do  this,  affectation  would  be  almost  un¬ 
known.  J.  Beaumont. 

52.  AFFECTATION,  Ridiculous.  We  are  never 

rendered  so  ridiculous  by  qualities  which  we 
have,  as  by  those  which  we  aim  at,  or  affect  to 
have.  From  the  French. 

53.  AFFECTION,  Conjugal.  A  woman  who 
had  not  seen  her  husband  for  three  long  years, 
caught  sight  of  him  in  the  ranks  of  one  of  the 
returning  regiments  in  Portland  recently,  as  it 
was  marching  through  the  streets.  The  over¬ 
joyed  woman  rushed  to  the  ranks,  embraced 
and  kissed  her  husband,  and  marched  along 
by  his  side  amid  the  cheers  of  the  spectators. 

54.  Xenophon  relates,  that  when  an  Arme¬ 
nian  prince  had  been  taken  captive,  with  his 
princess,  by  Cyrus,  and  was  asked  what  he  would 
give  to  be  restored  to  his  kingdom  and  liberty, 
be  replied,  “  As  for  my  kingdom  and  liberty,  I 
value  them  not ;  but,  if  my  blood  would  redeem 
my  princess,  I  would  cheerfully  give  it  for  her.” 
When  Cyrus  had  liberated  them  both,  the 


princess  was  asked,  “  What  think  you  of  Cy¬ 
rus  ?  ”  She  replied,  “  I  did  not  observe  him  : 
my  whole  attention  was  fixed  upon  the  gener¬ 
ous  man  who  would  have  purchased  my  liberty 
with  his  life.” 

55.  AFFECTION,  Cultivating.  In  the  in¬ 
tercourse  of  social  life,  it  is  by  little  acts  of 
watchful  kindness,  recurring  daily  and  hourly ; 
it  is  by  words,  by  tones,  by  gestures,  by  looks, 
—  that  affection  is  won  and  preserved.  He 
who  neglects  these  trifles  will  rarely  be 
loved. 

56.  AFFECTION,  Emblem  of.  I  lately  read 
a  very  remarkable  circumstance  respecting  the 
storks;  namely,  that,  so  strong  is  their  affec¬ 
tion  for  their  young,  they  are  not  afraid  even 
to  die  for  them.  There  have  been  instances 
of  conflagrations,  in  which  they  flew  to  and 
fro,  with  water  in  their  beaks,  to  save  their 
nests  upon  the  burning  houses.  Nay,  it  once 
happened  at  Delft  in  Holland,  that,  finding  it 
impossible  to  preserve  their  brood,  they  placed 
themselves  upon  the  nest,  spread  over  them 
their  wings,  and  so  perished  with  them  in  the 
flames.  That  is  what  is  called  dying  for  love ! 

Gotthold. 

57.  AFFECTION,  Filial.  Epaminondas  was 
one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  Greece.  When 
he  had  conquered  Sparta  and  delivered 
Greece,  in  the  midst  of  universal  applause  he 
was  heard  to  say,  “  My  joy  arises  from  my 
sense  of  that  which  the  news  of  my  victory 
will  give  my  father  and  mother.” 

L.  M.  Stretch. 

58.  Valerius  Maximus  relates,  that  a  woman 
of  distinction,  having  been  condemned  to  be 
strangled,  was  delivered  to  the  triumvir,  who 
caused  her  to  be  carried  to  prison  in  order  to 
be  put  to  death.  The  jailer  who  was  ordered 
to  execute  her  was  struck  with  compunction, 
and  could  not  resolve  to  kill  her.  He  chose, 
however,  to  let  her  die  with  hunger ;  but.  mean¬ 
while,  suffered  her  daughter  to  visit  her  in 
prison,  taking  care  that  she  brought  her  nothing 
to  eat.  Many  days  passed  over  in  this  man¬ 
ner,  when  the  jailer,  at  length,  surprised  that 
the  prisoner  lived  so  long  without  food,  and 
suspecting  the  daughter,  took  means  of  secretly 
observing  their  interviews.  He  then  discovered 
that  the  affectionate  daughter  had  all  the 
while  been  nourishing  her  mother  with  her  own 
milk.  Amazed  at  so  tender,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  ingenious,  an  artifice,  he  related  it  to 
the  triumvir,  and  the  triumvir  to  the  praetor, 
who  thought  the  fact  merited  stating  in  the 
assembly  of  the  people.  This  produced  the 
happiest  effects :  the  criminal  was  pardoned, 
and  a  decree  passed  that  the  mother  and  the 
daughter  should  be  maintained  for  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  their  lives  at  the  expense  of  the 
public,  and  that  a  temple,  sacred  to  filial  piety, 
should  be  erected  near  the  prison.  Percy. 

59.  A  boy  of  three  years  of  age,  hearing  a 
visitor  of  his  father’s  make  use  of  the  popular 
saying,  that  “  an  honest  man  is  the  noblest 
work  of  God,”  made  this  innocent  annotation 
upon  it :  “  No,  sir  :  my  mamma  is  the  noblest 
work  of  God  1  ” 


16 


Ai’l^'ECTION . 


APFECTION. 


60.  An  ancient  city  was  besieged,  and  at 
length  obliged  to  surrender.  In  the  city  were 
two  brothers,  who  had  obliged  the  conquering 
general,  and  received  permission  to  leave  the 
city  before  it  was  set  on  fire,  taking  with  them 
as  much  of  their  property  as  each  could  carry. 
The  two  youths  appeared  at  the  gates  of  the 
city,  one  of  them  carrying  their  father,  and 
the  other  their  mother. 

61.  Olympias,  Alexander’s  own  mother,  was 
of  such  an  unhappy  disposition,  that  he  would 
never  let  her  have  any  concern  in  the  affairs 
of  the  government.  She  used  frequently  to 
make  very  severe  complaints  on  that  account ; 
but  he  always  submitted  to  her  ill  humor  with 
great  mildness  and  patience.  Antipater,  one 
of  his  friends,  having  one  day  wrote  a  long 
letter  against  her,  the  king,  after  reading  it, 
replied,  “  Antipater  does  not  know  that  one 
single  tear  shed  by  my  mother  will  obliterate 
ten  thousand  such  letters  as  this.” 

62.  A  father  and  son  were  fishing  near  New- 
York  city.  The  boat  was  suddenly  capsized, 
and  they  were  thrown  into  the  water.  The 
father,  who  was  not  an  expert  swimmer,  while 
his  son  could  not  swim  at  all,  at  once  com¬ 
menced  to  aid  the  lad.  lie,  seeing  that  his 
father  was  becoming  exhausted,  calmly  said  to 
him,  “Never  mind  me:  save  yourself,  for 
mother’s  sake.”  Both  his  father  and  himself 
were  rescued. 

63.  AFFECTION,  Fraternal.  The  Emperor  Au¬ 

gustus  having  taken  Adiatoriges,  a  prince  of 
Cappadocia,  together  with  his  wife  and  chil¬ 
dren,  in  war,  and  led  them  to  Rome  in  tri¬ 
umph,  gave  orders  that  the  father  and  the 
elder  of  the  brothers  should  be  slain.  The 
ministers  of  execution,  on  coming  to  the  place 
of  confinement,  inquired  which  was  the  eldest? 
On  this,  there  arose  an  earnest  contention 
between  the  two  young  princes,  each  of  them 
affirming  himself  to  be  the  elder,  that,  by  his 
own  death,  he  might  preserve  the  life  of  his 
brother.  When  they  had  continued  this  heroic 
and  fraternal  emulation  for  some  time,  the 
afflicted  mother  with  much  difficulty  prevailed 
on  her  son  Dytentus,  that  he  would  permit  his 
younger  brother  to  die  in  his  stead,  hoping  that 
by  him  she  might  still  be  sustained.  When 
Augustus  was  told  of  this  example  of  brotherly 
love,  he  regretted  his  severity,  and  gave  an 
honorable  support  to  the  mother  and  her  sur¬ 
viving  son.  Percy. 

64.  Two  days  after  the  terrible  battle  of 

Chickamauga,  I  was  passing  over  the  battle¬ 
field.  In  a  thick  clump  of  bushes,  on  the  side 
of  a  ravine,  I  saw  a  young  man  seated  beside 
a  tree,  with  his  arm  bandaged.  Seeing  that 
his  arm  was  badly  wounded,  I  asked  why  he 
had  not  gone  to  the  hospital  in  the  rear.  He 
replied,  pointing  to  a  corpse  that  lay  near  by, 
“  That  is  my  brother;  and  I  have  determined 
never  to  leave  him  until  lie  is  buried.”  I  had 
the  dead  man  buried,  and  the  wounded  brother 
taken  care  of.  Memphis  Advocate. 

65.  “  O  Charlie  !  be  careful,  little  brother : 
you  are  skating  too  near  that  hole.”  The 
words  came  too  late.  Charlie  did  not  see  the 


bole,  and  before  his  brother  had  finished  speak¬ 
ing,  he  saw  the  little  fellow  go  out  of  sight  und&i 
the  ice.  With  all  speed  Harry  hastened  to  the 
spot ;  he  could  see  his  brother,  and,  creeping  to 
the  edge,  he  reached  out  his  hand  ;  but  the  ice 
was  not  strong  enough  to  hold  him,  and  he  fell 
in.  Other  boys,  hearing  their  cries,  were  soon 
on  the  spot.  Henry  caught  his  little  brother, 
held  him  up  where  Strong  arms  could  reach 
him.  “  Save,  oh,  save  my  brother  1  ”  he  cried  ; 
then  sank  to  rise  no  more.  The  elder  brother 
gave  his  life  for  the  vounger. 

66.  AFFECTION,  "Paternal.  While  the  citi¬ 
zens  of  Troy  were  deliberating  over  the  wooden 
horse  which  the  Greeks  had  left,  there  came 
two  huge  serpents  from  the  sea  directly  to  the 
spot  where  Laocoon  and  his  two  sons  stood. 
They  first  attacked  the  children,  winding 
around  their  bodies.  Laocoon  attempted  to 
rescue  them  from  the  tightening  coils  of  the 
serpents,  but  in  vain.  They  enveloped  him, 
also,  and  father  and  children  perished  together. 
The  most  famous  piece  of  statuary  in  exist¬ 
ence  —  that  of  Laocoon  and  his  children  in 
the  embrace  of  the  serpents  —  commemorates 
this  event. 

6'J'.  After  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  a  sol¬ 
dier  was  found  dead  upon  the  field,  holding  in 
his  hand  the  picture  of  three  small  children. 
No  clew  to  his  name  could  be  found.  In  the 
terrors  of  battle  he  had  comforted  himself  with 
this  picture.  It  was  published,  and  by  this 
means  the  children  were  found  in  a  village  of 
Western  New  York.  The  sale  of  this  picture 
resulted  in  the  founding  of  the  “  National  Or¬ 
phan  Homestead  ”  at  Gettysburg,  where  the 
Humiston  children,  the  originals  of  the  pic¬ 
ture,  find  a  home,  and  their  mother  is  the 
matron. 

68.  AFFECTION,  of  the  Poor.  A  poor  little 
girl  in  the  Fourth  Ward,  New  York,  as  she  was 
dying,  said,  “  I  am  glad  I  am  going  to  die, 
because  now  my  brothers  and  sisters  will  have 
enough  to  eat !  ” 

6D.  AFFECTION,  Rewarded.  One  beautiful 
evening  in  summer,  a  carriage  drove  up  to  a 
village  inn.  A  stranger  stepped  out,  and  di¬ 
rected  the  landlord  to  prepare  him  a  dinner. 
The  stranger  looked  about  him  for  a  few  mo¬ 
ments,  and  then  directed  his  steps  to  the  church. 
He  entered  the  gate  which  opened  into  the 
graveyard,  and  walked  around.  While  read¬ 
ing  the  various  inscriptions  on  the  tombstones, 
his  attention  was  drawn  to  a  corner  of  the  yard 
by  the  sobs  of  a  child.  He  went  to  the  spot, 
where  two  ragged  children  sat  weeping  upon  a 
newly-made  grave.  A  piece  of  bard  bread  was 
between  them.  The  stranger  sat  down  upon  the 
grave,  and  inquired  into  the  cause  of  their  dis¬ 
tress.  The  little  boy,  whose  name  was  William, 
began  to  tell  him  that  his  sister  Mary  was 
naughty,  and  would  not  eat  the  piece  of  bread 
which  he  had  begged  for  ber.  She  interrupted 
her  brother  here,  and  told  the  man  that  she 
had  some  bread  yesterday,  but  that  her  brother 
had  eaten  none  since  the  day  before,  and  she 
wanted  him  to  eat  this.  The  boy  told  the 
stranger  that  about  a  year  ago  his  father  left 


■AJFHLECTIOISr. 


^jr^x.iCTioKr. 


17 


the  village,  and  went  to  sea,  and  that  in  a 
storm  he  was  drowned.  “  And  poor  mother 
cried  so  hard,  and  said  that  she  must  soon  die 
too;  but  that  we  must  love  each  other,  and 
that  God  would  be  our  father.  She  called  us 
to  her  bedside,  kissed  us  both,  and  then  died.” 
'1  he  stranger  listened  to  the  tale  of  sorrow, 
and  was  moved  with  compassion  for  the  wan¬ 
derers.  He  exclaimed,  as  he  rose  from  the 
grave,  “  Come  with  me,  poor  children.  God 
will  be  your  father.  He  has,  no  doubt,  sent 
me  here  this  night  to  befriend  you.”  He 
took  them  to  the  inn,  and  had  them  pro¬ 
vided  for  until  he  returned  home.  Then  they 
were  received  into  the  bosom  of  his  family, 
where  they  were  well  fed,  clothed,  and  in¬ 
structed;  and  the  stranger,  in  his  declining 
years,  witnessed  them  useful  and  honorable 
members  of  society.  His  hospitality  was  re¬ 
warded  an  hundred  fold. 

70.  AFFECTION,  Want  of  Parental.  Saturn 
is  represented  in  mythology  as  a  monster  who 
devoured  his  own  children.  Vulcan  was  born 
lame,  and  his  mother  Juno  was  so  enraged  that 
she  threw  him  out  of  heaven. 

71.  AFFECTION,  Want  of  Paternal.  A  mulatto 
youth  one  day  called  on  a  respectable  gentle¬ 
man  of  Baltimore,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
begged  for  assistance.  —  “  My  father  and 
mother,”  says  he,  “  are  about  to  sell  me  to 
Georgia.”  —  “Your  father  and  mother!”  re¬ 
plied  the  gentlemen  with  surprise  :  “  what 
right  have  they  to  sell  you  ?  ”  —  “  My  father,  ” 

answered  the  boy,  “  is  a  white  man,  Mr. - , 

a  merchant  in  this  place.  My  mother  is  a  yel¬ 
low  woman.  She  lias  had  several  children  by 
him,  all  of  whom  have  been  sold  to  Georgia 
but  myself.  He  is  this  moment  bargaining 
with  a  slave-trader  for  me.”  The  gentleman 
promised  his  assistance,  but  too  late  ;  the  bar¬ 
gain  was  already  made.  The  unfortunate  youth 
was  immediately  borne  off,  in  spite  of  tears, 
execrations,  and  entreaties,  handcuffed  and 
chained,  and  driven  like  a  brute  to  a  distant 
market ! 

72.  AFFECTIONS,  Earthly.  It  is  storied  of 
Henry  the  Fourth  of  France  asking  the  Duke 
of  Alva  if  he  had  observed  the  eclipses  hap¬ 
pening  in  that  year :  he  answered,  that  he  had 
so  much  business  on  earth,  that  he  had  no 
leisure  to  look  up  to  heaven.  So  it  is.  Most 
men  are  of  this  Spanish  general’s  mind :  wit¬ 
ness  the  oxen,  the  farms,  the  pleasures,  the 
profits  and  preferments,  that  men  are  so  fast 
glued  unto,  that  they  have  hardly  leisure  to 
entertain  a  thought  of  any  goodness.  Spencer. 

73.  AFFECTIONS,  Enrich  God.  If  we  should 

gather  all  the  flowers  that  grow  upon  the 
mountain-sides  and  in  the  valleys,  and  heap 
them  up  before  God,  he  would  not  be  richer 
than  he  is  now  ;  but  when  we  bring  ourselves 
to  him,  and  affection  after  affection  opens  and 
exhales  in  his  presence,  he  is  richer,  and  his 
joys  are  greater.  Beecher. 

74.  AFFECTIONS,  Governing  the.  Hethatrid- 
eth  a  fierce  horse,  let  the  horse  keep  what  pace 
he  will,  so  long  as  the  rider  commands  him  by 
the  bridle,  ■we  say  he  rides  strongly;  but  if  the 

2 


horse  get  the  bit  in  his  mouth,  and  run  away, 
the  faster  his  pace,  the  weaker  the  rider,  be¬ 
cause  he  cannot  check  him.  Our  affections 
are  just  like  that  fierce  horse,  and  our  reason 
should  be  as  a  strong  bridle,  stir  they  never  so 
much  :  if  reason  command,  we  are  strong  ;  but 
if  reason  have  no  power,  and  our  affections  run 
loose,  then,  certainly,  the  more  violent  we  are, 
the  more  weak  we  are.  Spencer. 

75.  AFFLICTION,  Bearing.  One  in  affliction, 
when  asked  how  he  bore  it  so  well,  replied, 
“It  lightens  the  stroke  to  draw  near  to  him 
who  handles  the  rod.” 

76.  AFFLICTION,  Benefit  of.  In  a  journal 
of  a  tour  through  Scotland  by  the  Rev.  C. 
Simeon  of  Cam'  ridge,  we  have  the  following 
passage :  —  “  Went  to  see  Lady  Ross’s 
grounds.  Here  also  I  saw  blind  men  weaving. 
May  I  never  forget  the  following  fact:  One 
of  the  blind  men,  on  being  interrogated  with 
respect  to  his  knowledge  of  spiritual  things, 
answered,  ‘  I  never  saw  till  I  was  blind  ;  nor 
did  I  ever  know  contentment  when  I  had  my 
eyesight,  as  I  do  now  that  I  have  lost  it.  I 
can  truly  affirm,  though  few  know  how  to 
credit  me,  that  I  would  on  no  account  change 
my  present  situation  and  circumstances  with 
any  that  I  ever  enjoyed  before  !■  was  blind.’ 
He  had  enjoyed  eyesight  till  twenty-five,  and 
had  been  blind  now  about  three  years.  My 
soul,”  Mr.  Simeon  adds,  “  was  much  affected 
and  comforted  with  his  declaration.  Surely, 
there  is  a  reality  in  religion  I  ” 

77.  AFFLICTION,  Blessedness  of.  “  Why 
should  I  murmur  ?  ”  said  Henry  Martyn,  in 
his  last  sickness  :  “  weakness,  peril,  and  pain 
are  but  the  ministering  angels  whose  office  it 
is  to  conduct  me  to  glory.”  The  holiest 
weep,  but  their  tears,  as  rain-drops  in  the 
springtime,  are  shot  through  with  sunbeams  : 
“  they  sorrow  not  as  those  without  hope.” 

S.  Coley. 

78.  AFFLICTION.  Brevities.  Sanctified  afflic¬ 
tions  are  spiritual  promotions.  —  Dodd.  God 
may  east  thee  down ,  but  he  will  not  cast  thee 
off. — Case.  Adversity,  like  winter  weather, 
is  of  use  to  kill  those  vermin  which  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  prosperity  is  apt  to  produce  and  nour¬ 
ish. —  Arrowsmitli.  A  great  deal  of  rust  re¬ 
quires  a  rough  file.  — Moses  Browne.  The 
wise  Lord  loves  to  feed  us  with  hunger,  and 
make  us  fat  with  wants  and  desertions.  — 
Rutherford.  Christ  is  the  best  physician  :  he 
never  takes  down  the  wrong  bottle.  Berridge. 

79.  AFFLICTION,  Healthful.  The  air  from 

the  sea  of  affliction  is  extremely  beneficial  to 
invalid  Christians.  Continued  prosperity, 
like  a  warm  atmosphere,  has  a  tendency  to 
unbind  the  sinews  and  soften  the  bones  ;  but 
the  cold  winds  of  trouble  make  us  sturdy, 
hardy,  and  well-braced  in  every  part.  Un¬ 
broken  success  often  leads  to  an  undervaluing 
of  mercies,  and  forgetfulness  of  the  giver  ;  but 
the  withdrawal  of  the  sunshine  leads  us  to 
look  for  the  sun.  Spurgeon. 

80.  AFFLICTION,  Kinds  of.  We  may  ob¬ 
serve  in  this  the  difference  between  Christ  and 
the  Tempter.  Christ  hath  his  fan  in  his  hand, 


IS 


AFFLICTION-. 


AFFLICTION-. 


anil  he  fanncth  us :  the  Devil  hath  a  sieve  in 
his  hand,  and  he  sifteth  us.  Now,  a  fan 
casteth  out  the  worst,  and  keepeth  in  the  best; 
a  sieve  keepeth  in  the  worst,  and  castcth  out 
the  best.  So  Christ  and  his  trials  purgetli 
chaff  and  corruption  out  of  us,  and  nourisheth 
his  graces  in  us.  Contrariwise,  the  Devil, 
what  evil  soever  is  in  us,  he  confirmeth  it  : 
what  faith  or  good  thing  soever,  he  weakcneth 
it.  Trapp. 

81.  AFFLICTION,  Legend  of.  “The  Apostle 
Peter  had  a  daughter  born  in  lawful  wedlock, 
who  accompanied  him  in  his  journey  from  the 
East.  Being  at  Rome  with  him,  she  fell  sick  of 
a  grievous  infirmity  which  deprived  her  of  the 
use  of  her  limbs.  And  it  happened,  that,  as  the 
disciples  were  at  meat  with  him  in  his  house, 
one  said  to  him,  ‘  Master,  how  is  it  that  thou, 
who  healest  the  infirmities  of  others,  dost  not 
heal  tliy  daughter  Pctronilla  ?  ’  And  St.  Peter 
answered,  ‘  It  is  good  tor  her  to  remain  sick  ;  ’ 
but,  that  they  might  see  the  power  that  was  in 
the  word  of  God,  he  commanded  her  to  get  up 
and  serve  them,  at  table,  which  she  did  ;  and 
having  done  so,  she  lay  down  again  helpless  as 
before  ;  but  many  years  afterwards,  being  per¬ 
fected  by  her  long  suffering,  and  praying  fer¬ 
vently,  she  was  healed.  Petronilla  was  won¬ 
derfully  fair ;  and  Valerius  Flaccus,  a  young 
and  noble  Roman,  who  was  a  heathen,  became 
enamoured  of  her  beauty,  and  sought  her  for  his 
wife ;  and  he  being  very  powerful,  she  feared 
to  refuse  him.  She  therefore  desired  him  to 
return  in  three  days,  and  promised  that  he 
uhould  then  carry  her  home.  But  she  prayed 
earnestly  to  be  delivered  from  this  peril ;  and 
when  Flaccus  returned  in  three  days,  with 
great  pomp,  to  celebrate  the  marriage,  lie  found 
her  dead.  The  company  of  nobles  who  at¬ 
tended  him  carried  her  to  the  grave,  in  which 
they  laid  her,  crowned  with  roses  ;  and  Flac¬ 
cus  mourned  greatly.” 

82.  AFFLICTION,  Ministry  of.  An  invalid  of 
twenty  years,  whose  sufferings  were  extreme, 
was  one  night  thinking  of  the  reason  of  this 
long-continued  infliction.  Suddenly  the  room 
filled  with  light,  and  a  beautiful  form  bent  over 
her,  saying,  “  Daughter  of  sorrow,  art  thou 
impatient  V  ”  —  “  No ;  but  I  am  full  of  pain  and 
disease,  and  I  see  no  end ;  nor  can  I  see  why  I 
must  suffer  thus.  I  know  that  I  am  a  sinner ; 
but  I  hoped  that  Christ’s  sufferings,  and  not 
mine,  would  save  me.  Oh  1  why  does  God 
deal  thus  with  me  ?  ”  — “  Come  with  me,  daugh¬ 
ter,  and  I  will  show  thee.”  —  “But  I  cannot 
walk.” —  “  True,  true  !  There,  gently,  gently  1  ” 
He  tenderly  took  her  up  in  his  arms,  and  car¬ 
ried  her  over  land  and  water,  till  he  set  her 
down  in  a  far-off  city,  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
large  workshop.  The  room  was  full  of  win¬ 
dows,  and  the  workmen  seemed  to  be  near  the 
light,  and  each  with  his  own  tools ;  and  all 
seemed  to  be  so  intent  upon  their  work,  that 
they  neither  noticed  the  new-comers,  nor  spoke 
to  one  another.  They  seemed  to  have  small, 
brown  pebbles,  which  they  were  grinding  and 
shaping  and  polishing.  Her  guide  pointed 
her  to  one  who  6eemed  to  be  most  earnestly  at 


work.  He  had  a  half-polished  pebble,  which 
was  now  seen  to  be  a  diamond,  in  a  pair  of 
strong  iron  pincers.  lie  seemed  to  grasp  the 
little  thing  as  if  he  would  crush  it,  and  to  hold 
it  on  to  the  rough  stone  without  mercy.  The 
stone  whirled,  and  the  dust  flew,  and  the  jewel 
grew  smaller  and  lighter.  Ever  and  anon  he 
would  stop,  hold  it  up  to  the  light,  and  examine 
it  carefully.  “  Workman,”  said  the  sufferer, 
“  will  you  please  to  tell  me  why  you  bear  on, 
and  grind  the  jewel  so  hard  ?” —  “I  want  to 
grind  off  every  flaw  and  crack  in  it.”  —  “  But 
don’t  you  waste  it  ?  ”  —  “  Yes ;  but  what  is  left 
is  worth  so  much  the  more.  The  fact  is,  this 
diamond,  if  it  will  bear  the  wheel  long  enough, 
is  to  occupy  a  very  important  place  in  the 
crown  we  are  making  up  for  our  king.  We 
take  much  more  pains  with  such.  We  have  to 
grind  and  polish  them  a  great  while ;  but,  when 
they  are  done,  they  are  very  beautiful.  The 
king  was  here  yesterday,  and  was  much  pleased 
with  our  work,  but  wanted  this  jewel,  in  partic¬ 
ular,  should  be  ground  and  polished  a  great 
deal.  So  you  see  how  hard  I  hold  it  down  on 
this  stone.  And,  see  1  there  is  not  a  crack  nor 
a  flaw  in  it !  What  a  beauty  it  will  be  1  ” 

Gently  the  guide  lifted  up  the  poor  sufferer, 
and  again  laid  her  down  on  her  own  bed  of 
pain.  “  Daughter  of  sorrow,  dost  thou  under¬ 
stand  the  vision  ?  ”  —  “  Oh,  yes  !  but  may  I  ask 
you  one  question  ?  ”  —  “  Certainly.”  —  “  Were 
you  sent  to  me  to  show  me  all  this  V  ”  —  “  Assur¬ 
edly.”  —  “  Oh  !  may  I  take  to  myself  the  con¬ 
solation  that  I  am  a  diamond,  and  am  now  in 
the  hands  of  the  strong  man,  who  is  polishing 
it  for  the  crown  of  the  Great  King  V  ” 

“  Daughter  of  sorrow,  thou  mayest  have 
that  consolation ;  and  every  pang  of  suffering 
shall  be  like  a  flash  of  lightning  in  a  dark 
night,  revealing  eternity  to  thee ;  and  here¬ 
after  thou  shalt  ‘  run  without  weariness,  and 
walk  without  faintness,’  and  sing  with  those 
who  have  ‘  come  out  of  great  tribulation.’  ” 

I)r.  Todd. 

83.  AFFLICTION,  Profit  of.  The  bee  is  ob¬ 

served  to  suck  honey  from  the  thyme,  a  most 
hard  and  dry  herb;  so  the  good  and  faithful- 
minded  man  sucketh  knowledge  and  obedience 
from  the  bitter  potion  of  adversity  and  the 
cross,  and  turneth  all  to  the  best.  The  scour¬ 
ing  and  rubbing  which  fret  others  make 
him  shine  the  brighter;  the  weight  which 
crusheth  others  makes  him,  like  the  palm- 
tree,  grow  the  better;  the  hammer  which 
knocks  others  all  in  pieces  makes  him  the 
broader  and  the  larger.  In  incude  et  maleo 
dilatantur,  they  are  made  broader  on  the  anvil, 
and  with  the  hammer ;  although  it  be  with  the 
hammer,  yet,  dilatantur,  they  are  made  to  grow 
■the  wider.  Spencer. 

84.  AFFLICTION,  Purification  by.  A  few  ladies 
met  at  each  other’s  houses  to  study  the  Scrip¬ 
tures.  When  they  came  to  the  third  chapter 
of  Malachi,  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
method  of  purifying  silver.  One  lady  under¬ 
took  to  inquire  of  a  silversmith  how  he  con¬ 
ducted  the  process.  “  Do  you  sit  during  the 
operation  ?  ” —  “  Yes,”  was  the  reply,  “  for  I 


AFFLICTION'. 


AGE. 


19 


must  keep  my  eye  steadily  on  the  furnace,  lest 
the  silver  become  injured  by  the  intense  heat.” 

As  the  lady  was  about  to  retire,  the  silver¬ 
smith  said  that  he  knew  the  process  was  perfect 
when  he  saw  his  own  face  in  the  metal. 

The  molten  silver  continues  in  a  state  of 
agitation  till  all  impurity  is  thrown  off,  and 
then  it  becomes  quite  still. 

85.  AFFLICTION,  Rejoicing  in.  A  colporteur 
in  a  Southern  city  thus  sketches  an  interview 
with  a  humble  Christian :  “  Here  is  Uncle 

Jack  C - ,  an  old,  white-headed  black  man. 

‘  Uncle  Jack,  how  are  you  ?  ’ — ‘  I  is  very  pain¬ 
ful  in  my  knee ;  but,  thank  my  heavenly  Mas¬ 
ter,  I’m  cause  to  be  thankful.  My  good  Mas¬ 
ter  jus’  gib  me  ’nuf  to  make  me  humble.’ 
—  *  And  do  you  enjoy  religion  as  much  now, 
Uncle  Jack,  as  when  you  could  go  to  church 
and  class-meeting  ?  ’ —  ‘  Yes ;  I  joys  him  more. 
Den  I  trust  to  de  people,  to  de  meetin’,  to  de 
sarment ;  an’  when  I  hear  de  hym  sing,  and  de 
pray,  I  feels  glad.  But  all  dis  ain’t  like  de 
good  Lord  in  de  heart.  God’s  love  here  ’  — 
striking  his  breast  — 1  makes  all  de  hard  heart 
go  ’way,  and  make  Jack  sit  down  and  wonder 
what  de  good  Master  gwine  to  do  wid  dis  ole 
nigger.’ —  ‘  Then  you  love  God,  if  he  does  afflict 
you  ?  ’ — ‘  Ob,  yes  !  God  —  Him  do  all  dis  for  me 
good.  God  wise.  Jack  don’t  know.  At 
night  hear  a  noise.  Me  no  know  what  him 
is ;  but  when  me  get  light,  and  me  hear  noise, 
den  me  see,  me  know,  me  got  sense  den. 
Here,  in  dis  painful  life,  all  dark  ;  me  no  know  : 
but  dare,  tout  God,  all  is  light —  see  all,  know 
all.  Glory,  hallelujah  1  ’  ” 

86.  AFFLICTION,  Reward  of.  When  the 

Christian’s  last  pit  is  digged,  when  he  is  de¬ 
scended  into  his  grave,  and  finished  his  state 
of  sorrows  and  suffering,  then  God  opens  the 
river  of  abundance,  the  rivers  of  life,  and 
never-ceasing  felicities.  As  much  as  moments 
are  exceeded  by  eternity,  and  the  sighing  of  a 
man  by  the  joy  of  an  angel ;  and  a  salutary 
frown  by  the  light  of  God’s  countenance ;  a 
few  groans  by  the  infinite  and  eternal  hallelu¬ 
jahs, —  so  much  are  the  sorrows  of  the  saints  to 
be  undervalued,  in  respect  of  what  is  deposited 
for  them  in  the  treasures  of  eternity.  Their 
sorrows  can  die,  but  so  cannot  their  joys.  .  .  . 
Every  chain  is  a  ray  of  light,  and  every  prison 
is  a  palace,  and  every  loss  is  the  purchase  of 
a  kingdom,  and  every  affront  in  the  cause  of 
God  is  an  eternal  honor,  and  every  da}’  of  sor¬ 
row  is  a  thousand  years  of  comfort,  multiplied 
with  a  never-ceasing  numeration :  days  with¬ 
out  night ;  joys  without  sorrow ;  sanctity  with¬ 
out  sin ;  charity  without  stain ;  possession 
without  fear;  society  without  envying;  com¬ 
munication  of  joys  without  lessening  ;  and  they 
shall  dwell  in  a  blessed  country,  where  an 
enemy  never  entered,  and  from  whence  a 
friend  never  went  away.  Bishop  Taylor. 

87.  AFFLICTION,  Saved  by,  “  I  would  gladly 
take  your  tract,”  said  a  soldier  in  the  hospital ; 
“  but  I  have  lost  both  my  arms  in  battle ;  and 
I  would  gladly  lose  them  again,  were  it  pos¬ 
sible,  rather  than  not  enjoy  what  I  now  pos¬ 
sess.  While  I  was  far  away  in  the  woods,  and 


did  not  know  I  should  ever  live  to  get  back  to 
camp,  I  cried  unto  the  Lord  in  good  earnest; 
and  he  had  mercy  on  my  soul.” 

88.  AFFLICTIONS,  Similes  of.  God  often 
lays  the  sum  of  his  amazing  providences  in 
very  dismal  afflictions ;  as  the  limner  first  puts 
on  the  dusky  colors,  on  which  he  intends  to 
draw  the  portraiture  of  some  illustrious  beauty. 

Charnock. 

89.  I  feel  that  repeated  afflictions  come, 

not  as  lightning  on  the  scathed  tree,  blasting  it 
yet  more  and  more,  but  as  the  strokes  of  the 
sculptor  on  the  marble  block,  forming  it  into 
the  image  of  beauty  and  loveliness.  Let  but 
the  Divine  Presence  be  felt,  and  no  lot  is  hard. 
Let  me  but  see  his  hand,  and  no  event  is  un¬ 
welcome.  Power  of  Illustration. 

99.  Every  vessel  of  mercy  must  be  scoured 
in  order  to  brightness.  And  however  trees  in 
the  wilderness  may  grow  without  cultivation, 
trees  in  the  garden  must  be  pruned  to  be  made 
fruitful ;  and  cornfields  must  be  broken  up, 
when  barren  heaths  are  left  untouched. 

Arrowsmith. 

91.  AFFLICTIONS,  Sympathy  of  Jesus  in.  They 
tell  us,  that,  in  some  trackless  lands,  when  one 
friend  passes  through  the  pathless  forests,  he 
breaks  a  twig  ever  and  anon  as  he  goes,  that 
those  who  come  after  may  see  the  traces  of  his 
having  been  there,  and  may  know  that  they 
are  not  out  of  the  road.  Oh !  when  we  are 
journeying  through  the  murky  night,  and  the 
dark  woods  of  affliction  and  sorrow,  it  is  some¬ 
thing  to  find  here  and  there  a  spray  broken,  or 
a  leafy  stem  bent  down  with  the  tread  of  His 
foot  and  the  brush  of  his  hand  as  he  passed ;  and 
to  remember  that  the  path  he  trod  he  has  hal¬ 
lowed,  and  that  there  are  lingering  fragrances 
and  hidden  strengths  in  the  remembrance,  “  in 
all  points  tempted  as  we  are,”  bearing  grief  /or 
us,  bearing  grief  with  us,  bearing  grief  like  us. 

J.  Maclaren. 

92.  AFFLICTIONS,  Use  of.  Two  painters  were 
employed  to  fresco  the  walls  of  a  magnificent 
cathedral.  Both  stood  on  a  rude  scaffolding 
constructed  for  the  purpose,  some  distance 
from  the  floor.  One,  so  intent  upon  his  tvork, 
forgetting  where  he  was,  stepped  back  slowly, 
surveying  critically  the  work  of  his  pencil,  until 
he  had  neared  the  edge  of  the  plank  on  which 
he  stood.  At  this  moment  his  companion,  just 
perceiving  his  danger,  seized  a  wet  brush,  flung 
it  against  the  wall,  spattering  the  picture  with 
unsightly  blotches  of  coloring.  The  painter  (lew 
forward,  and  turned  upon  his  friend  with  fierce 
upbraidings,  till  made  aware  of  the  danger  he 
had  escaped;  then,  with  tears  of  gratitude, 
he  blessed  the  hand  that  saved  him.  Just  so, 
sometimes  we  get  so  absorbed  with  the  pictures 
of  the  world,  unconscious  of  our  peril,  when 
God  in  mercy  dashes  out  the  beautiful  images, 
and  draws  us,  at  the  time  we  are  complaining 
of  his  dealings,  into  his  outstretched  arms  of 
love. 

93.  AGE,  Changed  to  Youth.  Jason  asked  Me¬ 
dea,  whose  magic  arts  lie  had  proved  to  be 
remarkable,  to  take  some  years  of  his  life  and 
give  them  to  his  then  aged  father.  She.  con- 


20 


AGE. 


AGED. 


sented  to  add  years  to  the  father’s  life,  but  re¬ 
fused  to  shorten  his.  She  sacrificed  to  the 
gods,  then  wrought  a  mighty  enchantment,  fill¬ 
ing  her  caldron  with  magic  herbs,  heads  of 
crows  and  owls,  the  entrails  of  a  wolf,  and 
remnants  of  other  things  tenacious  of  life: 
Tnen  she  cut  the  throat  of  the  old  man  iEson, 
who  was  laid  beside  her  on  a  bed  of  herbs,  and 
poured  into  his  mouth  and  his  wounds  the 
juices  of  her  caldron.  When  he  had  imbibed 
them,  his  beard  and  hair  laid  otf  their  white¬ 
ness,  and  resumed  the  blackness  of  youth  ;  the 
signs  of  age  were  gone;  his  veins  were  full  of 
blood,  his  limbs  of  vigor  and  robustness.  rEson 
is  amazed  at  the  change,  and  remembers  that 
such  as  he  now  is  he  was  forty  years  before. 
Religion  has  a  greater  than  Medea’s  power  to 
renew  the  age.  It  gives  perpetual  youth. 

91.  AGE,  Cheerfulness  with.  Cheerfulness 
ought  to  be  the  viaticum  vitce  of  their  life  to 
the  old.  Age  without  cheerfulness  is  a  Lapland 
winter  without  a  sun  ;  and  this  spirit  should  be 
encouraged  in  our  youth,  if  we  would  wish  to 
have  the  benefit  of  it  in  our  old  age.  Time  will 
make  a  generous  wine  more  mellow ;  but  it 
will  turn  that  which  is  early  on  the  fret  into 
vinegar.  Colton. 

95.  AGE,  The  Golden.  This  was  the  first 
period  of  history  in  which  truth,  right,  inno¬ 
cence,  and  happiness  universally  prevailed. 
There  were  no  instruments  of  war,  and  the 
earth  brought  forth  her  fruits  spontaneously. 
Spring  was  perpetual,  llowers  grew  up  spon¬ 
taneous,  the  rivers  flowed  with  milk  and  wine, 
and  honey  dropped  from  the  boughs  of  the 
oaks.  Then  came  the  declining  silver  age ; 
then  the  savage  brazen  age  ;  then  the  murder¬ 
ous  iron  age,  followed  by  the  flood  of  Deuca- 
leon. 

96.  AGE,  Happiness  of.  As  ripe  fruit  is 

sweeter  than  green  fruit,  so  is  age  sweeter  than 
youth,  provided  the  youth  were  grafted  into 
Christ.  As  harvest-time  is  a  brighter  time 
than  seed-time,  so  is  age  brighter  than  youth  ; 
that  is,  if  youth  were  a  seed-time  for  good. 
As  the  completion  of  a  work  is  more  glorious 
than  the  beginning,  so  is  age  more  glorious 
than  youth ;  that  is,  if  the  foundation  of  the 
work  of  God  were  laid  in  youth.  As  sailing 
into  port  is  a  happier  thing  than  the  voyage,  so 
is  age  happier  than  youth ;  that  is,  when  the 
voyage  from  youth  is  made  with  Christ  at  the 
helm.  J.  Pulsford. 

97.  AGE,  Human.  Five  or  six  times  the  pe¬ 
riod  of  growth,  which  in  man  averages  twenty, 
years,  gives  the  term  of  life.  Five  is  pretty  near 
the  average  :  some  animals  greatly  exceed  it. 
But  man,  of  all  the  animals,  is  the  one  that 
seldom  comes  up  to  his  average.  He  ought  to 
live  a  hundred  years,  according  to  his  physio¬ 
logical  law,  for  five  times  twenty  are  a  hun¬ 
dred  ;  but  instead  of  that,  he  scarcely  reaches, 
on  the  average,  four  times  his  growing  period ; 
whilst  the  dog  reaches  six  times,  the  cat  six 
times,  the  rabbit  even  eight  times  his  standard 
of  measurement.  The  reason  is  obvious : 
man  is  not  only  the  most  irregular  and  most 
intemperate,  but  the  most  laborious  and  hard- 


1  worked  of  all  animals.  He  is  also  the  most 
irritable  of  all  animals ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  though  we  cannot  tell  what  an  animal 
secretly  feels,  man  cherishes  wrath  to  keep  it 
warm,  and  consumes  himself  with  the  fire  of 
his  own  secret  reflections.  Blackwood. 

98.  AGE,  Lesson  of  Old.  The  son  of  Crabbe 
gives,  in  the  biography  of  the  poet,  a  brief  scene 
in  the  last  days  of  Wesley:  “At  Lowestoft, 
one  evening,  all  adjourned  to  a  Dissenting 
chapel  to  hear  the  venerable  John  Wesley  on 
one  of  the  last  of  his  peregrinations.  He  was 
exceedingly  old  and  infirm,  and  was  attended, 
almost  supported,  in  the  pulpit  by  a  young  min 
istcr  on  each  side.  The  chapel  was  crowded 
to  suffocation.  In  the  course  of  the  sermon 
he  repeated,  though  with  an  application  of  his 
own,  the  lines  from  ‘  Anacreon  :  ’  — 

“  ‘  Oft  am  I  by  woman  told, 

Poor  Anacreon !  thou  grow’st  old: 

See,  thine  hairs  are  falling  all ; 

Poor  Anacreon!  how  they  foil! 

Whether  I  grow  old  or  no, 

By  these  signs  I  do  not  know ; 

By  this  I  need  not  to  be  told 
’Tis  time  to  live,  if  I  grow  old!  ’ 

“  My  father  was  much  struck  by  his  reverend 
appearance  and  cheerful  air,  and  the  beautiful 
cadence  he  gave  to  these  lines;  and,  after  the 
service,  he  was  introduced  to  the  patriarch,  who 
received  him  with  benevolent  politeness.” 

Dr.  Stevens. 

99.  AGE,  Religion  in  Old.  “  I  am  on  the 
bright  side  of  seventy,”  said  an  aged  man  of 
God  ;  “  the  bright  side,  because  nearer  to  ever* 
lasting  glory.”  “  Nature  fails,”  said  another, 
“  but  I  am  happy.”  “  My  work  is  done,”  said 
the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  when  eighty-four 
years  old  :  “  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to 
my  Father.”  To  a  humble  Christian  it  was 
remarked,  “  I  fear  you  are  near  another 
world.”  “  Fear  it,  sir  1  ”  he  replied,  “  I 
know  I  am  ;  but,  blessed  be  the  Lord  1  I  do 
not  fear  it :  I  hope  it.” 

16®.  AGE,  Unhappy.  There  cannot  live  a 
more  unhappy  creature  than  an  ill-natured  old 
man,  who  is  neither  capable  of  receiving  pleas¬ 
ures,  nor  sensible  of  doing  them  to  others. 

Sir  W.  Temple. 

191.  AGED,  Conversion  of  the.  I  have  been 

twenty  years  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel, 
and  I  do  not  believe  I  could  enumerate  three 
persons  over  fifty  years  of  age  whom  I  have 
heard  ask  the  solemn  question,  “  What  shall  I 
do  to  be  saved  ?  ”  Dr.  Bedell. 

192.  AGED,  Difference  in  the.  Mrs.  G - was 

one  day  visiting  an  aged  man,  a  friend  of 
of  her  father,  and  one  who  was  associated  with 
him  in  early  life.  Though  differing  widely  in 
sentiment,  the  two  old  men  still  felt  a  deep  in¬ 
terest  in  each  other.  Mr.  S - had  been  one 

of  those  who  run  after  the  world  and  overtake 
it.  All  that  it  can  give  he  had  obtained.  Now, 
he  inquired  of  the  state  of  his  friend,  whom  he 
knew  to  be  in  circumstances  of  far  less  external 
comfort  than  himself.  As  he  listened  to  the 
story  of  his  patience  in  suffering,  and  of  the 
cheerfulness  with  which  he  could  look  forward 


AGED. 


AELUEEMENT8. 


21 


either  to  a  longer  pilgrimage  in  this  world  or  to  I 
the  hour  of  death,  his  conscience  applied  the 
unexpressed  reproach,  and  he  exclaimed, 
“  Yes,  yes ;  you  wonder  I  cannot  be  as  quiet 
and  happy  too ;  but  think  of  the  difference : 
he  is  going  to  his  treasure,  and  I  —  I  must 
leave  mine.”  Tract  Journal. 

103.  AGED,  Duties  of  the.  An  agent  of  mis¬ 
sions  says,  “  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  an  aged 
brother  who  gave  me  forty  thousand  dollars  to 
be  divided  between  the  Freedman’s  and  For¬ 
eign  Missions.  When  I  called  on  this  brother, 
he  asked,  ‘  Have  you  come  on  a  money  tour  ? 
For,’  said  he,  ‘I  have  just  been  thinking  that 
I  have  a  little  money  which  I  should  like  to 
give  for  some  benevolent  purpose.  I  am  an 
aged  man.  My  pilgrimage  is  almost  ended. 
What  I  do,  I  must  do  quickly.  I  wish  to  show 
that  I  am  a  Christian  by  my  works ;  but  I  do 
not  depend  on  tins  for  salvation.  My  depend¬ 
ence  is  on  Jesus.’  He  said,  1  If  I  could  write, 

I  would  tell  the  aged,  that  what  they  do,  they 
must  do  quickly.’  ” 

104.  AGED,  Heathen.  Mr.  Moffat,  a  mission¬ 
ary  in  Africa,  found  an  old  woman,  sick  and 
almost  starved,  deserted  by  her  own  children, 
and  exposed  in  the  forest  to  die.  Her  bony 
limbs  did  not  tempt  the  wild  beasts  to  end  her 
misery.  The  missionary  could  not  take  her  to 
his  home,  but  placed  food  by  her  side  to  relieve 
her  till  lie  could  send  for  her.  Heathenism 
disregards  life,  both  in  infancy  and  age ;  but 
to  Christianity  it  is  always  sacred. 

105.  AIM,  A  Christian.  The  artist,  when  he 

paints,  knows  right  well  that  he  shall  not 
be  able  to  excel  Apelles;  but  that  does  not 
discourage  him  :  he  uses  his  brush  with  all  the 
greater  pains,  that  he  may,  at  least  in  some 
humble  measure,  resemble  the  great  master. 
So  the  sculptor,  though  persuaded  that  he  will 
not  rival  Praxiteles,  will  hew  out  the  marble 
still,  and  seek  to  be  as  near  the  model  as  pos¬ 
sible.  Thus  the  Christian  man  :  forgetting  all 
he  has  attained,  he  will  press  forward,  crying, 
Excelsior!  going  upwards  still,  desiring  to  be 
conformed  more  and  more  to  the  image  of 
Christ  Jesus.  Spurgeon. 

IOC.  AIM  and  Effort.  At  the  battle  of  the 
Alma,  when  one  of  the  regiments  was  being 
beaten  back  by  the  hordes  of  Russia,  the  en¬ 
sign  in  front  stood  his  ground  as  the  troops 
retreated.  The  captain  shouted  to  him  to 
bring  back  the  colors ;  but  the  reply  of  the  en¬ 
sign  was,  “  Bring  up  the  men  to  the  colors.” 

107.  AIM,  High.  Some  time  ago,  half  a  dozen 
young  men,  dressed  in  green,  were  shooting  at 
a  target  with  bows  and  arrows,  when  the  ar¬ 
rows  of  one  of  them  invariably  struck  the  earth, 
on  account  of  his  aiming  too  low.  “ Aim 
higher,”  cried  out  one  of  his  companions. 
‘■'■Aim  higher,  for  your  arrow-head  is  always 
pointed  to  the  ground.  He  that  aims  at  a 
barn-door  will  never  hit  the  weather-cock  on 
the  church-spire.” 

A  father,  giving  advice  to  his  son,  said,  “  Let 
your  objects  be  high  and  holy,  and  then  the 
High  and  Holy  One  will  give  you  strength  and 
grace  to  attain  them.” 


“What  would  you  advise  me  to  aim  at?” 
asked  a  young  man  of  a  Christian  friend.  “  At 
riches  and  honors,”  replied  his  friend,  “  if  you 
mean  to  be  satisfied  with  earth ;  but  at  Chris¬ 
tian  graces  if  you  have  any  desire  ever  to  enter 
heaven.”  G.  Mogridge. 

108.  AIM,  Importance  of  Definite.  Lieut.-Col. 
M'Leroth,  of  the  95th  British  regiment,  re¬ 
lates  the  following  anecdotes  of  the  skill  of 
sharp-shooters,  and  the  inefficacy  of  ordinary 
musketeers :  — 

In  an  action  of  some  importance,  a  mounted 
officer  of  the  enemy  was  on  the  point  of  being 
made  prisoner.  One  only  way  presented  itself, 
by  which  he  had  a  chance  of  escaping  :  this 
was  along  the  front  of  our  line,  within  musket 
range.  He  embraced  this  alternative ;  and, 
although  the  whole  brigade  fired  at  him,  both 
man  and  horse  escaped  with  impunity. 

Another  fact,  from  the  same  authority,  is 
equally  curious  :  — 

In  order  to  cover  themselves  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  enemy’s  aim,  at  the  siege  of 
Yorktown,  our  soldiers  had  each  three  bags 
of  sand  to  lay  on  the  parapet.  Two  of  these 
were  placed  with  their  ends  at  a  little  distance 
from  each  other,  and  the  third  crossed  over  the 
interval,  leaving  a  small  loop-hole  for  the  sol¬ 
diers  to  fire  through.  The  American  riflemen 
however,  were  so  expert,  that,  on  seeing  a  piece 
protruded  through  the  hole,  they  levelled  to¬ 
wards  it,  and,  penetrating  the  opening,  fre¬ 
quently  shot  the  men  through  the  head.  Percy. 

109.  ALLUREMENTS,  Satanic.  Rowland  Hill 
began  his  sermon  one  morning  by  saying,  “  My 
friends,  the  other  day  I  was  going  down  the 
street,  and  I  saw  a  drove  of  pigs  following  a 
mail.  This  excited  my  curiosity  so  much  that 
I  determined  to  follow.  I  did  so ;  and,  to  my 
great  surprise,  I  saw  them  follow  him  to  the 
slaughter-house.  I  was  anxious  to  know  how 
this  was  brought  about ;  and  I  said  to  the  man, 
‘  My  friend,  how  did  you  manage  to  induce  these 
pigs  to  follow  you  here  ?  ’  —  ‘  Oh  !  did  you  not 
see?  ’  said  the  man.  ‘  I  had  a  basket  of  beans 
under  my  arm ;  and  I  dropped  a  few  as  I  came 
along,  and  so  they  followed  me.’  Yes,”  said 
the  preacher ;  “  and  I  thought,  so  it  is  the  devil 
has  his  basket  of  beans  under  his  arm ;  and  he 
drops  them  as  he  goes  along  :  and  what  multi¬ 
tudes  he  induces  to  follow  him  to  an  everlast¬ 
ing  slaughter-house  1  Yes,  friends  ;  and  all 
your  broad  and  crowded  thoroughfares  are 
strewn  with  the  beans  of  the  devil.” 

HO.  ALLUREMENTS,  Worldly.  The  Sirens 
were  sea-nymphs  who  had  the  power  of  charm- 
ing  by  their  song  all  who  heard  them.  The 
listener  was  seized  with  an  irresistible  desire 
to  cast  himself  into  the  sea  to  his  destruction. 
Ulysses  passing  their  coast,  for  safety  filled  the 
ears  of  his  seamen  with  wax,  and  caused  him¬ 
self  to  be  bound  firmly  to  the  mast,  with  direc¬ 
tions  to  his  sailors  to  bind  him  even  more 
firmly,  though  in  passing  the  island  he  should 
order  otherwise.  As  they  approached  the  en¬ 
chanting  coast,  most  ravishing  music  came  over 
the  waters,  so  that  Ulysses  struggled  and  begged 
to  be  unloosed ;  but  they  only  bound  him  more 


90 


•AJLJLiTT  REBIKNTS. 


^VMTBITIOlSr. 


tightly.  When  they  had  passed  beyond  the 
sound  of  the  music,  Ulysses’  wisdom  returned 
to  him.  He  was  unbound  and  the  sailors’  ears 
were  unsealed. 

111.  ALLUREMENTS,  Yielding  to.  Travellers 
who  visit  the  Falls  of  Niagara  are  directed  to 
a  spot  on  the  margin  of  the  precipice  over  the 
boiling  current  below,  where  a  gay  young  lady,  a 
few  years  since,  lost  her  life.  She  was  delighted 
with  the  wonders  of  the  unrivalled  scene,  and 
ambitious  to  pluck  a  flower  from  a  cliff  where 
no  human  hand  had  before  ventured,  as  a  me¬ 
morial  of  the  cataract  and  her  own  daring. 
She  leaned  over  the  verge,  and  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  surging  waters  far  down  the  battlement 
of  rocks,  while  fear  for  a  moment  darkened  her 
excited  mind.  But  there  hung  the  lovely  blos¬ 
som  upon  which  her  heart  was  fixed ;  and  she 
leaned,  in  a  delirium  of  intense  desire  and 
anticipation,  over  the  brink.  Her  arm  was 
outstretched  to  grasp  the  beautiful  flower  which 
charmed  her  fancy  ;  the  turf  yielded  to  the 
pressure  of  her  feet;  and,  with  a  shriek,  she 
descended  like  a  falling  star  to  the  rocky  shore, 
and  was  borne  away,  gasping  in  death. 

112.  AMBITION,  Check  to,  Philip  of  Mace- 
don,  wrestling  in  the  games,  was  thrown  in  the 
sand.  Rising,  he  saw  the  marks  of  his  body,  and 
exclaimed,  “  How  little  a  parcel  of  earth  will 
hold  us,  when  we  are  dead,  who  are  ambitiously 
seeking  after  the  whole  world  while  living  I  ” 

113.  AMBITION,  Danger  of.  Daedalus  was  a 
skilful  artificer,  who  built  the  famous  labyrinth 
for  King  Minos  of  Crete,  but  afterwards  fell 
under  his  displeasure,  and  was  not  allowed  to 
leave  the  island.  He  then  designed  and  formed 
wings  of  wax  and  feathers,  for  himself  and  his 
son  Icarus,  that,  if  they  could  not  escape  by  sea, 
they  would  defy  the  king  by  flying  through  the 
air.  He  equipped  himself  and  then  his  son 
for  flight,  giving  him  the  following  directions  : 
“  Icarus,  my  son,  I  charge  you  to  keep  at  a 
moderate  height;  for  if  you  fly  too  low,  the  damp  1 
will  clog  your  wings  ;  and  if  too  high,  the  heat 
will  melt  them.  Keep  near  me,  and  you  will  be 
safe.”  They  rose,  and  flew  through  the  air,  and 
the  ploughmen  beneath  mistook  them  for  gods. 
At  length  the  boy  Icarus  grew  confident  and 
exultant,  and,  leaving  his  father’s  care,  soared 
upward.  The  sun’s  blaze  softened  the  wax  that 
held  the  feathers  of  his  wings  in  place,  and 
they  fell  out.  His  arms  moved,  but  would  not 
sustain  him ;  and  down,  down  he  fell,  and  was 
drowned  in  the  sea  beneath. 

114.  AMBITION,  End  of.  Take  the  four 
greatest  rulers,  perhaps,  that  ever  sat  upon  a 
throne.  Alexander ,  when  he  had  so  completely 
subdued  the  nations  that  he  wept  because  there 
w<ie  no  more  to  conquer,  at  last  set  fire  to 
a  city,  and  died  in  a  scene  of  debauch.  Han¬ 
nibal,  who  filled  three  bushels  with  the  gold 
rings  taken  from  the  slaughtered  knights,  died 
at  last  by  poison  administered  by  his  own  hand, 
unwept  and  unknown,  in  a  foreign  land.  Cce- 
sar,  having  conquered  eight  hundred  cities,  and 
dyed  his  garments  with  the  blood  of  one  mil¬ 
lion  of  his  foes,  was  stabbed  by  his  best  friends 
in  the  very  place  which  had  been  the  scene  of 


his  greatest  triumph.  Napoleon,  after  being 
the  scourge  of  Europe,  and  the  dcsolator  of  his 
country,  died  in  banishment,  conquered  and  a 
captive.  Bowes. 

115.  AMBITION,  Madness  of.  I  have  read  of 

Menccrates,  a  physician,  that  would  needs  be 
counted  a  god,  and  took  no  other  fee  of  his 
patients  but  their  vow  to  worship  him.  Dio¬ 
nysius  Syracusanus,  hearing  of  this,  invited  him 
to  a  banquet;  and,  to  honor  him  according  to 
his  desire,  set  before  him  nothing  but  a  censer 
of  frankincense,  with  the  smoke  whereof  he 
was  feasted  till  he  starved,  while  others  fed 
on  good  meat.  This  showed  the  great  natural¬ 
ist  a  natural  fool,  a  madman.  Sapor,  a  Persian 
king,  wrote  himself  “  King  of  kings,  Brother  to 
the  Sun  and  Moon,  and  Partner  with  the  Stars.” 
Yet,  alas  1  he  was  a  man,  therefore  a  madman 
in  the  arrogation  of  his  style.  T.  Adams. 

116.  AMBITION,  Never  Satisfied.  Cineas,  when 
dissuading  Pyrrhus  from  undertaking  a  war 
against  the  Romans,  said,  “  Sir,  when  you  have 
conquered  them,  what  will  you  do  next  ?  ”  — 
“  Then  Sicily  is  near  at  hand,  and  easy  to  mas¬ 
ter.”  —  “  And  what  when  you  have  conquered 
Sicily  V  ”  —  “  Then  we  will  pass  over  to  Africa, 
and  take  Carthage,  which  cannot  long  with¬ 
stand  us.”  —  “  When  these  are  conquered, 
what  will  be  your  next  attempt  ?  ”  —  “  Then,” 
said  Pyrrhus,  “  we  will  fall  in  upon  Greece  and 
Macedon,  and  recover  what  we  have  lost  there.” 
—  “  Well,  when  all  are  subdued,  what  fruit  do 
you  expect  from  all  your  victories  ?  ”  — 

Then,”  said  he,  “  we  will  sit  down  and  enjoy 
ourselves.”  —  “  Sir,”  replied  Cineas,  il  may  we 
not  do  it  now  ?  Have  you  not  already  a  king¬ 
dom  of  your  own?  And  he  that  cannot  enjoy 
himself  with  a  kingdom,  cannot  with  the  whole 
world.” 

117.  AMBITION,  Reckless,  Mythology  rep¬ 
resents  Phaeton  as  the  son  of  Apollo.  One 
day  he  went  home  enraged  because  a  school¬ 
fellow  laughed  at  the  idea  of  his  being  the  son 
of  a  god.  He  reported  it  to  his  mother,  and 
she  appealed  to  the  Sun  to  acknowledge  him 
in  that  relation.  Clymene  directed  Phaeton 
to  go  to  the  palace  of  Apollo,  and  demand 
whether  he  would  own  him  as  a  son.  With 
delight  he  made  the  journey,  and  in  astonish¬ 
ment  gazed  upon  the  golden  columns,  ivory 
ceilings,  and  silver  doors  in  the  palace  of  the 
Sun.  He  approached  the  throne  on  which  sat 
his  reputed  lather.  The  Sun  beheld  the  daz¬ 
zled  youth,  and  inquired  his  errand.  He  re¬ 
plied,  “  O  Phoebus,  my  father  1  give  me  some 
proof  by  which  I  may  be  known  as  yours.” 
His  father  said,  “  I  confirm  your  mother  s 
words.  Ask  what  you  will,  the  gift  shall  be 
yours.”  Phaeton,  elated,  asked  to  be  allowed 
to  drive  the  chariot  of  the  Sun  tor  a  single 
day.  The  father  repented  his  rash  promise, 
and  said,  “  I  beg  you  to  withdraw  this  request. 
It  is  not  a  safe  boon,  nor  one  suited  to  your 
age  and  strength,  my  Phaeton.  In  your  igno¬ 
rance,  you  aspire  to  do  that  which  not  even  the 
gods  themselves  may  do.  None  but  myself 
may  drive  the  flaming  car  of  day, — not  even 
Jupiter,  whose  right  arm  hurls  the  thunder- 


AJMBITION. 


-AjyrCJSElMETvrTS. 


bolts.  The  first  part  of  the  way  is  steep,  and 
such  as  the  horses  when  fresh  in  the  morning 
can  hardly  climb;  the  middle  is  high  up  in 
the  heavens,  whence  I  myself  can  scarcely, 
without  alarm,  look  down,  and  behold  the 
earth  and  sea  stretched  out  beneath  me; 
the  last  part  of  the  road  descends  rapidly, 
and  requires  most  careful  driving.  The  heav¬ 
en  is  all  the  time  revolving,  and  carrying  the 
stars  with  it.  The  road  is  beset  with  fright¬ 
ful  monsters.  The  horses,  breathing  fire  from 
their  nostrils,  are  not  easily  governed.  Be¬ 
ware,  my  son,  lest  I  be  the  donor  of  a  fatal  gift. 
Let  my  fears  for  you  prove  your  sonship.  It 
is  not  honor,  but  destruction,  you  seek.  Ask 
any  thing  else,  and  fear  no  refusal ;  but,  I  beg 
you,  choose  more  wisely.”  The  admonition 
was  vainly  given,  as  usual  with  reckless  youth. 
Phaeton  persisted,  and  was  led  by  Phoebus  to 
the  lofty  chariot,  which  flamed  with  gold,  sil¬ 
ver,  and  precious  stones.  The  Hours  har¬ 
nessed  up  the  steeds.  The  father  prepared  the 
son  for  his  perilous  service,  and  gave  him  di¬ 
rections  to  follow  the  marks  of'  the  wheels 
through  the  middle  zone.  The  youth  seized 
the  reins  with  delight,  stood  up  in  the  chariot, 
and  drove  the  snorting  horses  furiously  forth. 
The  steeds,  conscious  of  a  lighter  load  than 
usual,  dashed  on,  tossing  the  chariot  as  a  ship 
at  sea,  and  rushed  headlong  from  the  travelled 
road.  The  Great  and  Little  Bear  were 
scorched,  and  the  serpent  that  coils  around  the 
north-pole  was  warmed  to  life.  Appalled  with 
fear,  Phaeton  lost  self-control,  and  looked  re¬ 
pentant  to  the  goal  whi.h  lie  could  never  reach. 
The  unrestrained  steeds  whirled  off  among  the 
stars,  and,  anon  nearing  the  earth,  ignited 
cities,  forests,  harvests,  mountains.  The  air 
became  hot  and  lurid.  The  waters  dried  up. 
The  earth  appealed  to  Jupiter  for  redress. 
He  thundered,  and  launched  a  lightning-bolt 
against  the  reckless  charioteer,  striking  him 
from  his  seat  and  from  existence.  The  Naiads 
reared  him  a  tomb,  and  inscribed  his  epitaph  : 

“  Driver  of  Phoebus’  chariot,  Phaeton, 

Struck  by  Jove’s  thunder,  rests  beneath  this  stone. 

He  could  not  rule  his  father’s  car  of  fire; 

Yet  was  it  much  so  nobly  to  aspire.” 

118.  AMBITION,  Slavery  of,  A  slave  has  but 
one  master  :  the  ambitious  man  has  as  many 
masters  as  there  are  persons  whose  aid  may 
contribute  to  the  advancement  of  his  fortunes. 

La  Bruyere. 

110.  AMBITION,  Unhappiness  of.  Look  at  the 
tender  climbing  plant  of  summer  :  it  takes  hold 
of  some  object,  and  creeps  along  upward  till  its 
tendrils  shoot  high  and  beautifully  into  the  air ; 
but  the  prop  is  taken  away,  and  there  it  stands, 
reaching  out  its  fingers  for  something  to  fasten 
upon :  full  of  life  and  vigor  still,  but  sinking 
because  its  support  is  taken  away,  and  falling 
like  a  worthless  weed  to  the  ground.  Such, 
even  at  the  very  moment  of  its  greatest  vigor, 
is  often  the  state  of  those  who  seek  worldly 
greatness.  Look  at  all  history :  when  were  its 
great  men  so  wretched,  as  when  they  had  at¬ 
tained  the  highest  point  of  exaltation  ?  “  He 


has  gained  every  thing,”  said  a  companion  of 
Napoleon,  when  he  was  in  the  zenith  of  pros¬ 
perity,  “  and  yet  he  is  unhappy.”  Lewis. 

120.  AMBITION,  Vanity  of.  Dreams  indeed 

are  ambition,  for  the  very  substance  of  the 
ambitious  is  merely  the  shadow  of  a  dream. 
And  I  hold  ambition  of  so  light  a  quality  that 
it  is  but  a  shadow’s  shadow.  Shakspeare. 

121.  AMEN,  Ancient  Use  of.  St.  Jerome  tells 

us,  it  was  the  custom  in  his  days  to  close  up 
every  prayer  with  such  an  unanimous  consent, 
that  their  amens  rung  and  echoed  in  the 
church,  and  sounded  like  the  fall  of  waters 
or  the  noise  of  thunder.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

122.  AMEN,  Chinese.  The  Chinese  have  no 
word  which  will  compare  with  our  English 
word  “  Amen  ;  ”  they  say,  instead,  Sin.  yenen 
ching  sing.  “  The  heart  wishes  exactly  so.” 

023.  AMEN,  Meaning  of.  When  it  is  prefixed 
before,  it  is  assertory  ;  as  in  the  Evangelists : 
“Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee;”  that  is, 
“  Amen,  amen,  I  say  unto  thee  ;  ”  which  is  a 
vehement  assertion  of  the  truth  and  necessity 
of  what  he  speaks.  When  it  is  subjoined  and 
used  at  the  end  of  a  speech  or  prayer,  it  is 
precatory,  and  signifies  our  earnest  desire  to 
have  our  prayers  heard  and  our  petitions 
granted ;  as,  “  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  :  Amen 
and  amen,”  &c. 

In  the  former  sense  it  signifies  So  it  is :  in 
the  latter,  So  be  it.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

124.  AMIABILITY,  in  Religion.  The  bril¬ 

liancy  of  the  most  valuable  diamond  may  be 
hidden  by  earthly  incrustations,  the  lustre  of 
gold  may  be  dimmed  for  want  of  polish,  and 
the  most  majestic  portrait  be  half  covered  with 
dust  or  mildew.  So  religion,  which  is  more 
precious  than  rubies,  more  valuable  than  gold, 
and  the  very  image  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man, 
may  have  its  worth  and  its  excellence  depre¬ 
ciated  by  infirmities  of  temper,  and  a  want  of 
amiable  deportment.  Be  it  your  desire,  your 
endeavor,  your  prayer,  to  unite  the  holy  and 
the  amiable  :  let  the  diamond  with  its  flashing 
hues  be  thus  seen  in  its  most  tasteful  setting, 
the  gold  in  its  brightest  polish,  and  the  picture 
exhibiting  the  freshest  colors,  and  surrounded 
by  the  richest  frame.  J .  A.  James. 

125.  AMUSEMENTS,  Legend  of.  As  St.  Cuth- 
bert  was  one  day  playing  at  ball  with  his  com¬ 
panions,  there  stood  among  them  a  fair  young 
child,  the  fairest  creature  ever  eye  beheld;  and 
he  said  to  St.  Cuthbert,  “  Good  brother,  leave 
these  vain  plays  ;  set  not  thy  heart  upon  them ; 
mind  thy  book  :  has  not  God  chosen  tliee  out 
to  be  great  in  his  Church  ?  ”  But  Cuthbert 
heeded  him  not ;  and  the  fair  child  wrung  his 
hands,  and  wept,  and  threw  himself  down  on 
the  ground  in  great  heaviness.  And  when 
Cuthbert  ran  to  comfort  him,  he  said, 
“  Nay,  my  brother,  it  is  for  thee  I  weep, 
that  preferest  thy  vain  sports  to  the  teaching 
of  the  servants  of  God ;  ”  and  then  he  vanished 
suddenly,  and  Cuthbert  knew  that  it  was  an 
angel  that  had  spoken  to  him  ;  and  from  that 
time  forth  his  piety  and  love  of  learning  rec¬ 
ommended  him  to  the  notice  of  the  good  TPrior 


24 


A^ITJSEMEIVTS. 


-AJPVGrEIjS. 


of  Melrose,  who  instructed  him  carefully  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  And  lie  became  celebrated 
for  his  piety,  eloquence,  and  missionary  labors. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

12G.  AMUSEMENTS,  Rescue  from.  A  man 
asked  Mr.  Phillips  what  was  the  object  of  his 
life.  “  To  benefit  the  negro,”  was  the  reply. 

“  Then  why  don’t  you  go  down  South  to  do 
it?  ” 

“  That  is  worth  thinking  of.  I  see  a  white 
cravat  around  your  neck  :  pray  what  is  the  ob¬ 
ject  of  your  life  ?  ”  —  “  To  save  souls  from  hell.” 

“  May  I  ask  whether  you  propose  to  go  there 
to  do  it  ?  ”  No  more  is  it  necessary  to  enter 
the  ball-room  or  theatre  to  rescue  the  votaries 
©f  pleasure. 

127.  ANCESTRY,  Fable  of.  “  Gentlemen,” 
6aid  old  Tea-kettle,  that  lay  in  the  corner  of 
a  shed  in  which  some  worn-out  locomotives 
had  been  stowed  away,  —  “  gentlemen,  I  am 
sorry  to  see  you  in  this  place ;  I  wasn’t  brought 
here  till  I  had  more  than  once  lost  my  spout 
and  handle,  and  been  patched  and  soldered 
till  very  little  of  my  original  was  left.  I  con¬ 
clude,  therefore,  that,  like  me,  you  have  seen 
your  best  days,  and  are  to  be  laid  aside  as  use¬ 
less.” 

The  locomotives  frowned  at  one  another,  but 
didn’t  answer. 

“  Well,  gentlemen  and  brothers,”  cried  the 
kettle  again,  “  don’t  be  down-hearted  :  we  have 
played  busy  and  useful  parts  in  our  day,  and 
may  comfort  ourselves  now  in  thinking  over  the 
things  we  have  respectively  achieved.  As  for 
me,  the  remembrance  of  the  domestic  delight 
and  refreshment  that  I  have  been  the  means  of 
affording  affects  me  deeply.” 

“  What  is  that  little  old  tin  whistle  about 
up  in  the  corner  ?  ”  asked  one  of  the  locomo¬ 
tives  of  his  companion.  “  Who  are  his  broth¬ 
ers  ?  ” 

“  Hey-day  1  is  that  it  ?  ”  cried  the  kettle,  all 
alive  with  indignation.  “  So  you  don’t  own  the 
relationship  ?  Let  me  tell  you,  with  all  your 
pitiful  pride,  that,  though  you  won't  own  me  as 
a  brother,  I  am  father  and  mother  to  you ;  for 
who  would  ever  have  heard  of  a  steam-engine 
if  it  hadn’t  been  for  a  tea-kettle  ?  ” 

Leisure  Hours. 

128.  ANCESTRY,  Search  for.  Frederick  of  Sax¬ 

ony,  surnamed  the  Sage,  rendered  his  claim  to 
this  title  doubtful,  by  his  attention  to  the  de¬ 
scent  of  his  family.  A  celebrated  genealogist 
had  told  him  that  a  copy  of  his  pedigree  was 
preserved  in  Noah’s  ark.  To  substantiate  this 
account,  the  prince  neglected  all  affairs  of  state, 
to  the  great  regret  of  his  ministers,  who  remon¬ 
strated  with  him  on  the  absurdity  ;  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  At  length,  his  cook,  who  was  his 
favorite  buffoon,  desired  an  audience  of  him, 
when  he  told  the  emperor  that  this  curiosity 
to  know  his  origin  was  neither  useful  nor  hon¬ 
orable.  “  At  present,”  said  the  jester,  “  I  look 
upon  you  as  subordinate  only  to  the  Deity ; 
but,  if  you  search  into  Noah’s  ark,  perhaps  I 
shall  discover  that  you  and  I  are  cousins,  as  we 
have  all  had  our  relations  there.”  Percy. 


129.  ANCESTRY,  Sneering  at.  “  You  are  the 
first  of  your  line,”  sneered  an  opponent  to 
Cicero.  'He  retorted,  “And  you  are  the  last 
of  yours.” 

130.  ANGEL,  Legend  of  the  Destroying.  When 
Rome  was  nearly  depopulated  by  a  pestilence 
in  the  sixth  century,  bt.  Gregory,  afterwards 
pope,  advised  that  a  procession  should  be  made 
through  the  streets  of  the  city,  singing  the  ser¬ 
vice  since  called  the  Great  Litanies.  He  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  faithful,  and,  during 
three  days,  they  perambulated  the  city ;  and  on 
the  third  day,  when  they  had  arrived  opposite 
to  the  mole  of  Hadrian,  Gregory  beheld  the 
Archangel  Michael  alight  on  the  summit  of 
that  monument,  and  sheathe  his  sword  be- 
dropped  with  blood.  Then  Gregory  knew 
that  the  plague  was  stayed ;  and  a  ehurch  was 
there  dedicated  to  the  honor  of  the  archangel, 
and  the  tomb  of  Hadrian  has  since  been  called 
the  Castle  of  Sant’  Angelo  to  this  day. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

131.  ANGEL,  Visit  of  an.  A  dying  Christian 
soldier  requested  the  nurse  to  bring  two  cups 
of  water,  one  for  himself  and  another  for  his 
friend,  who,  he  said,  had  come  a  long  distance, 
and  must  be  tired.  The  startled  nurse  said, 
“  I  don’t  see  anybody  here.”  —  “  Don’t  you  see 
him  ?  ”  said  the  soldier,  pointing  into  the  vacant 
air.  “  There  is  some  one  standing  by  the  bed¬ 
side.”  Soon  the  soldier’s  freed  spirit  and  its 
angel  escort  sped  towards  the  deathless  land. 

132.  ANGELS,  Fallen.  “  Now,”  says  the  old 
legend,  “  if  it  be  asked  wherelore  the  books 
of  Moses,  in  revealing  the  disobedience  and 
the  fall  of  man,  are  silent  as  to  the  revolt  and 
fall  of  the  angels,  the  reason  is  plain;  and,  in 
this,  God  acted  according  to  his  wisdom.  For 
let  us  suppose  that  a  certain  powerful  lord 
hath  two  vassals,  both  guilty  of  the  crime  of 
treason,  and  one  of  these  is  a  nobleman  of  pure 
and  lofty  lineage,  and  the  other  a  base-born 
churl,  —  what  doth  this  lord  ?  He  hangs  up 
the  churl  in  the  market-place  as  a  warning  and 
example  to  others ;  but  for  the  nobleman,  fear¬ 
ing  the  scandal  that  may  arise  among  the  peo¬ 
ple,  and  perhaps  also  some  insult  to  the  officers 
of  the  law,  the  judge  causes  him  to  be  tried 
secretly,  and  shuts  him  up  in  a  dungeon ;  and, 
when  judgment  is  pronounced  against  him,  he 
sends  to  his  prison,  and  puts  him  privately  to 
death ;  and  when  one  asketh  after  him,  the 
answer  is  only,  ‘  He  is  dead :  ’  and  nothing 
more.  Thus  did  God  in  respect  to  the  rebel 
angels  of  old ;  and  their  fate  was  not  revealea 
until  the  redemption  of  man  was  accomplished.” 

133.  ANGELS,  Guardian.  The  fathers  of  the 
Christian  Church  taught  that  every  human 
being,  from  the  hour  of  his  birth  to  that  of  his 
death,  is  accompanied  by  an  angel  appointed 
to  watch  over  him.  The  Mahometans  give  to 
each  of  us  a  good  and  an  evil  angel ;  but  the 
early  Christians  supposed  us  to  be  attended 
each  by  a  good  angel  only,  who  undertakes 
that  office,  not  merely  from  duty  to  God,  and 
out,  of  obedience  and  great  humility,  but  as 
inspired  by  exceeding  charity  and  love  towards 
liis  human  charge.  It  would  require  tho 


-AJSTG-ELiS. 


-AJN’GrKR. 


25 


tongues  of  angels  themselves  to  recite  all 
that  we  owe  to  these  benign  and  vigilant 
guardians.  They  watch  by  the  cradle  of  the 
new-born  babe,  and  spread  their  celestial 
•wings  round  the  tottering  steps  of  infancy. 
If  the  path  of  life  be  difficult  and  thorny,  and 
evil  spirits  work  us  shame  and  woe,  they  sus¬ 
tain  us ;  they  bear  the  voice  of  our  complain¬ 
ing,  of  our  supplication,  of  our  repentance,  up 
to  the  foot  of  God’s  throne,  and  bring  us  back 
in  return  a  pitying  benediction  to  strengthen 
and  to  cheer.  When  passion  and  temptation 
6trive  for  the  mastery,  they  encourage  us  to 
resist :  when  we  conquer,  they  crown  us  ; 
when  we  falter  and  fail,  they  compassionate 
and  grieve  over  us ;  when  we  are  obstinate  in 
polluting  our  own  souls,  and  perverted  not 
only  in  act,  but  in  will,  they  leave  us :  and 
woe  to  them  that  are  so  left  1  But  the  good 
angel  does  not  quit  his  charge  until  his  pro¬ 
tection  is  despised,  rejected,  and  utterly  re¬ 
pudiated.  Wonderful  the  fervor  of  their  love, 
wonderful  their  meekness  and  patience,  who 
endure  from  day  to  day  the  spectacle  of 
the  unveiled  human  heart  with  all  its  misera¬ 
ble  weaknesses  and  vanities,  its  inordinate 
desires  and  selfish  purposes !  Constant  to  us 
in  death,  they  contend  against  the  powers  of 
darkness  for  the  emancipated  spirit. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

134.  All GELS,  Guard  of.  We  read  of  a 
Christian  youth  on  whom  his  persecutors  put 
in  practice  a  more  than  common  share  of  their 
ingenuity,  that,  by  his  torments,  they  might 
compel  him  to  deny  his  Lord  and  Saviour. 

After  a  long  endurance  of  those  pains,  they 
released  him,  in  wonder  at  his  obstinacy.  Ilis 
Christian  brethren  are  said  to  have  wondered 
too,  and  to  have  asked  him  by  what  mighty 
faith  he  could  so  strangely  subdue  the  violence 
of  the  fire  as  that  neither  a  cry  nor  a  groan 
escaped  him. 

“  It  was  indeed  most  painful,”  was  the  noble 
youth’s  reply ;  “  but  an  angel  stood  by  me 
when  my  anguish  was  at  the  worst,  and,  with 
his  finger,  pointed  to  heaven.” 

135.  ANGELS,  Guides.  There  was  a  picture 
of  a  little  child  in  the  dress  of  a  pilgrim, 
walking  slowly  along  a  narrow  path  which  was 
bounded  on  each  side  by  a  terrific  precipice, 
the  edges  of  which  were  hidden  from  his  view 
by  a  luxuriant  thicket  of  fruits  and  flowers. 
Behind  the  child  was  an  angel,  with  a  coun¬ 
tenance  of  mixed  tenderness  and  anxiety,  his 
hands  placed  lightly  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
little  pilgrim,  as  if  to  keep  him  in  the  centre 
of  the  path,  while  the  child,  having  closed  his 
eyes  that  he  might  not  perceive  the  tempting 
snares  on  either  side,  is  walking  calmly  for¬ 
ward,  content  not  to  see  where  he  plants  each 
footstep,  so  long  as  he  feels  the  gentle  and 
guiding  touch  of  the  angel  upon  him.  His 
whole  aspect  is  that  of  peace,  confidence,  and 
conscious  safety,  so  long  as  he  follows  the 
guidance  of  his  heavenly  monitor,  and  presses 
onward  in  his  way. 

136.  ANGELS,  Ministry  of.  In  the  ecclesias¬ 
tical  history  of  Socrates,  there  is  mention 


made  of  one  Theodoras,  a  martyr  put  to  ex¬ 
treme  torments  by  Julian  the  Apostate,  and 
dismissed  again  by  him  when  he  saw  him 
unconquerable.  Ruffinus,  in  his  history,  saith, 
that  he  met  with  this  martyr  a  long  time  after 
his  trial,  and  asked  him  whether  the  pains  he 
felt  were  not  insufferable.  He  answered,  that 
at  first  it  was  somewhat  grievous  ;  but,  after  a 
while,  there  seemed  to  stand  by  him  a  young 
man  in  white,  who,  with  a  soft  and  comfortable 
handkerchief,  wiped  off  the  sweat  from  his 
body  (which,  through  extreme  anguish,  was 
little  less  than  blood),  and  bade  him  be  of  good 
cheer,  insomuch  as  then  it  was  rather  a  punish¬ 
ment  than  a  pleasure  to  him  to  be  taken  off 
the  rack  :  when  the  tormentors  had  done,  the 
angel  was  gone.  Thus  it  is  that  the  blersed 
angels  of  God  have  ministered  from  time  to 
time  to  his  people,  in  the  days  of  their  dis¬ 
tress.  They  pity  our  human  frailties,  and 
secretly  suggest  comfort,  when  we  perceive  it 
not ;  they  are  as  ready  to  help  us  as  the  bad 
angels  are  to  tempt  us;  always  they  stand 
looking  on  the  face  of  God  to  receive  orders, 
which  they  no  sooner  have  than  they  readily 
despatch.  Spencer. 

137.  ANGELS,  Sympathy  of.  Oh  1  there  are 
no  tears  in  heaven ;  but,  when  angels  come 
down  to  earth,  it  may  be  they  can  fall  into 
companionship  with  human  sadness,  and  even 
learn  to  weep ;  and  where  is  the  spectacle 
which  shall  wring  tears  from  eyes  which  they 
were  never  meant  to  stain,  if  it  be  not  that  of 
the  obstinate  rejection  of  the  gospel  of  recon¬ 
ciliation,  and  of  careless  trifling  with  a  thing 
so  inestimably  precious  as  the  soul  ?  Old  men, 
buried  with  your  gold,  angels  weep  over 
you  !  Young  men,  frittering  away  your  days 
in  vanities  and  pleasures,  angels  weep  over 
you  1  H.  Melvill. 

!3§.  ANGER,  Brief.  The  English,  by  command 
of  William  the  Conqueror,  always  raked  up  their 
fires  and  put  out  their  candles  when  the  curfew- 
bell  was  rung ;  some  part  of  which  laudable 
custom  of  those  times  remaineth  yet,  in  the 
ringing  of  our  eight  or  nine  o’clock  bell.  Let 
it  then  mind  us  thus  inucb  ;  that  the  sun  go  not 
down  upon  our  wrath  ;  let  it  not  carry  news  to 
the  antipodes  in  another  world  of  our  revenge¬ 
ful  nature,  but  rather  quench  all  sparks  of  an¬ 
ger,  rake  up  all  heat  of  passion  that  may  arise 
within  us.  Spencer. 

130.  ANGER,  Companion  of.  Lamentation  is 
the  only  musician  that  always,  like  a  screech- 
owl,  alights  and  sits  on  the  roof  of  an  angry 
man.  Plutarch. 

140.  ANGER,  Control  of.  Socrates,  finding 
himself  in  great  emotion  against  a  slave,  said, 
“  I  would  beat  you  it'  I  were  not  angry.”  Hav¬ 
ing  received  a  box  on  the  ear,  he  contented 
himself  by  only  saying,  with  a  smile,  “  It  is  a 
pity  we  do  not  know  when  to  put  on  a  helmet.” 
Socrates  meeting  a  gentleman  of  rank  in  the 
streets,  saluted  him  ;  but  the  gentleman  took  no 
notice  of  it.  His  friends  in  company,  observing 
what  passed,  told  the  philosopher  “  they  were 
so  exasperated  at  the  man’s  incivility,  that  they 
had  a  good  mind  to  resent  it.”  But  he  very 


26 


AJSTGKER. 


AisnsrauLATioisr. 


calmly  made  answer,  “  If  you  meet  any  person 
in  the  road  in  a  worse  habit  of  body  than  your¬ 
self,  would  you  think  you  had  reason  to  be  en¬ 
raged  at  him  on  that  account  ?  Pray,  then, 
what  greater  reason  can  you  have  for  being 
incensed  at  a  man  for  a  worse  habit  of  mind 
than  any  of  yourselves  ?  ” 

141.  ANGER,  Cure  for.  “I  have  heard  of  a 
married  couple,”  says  Matthew  Henry,  “  who 
were  both  passionate  naturally,  but  who  lived 
very  happily  together,  by  simply  observing  this 
rule :  neccr  to  be  both  angry  at  the  same  time.” 

It  is  said  of  Julius  Cmsar,  that,  when  pro¬ 
voked,  he  used  to  repeat  the  whole  Roman  al¬ 
phabet  before  he  suffered  himself  to  speak. 

142.  ANGER,  Deformity  of.  The  angry  man  is 
compared  to  a  ship  sent  into  the  sea,  which 
hath  the  Devil  for  its  pilot.  The  anger  of  mor¬ 
tal  man  should  be  mortal  like  himself.  But  we 
say  of  many,  as  Valerius  Maximus  of  Sylla,  it 
is  a  question,  whether  they  or  their  anger  die 
first,  or  whether  death  prevents  them  both  to¬ 
gether.  If  you  look  into  this  troubled  sea  of 
anger,  and  desire  to  see  the  image  of  a  man, 
behold,  you  find  fiery  eyes,  a  faltering  tongue, 
gnashing  teeth,  a  heart  boiling  in  brine  and 
drying  up  the  moisture  of  the  flesh ;  till  there 
be  scarce  any  part  left  of  his  right  composition. 

T.  Adams. 

143.  ANGER,  El  us  t  rat  ion  of.  Some  time  ago, 
in  India,  two  little  children  were  asleep  in  a 
bungalow,  when  a  tiger  came  out  of  the  jungles 
after  something  to  eat.  He  scented  the  chil¬ 
dren,  and  broke  into  the  bungalow  after  them. 
But  the  first  thing  the  tiger  saw  was  a  looking- 
glass,  and  in  the  looking-glass  he  saw  a  tiger. 
The  tiger  did  not  know  it  was  himself,  so  he 
growled  and  grew  angry ;  and  the  tiger  in  the 
looking-glass  growled  and  grew  angry.  That 
made  him  furious,  and  lie  sprang  at  the  tiger 
in  the  glass,  which,  of  course,  smashed  the  glass 
into  a  thousand  pieces;  and  it  frightened  the 
tiger  so  that  he  was  glad  to  run  off. 

144.  ANGER,  Nature  of.  There  is  an  anger 

that  is  damnable  :  it  is  the  anger  of  selfishness. 
There  is  an  anger  that  is  majestic  as  the  frown 
of  Jehovah’s  brow  :  it  is  the  anger  of  truth 
and  love.  If  a  man  meets  with  injustice,  it  is 
not  required  that  he  shall  not  be  roused  to  meet 
it ;  but  if  he  is  angry  after  he  has  had  time  to 
think  upon  it,  that  is  sinful.  The  flame  is  not 
wrong,  but  the  coals  are.  Beecher. 

145.  ANGER,  Provocation  to.  As  small  letters 

hurt  the  sight,  so  do  small  matters  him  that  is 
too  much  intent  upon  them  :  they  vex  and  stir 
up  anger,  which  begets  an  evil  habit  in  him  in 
reference  to  greater  affairs.  Plutarch. 

146.  ANGER,  Restraining.  I  am  naturally  as 

irritable  as  any  ;  but  when  I  find  anger,  or  pas¬ 
sion,  or  any  other  evil  temper  arise  in  my  mind, 
immediately  I  go  to  my  Redeemer ;  and,  con¬ 
fessing  my  sins,  I  give  myself  up  to  be  managed 
by  him.  Clarke. 

147.  ANGER,  Result  of.  Two  boys,  named 
Augustus  and  Eugene,  were  playing  top.  They 
had  but  one  top,  which  they  spun  alternately. 
At  length  they  began  to  contend  and  grow 
angry.  Eugene  said,  “  It  is  my  turn  to  whirl 


the  top.”  Augustus  said,  “  You  lie.”  They 
seized  each  other  in  a  great  rage ;  and,  in  the 
scuffle,  Eugene  took  a  sharp  knife  from  his 
pocket,  and  stabbed  Augustus,  so  that  he  died 
in  a  few  moments.  One  lost  his  life,  the  other 
became  a  murderer,  merely  to  determine  whose 
turn  it  was  to  spin  a  top  1 

148.  ANGER,  Righteous.  One  of  the  late 
Dr.  Spencer’s  parishioners  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y., 
met  him  hurriedly  urging  his  way  down  the 
street,  one  day  ;  his  lip  was  set,  and  there  was 
something  strange  in  that  gray  eye.  “  How 
are  you  to-day,  doctor  ?  ”  he  said  pleasantly. 
He  waked  as  from  a  dream,  and  replied  soberly, 
“  I  am  mad  1  ”  It  was  a  new  word  for  a  mild, 
true-hearted  Christian  ;  but  he  waited,  and, 
with  a  deep,  earnest  voice  went  on  :  “  I  found 
a  widow  standing  by  her  goods  thrown  in  the 
street.  She  could  not  pay  the  month’s  rent :  the 
landlord  turned  her  out ;  and  one  of  her  chil¬ 
dren  is  going  to  die.  And  that  man  is  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  church  1  I  told  her  to  take  her 
things  back  again.  I  am  on  my  way  to  see 
him  1  ” 

149.  ANGER,  Treatment  of.  It  is  an  easy  mat¬ 

ter  to  stop  the  fire  that  is  kindled  only  in  hair, 
wool,  candle-wick,  or  a  little  chaff;  but,  if  it 
once  have  taken  hold  ofmatter  thathath  solidity 
and  thickness,  it  soon  inflames  and  consumes, — 
“  Advanced,  the  highest  timber  of  the  roof ;  ” 
as  iEsehylus  saith ;  so  that  he  that  observes 
anger  while  it  is  in  the  beginning,  and  sees  it 
by  degrees  smoking  and  taking  fire  from  some 
speech,  or  chaff-like  scurrility,  he  need  take  no 
great  pains  to  extinguish  it,  but  oftentimes  puts 
an  end  to  it  only  by  silence  or  neglect.  For,  as 
he  that  adds  no  fuel  to  fire  hath  already  as  good 
as  put  it  out,  so  he  that  doth  not  feed  anger  at 
the  first,  nor  blow  the  fire  in  himself,  hath  pre¬ 
vented  and  destroyed  it.  Plutarch. 

156.  ANIMALS,  Treatment  of.  A  woodchuck 
once  helped  himself  to  what  vegetables  he 
wanted  in  Mr.  Webster’s  garden.  Ezekiel 
Webster,  his  son,  set  a  trap  and  caught  him, 
and  said,  “Now  we’ll  kill  the  thief:  you’ve 
done  mischief  enough  to  die,  Mr.  Woodchuck, 
and  you  shall  die.”  His  brother  Daniel  pleaded 
for  his  release.  The  case  was  brought  before 
the  father,  who  acted  as  judge.  Ezekiel  pre¬ 
sented  the  vicious  habits  of  the  prisoner,  the 
damage  already  done  to  the  garden,  and  the 
value  of  his  skin,  as  reasons  why  he  ought  to 
die.  Daniel  pleaded  that  the  woodchuck  was 
one  of  the  creatures  of  God,  not  particularly 
vicious,  having  a  right  to  food,  life,  and  liberty. 
He  urged  the  cruelty  of  taking  the  life  of  the 
helpless  creature.  The  plea  so  moved  the 
father  that  he  cried,  “  Zeke,  Zeke,  let  the 
woodchuck  gol”  This  was  Daniel  Webster’s 
first  case,  won  when  he  was  only  ten  years  old. 

151.  ANNIHILATION,  Impossibility  of.  The 
phenomena  of  solutions  afford  some  of  the 
most  obvious  illustrations  of  complete  change 
produced  in  bodies  without  causing  their  anni¬ 
hilation.  If  a  piece  of  silver  be  immersed  in 
diluted  nitre,  its  specific  gravity,  all  the  char¬ 
acteristics  which  distinguish  it  as  a  metal, 
which,  a  few  minutes  before,  was  immersed  in 


ANSWER. 


ANXIETY. 


27 


the  mixture,  are  apparently  annihilated.  The 
liquid,  however,  remains  as  limpid  as  before ; 
it  presents  no  difference  in  appearance  to 
indicate  a  change.  What,  then,  has  become 
of  the  solid  piece  of  silver  which  was  placed  in 
the  liquid?  Must  we  conclude  that  it  is  anni¬ 
hilated?  Put  some  pieces  of  copper  into  the 
solution,  and  the  silver  will  re-appear,  and  fall 
to  the  bottom  of  the  glass  in  small  brilliant 
metallic  crystals.  Though  solution  is  one  of 
the  simplest  processes  of  nature,  the  limited 
faculties  of  man  will  not  permit  him  to  compre¬ 
hend  the  mode  in  which  it  operates. 

152.  ANSWER  TO  PRAYER,  Exact.  More 
than  half  a  century  since,  Rev.  T.  Charles  of 
Bala  was  evidently  near  death,  when  a  prayer¬ 
meeting  of  his  friends  was  held,  in  which  earnest 
prayer  was  offered  by  an  aged  Christian  for 
nis  recovery ;  especially  asking  that  fifteen 
years  might  be  added  to  the  useful  life  of  his 
servant.  The  prayer  was  exactly  answered. 
Mr.  Charles  filled  up  the  fifteen  added  years  in 
great  usefulness  and  in  full  expectation  of  release 
at  its  end.  On  his  last  visit  to  some  friends,  he 
said  that  he  could  not  expect  to  see  them 
again,  as  he  was  now  in  the  last  year  of  his  life. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  his  death  occurred  just 
at  the  termination  of  the  fifteen  years. 

153.  ANSWER  TO  PRAYER,  Literal.  Some 
fifty  years  ago,  one  bitter  January  night,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  old  town  of  Sleswick  were 
thrown  into  the  greatest  distress  and  terror. 
A  hostile  army  was  marching  down  upon 
them,  and  new  and  fearful  reports  of  the  con¬ 
duct  of  the  lawless  soldiery  were  hourly  reach¬ 
ing  the  place. 

In  one  large,  commodious  cottage  dwelt  an 
aged  grandmother  with  her  widowed  daughter 
and  her  grandson.  While  all  hearts  quaked 
with  fear,  this  aged  woman  passed  her  time  in 
crying  out  to  God  that  he  would  “  build  a  wall 
of  defence  round  about  ”  them,  quoting  the 
words  of  an  ancient  hymn. 

Her  grandson  asked  why  she  prayed  for  a 
thing  so  entirely  impossible  as  that  God  should 
build  a  wall  about  their  house,  that  should 
hide  it ;  but  she  explained  that  her  meaning 
only  was  that  God  should  protect  them. 

At  midnight  the  dreaded  tramp  was  heard, 
an  enemy  came  pouring  in  at  every  avenue, 
filling  the  houses  to  overflowing.  But,  while 
most  fearful  sounds  were  heard  on  every  side, 
not.  even  a  knock  came  to  their  door ;  at  which 
they  were  greatly  surprised.  The  morning 
light  made  the  matter  clear;  for,  just  beyond 
the  house,  the  drifted  snow  had  reared  such  a 
massive  wall  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  over 
it  to  them. 

“  There  1  ”  said  the  good  woman  triumphant¬ 
ly  :  “  do  you  not  see,  my  son,  that  God  could 
raise  up  a  wall  around  us?  ” 

154.  ANSWERS  TO  PRAYER,  Bountiful.  When 
poor  men  make  requests  to  us,  we  usually 
answer  them  as  the  echo  does  the  voice  :  the 
answer  cuts  off  half  the  petition.  We  shall 
seldom  find  among  men,  Jael’s  courtesy  giving 
milk  to  those  that  ask  water,  except  it  be  as  this 
tvas,  an  entangling  benefit,  the  better  to  intro¬ 


duce  a  mischief.  There  are  not  many  Naa- 
mans  among  us,  that,  when  you  beg  of  them 
one  talent,  will  force  you  to  take  two;  but 
God’s  answer  to  our  prayers  is  like  a  multiply¬ 
ing  glass,  which  renders  the  request  much 
greater  in  the  answer  than  it  was  in  the  prayer. 

Bishop  Reynolds. 

155.  ANSWERS  TO  PRAYER,  Expecting. 
“  While  the  prayer  of  faith,”  said  an  eloquent 
Welsh  preacher,  “is  sure  to  succeed,  our 
prayers,  alas  1  too  often  resemble  the  mis¬ 
chievous  tricks  of  children  in  a  town,  who  knock 
at  their  neighbors’  houses,  and  then  run  away. 
We  often  knock  at  mercy’s  door,  and  then  run 
away,  instead  of  waiting  for  an  entrance  and 
an  answer.  Thus  we  act  as  if  we  were  afraid 
of  having  our  prayers  answered.” 

156.  ANSWERS  TO  PRAYER,  Securing.  A 

crow,  ready  to  die  with  thirst,  flew  to  a  pitcher 
which  it  saw  at  a  distance.  But,  when  he 
came  to  it,  he  found  the  waters  so  low,  that, 
with  all  his  stooping  and  straining,  he  was  un¬ 
able  to  taste  a  drop.  Thereupon  he  tried  to 
break  the  pitcher ;  then  to  overturn  it ;  but  his 
strength  was  not  sufficient  to  do  either.  At 
last,  seeing  some  small  pebbles  at  hand,  he 
dropped  a  good  many  of  them,  one  by  one, 
into  the  pitcher,  and  so  raised  the  water  to  the 
brim,  and  quenched  his  thirst.  So  may  it  be 
with  our  prayers.  Every  pebble  we  cast  in,  to 
adapt  the  figure,  may  bring  the  water  of  life 
nearer  to  our  thirsting  lips.  The  Lord  may 
desire  us  first  to  feel  the  cravings  of  desire  and 
want ;  he  may  lead  us  to  patient  continuance 
in  the  use  of  means  :  but  every  effort  brings 
the  blessing  nearer,  until,  in  time,  the  thirsting 
soul  is  fully  satisfied,  and  the  needed  measure 
of  our  prayers  is  full.  Bowes. 

157.  ANTIQlJlTY,  Improving.  It  has  been 

observed,  that  a  dwarf  standing  on  the  shoulders 
of  a  giant  will  see  farther  than  the  giant  him¬ 
self;  and  the  moderns,  standing  as  they  do  on 
the  vantage-ground  of  former  discoveries,  and 
uniting  all  the  fruits  of  the  experience  of  their 
forefathers  with  their  own  actual  observation, 
may  be  admitted  to  enjoy  a  more  enlarged  and 
comprehensive  view  of  things  than  the  an¬ 
cients  themselves.  Colton. 

158.  ANXIETY,  Allayed.  A  man  and  a  little 
boy  about  five  years  old  were  walking  home¬ 
ward  from  a  certain  town  ;  the  former  carrying 
a  parcel.  Presently  his  little  companion  said, 
“  Please  let  me  carry  the  parcel.” 

“  My  dear  child,  ’tis  too  large  for  you.” 

“  Oh,  no !  I  can  carry  it.  Please  let  me 
have  it ;  ”  using  his  best  endeavors  to  lay  hold 
on  the  parcel. 

“  Very  well :  you  have  determined  it.  The 
parcel  is  no  burden  to  me:  but,  I  tell  you  again, 
it  is  too  large  and  heavy  for  you ;  but,  as  you 
will  have  it,  here  it  is.” 

The  boy  did  his  best;  but  it  grew  heavier, 
and  his  strength  began  to  fail.  He  said,  — 

“  It  is  very  heavy,  indeed  !  ” 

“  I  told  you  it  was  loo  heavy,  and  yet  you 
would  have  it.” 

“  It  is  very  —  heavy  —  too  heavy  :  will  you 
—  please  —  carry  it  ?  ” 


28 


-AJSTXTETY. 


APOSTASY. 


“  Surely  I  will  1  Why  did  you  not  ask  me 
before  ?  ” 

This  occurred  nearly  twenty  years  ago.  To 
this  day  the  story  serves  to  discipline  the  man 
who  had  the  burdened  child  for  his  companion. 
It  has  helped  him  tor  these  years  to  consider 
that  it  is  better  to  roll  the  lightest  burdens  at 
once  on  God,  who  is  the  willing,  the  gracious 
burden-bearer,  than  carry  heavy  burdens  one’s 
self  to  God's  dishonor.  The  Witness. 

159.  ANXIETY,  versus  Trust.  One  day,  while 
Flatticli,  a  pious  minister  of  Wirtemberg,  was 
sittiug  and  meditating  in  his  arm-chair,  one  of 
his  foster-children  fell  out  of  a  second-story 
window,  right  before  him,  down  upon  the 
pavement  below.  He  calmly  ordered  his 
daughter  to  go  down  and  pick  up  the  child. 
On  doing  so,  she  found  the  child  not  only 
alive,  but  without  having  sustained  the  least 
injury.  The  noise  occasioned  thereby  had 
called  out  a  neighbor’s  wife,  who  reproached 
Flattieh  for  his  want  of  attention  to  his  foster- 
children  ;  for  she  had  seen  him  quietly  reposing 
in  his  arm-chair  when  the  boy  fell  out  of  the 
window.  While  she  was  thus  scolding,  her 
own  child,  which  she  had  brought  along,  fell 
from  a  bench  in  the  room,  and  broke  one  of  its 
arms.  “  Do  you  see,  good  woman  ?  ”  said  Flat- 
tich ;  “  if  you  imagine  yourself  to  be  the  sole 
guardian  of  your  child,  then  you  must  constant¬ 
ly  carry  it  on  your  arm.  I  commend  my  chil¬ 
dren  to  God ;  and,  if  they  then  fall,  they  fall 
into  the  arms  of  an  angel.” 

1G9.  ANXIETY,  Unavailing,  After  all  your 
careful  watching  for  the  corner  of  the 
heaven  where  the  cloud  is  to  come  from,  there 
will  he  a  cloud,  and  it  will  rise  somewhere,  but 
you  will  never  know  in  what  quarter.  The 
morrow  shall  have  its  own  anxieties.  After 
all  your  fortifying  of  the  castle  of  your  life, 
there  will  be  some  little  postern  left  unguarded, 
some  little  weak  place  in  the  wall  left  uncom¬ 
manded  by  a  battery ;  and  there,  where  you 
never  look  for  him,  the  inevitable  invader 
will  come  in  1  After  all  the  plunging  of  the 
hero  in  the  fabled  waters  that  made  him  in¬ 
vulnerable,  there  was  the  little  spot  on  the 
heel,  and  the  arrow  found  its  way  there  ! 

J.  Maclaren. 

161.  ANXIETY,  Useless.  Bulstrode  Whitlock, 
Cromwell’s  envoy  to  Sweden,  was  one  night 
so  disturbed  in  mind  over  the  state  of  his  na¬ 
tion,  that  he  could  not  sleep.  His  servant,  ob¬ 
serving  it,  said,  “  Pray,  sir,  will  you  give  me 
leave  to  ask  you  a  question  ?  ”  —  “  Certainly.” 
—  “  Do  you  think  that  God  governed  the  world 
very  well  before  you  came  into  it?”  —  “Un¬ 
doubtedly.”  —  “  And  do  you  not  think  that  he 
will  govern  the  world  quite  as  well  when  you 
are  gone  out  of  it  ?  ”  —  “  Certainly.”  —  “  Then, 
pray,  sir,  excuse  me :  do  you  not  think  that  you 
may  trust  him  to  govern  it  as  long  as  you 
live  ?  ”  No  answer  could  be  given,  and  com¬ 
posure  and  sleep  followed. 

162.  APOSTASY,  Crime  of.  Disheartened  by 
the  extraordinary  dangers  and  difficulties  of 
their  enterprise,  a  Roman  army  lost  courage, 
and  resolved  on  a  retreat.  The  general 


reasoned  with  his  soldiers.  Expostulating 
with  them,  he  appealed  to  then  love  of  coun¬ 
try,  to  their  honor,  and  to  their  oaths.  By  all 
that  could  revive  a  fainting  heart  he  sought  to 
animate  their  courage  and  shake  their  resolu¬ 
tion.  Much  they  trusted,  they  admired,  they 
loved  him ;  but  his  appeals  were  all  in  vain. 
They  were  not  to  be  moved  ;  and,  carried  away, 
as  by  a  panic,  they  faced  round  to  retreat.  At 
this  juncture  they  were  forcing  a  mountain- 
pass,  and  had  just  cleared  a  gorge  where  the 
road,  between  two  stupendous  rocks  on  one 
side  and  the  foaming  river  on  the  other,  was 
but  a  footpath,  broad  enough  for  the  step  of 
a  single  man.  As  a  last  resort,  he  laid  himself 
down  there,  saying,  “  If  you  will  retreat,  it  is 
over  this  body  you  go,  tramping  me  to  death 
beneath  your  feet.”  No  foot  advanced.  The 
flight  was  arrested.  His  soldiers  could  face  the 
foe,  but  not  mangle  beneath  their  feet  one  who 
loved  them,  and  had  often  led  their  ranks  to 
victory,  sharing  like  a  common  soldier  all  the 
hardships  of  the  campaign,  and  ever  foremost 
in  the  fight.  The  sight  was  one  to  inspire 
them  with  decision.  Hesitating  no  longer  to 
advance,  they  wheeled  round  to  resume  their 
march ;  deeming  it  better  to  meet  sufferings, 
and  endure  even  death  itself,  than  to  trample 
under  foot  their  devoted  and  patriotic  leader. 
Their  hearts  recoiled  from  such  an  outrage. 
But  for  such  as  have  named  the  name  of 
Christ  not  to  depart  from  iniquity,  for  such  as 
have  enlisted  under  his  banner  to  go  back  to 
the  world,  for  such  as  have  renounced  sin  to 
return  to  its  pleasures,  involves  a  greater 
crime.  A  more  touching  spectacle  bars  our 
return.  Jesus,  as  it  were,  lays  himself  down 
on  our  path  ;  nor  can  any  become  backsliders, 
and  return  to  the  practice  and  pleasure  of  sin, 
without  trampling  him  under  their  feet. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

163.  APOSTASY,  Danger  of.  A  person  who 
suspected  that  a  minister  of  his  acquaintance 
was  not  truly  orthodox,  went  to  him  and  said, 
“  Sir,  I  am  told  that  you  are  against  the  per¬ 
severance  of  the  saints.”  —  “  Not  I,  indeed,” 
answered  he  :  “  it  is  the  perseverance  of  sin¬ 
ners  that  I  oppose.”  The  other  replied,  “  But 
that  is  not  a  satisfactory  answer.  Do  you 
think  that  a  child  of  God  cannot  fall  very  low, 
and  yet  be  restored  ?  ”  The  minister  an¬ 
swered,  “  I  think  it  will  be  very  dangerous  to 
make  the  experiment.” 

164.  APOSTASY,  Penalty  of.  Richard  Den¬ 
ton,  an  English  blacksmith  who  apostatized  to 
avoid  martyrdom,  perished,  shortly  after,  in 
the  flames  of  his  own  dwelling. 

165.  APOSTASY,  Repenting  of.  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  under  the  pressure  of  the  queen  and 
court,  was  induced  to  subscribe  to  the  errors 
of  Rome.  Of  this  he  soon  repented,  and  took 
his  former  decided  position,  which  brought 
upon  him  the  wrath  of  Bloody  Mary.  When 
the  flames  of  martyrdom  were  kindled  around 
him,  he  thrust  the  hand  that  subscribed  to  his 
shame  into  the  flames,  and  held  it  until  con¬ 
sumed,  often  exclaiming,  “  That  unworthy 
hand  1  ” 


APOSTATE. 


APPEARAN-CES . 


29 


160.  APOSTATE,  Fate  of  Julian,  the.  Julian 
the  Apostate  figures  in  sacred  romances  not 
merely  as  a  tyrant  and  persecutor,  but  as  a 
terrible  and  potent  necromancer,  who  had  sold 
himself  to  the  Devil,  had  put  his  officer  Mer- 
curius  to  death,  because  of  his  adhesion  to  the 
Christian  faith.  The  story  then  relates,  that, 
when  Julian  led  his  army  against  the  Persians, 
and  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  in  which  he  per¬ 
ished,  St.  Basil  the  Great  was  favored  by  a 
miraculous  vision.  He  beheld  a  woman  of  re¬ 
splendent  beauty  seated  on  a  throne,  and  around 
her  a  great  multitude  of  angels ;  and  she  com¬ 
manded  one  of  them,  saying,  “  Go,  forthwith, 
and  awaken  Mereurius,  who  sleepeth  in  the 
sepulchre,  that  he  may  slay  J ulian  the  Apostate, 
that  proud  blasphemer  against  me  and  against 
my  Son  1  ”  And  when  Basil  awoke,  he  went 
to  the  tomb  in  which  Mereurius  had  been  laid 
not  long  before,  with  his  armor  and  weapons 
by  his  side ;  and,  to  his  great  astonishment,  he 
found  neither  the  body  nor  the  weapons.  But 
on  returning  to  the  place  the  next  day,  and  again 
looking  into  the  tomb,  he  found  there  the  body 
of  Mereurius  lying  as  before ;  but  the  lance 
was  stained  with  blood  ;  “  for,  on  the  day  of' 
battle,  when  the  wicked  emperor  was  at  the 
head  of  his  army,  an  unknown  warrior,  bare¬ 
headed,  and  of  a  pale  and  ghastly  counte¬ 
nance,  was  seen  mounted  on  a  white  charger, 
which  he  spurred  forward  ;  and,  brandishing  his 
lance,  he  pierced  Julian  through  the  body,  and 
then  vanished  as  suddenly  as  he  had  appeared. 
And  Julian  being  carried  to  his  tent,  he  took  a 
handful  of  the  blood  which  flowed  from  his 
wound,  and  flung  it  into  the  air,  exclaiming 
with  his  last  breath,  ‘  Thou  hast  conquered, 
Galilean  1  thou  hast  conquered  !  ’  Then  the 
demons  received  his  parting  spirit.  But  Mer- 
curius,  having  performed  the  behest  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  re-entered  his  tomb,  and  laid 
himself  down  to  sleep  till  the  day  of  judg¬ 
ment.”  Mrs.  Jameson. 

167.  APOSTLES,  Fate  of  the.  St.  Matthew 
suffered  martyrdom  by  being  slain  with  a  sword 
at  a  distant  city  of  Ethiopia.  St.  Mark  ex¬ 
pired  at  Alexandria,  after  having  been  cruelly 
dragged  through  the  streets  of  that  city.  St. 
Luke  was  hanged  upon  an  olive-tree  in  the 
classic  land  of  Greece.  St.  John  was  put  into 
a  caldron  of  boiling  oil,  but  escaped  death  in 
a  miraculous  manner,  and  was  afterwards  ban¬ 
ished  to  Patinos.  St.  Peter  was  crucified  at 
Rome  with  his  head  downward.  St.  James  the 
Greater  was  beheaded  at  Jerusalem.  St.  James 
the  Less  was  thrown  from  a  lofty  pinnacle  of 
the  temple,  and  then  beaten  to  death  with  a 
fuller’s  club.  St.  Philip  was  hanged  up  against 
a  pillar  at  Heiropolis  in  Phrygia.  St.  Barthol¬ 
omew  was  flayed  alive.  St.  Andrew  was  bound 
to  a  cross,  whence  he  preached  to  his  persecut¬ 
ors  until  he  died.  St.  Thomas  was  run 
through  the  body  with  a  lance  at  Coromandel 
in  the  East  Indies.  St.  Jude  was  shot  to  death 
with  arrows.  St.  Matthias  was  first  stoned,  and 
then  beheaded.  St.  Barnabas  of  the  Gentiles 
was  stoned  to  death  by  the  Jews  at  Salonica. 
St.  Paul,  after  various  tortures  and  persecu¬ 


tions,  was  at  length  beheaded  at  Rome  by  the 
Emperor  Nero.  Schumacher. 

168.  APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION,  Impossible. 

Apostolical  succession  is  no  more  possible  as 
a  law  for  the  Church  than  an  equivalent  the¬ 
ory  would  be  in  the  world  of  art.  Think  of 
trying  to  institute  in  such  a  way  the  right 
and  the  gift  of  teaching  beauty  1  Think  of  an 
hierarchical  pretension  in  the  artistic  world, 
claiming  that  only  the  students  upon  whom 
Raffaelle,  or  Michael  Angelo,  or  Murillo,  or 
Rubens,  or  Reynolds,  or  West,  or  Turner,  or 
Allston,  had  laid  his  hands,  were  rightfully 
consecrated  and  equipped  to  paint,  and  to 
educate  the  taste  of  men  I  By  all  means 
have  studies,  and  studios,  and  thorough  inter¬ 
course  with  the  masterpieces  of  ages.  But 
leave  room  for  genius,  —  its  freedom,  its  new 
methods,  and  its  fire.  And  do  not  try  to 
conduct  the  potent  and  volatile  essence  of 
inspiration,  which  flows  only  from  the  laying- 
on  of  God’s  hand,  along  the  fixed  methods  of 
any  confederation.  T.  S.  King. 

169.  APOSTOLICAL  SUCCESSION,  Test  o£ 

Though  you  have  a  straight  line  of  apostolic  suc¬ 
cessors,  if  your  work  is  poor,  you  are  not  in  the 
line  of  succession  ;  and,  if  your  church  does  not 
make  full-grown  men,  it  is  not.  I  do  not  care 
any  thing  about  the  line  of  succession  of  my 
grapes,  if  my  vineyard  brings  forth  better  wine 
than  your  vineyard  does.  You  may  say  that 
yours  came  from  those  that  Noah  planted  ;  but 
they  are  not  so  good  as  mine,  after  all.  “  For  by 
their  fruit  ye  shall  know  them.”  And  the  best 
of  all  churches,  as  of  all  orthodoxies,  and  all 
doctrines,  and  all  usages,  and  all  governments, 
is  this :  what  is  their  effect  upon  the  genera¬ 
tions  of  men  V  II.  W.  Beecher. 

170.  APPEARANCE  OF  EVIL,  Avoiding.  Pres¬ 
ident  Adams  the  elder  was  once  within  twenty 
miles  of  home  when  overtaken  by  the  Sabbath. 
He  had  been  delayed  by  impassable  snow-banks. 
A  sickly  family  at  home  required  his  presence. 
His  clerical  friend,  with  whom  he  lodged, 
told  him  he  thought  the  circumstances  of  his 
case  would  justiiy  bis  travelling  on  the  Sab¬ 
bath.  His  reply  was,  that,  to  those  who  wit¬ 
nessed  it,  it  would  have  the  appearance  of  evil, 
as  they  would  be  ignorant  of  the  justifying 
circumstances.  The  friends  of  the  Sabbath 
would  be  grieved  to  see  him  apparently  dis¬ 
regard  the  sacredness  of  the  day ;  and  those 
who  wished  to  be  free  from  its  restraints 
would  rejoice  to  have  him  to  sanction  their  in¬ 
dulgence  by  his  example. 

171.  APPEARANCES,  False.  If  you  go  into  a 

churchyard  some  snowy  day,  when  the  snow 
has  been  falling  thick  enough  to  cover  every 
monument  and  tombstone,  how  beautiful  and 
white  does  every  thing  appear  1  But  remove 
the  snow,  dig  down  beneath,  and  you  find 
rottenness  and  putrefaction,  *•  dead  men’s 
bones,  and  all  uncleanness.”  How  like  that 
churchyard  on  such  a  day  is  the  mere  pro¬ 
fessor,  —  fair  outside  ;  sinful,  unholy  within  1 
The  grass  grows  green  upon  the  sides  of 
a  mountain  that  holds  a  volcano  in  its  bow¬ 
els.  Dr.  Guthrie. 


30 


APPEARANCE  S . 


ARK. 


172.  APPEARANCES,  Judging  from.  A  gen¬ 
tleman  was  once  seated  opposite  to  Coleridge 
at  dinner,  with  a  magnificent  forehead  and  a 
very  fine  and  venerable  bald  head.  The  eyes 
of  this  patriarch  were  scintillating,  apparently, 
with  the  fires  of  genius,  and  the  whole  bearing  of 
the  man  was  suggestive  of  immense  capacity, 
aboriously  suppressed.  “  Ah  !  "’  thought  Cole¬ 
ridge,  “  if  he  would  but  speak,  what  grand 
things  we  would  hear  1  what  ‘  large  utterances,’ 
worthy  of  the  early  dramatists  1  what  poetry, 
and  eloquence,  and  truth,  and  thought  1  ”  Sud¬ 
denly  the  gentleman  who  could  boast  of  a  ven¬ 
erable  head,  and  a  great  talent  for  silence, 
spoke ;  the  oracle  delivered  its  burdening  mes¬ 
sage,  and  to  this  effect :  “  Hand  me  them  dum- 
plins  !  Them's  the  jockeys  for  me.” 

173.  APPEARANCES,  Regarding.  A  Christian 
is  called  to  refrain  from  some  things,  which, 
though  actually  right,  yet  will  not  bear  a  good 
appearance  to  all  men.  I  once  judged  it  my 
duty  to  refuse  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
which  I  might  lawfully  and  fairly  have  re¬ 
ceived,  because  I  considered  that  my  account 
of  the  matter  could  not  be  stated  to  some,  to 
whom  a  different  representation  would  be 
made.  A  man  who  intends  to  stand  immacu¬ 
late,  and,  like  Samuel,  to  come  forward  and 
say,  “  Whose  ox,  or  whose  ass,  have  I  taken  ?  ” 
must  count  the  cost.  I  knew  that  my  charac¬ 
ter  to  me  was  worth  more  than  this  sum  of 
money.  By  probity,  a  man  honors  himself. 
It  is  the  part  of  a  wise  man  to  waive  the 
present  good  for  the  future  increase.  A  mer¬ 
chant  suffers  a  large  quantity  of  goods  to  go 
out  of  the  kingdom  to  a  foreign  land  ;  but  lie 
has  his  object  in  doing  so  :  he  knows,  by  cal¬ 
culation,  that  he  shall  make  so  much  more 
advantage  by  them.  A  Christian  is  made 
a  wise  man  by  counting  the  cost.  R.  Cecil. 

174.  APPEARANCES,  Unreliable.  I  remember 

a  pretty  apologue  that  Bromiard  tells :  A 
fowler,  in  a  sharp  frosty  morning,  having  taken 
many  little  birds  for  which  he  had  long 
watched,  began  to  take  up  his  nets,  and,  nip¬ 
ping  the  birds  on  the  head,  laid  them  down. 
A  young  thrush,  espying  the  tears  trickling 
down  his  cheeks  by  reason  of  the  extreme 
cold,  said  to  her  mother,  that  certainly  the  man 
was  very  merciful  and  compassionate,  who 
wept  so  bitterly  over  the  calamity  of  the  poor 
birds.  But  her  mother  told  her  more  wisely, 
that  she  might  better  judge  of  the  man’s  dis¬ 
position  by  his  hand  than  by  his  eye  ;  and,  if 
the  hands  do  strike  treacherously,  he  can 
never  be  admitted  to  friendship  who  speaks 
fairly  and  weeps  pitifully.  Bp.  Taylor. 

175.  APPEARANCES  OF  EVIL,  A  mission¬ 
ary  magazine,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  con¬ 
version  to  Christianity  of  a  high-caste  Brahmin 
of  India,  stated,  as  a  good  test  of  the  new  con¬ 
vert’s  sincerity,  the  following  fact :  A  Christian 
friend,  knowing  that  the  Hindoo  custom  of 
wearing  the  hair  long,  and  fastened  with 
sacred  flowers  in  a  knot  at  the  back  of  the 
head,  was  intimately  connected  with  certain 
acts  of  idolatrous  worship,  advised  the  Brahmin 
to  cut  oil  this  hair  al  once,  and  thus  demon¬ 


strate  to  all  men  that  he  had  really  ceased  to 
be  an  idolater.  To  this  suggestion  the  convert 
promptly  replied,  “  Yes,  certainly,  for  it  is  the 
devil's  Jlag.”  Accordingly,  the  hair  was  imme¬ 
diately  cut  off. 

17C.  APPETITE,  Power  of.  A  king,  accord¬ 
ing  to  an  Eastern  fable,  once  permitted  the 
devil  to  kiss  him  on  either  shoulder.  Imme¬ 
diately  two  serpents  grew  from  his  shoulders, 
who,  furious  with  hunger,  attacked  his  head, 
and  attempted  to  get  at  his  brain.  The  king 
pulled  them  away,  and  tore  them  with  his 
nails.  But  he  soon  saw,  with  indescribable 
horror,  that  they  had  become  parts  of  himself, 
and  that,  in  wounding  them,  he  was  lacera¬ 
ting  his  own  flesh.  Such  is  the  deplorable 
condition  of  every  victim  of  appetite  and  lust. 

177.  APPLAUSE,  Love  of.  An  English  minis¬ 
ter  dreamed  that  a  popular  preacher  approach¬ 
ed  him  and  said,  “  It  is  only  one  hour  since  I 
died ;  and  now  I  am  damned  1  ” —  “  Damned  for 
what  ?  ”  said  the  minister.  The  reply  was, 
“  It  is  not  because  I  have  not  preached  the 
gospel ;  neither  is  it  because  I  have  not  been 
rendered  useful,  for  I  have  many  souls  as  seals 
to  my  ministry  :  but  it  is  because  I  have  been 
seeking  the  applause  of  men  more  than  the 
honor  which  cometh  from  above,  and  verily  I 
have  my  reward.”  The  speaker  disappeared. 
The  minister  awoke,  and  soon  learned  of  the 
death  of  the  popular  preacher  at  the  precise 
time  indicated  in  his  dream.  So  much  of  the 
dream  being  true,  it  is  easy  to  credit  the 
whole. 

178.  APPLAUSE,  Satisfactory.  While  Parme¬ 
nides  was  addressing  an  Athenian  assembly, 
he  continued  his  discourse,  though  all  had  left 
him  except  Plato.  He  said  that  Plato  was 
audience  sufficient  for  him. 

170.  ARK,  Entering  the.  On  the  morning, 
when  the  ark-door  was  opened,  you  might  have 
seen  in  the  sky  a  pair  of  eagles,  a  pair  of 
sparrows,  a  pair  of  vultures,  a  pair  of  ravens, 
a  pair  of  humming-birds,  a  pair  of  all  kinds  of 
birds  that  ever  cut  the  azure,  that  ever  floated 
on  wing  or  whispered  their  song  to  the  even¬ 
ing  gales.  In  they  came.  But,  if  you  had 
watched  down  on  the  earth,  you  would  have 
seen  come  creeping  along  a  pair  of  snails,  a 
pair  of  snakes,  and  a  pair  of  worms.  There 
ran  along  a  pair  of  mice ;  there  came  a  pair 
of  lizards ;  and  in  there  flew  a  pair  of  locusts. 
There  were  pairs  of  creeping  creatures,  as 
well  as  pairsof  flying  creatures.  Do  you  see 
what  I  mean  by  that  ?  There  are  some  of 
you  that  can  fly  so  high  in  knowledge  that  I 
should  never  be  able  to  scan  your  great  and 
extensive  wisdom  ;  and  others  of  you  so  ignor¬ 
ant,  that  you  can  hardly  read  your  Bibles. 
Never  mind  :  the  eagle  must  come  down  to  the 
door,  and  you  must  go  up  to  it.  There  is  only 
one  entrance  for  you  all ;  and,  as  God  saved 
the  birds  that  flew,  so  he  saved  the  reptiles 
that  crawled.  Are  you  a  poor,  ignorant, 
crawling  creature,  that  never  was  noticed,  — 
without  intellect,  without  repute,  without  fame, 
without  honor  ?  Come  along,  crawling  one.  I 
God  will  not  exclude  you.  Spurgeon. 


ARMOR. 


ASPIRATION. 


31 


180.  ARMOR,  Invisible,  On  board  a  British 
ship,  there  was  but  one  Bible  among  seven 
hundred  men :  that  was  owned  by  a  pious 
sailor,  who  did  not  forget  to  let  his  light  shine 
before  men.  Be  read  it  over  to  others ;  and  at 
length,  by  this  means,  a  little  praying  eirele 
was  formed,  numbering  thirteen  in  all.  Just 
before  an  engagement,  they  all  met,  and  com¬ 
mended  themselves  to  God  in  prayer,  expecting 
never  again  to  meet  in  this  world.  Their  ship 
was  in  the  thiekest  of  the  storm  ;  and  all  around, 
their  comrades  fell,  never  to  rise  again.  At 
one  gun,  where  two  of  the  number  were  sta¬ 
tioned,  three  other  soldiers  were  killed  by  one 
ball ;  but  there  they  stood  firm  to  their  posts, 
clad  in  an  armor  invisible  to  mortal  eyes,  but 
more  impregnable  than  steel.  When  the  battle 
was  over,  those  who  were  left  had  agreed  to 
meet,  if  possible.  What  was  their  joy  to  find 
the  whole  thirteen  assembled,  not  one  of  them 
even  wounded  1  AVhat  a  thanksgiving  meeting 
that  must  have  been  !  Their  upright  behavior 
was  such  throughout  the  voyage  that  they  won 
the  highest  respect  and  commendation  of  their 
superior  officers. 

181.  ARMOR,  Whole.  It  is  reported  by  the 

E)oets,  of  Achilles  the  Grecian  captain,  that 
lis  mother,  being  warned  by  the  oracle,  dipped 
him  —  being  a  child  —  in  the  lliver  Lethe,  to 
prevent  any  danger  that  might  ensue  by  reason 
of  the  Trojan  War;  but  Paris,  his  inveterate  l 
enemy,  understanding  also  by  the  oracle  that  he 
was  impenetrable  all  over  his  body,  except  the 
heel,  or  small  part  of  his  leg,  which  his  mother 
held  him  by  when  she  dipped  him,  took  his 
advantage,  shot  him  in  the  heel,  and  killed 
him.  Thus  every  man  is,  or  ought  to  be, 
armed  caj)-a-pie  with  that  panoply,  —  the  whole 
armor  of  God  ;  for  the  Devil  will  be  sure  to  hit 
the  least  part  that  he  finds  unarmed  :  if  it 
be  the  eye,  he  will  dart  in  at  that  casement  by 
the  presentation  of  one  lewd  object  or  other ; 
if  it  be  the  ear,  he  will  force  that  door  open  by 
bad  counsel ;  if  the  tongue,  that  shall  be  made 
a  world  of  mischief ;  if  the  feet,  they  shall  be 
swift  to  shed  blood,  &c.  Spencer. 

18*2.  ART,  Deception  of.  When  Holbein  de¬ 
termined  to  quit  his  native  town  Basil,  in  order 
to  enhance  the  value  of  his  works,  which  were 
becoming  too  numerous  there,  he  intimated  that 
he  would  leave  a  specimen  of  the  power  of  his 
abilities.  lie  had  still  at  his  house  a  portrait  of 
one  of  his  patrons,  which  lie  had  just  finished. 
On  the  forehead  he  painted  a  fly,  and  sent  the 
picture  to  the  person  for  whom  it  was  intended. 
The  gentleman,  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the 
piece,  went  eagerly  to  brush  off  the  fly,  and 
found  the  deceit.  The  story  soon  spread,  and 
made  more  impression  than  efforts  of  greater 
excellence.  Orders  were  immediately  given 
to  prevent  the  city  being  deprived  of  so  won¬ 
derful  an  artist ;  but  Holbein  had  already  gone. 

Percy. 

183.  ART,  Fable  of.  Minerva  was  the  God¬ 
dess  of  Wisdom,  and  presided  over  the  arts. 
Arachne,  a  mortal  maiden  of  renowned  skill 
in  weaving  and  embroidery,  whose  fingers  made 
the  wool  into  rolls,  twisted  it  into  threads,  and 


wrought  it  into  divers  patterns,  challenged  the 
goddess  to  a  trial  of  competition.  Minerva,  in 
the  guise  of  an  old  woman,  dissuaded  her  in 
vain.  She  then  threw  off  her  disguise,  and 
the  trial  began.  Each  spread  out  the  warp, 
hurled  the  shuttle,  and  struck  the  woof  into  its 
place.  Minerva  wrought  in  her  web  a  scenej 
representing  the  glory  of  the  gods.  Arachne,1 
presumptuous,  in  hers  pictured  the  errors  and 
failings  of  the  gods.  The  goddess  admired  the 
maiden’s  work,  but,  stung  by  the  insult,  struck 
it  from  the  loom,  and  changed  the  aspiring  girl 
into  a  spider,  to  go  on  spinning  and  hanging 
herself  forever.  Now  science  has  wrested  the 
thunderbolt  from  Jove,  the  trident  from  Nep¬ 
tune,  and  the  distaff  from  Minerva. 

1 84.  ART,  Perfeot.  It  is  the  height  of  art  to 

conceal  art.  From  the  Latin. 

185.  ART,  Perfection  of.  Pygmalion  was  a 
sculptor  of  wonderful  skill.  He  carved  a  statue 
in  ivory,  of  a  maiden,  that  seemed  to  be  alive. 
He  fell  in  love  with  his  own  beautiful  creation. 
He  clothed  it  in  rich  apparel,  caressed  it, 
decked  it  with  jewels,  and  brought  it  such  gifts 
as  are  prized  by  girls.  He  laid  it  upon  a 
royal  couch,  and  called  it  his  wife.  He  went 
to  worship  at  the  shrine  of  Venus,  and  asked  the 
gods  to  give  him  a  wife  like  his  ivory  virgin.  He 
returned  to  his  house,  and  began  to  caress  his 
ideal  wire  as  he  used  to  do,  when,  lo  I  he  felt 

!  the  ivory  yield  to  his  touch.  “  It  was,  indeed, 
alive.  The  virgin  felt  the  kisses,  and  blushed, 
and,  opening  her  timid  eyes  to  the  light, 
fixed  them  at  the  same  moment  upon  her 
lover.” 

1186.  ART,  Progress  of.  I  believe  that  the 
ages  which  are  to  follow  this  will  surpass  our 
possibilities  of  art.  The  art  of  to-day  should 
embody  the  highest  life  of  to-day  for  the  use 
of  to-day ;  for  those  who  have  gone  before 
us  need  it  not,  and  those  who  will  come 
after  us  will  have  something  better. 

J.  G.  Holland. 

187.  ASPIRATION,  Heavenly.  What  epic 
can  equal  those  unwritten  words  which  pour 
into  the  ear  of  God  out  of  the  heart’s  fulness  1 
still  more,  those  unxpolen  words  which  never 
find  the  lip,  but  go  up  to  heaven  in  unutterable 
longings  and  aspirations  !  Words  are  but  the 
bannerets  of  a  great  army,  a  few  bits  of  waving 
color  here  and  there :  thoughts  are  the  main 
body  of  the  footmen  that  march  unseen  below. 

Beecher. 

188.  ASPIRATION,  Universal.  Every  man  is 
born  with  aspiration.  It  does  not  develop  in 
every  man  :  neither  do  half  the  buds  in  trees 
blossom  ;  but  they  are  there.  And  there  is 
aspiration  in  every  man,  whether  you  suspect 
or  not,  and  though  it  may  not  blossom.  Aspi¬ 
ration  means  tendril,  twining,  or  any  thing 
else  by  which  one  climbs  upward,  holding  on 
by  the  way  to  whatever  will  support  it.  Some 
plants  take  hold  by  winding  around,  some  by 
little  roots,  some  by  tendrils,  some  by  hooks, 
and  some  by  leaves  that  catch  like  anchors. 
But  these  things  take  hold,  not  for  the  sake  of 
staying  when  they  take  hold,  but  only  that 

|  they  may  climb  higher.  And  so  it  is  with 


-A.SSOCXA.TES. 


ASSOCIATION'S. 


Q9 

o~t 


men.  We  clasp  things  above  by  every  part  of 
our  nature,  one  after  another,  not  for  the  sake  of 
remaining  when  we  take  hold,  but  that  we  may 
go  higher.  In  other  words,  when,  in  the  ordi¬ 
nary  experience  of  life,  we  gain  satisfaction,  we 
do  it  almost  only  by  feeding  on  each  other. 
When  we  attain  development,  we  do  that  in  the 
same  way.  The  soul  feeds  on  soul  whether 
for  satisfaction  or  development.  Beecher. 

189.  ASSOCIATES,  Influence  of.  A  poor  man 
who  fell  into  bad  habits,  on  being  rescued, 
reformed,  and  converted,  often  spoke  of  him¬ 
self  as  a  “  brand  plucked  from  the  burning.” 
“  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  ”  asked  one 
of  his  former  associates.  “  Come,  go  with  us, 
and  have  one  more  drink.” 

“  Look  here  1  ”  answered  the  man.  “  You 
know  there  is  a  difference  between  a  brand 
and  a  green  stick.  If  a  spark  fall  on  a  brand 
that  has  been  partly  burned,  it  will  soon  catch 
fire  again.  Not  so  with  a  green  stick.  I  tell 
you  I  am  that  brand  plucked  out  of  the  fire ; 
and  I  dare  not  venture  into  the  way  of  temp¬ 
tation  for  fear  of  being  set  on  fire  again.” 

190.  ASSOCIATES,  Limping.  If  you  always 

live  with  those  who  are  lame,  you  will  your¬ 
self  learn  to  limp.  From  the  Latin. 

191.  ASSOCIATES,  Odor  of.  He  who  comes 
from  the  kitchen  smells  of  its  smoke ;  he  who 
adheres  to  a  sect  has  something  of  its  cant ; 
the  college  air  pursues  the  student.  Laoater. 

192.  ASSOCIATION,  Advantages  of.  D’Azara 
informs  us,  that,  during  the  inundations  of 
the  low  districts  in  South  America,  the  ant¬ 
hills,  which  are  usually  about  three  feet  in 
height,  are  completely  under  water.  The  ants, 
for  their  greater  security,  collect  into  a  com¬ 
pact  mass,  and  keep  firm  hold  of  each  other, 
previously  attaching  one  of  the  extremities  to 
some  neighboring  plant  or  fixed  point  of  sup¬ 
port,  leaving  the  other  end  free,  and  floating 
on  the  surface  of  the  water  as  long  as  the 
inundation,  which  usually  lasts  a  few  days, 
continues. 

193.  ASSOCIATION,  Argument  for.  What  an 

argument  in  favor  of  social  connections  is  the 
observation,  that,  by  communicating  our  grief, 
we  have  less,  and  by  communicating  our  pleas¬ 
ure  we  have  more  I  Greville. 

194.  ASSOCIATION,  Christian,  When  Lord 
Peterborough  lodged  for  a  season  with  Fene- 
lon,  Archbishop  of  Cainbray,  he  was  so  de¬ 
lighted  with  his  piety  and  virtue,  that  he 
exclaimed  at  parting,  “  If  I  stay  here  any 
longer,  I  shall  become  a  Christian  in  spite  of 
myself!  ” 

195.  ASSOCIATION,  Evil  of.  St.  Augustine, 
in  his  Confessions,  tnaketh  mention  of  his  friend 
Alipius,  who,  having  resolved  with  himself 
never  to  look  upon  the  fencers’  prizes,  was, 
upon  a  time,  through  the  importunity  of  his 
friends,  drawn  along  to  the  theatre  where  these 
bloody  sports  were  performed,  protesting  that 
he  would  keep  his  eyes  shut  all  the  while,  and 
not  so  much  as  once  open  them  ;  yet  it  so  fell 
out,  that,  upon  a  sudden  great  shout  of  the 
people,  he  looked  about  to  see  what  the  matter 
was,  whereupon  he  became  another  man,  and 


altered  his  former  course,  so  that  his  hatred  to 
the  sport  was  turned  into  love  and  liking  of  it. 

Spencer. 

196.  ASSOCIATION,  Influence  of.  The  tree- 
frog  acquires  the  color  of  whatever  it  adheres 
to  lor  a  short  time.  If  it  be  found  on  the  oak, 
it  is  a  brown  color ;  on  the  sycamore  or  cedai 
it  is  of  a  whitish-brown  color ;  but,  when  found 
on  tne  growing  corn,  it  is  sure  to  be  green. 
So  a  man  is  sure  to  be  influenced  by  those  with 
whom  he  associates. 

19?.  ASSOCIATION,  Innocent.  A  traveller  in 
Switzerland  was  walking  on  the  neck  of  land 
which  leads  to  the  place  where  the  dark-blue 
Rhone  rushes  from  the  waters  of  Lake  Leman 
to  embrace  its  pale  companion,  the  Arve.  He 
was  thinking  whether  it  was  possible  to  be  in 
the  world,  and  yet  not  of  the  world.  As  he 
wandered  on,  the  two  streams  flashed .  before 
him,  —  the  one,  strong,  calm,  and  grand  ;  the 
other,  white,  slow,  and  troubled :  and,  as  they 
met  his  sight,  they  seemed  to  return  an  answer 
to  his  doubts.  Side  by  side  they  flowed  on, 
yet,  for  a  while,  their  waters  never  mingled. 
The  Rhone  was  still  strong  and  dai  k  ;  the  Arve, 
still  slow  and  white.  Then  he  asked  himself 
why  it  was,  though  flowing  in  the  same  chan¬ 
nel,  the  two  rivers  remained  separate ;  and  he 
lound  that  it  was  owing  to  the  impetuous  tor¬ 
rent  of  the  Rhone,  which  was  so  swift  in  its 
course,  that  it  outstripped  its  weaker  compan¬ 
ion.  Thus  he  learned,  that,  if  the  current  of 
his  life  were  tending  onward  with  a  swiftness 
more  than  earthly,  his  life  might  flow  beside 
the  evil  of  the  world  without  being  corrupted 
by  it. 

198.  ASSOCIATION,  Law  of.  So  subtle  and 

so  persuasive  is  this  law  of  association,  that  it 
is  influential  even  when  we  are  hardly  con¬ 
scious  of  its  existence.  The  chance  word  from 
the  lips  of  a  friend,  falling  upon  some  nascent 
desire,  like  a  spark  upon  tinder ;  the  vision  of 
some  grave  or  wise  one,  held  up  to  the  glance 
of  fancy  so  often,  that  it  has  become  the  ideal 
model  of  the  heart’s  aspiring ;  the  music  of 
some  old  word,  greeting  the  ear  with  a  strange 
melody,—  have  fixed  the  tone  of  a  spirit,  and 
have  fashioned  the  direction  of  a  life.  The 
world  is  just  one  unbroken  chain  of  these  ac¬ 
tions  and  re-actions.  We  are  bound  by  them  ; 
we  are  compassed  by  them ;  and  we  can  no 
more  escape  from  them  than  we  can  fling  our¬ 
selves  beyond  the  influence  of  the  law  of  grav¬ 
itation,  or  refuse  to  be  trammelled  by  the  all- 
embracing  air.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

199.  ASSOCIATION,  Odor  of.  One  day  as  I 

was  in  the  bath,  a  friend  put  into  my  hand  a 
piece  of  scented  clay.  I  took  it,  and  said  to  it, 
“  Art  thou  musk  or  ambergris,  for  I  am  charmed 
with  thy  perfume  ?  ”  It  answered,  “  I  was  a 
despicable  piece  of  clay  ;  but  I  was  some  time 
in  the  company  of  the  rose,  and  the  quality  of 
my  sweet  companion  was  communicated  to  me : 
otherwise  I  should  only  be  a  bit  of  clay  as  I 
appear  to  be.”  Saadi. 

20®.  ASSOCIATIONS,  Signs  of.  Men  carry 
unconscious  signs  of  their  life  about  them. 
Those  that  come  from  the  forge,  and  those  from 


ASSOCIATION". 


ASSXmAJSTCE!. 


33 


the  lime  and  mortar,  and  those  from  the  humid 
soil,  and  those  from  dusty  travel,  bear  signs 
of  being  workmen,  and  of  their  work.  One 
need  not  ask  a  merry  face  or  a  sad  one  whether 
it  hath  come  forth  from  joy  or  from  grief. 
Tears  and  laughter  tell  their  own  story.  Should 
one  come  home  with  fruit,  we  say,  “  Thou  art 
come  from  the  orchard ;  ”  if  with  hands  full  ot 
wild-flowers,  “  Thou  art  from  the  fields  ;  ”  if 
one’s  garments  smell  of  mingled  odors,  we  say, 
“  Thou  hast  walked  in  a  garden  :  ”  but  how 
much  more,  if  one  hath  seen  God,  hath  held 
converse  of  hope  and  love,  and  hath  walked 
in  heaven,  should  he  carry  in  his  eye,  his 
words,  and  his  perfumed  raiment,  the  sacred 
tokens  of  divine  intercourse  1  Beecher. 

201.  ASSOCIATION,  Wonder  of.  How  wonder¬ 

ful  is  what  we  call  association  1  I  hang  some 
thought  upon  an  object,  and  say,  “  Whenever 
I  come  hither,  ring  for  me  as  a  bell  of  joy  ;  ” 
and  upon  another  I  fasten  an  experience,  say¬ 
ing  to  it,  *■  Toll  to  me  of  sadness  ;  ”  and  to  an¬ 
other,  “  Give  forth  some  bold  inspiring  strain  ;  ” 
and  to  another,  “  Speak  to  me  always  of  hope  :  ’ 
and  thereafter  each  thing,  true  to  its  nature, 
whether  it  be  tree  or  place  or  rock  or  house, 
or  that  which  is  therein,  never  forgets  its  lesson. 
Yea,  and  when  we  forget,  they  make  us  remem¬ 
ber,  singing  to  us  the  notes  which  we  had 
taught  them.  Beecher. 

202.  ASSUMPTION,  Danger  of.  A  man  in  this 
country  knew  everybody.  Name  what  celeb¬ 
rity  you  could,  Palmerston,  Guizot,  Arago,  Land¬ 
seer,  Livingstone,  Marie  —  no  matter.  “  Oh, 
yes  1  I  know  him  very  well,  indeed.”  At  last, 
a  provoked  cynic  asked,  “  Did  you  happen 
to  know  the  Siamese  Twins  ?  ”  The  omnis¬ 
cient  but  conscientious  speaker  at  once  replied, 
“  Well,  one  of  them  I  knew  exceedingly  well; 
but  I  am  not  quite  sure  whether  1  ever  hap¬ 
pened  to  meet  the  other.’  ’ 

203.  ASSUMPTION,  Fable  of.  “  Mother,  mo¬ 

ther  1  ”  cried  a  young  rook,  returning  hurried¬ 
ly  from  its  flight,  “  I’m  so  frightened  1  I’ve 
seen  such  a  sight  I  ”  —  “  What  sight,  my  son  V  ” 
asked  the  rook.  “  Oh,  white  creatures  1 
screaming  and  running,  and  straining  their 
necks,  and  holding  their  heads  ever  so  high  I 
See,  mother,  there  they  go !  ”  —  “  Geese,  my  son, 
merely  geese,”  calmly  replied  the  parent-bird, 
looking  over  the  common.  “  Through  life, 
child,  observe  that  when  you  meet  any  one 
who  makes  a  great  fuss  about  himself  and 
tries  to  lilt  his  head  higher  than  the  rest  of  the 
world,  you  may  set  him  down  at  once  for  a 
goose.”  Children’s  Friend. 

204.  ASSURANCE,  Boldness  of.  Latimer  writes 
to  Ridley,  “  When  I  live  in  a  settled  and 
steadfast  assurance  about  the  state  of  my  soul, 
methinks  I  am  as  bold  as  a  lion ;  I  can  laugh 
at  all  trouble ;  no  affliction  daunts  nre  :  but, 
when  I  am  eclipsed  in  my  comforts,  I  am  of  so 
fearful  a  spirit,  that  I  could  run  into  a  very 
mouse-hole.” 

20.3.  ASSURANCE,  in  Death.  Death,  like  the 
jroud  Philistine,  comes  marching  out  in  his 
tideous  shape,  daring  the  whole  host  of  Israel 
to  match  him  with  an  equal  combatant.  The 
s 


atheist  dares  not  die  for  fear  non  esse, —  that  he 
shall  not  be  at  all ;  the  profane  dares  not  die, 
for  fear  male  esse,  —  to  be  damned ;  the  doubtful 
conscience  dares  not  die,  because  he  knows  not 
whether  he  shall  be,  or  be  damned,  or  not  be 
at  all.  Only  the  resolved  Christian  dares  die. 
because  he  is  assured  of  his  election,  he  knows 
he  shall  be  happy,  arid  so  lilts  up  pleasant  eyes 
to  heaven,  the  infallible  place  of  his  eternal 
rest.  He  dares  encounter  with  his  last  enemy, 
trample  on  him  with  the  foot  of  disdain,  and 
triumphantly  sing  over  him,  “  O  death  1  where 
is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave  !  where  is  thy  victo¬ 

ry?”  He  conquers  in  being  conquered;  and 
all  because  God  hath  said  to  bis  soul,  “  I  am  thy 
salvation.”  T.  Adams. 

20 G.  ASSURANCE,  Denounced.  The  Church 
of  Rome  denounces  assurance  in  the  most  un¬ 
measured  terms  ;  the  Council  of  Trent  de¬ 
clares  roundly,  that  “  a  believer’s  assurance  of 
the  pardon  of  his  sins  is  a  vain  and  ungodly 
confidence ;  ”  and  Cardinal  Bellarmine  calls  it 
“  a  prime  error  of  heretics.”  Ryle. 

207.  ASSURANCE,  Experience  of.  It  is  report¬ 

ed  of  one  Mrs.  Iloneywood,  a  famous  professor 
of  God’s  truth,  and  one  that  for  many  years 
together  lay  under  the  burden  of  a  wounded 
spirit,  and  was  much  troubled  in  mind  for  the 
want  of  her  assurance  as  to  the  matter  of  sal¬ 
vation.  At  length  there  came  a  minister  to  her, 
who  endeavored  to  settle  her  hopes  and  com¬ 
forts  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  urging  promises  of 
the  gospel  unto  her.  She  took  it  with  a  kind 
of  indignation  and  anger,  that  he  should  offer 
to  present  any  promises  to  her,  to  whom,  as 
she  thought,  they  did  not  belong ;  and,  having 
a  Venice  glass  in  her  hand,  she  held  it  up, 
and  said,  “  Speak  to  me  no  more  of  salvation, 
for  I  shall  as  surely  be  damned  as  this  poor 
brittle  glass  shall  be  broke  against  the  wall ;  ” 
throwing  it  with  all  her  force  to  break  it.  But 
it  so  pleased  God,  that,  by  a  miraculous 
providence,  the  glass  was  preserved  whole.  The 
minister,  seeing  this,  made  a  happy  use  of  the 
accident,  took  up  the  glass,  and  said  unto  her, 
“  Behold,  God  must  work  a  miracle  for  you 
before  you  will  believe.”  And  from  that  day, 
she  was  a  woman  very  strong  in  the  assurance 
of  God’s  favor.  Spencer. 

208.  ASSURANCE,  False.  I  would  not  give 
one  straw  for  that  assurance  that  sin  will  not 
damp.  If  David  had  come  to  me  in  his  adul¬ 
tery,  and  had  talked  to  me  of  his  assurance,  I 
should  have  despised  his  speech. 

John  Newton. 

209.  ASSURANCE,  Ground  of.  We  hear,  some¬ 

times,  a  great  deal  said  about  possessing  a  full 
assurance  of  being  a  child  of  God  ;  and  then, 
every  now  and  then,  we  hear  of  a  doubt,  a  hope. 
As  good  Joseph  Irons  used  to  say,  “  They  keep 
hope,  hope,  hoping  —  hop,  hop,  hopping  —  all 
their  lives,  because  they  can’t  walk.”  Little 
faith  is  always  lame.  Spurgeon. 

210.  ASSURANCE,  Joy  of.  It  is  mentioned, 
that,  in  the  time  of  that  Marian  persecution, 
there  was  a  woman,  who  being  convened  before 
Bonner,  upon  the  trial  of  religion,  he  threatr 
ened  her  that  he  would  take  away  her  husband 


34 


A.ssimAJsrcK. 


ATHEISM. 


from  her.  Saith  she,  “  Christ  is  my  husband.” 
“  I  will  take  away  thy  child.”  — “  Christ,”  saith 
she,  “  is  better  to  me  than  ten  sons.”  —  “  I  will 
strip  thee,”  saith  he,  “  of’  all  thy  outward  com¬ 
forts.” —  “  Yea,  but  Christ  is  mine,”  saith  she, 
“  and  you  cannot  strip  me  of  him.”  The 
thoughts  of  this  bore  up  the  woman’s  heart ; 
spoil  her  of  all,  and  take  away  all,  yet  Christ 
was  hers,  and  him  they  could  not  take  away. 

Spencer. 

211.  ASSURANCE,  Reception  of.  Mr.  Wesley 
records,  that  when  he  was  enabled  to  believe 
in  Christ  as  his  Saviour,  under  the  reading  of 
Luther’s  Preface  to  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to 
the  Romans,  at  about  a  quarter  before  nine, 
in  Aldersgate  Street,  that  he  felt  his  heart 
strangely  warmed  within  him ;  that  he  felt  he 
did  trust  in  Christ  alone  for  salvation ;  and 
that  there  and  then  assurance  was  given  him 
that  Jesus  had  taken  away  all  his  sins,  even  his, 
and  saved  him  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death. 

Dr.  Jobson. 

212.  ASSURANCE,  Seonrity  of.  Our  hope  is 

not  hung  upon  such  untwisted  thread  as  ‘T  im¬ 
agine  so,”  or  “  It  is  likely ;  ”  but  the  cable,  the 
strong  rope  of  our  fastened  anchor,  is  the  oath 
and  promise  of  Him  who  is  eternal  verity  :  our 
salvation  is  fastened  with  God’s  own  hand  and 
Christ’s  own  strength  to  the  strong  stake  of 
God’s  unchanging  nature.  Rutherford. 

213.  ASSURANCE,  Self-deception  in.  The  man 

who  comes  to  assurance,  and  maintains  it, 
while  his  conscience  testifies  of  him  that 
he  is  habitually  declining  in  religious  affec¬ 
tions,  living  in  the  habitual  neglect  of  known 
duty,  or  in  the  indulgence  of  actual  sin,  is  one 
of  the  most  fearful  instances  of  self-deception 
in  our  world.  J.  A.  James. 

214.  ASSURANCE,  Variable.  As  in  a  walk 

that  is  shaded  with  trees  and  checkered  with 
light  and  shadow,  some  tracts  and  paths  in  it 
are  dark,  and  others  are  sunshine,  such  is 
usually  the  life  of  the  most  assured  Christian. 
Sometimes  he  walks  in  the  light  of  God’s 
countenance,  and  rejoices  in  the  smiles  of  his 
favor ;  and,  at  other  times,  he  walks  in  darkness 
and  can  see  no  light ;  he  steps  out  of  the  bright 
manifestations  of  God’s  love  into  the  umbrages 
of  sad  and  cloudy  apprehensions  concerning 
his  present  state  of  grace  and  his  present  state 
of  glory.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

215.  ATHEISM,  Absurdity  of.  The  cele¬ 
brated  astronomer  Kircher,  having  an  ac¬ 
quaintance  who  denied  the  existence  of  God, 
took  the  following  method  to  convince  him  of 
his  error :  he  procured  a  very  handsome  globe, 
or  representation  of  the  starry  heavens,  which 
he  placed  in  a  corner  of  the  room  to  attract 
his  friend’s  observation,  who,  when  he  came, 
asked  from  whence  it  came,  and  to  whom  it 
belonged.  “  Not  to  me,”  said  Kircher,  “  nor 
was  it  ever  made  by  any  person,  but  came  here 
by  mere  chance.”  —  “  That,”  replied  his  scep- 
lical  friend,  “is  absolutely  impossible  :  you 
surely  jest.”  Kircher,  however,  seriously  per¬ 
sisting  in  his  assertion,  took  occasion  to  reason 
with  his  friend  on  his  own  atheistical  princi¬ 
ples.  “  You  will  not  believe,”  said  he,  “  that 


this  small  body  originated  in  mere  chance,  and 
yet  you  would  contend  that  those  heavenly 
bodies,  of  which  it  is  but  a  faint  resemblance, 
came  into  existence  without  order  or  design.” 
Pursuing  this  train  of  reasoning,  his  friend  was 
at  first  confounded,  next  convinced,  and  cor¬ 
dially  confessed  the  absurdity  of  denying  the 
existence  of  a  God.  W.  Nicholson. 

216.  ATHEISM,  Crime  of.  Atheism  is  the 
highest  theft  against  God,  because  it  would 
steal  from  him  not  sua,  sed  se  (his  goods,  but 
himself),  proceeding  further  than  “  Deus  haec 
non  curat,  ”  to  “  Deus  non  est,”—  than  to  say 
“  God  will  not  regard  it ;  ”  but  “  there  is  no  God 
to  regard  it.”  These  offer  not  only  a  wicked 
hand  to  their  own  conscience  to  scrape  out  the 
deep-engraven  and  indelible  characters  of  the 
Divinity  there,  but  a  sacrilegious  hand  to 
heaven,  as  if  they  would  empty  it  of  Deity, 
and  pull  Jehovah  out  of  his  throne,  and  make 
him  a  non  ens.  T.  Adams. 

211".  ATHEISM,  Discoveries  of.  Dr.  Stebbing 
of  Gray’s  Inn,  speaking,  in  one  of  his  sermons, 
of  Hume,  and  some  other  metaphysical  writers, 
said  sarcastically,  “  Our  thoughts  are  natu¬ 
rally  carried  back,  on  this  occasion,  to  the 
author  of  the  first  philosophy,  who  likewise 
engaged  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  public.  He  did 
so;  but  the  only  discovery  they  found  them¬ 
selves  able  to  make  was,  that  they  were 
naked.”  Percy. 

218.  ATHEISM,  Modem.  The  atheism  of 
this  age  is  chiefly  founded  upon  the  absurd 
fallacy,  that  the  idea  of  law  in  nature  excludes 
the  idea  of  God  in  nature.  As  well  might 
they  say  the  code  of  Napoleon  in  France  ex¬ 
cludes  the  idea  of  Napoleon  from  France.  To 
me,  no  intuition  is  clearer  than  this,  that  intelli¬ 
gent  control  everywhere  manifests  the  presence 
of  a  ruling  mind.  To  me,  physical  law,  in  its 
permanence,  expresses  the  immutable  persist¬ 
ence  of  his  will ;  in  its  wise  adjustments,  the 
infinite  science  of  his  intellect ;  in  its  kindly 
adaptations,  the  benevolence  of  his  heart. 

S.  Coley 

219.  ATHEISM,  Refutation  of.  Whoever  con¬ 
siders  the  study  of  anatomy,  I  believe,  will 
never  be  an  athiest ;  the  frame  of  man’s  body', 
and  the  cohesion  of  its  parts,  being  so  strange 
and  paradoxical,  that  I  hold  it  to  be  the 
greatest  miracle  of  nature.  Lord  Herbert. 

220.  ATHEISM,  Refuted  by  Consciousness.  In  the 
height  of  his  culture,  the  olden  Greek  erected 
an  altar ;  and  when  Paul  stood  on  Mars  Hill  he 
could  appeal  to  that  presentiment  of  the  Un¬ 
known  God  which  lives  in  the  consciousness 
of  mankind.  The  sable  Numidian,  however 
he  may  symbolize  him,  however  gross  his 
conception  of  him,  worships  God.  The  Persian 
saw  God  in  the  sun,  the  fire.  The  colonists  of 
Columbus’s  newly-discovered  Western  World 
found  the  savage  aborigines  worshipping  God  ; 
and  Europe,  with  this  her  nineteenth-century 
civilization,  with  one  accord  bows  before  the 
throne  of  the  Invisible  God.  Down  from  the 
far,  far  ages,  from  the  infancy  of  the  world  and 
of  the  human  race,  comes  a  voice  from  the 
heart  of  humanity.  Its  utterances  in  the  past 


ATHEIST. 


A.TO'NTEMTE^NT. 


35 


are  recorded  by  the  iron  pen  of  history ;  it 
thunders  in  our  very  ears  in  the  present ;  it 
speaks  of  God.  And  we  are  asked  to  believe 
that  the  great  heart  of  humanity  lies,  has 
always  lied  1  It  does  not  lie,  it  has  not  lied. 
God  exists  ;  and  before  him  have  I  knelt,  and 
with  all  the  fervor  of  which  my  nature  is 
capable  have  I  poured  out  my  soul  in  grati¬ 
tude  to  him  for  that  he  has  rescued  me  from 
the  horrible  pit,  the  blinding  creed,  of  atheism. 

W.  Bebbington. 

22 I.  ATHEIST,  Difficulty  of  the.  To  make 
this  out,  that  there  is  no  God,  he  would  need 
to  travel  abroad  over  the  surrounding  universe, 
till  he  had  exhausted  it,  and  to  search  backward 
through  all  the  hidden  recesses  of  eternity ; 
to  traverse  in  every  direction  the  plains  of 
infinitude,  and  sweep  the  outskirts  of  that 
space  which  is  itself  interminable,  and  then 
bring  back  to  this  little  world  of  ours  the  report 
of  a  universal  blank,  wherein  he  had  not  met 
with  one  movement  of  a  presiding  God.  For 
man  not  to  know  of  a  God,  he  has  only  to  sink 
beneath  the  level  of  our  common  nature ;  but 
to  deny  him,  he  must  be  a  God  himself:  he 
must  arrogate  the  ubiquity  and  omniscience  of 
the  Godhead.  Dr.  Chalmers. 

2'2'J.  ATHEIST,  Doom  of  the.  Thou  that  sayest 
the  Christians  perish  dost  perish  thyself,  and 
leave  the  Christians  behind  thee.  Whither 
go  these  atheists  ?  I  believe  not  to  heaven  ; 
for  they  believe  there  is  no  heaven.  They 
shall  never  have  those  joys  they  would  not  be¬ 
lieve.  They  are  not  in  hell  neither :  there 
is  no  atheist.  Where,  then  ?  In  hell  they 
are  indeed,  but  not  as  atheists.  They  no 
sooner  put  their  heads  within  those  gates,  but, 
atheism  drops  off :  they  believe  and  feel  now 
there  is  a  God.  T.  Adams. 

223.  ATHEIST,  Unreasonableness  of  an.  He 
must  believe  in  a  thousand  anomalies  which  he 
cannot  reconcile  with  reason  ;  in  contradictions 
and  impossibilities  without  number;  in  effects 
which  are  greater  than  their  causes,  and  in  the 
greatest  of  effects  being  produced  without  a 
cause :  and  all  this  that  he  may  escape  from  the 
sound  and  natural  conclusions  of  reason ;  that 
he  may  close  his  eyes  to  the  light  which  beams 
everywhere  upon  him,  from  satellite  and  planet, 
and  sun  and  system,  reflected  in  the  voiceless 
but  soul-speaking  eyes  of  millions  of  intelligent 
creatures  ;  that  he  may  shut  his  ears  to  the 
voices  that  are  ever  and  anon  rising  up  with 
the  sound  of  Nature’s  harmonies,  in  the  hum 
of  insects,  the  songs  of  birds,  the  murmur  of 
restless  waters,  the  wild  roaring  of  thunders 
and  tempests,  and  the  thousand  thousand  ar¬ 
ticulations  of  intelligent  creatures,  —  “  There 
is  a  God  who  created  all  things. 

T.  Ragg. 

224.  ATONEMENT,  Accepted.  Zaleucus,  the 
king  of  the  Locrians,  had  established  a  law 
against  adultery,  the  penalty  of  which  was,  that 
tile  offender  should  lose  both  eyes.  The  first  per¬ 
son  found  guilty  of  this  offence  was  the  king’s 
own  son.  Zaleucus  felt  as  a  father  toward  his 
son  ;  but  he  felt  likewise  as  a  king  towards  his 
government.  If  he,  from  blind  indulgence,  for¬ 


give  his  son,  with  what  reason  can  he  expect 
the  law  to  be  respected  by  the  rest  of  his 
subjects?  and  how  will  his  public  character 
appear  in  punishing  any  future  offender?  If 
he  repeal  the  law,  he  will  brand  his  character 
with  dishonor,  for  selfishness,  in  sacrificing 
the  public  good  of  a  whole  community  to  his 
private  feelings ;  for  weakness,  in  publishing  a 
law  whose  penalty  he  never  could  inflict ;  and 
for  foolishness,  in  introducing  a  law  the  bearings 
of  which  he  had  never  contemplated.  This 
would  make  his  authority  for  the  future  a  mere 
name.  Thecasewasa  difficult  one.  Though 
he  was  an  offended  governor,  yet  he  had  the 
compassion  of  a  tender  father.  At  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  his  unbribed  mercy,  he  employed 
his  mind  and  wisdom  to  devise  a  measure, 
an  expedient,  through  the  medium  of  which  he 
could  save  his  son,  and  yet  magnify  his  law, 
and  make  it  honorable.  The  expedient  was 
thus  :  the  king  himself  would  lose  one  eye,  and 
the  offender  should  lose  another.  By  this  means, 
the  honor  of  his  law  was  preserved  unsullied, 
and  the  clemency  of  his  heart  was  extended 
to  the  offender.  Every  subject  in  the  kingdom, 
when  he  heard  of  the  king’s  conduct,  would 
feel  assured  that  the  king  esteemed  his  law 
very  highly  ;  and  though  the  offender  did  not 
suffer  the  entire  penalty,  yet  the  clemency 
shown  him  was  exercised  in  such  a  way,  that 
no  adulterer  would  ever  think  of  escaping 
with  impunity.  Every  reporter  or  historian 
of  the  fact  would  say  that  the  king  spared  not 
his  own  eye  that  he  might  spare  his  offending 
child  with  honor.  lie  would  assert  that  this 
sacrifice  of  the  king’s  eye  completely  demon¬ 
strated  his  abhorrence  of  adultery,  and  high 
regard  for  his  law,  as  effectually  as  if  the 
penalty  had  been  literally  executed  upon  the 
sinner  himself.  The  impression  on  the  public 
mind  would  be,  that  this  expedient  of  the 
father  was  an  atonement  for  the  offence  of  his 
son,  and  was  a  just  and  honorable  ground  for 
pardoning  him.  Such  an  expedient  in  the 
moral  government  of  God,  the  apostles  assert¬ 
ed  the  death  of  Christ  to  be.  They  preached 
that  all  men  were  “  condemned  already ;  ” 
that  God  had  “  thoughts  of  peace,  and  not  of 
evil,”  towards  all  men  ;  that  these  thoughts 
were  to  be  exercised  in  such  a  manner  as  not 
to  “  destroy  the  law  ;  ”  and  that  the  medium, 
or  expedient,  for  doing  this  was  the  sacrifice  of 
his  only  son,  as  an  atonement,  or  satisfaction, 
to  public  justice  for  the  sins  of  men. 

Dr.  Jenki/n. 

225.  ATONEMENT,  by  Blood.  Throughout  the 
Old  Testament,  the  word  “  atonement  ”  is  con¬ 
stantly  used  to  signify  the  reconciliation  of  God 
by  means  of  bloody  sacrifices  to  men  alienated 
from  him  by  the  guilt  of  sin.  The  priest 
made  atonement  for  the  transgressors  of  the 
law  by  sacrifices  ;  and  it  was  forgiven  them 
(Lev.  iv.  20,  v.  6,  vi.  7,  xii.  8,  xiv.  18;  Num.  xv. 
25).  On  the  great  “  day  of  atonement,”  the  high 
priest  made  atonement,  —  first  for  his  own  sins 
by  the  sacrifice  of  a  bullock,  and  for  the  sins 
of  all  the  people  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  goat ; 
and  then  the  sins  thus  atoned  for  were  con- 


36 


A.TOlSnElMK^'T. 


ATOINTEMElSrT. 


fessed,  and  laid  upon  the  head  of  the  live  goat, 
and  carried  away  by  him  into  oblivion  (Lev. 
xvi.  6-22).  A.  A.  Ilodge. 

226.  ATONEMENT,  Extent  of.  The  apostles 
understood  their  commissions  to  be  general 
and  indiscriminate  for  “  every  creature  :  ”  so 
they  received  it  from  Him  who  laid  the  foun¬ 
dation  of  such  an  extensive  ministration  by 
tasting  death  for  every  man.  Accordingly, 
they  went  forth  on  their  commission,  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  “  all  the  world.”  They  did  not 
square  their  message  by  any  human  system  of 
theology,  nor  measure  their  language  to  the 
lines  of  Procrustean  creeds.  They  employed  a 
dialect  that  traverses  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  world.  They  did  not  tremble  for  such 
an  unreserved  exhibition  of  the  ark  and  the 
mercy-seat.  They  could  not  bring  themselves 
to  stint  the  remedy  which  was  prepared  and 
intended  to  restore  a  dying  world ;  nor  would 
they  cramp  the  bow  which  God  had  lighted 
up  in  the  storm  that  threatened  all  mankind. 

Dr.  T.  W.  JenJcyn. 

227.  ATONEMENT,  Fulness  of  the.  Oh  1  who 

shall  measure  the  heights  of  the  Saviour's  all- 
sufficiency  1 — first  tell  how  high  is  sin,  and 
then  remember,  that  as  Noah’s  flood  prevailed 
over  the  tops  of  earth’s  mountains,  so  the  flood 
of  Christ’s  redemption  prevails  over  the  tops 
of  the  mountains  of  our  sins.  In  heaven’s 
courts  there  are  to-day  men  that  once  were 
murderers  and  thieves  and  drunkards  and 
whoremongers  and  blasphemers  and  persecut¬ 
ors  ;  but  they  have  been  washed,  they  have 
been  sanctified.  Ask  them  whence  the  bright¬ 
ness  of  their  robes  hath  come,  and  where  their 
purity  hath  been  achieved,  and  they,  with  unit¬ 
ed  breath,  tell  you  that  they  have  washed 
their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb.  Spurgeon. 

228.  ATONEMENT,  Greatness  of  the.  Look, 

look,  look,  with  solemn  eye  through  the  shades 
that  part  us  from  the  world  of  spirits,  and  see 
that  house  of  misery  which  men  call  hell ! 
Ye  cannot  endure  the  spectacle.  Remember 
that  in  that  place  there  are  spirits  forever  pay¬ 
ing  their  debts  to  divine  justice ;  but,  though 
some  of  them  have  been  for  these  four  thou¬ 
sand  years  sweltering  in  the  flame,  they  are 
no  nearer  a  discharge  than  when  they  began ; 
and,  when  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
years  shall  have  rolled  away,  they  will  no 
more  have  made  satisfaction  to  God  for  their 
guilt  than  they  have  done  up  till  now.  And 
now  can  you  grasp  the  thought  of  the  great¬ 
ness  of  your  Saviour’s  mediation  when  he 
paid  your  debt,  and  paid  it  all  at  once ;  so 
that  there  now  reniainetli  not  one  farthing 
of  debt  owing  from  Christ’s  people  to  their 
God,  except  a  debt  of  love  ?  To  justice  the 
believer  oweth  nothing;  though  he  owed 
originally  so  much  that  eternity  would  not 
have  been  long  enough  to  suffice  for  the 
paying  of  it,  yet,  in  one  moment,  Christ  did 
pay  it  all  :  so  that  the  man  who  believeth  is 
entirely  justified  from  all  guilt,  and  set  free 
from  all  punishment,  through  what  Jesus  hath 
done.  Spurgeon. 


229.  ATONEMENT,  Idea  of.  The  experience 
of  poor  Jack,  a  deaf-mute,  is  thus  given  by 
Charlotte  Elizabeth :  — 

His  sublime  idea  of  the  Red  Hand  was  ever 
present.  He  had  told  me,  some  years  before, 
that,  when  he  had  lain  a  good  while  in  the 
grave,  God  would  call  aloud,  “  Jack  1  ”  and  he 
would  start  and  say,  “  Yes,  me  Jack.”  Then 
he  would  rise  and  see  multitudes  standing 
together,  and  God  sitting  on  a  cloud,  with  a 
very  large  book  in  his  hand  (he  called  it 
“  Bible-book  ”),  and  would  beckon  him  to 
stand  before  him,  while  he  opened  the  book, 
and  looked  at  the  top  of  the  pages,  till  he  came 
to  the  name  of  John  B.  In  that  page,  he  told 
me  God  had  written  all  his  “  bads,”  every  sin 
he  had  ever  done  ;  and  the  page  was  full.  So 
God  would  look,  and  strive  to  read  it,  and 
hold  it  to  the  sun  for  light ;  but  it  was  all  “  no, 
no  nothing,  none.”  I  asked  him,  in  some 
alarm,  if  he  had  done  no  bad.  He  said  yes, 
much  bads  ;  but,  when  he  first  prayed  to 
Jesus  Christ,  he  had  taken  the  book  out  of 
God’s  hand,  found  that  page,  and,  pulling  from 
His  palm  something  which  he  described  as 
filling  up  the  hole  made  by  the  nail,  had 
allowed  the  wound  to  bleed  a  little,  pussing  His 
hand  down  the  page,  so  that,  as  he  beautifully 
said,  “  God  could  see  none  of  Jack’s  bads, 
only  Jesus  Christ’s  blood.”  Nothing  being 
thus  found  against  him,  God  would  shut  the 
book,  and  there  he  would  remain  standing 
before  him,  till  the  Lord  Jesus  came,  and 
saying  to  God,  “  My  Jack,”  would  put  his 
arm  around  him,  draw  him  aside,  and  bid 
him  stand  with  the  angels  till  the  rest  were 
■judged. 

23®.  ATONEMENT,  Influence  of  the.  Kazainak 
was  a  robber  chieftain,  inhabiting  the  moun¬ 
tains  of  Greenland.  He  came  to  a  hut  where 
a  missionary  was  translating  the  Gospel  of 
John.  He  wanted  to  know  what  he  was 
doing;  and  when  the  missionary  told  him 
how  the  marks  he  was  making  were  words, 
and  how  a  book  could  speak,  he  wished  to 
hear  what  it  said.  The  missionary  read  the 
story  of  Christ’s  sufferings  ;  when  the  chief 
immediately  asked,  “  What  has  this  man 
done  ?  has  he  robbed  anybody  ?  has  he 
murdered  anybody  ?  ”  —  “  No,”  was  the  reply  : 
“  he  has  robbed  no  one,  murdered  no  one  ;  he 
has  done  nothing  wrong.”  —  “Then  why  does 
he  suffer  ?  why  does  he  die  ?  ”  —  “  Listen  1  ” 
said  the  missionary.  “  This  man  has  done  no 
wrong ;  but  Kazainak  has  done  wrong.  This 
man  has  not  robbed  any  one;  but  Kazainak 
has  robbed  many.  This  man  has  murdered 
no  one ;  but  Kazainak  has  murdered  his 
brother,  Kazainak  has  murdered  his  child. 
This  man  suffered  that  Kaizainak  might  not 
suffer ;  died,  that  Kaizainak  might  not  die.” 
—  “  Tell  me  that  again,”  said  the  astonished 
chieftain  ;  and  the  hard-hearted  murderer  was 
brought  to  the  foot  of  the  cross. 

231.  ATONEMENT,  Need  of.  A  man  on  the 
Malabar  soast  had  long  been  uneasy  about 
his  spiritual  state,  and  had  inquired  of  several 
devotees  and  priests  how  he  might  ipake 


ATONEMENT. 


AVARICE. 


37 


atonement  for  his  sins ;  and  he  was  directed 
to  drive  iron  spikes,  sufficiently  blunted, 
through  his  sandals,  and  on  these  spikes  to 
walk  a  distance  of  about  four  hundred 
and  eighty  miles.  He  undertook  the  jour¬ 
ney,  and  travelled  a  long  way,  but  could 
obtain  no  peace.  One  day,  he  halted  under  a 
large,  shady  tree,  where  the  gospel  was  some¬ 
times  preached  ;  and,  while  he  was  there,  one 
of  the  missionaries  came,  and  preached  from 
the  words,  “  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his 
Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.”  While  he  was 
preaching,  the  poor  man’s  attention  was 
excited,  and  his  heart  was  drawn ;  and,  rising 
up,  he  threw  off  his  torturing  sandals,  and 
cried  out  aloud,  “  This  is  what  I  want  I  ”  and 
became  henceforward  a  witness  of  the  healing 
efficacy  of  the  Saviour’s  blood. 

232.  ATONEMENT,  Objection  to  the.  «  He 

tasted  death  for  every  man.”  “  He  gave  him¬ 
self  a  ransom  for  all.”  “  He  is  a  propitiation 
for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.”  That  all  are 
not  saved  is  no  objection.  It  is  suggested  by 
a  popular  expositor,  that,  in  material  nature, 
much  goodness  seems  wasted.  Rain  and  dew 
descend  upon  flinty  rocks  and  sterile  sands ; 
floods  of  genial  light  come  tiding  down  every 
morning  from  the  sun  on  scenes  where  no 
human  foot  has  trod  ;  flowers  bloom  in  beauty, 
and  emit  their  fragrance,  trees  rise  in  majesty, 
and  throw  away  their  clustering  fruit,  on  spots 
where  as  yet  there  has  never  been  a  man ; 
wealth  sufficient  to  enrich  whole  nations  is 
buried  beneath  the  mountains  and  the  seas, 
while  millions  are  in  want ;  medicine  for  half 
the  ills  of  life  is  shut  up  in  minerals  and 
plants,  while  generations  die  without  knowing 
of  the  remedy  which  Nature  has  provided  :  it 
is  no  objection,  therefore,  to  the  universality  of 
the  atonement,  that  all  are  not  benefited  by  it. 
Its  benefits  one  day  will  be  universally  enjoy¬ 
ed.  There  are  men  coming  after  us  who  shall 
live  in  those  solitary  wastes,  enjoy  the  beauty 
and  the  light  which  now  seem  wasted,  appro¬ 
priate  the  fruits,  the  wealth,  and  the  medicine 
which  for  ages  have  been  of  no  avail.  It  will 
be  even  so  with  the  death  of  Christ.  There 
are  men  coming  after  us  that  shall  participate 
of  the  blessings  of  that  atonement,  which 
generations  have  either  ignorantly  rejected  or 
wickedly  despised.  Dr.  Thomas. 

233.  ATTENTION,  Arresting.  A  party  of 
clergymen  were  one  day  in  conversation, 
pleasantly  talking  of  their  success  in  preaching. 
One  of  them  said,  “  Gentlemen,  I  once  con¬ 
verted  a  man  with  my  eyes.”  When  requested 
to  explain,  he  added,  “  A  straggler  once  entered 
my  church,  and,  casting  his  looks  towards  me, 
he  thought  I  was  staring  him  in  the  face.  To 
avoid  my  observation,  he  removed  from  door 
to  door ;  but  to  no  purpose.  At  last,  he  re¬ 
solved  to  stare  me  out  of  countenance :  his 
attention  was  thus  fixed  upon  what  was  said, 
and  his  sentiments  and  conduct  from  that  day 
underwent  a  complete  change.” 

234.  ATTENTION,  Holding.  It  is  said  that 
certain  native  artists,  when  they  would  drill  a 
hole  in  pearls,  first  fit  them  loosely  in  apertures 


bored  in  a  piece  of  wood ;  then  a  little  water  is 
sprinkled  around  them,  which  gradually  pene¬ 
trates  the  fibres,  and  causes  the  wood  to 
“  swell,”  until  each  little  pearl  is  held  as  firmly 
as  in  a  vice.  Indeed,  no  vice  could  hold  such 
delicate  little  treasures  without  marring  them, 
and  diminishing  their  value.  But  by  this  sim¬ 
ple  process,  the  choicest  ones  are  kept  securely 
in  their  places  without  injury,  until  the  artist’s 
work  is  done ;  and  then,  as  the  water  dries  out, 
the  fibres  gently  relax,  and  the  pearl  is  free. 
So  the  teacher  must  hold  his  soul-pearls  by 
faith  and  sympathy  till  they  are  polished  for 
the  Master’s  crown. 

235.  ATTENTION,  Securing.  When  the  pho¬ 
tographer  tries  to  take  the  portrait  of  a 
child,  his  first  effort  is  to  fix  its  attention. 
His  skill  in  this  measures  his  success  as  an 
artist.  If  the  hand  or  foot  or  head  moves,  the 
picture  is  spoiled. 

236.  AVARICE,  Danger  of.  A  servant  of  an 
Indian  rajah  was  ordered  to  keep  away  from 
a  cave  near  the  rajah’s  residence,  and  to  keep 
all  others  away.  The  servant  began  to  con¬ 
sider  the  probable  reason  of  his  having  been 
forbidden  to  enter  the  cave.  He  made  up  his 
mind  that  his  master  must  have  great  treasure 
hid  there,  and  resolved  to  get  it.  Taking  a 
fellow-servant  with  him  to  secure  the  coveted 
prize,  they  rolled  away  the  stone  at  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  when  a  tremendous  tiger  sprang 
upon  them,  and  tore  them  to  pieces. 

237.  AVARICE,  Emblem  of.  Gotthold’s  sons 
had  purchased  a  savings-box,  to  keep  the  little 
sums  of  money  they  occasionally  received,  and 
found,  that,  however  easy  to  drop  the  pieces 
in,  it  was  much  more  difficult  to  bring  them 
out.  He  thereupon  observed,  “  That  is  an 
emblem  of  the  hearts  and  coffers  of  the  vast 
majority  of  the  men  of  these  times.  They  are 
very  greedy  to  take,  but  very  backward  to 
give,  especially  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
relief  of  the  poor.  Oh,  how  long  we  must 
shake,  and  how  many  arts  we  must  try,  before 
we  can  extract  even  a  penny  from  a  hard  and 
penurious  man  for  the  service  of  God  or  his 
neighbors  1  So  long  as  he  lives,  he  imagines 
that  the  business  for  which  he  came  into  the 
world  is  to  collect  and  keep  money  ;  but  when 
he  has  to  leave  the  world,  and  when  death 
breaks  the  savings-box  to  pieces,  and  he  must 
resign  his  hoard  to  others,  he  does  it  with 
reluctance  and  displeasure.  I  really  believe, 
that,  were  it  not  too  absurd  and  useless,  many 
a  miser,  in  making  his  will,  would  do  what  a 
miser  once  actually  did,  appoint  himself  his 
own  heir.  How  dreadful  a  folly  to  hoard  up 
gold,  and  to  lose  heaven  1  ” 

238.  AVARICE,  A  Fearful  Disease.  Cortes  was 
asked  by  various  Mexican  States,  what  com¬ 
modities  or  drugs  he  wanted,  and  was  prom¬ 
ised  an  abundant  supply.  He  and  his  Span¬ 
iards,  he  answered,  had  a  disease  at  their 
hearts,  which  nothing  but  gold  could  cure; 
and  he  had  received  intelligence  that  Mexico 
abounded  with  it.  Under  the  pretence  of  a 
friendly  conference,  he  made  Montezuma  his 
prisoner,  and  ordered  him  to  pay  tribute  to 


38 


.a.v^jr,ice:. 


ASV  .AJRICE . 


Charles  V.  Immense  sums  were  paid ;  but  the 
demand  was  boundless.  Tumults  ensued. 
Cortes  displayed  amazing  generalship ;  and 
some  millions  of  the  natives  were  sacrificed  to 
the  disease  of  his  heart.  Percy. 

239.  AVARICE,  Greed  of.  We  see  the  most 

rich  worldlings  live  the  most  miserably,  slaved 
to  that  wealth  whereof  they  keep  the  key  under 
their  girdles.  Esuriunt  in  popina,  as  we  say, 
“  they  starve  in  a  cook’s  shop.”  A  man  would 
think,  that,  if  wealth  could  do  any  good,  it 
could  surely  do  this  good,  keep  the  owner  from 
want,  hunger,  sorrow,  care.  No,  even  these 
evils  riches  do  not  avoid,  but  rather  force  on 
him.  Whereof  is  a  man  covetous  but  of 
riches  ?  When  these  riches  come,  you  think 
he  is  cured  of  his  covetousness :  no,  he  is  more 
covetous ;  though  the  desires  of  his  mind  be 
granted,  yet  this  precludes  not  the  access  of 
new  desires  to  the  mind.  So  a  man  might 
strive  to  extinguish  the  lamp  by  putting  oil 
into  it;  but  this  makes  it  burn  more.  And  as 
it  is  with  some,  that  thirstily  drink  harsh  and 
ill-brewed  drinks,  have  not  their  heat  allayed, 
but  inflamed ;  so  this  worldling’s  hot  eager¬ 
ness  of  riches  is  not  cooled,  but  fired,  by  his 
abundance.  T.  Adams. 

240.  AVARICE,  Legend  of.  St.  Antonio, 
being  called  upon  to  preach  the  funeral- 
sermon  of  a  very  rich  man  who  had  been  re¬ 
markable  for  his  avarice  and  his  usury,  chose 
lor  his  text,  “  Where  the  treasure  is,  there 
will  the  heart  be  also,”  and,  instead  of  praising 
the  dead,  denounced  him  as  condemned  for  his 
misdeeds  to  eternal  punishment.  “  His  heart,” 
he  said,  “  is  buried  in  his  treasure-chest :  go 
seek  it  there,  and  you  will  find  it.”  Where¬ 
upon  the  friends  and  relations,  going  to  break 
open  the  chest,  found  there  the  heart  of  the 
miser  amid  a  heap  of  ducats  ;  and  this  miracle 
was  further  established,  when,  upon  opening 
the  breast  of  the  dead  man,  they  found  his  heart 
was  gone,  which  extraordinary  event  occurred 
in  the  city  of  Florence,  and  is  related  by  the 
veracious  author  Lelio  Mancini  Poliziano. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

241.  AVARICE,  Legend  of  the  Choice  of.  A 

very  pretty  apologue  relating  to  St.  John  is 
sometimes  included  in  a  series  of  subjects  from 
his  life.  Two  young  men,  who  had  sold  all 
their  possessions  to  follow  him,  afterwards  re¬ 
pented.  He,  perceiving  their  thoughts,  sent 
them  to  gather  pebbles  and  fagots,  and,  on 
their  return,  changed  these  into  money  and 
ingots  of  gold,  saying  to  them,  “  Take  back 
your  riches,  and  enjoy  them  on  earth,  as  you 
regret  having  exchanged  them  for  heaven  !  ” 
This  story  is  represented  on  one  of  the  windows 
of  the  Cathedral  at  Bourges.  The  two  young 
men  stand  before  St.  John,  with  a  heap  of 
gold  on  one  side,  and  a  heap  of  stones  and 
fagots  on  the  other.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

242.  AVARICE,  Misery  of  “  What  an  un¬ 
fortunate  wretch  am  1 1  ”  complained  a  miser 
to  his  neighbor.  “  Some  one  last  night  has 
taken  away  the  treasure  which  I  buried  in  the 
garden,  and  laid  a  cursed  stone  in  its  place.” 
—  “  And  yet  you  have  never  used  your  treas¬ 


ure,”  answered  his  neighbor.  “  Only  bring 
yourself  to  believe  that  the  stone  is  still  your 
treasure,  and  you  are  none  the  poorer.”  —  “  If 
I  am  none  the  poorer,”  returned  the  miser, 
“  is  not  some  one  else  the  richer  ?  The 
thought  is  enough  to  drive  me  mad.” 

Prof.  Lessing. 

243.  AVARICE,  Penalty  of.  A  peasant  once 
entered  the  hall  of  justice  at  Florence,  at  the 
time  that  Alexander,  Duke  of  Tuscany,  was 
presiding.  He  stated  that  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  find  a  purse  of  sixty  ducats,  and 
learning  that  it  belonged  to  Friuli  the  mer¬ 
chant,  who  offered  a  reward  of  ten  ducats  to 
the  finder,  he  restored  it  to  him,  but  that  he 
had  refused  the  promised  reward.  The  duke 
instantly  ordered  Friuli  to  be  summoned  into 
his  presence,  and  questioned  why  he  refused 
the  reward  ?  The  merchant  replied,  that 
he  conceived  the  peasant  had  paid  himself; 
for  although,  when  he  gave  notice  of  his  loss, 
he  said  this  purse  only  contained  sixty  ducats, 
it  in  fact  had  seventy  in  it.  The  duke  in¬ 
quired  if  this  mistake  was  discovered  before 
the  purse  was  found.  Friuli  answered  in  the 
negative.  “  Then,”  said  the  duke,  “  as  I  have 
a  very  high  opinion  of  the  honesty  of  this  peas¬ 
ant,  I  am  induced  to  believe  that  there  is 
indeed  a  mistake  in  this  transaction  ;  for  as  the 
purse  you  lost  had  in  it  seventy  ducats,  and 
this  which  he  found  contains  sixty  only,  it  is 
impossible  that  it  can  be  the  same.”  He  then 
gave  the  purse  to  the  peasant,  and  promised  to 
protect  him  against  all  future  claimants. 

Percy. 

244.  AVARICE,  Pretence  of.  “  There  are 
those,”  as  our  Bromiard  observes,  “  who  in  a 
fair  pretence  of  mortification,  like  soaring 
kites,  fly  up  from  earth,  and  cry,  ‘  Fje,  fie  1  ’  in 
their  flight,  as  if  they  scorned  these  lower 
vanities,  and  yet,  when  they  have  done,  stoop 
upon  the  first  carrion  that  comes  in  their  eye,” 
—  false  Pharisees,  that,  under  the  color  of  long 
prayers,  devour  widows’  houses ;  pharisakal 
votaries,  that,  under  color  of  wilful  poverty, 
sweep  away  whole  countries  into  their  corban. 

Bp.  Hall. 

245.  AVARICE,  Selfishness  of.  Had  covetous 
men,  as  the  fable  goes  of  Briareus,  each  of 
them  one  hundred  hands,  they  would  all 
of  them  be  employed  in  grasping  and  gather¬ 
ing,  and  hardly  one  of  them  in  giving  or  laying 
out,  but  all  in  receiving,  and  none  in  restor¬ 
ing,  —  a  thing  in  itself  so  monstrous,  that 
nothing  in  nature  besides  is  like  it,  except  it 
be  death  and  the  grave,  the  only  things  I  know 
which  are  always  carrying  off  the  spoils  of  the 
world,  and  never  making  restitution.  For  other¬ 
wise,  all  the  parts  of  the  universe,  as  they 
borrow  of  one  another,  so  they  will  pay 
what  they  borrow,  and  that  by  so  just  and 
well  balanced  an  equality,  that  their  payments 
always  keep  pace  with  their  receipts. 

./.  Dryden. 

246.  AVARICE,  Soil  of.  Avarice  reigns 

most  in  those  who  have  but  few  good  qualities 
to  recommend  them.  It  is  a  weed  that  will 
grow  in  a  barren  soil.  Hughes. 


33AJBY. 


BACXCSLronSTG-. 


247.  BABY,  Death  of  a,  “  Who  took  him  on 
the  other  side  ?  ”  A  pair  of  soft  blue  eyes, 
full  of  tenderness  and  tears,  looked  up  into 
mine.  “  On  the  other  side  1  What  do  you 
mean,  my  darling ;  and  I  looked  wondering  at 
the  child.  “  Baby,  I  mean.  He  was  so  small 
and  weak,  and  had  to  go  all  alone.  Who  took 
him  on  the  other  side  ?  ”  —  “  Angels,”  1  an¬ 
swered,  as  steadily  as  I  could  speak ;  for  the 
child’s  question  moved  me  deeply,  —  “  loving 
angels,  who  took  him  up  tenderly  and  laid  his 
head  softly  on  their  bosoms,  and  sang  to  him 
sweeter  songs  than  he  had  ever  heard  in  this 
world.”  —  “But  every  one  will  be  strange  to  him. 
I’m  afraid  he’ll  be  grieved  for  mother  and  nurse 
and  me.”  —  “  No,  dear.  The  Saviour,  who  was 
once  a  baby  in  this  world,  is  there ;  and  the 
angels  who  are  nearest  to  him  take  all  the  lit¬ 
tle  children  who  leave  our  side,  and  love  and 
care  for  them  just  as  if  they  were  their  own. 
When  baby  passed  through  to  the  other  side, 
one  of  these  angels  held  him  by  the  hand  all 
the  way,  and  he  was  not  in  the  least  afraid  ;  and 
when  the  light  of  heaven  broke  upon  his  eyes, 
and  he  saw  the  new  beauty  of  the  new  world 
into  whieh  he  had  entered,  his  little  heart  was 
full  of  gladness.”  —  “  You  are  sure  of  that  ?  ” 
The  grief  had  almost  faded  out  of  the  child’s 
countenance.  “  Yes,  dear,  very  sure.  The 
Lord,  who  so  tenderly  loves  little  children, 
who  took  them  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them 
when  he  was  on  earth,  who  said  that  ‘  their 
angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  my 
Father,’  is  more  careful  of  the  babes  who  go 
to  him  than  the  tenderest  mother  could  possi¬ 
bly  be.”  —  “lam  so  glad  I  ”  said  the  child; 

“  and  it  makes  me  feel  so  much  better  !  Dear 
baby  1  I  didn’t  know  who  would  take  him  on 
the  other  side.”  Children's  Hour. 

248.  BABY,  Praying.  There  were  two  little 
brothers,  one  of  whom  was  a  little  baby  that 
had  just  begun  to  talk.  The  elder  came  to 
his  father  one  night,  just  as  he  was  going  to 
bed,  to  kneel  down  by  his  side,  and  say  his 
prayers.  The  baby  came  up,  and  said,  “  Papa, 
why  don’t  you  teach  baby  to  pray  ?  ”  The 
father  told  the  dear  little  one  to  kneel  down, 
and  then  taught  it  the  simple  prayer,  “  God 
bless  the  baby.”  By  and  by  a  messenger  was 
sent  to  take  baby  away  to  heaven.  Friends 
were  all  gathered  there  to  see  the  little  one 
die.  It  ceased  to  breathe,  and  all  supposed  it 
had  passed  away  to  the  bosom  of  Jesus;  but 
once  more  it  looked  up,  and  sweetly  said, 
“  God  bless  the  baby,”  and  died. 

210.  BACKSLIDER,  Course  of  a.  As  the  fig- 
tree  began  to  wither,  so  his  gifts  begin  to  paire, 
as  if  a  worm  was  still  gnawing  at  them  ;  his 
judgment  rusts  like  a  sword  which  is  not 
used  ;  his  zeal  trembleth  as  though  it  were  in 
a  palsie ;  his  faith  withereth  as  though  it  were 
blasted ;  and  the  image  of  death  is  upon  all  his 
religion.  Alter  this,  lie  thinketh,  like  Samson, 
to  pray  as  he  did,  and  speak  as  he  did,  and 
hath  no  power,  but  wondereth,  like  Zedekiah, 
how  the  spirit  is  gone  from  him.  Now,  when 
the  good  Spirit  is  gone,  then  cometh  the  spirit 
o i  blindness,  and  the  spirit  of  error,  and  the  | 


3ft 

spirit  of  fear ;  and  all  to  seduce  the  spirit  of 
man.  After  this,  by  little  and  little  he  falls 
into  error,  then  he  comes  unto  heresie,  at  last 
he  plungeth  into  despair :  after  this,  if  he  in¬ 
quire,  God  will  not  suffer  him  to  learn  ;  if  he 
read,  God  will  not  suffer  him  to  understand; 
if  he  hear,  God  will  not  suffer  him  to  remem¬ 
ber;  if  he  pray,  God  seemetli  unto  him  like 
Baal,  which  could  not  hear:  at  last  he  behold- 
eth  his  wretchedness,  as  Adam  looked  upon 
his  nakedness ;  and  mourneth  for  his  gifts  as 
Rachel  wept  for  her  children,  because  they 
were  not.  All  this  cometh  to  pass,  that  the 
Scripture  might  be  fulfilled,  “  Whosoever  hath 
not,  from  him  shall  be  taken  that  which  he 
seemeth  to  have.”  Henry  Smith. 

2  JO.  BACKSLIDER,  Misery  of  a.  After  poor 
Sabat,  an  Arabian  who  had  professed  faith  in 
Christ  by  the  means  of  the  labors  of  the  Rev.  H. 
Martyn,  had  apostatized  from  Christianity,  and 
written  in  favor  of  Mohammedanism,  he  was 
met  at  Malacca  by  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Milne,  who 
proposed  to  him  some  very  pointed  questions, 
in  reply  to  which,  he  said,  “  I  am  unhappy.  I 
have  a  mountain  of  burning  sand  on  my  head. 
When  I  go  about,  I  know  not  what  I  am 
doing.”  It  is,  indeed,  “  an  evil  thing  and  bitter 
to  forsake  the  Lord  our  God.”  W.  Nicholson. 

251.  BACKSLIDERS,  Afflictions  of.  Like  as  if 
a  sheep  stray  from  his  fellows,  the  shepherd 
sets  his  dog  after  it,  not  to  devour  it,  but  to 
bring  it  back  again  :  even  so  our  heavenly 
Shepherd,  if  any  of  his  sheep  disobey  him,  he 
sets  his  dog  of  affliction  after  us  to  bring  us 
home  to  a  consideration  of  our  duty  towards 
him.  His  dogs  are  poverty,  sickness,  death, 
war,  loss  of  goods  or  friends,  &c.  Cawdray. 

252.  BACKSLIDERS,  Death  of.  I  can  cer¬ 

tainly  testify,  after  sixteen  years’  ministry, 
that  by  far  the  most  hopeless  death-beds  l 
have  attended  have  been  those  of  backsliders. 
I  have  seen  such  persons  go  out  of  the  world 
without  hope,  whose  conscience  appeared 
really  dead,  buried,  and  gone,  and  on  whom 
every  truth  and  doctrine  and  argument  ap¬ 
peared  alike  thrown  away.  They  seemed  to 
have  lost  the  power  of  feeling,  and  could  only 
lie  still,  and  despair.  llev.  J.  C.  Ryle. 

253.  BACKSLIDERS,  Sadness  of.  It  is  said 
of  Tully  when  he  was  banished  from  Italy, 
and  of  Demosthenes  when  he  was  banished 
from  Athens,  that  they  wept  every  time  they 
looked  towards  their  own  country  ;  and  is  it 
strange  that  a  poor  deserted  believer  should 
mourn  every  time  he  looks  heavenward  ? 

254.  BACKSLIDING,  Awfulness  of.  They  fall 

deepest  into  hell  who  fall  backwards  into  hell. 
None  so  near  heaven  as  those  that  are  con¬ 
vinced  of  sin  ;  none  so  near  hell  as  those  who 
have  quenched  conviction.  Bunyan. 

255.  BACKSLIDING,  Guard  against.  Among 
the  prisoners  taken  captive  at  Waterloo,  there 
was  a  Highland  piper.  Napoleon,  struck  with 
his  mountain  dress  and  sinewy  limbs,  asked 
him  to  play  on  his  instrument,  which  is  said 
to  sound  so  delightfully  in  the  mountains  and 
glens  in  Scotland.  “  Play  a  pibroch,”  said 
Napoleon ;  and  the  Highlander  played.  “  Play 


40 


BA.CKSXiIX>rN'G-. 


BALLS. 


a  march  ;  ”  it  was  done.  “  Play  a  retreat.”  — 
“  Na,  na,”  said  (he  Highlander,  “  [  never 
learned  to  play  a  retreat.” 

25 6.  BACKSLIDING,  Ocoasion  of.  Gregorie 

write th.  “The  remembrance  of  former  ver- 
tues  doth  many  times  so  besot  and  inveigle 
a  man,  that  it  makes  him,  like  a  blind  asse, 
fall  down  into  a  ditch.”  When  Orpheus 
went  to  fetch  his  wife  Eurydice  out  of  hell, 
he  had  her  granted  to  him  upon  condition 
that  he  should  not  turn  back  his  eyes  to  looke 
upon  her  till  he  had  brought  her  into  heaven  ; 
yet  having  brought  her  forward  a  great  way, 
at  length  his  love  was  so  excessive,  that  he 
could  not  continue  any  longer,  but  would 
needs  have  a  sight  of  her.  Whereupon 
forthwith  he  lost  both  her  sight  and  herselfe ; 
shee  suddenly  againe  vanishing  away  from 
him.  Playfere. 

257.  BACKSLIDING,  Prevention  of.  “When 
I  was  young  in  the  service  of  God,”  said  a 
brother,  “  I  had  many  fears  that  I  should 
backslide  if  I  should  live  to  see  old  age.;  and 
sometimes  requested  of  the  Lord,  that  I 
might  die  young,  and  thus  save  religion  from 
reproach  and  my  soul  from  ruin.  One  day, 
while  thus  musing,  the  impression  was  vividly 
made  on  my  inind,  that  I  must  serve  God  by 
the  day.  This  was  more  than  thirty  years 
ago ;  and,  by  the  grace  of  God  aiding  me  to 
put  that  rule  into  practice,  I  am  yet  on  my 
way  to  heaven.” 

258.  BACKSLIDING,  Process  of.  Some  time 
ago,  two  ministers  were  walking  along  the 
banks  of  a  river,  when  they  came  to  a  tree 
which  had  been  blown  down  in  a  recent  gale. 
It  was  a  mighty,  noble  tree,  tall  and  substan¬ 
tial,  with  large  outspreading  roots  and  ample 
foliage.  It  must  have  been  the  growth  of  the 
greater  part  of  a  century  ;  and  any  one  who 
had  seen  it  would  have  said  there  was  no 
cause  why  it  should  not  have  stood  a  century 
longer.  Approaching  to  examine  it,  they 
found  it  had  been  snapped  off  just  above 
the  roots ;  and,  on  looking  still  closer,  found 
that  there  was  only  an  outer  shell  of  sound 
wood,  and  that  the  heart  was  rotten.  Un¬ 
noticed,  the  decay  had  been  going  on  for 

years.  “  Do  you  know,”  said  Mr. - to  his 

companion,  “  that  a  tree  never  breaks  off  in 
this  way,  unless  there  has  been  previous  de¬ 
cay  ?  ”  —  “A  very  suggestive  lesson,”  was  the 
answer,  “  for  you  and  me,  and  for  your  people 
and  mine.  Is  it  not  so  with  the  falls  of  many 
of  the  members  of  our  churches  ?  Men  sel¬ 
dom  fall  all  at  once  into  notorious,  flagrant 
sin.”  Bowes . 

259.  BACKSLIDING,  Punishment  of,  When 
Amurath,  emperor  of  the  Turks,  had  notice 
given  him  that  a  doctor  of  law  had  cheated  a 
poor  pilgrim  that  was  gone  to  M<  cca.  and  at 
the  man’s  return  would  not  reston  to  him  the 
jewels  lie  had  intrusted  with  him,  bt  t  resolutely 
denied  that  he  had  received  any  such  things 
from  him,  the  emperor  one  day,  in  a  third 
person,  asked  the  doctor  what  he  thought  a 
man  that  had  notoriously  betrayed  his  trust 
might  justly  deserve.  He  answered,  it  was 


fit  that  so  notorious  a  villain  should  be  pounded 
alive  in  a  mortar.  He  had  no  sooner  said 
the  word  but  the  emperor  gave  order  that  so 
it  should  be  done  to  him  who  had  so  notori¬ 
ously  cozened  the  poor  pilgrim. 

A.  Horneck. 

260.  BACKSLIDING,  Recovery  from.  A  young 
man  was  for  several  months  in  a  backsliding 
state,  which  manifested  itself  in  the  usual  way, 
—  of  conformity  to  a  fashionable  and  unholy 
course  of  life,  and  a  neglect  of  the  ordinances 
and  institutions  of  the  house  of  God.  During 
this  time,  he  called  on  a  deacon  of  the  church, 
who  was  a  watchmaker,  and  asked  him  to  re¬ 
pair  liis  watch.  “  What  is  the  difficulty  with 
your  watch  V  ”  said  he.  “  It  has  lost  time 
lately,”  said  the  young  man.  The  deacon 
looked  up  to  him  with  a  steady  and  significant 
eye,  and  said,  “  Haven’t  you  lost  time  lately  ?  ” 
These  few  words  brought  the  backslider  to 
repentance,  to  the  church,  and  to  duty. 

Christian  Treasury. 

261.  BACKSLIDING,  Signs  of.  Indifference 

to  prayer  and  self-examination,  trifling  or 
unprofitable  conversation,  neglect  of  public 
ordinances,  shunning  the  people  of  God,  asso¬ 
ciating  with  the  world,  thinking  lightly  of  sin, 
neglect  of  the  Bible,  and  often  gross  immo¬ 
rality.  C.  Buck. 

262.  BACKSLIDING,  Slight.  At  Preston,  at 

Malines,  at  many  such  places,  the  lines  go 
gently  asunder :  so  fine  is  the  angle,  that  at 
first  the  paths  are  almost  parallel,  and  it  seems 
of  small  moment  which  you  select.  But  a 
little  farther  one  of  them  turns  a  corner,  or 
dives  into  a  tunnel ;  and,  now  that  the  speed 
is  full,  the  angle  opens  up,  and,  at  the  rate  of  a 
mile  a  minute,  the  divided  convoy  flies  asun¬ 
der;  one  passenger  is  on  the  way  to  Italy, 
another  to  the  swamps  of  Holland  ;  one  will 
step  out  in  London,  the  other,  in  the  Irish 
Channel.  It  is  not  enough  that  you  look  for 
the  better  country ;  you  must  keep  the  way  : 
and  a  small  deviation  may  send  you  entirely 
wrong.  Dr.  James  Hamilton. 

263.  BADGE,  The  Best,  The  Army  of  the 
Potomac  provided  themselves  with  badges  pe¬ 
culiar  to  each  division,  which  custom  did  not 
prevail  among  the  Western  armies.  A  veteran 
soldier  was  challenged  by  the  usual  “  Halt  1  ” 
anti  asked  for  his  regiment,  division,  and  corps, 
by  a  soldier  from  the  East.  Then  he  was  asked, 
“  What  is  your  corps-badge  ?  ”  Turning  around 
and  slapping  his  cartridge-box,  the  brave  sol¬ 
dier  replied,  “  D’ye  see  that  ?  A  cartridge- 
box  with  a  U.  S.  on  a  brass  plate,  and  forty 
rounds  in  the  cartridge-box,  and  sixty  rounds 
in  our  pockets  :  that’s  the  badge  of  the  Fif¬ 
teenth,  that  come  from  Vicksburg  to  help  ye 
fight  Chattanoogy.”  His  record  was  distinc¬ 
tion  enough. 

264.  BALLS,  Influence  of.  I  was  employing  a 
very  respectable  woman  a  few  days  to  do  some 
work  for  me,  and  one  evening  she  said  to  me, 
“  You  must  please  to  let  me  off  earlier  to-night, 
ma’am,  I  am  going  to  the  ball.”  —  “  To  the 
ball !  ”  I  exclaimed  in  amazement,  —  “  to  the 
ball  1  ”  —  “  Yes,”  she  said  ;  “I  am  at  all  the 


BALLS. 


BATTLE. 


41 


balls.”  I  could  not  understand  her ;  for,  never 
going  to  such  places  myself,  I  am  somewhat 
ignorant  of  what  goes  on.  So  she  went  on  to 
say,  “  I  am  keeper  of  the  china,  and  am  tea- 
maker  :  so  I  am  obliged  to  be  there  ;  and  I  shall 
not  get  to  bed  before  six  o’clock  to-morrow 
morning.  O  ma’am  I  ”  she  added,  “  it’s  a  dread¬ 
ful  life  I  I  have  seen  young  ladies  when  they 
first  came  to  this  town,  looking  so  bright,  their 
cheeks  so  rosy,  their  eyes  so  dancing  with  joy, 
and,  before  the  winter  is  over,  I  have  not  known 
them,  they  look  so  old  and  pale  and  haggard 
and  miserable.”  S.  5.  Teachers’  Journal. 

263.  BALLS,  Irreligious.  When  the  late  Dr. 
Milne  of  China  was  a  working  tradesman  at 
Leith  Hall,  the  seat  of  the  late  Gen.  Hay  in 
Aberdeenshire,  he  was  ever  ready  to  act  out 
John  Newton’s  principle :  “  I  make  it  a  rule 
of  Christian  duty  never  to  go  to  a  place  where 
there  is  not  room  for  my  Master  as  well  as 
myself.”  It  so  happened,  that  on  one  occasion, 
when  a  ball  was  to  be  given  in  honor  of  some 
family  event,  orders  were  issued  to  send  invi¬ 
tations  to  every  person  on  the  estate.  When 
the  grieve  received  the  name  of  William 
Milne,  he  said  to  the  steward,  “  You  need  not 
invite  Milne,  he  won’t  come :  balls  don’t  do 
with  his  religion.”  —  “  But  you  can  take  the 
invitation,  whether  he  accepts  it  or  not,”  re¬ 
plied  the  steward  ;  “  for  my  instructions  are  to 
invite  all.”  The  grieve  sent  the  message  to 
William  Milne,  who,  on  receiving  it,  gravely 
said,  “  Tell  the  grieve,  that,  when  William 
Milne  has  no  work  for  eternity,  he  will  attend 
to  balls.”  The  answer  was  an  arrow  from  the 
quiver  of  divine  truth.  It  pierced  his  heart; 
and  he  could  get  no  peace  until  it  was  with¬ 
drawn  by  the  Great  Physician,  and  the  balm 
of  Gilead  applied.  Dr.  Wise. 

266.  BANNER,  Following  the.  It  was  a  dis¬ 
grace  for  a  legion  to  lose  its  standard.  When 
C®sar  undertook  the  conquest  of  Britain,  the 
appearance  of  the  toe  was  so  formidable  as  to 
deter  him  from  landing.  At  length,  the  stan¬ 
dard-bearer  of  the  tenth  legion  leaped  into  the 
waves,  and  made  for  the  shore.  The  troops 
followed  to  protect  their  flag,  and  thus  secured 
a  landing,  and  effected  the  final  conquest. 

267.  BAPTISM,  Emblem  of.  The  fish  was  the 
earliest  and  most  universal  of  the  Christian 
emblems ;  partly  as  the  symbol  of  water  and 
the  right  of  baptism,  and  also  because  the  five 
Greek  letters  which  express  the  word  “fish” 
form  the  anagram  of  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  find  the  fish,  as  a  general  symbol  of  the 
Christian  faith,  upon  the  sarcophagi  of  the 
early  Christians,  on  the  tombs  of  the  martyrs 
in  the  catacombs,  and  as  an  ornament  in 
early  Christian  architecture. 

268.  BAPTISM,  Forgetting.  The  Spanish  t 
converts  in  Mexico  remembered  not  any  thing 
of  the  promise  and  profession  they  made  in  I 
baptism,  save  only  their  names,  which  many  : 
times  they  also  forgot;  and  in  the  kingdom  of  ' 
Congo,  of  Africa,  the  Portuguese,  at  their  first  ; 
arrival,  finding  the  people  to  be  heathens,  in-  t 
duced  them  to  be  baptized  in  great  abundance,  1 
allowing  the  principles  of  Christianity  till  such  1 


•  times  as  the  priests  pressed  them  to  lead  lives 
;  according  to  their  profession,  which  the  most 
i  part  of  them  in  no  case  enduring,  returned 

•  again  to  their  Gentilism.  Such  renegades  are 
I  to  be  found  in  the  midst  of  us  this  day,  such 

as  give  themselves  up  to  Christ  in  profession  ; 

■  but,  when  it  comes  to  a  holy  life,  they  leave 
him  in  the  open  field,  forsaking  their  colors, 
renouncing  their  baptism,  and  running  away 
to  the  enemy.  Spencer. 

260.  BATTLE,  Advanoe  to  the.  It  is  said  when 
the  footsore  and  wearied  regiments  of  the 
Union  Army  neared  Gettysburg,  and  the 
sounds  of  the  battle  reached  their  ears,  worn- 
out  and  sick  officers  and  men,  inspired  with  a 
new  strength,  grasping  their  arms,  moved  for¬ 
ward  to  the  scene  of  strife.  A  poor  fellow  who 
looked  the  image  of  death  hobbled  out  of  an 
ambulance,  and,  shouldering  his  musket,  was 
just  starting  forward,  when  the  surgeon  stopped 
him  with,  “'Where  are  you  going,  sir?” 
The  brave  fellow  said,  trying  hard  to  stand 
firm,  and  speak  boldly,  “  To  the  front,  doctor.” 
—  “  What !  a  man  in  your  condition  ?  You 
can’t  march  half  a  mile.  You  haven’t  strength 
to  carry  yourself,  let  alone  your  musket  and 
equipments.  You  have  every  symptom  of  the 
typhoid-fever:  a  little  over-exertion  will  cer¬ 
tainly  kill  you.”  —  “Well,  doctor,”  said  he, 
“  if  I  must  die,  I  would  rather  die  in  the  field 
than  in  an  ambulance.”  Rev.  E.  B.  Tuthill. 

270.  BATTLE,  Legend  of  St.  James  in.  In  the 
year  of  our  Lord  939,  King  Ramirez,  having 
vowed  to  deliver  Castile  from  the  shameful 
tribute  imposed  by  the  Moors,  of  one  hundred 
virgins  delivered  annually,  collected  his  troops, 
and  defied  their  king  Abdelrainan  to  battle. 

“  The  king  called  God  to  witness,  that,  came  there 
weal  or  woe, 

Thenceforth  no  maiden  tribute  from  out  Castile 
should  go. 

‘  At  least  I  will  do  battle  on  God  our  Saviour’s  foe, 
And  die  beneath  my  banner  before  I  see  it  so.  ’  ” 

Accordingly,  he  charged  the  Moorish  host  on 
the  Plain  of  Alveida  or  Clavijo.  After  a  furi¬ 
ous  conflict,  the  Christians  were,  by  the  per¬ 
mission  of  Heaven,  defeated,  and  forced  to 
retire.  Night  separated  the  combatants ;  and 
King  Ramirez,  overpowered  with  fatigue,  and 
sad  at  heart,  flung  himself  upon  his  couch, 
and  slept.  In  his  sleep  he  beheld  the  apostle 
St.  Jago,  who  promised  to  be  with  him  next 
morning  in  the  field,  and  assured  him  of  vic¬ 
tory.  The  king,  waking  up  from  the  glorious 
vision,  sent  for  his  prelates  and  officers,  to 
whom  he  related  it;  and  the  next  morning,  at 
the  head  of  his  army,  he  recounted  it  to  his 
soldiers,  bidding  them  rely  on  heavenly  aid. 
He  then  ordered  the  trumpets  to  sound  to 
battle.  The  soldiers,  inspired  with  fresh  cour¬ 
age,  rushed  to  the  fight.  Suddenly,  St.  Jago 
was  seen  mounted  on  a  milk-white  charger, 
and  waving  aloft  a  white  standard :  he  led  on 
the  Ciiristians,  who  gained  a  decisive  victory, 
leaving  sixty  thousand  Moors  dead  on  the 
field.  This  was  the  famous  battle  of  Clavijo; 


42 


33EI.A_TTTY. 


BEGINNIN  <3-. 


and,  ever  since  that  day,  “  Santiago  I  ”  has 
been  the  war-cry  of  the  Spanish  armies. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

271.  BEAUTY,  Brevities.  The  criterion  of 

true  beauty  is,  that  it  increases  on  examina¬ 
tion  ;  of  false,  that  it  lessens. — Lord  Greville. 
Beauty  unaccompanied  by  virtue  is  a  dower 
without  perfume.  —  Beauty  is  like  an  almanac  : 
if  it  last  a  year,  it  is  well.  T.  Adams. 

272.  BEAUTY,  Danger  of.  Gaze  not  on  beau¬ 
ty  too  much,  lest  it  blast  thee ;  nor  too  long, 
lest  it  blind  thee;  nor  too  near,  lest  it  burn 
thee.  If  thou  like  it,  it  deceives  thee ;  if  thou 
love  it,  it  disturbs  thee  ;  if  thou  hunt  after  it, 
it  destroys  thee.  If  virtue  accompany  it,  it 
is  the  heart’s  paradise ;  if  vice  associate  it, 
it  is  the  soul’s  purgatory.  It  is  the  wise  man’s 
bonfire,  and  the  fool’s  furnace.  F.  Quarles. 

273.  BEAUTY,  Designations  of.  Socrates  called 
beauty  a  short-lived  tyranny  ;  Plato,  a  privi¬ 
lege  of  nature ;  Theophrastus,  a  silent  cheat ; 
Theocritus,  a  delightful  prejudice;  Carneades, 
a  solitary  kingdom;  Homer,  a  glorious  gift  of 
nature  ;  Ovid,  a  favor  bestowed  by  the  gods. 

274.  BEAUTY,  Transformed.  According  to 
mythology,  Medusa  was  a  maiden  of  such  rare 
beauty  as  to  provoke  the  Goddess  Minerva  to 
jealousy ;  and  on  this  account  she  was  trans¬ 
formed  into  a  frightful  monster.  Her  admired 
ringlets  became  hissing  serpents,  and  no  living 
thing  could  look  upon  her  without  being  turned 
into  stone.  All  around  the  cavern  where  she 
dwelt  might  be  seen  the  stony  figures  of  men 
and  animals  who  had  chanced  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  her,  and  had  been  petrified  with 
the  sight. 

275.  BEAUTY,  True  and  False.  Hearing  a 
young  lady  highly  praised  for  her  beauty,  Gott¬ 
hold  asked,  “  What  kind  of  beauty  do  you 
mean  ?  Merely  that  of  the  body,  or  that  also 
of  the  mind  ?  I  see  well  that  you  have  been 
looking  no  further  than  the  sign  which  Nature 
displays  outside  the  house,  but  have  never 
asked  for  the  host  who  dwells  within.  Beauty 
is  an  excellent  gift  of  God,  nor  has  the  pen  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  forgotten  to  speak  its  praise ; 
but  it  is  virtuous  and  godly  beauty  alone  which 
Scripture  honors,  expressly  declaring,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  a  fair  woman  which  is  with¬ 
out  discretion  is  as  a  jewel  of  gold  in  a  swine’s 
snout  (Prov.  xi.  22).  Many  a  pretty  girl  is 
like  the  flower  called  the  imperial  crown, 
which  is  admired,  no  doubt,  for  its  showy  ap¬ 
pearance,  but  despised  for  its  unpleasant  odor. 
Were  her  mind  as  free  from  pride,  selfishness, 
luxury,  and  levity,  as  her  countenance  from 
spots  and  wrinkles,  and  could  she  govern  her 
inward  inclinations  as  she  does  her  external 
carriage,  she  would  have  none  to  match  her. 
But  who  loves  the  caterpillar  and  such  insects, 
however  showy  their  appearance,  and  bright 
and  variegated  the  colors  that  adorn  them,  see¬ 
ing  they  injure  and  defile  the  trees  and  plants 
on  which  they  settle  ?  What  the  better  is  an 
apple  for  its  rosy  skin,  if  the  maggot  have 
penetrated  and  devoured  its  heart?  What 
care  I  for  the  beautiful  brown  of  the  nut,  if  it 
be  worm-eaten,  and  fill  the  mouth  with  corrup¬ 


tion  ?  Even  so  external  beauty  of  person 
deserves  no  praise,  unless  matched  with  the 
inward  beauty  of  virtue  and  holiness.  It  is, 
therefore,  far  belter  to  acquire  beauty  than  to  be 
born  with  it.  The  best  kind  is  that  which  does 
not  wither  at  the  touch  of  fever,  like  a  flower, 
but  lasts  and  endures  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  in 
old  age,  and  even  unto  death.” 

276.  BEGGARS,  All,  After  a  heavy  fall  of 
rain,  and  when  a  gentle  east  wind  was  begin¬ 
ning  to  clear  the  sky,  Gotthold  walked  forth 
into  the  fields,  thanked  his  God  for  the  fertiliz¬ 
ing  storm,  and  lifting  his  eyes  to  the  heavens, 
and  beholding  the  rolling  clouds,  said  to  him¬ 
self,  “  My  God,  there  go  the  chariots  in  which 
thou  ridest  forth  to  inspect  thy  fields  and 
gardens,  thy  meadows,  forests,  and  plains. 
Beggars  are  wont  to  run  behind  the  chariots 
of  the  wealthy,  and  cry  aloud  for  alms.  To 
thee,  O  God !  we  are  all  beggars ;  and,  when 
thou  ridest  forth  on  thy  chariot  of  the  clouds, 
we  cry  after  thee,  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread.” 

277.  BEGGING,  Ingenious.  Abbe  Gagliani 
sent  from  Vesuvius  to  Pope  Benedict  XIV.  a 
box  containing  specimens  of  its  lava,  thus  in¬ 
scribed  Da  ut  plapldes  isti  panem  jiunt.  The 
good-humored  pontiff  replied  by  sending  him 
an  order  tor  a  pension  on  the  apostolic  charter 
for  four  hundred  ducats,  with  a  letter,  in  which 
he  told  him,  that,  as  he  had  never  doubted  the 
infallibility  of  the  pope,  he  should  give  him  a 
new  proof  of  it.  “  It  is,”  added  he,  “  my  prov¬ 
ince  to  explain  texts  of  scripture ;  and  I  as¬ 
sure  you  that  I  never  explained  one  with  more 
pleasure  than  that  which  you  sent  me.” 

Percy. 

278.  BEGINNING,  Danger  of.  For  hundreds 
of  years  the  north  of  Holland  has  been  threat¬ 
ened  with  submersion  by  the  Northern  Ocean. 
Ramparts  have  been  raised  along  the  whole 
coast,  in  the  form  of  massive  embankments,  to 
keep  the  water  out.  Walking  within  this  lofty 
embankment,  you  hear  the  sea  roar  and  rave 
without,  high  above  your  head.  In  seasons 
of  storm,  the  waves  have  been  blown  in  upon 
the  ramparts  higher  and  higher,  until  they 
surged  in  over  the  top,  washed  an  opening 
through  a  hole  which  a  handful  of  earth  might 
have  stopped,  and  soon  tore  it  into  an  immense 
break,  through  whi  jh  “  Old  Ocean  ”  deluged 
half  a  kingdom.  At  first,  a  child  might  have 
stopped  the  leak ;  now  millions  cannot  arrest 
the  break,  or  rescue  the  grassy  meadows  from 
their  watery  desolation.  Whenever  the  storm 
arises,  and  the  waves  approach  the  top,  the 
alarm-bell  is  rung  in  every  city  and  hamlet  far 
and  near ;  multitudes  rush  to  the  rescue,  to 
raise  the  walls  by  means  of  wicker-work  and 
loam.  It  is  a  symbol  of  the  human  heart. 

279.  BEGINNING,  Eight.  The  secret  of  the 
religious  prosperity  of  a  very  useful  Christian 
is  thus  given  :  On  the  very  day  in  which  he 
made  a  deliberate  choice  of  God’s  salvation  and 
service,  he  was  joined  by  a  clergyman  who  had 
addressed  the  meeting  from  which  they  were 
returning,  and  who  walked  home  with  him. 
After  some  conversation  with  Mr.  W.  and  his 


BEG-ESTNXN'G-. 


BELIEVERS. 


43 


wife,  who  was  also  rejoicing  in  hope,  the 
minister  said,  “  Mr.  W.,  having  chosen  the 
Lord’s  service,  it  is  your  first  duty  to  erect  a 
family  altar.  Let  us  all  kneel.  I  will  first 
lead  in  prayer,  and  you  will  follow.”  This 
was  the  very  first  act  of  Christian  service  ; 
and,  to  use  Mr.  W’s.  own  words,  “  the  fire  has 
burned  brighter  and  brighter  on  that  altar  to 
this  day,  as  I  trust  it  will  continue  to  do,  so 
long  as  we  live.” 

280.  BEGINNING,  Time  of.  Emma  was  a 
Bweet  little  girl  six  years  old.  One  day  she  said 
to  her  mother,  “  Mamma,  I  mean  to  begin  at 
the  new  year  to  love  Jesus.”  —  “  But,”  said  her 
mother,  ‘‘how  do  you  know  you  will  live  till 
the  new  year  ?  ”  Emma  sat  some  moments 
without  speaking.  At  length  she  looked  up. 
with  tears  in  her  eyes,  and  said,  “  Perhaps  I 
shall  not.  I  will  begin  now  ;  and  then,  mam¬ 
ma,  if  God  lets  me  live,  I  shall  be  a  Christian 
when  the  new  year  begins.” 

281.  BEGINNINGS,  Avoid  Bad.  A  youth  once 
threw  his  head  upon  my  knee  in  the  bitterest 
agony,  and  said  “  O  cousin  1  if  I  could  only 
describe  to  you  those  awful  feelings  of  insatia¬ 
ble  thirst  1  It  is  like  ten  thousand  devils  gnaw¬ 
ing  at  my  vitals  !  ”  Said  I,  “  Why  will  you  not 
be  persuaded  to  break  of  from  these  habits 
of  drink  ?  ”  lie  replied,  “  It  is  impossible.  I 
would  give  every  thing  I  own  to  be  able  to 
do  it ;  but  the  raging  fire  within  can  only 
be  assuaged  by  another  drink,  and  another, 
and  another ,  and  another  :  and  so  it  must 
go  on  till  death.  Oh  1  it  is  hopeless,  hope¬ 
less  !  ”  —  and  he  a  noble  youth,  with  collegiate 
education,  and  with  fine  opportunities  for  honor 
and  usefulness  opening  before  him.  In  a  few 
weeks  from  the  time  of  that  conversation,  he 
was  found  in  the  street,  was  taken  to  the  alms¬ 
house,  and  there  died  in  a  few  days.  Is  more 
than  one  such  record  needed  to  prove  the  dan¬ 
ger  of  taking  the  first  glass  ? 

Temperance  Banner. 

282.  BEGINNINGS,  Result  of  Small.  A  boy 
overheard  his  mother  say  she  had  dedicated 
him  to  the  service  of  God  as  a  missionary. 
That  boy  was  Samuel  J.  Mills.  When  he  was 
converted,  his  mind  was  turned  towards  mis¬ 
sions.  He  was  wont  to  hold  a  prayer-meeting 
with  some  other  students  in  a  grove.  A 
thunder-storm  drove  them  to  take  shelter  under 
a  neighboring  haystack  ;  and  there,  amid  the 
storm,  the  question  of  missions  was  discussed. 
It  was  not  a  missionary  age.  One  of  the  five 
present  relates,  that  “Mills  proposed  to  send 
the  gospel  to  that  dark  and  heathen  land 
(Asia),  and  said  we  could  do  it  if  we  would.” 
It  was  made  a  subject  of  prayer  while  the  dark 
clouds  were  passing  away,  and  the  clear  sky 
breaking  out  after  the  storm.  They  prayed 
together  earnestly ;  and  the  young  men  founded 
a  society  the  object  of  which  was  “  to  effect 
in  the  person  of  its  members  a  mission  to  the 
heathen.”  This  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  Such 
was  its  small  beginning.  Five  only  assembled 
at  its  first  meeting,  seven  at  its  second. 
Thousands  are  now  assembled  at  its  annual 


meetings.  Its  missions  are  in  almost  all  parts 
of  the  globe.  “  1,258  missionaries,  ordained 
and  unordained,  male  and  female,  have  been 
sent  out.”  They  have  formed  149  churches, 
and  have  gathered  at  least  55,000  church- 
members.  It  has  369  schools,  containing  more 
than  10,000  children.  It  has  raised  nations 
from  the  lowest  forms  of  heathenism  to  Chris¬ 
tian  civilization. 

283.  BEGINNINGS,  Small.  The  considera- 
ble  actions  in  the  world  have  usually  ve>-y 
small  beginnings.  Of  a  few  letters,  how  many 
thousand  words  are  made  1  of  ten  figures,  how 
many  thousand  numbers  1  A  point  is  the 
beginning  of  all  geometry.  A  little  stone 
flung  into  a  pond  makes  a  little  circle,  then  a 
greater,  till  it  enlarges  itself  to  both  the  sides. 
So  from  small  beginnings  God  doth  cause  an 
efllux  through  the  whole  world.  S’.  Charnock. 

284.  BELIEVERS,  Paucity  of.  Such  is  the 

paucity  of  true  believers,  that  as  the  olive-tree 
mentioned  by  the  prophet,  with  two  or  three 
berries  on  the  uppermost  bough,  Satan  may  be 
said  to  have  the  harvest,  and  God  only  a  few 
gleanings.  Spencer. 

285.  BELIEVERS,  Security  of.  I  have  seen 
shrubs  and  trees  grow  out  of  the  rocks,  and 
overhang  fearful  precipices,  roaring  cataracts, 
and  deep  running  waters;  but  they  maintained 
their  position,  and  threw  out  their  foliage  and 
branches  as  much  as  if  they  had  been  in  the 
midst  of  a  dense  forest.  It  was  their  hold  of 
the  rock  that  made  them  secure,  and  the  influ¬ 
ences  of  nature  that  sustained  their  life  :  so 
believers  are  oftentimes  exposed  to  the  most 
horrible  dangers  in  their  journey  to  heaven ; 
but,  so  long  as  they  are  “  rooted  and  ground¬ 
ed  ”  in  the  Rock  of  Ages,  they  are  perfectly 
secure.  Their  hold  of  him  is  their  guaranty ; 
and  the  blessings  of  his  grace  give  them  life, 
and  sustain  them  in  life.  And  as  the  tree 
must  die,  or  the  rock  fall,  before  a  dissolution 
could  be  effected  between  them,  so  either  the 
believer  must  lose  his  spiritual  life,  or  the  Rock 
must  crumble,  ere  their  union  can  be  dissolved. 

Bate. 

286.  BELIEVERS,  Sin  in,  A  lady  asked  her 
gardener  why  the  weeds  always  outgrew  and 
covered  the  flowers.  “  Madam,”  answered 
he,  “  the  soil  is  mother  to  the  weeds,  but  only 
stepmother  to  the  flowers.” 

287.  BELIEVERS,  Test  of.  By  shoving  and 
shaking,  you  may  move  the  magnetic  needle 
from  its  place  ;  but  to  that  it  returns  the  mo¬ 
ment  it  is  left  to  itself.  In  like  manner,  be¬ 
lievers  may  fall  into  sin,  and  deviate  from  the 
line  of  duty  ;  but  no  sooner  have  they  leisure 
for  reflection  than  they  endeavor  to  mend  their 
ways,  and  resume  a  life  of  godliness.  On  the 
contrary,  the  wicked  watch  for  opportunities 
of  doing  evil,  and  give  themselves  up  to  all 
the  temptations  of  the  Devil  and  the  world. 

Gotthold. 

288.  BELIEVERS,  Unfruitful.  “  True  believ¬ 
ers,”  said  Gotthold,  “  have  seasons  of  unfruit¬ 
fulness,  in  which  they  bring  forth  no  good  works, 
or  devout  thoughts  and  aspiration;-.  They  are 
like  the  trees  in  winter,  which,  although  dee- 


44 


-RTT1T  ,TTr,~V~Tr.T?R. 


JBELrEArnsra-. 


titute  of  leaves,  are  not  destitute  of  sap  and 
lifb,  and  therefore,  when  spring  returns,  bud 
and  blossom,  and  bear  afresh.  The  ungodly, 
however,  resemble  withered  trees,  which,  at  all 
seasons  alike,  are  without  sap  and  life  and 
fruit,  and  consequently  are  fit  for  nothing  but 
the  fire.” 

289.  BELIEVERS,  Weak.  A  poor  child  that 
is  newly  born,  and  hath  nothing  that  discover- 
eth  reason  almost,  but  the  shape  of  a  man,  — 
that  poor  child  is  a  reasonable  creature :  so 
that  faith  that  begins  with  weak  apprehensions 
and  faint  leanings  on  Christ,  is,  notwithstand¬ 
ing,  a  true  faith,  and  therefore  to  be  cherished. 

Spencer. 

290.  BELIEVING,  Comfort  of.  I  envy  not 

quality  of  the  mind  or  intellect  in  others ;  nor 
genius,  power,  wit,  or  fancy  :  but  if  I  could 
choose  what  would  be  most  delightful,  and,  I 
believe,  most  useful  to  me,  I  should  prefer  a 
firm  religious  belief  to  every  other  blessing ; 
for  it  makes  life  a  discipline  of  goodness ; 
creates  new  hopes  when  all  hopes  vanish :  and 
throws  over  the  decay,  the  destruction  of  ex¬ 
istence,  the  most  gorgeous  of  all  lights ;  awakens 
life  even  in  death,  and  from  corruption  and 
decay  calls  up  beauty  and  divinity  ;  makes  an 
instrument  of  torture  and  of  shame  the  ladder 
of  ascent  to  paradise  ;  and,  far  above  all  com¬ 
binations  of  earthly  hopes,  calls  up  the  most 
delightful  visions  and  plains  and  amaranths, 
the  gardens  of  the  blest,  the  security  of  ever¬ 
lasting  joys,  where  the  sensualist  and  the  scep¬ 
tic  view  only  gloom,  decay,  annihilation,  and 
despair.  Sir  Humphrey  Davy. 

291.  BELIEVING,  is  Laying  hold.  A  vessel 

is  wrecked  :  one  after  another  of  her  crew  is 
swept  away,  and  disappears.  As  she  heaves 
to  and  fro,  it  seems  as  if  every  moment  she 
would  break  up,  and  send  her  shivering  pas¬ 
sengers  down  into  the  deep.  There  is  the 
cabin-boy,  thinking  of  his  mother  and  his 
home,  and  praying,  though  scarcely  hoping  to 
be  saved,  when  a  plank  floats  past.  Eagerly 
he  lays  hold  of  it,  rests  his  whole  weight  upon 
it ;  and,  while  others  perish,  he  is  safe.  That 
describes  you  again.  As  you  are  just  about  to 
go  down,  the  plank  floats  along,  comes  near 
you,  —  within  reach,  within  arm’s-length. 
That  plank  is  Christ.  Lay  hold  of  him, 
rest  yourself  upon  him.  He  can  bear  your 
whole  weight,  —  the  whole  weight  of  your  sins, 
which  would  have  sunk  you  to  perdition,  — 
the  whole  weight  of  your  soul.  Try  him ; 
and,  like  a  sailor  who  tried  him,  you’ll  be  able 
joyfully  to  say  even  in  dying,  “  The  plank 
bears,  the  plank  bears  !  ”  J.  H.  Wilson. 

292.  BELIEVING,  is  Looking.  Believing  on 
Jesus  is  looking  to  him,  looking  to  him 
for  salvation.  You  see  that  poor  widow  with 
a  young  family,  weeping  as  if  her  heart  would 
break.  When  I  ask  her  what  ails  her,  she 
tells  me  she  is  behind  with  her  rent,  and  her 
landlord  threatens  to  turn  her  to  the  door,  un¬ 
less  she  can  pay  her  debt,  and  find  security  for 
the  next  six  months.  So  I  tell  her  to  dry  her 
tears,  and  do  her  best  to  work  for  her  children, 
and  just  look  to  me  for  her  rent.  How  full  of 


joy  she  is  all  at  once !  How  cheerfully  she 
works  !  and,  though  she  has  not  a  penny  laid 
past  for  the  term,  she  has  no  fear ;  and  when 
asked,  Why  ?  she  says,  “  I  am  looking  to  him, 
for  he  bade  me ;  and  I  know  he  will  not  fail  me. 
What  he  promised  is  just  as  sure  as  if  I  had 
it  in  my  hand.”  Now,  believing  on  Jesus  is 
something  like  this.  If  I  might  so  speak,  it 
is  the  heart's  look  to  Jesus,  —  a  single  glance, 
indeed,  at  first,  and  yet  a  constant  looking  to 
him  ever  after.  J.  H.  Wilson. 

293.  BELIEVING,  is  Trusting.  There  is  a 

boy  whose  lather  was  buried  yesterday.  To¬ 
day  he  is  wearing  his  father’s  gold  watch. 
Some  wicked  lads  are  trying  to  take  it  from 
him.  He  is  struggling  to  keep  it ;  but  they  are 
too  strong  for  him.  He  is  just  about  to  lose  it, 
when  I  come  up,  and  say,  “  Give  it  to  me,  my 
boy,  and  I’ll  keep  it  safe  for  you.”  For  a  moment 
he  looks  at  me  with  doubtful  eye  ;  but  as  I  say 
to  him,  “  Trust  me  1  ”  and  he  sees  that  I  am 
earnest  and  sincere,  he  hands  it  over  to  me, 
and  I  prevent  him  from  being  robbed.  That 
is  just  what  the  apostle  Paul  says  of  himself. 
He  had,  as  you  have,  something  far  more  pre¬ 
cious  than  a  gold  watch,  —  an  immortal  soul ; 
and  he  was  afraid  of  losing  it :  he  could  not 
keep  it  himself.  Jesus  said,  “  Give  it  to  me,” 
and  he  gave  it  to  him  ;  and  then  you  hear  him 
saying  rejoicingly,  “  I  know  whom  I  have 
believed”  (which  is  the  same  thing  as  whom 
I  have  trusted),  “  and  am  persuaded  that  he 
will  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  to  him 
against  that  day.”  You,  my  dear  friends, 
have  souls  too;  and  they  are  in  danger  of 
being  lost :  there  is  only  one  way  of  getting 
them  saved,  —  giving  them  into  the  keeping 
of  Jesus,  “  trusting  ”  him  with  them.  What 
warrant  have  you  for  trusting  him?  Just 
what  Paul  had,  —  His  own  word ;  and  that  is 
always  enough.  J.  H.  Wilson. 

294.  BELIEVING,  without  Seeing.  I  had 
been  absent  from  home  for  some  days,  and 
was  wondering,  as  I  again  drew  near  the 
homestead,  if  my  little  Maggie,  just  able  to 
sit  alone,  would  remember  me.  To  test  her 
memory,  1  stationed  myself  where  I  could  see 
her,  but  could  not  be  seen  by  her,  and  called 
her  name  in  the  old  familiar  tone,  “  Maggie  1  ” 
She  dropped  her  playthings,  glanced  around  the 
room,  and  then  looked  down  upon  her  toys. 
Again  I  repeated  her  name,  “  Maggie  I  ”  when 
she  once  more  surveyed  the  room ;  but,  not 
seeing  her  father's  face,  she  looked  very  sad,  and 
and  slowly  resumed  her  employment.  Once 
more  I  called,  “  Maggie  1  ”  when,  dropping  her 
playthings,  and  bursting  into  tears,  she  stretched 
out  her  arms  in  the  direction  whence  the 
sound  proceeded,  knowing  that,  though  she 
could  not  see  him,  her  lather  must  he  there ; 
for  she  knew  his  voice.  Bib.  Treasury. 

295.  BELIEVING,  without  Understanding.  “  I  will 
not  believe  any  thing  but  what  I  understand,” 
said  a  young  man  in  a  hotel  one  day.  “  Nor 
will  1,”  said  another.  “  Neither  will  I,” 
chimed  a  third.  “  Gentlemen,”  said  one  who  was 
on  a  journey,  and  who  sat  close  by,  “do  I 
understand  you  correctly,  that  you  will  not 


BENEFICENCE. 


B  ENEFTOTNCK. 

believe  any  thing  that  you  don’t  understand  ?  ” 
“  1  will  not,”  said  one ;  and  so  each  one  of  the 
trio  said.  “  Well,”  said  the  stranger,  “  in  my 
ride  this  morning,  I  saw  some  geese  in  a  field 
eating  grass :  do  you  believe  that  ?  ”  —  “  Cer¬ 
tainly,”  said  the  three  unbelievers.  “  I  also  saw 

Eigs,  cows,  and  sheep  eating  grass  :  do  you  be- 
eve  that  ?  ” —  “  Of  course,”  was  again  replied. 
“  Well,  but  the  grass  which  they  had  formerly 
eaten,  had,  by  digestion,  turned  to  feathers  on 
the  backs  of  the  geese,  to  bristles  on  the  backs 
of  the  swine,  to  wool  on  the  sheep,  and  on  the 
cows  it  had  turned  to  hair :  do  you  believe  that, 
gentlemen  ?  ”  —  “  Certainly,”  they  replied. 
“  Yes,  you  believe  it,”  he  rejoined ;  “  but  do 
you  understand  it  ?  ”  They  were  confounded, 
silent,  and  evidently  ashamed. 

296.  BENEFICENCE,  Advantage  of.  Some 
years  ago,  a  poor  boy  came  to  town  in  search 
of  a  situation  as  errand-boy.  lie  made  many 
unsuccessful  applications,  and  was  on  the  eve 
of  returning  to  his  parents,  when  a  gentleman, 
prepossessed  by  his  appearance,  took  him  into 
his  employment,  and,  after  a  few  months, 
bound  him  apprentice.  He  so  conducted 
himself  during  his  apprenticeship  as  to  gain 
the  love  and  esteem  of  every  one  who  knew 
him  ;  and,  after  he  had  served  his  time, 
his  master  advanced  a  capital  for  him  to 
commence  business  with.  He  retired  to  his 
closet  with  a  heart  glowing  with  gratitude  to 
God  for  his  goodness,  and  solemnly  vowed 
that  he  would  devote  a  tenth  part  of  his  annual 
income  to  the  cause  of  God.  The  first  year, 
his  donation  amounted  to  fifty  dollars,  which 
he  gave  cheerfully,  and  continued  to  do  so,  till  it 
amounted  to  twenty-five  hundred  dollars:  he 
then  thought  that  was  a  great  deal  of  money  to 
give,  and  that  he  need  not  be  so  particular  as  to 
the  exact  amount.  That  year,  he  lost  a  ship 
and  cargo,  to  the  value  of  forty-five  thousand 
dollars,  by  a  storm.  This  caused  him  to  re¬ 
pent  ;  and  he  again  commenced  his  con¬ 
tributions,  with  a  resolution  never  to  re¬ 
tract.  He  was  more  successful  every  year, 
and  at  length  retired.  He  still  devoted 
a  tenth  part  of  his  annual  income  lor  some 
years,  till  he  became  acquainted  with  men  of 
the  world,  who  by  degrees  drew  him  aside 
from  God.  He  discontinued  his  donations, 
made  large  speculations,  lost  every  thing,  and 
became  almost  as  poor  as  when  he  came  to 
town  a  poor  errand-boy.  Bib.  Treasury. 

297.  BENEFICENCE,  Analogy  of.  As  the 
moon  doth  show  her  light  to  the  world  which 
she  receiveth  from  the  sun ;  so  we  ought  to 
bestow  the  benefits  received  of  God  to  the 
profit  of  our  neighbor.  Cawdray. 

29$.  BENEFICENCE,  Blessedness  of.  “  Ise 
knowed  many  a  church  to  die  ’cause  it  didn’t 
gib  enough ;  but  I  neber  knowed  a  church  to 
die  ’cause  it  gib  too  much.  Dey  don’t  die  dat 
way.  Bredren,  hab  any  ob  you  knowed  a  church 
to  die  ’cause  it  gib  too  much  ?  If  you  do,  jest 
let  me  know,  and  I’ll  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
dat  church,  and  I’ll  climb  up  by  de  soft  light 
ob  de  moon  to  its  moss-covered  roof,  and  I’ll 
stand  dar,  and  lift  up  my  hands  to  heben, 


45 

and  say,  Blessed  are  de  dead  dat  die  in  da 
Lord.” 

299.  BENEFICENCE,  Examples  of.  The  clergy 
of  Amida,  at  the  instigation  of  the  bishop,  sold 
all  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  of  their  churches 
in  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  seven  thousand 
Persian  prisoners  who  were  thrown  into  that 
city  by  the  Romans  in  a  most  destitute  con¬ 
dition.  A  certain  cardinal  once  took  pity  upon 
a  poor  woman  who  applied  to  him  for  five 
crowns  to  pay  her  rent,  and  he  gave  her  five 
hundred  because  of  her  virtue,  honesty,  and 
piety.  Pisistratus,  the  Athenian,  always  had  a 
servant  near  him  with  a  bag  of  silver  coin, 
from  which  he  always  supplied  the  wants  of 
the  sickly,  the  insolvent,  &c.  Cyrus  said  that 
he  had  prodigious  riches ;  and  the  chief  end  he 
aimed  at  in  the  use  of  them  was  to  reward 
those  who  serve  the  public  faithfully,  and  to 
succor  and  relieve  those  that  would  acquaint 
him  with  their  wants  and  necessities.  Pliny, 
a  Roman  orator,  though  not  very  rich,  yet  by 
frugality  he  bestowed  great  sums  of  money 
upon  his  friends.  A  friend  of  his  who  became 
insolvent,  he  became  responsible  for.  When 
his  friend  died,  his  daughter  would  have  given 
him  all  her  father’s  effects ;  but  Pliny  gener¬ 
ously  forgave  her  all,  and,  besides,  contributed 
a  large  sum  of  money  as  an  addition  to  her 
fortune.  Julius  Caesar  used  to  say  that  there 
was  no  music  so  charming  in  his  ears  as  the 
requests  of  his  friends,  and  the  supplications 
of  those  in  want  of  assistance.  Marcus  Aure¬ 
lius  says  that  he  could  not  relish  a  happiness 
which  nobody  shared  but  himself.  Marc 
Antony,  when  depressed,  and  at  the  ebb  of 
fortune,  cried  out,  “that  he  had  lost  all,  except 
what  he  had  given  away.”  Cato  at  the  close 
of  life  declared  to  his  friends  that  the  greatest 
comfort  of  his  old  age,  and  that  which  gave  him 
the  highest  satisfaction,  was  the  pleasing  re¬ 
membrance  of  the  many  benefits  and  friendly 
offices  he  had  done  to  others.  L.  M  Stretch. 

390.  BENEFICENCE,  Gospel,  The  heathen 
moralist  said  we  must  use  men  thus  :  Bene 
vel/e  omnibus,  bene  facere  amicis  (wish  well 
to  all,  anil  do  good  only  to  our  friends).  But 
the  clear  light  of  nature,  which  is  the  gospel, 
chargeth  us,  “  while  we  have  opportunity,  to 
do  good  to  all  men,  especially  to  the  household 
of  faith.”  T.  Adams. 

301.  BENEFICENCE,  Gratitude  for.  A  lady 
visited  New-York  city,  and  saw  on  the  sidewalk 
a  ragged,  cold,  and  hungry  little  girl  gazing 
wistfully  at  some  of  the  cakes  in  a  shop  win¬ 
dow.  She  stopped,  and,  taking  the  little  one 
by  the  hand,  led  her  into  the  store.  Though 
she  was  aware  that  bread  might  be  better 
for  the  cold  child  than  cake,  yet,  desiring  to 
gratify  the  shivering  and  forlorn  one,  she 
bought  and  gave  her  the  cake  she  wanted. 
She  then  took  her  to  another  place,  where  she 
procured  her  a  shawl  and  other  articles  of 
comfort.  The  grateful  little  creature  looked 
the  lady  full  in  the  face,  and,  with  artless  sim¬ 
plicity  said,  “  Are  you  God’s  wife  ?  ” 

302.  BENEFICENCE,  Habit  of.  Kosciusko,  the 
hero  of  Poland,  once  wished  to  send  some 


4G 


BENEFICEN  CE. 


BENEFICENCE. 


bottles  of  wine  to  a  clergyman  at  Soluthurn  ; 
and  as  he  hesitated  to  trust  them  by  his  ser¬ 
vant,  lest  he  should  smuggle  a  part,  he  gave 
the  commission  to  a  young  man  of  the  name 
of  Zeltner,  and  desired  him  to  take  the  horse 
which  he  himself  usually  rode.  On  his  return, 
voong  Zeltner  said  that  he  would  never  ride  his 
horse  again  unless  he  gave  him  his  purse  at 
the  same  time.  Kosciusko  inquiring  what  he 
meant,  he  answered,  “  As  soon  as  a  poor  man 
on  the  road  takes  off  his  hat,  anil  asks  charity, 
the  horse  immediately  stands  still,  and  will  not 
stir  till  something  is  given  to  the  petitioner ; 
and,  as  I  had  no  money  about  me,  I  was  obliged 
to  feign  giving  something  in  order  to  satisfy 
the  horse.”  Percy. 

30*.  BENEFICENCE,  Legend  of  St.  Nicholas. 
Now,  in  the  city  of  Panthura,  there  dwelt  a  cer¬ 
tain  nobleman  who  had  three  daughters ;  and, 
from  being  rich,  he  became  poor,  —  so  poor, 
that  there  remained  no  means  of  obtaining 
food  for  his  daughters  but  by  sacrificing  them 
to  an  infamous  life :  and  oftentimes  it  came 
into  his  mind  to  tell  them  so,  but  shame  and 
sorrow  held  him  dumb.  Meantime  the  maidens 
wept  continually,  not  knowing  what  to  do,  and 
not  having  bread  to  eat;  and  their  father  be¬ 
came  more  and  more  desperate.  When  Nicho¬ 
las  heard  of  this,  he  thought  it  a  shame  that 
such  a  thing  should  happen  in  a  Christian 
land :  therelore  one  night,  when  the  maidens 
were  asleep,  and  their  father  alone  sat  watch¬ 
ing  and  weeping,  he  took  a  handful  of  gold, 
and,  tying  it  up  in  a  handkerchief,  he  repaired  to 
the  dwelling  of  the  poor  man.  He  considered 
how  he  might  bestow  it  without  making  him¬ 
self  known ;  and,  while  he  stood  irresolute,  the 
moon,  coming  from  behind  a  cloud,  showed  him 
a  window  open  :  so  he  threw  it  in,  and  it  fell 
at  the  feet  of  the  father,  who,  when  he  found 
it,  returned  thanks ;  and  with  it  he  portioned 
his  eldest  daughter.  A  second  time,  Nicholas 
provided  a  similar  sum,  and  again  he  threw  it 
in  by  night ;  and  with  it  the  nobleman  married 
his  second  daughter.  But  he  greatly  desired 
to  know  who  it  was  that  came  to  his  aid. 
Therefore  he  determined  to  watch  :  and  when 
the  good  saint  came  for  the  third  time,  and 
prepared  to  throw  in  the  third  portion,  he 
was  discovered  ;  for  the  nobleman  seized  him 
by  the  skirt  of  his  robe,  and  flung  himself  at 
his  feet,  saying,  “  O  Nicholas,  servant  of  God  1 
why  seek  to  hide  thyself?  ”  and  he  kissed  his 
feet  and  his  hands.  But  Nicholas  made  him 
promise  that  he  would  tell  no  man.  And  many 
other  charitable  works  did  Nicholas  perform  in 
his  native  city.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

301.  BENEFICENCE,  Motive  to.  A  benevolent 
gentleman  said,  *•  A  few  days  since,  I  carried 
to  a  poor  Christian  woman  a  comforter  (warm, 
but  well  worn),  and  two  loaves  of  bread,  — good 
bread,  but  a  little  stale.  The  weather  was 
very  cold,  and  the  comforter  was  gratefully 
received.  The  poor  woman  was  hungry,  and 
the  bread  was  better  than  she  usually  obtained. 
But,  while  listening  to  the  sermon  to-day,  I 
thought,  that  had  I  reflected  that  it  was  Jesus 
I  was  visiting,  in  the  person  of  one  of  his 


disciples,  I  would  have  taken  a  new  comforter , 
and  fresh  loaves  of  bread.” 

305.  BENEFICENCE,  Profit  of.  A  rich  mer¬ 
chant  in  St.  Petersburg,  at  his  own  cost,  sup¬ 
ported  a  number  of  native  missionaries  in 
india,  and  gave  like  a  prince  to  the  cause  of 
God  at  home.  He  was  asked,  one  day,  how  he 
could  do  it.  He  replied,  “  When  I  served 
the  Devil,  I  did  it  on  a  grand  scale,  and  at 
princely  expense ;  and  when,  by  his  grace, 
God  called  me  out  of  darkness,  I  resolved 
Christ  should  have  more  than  the  Devil  had 
had.  But  how  I  can  give  so  much  you  must 
ask  of  God,  who  enables  me  to  give  it.  At 
my  conversion,  I  told  the  Lord  his  cause  should 
have  a  part  of  all  that  my  business  brought 
me  in  ;  and  every  year  since  I  made  that  prom¬ 
ise,  it  has  brought  me  in  about  double  that  it 
did  the  year  before :  so  that  I  can  and  do 
double  my  gifts  in  his  cause.”  Bunyan 
said, — 

“  A  man  there  was,  some  called  him  mad  : 

The  more  he  cast  away,  the  more  he  had.” 

30 fi.  BENEFICENCE,  Repaid,  A  person  in 
England  says  that  he  gave  his  last  sovereign 
to  a  poor  widow,  when  he  had  no  prospect 
of  receiving  any  more  for  some  time.  That 
night  he  received  a  letter,  written  some  time 
before  by  a  stranger,  containing  a  five-pound 
note,  and  informing  him  of  the  transmission 
of  a  box  of  soap,  worth  four  pounds,  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor.  The  Lord  is  not  a  slack 
paymaster. 

307.  BENEFICENCE,  No  Retrenchment  in.  A 
Christian  who  had  made  heavy  losses  asked 
his  pastor  about  the  missionary  collection.  He 
said,  “  I  have  made  it  already ;  but,  knowing 
that  you  had  been  a  great  loser  this  year,  I  did 
not  think  it  proper  to  call  upon  you  for  your 
usual  donation.”  —  “  My  dear  sir,”  replied 
the  gentleman,  “  it  is  very  true  that  I  have 
suffered  great  losses,  and  must  be  prudent 
in  my  expenditures ;  but  retrenchment  must 
not  begin  at  the  house  of  God.” 

30$.  BENEFICENCE,  Returned.  One  cold, 
frosty  morning,  a  poor  woman,  shivering  with 
cold,  nearly  barefooted,  came  to  Parson  Moody’s 
door,  telling  a  pidlul  story,  and  asked  for  an 
old  pair  of  Mrs.  Moody’s  shoes.  Mr.  Moody 
went  to  the  bedroom,  and  took  the  only  pair 
of  shoes  his  wife  had,  and  gave  them  to  the 
poor  woman.  Soon  Mrs.  Moody  was  about 
the  house  in  search  of  her  shoes ;  but  they 
were  not  to  be  found.  In  due  time,  Mr.  Moody 
told  her  what  had  taken  place.  “  Dear  Mr. 
Moody,”  said  she,  “  how  could  you  do  so, 
when  you  knew  they  were  all  the  shoes  I  had  in 
the  world  ?  ”  —  “  Oh  1  never  mind  it,  dear  wife, 
the  Lord  will  send  in  another  pair  before  night, 

I  doubt  not.”  Before  noon,  they  made  their 
appearance.  Cong.  Quarterly. 

309.  BENEFICENCE,  Self-denying.  A  Parisian 
paying  a  visit  to  a  curate  in  the  middle  of 
winter  remarked  that  he  was  living  in  a  house 
with  naked  walls,  and  inquired  why  he  had 
not  got  hangings  to  protect  him  from  the  rigor 
of  the  cold  ?  The  good  pastor  showed  him 


BElSTFCVOLKlSrCrE:. 


BENEYOLENCB . 


47 


two  little  children  that  he  had  taken  care  of, 
and  replied,  “  I  had  rather  clothe  these  poor 
children  than  my  walls.”  Percy. 

310.  BENEVOLENCE,  Beauty  of.  There  was 
a  dispute  between  three  ladies,  which  had  the 
most  beautiful  hand.  One  sat  by  a  stream, 
and  dipped  her  hand  into  the  water,  and  held 
it  up;  another  plucked  strawberries  until  the 
ends  of  her  fingers  were  pink ;  and  another 
gathered  violets  until  her  hands  were  fragrant. 
An  old  haggard  woman  passing  by  asked, 
“  Who  will  give  me  a  gift ;  for  I  am  poor  ?  ” 
All  three  denied  her;  but  another  who  sat 
near,  unwashed  in  the  stream,  unstained  with 
fruit,  unadorned  with  flowers,  gave  her  a  little 
gift,  and  satisfied  the  poor  woman.  And  then 
she  asked  them  what  was  the  dispute,  and 
they  told  her,  and  lifted  up  before  her  their 
beautiful  hands.  “  Beautiful,  indeed,”  said  she, 
when  she  saw  them.  But,  when  they  asked  her 
which  was  the  most  beautiful,  she  said,  “It  is 
not  the  hand  that  is  washed  clean  in  the 
brook,  it  is  not  the  hand  that  is  tipped  with 
red,  it  is  not  the  hand  that  is  garlanded  with 
fragrant  flowers,  but  it  is  the  hand  that  gives 
to  the  poor  which  is  the  most  beautiful.”  As 
she  said  these  words,  her  wrinkles  fled,  her  staff 
was  thrown  away,  and  she  stood  before  them 
an  angel  from  heaven  with  authority  to  decide 
the  question  in  dispute. 

311.  BENEVOLENCE,  and  Devotion.  A  colored 
Presbyterian  deacon  was  in  the  habit  of  shut¬ 
ting  his  eyes,  while  he  sang  with  great  unc¬ 
tion,  “  Fly  abroad,  thou  mighty  gospel  1  ”  and 
not  seeing  the  contribution-plate.  “  Oh,  yes  !  ” 
said  the  plate-bearer ;  “  out  you  just  give 
something  to  make  it  fly.” 

3 IS.  BENEVOLENCE,  Excitement  to.  An 
American  missionary  states,  that,  during  almost 
seven  years  tint  he  resided  in  Malta,  he  was 
witness  every  Monday  morning  to  an  affecting 
and  admonitory  scene.  A  man  passed  through 
the  streets,  ringing  a  bell  in  one  hand,  and 
rattling  a  box  in  the  other,  crying  at  every 
corner,  “  What  will  you  give  for  the  souls  ? 
what  will  you  give  for  the  souls  ?  ”  The 
women  and  children  came  out  of  the  hab¬ 
itations  of  poverty,  and  cast  their  mites 
into  tlie  box.  When  it  is  full,  it  is  carried 
to  a  neighboring  convent  to  pay  the  priests 
for  praying  the  souls  of  the  dead  out  of  pur¬ 
gatory. 

313.  BENEVOLENCE,  Gain  of.  A  few  days 
ago,  one  of  God’s  faithful  stewards,  a  man 
endeavoring  to  glorify  his  heavenly  Father 
with  his  substance,  and  to  lay  up  treasure 
in  heaven,  made  this  remark  to  me :  “  I 

sat  down,  a  night  or  two  ago,  and  calculated 
the  increase  of  a  dollar  at  compound  interest, 
and  found,  that,  in  less  than  two  hundred  and 
forty  years,  it  amounted  to  more  than  two  mil¬ 
lions  and  a  half  of  dollars.  And  I  asked 
myself  whether  God  would  not  make  a  dollar 
laid  up  for  him  grow  as  rapidly  as  it  docs  by 
the  laws  of  trade.”  Dr.  Deems. 

311.  BENEVOLENCE,  Godlike.  Men  resemble 
the  gods  in  nothing  so  much  as  in  doing  good 
to  their  fellow-creatures.  Cicero. 


315.  BENEVOLENCE,  Misdirected.  Bartholo¬ 
mew  Las  Casas,  bishop  of  Chiapa,  was  cele¬ 
brated  for  his  benevolence.  As  he  beheld  the 
natives  driven  to  hard  tasks  in  the  West  India 
Islands,  he  pitied  them,  and  devised  a  means 
of  relieving  them  by  substituting  Africans  to 
do  their  work.  Ilis  suggestions  were  accepted 
by  the  authorities ;  and  African  slavery  was 
established  to  curse  the  world. 

316.  BENEVOLENCE,  Motive  to.  A  poor  Pro¬ 
testant  congregation  in  Lyons  was  trying  to 
build  a  small  house  for  their  public  worship. 
An  old  soldier  brought  all  his  three  months’ 
earnings.  “  Can  you  spare  so  much  ?  ”  asked 
the  minister.  “  My  Saviour  spared  not  him¬ 
self,”  he  answered,  tears  of  gratitude  and  love 
trickling  down  his  cheeks,  “  but  freely  gave 
his  life  for  me :  surely  I  can  spare  one-quarter 
of  a  year’s  earnings  to  extend  his  kingdom  on 
earth.” 

317.  BENEVOLENCE,  of  Nature.  The  Dutch 
endeavored  to  monopolize  the  spice-trade,  by 
confining  the  nutmeg-tree  to  the  narrow 
limits  of  Bonda,  and  extirpating  it  from  all 
other  islands  where  it  naturally  grew ;  but 
the  wild  pigeons  scattered  the  nuts  over  the 
Moluccas  and  adjoining  islands,  thus  propa¬ 
gating  the  tree,  and  defeating  the  selfishness 
of  the  Dutch. 

318.  BENEVOLENCE,  Reason  for.  Mr.  Thorn¬ 

ton  of  Clapham  was  a  noble-hearted  Christian 
merchant.  One  morning,  when  he  had  received 
news  of  a  failure  that  involved  him  in  the 
loss  of  no  less  than  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  a  minister  from  the  country  called 
at  his  counting-house  to  ask  a  subscription 
for  an  important  object.  Hearing  that  Mr. 
Thornton  had  suffered  that  loss,  he  apolo¬ 
gized  for  having  called.  But  Mr.  Thornton 
took  him  kindly  by  the  hand :  “  My  dear 

sir,  the  wealth  I  have  is  not  mine,  but  the 
Lord’s.  It  may  be  he  is  going  to  take  it  out 
of  my  hands,  and  give  it  to  another  ;  and,  if  so, 
this  is  a  good  reason  why  I  should  make  good 
use  of  what  is  left.”  lie  then  doubled  the 
subscription  he  had  formerly  intended  to  give. 

319.  BENEVOLENCE,  Unsuccessful.  A  vessel 
laden  with  bricks  and  coal  was  undergoing  re¬ 
pairs  on  the  shore  of  the  Solway  Firth.  The 
tide  there  runs  like  a  race-horse.  By  some 
gross  mismanagement,  the  vessel  began  to  heel 
over.  A  cry  of  alarm  was  raised ;  and  all  es¬ 
caped  but  one  man.  She  settled  down  on  his 
loins,  and  pinned  him  to  the  ground.  The 
neighborhood  was  raised ;  hawsers  were  at¬ 
tached  to  the  masts ;  and  the  power  of  strong 
arms  and  hearts  brought  to  raise  her :  but  in 
vain.  She  could  not  be  moved.  The  tide  was 
making :  it  would  float  her  soon  ;  but,  before 
it  floated  her,  it  would  float  over  him.  All 
further  effort  was  abandoned.  A  minister  was 
brought  to  the  sad  scene.  He  prayed,  and  the 
people  wept.  On  and  on  came  the  remorse¬ 
less  sea :  inch  by  inch  it  rose  (cold  at  his 
heart,  at  his  throat) ;  and  now  Death  in  the 
salt  foam  kisses  his  lips.  He  asks  that  a  hand¬ 
kerchief  be  thrown  over  his  head,  that  he  may 
not  see  the  waves.  It  is  done ;  and  with  a 


48 


BERKATEMKNT. 


B  EREAVEMENT. 


weeping,  sobbing  crowd  around  him,  but  none 
there  to  help,  at  length  the  wave  washes  over 
his  head,  and  washes  away  the  prayer,  that, 
I  hope,  through  our  blessed  Saviour,  opened 
the  gates  of  heaven  for  his  departing  spirit. 
They  could  not  help.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

320.  BEREAVEMENT,  Bearing.  A  lady  one 
day,  in  her  husband’s  absence  from  home,  lost 
both  her  children  by  cholera ;  but  she  laid 
them  out  with  a  mother’s  tenderness,  and 
spread  a  sheet  over  them,  and  waited  at  the 
door  for  her  husband’s  return.  “A  person 
lent  me  some  jewels,”  she  said  when  she  met 
him ;  “  and  he  now  wishes  to  receive  them 
again.  What  shall  I  do  ?  ”  —  “  Return  them, 
by  all  means,”  said  her  husband.  Then  she 
led  the  way,  and  silently  uncovered  to  him 
the  forms  of  his  dear  children. 

321.  BEREAVEMENT,  Comfort  in.  A  lovely 
young  lady,  in  her  near  approach  to  dissolu¬ 
tion  observing  her  father  overcome  with  grief, 
thus  remonstrated  with  him  :  “  Why,  sir,  so 
much  grief?  Had  an  offer  of  marriage  been 
made  me  by  one  who  in  himself  was  all  you 
could  wish,  and  whose  situation  in  life  was  far 
superior  to  mine,  but  whose  residence  must  be 
in  a  remote  part  of  the  kingdom,  perhaps,  the 
consideration  of  advantage  and  promotion  to 
me  would  have  reconciled  you  to  my  removal, 
though  it  would  have  been  little  other  than  a 
separation  for  life.  But  I  am  now  about  to  be 
promoted  incomparably  beyond  any  thing  that 
could  have  occurred  in  this  world.  Then 
why  this  reluctance  ?  Our  next  meeting  will 
be  in  circumstances  of  high  improvement, 
joyful  and  perpetual.” 

322.  BEREAVEMENT,  Consolation  in.  “  Moth¬ 
er,”  said  a  dying  child,  “  shall  you  cry  much 
when  Jesus  takes  me?”  —  “I  am  afraid  I 
shall,”  replied  the  mother.  “  Oh,  please  don’t !  ” 
entreated  the  child ;  “  for  you  know,  what¬ 
ever  may  happen  to  Jessie  and  John  in  this 
naughty  world,  youi  little  Eifie  will  be  safe. 
Sin  and  Satan  can’t  snatch  her  from  Jesus’ 
arms,  —  never,  never.  Won’t  that  comfort 
you,  mother?  You  never  need  worry  about 
me.” 

323.  BEREAVEMENT,  Design  of.  Two  pray¬ 
erless  parents  became  angry  at  the  Almighty 
for  taking  their  only  child,  and  demanded 
of  their  minister  how  God,  if  he  were  love, 
could  do  this.  He  answered  thus  :  “  You  ask  of 
me  why  God  has  taken  away  your  child.  Lis¬ 
ten  :  he  wills  to  have  at  least  one  member  out 
of  your  family  in  heaven.  Ye  parents  cared  not 
to  enter  heaven  ;  and,  had  your  child  remained 
with  you,  ye  would  not  have  suffered  it  to  enter 
therein.  Hear  now  a  parable  :  There  was  once 
a  shepherd  who  prepared  choice  food  in  a  fold 
for  his  sheep  ;  he  opened  the  door  wide  ;  but  the 
sheep  would  not  enter  therein.  Long  did  he 
weary  himself  to  induce  them  to  enter ;  but  far¬ 
ther  and  farther  they  turned  from  the  open  door. 
At  length  he  takes  a  little  lamb  from  the  flock, 
and  carries  it  in ;  and,  lo  1  the  parents  follow 
after.  That  good  shepherd  is  Christ ;  the  open 
fold,  heaven ;  your  child,  the  lamb.  If  you 
liave  the  heart  of  parents,  run  after  it.  The 


Lord  bears  away  the  little  lamb,  that  ye  par 
ents  may  follow  after  it.” 

324.  BEREAVEMENT,  Joy  in.  Thou  hast 

lost  thy  friend  ;  say,  rather,  thou  hast  parted 
with  him.  That  is  properly  lost  which  is  past 
all  recovery,  which  we  cannot  hope  to  see  any 
more.  It  is  not  so  with  this  friend  for  whom 
thou  mournest.  He  is  only  gone  home  a  little 
before  thee :  thou  art  following  him.  You, 
too,  shall  meet  in  your  Father’s  house,  and  en¬ 
joy  each  other  more  happily  than  you  could 
have  done  here  below.  How  just  is  that 
charge  of  the  blessed  apostle,  that  we  should 
not  mourn  as  men  without  hope  for  those  who 
sleep  in  Jesus  1  Did  we  think  their  souls  van¬ 
ished  into  air,  as  a  heathen  poet  profanely  ex¬ 
presses  it,  and  their  bodies  resolved  into  dust, 
without  all  possibility  of  reparation,  we  might 
well  cry  out  our  eyes  for  the  utter  extinction 
of  those  we  loved.  But,  if  they  do  but  sleep, 
they  shall  do  well.  Why  are  we  impatient 
at  their  silent  repose  in  the  bed  of  death, 
when  we  are  assured  of  their  awaking  to 
glory?  Bp.  Hall. 

325.  BEREAVEMENT,  Parable  of.  A  noble¬ 
man  had  a  spacious  garden,  which  he  left  to 
the  care  of  a  faithful  servant,  whose  delight  it 
was  to  train  the  creepers  along  the  trellis, 
to  water  the  seeds  in  the  time  of  drought,  to 
support  the  stalks  of  the  tender  plants,  and  to 
do  every  work  which  could  render  the  garden 
a  paradise  of  flowers.  One  morning,  he  rose 
with  joy,  expecting  to  tend  his  beloved  flow¬ 
ers,  and  hoping  to  find  his  favorites  increased 
in  beauty.  To  his  surprise,  he  found  one  of 
his  choicest  beauties  rent  from  its  stem,  and, 
looking  around  him,  he  missed  from  every  bed 
the  pride  of  his  garden,  the  most  precious  of 
his  blooming  flowers.  Full  of  grief  and  anger, 
he  hurried  to  his  fellow-servants,  and  demand¬ 
ed  who  had  thus  robbed  him  of  his  treasures. 
They  had  not  done  it,  and  he  did  not  charge 
them  with  it;  but  he  found  no  solace  for  his 
grief,  till  one  of  them  remarked,  “  My  lord 
was  walking  in  the  garden  this  morning,  and 
I  saw  him  pluck  the  flowers,  and  carry  them 
away.”  Then  truly  he  found  he  had  no  cause 
for  his  trouble.  He  felt  it  was  well  that  his 
master  had  been  pleased  to  take  his  own ;  and 
he  went  away,  smiling  at  his  loss,  because  his 
lord  had  taken  them. 

326.  BEREAVEMENT,  Reliefs  in.  First,  there 
are  reliefs  arising  from  our  constitution.  There 
is  a  self-healing  principle  in  nature.  Break  a 
branch  from  a  tree,  &c.,  wound  the  body,  cut 
the  flesh,  or  break  a  limb,  and  you  see  the 
self-healing  power  exude  and  work.  It  is  so 
in  the  soul.  Thought  succeeds  thought,  like 
the  waves  of  the  ocean ;  and  each  tends  to 
wear  out  the  impression  its  predecessor  had 
made.  Secondly,  there  are  incidental  reliefs. 
New  events,  new  engagements,  new  relation¬ 
ships,  tend  to  heal  the  wound.  Thirdly,  there 
are  Christian  reliefs,  —  the  assurance  of  after 
life,  the  hope  of  a  future  re-union,  &c.  Such  are 
the  reliefs.  These,  like  the  flowers  and  shrubs 
of  a  lovely  garden,  spring  up  around  our  hearts, 
and  cover  the  grave  of  our  sorrows  and  trials 


BEEEAVEMENT. 


BIBLE. 


49 


with  the  shadow  of  their  foliage.  Yes  ;  though 
we  have  our  trials,  we  have  still  our  blessings. 

“  Life’s  dreariest  path  has  some  sweet  flower, 

Its  cloudiest  day  some  sun.”  j)r  fliotnas. 

327.  BEREAVEMENT,  Songs  in.  There  is,  it 
is  said,  an  island  in  a  distant  sea,  from  whose 
shores  the  fishermen  sail  in  tiny  crafts  to  pro¬ 
cure  the  treasures  of  the  deep.  During  their 
absence,  thick  mists  often  descend  and  cover 
highland,  cliff,  and  beacon  with  so  thick  a  veil, 
that,  these  hardy  mariners  are  left  without  a 
mark  by  which  to  steer  their  laden  barks. 
But  in  these  dull  hours  they  are  not  left  to 
wander  unguided  on  the  pathless  sea.  When 
the  time  for  their  return  arrives,  the  women 
of  the  islet  —  mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and 
daughters  —  descend  to  the  shores,  and  raise 
the  voice  of  song.  Borne  on  the  quiet-  air, 
their  voices  soon  fall  sweetly  on  the  ears  of  the 
loved  ones  on  the  sea.  Guided  by  the  well- 
known  sounds,  they  steer  their  boats  in  safety 
to  the  shore.  And  thus  to  thee,  O  Christian  1 
comes  the  voice  of  love  from  the  celestial  shore, 
as  thou  wanderest,  a  bewildered  child  of  tribu¬ 
lation,  on  the  misty  sea  of  life. 

328.  BEREAVEMENT,  Sorrow  in.  Mr.  New¬ 
ton  of  London,  one  day  said  to  a  gentleman 
who  had  lately  lost  a  daughter  by  death,  Sir, 
if  you  were  going  to  the  Last  Indies,  I  suppose 
you  would  like  to  send  a  remittance  belore 
you.  This  little  girl  is  just  like  a  remittance 
sent  to  heaven  before  you  go  yourself.  I  sup¬ 
pose  a  merchant  on  ’change  is  never  heard 
expressing  himself  thus:  ‘  O  my  dear  ship  !  1 
am  sorry  sue  has  got  into  port  so.  soon  :  I  am 
sorry  she  has  escaped  the  storms  that  are  uom- 
ing.’  Neither  should  we  sorrow  over  children 
dying.” 

329.  BEREAVEMENT,  Use  of.  “  See,  father  !  ” 
said  a  lad  who  was  walking  with  his  father, 
“  they  are  knocking  away  the  props  from  under 
the  bridge:  what  are  they  doing  that  for? 
Won’t  the  bridge  fall  ?  ”  —  “  They  are  knocking 
them  away,”  said  the  father,  “  that  the  timbers 
may  rest  more  firmly  upon  the  stone  piers, 
which  are  now  finished.”  God  only  takes 
away  our  earthly  props,  that  we  may  rest  more 
firmly  upon  him. 

33®.  BEREAVEMENTS,  Useful.  When  engi¬ 
neers  would  bridge  a  stream,  they  often  carry 
over  at  first,  but  a  single  cord;  with  that, 
next  they  stretch  a  wire  across ;  then  strand 
is  added  to  strand,  until  a  foundation  is  laid  for 
planks;  and  now  the  bold  engineer  finds  safe 
footway,  and  walks  from  side  to  side.  So  God 
takes  from  us  some  golden- threaded  pleasure, 
and  stretches  it  hence  into  heaven  ;  then  he 
takes  a  child,  and  then  a  friend :  thus  he 
bridges  death,  and  teaches  the  thoughts  of  the 
most  timid  to  find  their  way  hither  and  thither 
between  the  shores.  Beecher. 

331.  BEST,  All  for  the.  Bernard  Gilpin,  ac¬ 
cused  of  heresy  before  Bishop  Bonner,  set  out 
for  London  for  trial.  His  favorite  maxim  was, 
“All  things  are  for  the  best.”  Upon  his  jour¬ 
ney,  lie  broke  his  leg.  “  Is  all  for  the  best 
uow  V  ”  said  a  scornful  companion.  “  I  still 
4 


believe  so,”  he  replied.  So  it  proved ;  for, 
before  he  was  able  to  resume  his  journey, 
Queen  Mary  died,  and,  instead  of  going  to 
London  to  be  burned,  he  returned  home  in 
triumph. 

332.  BESETTING  SINS,  Cure  of.  A  traveller 
in  Burmali  fell  asleep  upon  the  damp  hot 
ground.  He  was  awakened  by  pricking  pains 
over  all  the  surface  of  his  body.  •  On  getting 
up,  he  discovered  that  a  swarm  of  small  gray 
leeches  had  fastened  on  his  flesh,  and  were  busy 
sucking  his  blood,  llis  first  impulse  was  to 
tear  them  off  with  his  hand.  A  native  ser¬ 
vant,  observing  his  purpose,  interposed,  with 
earnest  entreaties  that  he  should  not  touch 
them.  He  knew,  that,  it'  the  creatures  were  vio¬ 
lently  torn  off,  a  portion  of  their  bodies  wrould 
remain,  and  produce  disease  by  their  corruption. 
Forthwith  the  servant  gathered  a  quantity  of 
a  pungent  herb,  steeped  it  in  water ;  and  with 
the  water  he  bathed  his  master.  The  leeches  all 
dropped  off  harmless.  The  man  went  through 
the  bath  scathless ;  but  it  paralyzed  and  de¬ 
stroyed  his  tormentors.  From  besetting  sins 
we  can  be  delivered  only  by  another,  by  the 
grace  of  God  in  Christ. 

333.  BESETTING  SINS,  Influence  of.  A  sail¬ 

or  remarks,  “  Sailing  from  Cuba,  we  thought 
we  had  gained  sixty  miles  one  day  in  our 
course ;.  but,  at  the  next  observation,  we 
found  we  had  lost  more  than  thirty.  It  was  an. 
undercurrent.  The  ship  had  been  going  for¬ 
ward  by  the  wind,  but  going  back  by  the  cur¬ 
rent.”  So  a  man’s  course  in  religion  may 
often  seem  to  be  right  and  progressive ;  but 
the  undercurrent  of  his  besetting  sins  is  driv¬ 
ing  him  the  very  contrary  way  to  what  he 
thinks.  Dr.  Clieever. 

331.,  BESETTING  SINS,  Nature  of.  Almost 
every  tree  has  its  tap-root,  which  goes  down 
straight  into  the  earth,  as  the  trunk  goes  into 
fhe  air;  and,  until  that  root  is  cut,  the  tree 
will  stand  and  grow,  no  matter  how  the  fibres 
and  roots  be  injured.  Besetting  sins  are  often 
the  tap-root  of  the  tree  of  sin,  which  bears 
fruit  unto  death.  One  sin  unmortified  may  de¬ 
stroy  the  soul.  One  lust  maintained,  in  spite 
of  conscience,  and  sin  still  lives.  Bowes. 

331.  BIBLE,  Adaptation  of  the.  Dr.  'Worces¬ 
ter  once  said,  that  he  had  been  told  by  a  re¬ 
turned  missionary,  that,  after  reading  the  first 
chapter  of  Romans  to  a  heathen  congregation, 
they  came  around  him,  and  said,  “  You  wrote 
that  chapter  for  us.”  Rev.  Dr.  Dean  of 
China  relates  a  similar  fact.  He  had  been 
conversing  with  a  very  intelligent  Chinese 
respecting  our  sacred  books,  assuring  him  that 
they  were  very  old.  He  gave  him  a  specimen. 
Soon  after,  the  man  came  to  Dr.  Dean,  and, 
with  a  look  of  triumph  and  accusation,  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  You  told  me  your  book  was  very 
ancient;  but  that  chapter,”  pointing  to  the  first 
of  Romans,  “you  have  written  yourself  since 
you  came  here  and  learned  all  about  China¬ 
men.” 

336.  BIBLE,  Applying  the.  A  soldier  hear¬ 
ing  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  read  in 
hospital,  when  the  words  were  uttered,  “  1 


50 


Brsi/E. 


BIBLE. 


will  arise  and  go  to  mv  father,”  cried  out, 
“  That’s  me,  that’s  me  !  ”  He  suited  his  action 
to  the  word,  and  soon  found  peace  in  believ¬ 
ing.  Two  years  after,  at  the  battle  of  Fred¬ 
ericksburg,  he  laid  down  his  life,  ending  brave¬ 
ly  a  consistent  career. 

337.  BIBLE,  Appropriating  the.  The  freed- 
men  exhibited  a  great  desire  to  learn  to  read 
and  write.  One  old  uncle  desired  to  learn  to 
read,  that  he  might  read  the  Bible,  but  cared 
nothing  about  writing.  W  hen  first  able  to 
spell  out  the  words,  he  studied  out  the  verse, 
“  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.” 
In  the  midst  of  the  verse,  his  feelings  overcame 
him,  and  he  said,  “  Is  dis  ra’al  ?  Is  dis  de  sure- 
nuflf  word  ob  de  Lord?”  —  “No  doubt  about 
it,”  said  his  teacher.  “  And  uncle  readin’  it 
for  hisself  1  ”  When  he  had  finished  reading 
the  verse,  he  said,  “  Now,  if  old  uncle  dies,  he 
kin  go  up  dar,  and  tell  de  good  Lord  Jesus  dat 
he  read  in  his  own  book,  ‘  Whomsumever 
b'liebes  on  him  sha’n’t  perish,  but  hab  eberlastin’ 
life ;  and  de  Lord  knows  dat  Uncle  Sam 
b’liebes  on’in,  and  he  read  it  for  hisself  in  bis 
own  book.” 

338.  BIBLE,  Armor  of  the.  At  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  one  of  the  men  carried  a  Bible 
in  his  pocket.  During  the  engagement,  a  ball 

?ierced  the  Bible  through  the  whole  of  the  Old 
’estament,  and  stopped  with  its  point  upon  the 
words  spoken  by  the  young  ruler  to  the  Sa¬ 
viour,  “  Good  Master,  what  must  I  do  to  in¬ 
herit  eternal  life  ?  ”  The  Bible  was  the  means 
of  saving  his  life :  and  his  narrow  escape  from 
death,  and  the  import  of  the  words  to  which 
the  missile  of  death  pointed,  arrested  his  at¬ 
tention  ;  and  he  felt  the  need  of  a  Saviour. 
That  same  evening,  he  attended  a  meeting  held 
by  the  Christian  Commission,  and  was  hope¬ 
fully  converted.  A  few  days  after,  while  char¬ 
ging  upon  the  enemy,  he  fell,  pierced  through 
the  head  by  a  bullet. 

339.  BIBLE,  Best  Recommendation.  A  youth 
seeking  for  a  place  came  to  New-York  City, 
and,  on  inquiring  at  a  counting-room  if  they 
wished  a  clerk,  was  told  that  they  did  not.  He 
then  spoke  of  the  recommendations  he  had,  one 
of  which  was  from  a  highly  respectable  citizen. 
In  turning  over  bis  carpet-bag  to  find  his 
letters,  a  book  rolled  out  on  the  floor.  “  What 
book  is  that  ?  ”  said  the  merchant.  “  It  is  the 
Bible,  sir,”  was  the  reply.  “  And  what  are 
you  going  to  do  with  that  book  in  New  York  ?  ” 
The  lad  looked  seriously  into  the  merchant’s 
face,  and  replied,  “  I  promised  my  mother  I 
would  read  it  every  day ;  and  I  shall  do  so." 
The  merchant  at  once  took  him  into  his 
service;  and  in  due  time  he  became  a  part¬ 
ner  in  the  firm,  most  respectable  and  prosper¬ 
ous. 

319.  BIBLE,  Blind  Girl’s.  Tn  France  lived  a 
oor  blind  girl,  who  obtained  the  Gospel  of 
lark  in  raised  letters,  and  learned  to  read 
it  by  the  ends  of  her  fingers.  By  hard  work, 
these  became  callous  ;  and  her  sense  of  touch 
diminished,  till  she  could  not  distinguish  the 


characters.  One  day,  she  cut  the  skin  from 
the  ends  of  her  fingers  to  increase  their  sensi¬ 
bility,  only  to  destroy  it.  She  felt  that  she 
must  now  give  up  her  beloved  book,  and, 
weeping,  pressed  it  to  her  lips,  saying,  “  Fare¬ 
well,  farewell,  sweet  word  of  my  heavenly  Father, 
food  for  my  soul!  I  must  part  with  thee !  ”  But 
to  her  surprise  her  lips,  more  delicate  than  her 
fingers,  discerned  the  form  of  the  letters.  She 
read,  “  Gospel  according  to  Mark."  Her  soul, 
overflowing  with  gratitude,  pours  out  thanks 
before  the  throne  of  her  Father  in  heaven. 
All  night  she  perused  with  her  lips  the  holy 
book,  and  her  heart  overflowed  with  joy  at  the 
new  acquisition. 

341.  BIBLE,  The  Child’s.  A  little  boy  named 
Tommy  was  met  by  his  pastor  just  before  his 
death,  and  was  asked  if  he  had  any  request  to 
make.  He  said,  “  When  I  am  buried,  I  want 
to  have  my  little  Testament  put  in  the  coffin 
beside  me.  There  are  a  great  many  large 
people,  I  am  only  a  little  boy,  and  I  am  afraid 
when  Jesus  comes  he  will  forget  me ;  but  I  will 
reach  up  my  Testament  and  he  will  know  that, 
and  will  receive  me.” 

34 2.  BIBLE,  Circulation  of  the.  They  cannot 

stop  the  progress  of  Bible  societies.  Sooner 
may  they  arrest  the  sun  at  the  antipodes,  and 
prevent  his  rising  to  illuminate  our  horizon ; 
sooner  may  they  confine  the  winds  in  the  cave 
of  iEolus,  never  again  to  cool  and  refresh  our 
atmosphere  ;  sooner  may  they  stem  the  mighty 
stream  that  leaves  the  mountain’s  sides,  and 
interdict  its  progress  to  the  ocean.  For  the 
word  of  God  shall  accomplish  that  which  he 
pleases ;  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing  wliereunto 
he  has  sent  it ;  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea:  the  mouth  of  the.  Lord  hath  spoken 
it.  Summer  field. 

343.  BIBLE,  a  Compass.  A  traveller  relates, 
that  he  embarked  on  a  steamer  one  beautiful 
evening,  but  towards  morning  a  dense  fog  en¬ 
veloped  them.  No  observations  could  be  made, 
and  the  vessel  was  directed  by  the  compass 
alone.  They  were  lost  in  the  fog  on  a  danger¬ 
ous  coast,  and  dared  not  proceed.  A  con¬ 
sultation  of  officers  decided  to  head  the  ship 
seaward,  sailing  by  the  compass.  Then  they 
changed  her  course,  and  in  an  hour  heard  a 
fog-bell,  passed  within  a  stone’s-throw  of  a  ledge 
of  rocks,  which  they  recognized,  and  soon 
reached  safely  the  “  desired  haven.”  What 
the  compass  is  to  the  mariner,  the  Bible  is  to 
mankind. 

344.  BIBLE,  Criticism  of  the.  It  has  been  sub¬ 
jected,  along  with  many  other  books,  to  the 
fire  of  the  keenest  investigation, —  a  fire  which 
has  contemptuously  burned  up  the  cosmogony 
of  the  Shaster,  the  absurd  fables  of  the  Koran, 
nay,  the  husbandry  of  the  Georgies,  the  his¬ 
torical  truth  of  Livy,  the  artistic  merit  of  many 
a  popular  poem,  the  authority  of  many  a  book 
of  philosophy  and  science.  And  yet.  there 
this  artless,  loosely-piled  book  lies  unhurt,  un¬ 
touched,  with  not  one  page  singed ;  and  not 
even  the  smell  of  fire  has  passed  upon  it. 

G.  Gilfillan. 


BIBL/  E» 


BIBLE. 


51 


345.  BIBLE,  in  Death.  Among  the  dead  of 
one  of  the  battle-fields  before  Richmond  was 
a  rebel  soldier,  who  lay  unburied  several  days 
after  the  conflict.  Already  the  flesh  had  been 
eaten  by  the  worms  from  his  fingers  ;  but  un¬ 
derneath  the  skeleton  hand  lay  an  open  copy  of 
the  Bible,  and  the  fingers  pressed  upon  those 
precious  words  of  the  Twenty-third  Psalm, 
“  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me.” 

3  18.  BIBLE,  a  Defence.  As  thieves  be  loath 
to  assault  a  house  where  they  know  there  be 
good  armor  and  artillery,  so,  wherever  the 
books  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  be  well  occupied 
and  exercised,  there  neither  the  Devil  nor  any 
of  his  angels  dare  come  near.  Cawdray. 

347.  BIBLE,  Destruction  of  the.  Destroy  this 

volume,  as  the  enemies  of  human  happiness 
have  vainly  endeavored  to  do,  and  you  render 
us  profoundly  ignorant  of  our  Creator,  of  the 
formation  of  the  world  which  we  inhabit,  of 
the  origin  and  progenitors  of  our  race,  of  our 
present  day  and  future  destination,  and  con¬ 
sign  us  through  life  to  the  dominion  of  fancy, 
doubt,  and  conjecture.  Destroy  this  volume, 
and  you  deprive  us  of  religion,  with  all  the 
animating  consolations,  hopes,  and  prospects 
which  it  affords,  and  leave  us  nothing  but  the 
choosing  (miserable  alternative  !)  between  the 
cheerless  gloom  of  infidelity  and  the  mon¬ 
strous  shadows  of  paganism.  Destroy  this  vol¬ 
ume,  and  you  unpeople  heaven,  bar  forever 
its  doors  against  the  wretched  posterity  of 
Adam,  restore  to  the  King  of  Terrors  his  fatal 
sting,  bury  hope  in  the  same  grave  which  re¬ 
ceives  our  bodies,  consign  all  who  have  died 
before  us  to  eternal  sleep  or  endless  misery, 
and  allow  us  to  expect  nothing  at  death  but  a 
similar  fate.  In  a  word,  destroy  this  volume, 
and  you  take  from  us  at  once  every  thing 
which  prevents  existence  becoming  of  all  curses 
the  greatest,  you  blot  out  the  sun,  dry  up  the 
ocean,  and  take  away  the  atmosphere  of  the 
moral  world,  and  degrade  man  to  a  situation 
from  which  he  may  look  up  with  envy  to  that 
of  the  brutes  that  perish.  Dr.  Payton. 

348.  BIBLE,  Difficulties  in  the.  I  remember 
reading,  that,  in  cutting  down  an  oak  that 
must  have  been  two  hundred  years  old  at  the 
very  least,  there  was  found  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  oak  a  musket-bullet.  When  it  was 
stated  to  the  peasants  and  villagers  that  it  was 
so,  they  said  it  must  be  a  trick ;  that  the 
woodman  must  have  stuck  it  in,  and  pretended 
that  it  was  found  in  the  oak.  But,  when  men 
of  science  and  practical  knowledge  investi¬ 
gated  it,  they  found  it  was  beyond  all  doubt 
that  the  bullet  was  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
oak ;  and  there  was  no  opening  by  which  it 
could  be  inserted,  and  no  symptoms  of  a  rent 
by  which  it  could  have  been  admitted.  But  a 
country  gentleman  in  the  place  turned  over  the 
leaves  of  his  history,  and  he  discovered,  that 
in  that  very  forest,  when  that  tree  must  have 
been  a  mere  sapling,  a  great  battle  was  fought ; 
that  the  presumption,  nay,  the  certainty,  was, 
that  a  bullet  had  fastened  in  the  sapling  •,  that 
as  it  grew'  and  broadened  in  bulk,  in  size,  in 
form,  for  two  hundred  years,  it  had  grown  over 


the  bullet,  and  the  bullet  had  come  to  be  em¬ 
bedded  and  inserted  in  the  very  heart  of  it, 
without  any  opening  by  which  it  could  have 
entered  in  past  times:  and  thus  the  difficulty 
that  perplexed  at  first  became  solved  and 
easily  explained  by  further  and  more  extensive 
research.  In  the  same  manner,  when  we  meet 
with  difficulties  in  Scripture,  when  we  cannot 
explain  them  to-day,  lay  them  up  for  investiga¬ 
tion  to-morrow  ;  and  you  will  find,  that,  as  we 
grow  in  light,  all  will  become  plain. 

Dr.  Cumming. 

349.  BIBLE,  Discoveries  of  the.  In  the  fabu¬ 

lous  records  of  pagan  antiquity,  we  read  of  a 
mirror  endowed  with  properties  so  rare,  that, 
by  looking  into  it,  its  possessor  could  discover 
any  object  which  he  wished  to  see,  however 
remote ;  and  discover  with  equal  ease  persons 
and  things  above,  below,  behind,  and  before 
him.  Such  a  mirror,  but  infinitely  more  valu¬ 
able  than  this  fictitious  glass,  do  we  possess  in 
the  Bible :  by  employing  it  in  a  proper  man¬ 
ner,  we  may  discern  objects  and  events,  past, 
present,  and  to  come.  Here  we  may  contem¬ 
plate  the  all-enfolding  circle  of  the  eternal 
Mind,  and  behold  a  perfect  portrait  of  Him 
whom  no  mortal  eye  hath  seen,  drawn  by  his 
own  unerring  hand.  Dr.  Payton. 

350.  BIBLE,  Effect  of  the.  One  writes,  “  A 
young  lady  once  presented  me  with  a  book¬ 
mark  having  the  inscription,  ‘  God  bless 
you  !  ’  and  exacted  the  promise  that  it  should 
be  placed  in  my  Bible,  but  never  to  remain  a 
day  opposite  the  same  chapter.  Faithful  to 
my  promise,  1  took  it  home;  and,  rubbing 
from  the  lids  of  my  Bible  the  dust  of  a  week, 

I  placed  it  in  the  first  chapter  of  Matthew, 
and  daily  read  a  chapter,  and  changed  its 
place.  1  had  not  read  long  before  I  became 
interested  as  I  had  never  been  before  in  this 
good  book  ;  and  I  saw  in  it  the  truth  that  I  was 
a  sinner,  and  must  repent  if  I  would  be  saved. 
I  then  promised  God  that  I  would  seek  his 
face  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  and,  if  he  saw 
fit  to  convert  my  soul,  that  I  would  spend  my 
file  in  this  cause.  It  came.  I  sought  his  face, 
and  received  the  smiles  of  his  love  ;  and  now 
I  have  a  hope  within  me  ‘big  with  immor¬ 
tality  ;  ’  and  all  I  do  attribute  to  that  book¬ 
mark  and  the  grace  of  God.” 

351.  BIBLE,  Etiquette  of  the.  At  a  Sabbath- 
school  anniversary  in  London,  two  little  girls 
presented  themselves  to  receive  the  prize,  one 
of  whom  hail  recited  one  verse  more  than  the 
other,  both  having  learned  several  thousand 
verses  of  Scripture.  The  gentleman  who  pre¬ 
sided  inquired,  “  And  could  you  not  have 
learned  one  verse  more,  and  thus  have  kept  up 
with  Martha?  ”  —  “  Yes,  sir,”  the  blushing  child 
replied,  “but  I  loved  Martha,  and  kept  buck  on 
purpose.”  —  “  And  was  there  any  one  of  all  the 
verses  you  have  learned,”  again  inquired  the 
president,  “  that  taught  you  this  lesson  V  ” 
—  “  There  was,  sir,”  she  answered,  blushing  still 
more  deeply  :  “  In  honor  preferring  one  an¬ 
other.  ” 

352.  BIBLE,  Excellency  of  the.  The  Bible  is 
a  rock  of  diamonds,  a  chain  of  pearls,  the 


52 


BIBLE. 


BIBLE. 


sword  of  the  Spirit ;  a  chart  by  which  the 
Christian  sails  to  eternity ;  the  map  by  which 
he  dai'y  walks;  the  sun-dial  by  which  he  sets 
his  life ;  the  balance  in  which  he  weighs  his 
actions.  T.  Watson. 

353.  BIBLE,  Experimental  Evidence  to  the.  My 
next  proof  consists  of  experimental  evidence. 
In  order  to  appreciate  it,  I  would  bid  the  ob¬ 
jector  come  with  me  to  some  sequestered  glen 
amid  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Scotland.  I  will 
take  him  to  the  patriarchal  occupant  of  a  lonely 
cabin,  where  you  may  behold  the  gray-headed 
man,  amid  intermingling  smiles  auiLtears,  bend¬ 
ing,  morning,  noon,  and  night,  over  one  book  — 
“  the  big  ha  ’  Bible.”  Let  us  ask  him,  “  How 
do  you  know  that  that  book  called  the  Bible 
is  the  book  of  God  ?  You  never  read  the 
writings  of  a  Paley,  the  analogy  of  a  Butler ; 
you  never  studied  the  credibility  of  Lardner, 
nor  the  eloquent  demonstrations  of  a  Chal¬ 
mers  :  how  came  you  to  believe  it  ?  ”  —  “  Come 
to  believe  it?”  would  the  peasant  say:  “I 
have  felt  it  in  my  heart  and  conscience  to  be 
the  book  of  God  1  it  has  taught  me  the  truths 
I  never  knew  before  :  it  has  given  me  a  peace 
the  world  could  never  give;  it  has  calmed 
my  beating  heart ;  it  has  stanched  my  bleeding 
wounds ;  it  lias  kindled  within  me  the  love  of 
God  and  hopes  of  glory.  Not  the  book  of 
God  1  I  am  convinced  of  it  as  that  1  am  here 
a  living,  breathing  man.”  Dr.  J.  Cumminy. 

35-1.  BIBLE,  Fear  of  the.  An  infidel  said, 
“  There  is  one  thing  that  mars  all  ihe  pleasures 
of  my  life.”  —  “Indeed!”  replied  his  friend, 
“  what  is  that  ?  ”  He  answered,  “  I  am  afraid 
the  Bible  is  true.  If  I  could  know  for  certain 
that  death  is  an  eternal  sleep,  I  should  be 
happy  :  my  joy  would  be  complete  !  But  here 
is  the  thorn  that  stings  me.  This  is  the  sword 
that  pierces  my  very  soul,  —  if  the  Bible  is  true , 
1  am  Inst  forever.” 

355.  BIBLE,  Food  from  the.  An  old  man  once 
said,  “  For  a  long  period,  I  puzzled  myself 
about  the  difficulties  of  Scripture,  until  at  last 
I  came  to  the  resolution,  that  reading  the  Bible 
was  like  eating  fish.  When  I  find  a  difficulty, 
I  lay  it  aside,  and  call  it  a  bone.  Why  should 
I  choke  over  the  bone  when  there  is  so  much 
nutritious  meat  for  me  ?  Some  day,  perhaps, 
I  may  find  that  even  the  bone  may  afford  me 
nourishment.” 

356.  BIBLE,  Freshness  of  the.  The  learned 
Dr.  Charles  Elliott  was  through  a  long  life  a 
close  Bible  student.  When  in  his  seventy- 
seventh  year,  and  just  a  month  before  his 
death,  he  read  the  Old  Testament  through 
in  three  weeks.  His  daughter  asked  him 
what  he  was  reading.  He  replied,  “  I’m  read¬ 
ing  news.” 

357.  BIBLE,  a  Friend.  “  Thank  God,  I  have 
a  Bible  I  ”  said  a  poor  old  woman  in  London. 
“  What  should  I  do  without  my  Bible  V  It  was 
the  guide  of  my  youth,  and  it  is  the  staff’ of  my 
age.  It  wounded  me,  and  it  healed  me  ;  it  con¬ 
demned  me,  and  it  acquitted  me.  It  showed 
me  I  was  a  sinner,  and  it  led  me  to  the  Saviour. 
It  has  given  me  comfort  through  life,  and  I 
trust  it  will  give  me  hope  in  death.” 


358.  BIBLE,  How  to  Bead  the.  It  is  said  of 
Archbishop  Usher,  when  he  grew  old,  .and 
spectacles  could  not  help  his  Tailing  sight, 
that  a  book  was  dark  except  beneath  the 
strongest  light  of  the  windows.  And  the  aged 
man  would  sit  against  the  casement,  with  his 
outspread  volume  before  him,  till  the  sunshine 
flitted  to  another  opening,  when  he  would 
change  his  place,  and  put  himself  again  under 
the  brilliant  rays ;  and  so  he  would  move 
about  with  the  light  till  the  day  was  done,  and 
his  studies  ended.  And  truly  we  may  say, 
that  our  weak  eyes  will  not  suffice  to  make  out 
the  inscription  on  the  page  of  nature,  unless 
we  get  near  the  window  of  Scripture,  where 
God  pours  in  the  radiance  of  his  Spirit. 
And  wherever  it  shines,  let  us  follow  it,  knowing 
that  nowhere  but  in  its  illumination  can  we 
study  the  spiritual  meanings  of  nature  so  well. 

Rev.  J.  Stoughton. 

359.  BIBLE,  How  to  Use  the.  I  use  the 

Scriptures,  not  as  an  arsenal  to  be  resorted  to 
only  lor  arms  and  weapons,  but  as  a  matchless 
temple,  where  I  delight  to  contemplate  the 
beauty,  the  symmetry,  and  the  magnificence 
of  the  structure,  and  to  increase  my  awe  and 
excite  my  devotion  to  the  Deity  there  preached 
and  adored.  R.  Boyle. 

36®.  BIBLE,  Ignorance  of  the.  A  Cambridge 
student,  when  examined  upon  the  inspiration 
of  the  Bible,  was  asked  “what  connections  he 
remembered  between  the  Old  and  New  Testa¬ 
ment.”  He  answered,  “  that  only  one  then 
came  to  his  recollection,  and  that  was  the  fact 
that  Peter  cut  off  the  ear  of  the  prophet 
Malaclii.”  He  had  an  indistinct  recollection 
of  Malchus,  the  servant  of  the  high  priest, 
whose  ear  Peter  cut  off  with  his  sword. 

361.  BIBLE,  Importance  of  Correct.  In  1632, 
Baker  and  Lucas  published  an  edition  termed 
since  “  The  wicked  Bible”  because  the  little 
word  not  was  omitted  in  the  seventh  command¬ 
ment.  d  he  printers  were  heavily  fined  by  the 
High  Commission,  and  the  whole  edition  de¬ 
stroyed. 

362.  BIBLE,  Illustrations  in  the.  It  has 
pressed  into  its  service  the  animals  of  the  for¬ 
est,  the  flowers  of  the  field,  the  stars  of  heaven, 
all  the  elements  of  nature.  The  lion  spurning 
the  sands  of  the  desert,  the  wild  roe  leaping 
over  the  mountains,  the  lamb  led  in  silence  to 
the  slaughter,  the  goat  speeding  to  the  wilder¬ 
ness,  the  rose  blossoming  in  Sharon,  the  lily 
drooping  in  the  valley,  the  apple-tree  bowing 
under  its  fruit,  the  great  rock  shadowing  a 
weary  land,  the  river  gladdening  the  dry  place, 
the  moon  and  the  morning  star,  Carmel  by  the 
sea,  and  Tabor  among  the  mountains,  the  dew 
from  the  womb  of  the  morning,  the  rain  upon 
the  mown  grass,  the  rainbow  encompassing 
the  landscape  ;  the  light,  God’s  shadow ;  the 
thunder,  his  voice ;  the  wind  and  the  earth¬ 
quake,  his  footsteps;  all  such  varied  objects 
are  made  as  if  naturally  designed  from  their 
creation  to  represent  him  to  whom  the  book 
and  all  its  emblems  point.  Thus  the  quick 
spirit  of  the  book  has  ransacked  creation  to 
lay  its  treasures  on  Jehovah’s  altar,  united 


BIBLE. 


BIBLE. 


53 


the  innumerable  rays  of  a  far-streaming  glory 
on  ’the  little  hill  Calvary,  and  woven  a  gar¬ 
land  for  the  bleeding  brow  of  Immanuel, 
the  flowers  of  which  have  been  culled  from  the 
garden  of  a  universe.  G.  Gilfillan. 

363.  BIBLE,  Increasing  Love  for  the.  A  little 
girl,  hearing  one  day  of  a  very  aged  woman, 
who  for  the  last  many  years  had  “  done  noth¬ 
ing  but  read  her  Bible,”  exclaimed,  “  How 
tired  she  must  be  of  it !  Do  ask  her  if  she  is 
not  very  tired  of  it !  ”  The  old  woman,  being 
told  of  the  child’s  inquiry,  replied,  “  Tell  her 
that  I  love  it  more  and  more.” 

361.  BIBLE,  Indebtedness  to  the.  As  the  pro- 
foundest  philosophy  of  ancient  Rome  and 
Greece  lighted  her  taper  at  Israel’s  altar,  so 
the  sweetest  strains  of  the  pagan  muse  were 
swept  from  harps  attuned  on  Zion’s  hill. 

Bishop  Thomson. 

365.  BIBLE,  Infidelity  and  the.  An  honest 

peasant  surprised  an  infidel  the  other  day, 
who  was  jeering  him  for  believing  the  Bible, 
by  the  reply,  “  We  country  people  like  to  have 
two  strings  to  our  bow.”  —  “  What  do  you 
mean  V  ”  inquired  the  infidel.  “  Only  this,” 
rejoined  the  poor  man,  “  that  believing  the 
Bible,  and  acting  up  to  it,  is  like  having  two 
strings  to  one’s  bow  :  for,  if  it  is  not  true,  I 
shall  be  a  better  man  for  living  according  to 
it,  and  so  it  will  be  for  my  good  in  this  life,  — 
that  is  one  string  to  my  bow ;  and,  if  it  should 
be  true,  it  will  be  better  lor  me  in  the  next 
life,  —  that  is  another  string,  and  a  pretty 
strong  one  ic  is.  But,  sir,  if  you  do  not  be¬ 
lieve  the  Bible,  and,  on  that  account,  do  not 
live  as  it  requires,  you  have  not  one  string  to 
your  bow.  And  oh  1  sir,  if  its  tremendous 
threatenings  prove  true,  oh  1  think  what  then 
will  become  of  you  I”  Caughei/. 

366.  BIBLE,  Inspiration  of.  A  few  years  ago, 
a  young  African  addressed  Mr.  Johnson,  a 
missionary,  in  language  like  this:  “Massa, 
them  words  you  talk  last  night  strike  very 
much.  When  you  preach,  you  read  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  verses  of  the  forty-fourth  chap¬ 
ter  of  Isaiah,  and  explain  them,  you  show  me 
how  our  country  people  stand.  Me  say,  ‘  Ah, 
who  tell  massa  all  this  ?  he  never  been  in  my 
country.’  You  say,  *  Do  not  your  country  peo¬ 
ple  live  in  that  fashion  V  ’  I  say,  Yes,  that 
true :  God  knows  all  things ;  he  put  them 
things  in  the  Bible.  Massa,  I  so  sure  that  the 
Bible  is  God’s  word,  for  man  cannot  put  the 
things  in  there,  because  he  no  see  it.  That 
time  I  live  with  a  man  that  make  greegrec. 
He  take  me  into  the  bush,  and  teach  me  to 
make  greegree  too.  He  show  me  a  tree  :  he 
say  that  greegree.  He  take  country  axe,  and 
cut  some  of  that  tree.  He  make  a  God ;  and 
he  take  the  leaves,  and  that  which  was  left, 
and  give  me  to  carry  home.  AVhen  he  come 
home  he  m  ide  a  fire,  and  all  the  people  come 
and  sit  round  the  fire.  Then  they  cook  and 
eat.  When  they  done  eat,  the  man  take  the 
leaves  of  the  greegree  tree,  and  burn  them  in 
the  fire  ;  and  then  all  the  people  stand  round 
the  fire,  and  clap  their  hands,  and  cry,  ‘  Aha  1 
aha  1  ’  Massa,  when  you  read  this  verse,  I  can’t 


tell  you  what  I  feel.  You  then  begin  to  talk 
about  the  text,  ‘  He  feedeth  on  ashes,’  and  I 
was  struck  again ;  for  when  they  done  cry 
‘  Aha  1  aha  1  ’  they  take  the  ashes,  and  make 
medicine:  ‘  they  give  to  the  people  when  they 
be  sick.’  You  been  see  some  greegree  which 
look  like  dirt;  that  is  the  same  ashes:  they 
carry  that  round  them  neck,  and  they  eat  it 
sometimes.  You  see,  inassa,  our  countrymen 
feed  upon  ashes.  For  true,  the  Bible  God’s 
word.” 

367.  BIBLE,  Legend  of  Reading  the.  A  beau¬ 

tiful  legend  is  that  which  relates,  that  on 
a  certain  day,  as  St.  Dunstan  sat  reading  the 
Scriptures  in  his  cell,  his  harp,  which  hung 
on  a  peg  against  the  wall,  sounded,  untouched 
by  human  hands  ;  for  an  angel  played  on  it  the 
hymn  Gciudeate  animi,  to  the  great  delight  and 
solace  of  the  holy  man.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

368.  BIBLE,  a  Lighthouse.  A  lighthouse 
looks  like  a  tall  pillar  rising  out  of  the  sea,  or 
built  upon  some  high  bluff.  The  top  is  a  large 
lantern,  where  a  bright  light  is  kept  burning 
all  night,  which  is  seen  far  out  to  sea;  and  it 
says  to  all  ships  and  sailors  sailing  by,  “  Take 
care  !  take  care  !  ”  One  is  built  on  a  ledge 
of  rocks  :  its  warning  light  says,  “  Give  wide 
berth  to  these  sunken  rocks.”  Another  says, 
“  Steer  clear  of  this  dangerous  reef.”  Another, 
“  Keep  clear  of  this  dangerous  headland.  If 
you  come  here  you  are  lost.”  There  are  a 
great  many  lighthouses  on  the  coast :  how 
does  a  sailor  know  which  is  which  ?  He  sees 
a  light  gleaming  through  the  darkness  and 
the  storm  ;  but  where  is  it  ?  He  has  a  chart  in 
the  ship,  and  that  tells.  A  chart  is  a  map  of 
the  coast  with  all  its  rocks  and  sandbanks 
and  lighthouses  put  down,  and  every  thing 
that  a  sailor  ought  to  know  in  order  to  steer 
his  ship  safely  across  the  ocean.  If  he  faith¬ 
fully  consults  it,  and  keeps  a  good  lookout, 
he  is  likely  to  ride  out  the  storm,  and  come 
safely  into  port. 

369.  BIBLE,  Living  the.  A  proud  Indian 
nabob,  going  along  the  streets  one  day,  was 
attracted  by  the  sounds  proceeding  from  a  mis¬ 
sion-school,  and  he  drew  near  to  listen.  The 
boys  were  reading  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew. 
The  eyes  of  the  prince  flashed  with  unwonted 
fire  ;  and,  when  they  had  finished  their  lesson, 
he  exclaimed,  “Well,  if  you  only  live  that 
chapter  as  well  as  you  read  it,  I  will  never  say 
another  word  against  Christianity.” 

370.  BIBLE,  Love  of  the.  I  might  show  you 
the  Tahitians,  when  France  took  possession 
of  their  island  not  many  years  ago,  hurrying  to 
the  mountains,  and  leaving  their  Bibles  with 
the  missionaries  until  they  should  come  back, 
to  save  them  carrying  them  so  far ;  and  ere 
long  they  were  back  in  the  face  of  all  danger, 
to  say  then  could  not  lwe  without  llieir  Bibles ,  and 
must  have  them  whatever  should  befall.  There 
is  an  Irish  peasant,  copying  with  his  own  hand 
the  entire  Scriptures.  There  is  a  Hindoo 
dying,  and  under  his  head  lies  his  treasure. 
What  is  it  V  Some  dirty  scraps  of  paper, 
worn  and  tattered,  which  he  had  got  years 
ago,  —  texts  of  the  Bible  translated  and  written 


54 


BIBLE. 


BIBLE. 


by  a  missionary,  before  Bibles  in  the  language 
were  to  be  had.  There  is  a  soldier  hiding  it 
in  his  bosom  as  he  goes  to  the  wars,  and  a 
sailor  tying  it  round  his  waist,  as  the  most  pre¬ 
cious  thing  on  board,  ere  the  vessel  goes  down. 
There  is  one  calling  it  his  best  earthly  friend  ; 
and  another,  his  hook  of  bank-notes ;  and 
another,  sweeter  than  honey,  better  than  gold. 

J.  II.  Wilson. 

371.  BIBLE,  our  Malakoff.  The  cruel  battles 
fought  some  years  ago  round  the  Malakoff 
tower  showed  that  in  that  fortress  lay  the 
key  of  war,  and  on  it  depended  defeat  or 
triumph.  So  the  multiplied  attacks  directed 
in  our  days  against  the  Bible  indicate  that  it 
is,  in  view  of  our  adversaries,  £he  tower  which 
above  all  must  be  torn  down.  Let  no  one,  by 
an  unhappy  error,  range  himself  among  those 
who  assail  the  edifice  of  Divine  Revelation. 
The  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  cross  are  the 
positions  and  the  arms  which  God  gives  us 
wherewith  to  gain  victory.  “  They  overcame 
him,”  says  Revelations,  “  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony.” 
Remember  these  words,  my  dear  brethren, 
students  in  theology  now  listening,  and  let 
not  these  well-tempered  arms  lose  their  virtue 
in  your  hands.  And  all  ye  people  of  God, 
hear  the  cry  of  his  prophet :  To  the  law  and 
to  the  testimony  :  if  they  speak  not  according 
to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in 
them.”  Dr  Merle  D'Aubigne. 

373.  BIBLE,  a  Mine.  Some  look  upon  the 
Bible  as  a  garden  of  spices,  in  which  you  may 
walk,  and  at  your  leisure  pluck  tbe  flowers 
and  gather  the  fruits  of  the  Eden  of  God. 
But  this  does  not  accord  with  my  experience. 
I  have  found  it  more  like  a  mine,  in  which  you 
must  dig  and  labor,  the  wealth  of  which  is  not 
to  be  obtained  without  labor,  —  a  mine  rich  in 
gold  and  precious  things,  but  it  must  be 
wrought  day  and  night  in  order  to  produce 
them.  Dr.  J.  Todd. 

373.  BIBLE,  Misused.  How  wretched  a 
spectacle  is  a  garden  into  which  cloven-footed 
beasts  have  entered  !  That  which  yesterday 
was  fragrant,  and  shone  all  over  with  crowded 
beauty,  is  to-day  rooted,  despoiled,  trampled, 
and  utterly  devoured  ;  and  all  over  the  ground 
you  shall  find  but  the  rejected  cuds  of  flowers 
and  leaves  and  forms  that  have  been  champed 
for  their  juices  and  then  rejected.  Such  to  me  is 
the  Bible,  when  the  pragmatic  prophecy-mon¬ 
ger  and  the  swinish  utilitarian  have  toothed  its 
fruits  and  craunehed  its  blossoms.  Beecher. 

374.  BIBLE,  National  Influence  of  the.  An  Afri¬ 
can  prince  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  the  court 
of  Queen  Victoria,  when  he  asked  her  to  tell 
him  the  secrets  of  England’s  greatness.  The 
queen  did  not  bring  out  her  jewels,  like  Heze- 
kiah,  but,  handing  him  a  beautifully  bound 
copy  of  the  Bible,  said,  “  Tell  the  prince  that 
this  is  the  secret  of  England’s  greatness.” 

375.  BIBLE,  Neglected.  A  gentlemen  of  re¬ 
nown  was  on  his  dying-bed  when  a  friend  at 
hand  spoke  of  the  Saviour.  “  As  to  the  Bible,” 
he  replied,  “  it  may  be  true :  I  do  not  know.” 
—  “  What,  then,  are  your  prospects?”  he  was 


asked.  He  replied  in  whispers,  which  indeed 
were  thunders,  “Dark,  very  dark.”  —  “But 
have  you  no  light  from  the  Sun  of  Righteous¬ 
ness?  Have  you  done  justice  to  the  Bible?” 

—  “  Perhaps  not,”  he  replied  ;  “  but  it  is  now 
too  late,  too  late.” 

376.  BIBLE,  No  Better.  No  matter  how  in¬ 
fidel  philosophers  may  regard  the  Bible  :  they 
may  say  that  Genesis  is  awry,  and  that  the 
Psalms  are  more  than  half  bitter  imprecations, 
and  the  Prophecies  only  the  fantasies  of  brain- 
bewildered  men,  and  the  Gospels  weak  lauda¬ 
tions  of  an  impostor,  and  the  Epistles  but  the 
letters  of  a  mad  Jew,  and  that  the  whole  book 
has  had  its  day,  I  shall  cling  to  it  until  they  show 
me  a  better  revelation.  The  Bible  emptied, 
effete,  worn  out !  If  all  the  wisest  men  of  the 
world  were  placed  man  to  man,  they  could 
not  sound  the  shallowest  depth  of  the  Gospel 
of  John.  O  philosophers !  break  the  shell, 
and  fly  out,  and  let  me  hear  how  you  can  sing, 

—  not  of  passion,  I  know  that  already  ;  not  of 

worldly  power,  I  hear  that  everywhere  :  but 
teach  me,  through  your  song,  how  to  find  joy  in 
sorrow,  strength  in  weakness,  and  light  in  dark¬ 
est  days;  how  to  bear  buffeting  and  scorn; 
how  to  welcome  death,  and  to  pass,  through  its 
ministration,  into  the  sphere  of  life ;  and  this, 
not  for  me  only,  but  for  the  whole  world  that 
groans  and  travails  in  pain.  And,  until  you 
can  do  this,  speak  not  to  me  of  a  better  reve¬ 
lation.  Beecher. 

377.  BIBLE,  the  Only  Book.  Sir  Walter  Scott 

just  before  his  death  desired  to  be  drawn  into 
his  library,  and  placed  by  the  window,  that  he 
might  look  down  upon  the  Tweed.  To  his 
son-in-law  he  expressed  a  wish  that  he  should 
read  to  him.  “  From  what  book  shall  I  read  ?  ” 
said  he.  “  And  you  ask  ?  ”  Scott  replied. 
“  There  is  but  one.” — “  I  chose,”  said  his  bi¬ 
ographer,  “  John  xiv.  He  listened  with  mild  de¬ 
votion,  and  said,  when  I  had  done,  ‘  Well,  this 
is  a  great  comfort.  I  have  followed  you  dis¬ 
tinctly,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  was  to  be  myself 
again.’  ”  ’  Life  of  Scott. 

37§.  BIBLE,  Open  to  All.  A  Roman-Catholic 
priest  in  Ireland  recently  discovered  a  peasant 
reading  the  Bible,  and  reproved  him  for  daring 
to  peruse  a  book  forbidden  to  the  laity.  The 
peasant  proceeded  to  justify  himself  by  a  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  contents  of  the  book,  and  the  holy 
doctrines  which  it  taught.  The  priest  replied, 
that  the  doctrines  could  only  be  understood  by 
the  learned,  and  that  ignorant  men  would  wrest 
them  to  their  own  destruction.  “  But,”  said 
the  peasant,  “  I  am  authorized,  your  reverence, 
to  read  the  Bible  :  I  have  a  search-warrant.”  — 
“  What  do  you  mean,  sir  ?  ”  said  the  priest,  ic 
anger.  “  Why,”  replied  the  peasant,  “  Jesus 
Christ  says,  ‘  Search  the  Scriptures ;  for  in 
them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  :  and  they 
are  they  which  testify  of  me.’  ”  The  argument 
was  unanswerable. 

379.  BIBLE,  Paramount.  Euripides  hath  in  his 
well-composed  tragedies  more  sentences  than 
sayings  ;  and  Thucydides  hath  so  stuffed  every 
syllable  of  his  history  with  substance,  that 
the  one  runs  parallel  along  with  the  other; 


■BUBLK. 


BIBLE. 


55 


the  works  of  Lysias  are  so  well  touched,  that 
you  cannot  take  out  the  least  word,  but  you 
take  away  the  whole  sense  with  it ;  and  Pho- 
cion  had  a  special  faculty  of  speaking  much 
in  few  words;  the  Cretians  in  Plato’s  time 
(however  degenerated  in  St.  Paul's)  were 
more  weighty  tli^n  wordy  ;  Timanthes  was  fa¬ 
mous  in  this,  that  in  liis  pictures  more  things 
were  intended  than  deciphered  ;  and  of  Homer 
it  is  said,  that  none  could  ever  peer  him  for 
poetry.  Then  how  much  more  apt  and  apposite 
are  these  high  praises  to  the  book  of  God, 
rightly  called  the  Bible!  It  is  the  only  book, 
to  which  (as  Luther  saith)  all  the  books  in  the 
world  are  but  waste  paper.  It  is  called  the 
Word  by  way  of  eminency,  because  it  must  be 
the  butt  and  boundary  of  all  our  words ;  and 
the  Scripture,  as  the  lord  paramount  above  all 
other  words,  or  writings  of  men,  collected  into 
volumes  ;  there  being  (as  the  Rabbins  say)  a 
mountain  of  sense  hanging  upon  every  tittle 
of  it,  whence  may  be  gathered  flowers  and 
phrases  to  polish  our  speeches  with,  even 
sound  words,  that  have  a  healing  property  in 
them  far  above  all  the  smooth  phrases  of  hu¬ 
man  elocution.  Spencer. 

380.  BIBLE,  Poetry  of  the.  The  poetry  of  the 
Bible  has  been  the  forming  power  of  the  great¬ 
est  modern  poems ;  tor  Tasso,  Milton,  and 
Cowper  present  in  high  relief  the  features  of 
its  moving  hand.  And  its  high  and  aspiring 
spirit,  its  heavenward  tendencies,  its  ethereal 
sanctities,  its  judicial  grandeur,  have  given 
birth  to  those  sublime  creations  in  architecture 
and  painting  which  are  seen  in  the  works  of 
Michael  Angelo,  and  may  be  designated  the 
school  of  Christian  art.  Nor  is  there  any  de- 

artment  of  human  thought  or  effort  that 

iblically  educated  men  have  not  enriched  or 
adorned.  Dr.  Beard. 

381.  BIBLE,  Pre-eminence  of  the.  You  find  the 

Bible  the  patriot’s  charter-book,  the  child’s 
delight,  the  old  man’s  comfort,  and  the  young 
man’s  guide.  In  its  pages,  the  sick  and  weary 
find  the  solace  which  they  need,  and  the 
tempted  meet  with  timely  succor.  Its  words 
whisper  hope  and  peace  to  the  dying,  and 
minister  daily  food  to  the  healthy  and  vigor¬ 
ous  household.  With  the  pious  music  of  its 
sublime  or  plaintive  songs,  echo  to  the  roofs  of 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  Christian 
temples ;  and  the  child’s  prayer,  night  and  morn, 
is  lisped  forth  in  the  simple  and  comprehensive 
words  which  were  dictated  by  Him  who  is  its 
central  light.  Dr.  Beard. 

382.  BIBLE,  Preservation  of  the.  Cities  fall, 

kingdoms  come  to  nothing,  empires  fade  away 
as  smoke.  Where  is  Nuina,  Minos,  Lycurgus  ? 
where  are  their  books  ?  and  what  is  become  of 
their  laws  ?  But  that  this  book  no  tyrant 
should  have  been  able  to  consume,  no  tradition 
to  choke,  no  heretic  maliciously  to  corrupt ; 
that  it  should  stand  unto  this  day,  amid  the 
wreck  of  all  that  is  human,  without  the  alter¬ 
ation  of  one  sentence  so  as  to  change  the 
doctrine  taught  therein,  surely  there  is  a  very 
singular  providence  claiming  our  attention  in 
a  most  remarkable  manner.  Bp.  Jewell. 


383.  BIBLE,  Prohibited.  In  the  reign  of  Hen¬ 
ry  V.  a  law  was  passed  against  the  perusal  of 
the  Scriptures  in  England.  It  is  enacted, 
“  That  whatsoever  they  were  that  should  read 
the  Scriptures  in  the  mother  tongue,  they 
should  forfeit  land,  catel,  lifi  and  godes,  from 
theyre  heyres,  forever ;  and  so  be  condemned 
for  heretyks  to  God,  enemies  to  the  crowne, 
ami  most  errant  traitors  to  the  lande.” 

384.  BIBLE,  Beading  the.  M.  De  Renty,  a 

French  nobleman,  used  to  read  daily  three 
chapters  of  the  Bible,  with  his  head  uncovered 
and  on  his  bended  knees.  Lady  Frances  Ho¬ 
bart  read  the  Psalms  over  twelve  times  a  year, 
the  New  Testament  thrice,  and  the  other  parts 
of  the  Old  Testament  once.  Susannah,  Count¬ 
ess  of  Suffolk,  for  the  last  seven  years  of  her 
life  read  the  whole  Bible  over  twice  annually. 
Dr.  Gouge  used  to  read  fifteen  chapters  every 
day, —  five  in  the  morning,  five  after  dinner,  and 
five  in  the  evening  before  going  to  bed.  Mr. 
Jeremiah  Whittaker  usually  read  all  the  epis¬ 
tles  in  the  Greek  Testament  twice  every  fort¬ 
night.  Joshua  Barnes  is  said  to  have  read  a 
small  pocket  Bible  which  he  usually  carried 
about  him,  a  hundred  and  twenty  times  over. 
Mr.  Robert  Cotton  read  the  whole  Bible 
through  twelve  times  a  year.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Romaine  studied  nothing  but  the  Bible  for  the 
last  thirty  or  forty  years  of  his  life.  A  poor 
prisoner,  being  confined  in  a  dark  dungeon, 
had  no  light,  except  for  a  few  moments  when 
his  food  was  brought  to  him.  lie  used  to  take 
his  Bible  and  read  a  chapter,  saying  he  could 
find  his  mouth  in  the  dark  when  he  could  not 
read.  Henry  Willis,  farmer,  aged  eighty-one, 
devoted  every  hour  that  could  be  spared  from 
his  labor  during  the  course  of  so  long  a  life  to 
the  devout  and  serious  perusal  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  He  had  read  with  the  most  mi¬ 
nute  attention  all  the  books  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  eight  times  over,  and  had 
proceeded  as  far  as  the  Book  of  Job  in  his 
ninth  reading,  when  his  meditations  were  ter¬ 
minated  by  death.  Bib.  Soc.  Recurd. 

385.  BIBLE,  versus  Romanism.  In  the  little 
village  of  Ilosendorf,  on  the  border  of  Bohemia, 
about  four  years  ago,  a  thorough  infidel  greatly 
annoyed  the  Romish  priest  by  his  views,  who, 
in  despair  of  convincing  him  of  his  error, 
directed  him  to  read  the  Bible.  He  did  so, 
and  was  led  by  it  not  only  to  renounce  his  un¬ 
belief,  but  to  see  that  Romanism  was  not  in 
accordance  with  the  Scriptures,  which  the 
priest  endeavored  in  vain  to  counteract.  He 
now  began  to  speak  and  to  read  the  Scriptures 
to  his  fellow-villagers.  Bibles  have  been  pro¬ 
cured,  and  Bible-meetings  have  been  held 
weekly.  There  have  been  about  a  hundred 
conversions  from  Romanism,  and  the  work  has 
been  gaining  ground  without  help  from  abroad 
till  recently. 

386.  BIBLE,  Sacredness  of  the.  Voltaire  was 
once  daring  enough  to  versify  that  affecting 
penitential  psalm,  the  Fifty-first  Every  thing 
went  well  until  he  came  to  the  tenth  verse, 
where  it  is  said,  “  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O 
God  1  ”  But  his  pride,  and  infernal  hatred 


b6 


BIBLE. 


BIBLE. 


against  God  and  liis  worshippers,  did  not  per¬ 
mit  him,  with  the  royal  penitent,  to  entreat  of 
God  a  pure  and  sincere  heart :  however,  he 
strove  to  translate  the  verse  poetically.  But 
suddenly  the  terror  of  hell  seized  him  :  the  pen 
refused  to  move  beneath  the  hand  of  the  rep¬ 
robate  who  had  indicted  so  many  blasphe¬ 
mies  and  obscenities  for  the  destruction  of 
innocence  and  the  fear  of  God.  He  sought  to 
flee,  but  could  not.  lie  fell  half  senseless  on 
his  couch,  and  afterwards  confessed  several 
times  to  his  friends  that  he  could  never  think 
of  this  appalling  occurrence  without  inward 
tremor  and  uneasiness.  Dr.  Van  Esse. 

387.  BIBLE,  St.  Augustine  and  the.  St.  Agus- 
tine  tells  us  in  his  “  Confessions,”  that  while  still 
unconverted,  and  in  deep  communion  with  his 
friend  Alypius  on  the  subject  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  contest  within  his  mind  was  such,  that  he 
rushed  from  the  presence  of  his  friend,  and 
threw  himself  down  beneath  a  fig-tree,  pour¬ 
ing  forth  torrents  of  repentant  tears.  And  he 
heard  a  voice,  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  child, 
repeating  several  times,  Tolle,  lege ,  “Take 
and  read ;  ”  and  returning  to  the  place  where 
he  had  left  his  friend,  and  taking  up  the  sacred 
volume,  he  opened  it  at  the  verse  of  St.  Paul’s 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  “  Not  in  rioting  and 
drunkenness,  not  in  chambering  and  wanton- 
ness,  not  in  strife  and  envying  ;  but  put  ye  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision 
for  the  flesh.”  This  led  him  to  take  up  the 
religious  profession,  to  the  great  joy  of  his 
mother  and  his  friend. 

388.  BIBLE,  Self-perpetuating.  It  has  a  self- 

perpetuating  and  multiplying  power.  Infidels 
have  written  books :  where  are  they  ?  Where 
is  Porphyry,  Julian?  Fragments  of  them 
there  are;  but  we  are  indebted  even  for  this  to 
Christian  criticism.  Where  is  Hume,  Vol¬ 
taire,  Bolingbroke  ?  It  requires  the  world’s 
reprieve  to  bring  a  copy  out  of  the  prison  of 
their  darkness.  Where  is  the  Bible  ?  Where- 
ever  there  is  light.  Speaking  the  language  of 
heaven  in  sevenscore  and  three  of  the  tongues 
of  earth,  and  giving  the  Word  of  God  by  lorty 
millions  of  voices  to  five  times  as  many  mil¬ 
lion  ears,  and  in  tongues  spoken  by  six  hun¬ 
dred  millions  of  men,  and  having  swept  its 
path  of  storm  through  all  time,  it  still  walks 
triumphant,  despite  earth’s  dying  malice  and 
hell’s  eternal  wrath ;  and  like  the  apocalyp¬ 
tic  angel,  though  it  wraps  its  mantle  of  cloud 
around  it,  calmly  looks  out  upon  the  world 
with  a  face  as  it  were  the  sun  encircled  with 
the  rainbow.  Bishop  Thomson. 

383.  BIBLE,  in  Sickness.  Dr.  Wayland  wrote 
of  himself,  during  a  period  of  feeble  health, 
“  I  have  read  the  Bible  more  than  ever  in  my 
life  in  the  same  space  of  time ;  and,  at  every 
new  reading,  I  find  more  to  love  and  admire. 
Ob,  how  much  I  have  lost  by  not  reading  it 
more  !  I  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  setting 
me  aside  on  a  side  bench,  at  school  alone,  to 
read  his  Word  and  call  upon  his  name  ;  ”  and 
again,  “  Blessed  be  God,  I  am  able  to  read  his 
Word  with  increasing  interest,  and  to  enter¬ 
tain  a  more  constant  hold  of  eternal  life  1  ” 


390.  BIBLE,  for  Sinners,  The  Dutch  farmers 
in  Africa  have  held  the  black  natives  in  great 
contempt,  the  same  as  the  planters  once 
despised  their  slaves.  As  one  of  these  farmers 
was  riding  out  one  day,  he  saw  one  of  these 
blacks  sitting  by  the  roadside,  reading,  when 
he  jeeringly  asked,  “  What  book  have  you 
there  V  ”  —  “  The  Bible,”  replied  the  Hottentot. 

—  “  The  Bible  1  —  Why,  that  book  was  never 
intended  for  you.”  —  “  indeed  it  was,”  replied 
the  black  confidently  ;  “  for  I  see  my  name 
here.”  —  “  Your  name  ?  Where  ?  ”  asked 
the  farmer,  getting  down  from  his  horse : 
“  show  it  to  me.” —  “  There  1  ”  said  the  poor 
fellow,  putting  his  finger  on  the  word  “  sin¬ 
ners,”  —  “  there  !  sinners  1  that’s  my  name. 
I  am  a  sinner ;  so  that  means  me.” 

391.  BIBLE,  for  Soldiers.  A  poor  soldier  in 
the  Crimean  war  east  himself  on  the  ground, 
perhaps  to  die.  “  One  drop,  one  drop  !  ”  he 
cried.  “  Not  a  drop  of  drink  in  my  canteen,” 
said  his  comrade.  “  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?  ” 

—  “  Bill,  open  my  knapsack  and  get  it  —  my 
Bible  —  and  let  me  have  a  drop  from  that.” 
Bill  obeyed,  found  the  Bible,  and  began  to 
read  “  That’s  it,”  said  the  poor  soldier. 
“  It’s  the  blood  of  Christ  which  heals  our 
smarts.  The  blood  of  Christ  makes  peace 
between  God  and  us  poor  sinners.  I  shall 
never  get  home  to  England  again  ;  but,  blessed 
be  God!  I  shall  get  to  abetter  country,  through 
Ciirist,  the  living  way.  Ah,  Bill  1  if  ever  the 
Bible  was  written  for  any  man,  it  was  written 
ior  the  soldier.” 

392.  BIBLE,  Superiority  of  the,  This  book  is 
the  mirror  of  the  Divinity,  the  rightful 
regent  of  the  world.  Other  books  are  planets 
shining  with  reflected  lustre;  this  book,  like 
the  sun,  shines  with  ancient  and  unborrowed 
ray.  Other  books  have,  to  their  loftiest  alti¬ 
tudes,  sprung  from  earth ;  this  book  looks 
down  from  heaven  high.  Other  books  appeal 
to  understanding  or  fancy ;  this  book  to 
conscience  and  faith.  Other  books  solicit 
our  attention;  this  demands  it,  —  it  speaks 
with  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes.  Other 
books  guide  gracefully  along  the  earth,  or 
onward  to  the  mountain  summits  of  the  ideal ; 
this,  and  this  alone,  conducts  up  the  awful 
abyss  which  leads  to  heaven.  Other  books, 
after  shining  their  season,  may  perish  in 
flames  fiercer  than  those  which  consumed 
the  Alexandrian  library  ;  this,  in  essence,  must 
remain  pure  as  gold,  and  unconsumable  as 
asbestos,  amidst  the  flames  of  general  confla¬ 
gration.  Other  books  may  be  forgotten  in  the 
universe  where  suns  go  down  and  disappear 
like  bubbles  in  the  stream ;  this  book,  trans¬ 
ferred  to  a  higher  clime,  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  that  eternal  firmament,  and  as 
those  higher  stars,  which  are  for  ever  and  ever. 

G.  Gilfillan. 

393-490.  BIBLE,  Testimonies  to  the.  W  hen 
I  commenced  my  duties  of  professor  of  the- 
ology,  1  feared  that  the  frequency  with  which 
I  should  have  to  pass  over  the  same  portions 
of  Scripture  would  abate  the  interest  in  my 
own  mind  in  reading  them ;  but,  alter  more 


BIBLE. 


BIGOTRY. 


57 


than  fifW  years  of  study,  it  is  my  experience, 
that  wi*h  every  class  my  interest  increases. 

Professor  Leonard  Woods. 

SO  1.  I  have  always  found  in  my  scientific 
studies,  that,  when  I  could  get  the  Bible  to  say 
any  thing  upon  the  subject,  it  afforded  me  a 
firm  platform  to  stand  upon,  and  a  round  in 
the  ladder  by  which  I  could  safely  ascend. 

Lieut.  Maury. 

395.  I  have  for  many  years  made  it  a  prac¬ 
tice  to  read  through  the  Bible  once  a  year. 
My  custom  is  to  read  four  or  five  chapters 
every  morning  immediately  after  rising  from 
my  bed.  It  employs  about  an  hour  of  my 
time,  and  seems  to  me  the  most  suitable  man¬ 
ner  of  beginning  the  day.  In  what  light 
soever  we  regard  the  Bible,  whether  with 
reference  to  revelation,  to  history,  or  to  moral¬ 
ity,  it  is  an  invaluable  and  inexhaustible  mine 
of  knowledge  and  virtue. 

•  John  Quincy  Adams. 

396.  From  the  time  that,  at  my  mother's 
feet,  or  on  my  father’s  knee,  I  first  learned  to 
lisp  verses  from  the  sacred  writings,  they  have 
been  my  daily  study  and  vigilant  contempla¬ 
tion.  If  there  be  any  thing  in  my  style  or 
thoughts  to  be  commended,  the  credit  is  due 
to  my  kind  parents  in  instilling  into  my  mind 
an  early  love  of  the  Scriptures. 

Daniel  Webster. 

397.  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  Bible  con¬ 

tains  more  true  sensibility,  more  exquisite 
beauty,  more  pure  morality,  more  important 
history,  and  finer  strains  of  poetry  and  elo¬ 
quence,  than  can  be  collected  from  all  other 
books,  in  whatever  age  or  language  they  may 
be  written.  Sir  William  Jones. 

39S.  We  account  the  Scriptures  of  God  to 
be  the  most  subiime  philosophy. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

399.  There  are  no  songs  comparable  to  the 

songs  of  Zion,  no  orations  equal  to  those  of  the 
prophets,  and  no  politics  like  those  which  the 
Scriptures  teach.  Milton. 

400.  I  must  confess  to  you  that  the  majesty 

of  the  Scriptures  astonishes  me  ;  the  holiness 
of  the  evangelists  speaks  to  my  heart,  and  has 
sueli  strong  and  striking  characters  of  truth, 
and  is,  moreover,  so  perfectly  inimitable,  that, 
if  it  had  been  the  invention  of  men,  the  inven¬ 
tions  would  be  greater  than  the  greatest 
heroes.  Rousseau. 

409.  BIBLE,  Truths  of  the.  The  truths  of  the 
Bil»le  are  like  gold  in  the  soil.  Whole  gene¬ 
rations  walk  over  it,  and  know  not  what 
treasures  are  hidden  beneath.  So  centuries 
of  men  pass  over  the  Scriptures,  and  know  not 
what  riches  lie  under  the  feet  of  their  inter¬ 
pretation.  Sometimes,  when  they  discover 
them,  they  call  them  new  truths.  One  might 
as  well  call  gold  newly  dug  new  gold. 

Beecher. 

403.  BIBLE,  Unsealed.  One  morning,  when 
two  parents  awoke,  they  were  surprised  to  see 
their  daughter  sitting  near  their  bed,  intently 
engaged  in  reading  the  Bible.  As  soon  as  she 
found  that  they  were  no  longer  sleeping,  she 
sprang  to  the  bedside,  the  tears  streaming 


down  her  cheeks,  exclaiming,  “Mother!  0 
mother  I  why  didn’t  you  tell  me  what  a  book 
the  Bible  is?  It  is  wonderful :  I  never  knew 
any  thing  about  it  before.”  And  she  went  on 
to  explain  to  the  wondering  and  rejoicing 
parents,  how  that  she  had  been  induced  to  go  to 
the  evening  meeting,  which  they  had  not  at¬ 
tended,  that  she  had  been  deeply  convicted  of 
sin,  and  led  at  once  to  repentance,  and  lluu 
faith  in  her  crucified  and  risen  Lord,  and  damn 
home  a  joyfui  convert :  her  eyes  were  opened 
to  the  beauties  of  the  Bible. 

4©3.  BIBLE,  Useless.  The  Bible,  without  a 
spiritual  life  to  interpret  it,  is  like,  a  trellis  on 
which  no  vine  grows,  —  bare,  angular,  and  in 
the  way.  The  Bible,  with  a  spiritual  life,  is 
like  a  trellis  covered  with  a  luxuriant  t  ine, — 
beautiful,  odorous,  and  heavy  with  purple 
clusters  shining  through  the  leaves.  Beecher. 

4®4.  BIBLE,  Utility  of  the  Whole.  It  is  perilous 
to  tamper  with  a  chart.  Those  parts  which  may 
be  of  little  importance  to  one  captain  may  be 
of  the  highest  importance  to  another.  The 
Chart  of  the  New  Dispensation  does  not 
render  unnecessary  that  of  the  Old.  A  chart 
of  the  Atlantic  will  not  indeed  suffice  him  who 
is  threading  the  coral  reefs  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  authorized  chart  lor  those  seas 
must  be  consulted ;  but  the  former  chart,  in 
some  of  its  bearings,  may  be  of  some  use  under 
circumstances ;  nor  will  he  presume  to  spread 
a  sail  upon  the  former  ocean,  in  coasting  espe¬ 
cially,  without  the  chart  which  belongs  to  it. 

Caughey. 

4©5.  BIBLE,  Value  of  the.  I  have  many 
books  that  I  cannot  sit  down  to  read :  they 
are  indeed  good  and  sound,  but,  like  half¬ 
pence,  there  goes  a  great  quantity  to  a  small 
amount.  There  are  silver  books,  and  a  very 
few  golden  books ;  but  I  have  one  book  worth 
them  till,  called  the  Bible.  J.  Newton. 

4®6.  BIBLE,  Wonders  of  the.  If  you  ever  tried 
it,  you  must  have  been  struck  with  the  lew 
solid  thoughts,  the  few  suggestive  ideas,  which 
survive  the  perusal  of  the  most  brilliant  of 
human  books.  Few  of  them  can  stand  three 
readings  ;  and  of  the  memoriabilia  which  you 
have  marked  in  your  first  reading,  on  revert¬ 
ing  to  them,  you  find  many  of  those  were  not 
so  striking  or  weighty  or  original  as  you 
thought.  But  the  Word  of  God  is  solid :  it 
will  stand  a  thousand  readings;  and  the  man 
who  has  gone  over  it  the  most  frequently  and 
carefully  is  the  surest  of  finding  new  wonders 
there.  Reu.  James  Hamilton. 

407.  BIBLE,  Worthless.  What  a  pin  is  when 

the  diamond  has  dropped  from  its  setting,  that 
is  the  Bible  when  its  emotive  truths  have  been 
taken  away.  What  a  babe’s  clothes  are  when 
the  babe  has  slipped  out  of  them  into  death, 
and  the  mother’s  arms  clasp  only  raiment, 
would  be  the  Bible  if  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem 
and  the  truths  of  deep-lieartedness  that  clothed 
his  life  should  slip  out  of  it.  Beecher. 

408.  BIGOTRY,  Blindness  of.  Some  time 
ago,  a  countryman  said  to  me,  “  I  was  ex¬ 
tremely  alarmed  this  morning,  sir :  I  was  going 
down  to  a  lonely  place,  and  I  thought  I  saw 


58 


BIGOTRY. 


BIGOTRY. 


a  strange  monster.  It  seemed  in  motion,  but 
I  could  not  discern  its  form.  I  didn’t  like  to 
turn  back,  but  my  heart  beat;  and  the  more 
I  looked,  the  more  I  was  afraid.  But,  as  1  ap¬ 
proached,  I  saw  it  was  a  man  ;  and  who  do  you 
think  it  was  ?  ”  —  “I  know  not.” —  “Oh,  it  was 
my  brother  John  1  ”  Ah  !  said  I  to  myself,  as 
he  added  that  it  was  early  in  the  morning,  and 
very  foggy,  “  how  often  do  we  thus  mistake 
our  Christian  brethren  1  ”  IF.  Jay. 

409.  BIGOTRY,  Cruelty  of.  Francis  I.,  King 
of  France,  used  to  declare,  “  that,  if  he  thought 
the  blood  in  his  arm  tainted  with  Lutheran 
heresy,  he  would  have  it  cut  off,  and  that  he 
would  not  spare  even  his  own  children  if  they 
entertained  sentiments  contrary  to  the  Cath¬ 
olic  Church.” 

410.  BIGOTRY,  Description  of.  I  have  to  fore¬ 
warn  you  that  there  is  lurking  in  different  sec¬ 
tions  of  our  camp  a  dangerous  and  malignant 
spy.  I  will  endeavor  to  describe  this  diabolical 
spy  as  well  as  I  can.  He  is  remarkably  old, 
having  grown  gray  in  iniquity.  He  is  tooth¬ 
less  and  crooked,  and  altogether  of  a  very 
unsavory  countenance.  His  name,  sir,  is 
Bigotry.  He  seldom  travels  in  daylight; 
but  in  the  evening  shades  he  steals  forth  from 
his  haunts  of  retirement,  and  creeps  into  the 
tent  of  the  soldiers  ;  and,  with  a  tongue  as 
smooth  and  deceptions  as  the  serpent  who  de¬ 
ceived  our  first  mother,  he  endeavors  “  to  sow 
arrows,  firebrands,  and  death  ”  in  the  camp. 
His  policy  is  to  persuade  the  soldiers  in  garri¬ 
son  to  despise  those  in  open  field  ;  and,  again, 
those  in  open  field  to  despise  those  in  garrison ; 
to  incite  the  cavalry  against  the  infantry,  and 
the  infantry  against  the  cavalry  :  and,  in  so 
doing,  he  makes  no  scruple  to  employ  misrep¬ 
resentation,  slander,  and  falsehood ;  for,  like 
his  father,  he  is  a  liar  from  the  beginning. 
Now,  sir,  I  trust  the  army  will  be  on  the  alert 
in  detecting  this  old  scoundrel,  and  making  a 
public  example  of  him.  I  hope,  if  the  Meth¬ 
odist  cavalry  catch  him  on  the  frontiers,  they 
will  ride  him  down,  and  put  him  to  the  sword 
without  delay ;  I  trust  the  Presbyterian  in¬ 
fantry  will  receive  him  on  the  point  of  the 
bayonet ;  and,  should  the  Baptists  find  him 
skulking  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  I  trust 
they  will  fairly  drown  him ;  and,  shofild  he  dare 
to  approach  any  of  our  garrisons,  I  hope  the 
Episcopalians  will  open  upon  him  a  double- 
flanked  battery,  and  the  Dutch  Reformed 

freet  him  with  a  whole  round  of  artillery. 

iet  him  die  the  death  of  a  spy,  without  mili¬ 
tary  honors ;  and,  after  he  has  been  gibbeted 
for  a  convenient  season,  let  his  body  be  given 
to  the  Quakers,  and  let  them  bury  him  deep, 
and  in  silence.  May  God  grant  his  miserable 
ghost  may  never  revisit  this  world  of  trouble  1 

G.  C.  Cookman. 
411.  BIGOTRY,  Envy  of.  In  the  reign  of 
Abdallah  the  Third,  there  was  a  great  drought 
at  Bagdad.  The  Mahommedan  doctors  issued 
a  decree,  that  the  prayers  of  the  faithful  should 
be  offered  up  for  rain :  the  drought  continued. 
The  Jews  were  then  permitted  to  add  their 
prayers  to  those  of  the  true  believers :  the  sup¬ 


plications  of  both  were  ineffectual.  As  fam¬ 
ine  stared  them  in  the  face,  those  dogs,  the 
Christians,  were  at  length  enjoined  also  to 
pray :  it  so  happened  that  torrents  of  rain 
immediately  followed.  The  whole  Conclave, 
with  the  Mufti  at  their  head,  were  now  as  in¬ 
dignant  at  the  cessation  of  the  drought  as 
they  were  before  alarmed  at  its  continuance. 
Some  explanation  was  necessary  to  the  people, 
and  holy  convocation  was  held.  The  members 
of  it  came  to  this  unanimous  determination, 
that  the  God  of  their  Prophet  was  highly  grat¬ 
ified  by  the  prayers  of  the  faithful ;  that  they 
were  as  incense  and  as  sweet-smelling  savors 
unto  him,  and  that  he  refused  their  requests 
that  he  might  prolong  the  pleasure  of  listening 
to  their  suplications  ;  but  that  the  prayers  of 
those  Christian  infidels  were  an  abomination 
to  the  Deity,  and  that  he  granted  their  pe¬ 
titions,  the  sooner  to  get  rid  of  their  loathsome 
importunities.  C.  Colton. 

412.  BIGOTRY,  Fate  of.  According  to  Gre¬ 
cian  mythology,  Procrustes  was  a  famous  rob¬ 
ber.  He  had  an  iron  bedstead  on  which  he 
used  to  tie  all  who  fell  into  his  hands.  If  they 
were  shorter  than  the  bed,  he  stretched  them 
till  they  fitted  it ;  if  they  were  longer,  he  cut  off 
what  extended  over.  At  last,  Theseus  served 
him  as  he  had  served  others. 

413.  BIGOTRY,  in  the  Graveyard,  Dr.  Thom¬ 
as,  when  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  used  to  tell  the 
following  story  :  “  While  I  was  chaplain  to  the 
British  factory  at  Hamburg,  a  gentleman  be¬ 
longing  to  the  factory  died  at  a  village  about 
ten  miles  distant.  Application  was  made  to 
the  pastor  of  the  parish  for  leave  to  have 
him  buried  in  his  churchyard ;  but,  on  being 
told  that  he  was  a  Calvinist,  he  refused.  ‘  No,’ 
said  he,  ‘  there  are  none  but  Lutherans  in  my 
churchyard ;  and  there  shall  be  no  other.’ 
This  being  told  me  ”  (says  Dr.  Thomas)  “  I 
resolved  to  go  and  argue  the  matter  with  him, 
but  found  him  inflexible.  At  length,  I  told 
him  he  made  me  think  of  a  circumstance 
which  once  happened  to  myself  when  1  was 
a  curate  in  Thomas  Street.  I  was  burying  a 
corpse,  when  a  woman  came  and  pulled  me  by 
the  sleeve  in  the  midst  of  the  service,  saying, 
‘  Sir,  sir,  I  want  to  speak  to  you.’  —  ‘  Prythee,’ 
says  I,  ‘  woman,  wait  till  I  have  done.’  —  ‘No, 
sir :  I  must  speak  to  you  immediately.’  —  ‘  Why, 
then,  what  is  the  matter  ?  ’  —  ‘  Sir,’  says  she, 
‘  you  are  burying  a  man  who  died  of  the 
small-pox,  next  my  poor  husband,  who  never 
had  it.’  The  story  had  the  desired  effect ;  and 
the  pastor  permitted  the  bones  of  the  Calvinist 
to  be  interred  in  his  churchyard.” 

414.  BIGOTRY,  Narrow-minded.  Mr.  T - 

sees  religion  not  as  a  sphere,  but  as  a  line; 
and  it  is  the  identical  line  in  which  he  is 
moving.  He  is  like  an  African  buffalo,  —  sees 
right  forward,  but  nothing  on  the  right  hand 
or  the  left.  He  would  not  perceive  a  legion 
of  angels  or  of  devils  at  the  distance  of  ten 
yards  on  the  one  side  or  the  other. 

./.  Foster. 

415.  BIGOTRY,  Personified.  Phillips,  tho 
Irish  orator,  thus  personified  Bigotry  :  “  She 


BIGOTRY. 


BLKSSTISrCG. 


59 


has  no  head,  and  cannot  think  ;  she  has  no 
heart,  and  cannot  feel ;  when  she  moves,  it  is 
in  wrath ;  when  she  pauses,  it  is  amid  ruin ; 
her  prayers  are  curses ;  her  communion  is 
death;  her  vengeance  is  eternal;  her  deca¬ 
logue  is  written  with  the  blood  of  her  victims ; 
and,  if  she  stops  a  moment  from  her  infernal 
flight,  it  is  upon  some  kindred  rock,  to  whet 
her  fang  for  keener  rapine,  and  to  replume  her 
wing  tor  a  more  sanguinary  desolation.” 

416.  BIGOTRY,  of  Romanism.  An  English 
sculptor  having  an  order  to  erect  a  tablet  over 
the  grave  of  a  fellow-islander,  in  the  Protes¬ 
tant  Cemetery  at  Rome,  sent  the  design  to  the 
censor  as  usual.  The  inscription  terminated 
with  the  common  words,  ‘‘  Requiescat  in  pace.” 
Through  this  the  censor  struck  his  pen  with  a 
tremendous  burst  of  holy  ire  :  “  A  Protestant 
in  peace  !  No  !  no  peace  for  a  heretic  1  ” 

417.  BIOGRAPHY,  Use  of.  My  advice  is  to 

consult  the  lives  of  other  men  as  we  would  a 
looking-glass,  and  from  thence  fetch  examples 
for  our  own  imitation.  Terence. 

41§.  BISHOP,  A  Model.  It  is  said  of  St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  that  all  his  own  private  revenues, 
as  well  as  those  of  his  diocese,  were  expended 
in  public  uses:  he  kept  nothing  for  himself  but 
what  sufficed  to  purchase  bread  and  water  for 
his  diet,  and  straw  for  his  bed.  He  travelled 
through  every  district  and  village,  examining 
into  the  state  of  the  people  and  the  conduct 
of  the  priesthood,  conversing  with  and  cate¬ 
chizing  the  poor.  Up  among  the  mountains,  I 
into  the  secluded  valleys  of  the  Italian  Alps, 
where  the  neglected  inhabitants  had  long  re¬ 
mained  in  a  state  of  physical  and  spiritual 
destitution,  did  this  good  man  penetrate ;  he 
sent  missionaries  among  them  to  teach  and  to 
preach,  and  then  went  himself  to  see  that  they 
performed  their  duty  :  on  one  occasion,  he  was 
found  in  a  poor  inountain-liut,  lying  on  some 
straw,  shivering  with  ague,  which  had  seized 
him  in  one  of  his  excursions  on  foot.  With 
all  his  excessive  austerity,  his  fasts,  and  his 
penances,  he  lived  in  public  with  the  splendor 
becoming  his  rank,  and  exercised  the  most 
munificent  hospitality,  wearing  under  his  car¬ 
dinal’s  robes  of  scarlet  and  fur,  a  ragged  black 
gown ;  and  where  the  feast  was  spread  for 
others,  contenting  himself  with  a  little  dry 
bread  and  glass  of  water.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

419.  BLAME,  Vicarious.  We  found  that 
upon  some  dissension,  the  garrison  and  towns¬ 
men  had  been  fighting  for  several  days,  in 
which  disorders  the  greatest  part  of  the  ammu¬ 
nition  in  the  town  had  been  expended  ;  but  it 
had  since  been  agreed  on  by  the  old  men  of 
both  parties,  that  nobody  had  been  to  blame 
on  either  side,  but  the  whole  wrong  was  the 
work  of  a  camel.  A  camel ,  therefore,  was 
seized,  and  brought  without  the  town ;  and  there, 
a  number  on  both  sides  having  met,  they  up¬ 
braided  the  camel  with  every  thing  that  had 
been  either  said  or  done.  The  camel  had 
killed  men ;  he  had  threatened  to  set  the  town 
on  fire ;  the  camel  had  threatened  to  burn  the 
aga’s  house  and  the  castle ;  he  had  cursed  the 
grand  seignior  and  the  sheriffe  of  Mecca,  the 


sovereigns  of  the  two  parties  ;  and,  the  only 
thing  the  animal  was  interested  in,  he  had 
threatened  to  destroy  the  wheat  that  was  going 
to  Mecca.  After  having  spent  great  part  of 
the  afternoon  in  upbraiding  the  camel,  whose 
measure  of  iniquity  it  seems  was  near  full, 
each  man  thrust  him  through  with  a  lance,  de¬ 
voting  him,  diis  manibus  et  diris,  by  a  kind  of 
prayer,  and  with  a  thousand  curses  upon  his 
head,  after  which  every  man  retired,  full  satis¬ 
fied  as  to  the  wrongs  he  had  received  front  the 
camel !  Bruce. 

426.  BLASPHEMER,  Fats  of  a.  An  infidel  by 
the  name  of  Thompson,  imprisoned  in  Pitts¬ 
burg,  Pa.,  recently  while  engaged  in  conversa¬ 
tion  with  a  fellow-convict,  asked  him  if  his 
mother  was  a  Christian.  Being  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  he  observed  that  Christianity 
was  an  imposture.  The  other  prisoner  replied 
that  Christianity  could  be  proved  from  the 
Bible.  Thompson  answered,  “  The  Bible  is 
like  an  old  fiddle  :  you  can  play  any  tune  you 
please  on  it.”  When  reminded  that,  at  least, 
the  divine  character  of  the  Founder  of  Christi¬ 
anity  was  clearly  set  iorth  in  the  Bible,  Thomp¬ 
son  applied  to  Jesus  Christ  a  name  which  none 
but  the  vilest  ruffian  would  apply  to  even  the 
most  degraded  woman.  Thompson  had  hardly 
given  utterance  to  these  horrible  words,  when 
his  cell-mate  observed  that  he  was  falling  from 
the  bench  on  which  he  sat,  and,  catching  him 
in  his  arms,  gave  the  alarm.  A  physician  was 
summoned  immediately,  but  the  case  was  one 
beyond  the  reach  of  medical  skill.  Some  said 
the  poor  man  was  attacked  by  apoplexy : 
others  might  suspect  that  he  had  been  struck 
by  the  hand  of  God.  There,  with  distended 
pupils,  palsied  tongue,  and  rigid  limbs,  lay  the 
wretched  blasphemer :  after  twenty-four  hours 
spent  in  this  condition,  he  passed  to  his  final 
account. 

421.  BLESSED,  Fewness  of  the.  If  we  could 

see  things  as  they  are ;  if  we  were  not  de¬ 
ceived  by  the  masquerade  of  this  poor  life ; 
if  we  were  not  so  easily  taken  in  by  the  masks 
and  dresses  of  those  who  act  in  this  great 
drama,  be  it  comedy  or  tragedy ;  if  we  could 
but  see  what  the  men  are  behind  the  scenes, 
penetrate  their  hearts,  watch  the  inner  mo¬ 
tions,  and  discern  their  secret  feelings,  —  we 
should  find  but  few  who  could  hear  the  name 
of  “  blessed.”  Spurgeon. 

422.  BLESSING,  Asking  God’s.  There  is 
nothing  we  can  do,  but  its  complexion  for  weal 
or  woe  depends  entirely  on  what  the  Lord  will 
make  it.  It  is  said  of  Matthew  Henry,  that 
no  journey  was  undertaken,  nor  any  subject  or 
course  of  sermons  entered  upon,  no  book  com¬ 
mitted  to  the  press,  nor  any  trouble  appre¬ 
hended  or  felt,  without  a  particular  application 
to  the  mercy-seat  for  direction,  assistance,  and 
success.  ...  It  is  recorded  of  Cornelius  Win¬ 
ter,  that  he  seldom  opened  a  book,  even  on 
general  subjects,  without  a  moment’s  prayer. 
The  late  Bishop  Ileber,  on  each  new  incident 
of  his  history,  or  on  the  eve  of  any  undertak¬ 
ing,  used  to  compose  a  brief  Latin  prayer, 
imploring  special  help  and  guidance.  ...  A 


60 


BLESSENTG-S. 


BLOOD  OF  JESUS. 


late  physician  of  great  celebrity  used  to 
ascribe  much  of  his  success  to  three  maxims 
of  Lis  father’s,  the  last  and  best  of  which  was 
“  Always  pray  for  your  patients.” 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

433.  BLESSINGS,  Abused.  In  Retsch’s  illus¬ 
trations  of  Goethe’s  Faust,  there  is  one  plate 
where  angels  are  seen  dropping  roses  down  upon 
the  demons  who  are  contending  tor  the  soul 
oi  Faust.  But  every  rose  falls  like  molten 
metal,  burning  and  blistering  where  it  touches. 
And  is  it  not  so  with  the  guilty  heart  on  which 
the  mercy-drops  pf  God’s  rich  grace,  fragrant 
as  dowers  of  Paradise,  fall  ? 

424.  BLESSINGS,  Alternative  of.  “  Father,” 

said  Clara,  “  I  never  could  understand  how 
the  same  wdnd  can  take  ships  in  such  different 
directions.  There  goes  one  in  toward  the  port, 
and  there  is  another  standing  out  to  sea.” 
“  It  depends  upon  the  position  of  the  sails,” 
her  father  answered.  “  It  is  much  the  same 
with  men  in  the  world  as  with  ships  at  sea. 
One  sails  heavenward  by  the  same  breeze 
which  sweeps  another  on  to  destruction.  I 
was  thinking  of  poor  Fred  Merrill,  who  has 
come  home  from  the  same  college  where  our 
Edmund  graduated  with  such  honor,  and  from 
which  he  returned  to  be  our  pride  and  comfort. 
Fred  has  fallen  into  bad  habits,  and  is  a  source 
of  untold  anxiety  and  distress  to  his  parents. 
So  differently  did  college-life  affect  the  two. 
And  it  is  the  same  with  all  the  influences 
which  surround  us :  they  are  blessings  to  one, 
and  poison  to  another.  Gaining  wealth  makes 
one  man  generous,  and  another  miserly ; 
domestic  trouble  hardens  one,  and  softens 
another.”  Tract  Journal. 

425.  BLESSINGS,  Recognized.  If  one  should 
give  me  a  dish  of  sand,  and  tell  me  there  were 
particles  of  iron  in  it,  I  might  look  for  them 
with  my  eyes,  and  search  for  them  with  my 
clumsy  fingers,  and  be  unable  to  detect  them  ; 
but  let  me  take  a  magnet,  and  sweep  through 
it,  and  how  would  it  draw  to  itself  the  most 
invisible  particles  by  the  mere  power  of  at¬ 
traction  !  The  unthankful  heart,  like  my 
finger  in  the  sand,  discovers  no  mercies :  but 
let  the  thankful  heart  sweep  through  the  day  ; 
and,  as  the  magnet  finds  the  iron,  so  it  will 
find,  in  every  hour,  some  heavenly  blessings ; 
only  the  iron  in  God’s  sand  is  gold. 

0.  W.  Holmes. 

426.  BLESSINGS,  Transient.  The  story  of 
Pandora  is,  that  she  was  sent  by  Jupiter  to 
bless  man  ;  that  she  was  furnished  with  a  box 
into  which  every  god  had  put  some  blessing. 
These  all  comprised  her  marriage  presents. 
She  opened  the  box  incautiously,  and  all  her 
gifts  escaped,  hope  only  excepted. 

427.  BLINDNESS,  Causes  of.  David  Ritten- 
house  of  Pennsylvania  was  an  astronomer. 
He  was  skilful  in  measuring  the  sizes  of 
planets,  and  determining  the  position  of  the 
stars.  But  he  found  that  such  was  the  dis¬ 
tance  of  the  stars,  a  silk  thread  stretched 
across  the  glass  of  his  telescope  would  entirely 
cover  a  star ;  and,  moreover,  that  a  silk  fibre, 
however  small,  placed  upon  the  same  glass, 


would  cover  so  much  of  the  heavens,  that  the 
star,  if  a  small  one,  and  near  the  pole,  would 
remain  obscured  behind  that  silk  fibre  several 
seconds.  Thus  a  silk  fibre  appeared  to  be 
larger  in  diameter  than  a  star.  Every  star  is 
a  heavenly  world,  a  world  of  light,  a  sun 
shining  upon  other  worlds  as  our  sun  shines 
upon  this  world.  Our  sun  is  886,000  miles 
in  diameter ;  and  yet,  seen  from  a  distant 
star,  our  sun  could  be  covered,  obscured, 
hidden  behind  the  thread  that  was  near  the 
eye,  although  in  a  telescope.  Just  so  we 
have  seen  some  who  never  could  behold  the 
heavenly  world. 

428. '  BLINDNESS,  Natural.  Seneca  tells  of 
a  blind  woman,  who  insisted  that  the  trouble 
was  not  with  her  eyes,  but  in  the  absence  of 
light  from  the  room. 

429.  BLINDNESS,  Remedy  for.  The  angel 
bade  Tobias  to  unbowel  the  fish,  and  to  take 
out  the  gall,  as  being  useful  in  medicine,  and  a 
special  means  to  recover  his  eyesight.  The 
story  is  apocryphal ;  but  the  application  is 
canonical,  and  agreeable  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  inspired  Scriptures.  If  we  unbowel  world¬ 
ly  pleasures  and  carnal  delights,  and  take  out 
the  gall  of  them  (that  is,  seriously  think  upon 
the  bitterness  of  them,  —  the  bitterness  which 
they  leave  behind  them),  it  will  prove  a  sove¬ 
reign  remedy  against  our  spiritual  blindness. 

Spencer. 

43®.  BLINDNESS,  Spiritual.  St.  Augustine 
relates  of  a  certain  heathen,  who  showed  him 
his  idol  gods,  saying,  “  Here  is  my  god : 
where  is  thine  ?  ”  then,  pointing  up  at  the 
sun,  he  said,  “  Lo !  here  is  my  God  :  where 
is  thine  ?  ”  so,  showing  him  divers  creatures, 
still  upbraided  him  with,  “  Here  are  my 
gods :  where  are  thine  ?  ”  But  St.  Augus¬ 
tine  answered  him,  I  showed  him  not  my 
God,  not  because  I  had  not  one  to  show  him, 
but  because  he  had  not  eyes  to  see  him. 

Spencer. 

431.  BLINDNESS,  Transient.  “  Mother,  shall 
we  see  in  heaven  ?”  was  the  question  of  a  poor 
blind  girl.  “  Yes,  dear :  we  shall  see  in  heav¬ 
en.  There  shall  be  no  night  there.” 

432.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Cleansing,  You 
waste  precious  time  in  attempting,  independ¬ 
ently  of  the  blood  of  God’s  Son  and  the  aid 
of  his  Spirit,  to  change  your  heart,  and  save 
your  soul.  In  you,  so  unprofitabiy  engaged,  I 
see  a  negro,  black  and  tawny,  seated  by  a 
running  stream,  a  laughing-stock  to  some,  an 
object  of  pity  to  others,  while  he  labors  and 
toils  to  wash  himself  white,  and  remove  the 
dark  color  from  his  skin.  Rise,  throw  “  soap 
and  nitre  ”  into  the  stream,  and,  turning  your 
back  on  all  self-righteous  appliances,  go  seek 
the  blood  that  cleanseth  from  sin.  Day  by 
day  are  you  busy  and  pains-taking  to  work  out 
a  righteousness  of  your  own  ?  Leave  that 
loom,  your  vows  and  promises.  Gossamer 
threads !  are  they  not  ever  snapping  in  your 
hand,  and  breaking  at  each  throw  of  the  shut¬ 
tle  ?  The  white  linen  that  robes  the  saint,  the 
raiment  meet  for  thy  soul,  and  approved  of 
God,  was  woven  upon  the  cross;  and  there, 


BLOOD  OF  JTFSTTS. 


BLOOD  OF  JESTJS. 


with  color  more  enduring  than  Tyrian  purple, 
it  was  dyed  in  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

433.  We  are  told  that  there  is  no  power 
of  chemistry  or  art  or  genius,  or  all  combined, 
tl  at  can  convert  scarlet  and  crimson  rags  into 
white  paper:  hence  these  generally  make  the 
red  blotting-paper.  Sin  thus  defies  all  human 
power  to  change  it  or  wash  it  away.  But  the 
Almighty  says,  “  Though  your  sins  be  as  scar¬ 
let,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow  ;  though 
they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as 
wool.”  And  how  is  this  marvellous  change 
effected,  —  a  change  of  which  there  is  no  anal¬ 
ogy  in  nature  ?  Let  us  see :  “  The  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleansetli  us  from  all 
sin.”  The  multitude  which  St.  John  saw  be¬ 
fore  the  throne  washed  their  robes,  crimson 
and  scarlet  with  sins  as  they  were,  and  defying 
all  human  means  to  change  them,  and  made 
them  wniTK  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Bate. 

434.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Demand  of  the. 
Whilst  Capt.  Hedley  Vicars  was  waiting  in 
Canada,  in  November,  1851,  the  arrival  of  a 
brother-officer  in  his  room,  and  idly  turning 
oyer  the  leaves  of  the  Bible,  his  eye  caught 
the  well-known  words,  “  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son  cleansetli  us  from  all  sin.” 
Closing  the  book,  he  said,  “  If  this  be  true  for 
me,  henceforth  l  will  live,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
as  a  man  should  live  who  has  been  washed  in 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.” 

435.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Efficacy  of  the.  Let 

us  think  of  the  innumerable  stars.  Let  us 
multiply  their  actual  millions  by  millions  of 
imaginary  millions  more.  Let  us  suppose 
them  all  to  be  densely  inhabited  for  countless 
ages  by  races  of  fallen  beings.  We  have  no 
figures  to  show  the  number  of  the  individual 
souls,  still  less  to  represent  the  multiplied  acts 
of  sin  of  all  those  single  souls  or  spirits.  But 
we  know  this,  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  would 
have  been  more  than  sufficient  to  cleanse  all 
those  countless  fallen  creations,  and  to  absolve 
every  separate  sinner  from  every  one  of  his 
multitudinous  sins.  Dr.  F.  W.  Faber. 

436.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Need  of  the.  I  once 

heard  a  very  earnest  and  evangelical  minister 
say  that  he  had  been  accosted  by  a  man  who 
had  heard  him  preach  with  this  criticism,  ••  I 
don’t  like  your  theology.  It  is  too  bloody.  It 
savors  of  the  shambles.  It  is  all  blood,  blood , 
blood.  I  like  a  pleasanter  gospel.”  He 
replied,  “  We'l,  my  theology  is  bloody:  it 
recognizes  as  its  foundation  a  very  sanguinary 
scene,  —  the  death  of  Christ,  with  bleeding 
hands  and  feet  and  side.  And  I  am  quite 
content  it  should  be  bloody ;  for  God  hath 
said,  that  ‘without  shedding  of  blood  is  no 
remission  ’  of  sins.”  C.  D.  Foss. 

437.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Power  of.  An  old 
warrior,  lying  at  the  point  of  death,  said  to 
the  missionary  who  stood  at  his  side,  “  Oh  !  I 
have  been  in  great  trouble  this  morning;  but  I 
am  happy  now.  I  saw  an  immense  mountain, 
with  precipitous  sides,  up  which  I  endeavored 
to  climb ;  but,  when  I  had  attained  a  consider¬ 
able  height,  I  lost  my  hold,  and  fell  to  the 


6] 

bottom.  Exhausted  with  perplexity  and  fa¬ 
tigue,  I  went  to  a  distance,  and  sat  down  to 
weep;  and,  while  weeping,  I  saw  a  drop  of 
blood  fall  upon  the  mountain,  and  in  a  mo¬ 
ment  it  was  dissolved.”  —  “  This  was  certainly 
a  strange  sight,”  remarked  the  missionary. 
“  What  construction  did  you  put  upon  it  ?  ” 
The  dying  chieftain  seemed  astonished  at  the 
missionary’s  question,  and  replied,  “  That 
mountain  was  my  sins ;  and  the  drop  which 
fell  upon  it  was  one  drop  of  the  precious  blood 
of  Jesus,  by  which  the  mountain  of  my  guilt 
must  be  melted  away.” 

438.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Belying  on  the.  Sam¬ 
uel  Pearce,  a  useful  minister  at  Birmingham, 
Eng.,  at  the  time  of  his  conversion,  having  read 
Doddridge’s  “  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion 
in  the  Soul,”  took  up  the  idea  suggested  in 
that  book,  and  resolved  formally  to  dedicate 
himself  to  the  Lord.  lie  drew  up  a  covenant ; 
and,  to  make  it  more  solemn  and  binding,  he 
siejned  it  with  blood  drawn  from  his  own  body. 
But  afterwards,  failing  in  his  vows,  he  was 
plunged  into  great  distress.  Driven,  therefore, 
into  a  more  complete  examination  of  his 
motives,  he  was  led  to  see  that  he  had  been 
relying  too  much  on  his  own  strength  ;  and, 
carrying  the  blood-signed  covenant  to  the  top 
of  his  father’s  house,  he  tore  it  into  pieces 
and  scattered  it  to  the  winds,  and  resolved 
henceforth  to  depend  upon  the  peace-making 
and  peaee-kc  eping  blood  of  Christ. 

439.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  A  Symbol.  That  star¬ 
tling  word  “  blood  ”  would  be  the  last  one  man 
would  select  for  a  symbol  of  peace  and  purity. 

.  .  .  While  blood  would  render  whatever 
it  touches  impure,  it  is  the  only  thing  that 
takes  away  the  stains  of  sin.  You  go  tip  till 
you  get  to  the  drapery  of  heaven,  and  it  is 
white,  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  This  underlies  all  the  efficiency  of 
the  work  of  grace;  there  is  blood  everywhere. 
In  a  convention  of  Unitarians,  the  question 
was  asked,  “  Why  do  we  fail  where  the  Meth¬ 
odists  are  so  successful  V  ”  One  answer  was 
given  from  out  of  the  honest  conviction  of  a 
member’s  heart,  —  “  AVe  want  a  religion  of 
blood,  and  atonement  of  blood :  we  are 
lacking  the  power  of  the  blood.” 

Dr.  J.  T.  Peck. 

419.  BLOOD  OF  JESUS,  Value  of  the.  1  dare 
assert,  without  fear  of  successful  contradict  ion, 
that  the  inspired  writers  attribute  all  the 
blessings  of  salvation  to  the  precious  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ.  If  we  have  redemption,  it  is 
through  his  blood  ;  if  we  are  justified,  it  is  by 
his  blood  ;  if  washed  from  our  moral  stains, 
it  is  by  his  blood,  which  cleansetli  us  from  all 
sin  ;  if  we  have  victory  over  the  last  enemy ,  we 
obtain  it  not  only  by  the  word  of  the  divine 
testimony,  but  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb; 
and,  if  ice  r/ain  admittance  into  heaven,  it  is  be¬ 
cause  we  “  have  washed  our  robes,  and  made 
them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and 
therefore  are  we  before  the  throne  of  God.” 
Every  thing  depends  on  the  blood  of  Christ ; 
and  “  without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  remis¬ 
sion.”  Dr.  R.  Newton. 


G2 


330ASTESTG-. 


BODY. 


441.  BOASTING,  Contrast  of.  While  Dr. 
Pendleton  and  Mr.  Saunders  were  conversing 
about  the  persecution,  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Mary,  Mr.  Saunders  showed  much  weakness  ; 
but  Dr.  Pendleton  said  to  him,  “  What,  man  I 
there  is  much  more  cause  for  me  to  fear  than 
for  thee,  forasmuch  as  I  have  a  big  and  fat 
body ;  yet  will  1  see  the  utmost  drop  of  this 
grease  of  mine  melted  away,  and  the  last 
piece  of  this  desk  of  mine  consumed  to  ashes, 
before  I  will  forsake  Jesus  Christ  and  his  truth, 
which  I  have  professed.”  Yet,  not  long  alter, 
faint-hearted  Saunders  sealed  the  truth  with 
his  blood,  while  confident  and  boasting  Pendle¬ 
ton  apostatized  to  Rome. 

442.  BOASTING,  Dangers  of.  In  a  well- 
known  town,  a  slater  had  to  mount  the  tall 
spire  of  a  church,  and  repair  some  injury  done 
by  the  wind.  Having  reached  the  top,  he 
stood  upright  upon  the  ball,  holding  in  his 
hand  a  jug  of  wine,  and,  filling  a  glass,  drank 
to  the  health  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  place. 
The  people  stood  below,  wondering  at  his  bold¬ 
ness  and  danger,  in  which  he  seemed  to  glory. 
But  they  forgot  that  the  next  moment  might 
hurl  him  from  that  eminence ;  and  then  how 
changed  would  be  his  fate  1  Thus  it  is  with 
“  vain  boasters  :  ”  they  are  in  equal  danger. 

Bowes. 

443.  BOASTING,  Effects  of.  Lord  Bacon  told 
Sir  Edward  Cooke,  when  he  boasted,  “  The 
less  you  speak  of  your  greatness,  the  more  I 
shall  think  of  it.”  Mirrors  are  the  accompa¬ 
niments  of  dandies,  not  heroes.  The  men  of 
history  were  not  perpetually  looking  in  the 
glass  to  make  sure  of  their  own  size.  Absorbed 
in  their  work,  they  did  it,  and  did  it  so  well,  that 
the  wondering  world  saw  them  to  be  great, 
and  labelled  them  accordingly.  S.  Coley. 

444.  BOASTING,  Groundless.  Many  years 

ago,  Judge  B.  resided  in  New  Jersey.  His 
family  was  considered  the  most  aristocratic  in 
the  town  ;  and,  not  unfrequently,  some  of  its 
members  would  give  their  acquaintances  to 
understand  that  this  was  their  opinion  also. 
On  a  certain  occasion,  a  fishing-party  was 
made  up  among  the  ladies.  Mrs.  Judge  B. 
was  among  the  number.  While  fishing,  the 
subject  of  losing  property  was  discussed. 
Mrs.  B.  paused  a  little,  and  slipped  a  splendid 
gold  ring  from  her  finger,  and  dropped  it  into 
the  lake,  remarking,  as  she  did  so,  that  it 
was  “  as  impossible  for  them  to  become  poor 
as  it  was  for  her  to  recover  that  ring.”  The 
party  returned  to  their  homes,  and  Mrs.  B. 
gave  her  fish  to  the  servants.  Not  long  after, 
the  cook  came  into  the  sitting-room,  and  showed 
to  Mrs.  B.  a  gold  ring,  which  she  had  taken 
from  one  of'  the  fish.  The  ring  dropped  into  the 
Lake  was  recorered.  Airs.  B.,  who  was  so  con¬ 
fident  that  she  could  never  become  poor,  died 
a  pauper  in  Elizabethtown,  N.J. ;  and  her 
husband,  the  judge,  died  a  pauper  also,  in  an 
adjoining  town.  Christian  Secretary. 

445.  BOASTING,  Meanre3s  of.  If  I  were  a 
pupil  of  Titian,  and  he  should  design  my  pic¬ 
ture,  and  sketch  it  for  me,  and  look  over  my 
work  every  day,  and  make  suggestions,  and 


then,  when  I  had  exhausted  my  skill,  he  should 
take  the  brush  and  give  the  finishing  touches, 
bringing  out  a  part  here  and  there,  and  mak¬ 
ing  the  whole  glow  with  beauty,  and  then  I 
should  hang  it  upon  the  wall  and  call  it  mine, 
what  a  meanness  it  would  be  1  When  life  is 
the  picture,  and  Christ  is  the  Designer  and 
Alaster,  what  greater  meanness  is  it  to  allow 
all  the  excellences  to  be  attributed  to  our 
selves  1  Beecher 

446.  BOASTING,  Not.  I  am  not  what  1 
ought  to  be,  I  am  not  what  I  wish  to  be,  1 
am  not  what  I  hope  to  be ;  but,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  I  am  not  what  I  was.  John  Newton. 

447.  BOASTING,  Penalty  of.  The  cabin-boy 
of  the  lost  steamer  “  Seabird  ”  was  in  a  Sunday 
school.  He  had  often  been  pleaded  with  to 
give  his  heart  to  the  Saviour ;  but  he  had  re¬ 
jected  him  even  with  scoffing.  il  I  will  repent,” 
said  he,  “  next  day  after  never.”  It  may 
be,  when  death  was  sure  in  the  fast  approach¬ 
ing  flames,  or  under  the  hungry  waves,  that 
that  impious  boast  came  to  him  with  an  awful 
pang. 

448.  BOASTING,  Vain.  A  favorite  of  Ptolemy, 

King  of  Egypt,  had  risen  to  so  high  a  degree 
of  honor,  that  he  used  to  say  he  had  but  two 
discontentments  in  this  life  :  the  first  was, 
that  he  could  grow  no  greater,  so  great  was  he 
already  become ;  and  the  second,  that  the 
king,  with  all  his  revenues,  seemed  to  him 
too  poor  to  add  any  sensible  increase  to  his. 
Not  many  days  after  this,  the  upstart  was 
detected  by  Ptolemy  in  a  treacherous  intrigue, 
condemned  to  be  hung  before  his  own  door, 
and  all  his  effects  confiscated.  Percy. 

449.  BODY,  Care  for  the.  If  one  should  send 
me  from  abroad  a  richly-carved  and  precious 
statue,  and  the  careless  drayman  who  tipped 
it  upon  the  sidewalk  before  my  door  should 
give  it  such  a  blow  that  one  of  the  boards  of 
the  box  should  be  wrenched  off,  I  should  be 
frightened  lest  the  hurt  had  penetrated  fur¬ 
ther,  and  wounded  it  within.  But  if,  taking  off 
the  remaining  boards  and  the  swathing-bands 
of  straw  or  cotton,  the  statue  should  come  out 
fair  and  unharmed,  I  should  not  mind  the  box, 
but  should  cast  it  carelessly  into  the  street. 
Now,  every  man  has  committed  to  him  a 
statue,  moulded  by  the  oldest  Master,  of  the 
image  of  God ;  and  he  who  is  only  solicitous 
for  outward  things,  who  is  striving  to  protect 
merely  the  body  from  injuries  and  reverses, 
is  letting  the  statue  go  rolling  away  into  the 
gutter,  while  he  is  picking  up  the  fragments, 
and  lamenting  the  ruin  of  the  box.  Beecher. 

450.  BODY,  Heavenly.  The  bodies  of  the 
elect,  after  this  life,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
shall  be  like  the  glorious  body  of  Christ.  So 
Paul  saith,  “  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  shall 
change  our  vile  bodies,  that  they  may  be  like 
his  glorious  body.”  Now,  the  resemblance 
between  Christ’s  body  and  ours  standeth  in 
these  things  :  as  Christ’s  body  is  incorruptible, 
so  shall  our  bodies  be  void  of  all  corruption ; 
as  Christ’s  body  is  immortal,  so  ours  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  shall  never  die;  as  Christ’s 
body  is  spiritual,  so  shall  ours  be  made  spirit- 


BODY. 


BODY  AND  SOTTD. 


63 


ual ;  as  the  apostle  saith,  “  It  is  sown  a  natural 
body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body ;  ”  not 
because  the  body  shall  be  changed  into  a 
spirit,  for  it  shall  remain  the  same  substance, 
and  that  forever,  but  because  it  shall  be  pre¬ 
served  by  a  spiritual  and  divine  manner.  For 
in  this  life  it  is  preserved  by  meat,  drink, 
clothing,  sleep,  physic,  rest,  and  diet ;  but 
after,  without  all  these  means,  the  life  of  the 
body  shall  be  continued,  and  body  and  soul 
keep  together  by  the  immediate  power  of 
God’s  spirit  for  ever  and  ever.  Thus  the  body 
of  Christ  is  now  preserved  in  heaven,  and  so 
shall  the  bodies  of  the  saints  be  after  the  day 
of  judgment.  Furthermore,  as  Christ’s  body 
is  now  a  shining  body,  as  doth  appear  by  his 
transfiguration  in  the  Mount,  so,  in  all  likeli¬ 
hood,  after  the  resurrection,  the  bodies  of  the 
elect  shall  be  shining  bright,  always  remaining 
the  same  substance.  Lastly,  as  Christ’s  body, 
after  it  lose  again  from  the  grave,  had  this 
property  of  agility  besides  swiftness,  to  pass 
from  earth  to  the  third  heaven,  being  in  dis¬ 
tance  many  thousand  miles  from  us,  and  that 
without  a  violence,  so  shall  the  bodies  of  the 
saints ;  for,  being  glorified,  they  shall  be  able 
as  well  to  ascend  upward  as  to  go  downward, 
and  to  move  without  violence,  and  that  very 
swiftly.  IF.  Perkins. 

451.  BODY,  A  Miracle.  Galen,  it  is  said, 

was  converted  from  atheism  by  seeing  and 
examining  a  human  skeleton  ;  and  afterward 
he  said  he  would  give  any  one  a  hundred 
years’  time  to  see  if  he  could  find  a  more  com¬ 
modious  situation  for  any  one  member  of  the 
body.  Bowes. 

4 52.  BODY,  Organization  of  the.  God  made 
the  human  body,  and  it  is  by  far  the  most 
exquisite  and  wonderful  organization  which 
has  come  to  us  from  the  divine  hand.  It  is  a 
study  for  one’s  whole  life.  If  an  undevout 
astronomer  is  mad,  an  undevout  physiologist  is 
still  madder.  The  stomach  that  prepares  the 
body’s  support ;  the  vessels  that  distribute  the 
supply;  the  arteries  that  take  up  the  food  and 
send  it  round;  the  lungs  that  aerate  the  all- 
nourishing  blood ;  that  muscle-engine,  which, 
without  fireman  or  engineer,  stands  night  and 
day  pumping  and  driving  a  wholesome  stream 
with  vital  irrigation  through  all  the  system, 
that  unites  and  harmonizes  the  whole  band  of 
organs ;  the  brain,  that  dwells  in  the  dome 
high  above,  like  a  true  royalty,  —  these,  with 
their  various  and  wonderful  functions,  are  not 
to  be  lightly  spoken  of  or  irreverently  held. 

Beecher. 

453.  BODY,  Prisoners  in  the.  As  prisoners  in 

castles  look  out  of  their  grated  windows  at 
the  smiling  landscape,  where  the  sun  comes  and 
goes,  so  we,  from  this  life,  as  from  dungeon- 
bars,  look  forth  to  the  heavenly  land,  and  are 
refreshed  with  sweet  vi.-ions  of  the  home  that 
shall  be  ours  when  we  are  free.  Beecher. 

451.  BODY,  Wonders  of  the.  Our  bo  lies  are 
at  all  times  like  the  fire  which  was  shown  to  the 
hero  of  “  The  Pilgrim’s  Progress,”  in  Interpre¬ 
ter's  house,  which  had  water  poured  on  it  on 
one  side  of  the  wall  against  which  it  blazed, 


and  oil  on  the  other.  Here  one  tissue  is  burn¬ 
ing  like  fuel,  and  there  another  is  becoming  the 
depository  of  combustible  matter.  We  have, 
as  it  were,  millions  of  microscopic  wind-fur¬ 
naces,  converting  into  carbonic  acid,  water, 
vapor,  and  other  products  of  combustion,  all 
the  combustible  elements  of  the  body ;  and 
millions  of  blast-furnaces  reducing  the  starch 
and  sugar  of  the  food,  and  the  sulphates  and 
phosphates  of  the  body,  into  inflammable 
oils  and  other  fuels,  which  are  finally  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  wind-furnaces,  and  burned  there. 
Burning,  and  what  we  must  call,  in  contradis¬ 
tinction,  unburning,  thus  proceed  together; 
the  flame  of  life,  like  a  blow-pipe  flame,  ex¬ 
hibiting  an  oxidizing  and  a  reducing  action, 
at  points  not  far  distant  from  each  other. 
Such  is  the  human  body,  ever  changing,  ever 
abiding  ;  a  temple  always  complete,  and  yet 
always  under  repair ;  a  mansion  which  quite 
contents  its  possessor,  and  yet  has  its  plans 
and  materials  altered  each  moment ;  a  ma¬ 
chine  which  never  stops  working,  and  yet  is 
taken  to  pieces  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  and 
put  together  in  the  other ;  a  cloth-of-gold,  to 
which  the  needle  is  ever  adding  on  one  side 
of  a  line,  and  from  which  the  scissors  are  ever 
cutting  away  on  the  other.  Yes ;  life,  like 
Penelope  of  old,  is  ever  weaving  and  unweav¬ 
ing  the  same  web,  whilst  her  grim  suitors, 
Disease  and  Death,  watch  for  her  halting ;  only 
tor  her  there  is  no  Ulysses  who  will  one  day 
in  triumph  return.  Dr.  G.  Wilson. 

455.  BODY  AND  SOUL,  Connection  of.  The 

body  is  more  than  a  shell,  more  than  a  gar¬ 
ment,  more  than  a  house  :  it  is  the  married,  co¬ 
operating  partner  of  the  spirit.  As  the  soul 
is  fitted  to  be  the  habitation  of  God,  so  is  the 
body  fitted  to  be  the  habitation  of  the  soul. 
The  soul  is  no  sooner  affected  by  the  presence 
of  God  than  the  body  also  is  affected.  In  a 
moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  body 
takes  on  the  condition  of  the  spirit.  If  the 
soul  be  in  distress,  the  body  also  is  in  distress. 
In  hours  of  social  delight,  the  body  is  as  much 
helped  and  comforted  as  the  spirit :  all  ils 
senses  become  keen,  the  appetite  is  lively,  the 
digestion  is  vigorous.  Every  hour  of  life,  the 
body  is  receiving  its  condition  from  the  spirit. 
If  you  pray,  not  only  the  soul,  but  the  body 
also,  receives  divine  influence.  If  you  sin,  the 
curse  fulfils  itself  in  your  soul  and  body  at  the 
same  time.  The  blood  and  brains  of  a  meek, 
humble,  heavenly-minded  man  carry  qualities 
in  it  which  the  blood  and  brains  of  a  worldly- 
minded  man  do  not.  Two  men  being  dead, 
the  one  a  regenerate  and  the  other  an  unre¬ 
generated  man,  not  only  their  souls  are  in  dif¬ 
ferent  conditions  and  different  worlds,  but 
their  flesh  and  bones  retain  the  distinctive 
qualities  of  their  two  souls.  There  are  virtues 
latent  in  all  bodies  corresponding  with  the 
souls  which  lived  in  them.  If  I  may  say  so. 
Elisha  slumbers  in  his  bones ;  that  is,  as  the 
man  was,  such  the  bones  are.  Joseph’s  bones 
do  not  belong  to  Egypt.  J.  Pulsford. 

456.  BODY  AND  SOUL,  Responsibility  of 
“  Brother,”  said  the  Soul  to  the  Body,  “  we 


boi/dzstecss. 


BOLDNESS. 


04 

must  part  shortly  ;  and  now  let  us  reckon  to¬ 
gether.” —  ‘‘Let  us  reckon,  sister,”  said  the 
Body.  “  You,”  said  the  Soul,  “  have  been 
active  in  labor,  and  toiled  lat.e  and  early,  and 
gathered  much  gold :  will  vou  keep  it  with 
you,  or  shall  I  take  it  with  me?” — “Alas,” 
said  the  Body,  "how  can  I  take  it  among  the 
darkness  and  dust  and  corruption  of"  the  grave  ? 
What  will  it  profit  me  there  V  ”  —  “  Nay,”  said 
the  Soul,  “  but  how  can  I  carry  it  where  earth 
and  earthly  things  are  not  suffered  to  enter  ? 
And  it  is,  after  all,  but  yellow  earth.”  —  “  True  : 
then,  shortly,  it  shall  be  neither  mine  nor 
thine,”  said  the  Body  sorrowfully.  “  Our 
reckoning  is  not  over,”  said  the  Soul.  “  How 
are  we  to  meet  again  (for  we  must  meet 
again)  :  will  it  be  in  sorrow,  or  in  joy  ?  You 
have  never  allowed  me  to  look  heavenward, 
but  have  robbed  me  of"  my  freedom,  and  used 
all  my  powers  to  help  you  get  gold.”  —  “  Alas  1  ” 
said  the  Body,  “  yon  tempted  me,  and  now  you 
reproach  me."’  —  “  What  if  we  should  meet  as 
fellow-tormentors,  bound  together  for  eternal 
misery  ?  ”  said  the  Soul.  “  I  am  defiled  as 
you  are,  and  you  have  never  cared  for  our 
cleansing  ;  I  am  without  a  right  to  heaven,  as 
you  are,  an  1  you  have  never  cared  for  an 
entrance  to  it :  so,  then,  this  gold  will  be  our 
mocking  accuser  in  eternity,  and  I  shall  re¬ 
proach  you  forever  with  having  destroyed  me 
to  gain  it.”  Leisure  Hour. 

432'.  BOLDNESS,  Before  Engs.  One  of  Fred¬ 
erick  the  Great’s  best  generals  was  Hans 
Joachim  von  Zieten.  He  was  never  ashamed 
of  his  faith.  Once  he  declined  an  invitation 
to  come  to  his  royal  master’s  table,  because  on 
that  day  he  wished  to  present  himself  at  the 
table  of  his  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ. 
It  was  sacrament  day.  The  next  time  he  ap¬ 
peared  at  the  palace,  the  king,  whose  infidel 
tendencies  were  well  known,  made  use  of  some 
profane  expressions  about  the  holy  communion 
of  the  Lord’s  Supper ;  and  the  other  guests 
laughed  at  the  remarks  made  on  the  occasion. 
Zieten  shook  his  gray  head  solemnly,  stood  up, 
saluted  the  king,  and  then  said  with  a  firm 
voice :  “  Your  Majesty  knows  well,  that,  in 
wal\  I  have  never  feared  any  danger,  and 
everywhere  have  boldly  risked  my  life  for  you 
and  my  country.  But  there  is  One  above  us 
who  is  greater  than  you  and  me, — greater 
than  all  men :  he  is  the  Saviour  and  Re¬ 
deemer,  who  has  died  also  for  your  Majesty, 
and  has  dearly  bought  us  all  with  his  own 
blood.  This  Holy  One  I  can  never  allow  to 
be  mocked  or  insulted ;  for  on  him  repose  my 
faith,  my  comfort,  and  my  hope  in  life  and 
death.  In  the  power  of  this  faith,  your  brave 
army  has  courageously  fought  and  conquered. 
If  your  Majesty  undermines  this  faith,  you 
undermine,  at  the  same  time,  the  welfare  of 
the  State.  I  salute  your  Majesty.”  This  open 
confession  of  his  Saviour  by  Zieten  made  a 
powerful  impression  on  the  king.  He  felt  he 
had  been  wrong  in  his  attack  on  the  faith  of 
his  general,  and  he  was  not  ashamed  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  it.  He  gave  his  hand  to  Zieten, 
his  right  hand,  placing  the  left  on  the  old  man’s 


shoulder,  and  said  with  emotion ,  “  0  happy 

Zieten  1  how  I  wish  I  could  also  believe  it  1  I 
have  the  greatest  respect  for  you.  This  shall 
never  happen  again.”  The  king  then  rose 
from  the  table,  dismissed  his  other  guests,  but 
said  to  Zieten,  “  Come  with,  me  into  my 
cabinet.”  What  passed  in  that  conference, 
with  closed  doors,  between  the  great  king  and 
his  greater  general,  no  one  has  ever  learnt; 
but  this  we  know,  that  the  Lord’s  own  words 
are  now  verified  to  Zieten  :  “  Whosoever  shall 
confess  me  before  men  him  will  I  confess  be¬ 
fore  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.” 

British  Workman. 

458.  BOLDNESS,  Christian.  When  the  late 
Com.  Foote  was  in  Siam,  he  had,  upon  one 
occasion,  the  king  on  board  his  vessel  as  a 
guest.  Like  a  Christian  man,  as  he  was,  he 
did  not  hesitate  in  the  royal  presence  to  ask  a 
blessing  as  the  guests  took  their  places  at  the 
table.  “  Why,  that  is  just  as  the  missionaries 
do,”  remarked  the  king,  with  some  surprise. 
“  Yes,”  answered  the  heroic  sailor :  “  and  I  am 
a  missionary  too.” 

45®.  BOLDNESS,  Examples  of.  One  of  the 
reformers  being  told,  “  All  the  world  are 
against  you,”  replied,  “  Then  I  am  against 
all  the  world.”  The  record  on  the  tomb  of 
John  Knox  is,  “  Here  lies  the  man  who  nevet 
feared  the  face  of  clay.” 

46®.  BOLDNESS,  Heathen.  The  Romans, 
after  their  disgraceful  defeat  at  the  River  Allia, 
by  the  Gauls,  had  shut  themselves  up  in  their 
Capitol,  their  last  and  only  refuge,  and  lay,  to 
all  appearance,  at  the  mercy  of  their  besiegers, 
who  prevented  all  ingress  or  egress,  and  hoped 
to  force  them  to  surrender  by  reducing  them 
to  the  utmost  extremities.  Among  the  be¬ 
sieged  was  a  member  of  the  Fabian  family, 
which  had  a  stated  yearly  sacrifice  on  the 
Quirinal  Hill,  one  of  the  seven  hills  of  Rome. 
The  time  of  its  observance  had  now  returned. 
Nothing  daunted  by  the  terrors  which  sur¬ 
rounded  him,  Caius  Fabius  Dorso  took  the 
sacred  utensils  in  his  hand,  descended  from 
the  Capitol,  walking  through  the  midst  of  the 
enemy’s  sentinels,  and  came  to  the  hill  selected 
for  the  purpose.  Having  there  solemnly  gone 
through  all  his  religious  exercises,  he  returned 
to  the  Capitol.  Neither  in  his  countenance  nor 
in  his  manner  of  walking  did  he  betray  the 
slightest  fear.  He  hoped  that  the  gods,  whose 
worship  not  even  the  fear  of  death  could  make 
him  neglect,  would  be  propitious  to  him  ;  and 
in  this  he  was  not  disappointed :  for  the  Gauls, 
either  amazed  at  his  extraordinary  boldness,  or 
respecting  his  religious  ceremonies,  allowed  him 
to  go  and  return  unmolested. 

461.  BOLDNESS,  of  Luther.  Luther  was  a 
remarkable  instance  of  the  boldness  of  the 
righteous.  Single-handed,  he  fought  against 
popes  and  kings  and  cardinals,  and  other  dan¬ 
gerous  enemies.  Oftentimes  he  was  left  alone, 
unsupported  by  his  most  intimate  friends. 
Still  he  remained  unshaken.  “  Ah  1  ”  said  some 
to  him  when  on  his  way  to  Worms,  “  there  are 
so  many  cardinals  and  bishops  at  Worms! 

.  .  They  will  burn  you,  they  will  consume 


BOLDNESS. 


BOOK. 


65 


our  body  to  ashes,  as  they  did  that  of  John 
lass.”  But  nothing  daunted  the  monk.  “Al¬ 
though  they  should  make  a  fire  that  should 
reach  from  Worms  to  Wittenberg,  and  that 
should  flame  up  to  heaven,  in  the  Lord’s  name 
I  would  pass  through  it ;  I  would  appear  before 
them ;  1  would  enter  between  the  jaws  of  this 
Behemoth  ;  I  would  break  his  teeth,  and  would 
confess  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.”  At  a  subse¬ 
quent  period  of  his  journey,  his  friend  Spala- 
tin  sent  a  messenger  to  him  to  say  that  he 
must  not  think  of  entering  Worms.  The 
imperturbable  Luther  looked  steadily  at  the 
messenger,  and  replied,  “  Go  tell  your  master, 
that,  even  although  there  were  as  many  devils 
at  Worms  as  there  are  tiles  upon  the  roofs  of 
the  houses,  I  would  enter  it.”  When  told  that 
Duke  George  would  certainly  arrest  him,  he 
replied,  “  If  it  rain  Duke  Georges  for  nine 
days  together,  I  will  go.” 

462.  BOLDNESS,  Ministerial.  A  minister  with¬ 
out  boldness  is  like  a  smooth  file,  a  knife 
without  an  edge,  a  sentinel  that  is  afraid  to 
let  off  his  gun.  If  men  will  be  bold  in  sin, 
ministers  must  be  bold  to  reprove.  Gurnall. 

463.  BOLDNESS,  of  St.  Nilus.  The  virtues 
of  St.  Nilus  Grotta  Ferata  secured  him  the  re¬ 
spect  of  the  people  and  the  fear  of  the  nobles. 
Pandolfo,  Prince  of  Capua,  left  a  widow, 
Aloare,  who  at  this  time  governed  in  right  of 
her  two  sons.  She  had  instigated  these  youths 
to  murder  their  cousin,  a  powerful  and  virtuous 
noble ;  and  now,  tortured  by  remorse,  and 
fearful  for  the  consequences  to  them,  she  sent 
for  St.  Nilus,  confessed  her  crime,  and  entreat¬ 
ed  absolution.  He  refused  to  give  it  but  upon 
condition  that  she  should  yield  up  one  of  her 
sons  to  the  family  of  the  murdered  man,  to  be 
dealt  with  as  they  should  think  (it,  as  the  only 
real  expiation  she  could  make.  The  guilty 
mother  wept,  and  could  not  resolve  on  the  sac¬ 
rifice.  Nilus  then,  with  all  the  severity  and 
dignity  of  a  prophet,  denounced  her  sin  as 
unt'orgiven,  and  told  her  that  the  expiation  she 
had  refused  of  her  own  tree  will  would  ere 
long  be  exacted  from  her.  The  princess,  ter¬ 
rified,  entreated  him  to  intercede  for  her,  and 
endeavored  to  force  upon  him  a  sum  of  money. 
Nilus  flung  the  gold  upon  the  earth,  and,  turn¬ 
ing  from  her,  shut  himself  up  in  his  cell. 
Shortly  afterwards,  the  younger  of  the  two 
princes  assassinated  his  brother  in  a  church; 
and  for  this  sacrilegious  fratricide  he  was  him¬ 
self  put  to  death  by  order  of  Hugh  Capet, 
King  of  France.  Pope  Gregory  V.  and  the 
Emperor  Otho  III.  sought  his  favor;  but  the 
old  man  rebuked  them  both  as  enemies  of  God. 
He  wrote  to  the  emperor  a  letter  of  reproach, 
concluding  with  these  words,  “Because  ye 
have  broken  faith,  and  because  ye  have  had  no 
mercy  for  the  vanquished,  nor  compassion  for 
those  who  had  no  longer  the  power  to  injure 
or  resist,  know  that  God  will  avenge  the  cause 
of  the  oppressed,  and  ye  shall  both  seek  mercy, 
and  shall  not  find  it.”  Having  despatched  this 
letter,  he  shook  the  dust  from  his  feet,  and  de¬ 
parted  the  same  night  from  Rome.  Within 
two  years,  Pope  Gregory  died  in  some  misera¬ 


ble  manner;  and  Otho,  terrified  by  remorse 
and  the  denunciations  of  St.  Nilus,  undertook 
a  pilgrimage  to  Monte  Galgano.  On  his  re¬ 
turn,  he  paid  a  visit  to  Nilus  in  his  hermitage 
at  Frascati,  and,  falling  on  his  knees,  besought 
the  prayers  and  intercession  of  the  saint.  He 
offered  to  erect,  instead  of  his  poor  oratory,  a 
magnificent, convent  with  an  endowment  of 
lands.  Nilus  refused  his  gifts.  The  emperor 
rising  from  his  knees,  entreated  the  holy  man 
to  ask  some  boon  before  they  parted,  promis¬ 
ing,  that,  whatever  it  might  be,  he  would  grant 
it.  Nilus,  stretching  forth  his  hand,  laid  it  on 
the  jewelled  cuirass  of  the  emperor,  and  said 
with  deep  solemnity,  “  I  ask  of  thee  but  this, 
that  thou  wouldst  make  reparation  for  thy 
crimes  before  God,  and  save  thine  own  soul.” 
Otho  returned  to  Rome,  where,  within  a  few 
weeks  afterwards,  the  people  rose  against  him, 
obliged  him  to  fly  ignominiously  ;  and  he  died 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty-six,  poisoned  by  the 
widow  of  Crescentius.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

461.  BOOK,  Influence  of  a  Bad.  About  twen¬ 
ty-five  years  ago,  I  formed  a  most  intimate 
acquaintance  with  a  young  man  of  fine  educa¬ 
tion  and  commanding  talents ;  and  we  soon 
became  bosom  friends.  One  morning  after 
school,  at  a  street-corner,  he  handed  me  a  book, 
which  he  said  he  could  lend  to  me  for  only  one 
quarter  of  an  hour.  We  stood  at  that  corner  a 
iew  moments,  while  I  looked  at  the  obscene 
pictures,  and  read  a  few  pages  in  that  pollut¬ 
ing  volume.  I  handed  it  back  to  him,  and 
never  saw  it  again ;  but  the  poison  took  effect, 

‘  the  sin  left  its  mark.”  I  cannot  erase  the 
effects  of  the  impure  thoughts  which  in  that 
quarter  of  an  hour  that  vile  book  lodged  in  my 
heart,  and  which  (may  God  forgive  me  !)  I  har¬ 
bored  there.  I  can  and  do  pray  against  the 
sin,  and  tor  God’s  grace  yet  to  conquer  it; 
but  it  is  a  thorn  in  my  flesh,  and  still  causes  me 
great  bitterness  and  anguish.  Young  men,  as 
a  lover  of  your  souls,  I  tell  you  in  all  sincerity 
that  there  is  nothing  which  I  would  not  will¬ 
ingly  give  to  have  the  veil  of  oblivion  cast 
over  the  scenes  and  the  sentiments  of  that  cor¬ 
rupt  volume,  which  still  haunt  me  like  foul 
■spectres.  J.  A.  James. 

465.  BOOK,  Power  of  a.  In  1807,  a  clergy¬ 
man  left  the  city  of  Hartford  for  the  then 
Far  West,  —  as  far  as  Whitestown,  N.Y.  He 
took  with  him  some  copies  of  “  The  Rise  and 
Progress ;  ”  and,  as  he  stopped  at  a  cabin  tavern, 
he  noticed  that  the  woman  who  waited  on  him 
at  the  table  was  busily  engaged  in  reading. 
He  inquired  what  book  she  had,  and  learned 
that  it  was  “  The  Rise  and  Progress,”  which  a 
neighbor  had  lent  to  her;  and  she  was  copying 
out  passages  that  peculiarly  fitted  her  mind. 
He  gave  her  a  copy  of  the  book,  which  she 
received  with  great  delight.  In  1838,  he  was 
passing  that  way,  and,  inquiring  for  this  woman 
by  name,  he  was  pointed  to  an  elegant  house 
as  her  residence.  He  called  on  her,  and  asked 
her  if  she  remembered  him.  She  did  not. 
But  do  you  not  remember  the  man  who  gave 
you  Doddridge’s  “  Rise  and  Progress  ”  thirty 
years  ago  ?  “  Oh,  yes  1  ”  she  said :  “  are  you  the 


66 


BOOK. 


BOOKS. 


man  ?  Why,  that  book  was  the  means  of 
converting  my  soul ;  and  it  was  lent  round, 
and  others  read  it ;  and  we  had  meetings  and 
read  it  together ;  it  was  read  at  huskings  and 
bees,  and  on  the  Sabbath  day ;  and  a  revival 
followed ;  and  by  and  by  we  went  for  a  min¬ 
ister,  and  formed  a  church.”  The  church  of 
W  yoming  is  the  fruit  of  that  sect}. 

466.  BOOK,  Use  of  a,  We  should  make  the 

same  use  of  a  book  that  the  bee  does  of  a 
flower  :  she  steals  sweets  from  it,  but  does  not 
injure  it.  C.  Colton. 

467.  BOOS,  Wonderfulness  of  a.  Consider  ! 

except  a  living  man,  there  is  nothing  more 
wonderful  than  a  book,  —  a  message  to  us  from 
the  dead,  from  human  souls  whom  we  never 
saw,  who  lived,  perhaps,  thousands  of  miles 
away :  and  yet  these,  in  those  little  sheets  of 
paper,  speak  to  us,  amuse  us,  terrify  us,  teach 
us,  comlort  us,  open  their  hearts  to  us  as 
brothers.  C.  Kingsley. 

46§.  BOOKS,  Borrowing,  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
in  lending  a  book  one  day  to  a  friend,  cau¬ 
tioned  him  to  be  punctual  in  returning  it. 
“  This  is  really  necessary,”  said  the  poet,  in 
apology,  “  for,  though  all  my  friends  are  bad 
arithmeticians ,  I  observe  almost  all  of  them  to 
be  good  book-keepers .” 

469.  BOOKS,  Company  of.  I  go  into  my 
library,  and,  like  some  great  panorama,  all  his¬ 
tory  unrolls  before  me.  I  breathe  the  morning 
air  of  the  world  while  the  scent  of  Eden’s 
roses  yet  linger  in  it,  when  it  was  thickened 
only  by  the  sigh  of  Eve.  I  see  the  Pyramids 
building.  I  bear  Memnon  murmur  as  the 
first  morning  sun  touches  him.  I  see  the  Sphinx 
when  she  first  began  to  ask  her  eternal  ques¬ 
tion.  I  sit  as  in  a  theatre  ;  the  stage  is  time, 
the  play  is  the  play  of  the  world.  What  a 
spectacle  it  is  1  what  kingly  pomp  1  what  pro¬ 
cessions  pass  by  1  what  cities  burn  to  heaven  1 
what  crovvds  of  captives  are  dragged  at  the 
wheels  of  conquerors  !  I  hiss,  or  cry  “  Bravo,” 
when  the  great  actors  come  on  shaking  the 
stage.  In  my  solitude  I  am  only  myself  at 
intervals.  I  am  a  Roman  emperor  when  I 
look  at  a  Roman  coin.  I  lift  Homer,  and  I 
shout  with  Achilles  in  the  trenches.  The 
silence  of  the  unpeopled  Syrian  plains,  the 
outcomings  and  outgoings  of  the  patriarchs 
Abraham  and  Ishmael,  Isaac  in  the  fields  at 
eventide,  Rebekah  at  the  well,  Jacob’s  guile, 
Esau’s  face  reddened  by  desert  sun-heat, 
Joseph’s  splendid  funeral-procession,  —  all 
these  things  I  can  find  within  the  boards  of 
my  Old  Testament.  What  a  silence  in  these 
old  books  1  what  green  pastoral  rest,  and  yet 
what  indubitable  human  existence  1  Across 
the  brawling  centuries  of  blood  and  war  that 
lie  between,  I  can  hear  the  bleating  of  Abra¬ 
ham's  sheep,  the  tinkling  of  the  bells  of 
Rcbekah’s  camels.  O  men  and  women,  so 
far  separated,  yet  so  near,  so  strange,  yet  so 
well  known,  by  what  miraculous  power  do  I 
know  you  all !  Books  are  the  true  Elysian 
fields  where  the  spirits  of  the  dead  converse, 
couched  on  flowers;  and  to  these  fields  a 
mortal  may  venture  unappalled.  What  king’s 


court  can  boast  such  company  ?  What  schoo 
of  philosophy  such  wisdom  ?  All  the  wit  of 
all  the  world  is  glancing  and  flashing  there. 
There  is  Pan’s  pipe,  there  are  the  songs  of 
Apollo.  Sitting  in  my  library  at  night,  and 
looking  on  the  silent  faces  of  my  books,  I 
am  occasionally  visited  by  a  strange  sense 
of  the  supernatural.  They  are  not  collec¬ 
tions  of  printed  pages,  they  are  ghosts.  I 
take  one  down,  and  it  immediately  speaks 
with  me,  —  it  may  be  in  a  tongue  not  now 
heard  on  earth,  it  may  be  of  men  and  things 
of  which  it  alone  possesses  knowledge.  I  call 
myself  a  solitai-y ;  but  sometimes  I  think  I 
misapply  the  term.  No  man  sees  more  com¬ 
pany  than  I  do.  I  travel  with  mightier 
cohorts  around  me  than  ever  did  Tamerlane 
or  Genghis  Khan  on  their  fiery  marches.  I 
am  a  sovereign  in  my  library ;  but  it  is  tho 
dead,  not  the  living,  that  attend  my  levees. 

JEneas  Sage. 

476.  BOOKS,  Evil  of  Bad,  A  youth  em¬ 
ployed  as  a  milkman  at  Belper,  in  Derby¬ 
shire,  Eng.,  has,  without  any  apparent  motive, 
attempted  to  murder  an  old  housekeeper, 
under  the  influence  of  a  long  course  of  stories 
about  Dick  Turpin  and  Jack  Sheppard.  This 
is  far  from  the  first  time  that  similar  results 
have  followed  from  the  same  kind  of  reading. 
Courvoisier  attributed  his  assassination  of 
Lord  William  Russell  to  a  state  of  morbid 
sympathy  with  crime,  induced  by  the  perusal 
of  the  then  popular  romance  of  “  Jack  Shep¬ 
pard  ;  ”  and  the  annals  of  the  police  since  then 
furnish  many  other  instances.  Mr.  Ainsworth 
(who,  of  course,  thought  of  writing  nothing 
more  than  amusing  fictions)  has  been  unfor¬ 
tunate  in  having  popularized,  and  invested 
with  a  halo  of  romance,  two  such  scoundrels 
as  Sheppard  and  Turpin. 

471.  BOOKS,  Fate  of  Infidel,  A  person  whom 
I  knew  some  years  ago  was  associated  with 
an  infidel  club,  and  had  been  to  the  city 
to  obtain  tracts  setting  forth  their  pernicious 
doctrine,  to  be  distributed  among  the  young 
people  of  the  village.  When  ready  for  his 
return,  he  missed  the  stage,  and  was  compelled 
to  walk  home  with  his  burden,  which  was  not 
a  very  large  package.  He  had  gone  but  a 
very  short  distance,  not  far  enough  to  be 
weary,  when  suddenly  his  strength  gave  out. 
Startled,  yet  thinking  it  only  a  momentary 
weakness,  he  rested  for  a  half-hour  upon  a 
fallen  log ;  but,  when  he  arose  to  pursue  his 
journey,  his  feet  would  not  perform  their 
wonted  office.  Several  times  he  essayed  to 
walk,  after  an  interval  of  some  length ;  but  it 
was  in  vain.  Thoroughly  alarmed,  and  pricked 
by  the  consciousness  that  the  profane  books 
had  something  to  do  with  his  singular  attack, 
he  deliberately  tore  them  into  small  fragments, 
and  scattered  them  to  the  four  winds,  so  that 
no  one  could  find  coherency  in  the  detached 
portions,  or  be  injured  by  them  ;  when,  strange 
to  say,  he  arose  and  walked  off  with  as  light 
and  quick  a  step  as  ever  in  his  life.  From 
this  time  lie  was  a  changed  man,  a  firm  be¬ 
liever  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  as  earnest  a 


BOOKS. 


BOY. 


67 


worker  in  the  cause  of  truth  as  he  had  hitherto 
been  in  that  of  error.  Christian  Banner. 

472.  BOOKS,  Homer's  Eiad.  Homer’s  Iliad 
was  the  favorite  volume  of  Alexander.  He 
used  to  say  it  was  “  the  most  perfect  human 
production,  and  the  best  medicine  of  the  war¬ 
rior.”  In  all  his  travels,  he  carried  a  copy 
with  him,  encased  in  a  richly  jewelled  casket 
of  gold,  and  at  night  he  laid  it  with  his  sword 
beneath  his  pillow.  The  fascinating  manner 
in  which  it  recounts  the  bloody  deeds  of  its 
real  and  imaginary  heroes  tended  largely  to 
mould  the  character  of  this  great  robber  and 
murderer.  Again  :  the  life  of  Alexander  in¬ 
cited  to  similar  deeds  two  other  warriors, 
scarcely  less  noted.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
Ctesar's  highest  ambition  to  walk  in  the  steps 
of  Alexander ;  and  Charles  the  Twelfth  of 
Sweden  longed  from  his  boyhood  to  imitate 
the  great  Macedonian  conqueror.  The  char¬ 
acter  of  Csesar  was  the  ideal  of  the  Turkish 
Emperor  Selymus.  In  his  endeavors  to  fol¬ 
low  such  an  example,  he  arrayed  himself 
against  his  own  father,  and,  after  defeating  and 
then  poisoning  him,  he  carried  bis  merciless 
wars  into  Egypt  and  Persia.  Oh,  what  mil¬ 
lions  of  hearts  have  been  crushed  in  the 
march  of  these  four  great  conquerors  !  What¬ 
ever  of  pure  and  elevated  enjoyment  may 
have  been  afforded  by  this  enchanting  poem 
of  the  old  blind  singer,  a  torrent  of  evil  has 
flowed  from  it,  which  only  eternity  can  fully 
reveal. 

473.  BOOKS,  Influence  o£  Benjamin  Frank¬ 
lin  tells  us,  in  one  of  his  letters,  that,  when 
he  was  a  bov,  a  little  book  fell  into  his  hands, 
entitled  “  Essays  to  do  Good,”  by  Cotton 
Mather.  It  was  tattered  and  torn,  and  several 
leaves  were  missing.  “  But  the  remainder,” 
he  says,  “  gave  me  such  a  turn  of  thinking,  as 
to  have  an  influence  on  my  conduct  through 
life  ;  for  I  have  always  set  a  greater  value  on 
the  character  of  a  doer  of  good  than  any  other 
kind  of  reputation :  and,  if  I  have  been  a  use¬ 
ful  citizen,  the  public  owes  all  the  advantages 
of  it  to  the  little  book.”  Jereiny  Bentham 
mentions,  that  the  current  of  his  thoughts  and 
studies  was  directed  for  life  by  a  single  phrase 
that  caught  his  eye  at  the  end  of  a  pamphlet  : 

“  The  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number.” 
There  are  single  sentences  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  that  have  awakened  to  spiritual  life 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dormant  souls.  In 
things  of  less  moment,  reading  has  a  wondrous 
power.  George  Law,  a  boy  on  his  father’s 
farm,  met  an  old,  unknown  book,  which  told 
the  story  of  a  farmer’s  son,  who  went  away  to 
seek  his  fortune,  and  came  home,  after  many 
years’  absence,  a  rich  man.  From  that  mo¬ 
ment,  George  became  uneasy,  left  home,  lived 
over  again  the  life  he  had  read  of,  returned  a 
millionnaire,  and  paid  all  his  father’s  debts. 
Robinson  Crusoe  has  sent  to  sea  more  sailors 
than  the  press-gang.  The  story  about  little 
George  Washington  telling  the  truth  about 
the  hatchet  and  the  plum-tree  has  made  many 
a  truth-teller.  We  owe  all  the  Waverley  nov¬ 
els  to  Scott’s  early  reading  of  the  old  tradi¬ 


tions  and  legends;  and  the  whole  body  of 
pastoral  fiction  came  from  Addison’s  sketches 
of  Sir  Roger  De  Coverley  in  “  The  Spectator.” 
But  illustrations  are  numberless.  Tremble,  ye 
who  write,  and  ye  who  publish  writing.  A 
pamphlet  has  precipitated  a  revolution.  A 
paragraph  quenches  or  kindles  the  celestial 
spark  in  a  human  soul,  in  myriads  of  souls. 

II.  Donker.sley. 

474.  BOOKS,  Influence  of  Bad.  A  few  weeks 
ago,  a  boy  was  charged  with  stealing  an  article 
of  small  value,  and  one  such  as  boys  would 
scarcely  begin  to  take.  The  little  fellow  was 
bright  and  intelligent.  There  was  a  natural 
ingenuousness  in  him  which  was  engaging. 
Yet  he  stood  at  the  bar  of  the  police-court  a 
thief.  The  boy  had  been  a  diligent  student  in 
the  annals  of  crime.  Lives  of  pirates,  thieves, 
footpads,  and  highwaymen,  had  kindled  in  his 
breast  a  fiery  admiration  of  their  deeds  ;  and 
he  was  beginning  to  imitate  the  heroes  whose 
adventures  he  had  studied,  when,  fortunately, 
the  law  stepped  in,  just  as  he  had  passed 
across  the  threshold  of  crime. 

475.  BOYHOOD,  Longing  for.  A  dying  sol¬ 
dier  expressed  his  great  dissatisfaction  with 
the  past  of  his  life,  and  fearful  apprehension 
of  the  future.  He  declared  that  he  would 
not  be  so  mean  as  to  “  drink  the  Devil’s  wine  all 
his  life,  and  then  offer  the  settlings  to  Jesus.” 
He  could  not  get  over  his  wasted  life,  but  lay 
moaning,  “  If  I  could  get  back  again,  back 
again  !  if  I  could  be  a  boy  again,  a  boy  again  1  ” 
Vain  wish.  Death  hurried  him,  amid  its  utter¬ 
ance,  into  the  presence  of  his  Judge. 

476.  BOY,  An  Enterprising.  In  Milwaukie, 
recently,  a  ragged  boy  called  upon  a  merchant, 
and  asked  the  loan  of  fifty  cents,  for  which  he 
promised  to  give  his  note,  and  ten  per  cent 
interest.  The  merchant  was  struck  by  the 
novelty  of  the  proposal,  and,  finding  the  boy 
intelligent  and  apparently  honest,  gave  him  fifty 
cents,  and,  as  he  insisted  on  it,  took  his  note. 
A  month  afterwards,  when  the  merchant  had 
almost  forgotten  the  occurrence,  the  boy  again 
made  his  appearance,  and  asked  to  redeem  his 
note.  Upon  inquiry,  the  boy  said  he  had  in¬ 
vested  the  fifty  cents  in  newspapers  and 
oranges,  and  had  already  made  about  forty 
dollars.  He  was  an  orphan,  but  thought  he 
was  able  to  take  care  of  himself. 

477.  BOY,  Nature  of  a.  James  was  a  happy 
playful,  noisy  boy.  He  delighted  in  that  kind 
of  sport  which  made  the  most  stir,  and  result¬ 
ed  in  some  kind  of  demonstration.  One  day, 
his  mother  lost  all  her  patience,  and  cried  out, 

“  James,  stop  your  noise,  and  sit  down  quietly 
for  the  next  hour,  or  I  will  punish  you.”  — 

“  Why,  mother,”  said  he,  “  I  can’t  keep  still.  I’d 
burst  right  open,  I  know  I  would,  if  I  couldn’t 
run  and  laugh,  and  get  the  noise  out  of  me.” 

478.  BOY,  A  Neglected.  A  police-officer  came 
to  report  a  truant  scholar,  named  Jerry,  to 
the  teacher,  and  then  take  him  away  to  the 
lock-up.  Poor  Jerry  1  It  was  enough  to 
make  one’s  heart  ache  to  see  him.  His  blue 
eyes  were  sunken,  and  his  face  hail  a  sharp, 
white  look,  as  though  the  warmth  was  all 


68 


BOY. 


BOYS. 


frozen  out  of  his  veins.  One  could  not  help 
seeing  at  a  glance  that  the  child  had  not  enough 
to  eat.  His  clothes  were  thin  and  torn  ;  and  his 
bare  toes  crept  from  the  miserable  shoes  that 
had  hard  work  to  stay  on  his  frost-bitten  feet. 
“  I  must  take  this  boy  to  the  lock-up  ”  said  the 
officer,  after  talking  a  few  minutes  with  the 
teacher.  Jerry’s  white  face  grew  whiter,  and 
he  clasped  his  hands  in  utter  distress.  “  Oh, 
don’t  take  me  there !  ”  he  said  ;  and  the  tears 
rolled  down  his  face.  “  l  never  had  anybody 
io  tell  me  how  to  be  good  ;  I  never  had  any 
bringing  up ;  nobody  ever  cared  for  me  1  O 
teacher !  I'd  be  like  other  boys ;  but  nobody 
ever  showed  me  how.”  His  father  was  dead, 
and  bis  mother  was  a  heartless  woman.  There 
were  tears  in  the  teacher’s  eyes  as  she  listened 
to  the  boy’s  piteous  appeal ;  and  even  the  hardy 
policeman  was  touched.  Warning  him  that 
another  time  he  would  not  escape,  he  permitted 
him  to  go  back  to  the  schoolroom.  He  never 
played  truant  again. 

479.  BOY,  An  Obedient.  A  circus  came  to 
town ;  and  everybody  knows  how  the  music, 
and  the  grand  tent  and  horses,  set  all  the  little 
boys  agoing.  Quarters  of  dollars  and  shillings 
are  in  great  demand ;  and  many  a  choice  bit 
of  money  have  the  circus-riders  carried  away, 
which  was  meant  tor  better  purposes.  A 
little  boy  was  seen  looking  around  the  prem¬ 
ises  with  a  great  deal  of  curiosity.  “  Halloa, 
Johnny !  ”  said  a  man  who  knew  him,  “  going 
to  the  circus  ?  ”  —  “No,  sir,”  answered  Johnny  : 
“  father  don’t  like  ’em.”  — “  Oh,  well !  I’ll  give 
you  money  to  go,  Johnny,”  said  the  man. 
“  Father  don’t  approve  of  them,”  answered 
Johnny.  “  Well,  go  for  once,  and  I’ll  pay  for 
you.”  —  “No,  sir,”  said  Johnny.  “My  father 
would  give  me  money  it'  he  thought  it  were  best ; 
besides,  I’ve  got  twenty-five  cents  in  my  strong 
box,  —  twice  enough  to  go.”  —  “  I’d  go,  Johnny, 
for  once  :  it  is  wonderful  the  way  the  horses 
do,”  said  the  man.  “  Your  father  needn’t 
know  it.”  —  “  I  sha’n’t,”  said  the  boy.  “  Now 
why  ?  ”  asked  the  man.  “  ’Cause,”  said  Johnny, 
twirling  his  bare  toes  in  the  sand,  “  after  I’ve 
been,  I  could  not  look  my  father  right  in  the 
eye,  and  I  can  now.” 

480.  BOY,  A  Persevering.  When  Dr.  Carey, 
the  celebrated  missionary,  was  a  boy,  he  tried 
one  day  to  climb  a  tree ;  but  his  foot  slipped, 
and  he  fell  to  the  ground,  breaking  his  leg  by 
the  fall.  This  accident  confined  him  to  his 
bed  many  weeks,  and  caused  him  much  suffer¬ 
ing.  When  the  broken  limb  was  healed,  the 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  go  and  climb  that 
tree. 

481.  BOY,  The  Praying  Sailor.  I  must  tell 
you  of  a  feat  performed  by  a  sailor-boy  at  the 
height  of  the  storm.  He  was  literally  a  boy, 
and  far  better  fitted  for  thumbing  Webster’s 
Spelling-Book  than  furling  a  sail  in  a  storm. 
But  his  mother  was  a  widow,  and  where  could 
the  boy  earn  a  living  for  himself  and  mother 
better  than  at  sea  ?  The  ship  was  rolling  fear¬ 
fully.  Some  of  the  rigging  got  foul  at  the 
mainmast-head,  and  it  was  necessary  that  some 
one  should  go  up  and  rectify  it.  It  was  a 


perilous  job.  I  was  standing  near  the  mate, 
and  heard  him  order  that  boy  to  do  it.  He 
lifted  his  cap,  and  glanced  at  the  swinging 
mast,  the  boiling  wrathful  seas,  and  at  the 
steady,  determined  countenance  of  the  mate. 
He  hesitated  in  silence  a  moment,  then,  rush¬ 
ing  across  the  deck,  he  pitched  down  into  the 
forecastle.  Perhaps  he  was  gone  two  minutes, 
when  he  returned,  laid  his  hands  on  the  rat¬ 
lines,  and  went  up  with  a  will.  My  eyes 
followed  him  till  my  head  was  dizzy,  when  I 
turned,  and  remonstrated  with  the  mate  for 
sending  the  boy  aloft.  He  could  not  come 
down  alive.  “  Why  did  you  send  him  ?  ”  —  “I 
did  it,”  replied  the  mate,  “  to  save  his  life. 
AVe’ve  sometimes  lost  men  overboard,  but 
never  a  boy.  See  how  he  holds  like  a  squirrel. 
He  is  more  careful :  he’ll  come  down  safe,  I 
hope.”  Again  I  looked  till  tears  dimmed 
my  eyes,  and  I  was  compelled  to  turn  away, 
expecting  every  moment  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  his  last  fall.  In  about  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes,  he  came  down  ;  and,  straightening 
himself  up  with  the  conscious  pride  of  having 
performed  a  manly  act,  he  walked  aft  with  a 
smile  on  his  countenance.  In  the  course  of 
the  day,  I  took  occasion  to  speak  to  him,  and 
asked  him  why  he  hesitated  when  ordered 
aloft  ?  “  I  went,  sir,”  said  the  boy,  “  to  pray.”  — 
“  Do  you  pray  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  sir.  I  thought  that 
I  might  not  come  down  alive ;  and  I  went  to 
commit  my  soul  to  God.”  —  “  Where  did  you 
learn  to  pray  ?  ’’  —  “  At  home.  My  mother 
wanted  me  to  go  to  the  sabbath  school,  and  my 
teacher  urged  me  to  pray  to  God  to  keep  me ; 
and  I  do.”  —  “  What  was  that  you  had  in  your 
jacket  ?  ”  —  “  My  Testament,  which  my  teacher 
gave  me.  I  thought,  if  I  did  perish,  I  would 
have  the  word  of  God  close  to  my  heart.” 

Christian  Intelligencer. 

482.  BOYS,  Encouragement  to  Labor  for.  Many 
years  ago,  in  a  country  town  in  Massachusetts, 
a  teacher  saw  a  boy  come  into  his  school, 
whom  he  knew  to  be  one  of  the  worst  boys  in 
town.  He  determined,  if  he  could,  to  make  a 
good  boy  of  him.  So  he  spoke  kindly  to  him, 
and  he  behaved  well  that  day.  The  prudential 
committee  came  in,  and  said,  “Mr.  Towne, 
I  hear  that  bad  fellow,  Bill  Marcy,  has  come 
to  your  school.  Turn  him  out  at  once.  He 
will  spoil  the  rest  of  the  boys.”  —  “  No,  sir,”  re¬ 
plied  the  teacher,  “  I  will  leave  the  school  if 
you  say  so  ;  but  I  cannot  expel  a  boy  so  long 
as  he  behaves  well.”  So  he  kept  him  and  en¬ 
couraged  him,  confided  in  him,  till  Bill  Marcy 
became  one  of  the  best  boys  in  school ; 
and  afterward,  whenever  William  L.  Marcy 
came  from  Washington,  he  took  pains  to  go 
and  see  his  old  teacher,  Salem  Towne,  and 
thank  him  for  having  been  the  means  of  saving 
him,  and  making  him  the  man  he  was. 

483.  BOYS,  Honor  of.  A  lady  in  England 
desired  to  send  a  parcel  to  some  soldiers  about 
to  sail  for  the  Crimea.  She  found  a  strange 
boy,  told  her  story,  and  appealed  to  his  honor 
to  take  the  parcel  for  her.  The  boy  replied, 
“  Trust  me :  I’m  the  boy  for  it.”  She  gave  him 
eighteen-pence,  —  all  she  had,  —  and  he  ran 


BOYS. 


BRAVERY. 


69 


on  his  errand,  saying,  “  All’s  right !  ”  In  the 
parcel,  she  enclosed  a  note,  requesting  ear¬ 
ly  notice  of  its  receipt.  The  Jura  sailed 
on  Thursday ;  hut  the  post  brought  no  ac¬ 
knowledgment  of  the  parcel.  Friday  passed, 
but  no  note;  and  the  lady  began  to  dis¬ 
trust  the  boy.  On  the  fourth  day,  by  the 
last  post,  came  a  note  from  the  officer  alluded 
to,  saying,  that,  about  seven  o’clock  on  Wed¬ 
nesday,  a  boy  had  taken  a  parcel  on  board,  and 
requested  permission  to  deliver  it  to  the  two 
men  in  presence  of  the  captain  of  the  ship 
and  the  chief  officers  of  the  corps.  “  Having 
discharged  his  duty,  the  last  sound  heard  amid 
the  splashing  of  his  oars,  as  he  left  the  ship’s 
side,  was  the  shout,  ‘  Tell  that  ere  lady  that  I 
kept  my  word,  and  the  jackets  was  in  time.’  ” 

484.  BOYS,  Sympathy  with.  “  Ma,  were  you 
ever  a  boy  ?  ”  said  a  bright-eyed,  blithe-hearted 
little  fellow,  when  reproved  by  his  mother  for 
his  merry  sport  while  at  play, —  “were  you 
ever  a  boy  ?  ” 

485.  BRAVERY,  Christian.  During  the  war, 
eleven  men  and  a  sergeant  were  wanted  for 
special  perilous  service.  The  officer  entered 
the  soldiers’  prayer-meeting,  and  took  the 
number  from  the  praying  men  occupying  the 
front  seat,  saying  that  he  must  have  “  the 
best  men  in  the  regiment.” 

486.  BRAVERY,  in  Death.  At  the  defeat  of 

Romagnans,  Bonivet,  wounded,  and  not  able 
to  serve  any  longer,  gave  the  command  of  the 
army  up  to  Bayard,  who,  as  usual,  performed 
prodigies  of  valor,  until  he  was  wounded  by  a 
musket-shot,  which  broke  the  vertebra;  of  his 
back.  He  then  caused  himself  to  be  helped 
off  his  horse,  and  to  be  placed  at  the  foot  of  a 
tree,  “  that,  at  least,”  said  he,  “  I  may  die 
facing  the  enemy.”  Percy. 

487.  BRAVERY,  Example  of  Perhaps  the 
grandest  example  in  modern  history  of  that 
audacity  which  combines  all  the  physical, 
civic,  and  mental  elements  of  courage,  is  found 
in  Napoleon’s  return  from  Elba,  and  trium¬ 
phant  progress  to  Paris.  The  world  then  beheld 
the  whole  organization  of  a  monarchy  melt 
away,  like  a  piece  of  frost-work  in  the  sun, 
before  a  person  and  a  name.  Every  incident 
in  that  march  is  an  epical  stroke.  He  throws 
himself  unhesitatingly  on  the  Napoleon  in 
every  man  and  mass  of  men  he  meets  ;  and 
Napoleonism  instinctively  recognizes  and  obeys 
its  master.  On  approaching  the  regiment  at 
Grenoble,  the  officers  in  command  gave  the 
order  to  fire.  Advancing  confidently,  within 
ten  steps  of  the  levelled  muskets,  and  baring 
his  breast,  he  uttered  the  well-known  words, 
“  Soldiers  of  the  Fifth  Regiment,  if  there  is 
one  among  you  who  will  kill  his  emperor,  let 
him  do  it :  here  I  am  !  ”  The  whole  march 
was  worthy  such  a  commencement,  profound 
as  intelligence,  irresistible  as  destiny. 

E.  P.  Whipple. 

488.  BRAVERY,  and  Honesty.  The  Prince 
of  Conti,  being  highly  pleased  with  the  intre¬ 
pid  behavior  of  a  grenadier  at  the  siege  of 
Philipsburgh,  threw  him  a  purse,  excusing 
the  smallness  of  the  sum  it  contained,  as 


being  too  poor  a  reward  for  such  courage. 
Next  morning,  the  grenadier  went  to  the 
prince,  with  two  diamond  rings,  and  other 
jewels  of  considerable  value.  “  Sir,”  said  he, 
“  the  gold  I  found  in  your  purse  I  suppose  you 
intended  for  me ;  but  these  I  bring  back  to 
you,  having  no  claim  to  them.”  —  “  You  have 
doubly  deserved  them  by  your  bravery  and  by 
your  honesty,”  said  the  prince :  “  therefore  they 
are  yours.”  Percy 

480.  BRAVERY,  Influence  of.  A  king  of 
Arabia  showing  his  courtiers  a  Damascene 
sword  that  had  been  presented  to  him,  it  was 
the  opinion  of  them  all  that  the  only  fault  it 
had  was  its  being  too  short.  The  king’s  son, 
who  was  present,  observed,  there  was  no 
weapon  too  short  for  a  brave  man,  as  there 
needed  no  more  but  to  advance  one  step  to 
make  it  long  enough. 

400.  BRAVERY,  Mark  of.  An  unlucky  pri¬ 
vate  in  one  of  the  New-York  regiments  was 
wounded  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run ;  and  his 
father  arrived  at  the  hospital  just  as  the  sur¬ 
geon  was  removing  the  ball  from  the  back  of 
his  shoulder.  The  boy  lay  with  his  face 
downward  on  the  pallet.  “  Ah  !  my  poor  son,” 
said  the  father  mournfully,  “  Pm  very  sorry  ; 
but  it’s  a  bad  place  to  be  hit  in,  —  thus  in  the 
back.  The  sufferer  turned  over,  bared  his 
breast,  and  pointing  to  the  opening  above  the 
armpit,  exclaimed,  “  Father,  here’s  where  the 
ball  went  in.” 

49ft.  BRAVERY,  Remarkable.  A  chief  of  the 
Creek  Indians,  having  been  appointed  to  nego¬ 
tiate  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the  citizens  of 
South  Carolina,  and  having  met  the  proper 
authorities  for  that  purpose,  was  desired  by  the 
governor  to  speak  his  mind  freely,  and  with¬ 
out  reserve  ;  for,  as  he  was  among  his  friends, 
he  need  not  be  “  afraid.”  “  I  will,”  said  the 
chief,  “  speak  freely :  I  will  not  be  afraul. 
Why  should  I  be  ajraid  among  my  friends, 
when  I  am  not  afraid  among  my  enemies  V  ” 

492.  BRAVERY,  in  Reproving  Sin.  A  mer¬ 
chant  and  ship-owner  of  New  York  was  stand¬ 
ing  at  the  entrance  of  his  warehouses,  convers¬ 
ing  with  a  gentleman  on  business.  A  pious 
sailor  belonging  to  one  of'  his  vessels  came  to 
the  warehouse  to  enter  it,  but,  observing  that 
the  door  was  occupied,  modestly  stepped  aside, 
not  willing  to  interrupt  the  conversation. 
While  waiting  there,  he  heard  the  name  of 
Jesus  profanely  used  ;  and,  on  turning  to  look, 
he  observed  that  it  was  his  employer  who 
was  speaking.  Instantly  changing  his  posi¬ 
tion,  and  standing  in  front  of  the  gentleman, 
with  his  head  uncovered,  and  his  hat  under 
his  arm,  he  addressed  the  merchant  in  this 
language,  “  Sir,  will  you  excuse  me  if  I 
speak  a  word  to  you  ?  ”  The  gentleman,  rec¬ 
ognizing  him  as  one  of  the  crew  of  his  vessel 
recently  arrived,  and  supposing  he  might  have 
something  to  say  about  the  business  of  the 
ship,  told  him  to  speak  on.  “  You  won’t  be 
offended,  then,  sir,  with  a  poor  ignorant  sailor, 
if  he  tells  you  his  feelings  ?  ”  said  he.  “  Cer¬ 
tainly  not,”  replied  the  merchant.  “  Well, 
then,  sir,”  said  the  sailor,  with  much  feeling, 


TO 


BRu-WTEITV. 


BROTHERHOOD. 


“  will  you  be  so  kind  as  not  to  take  tlie  name 
of  my  blessed  Jesus  in  vain  ?  lie  is  a  good 
Saviour.  He  took  my  feet  out  of  ‘  the  horri¬ 
ble  pit  and  miry  clay,  and  established  my 
goings.’  O  sir  1  don’t,  if  you  please,  take  the 
name  of  my  Master,  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  vain. 
He  is  your  Creator  as  well  as  mine ;  and  he 
has  made  you,  and  preserves  you,  and  is  always 
doing  you  good.”  This  was  said  with  so  much 
earnestness  and  feeling,  that  the  gentleman 
was  quite  touched.  His  eyes  filled  with  tears, 
and  he  said,  “  My  good  fellow,  God  helping 
me,  I  will  never  again  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour,  in  vain.” 
“  Thank  you,  sir,”  said  the  honest  tar ;  and, 
putting  on  his  hat,  he  went  away  to  his  work. 

493.  BRAVERY,  in  Telling  Truth.  “  I  won’t 
tell  a  lie  ;  I  won’t  be  such  a  coward  !  ”  said  a 
fine  little  fellow,  when  he  had  broken  a  little 
statuette  of  his  father’s  in  showing  it  to  his 
playmates,  and  they  were  telling  him  how  he 
could  deceive  his  father,  and  escape  a  scolding. 
He  was  right.  Cowards  tell  lies,  while  brave 
boys  tell  the  truth.  So  was  Charley  Mann 
right,  and  was  rewarded  for  it,  as  the  following 
story  shows.  A  young  offender,  whose  name 
was  Charley  Mann,  smashed  a  large  pane  of 
glass  in  a  drug-store,  and  ran  away  at  first,  for 
he  was  sadly  frightened  ;  but  he  quickly  began 
to  think,  “  What  am  I  running  for?  it  was  an 
accident.  Why  not  turn  about  and  tell  the 
truth  ?  ”  No  sooner  thought  than  done.  Char¬ 
ley  was  a  brave  boy,  he  told  the  whole  truth  ; 
how  the  ball  with  which  he  was  playing  slipped 
out  of  his  hand,  how  frightened  he  was,  how 
sorry',  too,  at  the  mischief  done,  and  how  will¬ 
ing  to  pay,  if  he  had  the  money.  Charley  did 
not  have  the  money  ;  but  to  work  he  went  at 
once,  in  the  very  store  where  he  broke  the 
glass.  It  took  him  a  long  time  to  pay  lor  the 
large  and  expensive  pane  he  had  shattered; 
but,  when  it  was  done,  he  had  endeared  himself 
so  much  to  the  store-keeper  by  his  fidelity  and 
truthfulness,  that  he  would  not  hear  to  his 
going  away  ;  and  Charley  became  his  clerk. 
“  Ah  I  what  a  lucky  day'  it  was  when  I  broke 
that  window  1  ”  he  used  to  say.  “  No,  Char¬ 
ley,”  his  mother  would  respond :  “  what  a 
lucky'  day  if.  was  when  you  were  not  afraid  to 
tell  the  truth  !  ” 

494-497.  BREAD,  upon  the  Waters.  It  is 
said,  that  in  the  hand  of  one  of  the  mummies 
found  in  a  pyramid  was  discovered  a  bulbous 
root  more  than  three  thousand  years  old,  which, 
being  placed  in  the  earth,  grew  and  bloomed  a 
beautiful  flower. 

49-3.  Some  years  since,  a  venerable  man, 
upwards  of  one  hundred  years  old,  was  the 
subject  of  converting  grace  in  America.  The 
cause  of  his  conversion  was  hearing  a  text  of 
Scripture  which  his  pious  mother  bad  taught 
him  in  England  one  hundred  years  before. 

496.  A  certain  man  was  going  from  Nor¬ 
wich  to  New  London  with  a  heavy  loaded 
team.  On  attempting  to  ascend  a  hill  where 
an  Indian  lived,  he  found  that  his  team  could 
not  draw  the  load  up  :  so  he  went  and  asked 
the  Indian  to  help  him  with  his  oxen.  After 


the  load  was  up,  he  inquired  of  the  Indian 
how  much  he  was  to  pay  him.  “  Do  as  much 
for  somebody  else,”  replied  the  Indian.  Some 
time  afterward,  an  Indian  wanted  a  canoe. 
He  went  up  the  Shetucket  River,  and  found  a 
tree,  and  made  him  one  ;  but,  when  he  got  it 
done,  he  could  not  get  it  into  the  river  :  so  he 
went  to  a  man,  and  offered  all  the  money 
he  had  if  he  would  draw  his  canoe  to  the 
water  for  him.  The  man  willingly  did  so ;  and, 
after  the  canoe  was  got  to  the  river,  the  Indian 
offered  his  pay.  “  No  I  ”  said  the  man.  “  Don’t 
you  recollect  having  once  helped  a  man  draw 
his  load  up  the  hill  by  your  house  ?  ”  —  “  Yes.” 
—  “Well,  I  am  the  man  :  so  take  your  canoe 
and  go  home.” 

497.  A  young  man  living  in  New  York  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali¬ 
fornia  was  led  by  the  prevailing  excitement  to 
that  land  of  promise.  There  he  worked  hard 
for  months,  but  with  little  success.  Soon  his 
money  was  gone,  his  clothes  nearly  worn  out ; 
and  he  must  either  starve,  or  find  his  way  back 
to  San  Francisco,  and  get  employment  there. 
He  started  on  foot,  and  slowly  made  his  jour¬ 
ney.  One  afternoon,  he  came  to  the  bank  of 
a  stream  which  must  be  crossed.  A  ferryman 
was  ready  with  a  rowboat.  “  What  is  your 
charge  ?  ”  asked  the  traveller.  “  One  dollar, 
sir.”  —  “Well,  I  shall  have  to  foot  it  up  the 
stream  till  I  can  find  a  crossing-place.”  — 
“  Are  you  hard  up  ?  ”  asked  the  ferryman. 
“  I'm  dead  broke,”  was  the  desponding  reply 
“  Jump  in  :  I’m  not  the  man  to  send  a  fellow 
adrift.  ”  And  with  a  few  vigorous  strokes  the} 
were  soon  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  Herr 
the  boatman  stopped  rowing,  and,  looking 
in  his  face,  asked,  “  Is  your  name  Jones  V  ”  — • 
“  Yes,”  replied  the  other,  with  a  start  at  find¬ 
ing  himself  recognized.  “  Didn’t  your  father 

belong  to  the  church  in -  Street  ?  ”  — 

“  Yes.”  —  “I  thought  so.”  And  with  that  he 
drew  from  his  pocket  a  bag,  and  commenced 
counting  out  gold-pieces.  “  I  have  made  five 
hundred  dollars  by  ferrying  passengers:  here 
are  three  hundred  of  them  for  you.  You  can 
pay  me  when  you  are  flush  ;  or,  if  that  don’t 
happen,  then  all  right.  You  think  I’m  crazy, 
perhaps,”  continued  he,  observing  the  aston¬ 
ished  looks  of  the  traveller ;  “  but  I  was  never 
in  better  senses  in  my  life.  When  I  was  a 
little  boy,  and  my  mother  was  a  poor  widow, 
many  a  time  has  your  father  visited  our  home, 
and,  when  he  had  gone,  somewhere  about  the 
room  we  would  find  money  for  a  barrel  of  flour, 
or  to  pay  the  rent,  when  we  knew  not  before 
where  it  was  to  come  from :  and  as  long  as  I 
live,  if  I  have  only  a  crust,  when  I  find  one  of 
his  sons  in  want  he  shall  get  the  biggest 
half.”  The  loan  was  gratefully  accepted  :  by 
its  aid,  the  traveller  was  able  to  reach  San 
Francisco,  earn  enough  to  repay  his  benefactor, 
and  return  safely  to  his  home. 

American  Agriculturist. 

498.  BROTHERHOOD,  Christian.  A  pious 
man  of  rank  was  in  the  habit  of  associating 
intimately  with  pious  poor  people.  A  worldly 
friend  of  his  rallied  him  on  the  subject  of  his 


BROTHERHOOD. 


BURDEN. 


71 


associates,  and  expressed  his  surprise.  The 
noble  Christian  man  replied,  that,  as  he  could 
hardly  hope  to  enjoy  so  elevated  a  rank  as  they 
in  a  future  world,  he  knew  not  why  he  should 
despise  them  in  the  present. 

499.  BROTHERHOOD,  Countersign  of.  A  Hin¬ 
doo  and  New-Zealander  met  upon  the  deck  of 
a  missionary  ship.  They  had  been  converted 
from  their  heathenism,  and  were  brothers  in 
Christ ;  but  they  could  not  speak  to  each  other. 
They  pointed  to  their  Bibles,  shook  hands, 
smiled  in  one  another’s  faces ;  but  that  was  all. 
At  last  a  happy  thought  occurred  to  the  Hin¬ 
doo.  With  sudden  joy  he  exclaimed,  “  Hal¬ 
lelujah  !  ”  The  New-Zealander,  in  delight, 
cried  out,  “  Amen  !  ”  These  two  words,  not 
found  in  their  own  heathen  tongues,  were  to 
them  the  beginning  of  “  one  language  and  one 
speech.” 

50®.  BROTHERHOOD,  Inconsistencies  of.  I  had 
the  pleasure  to  meet  that  most  interesting  man, 
Rammohun  Roy,  at  breakfast  in  my  own 
house.  I  invited  men  of  various  religious 
opinions  to  meet  him,  and  there  were  about 
thirty  persons  present.  The  conversation  was 
very  lively,  and  well  sustained.  The  Brahmin 
exhibited  wonderful  shrewdness.  “  Ah  !  ”  he 
said,  “  you  say  that  you  are  all  one  in  Christ, 
all  brethren,  and  equal  in  him.  Well,  you  go 
to  the  cathedral  at  Calcutta.  There  you  see  a 
grand  chair  of  crimson  velvet  and  gold  :  that  is 
forthe  Governor-General  of  India.  Then  there 
are  other  chairs  of  crimson  and  gold  :  they  are 
for  the  members  of  council.  And  then  there 
are  seats  lined  with  crimson  :  they  are  for  the 
merchants,  &c.  Then  there  are  the  bare  benches 
for  the  common  people  and  the  poor.  Yet  you 
say  we  are  all  one  in  Christ.  But  if  the  poor 
man  whose  seat  is  there ,  on  that  bare  bench,  — 
if  he  go  and  sit  down  on  the  crimson  velvet 
chair  of  the  governor-general,  they  will  break 
his  head  !  Yet  you  are  all  one  in  Christ  1  ”  Some 
one  was  about  to  expound  this  matter  to  the 
Brahmin,  and  explain  the  impropriety  of  any 
one  taking  the  seat  of  the  representative  of 
majesty.  But  the  thing  was  too  good  for  our 
Quaker  friend,  James  Cropper,  quietly  to  let 
it  go.  He  so  thoroughly  sympathized  with 
the  Brahmin’s  view  of  the  matter,  that  he 
could  not  refrain  from  interposing.  “  Nay, 
nay,”  he  cried,  “  thou  must  not  seek  to  put 
aside  the  force  of  our  friend’s  remark.”  So 
the  Brahmin  and  our  friend  James  had  the 
matter  entirely  to  themselves.  Dr.  Raffles. 

501.  BROTHERHOOD,  African  Rite  of.  Capt. 
Burton,  in  his  work  on  Africa,  tells  us  the 
following  singular  and  beautiful  rite  which  he 
found  among  the  people.  Two  persons  wish 
to  take  upon  themselves  what  they  call  “  The 
Brother  Rite.”  To  do  this,  they  sit  down  face 
to  face,  with  their  legs  crossed,  holding  in  their 
laps  their  implements  of  war.  A  sheep  or  goat 
is  then  killed,  and  its  heart  roasted  and  brought 
to  them,  and  a  half  given  to  each.  One  of 
them  then  takes  a  knife,  and  opens  a  vein  on 
the  left  breast  of  the  other,  over  the  heart ;  and, 
as  the  blood  flows,  he  smears  his  piece  of 
heart  in  the  blood  and  eats  it ;  the  other  doing 


in  the  same  manner  with  him.  Next,  each 
catches  some  of  the  blood  of  the  other,  and 
rubs  it  into  his  own  wound  ;  and  the  rite  is  now 
complete.  This  rite  is  designed  to  signify  that 
henceforth  they  are  halves  or  parts  of  each 
other.  Each,  through  his  own  blood  thus  eaten, 
and  thus  absorbed  by  the  other’s  veins,  is  con¬ 
sidered  as  living  in  and  of  the  other.  Hence¬ 
forth,  should  either  be  in  any  trouble,  the 
other  is  to  feel  “  it  is  myself  that  is  in  trouble,” 
and  thus  do  for  the  other  whatsoever  in  like 
circumstances  he  would  do  for  himself. 

509.  BROTHERS,  Love  of.  A  little  boy  see¬ 
ing  two  nestling  birds  pecking  at  each  other, 
inquired  of  his  elder  brother  what  they  were 
doing.  “  They  are  quarrelling,”  was  the 
answer.  “  No,”  replied  the  child,  “  that  can¬ 
not  be  :  they  are  brothers.” 

503.  BROTHERS,  Selfish.  Little  Anna  lay 
in  bed,  near  a  window.  The  deep  flush  of 
fever  was  on  her  cheeks.  In  the  same  room 
was  her  brother  Robert,  busily  engaged  in 
making  a  ship.  His  poor  sister  could  ill  bear 
the  noise  of  the  hammer;  but  he  worked  on 
as  though  he  did  not  trouble  himself  much 
about  her.  Was  he  not  an  unkind  boy  ? 
“  Do,  please,  dear  Robert,  give  me  a  glass  of 
water  1  my  throat  is  so  dry,  and  my  head 
aches  so  very  much  !”  said  Anna,  in  a  gentle 
voice.  Again  was  the  loud  knocking  of  the 
hammer  heard ;  and  once  more  Anna  begged 
for  a  glass  of  cold  water  ;  when  Robert  called 
out  sharply,  “Wait  a  minute,  Anna:  I  can’t 
fetch  it  yet.”  At  last  he  poured  out  a  glass 
from  a  jug  which  was  warm  with  standing 
where  the  sun  shone  brightly  upon  it.  “  Oh, 
not  that  water,  Robert  1  please  fetch  me  a  lit¬ 
tle  fresh  and  cool  from  the  spring.”  —  “  Don’t 
plague  me  so,  Anna :  you  see  how  busy  I  am. 

I  am  sure  that  this  water  is  quite  good  enough.” 
Knock,  knock,  went  the  hammer  again.  “  Oh. 
my  poor  head  !  ”  said  the  invalid  softly,  as  she 
took  the  glass,  drank  a  little,  and  lay  back  on 
the  pillow.  That  was  the  last  time  that  Anna 
asked  Robert  for  a  proof  of  brotherly  love. 
The  next  day  she  died  ;  and,  as  the  little  coffin 
stood  in  the  room  ready  to  be  carried  to  the 
grave,  no  one  shed  more  bitter  tears  than  the 
little  boy  who  would  rather  have  his  own  self¬ 
ish  way  than  listen  to  the  wishes  of  his  dying 
sister. 

504.  BROTHERS,  Significance  of.  As  the  cir¬ 

cles  made  by  a  stone  cast  into  the  water  multi¬ 
ply  and  enlarge  themselves,  in  like  manner  the 
first  brethren  mentioned  in  Scripture  are  con¬ 
fined  to  one  house  and  bed ;  the  second  ex- 
t.endeth  itself  to  all  of  one  family  or  lineage 
(thus  Christ  and  James  were  brethren  and 
kinsmen)  ;  the  third,  to  the  whole  nation  or 
country  (thus  Peter  and  the  Jews  were  breth¬ 
ren  and  countrymen)  ;  the  fourth  and  last,  to 
all  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  earth,  whether 
spiritually,  as  all  Christians,  or  carnally,  as  all 
men.  Spencer. 

505.  BURDEN,  Clinging  to  the.  A  poor  man 
was  travelling  on  a  hot  day,  carrying  a  heavy 
load  upon  his  back.  A  rich  man  passing  by 
in  his  chariot  took  pity  on  him,  and  invited 


72 


BXJRDEN-. 


BTTSnSHESS. 


him  to  take  a  seat  behind.  Shortly  after, 
turning  round,  the  rich  man  saw  the  pilgrim 
still  oppressed  with  the  load  on  his  back,  and 
asked  him  why  lie  did  not  lay  it  down.  The 
poor  man  said  it  was  enough  that  he  was 
allowed  to  be  himself  in  the  chariot ;  and  he 
could  not  presume  to  ask  more.  “  O  foolish 
man  1  ”  was  the  reply,  “  if  I  am  willing  and 
able  to  carry  you,  am  I  not  able  to  carry  your 
burden  also  ?  ” 

506.  BURDEN,  Legend  of  St,  Christopher’s. 
There  was  once  a  mighty  giant  named  Arpro- 
bus, — a  tall,  broad-shouldered,  powerful  man. 
He  wished  to  offer  his  services  to  some  one 
worthy  of  employing  a  servant  so  capable  and 
strong.  He  desired  for  his  master  one  that 
had  no  superior,  and  feared  no  other  person  in 
the  world.  He  heard  of  a  very  powerful  king, 
and  at  once  travelled  to  his  country,  and 
stood  in  the  hall  of  his  palace,  offering  to  him 
the  great  gilts  of  strength  with  which  he  had 
been  endowed ;  and  was  accepted.  Arprobus 
served  faithfully  the  king,  until,  one  day,  his 
Majesty,  falling  sick,  was  in  mortal  terror  at 
the  thought  of  death.  The  powerful  servant 
asked  him  why  he  feared,  a  great  king  as  he 
was  ?  The  trembling  king  told  his  servant 
that  he  was  afraid  of  the  Devil,  into  whose 
hands  he  might  fall  if  he  died.  “  Then  there 
is  one  stronger  than  you  ?  ”  said  Arprobus,  look¬ 
ing  in  disappointment  upon  the  shivering  mon¬ 
arch.  “  Oh,  yes  1  ”  said  the  king.  “  The  Devil 
is  stronger  than  I  am.”  —  “  Then  you  are  his 
servant,”  said  the  giant,  “  and  I  only  serve  a 
prince  who  has  no  superior.”  Then  Arpro¬ 
bus  entered  into  the  service  of  the  Devil.  It 
was  not  long,  before,  passing  by  a  cross  that 
had  been  erected  by  the  wayside,  Arprobus 
noticed  that  the  Devil  shuddered  as  he  looked 
upon  it.  “  Why  do  you  tremble  ?  ”  asked  he. 
“  What  is  that  ?  ”  —  “  It  is  the  cross.” 

—  “  Sure  !  But  why  does  that  terrify  you  Y  ” 

—  ,lI  fear  Christ,  who  once  hung  upon  it.”  — 
“  Then  he  is  mightier  than  you  ?  ” —  “  Yes  : 
he  is  my  foe  1  ”  —  “  And  you  are,  after  all,  his 
servant,  if  you  fear  him.  Farewell !  I  only 
serve  the  Master  who  has  no  superior.”  Again 
the  giant  wandered  forth,  inquiring  for  Christ, 
whom  even  the  Devil  feared.  Some  one  told 
him,  that,  by  doing  Christ’s  work,  he  would 
become  his  servant,  and  some  time  meet  the 
great  Master  himself^  and  receive  his  approv¬ 
ing  words  and  welcome.  Wherever  Arprobus 
heard  of  a  laborer  that  needed  aid,  a  sufferer 
that  he  could  relieve,  there  he  hurried,  offering 
aid,  and  constantly  calling  upon  the  Master, 
whom  he  had  not  seen,  but  already  began 
to  love,  for  a  vision  of  his  blessed  face. 
Although  he  was  baffled  in  his  great  de¬ 
sire,  Arprobus  never  was  happier.  Under 
the  blessing  of  those  “ready  to  perish,”  his 
great  heart  swelled  with  exceeding  joy,  and 
his  eyes  melted  with  refreshing  tears.  He 
raised  his  cabin  by  a  stream,  over  which  the 
pilgrims  passed  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  re¬ 
mained  there,  assisting  the  faint  and  weary  as 
they  crossed  it.  One  night,  when  a  dreadful 
storm  was  beating  upon  his  roof,  howling 


through  the  forest,  tossing  up  the  waters  of  the 
swift  river  into  ridges  of  foam,  he  heard  a 
child’s  voice  upon  the  banks,  calling  in  touching 
tones,  “  Oh  1  come,  carry  me  over  the  river.” 
He  rose  at  once,  wondering  that  a  child  shou'd 
be  by  the  river-side  at  such  an  hour.  He 
bowed  his  rugged  shoulders,  and  placed  the 
child  carefully  upon  them.  Now  he  entered 
the  dark  waters,  and  pressed  on  towards  the 
farther  shore.  But  what  could  it  mean  ? 
Certainly  he  had  raised  a  child  upon  his  arm ; 
but  a  weight  now  pressed  down  upon  him  like 
a  mountain.  It  bowed  him  to  the  waves.  He 
struggled  with  all  the  force  of  his  mighty 
strength  and  mightier  will.  In  vain  were  his 
efforts.  The  sweat  started  from  every  pore. 
As  he  was  just  ready  to  sink  under  his  burden, 
he  cried  out  in  astonishment  and  in  fear, 
“  Who  art  thou,  wonderful  child  ?  ”  In  that 
moment,  the  child  that  he  bore  seemed  to 
grasp  him  in  his  arms,  and  at  once  placed 
him  upon  the  river-bank.  The  storm  was 
over.  A  glorious  vision  stood  before  him. 
“  I  am  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  faithfully 
served,  unseen :  ‘  inasmuch  as  you  have  done 
it  unto  these  my  servants,  you  have  done  it 
unto  me.’  ”  Down  at  his  feet,  humbled  to  the 
dust,  Arprobus  fell  and  worshipped.  “  No 
longer,”  said  the  Master,  “  shalt  thou  be  called 
Arprobus,  but  Christopheros  (Christ-bearer)  ; 
for  thou  hast  borne  Christ.”  Ever  after,  the 
happy  servant  sought  to  bear,  for  the  Master’s 
sake,  whatever  burden  he  pleased  to  place 
upon  him. 

597.  BUSINESS,  The  Bible  in.  There  was  a 
drummer-boy  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Poto¬ 
mac,  who  loved  Jesus.  He  lost  his  Bible,  whict 
he  regarded  as  a  letter  from  his  beloved  Sa 
viour  to  himself,  and  was  very  fond  of  read 
ing.  He  began  to  make  a  Bible  for  himself 
He  had  formerly  been  a  Sabbath-school  boy, 
and  his  head  was  well  filled  with  choice  Scrip¬ 
ture-texts.  These  texts  he  began  to  write  on 
his  drum,  one  after  another,  until  it  was  written 
all  over.  Uncle  Sam  never  had  such  a  drum 
in  his  army  before.  Yet  I  don’t  suppose 
those  texts  hurt  its  sound  a  bit ;  and  I’m  quite 
sure  that  the  young  drummer  was  none  the 
less  faithful  to  his  duty  for  having  the  word 
of  the  Lord  before  him  when  he  plied  his 
drumsticks,  and  marched  into  the  smoke  of 
battle.  Dr.  Wise. 

508.  BUSINESS,  for  Christ.  Many  years 
ago,  happening  to  be  in  South  Wales,  I  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  Welsh  gentleman.  He 
was  then  a  landed  proprietor,  living  in  his  own 
mansion,  and  in  very  comfortable  circum¬ 
stances.  He  had  been,  before,  carrying  on  an 
extensive  business  in  a  large  town.  By  the 
death  of  a  relative,  he  had  unexpectedly  come 
into  possession  of  this  property.  After  con¬ 
sidering  whether  he  should  retire  from  busi¬ 
ness,  he  made  up  his  mind  he  should  still  con¬ 
tinue  to  carry  it  on,  though  not  for  himself, 
but  for  Christ.  I  could  not  help  being  struck 
with  the  gleesomeness  of  a  holy  mind  which 
lighted  up  his  countenance,  when  he  said,  “  I 
never  knew  before  what  real  happiness  was. 


BXJSnSTKSS. 


BTTSESTESS. 


73 


Formerly  I  wrought  as  a  master  to  earn  a 
livelihood  for  myself ;  but  now  I  am  carrying 
on  the  same  work  as  diligently  as  if  for  my¬ 
self,  and  even  more  so  :  but  it  is  now  for  Christ, 
and  every  half-penny  of  profits  is  handed  over 
to  the  treasury  of  the  Lord ;  and  J  feel  that 
the  smile  of  my  Saviour  rests  upon  me.”  I 
think  that  is  an  example  worthy  of  being  imi¬ 
tated.  Dr.  Duff. 

509.  BUSINESS,  Excuse  of.  Little  Mary  was 
discussing  the  great  hereafter  with  her  mamma, 
when  this  dialogue  ensued:  “Mamma,  will 
you  go  to  heaven  when  you  die  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  1 
hope  so,  my  child.”  —  “  Well,  mamma,  I  hope 
I’ll  go  too,  or  you’ll  be  lonesome.”  —  “  Oh  1  I 
hope  your  papa  will  go  too.”  —  “  Oh,  no !  papa 
can’t  go :  he  can’t  leave  the  store.”  Mamma 
thought  she  had  a  good  rebuke  for  papa,  as 
very  often,  when  asked  to  accompany  her  to 
prayer  -  meetings,  his  reply  is,  “  Can't  leave 
the  store." 

510.  BUSINESS,  failure  in.  A  merchant,  some 

few  years  ago,  failed  in  business.  He  went 
home  in  great  agitation.  “  What  is  the  mat¬ 
ter  ?  ”  asked  his  wife.  “  I  am  ruined ;  I  am 
beggared ;  I  have  lost  my  all !  ”  he  exclaimed, 
pressing  his  hand  upon  liis  forehead.  “  All !  ” 
said  the  wife.  “  No  :  I  am  left.”  “  All  1  papa,” 
said  his  eldest  boy :  “  here  am  I.”  “  And  I 

too,”  said  his  little  girl,  running  up,  and  put¬ 
ting  her  arms  round  his  neck.  “  I’m  not  lost, 

apa,”  repeated  Eddie.  “  And  you  have  your 

ealth  left,”  said  his  wife.  “  And  your  hands 
to  work  with,”  said  his  eldest ;  “  and  I  can 
help  you.”  “  And  your  two  feet,  papa,  to 
carry  you  about,  and  your  two  eyes  to  see  with, 
papa,”  said  little  Eddie.  “  And  you  have 
God’s  promises,”  said  the  grandmother.  “  And 
a  good  God,”  said  his  wife.  “  And  heaven  to 
go  to,”  said  his  little  girl.  “  And  Jesus  who 
came  to  fetch  us  there,”  said  his  eldest.  “  God 
forgive  me  I  ”  said  the  poor  merchant,  bursting 
into  tears.  “I  have  not  lost  myall.  What 
have  I  lost  to  what  I  have  left !  ”  He  took 
comfort,  and  began  the  world  afresh. 

Cameron. 

511.  BUSINESS,  Mastering  One’s.  Two  boys 
were  apprentices  in  a  carpenter’s  shop.  One 
determined  to  make  himself  a  thorough  work¬ 
man  ;  the  other  “  didn’t  care.”  One  read  and 
studied,  and  got  books  that  would  help  him  to 
understand  the  principles  of  his  trade.  He 
spent  his  evenings  at  home,  reading.  The 
other  liked  fun  best.  He  often  went  with 
other  boys  to  have  a  good  time.  “  Come,”  he 
often  said  to  his  shopinate,  “  leave  your  old 
books ;  come  with  us:  What’s  the  use  of  all 
this  reading?”  —  “If  I  waste  these  golden 
moments,”  answered  the  boy,  “  I  shall  lose 
what  I  shall  never  make  up.”  While  the  boys 
were  still  apprentices,  an  offer  of  two  thousand 
dollars  appeared  in  the  newspapers  for  the 
best  plan  for  a  state  house,  to  be  built  in  one 
of  the  Eastern  States.  The  studious  boy  saw 
the  advertisement,  and  determined  to  try  for  it. 
After  a  careful  study,  he  drew  out  his  plans 
and  sent  them  to  the  committee.  We  suppose 
he  did  not  really  expect  to  gain  the  prize ; 


but  still  he  thought,  “  There  is  nothing  like 
trying.”  In  about  a  week  afterwards,  a  gentle¬ 
man  arrived  at  the  carpenter’s  shop,  and  in¬ 
quired  if  an  architect  by  the  name  of  Wash¬ 
ington  Wilberforee  lived  there.  “  No,”  said, 
the  carpenter,  “  no  architect ;  but  I’ve  got  an 
apprentice  by  that  name.”  —  “Let’s  see  him,” 
said  the  gentleman.  The  young  man  was 
summoned,  and  informed  that  his  plan  had  been 
accepted,  and  that  the  two  thousand  dollars 
were  his.  The  gentleman  then  said  that  the  boy 
must  put  up  the  building;  and  his  employer 
was  so  proud  of  his  success,  that  he  willingly 
gave  him  his  time  and  let  him  go.  The  studi¬ 
ous  young  carpenter  became  one  of  the  first 
architects  in  our  country.  He  made  a  fortune, 
and  stands  high  in  the  estimation  of  everybody ; 
while  his  fellow-apprentice  can  hardly  earn 
food  for  himself  and  family  by  his  daily  labor. 

512.  BUSINESS,  Religion  for.  The  earnest 
spirit  of  business  (and  men  must  be  earnest,  or 
they  will  do  nothing),  —  the  earnest  spirit  of 
business  must  be  met  and  controlled,  must 
be  suffused  and  sanctified,  by  a  still  more 
earnest  spirit  of  religion.  A  hollow  and  heart¬ 
less  piety  can  never  guide  such  a  business 
spirit  as  Haie  possessed,  and  such  as,  in  these 
days  especially,  all  successful  must  possess. 
Strength  must  be  combined  with  strength  ;  ear¬ 
nestness  must  control  earnestness  ;  zeal  must 
pierce  into,  and  exalt  and  purify  zeal ;  faith  in 
eternal  things,  in  the  soul,  in  God,  in  Christ, 
in  the  Spirit,  in  heaven,  must  be  clear,  eagle- 
eyed,  seeing  at  a  distance,  looking  through 
clouds  and  storm;  love  to  God  must  be  a 
blazing  fire  like  that  on  Elijah’s  altar,  which 
licked  up  the  water,  dust,  and  stones  that 
filled  the  trenches.  Say  not  such  mighty 
faith,  such  fervent  love,  are  impossible  in  this 
world  of  bustle,  toil,  and  care ;  for  Hale  has 
demonstrated  that  the  thing  was  practicable ; 
and  so  has  William  Wilberforee  ;  and  so  has 
Mr.  Hardcastle  the  merchant ;  and  so  has 
Thomas  Fowell  Buxton  the  brewer;  and  so 
has  Joseph  John  Gurney  the  banker,  and 
many  more.  Amidst  the  heats  of  secular  em¬ 
ployments,  they  cooled  their  burning  brows Ty 
opening  windows  that  looked  into  eternity, 
and  let  in  breezes  that  came  blowing  from  the 
land  where  angels  dwell.  And,  when  their 
souls’  chariot-wheels  were  ready  to  catch  fire 
by  the  friction  of  their  secular  activity,  faith 
in  other  things,  and  love  to  other  things,  was 
like  cold  water  dropping  down  to  prevent  the 
flames.  The  world  did  not  carry  them  away  ; 
did  not  overpower  and  conquer  and  bum 
them  up :  they  remained,  after  all,  masters 
of  the  world  and  of  themselves,  through  the 
constant  faith  they  had,  that  they  were  the 
servants  of  God  and  of  Christ.  J.  Stourjhton. 

513.  BUSINESS,  Religion  in.  It  was  a  beau¬ 
tiful  truth  which  our  forefathers  have  sym¬ 
bolized,  when,  in  most  of  our  old  market- 
towns,  they  have  erected  a  market-cross,  as  if 
to  teach  the  buyers  and  sellers  to  rule  in  their 
actions,  and  sanctify  their  gains,  by  the  re¬ 
membrance  of  the  cross.  The  Israelites  were 
taught  the  same  in  their  encampment :  ever) 


74 


BTTSY-BODIIES. 


CALLING. 


part  of  the  camp  looked  towards  tlie  tabernacle. 
So  the  Chinese,  though  in  superstition  and 
ignorance,  set  up  their  idols  in  their  shops. 
“  Prayer  and  provender  hinder  no  man’s  jour¬ 
ney.  There  is  no  time  lost  in  sharpening  the 
scythe.”  Bowes. 

514.  BUST-BODIES,  Description  of.  There  are 
some  whose  restless,  insinuating,  searching 
humor  will  never  suffer  them  to  be  quiet, 
unless  they  dive  into  the  concerns  of  all  about 
them ;  they  are  always  outward  bound,  but 
homeward  never  ;  they  are  perpetually  looking 
about  them,  but  never  within  them ;  they  can 
hardly  relish  or  digest  what  they  eat  at  their 
own  table,  unless  they  know  what,  and  how 
much,  is  served  up  to  another  man’s ;  they  can¬ 
not  sleep  quietly  themselves  unless  they  know 
when  their  neighbor  rises,  and  goes  to  bed ; 
they  must  know  who  visits  him,  and  who  is 
visited  by  him  ;  what  company  he  keeps ;  what 
revenues  he  has,  and  what  lie  spends ;  how 
much  he  owes,  and  how  much  is  owed  to  him. 

Dr.  South. 

515.  BUSY-BODIES,  Repentance  of.  In  private 

life  I  never  knew  any  one  interfere  with  other 
people’s  disputes,  but  that  he  heartily  repented 
of  it.  Lord  Carlisle. 

51(5.  BUST-BODY,  Description  of  the,  His 
tongue,  like  the  tail  of  Samson’s  foxes,  carries 
firebrands,  and  is  enough  to  set  the  whole  field 
of  the  world  on  a  flame.  Himself  begins  table- 
talk  of  his  neighbor  at  another’s  board,  to 
whom  he  bears  the  first  news,  and  adjures  him 
to  conceal  the  reporter,  whose  choleric  answer 
he  returns  to  his  first  host,  enlarged  with  a 
second  edition  :  so,  as  it  used  to  be  done  in  the 
fight  of  unwilling  mastiffs,  he  claps  each  on 
the  side  apart,  and  provokes  them  to  an  eager 
conflict.  Bp.  Hall. 

517.  BUSY-BODY,  Mischief  of  the.  He  is  a 

treacherous  supplanter  and  underminer  of  the 
peace  of  all  families  and  societies ;  this  being 
a  maxim  of  an  unfailing  truth,  that  nobody 
ever  prys  into  another  man’s  concerns  but  with 
a  design  to  do,  or  to  be  able  to  do,  him  a  mis¬ 
chief.  Dr.  South. 

518.  CALAMITIES,  Persons  under.  The  wil¬ 

low,  which  bends  to  the  tempest,  often  escapes 
better  than  the  oak,  which  resists  it ;  and  so 
in  great  calamities  it  sometimes  happens  that 
light  and  frivolous  spirits  recover  their  elas¬ 
ticity  and  presence  of  mind  sooner  than  those 
of  a  loftier  character.  Sir  W.  Scott. 

519.  CALAMITY,  Extent  of.  Like  as  light¬ 

nings  do  smite  whatsoever  they  find  in  the 
earth  except  the  laurel-tree,  as  Pliny  affirmeth, 
even  so  great  calamity  is  able  to  take  away 
and  to  overthrow  whatsoever  is  in  man,  or  that 
he  hath,  save  only  constant  virtue  ;  for  con¬ 
stant  virtue  is  a  goodly  laurel-tree,  ever 
flourishing  and  green,  and  will  not  be  con¬ 
sumed,  burned  up,  nor  destroyed  with  any 
fire  that  breaketh  out  of  the  clouds,  be  it  never 
so  fierce,  nor  with  any  violence  of  torments 
and  troubles  whatsoever.  Cawdray. 

520.  CALAMITY,  Resistless.  Nugas,  the 
Scythian  king,  despising  the  rich  presents  and 
ornaments  that  were  sent  unto  him  by  the 


Emperor  of  Constantinople,  asked  him  that 
brought  them  if  these  things  could  drive  away 
sorrow,  disease,  or  death.  Such  are  all  the 
riches  and  glories  of  this  world  :  they  cannot 
prevent  the  least  calamity,  nor  make  up  the 
want  of  the  least  mercy.  It  is  not  the  crown 
of  gold  that  can  cure  the  headache,  nor  the 
gilded  sceptre  that  can  stay  the  shaking  hand, 
nor  the  honorable  garter  that  can  ease  the 
gout,  nor  the  necklace  of  pearl  that  can  take 
away  the  pain  of  the  teeth  ;  and  a  bag  of  gold 
will  form  but  a  hard  pillow  to  rest  on.  Miser¬ 
able  comforters  are  they  all ;  only  the  useful 
riches  of  grace  give  ease  and  refreshment  under 
all  pains  and  torments  whatsoever.  Spencer. 

521.  CALAMITY,  Times  of.  Times  of  general 

calamity  and  confusion  have  ever  been  produc¬ 
tive  of  the  greatest  minds.  The  purest  ore  is 
produced  from  the  hottest  furnace,  and  the 
brightest  thunderbolt  is  elicited  from  the  dark¬ 
est  storm.  C.  Colton. 

522.  CALLING,  Abiding  in  our.  He  which 

meddletli  with  that  he  hath  not  to  do  is  com¬ 
pared  to  one  that  catcheth  a  dog  by  the  ears, 
and  dare  neither  hold  him  still  nor  let  him  go  : 
so  he  can  neither  go  forward  for  want  of  skill, 
nor  backward  for  shame.  Henry  Smith. 

523.  CALLING,  The  Christian’s.  Like  as  if 

the  queen,  to  show  her  puissance  against  a 
foreign  power,  should  call  forth  some  of  her 
subjects  who  are  most  beholden  to  her  to  com¬ 
bat  in  her  presence  for  her  honor,  they  would, 
no  doubt,  strain  all  their  strength  in  this  ser¬ 
vice,  yea,  and  their  lives  too :  even  so,  much 
more  ought  we  that  are  Christians  to  perform 
this  duty  to  our  God  and  Prince,  who  hath 
called  us  out  by  name  to  fight  for  his  honor,  to 
be  a  chosen  and  peculiar  people  unto  himself, 
to  stand  on  his  posts,  to  show  forth  his  virtues, 
and  to  be  zealous  of  good  works  ;  yea,  and,  that 
we  might  the  better  perform  this  service,  he 
hath  furnished  us  with  his  own  armor  and 
weapons,  yea,  and  his  own  holy  hand  is  with 
us  too,  though  all  men  see  it  not :  therefore 
we  must  endeavor  to  do  valiantly,  and  to  do 
our  best,  to  answer  the  expectation  of  our 
heavenly  King  and  Prince.  Cawdray. 

524.  CALLING,  Effectual.  God  draws  his 
people,  not  with  force,  as  mere  machines,  but 
“  with  the  cords  of  a  man  and  with  the  bands 
of  love.”  The  cubject  may  be  best  un¬ 
folded  by  a  familiar  illustration.  How  was  it 
that  Jacob  was  drawn  into  Egypt  ?  He  was 
made  to  feel  the  pressure  of  a  grievous  famine ; 
he  was  informed  that  there  was  plenty  of  corn 
in  Egypt,  and  that  his  dearly-beloved  Joseph 
was  the  lord  of  all  that  land,  and  that  he  dis¬ 
posed  of  the  good  things  to  whomsoever  he 
would.  He  was  told,  moreover,  that  Joseph 
had  expressly  invited  him,  and  had  sent  wag¬ 
ons  for  the  conveyance  of  his  family,  together 
with  abundant  provisions  for  the  way  ;  and, 
finally,  he  was  assured,  that,  at  the  end  of  this 
journey,  all  the  good  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
should  be  his.  Did  he  need,  after  this,  to  have 
a  chain  fastened  round  him  to  be  dragged  into 
Egypt  ?  No :  all  that  he  needed  was  faith  to 
believe  the  tidings ;  and,  when  once  he  was  per- 


(~!  A  T  ,T  .TN~  (T-. 


CAPACITY. 


75 


suaded  of  the  truth  of  these  things,  he  was 
willing  of  himself  to  go  into  that  good  land. 
Thus  God  draws  sinners.  He  causes  them  to 
feel  their  need  of  mercy ;  he  inlorms  them 
that  Jesus  Christ  has  all  heaven  at  his  dis¬ 
posal  ;  that  he  has  sent  to  invite  them,  assur¬ 
ing  them  of  all  that  is  needful  by  the  way,  and 
all  the  glory  of  heaven  at  the  end.  Thus  a 
thorough  belief  of  these  truths  bends  the  most 
stubborn  heart,  and  overcomes  the  most  reluc¬ 
tant  mind.  Ret:.  C.  Simeon. 

525.  CALLING,  and  Election.  Noah  preached 
the  coming  flood  to  the  old  world  for  a  hundred 
years  ;  but  only  eight  souls  were  saved  thereby. 
To  the  cities  of  the  plain,  Lot  preached ;  but 
only  three  souls  were  chosen  from  them.  Six 
hundred  thousand  men,  besides  women  and 
children,  passed  through  the  Red  Sea;  but 
only  two  entered  the  Promised  Land.  Gideon 
went  to  fight  the  Midianites  with  thirty-two 
thousand  men ;  but  only  three  hundred  were 
allowed  to  participate  in  the  victory.  These 
are  types  of  the  many  “  called,  and  few  chosen.” 

520.  CALLING,  Inefficiency  in.  As  the  ostrich 
hath  wings,  and  flieth  not :  so  some  men  have 
a  calling,  but  they  answer  it  not ;  they  have 
words,  but  they  work  not.  Caivdray. 

527.  CALLINGS,  Mistake  in.  One  man,  per¬ 
haps,  proves  miserable  in  the  study  of  the  law, 
who  might  have  flourished  in  that  of  phys¬ 
ics  or  divinity.  Another  runs  his  head  against 
the  pulpit,  who  might  have  been  very  servicea¬ 
ble  to  his  country  at  the  plough.  And  a  third 
proves  a  very  dtdl  and  heavy  philosopher,  who 
possibly  would  have  made  a  good  mechanic, 
and  have  done  well  enough  at  the  useful  phil¬ 
osophy  of  the  spade  or  the  anvil.  Dr.  South. 

528.  CALUMNY,  Defeating.  1.  Despise  it. 
To  seem  disturbed  at  it  is  the  way  to  make  it 
believed  ;  and  stabbing  your  defamer  will  not 
prove  you  innocent.  2.  Live  an  exemplary 
life,  and  then  your  general  good  character  will 
overpower  it.  3.  Speak  tenderly  of  every  one, 
even  of  your  defamer,  and,  by  so  doing,  you 
will  show  the  world  that  you  are  innocent. 

529.  CALUMNY,  Description  of.  Apelles  paint¬ 

ed  her  thus :  There  sits  a  man  with  great  and 
open  ears,  inviting  Calumny,  with  his  hand 
held  out,  to  come  to  him ;  and  two  women, 
Ignorance  and  Suspicion,  stand  near  him. 
Calumny  breaks  out  in  a  fury ;  her  coun¬ 
tenance  is  comely  and  beautiful,  her  eyes 
sparkle  like  fire,  and  her  face  is  inflamed  with 
auger ;  she  holds  a  lighted  torch  in  her  left 
hand,  and  with  her  right  twists  a  young  man’s 
neck,  who  holds  up  his  hands  in  prayer  to  the 
gods.  Before  her  goes  Envy,  pale  and  nasty  ; 
on  her  side  are  Fraud  and  Conspiracy ;  be¬ 
hind  her  follows  Repentance,  clad  in  mourn¬ 
ing,  and  her  clothes  torn,  with  her  head  turned 
backwards,  as  if  she  looked  for  Truth,  who 
comes  slowly  after.  Andrew  Tooke. 

530.  CALUMNY,  Evils  of.  It  is  like  the 
Greek  fire  used  in  ancient  warfare,  which  burnt 
unquenched  beneath  the  water  ;  or  like  the 
weeds,  which,  when  you  have  extirpated  them 
In  one  place,  are  sprouting  forth  vigorously  in 
another  spot,  at  the  distance  of  many  hundred 


|  yards ;  or,  to  use  the  metaphor  of  St.  James, 
it  is  like  the  wheel  which  catches  fire  as  it 
goes,  and  burns  with  fiercer  conflagration  as 
its  own  speed  increases :  “  It  sets  on  fire  the 
whole  course  of  nature  ”  (literally  the  wheel 
of  nature).  F.  W.  Robertson. 

531.  CALUMNY,  Improvement  of.  “If  any  one 
speaks  ill  of  thee,”  said  Epictetus,  “  consider 
whether  he  hath  truth  on  his  side,  and,  if  so, 
reform  thyselfj  that  his  censures  may  not  affect 
thee.”  When  Anaximander  was  told  that  the 
very  boys  laughed  at  his  singing,  “  Ah  1  ”  said 
he,  “  then  I  must  learn  to  sing  better.”  Plato, 
being  told  that  he  had  many  enemies  who 
spoke  ill  of  him,  said,  “  It  is  no  matter :  I  shall 
live  so  that  none  will  believe  them.”  Hearing 
at  another  time  that  an  intimate  friend  of  his 
had  spoken  detractingly  of  him,  he  said,  “  I 
am  sure  he  would  not  do  it  if  he  had  not  some 
reason  for  it.” 

532.  CALVINISM,  Fusion  of.  Calvinism  and 

Arminianism,  regarded  as  theological  systems, 
may  be  compared  to  the  thin,  empty,  cres- 
cented  forms  of  the  old  and  new  moon,  butting 
at  each  other  .with  their  sharp-pointed  horns 
from  the  opposite  sides  of  a  darkened  disc. 
Scripture  does  not  alter  the  position  of  these 
two  belligerents ;  but,  by  illuminating  the  whole 
intervening  space,  it  fuses  both  into  one  glori¬ 
ous  orb  of  holy  light.  J.  E.  Gordon. 

533.  CALVINISM,  Using.  John  Newton,  when 
asked,  “  Are  you  a  Calvinist  ?  ”  replied,  “  Why, 
sir,  I  am  more  of  a  Calvinist  than  any  thing 
else;  but  I  use  my  Calvinism  in  my  writings 
and  my  preaching  as  I  do  this  piece  of  sugar 
(taking  a  lump,  and  putting  it  into  his  teacup 
and  stirring  it).  I  do  not  give  it  alone  and 
whole,  but  mixed  and  diluted.”  And  at 
another  time,  —  “I  hope  that  I  am,  upon  the 
whole,  a  scriptural  preacher;  for  I  find  I  am 
considered  as  an  Arminian  among  the  Calvin¬ 
ists,  and  as  a  Calvinist  among  the  strenuous 
Arminians.” 

531.  CAPACITY,  Dormant.  A  jar  may  be 
charged  with  electricity,  and  capable,  in  cer¬ 
tain  circumstances,  of  giving  forth  light  and 
heat ;  yet,  if  it  remain  isolated,  all  is  dull  and 
dark  and  silent.  You  cannot  distinguish  that 
charged,  susceptible  vessel  from  another  of  simi¬ 
lar  shape  and  size,  that  is  not  so  charged.  When 
a  certain  sharp  point  is  brought  near  the  suscep¬ 
tible  vessel,  sparks  of  living  light  are  emitted ; 
whereas,  though  the  same  sharp  point  is  brought 
near  the  other  vessel,  all  will  remain  dark  and 
dead  as  before.  Thus  there  is  in  a  human  spirit, 
a  susceptibility,  and  a  capacity,  which  lies  dor¬ 
mant,  indeed,  as  long  as  man  is  left  to  himself, 
but  which  leaps  into  life  as  soon  as  the  word  of 
God  is  pointed  to  the  heart.  Arnot. 

535.  CAPACITY,  Purchasing  a.  It  is  said  that 
the  wife  of  a  petty  official  in  the  city  of  New 
York  called  upon  her  daughter’s  teacher  to 
inquire  what  progress  she  was  making  in  her 
studies.  He  reported  her  doing  as  well  as 
could  be  expected,  and  only  wanting  a  capa¬ 
city.  The  mother  said  he  should  have  in¬ 
formed  them  before,  as  her  father  was  able  to 
buy  her  one. 


76 


C^JPTAXNT. 


CLARE. 


536.  CAPTAIN,  Christ  our.  It  is  related,  that, 

in  one  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington’s  battles,  a 
portion  of  the  army  was  giving  way  under 
the  charge  of  the  enemy,  when  he  rode  into 
the  midst  of  them.  A  soldier  called  out  in 
ecstasy,  “  There’s  the  duke  —  God  bless  him  ! 
I’d  rather  see  his  face  than  a  whole  brigade.” 
And  these  words,  turning  all  eyes  to  their  chief, 
so  re-assured  his  comrades  that  they  repulsed 
the  foe ;  for  he  is  beside  us,  they  felt,  who  was 
never  defeated  yet,  and  will  not  be  defeated 
now.  A  military  friend  with  whom  I  con¬ 
versed  on  this  subject  said,  that,  though  he  had 
never  heard  the  anecdote,  he  could  well  con¬ 
ceive  it  to  be  true :  the  presence  of  that  dis¬ 
tinguished  general,  he  added,  was  at  any  time 
worth  five  thousand  men.  Tuit. 

537.  CARDS,  Asking  a  Blessing  on.  Rev.  W. 
Roinaine  being  solicited  to  play  at  cards  made 
no  objection,  and,  when  they  were  produced 
said,  “  Let  us  ask  the  blessing  of  God.” 
“  Ask  the  blessing  of  God  at  a  game  of  cards  !  ” 
“  exclaimed  the  lady.  “  I  never  heard  of 
such  a  thing.”  Mr.  llonmine  replied,  “  Ought 
we  to  engage  in  any  thing  on  which  we  can¬ 
not  ask  his  blessing  ?  ”  This  ended  the  game. 

538.  CARDS,  Best  Use  o£  A  young  man 
who  had  just  learned  to  play  cards  was  so 
elated  with  his  first  success,  that  he  went  out 
and  bought  a  pack.  He  called,  on  his  way 
home,  and  showed  them  to  an  old  player,  who 
had  spent  the  best  part  of  his  life  in  this 
senseless  employment.  He  fingered  them 
over  familiarly  for  a  moment,  and  then  re¬ 
turned  them,  saying,  “  You  had  better  go 
home  and  burn  them.”  The  young  man  was 
amazed  at  such  advice  from  such  a  source,  and 
it  set  him  to  thinking  seriously.  Surely  if 
any  one  was  competent  to  judge  of  the  worth¬ 
lessness  of  such  pursuits,  he  was;  and  his 
opinion  made  so  deep  an  impression  upon  the 
mind  of  the  youth,  that  he  never  played  again. 

539.  CARE,  Absorption  in.  We  keep  our¬ 
selves  in  such  a  continual  hurry  and  crowd 
of  cares,  thoughts,  and  employments  about  the 
things  of  the  body,  that  we  can  find  little  time 
to  be  alone,  communing  with  our  own  hearts 
about  our  great  concernments  in  eternity.  It 
is  with  many  of  us  as  it  was  with  Archimedes, 
who  was  so  intent  upon  drawing  his  mathe¬ 
matical  schemes,  that  though  all  the  city  was 
in  alarm,  the  enemy  had  taken  it  by  storm, 
the  streets  filled  with  dead  bodies,  the  soldiers 
came  into  his  particular  house,  nay,  entered 
his  very  study,  and  plucked  him  by  the  sleeve, 
before  he  took  any  notice  of  it.  Even  so, 
many  men’s  hearts  are  so  profoundly  immersed 
and  drowned  in  earthly  cares,  thoughts,  pro¬ 
jects,  or  pleasures,  that  death  must  come  to 
their  very  houses,  yea,  and  pull  them  by  the 
sleeve,  and  tell  them  its  errand,  before  they 
will  begin  to  awake,  and  come  to  a  serious 
consideration  of  things  more  important. 

Flavel. 

540.  CARE,  Brevities.  Never  trouble  your¬ 
self  with  trifles,  and  soon  all  trouble  will 
appear  a  trifle.  Never  trouble  yourself  with 
trouble,  till  trouble  troubles  you.  Alexander, 


after  he  had  conquered  the  world,  was  greatly 
troubled  because  he  could  not  make  the  ivy 
grow  in  his  gardens  at  Babylon. 

541.  CARE,  for  Souls :  Legend  of  St.  John. 
When  on  a  visit  to  a  city  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Ephesus,  he  commended  to  the  care  of  the 
bishop  a  young  man  of  fine  stature,  graceful 
countenance,  and  ardent  mind,  as  suited  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  The  bishop  neg¬ 
lected  his  charge.  The  young  man  became 
idle  and  dissolute,  and  was  at  length  prevailed 
on  to  join  a  band  of  robbers,  such  as  com¬ 
monly  had  their  holds  in  the  neighborhood 
of  ancient  Greek  cities.  He  soon  became 
their  captain,  and  attained  to  eminence  in 
crime.  Long  after,  John  entered  the  city 
again,  and  inquired  for  the  young  man. 
“  He  is  dead,”  said  the  bishop,  “  dead  to  God.” 
Having  ascertained  the  particulars,  the  apos¬ 
tle  exclaimed,  “  I  left  a  fine  keeper  of  a  bro¬ 
ther’s  soul  1  ”  then,  mounting  a  horse,  he  rode 
into  the  country,  and  was  taken  prisoner. 
He  attempted  not  to  flee,  but  said,  “  For 
this  purpose  am  I  come  :  conduct  me  to  your 
captain.”  He  entered  the  presence  of  the 
armed  bandit,  who,  recognizing  the  apostle, 
attempted  to  escape.  “  Why  dost  thou  fly, 
my  son,”  said  he,  “  from  thy  father,  —  thy 
defenceless,  aged  father?  Fear  not :  thou  still 
hast  hopes  oif  life.  I  will  pray  to  Christ  for 
thee.  I  will  suffer  death  for  thee.  I  will 
give  my  life  for  thine.  Believe  that  Christ  hath 
sent  me.”  The  man  was  subdued ;  fell  into 
the  apostle’s  arms ;  prayed  with  many  tears ; 
became  perfectly  reformed  ;  and  was  restored 
to  the  communion  of  the  Church. 

542.  CARE,  Universal.  Standing  upon 

Ramsgate  Pier,  we  view  the  little  boat  heaving 
with  the  least  ripple,  and  the  huge  ship  rest¬ 
ing  unmoved  in  its  great  strength,  as  if  it 
might  defy  the  ocean.  Who  would  compare 
the  two  ?  Yet  in  one  respect  both  are 
alike :  they  are  both  upon  the  waters,  both  upon 
the  same  tempestuous  element,  —  the  same  un¬ 
resting,  unsparing,  treacherous  waves.  Thus 
is  it  with  all  ranks  of  men.  The  rich  and 
poor,  the  prince  and  peasant,  are  all  upon 
Care’s  broad  sea  ;  and  there  are  times  when 
the  humble  bark,  safely  moored  in  harbor, 
because  of  its  frailty,  escapes  the  storm,  when 
the  big  ship  that  goes  forth  in  its  strength  is 
overwhelmed  and  wrecked.  Bowes. 

543.  CARE,  Wonderful.  When  we  think  of 
the  labor  required  to  rear  the  few  that  are  in 
our  households,  —  the  weariness,  the  anxiety, 
the  burden  of  life,  —  how  wonderful  seems 
God’s  work  1  for  he  carries  heaven  and  earth, 
and  all  realms,  in  his  bosom.  Many  think  that 
God  takes  no  thought  for  any  thing  less  than 
a  star  or  a  mountain,  and  is  unmindful  of  the 
little  things  of  life ;  but,  when  I  go  abroad,  the 
first  thing  which  I  see  is  the  grass  beneath  my 
feet,  and,  nestling  in  that,  flowers  smaller  yet, 
and,  lower  still,  the  mosses  with  their  incon¬ 
spicuous  blooms,  which  beneath  the  micro¬ 
scope  glow  with  beauty.  And  if  God  so 
cares  for  “  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day 
is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven/' 


GAdRELESSISTESS. 


CASTE. 


77 


shall  he  not  much  more  care  for  the  minutest 
things  of  your  life,  “  O  ye  of  little  faith  ”  ? 

Beecher. 

544.  CARELESSNESS,  Wicked.  Socrates  in 
his  time  wondered,  when  he  observed  statuaries, 
how  careful  they  were,  and  how  industrious, 
to  make  stones  like  men,  and  men  in  the  mean 
time  turning  themselves  into  very  blocks  and 
stones.  The  case  is  ours  :  men  walk  not  as 
men  that  have  souls  to  be  saved.  Many  walk 
as  if  they  had  nothing  but  bellies  to  fill,  and 
backs  to  clothe,  fancies  to  be  tickled  with 
vanity,  eyes  and  ears  to  look  after  pleasure, 
brains  to  entertain  empty  notions,  and  tongues 
to  utter  them  :  as  for  their  souls,  they  serve 
them  to  little  other  purpose  than  as  salt  to 
keep  their  bodies  from  stinking.  Spencer. 

545.  CARES,  Advantage  of.  The  cares  and 

infelicities  of  life,  which  are  spoken  of  as 
“  hinderances  to  grace,”  may  be  hinderances ; 
but  they  are  the  only  helps  it  has  in  this  world. 
The  voice  of  provocation  is  the  voice  of  God 
calling  us  to  the  practice  of  patience.  A  man 
in  old  age  is  like  a  sword  in  a  shop-window. 
Men  that  look  upon  the  perfect  blade  do  not 
imagine  the  process  by  which  it  was  com¬ 
pleted.  Man  is  a  sword.  Daily  life  is  the 
workshop,  and  God  is  the  artificer,  and  those 
cares  which  beat  upon  the  anvil,  and  file  the 
edge,  and  eat  in,  acid-like,  the  inscription 
upon  his  hilt,  —  these  are  the  very  things  that 
fashion  the  man.  Beecher. 

546.  CARES,  Burden  of.  Sometimes  I  com¬ 

pare  the  troubles  we  have  to  undergo  in  the 
course  of  a  year  to  a  great  bundle  of  lagots, 
far  too  large  for  us  to  lift.  But  God  does  not 
require  us  to  carry  the  whole  at  once:  he 
mercifully  unties  the  bundle,  and  gives  us,  first 
one  stick,  which  we  are  to  carry  to-day  ;  and 
then  another,  which  we  are  to  carry  to-mor¬ 
row  ;  and  so  on.  This  we  might  easily  man¬ 
age  if  we  would  only  take  the  burden 
appointed  for  each  day ;  but  we  choose  to 
increase  our  trouble  by  carrying  yesterday’s 
stick  over  again  to-day,  and  adding  to-mor¬ 
row’s  burden  to  our  load  before  we  are  re¬ 
quired  to  bear  it.  John  Newton. 

54?'.  CARES,  Escape  from.  Dust,  by  its  own 
nature,  can  rise  only  so  far  above  the  road  ; 
anil  birds  which  fly  higher  never  have  it  upon 
their  wings.  So  the  heart  that  knows  how  to 
fly  high  enough  escapes  those  little  cares  and 
vexations  which  brood  upon  the  earth,  but 
cannot  rise  above  it  into  that  purer  air. 

Beecher. 

548.  CARES,  Every-day.  The  every-day 
cares  and  duties  of  life,  which  men  call  drudg¬ 
ery,  are  the  weights  and  counterpoises  of 
the  clock  of  time,  giving  its  pendulum  a  true 
vibration,  and  its  hands  a  regular  motion; 
and,  when  they  cease  to  hang  upon  the  wheels, 
the  pendulum  no  longer  swings,  the  hands  no 
longer  move,  the  clock  stands  still. 

Lonyfellow. 

549.  CARES,  Habit  of.  As  the  sea  that  the 
wind  hath  lain  sore  upon  is  yet  tossed  and 
troubled  after  the  wind  is  laid,  and  the  tempest 
gone ;  even  so  a  man’s  mind  lately  come  out 


of  the  business  and  cares  of  this  world  still 
casteth  and  studieth  the  same  things,  and 
panteth  after  them,  and  cannot  after  this  come 
straight  to  itself,  and  so  meditate  on  and 
exercise  in  spiritual  matters.  Cawdray. 

550.  CARES,  Hurtful.  As  a  clock  can  never 

stand  s:ill  from  running,  so  long  as  the  weights 
and  plummets  do  hang  thereat ;  even  so  a 
worldly  man,  having  infinite  cares,  cogitations, 
and  anxieties  hanging  on  his  mind,  can  never 
have  rest  or  quiet,  day  or  night,  but  is  enforced 
to  be  working  his  brains  when  other  men 
sleep,  to  compass  those  trifles  wherein  he  is 
encumbered.  Cawdray. 

551.  CARES,  Love  of,  Men  do  not  avail 

themselves  of  the  riches  of  God’s  grace.  They 
love  to  nurse  their  cares,  and  seem  as  uneasy 
without  some  fret,  as  an  old  friar  would  be 
without  his  hair  girdle.  They  are  commanded 
to  cast  their  cares  upon  the  Lord  ;  but,  even 
when  they  attempt  it,  they  do  not  fail  to  catch 
them  up  again,  and  think  it  meritorious  to 
walk  burdened.  They  take  God’s  ticket  to 
heaven,  and  then  put  their  baggage  on  their 
shoulders,  and  tramp,  tramp  the  whole  way 
there  afoot.  Beecher. 

5 52.  CARES,  Magnifying.  One  mild  winter 
day,  some  boys  had  made  a  snowball,  and  rolled 
it  along  until  it  had  grown  too  large  and  heavy 
for  them  to  move.  “  Here,”  said  Gotthold,  “  we 
have  an  agreeable  emblem  of  human  cares. 
These  are  often  little  and  insignificant;  but 
we  magnify  them,  by  impatience  and  unbelief, 
till  they  become  greater  than  we  can  bear. 
Many  a  one  keeps,  night  and  day,  revolving 
his  trouble  in  his  mind  to  no  better  purpose 
than  these  boys.  All  they  accomplish  by  their 
pains  is  to  set  up  ior  those  who  pass  a  sign 
that  children  have  been  at  play  ;  and  he  gains 
nothing  by  this  but  a  head  more  confused,  and 
a  heart  more  sorrowful  than  before.” 

553.  CARES,  Troubling.  Like  as  when  a 
river  or  fountain  is  troubled,  there  can  no 
water  be  taken  or  drawn  out  of  it,  but  such 
as  is  full  of  mud  ;  even  so,  when  the  mind  is 
troubled  and  choked  with  the  over-careful 
and  unquiet  savor  of  the  mire  and  dirt  of  this 
peevish  world,  there  can  neither  holy  prayers 
nor  any  godly  exercise  be  fouml  there. 

Cawdray. 

554.  CARES,  Worldly.  A  party  of  children 
were  amusing  themselves  with  a  bird,  to  whose 
leg  they  had  fastened  a  string.  The  poor 
thing  fluttered  into  the  air,  and  wished  to 
escape,  but  felt,  itself  suddenly  checked,  and 
drawn  downwards.  Gotthold,  who  saw  what 
was  passim;,  thought  with  himself:  “  It  is  even 
so  with  our  soul  when  it  gets  entangled  with 
temporal  things  and  worldly  lusts.” 

555.  CASTE,  Absurdity  of.  In  India,  one 
feels  the  meanness  of  caste.  In  one  of  our 
journeys,  while  cooking  breakfast  by  the  road¬ 
side,  one  morning.  I  was  moving  towards  some 
little  children,  whose  mother  was  cooking, 
probably  for  some  coolies  at  work  on  the  road, 
with  some  presents  from  our  table  in  my  hand, 
when  Dr.  Butler  arrested  me,  saying  that  my 
touch  was  pollution ;  that  nothing  would  be 


78 


CATECHISIN'  G-. 


CHANCE. 


eaten  that  I  bore  ;  that  my  foot  set  within 
the  circle  where  the  woman  was  cooking  would 
defile  every  thing  within  it.  Here  I  was,  wiih 
an  Anglo-Saxon  skin  on  my  face,  a  human 
soul  in  my  breast,  an  American  passport  in 
my  portfolio,  “  brought  up  standing”  before  a 
poor,  ignorant,  black,  half-mendicant  Hindoo. 

Bishop  Thompson. 

556.  CATECHISING,  Importance  of.  As  that 
schoolmaster  who  still  eommandeth  his  scholars, 
saying,  “Learn  this,  learn  this,”  and  yet 
never  calleth  them  to  account  how  the  same 
is  learned,  may  assure  himself  that  liis  scholars 
will  have  but  a  slender  regard  to  be  perfect 
in  that  which  he  eommandeth,  because  they 
think  they  shall  never  be  examined  how  they 
have  profited ;  even  so  falleth  it  out  with  the 
minister  towards  his  parishioners,  that,  al¬ 
though  he  be  very  diligent  to  preach  uLto 
them  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion, 
yet,  if  he  be  not  caret ul  to  catechise  and  ex¬ 
amine  them  particularly  therein,  there  will 
come  little  or  no  profit  by  his  labors. 

Cawdray. 

557.  CAUTION,  Example  of.  A  gentleman 
who  wished  to  test  the  character  of  some  men 
who  had  offered  themselves  for  the  situation 
of  coachman,  took  them  to  a  narrow  road 
which  bordered  on  a  deep  precipice,  and  in¬ 
quired  of  them  how  near  to  the  dangerous 
verge  they  could  drive  without  fear.  One 
named  a  few  inches,  another  still  fewer.  The 
gentleman  shook  his  head,  and  dismissed  them. 
They  might  tempt  danger  instead  of  seeking 
safety.  He  could  not  risk  his  life  with  them. 
A  third  was  taken  to  the  precipice ;  and  in 
answer  to  the  question,  “  How  near  this  edge 
can  you  drive  in  safety  ?  ”  drew  back,  reply¬ 
ing,  “  I  should  drive  as  far  from  it  as  possible. 
The  place  is  dangerous.  I  should  avoid  it 
altogether  if  I  could.”  He  was  employed. 
He  could  be  trusted  ;  for  he  was  too  wise  to 
encounter  needless  peril. 

558.  CAUTION,  Inconsistent.  It  is  a  very 
preposterous  course  that  many  men  take  in 
this  world.  Those  that  have  children  are  very 
careful  and  diligent  to  bring  them  up  under 
some  man’s  tuition ;  if  they  have  cattle  and 
sheep,  they  provide  herdsmen  and  shepherds ; 
but,  in  the  mean  time,  for  the  good  of  their  own 
souls  they  have  no  care  at  all  :  they  may 
sink  or  swim,  or  do  what  they  will.  Spencer. 

559.  CENSOR,  The.  Plutarch  tells  us  of  an 
idle  and  effeminate  Etrurian,  who  found  fault 
with  the  manner  in  which  Themistocles  had 
conducted  a  recent  campaign.  “  What,”  said 
the  hero  in  reply,  “  have  you,  too,  something 
to  say  about  war,  who  are  like  the  fish  that  has 
a  sword,  but  no  heart  ?  ”  He  is  always  the 
severest  censor  on  the  merits  of  others  who 
has  the  least  worth  of  his  own. 

E.  L.  Magoon. 

560.  CENSORIOUSNESS,  Description  of.  Cen- 
6oriousness  is  a  compound  of  many  of  the 
worst  passions,  —  latent  pride,  which  discovers 
the  mote  in  our  hr  ther’s  eye,  but  hides  the 
beam  in  our  own;  mali  rnant  envy,  which, 
wounded  at  the  noble  talents  and  superior 


prosperity  of  others,  transforms  them  into  the 
objects  and  food  of  its  malice,  if  possible,  ob¬ 
scuring  the  splendor  it  is  too  base  to  emulate  ; 
disguised  hatred,  which  diffuses,  in  its  perpet¬ 
ual  mutterings,  the  irritable  venom  of  the 
heart;  servile  duplicity,  which  fulsomely 
praises  to  the  face,  and  blackens  behind  the 
back ;  shameless  levity,  which  sacrifices  the 
peace  and  reputation  of  the  absent,  merely  to 
give  barbarous  stings  to  a  jocular  conversa¬ 
tion  ;  altogether  forming  an  aggregate  the 
most  desolating  on  earth,  and  nearest  in  char¬ 
acter  to  the  malice  of  hell.  E.  L.  Maqoon. 

561.  CENSURE,  Cause  of.  That  divine 

Spaniard,  in  his  pleasant  but  useful  fiction  of 
the  Life  of  Gusman,  makes  his  rogue  discourse 
of  the  unconscionableness  of  the  Genoese,  and 
their  prying  into  and  censuring  of  other  men’s 
lives ;  that,  when  they  are  young  and  go  first 
to  school,  they  play  away  and  lose  their  con¬ 
sciences,  which  their  master  finding,  he  lays 
them  up  carefully  in  a  chest.  But  because  he 
hath  the  keeping  of  so  many,  and  they  mixed 
one  with  another,  he  gives  to  his  scholars, 
when  they  go  away,  such  consciences  as  come 
first  to  hand  ;  which  they  take  to  be  their  own, 
but  are,  indeed,  somebody’s  else :  whence  it 
comes  to  pass,  that,  no  man  bearing  his  own 
conscience  in  his  own  bosom,  every  man  looks 
and  prys  into  that  of  another  man’s.  The 
moral  is  true.  There  is  hardly  a  man  that  is 
not  curious  in  other  men’s  faults,  blind  in  his 
own,  partial  to  himself,  never  without  matter 
against  others,  still  complaining  of  the  badness 
of  the  times,  the  decay  of  trade,  the  ripeness  of 
sin,  but  will  not  be  persuaded  that  he  is  in  any 
way  the  occasion  of  the  same.  Spencer. 

562.  CENSURE,  Habit  of.  It  is  reported  of 
vultures,  that  they  will  fly  over  a  garden  of 
sweet  flowers,  and  not  so  much  as  eye  them ; 
but  they  will  seize  upon  a  stinking  carrion  at 
the  first  sight.  Thus  many  there  are  that 
will  take  no  notice  of  the  commendable  parts 
and  good  qualities  of  others  ;  but,  if  the  least 
imperfection  appear,  there  they  will  fasten. 

Spencer. 

563.  CENSURE,  Preferring.  Few  persons 

have  sufficient  wisdom  to  prefer  censure  which 
is  useful  to  them,  to  praise  which  deceives 
them.  La  Rochefoucauld. 

564.  CHANCE,  Explanation  of.  The  case  of 
the  painter,  who,  unable  to  express  the  foam  at 
the  mouth  of  the  horse  he  had  painted,  threw 
his  sponge  in  despair  at  the  piece,  and  by 
chance  did  that  which  he  could  not  do  before 
by  design,  is  an  eminent  instance  of  what  is 
called  chance.  Yet  it  is  obvious  all  we  here 
mean  by  chance  is,  that  the  painter  was  not 
aware  of  the  effect,  or  that  he  did  not  throw 
the  sponge  with  such  a  view  ;  not  but  that  he 
actually  did  every  thing  necessary  to  produce 
the  effect;  insomuch  that,  considering  the 
direction  wherein  he  threw  the  sponge,  to¬ 
gether  with  its  form  and  specific  gravity,  the 
colors  wherewith  it  was  smeared,  and  the  dis¬ 
tance  of  the  hand  from  the  pieei ,  it  was  im¬ 
possible,  on  the  present  system  of  things,  that 
the  effect  should  not  follow.  A.  IV.  Chambers 


CHANCE. 


CHARACTER. 


70 


565.  CHANCE,  Weakness  of.  Chance  never 

writ  a  legible  book ;  chance  never  built  a 
fair  house  ;  chance  never  drew  a  neat  picture  ; 
it  never  did  any  of  these  things,  nor  ever  will ; 
nor  can  it  be  without  absurdity  supposed  able 
to  do  them ;  which  yet  are  works  very  gross 
and  rude,  very  easy  and  feasible,  as  it  were, 
in. comparison  to  the  production  of  a  flower  or 
a  tree.  Dr.  Barrow. 

566.  CHANGE,  Advantage  of.  As  Gotthold 
was  examining  with  delight  some  double 

inks,  which  at  the  time  were  in  full  blossom, 

e  was  told  by  the  gardener  that  the  same 
plants  had  in  former  years  borne  only  single 
flowers,  but  that  they  had  been  improved  and 
beautified  by  repeated  transplantations,  and 
that  in  the  same  manner  a  change  of  soil  in¬ 
creases  the  growth,  and  accelerates  the  bearing, 
of  a  young  tree.  This  reminded  Gotthold  that 
the  same  happens  to  men.  Many  a  man  who 
at  home  would  scarcely  have,  borne  even  single 
flowers,  when  transplanted  by  Divine  Provi¬ 
dence  abroad,  bears  double  ones ;  another, 
who,  if  rooted  in  his  native  soil,  would  never 
have  been  more  than  a  puny  twig,  is  removed 
to  a  foreign  clime,  and  there  spreads  far  and 
wide  his  luxuriant  boughs,  and  bears  fruit  to 
the  delight  of  all. 

567.  CHANGE,  Wonderful.  As  it  is  a  great 

miracle  for  a  dead  man  to  be  raised  again  :  so 
is  the  change  that  Christ  has  made  in  those 
that  be  his  wonderful.  Cawdray. 

568.  CHARACTER,  Brevities.  Actions,  looks, 
words,  steps,  form  the  alphabet  by  which  you 

may  spell  character.  Lavater. - The  way 

to  gain  a  good  reputation  is  to  endeavor  to  be 

what  you  desire  to  appear.  Socrutes. - A 

man’s  character  is  like  a  shadow,  which  some¬ 
times  follows,  and  sometimes  precedes  him, 
and  which  is  occasionally  longer,  occasionally 

shorter,  than  he  is.  From  the  French. - 

There  can  be  no  kernel  in  this  light  nut ;  the 
soul  of  this  man  is  his  clothes.  Shakspeare. 

569.  CHARACTER,  Carving.  Did  you  ever 

watch  a  sculptor  slowly  fashioning  a  human 
countenance  ?  It  is  not  moulded  at  once.  It 
is  not  struck  out  at  a  single  blow.  It  is  pain¬ 
fully  and  laboriously  wrought.  A  thousand 
blows  rough-cast  it.  Ten  thousand  chisels 
polish  and  perfect  it,  put  in  the  fine  touches, 
and  bring  out  the  features  and  expression.  It 
is  a  work  of  time  ;  but  at  last  the  lull  likeness 
comes  out,  and  stands  fixed  and  unchanging 
in  the  solid  marble.  So  does  a  man  carve  out 
his  own  moral  likeness.  Every  day  he 
adds  something  to  the.  work.  A  thousand  acts 
of  thought  and  will  and  effort  shape  the  fea¬ 
tures  and  expressions  of  the  soul.  Habits  of 
love,  piety,  and  truth,  habits  of  falsehood,  pas¬ 
sion,  or  goodness,  silently  mould  and  fashion  it, 
till  at  length  it  wears  the  likeness  of  God,  or 
the  image  of  a  demon.  Oxenden. 

570.  CHARACTER,  Development  of.  An  Eng¬ 
lish  barrister  who  was  accustomed  to  train 
students  for  the  practice  of  law,  and  who  was 
not  himself  a  religious  man,  was  once  asked 
why  he  put  students,  from  the  very  first,  to 
the  study  and  analysis  of  the  most  difficult 


parts  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  ?  “  Because,” 
said  he,  “  there  is  nothing  else  like  it,  in  any 
language,  for  the  development  of  mind  and 
character.”  Dr.  Haven. 

571.  CHARACTER,  Equanimity  of.  The  equa¬ 
nimity  which  a  few  persons  preserve  through 
the  diversities  of  prosperous  and  adverse  life 
reminds  me  of  certain  aquatic  plants,  which 
spread  their  tops  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
and  with  wonderful  elasticity  keep  the  surface 
still  if  the  water  swells,  or  if  it  falls.  J.  Foster. 

572.  CHARACTER,  Excellence  of.  The  hum¬ 
blest  trade  has  in  it  elbow-room  for  all  the 
virtues.  That  huckster  can  be  true  and 
honest  and  honorable  :  what  more  can  Roths¬ 
child  be  ?  The  excellence  of  a  circle  lies  in 
its  roundness,  not  its  bigness.  The  rim  of  a 
threepenny-bit  is  a  true  circle,  and  would  not 
be  mended,  but  only  magnified,  if  swelled  till 
it  equalled  in  size  the  tire  of  a  cart-wheel,  or 
dilated  till  it  touched  the  outline  of  a  planet. 

S.  Coley. 

573.  CHARACTER,  Formation  of.  Have  you 
ever  watched  the  icicle  as  it  formed  ?  Have 
you  noticed  how  it  froze,  one  drop  at  a  time, 
until  it  was  a  foot  long,  or  more  ?  If  the 
water  was  clean,  the  icicle  remained  clear, 
and  sparkled  brightly  in  the  sun ;  but,  if  the 
water  was  slightly  muddy’,  the  icicle  looked 
foul,  and  its  beauty  was  spoiled.  Just  so  our 
characters  are  formed.  One  little  thought  or 
feeling  at  a  time  adds  its  influence.  If  each 
thought  be  pure  and  right,  the  soul  will  be 
lovely,  and  will  sparkle  with  happiness ;  but,  if 
impure  and  wrong,  there  will  be  deformity  and 
wretchedness. 

574.  CHARACTER,  Influence  of.  John  Dickin¬ 
son,  Esq.,  of  Birmingham,  was  often  called,  by 
way  of  distinction,  “  the  peacemaker.”  The 
equity  of  his  decisions  was  rarely  impeached. 
If  John  Dickinson  had  any  thing  to  do  with 
a  matter,  then  it  must  be  right. 

575.  CHARACTER,  Inherited.  An  old  man 
died  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Massachusetts 
State  Prison.  He  was  seventy-six  years  old, 
and  had  spent  the  last  eight  years  of  his  life 
in  a  cell  in  that  gloomy  jail.  His  wife  for 
years  had  been  a  prisoner  there  too,  and  so  had 
his  daughter,  and  seven  of  his  sons.  Were  not 
“  the  iniquities  of  the  lather  visited  upon  the 
children  ”  ?  In  that  same  State,  seventy  years 
ago,  a  good  minister  died,  who  for  forty-one 
years  had  been  a  beloved  pastor  over  the  same 
church.  He  was  the  fourteenth  eldest  son  of 
that  same  name  and  family  who  had  been  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel.  Since  his  death,  one 
hundred  of  his  descendants  have  been  Chris¬ 
tians,  and  eight  of  his  sons  and  grandsons  have 
also  been  ministers.  Through  that  blessed 
family,  for  many  long  years,  the  Great  Father 
of  love  has  been  “  showing  mercy  to  thousands 
of  them  that  love  him  and  keep  his  command¬ 
ments.” 

576.  CHARACTER,  Knowledge  of.  Three  days 

of  uninterrupted  company  in  a  vehicle  will 
make  you  better  acquainted  with  another  than 
one  hour’s  conversation  with  him  every  day 
for  three  years.  Lavater. 


80 


CHAKACTER. 


CHARACTER. 


577.  CHARACTER,  Power  of.  Benjamin 
Franklin  attributed  his  success  as  a  public 
man,  not  to  his  talents,  or  liis  power  of  speak¬ 
ing, —  for  these  were  but  moderate,  —  but  to 
his  known  integrity  of  character.  “  Hence  it 
was,”  he  says,  “  that  I  had  so  much  weight 
with  my  fellow-citizens.  I  was  but  a  bad 
speaker,  never  eloquent,  subject  to  much  hesi¬ 
tation  in  my  choice  of  words,  hardly  correct  in 
my  language  ;  and  yet  I  generally  carried  my 
point.”  Character  creates  confidence  in  men 
in  high  stations  as  well  as  in  human  life.  It 
was  said  of  the  first  Emperor  Alexander  of 
Russia,  that  his  personal  character  was  equiva¬ 
lent  to  a  constitution.  During  the  wars  of  the 
Fronde,  Montaigne  was  the  only  man  among 
the  French  gentry  who  kept  his  castle-gate 
unbarred  ;  and  it  is  said  of  him  that  his  per¬ 
sonal  character  was  worth  more  to  him  than  a 
regiment  of  horse.  That  character  is  power, 
is  true  in  a  much  higher  sense  than  that 
knowledge  is  power.  Mind  without  heart, 
intelligence  without  conduct,  cleverness  with¬ 
out  goodness,  are  powers,  if  they  may  be  pow¬ 
ers,  only  for  -mischief.  We  may  be  instructed 
or  amused  by  them ;  but  it  is  sometimes  as 
difficult  to  admire  them  as  it  would  be  to 
admire  the  dexterity  of  a  pickpocket,  or  the 
horsemanship  of  a  highwayman.  Truthful¬ 
ness,  integrity,  and  goodness  —  qualities  that 
hang  out  on  any  man’s  breath  —  form  the 
essence  of  manly  character,  or,  as  one  of  our 
writers  has  it,  “  that  inbred  loyalty  unto  virtue 
that  can  serve  her  without  livery.”  When 
Stephen  of  (Jolonna  fell  into  the  hands  of  his 
base  assailants,  arid  they  asked  him,  in  deris¬ 
ion,  “  Where  is  your  fortress  ?  ”  —  “  Here  1  ” 
was  his  bold  reply,  placing  his  hand  upon  his 
heart.  It  is  in  misfortune  that  the  character 
of  the  upright  man  shines  forth  with  the  great¬ 
est  lustre  ;  and,  when  all  else  fails,  he  takes  a 
stand  upon  his  integrity  and  courage. 

Dr.  Haven. 

578.  CHARACTER,  Nature  of.  Deeper  than 
the  judgment,  deeper  than  the  feelings,  lies 
the  seat  of  human  character,  —  in  that  which 
is  the  mystery  of  all  beings  and  all  things,  in 
what  we  call  their  “  nature,”  without  knowing 
where  it  lies,  what  it  is,  or  how  it  wields  its 
power.  All  we  know  is,  that  it  does  exert  a 
power  over  external  circumstances,  bending 
them  all  in  its  own  direction,  or  breaking  its 
instruments  against  what  it  cannot  bend.  The 
nature  of  an  acorn  turns  dews,  air,  soils,  and 
sunbeams  to  oak ;  and,  though  circumstances 
may  destroy  its  power,  they  cannot  divert  it 
while  it  survives.  It  defies  man,  beast,  earth, 
and  sky,  to  make  it  produce  elm.  Cultivation 
may  affect  its  quality,  and  training  its  form ; 
but  whether  it  shall  produce  oak,  ash,  or  elm, 
is  a  matter  into  which  no  force  from  without 
can  enter,  —  a  matter  not  of  circumstances, 
but  purely  of  nature.  To  turn  nature  belongs 
to  th'*  p'-wer  which  originally  fixed  nature. 

W.  Arthur. 

579.  CHARACTER,  Remarkable.  During  the 
session  of  Congress,  Mr.  Jefferson  pointed  out 
Roger  Sherman  to  a  friend,  saying,  “  That  is 


Mr.  Sherman  of  Connecticut,  a  man  who  never 
said  a  foolish  thing  in  his  life.”  Mr.  Macon 
said  of  him,  “  He  had  more  common  sense 
than  any  man  I  ever  knew.”  Fisher  Ames 
said,  “  If  I  am  absent  during  a  discussion  of  a 
subject,  and  consequently  know  not  on  which 
side  to  vote,  I  always  look  at  Roger  Sherman ; 
for  I  am  sure,  if  I  vote  with  him,  I  shall 
vote  right.”  He  was  a  pious  man,  faithful  in 
his  closet,  in  his  family,  on  the  bench,  and  in 
the  senate  house.  Such  character  is  valuable 
as  it  is  rare. 

580.  CHARACTER,  Report  of.  A  young  man’s 
character  was  such  as  to  excite  universal  dis¬ 
approbation.  He  could  no  longer  resist  the 
pressure  of  public  sentiment.  Heidisposed  of 
his  property,  and  attempted  to  resume  business 
in  a  distant  part  of  the  country ;  but  his 
character,  or,  rather,  his  reputation,  had  gone 
before  him.  Men  regarded  him  with  suspi¬ 
cion.  He  was  unable  to  secure  the  confidence 
and  countenance  necessary  to  success.  In  this 
case,  his  sins  went  before  him  to  his  new  place 
of  residence.  The  sins  of  men  go  before  them 
still  further.  They  go  before  them  to  the 
judgment,  and  will  be  ready  to  meet  them 
there.  What  a  fearful  meeting  !  how  impos¬ 
sible  to  escape  from  their  accusings  and  con¬ 
sequences  1  It  is  related  of  a  prisoner,  that 
alter  he  had  toiled  for  months  in  constructing 
a  mine  from  his  dungeon,  by  means  of  which 
he  hoped  to  escape,  when  at  last  he  broke 
ground,  and  let  in  the  light  of  day,  which  he 
had  so  fondly  hoped  to  enjoy,  the  first  object 
he  saw  was  an  armed  jailer  waiting  to  arrest 
him  !  That  jailer  struck  far  less  dismay  and 
despair  to  the  heart  of  the  prisoner  than  meet¬ 
ing  with  his  sins  will  strike  to  the  heart  of  the 
sinner  at  the  day  of  judgment.  Dr.  Jeffers. 

581.  CHARACTER,  Revelation  of.  A  noble¬ 
man  once  gave  a  great  supper.  While  the 
guests  were  at  the  table,  two  maskers  came 
into  the  hall,  who  were  no  larger  than  children 
of  five  or  six  years  old  :  one  personated  a  lord  ; 
the  other  a  lady.  Their  dress  was  as  splendid 
as  could  be,  and  they  danced  very  skilfully,  to 
the  great  diversion  of  the  guests.  Everybody 
said  they  could  not  admire  the  dexterity  of 
those  polite  children  enough.  Then  an  old 
officer  took  an  apple,  and  threw  it  between  the 
dancing  couple.  Suddenly  the  lord  and  lady 
rushed  after  the  apple  as  though  frantic.  In 
the  struggle,  they  tore  off  each  other’s  masks, 
and,  behold  1  instead  of  children,  a  couple  of 
monkeys.  All  the  company  at  the  table 
laughed  heartily ;  but  the  old  officer  said  very 
gravely,  “  Monkeys  and  fools  may  dress  them¬ 
selves  splendidly;  but  the  day  soon  comes 
when  it  is  known  who  they  are.” 

582.  CHARACTER,  Secretive,  There  are  mil. 
erals,  such  as  gypsum  and  quartz,  through 
which  objects  may  be  seen,  but  with  no  dis¬ 
tinctness  of  outline.  Gypsum  was  used,  under 
the  name  of  phengites,  by  some  of  the  most 
hateful  of  the  Roman  emperors  (Nero,  for  ex- 
amplej,  for  windows  of  their  palaces.  So  near¬ 
ly  transparent  was  it,  that  these  tyrants  could 
look  out  and  see  what  the  people  were  doing, 


CHAEACTEB. 


CHARITY. 


81 


while  the  latter  could  not  look  in  and  see  what 
was  going  on  there.  This  is  just  what  jealous 
and  cruel  despots,  and  others  of  like  disposi¬ 
tion,  desire.  Others  they  wish  to  scrutinize 
with  eagle’s  eyes;  while  they  themselves  keep 
in  the  dark,  and  from  thence  give  the  assassin’s 
stab.  Dr.  Thomas. 

583.  CHARACTER,  Strength  of.  Bernard  <le 
Palissy,  the  Huguenot  potter,  distinguished 
himself  by  his  knowledge  and  talents.  The 
French  king,  Henry  III.,  said  to  him  one  day, 
that  he  should  be  compelled  to  give  him  up  to 
his  enemies  unless  he  changed  his  religion. 
“  You  have  often  said  to  me,  sire,”  was  the  un¬ 
daunted  reply  of  De  Palissy,  “  that  you  pitied 
me  ;  but,  as  for  me,  I  pity  you,  who  have  given 
utterance  to  such  words  as  ‘  I  shall  be  com¬ 
pelled.’  These  are  unkingly  words ;  and  I  say 
to  you  in  royal  phrase,  that  neither  the  Guises, 
nor  all  your  people,  nor  yourself,  are  able  to 
compel  a  humble  manufacturer  of  earthenware 
to  bend  his  knee  before  statues.” 

584.  CHARACTER,  Value  of.  Duke  Chartres 
used  to  boast,  that  no  one  could  have,  less  real 
regard  for  character  than  himself ;  yet  he 
would  gladly  give  twenty  thousand  pounds  for 
a  good  one,  because  he  could  immediately 
make  double  that  sum  by  means  of  it.  Collon. 

585.  CHARACTER,  Vindicating.  Tell  Broth¬ 
er  - to  take  no  notice  of  the  attacks.  A  man’s 

character  will  take  care  of  his  reputation, 
and  he  need  not  fear  the  malicious  attacks 
of  his  enemies.  It  is  never  well  for  a  man 
publicly  to  vindicate  himself  from  charges 
which  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life  contradicts. 
Those  who  know  the  man  do  not  need  the 
vindication,  and  those  who  don’t  know  him 
will  not  care  enough  about  it  to  read  what  he 
may  write.  Dr.  Waylandl 

586.  CHARITY,  Christian.  “  Mr.  White- 
field,”  said  one  of  his  ardent  admirers,  who 
was  bitterly  opposed  to  Wesley,  “  do  you  think 
we  shall  see  John  Wesley  in  heaven?”  He 
replied,  “  You  ask  me  whether  we  —  that  is, 
you  and  I — shall  see  Mr.  Wesley  in  heaven. 
Certainly  not.”  —  “I  thought  you  would  say 
so.  Thank  you,  sir.”  —  “  But  stop,  my  friend  : 
hear  all  I  have  to  say  about  it.  John  Wesley 
will  be  so  near  the  throne,  and  you  and  I  so 
far  off,  that  we  cannot  expect  to  see  him.” 

582.  CHARITY,  Dishonoring.  In  the  tribe  of 
Neggdeh,  there  was  a  horse  whose  name  was 
spread  far  and  near:  and  a  Bedouin  of  another, 
by  name  Daher,  desired  extremely  to  possess 
it.  Having  offered  in  vain  for  it  his  camels 
and  his  whole  wealth,  he  hit  at  length  upon  the 
following  device,  by  which  he  hoped  to  gain 
the  object  of  his  desire.  He  resolved  to  stain 
his  face  with  the  juice  of  an  herb,  to  clothe 
himself  in  rags,  tie  his  legs  and  neck  together, 
so  as  to  appear  like  a  lame  beggar.  Thus 
equipped,  he  went  to  wait  for  Naber,  the  owner 
of  the  horse,  who  he  knew  was  to  pass  that 
way.  When  he  saw  Naber  approaching  on  his 
beautiful  steed,  he  cried  out  in  a  weak  voice, 
“  I  am  a  poor  stranger :  for  three  days  I  have 
been  unable  to  move  from  this  spot  to  seek  for 
food.  I  am  dying;  help  me,  and  Heaven  will 


reward  you.”  The  Bedouin  kindly  offered  to 
take  him  upon  his  horse  and  carry  him  home  ; 
but  the  rogue  replied,  “  I  cannot  rise  :  I  have 
no  strength  left.”  Naber,  touched  with  his 
distress,  dismounted,  led  his  horse  to  the  spot, 
and  with  great  difficulty  set  the  seeming  beg¬ 
gar  on  its  back.  But  no  sooner  did  Daher 
feel  himself  in  the  saddle  than  he  set  spurs  to 
the  horse,  and  galloped  off,  calling  out  as  he 
did  so,  “  It  is  I,  Daher :  I  have  got  the  horse 
and  am  off  with  it.”  Naber  called  after  him 
to  stop  and  listen.  Certain  of  not  being  pur¬ 
sued,  he  turned,  and  halted  at  a  short  distance 
from  Naber,  who  was  armed  with  a  spear. 
“  You  have  taken  my  horse,”  said  the  latter. 
“  Since  Heaven  has  willed  it,  I  wish  you  joy  of 
it ;  but  I  do  conjure  you  never  to  tell  any  one 
how  you  obtained  it.”  —  “And  why  not?” 
said  Daher.  “  Because,”  said  the  noble  Arab, 
“another  man  might  be  really  ill,  and  men 
would  fear  to  help  him.  You  would  be  the 
cause  of  many  refusing  to  perform  an  act  of 
charity  for  tear  of  being  duped  as  I  have 
been.”  Struck  with  shame  at  these  words, 
Daher  was  silent- for  a  moment,  then,  springing 
from  the  horse,  returned  to  its  owner,  embra¬ 
cing  him.  Naber  made  him  accompany  him  to 
his  tent ;  where  they  spent  a  few  days  together, 
ami  became  fast  friends  for  life.  Lamartine. 

588.  CHARITY,  Ecclesiastical.  The  ancient 
councils  and  synods,  as  is  noted  by  the  eeclesii 
astieal  story,  when  they  deprived  any  bishop, 
never  recorded  the  offence,  but  buried  it  in 
perpetual  silence.  Lord  Bacon. 

580.  CHARITY,  Emblem  of.  The  Egyptian 
hieroglyphic  representing  charity  is  a  naked 
child,  with  a  heart  in  his  hand,  giving  honey 
to  a  bee  without  wings.  The  child  represents 
the  humility  of  charity ;  the  heart  in  its  hand, 
the  cheerfulness  of  charity  ;  giving  honey  to 
a  bee  without  wings,  the  worthiness  and  help¬ 
lessness  of  the  object  of  charity. 

590.  CHARITY,  Heathen.  I  once  visited  the 
Rajah  of  Burdwan,  and  found  him  sitting  in 
his  treasury.  Fifty  bags  of  money,  containing 
a  thousand  rupees  (five  hundred  dollars) 
each,  were  placed  before  him.  “  What,”  said 
I,  “are  you  doing  with  all  that  money?”  He 
replied,  “  It  is  for  my  god.”  —  “  How  do  you 
mean  that  ?  ”  I  rejoined.  “  One  part  is  sent 
to  Benares,  where  1  have  two  fine  temples  on 
the  river  side,  and  many  priests  who  pray  for 
me  ;  another  part  goes  to  J uggernaut ;  and  a 
third  to  Gaya.”  And  thus  one  native  is 
spending  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  annu¬ 
ally  from  his  income  upon  idle  Brahmins. 

J.  J.  Weibrecht. 

591.  CHARITY,  Hundred-fold  Reward  of.  There 
is  a  story  of  a  certain  godly  and  charitable 
bishop  of  Milan,  who,  journeying  with  his 
servant,  was  met  by  some  poor  people,  who 
begged  an  alms  of  him.  The  bishop  com¬ 
manded  his  man  to  give  them  all  the  little 
money  that  he  had,  which  was  three  crowns ; 
but  his  servant,  thinking  to  be  a  better  husband 
for  his  master,  gave  them  but  two  crowns,  re¬ 
serving  the  third  for  their  expenses  at  night. 
Soon  after,  certain  noblemen  meeting  the 


82 


CHARITY. 


CHLASTISEMRRSTT. 


bishop,  and  knowing  him  to  be  a  good  man, 
and  one  that  was  liberal  to  the  poor,  com¬ 
manded  two  hundred  crowns  to  be  delivered 
to  the  bishop’s  servant  for  his  master’s  use. 
The  man,  having  received  the  money,  ran 
with  great  joy,  and  told  his  master  of  it.  “  Ah,” 
said  the  bishop,  “  what  wrong  hast  thou  done 
to  me  and  to  thyself!  for,  if  thou  hadst  given 
those  three  crowns  as  I  appointed  thee,  thou 
shouldest  have  received  three  hundred.” 

Spencer. 

593.  CHARITY,  Jewish  Apologue  of.  When  j 
Abraham  sat  at  his  tent-door,  according  to  his 
custom,  waiting  to  entertain  strangers,  he  es¬ 
pied  an  old  man,  stooping,  and  leaning  on  his 
stalT,  weary  with  age  and  travel,  coming  to¬ 
wards  him,  who  was  an  hundred  years  of  age. 
He  received  him  kindly,  washed  his  feet, 
provided  supper,  caused  him  to  sit  down,  but 
observing  that  the  old  man  ate  and  prayed 
not,  nor  begged  for  a  blessing  on  his  meat, 
asked  him  why  he  did  not  worship  the  God  of 
heaven  ?  The  old  man  told  him  that  he 
worshipped  the  fire  only,  and  acknowledged  no 
other  god;  at  which  answer,  Abraham  grew  so 
zealously  angry,  that  he  thrust  the  old  man  out 
of  his  tent,  and  exposed  him  to  all  the  evils  of 
the  night  and  an  unguarded  condition.  When 
the  old  man  was  gone,  God  called  to  him,  and 
asked  him  where  the  stranger  was.  He  replied, 
“  I  thrust  him  away  because  he  did  not  wor¬ 
ship  thee.”  God  answered  “  I  have  suffered 
him  these  hundred  years,  though  he  dishonored 
me ;  and  couldest  thou  not  endure  him  for 
one  night,  when  he  gave  thee  no  trouble  V  ” 
Upon  this,  saith  the  story,  Abraham  fetched 
him  back  again,  and  gave  him  hospitable  en¬ 
tertainment  and  wise  instruction.  Go  thou 
and  do  likewise,  and  thy  charity  will  be  re¬ 
warded  by  the  God  of  Abraham.  Stanley. 

593.  CHARITY,  Judging  in.  Those  of  us  who 
have  read  classic  history  may  remember  an 
incident  in  the  history  of  the  Macedonian  em¬ 
peror.  A  painter  was  commanded  to  sketch 
the  monarch.  In  one  of  his  great  battles,  he 
had  been  struck  with  the  sword  upon  the  fore¬ 
head,  and  a  very  large  scar  had  been  left  on 
the  right  temple.  The  painter,  who  was  a 
master-hand  in  his  art,  sketched  him  leaning 
on  his  elbow,  with  his  finger  covering  the  scar 
on  .his  forehead ;  and  so  the  likeness  of  the 
king  was  taken,  but  without  the  scar.  Let  us 
put  I  he  finger  of  charity  upon  the  scar  of  the 
Christian  as  we  look  at  him,  whatever  it  may 
be,  —  the  finger  of  a  tender  and  forbearing 
charity,  and  see,  in  spite  of  it  and  under  it, 
the  image  of  Christ  notwithstanding. 

Dr.  Cummin g. 

594.  CHARITY,  Knavish.  A  Prussian  jour¬ 
nal  relates  a  singular  circumstance.  In  an 
Israelite  community,  there  exists  a  rabbi,  es¬ 
teemed  and  loved  by  all.  To  prove  their 
gratitude  for  services  rendered,  the  community 
decided,  upon  the  suggestion  of  a  ■  rich  mer¬ 
chant,  to  offer  the  rabbi  a  present  of  a  tun  of 
wine;  and,  in  order  that  all  might  contribute 
to  it,  it  was  agreed  that  each  should  bring 
a  bottle  of  wine,  and  pour  into  the  receptacle. 


The  rabbi  received  with  gratitude  the  offering, 
and  deposited  the  precious  liquor  in  his  cellar. 
But  (oh  1  grief),  when  he  wished  to  taste  it,  a 
miracle  had  operated :  instead  of  wine,  he 
found  only  water.  His  honest  friends  had  all 
individually  thought  that  a  bottle  of  water 
would  pass  unperceived  in  the  quantity  of 
wine.  Unhappily,  each  had  the  same  idea. 

595.  CHARITY,  Legend  of.  It  is  related  of 
King  and  St.  Oswald,  that  he  was  once  sitting 
at  dinner,  on  Easter  Day,  and  before  him  was 
a  silver  dish  full  of  dainty  meats ;  and  they 
were  just  ready  to  bless  the  bread,  when  his 
almoner  came  in  on  a  sudden,  and  told  him 
there  were  some  poor  hungry  people  seated  at 
his  door,  begging  for  food  ;  and  he  immediately 
ordered  the  dish  of  meat  to  be  carried  out  to 
them,  and  the  dish  itself  to  be  cut  in  pieces, 
and  divided  amongst  them.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

596.  CHARITY,  Mistaken.  The  Indians  to 
whom  Columbus  first  applied  for  a  supply 
of  provisions  refused  them,  until  he,  foreseeing 
a  coming  eclipse,  threatened  them  with  sudden 
destruction,  and,  as  a  sign,  told  them  the  sun 
would  be  darkened  within  two  days.  When 
the  eclipse  came  on,  they  were  filled  with  fear, 
and  came  to  him,  bringing  large  supplies  of 
provisions.  They  gave ;  but  it  was  not  charity. 

597.  CHARITY,  Reason  for.  F or  my  own  part, 
if  my  pocket  was  full  of  stones,  I  have  no 
right  to  throw  one  at  the  greatest  backslider 
upon  earth.  I  have  either  done  as  bad  or 
worse  than  he,  or  I  certainly  should  if  the  Lord 
had  left  me  a  little  to  myself ;  for  I  am  made 
of  just  the  same  materials :  if  there  be  any 
difference,  it  is  wholly  of  grace.  John  Newton. 

598.  CHARITY,  Remuneration  of.  When  Al¬ 

exander  set  forward  upon  his  great  exploits, 
before  he  went  from  Macedonia,  he  divided 
among  his  captains  and  friends  all  that  he  had ; 
for  which,  when  one  of  his  friends  reproved 
him,  saying  that  he  was  prodigal  because  he 
had  reserved  nothing  for  himself,  he  answered, 
that  he  had  reserved  much  unto  himself; 
namely,  hope  of  the  monarchy  of  the  world, 
which,  by  the  valor  and  help  of  his  captains 
and  nobles,  he  hoped  to  obtain.  The  chari¬ 
table  have  no  such  contingency  but  the  cer¬ 
tainty  of  God’s  word.  Spencer. 

599.  CHARITY,  Rule  of.  A  physician  is  not 

angry  at  the  intemperance  of  a  mad  patient, 
nor  does  he  take  it  ill  to  be  railed  at  by  a  man 
in  a  fever.  Just  so  should  a  wise  man  treat 
all  mankind,  as  a  physician  does  his  patient, 
and  look  upon  them  only  as  sick  and  extrava¬ 
gant.  Seneca. 

600.  CHARITY,  Self-denying.  John  Howard 
the  philanthopist,  having  settled  his  accounts 
at  the  close  of  a  particular  year,  found  a  bal¬ 
ance  in  his  favor,  and  proposed  to  his  wile 
to  make  use  of  it  in  a  journey  to  London. 
“  What  a  pretty  cottage  1'or  a  poor  family  it 
would  build  1  ”  was  her  answer.  This  hint 
met  with  cordial  approbation  ;  and  the  money 
was  laid  out  accordingly. 

601.  CHASTISEMENT,  Design  of.  This  is 
the  manner  of  God’s  proceedings,  —  to  send 
good  after  evil,  as  he  made  light  after  dark- 


CTHA-STISEIVrEJSrT. 


CTHKKRirTrL^SrKSS. 


83 


ness ;  to  turn  justice  into  mercy,  as  he  turned 
water  into  wine.  For  as  the  beasts  must  be 
killed  before  they  could  be  sacrificed,  so  men 
must  be  killed  before  they  can  be  sacrificed ; 
that  is,  the  knife  of  correction  must  prune  and 
dress  them,  and  lop  off  their  rotten  twigs,  be¬ 
fore  they  can  bring  forth  fruit.  These  are  the 
cords  which  bind  the  ram  unto  the  altar,  lest, 
when  he  is  brought  thither,  he  should  run  from 
thence  again ;  this  is  the  chariot  which  car- 
rieth  our  thoughts  to  heaven,  as  it  did  Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar’s  ;  this  is  the  hammer  which  squar- 
eth  the  rough  stones  till  they  be  plain  and 
smooth,  and  fit  for  the  temple.  H.  Smith. 

602.  CHASTISEMENT,  Use  of.  Mr.  Cecil, 
under  severe  conflicts  of  mind,  and  in  much 
heaviness,  went  to  walk  in  the  Botanical  Gar¬ 
dens,  where  he  observed  a  fine  pomegranate- 
tree,  cut  almost  through  near  the  root.  He 
asked  the  gardener  the  reason  of  this.  He 
said,  “  Sir,  this  tree  used  to  shoot  so  strong, 
that  it  bore  nothing  but  leaves.  I  was  obliged 
to  cut  it  in  this  manner;  and  when  it  was  al¬ 
most  cut  through,  then  it  began  to  bear  plenty 
of  fruit.”  Mr.  Cecil  went  back  to  his  room, 
comforted  by  the  lesson. 

603.  CHASTITY,  Legend  of  St.  Margaret.  Her 
story  is  singularly  wild.  She  was  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  a  priest  of  Antioch,  named  Theodosius ; 
and  in  her  infancy,  being  of  feeble  health,  she 
was  sent  to  a  nurse  in  the  country.  This 
woman,  who  was  secretly  a  Christian,  brought 
up  Margaret  in  the  true  faith.  The  holy 
maid,  while  employed  in  keeping  the  few  sheep 
of  her  nurse,  meditated  on  the  mysteries  of 
the  gospel,  and  devoted  herself  to  the  service 
of  Christ.  One  day,  the  governor  of  Antioch, 
whose  name  was  Olybrius,  in  passing  by  the 
place,  saw  her,  and  was  captivated  by  her 
beauty.  He  commanded  that  she  should  be 
carried  to  his  palace,  being  resolved,  if  she 
were  of  free  birth,  to  take  her  for  his  wife  ; 
but  Margaret  rejected  his  offers  with  scorn, 
and  declared  herself  the  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Her  father  and  all  her  relations  were 
struck  witli  horror  at  this  revelation.  They 
fled,  leaving  her  in  the  power  of  the  governor, 
who  endeavored  to  subdue  her  constancy  by 
the  keenest  torments.  They  were  so  terrible, 
that  the  tyrant  himself,  unable  to  endure  the 
sight,  covered  his  face  with  his  robe;  but  St. 
Margaret  did  not  quail  beneath  them.  Then 
she  was  dragged  to  a  dungeon,  where  Satan, 
in  the  form  of  a  terrible  dragon,  came  upon 
her  with  his  inflamed  and  hideous  mouth 
wide  open,  and  sought  to  terrify  and  confound 
her ;  but  she  held  up  the  cross  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer,  and  he  fled  before  it.  Or,  according 
to  the  more  popular  version,  he  swallowed  her 
up  alive,  but  immediately  burst;  and  she 
emerged  unhurt :  another  form  of  the  familiar 
allegory,  the  power  of  sin  overcome  by  the 
power  of  the  cross.  He  returned  in  the  form 
of  a  man  to  tempt  her  further ;  but  she  over¬ 
came  him,  and,  placing  her  foot  on  his  head, 
forced  him  to  confess  his  foul  wickedness,  and 
to  answer  to  her  questions.  She  was  again 
brought  before  the  tyrant,  and,  again  refusing 


to  abjure  her  faith,  she  was  further  tortured  ; 
but  the  sight  of  so  much  constancy  in  one  so 
young  and  beautiful  only  increased  the  num¬ 
ber  of  converts :  so  that  in  one  day  five  thou¬ 
sand  were  baptized,  and  declared  themselves 
ready  to  die  with  her.  Therefore  the  govern¬ 
or  took  counsel  how  this  might  be  prevented  ; 
and  it  was  advised  that  she  should  be  behead¬ 
ed  forthwith.  And,  as  they  led  her  forth  to 
death,  she  thanked  and  glorified  God  that  her 
travail  was  ended ;  and  received  joyfully  the 
crown  of  martyrdom,  being  beheaded  by  the 
sword.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

604.  CHEERFULNESS,  Benefits  of.  Of  all 
the  virtues,  cheerfulness  is  the  most  profitable. 
It  makes  the  person  who  exercises  it  happy, 
and  renders  him  acceptable  to  all  he  meets. 
While  other  virtues  defer  the  day  of  recom¬ 
pense,  cheerfulness  pays  down.  It  is  a  cos¬ 
metic,  which  makes  homeliness  graceful  and 
winning ;  it  promotes  health,  and  gives  clear¬ 
ness  and  vigor  to  the  mind ;  it  is  the  bright 
weather  of  the  heart,  in  contrast  to  the  clouds 
and  gloom  of  melancholy.  .S’.  G.  Goodrich. 

605.  CHEERFULNESS,  Christian.  It  honors 
religion,  it  proclaims  to  the  world  we  serve  a 
good  Master.  Cheerfulness  is  a  friend  to  grace  : 
it  puts  the  heart  in  tune  to  praise  God.  Un¬ 
cheerful  Christians,  like  the  spies,  bring  an 
evil  report  on  the  good  land ;  others  suspect 
there  is  something  unpleasant  in  religion,  that 
they  who  profess  it  hang  their  harps  upon  the 
willows,  and  walk  so  dejectedly.  Be  serious, 
yet  cheerful.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always. 

T.  Watsor. 

606.  CHEERFULNESS,  Cultivating.  Try  it 

for  a  day,  I  beseech  you,  to  preserve  yourself 
in  an  easy  and  cheerful  frame  of  mind.  Be 
but  for  one  day,  instead  of  a  fire-worshipper 
of  passion,  the  sun-worshipper  of  clear  self- 
possessions,  and  compare  the  day  in  which 
you  have  rooted  out  the  weed  of  dissatisfaction 
with  that  on  which  you  have  allowed  it  to 
grow  up  ;  and  you  will  find  your  heart  open  to 
every  good  motive,  your  life  strengthened,  and 
your  breast  armed  with  a  panoply  against 
every  trick  of  fate  :  truly  you  will  wonder  at 
your  own  improvement.  Richter. 

667.  CHEERFULNESS,  Example  of.  As  a  little 
girl  was  eating  her  dinner,  the  golden  rays  of 
the  sun  fell  upon  her  spoon.  She  put  the  spoon 
to  her  mouth,  exclaiming,  “  O  uia !  I  have 
swallowed  a  whole  spoonful  of  sunshine.” 

B.  M.  Adams. 

608.  CHEERFULNESS,  Fruits  of.  Cheerful¬ 
ness  and  a  festival  spirit  fill  the  soul  full  of 
harmony ;  it  composes  music  for  churches  and 
hearts;  it  makes  and  publishes  glorifications 
of  God ;  it  produces  thankfulness,  and  serves 
the  end  of  charity ;  and,  when  the  oil  of  glad¬ 
ness  runs  over,  it  makes  bright  and  tall  emis¬ 
sions  of  light  and  holy  fires,  reaching  up  to  a 
cloud,  making  joy  round  about:  and  therefore, 
since  it  is  so  innocent,  and  may  be  so  pious 
and  full  of  holy  advantage,  whatsoever  can 
innocently  minister  to  this  holy  joy  does  set 
forward  the  work  of  religion  and  charity. 

Bp.  Taylor. 


84 


CHIGKriFXrLISrESS. 


CHILDREN. 


609.  CHEERFULNESS,  in  Misfortune.  A  sol¬ 
dier,  looking  at  a  bullet-hole  through  his  leg, 
said,  “  Well,  that’s  a  fancy  hole.  Now,  that’ll 
get  me  a  furlough,  — just  what  my  wife 
wants.” 

680.  CHEERFULNESS,  Reason  of.  “Charlie, 
what  is  it  that  makes  you  so  sweet  ?  ”  said  a 
loving  mother,  one  day,  to  her  little  boy,  as  she 
pressed  him  to  her  bosom.  “  I  dess,  when  God 
made  me  out  of  dust,  he  put  a  little  tliugar  in,” 
said  Charlie. 

611.  CHILD,  Cost  of  a.  “  IIow  much  that 

little  girl  costs  1  ”  said  a  mother,  as  she  and  I 
passed  a  little  child  leaning  against  an  iron 
railing,  eagerly  watching  some  boys  playing  at 
marbles.  “  Costs  1  ”  I  said.  “  What,  her  shoes 
and  socks,  her  plaid  dress  and  gay  ribbons,  her 
hat  and  feathers,  her  —  ?”  —  “That  is  her 
least  cost,”  replied  the  mother ;  “  nor  was 
I  thinking  of  that,  but  what  pain  and 
suffering  she  costs,  what  fatigue  and  watch¬ 
ing,  how  much  of  a  mother’s  anxiety,  how 
much  of  a  father’s  toil,  how  many  pray¬ 
ers,  how  many  fears,  how  many  yearnings, 
how  much  patience,  how  much  responsi¬ 
bility,  how  much  instruction,  how  much  cor¬ 
rection,  how  much  love,  how  much  sorrow, 
how  many  teachers,  how  many  sermons,  how 
many  Sabbaths !  She  costs,  too,  a  dying 
Redeemer !  ”  Cameron. 

612.  CHILD,  Faith  of  a.  Some  time  ago,  a 
boy  was  discovered  in  the  street,  evidently 
intelligent,  but  sick.  A  man  who  had  the 
feeling  of  kindness  strongly  developed  went 
*o  ask  him  what  he  was  doing  there.  “  Wait¬ 
ing  for  God  to  come  to  me  ”  —  “  What  do  you 
mean  ?  ”  said  the  gentleman,  Cached  by  the 
pathetic  tone  of  the  answer  of  the  boy,  in 
whose  eyes  and  flushed  face  he  saw  the  evi¬ 
dence  of  fever.  “  God  sent  for  mother  and 
father  and  little  brother,”  said  he,  “  and  took 
them  away  to  his  home  up  in  the  sky ;  and 
mother  told  me,  when  she  was  sick,  that  God 
would  take  care  of  me.  I  have  no  home,  no¬ 
body  to  give  me  any  thing  ;  and  so  I  came  here, 
and  have  been  looking  so  long  up  in  the  sky 
for  God  to  come  and  take  care  of  me,  as 
mother  said  he  would.  He  will  come,  won't 
he?  Mother  never  told  a  lie.” — “  Yes,  my 
lad,”  said  the  man,  overcome  with  emotion. 

“  He  has  sent  me  to  take  care  of  you.”  You 
should  have  seen  his  eyes  flash,  and  the  smile 
of  triumph  break  over  his  face,  as  he  said, 

“  Mother  neyer  told  me  a  lie,  sir ;  but  you 
have  been  so'long  on  the  way  1  ” 

613.  CHILD,  a  Happy.  A  little  boy  went  to 
his  mother,  one  morning,  with  a  broken  arrow, 
and  begged  her  to  mend  it  for  him.  It  was  a 
very  handsome  arrow,  and  was  the  pride  of 
his  heart,  just  then  ;  so  she  did  not  wonder  to 
see  his  lip  quivering,  and  the  tears  come  into 
his  eyes.  “  I’ll  try  to  fix  it,  darling,”  she  said ; 

“  but  I’m  afraid  I  can’t  do  it.”  He  watched 
her  anxiously  tor  a  few  moments,  and  then 
said  cheerfully,  “  Never  mind,  mamma  :  if  you  j 
can’t  fix  it,  77/  be  just  as  happy  without  it.”  ■. 

614.  CHILD,  Influence  of  a.  A  little  boy  i 
asked  his  ungodly  father,  “  Dear  pa,  why  don’t  I 


you  do  as  Uncle  Isaac  does  ?  ”  His  attention 
was  immediately  arrested ;  and  he  inquired, 
“  How  does  your  Uncle  Isaac  do,  my  son  ?  ” 
The  reply  was,  “  He  prays  in  his  family.” 
This  simple  remark  went  with  power  to  the 
father’s  heart,  and  he  began  to  call  on  the 
Lord  to  have  mercy  on  him.  He  continued 
his  suit  at  the  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace  ; 
and  his  desire  for  salvation  was  so  great,"  that 
he  was  willing  to  use  any  means,  or  do  any  duty. 
He  erected  the  family  altar,  and  dedicated 
his  children  to  the  Lord.  He  is  now  a  living 
and  happy  Christian. 

615.  CHILD,  Work  for  a.  A  little  boy  once 
said  to  his  parents,  “  I  should  like  to  have 
lived  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour,  that  I  might 
have  done  something  for  him.”  His  mother 
replied,  smiling,  “  What  could  a  child  of  your 
age  have  done  for  him  to  prove  your  good 
will  ?  ”  The  little  boy  reflected  an  instant : 
“  I  would  have  run  everywhere,  doing  his 
errands.” 

616.  CHILDHOOD,  Analogy  of.  A  bud  is  sel¬ 
dom  unprotected  :  it  is  usually  covered  with 
thick  and  firm  scales,  which  shield  it  from  the 
cold  winds  and  frosts  of  early  spring,  as  safely 
as  a  brood  of  chickens  under  the  protecting 
wings  of  the  hen.  Like  this  is  the  protection 
the  All-Father  throws  around  childhood,  in 
the  family  relation,  and  the  influence  of  the 
Sunday  school.  The  helplessness  of  childhood 
appeals  to  us  for  instruction  and  care. 

617.  CHILDHOOD,  Innocence  of.  A  child  is  a 

man  in  small  letter,  yet  the  best  copy  of  Adam 
before  he  tasted  the  apple.  His  soul  is  yet  a 
white  paper,  unscribbled  with  observations  of 
the  world,  wherewith  it  becomes  at  length  a 
blurred  note-book.  Bp.  Erie. 

6fl§.  CHILDHOOD,  Second.  Rev.  Dr.  Nott 
sai.K  into  a  second  childhood  that  was  pecu¬ 
liarly  tender.  The  last  hours  of  his  life  were 
particularly  impressive.  He  lay  on  his  bed, 
blind,  and  apparently  unconscious.  His  wife 
sat  by  his  bedside,  and  sang  to  him,  day  by  day, 
the  songs  of  his  childhood.  He  was  hushed 
to  repose  by  them,  like  an  infant  on  its  pillow. 
Watts’s  cradle-hymn,  “  Hush,  my  dear  !  lie  still 
and  slumber,”  always  soothed  him.  Visions 
of  home  floated  before  him,  and  the  name  of 
his  mother  was  frequently  on  his  lips.  The 
last  time  he  conducted  family  devotions 
with  his  household,  he  closed  his  prayer  with 
the  well-known  lines,  “  Now  I  lay  me  down  to 
sleep,”  &c.  Boston  Journal. 

619.  CHILDREN,  Advantage  of.  What  would 

an  engine  be  to  a  ship  if  it  were  lying  loose  in 
the  hull  ?  It  must  be  fastened  to  it  with  bolts 
and  screws  before  it  can  propel  the  vessel. 
Now,  a  childless  man  is  like  a  loose  engine. 
A  man  must  be  bolted  and  screwed  to  the 
community  before  lie  can  work  well  for  its  ad¬ 
vancement  ;  and  there  are  no  such  screws  and 
bolts  as  children.  Beecher. 

620.  CHILDREN,  a  Blessing.  I  remember  a 
great  man  coming  into  my  house  at  Waltham; 
and,  seeing  all  my  children  standing  in  the  order 
of  their  age  and  stature,  he  said,  “  These  are 
they  that  make  rich  men  poor.”  But  ha 


CHn^DREN. 


CHILDREN. 


85 


straight  received  this  answer,  “  Nay,  my  lord, 
these  are  they  that  make  a  poor  man  rich  ;  for 
there  is  not  one  of  these  whom  we  would  part 
with  for  all  your  wealth.”  Bp.  Hall. 

621.  CHILDREN,  Bringing  np.  The  late  Dr. 
Henry  Ware,  when  once  asked  by  a  parent  to 
draw  up  some  set  of  rules  for  government  of 
children,  replied  by  an  anecdote  :  “  Dr.  Hitch¬ 
cock,”  he  said  “  was  settled  in  Sandwich ;  and, 
when  he  made  Ins  first  exchange  with  the  Ply¬ 
mouth  minister,  he  must  needs  pass  through 
the  Plymouth  Woods,  a  nine  miles’  wilderness, 
where  travellers  almost  always  got  lost,  and  fre¬ 
quently  came  out  at  the  point  they  started  from. 
Dr.  Hitchcock,  on  entering  this  much  dreaded 
labyrinth,  met  an  old  woman,  and  asked  her  to 
give  him  some  directions  for  getting  through 
the  woods  so  as  to  fetch  up  at  Plymouth, 
rather  than  Sandwich.  ‘  Certainly,’  she  said, 

‘  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  with  the  greatest 
pleasure.  You  will  just  keep  right  on  till  you 
get  some  ways  into  the  woods,  and  you  will 
come  to  a  place  where  several  roads  branch 
off.  Then  you  must  stop  and  consider,  and 
take  the  one  that  seems  to  you  most  likely  to 
bring  you  out  right.’  He  did  so,  and  came  out 
right.”  Dr.  Ware  added,  “I  have  always 
followed  the  worthy  and  sensible  old  lady’s 
advice  in  bringing  up  my  children.  I  do  not 
think  anybody  can  do  better :  at  any  rate, 

I  cannot.”  Good  common  sense,  doubtless,  is 
often  better  than  all  set  rules ;  but  the  thing 
is  to  have  it. 

622-625.  CHILDREN,  Deaths  of.  A  delicate 
child,  pale,  and  prematurely  wise,  was  complain¬ 
ing,  on  a  hot  morning,  that  the  poor  dewdrops 
had  been  too  hastily  snatched  away,  and  not 
allowed  to  glitter  on  the  flowers,  like  other 
happier  dewdrops  that  live  the  whole  night 
through,  and  sparkle  in  the  moonlight,  and 
through  the  morning,  onwards  to  noonday. 

“  The  sun,”  said  the  child,  “  has  chased  them 
away  with  -his  heat,  or  swallowed  them  in  his 
wrath.”  Soon  after  came  rain  and  a  rain¬ 
bow  ;  whereupon  his  father  pointed  upwards. 

“  See  1  ”  said  he,  “  there  stand  thy  dewdrops, 
gloriously  reset,  a  glittering  jewelry  in  the 
heavens ;  and  the  clownish  foot  tramples  on 
them  no  more.  By  this,  my  child,  thou  art 
taught  that  what  withers  on  earth  blooms 
again  in  heaven.”  Thus  the  father  spoke,  and 
knew  not  that  he  spoke  prefiguring  words  ;  for, 
soon  after,  the  delicate  child,  with  the  morning 
brightness  of  his  earthly  wisdom,  was  exhaled, 
like  a  dewdrop,  into  heaven.  Richter. 

623.  A  shepherd  was  mourning  over  the 
death  of  his  favorite  child,  and,  in  the  pas¬ 
sionate  and  rebellious  feelings  of  his  heart,  was 
bitterly  complaining  that  what  he  loved  most 
tenderly,  and  was  in  itself  most  lovely,  had 
been  taken  from  him.  Suddenly  a  stranger 
of  grave  and  venerable  appearance  stood  be¬ 
fore  him,  and  beckoned  him  forth  into  the 
field.  It  was  night,  and  not  a  word  was  < 
spoken  till  they  arrived  at  the  fold,  when  the 
stranger  thus  addressed  him :  “  When  you  : 
select  one  of  these  lambs  from  the  flock,  you 
choose  the  best  and  most  beautiful  among  i 


them.  Why  should  you  murmur  because  I, 
the  Good  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  have  selected 
from  those  which  you  have  nourished  for  me 
the  one  that  was  most  fitted  for  my  eternal 
fold  ?  ”  The  mysterious  stranger  was  seen  no 
more,  and  the  father’s  heart  was  comforted. 

624.  A  little  girl,  gasping  for  her  last  mor¬ 
tal  breath,  said,  “Father,  take  me  I  ”  Her 
father,  who  sat  dissolved  in  tears  by  her  bed¬ 
side,  lilted  her  into  his  lap.  She  smiled, 
thanked  him,  and  said,  “  I  spoke  to  my  hea¬ 
venly  Father,”  and  died. 

625.  Our  children  that  die  young  are  like 
those  spring  bulbs  which  have  their  flowers 
prepared  belorehand,  and  leave  nothing  to  do 
but  to  break  ground,  and  blossom,  and  pass 
away.  Thank  God  for  spring  flowers  among 
men,  as  well  as  among  the  grasses  of  the  field  1 

Beechei 

626.  CEILDREN,  Destroyer  of.  During  a  great 
famine  in  the  city  of  Myra,  St.  Nicholas  per¬ 
formed  one  of  his  most  stupendous  miracles. 
As  he  was  travelling  through  his  diocese  to 
visit  and  comfort  his  people,  he  lodged  in  the 
house  of  a  certain  host  who  was  a  son  of  Satan. 
This  man,  in  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  was 
accustomed  to  steal  little  children,  whom  he 
murdered  ;  and  served  up  their  limbs  as  meat 
to  his  guests.  On  the  arrival  of  the  bishop 
and  his  retinue,  he  had  the  audacity  to  serve 
up  the  dismembered  limbs  of  these  unhappy 
children  before  the  man  of  God,  who  had  no 
sooner  cast  his  eyes  on  them  than  he  was  aware 
of  the  fraud.  He  reproached  the  host  with 
his  abominable  crime ;  and,  going  to  the  tub 
where  their  remains  were  salted  down,  he  made 
over  them  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  they  rose 
up  whole  and  well.  The  people  who  witnessed 
this  great  wonder  were  struck  with  astonish¬ 
ment  (as,  indeed,  they  might  well  be)  ;  and  the 
three  children,  who  were  the  sons  of  a  poor 
widow,  were  restored  to  their  weeping  mother. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

627.  CHILDREN,  Discipline  of.  As  young 

plants  being  straightened  while  they  be  ten¬ 
der,  and  trimmed  with  pruning  and  other 
parts  of  husbandry,  will  grow  very  goodly  to 
behold  in  their  greatness,  which  being  neg¬ 
lected,  are  many  times  very  crooked,  and  unfat 
for  divers  uses :  so,  likewise,  do  young  men 
and  women,  for  the  most  part,  prove  as  they 
are  nurtured  in  their  youth.  Cawdray. 

628.  CHILDREN,  Duty  of.  An  old  school¬ 
master  said,  one  day,  to  a  clergyman  who  came 
to  examine  his  school,  “  I  believe  the  children 
know  the  catechism,  word  for  word.”  — “But 
do  they  understand  it  ?  that  is  the  question,” 
said  the  clergyman.  1  The  schoolmaster  only 
bowed  respectfully,  and  the  examination  began. 
A  little  boy  had  repeated  the  fifth  command¬ 
ment,  “Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother;” 
and  he  was  desired  to  explain  it.  Instead  of 
trying  to  do  so,  the  little  fellow,  with  his  face 
covered  with  blushes,  said,  almost  in  a  whis¬ 
per,  “  Yesterday,  sir,  I  showed  some  6trange 
gentlemen  over  the  mountain.  The  sharp 
stones  cut  my  feet ;  and  the  gentlemen  saw 
them  bleeding,  and  they  gave  me  some  money 


86 


CHILDREN. 


CHILDREN". 


to  buy  me  shoes.  I  gave  it  to  my  mother,  for  she 
had  no  shoes  either  ;  and  I  thought  I  could  go 
barefoot  better  than  she.”  The  clergyman  then 
looked  very  much  pleased  ;  and  the  old  school¬ 
master  only  quietly  remarked,  “  God  gives  us  his 
grace  and  his  blessing!  ”  Christian  Treasury. 

629.  CHILDREN,  Early  Training  of.  Near  the 
top  of  one  of  the  loftiest  summits  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  more  than  ten  thousand  teet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean,  are  two  fountains,  so 
near,  and  so  nearly  on  a  level,  that  it  would 
be  no  great  stretch  of  the  power  and  art  of 
man  to  divert  the  streamlet  which  issues  from 
either  fountain  into  that  which  issues  from  the 
other.  If  you  follow  the  course  of  one  of  these 
infant  rivers,  you  find  it,  from  some  slight 
inclination  of  the  plain,  taking  an  easterly 
direction,  and  after  traversing,  for  some  dis¬ 
tance,  the  broad  plateau  in  which  it  rises,  de¬ 
scending  from  valley  to  valley,  receiving  every 
few  miles  a  fresh  impulse  from  some  tributary 
stream,  until  at  length,  uniting  with  a  thou¬ 
sand  others,  it  finds  an  ocean  home  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  through  the  mouth  of  the 
great  “  Father  of  Waters.”  If  now,  retracing 
your  steps  to  the  point  of  departure,  you  fol¬ 
low  in  like  manner  the  course  of  the  other 
stream,  you  find  yourself  descending  gradual¬ 
ly  in  a  westerly  direction,  until,  by  a  process 
exactly  the  counterpart  of  the  former,  you  are 
led  through  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  into 
the  bosom  of  the  great  Pacific.  To  go  from 
the  terminus  of  one  stream  to  the  terminus 
of  the  other,  you  must  overcome  an  ascent 
of  more  than  ten  thousand  feet,  and  travel  not 
less  than  five  thousand  miles.  Yet  in  their 
outset  these  two  streams  were  neighbors. 
Neither  of  them  seemed  to  have  any  positive 
or  determined  bias  one  way  or  the  other.  A 
very  ordinary  amount  of  effort  would  seem  to 
be  sufficient  to  make  the  easterly  stream  run 
west,  or  the  westerly  stream  run  east. 

639.  CHILDREN,  Education  of.  As  life  and 
death  are  in  the  power  of  the  tongue,  so,  also, 
we  may  well  say,  life  and  death  are  in  the 
education  of  our  children  :  for,  if  they  be  well 
brought  up,  it  shall  be  life  unto  them;  but,  if 
it  be  otherwise,  they  be  trained  up  to  ever¬ 
lasting  death.  Cawdray. 

631.  CHILDREN,  God’s  Care  for.  There  is  a 
story  of  a  rich  woman,  that,  being  at  a  poor 
woman’s  labor,  the  child  being  new-born,  and 
nothing  to  be  had  for  its  comfort,  “  See  1  ”  said 
she,  without  any  pity  or  compassion,  “  here  is 
the  mouth,  but  where  is  the  meat  ?  ”  Not 
long  after,  the  same  rich  woman  was  delivered 
of  a  dead  child,  when  another  woman,  present 
at  her  labor,  said,  “  See !  here  is  meat  enough, 
but  where  is  the  mouth  ?  ”  Let  none  grudge 
or  repine  at  their  issue,  be  it  ever  so  numerous, 
nor  grumble  at  the  greatness  of  their  charge. 
God  never  sent  a  mouth  but  he  sends  meat  for 
that  mouth.  He  can  as  well  feed  many  as 
few,  make  the  poor  man’s  penny  go  as  far  as 
the  rich  man’s  pound.  He  is  the  great  house¬ 
keeper,  that  giveth  every  living  thing  meat  in 
due  season  ;  and  those  little  ones  that  bear  his 
image  are  by  no  means  excluded.  Spencer. 


632.  CHILDREN,  Government  of.  As  for  our¬ 

selves,  we  tried  the  rod  on  our  own  children, 
but  are  now  trying  the  sugar-plum  with  our 
grandchildren.  Thus  far,  our  success  is  re¬ 
markable.  Family  government  has  risen  in 
popularity.  Children  cry  for  it.  Our  children 
used  to  look  with  aversion  on  the  spot  where 
we  locked  up  the  switch ;  but  now  there  is 
not  in  the  whole  house  a  place  so  favorite  as 
the  drawer  where  is  stored  the  sweet  moral 
suasion.  Good  conduct  thrives ;  obedience 
is  at  a  premium ;  the  will  is  broken ;  the 
children  are  governed  without  knowing  it. 
Blessings  on  sugar-plums  1  Beecher. 

633.  CHILDREN,  Indiscretion  of.  A  gentle¬ 

man  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  at  a  neigh¬ 
bor’s  house,  and  the  lady  had  always  expressed 
to  him  great  pleasure  from  his  calls.  One 
day,  just  after  she  had  remarked  to  him,  as 
usual,  her  happiness  from  his  visit,  her  little 
boy  entered  the  room.  The  gentleman  took 
him  on  his  knee,  and  asked,  “  Are  you  not  glad 
to  see  me,  George?”  —  “No,  sir,”  replied  the 
boy.  “  Why  not,  my  little  man  ?  ”  he  con¬ 
tinued.  “  Because  mother  don’t  want  you  to 
come,”  said  George.  “  Indeed  1  how  do  you 
know  that,  George  ?  ”  Here  the  mother  be¬ 
came  crimson,  and  looked  daggers  at  her  little 
son  ;  but  he  saw  nothing,  and  therefore  re¬ 
plied,  “  Because  she  said,  yesterday,  she  wish¬ 
ed  that  old  bore  would  not  call  here  again.” 
That  was  enough.  The  gentleman’s  hat  was 
soon  in  requisition ;  and  he  left  with  the  im¬ 
pression  that  “  great  is  the  truth,  and  it  will 
prevail.”  Dr.  Haven. 

634.  CHILDREN,  Influence  of.  Men  cannol 
be  developed  pei’fectly  who  have  not  been 
compelled  to  bring  children  up  to  manhood 
You  might  as  well  say  that  a  tree  is  a  perfect 
tree  without  leaf  or  blossom,  as  to  say  that  a 
man  is  a  man  who  has  gone  through  life 
without  experiencing  the  influences  that  come 
from  bending  down,  and  giving  one’s  self 
up  to  those  who  are  helpless  and  little. 

Beecher 

635.  CHILDREN,  Inflnence  over.  The  mothei 

of  a  family  was  married  to  an  infidel,  whe 
made  jest  of  religion  in  the  presence  of  his 
own  children ;  yet  she  succeeded  in  bringing 
them  all  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  I  asked 
her  one  day  how  she  preserved  them  from  the 
influence  of  a  father  whose  sentiments  were  so 
opposed  to  her  own.  This  was  her  answer : 
“  Because,  to  the  authority  of  a  father ,  I  do  nol 
oppose  the  authority  of  a  mother,  but  that  of 
God.  From  their  earliest  years,  my  children 
have  always  seen  the  Bible  upon  my  table. 
This  holy  book  has  constituted  the  whole  of 
their  religious  instruction.  I  was  silent,  that 
I  might  allow  it  to  speak.  Did  they  propose  a 
question,  did  they  commit  a  fault,  did  they 
perlorm  a  good  action,  I  opened  the  Bible,  and 
the  Bible  answered,  reproved,  or  encouraged 
them.  The  constant  reading  of  the  Scriptures 
has  wrought  the  prodigy  which  surprises 
you.”  A.  Monod. 

636.  CHILDREN,  Loss  of.  I  am  rather  pleased 
when  my  neighbors  gather  on  festive  occasions 


CHILDREN. 


CHILDREN. 


87 


and  send  for  my  children,  and  say,  “  Let  the 
little  girl  come  over  and  spend  the  day.”  We 
dress  her  with  the  greatest  care,  and  send 
her  to  them  with  a  secret  pride  of  love,  feeling 
that  there  is  no  greater  compliment  to  us  than 
that  our  friends  want  our  children  for  the  day. 
If  God  says  to  me,  “  I  want  your  children,” 
shall  I  not  have  faith  in  him  ?  and  shall  I  not 
dress  them  in  their  best,  and  send  them  to  him  ? 
If  you  are  following  the  ideal  of  a  true  life, 
what  if  husband  or  wife  or  child  is  called 
away,  and  you  are  left  ?  You  have  but  lent 
them  to  God,  and  you  are  following  close  after. 

Beecher. 

637.  CHILDREN,  Loving.  A  brother  and  sis¬ 
ter  loved  one  another  very  much.  He  was  the 
older,  and  was  taken  ill,  and  died.  They  laid 
him  out  on  his  own  little  bed ;  and  the  mother 
took  his  little  sister  to  look  at  him.  As  she 
stood  looking  at  his  sweet  face,  as  white  and 
cold  as  marble,  she  wept  very  much.  At 
last  she  said,  “  Mother,  may  I  take  hold  of 
his  hand  ?  ”  Mother  did  not  like  to  let  her, 
it  was  so  cold :  but,  after  a  little  time,  she 
placed  it  in  hers ;  when  the  dear  child,  lifting 
it  up,  and  stroking  it  gently,  said,  “  This  little 
hand  never  struck  me  1  ” 

638.  CHILDREN,  Members  of  the  Church.  I 
have,  during  the  past  year,  received  forty  or 
fifty  children  into  church-membership.  Among 
those  I  have  had  at  any  time  to  exclude  from 
church-fellowship,  out  of  a  church  of  twenty- 
seven  hundred  members,  I  have  never  had  to 
exclude  a  single  one  who  was  received  while 
yet  a  child.  Teachers  and  superintendents 
should  not  merely  believe  in  the  possibility  of 
early  conversion,  but  in  the  frequency  of  it. 

Spurgeon. 

639.  CHILDREN,  Olive-Plants,  “  Follow  me,” 
says  a  recent  traveller  in  Palestine,  “  into 
the  grove,  and  I  will  show  you  what  may  have 
suggested  the  comparison.  Here  we  have  hit 
upon  a  beautiful  illustration.  This  aged  and 
decayed  tree  is  surrounded,  as  you  see,  by 
several  young  and  thrifty  shoots,  which  spring 
from  the  roots  of  the  venerable  parent.  They 
seem  to  uphold,  protect,  and  embrace  it.  We 
may  even  fancy  that  they  now  bear  that  load 
of  fruit  which  would  otherwise  be  dcsnanded 
of  the  feeble  parent.  Thus  do  good  and  affec¬ 
tionate  children  gather  round  the  table  of  the 
righteous.  Each  contributes  something  to  the 
common  wealth  and  welfare  of  the  whole,  —  a 
beautiful  sight,  with  which  may  God  refresh 
the  eyes  of  every  friend  of  mine  1  ” 

640.  CHILDREN,  Over-trained.  Many  chil¬ 
dren  grow  up  like  plants  under  bell-glasses. 
They  are  surrounded  only  by  artificial  and 
prepared  influences.  They  are  house-bred, 
room-bred,  nurse-bred,  mother-bred,  —  every 
thing  but  self-bre<I.  The  object  of  training  is 
to  teach  the  child  to  take  care  of  himself : 
but  many  parents  use  their  children  only  as  a 
kind  of  spool  on  which  to  reel  off  their  own 
experience ;  and  they  are  bound  and  corded 
until  they  perish  by  inanity,  or  break  all  bonds 
and  cords,  and  rush  to  ruin  by  re-action. 

Beecher. 


641.  CHILDREN,  Power  of.  As  Alexander 

the  Great  attained  to  have  such  a  puissant 
army,  whereby  he  conquered  the  world,  by 
having  children  born  and  brought  up  in  his 
camp,  whereby  they  became  so  well  acquaint¬ 
ed  and  exercised  with  weapons  from  their 
swaddling-clothes,  that  they  looked  for  no 
other  wealth  or  country  but  to  fight :  even 
so,  if  thou  wouldst  have  thy  children  either 
to  do  great  matters,  or  to  live  honestly  by 
their  own  virtuous  endeavors,  thou  must  ac¬ 
quaint  them  with  painstaking  in  their  youth, 
and  so  to  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord.  Cawdray. 

64 2.  CHILDREN,  Prepare  to  Die.  A  young 
prince,  whose  mind  had  learned  in  some  degree 
to  value  religious  truth,  asked  his  tutor  to  give 
him  suitable  instruction,  that  he  might  be  pre¬ 
pared  for  death.  *•  Plenty  of  time  for  that 
when  you  are  older,”  was  the  reply.  “  No  1  ” 
said  the  prince,  “  I  have  been  to  the  church¬ 
yard  and  measured  the  graves  ;  and  there  are 
many  shorter  than  I  am.” 

643.  CHILDREN,  Providing  for.  The  Rev. 
Moses  Browne  had  twelve  children.  On  one 
remarking  to  him,  “  Sir,  you  have  just  as 
many  children  as  Jacob,”  lie  replied,  “  Yes  ; 
and  I  have  Jacob’s  God  to  provide  for  them.” 

644.  CHILDREN,  Provision  for.  The  beetle 
was  placed  among  their  sacred  animals  by  the 
Egyptians,  on  account  of  its  provident  care 
of  its  young.  This  care  began  with  the  egg. 
The  beetle  rolled  it  in  a  substance  that  would 
serve  the  larvae  as  food  as  soon  as  hatched, 
and  deposited  it  in  the  earth,  below  the  reach 
of  frost ;  where  it  passed  the  winter  amid  the 
abundance  which  the  parents  had  provided. 
Images  of  these  animals,  carved  in  stone  or 
iron,  are  often  found  wrapped  up  in  the  mum¬ 
mies  of  the  Egyptians. 

645.  CHILDREN,  Respect  for.  It  is  said  of 
that  German  schoolmaster  John  Treb&nius, 
the  instructor  of  Martin  Luther,  that  he 
always  appeared  before  his  boys  with  un¬ 
covered  head.  “  Who  can  tell,”  said  he  “  what 
may  yet  rise  up  amid  these  youths  ?  There 
may  be  among  them  those  who  shall  be  learned 
doctors,  sage  legislators,  nay,  princes  of  the 
empire.”  Even  then  there  was  among  them 
that  “  solitary  monk  that  shook  the  world.” 

646.  CHILDREN,  Responsibility  of.  A  little 

Massachusetts  boy  was  one  day  playing  with 
some  knitting-needles,  when  he  was  about  two 
years  old.  His  mother  passed  through  the 
room,  and  said  to  him,  “  You  mustn’t  lose 
those  needles.  They  are  not  your  needles  : 
they  are  mine  ”  As  she  left  the  room,  she 
heard  the  little  boy  saying  to  himself,  “  No  :  I 
mustn’t  lose  these  needles.  They’re  not  my 
needles.  If  I  should  lose  them,  I  should  be 
despised ;  and,  when  I  grow  up  to  be  a  man, 
people  will  look  at  me,  and  say,  ‘  Where’s 
those  needles  ?  ’  ”  Little  Pilgrim. 

647.  CHILDREN,  Saving  the.  A  few  years 
ago,  a  steamer  was  coming  from  California. 
The  cry  of,  “  Fire,  fire  1  ”  suddenly  thrilled 
every  heart.  Every  effort  was  made  to  stay 
the  fiames ;  but  in  vain.  It  soon  became 


88 


CHILDREN 


CHOICE. 


evident  that  the  ship  must  be  lost.  The  only 
thought  now  was.  self-preservation.  The  burn¬ 
ing  mass  was  headed  for  the  shore,  which  was 
not  far  off.  A  passenger  was  seen  buckling 
his  belt  of  gold  around  his  waist,  ready  to 
plunge  into  the  waves.  Just  then,  a  pleading 
voice  arrested  him,  “  Please,  sir,  can  you 
swim  ?  ”  A  child’s  blue  eyes  were  piercing 
into  his  deepest  soul  as  he  looked  down  upon 
her.  “Yes,  child:  I  can  swim.” — “  Well,  sir, 
won’t  you  please  to  save  me V  ”  —  “I  cannot 
do  both,”  he  thought :  “  I  must  save  the  child, 
and  lose  the  gold.  But  a  moment  ago,  I  was 
anxious  for  this  whole  ship’s  company  :  now 
I  am  doubting  whether  I  shall  exchange  a 
human  life  tor  paltry  gold.”  Unbuckling  the 
belt,  he  cast  it  from  him,  and  said,  “  Yes,  little 
girl :  I  will  try  to  save  you.”  Stooping  down, 
he  bade  her  clasp  her  arms  around  Ins  neck. 

“  Thus,  child ;  not  so  tight  as  to  choke  me. 
There,  hang  on  now,  and  I  will  try  to  make  to 
the  land.”  The  child  bowed  herself  on  his 
broad  shoulders,  and  clung  to  her  deliverer. 
With  a  heart  thrice  strengthened,  and  an  arm 
thrice  nerved,  he  struck  out  for  the  shore. 
Wave  after  wave  washed  over  them  ;  but 
still  the  brave  man  held  out,  and  the  dear 
child  held  on,  until  a  mighty  mountain 
billow  swept  the  sweet  treasure  from  his 
embrace,  and  cast  him  senseless  on  the  bleak 
rocks.  Kind  hands  ministered  to  him.  Re¬ 
covering  his  consciousness,  the  form  of  the 
dear  child  met  his  earliest  gaze,  bending  over 
him  with  more  than  angel  ministrations,  and 
blessing  him  with  mute  but  eloquent  benedic¬ 
tions.  From  a  8.  8.  Speech. 

618.  CHILDREN,  Self-reliant.  If  a  boy  is  not 
trained  to  endure,  and  to  bear  trouble,  he  will 
grow  up  a  girl ;  and  a  boy  that  is  a  girl  has 
all  a  girl’s  weakness  without  any  of  her  regal 
qualities.  A  woman  made  out  of  a  woman 
is  God’s  noblest  work  ;  a  woman  made  out  of 
a  man  is  his  meanest.  A  child  rightly  brought 
up  will  be  like  a  willow-branch,  which,  broken 
off  and  touching  the  ground,  at  once  takes 
root.  Bring  up  your  children  so  that  they  will 
root  easily  in  their  own  soil,  and  not  forever 
be  grafted  into  your  old  trunk  and  boughs. 

Beecher. 

649.  CHILDREN,  Shielding  the.  Naturalists 
tell  us,  that  the  leaves  of  a  certain  tree  are 
exceedingly  offensive  to  venomous  serpents. 
A  traveller  relates,  that  seeing  a  bird  exhibit 
great  alarm  and  distress,  without  any  obvious 
cause,  he  watched  its  motions,  and  saw  it 
repeatedly  fly  to  such  a  tree,  pluck  a  leaf  from 
its  branches,  and,  returning,  deposit  it  carefully 
in  its  nest.  After  having  thus  wrought  for  a 
while,  the  mother-bird  perched  on  a  branch 
overlooking  her  nest,  and  there  watched  the 
slow  progress  of  a  large  serpent,  which  her 
vigilant  eye  had  discovered  ascending  the  tree. 
Coiling  itself  around  the  tree,  it  slowly  as¬ 
cended,  until,  with  glistening  eye  and  open 
mouth,  its  head  was  lifted  above  the  edge  of 
the  nest.  As  it  came  in  contact  with  the 
leaves  with  which  the  bird  had  covered  her 
voting,  the  snake  dropped  as  quickly  from  the  | 


tree  as  though  its  head  had  been  shattered  by 
a  bullet.  Dr.  Jewett. 

650.  CHILDREN,  Value  of,  A  Campanian 
lady,  who  was  very  rich,  and  fond  of  pomp 
and  show,  being  on  a  visit  to  Cornelia,  the 
illustrious  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  displayed 
her  diamonds  and  jewels  somewhat  ostenta¬ 
tiously,  and  requested  that  Cornelia  would  let 
her  see  her  jewels  also.  Cornelia  turned  the 
conversation  to  another  subject,  to  wait  the 
return  of  her  sons,  who  were  gone  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  schools.  When  they  returned,  and  had 
entered  their  mother’s  apartment,  she,  pointing 
to  them,  said  to  the  lady,  “  These  are  my  jew¬ 
els,  the  only  ornaments  I  admire.” 

651.  CHOICE,  of  Martins,  In  the  early  times 
of  the  Christian  Church,  a  Christian  soldier, 
named  Martius,  served  in  the  Roman  army. 
This  was  no  uncommon  circumstance  then, 
lie  was  young,  of  a  good  and  wealthy  family, 
and  much  respected  in  his  profession.  The 
office  of  centurion  becoming  vacant,  he  was 
chosen  as  a  suitable  person  to  hold  it.  But 
another  soldier  came  forward,  and  declared 
that  Martius,  being  a  Christian,  was  legally 
unfit  tor  the  post;  and  that  he  himself,  being 
next  in  rank,  ought  to  be  preferred,  Martius, 
being  questioned,  at  once  confessed  his  religion ; 
but  the  governor,  knowing  the  terrible  conse¬ 
quences  which  must  follow  if  the  point  were 
to  be  seriously  taken  up,  said  he  might  have 
three  hours  for  consideration,  after  which  the 
question  would  be  repeated.  Theotecnes, 
Bishop  of  Cassarea,  heard  what  was  going  on. 
He  came  to  the  tribunal,  and,  taking  the  arm 
of  Martius,  led  him  into  the  nearest  church. 
Then  taking  a  soldier’s  sword,  he  laid  it  down 
beside  a  New  Testament.  *•  And  now,”  he 
said,  “  choose,  my  son,  between  these  two.” 
Martius  did  not  hesitate :  he  laid  hold  at  once 
of  the  Word  of  God.  “  You  have  done  well, 
my  son,”  said  the  faithful  pastor.  “  Hold  fast 
by  Him  whom  you  have  chosen,  and  you  shall 
soon  enjoy  him  forever.  He  will  strengthen 
you  for  all  that  remains,  and  you  shall  depart 
in  peace.”  The  remaining  time  was  spent  in 
earnest  exhortation  and  solemn  prayer.  When 
the  three  hours  were  past,  he  was  again  sum¬ 
moned  to  the  bar.  He  boldly  confessed  his 
faith  in  Christ,  was  condemned  and  beheaded. 
His  name  will  ever  be  remembered  with  honor 
as  one  of  “  the  noble  army  of  martyrs.” 

652.  CHOICE,  A  Sad.  It  is  reported  of  a 
duke  of  the  Saracens,  that  being  brought  to 
the  water-side  to  be  baptized,  and  become  a 
Christian,  and  having  one  foot  in,  before  he 
would  wet  the  other,  he  demanded  of  the  bap- 
tizer  where  his  father,  mother,  kindred,  and 
friends  were,  who  died  without  baptism.  It 
was  answered  that  they  were  all  in  hell  with 
the  multitude  of  unbelievers  besides.  “  But 
whither  shall  I  go,”  says  he,  “  when  I  am  bap¬ 
tized  |  ”  —  “  To  heaven,”  said  the  priest,  “  if 
you  live  a  good  life.”  —  “  Nay,  then,”  says  he, 
pulling  his  foot  out  of  the  water,  “  take  your 
baptism  to  yourself :  let  me  go  to  that  place 
where  the  many,  not  where  the  few,  where 

I  my  Hiends  and  acquaintances,  and  a  great 


CHOICE. 


CHRIST. 


89 


number  of  all  sorts,  are.”  A  sad  choice,  to  go 
with  the  rabble  headlong  to  hell,  rather  than 
join  the  little  flock  of  Christ,  and  be  saved. 

Spencer. 

653.  CHOICE,  Safe.  A  wealthy  old  gentle¬ 
man  residing  in  London,  on  one  of  his  birth¬ 
days  invited  his  servants  into  the  house  to 
receive  presents.  “  What  will  you  have,”  said 
he,  addressing  the  groom,  “  this  Bible,  or  a 
twenty-dollar  note  ?  ”  —  “I  would  take  the 
Bible,  sir ;  but  I  cannot  read :  so  I  think 
the  money  will  do  me  more  good,”  replied  the 
hostler.  “  And  you  ?  ”  he  asked  the  gardener. 
“  My  poor  wife  is  so  ill,  that  I  sadly  need  the 
money,”  responded  the  gardener  with  a  bow. 
“  Mary,  you  can  read,”  said  the  old  man,  turn¬ 
ing  to  his  cook  :  “  will  you  have  this  Bible  ?  ” 
—  “I  can  read,  sir,  but  I  never  get  time  to 
look  into  a  book  ;  and  the  dollars  will  buy  me 
a  fine  dress.”  Next  was  the  chambermaid;  but 
she  had  one  Bible,  and  did  not  want  another. 
Last  came  the  errand-boy.  “  My  lad,”  said 
his  kind  benefactor,  “  will  you  take  these 
twenty  dollars,  and  replaee  your  shabby  clothes 
by  a  new  suit  ?  ”  —  “  Thank  you,  sir  ;  but  my 
dear  mother  used  to  read  to  me  that  the  law 
of  the  Lord  was  better  than  thousands  of  gold 
and  silver.  I  will  have  the  good  book,  if  you 
please.”  —  “  God  bless  you,  my  boy  1  and  may 
your  wise  choice  prove  riches  and  honor 
and  long  life  unto  you  !  ”  As  the  lad  received 
the  Bible,  and  unclasped  its  covers,  a  bright 
gold-piece  rolled  to  the  floor.  Quickly  turning 
its  pages,  he  found  them  thickly  interleaved 
with  bank-notes ;  while  the  four  servants, 
discovering  the  mistake  of  their  worldly  cov¬ 
etousness,  hastily  departed  in  chagrin. 

654.  CHOICE,  Wise.  A  king  once  said  to 
a  particular  favorite,  “  Ask  what  thou  wilt,  and 
I  will  give  it  unto  thee  1  ”  He  thought,  “  If  I 
ask  to  be  made  a  general,  I  shall  readily  ob¬ 
tain  it ;  if  for  half  the  kingdom,  he  will  give  it 
to  me.  I  will  ask  for  something  to  which  all 
these  things  shall  be  added.”  So  he  said  to  the 
king,  “  Give  me  thy  daughter  to  wile.”  This 
made  him  heir  to  all  the  wealth  and  honors  of 
the  kingdom.  So  choosing  Christ  makes  us 
heirs  to  all  the  wealth  and  glory  of  the  Father’s 
kingdom. 

655.  CHRIST,  Agony  of.  It  seems  too  costly 

for  him  who  is  the  Prince  of  life  and  glory 
to  let  his  fair  limbs  be  tortured  in  agony  ;  that 
the  hands  which  carried  mercies  should  be 
pierced  with  accursed  nails  ;  that  the  temples 
that  were  always  clothed  with  love  should  have 
cruel  thorns  driven  through  them  1  It  appears 
too  much  1  Oh  !  weep,  Christian,  and  let  our 
sorrow  rise.  Is  not  the  price  all  but  too  great, 
that  your  Beloved  should  for  you  resign  him¬ 
self?  Spurgeon. 

656.  CHRIST,  the  Alpha.  Take  Christ  first, 
before  you  think  of  doing  any  thing  else :  did 
he  not  say,  “  Without  me,  you  can  do  no¬ 
thing  ”  ?  So,  then,  all  you  do  without  him  is 
sheer  nothing,  however  pious  and  noble  it  may 
appear  in  the  eyes  of  men.  Is  he  not  the 
Alpha?  and  is  not  the  Alpha  the  first  letter? 
Then  do  not  fry  to  put  a  letter  before  it ;  do  I 


not  say  to  yourself,  “  I  will  try  to  obtain  a  true 
recognition  of  my  sins,  and  then  I  will  go  to 
Jesus  to  obtain  salvation.  This  is  beginning 
with  the  Z  instead  of  with  the  Alpha.  By 
doing  so,  you  make  yourself  like  that  fool  who 
said,  “  I  will  learn  to  swim  first,  and  then  I 
will  go  into  the  water.”  Do  you  want  to  know 
your  sins  truly  ?  Who  is  to  give  you  that 
knowledge  but  Christ  ?  Do  you  want  to  be¬ 
come  better  and  more  heavenly-minded  ? 
Who  can  give  you  that  godly  disposition  of 
heart  but  Christ  ?  Indeed,  every  thing  you 
want  is  within  the  sheepfold  of  God  ;  but  how 
can  you  get  within,  except  through  the  door, 
which  is  Christ  ?  “I  am  the  door,”  he  said  • 
“  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved, 
and  shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find  pasture.” 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

657.  CHRIST,  Ascension  of.  Having  spoiled 

his  enemies  on  the  cross,  he  further  makes  a 
public  triumphal  show  of  them  in  his  own 
person,  which  is  a  second  act.  As  the  manner 
of  the  Roman  emperors  was,  in  their  great 
triumph,  to  ride  through  the  city  in  the 
greatest  state,  and  have  all  the  spoils  carried 
before  them,  and  the  kings  and  nobles  whom 
they  had  taken  :  and  this  did  Christ  at  his 
ascension,  plainly  manifesting  by  his  open 
show  of  them,  that  he  had  spoiled  and  fully 
subdued  them.  T.  Goodwin. 

658.  CHRIST,  Attachment  to.  When  Bishop 
Bonner  told  John  Audly  of  the  pain  con¬ 
nected  with  burning,  with  a  view  of  leading 
him  to  recant,  he  replied,  “  If  I  had  as  many 
lives  as  there  are  hairs  on  my  head,  I  would 
lose  them  all  in  the  fire  before  I  would  lose 
Christ.” 

659.  CHRIST,  Attraction  of.  Among  the 
several  wonders  of  the  loadstone,  this  is  not 
the  least,  that  it  will  not  draw  gold  nor  pearl, 
but,  despising  these,  it  draws  the  iron  to  it, 
one  of  the  most  inferior  metals  :  thus  Christ 
leaves  the  angels,  those  noble  spirits,  the  gold 
and  the  pearl,  and  he  comes  to  poor  sinful 
man,  and  draws  him  into  his  embraces. 

T.  Watson. 

660.  Our  world  has  two  forces  :  it  has  one 
tendency  to  run  off  at  a  tangent  from  its  orbit; 
but  the  sun  draws  it  by  a  centripetal  power, 
and  attracts  it  to  itself,  and  so  between  the 
two  forces  it  is  kept  in  a  perpetual  circle. 
O  Christian !  thou  wilt  never  walk  aright, 
and  keep  in  the  orbit  of  truth,  if  it  be  not  for 
the  influence  of  Christ  perpetually  attracting 
thee  to  the  centre.  Thou  feelest  (and  if  thou 
dost  not  feel  always,  it  is  still  there),  —  thou 
feelest  an  attraction  between  thine  heart  and 
Christ;  and  Christ  is  perpetually  drawing  thee 
to  himself,  to  his  likeness,  to  his  character,  to 
his  love,  to  his  bosom,  and  in  that  way  thou 
art  kept  from  thy  natural  tendency  to  fly  off, 
and  to  be  lost  in  the  wide  fields  of  sin. 

Spurgeon. 

661.  CHRIST,  Baptized  with.  As  Elisha, 
when  he  would  revive  the  child  of  the  Shuna- 
mite,  went  up  and  lay  upon  him,  and  put  his 
mouth  upon  his  mouth,  and  his  hands  upon 
his  hands,  and  his  eyes  upon  his  eyes,  and 


90 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


stretched  himself  upon  him ;  even  so,  if 
thou  wouldst  he  revived  to  everlasting  life, 
thou  must  by  faith,  as  it  were,  set  thyself  upon 
the  cross  of  Christ,  and  apply  thy  hands  to 
his  hands,  thy  feet  to  his  feet,  and  thy  sinful 
heart  to  his  bleeding  heart,  and  content  not 
thyself,  with  Thomas,  to  put  thy  finger  into  his 
side,  but  even  dive  and  plunge  thyself  wholly, 
both  body  and  soul,  into  the  wounds  and  blood 
of  Christ.  Cawdray. 

662.  CHRIST,  Beauty  of.  Some  years  ago, 
during  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  a  poor  child 
in  Switzerland  was  watching  some  sheep  upon 
the  hills.  Having  no  knowledge  of  what  was 
about  to  happen,  she  saw  it  growing  dark  by 
degrees.  There  was  no  cloud  or  vapor  to  ac¬ 
count  for  the  change.  When  the  sun  was  at 
the  height  of  its  obscuration,  the  child  cried  out 
in  terror,  and  began  to  weep  terribly,  and  call 
for  help.  Her  tears  were  still  flowing  when 
some  one  reached  her;  and,  when  the  sun  ap¬ 
peared  again,  she  clapped  her  hands,  and 
exclaimed,  “0  beau.'iful  sun!”  How  much 
more  beautiful  is  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  to 
the  benighted  sinner ! 

663.  CHRIST,  in  the  Bible.  In  ancient  times, 
a  celebrated  artist  made  a  most  wonderful 
shield,  and  worked  his  own  name  into  it  so 
that  it  could  not  be  removed  without  destroy¬ 
ing  the  shield.  It  is  just  so  with  the  Bible  and 
Christ. 

664.  CHRIST,  a  Brother.  “  How  many  broth¬ 
ers  have  you  ?  ”  said  a  gentleman  to  a  little 
boy.  The  child  stated  the  number,  adding, 
“  and  one  in  heaven.”  —  “  No,  my  son,”  inter¬ 
posed  his  mother,  “you  have  no  brother  in 
heaven.”  —  “  Yes,  I  have,”  said  the  boy.  “  Did 
you  not  tell  me  that  God  was  my  Father,  and 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  ?  Then 
he  must  be  my  Brother  in  heaven.” 

665.  CHRIST,  Care  of.  Even  as  the  eagle, 

having  her  young  ones  shut  up  in  the  nest, 
although  she  flieth  exceeding  high,  and  pierceth 
the  lofty  air,  yet  she  withdraweth  not  her 
eyes  from  her  young  ones,  but  still  beholdeth 
them,  and  they  also,  crying  after  their  manner, 
with  their  stretched-out  necks,  do  look  after 
her,  —  even  so  the  Lord  Jesus,  ascending  into 
heaven,  did  behold  his  disciples  ;  and  they  also, 
hungering  and  thirsting  after  him,  did  fasten 
their  eyes  upon  him,  and  did  not  lose  the  sight 
of  him  until  he  pierced  and  broke  open  the 
heavens,  and  entered  into  the  presence  of  his 
Father  ;  and  although  they  were  divided  from 
him  in  body,  yet  in  heart  and  mind  they  fol¬ 
low  him  still.  Cawdray. 

666.  CHRIST,  in  the  Church.  A  swarm  of  bees 
had  flown  from  a  neighbor’s  garden  into  that 
of  Gotthold,  and  settled  on  a  young  tree. 
From  this,  he  took  occasion  to  observe,  “  These 
visitors  cannot  have  come  over  to  us  for  noth¬ 
ing  ;  and,  if  we  please  to  reflect,  they  may  give 
us  a  useful  lesson,  and  thereby  pay  for  their 
quarters.  In  my  opinion,  the  device  of  a  swarm 
of  bees  hanging  upon  a  branch,  and  with  the 
motto,  ‘  I  will  never  forsake  thee,’  would  hap¬ 
pily  represent  the  Christian  Church  and  their 
love  to  Jesus.  The  whole  swarm,  as  is  well 


known,  is  governed  by  a  monarch,  exercising 
an  authority,  not  of  coercion,  but  love  ;  and  so 
strong  is  the  reciprocal  attachment  of  the  little 
honey-birds  to  their  prince,  that  they  quit  the 
hive  with  him,  and  follow  and  never  leave  him. 
When  he  flies,  they  do  the  same  ;  when  he 
alights,  they  fasten  to  him;  if  ho  remove,  they 
hasten  after  him ;  and  if,  by  some  accident,  his 
wings  be  injured,  and  he  fall  to  the  ground,  they 
fall  upon  and  cover  him,  as  I  have  seen  with  my 
own  eyes.” 

667.  CHRIST,  Cleaving  to.  When  a  ship¬ 
wrecked  sailor,  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves, 
has  no  help  within  reach  or  view  but  a  spar  or 
mast,  how  will  he  cling  to  it !  how  firmly  he  will 
clasp  it  1  he  will  hold  it  as  life  itself.  If  a 
passing  billow  sweep  him  from  it,  with  all  his 
might  he  will  make  for  it  again,  and  grasp  it 
faster  than  ever.  To  part  is  to  perish ;  and 
so  he  clings,  —  and  how  anxiously  1  So  the 
awakened  sinner  feels.  The  ocean  of  wrath 
surrounds  him  ;  its  billows  and  its  waves  go 
over  him.  Hell  yawns  beneath  to  ingulf  him. 
The  vessel  is  an  utter  wreck.  All  its  floating 
timbers  are  very  rottenness.  Oh !  how  he 
strains  his  eye,  searching  for  a  mast,  a  plank, 
a  spar  !  His  eye  rests  on  the  only  hope,  the 
only  rock  in  the  wide  ocean  of  wrath,  —  the 
Rock  of  Ages,  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  makes  for 
the  Saviour ;  he  clasps  him ;  he  cleaves  to 
him.  Every  terror  of  sin  and  of  unworthi¬ 
ness  that  strives  to  loosen  his  hold,  only  makes 
him  grasp  with  more  terrible  and  deathlike 
tenacity  ;  for  he  knows  that  to  part  company 
is  to  perish.  “  I  will  not  let  Thee  go.” 

Rev.  R.  B.  Nichol. 

668.  CHRIST,  Communion  with.  W  hat !  is 
Christ  thy  Brother,  and  does  he  live  in  thine 
house,  and  yet  thou  hast  not  spoken  to  him  for 
a  month  ?  I  fear  there  is  little  love  between 
thee  and  thy  Brother,  for  thou  hast  had  no 
eonversation  with  him  for  so  long.  What !  is 
Christ  the  Husband  of  his  Church,  and  has  she 
had  no  fellowship  with  him  for  all  this  time  ? 

Spurgeon. 

669.  CHRIST,  Compassion  of.  It  is  said  of  the 
senate  of  Athens,  that  once  they  were  con¬ 
strained  to  sit  in  the  open  fields,  when  a  poor 
chased  bird,  a  sparrow,  or  the  like,  chased  by 
the  birds  of  prey,  came  flying  to  the  bosom  of 
one  of  the  senator  j  for  rescue  from  their  tal¬ 
ons.  The  senator  being  of  a  churlish  disposi¬ 
tion,  he  takes  the  poor  bird,  and  throws  it  from 
him  upon  the  ground,  and  so  killed  the  bird  ; 
whereupon  the  senate  made  an  order  that  he 
should  die  himself :  they  would  not  have  a 
man  so  churlish  to  be  one  of  the  senators. 
Christ  will  never  cast  away  any  who  seek  shel¬ 
ter  in  his  bosom. 

670.  CHRIST,  Crowning.  A  lady,  while  on  a 
visit  to  the  Exposition  at  Paris,  died.  During 
her  last  moments,  speech  had  left  her ;  but  she 
managed  to  articulate  the  word  “  Bring.”  Her 
friends,  in  ignorance  of  her  meaning,  offered 
her  food ;  but  she  shook  her  head,  and  again 
repeated  the  word  “  Bring.”  They  then  offered 
her  grapes,  which  she  also  declined,  and  for 
the  third  time  uttered  the  word  “Bring.”  Think- 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


91 


ing  she  desired  to  see  some  absent  friends, 
they  brought  them  to  her :  but  again  she  shook 
her  head ;  and  then,  by  a  great  effort,  she  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  completing  the  sentence,  — 

‘‘Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 

And  crown  him  Lord  of  all ;  ” 

and  then  passed  away  to  be  with  Jesus. 

Newman  Hall. 

671.  CHRIST,  a  Cure.  Alexander  the  Great 

was  dying  of  a  wound,  which  did  not  seem 
very  dangerous  at  first;  but  it  baffled  his 
physicians,  and  was  rapidly  becoming  mortal. 
One  night,  however,  it  is  said  he  dreamed  that 
some  one  had  brought  him  a  peculiar-looking 
plant,  which,  when  applied  to  the  festering 
sore,  had  cleansed  and  closed  it.  In  the 
morning,  when  he  awoke,  he  described  the 
plant ;  and  the  historian  informs  us  that  it  was 
sought  for  and  found,  and,  when  applied  to  the 
wound;  the  fiery  pain  subsided,  and  he  was 
speedily  healed.  Now,  your  soul  has  received 
a  deadly  hurt :  it  has  been  stung  by  the  old 
serpent,  the  Devil.  The  wound  gets  worse. 
There  is  a  tender  plant  which  is  able  to  heal 
you  :  it  is  the  Balm  of  Gilead.  They  used  to 
wound  the  balsam-tree,  in  order  to  obtain  its 
healing  essence ;  and  so  for  our  transgressions 
the  Saviour  was  wounded,  and  “  by  his  stripes 
ye  are  healed.”  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

672.  CHRIST,  Death  of.  The  death  of  Soc¬ 
rates,  peacefully  philosophizing  with  his  friends 
appears  the  most  agreeable  that  could  be 
wished  for ;  that  of  Jesus,  expiring  in  the  midst 
of  agonizing  pains,  abused,  insulted,  and  ac¬ 
cused  by  a  whole  nation,  is  the  most  horrible 
that  could  be  feared.  Socrates,  in  receiving 
the  cup  of  poison,  blessed  the  weeping  execu¬ 
tioner  who  administered  it;  but  Jesus,  in  the 
midst  of  his  tortures,  prayed  for  his  merciless 
tormentors.  Yes  1  if  the  life  and  death  of 
Socrates  were  those  of  a  sage,  the  life  and 
death  of  Jesus  were  those  of  a  God. 

Rousseau. 

673.  CHRIST,  Description  of.  The  following 
is  a  correct  translation  of  an  epistle  sent  by 
Publius  Lentulus  to  the  Roman  Senate. 
“  There  appeared  in  these  days  a  man  of  great 
virtue,  named  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  yet  among 
us ;  of  the  Gentiles  accepted  for  a  prophet  of 
truth  :  but  his  disciples  call  him  the  Son  of  God. 
He  raiseth  the  dead,  and  cureth  all  manner  of 
disease.  A  man  of  stature  somewhat  tall  and 
comely,  with  a  very  reverend  countenance, 
such  as  the  beholder  must  both  love  and  fear. 
His  hair  the  color  of  a  chestnut  full  ripe,  plain 
to  the  ears,  whence,  downward,  it  is  more  orient, 
curling  and  waving  about  his  shoulders.  In 
the  midst  of  his  forehead  is  a  stream  or  parti¬ 
tion  of  his  hair,  after  the  manner  of  the  Naza- 
rites;  forehead  plain  and  very  delicate;  his 
face  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  beautiful,  with 
a  lovely  red ;  his  nose  and  mouth  so  forked  as 
nothing  can  be  represented ;  his  beard  thick, 
in  color  like  his  hair,  not  over  long;  his  look 
innocent  and  mature ;  his  eyes  gray,  quick,  and 
clear.  In  reproving,  he  is  terrible  ;  in  admon¬ 


ishing,  courteous  and  fair-spoken ;  pleasant  in 
conversation,  mixed  with  gravity.  It  cannot 
be  remembered  that  any  have  seen  him  laugh, 
but  many  have  seen  him  weep  ;  in  proportion 
of  body  most  excellent ;  his  hands  and  arms 
delectable  to  behold ;  in  speaking,  very  tem¬ 
perate,  modest,  and  wise ;  a  man  of  singular 
beauty,  surpassing  the  children  of  men.” 

674.  CHRIST,  Dignity  of.  It  is  he  whose 

very  infancy  not  only  startled  a  king,  and 
made  him  fear  his  throne,  but  also  affrighted 
the  powers  of  darkness,  and  silenced  the  hea¬ 
then  oracles ;  whose  childhood  puzzled  the 
knowledge  of  the  aged,  and  confounded  the 
doctors  of  the  law ;  who  ruled  the  course  of 
nature,  and  made  the  strong  winds  obey  him, 
and  could  walk  on  the  billows  of  the  sea  as  on 
a  pavement ;  who  fed  multitudes  by  his  word, 
and  healed  all  manner  of  diseases  without 
medicine ;  who  could  command  them  to  leap 
that  were  cripple,  and  make  them  see  the 
heavens  and  the  day  who  had  been  born  blind  ; 
and  who  could  cast  devils  out  of  their  posses¬ 
sions,  and  restore  the  frantic  to  their  wits  ; 
who  could  break  the  gates  of  death,  and  operf 
the  doors  of  the  grave,  and  call  back  the  spirits 
of  the  buried  carcasses.  Henry  Scougal. 

675.  CHRIST,  Diverse  Manifestations  of.  It 

often  happens  that  the  coming  of  Christ  to  his 
disciples,  for  their  relief,  is  that  which  fright¬ 
ens  them  most,  because  they  do  not  know  the 
extent  of  God’s  wardrobe  ;  for  I  think,  that  as 
a  king  might  never  wear  the  same  garment 
but  once,  in  order  to  show  bis  riches  and  mag¬ 
nificence,  so  God  comes  to  us  in  all  exigencies, 
but  never  twice  alike.  Beecher. 

676.  CHRIST,  Divinity  of.  A  Unitarian  was 
once  present  at  a  revival  service,  and  was  in¬ 
vited  to  go  forward  to  the  altar,  and  seek 
Christ.  “  But,”  said  he,  “  I  do  not  believe  in 
him.”  It  was  suggested  that  he  should  test  it  by 
prayer.  He  went  to  the  altar,  and  poured  out 
his  test  prayer,  “  O  Christ !  if  thou  be  a  God, 
reveal  thyself.”  He  had  not  prayed  long,  ere 
he  sprung  up  with  new  convictions,  exclaiming, 
“  He  is  a  God,  he  is  a  God  !  ” 

677.  In  Flemming’s  “  Christology,”  it  is 
stated,  that  an  unbeliever  visiting  the  sacred 
places  of  Palestine  was  shown  the  clefts  of 
Mount  Calvary.  Examining  them  narrowly 
and  critically,  he  turned  in  amazement  to  his 
fellow-travellers,  and  said,  “  I  have  long  been  a 
student  of  nature ;  and  I  am  sure  that  the  rents 
and  clefts  in  this  rock  were  never  done  by 
nature,  or  an  ordinary  earthquake.  By  such 
a  concussion,  the  rock  must  have  split  accord¬ 
ing  to  its  veins,  and  where  it  was  weakest  in 
the  adhesion  of  parts  :  for  this,”  he  said,  “  I 
have  observed  to  have  been  done  in  other 
rocks  when  separated  or  broken  after  an  earth¬ 
quake  ;  and  reason  tells  me  it  must  always  be 
so.  But  it  is  quite  otherwise  here ;  for  the 
rocks  are  split  athwart  and  across  the  veins  in 
a  strange  and  preternatural  manner:  and  there¬ 
fore,”  said  he,  “  I  thank  God  that  I  came  hither 
to  see  the  standing  monument  of  miraculous 
power  by  which  God  gives  evidence  to  this 
day  of  the  divinity  of  Christ.” 


92 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


678.  C HEIST,  at  the  Door.  There  is  no  food 
for  soul  or  body,  which.  God  has  not  sym¬ 
bolized.  He  is  light  for  the  eye,  sound  for  the 
ear,  bread  for  food,  wine  for  weariness,  peace 
for  trouble.  Every  faculty  of  the  soul,  it'  it 
would  but  open  its  door,  might  see  Christ 
standing  over  against  it,  and  silently  asking 
by  his  smile,  “  Shall  I  come  in  unto  thee  ?  ” 
But  men  open  the  door,  and  look  down,  not 
up  ;  and  thus  see  him  not.  Beecher. 

670.  CHRIST,  the  Door.  Though  there  were 
man)’  rooms  in  the  ark,  there  was  only  one  door. 
“  And  the  door  of  the  ark  shalt  thou  set  in  the 
side  thereof.”  And  so  there  is  only  one  door 
in  the  ark  of  our  salvation,  and  that  is  Christ. 
There  are  not  two  Christs  preached,  one  in  one 
chapel,  and  another  in  another.  Spurgeon. 

680.  CHRIST,  Elevation  by.  It  is  recorded 

of  Socrates,  that  he  brought  men  down  from 
heaven  to  earth  ;  that  is,  he  drew  the  attention 
of  men  from  the  study  and  contemplation  of 
heavenly  bodies  to  the  consideration  of  the 
nature  and  end  of  man,  the  duties  and  rela¬ 
tions  of  men  in  this  life.  Socrates,  therefore, 
was  said  to  have  brought  down  philosophy 
from  heaven  to  earth.  But  of  Jesus  Christ  it 
may  be  said  that  he  brings  us  from  earth  to 
heaven;  he  teaches  us  a  divine  philosophy; 
raises  men  from  things  seen  and  temporal  and 
earthly,  to  things  spiritual,  heavenly,  and'eter- 
nal.  Dr.  Beaumont. 

681.  CHRIST,  Emblems  of.  Cast  thine  eyes 
which  way  thou  wilt,  and  thou  shalt  hardly 
look  on  any  thing  but  Christ  Jesus  hath  taken 
the  name  of  that  very  thing  upon  himself.  Is 
it  day  ?  and  dost  thou  behold  the  sun  ?  He  is 
called  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  Or  is  it 
night?  and  dost  thou  behold  the  stars  ?  He 
is  called  a  star :  “  There  shall  come  a  Star  out 
of  Jacob.”  Or  is  it  morning  ?  and  dost  thou 
behold  the  morning-star  ?  He  is  called  “  the 
bright  Morning-Star.”  Or  is  it  noon  ?  and  dost 
thou  behold  clear  light  all  the  world  over? 
lie  is  “  that  Light  that  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world.”  Come  a  little 
nearer :  it'  thou  lookest  on  the  earth,  and 
takest  a  view  of  the  creatures  about  thee,  seest 
thou  the  sheep  ?  “  As  a  sheep  before  her  shearer 
is  dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His  mouth.”  Or  seest 
thou  a  lamb  ?  “  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketli  away  the  sin  of  the  world.”  Seest  thou 
a  shepherd  watching  over  his  flock  ?  “  I  am 
the  good  Shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep,  and 
am  known  of  mine.”  Or  seest  thou  a  foun¬ 
tain,  rivers,  waters  ?  He  is  called  a  fountain  : 
“  In  that  day  there  shall  be  a  Fountain 
opened  to  the  house  of  David.”  Or  seest  thou 
a  tree  good  for  food,  or  pleasant  to  the  eye  ?  He 
is  called  “  the  Tree  of  life.”  Seest  thou  a  rose, 
a  lily,  any  fair  flower  in  a  garden  ?  He  is 
“the  Rose  of  Sharon,  and  the  Lily  of  the 
valleys.”  To  come  a  little  nearer  yet :  art  thou 
adorning  thyself,  and  takest  thou  a  view  of  thy 

farments  ?  He  is  a  garment :  “  Put  ye  on  the 
,ord  Jesus  Christ.”  Art  thou  eating  meat, 
and  takest  a  view  of  what  is  on  thy  table  ?  He 
is  the  Bread  of  God ;  true  Bread  from  heaven  ; 
the  Bread  of  life.  Isaac  Ambrose. 


682.  CHRIST,  Endurance  of.  Think  of  Christ’s 

appointed  work,  the  greatest  that  ever  was  to 
be  done  on  the  earth ;  so  great  as  to  be  a 
counteraction  to  all  the  sins  of  all  the  saved, 
and  at  an  awful  cost  of  endurance  1  What 
toils,  what  grievances,  what  terrors  (as  to  his 
humanity)  attend  his  mighty  task  !  But  if  he 
had  been  “  wearied,”  and  left  but  one  thing 
undone ;  if  he  had  shrunk  and  failed,  —  what 
sensation  in  heaven,  hell,  earth  1  Let  his 
followers  advert  to  that  when  tempted  to 
shrink  from  service,  and  to  say  it  is  too 
much.  When  this  repugnance  arises,  go  and 
look  at  him ;  even  imagine  as  if  any  given 
Christian  service  had  been  to  be  performed  in 
his  presence,  under  his  inspection :  would 
you,  then,  be  weary  ?  He  is  the  grand,  trans¬ 
cendent  example  to  show  that  a  good  work 
must  be  gone  through  with ;  to  constitute  it 
such,  the  conclusion  is  indispensable,  —  “  He 
that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved ;  ” 
“  He  that  looketh  back  is  not  fit  for  the  king¬ 
dom  of  God.”  John  Foster. 

683.  CHRIST,  Equal  with  God.  It  was  during 
the  reign  of  Theodosius  the  Great,  in  the 
fourth  century,  that  the  Arians  made  their 
most  vigorous  attempts  to  undermine  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
event,  however,  of  his  making  his  son  Arcadius 
partner  with  himself  on  his  throne  was  happily 
overruled,  in  the  following  manner,  to  his 
seeing  the  bod-dishonoring  character  of  their 
creed.  Among  the  bishops  who  came  to  con¬ 
gratulate  him  on  the  occasion  was  the  famous 
and  esteemed  Amphilochus,  who,  it  is  said, 
suffered  much  under  the  Arian  persecution. 
He  approached  the  emperor,  and,  making  a 
very  handsome  and  dutiful  address,  was  going 
to  take  his  leave.  “  What !  ”  said  Theodosius, 
“  do  you  take  no  notice  of  my  son  ?  Do  you 
not  know  that  I  have  made  him  a  partner 
with  me  in  the  empire  ?  ”  Upon  this  the  good 
old  bishop  went  to  young  Arcadius,  then  about 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and,  putting  his  hand 
upon  his  head,  said,  “  The  Lord  bless  thee,  my 
son  !  ”  and  immediately  drew  back.  Even  this 
did  not  satisfy  the  emperor.  “  What,”  said 
he,  “  is  this  all  the  respect  you  pay  to  a  prince 
that  I  have  made  of  equal  dignity  with  my¬ 
self?  ”  Upon  this  the  bishop  arose,  and  looking 
the  emperor  in  the  face,  with  a  tone  of  voice 
solemnly  indignant,  said  “  Sir,  do  you  so  highly 
resent  my  apparent  neglect  of  your  son  because 
I  do  not  give  him  equal  honor  with  yourself? 
What  must  the  eternal  God  think  of  you,  who 
have  allowed  his  co-equal  and  co-eternal  Son  to 
be  degraded  in  his  proper  divinity  in  every  part 
of  your  empire  !  ”  This  was  as  a  two-edged 
sword  in  the  heart  of  the  emperor.  He  felt  the 
reproof  to  be  just  and  confounding,  and  no 
longer  would  seem  to  give  the  least  indulgence 
to  that  creed  which  did  not  secure  the  divine 
glory  to  the  “  Prince  of  peace.”  Dr.  Jeffers. 

684.  CHRIST,  Everlasting  Name  of.  When 
Ptolemy  built  Pharos,  he  would  have  his  name 
upon  it ;  but  Sostratus  the  architect  did  not 
think  that  the  king,  who  only  paid  the  money, 
should  get  all  the  credit,  while  he  had  none : 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


93 


so  he  put  the  king’s  name  on  the  front,  in  plas¬ 
ter;  brtt  underneath,  in  the  eternal  granite, 
he  cut,  deeply  enough,  “  Sostratus.”  The  sea 
dashed  against  the  plaster,  and  chipped  off  bit 
by  bit.  1  dare  say  it  lasted  out  the  time  of 
Ptolemy ;  but  by  and  by  the  plaster  was  all 
chipped  off,  and  there  stood  the  name  “  Sostra- 
tus.”  I  am  not  sure  that  there  are  not  waves 
that  will  chip  off  all  human  names  from  the 
Church  of  Christ;  but  1  am  quite  sure  that 
the  one  name  of  Christ  shall  last.  S.  Coley. 

685.  CHRIST,  Example  of.  It  is  said,  that, 
thinking  to  amuse  him,  his  wife  read  to  Dr. 
Judson  some  newspaper  notices,  in  which  he 
was  compared  to  one  or  other  of  the  apostles. 
He  was  exceedingly  distressed :  and  then  he 
added,  “  Nor  do  I  want  to  be  like  them  ;  I  do 
not  want  to  be  like  Paul,  nor  Apollos,  nor 
Cephas,  nor  any  mere  man.  I  want  to  be 
like  Christ.  We  have  only  one  perfectly  sale 
Exemplar,  —  only  One,  who,  tempted  like  as 
we  are  in  every  point,  is  still  without  sin.  I 
want  to  follow  him  only,  copy  his  teachings, 
drink  in  his  Spirit,  place  my  feet  in  his  foot¬ 
prints,  and  measure  their  shortcomings  by 
these,  and  these  only.  Oh,  to  be  more  like 
Christ  1  ” 

686.  CHRIST,  a  Friend.  “  What  do  you  do 
without  a  mother  to  tell  all  your  troubles  to  ?  ” 
asked  a  child  who  had  a  mother,  of  one  who 
had  none.  “  Mother  told  me  whom  to  go  to 
before  she  died,”  answered  the  little  orphan. 
“  Igo  to  the  Lord  Jesus :  he  was  mother’s  friend, 
and  he’s  mine.”  —  “Jesus  Christ  is  in  the  sky. 
He  is  away  off,  and  he  has  a  great  many 
things  to  attend  to  in  heaven.  It  is  not 
likely  he  can  stop  to  mind  you.”  —  “I  do  not 
know  any  tiling  about  that,”  said  the  orphan. 
“  All  I  know,  he  says  he  will ;  and  that’s  enough 
for  me.” 

687.  CHRIST,  Fulness  of.  I  have  found  it  an 
interesting  thing  to  stand  on  the  edge  of  a 
noble  rolling  river,  and  to  think,  that  although 
it  has  been  flowing  on  for  six  thousand  years, 
watering  the  fields,  and  slaking  the  thirst  of 
a  hundred  generations,  it  shows  no  sign  of 
waste  or  want.  And  when  I  have  watched  the 
rise  of  the  sun  as  he  shot  above  the  crest  of 
the  mountain,  or,  in  a  sky  draped  with  golden 
curtains,  sprang  up  from  his  ocean-bed,  I  have 
wondered  to  think  that  he  has  melted  the  snows 
of  so  many  winters,  and  renewed  the  ver¬ 
dure  of  so  many  springs,  and  painted  the  flow¬ 
ers  of  so  many  summers,  and  ripened  the 
golden  harvest  of  so  many  autumns,  and  yet 
shines  as  brilliant  as  ever,  his  eye  not  dim, 
nor  his  natural  strength  abated,  nor  his  floods 
of  light  less  full,  for  centuries  of  boundless 
profusion.  Yet  what  are  these  but  images 
of  the  fulness  that  is  in  Christ  ?  Let  that 
feed  your  hopes,  and  cheer  your  hearts,  and 
brighten  you  faith,  and  send  you  away  this 
day,  happy  and  rejoicing  1  For  when  judg¬ 
ment-flames  have  licked  up  that  flowing  stream, 
and  the  light  of  that  glorious  sun  shall  be 
quenched  in  darkness,  or  veiled  in  the 
smoke  of  a  burning  world,  the  fulness  of 
Christ  shall  flow  on  throughout  eternity,  in 


the  bliss  of  the  redeemed.  Blessed  Saviour, 
Image  of  God,  Divine  Redeemer  !  in  thy  pres* 
ence  is  fulness  of  joy  ;  at  thy  right  hand  there 
are  pleasures  forevermore.  What  thou  hast 
gone  to  heaven  to  prepare,  may  we  be  called 
up  at  death  to  enjoy  !  Dr.  Guthrie. 

688.  CHRIST,  Glory  of.  His  birth  was  mean 
on  earth  below ;  but  it  was  celebrated  with 
hallelujahs  by  the  heavenly  host  in  the  air 
above.  He  had  a  poor  lodging;  but  a  star 
lighted  visitants  to  it  from  distant  countries. 
Never  prince  had  such  visitants  so  conducted, 
lie  had  not  the  magnificent  equipage  that 
other  kings  have  ;  but  he  was  attended  with 
multitudes  of  patients,  seeking  and  obtaining 
healing  of  soul  and  body  :  that  was  more  true 
greatness  than  if  he  had  been  attended  with 
crowds  of  princes.  He  made  the  dumb  that 
attended  him  sing  his  praises,  and  the  lame 
to  leap  for  joy,  the  deaf  to  hear  his  wonders, 
and  the  blind  to  see  his  glory.  He  had  no 
guard  of  soldiers,  nor  magnificent  retinue  of 
servants  ;  but,  as  the  centurion  that  had  both 
acknowledged,  health  and  sickness,  life  and 
death,  took  orders  from  him.  Even  the  winds 
and  storms,  which  no  earthly  power  can  con¬ 
trol,  obeyed  him  ;  and  death  and  the  grave 
durst  not  ref  use  to  deliver  up  their  prey  when  he 
demanded  it.  lie  did  not  walk  upon  tapestry; 
but,  when  he  walked  on  the  sea,  the  waters 
supported  him.  All  parts  of  the  creation, 
excepting  sinftd  men,  honored  him  as  their 
Creator.  He  kept  no  treasure ;  but,  when  he 
had  occasion  for  money,  the  sea  sent  it  to  him 
in  the  mouth  of  a  fish.  He  had  no  barns,  nor 
corn-fields;  but,  when  he  inclined  to  make  a 
feast,  a  few  loaves  covered  a  sufficient  table  for 
many  thousands.  None  of  all  the  monarehs 
of  the  world  ever  gave  such  entertainment. 
By  these,  and  many  such  things,  the  Re¬ 
deemer’s  glory  shone  through  his  meanness, 
in  the  several  parts  of  his  life.  Nor  was  it 
wholly  clouded  at  his  death.  He  had  not, 
indeed,  that  fantastic  equipage  of  sorrow  that 
other  great  persons  have  on  such  occasions ; 
but  the  frame  of  Nature  solemnized  the  death 
of  its  Author :  heaven  and  earth  were  mourn¬ 
ers.  The  sun  was  clad  in  black;  and,  if  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth  were  unmoved,  the 
earth  itself  trembled  under  the  awful  load. 
There  were  few  to  pay  the  Jewish  compliment 
of  rending  their  garments ;  but  the  rocks 
were  not  so  insensible  :  they  rent  their  bowels, 
lie  had  not  a  grave  of  his  own  ;  but  other  men’s 
graves  opened  to  him.  Death  and  the  grave 
might  be  proud  of  such  a  tenant  in  their 
territories ;  but  he  came  not  there  as  a  subject, 
but  as  an  invader,  a  conqueror:  it  was  then 
the  King  of  Terrors  lost  his  sting  ;  and  on  the 
third  day  the  Prince  of  Life  triumphed  over 
him,  spoiling  death  and  the  grave. 

./.  Marlaurin. 

680.  CHRIST,  the  Good  Shepherd.  One  of  my 
friends  travelling  in  Greece,  some  years  since, 
met  three  shepherds  with  their  flocks.  One 
had  under  his  care  about  six  hundred  and 
fifty  sheep,  another  about  seven  hundred,  and 
the  third  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty, 


94 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


in  all  twenty-one  hundred :  these  three  flocks 
were  put  together.  Each  sheep  had  a  separate 
name  :  it  would  not  answer  to  any  other  name, 
nor  even  to  its  own,  unless  called  by  its  own 
shepherd.  Each  shepherd  knew  all  his  sheep, 
and  also  their  names.  If  he  saw  that  one 
was  going  in  a  dangerous  direction,  he 
called  it,  and  it  retraced  its  steps.  If  the 
way  was  narrow  or  steep,  he  walked  first,  and 
the  sheep  followed.  It  was  cold  when  my 
•  friend  met  the  shepherds.  Some  of  the  lambs 
appeared  very  vigorous  and  playful ;  but  others, 
on  the  contrary,  appeared  weak  and  delicate. 
The  cold  made  them  tremble,  and  they  could 
scarcely  walk.  The  shepherds  were  clothed 
in  large  cloaks,  gathered  in  at  the  waist  by  a 
girdle.  They  took  these  little  lambs,  and  put 
them  in  their  bosoms.  They  took  care  not  to 
stifle  them,  but  to  leave  their  heads  uncovered, 
in  order  that  they  might  breathe  freely ;  but 
thus  they  kept  them  warm  1  It  was  pleasing 
to  see  these  old  shepherds,  with  their  long  gray 
beards,  and  thei"  bosoms  filled  with  the  lambs. 
It  is  thus  that  Jesus  did.  “  He  shall  gather 
the  lambs  with  his  arms,”  the  Bible  tells  us, 
“  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom.”  Children 
have  loved  Jesus,  and  Jesus  has  not  left  them 
to  perish.  He  takes  care  of  them  as  well  as 
of  grown  persons.  “  I  love  them  that  love  me,” 
says  he ;  “  and  they  that  seek  me  early  (or 
carefully)  shall  find  me.”  Amongst  the 
twenty-one  hundred  sheep  that  my  friend  saw, 
he  found  some  weak  or  fatigued.  They  could 
not  walk  much,  especially  in  steep  or  miry 
places.  Then  the  shepherds  approached  them, 
and,  placing  their  crook  beneath  them,  helped 
them  to  advance.  They  always  treated  them 
with  the  greatest  tenderness.  The  Good  Shep¬ 
herd  also  does  the  same :  he  pities  the  weak, 
and  assists  them  in  their  journey ;  he  never 
abandons  them ;  he  makes  them  go  out  to 
find  pasture.  French  S.  S.  Magazine. 

600.  CHRIST,  Heirs  with,  As  if  upon  the 
confiscation  of  an  inheritance  coming  to  many 
brethren,  when  the  prince  afterwards  makes 
a  release,  the  eldest  brother  taketh  the  posses¬ 
sion,  for  assurance  that  he  himself  and  all  his 
brethren  are  restored  to  their  goods ;  and  the 
same  is  an  assurance  to  the  co-heirs  with  the 
eldest,  that,  in  the  person  of  their  eldest  broth¬ 
er,  themselves  are  put  in  possession  of  the  in¬ 
heritance  common  to  them  all :  even  so  Jesus 
Christ  hath  taken  possession  of  heaven,  not 
only  for  himself,  but  also  for  us  his  co-heirs. 

Cawdray. 

691.  CHRIST,  at  the  Helm,  A  voyager  who 
had  been  several  days  storm-tost  on  a  danger¬ 
ous  coast,  as  his  ship  was  about  to  pass  a  point 
of  even  greater  danger,  hesitated  to  go  to  his 
stateroom,  lest  the  sailors  should  fail  of  their 
duty,  through  weariness,  and  the  ship  be 
wrecked.  Having  expressed  his  fear  to  the  cap¬ 
tain,  he  said,  “  You  need  not  fear :  I  shall  stand 
at  the  helm.”  So  Jesus  says  to  every  timid  soul 
who  trusts  in  him. 

692.  CHRIST,  Hiding  ia.  A  train  of  cars  was 
pas:  ing  swiftly  down  the  steep  grade  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  when  the  engineer  dis¬ 


covered  a  little  girl  and  her  baby  brother  play¬ 
ing  on  the  track  just  ahead.  At  this  crisis,  the 
girl  discovered  a  niche  in  the  side  of  the  rock, 
into  which  she  thrust  the  baby,  and  pressed 
herself;  saying,  as  she  did  so,  “  Cling  close  to 
the  rock,  Johnny;  cling  close  to  the  rock.”  The 
train  thundered  by,  and  they  escaped  unharmed. 
So  amid  the  perils  of  life  may  the  sinner  hide 
in  the  “  Rock  of  Ages.” 

693.  CHRIST,  The  Home  of.  “  Where  is 
Jesus  Christ  ?  ”  was  once  asked  of  a  child. 
“  He  lives  in  our  alley  now,”  was  the  reply ;  for 
the  boy  had  learned  that  Christ  is  where  he 
has  friends  to  serve  him. 

694.  CHRIST,  Honoring.  In  the  Highlands, 
they  tell  that  the  queen  went  one  day  into  a 
poor  cottage.  The  old  woman  did  not  know 
who  was  seated  under  her  roof ;  and,  even  when 
told,  she  did  not  say  much  of  what  she  felt  to 
see  her  queen  there.  But,  when  the  queen 
rose  to  go,  she  set  aside  the  chair  on  which  she 
had  sat,  and  said,  “  None  shall  ever  sit  on  that 
seat  again.” 

695.  CHRIST,  Image  of.  When  Tamer¬ 
lane  was  in  his  wars,  one  of  his  captains  dug 
up  a  great  pot  of  gold,  and  brought  it  to  him. 
Tamerlane  asked  whether  it  had  his  father’s 
stamp  upon  it ;  but  when  he  saw  it  had  the 
Roman  stamp,  and  not  his  father’s,  he  would 
not  own  it.  So  God,  at  last,  will  own  no  knowl¬ 
edge  but  that  which  leaves  the  stamp  of 
Christ,  the  image  of  Christ,  upon  the  heart. 

Brooks. 

696.  CHRIST,  Incarnation  of.  That  he  should 

be  the  seed  of  the  woman  was  made  known  to 
Adam ;  but  not  of  what  nation,  till  Abraham  ; 
nor  of  what  tribe,  till  Jacob;  nor  of  what  sex, 
till  David ;  nor  whether  born  of  a  virgin,  till 
Isaiah.  Thus,  by  degrees,  was  that  great  mys¬ 
tery  of  godliness  revealed  to  mankind.  “  If  any 
Jew  object,”  saith  Chrysostom,  “  how  could  a 
virgin  bring  forth  ?  (‘  Die  ei,  quomodo  pe- 
perit  sterilis  et  vetula  ?  ’  )  ask  him,  ‘  How 
could  Sarah,  when  old  and  barren,  bear  a 
child  ?  ’  ”  The  bees  have  young,  yet  know  not 
marriage.  The  phoenix,  they  say,  hath  no 
parents.  This  Head-stone  of  the  corner  was 
cut  out  of  the  mountain,  without  hands  ;  this 
Flower  of  the  field,  this  Rose  of  Sharon,  hath 
heaven  for  his  father,  and  earth  for  his  moth¬ 
er.  Was  it  not  as  easy  to  frame  this  second 
Adam  in  the  womb,  as  that  first  Adam  out  of 
the  mire  ?  Herein  see  a  miracle  of  mercy,  — 
that  the  incomprehensible  God,  that  circle 
whose  centre  is  everywhere,  whose  circum¬ 
ference  nowhere,  should  be  circled  and  cooped 
up  for  nine  months  together  in  the  narrow 
womb  of  a  pure  virgin.  J.  Trapp. 

695'.  CHRIST,  Intercession  of,  When  Aaron 
entered  the  Most  Holy  Place,  he  was  bound  to 
carry  the  names  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  upon  his 
shoulders  and  upon  his  breast,  —  on  his  shoul¬ 
ders,  in  token  that  he  bore  the  burden  of  their 
wickedness  and  their  infirmities ;  upon  his 
breast,  in  token  of  his  love  and  care  for  them 
as  next  his  heart.  Such  a  High  Priest  is  our 
Advocate.  “  We  have  not  a  High  Priest 
which  cannot  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


95 


our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like 
as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.”  lie  died  to  make 
satisfaction.  He  lives  to  make  intercession. 
We  are  on  his  shoulders,  to  have  our  burdens 
borne  lor  us.  We  are  near  his  heart,  that  lie 
may  both  die  and  live  for  us.  .  .  .  It  is  a  glo¬ 
rious  thought :  we  have  in  heaven  one  we  can 
think  of,  know,  believe,  love,  delight  in ;  bone 
of  our  bone,  flesh  of  our  flesh  ;  one  whom  no 
accident  can  disable,  no  quarrel  can  estrange, 
no  death  remove :  for  he  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  us.  R.  B.  Nichol. 

698.  CHRIST,  our  Judge.  As  those  on  earth 
that  are  set  at  the  right  hand  of  kings  do  ex¬ 
ecute  justice  in  courts  or  assizes,  for  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  the  state  and  peace  of  the  kingdom  : 
even  so  Christ  Jesus,  sitting  at  the  right  hand 
of  his  Father,  that  is,  being  made  sovereign 
Lord  of  all  things,  both  in  heaven  and  earth, 
is  to  hold  a  court,  or  assize,  in  which  he  shall 
come  to  judge  both  the  quick  and  the  dead. 

Cawdray. 

699.  CHRIST,  the  Ladder.  To  the  north  of 

Scotland  lies  an  island  called  Bressay.  It  is  one 
of  the  Shetland  Islands,  and  its  shores  are  very 
rocky.  On  the  south  coast  of  Bressay  is  a 
slate-quarry.  The  workmen  had  to  descend  the 
cliff' to  it  by  means  of  a  ladder.  One  evening, 
a  violent  and  sudden  storm  drove  the  quarry- 
men  from  their  work.  The  ladder  was  lef't 
fastened  to  the  cliff'.  The  night  was  very 
dark  and  stormy.  A  ship  which  was  strug¬ 
gling  with  the  waves  was  driven  close  to  the 
island.  Her  crew  beheld  with  terror  the  white 
foam  of  the  breakers  as  they  dashed  against 
the  rocks.  They  knew,  that,  if  their  ship  were 
stranded,  they  must  be  wrecked.  Still  the 
howling  winds  drove  her  forward.  The  waves 
dashed  over  her,  filled  the  cabin  with  water, 
and  drowned  the  wife  of  the  captain.  The 
sailors  now  climbed  into  the  rigging.  They 
were  at  the  mercy  of  the  furious  wind,  and  of 
the  raging  sea.  They  gave  themselves  up  for 
lost.  Many  prayers  and  cries  for  deliverance 
were  uttered.  On  came  the  ship,  and  struck 
against  the  shore.  The  poor  seamen  felt  that 
death  was  almost  certain.  On  the  summit  of 
the  cliff  was  safety  ;  but  how  could  they  reach 
it,  who  were  helplessly  dashed  at  its  foot  V 
But,  just  as  the  ship  struck  near  the  rock, 
their  terror  was  changed  to  joy.  Close  beside 
them,  on  the  steep  face  of  the  cliff,  was  a  lad¬ 
der.  It  seemed  as  if  placed  there  on  purpose 
for  them.  In  haste  they  sprang  from  the  rigging, 
mounted  the  ladder,  and  reached  the  top  of 
the  cliff  in  safety.  The  vessel  went  to  pieces 
so  quickly,  that,  by  the  next  morning,  hardly 
a  trace  of  her  was  left.  Bible  Treasury. 

700.  CHRIST,  Light  of.  There  are  some 
persons  whose  eyes  are  so  weak,  that  the  light 
seems  to  be  injurious  to  them,  especially  the 
red  rays  of  the  sun  ;  and  a  glass  has  been  in¬ 
vented,  which  rejects  the  rays  that  are  inju¬ 
rious,  and  allows  only  those  to  pass  which  are 
softened,  and  modified  to  the  weakness  of  the 
eve.  It  seems  as  if  the  Lord  Jesus  were 
seme  such  a  glass  as  this.  The  grace  of  God 
the  Trinity,  shining  through  the  man  Christ 


Jesus,  becomes  a  mellow,  soft  light,  so  that 
mortal  eye  can  bear  it.  Spurgeon. 

701.  CHRIST,  our  Lord.  As  in  former  times 

the  custom  hath  been,  that  when  one  is  taken 
prisoner  in  the  fields,  he  that  pays  his  ransom 
shall  become  always  after  his  Lord ;  even  so? 
likewise,  Christ,  when  we  were  bond-slaves 
under  hell,  death,  and  condemnation,  paid  the 
ransom  of  our  redemption,  and  freed  us  from 
the  bondage  of  sin  and  Satan  :  and  therefore 
in  that  respect  lie  is  our  Lord.  Cawdray. 

702.  CHRIST,  Love  of.  The  mother,  wan  and 
pale  with  incessant  vigils  by  the  bedside  of  a 
sick  child ;  the  fireman,  maimed  for  life  In 
bravely  rescuing  the  inmates  of  a  blazing 
house ;  the  three  hundred  Spartans  at  Ther- 
mopylm ;  Howard,  dying  of  fever  caught  in 
dungeons  where  he  was  fulfilling  his  noble  pur¬ 
pose  of  succoring  the  oppressed,  and  remem¬ 
bering  the  forgotten ;  the  Moravian  missionaries, 
who  voluntarily  incarcerated  themselves  in  an 
African  leper-house  (from  which  regress  into 
the  healthy  world  was  impossible,  and  escape 
only  to  be  effected  through  the  gates  of  death) 
in  order  that  they  might  preach  the  glad  tidings 
to  the  lepers,  —  all  these,  and  many  other  glo¬ 
rious  instances  of  self-devotion,  do  but  faintly 
shadow  forth  the  love  of  Him  who  laid  aside 
divine  glory,  and  humbled  himself  to  the  death 
of  the  cross. 

703.  By  going  to  the  lowest  stratum  of 
human  nature,  Christ  gave  a  new  idea  of  the 
value  of  man.  He  built  a  kingdom  out  of  the 
refuse  of  society.  To  compare  small  things 
with  great,  it  has  been  pointed  out  by  Lord  Ma¬ 
caulay,  that,  in  an  English  cathedral,  there  is  an 
exquisite  stained  window,  which  was  made  by 
an  apprentice  out  of  the  pieces  of  glass  which 
had  been  rejected  by  his  master ;  and  it  was  so 
far  superior  to  every  other  in  the  church,  that, 
according  to  tradition,  the  envious  artist  killed 
himself  with  vexation.  All  the  builders  of 
society  had  rejected  the  “  sinners,”  and  made 
the  painted  window  of  the  “righteous.”  A 
new  builder  came :  his  plan  was  original,  star¬ 
tling,  revolutionary;  his  eye  was  upon  the 
condemned  material;  he  made  the  first  last, 
and  the  last  first ;  and  the  stone  which  the 
builders  rejected  he  made  the  head  stone  of  the 
corner.  He  always  specially  cared  for  the  re¬ 
jected  stone.  Men  had  always  cared  for  the 
great,  the  beautiful,  the  righteous:  it  was  left 
to  Christ  to  care  for  sinners. 

701.  CHRIST,  Name  of.  Queen  Mary  was 
so  much  attached  to  her  beautiful  Calais,  that 
when,  in  the  exigencies  of  war,  she  lost  it, 
she  affirmed  in  her  grief,  that  the  name  would 
be  found  written  on  her  heart.  The  precious 
name  of  Christ  will  be  found  on  every  Chris¬ 
tian’s  heart. 

705.  CHRIST,  Nearer  to.  A  few  years  since, 
a  Christian  company  visited  a  Southern  planta¬ 
tion.  Among  the  slaves  was  an  old  man,  with 
whom  the  following  conversation  was  held  : 

“  You  are  an  old  man  :  will  you  not  die  soon  ?  ” 
—  “  Yes:  I  know  I  must.”  —  “Where  do  you 
expect  to  go  V  ”  —  “I  think  I  shall  go  to  the  good 
land.”  —  “  Why  do  you  think  you  will  go 


96 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


there  ?  ”  —  “I  cannot  tell ;  but  the  nearer  I 
come  to  death,  somehow,  Jesus  and  I  get  near¬ 
er  together.” 

706.  CHRIST,  Need  of.  “  What  think  you  of 
our  need  of  the  Lord  Jesus  V  ”  said  Gotthold. 
“  For  my  part,  my  soul  is  like  a  hungry  and 
thirsty  child,  and  I  need  his  love  and  consola¬ 
tions  for  my  refreshment ;  I  am  a  wandering 
and  lost  sheep,  and  I  need  him  as  a  good  and 
faithful  shepherd ;  my  soul  is  like  a  frightened 
dove  pursued  by  the  hawk,  and  I  need  his 
wounds  for  a  refuge;  1  am  a  feeble  vine,  and  I 
need  his  cross  to  lay  hold  of,  and  wind  myself 
about;  I  am  a  sinner,  and  I  need  his  righteous¬ 
ness;  I  am  naked  and  bare,  and  need  his  holi¬ 
ness  and  innocence  for  a  covering ;  I  am  in 
trouble  and  alarm,  and  I  need  his  solace ;  I 
am  ignorant,  and  I  need  his  teaching ;  simple 
and  foolish,  and  I  need  the  guidance  of  his 
Holy  Spirit :  in  no  situation,  and  at  no  time, 
can  I  do  without  him.  Do  I  pray  ?  he  must 
prompt  and  intercede  for  me.  Ain  I  arraigned 
by  Satan  at  the  divine  tribunal  ?  he  must  be 
my  advocate.  Am  I  in  atflietion  ?  he  must  be 
my  helper.  Am  I  persecuted  by  the  world  ? 
he  must  defend  me.  When  I  am  forsaken,  he 
must  be  my  support ;  when  dying,  my  life  ; 
when  mouldering  in  the  grave,  my  resurrection. 
Well,  then,  I  will  rather  part  with  all  the 
world,  and  all  that  it  contains,  than  with  thee, 
my  Saviour ;  and,  God  be  thanked  1  I  know 
that  thou,  too,  art  neither  able  nor  willing  to 
do  without  me.  Thou  art  rich,  and  I  am 
poor ;  thou  hast  abundance,  and  I  am  needy ; 
thou  hast  righteousness,  and  I  sins;  thou  hast 
wine  and  oil,  and  I  wounds ;  thou  hast  cor¬ 
dials  and  refreshments,  and  I  hunger  and 
thirst.  Use  me,  then,  my  Saviour,  for  what¬ 
ever  purpose,  and  in  whatever  way,  thou 
mayest  require.  Here  is  my  poor  heart,  an 
empty  vessel ;  fill  it  with  thy  grace.  Here  is 
my  sinful  and  troubled  soul  ;  quicken  and  re¬ 
fresh  it  with  thy  love.  Take  my  heart  for 
thine  abode ;  my  mouth  to  spread  the  glory 
of  thy  name ;  my  love,  and  all  my  powers,  for 
the  advancement  of  thy  honor,  and  the  service 
of  thy  believing  people ;  and  never  suffer 
the  steadfastness  and  confidence  of  my  faith  to 
abate,  that  so  at  all  times  I  may  be  enabled 
from  the  heart  to  say,  1  Jesus  needs  me,  and  I 
him  :  and  so  we  suit  each  other.’  ” 

707.  CHRIST,  Neglect  of.  Men  who  neglect 
Christ,  and  try  to  win  heaven  through  mo¬ 
ralities,  are  like  sailors  at  sea  in  a  storm, 
who  pull,  some  at  the  bowsprit,  and  some  at 
the  mainmast,  but  never  touch  the  helm. 

Beecher. 

708.  CHRIST,  Omniscience  of,  A  Highland 
chief  of  the  noble  house  of  McGregor  fell, 
wounded  by  two  balls,  at  the  battle  of  Preston- 
pans.  Seeing  their  chief  fall,  the  clan  wavered, 
and  gave  the  enemy  an  advantage.  The  old 
chieftain,  beholding  the  effects  of  his  disaster, 
raised  himself  upon  his  elbow,  while  the  blood 
gushed  in  streams  from  his  wounds,  and  cried 
aloud,  “  I  am  not  dead,  my  children :  I  am 
looking  at  you  to  see  you  do  your  duty.” 
These  words  revived  the  sinking  courage  of 


the  brave  Highlanders,  and  roused  them  to 
put  forth  their  mightiest  energies ;  and  they 
did  all  that  human  strength  could  do  to  turn 
and  stem  the  dreadful  tide  of  battle.  Christ 
looks  upon  all  his  followers  to  see  that  they  do 
their  duty. 

709.  CHRIST,  the  Only  Name.  A  few  persons 
were  collected  round  a  blind  man,  who  had 
taken  his  station  on  the  bridge  over  a  canal  in 
the  City  Road,  London  ;  and  was  reading  from 
an  embossed  Bible.  Receiving  from  the  passers- 
by  of  their  carnal  things,  he  was  ministering 
to  them  spiritual  things.  A  gentleman  on  his 
way  home  from  the  city  was  led  by  curiosity 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd.  Just  then,  the 
poor  man,  who  was  reading  in  the  fourth  chap¬ 
ter  of  the  Acts,  lost  his  place,  and,  while  trying 
to  find  it  with  his  finger,  kept  repeating  the 
last  clause  he  had  read,  “  None  other  name 
—  none  other  name  —  none  other  name.”  Some 
of  the  people  smiled  at  the  blind  man’s 
embarrassment ;  but  the  gentleman  went  away 
deeply  musing.  He  had  lately  become  con¬ 
vinced  that  he  was  a  sinner,  and  had  been 
trying  in  many  ways  to  obtain  peace  of  mind  ; 
but  religious  exercises,  good  resolutions,  altered 
habits,  all  were  ineffectual  to  relieve  his  con¬ 
science  of  its  load,  and  enable  him  to  rejoice 
in  God.  The  words  he  had  heard  from  the 
blind  man,  however,  rang  like  solemn  music 
in  his  soul,  “None  other  name.”  When  he 
reached  his  home,  and  retired  to  rest,  these 
words,  like  evening  chime  from  village  tower 
nestling  amongst  the  trees,  were  still  heard, 
“  None  other  name  —  none  other  name  —  none 
other  name ;  ”  and  when  he  awoke,  in  more 
joyful  measure,  like  matin  bells  saluting 
the  morn,  the  strain  continued,  “None  other 
name  —  none  other  name  —  none  other  name.” 
The  music  entered  his  soul;  and,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  he  awoke  to  a  new  life.  “  I  see  it  all,” 
said  he  ;  “I  see  it  all  1  I  have  been  trying  to 
be  saved  by  my  own  works,  my  repentance, 
my  prayers,  my  reformation.  I  see  my  mis¬ 
take.  It  is  Jesus  who  alone  can  save.  To 
him  I  will  look.  Neither  is  there  salvation 
in  any  other ;  for  there  is  none  other  name, 
none  other  name,  none  other  name,  under 
heaven,  given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be 
saved.” 

710.  CHRIST,  Partner  with.  As  merchants 

who  are  of  one  company,  and  become  partners, 
are  partakers  of  all  the  profits,  losses,  and 
damages  which  grow  of  their  merchandise ; 
even  so  Jesus  Christ,  by  reason  of  that  society 
we  have  together  with  him,  giveth  us  a  part, 
and  we,  likewise,  give  him  of  all  that  we 
have  and  possess.  The  difference  is  in  this, 
that  the  gains  and  losses  amongst  men  are 
equal  and  common  amongst  them  all ;  but  here 
we  gather  up  all  the  fruits  that  arise  of  the 
righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ :  he,  on  the  con¬ 
trary  part,  taketh  upon  him  and  chargeth  him¬ 
self  with  all  the  damages  and  losses  that  come 
of  our  disobedience.  Cawdray. 

711.  CHRIST,  Power  of.  Sosomenes  relates, 
that  when  the  holy  family  reached  the  term 
of  their  journey,  and  approached  the  city  of 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


97 


Heliopolis,  in  their  flight  into  Egypt,  a  tree 
which  grew  before  the  gates  of  the  city,  and 
was  regarded  with  great  veneration  as  the  seat 
of  a  God,  bowed  down  its  branches  at  the 
approach  of  the  infant  Christ.  Likewise  it  is 
related  (not  in  legends  merely,  but  by  grave, 
religious  authorities),  that  all  the  idols  of  the 
Egyptians  fell  with  their  faces  to  the  earth.  I 
have  seen  pictures  of  the  flight  into  Egypt,  in 
which  broken  idols  lay  by  the  wayside. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

712.  CHRIST,  Praise  to.  See  yon  starry 

host  1  see  the  mighty  cohorts  of  cherubs  and 
seraphs !  Let  men  begone,  and  they  shall 
praise  him  ;  let  the  troops  of  the  glorified 
cease  their  notes,  and  let  no  sweet  melodies 
ever  come  from  the  lips  of  sainted  men  and 
women,  —  yet  the  chariots  of  God  are  twenty 
thousand,  even  many  thousands  of  angels, 
who  always  in  their  motion  chant  his  praise. 
There  is  an  orchestra  on  high,  the  music  of 
which  shall  never  cease,  even  were  mortals 
extinct,  and  all  the  human  race  swept  from 
existence.  Again :  if  angels  were  departed, 
still  daily  would  he  be  praised  ;  for  are  there 
not  worlds  on  worlds,  and  suns  on  suns,  and 
systems  on  systems,  that  could  forever  sing  his 
praise  ?  Yes  1  The  ocean  —  that  house  of 
storms  —  would  howl  out  his  glories  ;  the  winds 
would  swell  the  notes  of  his  praise  with 
their  ceaseless  gales ;  the  thunders  would  roll 
like  drums  in  the  march  of  the  God  of  armies  ; 
the  illimitable  void  of  ether  would  become 
vocal  with  song ;  and  space  itself  would  burst 
forth  into  one  universal  chorus,  “  Hallelujah, 
hallelujah,  hallelujah!  still  the  Lord  Go  1 
omnipotent  reigneth.”  And  if  these  were 
gone,  if  creatures  ceased  to  exist,  He  who 
ever  liveth  and  reigneth,  in  whom  all  the  ful¬ 
ness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  dwells,  would 
still  be  praised,  praised  in  himself,  and  glo¬ 
rious  in  himself;  for  the  Father  would  praise 
the  Son,  and  the  Spirit  would  praise  him  :  and 
mutually  blessing  one  another,  and  rendering 
each  other  beatified,  still  “  daily  would  he  be 
praised.”  Spurgeon. 

713.  CHRIST,  Precious  Blood  of.  One  even¬ 
ing,  two  soldiers  were  placed  as  sentries  at  the 
opposite  ends  of  a  sallyport,  or  long  passage, 
loading  from  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar  to  the 
Spanish  territory.  One  of  them,  from  the 
reading  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  was  rejoicing 
in  God  Ids  Saviour ;  while  the  other,  from  the 
same  cause,  was  in  a  state  of  deep  mental 
anxiety,  being  under  strong  convictions  of  sin, 
and  earnestly  seeking  'deliverance  from  the 
load  of  guilt  that  was  pressing  upon  his  con¬ 
science.  On  the  evening  alluded  to,  one  of  the 
officers,  who  had  been  out  dining,  was  return¬ 
ing  to  the  garrison  at  a  late  hour,  and  coming 
up  to  the  sentry  on  the  outside  of  the  sally¬ 
port,  and  who  was  the  soldier  recently  con¬ 
verted,  he  asked,  as  usual,  for  the  watchword. 
The  man,  absorbed  in  meditation  on  the  glo¬ 
rious  things  that  had  recently  been  unfolded 
to  him,  and  filled  with  devout  gratitude  and 
love,  on  being  roused  from  his  midnight  revery, 
replied  to  the  officer’s  challenge  with  the 

7 


words,  “  The  precious  blood  of  Christ .”  He 
soon,  however,  recovered  his  self-possession, 
and  gave  the  correct  watchword.  But  his 
comrade,  who  was  anxiously  seeking  the  Lord, 
and  who  was  stationed  as  sentry  at  the  other 
or  inner  end  of  the  sallyport,  a  passage  spe¬ 
cially  adapted  for  the  conveyance  of  sound, 
heard  the  words,  “  The  precious  blood  o  f  Christ,” 
mysteriously  borne  upon  the  breeze  at  the 
solemn  hour  of  midnight.  The  words  came 
home  to  his  heart  as  a  voice  from  heaven  :  the 
load  of  guilt  was  removed  ;  and  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ  spoke  peace  to  the  soul  of  the 
sin-burdened  soldier. 

714.  CHRIST,  a  Refuge.  The  ancient  city 
of  refuge  was  a  very  beautiful  type  of  Christ. 
Every  thing  was  done  to  render  the  city  easy 
of  access.  It  was  not  to  be  built  in  a  valley, 
concealed  among  trees,  but  set  on  a  hill,  that 
it  might  be  seen  from  afar.  So  ‘‘  Christ  is 
exalted  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,”  and  “  ex¬ 
alted  to  show  mercy.”  The  roads  leading  to 
it  were  to  be  very  wide  and  spacious.  Once 
every  year,  the  magistrates  sent  workmen  to 
clear  them,  and  put  them  into  complete  repair. 
So  the  way  to  Christ  is  plain  ;  and  it  is  the 
work  of  ministers  to  keep  it  clear.  God  says 
to  them,  “  Cast  up  the  highway,  take  up  the 
stumbling-block,  gather  out  the  stones,  pre¬ 
pare  the  way  of  my  people.”  Stones  were  set 
up  on  the  road  at  every  crosswav,  for  fear  the 
fugitive  should  go  astray.  The  word  refuge  I 
was  written  on  the  stone  in  large  letters ;  so 
that  one  might  read  as  he  ran.  Thus  do 
faithful  preachers  and  teachers  direct  sinners 
to  the  Saviour,  and  cry,  “  Refuge  I  ‘  Flee  from 
the  wrath  to  come  !  ’  ”  The  gates  were  never 
shut,  day  nor  night ;  so  that  at  any  hour  the 
manslayer  could  enter.  Christ  says,  “  Him 
that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.” 
The  people  of  the  city  were  to  receive  the 
fugitive,  and  provide  him  with  food  and 
lodging  and  every  thing  he  needed.  So  does 
Christ  feed  and  clothe  those  who  flee  to  him. 
He  that  believeth  shall  never  hunger  nor 
thirst.  There  is  no  want  to  them  that  fear 
him.  This  city  was  for  all  strangers  as  well  as 
for  Jews.  So  Christ  is  offered  alike  to  all 
of  every  kindred  and  people  and  nation  and 
tongue. 

715.  CHRIST,  Rejected,  A  well-known  learned 
man  of  Saxony,  after  having  all  his  life  long 
attacked  Jesus  and  his  gospel  with  all  the 
weapons  of  sophistry,  was  in  his  old  days  par¬ 
tially  deprived  of  his  reason,  chiefly  through 
the  fear  of  death;  and  frequently  fell  into 
religious  paroxysms  of  a  peculiar  nature.  He 
was  almost  daily  observed  conversing  with 
himself,  while  pacing  to  and  fro  in  his  chamber, 
on  one  of  the  walls  of  which,  between  other 
pictures,  hung  one  of  the  Saviour.  Repeatedly 
he  halted  before  the  latter,  and  said  in  a 
horrifying  tone  of  voice,  “  After  all,  thou  wast 
only  a  man  !  ”  Then,  after  a  short  pause,  he 
would  continue,  “  What  wast  thou  more  than 
a  man  ?  Ought  I  to  worship  thee  ?  No  :  I 
will  not  worship  thee,  for  thou  art  only  Rabbi 
Jesus,  Joseph’s  son,  of  Nazareth.”  Uttering 


98 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


these  words,  he  would  return  with  a  deeply- 
afleoted  countenance,  and  exclaim,  “  What 
dost  thou  say  ?  —  that  thou  earnest  from  above  ? 
How  terribly  thou  eyest  me  1  Oh  !  thou  art 
dreadful  1  But  thou  art  only  a  man,  after  all.” 
Then  he  would  again  rush  away,  but  soon 
return  with  faltering  step,  crying  out, 
“  What  1  art  thou  in  reality  the  Son  of  God  V  ” 
The  same  scenes  were  daily  renewed,  till  the 
unhappy  man,  struck  by  paralysis,  dropped 
down  dead  ;  and  then  realty  stood  before  his 
Judge,  who,  even  in  his  picture,  had  so 
strikingly  and  overpoweringly  judged  him. 

Caugliey. 

716.  CHRIST,  a  Remedy.  There  is  a  tree 
called  the  manchaueel,  which  grows  in  the 
West  Indies.  Its  appearance  is  very  attractive, 
and  the  wood  of  it  peculiarly  beautiful :  it  bears 
a  kind  of  apple  resembling  the  golden  pip¬ 
pin.  This  fruit  looks  very  tempting,  and 
smells  very  fragrant ;  but  to  eat  of  it  is  instant 
death ;  and  its  sap,  or  juice,  is  so  poisonous, 
that,  if  a  few  drops  of  it  fall  on  the  skin,  it 
raises  blisters,  and  occasions  great  pain.  The 
Indians  dip  their  arrows  in  the  juice,  that  they 
may  poison  their  enemies  when  they  wound 
them.  Providence  hath  so  appointed  it,  that 
one  of  these  trees  is  never  found,  but  near 
it  there  also  grows  a  white  wood,  or  a  fig- 
tree  ;  the  juice  of  either  of  which,  if  applied 
in  time,  is  a  remedy  for  the  disease  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  manchaueel.  Sin,  like  this  poi¬ 
sonous  apple,  looks  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and 
men  desire  it,  eat  of  it,  and  die ;  but  there 
is  a  remedy  at  hand  :  it  is  the  precious  blood 
of  the  Son  of  God,  which  soothes  the  troub¬ 
led  conscience,  and  cleanses  it  from  all  sin. 

Bible  Treasury. 

717.  CHRIST,  Resurrection  of.  And  just  as 

the  first  ripe  ears  of  corn  which  grew  on  the 
plains  and  the  mountain-sides  of  Palestine 
were  immediately  brought  into  the  temple, 
and  waved  before  the  {Lord,  as  a  pledge  that 
every  ear  of  corn  standing  on  and  growing  in 
Palestine  should  be  safety  reaped  and  gathered 
in ;  so  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  a  demon¬ 
stration  that  we  his  people  shall  be  raised 
again.  If  we  sleep  in  Jesus,  God  will  bring  us 
with  him ;  because  he  lives,  we  shall  live  also. 
Dry  up  your  tears,  then.  Sometimes  you  go 
to  the  churchyard ;  sometimes  you  attend  the 
remains  of  your  relatives  to  their  long  homes, 
you  go  to  “  the  house  appointed  for  all  living ;  ” 
and  sometimes  you  see  the  bones  tying  round 
the  grave,  and  you  are  tempted  to  take  them 
up,  and  ask,  “  Gan  these  bones  live  ?  Can  these 
dishonored,  dishevelled,  denuded  bones  live  ?  ” 
Can  the  dead  live  again  ?  “  Come,  see  the 

place  where  the  Lord  lay”’  As  surety  as  the 
sepulchre  of  Christ  became  an  empty  sepulchre, 
so  surety  the  sepulchres  of  his  people  shall 
become  empty  sepulchres  also ;  as  surety  as 
he  got  up,  and  sung  a  jubilee  of  life  and  im¬ 
mortality,  so  surety  shall  his  people  come  out 
of  the  grave.  How  beautifully  has  the  proph¬ 
et  Isaiah  expressed  it !  “  Awake  and  sing, 

ye  that  dwell  in  dust;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the 
dew  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out 


|  the  dead.  Thy  dead  men  shall  live ;  together 
with  my  dead  body  shall  they  arise.” 

Dr.  Beaumont- 

718.  CHRIST,  Righteousness  of.  Before  you 

stands  a  bath,  as  it  is  called,  —  a  large  vessel 
full  of  acid  liquor.  At  one  end,  immersed  in 
the  fluid,  hangs  a  sheet  of  silver;  while  above, 
and  passing  from  side  to  side,  is  extended 
a  thread  of  metal,  ready  to  be  connected  with 
a  powerful  battery,  which,  when  I  saw  the 
process,  was  concealed  in  a  room  below.  A 
vessel  of  common  metal,  being  produced,  was 
hung  on  the  wire,  and  plunged  into  the  bath  ; 
in  which,  I  may  remark,  the  fluid  was  so  clear, 
that  you  could  see  to  the  bottom.  The  wire  on 
which  it  was  suspended  was  then  connected 
with  the  electric  battery  ;  and  what  happened  ? 
A  very  remarkable  result.  By  means  of  the 
mighty  though  unseen  agent  that  was  thus 
brought  into  action,  the  particles  of  silver 
were  taken  from  the  sheet  of  it,  and,  passing 
invisibly  through  the  translucent  fluid,  were 
transferred  to  the  vessel  that  had  been  im¬ 
mersed  in  the  bath.  No  sound  accompanied 
the  mysterious  process,  no  violent  action,  no 
sign  of  motion ;  the  eye  saw  nothing  but  the 
dull  metal  beginning  to  assume  a  brilliant 
appearance :  and  in  time,  through  what  looked 
more  like  magic  than  common  art,  this  base 
metal  shone  in  a  coating  of  the  purest  silver. 
Such  a  change,  but  far  greater  and  more 
thorough,  is  wrought  on  the  soul  through  the 
unseen  and  almighty  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  soon  as  faith  has  established  a  con¬ 
nection  between  the  Saviour  and  the  sinner. 
Righteousness  is  withdrawn  from  the  former, 
and  transferred  to  the  latter.  In  the  words  of 
an  inspired  apostle,  the  believer  puts  on  Christ, 
to  stand  before  God  covered  with  those  merits, 
and  justified  by  that  righteousness,  which  makes 
a  sinner  just.  If  this  process  of  art  suggested 
that  resemblance,  it  presented  under  one  aspect 
a  mighty  difference.  Robbed  of  its  precious 
metal,  what  was  once  a  sheet  of  silver  became 
in  time  a  dull,  attenuated,  worthless  thing.  Its 
treasures  were  exhausted,  Christ’s  never  are ; 
it  could  coat  and  cover  a  certain  number, 
no  more  :  but  in  him  there  is  righteousness  for 
all  the  world,  enough  of  mercy  in  the  Father, 
of  merit  in  the  Son,  and  of  grace  in  the  Spirit, 
for  every  child  of  guilt.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

719.  CHRIST,  a  Rock.  As  he  that  setteth 

the  foundation  of  his  house  upon  a  firm  rock 
may  be  sure  that  the  foundation  shall  be  able 
to  bear  the  weight  of  that  which  shall  be  set 
upon  it,  and  that  no  rain  or  flood  shall  wash 
it  away ;  so  he  that  buildeth  his  faith  upon 
Christ,  as  he  is  set  out  and  preached  unto  us 
in  the  gospel,  shall  be  sure  that  hell-gates  —  that 
is  all  the  power,  force,  and  cunning  of  the 
Devil  —  shall  never  be  able  to  prevail 
against  him.  Cawdray. 

720.  CHRIST,  a  Salvation.  Having  Christ, 
we  have  salvation  also ;  while,  without  receiving 
Christ  himself,  we  cannot  have  the  salvation. 
Having  the  fountain,  we  have  its  issuing 
streams.  Cut  off  from  the  fountain,  the  streams 
will  not  flow  to  us.  Christ  offers  himself  to  be 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST 


99 


the  Bridegroom  of  the  soul.  He  offers  to  en¬ 
dow  his  bride  with  all  the  riches  of  his  own 
inheritance  in  the  heirship  of  his  Father. 
Taking  him  as  our  Bridegroom,  and  giving 
ourselves  to  him  as  the  bride  espouses  her  hus¬ 
band,  with  him  we  have  all  he  has  as  well  as  all 
he  is  ;  while  without  him  we  can  have  neither. 
The  mistake  is  that  of  seeking  the  salvation 
instead  of  seeking  the  Saviour ;  just  the  same 
mistake  that  the  affianced  would  make  if  she 
should  seek  to  have  the  possessions  of  him  to 
whom  she  was  engaged  made  over  to  her  from 
him  without  their  union  in  wedlock,  instead  of 
accepting  his  offer  of  himself,  and  having  the 
hymeneal  bond  completed,  by  which  he  and  all 
he  has  would  become  hers.  W.  E.  Boardman. 

721.  CHRIST,  Satisfaction  in.  You  have  stood 
by  the  seashore,  and  have  noticed  in  some 

arts  the  deep  holes  in  the  sand  and  rock ; 

ut,  when  the  tide  has  come  up,  it  has  filled 
up  all  those  crevices  and  holes.  There  arc 
wants  in  our  hearts,  —  unsatisfied  longings ; 
look  to  Christ,  in  him  there  is  a  tide  of  grace 
to  fill  up  every  hollow  and  crevice  in  your 
nature.  Rev.  Thomas  Jones. 

722.  CHRIST,  Sentence  of.  “  Sentence  pro¬ 
nounced  by  Pontius  Pilate,  intendant  of  the 
Lower  Province  of  Galilee,  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  shall  suffer  dea  th  by  the  cross.  In  the 
seventeenth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  Emperor 
Tiberius,  and  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  the 
month  of  March,  in  the  most  holy  city  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  during  the  pontificate  of  Annas  and  Caia- 
phas,  Pontius  Pilate,  intendant  of  the  Province 
of  Lower  Galilee,  sitting  to  judgment  in  the 
presidential  seat  of  the  prmtor,  sentences  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  to  death  on  a  cross  between  rob¬ 
bers,  as  the  numerous  and  notorious  testimonies 
of  the  people  prove  :  1 .  Jesus  is  a  misleader ; 

2.  He  has  excited  the  people  to  sedition ; 

3.  He  is  an  enemy  to  the  laws ;  4.  He  calls 
himself  the  Son  of  God ;  5.  He  calls  himself 
falsely  the  King  of  Israel ;  G.  He  went  into  the 
temple  followed  by  a  multitude  carrying  palms 
in  their  hands.  Orders  from  the  first  centurion, 
Quirrillis  Cornelius,  to  bring  him  to  the  place 
of  execution.  Forbids  all  persons,  rich  or 
poor,  to  prevent  the  execution  of  Jesus.  The 
witnesses  who  have  signed  the  execution  of 
Jesus  are,  1.  Daniel  Robani,  Pharisee;  2.  John 
Zorababel ;  3.  Raphael  Robani ;  4.  Capet. 
Jesus  to  be  taken  out  of  Jerusalem  through 
the  Gate  of  Tournes.”  This  sentence  is  en¬ 
graved  on  a  plate  of  brass,  in  the  Hebrew  lan¬ 
guage,  and  on  its  sides  are  the  following  words  : 
“  A  similar  plate  has  been  sent  to  each  tribe.” 
It  was  discovered  in  the  year  1 280,  in  the  city 
of  Aquilla,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  by  a 
search  made  for  the  Roman  antiquities,  and  re¬ 
mained  there  until  it  was  found  by  the  Com¬ 
mission  of  Arts  in  the  French  army  of  Italy. 
Up  to  the  time  of  the  campaign  in  Southern 
Italy,  it  was  preserved  in  the  sacristy  of  the 
Carthusians,  near  Naples,  where  it  was  kept 
in  a  box  of  ebony.  Since  then,  the  relic  has 
been  kept  in  the  chapel  of  Caserta.  The  Car¬ 
thusians  obtained  by  their  petitions  that  the 
plate  might  be  kept  by  them,  which  was  an 


acknowledgment  of  the  sacrifices  which  they 
made  for  the  French  army.  The  French 
translation  was  made  literally  by  members  of 
the  Commission  of  Arts.  Denon  had  a  fac 
simile  of  the  plate  engraved,  which  was  bought 
by  Lord  Howard,  on  the  sale  of  his  cabinet, 
tor  2,890  francs.  There  seem  to  be  no  histori¬ 
cal  doubts  as  to  the  authenticity  of  this.  The 
reasons  of  the  sentence  correspond  exactly 
with  those  in  the  gospel.  Kolidsche  Zeiluny. 

723.  CHRIST,  Suffered  for  ns.  Some  time  ago, 
a  war  raged  in  India  between  the  English, 
and  a  native  monarch  named  Tippoo  Saib. 
On  one  occasion,  several  English  officers  were 
taken  prisoners,  among  them  one  named  Baird. 
One  day,  a  native  officer  brought  in  fetters,  to 
be  put  upon  each  of  the  prisoners,  the  wound¬ 
ed  not  excepted.  Baird  had  been  severely 
wounded,  and  was  suffering  from  pain  and 
weakness.  A  gray-haired  officer  said  to  the 
native  official,  “  You  do  not  think  of  putting 
chains  upon  that  wounded  young  man  ?  ” — 
“  There  are  just  as  many  pairs  of  fetters  as  there 
are  captives,”  was  the  answer ;  “  and  every  pair 
must  be  worn.”  —  “  Then,”  said  the  officer, 
“  put  two  pairs  on  me  :  I  will  wear  his  as  well 
as  my  own.”  The  end  of  the  story  is,  that  Baird 
lived  to  regain  his  freedom,  lived  to  take  that 
very  city ;  but  the  generous  friend  died  in 
prison.  He  wore  two  pairs  of  fetters !  But 
what  if  he  had  worn  the  fetters  for  all  in  the 
prison  1  What  if,  instead  of  being  a  captive 
himself,  he  had  been  free  and  great,  and  had 
quitted  a  glorious  palace  to  live  in  their  loath¬ 
some  dungeon,  to  wear  their  chains,  to  bear 
their  stripes,  to  suffer  and  die  in  their  stead, 
that  they  might  go  free  1  Such  a  thing  has 
been  done.  For  all  who  receive  the  grace  of 
God’s  Son,  the  chains  are  struck  off,  and  the 
prison  is  thrown  wide  open. 

724.  CHRIST,  Suffering  for.  If  you  .go  to 
weigh  Jesus,  his  sweetness,  excellency,  glory, 
and  beauty,  and  lay  opposite  to  him  your 
ounces  or  drachms  of  suffering  for  him,  you 
will  be  straitened  in  two  ways, —  1.  It  will  be 
a  pain  to  make  the  comparison,  the  dispropor¬ 
tion  being  by  no  understanding  imaginable ; 
nay,  if  heaven’s  arithmetic  and  angels  were 
set  to  work,  they  should  never  number  the 
degrees  of  difference :  2.  It  would  straiten 
you  to  find  a  scale  for  the  balance  to  lay  that 
high  and  lofty  One,  that  ever-transcending 
Prince  of  Excellency  in.  If  your  mind  could 
fancy  as  many  created  heavens  as  time  hath 
minutes,  trees  have  had  leaves,  clouds  have  had 
rain-drops,  since  the  first  stone  of  the  creation 
was  laid,  they  would  not  make  half  a  scale  in 
which  to  weigh  boundless  excellency. 

Rutherford. 

725.  CHRIST,  Sufferings  of.  As  the  precious 
stone  called  the  carbuncle,  to  look  at,  is  like 
a  hot  burning  coal  of  fire,  shining  exceeding 
brightly,  the  which  feeleth  no  fire,  neither  is  it 
molten,  changed,  or  mollified  therewith ;  if 
thou  shalt  take  it,  and  close  it  fast  in  a  ring  of 
lead,  and  cast  it  into  the  fire,  thou  shalt  see 
the  lead  molten  and  consume  before  thy  face, 
but  tlie  carbuncle  remaining  sound  and  perfect 


100 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST. 


without  blemish  :is  before  ;  for  the  fire  worketh 
upon  the  lead,  but  upon  the  carbuncle  it  can¬ 
not  work  :  even  so  Christ,  our  Saviour,  being 
in  the  hot,  scorching  lire  of  his  torments,  suf¬ 
fered  and  died,  as  he  was  man ;  but,  as  he  was 
God,  he  neither  sufi’ered  nor  died.  The  fire 
of  his  afflictions  wrought,  then,  upon  his  man¬ 
hood  ;  but  his  divinity  and  Godhead  continued 
perfect,  and  utterly  untouched.  Cawdray. 

726.  We  may  paint  the  outward  appear¬ 

ance  of  his  sufferings,  but  not  the  inward  bit¬ 
terness  or  invisible  causes  of  them.  Men  can 
paint  the  cursed  tree,  but  not  the  curse  of  the 
iaw  that  made  it  so.  Men  can  paint  Christ 
bearing  the  cross  to  Calvary,  but  not  Christ 
bearing  the  sins  of  many.  We  may  describe 
the  nails  piercing  his  sacred  flesh,  but  who  can 
describe  eternal  justice  piercing  both  flesh  and 
spirit  V  We  may  describe  the  soldier’s  spear, 
but  not  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty ;  the  cup 
of  vinegar  which  he  but  tasted,  but  not  the 
cup  of  wrath,  which  he  drank  out  to  the  lowest 
dregs ;  the  derision  of  the  Jews,  but  not  the 
desertion  of  the  Almighty  forsaking  his  Son, 
that  he  might  never  lorsake  us  who  were  his 
enemies.  ./.  Maclaurin. 

727.  CHRIST,  Superiority  of.  Every  thing  in 

Christ  astonishes  me.  Ilis  spirit  overawes  me, 
and  his  will  confounds  me.  Ilis  ideas  and  his 
sentiments,  the  truths  which  he  announces, 
his  manner  of  convincing,  are  not  explained 
either  by  human  observation,  or  the  nature  of 
things.  His  birth,  and  the  history  of  his  life  ; 
the  profundity  of  his  doctrine,  which  grapples 
the  mightiest  difficulties,  and  which  is  of  those 
difficulties  the  most  admirable  solution  ;  his 
gospel ;  his  apparition ;  his  empire  ;  his  march 
across  the  ages  and  the  realms,  —  every  thing  is 
lor  me  a  prodigy,  a  mystery  insoluble,  which 
plunges  me  into  a  revery  from  which  I  can¬ 
not  escape  —  a  mystery  which  is  there  before 
my  eyes,  a  mystery  which  I  can  neither  deny 
nor  explain.  Here  I  see  nothing  human. 
The  nearer  I  approach,  the  more  carefully  I 
examine.  Every  thing  is  above  me.  Every 
thing  remains  grand,  —  of  a  grandeur  which 
overpowers.  His  religion  is  a  revelation  from 
an  Intelligence  which  certainly  is  not  that  of 
man.  Napoleon. 

728.  CHRIST,  Support  of.  A  Cornish  minis¬ 
ter  was  preaching,  one  day,  to  a  congregation 
in  which  were  several  sailors  who  had  just 
escaped  shipwreck.  He  spoke  of  the  sinner’s 
danger,  and  introduced  the  figure  of  the 
drowning  sailor,  grasping  eagerly  at  any  frag¬ 
ments  of  the  wreck ;  then  presented  Christ  as 
the  sure  plank,  exclaiming,  “  This  plank  bears  1  ” 
Fourteen  years  after,  that  minister  was  called 
to  the  bedside  of  a  dying  stranger  who  was 
converted  by,  and  now  with  his  latest  breath, 
testified  to,  the  glorious  truth,  “  This  plank 
hears  1  ” 

729.  CHRIST,  Sympathy  of.  Like  as  if  a 
man  be  sick  of  some  grievous  disease,  and  if  a 
friend  come  unto  him  that  hath  been  troubled 
with  the  same  disease,  he  will  show  more  com- 
nassion  than  twenty  others ;  even  so  Christ, 
having  felt  in  his  own  body  and  soul  the  I 


anguish  and  the  manifold  perplexities  that  w<> 
feel  in  our  temptations  and  afflictions,  hath 
his  bowels,  as  it  were,  a  running  towards  us, 
evermore  being  pressed,  and  ready  to  relieve 
us  in  all  our  miseries.  Cawdray. 

730.  CHRIST,  Unworldliness  of.  Do,  I  say,  as 
Christ  himself  did  when  he  lived  here  on 
earth :  imitate  him  as  much  as  in  thee  lies. 
How  many  great  Caesars,  mighty  monarchs, 
tetraclis,  dynasties,  princes,  lived  in  his  days  1 
in  what  plenty,  what  delicacy,  how  bravely 
attended  1  what  a  deal  of  gold  and  silver,  what 
treasure,  how  many  sumptuous  palaces,  had 
they  1  what  provinces  and  cities,  what  territo¬ 
ries,  fields,  rivers,  fountains,  parks,  forests 
lawns,  woods,  and  cells  1  yet  Christ  had  none 
of  all  this ;  he  would  have  none  of  this ;  he 
voluntarily  rejected  all  this.  He  could  not  be 
ignorant ;  he  could  not  err  in  his  choice ;  he 
contemned  all  this  :  he  chose  that  which  was 
safer,  better,  and  more  certain,  and  less  to  be 
repented,  —  a  mean  estate,  even  poverty  itself. 

R.  Burton. 

731.  CHRIST,  Valuing.  Christ  is  not  valued 

at  all  unless  he  be  valued  above  all.  —  Augus¬ 
tine. - None  but  Christ.  —  Lambert. 

732.  CHRIST,  Vicarious  Death  of.  At  a  vil¬ 
lage  called  Ragenbach,  in  Germany,  one  after¬ 
noon  a  great  number  of  people  were  assembled 
in  the  large  room  of  the  inn.  There  was  only 
one  door  to  the  room,  and  that  stood  open. 
The  village  blacksmith  —  a  pious,  brave- 
hearted  man  —  sat  near  the  door.  All  at 
once,  a  large  dog  came  and  stood  right  in  the 
doorway.  He  was  a  great  beast,  with  frightful 
look.  Ilis  eyes  were  bloodshot,  and  his  great 
red  tongue  hung  out  of  his  mouth.  As  soon 
as  the  keeper  of  the  inn  saw  him,  he  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  Back,  back  1  The  dog  is  mad  !  ” 
Then  there  was  great  confusion  in  the  room. 
There  was  no  way  out  but  by  the  door  in 
which  the  dog  stood ;  and  no  one  could  pass 
him  without  being  bitten.  “  Stand  back,  my 
friends,”  cried  the  brave  smith,  “  till  I  seize 
the  dog ;  then  hurry  out  while  I  hold  him. 
Better  for  one  to  perish  than  tor  all  1  ”  He 
seized  the  beast  with  an  iron  grasp,  and 
dashed  him  on  the  floor.  'Hie  dog  bit 
furiously  on  every  side.  His  teeth  tore  the 
arms  and  thighs  of  the  heroic  smith ;  but  he 
would  not  let  go  his  hold.  Unmindful  of  the 
great  pain  it  caused,  and  the  horrible  death 
which  he  knew  must  follow,  with  the  grasp  of 
a  giant  he  held  down  the  snapping,  biting, 
howling  brute,  till  all  his  friends  had  escaped 
in  safety.  Then  he  flung  the  halt-strangled 
beast  from  him  against  the  wall,  left  the  room, 
and  locked  the  door.  The  dog  was  shot ;  but 
what  was  to  become  of  the  brave  smith  ?  The 
friends  whose  lives  he  had  saved  stood  round 
him,  weeping.  “  Be  quiet  1  my  friends,”  he 
said,  “  Don’t  weep  for  me :  I’ve  only  done  my 
duty.  When  I  am  dead,  think  of  me  with 
love  ;  and  now  pray  for  me,  that  God  will  not 
let  me  suffer  long,  or  too  much.  I  know  I 
shall  become  mad;  but  I  will  take  care  that 
no  harm  comes  to  you  through  me.”  Then  he 
went  to  his  shop.  He  took  a  strong  chain. 


CHRIST. 


CHRISTIAN. 


101 


One  end  of  it  he  riveted  with  his  own  hands 
round  his  body,  the  other  end  he  fastened  round 
the  anvil,  so  strongly  that  no  earthly  power 
could  loose  it.  Then  he  looked  round  on  his 
friends,  and  said,  “  Now  it’s  done  1  You  are 
all  safe.  I  can’t  hurt  you.  Bring  me  food 
while  I  am  well,  and  keep  out  of  my  reach 
when  I  am  mad.  The  rest  I  leave  with  God.” 
Soon  madness  seized  him  ;  and  in  nine  days  he 
died,  —  died  gloriously  for  his  friends  ;  but 
Christ  died  for  his  enemies.  Newton. 

733.  CHRIST,  Victory  of.  Like  as  if  two 

enemies  fight  together,  and  the  one  let  the 
other  choose  his  weapon  himself,  and  appoint 
the  other  what  weapon  he  is  to  use,  if  he  who 
is  dealt  so  withal  doth- vanquish  and  overcome 
the  other,  the  greater  is  the  glory  who  doth  so 
overcome :  so,  likewise,  Christ  and  Satan  fight¬ 
ing,  Satan  did  choose  to  fight  with  him  in  the 
flesh  (the  weakest  of  many  weapons)  ;  yet  even 
with  that  weapon  did  Christ  overcome  him  ; 
which  got  Christ  the  greater  glory,  and  gave 
Satan  the  greater  shame.  Cawdray. 

734.  CHEIST,  the  Way.  “  I  am  the  Way.” 

As  a  road  is  that  along  which  men  go  to  their 
daily  avocations,  God  chooses  it  to  represent 
himself  in  this  universal  use,  this  underlying 
support  of  all  things.  Who  would  dare  to  say 
this  of  God  but  God  ?  Some  beasts  carry 
their  young,  and  some  birds  carry  their  young, 
and  mothers  carry  their  children  ;  but  who 
but  God  could  say,  “  I  am  the  Road ;  press  me 
with  your  feet  ”  ?  This  is  the  highway  cast 
up  ;  and  on  it  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall 
return  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs  of  ever¬ 
lasting  joy  upon  their  heads.  Beecher. 

735.  CHRISTIAN,  Almost.  What  matters  it 
to  the  skilful  seaman,  that  with  helm  in  hand, 
and  eye  continually  upon  sea  and  sky,  he  has 
carried  his  well-trimmed  bark  over  many  a 
league  of  ocean,  and  filled  her  with  the  treas¬ 
ures  of  other  lands,  and  steered  hpr  through 
many  a  rocky  channel,  and  carried  her  through 
many  a  furious  gale,  if,  just  as  the  haven  is  in 
sight,  the  tempest  takes  her,  and  whelms  her 
in  the  deep  ?  And  what  matters  it  if  we  be 
almost,  if  we  be  not  altogether,  Christians? 
All  knowledge  might  be  ours,  so  that  all  mys¬ 
teries  should  be  clear  to  us ;  all  faith  might  be 
ours,  so  that  we  could  remove  mountains  ;  our 
goods  we  might  give  to  feed  the  poor,  and 
our  bodies  to  be  burnt  for  Jesus’  sake  :  yet  if 
we  want  the  love  that  binds  everlastingly  to 
Christ,  and  is  full  of  all  good  fruits,  we  are 
nothing.  Our  last  climbing  footstep  we  might 

lant  upon  the  very  threshold  of  heaven,  and, 

nocking  at  its  closed  gates,  we  might  be  able 
to  say,  “  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied 
in  thy  name,  and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out 
devils,  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works?  ”  and  yet  from  within  the  holy  habita¬ 
tion  the  Voice  might  come,  “  I  never  knew 
you :  depart  from  me  ye  that  work  iniquity  1  ” 

Dr.  Hanna. 

73G.  Almost  a  son  is  a  bastard ;  almost 
Bwect  is  unsavory;  almost  hot  is  lukewarm, 
which  God  speweth  out  of  his  mouth.  A  Chris¬ 
tian  almost  is  like  a  woman  which  dieth  in 


travail,  —  almost  she  brought  forth  a  son  ;  but 
that  almost  killed  the  mother  and  the  son  too. 
Almost  a  Christian  is  like  Mieah,  which  thought 
himself  religious  enough  because  he  had  got¬ 
ten  a  priest  into  his  house.  Almost  a  Chris¬ 
tian  is  like  the  Ephraimites,  which  could  not 
pronounce  Shibboleth,  but  Sibboleth.  Almost 
a  Christian  is  like  Ananias,  which  brought  a 
part,  but  left  a  part  behind.  Almost  a  Christian 
is  like  Eli’s  sons,  which  polled  the  sacrifices; 
like  the  fig-tree,  which  deceived  Christ  with 
leaves;  like  the  virgins,  which  carried  lamps 
without  oil ;  like  the  willing  unwilling  son,  who 
said  he  would  come,  and  would  not. 

Henry  Smith. 

737.  CHRISTIAN,  Asleep.  Sleepy  Christian, 
let  me  shout  in  thine  ears.  Thou  art  sleeping 
while  souls  are  being  lost,  sleeping  while  men 
are  being  damned,  sleeping  while  hell  is  being 
peopled,  sleeping  while  Christ  is  being  dis¬ 
honored,  sleeping  while  the  Devil  is  grinning 
at  thy  sleepy  face,  sleeping  while  demons  arc 
dancing  round  thy  slumbering  carcass,  and 
telling  it  in  hell  that  a  Christian  is  asleep. 

Spurgeon. 

738.  CHRISTIAN,  Badge  of  the.  The  badge  of 
a  Christian  is  not  one  that  the  world  can  see. 
One  has  for  his  badge  a  crosier,  another  has  a 
crucifix,  another  has  a  tonsure,  another  has  a 
robe  of  some  color  or  shape  :  but  a  Christian’s 
badge  is  not  a  tonsure,  nor  a  crucifix,  nor  a 
crosier,  nor  a  shibboleth,  nor  a  robe,  nor  a 
phylactery  ;  but  it  is,  “  By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one 
another.”  This  is  the  badge  of  the  Christian  ; 
and  in  proportion  as  it  shows  itself,  the  evi¬ 
dence  of  our  true  brotherhood  comes  out. 

Dr.  Cumming. 

739.  CHRISTIAN,  Brevities.  A  Christian  is 

the  highest  style  of  man.  —  Pope. - Almost 

saved  is  altogether  lost. 

740.  CHRISTIAN,  a  Contented.  When  Henry 
the  Fourth,  king  of  France,  was  told  of  the 
King  of  Spain’s  ample  dominions ;  as,  first,  he 
is  king  of  Castile,  and  I  (quoth  Henry)  am 
king  of  France  ;  he  is  king  of  Navarre,  and  I 
am  king  of  France;  he  is  king  of  Naples,  and 
I  am  king  of  France ;  he  is  king  of  the  Sici¬ 
lies,  Nova  Hispania,  of  the  Western  Indies, 
and  I  am  king  of  France,  —  he  thought  the 
kingdom  of  France  equivalent  to  all  those. 
So  let  the  soul  of  every  good  Christian  solace 
itself  against  all  the  wants  of  this  mortal 
pilgrimage  in  this,  that  it  is  a  meml>er  of  the 
Church.  One  hath  more  learning  or  wit,  yet  I 
am  a  Christian  ;  another  hath  more  honor  or 
preferment  in  the  world,  yet  I  am  a  Christian  ; 
another  hath  more  silver  and  gold  and  riches, 
yet  I  am  a  Christian ;  another  hath  larger 
possessions,  yet  I  have  an  inheritance  in 
heaven,  I  am  a  Christian.  Were  but  this  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  true  Christian’s  worth  laid  in 
the  balance  of  the  sanctuary,  it  would  weigh 
down  all  temporary  conceits  whatsoever. 

Spencer. 

741.  CHRISTIAN,  Death  of  a.  Mr.  Cecil  fol¬ 
lowed  one  of  the  pious  members  of  his  cougre 
gation  to  the  grave.  The  people  saw  her  low 


102 


CHRISTIAN. 


CHRISTIAN. 


ered  into  her  lone;  home,  and  said,  “  How  sad !  ” 
Mr.  Cecil  looked  in,  and  said,  “  How  well  1  ” 

J  1  CHRISTIAN,  Flourishing.  How  beauti¬ 
ful  is  the  language  of  the  Psalmist  1  “  The 
righteous  shall  flourish  like  the  palm-tree  ;  he 
shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon.  Those 
that  be  planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall 
flourish  in  the  courts  of  our  God.  They  shall 
still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age ;  they 
shall  be  fat  and  flourishing  ”  (Ps.  xcii.  1 2- 
14).  The  palm  is  indigenous  to  tropical  and 
other  warm  climates.  It  grows  to  a  considera¬ 
ble  height  and  size,  and  presents  a  beautiful 
appearance.  Its  fruits,  which  are  called  dates, 
are  much  valued,  and  are  eaten  both  fresh  and 
preserved,  and  are  also  pressed  for  both  sirup 
and  wine.  But  it  is  not  for  its  fruit  alone  that 
the  palm  is  so  valuable.  From  the  boughs, 
which  are  yearly  lopped  off  from  the  lower 
parts  of  the  stem,  are  made  baskets,  bird-cages, 
ropes,  and  sacks  ;  from  the  leaves,  mattresses, 
sandals,  &c.  It  is  an  evergreen,  and  lives  to 
an  extreme  old  age ;  the  wood  is  durable,  and 
much  used.  How  striking  an  emblem  of  a 
good  man !  — he  shall  flourish  like  the  palm-tree. 
The  cedar  was  considered  by  the  Hebrews  as 
the  monarch  of  the  vegetable  world,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  its  magnitude,  majesty,  the  number 
and  extent  of  its  boughs,  and  the  durability  of 
its  wood,  which  was  so  remarkable  that  some 
supposed  it  to  be  incorruptible.  Moreover, 
every  thing  about  the  Oriental  cedar  has  a 
strong  balsamic  odor ;  and  hence  the  whole  for¬ 
est  is  so  perfumed  with  fragrance,  that  a  walk 
through  it  is  delightful.  Mount  Lebanon  was 
in  ancient  times  covered  with  forests  of  cedars, 
of  which,  however,  few  only  now  remain. 
Again  we  say  to  the  Christian,  Behold  your 
emblem,  —  “  He  shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in 
Lebanon.”  J.  A.  James. 

743.  CHRISTIAN,  Happiness  of  a.  There  is  no 
man  so  happy  as  the  Christian.  When  he 
looks  up  unto  heaven,  he  thinks,  “  That  is  my 
home ;  the  God  that  made  it  and  owns  it  is 
my  Father ;  the  angels,  more  glorious  in  na¬ 
ture  than  myself,  are  my  attendants ;  mine 
enemies  are  my  vassals.”  Yea,  those  things 
which  are  the  terriblest  of  all  to  the  wicked 
are  most  pleasant  to  him.  When  he  hears 
God  thunder  above  his  head,  he  thinks,  “  This  is 
the  voice  of  my  Father.”  When  he  remember- 
eth  the  tribunal  of  the  last  judgment,  he 
thinks,  “  It  is  my  Saviour  that  sits  in  it ;  ”  when 
death,  he  esteems  it  but  as  the  angel  set  be¬ 
fore  Paradise,  which,  with  one  blow,  admits 
him  to  eternal  joy.  And  (which  is  most  of 
all)  nothing  in  earth  or  hell  can  make  him 
miserable.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world 
worth  envying,  but  a  Christian.  Bp.  Hall. 

744.  CHRISTIAN,  Honor  of  the.  Payson  said, 
as  he  lay  upon  his  dying  bed,  “  If  men  only 
knew  the  honor  that  awaited  them,  the  glory 
that  was  in  reserve  for  them,  in  Christ,  they 
would  go  about  the  streets,  crying  out,  ‘  I  am 
a  Christian,  I  am  Christian  !  ’  that  men  might 
rejoice  with  them  in  the  honor  of  which  they 
were  so  soon  to  partake.” 


745.  CHRISTIAN,  Inflnenoe  of  a.  Every  Chris¬ 

tian  is  placed  in  a  centre,  of  which  the  globe 
is  the  circumference ;  and  each  must  fill  that 
circumference,  as  every  star  forms  a  centre, 
and  shines  through  the  whole  sphere ;  and  yet 
all  meet  and  mingle,  forming  one  vast  field  of 
light.  Spencer. 

746.  CHRISTIAN,  Legaoy  of  the.  A  pious  old 
man  was  one  day  walking  to  the  sanctuary, 
with  a  New  Testament  in  his  hand,  when  a 
friend  who  met  him  said,  “  Good  -  morning, 
Mr.  Price  1  ”  —  “  Ah,  good-morning  1  ”  replied 
he  :  “I  am  reading  my  Father’s  will  as  I 
walk  along.”  —  “Well,  what  has  he  left 
you  ?  ”  said  his  friend.  “  Why,  he  has  be¬ 
queathed  me  a  hundred-fold  more  in  this  life, 
and  in  the  world  to  come  life  everlasting.” 
This  beautiful  reply  was  the  means  of  com¬ 
forting  his  Christian  friend,  who  was  at  the 
time  in  sorrowful  circumstances. 

747.  CHRISTIAN,  Light  of  the.  It  must  not 

be  a  feverish  gleam,  nor  a  meteor  of  the  marsh, 
nor  a  revolving  lantern,  emitting  an  occasional 
or  periodical  radiance,  but  a  light,  calm,  uni¬ 
form,  steady,  shining  alike  in  the  calm  as  in 
the  storm.  Its  emblem,  if  emblem  it  must 
have,  should  be  the  light  on  the  cliff;  the 
startled  waves  rush  over  it ;  the  storm  smites  it ; 
the  rain  beats  against  it ;  and  heavily  against 
it  rolls  the  broad  shoulders  of  the  hurricane : 
but  steadfast,  serene,  immutable,  the  same 
year  after  year,  through  all,  the  silent  light 
burns  on ;  forevermore  that  quenchless  flame 
shines,  that  inextinguishable  light.  “  Let 
your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.”  W.  M.  Punshon. 

748.  CHRISTIAN,  Rewarded.  When  a  noble 

soldier  in  a  foreign  land  hath  achieved  brave 
designs,  won  honorable  victories,  subdued 
dangerous  adversaries,  and  with  worthy  chiv¬ 
alry  renowned  his  king  and  country,  home  he 
comes.  The  king  sends  for  him  to  court;  and 
there,  in  open  audience  of  his  noble  cour¬ 
tiers,  gives  him  words  of  grace,  commendeth, 
and  (which  is  rarely  more)  rewardeth  his 
valor,  heaps  his  dignities,  preferments,  and 
places  of  honor  on  him.  So  shall  Christ  at 
the  last  day,  to  all  those  soldiers  that  have 
valiantly  combated  and  conquered  his  ene¬ 
mies,  in  the  sight  of  heaven  and  earth,  audi¬ 
ence  of  men  and  angels,  give  victorious 
wreaths,  crowns,  and  garlands,  “long  white 
robes,”  to  witness  their  innocency,  and  palms 
in  their  hands  to  express  their  victory;  and 
finally  he  will  give  them  a  glorious  kingdom  to 
enjoy  for  ever  and  ever.  T.  Adams. 

749.  CHRISTIAN,  Smiling.  Let  thy  face  ever 
wear  a  smile,  let  thine  eyes  sparkle  with  glad¬ 
ness,  live  near  thy  Master,  live  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  celestial  city ;  as  by  and  by,  when  thy 
time  shall  come,  thou  shalt  borrow  better  wings 
than  angels  ever  wore,  and  outsoar  the  cheru¬ 
bim,  and  rise  up  where  thy  Jesus  sits,  sit  at 
his  right  hand  :  even  as  he  has  overcome,  and 
has  sat  down  upon  his  Father’s  right  hand. 

Spurgeon. 


CHRISTIAJS". 


CHRISTIAJSTITY. 


103 


750.  CHRISTIAN,  The  True,  men  Dr.  Jud- 
«on  went  on  his  missionary  journeys  through 
the  villages  and  jungles  of  the  poor  benighted 
Karens,  he  used  to  be  called  by  the  natives 
the  “  Jesus  Christ’s  man.” 

751.  CHRISTIAN,  Worldly.  Lot  chose  wisely, 
as  they  of  the  world  speak.  Well,  if  this 
world  be  all,  he  got  a  rich  soil,  became  a 

rince,  had  kings  for  his  society  and  neigh- 

ors.  It  was  nothing  to  Lot  that  “  the  men 
of  the  land  were  sinners  before  the  Lord  ex¬ 
ceedingly  ;  ”  enough  that  it  was  well  watered 
everywhere.  But  his  wife  became  enervated 
by  voluptuousness,  and  his  children  tainted 
with  ineradicable  corruption,  —  the  moral  mi¬ 
asma  of  the  society  wherein  he  had  made 
his  home.  Two  warnings  God  gave  him : 
first  his  home  and  property  were  spoiled  by 
the  enemy  ;  then  came  the  fire  from  heaven  ; 
and  he  fled  from  the  cities  of  the  plain  a  ruined 
man.  His  wife  looked  back  with  lingering  re¬ 
gret  upon  the  splendid  home  of  her  luxury  and 
voluptuousness,  and  was  overwhelmed  in  the 
incrusting  salt ;  his  children  carried  with  them 
into  a  new  world  the  plague-spot  of  that  prof¬ 
ligacy  which  had  been  the  child  of  affluence 
and  idleness ;  and  the  spirit  of  that  rain  of 
fire  —  of  the  buried  cities  of  the  plain  —  rose 
again,  in  the  darkest  of  the  crimes  which  the 
Old  Testament  records,  to  poison  the  new  soci¬ 
ety  at  its  very  fountain.  And  so  the  old  man 
stood  at  last  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  a  black¬ 
ened  ruin,  scathed  by  lightning,  over  the  grave 
ofhis  wile  and  the  shame  of  his  family,  —  saved, 
but  only  “  so  as  by  fire.”  F.  IV.  Robertson. 

752.  CHRISTIAN,  in  the  World.  As  the  mother- 

pearl-fish  lives  in  the  sea  without  receiving  a 
drop  of  salt  water ;  and  as,  towards  the  Chel- 
idonian  Islands,  springs  of  fresh  water  may 
be  found  in  the  midst  of  the  sea ;  and  as  the 
fire-fly  passes  through  the  flames  without  burn¬ 
ing  its  wing :  so  a  vigorous  and  resolute  soul  may 
live  in  the  world  without  being  infected  with 
any  of  its  humors,  may  discover  sweet  springs 
of  piety  amidst  its  salt  waters,  and  fly  among 
the  flames  of  earthly  concupiscence  without 
burning  the  wings  of  the  holy  desires  of  a 
devout  life.  Francis  de  Sales. 

753.  CHRISTIANITY,  Advent  of.  The  en¬ 
feebled  world  was  tottering  on  its  foundations 
when  Christianity  appeared.  The  natural  reli¬ 
gions,  which  had  satisfied  the  parents,  no  longer 
proved  sufficient  for  their  children.  The  new 
generations  could  not  repose  contented  within 
the  ancient  forms.  The  gods  of  every  nation, 
when  transported  to  Rome,  there  lost  their 
oracles,  as  the  nations  themselves  had  lost 
their  liberty.  Brought  face  to  face  in  the 
capitol,  they  had  destroyed  each  other,  and 
their  divinity  had  vanished.  A  great  void 
was  occasioned  in  the  religion  of  the  world. 
Then  the  word  was  made  flesh :  God  appeared 
among  men,  and  as  man,  to  save  that  which 
was  lost.  In  Jesus  of  Nazareth  dwelt  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  This  is  the 
greatest  event  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 
Former  ages  had  paved  the  way  for  it:  the 


latter  ages  flow  from  it.  It  is  their  centre,  and 
bond  of  unity.  Henceforward  the  popular 
superstitions  had  no  meaning,  and  the  slight 
fragments  preserved  from  the  general  wreck  of 
incredulity  vanished  before  the  majestic  orb 
of  eternal  truth.  D'A  ubigne. 

751.  CHRISTIANITY,  Degrees  in.  There  is 
a  degree  in  Christianity,  to  the  which  whoso¬ 
ever  coineth,  they  see  and  feel  more  than  other* 
can  do.  “  Come  and  see  ”  will  speak  better 
things  of  him  than  I  can  do.  “  Come  nearer  ” 
will  say  much.  Rutherford. 

755.  CHRISTIANITY,  Effect  of.  The  shock 

that  buried  Lisbon  in  1755  never  ceased  to 
vibrate,  till  it  reached  the  wilds  of  Scotland 
and  the  vineyards  of  Madeira.  It  was  felt 
among  the  islands  of  the  Grecian  Archipelago, 
and  it  changed  the  level  of  the  solitary  lakes 
that  sleep  beneath  the  shadows  of  the  North 
Alps.  Even  so  the  shock  that  Satan’s  king¬ 
dom  sustained  when  Christianity  was  estab¬ 
lished  will  not  cease  to  vibrate  till  it  move  the 
whole  world.  Hardwicke. 

756.  CHRISTIANITY,  Ethics  of.  The  superi¬ 

ority  of  the  Christian  code  is  practically  ac¬ 
knowledged,  and  often  confessed,  in  a  most 
significant  way,  by  the  mode  in  which  the 
enemies  of  Christianity  taunt  its  disciples. 
When  they  speak  of  the  vices  and  corruptions 
of  the  heathen,  they  blame,  and  justly  blame, 
the  principles  of  their  vicious  systems  ;  and 
ask  how  it  could  be  otherwise.  AVhen  they 
blame  the  Christian,  the  first  and  the  last  thing 
they  usually  do  is  to  point  in  triumph  to  the 
contrast  between  his  principles  and  practice. 
“  How  much  better,”  say  they,  “  is  his  code 
than  his  conduct  1  ”  It  is  as  a  hypocrite  that 
they  censure  him.  It  is  sad  for  him  that  it 
should  be  so  ;  but  it  is  a  glorious  compliment 
to  the  morality  of  the  New  Testament.  Its 
enemies  know  not  how  to  attack  its  disciples, 
except  by  endeavoring  to  show  that  they  do 
not  act  as  it  bids  them.  Surely  this  uniform 
excellence  of  the  Christian  ethics,  as  compared 
with  other  systems,  is  a  peculiarity  worth  noth¬ 
ing,  and  utterly  incomprehensible  upon  the 
hypothesis  that  it  was  the  unaided  work  of 
man.  That  there  are  points  on  which  the 
moral  systems  of  men  and  nations  osculate, 
is  most  true ;  that  there  should  have  been 
certain  approximations  on  many  most  impor¬ 
tant  subjects,  was  to  be  expected  from  the  es¬ 
sential  identity  of  human  nature  in  all  ages 
and  countries :  but  their  deviations  in  some 
point  or  other  —  usually  in  several — from 
what  we  acknowledge  to  be  both  right  and  expe¬ 
dient,  is  equally  undeniable.  That  when  such 
men  as  Plato  and  Aristotle  tried  their  hands 
upon  the  problem,  they  should  err,  while  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  should  have 
succeeded  ;  that  these  last  should  do  what  all 
mankind  besides  had  in  some  points  or  other 
failed  to  do,  —  is  sufficiently  wonderful.  That 
Galilean  Jews  should  have  solved  the  problem, 
is,  whether  we  consider  their  age,  their  igno¬ 
rance,  or  their  prepossessions,  to  me  utterly 
incredible.  H.  Rogers. 


104 


CHRIS  TIAJNT3?  Y. 


CHRISTIANITY. 


757.  CHRISTIANITY,  an  Experience.  Chris¬ 

tianity,  as  it  works  in  the  heart,  is  mightier  than 
it  is  when  explained  and  enforced  in  a  thou¬ 
sand  volumes.  Christianity  in  books  is  like 
seed  in  the  granary,  dry,  and  all  but  dead.  It 
is  not  written,  but  living  characters,  that  are  to 
convert  the  infidel.  The  life  of  good  men, 
and  not  the  library  of  theologues,  is  the  con¬ 
verting  power.  Dr.  Thomas. 

758.  CHRISTIANITY,  not  Gloomy.  Christiani¬ 
ty  a  gloomy  system  1  —  the  world  and  devils 
may  say  so ;  but  a  thousand  eyes  that  sparkle 
with  a  hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed,  and  a 
thousand  hearts  that  beat  happily  with  the 
full  pulse  of  spiritual  life,  can  tell  thee  thou 
liest,  Christianity  a  gloomy  system  !  —  why, 
it  is  the  Christian  only,  that  can  thoroughly 
enjoy  the  world ;  to  him,  to  his  grateful  vis¬ 
ion,  earth  is  garlanded  with  fairer  beauty, 
heaven  sparkles  with  serener  smiles ;  to  him 
the  landscape  is  the  more  lovely  because  it  re¬ 
minds  him  of  the  paradise  of  his  hope  in  prospect, 
which  his  father  once  lost,  but  which  his  Saviour 
has  brought  back  again,  as  a  family  inheritance, 
forever;  to  him  the  ocean  rolls  the  more  grandly 
because  it  figures  out  the  duration  of  his 
promised  life  ;  to  him  the  birds  in  their  forest 
minstrelsy  warble  the  more  sweetly  because 
their  woodland  music  takes  him  upwards  to 
the  harpers  harping  with  their  harps  in  heav¬ 
en  ;  to  him  the  mountains  tower  the  more  sub¬ 
limely  because  their  heaven-pointing  summits 
are  the  emblems  of  his  own  majestic  hopes. 

W.  M.  Punshon. 

759.  CHRISTIANITY,  at  Home.  I  have  no 
faith  in  that  woman  who  talks  of  grace  and 
glory  abroad,  and  uses  no  soap  at  home.  Let 
the  buttons  be  on  the  shirts,  let  the  children’s 
socks  be  mended,  let  the  roast  mutton  be  done 
to  a  turn,  let  the  house  be  as  neat  as  a  new 

in,  and  the  home  be  as  happy  as  home  can 

e  ;  and  then,  when  the  cannon-balls,  and  the 
marbles,  and  the  shots,  and  even  the  grains  of 
sand,  are  all  in  the  box,  even  then,  there  will 
be  room  for  those  little  deeds  of  love  and  faith, 
which,  in  my  Master’s  name,  I  seek  of  you 
who  love  his  appearing.  Serve  God  by  doing 
common  actions  in  a  heavenly  spirit,  and  then, 
if  your  daily  calling  only  leaves  you  cracks 
and  crevices  of  time,  fill  them  up  with  holy 
service.  Spurgeon. 

760.  CHRISTIANITY,  Judging.  Judge  not 
Christianity  even  by  its  most  perfect  embodi¬ 
ment  in  the  life  of  its  disciples  here.  The 
best  are  imperfect ;  and  Christianity  itself 
teaches  this,  and  points  to  perfection  as  yonder. 
Do  not  judge  the  science  of  that  organ-builder 
by  that  halt-finished  instrument  in  his  work¬ 
shop.  There  is  but  little  in  that  to  please  the 
eye ;  and  from  it  scarce  a  note  can  be  evolved 
to  charm  the  ear.  Judge  not  the  artistic 
character  of  that  painter  by  the  first  rough 
outline  which  you  discover  on  the  canvas  in 
his  studio.  There  is  scarcely  a  touch  of  life  in 
it,  or  any  perceptible  resemblance  to  the  ori¬ 
ginal.  Judge  the  organ-builder  by  the  instru¬ 
ment  as  it  stands  in  the  great  cathedral,  pour¬ 
ing  forth  by  the  touch  of  a  master-musician 


pealing  strains  of  music,  electrifying  the  con¬ 
gregated  thousands.  Judge  the  artist  by  the 
picture  as  hung  up  in  the  Academy  of  Art ; 
looking,  throbbing,  and  blushing  at  you  as  a 
thing  of  life;  gathering;  around  it  a  crowd  of 
admiring  spectators.  Even  so  judge  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Its  organ  —  the  Christian  life  —  is  not 
half  finished  here  in  its  workshop.  Yonder,  in 
the  great  cathedral  of  eternity,  you  will  see  it 
in  perfection,  and  feel  the  inspirations  of  its 
harmonies.  The  painting  is  not  finished  here 
in  its  studio :  its  figure  is  half  formed  and 
blotched  ;  and  scarcely  a  feature  is  accurate. 
See  it  in  the  great  gallery  of  the  heavens, 
finished,  and  an  exact  copy  of  the  Son  of  God 
himself,  “who  is  the  image  of  the  Father’s 
glory.”  Dr.  Thomas. 

761.  CHRISTIANITY,  not  of  Man,  When  you 
behold  a  majestic  tree  standing  in  the  field, 
which  has  darted  its  roots  far  and  deep  into 
the  earth,  and  spreads  its  branches  wide 
around  it,  and  produces,  year  after  year,  its 
store  of  leaves  and  flowers  and  fruits,  you 
might  as  well  imagine  it  to  be  the  fashioning 
of  man’s  hands,  an  ingenious  device  and  arti¬ 
fice  of  his,  which  he  feeds  and  nourishes,  as  to 
suppose  the  same  of  the  system  I  have  de¬ 
scribed  ;  which,  as  you  have  seen,  intwines  its 
roots  through  all  the  shadowy  institutions  of 
the  elder  dispensation,  and,  standing  tall  and 
erect  in  the  midst  of  the  new,  defies  the  whirl¬ 
wind  and  the  lightning,  the  drought  and 
scorching  sun,  bourgeoning  widely,  and,  like  the 
prophet’s  vine,  spreading  its  branches  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  and  gathering  all 
mankind  underneath  its  shade,  and  feeding 
them  with  the  sweetest  fruits  of  holiness. 

Cardinal  Wiseman. 

762.  CHRISTIANITY,  Objection  to.  Agoland,  a 
king  of  the  Moors,  having  waged  war  for  a 
considerable  time  with  Charles  the  Great,  was 
induced,  as  was  the  fashion  of  the  day,  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  Christian  faith  in  order  to  obtain 
peace  on  more  advantageous  terms.  For  this 
purpose,  he  repaired  to  the  French  court  with 
prodigious  pomp  ;  and  observing  there  a  great 
number  of  poor  men,  who  were  fed  and  clothed 
by  the  emperor’s  bounty,  inquired  who  they 
were.  The  reply  was,  “  They  are  the  servants 
of  God.”  —  “  What  1  ”  said  the  heathen  prince, 
“  are  the  servants  of  the  emperor  so  rich 
and  fine,  and  the  servants  of  God  so  poor  and 
wretched  ?  I  did  intend  to  be  baptized,  and 
become  a  Christian ;  but  now  I  am  resolved 
never  to  serve  that  God  who  keeps  his  ser¬ 
vants  no  better.” 

763.  CHRISTIANITY,  Origin  of.  Pascal  says, 
that  wearied  with  the  investigation  of  the  ex¬ 
ternal  evidences  of  Christianity,  which,  though 
they  made  the  truth  of  revealed  religion  in 
the  highest  degree  probable,  still  did  not 
amount  to  mathematical  certainty,  he  sub¬ 
mitted  the  teachings  of  Christianity  to  his  own 
inward  nature,  and  found  there  a  prompt  re¬ 
sponse,  whose  verdict  he  could  no  more  doubt 
than  he  could  doubt  his  own  existence.  A 

|  religion  so  infinitely  superior  to  every  other 
I  in  its  adaptation  to  the  wants  of  the  soul,  to 


CHRIS  TYAJNTTY. 


CHRISTIANS. 


105 


the  tempted,  the  heart-broken,  the  dying,  to 
universal  humanity  in  all  its  conflicts,  sins,  and 
■woes,  carried  its  own  evidence  of  its  divine 
origin.  J.  Chapman. 

764.  CHRISTIANITY,  Primitive.  Justin  Mar¬ 
tyr,  who  was  educated  a  heathen  philosopher, 
and  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  second 
century,  in  his  celebrated  apology  presented  to 
the  Emperor  Trajan,  says,  “  We,  who  formerly 
delighted  in  adultery,  now  observe  the  strictest 
chastity  ;  we,  who  used  the  charms  of  magic, 
have  devoted  ourselves  to  the  true  God  ;  and  we, 
who  valued  money  and  gain  above  all  things, 
now  cast  what  we  have  in  common,  and  distrib¬ 
ute  to  every  man  according  to  his  necessities.” 

765.  CHRISTIANITY,  Progress  of.  The  fol¬ 

lowing  tabular  statement,  a  conjectural  but 
probable  representation  of  the  progressive 
increase  of  Christians  in  the  world,  is  attri¬ 
buted  to  Sharon  Turner:  1st  century,  500,- 
000;  2d,  2,000,000;  3d,  5,000,000;  4th,  10,- 
000,000;  5th,  15,000,000;  6th,  20,000,000; 
7th,  24,000,000  ;  8th,  30,000,000  ;  9th.  40.000,- 
000;  10th,  50.000,000;  lltli,  70,000,000;  12th, 
80,000,000;  13th,  75.000,000;  14th,  80,000,- 
000;  15th,  100,000,000;  16th,  125,000,000; 
17th,  155,000,000;  18tli,  200,000,000.  Al¬ 
though  this  is  only  a  mere  approximation,  and 
a  very  loose  one,  to  the  actual  facts,  yet  it  is 
interesting  and  instructive.  With  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  the  thirteenth  century  ( tenebrosum ,  as 
the  late  Ur.  Miller  called  it),  the  progress  of 
the  truth  has  been  ever  onward.  From  every 
defeat,  it  has  arisen  afresh,  and  what  has 
never  been  the  case  in  any  other  system,  reli¬ 
gious,  social,  or  intellectual,  has  revived  anew 
from  the  ashes  of  its  own  inward  corruptions. 
In  this  nineteenth  century,  the  Christian  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  world  cannot  be  far  from  three 
hundred  millions  ;  and  its  progress  now  is  more 
rapid  than  in  any  period  since  the  apostolic 
age.  What  imagination  can  forecast  the  con¬ 
quests  of  the  next  fifty  years  1  The  leaven  is 
working  in  every  land.  The  old  empires  of 
idolatry  and  superstition  are  effete,  and  ready 
to  vanish ;  while  new  Christian  empires  are 
born  almost  in  a  day.  Every  new  discovery 
in  nature,  or  invention  in  art,  helps  to  speed 
the  gospel.  Trade,  commerce,  revolution,  ex¬ 
ploration,  all  prepare  the  way  and  herald  the 
approach  of  the  heralds  of  the  cross.  This 
work  of  preparation  has  been  long  going  on. 
Soon  it  will  be  complete  ;  the  initiatory  steps 
will  have  all  been  taken :  then  a  universal 
Pentecostal  season  may  be  expected.  Simul¬ 
taneously  the  Holy  Spirit  will  descend  upon 
every  land,  and  “  the  ploughman  overtake  the 
reaper,  and  the  treader  of  grapes  him  that 
soweth  seed.”  In  that  blessed  day,  (the  Lord 
hasten  it  in  his  time  1)  “  who  shall  count  the 
dust  of  Jacob,  or  the  number  of  the  fourth 
part  of  Israel  ?  ”  Dr.  Haven. 

766.  CHRISTIANITY,  Resistance  of.  Like  as 

every  thing  which  striketh  a  hard  stone  is 
broken  in  pieces,  the  stone  remaining  whole  ; 
even  so  every  man  who  striketh  against  Chris¬ 
tianity  hurteth  himself,  and  cannot  prevail 
against  the  same.  Cawdraij. 


767.  CHRISTIANITY,  Soil  for.  I  have  some- 

where  read  of  a  seed  that  is  borne  by  the  wind 
on  its  downy  wings  from  spot  to  spot,  and  nev¬ 
er  shoots  out  its  roots  until  it  reaches  a  con¬ 
genial  soil.  When  it  alights  on  the  soil  which 
suits  it  not,  it  shuts  itself  up,  and  sometimes 
sleeps  for  centuries,  —  sleeps  until  some  propi¬ 
tious  gale  will  bear  it  to  a  congenial  resting- 
place  ;  and  there,  after  a  number  of  ages,  it  will 
grow,  and  multiply  its  kind  indefinitely.  It  is 
somewhat  thus  with  Christianity.  During  the 
long  middle  ages,  the  heavenly  seed  borne  to 
the  western  world  remained  dead  upon  the 
papal  soil.  A  breeze  sprung  up,  and  wafted  it 
to  a  soil  where  it  took  root  and  grew,  ami  has 
been  growing  ever  since.  It  has  been  borne 
into  every  heart  in  Christendom ;  but,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  the  soil  is  unpropitious,  and 
the  seed  remains  dead.  We  invoke  no  wind 
to  bear  it  elsewhere ;  but  we  pray  for  an  altera¬ 
tion  in  the  soil.  Dr.  Thomas. 

768.  CHRISTIANITY,  Testing.  A  great  fable 
sometimes  encloses  a  great  truth.  It  is  an 
old  story  of  the  Empress  Helena,  how  she 
went  to  the  Holy  Land  to  find  the  cross.  Ex¬ 
cavations  were  made,  and  they  found  three 
crosses ;  but  how  were  they  to  know  which  was 
the  true  one  ?  So  they  took  a  corpse,  and  put 
it  upon  one  and  another ;  and,  as  soon  as  the 
corpse  touched  the  Saviour’s  cross,  it  started 
into  life.  Now,  you  are  demonstrating  the 
divinity  of  Christianity,  and  that  is  how  you 
test  it,  —  it  makes  these  dead  men  live. 

S.  Coley. 

769.  CHRISTIANITY,  Value  of.  We  live  in 

the  midst  of  blessings  till  we  are  utterly  in 
sensible  of  their  greatness,  and  of  the  source 
from  which  they  flow.  We  speak  of  our  civi¬ 
lization,  our  arts,  our  freedom,  our  laws,  and 
forget  entirely  how  large  a  share  of  all  is  due 
to  Christianity.  Blot  Christianity  out  of  the 
page  of  man’s  history,  and  what  would  his  laws 
have  been  ?  what  liis  civilization  ?  Christi¬ 
anity  is  mixed  up  with  our  very  being  and  our 
daily  life :  there  is  not  a  familiar  object  round 
us  which  does  not  wear  its  mark,  not  a  being 
or  a  thing  which  does  not  wear  a  different  as¬ 
pect  because  the  light  of  Christian  hope  is  on 
it,  not  a  law  which  does  not  owe  its  truth  and 
gentleness  to  Christianity,  not  a  custom  which 
cannot  be  traced  in  all  its  body  and  healthful 
parts  to  the  gospel.  Rose. 

770.  CHRISTIANS,  Abstinence  of.  As  stran¬ 
gers  and  travellers  abstain,  in  countries  where 
they  are  strangers,  from  many  things  which 
would  hinder  them  in  their  voyage  ;  so  good 
Christians,  in  their  passage  through  this  world, 
should  abstain  from  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  which 
hinder  their  souls  from  life  everlasting. 

Cawdray. 

771.  CHRISTIANS,  Aim  of.  Even  as  a  man 
that  passeth  through  a  strong  flood  oi  stream 
on  toot,  lest  he  stumble  and  fall  down,  setteth 
his  eye  steadily  upon  the  firm  land  which  he 
mindeth  to  attain  unto,  and  inarketh  not  the 
swift  course  of  the  water,  and  so  goeth  over 
safely,  and  is  nothing  dismayed  ;  so,  likewise,  a 
sound  and  good  Christian,  passing  the  raging 


106 


CHTRISTLAJSTS. 


CIITlISXLAJSrS. 


waves  of  present  troubles,  turucth  away  his 
sight,  his  thought,  and  all  apprehension  that 
he  might  otherwise  have  of  the  misery  of 
them,  and,  lifting  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  be- 
holdeth  there,  with  a  spiritual  regard,  the  in¬ 
estimable  treasures  of  the  heavenly  inheritance, 
which  he  striveth  unto ;  and  by  this  means 
easily  surmounteth  all  horror  and  fear  of  tor¬ 
ments  and  griefs,  which  commonly  make 
alterations  in  men’s  heads,  and  casteth  them 
headlong  into  desperation.  Cawdray. 

7  72."  CHRISTIANS,  Churlish,  Many  Chris¬ 
tians  are  like  chestnuts;  —  very  pleasant  nuts, 
but  enclosed  in  very  prickly  burs ;  which  need 
various  dealings  of  Nature,  and  her  grip  of 
frost,  before  the  kernel  is  disclosed.  Beecher. 

773.  CHRISTIANS,  Confidence  of.  The  merchant 
adventurer  puts  to  sea,  rides  out  many  a  bitter 
storm,  runs  many  a  desperate  hazard,  upon 
the  bare  hope  of  a  gainful  return ;  the  valiant 
soldier  takes  his  life  into  his  hands,  runs  upon 
the  very  mouth  of  the  cannon,  dares  the  lion 
in  his  den,  merely  upon  the  hope  of  victory ; 
every  man  hazards  one  way  or  other  in  his 
calling,  yet  are  but  uncertain  venturers,  ig¬ 
norant  of  the  issue  :  but  so  it  often  falls  out, 
that  the  greedy  adventurer,  seeking  to  increase 
his  stock,  loselli  many  times  both  it  and  him¬ 
self  ;  the  covetous  soldier,  gaping  after  spoil 
and  victory,  findetli  himself  at  last  spoiled, 
captivated  :  but  the  confident  Christian,  the 
true  child  of  God,  runs  at  no  such  uncertainty. 

Spencer. 

774.  CHRISTIANS,  Consistent.  Some  men’s 
religion  and  holiness  is  all  in  their  titles  of 
God’s  children,  and  in  naked  names  of  Chris¬ 
tians;  which  only  they  hold,  when,  indeed, 
all  Christianity  is  banished  from  them. 

Cawdray. 

775.  CHRISTIANS,  Differences  in.  There 
are  differences  of  character,  which,  springing 
from  constitutional  peculiarities  or  early  edu¬ 
cation,  grace  will  modify,  but  never  altogether 
eradicate  on  this  side  the  grave.  Such  are 
those  in  Bunyan’s  pictures,  all  painted,  no 
doubt,  from  life ;  as  well  Greatheart  the  giant- 
killer,  a  hero  of  a  hundred  battles,  as  Mr. 
Feeblemind,  who  started  at  his  own  shadow, 
and  trembled  at  the  falling  of  a  leaf.  There 
are  also  differences  among  Christians,  which 
imply  no  defect;  just  as  there  are  in  coun¬ 
tenances  which  are  very  unlike,  and  yet, 
be  the  complexion  dark  or  fair,  the  hair  of 
golden  color,  or  like  the  raven’s  wing,  are 
very  beautiful.  We  do  not  expect,  or  even 
wish,  all  good  men  to  be  alike,  any  more  than 
we  would  have  all  the  members  of  a  family 
alike,  all  flowers  alike,  —  none  but  roses  in  the 
garden,  or  daisies  in  the  field ;  the  Church  of 
Christ,  like  the  meadows  below,  or  the  star- 
spangled  heavens  above,  owing  its  beauty  in 
part  to  that  variety  in'  unity  which  marks  all 
the  works  of  God,  and  mars  none  of  them. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

776.  CHRISTIANS,  Diguity  of.  Julius  Cassar, 
the  great  Roman  emperor,  when  sad  because 
of  some  disaster  in  his  dominions,  was  wont 
to  say,  “  Cogita  te  esse  Ccesarem.”  “  Think  that 


thou  art  Crnsar !  ”  which  would  put  him  in  a 
more  joyous  temper.  Jonadab  said  to  Amuon, 
“  Why  art  thou  lean  from  day  to  day,  being 
the  king’s  son  ?  ”  intimating,  that,  being  the 
king’s  son  and  heir-apparent  to  the  crown,  he 
could  have  no  such  griefs  as  were  common  to 
others.  Thus  it  may  be  said  of  every  true¬ 
hearted  Christian,  that,  having  an  eye  upon 
the  reward,  they  should  not  be  daunted  at 
any  outward  thing  whatsoever,  but  think  upon 
their  crown  and  glory  ;  not  to  have  their  hearts 
troubled,  and  to  walk  duinpishly  in  the  ways 
of  God  ;  for  they  are  the  King  of  heaven’s  sons, 
heirs  of  God,  co-heirs  with  Christ,  the  children 
of  the  bride-chamber,  and  therefore  to  rejoice 
and  go  on  with  a  holy  and  heavenly  cheerful¬ 
ness  in  all  the  ways  of  God.  Spencer. 

777.  CHRISTIANS,  Disagreements  of.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  is  told  of  two  stanch  Scotch  Presbyte¬ 
rians.  Johnny  Morton,  a  keen  Burgher,  and 
Andrew  Gebbie,  a  decided  anti-Burgher,  both 
lived  in  the  same  house,  but  at  opposite  ends  ; 
and  it  was  the  bargain  that  each  should  keep 
his  own  side  of  the  house  well  thatched. 
When  the  dispute  about  the  principle  of  their 
kirks,  and  especially  the  offensive  clause  in  the 
oath,  grew  hot,  the  two  neighbors  ceased  to 
speak  to  each  other.  But  one  day  they  hap¬ 
pened  to  be  on  the  roof  at  the  same  time,  each 
repairing  the  thatch  in  the  slope  of  the  roof 
on  his  own  side  ;  and,  when  they  had  worked 
up  to  the  top,  there  they  were  face  to  face. 
They  couldn’t  flee  :  so  at  last  Andrew  took  off 
his  cap,  and,  scratching  his  head,  said,  “John¬ 
ny,  you  and  me,  I  think,  ha’e  been  very  fool¬ 
ish  to  dispute  as  we  ha’e  done,  concerning 
Christ’s  will  about  our  kirks,  until  we  ha’e 
clean  forgot  his  will  aboot  ourselves ;  and  so 
we  ha’e  fought  sae  bitterly  for  what  we  ca’  the 
truth,  that  it  has  ended  in  spite.  Whatever’s 
wrang,  it’s  perfectly  certain  that  it  never  can 
be  right  to  be  uncivil,  unneighborly,  unkind, 
in  fac’,  tae  hate  ane  anither.  Na,  na  1  that’s  the 
Deevil’s  wark,  and  no  God’s.  Noo  it  strikes 
me,  that  maybe  it’s  wi’  the  kirk  as  wi’  this 
house,  —  ye’re  working  on  a’e  side,  and  me  on 
the  t’ither ;  but,  if  we  only  do  our  work  weel, 
we  will  meet  at  the  tap  at  last.  Gie’s  your 
han’,  auld  neighbor  1  ”  And  so  they  shook 
hands,  and  were  the  best  of  friends  ever  after. 

778.  CHRISTIAN B|  Emotional.  There  are  cer¬ 

tain  minerals,  such  as  quartz,  fluor-spar,  and 
the  diamond,  which  when  rubbed  against  each 
other,  or  exposed  to  a  considerable  degree 
of  heat,  will,  when  removed  to  a  dark  place, 
throw  off  very  beautiful  light,  although  before 
opaque.  This  is  called  phosphoresence.  So 
there  are  some  Christians  like  these  stones,  who 
are  cold  and  dark  in  themselves,  but  under  the 
influence  of  eloquence,  sympathy,  &c.,  are  ex¬ 
cited  to  earnest  glows  of  love,  and  zealous 
actions  of  good  works.  Hitchcock. 

779.  CHRISTIANS,  Hidden.  There  are  stars 
set  in  the  heavens  by  the  hand  of  God,  whose 
light  has  never  yet  reached  the  eye  of  man  ; 
gems  lie  concealed  in  the  dark  abysses  of 
earth,  that  have  never  yet  been  discovered  by 
the  research  of  man ;  flowers  which  have 


CliRISTXAJNrS. 


CHRISTI^JSTS. 


107 


grown  in  blushing  beauty  before  the  sun,  that 
nave  never  been  seen  by  the  florist :  so  there 
may  be  Christians,  made  such  by  God,  who  are 
bidden  from  the  knowledge  of  this  world. 

Bate. 

780.  CHRISTIANS,  El-defined.  Through  a 
semi-transparent  mineral,  objects  may  be  seen  ; 
but  there  is  no  distinctness  of  outline,  as  in 
gypsum,  selenite,  and  quartz.  The  semi-trans¬ 
parent  character  is  no  uncommon  one,  even 
among  professed  Christians.  Every  thing 
about  them  is  indistinct  and  cloudy.  They 
have  no  clear  and  definite  ideas  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  system,  and  there  is  a  correspondent 
looseness  in  respect  to  Christian  duties.  They 
conform  very  much  to  worldly  maxims  and 
practices  (so  much  as  to  raise  doubts  of  their 
piety  in  the  minds  of  many),  and  yet  they  will 
cordially  unite  in  every  good  work. 

Hitchcock. 

781.  CHRISTIANS,  Industry  of.  As  Apelles 

the  painter  much  lamented  if  he  should  escape 
but  one  day  without  drawing  some  picture  or 
line,  so  ought  a  Christian  man  to  be  sorry  if 
any  day  should  pass  without  some  good  work 
or  exercise.  Cawdray. 

782.  CHRISTIANS,  Irreligious,  As  an  owl 
peeps  at  the  sun  out  of  a.  barn,  but  dares  not 
come,  near  it,  so,  likewise,  some  Christians  peep 
at  religion,  and  will  not  come  to  it,  but  stand 
aloof,  pinking  and  winking,  as  though  they 
were  more  afraid  of  God  than  the  Devil. 

Cawdray. 

783.  CHRISTIANS,  Lame.  Ye  lame,  tear 
not,  you  will  not  be  cast  out.  Two  snails 
entered  the  ark  :  how  they  got  there,  I  cannot 
tell.  It  must  have  taken  them  a  long  time. 
They  must  have  set  off  rather  early,  unless  it 
be  that  Noah  took  them  part  of  the  way.  So 
some  of  you  are  snails :  you  are  on  the  right 
road ;  but  it  will  take  a  long  while,  unless  some 
blessed  Noah  helps  you  into  the  ark. 

Spurgeon. 

784.  CHRISTIANS,  Light  of.  As  a  candle 

lighteth  every  man  in  the  house;  so,  likewise, 
should  the  good  behavior,  wise  dealings,  and 
upright  conversation  of  Christians, shine  bright 
before  men,  that  God  by  them  may  be  glori¬ 
fied.  Caicdray. 

785.  CHRISTIANS,  a  Marked  People.  The 
celebrated  W.  Jay  of  Bath  used  to  say,  that 
Christ’s  sheep  were  marked  in  the  ear  and  the 
font:  “  They  hear  my  voice,  and  follow  me.” 

786.  CHRISTIANS,  in  name.  Like  as  a 

heathen  man,  being  asked  why  he  did  wear 
such  a  long  bushy  beard,  answered,  that,  so 
often  as  he  beheld  it,  he  might  commit  nothing 
unworthy  the  gravity  of  the  same;  so,  likewise, 
if  any  man  shall  ask  the  children  of  God  why 
they  are  called  Christians,  the  Church  of  God, 
the  spouse  of  Christ,  citizens  of  heaven,  and 
by  such  like  names  of  love  and  honor,  they 
are  to  answer,  that,  so  often  as  they  remember 
these  names  and  titles,  they  ought  not  to  com¬ 
mit  any  thing  unworthy  the  gravity  and  majesty 
of  the  same.  '  Cawdray 

787.  CERISTIANS.Names  of.  TheScripture 
gives  four  names  to  Christians,  taken  from  the 


four  cardinal  graces  so  essential  to  man’s  sal¬ 
vation  :  sain's  for  their  holiness,  believers  for 
their  faith,  brethren  for  their  love,  disciples 
for  their  knowledge.  A.  Fuller. 

788.  CHRISTIANS,  Neglects  of.  See  yonder 
poor  wretches  whose  ship  has  gone  down  at 
sea ;  they  have  constructed  a  poor  tottering 
raft,  and  have  been  swimming  on  it  for  days ; 
their  supply  of  bread  and  water  has  been  ex¬ 
hausted,  and  they  are  famishing ;  they  have 
bound  a  handkerchief  to  a  pole,  and  hoisted  it, 
and  a  vessel  is  within  sight.  The  captain  of 
the  ship  takes  his  telescope,  looks  at  the  ob¬ 
ject,  and  knows  that  it  is  a  shipwrecked  crew. 
“  Oh  1  ”  says  he  to  his  men,  “  we  are  in  a  hurry 
with  our  cargo :  we  cannot  stop  to  look  after 
an  unknown  object.  It  may  be  somebody 
perishing,  and  it  may  not  be ;  but,  however,  it  is 
not  our  business  :  ”  and  he  keeps  on  his  course. 
His  neglect  has  murdered  those  who  died  on 
the  raft.  Yours  is  much  the  same  case,  only 
it  is  worse,  because  you  deal  with  immortal 
souls,  and  he  only  deals  with  bodies,  which  he 
suffers  to  die.  O  my  brother  1  I  do  implore 
you,  before  the  Lord,  never  let  this  sin  lay  at 
your  door  again ;  but,  if  there  be  one  who  is 
impressed  and  needs  a  word  of  comfort,  fly 
on  the  wings  of  mercy  to  such  a  soul,  and 
help  to  cheer  him  as  God  enables  you. 

Spurgeon. 

78ft.  CHRISTIANS.  Nobility  of.  A  poor  but 
very  pious  woman  once  called  to  see  two  rich 
yourtg  ladies.  They,  too,  loved  the  Lord. 
Without  regard  to  her  mean  appearance,  they 
received  her  with  great  kindness  into  their 
splendid  drawing-room,  and  sat  down  to  eon-  • 
verse  with  her  upon  religious  subjects.  While 
thus  engaged,  their  brother  entered  the  room. 
He  was  a  gay,  proud,  thoughtless  youth,  and 
looked  much  astonished  at  their  unusual  guest. 
One  of  them  rose  up  with  dignity,  and  said, 
“  Brother,  don’t  be  surprised :  this  is  a  king’s 
daughter,  only  she  has  not  got  her  fine  clothes 
on.” 

7ftO.  CHRISTIANS,  Opaque.  Some  crystals, 
such  as  mica,  are  transparent  in  one  direc¬ 
tion,  and  opaque  in  another.  It  is  so  with 
some  men.  It  is  not  unusual  to  meet  with 
those  who  have  very  clear  views  of  the  theory 
of  religion,  both  doctrinal  and  practical ;  and 
you  expect  to  find  their  hearts  and  lives  con¬ 
formed  to  this  belief :  but,  the  moment  you 
make  the  subject  personal,  you  perceive  that 
the  opaque  side  of  their  character  is  turned 
towards  you,  and  all  is  repulsive  and  dark. 

Hitchcock. 

791.  CHRISTIANS,  Outside.  Irised  minerals 
often  give  a  splendid  exhibition  of  most  of  the 
colors  of  the  spectrum ;  but  it  is  produced  by 
a  mere  superficial  film,  while  all  beneath  is 
opaque,  as  in  a  specimen  of  anthracite  coal. 
This  is  tlv*  man  who  has  a  strong  passion  for 
outside  display,  but  no  corresponding  sterling 
qualities  within,  lie  may  be  gaudy  as  the 
peacock  without;  but  just  penetrate  beneath 
the  thin  film  of  external  character,  and  all  will 
be  tbund  either  hollow  or  opaque  within. 

Hitchcock. 


108 


CHR,ISTIAJSTS . 


CHRISTIAJSTS. 


792.  CHRISTIANS,  a  Peonliar  People.  Like 

November  roses  blooming  in  the  midst  of 
winter’s  bleakness;  like  green  oases  in  the 
sandy  desert;  like  the  “ sealed ”  ones ;  like  the 
great  Gulf  Stream,  which  flows  from  the  West¬ 
ern  World,  through  the  ocean,  yet  distinct  from 
it  in  color  and  warmth  :  so  should  all  Christians 
be  in  the  world, — of  it,  but  not  confounded 
with  it.  As  the  Jews  have  ever  been  a  pecu¬ 
liar  people  by  their  manners,  appearance,  and 
religion  ;  so  should  Christians,  by  the  holiness 
of  their  lives,  be  distinguished  from  all  the 
world  besides.  Bate. 

793.  CHRISTIANS,  Proud  Professing.  As  any 

exuberance  or  wen  in  the  body  is  a  great 
deformity  and  blemish  to  it,  so  these  professors, 
who  are  high  swollen,  and  puffed  up  with  con¬ 
ceit,  are  but  as  wens  in  the  body  mystical :  they 
are  but  blisters,  which  contain  nothing  in 
them  but  ill  humors,  and  bring  a  great  deal  of 
deformity  and  discredit  upon  that  holy  religion 
which  they  profess.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

794.  CHRISTIANS,  Purification  of.  See  that 

each  hour’s  feelings  and  thoughts  and  actions 
are  pure  and  true  ;  then  will  your  life  be  such. 
The  wide  pasture  is  but  separate  spears  of 
grass  ;  the  sheeted  bloom  of  the  prairies  but 
isolated  flowers.  Beecher. 

73.5.  CHRISTIANS,  Reflectors.  When  the 
Sidonians  were  once  going  to  choose  a  king, 
they  determined  that  their  election  should  fall 
upon  the  man  who  should  first  see  the  sun  on 
the  following  morning.  All  the  candidates, 
towards  the  hour  of  sunrise,  eagerly  looked 
towards  the  east,  but  one,  who,  to  the  astonish¬ 
ment  of  his  countrymen,  fixed  his  eyes  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  horizon,  where  he  saw  the 
reflection  of  the  sun’s  rays  before  the  orb  itself 
was  seen  by  those  looking  towards  the  east. 
The  choice  instantly  fell  on  him  who  had  seen 
the  reflection  of  the  sun  ;  and,  by  the  same  rea¬ 
soning,  the  influence  of  religion  on  the  heart 
is  frequently  perceptible  in  the  conduct,  even 
before  a  person  has  made  direct  profession  of 
the  principle  by  which  he  is  actuated. 

796.  CHRISTIANS.  Relationship  o£  Every  well¬ 

doer  on  the  face  of  the  earth  is  iny  blood  re¬ 
lation  through  Jesus  Christ.  I  feel  his  heart 
beating  right  up  to  my  ribs,  and  mine  beating 
back  to  his.  All  the  good  passed  away  ami 
transfigured  into  glory  are  mine.  My  own 
mother  is  not  more  re  illy,  though  more  ten¬ 
derly  mine,  than  is  the  mother  of  St.  Chrys¬ 
ostom  or  St.  Augustine.  „  Beecher. 

797.  CHRISTIANS,  Sealed.  During  a  sabbath¬ 
morning  service,  a  gentleman  observed  his 
little  boy  persistently  holding  his  fingers  in  his 
ears.  Surprised,  he  asked,  “  Charlie,  why  do 
you  do  so  ?  ”  —  “  Why,”  said  he,  “  Mr.  Earle 
made  us  all  cry  in  Sunday  school,  this  morn¬ 
ing,  and  I  don’t  want  to  cry  here  in  church  :  so 
I  am  not  going  to  hear  what  he  says.”  Look¬ 
ing  around  him,  however,  and  seeing  nobody 
seemed  to  be  crying,  he  removed  liis  fingers 
from  his  ears.  Just  then,  Mr.  Earle  asked  if 
all  would  be  willing  to  have  a  plain  broad  seal 
put  upon  their  forehead,  so  that,  wherever  they 
went,  every  one  could  see  it,  and  learn  that 


they  were  Christians.  This  arrested  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  little  boy ;  and  he  whispered,  “  Fa¬ 
ther,  what  is  a  Christian  ?  ”  The  unconverted 
father  replied  as  best  he  could.  The  little  boy 
looked  searchingly  into  his  father’s  forehead, 
and  asked,  “  Father,  are  you  a  Christian?  I 
don’t  see  any  seal  on  your  forehead.”  The 
question  sped  straight  to  his  heart  as  an  arrow 
of  conviction :  he  knew  not  what  to  reply, 
lie  determined  not  to  yield  to  his  convictions ; 
took  his  usual  Sunday  pleasure-drive :  but  all 
zest  was  gone,  for  his  little  boy’s  sermon  was 
rankling  in  his  bosom,  and  his  eyes  went  con¬ 
stantly  to  the  forehead  of  every  one  he  passed 
in  search  of  the  “  seal.”  His  convictions  grew 
stronger,  he  sought  pardon,  and  was  soon  re¬ 
joicing  in  hope. 

798.  CHRISTIANS,  Soul-saving.  Many  pro¬ 

fessing  Christians  are  like  railroad  station- 
houses  ;  and  the  wicked  are  whirled  indiffer¬ 
ently  by  them,  and  go  on  their  way,  forgetting 
them :  whereas  they  should  be  like  switches, 
taking  sinners  off  one  track,  and  putting  them 
on  to  another.  Beecher. 

799.  CHRISTIANS,  Superannuated.  As  burning 
caudles  do  give  light  until  they  be  consumed, 
so,  likewise,  godly  Christians  must  be  occupied 
in  doing  of  good  so  long  as  they  shall  live. 

Caw  dr  ay. 

800.  CHRISTIANS,  Test  of.  When  Constan¬ 
tine  was  chosen  emperor,  he  found  several 
Christians  in  office;  and  he  issued  an  edict, 
requiring  them  to  renounce  their  faith,  or  quit 
their  places.  Most  of  them  gave  up  their 
offices  to  preserve  their  consciences ;  but  some 
cringed,  and  renounced  Christianity.  When 
the  emperor  had  thus  made  full  proof  of  their 
dispositions  of  character,  he  removed  all  who 
thus  basely  complied  with  his  supposed  wishes, 
and  retained  the  others  ;  saying,  that  those 
who  would  desert  or  deny  their  divine  Master 
would  desert  him,  and  were  not  worthy  of  his 
confidence. 

801.  CHRISTIANS,  Unconverted.  A  variety 

of  minerals  exhibit  translucency  only  on  their 
edges.  The  central  mass  is  dark ;  but,  holding 
the  specimen  up  to  the  light,  light  is  trans¬ 
mitted  dimly  through  thin  edges.  Marble  and 
flint,  or  hornstone,  are  examples.  These  sym¬ 
bolize  the  man  who  has  been  brought  so  much 
under  the  influence  of  Christianity  that  it  has 
modified  his  external  conduct,  produced  some 
regard  for  true  piety,  led  to  some  outward 
reformations,  and  caused  him  to  adopt  some 
of  the  forms  of  religion.  Yet  the  darkness  of 
unregeneracy  reigns  within.  The  central 
mass  of  character  has  never  been  penetrated 
by  the  subduing  and  remodelling  power  of 
divine  grace  ;  and  therefore  no  heavenly  light 
can  pass  through.  Friends,  and,  possibly,  the 
man  himself,  mistake  the  rays  that  struggle 
through  the  edges  of  his  character  for  genuine 
Christian  experience.  Nothing  but  divine 
alchemy  can  re-arrange  and  transmute  the 
elements  of  character  so  as  to  give  it  the  trans¬ 
parency  of  true  religion.  Hitchcock. 

802.  CHRISTIANS,  Work  of.  Now  is  the  time 
for  toil ;  the  rest  remaineth.  Two  young  men 


CHUISTIAJN'  UNION. 


CHUECH. 


109 


were  disporting  on  the  ice  of  a  Scottish  lake. 
One,  approaching  incautiously  a  treacherous 
spot,  fell  through.  His  companion  came 

auickly  to  the  rescue.  Himself  sometimes  in 
le  water,  and  sometimes  on  the  ice,  he  many 
tunes  grasped  the  drowning  man,  and  drew 
him  considerably  above  the  surface ;  but  each 
time  the  weight  of  the  wet  and  paralyzed  body 

f)revailed  ;  each  time  it  sank  again,  until  at 
ast  the  worker’s  strength  was  exhausted,  and 
the  victim  perished.  Had  you  been  there 
when,  for  the  last  time,  that  strong  willing 
worker  drew  with  all  his  might  to  save  a  sink¬ 
ing  brother,  and  then  lay  down,  exhausted, 
leaving  that  brother  to  sink,  you  would  have 
seen  a  workman  wearied  by  his  work.  His 
hands  were  wearied  with  the  greatness  of  his 
effort,  and  his  heart  was  weary  because  the 
effort  had  failed.  Such  is  the  work  to  which 
Christians  are  called  in  the  world :  and  such 
often,  though  not  always,  are  the  disappoint¬ 
ments  which  they  meet.  At  death,  the  weari¬ 
ness  of  the  worker  will  wholly  cease.  Arnot. 

803.  CHRISTIAN  UNION,  Example  of.  Rev. 
T.  L.  Cuyler  sketches  this  scene  at  a  late 
Christian  convention  in  Brooklyn  :  “  The  Con¬ 
vention  closed  by  joining  hands,  and  singing, 

‘  Say,  brother,  will  you  meet  us  ?  ’  I  saw  one 
of  Dr.  Storrs’s  deacons,  and  a  Quaker,  and  a 
Methodist,  standing  with  clasped  hands,  and 
flanked  by  a  Baptist  and  a  Presbyterian  cler¬ 
gyman.  It  reminded  me  of  the  time  when  we 
college-students,  standing  thus  in  the  chemical 
lecture-hall,  the  electric  current  leaped  from 
the  charged  battery  through  the  whole  circle 
in  an  instant.” 

804.  CHRISTIAN  UNION,  Obstacles  to.  I  one 
day  met  one  of  the  ten  missionaries  from 
America,  and  I  asked  him  why  he  didn’t  be¬ 
long  to  the  great  body  of  the  American  portion 
of  the  churches  laboring  in  India.  He  replied 
that  there  were  differences  between  them  that 
could  not  admit  of  union.  “  Pray,”  I  said, 
“  what  are  these  differences  ?  ” —  “  Well,”  he 
said,  “  there  is  one  tremendous  thing  :  they 
sing  hymns.”  That  is  as  worthy  a  man  as 
lives,  a  most  excellent  man.  I  then  asked 
if  he  would  not,  in  consequence  of  those  dif¬ 
ferences,  worship  Jesus  Christ  with  them. 
“  Yes,”  he  replied,  “  under  protest.”  I  could 
not  help  saying  that  his  was  the  worst  Brah- 
minism  I  had  ever  seen  in  India. 

Dr.  McLeod. 

805.  CHBISTIAN  UNION,  Power  of.  In  the 
early  days  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Alleghany,  it  was  often  in  great  need  of  money. 
Once,  in  a  time  of  extremity,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Francis  Herron,  President  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Elisha  P.  Swift,  also  a 
director,  and  Rev.  Jos.  Patterson,  met  to  de¬ 
vise  some  way  of  relief.  With  all  their  faith, 
the  first-mentioned  brethren  were  greatly  de¬ 
jected.  “  We  have  no  one  to  help  us,”  said 
one  of  them.  “No  one  1  ”  replied  Mr.  Patter¬ 
son  warmly  :  “  why  !  I  know  of  a  thousand 
here.”  The  two  looked  astonished.  He  con¬ 
tinued,  “  Is  not  Dr.  Herron  a  cipher  ?  is  not 
Dr.  Swiff  a  cipher  V  am  not  I  a  cipher  ?  But 


Jesus  Christ  is  surely  One.  And  if  we  put 
one  before  three  ciphers,  does  it  r.ot  make  a 
thousand  ?  ”  They  took  new  courage,  went 
to  that  One  who  is  able  to  help,  and  did  not 
pray  in  vain. 

806.  CHURCH,  Above  and  Below.  The  Church 

of  Christ,  which  is  partly  militant  and  partly 
triumphant,  resembles  a  city  built  on  both 
sides  of  a  river.  There  is  but  the  stream  of 
death  between  grace  and  glory.  Toplady. 

807.  CHURCH,  Children  Joining  the.  During 
a  revival  in  the  central  part  of  New  York,  a 
little  boy  was  converted,  who  desired  to  join 
the  Church.  His  father  told  him  he  had 
better  wait  six  months,  and  see  if  he  could 
live  his  religion  first.  Shortly  after,  he  was  in 
the  field  with  his  father,  and  found  a  lamb, 
separated  from  its  dam,  bleating  piteously. 
The  lather  directed  the  son  to  put  the 
lamb  with  its  mother.  The  boy  replied,  “  I 
think  we  might  as  well  leave  it  six  months, 
and  see  whether  it  will  live  or  not;  and  then, 
if  it  lived,  we  could  put  it  with  its  mother.” 
Feeling  the  force  of  the  application,  the  father 
said,  “  Put  the  lamb  with  its  mother,  and  join 
the  Church  if  you  wish  to.” 

808.  CHURCH,  Christiana  outside  of  the.  It  is 

a  joy  to  me  to  know  that  the  Christians  within 
the  communion  of  this  Church  are  not  all  the 
Christians  to  be  found  in  the  congregation. 
We  are  richer  than  we  appear  to  be.  Here 
are  growing  pear-trees,  apple-trees,  cherry- 
trees,  and  shrubs  and  blossoming  vines,  and 
flowers  of  every  hue  and  odor ;  but  I  am  glad 
that  some  seeds  have  been  blown  over  the 
wall,  and  that  fruit-trees  and  flowers  most 
pleasant  to  the  eye  are  springing  up  there  also. 
And  though  I  wish  they  were  within  the  en¬ 
closure,  where  the  boar  out  of  the  wood  could 
not  waste  them,  and  the  wild  beast  ol  the  field 
devour  them,  yet  I  love  them,  and  am  glad  to 
see  them  growing  there.  Beecher. 

800.  CHURCH,  Christ's.  As  the  bride  per- 
taineth  to  none  but  to  the  bridegroom,  so  the 
Church  pertaineth  to  Christ  only.  Cater/ ray. 

816.  CHURCH,  A  Dead.  When  Napoleon  I. 
invaded  Egypt,  he  encountered  a  force  en¬ 
sconced  in  a  mud-fort  that  effectually  defied 
all  his  efforts  to  reduce  it.  If  it  had  been  built 
of  rock,  he  could  have  blown  it  up  with  powder, 
or  shivered  it  with  artillery ;  if  it  had  been 
wood,  he  could  have  fired  it  with  rockets  :  but 
it  was  a  huge  mass  of  mud,  in  which  his  iron 
missiles  stuck  fast,  and  rather  increased  than 
diminished  its  powers  of  resistance.  He  there¬ 
fore  left  the  place  in  despair,  and  turned  his 
attention  to  more  practical  operations.  Now, 
what  this  mud-fort  was  to  the  Egyptian  soldiery, 
a  cold,  dead  Church  is  to  the  world  of  ungodly 
men.  They  are  effectually  protected  behind 
this  mass  of  carnality,  and  utterly  defy  all  the 
moral  artillery  of  the  gospel.  The  heavenly 
missiles  stick  fast  in  this  intervening  obstacle, 
and  never  reach  their  mark.  Christian  Index. 

811.  CHURCH,  Dissensions  in  the.  That  which 
they  say  of  the  pelican,  —  that  when  the  shep¬ 
herds,  in  desire  to  catch  her,  lay  fire  not  far 
from  her  nest,  which  she  finding,  and  fear- 


110 


CHURCH. 


CHURCH. 


ing  the  danger  of  her  young,  seeks  to  blow  out 
with  her  wings  so  long  till  she  burns  herself 
and  makes  herself  a  prey  in  an  unwise  pity 
to  her  young,  —  I  see  morally  verified  in  ex¬ 
perience  of  those,  which,  indiscreetly  meddling 
with  the  flame  of  dissension  in  the  Church, 
rather  increase  than  quench  it,  rather  fire 
their  own  wings  than  help  others.  I  had 
rather  bewail  the  fire  afar  off  than  stir  in  the 
coals  of  it.  I  would  not  grudge  my  ashes  to 
it,  if  those  might  abate  the  burning ;  but,  since 
I  see  this  daily  increased  with  partaking,  I  will 
behold  it  with  sorrow,  and  meddle  no  otherwise 
than  by  prayers  to  God  and  entreaties  to  men  ; 
seeking  my  own  safety  and  the  peace  of  the 
Church  in  the  freedom  of  my  thought  and 
silence  of  my  tongue.  Bishop  Hall. 

812.  CHURCH,  a  Disturber.  The  Church  was 

built  to  disturb  the  peace  of  man  ;  but,  often, 
it  does  not  perform  its  duty  for  fear  of  disturb¬ 
ing  the  peace  of  the  Church.  What  kind  of 
artillery  practice  would  that  be  which  declined 
to '  fire  tor  fear  of  kicking  over  the  gun-car¬ 
riages,  or  waking  up  the  sentinels  asleep  at 
their  posts  ?  Beecher. 

813.  CHURCH,  Diversity  in  the.  As  he  that 

entereth  into  a  fair  and  goodly  goldsmith-shop, 
richly  furnished  with  precious  pearls  and 
costly  jewels  of  all  sorts,  ought  not  to  mistake 
those  costly  treasures  because  he  seeth  among 
them  a  black  furnace,  dusty  coals,  and  sundry 
instruments  of  base  metal  (for  these  must  be 
had  to  make  those  jewels)  ;  so  in  the  Church 
of  God,  where  are  innumerable  men  of  diverse 
gifts  and  qualities,  if  a  man  see  there  some 
things  which  he  dislikes,  he  ought  not  thereiore 
to  pick  a  quarrel  with  the  Church,  or  to  neglect 
his  own  duty  on  this  account.  Cawdray. 

814.  CHURCH,  Endurance  of  the.  The  King 
of  Navarre,  who  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
bitter  in  his  opposition  to  the  Protestant  cause, 
had  been  speaking  of  its  downfall,  and  how  it 
would  be  brought  about.  A  celebrated  Prot¬ 
estant  replied,  “  Sir,  it  assuredly  behooves 
the  Church  of  God,  in  whose  name  I  speak, 
to  endure  blows,  and  not  to  strike  them ; 
but  may  it  please  you  also  to  remember  that 
it  is  an  anvil  that  has  worn  out  many  ham¬ 
mers  !  ” 

815.  CHURCH,  Enlargement  of  the.  As  the 

army  of  heaven  is  innumerable,  and  the  sand 
of  the  sea  immeasurable ;  even  so  God  will 
multiply  his  Church.  Cawdray. 

816.  CHURCH,  Expenses  of  the.  Dr.  Adam 
Clark  was  preaching  to  a  large  congregation 
in  Ireland  ;  and  after  dwelling  in  glowing  terms 
upon  the  freeness  of  the  gospel,  and  telling 
that  the  water  of  life  could  be  had  “  without 
money,  and  without  price,”  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  sermon,  a  person  announced  that  a  col¬ 
lection  would  be  made  to  support  the  gospel 
in  foreign  parts.  'Phis  announcement  discon¬ 
certed  the  preacher,  who  afterwards  related 
the  circumstance  to  the  lady  of  the  house 
where  he  was  staying.  “  Very  true,  Doctor,” 
replied  the  hostess  :  “  the  water  of  life  is  free, — 
‘without  money,  and  without  price;’  but  we 
must  pay  lor  pitchers  to  carry  it  in.” 


SIT.  CHURCH,  Fruitfulness  of  the.  In  compar¬ 
ing  Mt.  Zion  with  the  Hill  of  Baslian,  David 
intends  especially  to  point  out  that  fruitfulness 
which  reigns  in  the  Church  of  God ;  for  there 
spring  up  beneath  the  dew  of  heaven  such 
flowers  and  plants  as  are  otherwise  not  to  be 
found  on  earth.  For  where  else  blooms  the 
rose  of  real  love  to  God  after  the  inner  man  ? 
Where  else  flourishes  the  sun-flower  of  genu¬ 
ine,  childlike,  and  believing  prayer  ?  where 
else  the  lily  of  an  undissembled  longing-after 
heaven,  and  the  floweret  of  humility,  and  that 
of  childlike  simplicity,  and  that  of  patience  ? 
Where  else  shall  we  meet,  in  the  wide  garden 
of  mankind,  with  flowers  like  these,  which 
have  originally  sprung  from  Paradise  ?  And 
how  many  tilings  beside  grow  upon  the  heights 
of  Zion  1  There  medicinal  herbs  against 
every  disease  perfume  the  air ;  there  grows 
the  balm  of  Gilead,  which  brings  eternal 
health ;  there  flourish  shrubs  of  life,  which 
yield  a  never-failing  vitality  ;  nor  is  the  plant 
wanting  there  which  is  an  antidote  to  death. 
Enviable  people  who  have  obtained  an  inher¬ 
itance  upon  such  a  soil  I  Dr.  Krummacher. 

818.  CHURCH,  of  the  Future.  I  believe  in  the 

Church  of  the  future.  I  think  there  is  a  day, 
not  very  tar  distant,  when  from  the  watch- 
towers  of  Asia,  once  the  land  of  lords  many, 
there  shall  roll  out  the  exultant  chorus,  “  One 
Lord  1  ”  when  from  the  watch-towers  of  Europe, 
distracted  by  divisions  in  the  faith,  there  shall 
roll  up  the  grateful  chorus,  “  One  faith  1  ”  when 
from  the  watch-towers  of  our  own  America, 
torn  by  controversies  respecting  the  initiatory 
right  into  the  visible  Church  of  our  Lord 
Jesus,  thel-e  shall  roll  forth  the  inspiring 
chorus,  “  One  baptism  1  ”  when  from  the  watch- 
towers  of  Africa,  as  though  the  God  of  all  the 
race  were  not  her  God,  as  if  the  Father  of  the 
entire  human  family  were  not  her  Father, — 
when  from  the  watch-towers  of  neglected  and 
despised  Africa,  there  shall  roll  forth  the  chorus, 
“  One  God  and  Father  of  us  all !  ”  when  the 
sacramental  host,  scattered  all  over  the  face  of 
this  lower  creation,  shall  spring  upon  their 
feet,  and,  seizing  the  harp  of  thanksgiving,  they 
shall  join  in  the  chorus  that  shall  be  responded 
to  by  the  angels,  “  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  us  all,  who  is 
above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  [us]  all; 
to  whom  be  glory,  dominion,  and  majesty,  and 
blessing  forever!  ”  A.  Cookman. 

819.  CHURCH,  Gifts  to  the.  The  gifts  of 
poverty  are  the  richest  gifts  to  the  churches. 
I  refer  not  now  to  the  widows’  mites,  richer 
though  they  be  than  all  the  gilts  of  wealth,  but 
to  the  gifts  richer  even  than  the  widow’s  mite. 
A  few  years  ago,  on  a  wintry  morning,  a  boy 
in  the  habiliments  of  poverty  entered  an  old 
schoolhouse  among  our  Western  mountains,  and 
avowed  to  the  master  his  desire  for  an  educa¬ 
tion.  There  was  poverty  laying  one  of  her  rich¬ 
est  gifts  on  the  altar  of  religion  ;  for  that  boy 
was  Jonas  King.  On  his  humhle  shoemaker’s 
bench,  Carey  laid  (lie  foundation  of  British 
Baptist  Missions.  John  Newton  found  in  his 
congregation  an  uniriended  Scotch  boy,  whose 


CHURCH. 


CHURCH. 


Ill 


soul  was  then  glowing  with  new-born  love  to 
Christ;  he  took  him  to  see  John  Thornton, 
one  of  those  noble  merchants  whose  wealth, 
whose  piety,  and  whose  beneficence,  increase 
together.  They  educated  him;  and  that  boy 
became  Claudius  Buchanan,  whose  name  India 
will  bless  when  the  names  of  Clive  and  Has¬ 
tings  are  forgotten.  John  Bunyan  was  a  gift 
of  poverty  to  the  Church.  Zwingle  came  forth 
from  an  Alpine  shepherd’s  cabin ;  Luther 
from  a  miner’s  cottage ;  the  apostles,  some  of 
them,  from  fishermen’s  huts.  These  are  the 
gifts  of  poverty  to  the  Church.  Dr.  J.  Harris. 

820.  CHURCH,  History  of  the.  I  thought  that 

the  history  of  the  Church  might  be  illustrated 
by  the  course  of  such  a  river  (the  Rhone). 
Born  above  the  clouds ;  dashing  down  the 
mountains  in  its  youthful  purity  and  power ; 
wearing  for  itself  channels  in  the  solid  rock; 
overcoming  every  obstacle ;  now  tortured  and 
torn  in  craggy  defiles,  now  reposing  in  some 
placid  lake  which  rejects  the  azure  and  the 
stars  of  heaven ;  coming  forth  from  paradises 
of  beauty,  and  in  a  wider  field  rolling  through 
the  open  country;  receiving,  indeed,  many  cor¬ 
rupt  admixtures,  yet  purifying  them  more  than 
they  corrupt  it ;  and  though  with  waters,  alas  1 
too  much  mingled  with  earthly  elements,  yet, 
in  a  fuller  tide  than  ever,  spreading  fertility 
over  the  land  as  it  approaches  nearer  and 
nearer  the  great  ocean.  N.  Hall. 

821.  CHURCH,  Influence  of  the.  The  sand-reed 

which  grows  on  the  sandy  shores  of  Europe 
represents  the  influence  of  religion  and  the 
church  upon  society.  Its  roots  penetrate  to  a 
considerable  depth,  and  spread  in  all  directions, 
forming  a  network  which  binds  together  the 
loosest  sands  ;  while  its  strong,  tall  leaves  pro¬ 
tect  the  surface  from  drought,  and  afford  shelter 
to  small  plants,  which  soon  grow  between  the 
reeds,  and  gradually  form  a  new  green  surface 
on  the  bed  of  sand.  But  for  the  sand-reed, 
the  sea-wind  would  long  since  have  wafted  the 
drit't-sand  far  into  the  interior  of  the  country, 
and  have  converted  many  a  fruitful  acre  into  a 
waste ;  but  that  invaluable  grass  opposes  its 
stubborn  resistance  to  the  most  furious  gale. 
Like  a  radical  Democrat,  the  wind  would  will¬ 
ingly  reduce  all  to  one  common  level ;  but  the 
Ammophila,  an  obstinate  Conservative,  opposes 
an  indefatigable  resistance  to  its  fury,  and, 
after  a  war  of  centuries,  still  lines  the  flat  coast 
with  long  undulating  chains  of  protecting 
sand-hills.  Harlwiy. 

822.  CHURCH,  Joining  the.  Many  men  seem 
to  think  that  religion  consists  of  buying  a 
ticket  at  the  little  ticket-ofiice  of  conversion. 
They  conclude  that  they  will  make  the  voyage 
to  heaven.  They  understand  that  a  man  must 
be  convicted  and  converted,  and  join  the 
Church ;  and,  when  they  have  done  that,  they 
think  they  have  a  ticket,  which,  under  ordi¬ 
nary  circumstances,  will  carry  them  through. 
Their  salvation  is  not  altogether  sure.  A  man 
may  be  cast  away  upon  a  voyage.  But  still 
they  say,  “  I  have  got  my  ticket,  and,  if  no  ac¬ 
cident  occur,  it  will  carry  me  to  my  destination 
safe!}’ ;  and  all  I  have  to  do  is  to  have  pati  nee 


and  faith.”  And  they  are  like  a  man  that  is 
riding  in  the  cars,  who,  every  time  the  con¬ 
ductor  comes  around,  shows  his  ticket.  They 
say,  “  I  was  awakened,  I  saw  that  I  was  a  sin¬ 
ner,  and  trusted  my  soul  in  the  hands  of 
Christ.”  Yes :  you  have  trusted  it  there,  and 
there  you  have  left  it  ever  since  you  thought 
you  were  converted.  Are  there  not  hundreds 
and  thousands  who  are  living  in  just  the  same 
way  ?  Beecher. 

823.  CHURCH,  Life  of  the.  As  a  ship  in 

the  midst  of  the  sea  goeth  not  towards  the 
haven  unless  it  have  a  prosperous  gale  of 
wind,  even  so  the  Church  of  God  goeth  not  to 
its  wished-for  haven,  unless  it  be  blown  with 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  directed  and  set  on  by 
the  same  Spirit.  Cawdray. 

824.  CHURCH,  Light  in  the.  As  the  win¬ 
dows  of  the  temple  were  large  within,  but  nar¬ 
row  without,  so  they  which  are  within  the 
church  have  greater  light  than  they  which  are 
without.  They  sit  like  Pharaoh  in  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  Egypt,  when  the  others  dwell  like 
Israel  in  the  light  of  Goshen.  Henry  Smith. 

825.  CHURCH,  Light  of  the.  As  the  moon 
doth  borrow  her  light  of  the  sun,  because,  of 
herself,  she  has  little,  or  none  at  all ;  even  so 
the  Church,  having  no  light  of  herself,  doth 
take  her  light  of  the  Son  of  God.  Can-dray. 

82t».  CHURCH,  Militant.  This  is  the  state  of 
the  Church  militant ;  she  is  like  the  ark  float¬ 
ing  upon  the  waters,  like  a  lily  growing  among 
thorns,  like  the  bush  which  burned  with  fire,  and 
was  not  consumed  :  so  the  city  of  God  is  ‘al¬ 
ways  besieged,  but  never  ruined. 

Henry  Smith. 

827.  CHURCH,  Mission  of  the.  The  Church 
must  grope  her  way  into  the  alleys  and  courts 
and  purlieus  of  the  city,  and  up  the  broken 
staircase,  and  into  the  bare  room,  and  beside 
the  loathsome  sufferer ;  she  must  go  down 
into  the  pit  with  the  miner,  into  the  forecastle 
with  the  sailor,  into  the  tent  with  the  soldier, 
into  the  shop  with  the  mechanic,  into  the  fac¬ 
tory  with  the  operative,  into  the  field  with  the 
farmer,  into  the  counting-room  with  the  mer¬ 
chant.  Like  the  air,  the  Church  must  press 
equally  on  all  the  surfaces  of  society ;  like  the 
sea,  flow  into  every  nook  of  the  shore-line  of 
humanity ;  and,  like  the  sun,  shine  on  things  foul 
and  low  as  well  as  fair  and  high,  for  she  was 
organized,  commissioned,  and  equipped  for  ths 
moral  renovation  of  the  world.  Bp.  Simpson. 

828.  CHURCH,  Names  of  the.  Assembly  of 
the  Saints;  Assembly  of  the  Upright;  Body 
of  Christ ;  Branch  of  God's  Planting  ;  Bride 
of  Christ ;  Church  of  God ;  Church  of  the 
Living  God  ;  Church  of  the  First-born  ;  City 
of  the  Living  God;  Congregation  of  Saints; 
Congregation  of  the  Lord’s  Poor  ;  Dove  :  Fam¬ 
ily  in  Heaven  and  Earth  ;  Flock  of  God  ;  Fold 
of  Christ ;  General  Assembly  of  the  First-born  ; 
Golden  Candlestick  ;  God’s  Building  ;  God’s 
Husbandry ;  God’s  Heritage ;  Habitation  of 
God;  Heavenly  Jerusalem ;  Holy  City  ;  Holy 
Mountain  ;  Holy  Hill ;  House  of  God ;  House 
of  the  God  of  Jacob;  House  of  Christ;  House¬ 
hold  of  God ;  Inheritance ;  Israel  of  <God ; 


112 


CHURCH. 


CHURCH. 


King’s  Daughter ;  Lamb’s  Wife  ;  Lot  of  God’s 
Inheritance ;  Mount  Zion ;  Mountain  of  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  ;  Mountain  of  the  Lord’s  House ; 
New  Jerusalem;  Pillar  and  Ground  of  the 
Truth  ;  Place  of  God’s  Throne  ;  Pleasant  Por¬ 
tion  ;  Sanctuary  of  God  ;  Sister  of  Christ ; 
Spiritual  House  ;  Spouse  of  Christ ;  Strength 
ami  Glory  of  God  ;  Sought  out,  a  City  not  for¬ 
saken  ;  Tabernacle ;  The  Lord’s  Portion ; 
Temple  of  God  ;  Temple  of  the  Living  God  ; 
Vineyard.  Bate. 

829.  CHURCH,  Pillars  of  the.  In  the  Cathe¬ 

dral  of  St.  Mark,  in  Venice,  a  marvellous 
building,  lustrous  with  an  Oriental  splendor 
far  beyond  description,  there  are  pillars  said  to 
have  been  brought  from  Solomon’s  Temple  : 
these  are  of  alabaster,  a  substance  firm  and 
durable  as  granite,  and  yet  transparent,  so  that 
the  light  glows  through  them.  Behold  an 
emblem  of  what  all  true  pillars  of  the  Church 
should  be  1  — firm  in  their  laith,  and  transparent 
in  their  character ;  men  of  simple  mould, 
ignorant  of  tortuous  and  deceptive  ways,  and 
yet  men  of  strong  will,  not  readily  to  be  led 
aside,  or  bent  from  their  uprightness.  A  few 
such  alabaster  men  we  know  ;  may  the  great 
Master  Builder  place  more  of  them  in  his 
temple !  Spurgeon. 

830.  CHURCH,  Protestant.  The  visible  Prot¬ 
estant  Church  was  in  the  grasp  of  the  Romish 
Church ;  and  was  not  created,  but  only  eman¬ 
cipated  and  unlocked  from  that  grasp,  at  the 
era  of  the  Reformation.  I  will  illustrate  this 
by  an  anecdote,  recorded  in  the  travels,  I 
think,  of  Lord  Lindsay.  That  nobleman 
states,  that,  on  visiting  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt, 
he  found  in  one  of  those  ancient  repositories 
of  the  dead  a  mummy,  which  indicated,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  mode  of  interpreting  hieroglyph¬ 
ics  adopted  by  Champollion  and  by  Young, 
that  it  was  full  two  thousand  years  old.  On 
opening  the  case,  and  unrolling  the  mummy, 
he  found  in  its  right  hand  a  bulbous  or  rather 
tuberous  root.  Lord  Lindsay  wondered  wheth¬ 
er  vegetable  life  could  outlast  an  imprisonment 
of  two  thousand  years ;  and,  in  order  to  put 
the  problem  to  the  test,  he  opened  the  hand  of 
the  mummy,  took  out  the  vegetable  root, 
planted  it  in  a  fertile  and  favorable  soil,  and 
exposed  it  to  the  sunshine  and  the  dews  of 
heaven  :  and,  to  his  amazement  and  delight, 
that  lately  dry  root  shot  up,  and  presented  a 
stem  unfolding  a  most  beautiful  dahlia.  Now, 
I  say  the  Protestant  Church  before  the  Refor¬ 
mation  was  in  a  position  similar  to  that  of  the 
dahlia-root :  it  was  compressed  in  the  iron 
grasp  of  the  most  deadly  despotism.  And  all 
that  Calvin  and  Luther  and  Knox  did  was  to 
unlock  the  hand  that  held  it ;  to  take  out  the 
concealed  epitome  of  heaven’s  high  principles ; 
to  plant  in  the  fatherland  of  Germany,  of 
England,  of  Scotland,  and  of  Ireland ;  and  to 
place  it  beneath  the  beams  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  and  the  rain-drops  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  till  it  took  root,  and  grew  up,  and  pre¬ 
sented,  as  it  does  now,  wide-spreading  boughs 
crowned  with  ten  thousand  blossoms,  destined 
to  wave  with  immortal  fragrancy,  and  to  con¬ 


stitute  the  accumulating  glory  and  the  richest 
and  the  holiest  ornaments  of  our  native  land. 

Dr.  Cumming. 

831.  CHURCH,  Quarrels  in  a.  Any  physician 

will  tell  you,  that  if  there  be  fever  in  the  body, 
if  the  pulse  be  one  hundred  and  twenty  instead 
of  seventy  or  eighty,  the  body  will  waste  and 
pine  away.  If  there  be  the  fever  of  ceaseless 
quarrels  and  disputations  about  little  crotchets 
in  a  Church,  or  congregation,  instead  of  grow¬ 
ing,  it  will  decline;  instead  of  advancing  in  its 
majestic  mission,  it  will  positively  decay,  until 
it  die  out,  a  suicide,  having  turned  the  weapons 
that  ought  to  have  been  combined  against  the 
foe  against  its  own  bosom,  and  into  its  owd 
heart.  Dr.  Cumming 

832.  CHURCH,  a  Ship.  As  a  ship  upon  the 

sea  is  tossed  upon  the  waves  from  one  place  to 
another,  even  so  is  the  Church  often  tossed 
in  the  sea  of  this  world,  yet  never  drowned, 
because  Christ  is  in  it,  and  holdeth  the  helm 
with  his  hand.  Cawdray. 

833.  CHURCH,  Stragglers  from  the.  There  are 
stragglers  in  the  church,  as  well  as  in  the 
army,  who  fall  out  of  the  ranks  and  are  lost. 
Sometimes  they  follow  the  regiment  for  days, 
by  the  ashes  of  its  camp-fires,  and  subsist  as 
best  they  can  on  the  charity  of  the  people,  and 
the  scraps  left  by  those  in  camp.  They  sleep 
anywhere,  or  where  night  overtakes  them. 
Three  such  from  a  Minnesota  regiment  have 
just  arrived,  after  an  absence  of  two  weeks. 
They  fell  out  of  the  ranks  from  sickness  and 
exhaustion,  and  were  thenceforth  most  truly 
wayfarers.  They  dodged  guerillas,  they  slept 
in  the  brush,  they  feasted  on  the  food  left  in 
deserted  camps,  and  finally  reached  a  point 
where  they  could  obtain  transportation  to  their 
regiment.  Stragglers  are  not  always  thus  for¬ 
tunate.  One  found  his  way,  by  the  aid  of  a 
stranger,  into  the  hospital  at  Sedalia.  He  was 
dying  even  then,  and  could  not  give  his  name 
or  regiment.  He  was  a  mere  boy,  and  unequal 
to  the  toil  of  marching.  He  was  wet  and  cold 
and  weary,  and  in  a  few  hours  died  ;  and  we 
buried  him  in  a  nameless  grave,  thinking  of  the 
fond  hearts  that  far  away  would  bleed  for  tid¬ 
ings  of  him,  the  absent,  the  missing  one,  never, 
alas  I  to  return  to  them.  Army  Correspondent. 

834.  CHURCH,  Straggling  from  the.  Standing, 
one  day,  before  a  beehive,  Gotthold  observed 
with  delight  how  the  little  honey-birds  de¬ 
parted  and  arrived,  and  from  time  to  time 
returned  home  laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  flow¬ 
ers.  Meanwhile  a  great  yellow  hornet —  that 
wolf  among  the  bees  —  came  buzzing  up  in 
eager  quest  of  prey.  As  it  was  eveningtide, 
and  the  bees,  after  the  heat  of  the  day,  had 
settled  about  the  mouth  of  the  hive  to  breathe 
the  cool  air,  it  was  amusing  to  observe  that 
their  fierce  adversary  lacked  courage  to  attack 
their  combined  host  and  serried  ranks.  True, 
he  often  advanced  for  the  purpose,  but,  seeing 
how  densely  and  compactly  they  were  sitting, 
was  forced  to  retreat  empty-handed.  At  last, 
a  bee,  somewhat  belated,  arrived  by  itself;  and 
on  this  straggler  he  instantly  seized,  fell  with 
it  to  the  earth,  and  dealt  with  it  at  his  pleasure 


CHURCH. 


CHURCHES. 


113 


835.  CHURCH,  Trial  of  the.  When  the  Ro¬ 
mans  immortalized  any  of  their  emperors,  they 
brought  one  to  swear  that  they  saw  him  go  to 
heaven  out  of  the  fire ;  intimating  that  the  fiery 
trial  had  passed  on  him.  It  is  thus  that  the 
Church  has  become  immortal. 

836.  CHURCH,  Union  of  the.  As  the  different 
oceans,  called  by  different  names,  form  one 
body,  so  the  different  denominations  of  Chris¬ 
tians  form  one  Church. 

837-830.  CHURCH,  Unity  of  the.  A  mass  of 
quicksilver  let  fall  on  the  floor  will  split  into  a 
vast  number  of  distinct  globules.  Gather  them 
up,  and  put  them  together  again,  and  they  will 
coalesce  into  one  body  as  before.  Thus  God’s 
elect  below  are  sometimes  crumbled  and  dis¬ 
tinguished  into  various  parties,  though  they  all 
are,  in  fact,  members  of  one  and  the  same 
mystic  body ;  but  when  taken  up  from  the 
world,  and  put  together  in  heaven,  they  will 
constitute  one  glorious,  undivided  Church  for 
ever  and  ever. 

838.  As  the  ark  was  made  of  many  pieces 

of  wood,  and  joined  together  in  one ;  so  the 
Church  consisteth  of  many  members  knit  to¬ 
gether  in  one  faith.  Cawdray.  \ 

839.  Christ  has  but  one  Church.  The  sec¬ 

ond  Adam,  like  the  first,  is  the  husband  only 
of  one  wife.  Just  as  the  Church  cannot  have 
two  heads,  so  the  one  Head  cannot  have  two 
bodies  ;  for  as  that  body  were  a  monster  which 
had  two  heads,  so  the  head  which  had  two 
separate  bodies.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

840.  CHURCH,  Weakness  of  the.  Balak,  the 
King  of  the  Moabites,  hated  the  camp  of  Israel, 
and  bribed  Balaam,  a  prophet,  to  curse  them. 
Just  thus  doth  the  world  hate  the  Church,  ami 
is  never  happier  than  when  it  can  hire  the 
ministers  of  the  Church  to  turn  against  it,  and 
betray  its  interests.  But  it  can  no  more  suc¬ 
ceed  by  its  curses  than  the  wicked  Balak 
could  :  it  must  seduce  Christians  to  sin,  and 
then  it  prevails ;  not  by  its  own  power,  but 
by  tempting  the  Church  to  provoke  the  an¬ 
ger  of  God.  When  Balaam  found  that  he 
could  prevail  nothing  by  his  sacrifices  and 
enchantments,  then  he  gave  counsel  to  Balak 
to  corrupt  the  people  of  the  camp  with  forni¬ 
cation  ;  and  that  soon  answered  the  purpose. 

IT.  Jones. 

841.  CHURCH,  Weapons  of  the.  The  Romans  in 

a  great  distress  were  put  so  hard  to  it,  that 
they  were  fain  to  take  the  weapons  out  of  the 
temples  of  their  gods  to  fight  with  them;  and 
so  they  overcame.  This  ought  to  be  the  course 
of  every  true  Christian  in  times  of  public  dis¬ 
tress,  —  to  fly  to  the  weapons  of  the  Church, 
prayers  and  tears.  The  Spartans’  walls  were 
their  spears ;  the  Christian’s  walls  are  his 
prayers.  Spencer. 

842.  CHURCHES,  Cultivating  the.  Like  as  if 

the  land  be  not  tilled,  but  lie  barren,  it  will 
bring  forth  nothing  but  briers,  thistles,  and 
nettles;  even  so,  if  churches  be  not  continually 
labored  for  by  preaching  and  catechising,  they 
will  wax  secure,  and  so  bring  forth  nothing 
but  ignorance,  atheism,  superstition,  idolatry, 
and  ail  wickedness  of  life.  Cawdray. 

a 


843.  CHURCHES,  Dead.  Have  you  ever  read 
“The  Ancient  Mariner”?  I  dare  say  you 
thought  it  one  of  the  strangest  imaginations 
ever  put  together,  especially  that  part  where 
the  old  mariner  represents  the  corpses  of  all  the 
dead  men  rising  up  to  man  the  ship,  —  dead  men 
pulling  the  rope,  dead  men  steering,  dead  men 
spreading  sails.  I  thought  what  a  strange 
idea  that  was.  But  do  you  know  that  I  have 
lived  to  see  that  time  ?  I  have  seen  it  done. 
I  have  gone  into  churches,  and  I  have  seen  a 
dead  man  in  the  pulpit,  a  dead  man  as  deacon, 
and  a  dead  man  handling  the  plate,  and  dead 
men  sitting  to  hear.  Spurgeon. 

814.  CHURCHES,  Dead  Men  in  the.  In  the 
first  years  of  a  church,  its  members  are  willing 
to  endure  hardships,  and  to  make  great  exfr- 
tions ;  but,  when  once  it  is  prosperous,  they 
desire  to  take  their  ease  :  as  one  who  builds  a 
ship  is  willing  to  work  all  the  way  from  keel 
to  deck  until  she  is  launched;  thenceforward, 
he  expects  the  ocean  to  buoy  him  up,  and  the 
winds  to  bear  him  on.  The  youth-time  of 
churches  produces  enterprise  ;  their  age,  indo¬ 
lence.  But  even  this  might  be  borne,  did  not 
these  dead  men  sit  in  the  door  of  their  sepul¬ 
chres,  crying  out  against  every  living  man  who 
refuses  to  wear  the  livery  of  death.  I  am 
almost  tempted  to  think,  that  if,  with  the  end 
of  every  pastorate,  the  church  itself  were  dis¬ 
banded  and  destroyed,  to  be  gathered  again 
by  the  succeeding  teacher,  we  should  thus 
secure  an  immortality  of  youth.  Beecher. 

845.  CHURCHES,  'Members  of.  There  are 
several  classes  of  persons  who  croak  over  the 
prospects  of  Christianity  in  this  country,  viz., 
infidels,  backsliders,  impracticable  religionists, 
old  fogies,  and  desponding  Christians.  These 
individuals  are  often  heard  declaring  that  our 
churches  are  losing  ground,  falling  behind  the 
increase  of  our  population.  Statistics  show, 
that  the  ratio  of  communicants  to  the  inhabit¬ 
ants,  ten  years  of  aye  and  upwards,  was  as 
follows :  — 

In  1800,  one  communicant  for  10  5-6  inhabitants. 

“  1832,  “  “  “  7  1-3  “ 

“  1843,  “  “  “  5  4-25  “ 

“  1850,  “  “  “  4  31-33  “ 

“  1860,  “  “  “  4  2-5  “ 

During  this  same  period,  the  population  has 
increased  nearly  sixfold:  but  the  communi¬ 
cants  of  evangelical  churches  have  increased 
nearly  fourteen  and  one-liaf  fold ;  or  the  in¬ 
crease  of  church-membership  has  been  two  and 
a  half  times  greater  than  that  of  the  population 
Comment  is  unnecessary.  The  figures  speak 
louder  than  rhetoric.  D.  Dorchester. 

8  46.  CHURCHE3,  Unsocial.  A  correspondent 
of  “  The  Lutheran  and  Missionary  ”  thus  illus¬ 
trates  the  secret  of  the  want  of  growth  in 
many  churches.  “  I  have  been  sitting  near 
some  folks  for  years,  and  we  meet  every  Sunday 
in  the  aisles  or  in  the  vestibule ;  but  they  have 
never  said,  ‘Good-morning!’  or  ‘Good-even¬ 
ing  1 '  nor  ‘  How  do  you  do  ?  ’  nor  any  thing. 
They  never  smiled  at  me,  they  never  looked 
even  as  if  they  knew  me.  I  tried  formerly,  and 
more  than  once,  to  look  as  if  we  knew  each 


* 


114 


CM  U  HCluiiS* 


CIVILITY. 


other,  and  attempted  to  get  up  a  sort  of  smile  of 
recognition  ;  but  they  looked  like  the  Egyptian 
Sphinx,  and  I  gave  it  up  as  a  hopeless  case.” 

847.  CEURCEES,  Use  of.  Some  years  since, 
there  were  a  couple  of  gentlemen  passing 
through  Rutland,  —  the  one  acquainted  with, 
the  other  a  stranger  in,  the  place.  As  they  drew 
near  the  upper  end  of  the  town,  the  stranger, 

ointing  to  a  building,  asked,  “  What  is  that 

ouse  occupied  for?”  —  “That  is  the  regu¬ 
lar  Baptist  Church,”  replied  the  acquaint¬ 
ance.  A  few  hundred  yards  farther  on,  the 
use  of  another  edifice  was  inquired  after,  to 
which  it  was  replied,  “  That  is  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church.”  —  “  Ah,  yes  !  ”  As  they  entered 
the  thickly-settled  portion  of  the  town,  “  Why  1 
here  is  another  church,”  remarked  the  stran¬ 
ger.  “Yes:  that  is  the  Freewill  Baptist 
Church,”  said  the  acquaintance.  Below  the 
town,  half  a  mile,  they  came  to  another  house. 
“  That  is  the  Presbyterian  Church,”  remarked 
the  acquaintance.  “Well,  I  declare!”  said 
the  stranger,  “  Rutland  has  the  most  forts  to 
keep  the  Devil  out,  of  any  place  of  its  size  that 
I  ever  saw.” 

848.  CITIZEN,  An  American.  An  old  English 
picture  represents  a  king,  with  the  motto  be¬ 
neath,  “  I  govern  all ;  ”  a  bishop  with  this 
sentence,  “  I  pray  tor  all ;  ”  a  soldier  with  the 
inscription,  “  I  fight  for  all ;  ”  and  a  farmer,  who 
reluctantly  draws  forth  a  purse,  and  exclaims 
with  rueful  countenance,  “  I  pay  for  all.”  The 
American  citizen  combines  in  himself  the  func¬ 
tions  of  these  four.  He  is  king,  prophet,  war¬ 
rior,  and  laborer.  He  governs,  prays,  and 
fights  for  himself  and  pays  all  expenses. 

849.  CITIZEN-SAINT,  A  According  to  the 
legend,  Omobuono  was  a  merchant  of  Cremo¬ 
na,  who  had  received  from  his  father  but  little 
school-learning  ;  yet,  from  the  moment  he  en¬ 
tered  on  the  management  of  his  own  affairs,  a 
wisdom  more  than-  human  seemed  to  inspire 
every  action  of  his  life.  Diligent  and  thrifty, 
his  stores  increased  daily,  and,  with  his  pos¬ 
sessions,  his  almost  boundless  charity.  Nor  did 
his  charity  consist  merely  in  giving  his  money 
in  alms,  nor  in  founding  hospitals,  but  in  the 
devotion  of  his  whole  heart  towards  relieving 
the  sorrows  as  well  as  the  necessities  of  the 
poor,  and  in  exhorting  and  converting  to  re¬ 
pentance  those  who  had  been  led  into  evil 
courses.  Neither  did  this  good  saint  think  it 
necessary  to  lead  a  life  of  celibacy.  He  was 
married  to  a  prudent  and  virtuous  wife,  who 
was  sometimes  uneasy  lest  her  husband’s  ex¬ 
cessive  bounty  to  the  poor  should  bring  her 
children  to  beggary ;  but  it  was  far  otherwise. 
Omobuono  increased  daily  in  riches  and  pros¬ 
perity,  so  that  the  people  of  the  city  believed 
that  his  stores  were  miraculously  multiplied. 
It  is  related  of  him,  that  being  on  a  journey 
with  his  family,  and  meeting  some  poor 
pilgrims  who  were  ready  to  faint  by  the  way¬ 
side  with  hunger  and  thirst,  he  gave  them 
freely  all  the  bread  and  wine  he  had  provided 
for  his  own  necessities  ;  and,  going  afterwards 
to  fill  his  empty  wine-flasks  from  a  running 
stream,  the  water,  when  poured  out,  proved  to 


be  most  excellent  wine ;  and  his  wallet  was 
found  full  of  wheaten  bread,  supplied  by  the 
angels  in  lieu  of  that  which  he  had  given  away. 
As  the  life  of  Omobuono  had  been  in  all  re¬ 
spects  most  blessed,  so  was  his  death ;  for  one 
morning,  being  at  his  early  devotions  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Egidio,  and  kneeling  before  a 
crucifix  just  as  the  choir  were  singing  the  Glo¬ 
ria  in  excelsis,  he  stretched  out  his  arms  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  and  in  this  attitude  expired. 
He  was  canonized  by  Pope  Innocent  III.  on 
the  earnest  petition  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

lYi o  Tnmpsnn 

850.  CIRCUMSPECTION,  Need  of.  When  chil¬ 

dren  meet  with  primroses,  nuts,  or  apples  in 
the  way,  they  loiter  on  their  errands,  and  so 
get  the  displeasure  of  their  parents ;  whereas 
those  that  meet  with  dangers  and  affrights  by 
the  way  make  haste  in  their  journey,  and  their 
speed  makes  them  welcome  with  many  com¬ 
mendations.  Thus  God  hath  sent  all  of  us 
abroad  into  the  world ;  and  we  are  every  day 
travelling  homeward:  if  we  meet  with  miseries 
and  vexations,  we  should  haste  in  our  journey ; 
and,  if  we  meet  with  pleasures,  they  should  put 
us  in  mind  of  those  at  God’s  right  hand,  or 
else  to  scorn  them  as  worse  than  trifles,  and  to 
look  upon  them  as  pullbacks  in  the  ways  of 
God  and  goodness.  Spencer. 

851.  CIVILITY,  Advantage  of.  A  few  years 
ago,  a  couple  of  gentlemen,  one  of  whom  was 
a  foreigner,  visited  the  various  locomotive 
workshops  of  Philadelphia.  They  called  at  the 
most  prominent  one  first,  stated  their  wishes 
to  look  through  the  establishment,  and  made 
some  inquiries  of  a  specific  character.  They 
were  shown  through  the  premises  in  a  very  in¬ 
different  manner ;  and  no  special  pains  were 
taken  to  give  them  any  information  beyond  what 
their  own  inquiries  drew  forth.  The  same 
results  followed  their  visits  to  the  several  large 
establishments.  By  some  means,  they  were 
induced  to  call  at  one  of  a  third  or  fourth  rate 
character.  The  owner  was  himself  a  workman 
of  limited  means ;  but,  on  the  application  of 
the  strangers,  his  natural  urbanity  of  manner 
prompted  him  not  only  to  show  all  he  had,  but 
to  enter  into  detailed  explanation  of  the  work¬ 
ing  of  his  establishment.  The  gentlemen  left 
him  not  only  favorably  impressed  towards  him, 
but  with  a  feeling  that  he  thoroughly  understood 
his  business.  Within  a  year,  he  was  surprised 
with  an  invitation  to  visit  St.  Petersburg. 
The  result  was,  his  locomotive  establishment 
was  removed  there  bodily.  It  was  an  agent 
of  the  czar  who  had  called  on  him.  He  has 
recently  returned,  having  accumulated  a  prince¬ 
ly  fortune,  and  still  receives  from  his  Russian 
workshops  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
and  has  laid  the  foundation  of  the  largest  for¬ 
tune  in  this  country  :  and  all  are  the  results  of 
civility  to  a  couple  of  strangers. 

852.  CIVILITY,  Influence  of.  When  Zacha- 
riah  Fox,  the  great  merchant  of  Liverpool,  was 
asked  by  what  means  he  contrived  to  realize  so 
large  a  fortune  as  he  possessed,  his  reply  was, 
“  Friend,  by  one  article  alone,  in  which  thou 
mayest  deai  too,  if  thou  pleasest,  —  civility.” 


CIVILITY. 


COLORS. 


115 


853.  CIVILITY,  True.  One  of  the  early 
governors  of  Virginia  was  conversing  with  a 
merchant  in  the  street,  when  a  negro  slave 
saluted  him.  He  politely  returned  the  saluta¬ 
tion,  when  the  merchant  asked,  “  IIow  !  does 
your  excellency  condescend  to  bow  to  a  slave  ?  ” 
—  “  To  be  sure  1  ”  answered  the  governor  :  I 
should  be  very  sorry  that  a  slave  should  show 
himself  more  civil  than  I.” 

854.  CIVILIZATION,  Christianity  and.  The 

doctrine  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  a 
future  state  has' so  great  a  tendency  to  enforce 
the  civil  laws,  and  restrain  the  vices  of  men, 
that,  though  Reason  would  decide  against  it  on 
the  principles  of  theology,  she  will  not  decide 
against  it  on  the  principles  of  good  policy.  No 
religion  ever  appeared  in  the  world,  whose 
natural  tendency  was  so  much  directed  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  peace  and  happiness  of  mankind  as 
the  Christian.  The  gospel  of  Christ  is  one 
continual  lesson  of  the  strictest  morality,  of 
justice,  benevolence,  and  universal  charity. 
Supposing  Christianity  to  be  a  mere  human 
invention,  it  is  the  most  amiable  and  success¬ 
ful  invention  that  ever  was  imposed  on  man¬ 
kind.  Bolingbroke. 

855.  CIVILIZATION,  Mark  of.  A  writer  of  a 
book  of  travels,  relating  the  particulars  of  his 
being  cast  away,  thus  concludes,  ‘‘After  having 
walked  eleven  hours  without  having  traced  the 
print  of  human  foot,  to  my  great  comfort 
and  delight,  I  saw  a  man  hanging  upon  a 
gibbet.  My  pleasure  at  the  cheering  prospect 
was  inexpressible ;  for  it  convinced  me  that  I 
was  in  a  civilized  country.” 

856.  CIVILIZATION,  Promotion  of.  Disbelief 
in  futurity  loosens  in  great  measure  the  ties  of 
morality,  and  may  be  supposed  for  that  reason 
to  be  pernicious  to  the  peace  of  civil  society. 

Hume. 

857.  CLEMENCY,  Example  jf,  Two  patricians, 
having  conspired  against  Titus  the  Roman 
emperor,  were  discovered,  convicted,  and  sen¬ 
tenced  to  death  by  the  senate  ;  but  that  noble 
prince,  having  sent  for  them,  admonished  them 
in  private  of  their  folly  in  aspiring  to  the  em¬ 
pire,  exhorted  them  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
rank  in  which  by  Providence  they  had  been 

laced,  and  offered  them  any  thing  else  which 

e  had  the  power  to  grant.  At  the  same  time, 
he  despatched  a  messenger  to  the  mother  of 
one  of  them,  who  was  then  at  a  great  distance, 
and  under  deep  concern  about  the  fate  of  her 
son,  to  assure  her  that  her  son  was  not  only 
alive,  but  out  of  danger.  He  invited  them  the 
same  night  to  his  table  ;  and  having,  the  next 
day,  placed  them  by  him  at  a  show  of  gladi¬ 
ators,  where  the  weapons  of  the  combatants 
were,  according  to  custom,  presented  to  him, 
he  desired  them  to  survey  them.  Stretch. 

858.  CLOSET,  Importance  of  the.  During  an 
examination  of  a  newly-built  house,  Gotthold 
inquired  of  some  friends  who  accompanied 
him,  which  of  all  the  apartments  they  con¬ 
sidered  the  best.  One  answered,  that  he  pre¬ 
ferred  the  parlor,  as  being  lofty  in  the  ceiling, 
well  lighted,  and  capable  of  being  easily 
warmed.  The  others  severally  fixed  upon  the 


kitchen,  the  cellar,  the  business-office,  and  the 
bedrooms.  Gotthold  replied,  “  No  doubt 
these  chambers  will  be  the  favorites  of  many ; 
but  what  I  meant  to  ask  was,  which  of  them 
a  pious  and  godly  Christian  will  prefer  :  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  that  is  the  chamber 
set  apart  as  the  place  of  prayer.  That  cham¬ 
ber  is  the  sanctuary  of  the  house.  From  it, 
as  from  a  fountain,  the  stream  of  blessing  flows, 
and  is  conducted  into  every  corner ;  over  it 
the  heavens  are  open.  There  stands  the  celes¬ 
tial  ladder,  upon  which  the  angels  of  God 
ascend  and  descend.  There  man  speaks  with 
the  Most  High  as  with  a  friend  ;  pours  out  his 
heart  before  him ;  confides  to  him  all  his 
concerns  ;  and  obtains  from  him  comfort  in 
tribulation,  and  joy  in  the  midst  of  sorrow. 
There  stands  the  ark,  for  whose  sake  the  whole 
family,  like  that  of  Obededom,  is  blessed. 
Happy  he  whose  house  has  such  a  closet,  well 
furnished  and  well  employed  !  The  meanest 
hut,  whose  inmates  abound  in  prayer,  is  pref¬ 
erable  to  the  costliest  palaces  of  those  who 
despise  God.” 

859.  CLOSET,  Neglect  of  the.  The  earliest 
converts  to  Christianity  in  Africa  were  very 
regular  and  earnest  in  their  private  devotions. 
They  had  no  closets  to  go  to ;  but  each  had 
their  separate  spot  in  the  thicket,  where  they 
used  to  pour  out  their  hearts  to  God.  The 
several  paths  to  these  little  bethels  became  dis¬ 
tinctly  marked :  and,  when  any  one  of  those 
African  Christians  began  to  decline  in  the 
ways  of  God,  it  was  soon  manifest  to  his  fel¬ 
lows  ;  and  they  would  kindly  remind  him  of  his 
duty  by  saying,  “  Broiler,  <le  grass  grow  on 
your  path  yonder.” 

869.  CLOSET,  Somewhere.  “  Where  do  you 
find  a  place  to  pray  in  ?  ”  was  asked  of  a 
pious  sailor  on  board  a  whaling-ship.  “  Oh  !  ” 
lie  said,  “  I  can  always  find  a  quiet  spot  at 
the  masthead.”  “  Sam,  do  you  find  a  spot  for 
secret  prayer  ?  ”  asked  a  minister  of  a  stable- 
boy.  “  Oh,  yes,  sir  1  that  old  coach  is  my 
closet.” 

861.  COLORS,  Emblematic.  We  find  colors 
used  in  a  symbolical  or  mystic  sense  ;  and  un¬ 
til  the  ancient  principles  or  traditions  were 
wholly  worn  out  of  memory,  or  set  aside  by  the 
later  painters,  certain  colors  were  appropriate 
to  certain  subjects  and  personages,  ami  could 
not  arbitrarily  be  applied  or  misapplied.  In 
the  old  specimens  of  stained  glass,  we  find 
these  significations  scrupulously  attended  to. 
Thus,  white,  represented  by  the  diamond  or 
silver,  was  the  emblem  of  light,  religious  puri¬ 
ty,  innocence,  virginity,  faith,  joy,  and  life. 
Our  Saviour  wears  white  after  his  resurrec¬ 
tion.  In  the  judge,  it  indicates  integrity;  in 
the  sick  man,  humility  ;  in  the  woman,  chastity. 
Red,  the  ruby,  signified  fire,  divine  love,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  heat,  or  the  creative  power,  and 
royalty.  White  and  red  roses  express  love 
and  innocence,  or  love  and  wisdom.  In  a  bad 
sense,  red  signifies  blood,  war,  hatred,  and  pun¬ 
ishment.  Blue,  or  the  sapphire,  expressed 
heaven,  the  firmament,  truth,  constancy,  fideli¬ 
ty.  Yellow,  or  gold,  was  the  symbol  of  the 


116 


COLLECTION. 


COMFORT. 


sun,  of  tlie  goodness  of  God,  initiation  or  mar¬ 
riage,  faith  or  faithfulness.  In  a  bad  sense, 
yellow  signifies  inconstancy,  jealousy,  deceit. 
Green,  the  emerald,  is  the  color  of  spring,  of 
hope  (particularly  hope  in  immortality),  and 
of  victory,  as  the  color  of  the  palm  or  laurel. 
Violet,  or  the  amethyst,  signified  love  and 
truth,  or  passion  or  suffering.  Black  ex¬ 
pressed  the  earth,  —  darkness,  mourning,  wick¬ 
edness,  negation,  death,  —  and  was  appro¬ 
priate  to  the  Prince  of  darkness.  White  and 
black  together  signify  purity  of  life,  anil 
mourning  or  humiliation.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

862.  COLLECTION,  Making  a.  The  Romish 
Bishop  of  Orleans,  preaching  for  the  Rouen 
distress,  said,  “  This  is  no  time  for  long  ser¬ 
mons,  but  tor  good  works.  You  are  all  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  calamities  of  those  whose 
cause  I  am  come  here  this  day  to  plead  betbre 
you.  Once  upon  a  time,  a  king,  whose  name 
is  still  cherished  by  us,  said  to  his  companions 
in  arms,  on  whom  he  thought  with  reason  he 
could  rely,  ‘  My  good  friends,  I  am  your 
king ;  you  are  F renchmen ;  yonder  are  the 
enemy  :  let  us  march  1  ’  I  will  not  address  you 
in  any  other  words  this  day  than  these  :  I  am 
yoer  bishop;  you  are  Christians;  yonder  are, 
not  our  enemies,  but  our  brothers,  who  suffer  : 
let  us  fly  to  their  succor  1  ”  The  bishop  then 
descended  from  the  pulpit,  and  made  the  col¬ 
lection  himself,  which  amounted  to  15,299 
francs. 

863.  COENdDENCE,  Amusing.  A  farmer,  near 
Liverpool,  Eng.,  who  had  been  long  afflicted 
with  the  ague,  made  his  will,  in  which  was  the 
following  item,  “  I  give  and  bequeath  these 

plaguy  ague-fits  to  Mr.  - ,  the  parson  of 

the  parish.”  The  fits  left  him,  and  the  next 
day  seized  upon  the  poor  parson,  and  handled 
him  severely.  The  parson,  on  being  told  that 

his  neighbor  J - had  bequeathed  them  to 

him  in  his  will,  was  so  much  exasperated  that 
he  would  not  speak  to  the  poor  man  for  some 
years  after. 

864.  COINCIDENCE,  of  Prayer.  A  young  man, 
the  son  of  a  minister  of  England,  residing  in 
South  America,  went  to  spend  his  birthday  as 
a  holiday,  when  the  thought  came  to  him, 
“  My  mother  will  be  spending  this  day  at 
home  in  prayer  for  me.”  tie  returned  to  his 
room,  and  began  to  pray  for  himself,  finding  a 
speedy  answer.  The  next  day,  he  mailed  a  let¬ 
ter  to  his  mother,  saying,  “  Mother,  the  great 
question  is  settled,  and  I  am  a  Christian.” 
Shortly  after,  he  received  a  letter  from  his 
mother,  saying,  “  My  son,  the  great  question  is 
settled,  and  you  are  to  be  a  Christian,  and 
a  minister  of  the  gospel.”  The  two  letters 
passed  each  other  in  mid-ocean.  That  son  is 
to-day  a  successful  missionary  of  the  cross. 

865.  COMFORT,  ia  Affliction.  Like  as  if  one 
who  is  blind  should  be  suddenly 'taken  and 
carried  to  some  punishment,  he  knew  not  by 
whom,  he  might  greatly  fear  what  would  be 
the  end  or  measure  of  it;  or  if  one  should  be 
dealt  with  in  the  manner  of  the  Spanish  inquis¬ 
itors,  to  put  the  poor  soul  in  the  greater  fear  ; 
if  he  should  have  a  tormentor  sent  unto  him 


very  ugly,  disguised,  who  should  carry  him  into 
a  dark  place,  he  knew  not  whither,  that  might 
increase  the  grief  of  his  affliction  the  more ; 
but  iff,  in  the  midst  of  it,  he  should  hear  the 
voice  of  his  father,  and  perceive  that  it  was  his 
father  that  corrected  him,  though  so  disguised, 
it  would  diminish  his  fear :  even  so  it  may  be 
with  us  under  all  the  afflictions  and  trials  of 
this  life.  It  is  our  Father  that  administers 
them  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  all,  we  may  hear  his 
loving  voice.  Cawdray. 

866.  COMFORT,  Divine.  When  a  man  walk- 
eth  in  the  sun,  if  his  face  be  towards  it,  he 
hath  nothing  before  him  but  bright  shining 
light,  and  comfortable  heat ;  but,  let  him  once 
turn  his  back  to  the  sun,  what  hath  he  before 
him  but  a  shadow  V  And  what  is  a  shadow 
but  the  privation  of  light,  and  heat  of  the  sun  ? 
Yea:  it  is  but  to  behold  his  own  shadow,  de¬ 
frauding  himself  of  the  other.  Thus  there  is 
no  true  wisdom,  no  true  happiness,  no  real 
comfort,  but  in  beholding  the  countenance  of 
God  :  look  from  that,  and  we  lose  these  bless¬ 
ings.  And  what  shall  we  gain  ?  a  shadow,  an 
empty  image,  —  instead  of  a  substantial,  to 
gain  an  empty  image  of  ourselves,  and  lose  the 
solid  image  of  God.  Spencer. 

SOS'.  COMFORT,  Power  of.  But  so  have  I  seen 
the  sun  kiss  the  frozen  earth,  which  was  bound 
up  with  the  images  of  death,  and  the  colder 
breath  of  the  north  ;  and  then  the  waters  break 
from  their  enclosures,  and  melt  with  joy,  and 
run  in  useful  channels  ;  and  the  flies  do  rise 
again  from  their  little  graves  in  walls,  and 
dance  a  while  in  the  air,  to  tell  that  there  is 
joy  within,  and  that  the  great  Mother  of  crea¬ 
tures  will  open  the  stock  of  her  new  refresh¬ 
ment,  become  useful  to  mankind,  and  sing 
praises  to  her  Redeemer.  So  is  the  heart  of  a 
sorrowful  man  under  the  discourses  of  a  wise 
comforter.  He  breaks  from  the  despairs  of  the 
grave,  and  the  fetters  and  chains  of  sorrow; 
he  blesses  God,  and  he  blesses  thee,  and  he  feels 
his  life  returning;  for  to  be  miserable  is  death, 
but  nothing  is  life  but  to  be  comforted.  And 
God  is  pleased  with  no  music  from  below  so 
much  as  in  the  thanksgiving  songs  of  relieved 
widows,  of  supported  orphans,  of  rejoicing  and 
comforted  and  thankful  persons.  Bp.  Taylor. 

868.  COMFORT,  Strength  of,  Give,  me  the  com¬ 
forts  of  God,  and  I  can  well  bear  the  taunts 
of  men.  Let  me  lay  my  head  on  the  bo¬ 
som  of  Jesus,  and  I  fear  not  the  distraction 
of  care  and  trouble.  If  my  God  will  give  me 
ever  the  light  of  his  smile,  and  glance  his  ben¬ 
ediction,  it  is  enough.  Come  on,  foes,  perse¬ 
cutors,  fiends,  ay,  Apollyon  himself;  for  “  tlie 
Lord  God  is  my  sun  and  shield.”  Gather,  ye 
clouds,  and  environ  me,  I  carry  a  sun  within  ; 
blow,  wind  of  the  frozen  north,  I  have  a  fire 
of  living  coal  within  ;  yea,  death,  slajt  me,  but 
I  have  another  life,  —  a  life  in  the  light  of 
God’s  countenance.  Spurgeon. 

861).  COMFORT  IN  WEARNESS.  Like  as  a 
father  having  a  young  infant  sick  of  a  sore  dis¬ 
ease,  and  unable  to  speak  a  word,  is  ready  to 
help  it ;  or  if  it  can  speak  yet  unintelligibly, 
yet,  if  the  mother  can  but  guess  at  the  mean- 


COMHVLAJflTDMZEN'TS. 


COMMANDMEN  TS.  117 


ing,  she  will  do  as  much  as  if  it  had  been 
spoken  very  plainly ;  yea,  though  it  should 
say  one  thing,  and  mean  another,  she  would 
give  it  according  to  the  meaning  of  it,  —  even 
so  the  Lord,  who  is  filled  with  bowels  of  com¬ 
passion  towards  us  far  above  any  father  or 
mother,  granteth  not  so  much  our  words  as  the 
meaning  of  his  Spirit,  which  is  plentiful  in  us. 

Cawdray. 

870.  COMMANDMENTS,  not  Burdensome,  Cice¬ 
ro  questions,  whether  that  can  properly  be 
called  a  burden  which  one  carries  with  de¬ 
light  and  pleasure.  If  a  man  carries  a  bag  of 
money  given  him,  it  is  heavy  ;  but  the  delight 
takes  off  the  burden.  When  God  gives  inward 
joy,  that  makes  the  commandments  delightful. 
Joy  is  like  oil  to  the  wheels,  which  makes  a 
Christian  run  in  the  way  of  God’s  command¬ 
ments,  so  that  it  is  not  burdensome. 

T.  Watson. 

871.  COMMANDMENTS,  Excellency  of  the. 
The  language  of  God’s  word  is,  “  Thou  shalt 
not  kill ;  thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery  ;  thou 
shalt  not  steal ;  thou  shalt  not  bear  false  wit¬ 
ness;  thou  shalt  not  covet.”  Now,  where  is 
there  such  a  code  of  morality  to  be  found  in 
all  the  systems  of  ancient  or  modern  heathen 
philosophers  or  politicians  ?  Lycurgus  or¬ 
dained,  that  infants  who  were  deformed  or 
weak  should  be  destroyed  ;  but  God’s  word 
says,  “  Thou  shalt  not  kill.”  Lycurgus  taught 
his  pupils  to  steal,  and  rewarded  those  who 
could  steal  in  such  an  artful  manner  as  not  to 
be  detected  ;  but  the  Bible  says,  “  Thou  shalt 
not  steal.”  Aristippus  maintained  that  it  was  no 
harm  “  to  steal,  commit  adultery  anil  sacrilege ; 
setting  aside  the  vulgar  opinion  concerning 
them.”  The  Grecians,  and  many  of  the  ancients, 
practised  incest;  that  is,  a  man  could  marry 
his  own  sister  :  and  they  pretended  to  derive 
this  practice  from  gods,  feigning  that  Jupiter 
married  his  own  sister  Juno.  Hence  many  of 
their  great  men  practised  it,  such  as  Cimon, 
Alcibiades,  Darius  the  Persian,  Ptolemy  of 
Egypt,  and  others  :  but  Moses  said,  “  Thou 
shalt  not  marry  one  that  is  near  akin  to  thee ;  ” 
and  St.  Paul  required  the  incestuous  person  to 
be  punished.  The  laws  of  Solon  allowed  of 
“  brothels  and  prostitution  :  ”  but  Moses  said, 
“  There  shall  be  no  harlot  in  Israel ;  ”  and, 
were  the  principles  of  this  book  attended  to, 
there  would  be  none  in  Christendom.  The 
polite  and  learned  nations  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  very  generally  permitted  the  custom 
of  exposing  infants ;  and  Romulus  allowed  the 
Romans  to  destroy  all  their  female  children  ex¬ 
cept  the  oldest,  and  even  their  males  if  they 
were  deformed.  “  These  practices  were  com¬ 
mon  among  them,  and  celebrated  at  their 
theatres.”  They  also  had  gladiatorial  shows, 
in  which  slaves  were  obliged  to  fight  with  each 
other  till  one  or  the  other  fell,  mangled  with 
wounds.  And  so  great  was  the  rage  for  this 
sport  among  both  sexes,  that  no  war  is  said  to 
have  been  so  destructive.  Lipsius  tells  us, 
“  that  the  gladiatorial  shows  cost  twenty  or 
thirty  thousand  lives  a  month ;  and,  thus  con¬ 
tinued  for  a  long  course  of  years,  must  have 


destroyed  more  lives  than  the  ravages  of  tlieii 
wars.”  Arvine. 

872.  COMMANDMENTS,  a  Hedge.  Reconcilia¬ 
tion  to  God  is  like  entering  the  gate  of  a 
beautiful  avenue,  which  conducts  to  a  splendid 
mansion.  But  that  avenue  is  long,  and  in 
some  places  it  skirts  the  edge  of  dangerous 
cliffs  ;  and  therefore,  to  save  the  traveller  from 
falling  over  where  he  would  be  dashed  to 
pieces,  it  is  fenced  all  the  way  by  a  quickset 
hedge.  That  hedge  is  the  commandments. 
They  are  planted  there  that  we  may  do  our¬ 
selves  no  harm  ;  but,  like  a  fence  of  the  fra¬ 
grant  brier,  they  regale  the  pilgrim  who  keeps 
the  path,  and  they  only  hurt  him  when  he 
tries  to  break  through.  Temperance,  justice, 
truthfulness,  purity  of  speech  and  behavior, 
obedience  to  parents,  mutual  affection,  sancti¬ 
fication  of  the  sabbath,  the  reverent  worship 
of  God,  —  all  these  are  righteous  requirements; 
“  and  in  keeping  them  there  is  great  reward.” 
Happy  he  who  only  knows  the  precept  in  the 
perfume  which  it  sheds,  and  who,  never  having 
“  kicked  against  the  pricks,”  has  never  proved 
the  sharpness  of  its  thorns  !  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

873.  COMMANDMENTS,  Origin  of  the.  An  in¬ 
fidel  of  acute  mind  sought  an  acquaintance 
with  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  and  began  to  read 
at  the  Book  of  Genesis.  When  he  had  reached 
the  ten  commandments,  he  said  to  a  friend, 
“  I  will  tell  you  what  I  used  to  think.  I  sup¬ 
posed  that  Moses  was  the  leader  of  a  horde 
of  banditti ;  that,  having  a  strong  mind,  he 
acquired  great  influence  over  superstitious  peo¬ 
ple  ;  and  that  on  Mount  Sinai  he  played  off 
some  sort  of  fireworks  to  the  amazement  of 
his  ignorant  followers,  who  imagined,  in  their 
mingled  fear  and  superstition,  that  the  exhibi¬ 
tion  was  supernatural.  I  have  been  looking 
into  the  nature  oi  that  law.  I  have  been  trying 
to  see  whether  I  can  add  any  thing  to  it,  or 
take  any  thing  from  it,  so  as  to  make  it  better. 
Sir,  I  cannot.  It  is  perfect.  The  first  com¬ 
mandment  directs  us  to  make  the  Creator  the 
object  of  our  supreme  love  and  reverence. 
That  is  right.  If  he  be  our  Creator,  Preserver, 
and  Supreme  Benefactor,  we  ought  to  treat 
him,  and  none  other,  as  such.  The  second  for¬ 
bids  idolatry.  That  certainly  is  right.  The 
third  forbiils  profanity.  The  fourth  fixes  a 
time  for  religious  worship.  If  there  be  a  God, 
he  ought  surely  to  be  worshipped.  It  is  suit¬ 
able  that  there  should  be  an  outward  homage, 
significant  of  our  inward  regard.  If  God  be 
worshipped,  it  is  proper  that  some  time  should 
be  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  when  all  may 
worship  him  harmoniously,  and  without  inter¬ 
ruption.  One  day  in  seven  is  certainly  not 
too  much,  and  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  too 
little.  The  fifth  defines  the  peculiar  duties 
arising  from  family  relations.  Injuries  to  our 
neighbor  are  then  classified  by  the  moral 
law.  They  are  divided  into  offences  against 
life,  chastity,  property,  and  character ;  and  I 
notice  that  the  greatest  offence  in  each  class  is 
expressly  forbidden.  Thus  the  greatest  injury 
to  life  is  murder ;  to  chastity,  adultery  ;  to  prop- 

I  erty,  theft;  to  character,  perjury.  Now,  the 


118  COMlNlli^lSrr)]NOCN'TS. 


coMMinsrioisr. 


greater  offence  must  include  the  less  of  the 
same  kind.  Murder  must  include  every  injury 
to  life ;  adultery,  every  injury  to  purity ;  and  so 
of  the  rest.  And  the  moral  code  is  closed  and 
perfected  by  a  command  forbidding  every 
improper  desire  in  regard  to  our  neighbors. 
I  have  been  thinking,  Where  did  Moses  get 
that  law  ?  I  have  read  history.  The  Egyptians 
and  the  adjacent  nations  were  idolaters :  so 
were  the  Greeks  and  Romans ;  and  the  wisest 
or  best  Greeks  or  Romans  never  gave  a  code 
of  morals  like  this.  Where  did  Moses  get 
that  law  which  surpasses  the  wisdom  and  philos¬ 
ophy  of  the  most  enlightened  ages  ?  He  lived 
at  a  period  comparatively  barbarous ;  but  he 
has  given  a  law  in  which  the  learning  and 
sagacity  of  all  subsequent  time  can  detect  no 
flaw.  Where  did  he  get  it  ?  He  could  not 
have  soared  so  far  above  his  age  as  to  have 
devised  it  himself.  I  am  satisfied  where  he 
obtained  it.  It  came  down  from  heaven.  I 
am  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  religion  of 
the  Bible.”  The  infidel  (infidel  no  longer) 
remained  to  his  death  a  firm  believer  in  the 
truth  of  Christianity. 

874.  COMMANDMENTS,  Penalty  of  the,  As 
many  worldly  men  deal  with  their  debtors, 
who  will  hardly  let  slip  an  hour  of  the  day, 
but  will  take  advantage  and  forfeiture  of  their 
bonds  and  obligations  without  any  more  delay  ; 
even  so,  if  God  should  deal  as  precisely  with 
us  in  taking  advantage  of  the  bonds  and  for¬ 
feitures  and  penalties  whereinto  we  daily  fall 
by  the  breach  of  his  commandments,  then  our 
estate  would  be  most  miserable.  Catudray. 

875.  COMMANDMENTS,  Reasonable,  There  is 
mention  made  of  one  who  willingly  fetched 
water  near  two  miles  every  day  a  whole  year 
together,  to  pour  upon  a  dry  dead  stick,  at  the 
command  of  a  superior,  when  no  reason  could 
be  given  for  so  doing.  How  ready,  then,  should 
every  one  be  to  do  Gol  service,  to  be  at  the 
command  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  commands 
are  backed  with  reason,  and  whose  precepts 
are  attended  with  encouragements  1  Spencer. 

876.  COMMANDMENTS,  Transgressing  the.  If 

one  man  bestow  upon  another  house  or  land, 
or  some  such  thing,  and,  in  consideration  there¬ 
of,  bindeth  him  to  fulfil  many  conditions, 
whereof  if  he  break  the  least  the  gift  is  void  ; 
even  so  we  may  not  marvel  when  we  hear, 
that,  by  the  breaking  of  one  point  of  one 
commandment,  we  fail  of  perfect  righteous¬ 
ness,  and  are  made  the  heirs  of  everlasting 
damnation.  Cawdray. 

877.  COMMERCE,  Demand  for.  The  Almighty 

has  given  to  one  land  the  fruits  of  Ceres,  and 
to  another  mineral  wealth,  to  the  tropical 
regions  the  sugar-cane  and  the  coffee-tree,  to 
Italy  the  silk-worm  and  the  vine,  to  China  the 
tea-plant,  to  the  frozen  north  its  huge  cetaceans 
and  costly  furs,  that  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  might  be  united  by  the  bonds  of  com¬ 
merce,  and  the  intellectual  powers  of  man 
roused  to  exertion  by  the  stimulus  of  want 
and  the  love  of  gain.  Hartwig. 

878.  COMMUNION,  Benefit  o£  God  is  a 
centre  to  the  soul ;  and,  just  as  in  a  circle, 


what  is  nearest  the  centre  is  subject  to  least 
motion :  so  the  closer  the  soul  is  to  God,  the 
less  the  movement  and  agitation  to  which  it  is 
exposed.  Make  the  experiment  upon  a  level 
area  :  sink  a  staff  into  the  ground,  attach  to  it 
a  line,  and  around  it  as  a  centre  describe  a 
circle  of  considerable  extent;  then  bid  some 
friend  walk  round  that  circle  while  you  do 
the  same  round  another  drawn  at  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  staff.  You  will  find  that  your 
friend  will  have  to  walk  long  and  fast  to 
accomplish  his  task,  but  that  a  few  steps  will 
be  enough  for  yours.  It  is  the  same  with 
the  soul.  The  greater  its  distance  from  God 
and  from  spiritual  and  heavenly  things,  the 
wider  the  circuit  it  will  have  to  make,  the 
faster  it  will  have  to  speed  without  knowing 
why,  and  the  more  will  it  seek,  bub  be  unable 
to  find,  rest.  He,  however,  who  by  devotion 
and  faith,  love  and  resignation,  keeps  as  near 
as  possible  to  God,  finds  that  which  his  heart 
desires.  Gotthold. 

879.  COMMUNION,  with  Christ.  The  king 
dineth  with  his  prisoner,  and  his  spikenard 
casteth  a  smell.  He  hath  led  me  to  such  a 
pitch  and  degree  of  joyful  communion  with 
himself  as  I  never  before  knew.  When  I 
look  back  to  the  things  past,  I  find  myself  to 
have  been  a  child  at  A  B  C,  with  Christ.  Par¬ 
don  me :  I  dare  not  conceal  it  from  you ;  it 
is  as  a  fire  in  my  bowels  in  his  presence  as 
I  speak  it.  Rutherford. 

8§0.  COMMUNION,  Christian.  I  have  seen  a 
heavy  piece  of  solid  iron  hanging  on  another, 
not  welded,  not  linked,  not  glued  to  the  spot; 
and  yet  it  cleaved  with  such  tenacity  as  to  bear 
not  only  its  own  weight,  but  mine  too,  if  I  chose 
to  seize  and  hang  upon  it.  A  wire  charged 
with  an  electric  current  is  in  contact  with  its 
mass,  and  hence  its  adhesion.  Cut  that  wire 
through,  or  remove  it  by  a  hair’s-breadth,  and 
the  piece  drops  dead  to  the  ground,  like  any 
other  unsupported  weight.  A  stream  of  life 
from  the  Lord,  brought  into  contact  with  a  hu¬ 
man  spirit,  keeps  the  spirit  cleaving  to  the 
Lord  so  firmly,  that  no  power  on  earth  or  hell 
can  wrench  the  two  asunder.  From  Christ 
the  mysterious  life-stream  flows,  through  the 
being  of  a  disciple  it  spreads,  and  to  the  Lord 
it  returns  again.  In  that  circle,  the  feeblest 
Christian  is  held  safely ;  but,  if  the  circle  be 
broken,  the  dependent  spirit  instantly  drops  off. 

Arnot. 

881.  COMMUNION,  Close,  The  nearer  the 
moon  draweth  into  conjunction  with  the  sun, 
the  brighter  she  shines  towards  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  ;  so,  the  nearer  the  soul  draws 
into  communion  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  come- 
lier  it  is  in  the  eye  of  the  Spouse,  and  the 
blacker  it  appears  in  the  sight  of  the  world. 
He  that  is  a  precious  Christian  to  the  Lord  is 
a  precious  puritan  to  the  world  ;  he  that  is 
glorious  to  a  heavenly  saint  is  odious  to  an 
earthly  spirit.  But  it  is  a  sign  thou  art  an 
Egyptian,  when  that  cloud  which  is  a  light  to 
an  Israelite  is  darkness  to  thee.  It  is  a  sign 
thou  movest  in  a  terrestrial  orb,  when  thou 
seest  no  lustre  in  such  celestial  lights. 


com3itt:nto:n\ 


COIVAPAJSTIOISTS. 


119 


882.  COMMUNION,  Condition  of.  Birds  cannot 

converse  with  men  unless  they  have  a  rational 
nature  put  into  them ;  nor  can  men  converse 
with  God,  unless,  being  made  new  creatures, 
they  partake  of  the  divine  nature.  Commu¬ 
nion  with  God  is  a  mystery  to  most.  Every  one 
that  hangs  about  the  court  doth  not  speak  with 
the  king ;  all  that  meddle  with  holy  duties 
and,  as  it  were,  hang  about  the  court  of  heaven, 
have  not  communion  with  God  :  it  is  only  the 
new  creature  enjoys  God’s  presence  in  ordi¬ 
nances,  and  sweetly  converses  with  him  as  a 
child  with  a  father.  T.  Watson. 

883.  COMMUNION,  Degrees  of.  Some  value 
the  presence  of  their  Saviour  so  highly,  that 
they  cannot  bear  to  be  at  any  remove  from 
him.  Even  their  work  they  will  bring  up,  and 
do  it  in  the  light  of  his  countenance,  and, 
while  engaged  in  it,  will  be  seen  constantly 
raising  their  eyes  to  him,  as  if  tearful  of 
losing  one  beam  of  his  light.  Others  who, 
to  be  sure,  would  not  be  content  to  live  out 
of  his  presence,  are  yet  less  wholly  absorbed 
by  it  than  these,  and  may  be  seen,  a  little 
farther  off,  engaged  here  and  there  in  their 
various  callings,  their  eyes  generally  upon 
their  work,  but  often  looking  up  for  the  light 
which  they  love.  A  third  class  beyond  these, 
but  yet  within  the  light-giving  rays,  includes 
a  doubtful  multitude,  many  of  whom  are  so 
much  engaged  in  their  worldly  schemes,  that 
they  may  be  seen  standing  sideways  to  Christ, 
looking  mostly  the  other  way,  and  only  now 
and  then  turning  their  faces  towards  the  light. 

Pay  son. 

884.  COMMUNION,  Examples  of.  Bishop  Bur¬ 

net  declares,  that,  having  known  Archbishop 
Leighton  intimately  for  many  years,  he  had 
never  seen  him  in  any  other  temper  than  that 
in  which  he  would  wish  to  live  and  die. 
Hewitson  writes,  “  1  think  I  know  more 
of  Jesus  Christ  than  of  any  earthly  friend.” 
Hence  one  who  knew  him  well  remarked, 
“  One  thing  struck  me  in  Mr.  Hewitson  :  he 
seemed  to  have  no  gaps,  no  intervals,  in  his 
communion  with  God.  I  used  to  feel  when 
with  him,  that  it  was  being  with  one  who  was 
a  vine  watered  every  moment.”  Bowes. 

885.  COMMUNION,  of  Saints.  The  house 
Beautiful  sets  forth  Bunyan’s  realization  of 
the  communion  of  saints.  It  stood  by  the 
roadside.  Watchful  was  the  porter  at  the  door. 
Discretion,  Prudence,  Piety,  and  Charity  talked 
with  Christian  till  supper,  when  their  commu¬ 
nion  was  about  the  Lord  of  the  hill ;  after 
which,  good  Christian  slept  in  the  chamber 
called  Peace,  and  in  the  morning  was  shown 
the  study,  the  armory,  the  Delectable  Moun¬ 
tains,  and  other  rarities  ;  and  went  on  his  way 
rejoicing. 

886.  COMMUNION,  Satisfactory.  The  ltev. 
James  Owen  of  Shrewsbury,  being  asked, 
when  on  his  death-bed.  whether  he  would 
have  some  of  his  friends  sent  for  to  keep  him 
company,  replied,  “  My  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ;  and 
he  that  is  not  satisfied  with  that  company 
doth  not  deserve  it.” 


887.  COMMUNION,  Use  of.  It  is  with  Chris¬ 

tians  as  with  burning  coals.  If  these  are 
scattered  far  apart,  one  after  the  other  is  easily 
extinguished ;  but,  when  collected  together, 
the  fire  of  one  preserves  that  of  the  other,  and 
the  glowing  coals  often  ignite  others  that  lie 
near.  ./.  II.  Francke. 

888.  COMPANIONS,  Corrupting.  Those  who 

willingly  associate  with  the  sinful  are  like 
men  strolling  with  some  trivial  object  through 
a  district  infected  with  fever,  heedless  of  the 
invisible  arrows  of  disease  spreading  through 
the  air  :  or  they  may  be  compared  to  the  River 
Thames,  which  is  a  sweet  and  pretty  river 
enough  near  its  source ;  but  in  the  great  me¬ 
tropolis  it  has  kept  company  with  drains  and 
sewers,  under  the  belief  that  its  current  was 
too  powerful  and  pure  to  be  injured  by  them. 
It  was  meant  that  the  river  should  purify  the 
sewer  ;  but,  instead  of  that,  the  sewer  has  cor¬ 
rupted  the  river.  Union  Magazine. 

889.  A  story  is  told  of  two  parrots  who 
lived  near  to  each  other.  The  one  was  accus¬ 
tomed  to  sing  hymns,  while  the  other  was 
addicted  to  swearing.  The  owner  of  the  latter 
obtained  permission  for  it  to  associate  with 
the  former  in  the  hope  that  its  bad  habit  would 
be  corrected  ;  but  the  opposite  result  ibllowed, 
for  both  learned  to  swear  alike. 

899.  COMPANIONS,  Dangerous.  As  it  is 
madness  to  open  our  doors  to  those  who  bring 
the  plague  which  infecteth  our  bodies,  it  is 
much  greater  madness  to  set  open  our  doors 
to  swearers,  blasphemers,  ribald  talkers,  and 
ungodly  livers,  who  infect  both  soul  and  body. 

Cawdray. 

891.  COMPANIONS,  Evil.  Evil  companions 

are  the  Devil’s  agents,  whom  he  sends  abroad 
into  the  world  to  debauch  virtue  and  to  ad¬ 
vance  his  kingdom ;  and  by  these  ambassadors 
he  effects  more  than  he  could  do  in  his  own 
person.  His  own  shape  and  appearing  would 
fright  rather  than  allure ;  and,  well  as  men 
like  sin,  did  they  see  the  father  of  it,  they 
would  not  be  very  fond  of  being  his  children : 
but  acting  in  the  children  of  disobedience, 
which  are  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood  with  us, 
and  creatures  of  the  same  shape,  and  from 
wliich  we  have  no  aversion,  but  rather,  some 
times,  a  great  affection  to,  the  bait  is  easily 
swallowed.  These  are  his  factors,  and  by 
these  he  draws  men  into  eternal  darkness. 
By  these  he  picks  up  all  the  good  seed  that  is 
sown  in  us,  and  infuses  bad  qualities  into  oui 
better  part.  These  laugh  men  into  destruc¬ 
tion,  and  damn  them  in  kindness.  These 
fawn  men  into  misery,  and  tickle  them  into  an 
eternity  of  torments.  These  turn  religion 
into  jests,  and  make  the  precepts  of  the  gos¬ 
pel  matter  of  raillery.  These  are  true  devils, 
that  delight  in  the  murder  of  souls,  and,  sink¬ 
ing  into  the  bottomless  pit,  pull  down  their 
adherents  with  them.  Anthony  Horneck. 

892.  COMPANIONS,  Influence  of.  It  is  said  to 
be  a  property  of  the  tree-frog,  that  it  acquires 
the  color  of  whatever  it  adheres  to  for  a  short 
time.  Thus,  when  found  on  growing  corn,  it 
is  commonly  of  a  dark  green ;  if  found  ou  tha 


120 


COM3?  .^jsrronsrs . 


COMPAKY. 


■white-oak,  it  has  the  color  peculiar  to  the  tree. 
Just  so  it  is  with  men  :  they  generally  resem¬ 
ble  those  with  whom  they  associate. 

Bib.  Treasury. 

893.  In  the  neighborhood  ot  Swansea,  for 

miles  around,  no  vegetation  exists,  owing  to 
the  smoke  from  the  large  copper-works  there  : 
even  so,  exposure  to  the  influence  of  bad  com¬ 
panions  prevents  man  growing  and  flourishing 
in  the  divine  life.  Rev.  T.  Jones. 

894.  COMPANIONS,  Influence  of  Wicked.  Circe 
is  fabled  to  have  dwell  in  a  palace  embowered 
in  the  iGaeun  Isle.  There  were  flowers,  music, 
and  many  attractions.  Whoever  came  to  her, 
she  by  her  powerful  magic  changed  into  lions, 
tigers,  wolves,  swine,  or  some  of  the  various 
kinds  of  animals,  till  her  grounds  were  thronged 
with  them.  She  first  feasted  her  guests  with 
delicacies,  and  gave  them  wine,  and  then 
touched  them  with  her  wand,  and  transformed 
them.  Such  is  the  influence  of  the  strange 
woman,  of  wine,  or  of  sin  in  any  form. 

895.  COMPANIONS,  Responsibility  for.  Men¬ 

tion  is  made  of  two  travellers  that  walked  to¬ 
gether  to  the  same  city,  whereof  the.  one  was 
wise,  the  other  foolish.  And  when  they  came 
where  two  ways  met,  the  one  broad  and  fair, 
the  other  strait  and  foul,  the  fool  would  needs 
go  the  broader  way  :  but  the  wise  man  told 
him,  though  the  narrow  way  seemed  foul,  yet  it 
was  safe,  and  would  bring  them  to  a  good  lodg¬ 
ing  ;  and  the  other,  seeming  fair,  was  very 
dangerous,  and  brought  them  to  a  desperate 
inn.  Yet  because  the  fool  would  not  yield  to 
any  reason,  but  believed  what  he  saw  with  his 
eyes,  rather  than  what  he  heard  with  his  ears, 
the  wise  man,  for  company’s  sake,  was  con¬ 
tented  to  go  the  worse  way ;  and  being  both 
robbed  by  thieves,  detained  in  their  company, 
and  at  last  apprehended  with  the  robbers,  and 
carried  before  the  magistrate,  these  two  began 
to  accuse  one  another,  and  each  to  excuse  him¬ 
self.  The  wise  man  said,  he  told  his  fellow  the 
dangers  of  that  broad  way ;  and  therefore  he 
only  was  to  be  blamed  because  he  would  not 
yield  unto  his  counsel :  but  the  fool  had  so 
much  wit  to  reply,  that  he  was  a  very  silly 
creature,  and  knew  neither  the  way,  nor  the 
dangers  of  the  way  ;  and  therefore  he  was  to 
be  excused,  and  the  wise  man  to  be  condemned 
because  he  would  follow  such  a  fool’s  counsel. 
Whereupon  the  judge,  having  heard  them  both, 
condemned  them  both,  —  the  fool  because  he 
refused  to  follow  the  counsel  of  the  wise,  and 
the  wise  man  because  he  would  not  forsake 
the  fool’s  company.  Spencer. 

896.  COMPANIONS,  Result  of  Bad.  The  crows, 
one  spring,  began  to  pull  up  a  farmer’s  young 
corn,  which  he  determined  to  prevent.  He 
loaded  his  gun,  and  prepared  to  give  them  a 
warm  reception.  The  farmer  had  a  sociable 
parrot,  who,  discovering  the  crows  pulling  up 
the  corn,  flew  over  and  joined  them.  The 
farmer  detected  the  crows,  but  did  not  see  the 
parrot.  He  fired  among  them,  and  hastened 
to  see  what  execution  he  had  done.  There  lay 
three  dead  crows,  and  his  pet  parrot  with  ruf¬ 
fled  feathers,  and  a  broken  leg.  When  the  bird 


was  taken  home,  the  children  asked,  “  What  did 
it,  papa?  what  hurt  our  pretty  Poll?”  — 
“  Bad  company  1  bad  company  I  ”  answered  the 
parrot  in  a  solemn  voice.  “  Ay  !  that  it  was,” 
said  the  farmer.  “  Poll  was  with  those  wicked 
crows  when  I  fired,  and  received  a  shot  intended 
for  them.  Remember  the  parrot’s  fate,  children : 
beware  of  bad  company.”  With  these  words 
the  farmer  turned  round,  and,  with  the  aid  of 
his  wife,  bandaged  the  broken  leg ;  and  in  a 
few  weeks  the  parrot  was  as  lively  as  ever. 
But  it  never  forgot  its  adventure  in  the  corn¬ 
field  ;  and,  if  ever  the  farmer’s  children  en¬ 
gaged  in  play  with  quarrelsome  companions,  it 
invariably  dispersed  them  with  its  cry,  “  Bad 
company  !  bad  company  !  ” 

897.  COMPANIONS,  Risk  of.  A  man  should 
be  very  well  established  in  faith  and  virtue 
who  attempts  to  reclaim  a  witty  and  agreeable 
profligate ;  otherwise  he  may  become  a  con¬ 
vert,  instead  of  making  one.  Chapelle,  a 
person  of  this  character,  was  met  one  day  in 
the  street  by  his  friend  Boileau,  who  took  the 
opportunity  of  mentioning  to  him  his  habit  of 
drinking,  and  the  consequences  of  it.  Unfor¬ 
tunately,  they  were  just  by  a  tavern.  Chapelie 
only  desired  they  might  step  in  there,  and 
promised  he  would  listen  patiently  and  atten¬ 
tively.  Boileau  consented;  and  the  event  was, 
that,  about  one  in  the  morning,  they  were  car¬ 
ried  home  dead-drunk,  and  in  separate  coaches. 

Bishop  Horne. 

§98.  COMPANY,  Atmosphere  of.  As  in  a  dis¬ 
tempered  and  corrupt  air,  it  is  hard  for  him 
that  hath  a  strong  constitution  to  avoid  sick¬ 
ness  ;  so  it  is  in  evil  company,  in  corrupt  ages 
and  places,  very  hard  to  live  unspotted  from 
the  world.  Cawdray. 

899.  COMPANY,  Choice  of.  No  company  is 
far  preferable  to  bad,  because  we  are  more  apt 
to  catch  the  vices  of  others  than  their  virtues ; 
as  disease  is  far  more  contagious  than  health. 

Colton. 

90®.  COMPANY,  Dangerous.  It  is  better  and 
safer  to  ride  alone  than  to  have  a  thief  s  com¬ 
pany  ;  and  such  is  a  wicked  man,  who  will 
rob  thee  of  precious  time,  if  he  do  thee  no 
more  mischief.  The  Nazarites,  who  might 
drink  no  wine,  were  also  forbidden  to  cut 
grapes  whereof  wine  is  made ;  so  we  must  not 
only  avoid  sin  in  itself,  but  also  the  causes 
and  occasions  thereof,  amongst  which  is  bad 
company.  Spencer. 

901.  COMPANY,  Infectious.  As  one  scabbed 

sheep  infecteth  many  others,  as  a  little  poison 
infecteth  a  great  deal  of  meat  and  drink,  as  a 
few  sick  of  the  plague  may  infect  a  whole 
house  or  town  ;  even  so  the  company  of  the 
wicked  infecteth  the  godly,  because  there  can 
be  no  concord  between  the  sons  of  wisdom 
and  the  sons  of  folly.  Cawdray. 

902.  COMPANY,  Influence  of.  Bad  company 

is  like  a  nail  driven  into  a  post,  which,  after 
the  first  and  second  blow,  may  be  drawn  out 
with  little  difficulty  ;  but,  being  once  driven  up 
to  the  head,  the  pincers  cannot  take  hold  to 
draw  it  out,  but  which  can  only  be  done  by  the 
destruction  of  the  wood.  St.  A  ugustine. 


CORLPAJNTY. 


COMPLAINT. 


121 


903.  COMPANY.  Judged  by.  Pythagoras, 

before  he  admitted  any  one  into  his  school, 
inquired  who  were  his  intimates  ;  justly  con¬ 
cluding  that  they  who  could  choose  immoral 
companions  would  not  be  much  profited  by  his 
instructions.  Dean  Bolton. 

904.  COMPANY,  Law  against  Bad.  An 
ancient  historian,  mentioning  the  law  which 
Charondas  gave  the  Thurians,  says,  “  He  en¬ 
acted  a  law  with  reference  to  an  evil  on  which 
former  lawgivers  had  not  animadverted,  —  that 
of  keeping  bad  company.  As  he  conceived 
that  the  morals  of  the  good  were  sometimes 

uite  ruined  by  their  dissolute  acquaintance, 
lat  vice  was  apt,  like  an  infectious  disease,  to 
spread  itself  and  extend  its  contagion,  he  ex¬ 
pressly  enjoined,  that  none  should  engage  in 
any  intimacy  or  familiarity  with  immoral  per¬ 
sons  ;  appointed  that  an  accusation  might  be 
exhibited  for  keeping  bad  company ;  and  laid 
a  heavy  fine  on  such  as  were  convicted  of  it.” 

Dean  Bolton. 

905.  COMPANY,  Lesson  of.  For  many  years 

of  our  life  we  are  forming  ourselves  upon  what 
we  observe  in  those  about  us.  We  learn  not 
only  their  phrases,  but  their  manners.  The 
civility  and  courtesy,  which,  in  a  well-ordered 
family,  are  constantly  seen  by  its  younger 
members,  cannot  fail  to  influence  their  deport¬ 
ment,  and,  whatever  their  natural  vulgarity 
may  be,  will  dispose  them  to  check  its  appear¬ 
ance.  Let  the  descendant  of  the  meanest, 
cottager  be  placed  from  his  infancy  where  he 
perceives  every  one  mindful  of  decorum,  the 
marks  of  his  extraction  are  soon  obliterated; 
at  least,  his  carriage  does  not  discover  it.  Am  1, 
were  the  heir  of  a  dukedom  to  be  continually 
in  the  kitchen  or  stable,  the  young  lord  would 
soon  be  recognized  only  by  his  clothes  and  title : 
in  other  respects,  he  might  be  taken  for  the  son 
of  a  groom  or  the  scullion.  Dean  Bolton. 

900.  COMPANY,  Memory  of.  What  you  learn 
from  bad  habits  and  in  bad  society  you  will 
never  forget,  and  it  will  be  a  lasting  pang  to 
you.  I  tell  you  in  all  sincerity,  not  as  in  the 
excitement  of  speech,  but  as  I  would  confess 
and  have  confessed  before  God,  I  would  give 
my  right  hand  to-night  if  I  could  forget  that 
which  I  have  learned  in  evil  society ;  if  1 
could  tear  from  my  remembrance  the  scenes 
which  I  have  witnessed,  the  transactions  which 
have  taken  place  before  me.  You  cannot,  1 
believe,  take  away  the  effect  of  a  single  im¬ 
pure  thought  that  has  lodged  and  harbored  in 
the  heart.  You  may  pray  against  it;  and,  by 
God’s  grace,  you  may  conquer  it :  but  it  will, 
through  life,  cause  you  bitterness  and  anguish. 

J.  B.  Gough. 

907.  COMPANY,  Protection  from  Evil.  As  a 
father  will  not  willingly  suffer  his  child  to  come 
into  a  place  where  he  may  be  in  danger,  either 
by  infection  of  the  plague  or  otherwise ;  much 
more  a  Christian  father  is  bound  to  keep  his 
child,  and  the  rest  of  his  family,  from  wicked 
company,  where  their  souls  should  be  hurt  and 
poisoned.  Cawdray. 

90S.  COMPANY,  Religions.  It  is  said  of  Eliot 
the  missionary,  by  one  of  his  friends,  “  I  was 


never  with  him  but  I  got,  or  might  have 
got,  some  good  from  his  company.”  Arch¬ 
bishop  Usher  and  Dr.  Preston  were  very  in¬ 
timate,  and  often  met  to  converse  on  learned 
and  general  subjects:  when  the  archbishop 
used  commonly  to  say,  “Come,  Doctor,  let 
us  have  one  word  about  Christ  before  we 
part.”  Bo  fees. 

909.  COMPARISON,  Influence  of.  A  noble 

man  compares  and  estimates  himself  by  an 
idea  which  is  higher  than  himself,  and  a  mean 
man  by  one  which  is  lower  than  himself.  The 
one  produces  aspiration  ;  the  other,  ambition. 
Ambition  is  the  way  in  which  a  vulgar  man 
aspires.  Beecher. 

910.  COMPASSION,  Duty  of.  Licinius,  one 

of  the  Roman  tribunes,  when  Christians  were 
put  to  the  torture,  forbade  all  the  lookers-on 
to  show  the  least  pity  towards  them ;  threat¬ 
ening  the  same  pains  to  them  that  did  show 
it  which  the  martyrs  then  suffered.  Ilis  mal¬ 
ice  was  greater  than  his  power.  And  this  is 
the  way  Christians  are  to  walk  :  if  they  can¬ 
not  relieve  others  with  their  goods,  yet  what 
can  hinder  their  comfortable  words,  or  their 
prayers  and  tears,  or  their  pity  and  sym¬ 
pathy  ?  Spencer. 

91 1.  COMPASSION,  Legend  of.  One  day,  on 

going  into  the  church,  St.  Giles  found  a  poor 
sick  man  extended  upon  the  pavement,  and 
thereupon  took  off  his  mantle,  and  spread  it  over 
him;  when  the  man  was  immediately  healed. 
This  and  other  miracles  having  attracted  the 
veneration  of  the  people,  St.  Giles  fled  from 
his  country,  and  turned  hermit :  he  wandered 
from  one  solitude  to  another  until  he  came  to  a 
retired  wilderness,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Rhone,  about  twelve  miles  to  the  south  of 
Nismes.  Here  he  dwelt  in  a  cave,  by  the  side 
of  a  clear  spring,  living  upon  the  herbs  and 
fruits  of  the  forest,  and  upon  the  milk  of  a 
hind  which  had  taken  up  its  abode  with  him. 
Now,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  King  of  France 
(or,  according  to  another  legend,  Wamba,  King 
of  the  Goths)  was  hunting  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  ;  and  the  hind,  pursued  by  the  dogs,  fled 
to  the  cavern  of  the  saint,  and  took  refuge  in 
his  arms.  The  hunters  let  fly  an  arrow,  and, 
following  on  the  track,  were  surprised  to  find 
a  venerable  old  man  seated  there,  with  the 
hind  in  his  arms,  which  the  arrow  had  pierced 
through  his  hand.  Thereupon  the  king  and 
his  followers,  perceiving  that  it  was  a  holy 
man,  prostrated  themselves  before  him,  and 
entreated  forgiveness.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

912.  COMPLAINT,  Constant.  Some  people 
are  always  “  out  of  sorts.”  The  weather  is 
always  just  what  they  don’t  want.  I  met  one 
of  these  men  a  while  ago,  a  farmer,  who  raised 
all  manner  of  crops.  It  was  a  wet  day,  and 
I  said,  “  Mr.  Nayling,  this  rain  will  be  fine  for 
your  grass-crop.”  —  “  Yes,  perhaps  ;  but  it  is 
bad  tor  the  corn,  and  will  keep  it  back.  I  don’t 
believe  we  shall  have  a  crop.”  A  few  days 
after  this,  when  the  sun  was  shining  hot,  I 
said,  “Fine  sun  for  your  corn,  sir.”  —  “Yes, 
pretty  fair ;  but  it’s  awful  for  the  rye.  Rye 
wants  cold  weather.”  Again  :  on  a  cold  morn- 


122 


COMPLAINT. 


COTfFESSnsrG  CHRIST. 


ing,  I  met  my  neighoor,  and  said,  “  This  must 
be  capital  for  your  rye,  Mr.  Nayling.”  —  “  Yes ; 
but  it  is  the  very  worst  weather  tor  the  corn 
and  grass.  They  want  heat  to  bring  them 
forward.”  Dr.  Todd. 

913.  COMPLAINT,  Inconsiderate.  O  mourner  I 
say  not  that  thou  art  a  target  tor  all  the  arrows 
of  the  Almighty  ;  take  not  to  thyself  the  pre¬ 
eminence  of  woe  :  for  thy  fellows  have  trodden 
the  valley  too,  and  upon  them  are  the  scars  of 
the  thorns  and  briers  of  the  dreary  pathway. 

Spurgeon. 

914.  COMPLAINT,  Rebuke  of.  At  the  capture 
of  the  redan,  Dunham  Massey,  a  brave  young 
soldier,  fell,  having  his  thigh-bone  shattered 
by  a  musket-ball.  The  wounded  around  were 
groaning,  and  some  even  loudly  crying  out. 
A  voice  called  out,  faintly  at  first,  loudly  after¬ 
ward,  “  Are  you  Queen  Victoria’s  soldiers  ?  ” 
Some  voices  answered,  “  I  am  1  I  am  1  ”  — 
“  Then,”  said  the  gallant  boy,  “  let  us  not 
shame  ourselves ;  let  us  show  those  Russians 
that  we  can  bear  pain,  as  well  as  fight  like 
men.”  There  was  a  silence  as  of  death,  and 
more  than  once  he  had  it  renewed  by  similar 
appeals.  The  unquailing  spirit  of  that  beard¬ 
less  boy  ruled  all  around  him. 

915.  CONCEIT,  Danger  of.  The  vainglorious 

man  looks  upon  himself  through  a  false  glass, 
which  makes  every  thing  seem  fairer  and 
greater  than  it  is ;  and  this  flatulous  humor 
filleth  the  empty  -bladder  of  his  vast  thoughts 
with  so  much  wind  of  pride,  that  he  presumes 
that  Fortune,  who  hath  once  been  his  good 
mistress,  should  ever  be  his  handmaid.  But 
let  him  know  that  the  wings  of  self-conceit, 
wherewith  he  towereth  so  high,  are  but  patched 
and  pieced  up  of  borrowed  feathers,  and  that, 
too,  in  the  soft  wax  of  uncertain  hope,  which, 
in  the  encounter  of  very  small  heat  of  danger, 
will  melt,  and  fail  him  at  his  greatest  need ; 
for  Fortune  deals  with  him  as  the  eagle  with 
the  tortoise,  —  she  carries  him  the  higher,  that 
she  may  break  him  the  easier.  It  would, 
therefore,  be  good  advice,  that,  in  the  midst  of 
his  prosperity,  he  should  think  of  the  world’s 
instability,  and  that  Fortune  is  constant  in 
nothing  but  inconstancy.  Spencer. 

916.  CONCEIT,  in  Religion.  There  are  those 

who  are  self-conceited  in  matters  of  religion ; 
who  are  pure  in  their  own  eyes,  wise  and 
prudent  in  their  own  sight,  yet  are  not  washed 
from  their  filthiness ;  who  stink  in  the  nostrils 
of  all  who  come  near  them,  —  such  as  the  No- 
vatians,  of  whom  St.  Cyrian  saith,  “  They  pro¬ 
nounce  themselves  to  be  pure  gold.  But,  if 
they  be  gold,  it  is  then  that  gold  in  which  the 
sins  of  the  people  of  Israel  are  denoted.”  They 
are  but  golden  calves.  Spencer. 

917.  CONCORD,  Advantage  of.  As  the  stone 
called  tyrrhenus,  being  whole,  swimmeth,  but, 
being  broken,  every  piece  doth  sink ;  so  by 
concord  we  are  sustained  and  held  up,  but  by 
discord  and  strife,  we  come  to  decay  and  ruin. 

Cawdray. 

918.  CONDEMNATION,  Memento  of.  It  was 
the  custom  in  the  primitive  church  for  the 
adult,  who  was  baptized  in  white  robes,  to  leave 


the  robe  as  a  witness  of  his  baptism.  Elpi« 
dophorus  fell  from  the  faith ;  and  the  deacon 
of  the  church  came  and  told  him,  “  O  Elpi- 
dophorus  !  I  will  keep  this  stole  as  a  monument 
against  thee  to  all  eternity.” 

919.  CONDUCT,  Propriety  of.  As  a  captain 
sent  by  his  prince  on  some  great  exploit  is 
accustomed,  when  he  cometh  to  the  place  ap¬ 
pointed,  to  consider  wherefore  he  was  sent,  to 
what  end,  what  to  prosecute,  what  to  perform, 
what  shall  be  required  at  his  hands  by  him 
that  sent  him  thither ;  these  cogitations  shall 
stir  him  up  to  attend  to  that  which  he  came  for, 
and  not  to  employ  himself  in  impertinent 
affairs :  so  every  rational  being  ought  to  ask 
himself  why  and  to  what  end  he  was  created 
of  (Nod,  and  sent  into  this  world  ?  what  to  do  ? 
wherein  to  bestow  his  days  Y  He  shall  find 
that  it  was  for  no  other  cause  only  to  serve 
God  in  a  right  manner  in  this  life.  Cawdray. 

92®.  CONDUCT,  Rule  of.  I  will  govern  my 
life  and  my  thoughts  as  if  the  whole  world 
were  to  see  the  one,  and  to  read  the  other  ;  for 
what  does  it  signify  to  make  any  thing  a  secret 
to  my  neighbor,  when  to  God,  who  is  the 
Searcher  of  hearts,  all  our  privacies  are  open  ? 

Seneca. 

921.  CONFESSING  CHRIST,  Ashamed  of.  A 
minister  in  Brooklyn  was  recently  called  upon 
by  a  business-man,  who  said,  “  I  come,  sir,  to 
inquire  if  Jesus  Christ  will  take  me  into  the 
concern  as  a  silent  partner.”  —  “  Why  do  you 
ask  ?  ”  said  the  minister.  “  Because  I  wish  to 
be  a  member  of  the  firm,  and  do  not  wish  any¬ 
body  to  know  it,”  said  the  man.  The  reply 
was,  “  Christ  takes  no  silent  partners.  The 
firm  must  be  ‘  Jesus  Christ  &  Co. ;  ’  and  the 
names  of  the  ‘  Co.,’  though  they  may  occupy  a 
subordinate  place,  must  all  be  written  out  on 
the  signboard.” 

922.  CONFESSING  CHRIST,  Duty  of,  St.  Au¬ 

gustine,  in  his  Confessions,  relates  an  excellent 
story  of  one  Victorinus,  a  great  man  at  Rome, 
that  had  many  great  friends  that  were  heathens. 
But  it  pleased  God  to  convert  him  to  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion ;  and  he  comes  to  one  Simplicianus, 
and  tells  him  secretly  that  he  was  a  Christian. 
Simplicianus  answers,  “  I  will  not  believe  thee 
to  be  a  Christian  till  I  see  thee  openly  profess 
it  in  the  church.”  •  At  first,  Victorinus  derided 
his  answer,  and  sa:d,  “  What !  do  the  church- 
walls  make  a  Christian  ?  ”  But  afterwards,  re¬ 
membering  that  saying  of  our  Saviour,  “  He  that 
is  ashamed  of  me  before  men,”  &e.,  he  returns 
to  Simplicianus,  and  professeth  himself  openly 
to  be  a  Christian.  Spencer. 

923.  CONFESSING  CHRIST,  from  Gratitude. 
At  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  a  soldier  who 
had  the  artery  of  his  arm  severed  by  a  fragment 
of  a  shell,  and  was  fast  bleeding  to  death,  saw 
a  surgeon  going  to  the  front  for  orders ;  and, 
lifting  his  bleeding  member,  cried,  “  Doctor, 
please  I  ”  The  surgeon  dismounted,  bound  up 
the  vessel,  and  gave  all  possible  relief.  As  he 
started  on,  the  man  said,  “  Doctor,  what  is  your 
name  ?  ”  The  reply  was,  “  No  matter.”  —  “  But, 
doctor,”  said  the  wounded  man,  “  I  want  to 
tell  my  wife  and  children  who  saved  me.” 


CONT'ESSrN’G-  CHRIST. 


CONFESSIONAL. 


123 


924.  CONFESSING-  CHRIST,  Result  of.  A 
chaplain  related  an  incident  of  a  young 
soldier,  who,  on  one  occasion,  had  consulted 
him  upon  a  question  of  Christian  duty.  “  Last 
night,”  said  the  young  man,  “  in  my  barrack, 
before  going  into  bed,  I  knelt  down,  and  prayed 
in  a  low  voice ;  when  suddenly  my  comrades 
began  to  throw  their  boots  at  me,  and  raised  a 
great  laugh.”  —  “  Well,”  replied  the  chaplain  ; 
“  but  suppose  you  defer  your  prayer  till  you 
get  into  bed,  and  then  silently  lift  up  your 
heart  to  God  ?  ”  A  week  or  two  afterwards, 
the  young  soldier  called  again.  “  Well,”  said 
the  chaplain  :  “  you  took  my  advice,  I  suppose  ? 
How  has  it  answered  ?  ”  —  “  Sir,”  he  answered, 
“  I  did  take  your  advice  for  one  or  two  nights : 
but  I  began  to  think  it  looked  rather  like  deny¬ 
ing  .ny  Saviour ;  and  I  once  more  knelt  at  my 
bedside,  and  prayed  in  a  low  whisper,  as  be¬ 
fore.”  —  “And  what  followed  ?  ”  —  “  Not  one  of 
them  laughs  now,  sir  :  the  whole  fifteen  kneel 
and  pray  too.”  “  I  felt  ashamed,”  added  the 
chaplain,  “  of  the  advice  I  had  given  him. 
That  young  man  was  both  wiser  and  bolder 
than  myself.” 

925.  CONFESSION,  Ashamed  of.  The  legend 
says,  that,  a  sinner  being  at  confession,  the  Devil 
appeared,  saying  that  he  came  to  make  restitu¬ 
tion.  Being  asked  what  he  would  restore,  he 
said,  “  Shame  ;  for  it  is  shame  that  I  have  stolen 
from  this  sinner  to  make  him  shameless  in  sin¬ 
ning  ;  and  now  I  have  come  to  restore  it  to 
him,  to  make  him  ashamed  to  confess  his 
sins.” 

926.  CONFESSION,  Comfort  of.  As  a  man 

who  hath  money  to  pay  is  loath  to  part  with  it ; 
but,  when  it  is  once  paid,  he  is  glad  that  it  is 
discharged  :  even  so  men,  before  they  have  con¬ 
fessed  their  sins,  are  unwilling  to  disburthen 
themselves  of  them ;  but,  when  confession  is 
once  made,  they  have  eased  their  hearts,  and 
find  such  comfort  as  they  could  not  before  con¬ 
ceive.  Cawdray. 

927.  CONFESSION,  Nature  of.  He  that  cries 
to  have  sin  taken  away  acknowledgeth  that 
it  lies  upon  him,  —  a  full  confession,  not  of 
many,  but  of  all  sins,  either  actually  com¬ 
mitted,  or  habitually  comprised  in  our  body  of 
sin.  As  he  in  the  comedy  said  that  he  had 
invited  two  guests  to  dinner,  Philocrates  and 
Philocrates,  a  single  man,  but  a  double  eater ; 
so,  in  examination  of  ourselves,  we  shall  every 
one  find  sins  enough  in  himself  to  denominate 
him  a  double  and  a  treble  sinner,  —  a  free 
Confession,  not,  as  Pharaoh’s,  extorted  upon 
the  rack ;  nor,  as  that  of  Judas,  squeezed 
out  with  anguish  and  horror ;  but  ingenuous 
and  penitent,  arising  from  the  purpose  of  a 
pious  heart,  that  cometh  like  water  out  of  a 
spring,  with  voluntary  freeness,  not  like  water 
out  of  a  still,  which  is  forced  with  fire. 

Bp.  Reynolds. 

928.  CONFESSION,  Plea  of.  As  beggars,  if 
they  have  any  good  thing,  conceal  and  hide  it, 
and  only  show  their  rags  and  sores,  whereby 
they  may  move  beholders  to  pity  them ;  even 
so  it  behooveth  us  not  to  boast  our  good  deeds 
before  God,  as  the  Pharisee  did,  but  to  confess 


our  own  evil  deeds,  if  we  will  provoke  the 
Lord’s  mercy  towards  us,  as  the  publican  did. 

Cawdray. 

929.  CONFESSION,  Reason  for.  If  I  am 

working  beside  a  man,  and  I  see  that  he  tries 
to  shirk  and  shift  his  labor  upon  me,  I  am 
angry  with  him.  But  if  he  says  to  me,  “  I  am 
wounded,  and  cannot  work  ;  ”  or,  “  I  am  lame,” 
or  “  sick,”  —  then  the  thought  comes  to  me  at 
once,  “  You  shall  not  work  :  I  will  help  you.” 
And  so,  if  a  man  says  to  us,  “  I  know  I  did 
wrong,  but  I  am  weak ;  blame  me  as  little  as 
you  can,  but  help  me  as  much  as  you  can,”  — 
that  very  confession  disarms  us,  and  we  think 
better  of  him  than  we  did  before.  Therefore 
it  is  that  God  so  exhorts  us  to  confess  our  sins 
to  him.  Beecher. 

930.  CONFESSION,  Repugnance  to.  It  is  said 
of  the  elephant,  that,  before  he  drinks  in  the 
river,  he  troubles  the  water  with  his  feet,  that 
he  may  not  see  his  own  deformity ;  and  it  is 
well  for  the  old  not  to  mind  the  looking-glass, 
lest  they  behold  nothing  but  hollow  eyes,  pale 
cheeks,  and  a  wrinkled  front,  —  the  ruins  of  a 
more  beautiful  visage.  Thus  it  is  that  men  by 
nature  are  hardly  drawn  to  the  confession  of 
their  sins,  but  every  man  is  ready  to  hide  his 
sins  by  excusing  them,  with  Aaron  ;  by  color¬ 
ing  them  with  fair  pretences,  as  did  the  Jews  ; 
by  laying  them  on  others,  as  Adam  did ;  or  by 
denying  them,  with  Solomon’s  harlots. 

*  Spencer. 

931.  CONFESSIONAL,  Folly  of  the  Romish. 
Suppose  an  eminent  physician  should  visit  a 
hospital  once  a  week,  and  that  he  should  re¬ 
quire  each  patient  to  come  before  him  with  a 
correct  catalogue  and  description  of  all  his 
ailments,  —  every  “  wound  and  bruise  and 
putrefying  sore  ”  mentioned,  with  all  the 
changes  lor  the  worse  they  have  undergone 
during  the  week ;  suppose  him  to  require  a 
description  also  of  all  the  internal  ailments 
from  each,  the  pain,  and  the  sinking,  and  the 
fever,  and  the  sickness,  the  state,  in  short,  of 
every  separate  organ  as  far  as  each  knows, 
believes,  or  imagines  ;  then  suppose  that  he 
probes  every  wound  afresh,  stays  the  incipient 
healing,  and,  on  departing,  leaves  the  injunc¬ 
tion  that  every  diseased  man  and  woman, 
yes,  and  child,  shall  direct  their  attention  and 
care  more  narrowly  than  ever  to  their  wounds 
until  the  period  of  his  return  ;  and  suppose, 
that  to  help  them  in  this,  and  in  the  process 
of  recovery,  he  hangs  a  weight  upon  each, 
which  he  calls  a  medical  penance,  to  stay  the 
progress  of  corruption,  and  so  takes  his  depar¬ 
ture.  A  very  cheerful  time  these  poor  crea¬ 
tures  would  have  1  Why,  it  would  be  better  far 
for  them  never  to  see  his  face,  and  to  have 
sent  in  to  them  instead  the  most  ignorant  man 
that  could  be  found  on  the  street,  if  only  he 
had  a  sunny  face  and  a  happy  disposition  ;  if 
only  he  would  sit  and  talk  to  them  a  little  of 
fields  and  flowers  and  children  and  human 
homes.  There  is  really  no  exaggeration  in 
this  analogy.  You  know  how  to  apply  it. 
The  call  of  a  priest  to  his  devotees  to  come  to 
the  confessional  is  a  call  to  a  spiritually  sick  soul 


124 


CONEESSIONAL. 


CONFIDENCE. 


to  nourish  and  perpetuate  its  own  disease.  At 
best,  it  is  visiting  a  prisoner  in  the  prison-house 
to  condole  with  him,  rather  than  to  take  him 
by  the  hand,  and  lead  him  out  into  the  light 
oi'  open  day.  lieu.  A.  Raleigh. 

932.  CONFESSIONAL,  Romish.  It  is  men¬ 
tioned  in  a  fable,  how  the  wolf,  the  fox,  and 
the  ass  went  to  shrift  together  to  do  penance. 
The  wolf  confesseth  to  the  fox,  who  easily 
absolveth  him ;  the  fox  doth  the  like  to  the 
wolf,  and  receiveth  the  like  favor ;  after  this, 
the  ass  comes  to  confession,  and  his  fault  was, 
that,  being  hungry,  he  had  taken  one  straw 
from  the  sheaf  of  a  pilgrim  travelling  to  Rome, 
whereof  he  was  heartily  penitent :  but  that 
would  not  serve,  the  law  was  executed  severely 
upon  him ;  he  was  slain  and  devoured.  By 
the  wolf  is  meant  the  pope ;  by  the  fox,  his 
cardinals,  Jesuits,  and  priests.  These  quickly 
absolve  one  another,  how  heinous  soever  their 
offences  are ;  but  when  the  poor  ass,  that  is 
the  Romish-ridden  laity,  come  to  shrift,  though 
his  offence  be  not  the  weight  and  worth  of  a 
straw,  yet  on  his  back  shall  the  rigor  of  the 
law  be  laid  :  he  shall  be  sure  to  pay  for  all. 

Spencer. 

933.  CONFIDENCE,  Basis  of.  In  the  midst 
of  a  tumultuous  sea,  the  nodes  of  the  compass 
remain  immovable,  because  they  govern  them¬ 
selves  not  according  to  the  winds,  but  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  influence  of  the  heavens ;  and  so 
the  faith  of  the  faithful  remaineth  firm  amongst 
the  rude  agitations  and  distracted  variations 
of  the  world,  because  it  governeth  itself  not 
according  to  the  instability  of  the  affairs  of 
this  world,  but  according  to  the  promises  of 
God,  which  are  from  all  eternity.  Spencer. 

931.  CONFIDENCE,  Challenge  of.  “ Athana¬ 
sius  contra  mundum  :  ”  Athanasius  against  the 
world. 

935.  CONFIDENCE,  Christian.  A  soldier  lay 
dying  in  the  hospital,  in  terrible  agony.  A 
visitor  asked  him,  “  What  church  are  you  of?  ” 
—  “  Of  the  church  of  Christ,”  he  replied.  “  I 
mean  of  what  persuasion  are  you  ?  ”  —  “  Persua¬ 
sion,”  said  the  dying  man,  as  his  eyes  looked 
heavenward,  beaming  with  love  to  the  Sa¬ 
viour,  —  “I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death, 
nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 
nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature, 
shall  be  able  to  separate  me  from  the  love  of 
God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.” 

936.  CONFIDENCE,  in  Darkness,  Though  the 

mariner  sees  not  the  pole-star,  yet  the  needle 
of  the  compass  which  points  to  it  tells  him 
which  way  he  sails ;  thus  the  heart  that  is 
touched  with  the  loadstone  of  divine  love, 
trembling  with  godly  fear,  and  yet  still  looking 
towards  God  by  fixed  believing,  interprets  the 
fear  by  the  love  in  the  fear,  and  tells  the  soul 
that  its  course  is  heavenward,  towards  the 
haven  of  eternal  rest.  Leighton. 

937.  CONFIDENCE,  Example  o£  M.  Legouve, 
of  the  French  Academy,  tells  this  story  of  his 
body-servant  in  Paris.  Some  years  ago,  he 
let  it  be  known  to  his  baker  that  he  wanted 
a  body-servant.  He  received  fifty  applications 


a  day,  none  of  which  suited.  One  morning, 
while  hard  at  work  in  his  study  (it  was  about 
five  o’clock,  in  the  winter),  somebody  knocked 
at  the  door.  He  opened  it.  “  I  am  told  that 
you  want  a  confidential  servant,  sir.”  —  “  Yes  ; 
and  you  think  you  are  the  one  I  want:  you 
have  firstrate  recommendations,  and  lived,  I 
dare  say,  ten  years  in  your  last  place.”  — “  No, 
sir  :  I  am  just  out  of  jail.”  You  may  imagine 
the  astonishment  of  Legouve.  “  Just  out  of 
jail?”  —  “Yes,  sir.  I  loved  a  woman  who 
required  money.  She  pressed  me  every  day 
to  give  her  more  money.  I  gave  her  all  I 
earned  honestly  :  ’twas  not  enough.  1  thieved 
to  gratify  her  covetousness.  I  was  arrested, 
tried,  convicted,  and  sent  to  the  penitentiary 
for  three  years,  which  expired  last  Saturday.” 
— -  “  Do  you  think  that  a  recommendation  to  a 
place  of  confidential  servant?”  —  “Yes,  sir. 
A  man  who  loses  his  character  in  an  hour  of 
folly  will  be  on  his  guard  against  tempta¬ 
tion,  and  will  strive  to  regain  his  reputation. 
Besides,  1  know,  that,  at  heart,  I  am  an  honest 
man.”  There  was  in  the  fellow’s  tone  such  an 
honest  accent,  that  Legouve  took  him  at  once, 
and  has  never  since  repented  it. 

93§.  CONFIDENCE,  from  God's  Omnipresenoe. 
Bishop  Latimer,  having,  in  a  sermon  at  court 
in  Henry  the  Eighth’s  days,  much  displeased 
the  king,  was  commanded  next  Sunday  after 
to  preach  again,  and  make  his  recantation. 
He  prefaced  his  sermon  with  a  kind  of  dia¬ 
logue  :  “  Hugh  Latimer,  dost  thou  know  to 
whom  thou  art  this  day  to  speak  ?  To  the 
high  and  mighty  monarch,  the  king’s  most 
excellent  majesty,  that  can  take  away  thy  life 
if  thou  offend  ;  therefore  take  heed  how  thou 
speak  a  word  that  may  displease.”  But,  as  if 
recalling  himself,  “  Hugh,  Hugh,”  said  he, 
“  dost  know  from  whence  thou  comest,  upon 
whose  message  thou  art  sent,  and  who  it  is 
that  is  present  with  thee,  and  beholdeth  all 
thy  ways  ?  even  the  great  and  mighty  God, 
who  is  able  to  cast  both  body  and  soul  into 
hell  forever;  therefore  look  about  thee,  and 
be  sure  that  thou  deliver  thy  message  faith¬ 
fully.”  What  he  had  delivered  the  Sunday 
before,  he  confirmed  and  urged  with  more 
vehemency  than  ever.  The  court  was  full  of 
expectation  what  would  be  the  issue  of  the 
matter.  After  dinner,  the  king  called  for 
Latimer,  and  asked  him  how  he  durst  be 
so  bold  as  to  preach  after  that  manner.  He 
answered,  that  duty  to  God  and  his  prince 
had  enforced  him  thereunto  ;  and,  now  he  had 
discharged  his  conscience  and  duty  both  in 
what  he  had  spoken,  his  life  was  in  his  majesty’s 
hands.  Upon  this,  the  king  rose  from  his 
seat,  and,  taking  the  good  man  from  off  his 
knees,  embraced  him  in  his  arms,  saying,  he 
blessed  God  that  he  had  a  man  in  his  king¬ 
dom  that  durst  deal  so  plainly  and  faithfully 
with  him.  Spencer. 

939.  CONFIDENCE,  Ground  of.  There  is  a 
story  of  a  young  man  who  was  at  sea  in  a 
raging  tempest,  and,  when  all  the  passen- 
ge»s  were  at  their  wits’  end  for  fear,  he  only 
was  merry  ;  and,  when  he  was  asked  the  reason 


COINTTTDKlSrCE. 


C03STSCIIC1VCE. 


125 


of  his  mirth,  he  answered,  that  the  pilot  of 
the  ship  was  his  father,  and  he  knew  his  father 
would  have  a  care  of  him.  The  great  and  wise 
God,  he  is  our  pilot,  he  sits  at  the  stern  ;  and 
though  the  ship  of  the  Church  or  State  be  in  a 
sinking  condition,  yet  be  of  good  comfort,  our 
Pilot  will  have  a  care  of  us.  Spencer. 

9-10.  CONFIDENCE,  Influence  of.  Mr.  Pills- 
bury,  warden  of  the  State  Prison  in  Connecti¬ 
cut,  once  received  into  the  prison  a  man  of 
gigantic  stature,  whose  crimes  had  for  seven¬ 
teen  years  made  him  the  terror  of  the  country. 
He  told  the  criminal,  when  he  came,  he  hoped 
he  would  not  repeat  the  attempts  to  escape, 
which  he  had  made  elsewhere.  It  will  be 
best,”  said  he,  “  that  you  and  I  should  treat 
each  other  as  well  as  we  can.  I  will  make  you 
as  comfortable  as  I  possibly  can,  and  I  shall  be 
anxious  to  be  your  friend  ;  and  I  hope  you  will 
not  get  me  into  difficulty  on  your  account. 
There  is  a  cell  intended  for  solitary  confine¬ 
ment  ;  but  we  have  never  used  it,  and  I  should 
be  sorry  ever  to  have  to  turn  the  key  upon 
anybody  in  it.  You  may  range  the  place  as 
freely  as  I  do  :  if  you  trust  me,  I  will  trust  you.” 
The  man  was  sulky,  and  for  six  weeks  showed 
only  gradual  symptoms  of  softening  under  the 
opera  tion  of  Mr.  Pillsbury’s  cheerful  confidence. 
At  length,  information  was  brought  of  the 
man’s  intention  to  break  the  prison.  The 
warden  called  him,  and  taxed  him  with  it : 
the  man  preserved  a  gloomy  silence.  He  was 
told  it  was  now  necessary  for  him  to  be  locked 
in  the  solitary  cell,  and  was  desired  to  follow 
the  warden,  who  went  first,  carrying  a  lamp  in 
one  hand,  and  a  key  in  the  other.  In  the  nar¬ 
rowest  part  of  the  passage,  Mr.  Pillsbury,  a 
small,  light  man,  turned  round,  and  looked  in 
the  face  of  the  stout  criminal.  “  Now,”  said 
he,  “  I  ask  whether  you  have  treated  me  as  I 
deserve  ?  I  have  done  every  thing  I  could  to 
make  you  happy.  I  have  trusted  you  ;  but  you 
have  never  given  me  the  least  confidence  in 
return,  and  have  even  planned  to  get  me  into 
difficulty.  Is  this  kind  ?  And  yet  I  cannot 
bear  to  iock  you  up.  If  I  had  the  least  sign 
that  you  cared  for  me”  —  The  man  burst  into 
tears.  “  Sir,”  said  he,  “  I  have  been  a  very 
demon  these  seventeen  years ;  but  you  treat 
me  like  a  man.”  —  “  Come  let  us  go  back,”  said 
the  warden.  The  convict  had  free  range  of 
the  prison  as  before ;  and  from  that  hour  he 
began  to  open  his  heart  to  the  warden,  and 
cheerfully  fulfilled  his  whole  term  of  imprison¬ 
ment. 

911.  CONFIDENCE,  Misplaced.  A  country¬ 
man  who  was  riding  with  an  unknown  traveller 
over  a  dangerous  plain,  said,  “  This  place  is 
infamous  for  robbery  v  but  for  my  own  part, 
though  often  riding  over  it  early  and  late,  I 
never  saw  any  thing  worse  than  myself.”  — 
“  In  good  time,”  replied  the  other ;  and  then 
demanded  his  purse,  and  robbed  him. 

942.  CONFLICT,  Close.  At  a  celebrated 
battle,  there  was  one  position  from  which  the 
enemy,  after  suffering  defeat  in  every  other 
part  of  the  field,  kept  up  an  unabated  fire. 
There  a  huge  twenty-four-pounder  vomited 


forth  galling  and  continuous  discharges ;  nor 
could  our  artillery  nor  musketry  nor  riflemen 
silence  it.  “  That  gun,”  said  the  commanding 
olficer,  addressing  the  men  of  two  regiments, 
“  must  be  taken  by  the  bayonet.  I  must  have 
it ;  ”  adding,  as  he  placed  himself  at  their 
head,  “No  firing,  and  recollect  that  I  am  with 
you.”  There  needed  no  more.  They  advanced ; 
and  in  a  short  time  they  had  taken  the  gun 
and  the  position.  Let  the  Church  go  forth  at 
the  command  of  her  glorious  Head,  and  there 
is  no  position  and  weapon  of  the  enemy  but 
shall  yield  before  their  united  assaults. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

943.  CONFLICT,  Needful.  Jonathan  and  his 

armor-bearer,  marching  against  the  Philistines, 
passed  between  two  rocks,  —  the  one  called 
Bozez,  signifying  “  dirty ;  ”  the  other  Seneh, 
meaning  “  thorny,  a  hard  passage.”  But  on  they 
went,  through  thick  and  thin,  and  at  last  gained 
the  victory.  The  Israelites  were  first  brought 
to  the  bitter  waters  of  Marah  before  they  might 
taste  the  fountains  of  milk  and  honey  of 
Canaan.  In  vain  shall  any  man  expect  the 
river  of  God’s  pleasures  belore  he  hath  pledged 
Christ  in  the  cup  of  bitterness.  There  is  but 
one  way,  one  door,  one  passage,  to  heaven,  and 
that  a  strait  one,  through  which  we  pass  with 
much  pressure  and  tugging;  having  our  super¬ 
fluous  rags  torn  off  from  us  in  the  crowd  of 
this  world.  He  that  will  be  knighted  must 
kneel  for  it,  and  he  that  will  enter  at  the  strait 
gate  must  crowd  for  it.  Spencer. 

914.  CONFLICTS,  Christian.  A  Christian  is 
often  tossed  and  shaken,  yet  is  as  Mount  Sion; 
lie  is  a  serpent  and  a  dove,  a  lamb  and  a  lion, 
a  reed  and  a  cedar.  He  is  sometimes  so 
troubled,  that  he  thinks  nothing  to  be  true 
in  religion  ;  yet  if  lie  did  think  so  he  could 
not  at  all  be  troubled.  He  thinks,  sometimes, 
that  God  hath  no  mercy  for  him,  yet  resolves 
to  die  in  pursuit  of  it.  He  believes,  like  Abra¬ 
ham,  against  hope,  and  though  he  cannot 
answer  God’s  logic,  yet.,  with  the  woman  of 
Canaan,  he  hopes  to  prevail  with  the  rhetoric 
of  importunity.  Lord  Bacon. 

944.  CONFLICTS,  Satanic.  As  the  smith  doth 

not  make  the  hot  coals  that  be  in  the  forge, 
but  bloweth  the  fire  with  his  bellows,  and  thus 
the  coals  are  kindled,  and  made  hot ;  so  the 
Devil  doth  blow  and  inflame  those  dangerous 
and  wicked  cogitations  which  are  conceived  in 
our  hearts  and  minds,  with  the  bellows  of 
manifold  temptations.  Laboring  to  kindle  the 
fire  of  all  iniquity,  lie  ministereth  to  all  our 
wicked  and  damnable  purposes  ;  for  the  heart 
of  man  is  like  unto  a  smith’s  forge,  his  evil 
cogitations  are  burning  coals,  and  he  that  doth 
blow  the  bellows  to  make  them  burn  up,  and 
consume  both  our  souls  an  1  our  bodies,  is  the 
Devil,  that  ancient  enemy  of  our  happiness  and 
sal  vation.  L'awdray. 

910.  CONSCIENCE,  An  Accusing.  When  Pro¬ 
fessor  Webster  was  awaiting  his  trial  for  murder, 
he  is  said  to  have  complained  of  his  fellow 
prisoners  for  insulting  him  through  the  walls 
of  his  cell,  and  screaming  to  him,  “  You  are  a 
bloody  man.”  On  examination,  the  charge 


126 


CONSCIENCE. 


CONSCIENCE. 


was  found  wholly  groundless.  The  accusing 
voices  were  imaginary,  —  merely  the  echoes 
of  a  guilty  conscience. 

947.  CONSCIENCE,  Alarmed.  Richard  Crown- 
inshield  was  a  murderer.  As  long  as  he 
thought  the  evidence  of  his  crime  was  con¬ 
cealed,  he  was  cheerful  and  confident,  even  in 
prison.  He  was  a  very  desperate,  hardened, 
strong-minded,  remorseless  villain.  lie  was 
the  leader  of  a  knot  of  infidels,  who  jeered  at 
all  sacred  things,  and  taught  young  men  in 
habits  of  abandoned  wickedness.  There  were 
accessories  to  his  crime,  not  one  of  whom,  as 
he  thought,  was  suspected  ;  and  he  knew,  that, 
so  long  as  that  was  the  case,  not  a  link  of  con¬ 
demning  evidence  could  be  obtained  against 
him.  At  length  a  letter,  intercepted  in  the 
post-office,  led  to  the  arrest  of  one  of  his  ac¬ 
complices.  That  arrested  man  was  carried 
into  the  jail  at  midnight ;  but  so  profound 
was  the  sleep  of  that  hardened  murderer,  that 
all  the  clanging  of  the  bolts  and  bars  of  the 

rison,  at  that  unusual  hour,  did  not  wake 

im.  The  next  morning,  the  sheriff  came  into 
his  cell,  and  entered  into  familiar  conversation 
with  him.  He  was  standing  calmly  at  the 
foot  of  his  truckle-bed.  “  Well,”  said  the 
sheriff,  “  did  you  hear  the  noise  last  night ?  ” 
—  “Noise?  no.  What  noise?  I  slept  well.”  — 
“  Why,  did  you  not  know  that  they  had  ar¬ 
rested  Frank  Knapp,  and  brought  him  here 
last  night  at  midnight  ?  ”  The  strong,  guilty 
man  put  his  hand  to  the  wall  to  steady  himself, 
but  unable  to  conceal  his  feelings,  or  to  re¬ 
cover  from  the  shock,  fell  back  senseless  on 
the  bed.  The  recoil,  the  scorpion  sting,  had 
reached  him  at  last;  his  sin  had  found  him 
out ;  the  sword  had  pierced  through  the  rocky 
casement  around  the  conscience  of  the  des¬ 
perate  criminal,  and  was  grinding  in  his  soul. 
What  passed  that  night  none  can  tell,  nor  how 
long  the  man  endured  the  terrible  conflict  with 
conscience  and  despair ;  but,  when  the  sheriff 
entered  his  cell  next  morning,  he  was  hanging 
dead,  self-murdered.  Such  is  the  power  of 
sudden  overwhelming  evidence,  bringing  the 
sense  as  well  as  the  proof  of  guilt  into  the 
soul.  Men  would  flee  from  it,  if  they  could,  at 
the  last  day.  If  there  were  still  a  third  world 
into  which  souls  could  plunge  out  of  the  eter¬ 
nal  world  by  a  second  self-murder,  they  would 
do  it.  Dr.  Cheever. 

948.  CONSCIENCE,  Analogue  of.  There  is  a 
story  of  a  certain  prince  who  had  a  wonderful 
ring,  which  pricked  his  finger  whenever  he 
was  doing  any  thing  wrong.  It  was  given  him 
to  help  him  always  to  keep  upright  and  good  ; 
and  he  was  told,  that,  so  long  as  he  wore  it,  he 
would  prosper.  At  first,  he  set  great  store 
by  this  ring  ;  but  in  time  he  began  to  be  vexed 
at  being  so  often  checked  by  its  pricking,  and 
so  often  stopped  from  doing  what  he  wished. 
One  day,  he  had  set  his  heart  upon  something 
that  he  was  yet  well  aware  was  wrong  ;  and  he 
was  about  to  do  it  in  spite  of  the  warning  of 
the  ring :  but  it  pricked  him  so  sharply,  that 
he  drew  it  off  his  finger  in  a  passion,  and  threw 
it  away;  and  from  that  moment  he  fell  into 


bad  ways  and  misfortunes,  and  came  at  last  to 
a  very  sad  end. 

949.  CONSCIENCE,  Apprehension  of.  An  ill 

conscience,  when  it  should  be  most  comforting, 
then  it  is  most  terrible.  At  the  hour  of  death, 
we  should  have  most  comfort,  if  we  had  any 
wisdom.  When  earthly  comforts  shall  be 
taken  from  us,  and  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
then  an  ill  conscience,  look  where  it  will,  it 
hath  a  matter  of  terror.  If  it  look  up,  there  is 
the  Judge  armed  with  vengeance ;  if  it  look 
beneath,  there  is  hell  ready  to  swallow  it ;  if  it 
look  on  the  one  side,  there  is  the  Devil  accus¬ 
ing  and  helping  conscience  ;  if  it  look  round 
about,  there  is  heaven  and  earth,  and  all  on 
fire ;  and  within  there  is  hell.  Where  shall 
the  sinner  and  ungodly  appear  ?  Sibbes. 

950.  CONSCIENCE,  Approbation  of.  One  replied 
to  unjust  accusations  thus,  “I  will  rest  hence¬ 
forward  in  peace,  in  the  house  of  my  own  con¬ 
science  ;  and,  if  I  do  any  good  deeds,  it  is  no 
matter  who  knows  them  ;  if  bad,  knowing  them 
myself,  it  is  no  matter  from  whom  I  hide  them  ; 
they  will  be  recorded  before  that  Judge  from 
whose  presence  I  cannot  flee.  If  all  the  world 
applaud  me,  and  he  accuse  me,  their  praise  is 
in  vain.” 

951.  CONSCIENCE,  Awakened.  King  Rich¬ 
ard  I.  of  England,  on  his  way  to  the  Holy 
Land,  was  taken  captive,  and  thrown  into  an 
unknown  dungeon.  He  had  a  favorite  minstrel 
named  Blondel,  who  knew  only  that  his  master 
was  imprisoned  somewhere  in  a  castle  dungeon 
among  the  mountain-forests.  From  one  to 
another  of  these  he  travelled,  playing  some  well- 
known  airs  before  the  dungeon-bars,  till  at  last 
his  music  without  was  answered  by  the  voice 
of  his  king  within.  This  discovery  led  to  Rich¬ 
ard’s  return  from  exile,  and  restoration  to 
his  throne.  “  Thus  the  spirit  of  man  sits  like 
a  captive  king  in  a  dungeon,  until  the  voice  of 
divine  music  wakes  echoes  hitherto  unknown 
along  his  prison-house,  and  stirs  him  with  new 
knowledge,  new  consciousness.” 

952.  CONSCIENCE,  Cheating.  When  Lully, 
the  celebrated  composer,  was  once  dangerously 
ill,  his  friends  sent  for  a  confessor  ;  who  find¬ 
ing  his  situation  critical,  and  his  mind  much 
agitated  and  alarmed,  told  him  there  was  only 
one  way  by  which  he  could  obtain  absolution, 
and  that  was  by  burning  all  that  he  had  com¬ 
posed  of  the  last  opera  on  which  he  was  em¬ 
ployed.  Lully  pointed  to  a  drawer,  in  which 
lay  a  draught  of  Achilles  and  Polyxena.  It  was 
taken  out  and  burnt ;  and  the  confessor  went 
away  satisfied.  Lully  grew  better,  and  was 
thought  to  be  out  of  danger.  A  nobleman, 
who  was  his  patron,  calling  to  see  him,  was 
informed  of  the  sacrifice  which  he  had  made. 
“  And  so,”  said  he,  “  you  have  burnt  youi 
opera ;  and  you  are  really  such  a  blockhead  as 
to  believe  in  the  absurdities  of  a  monk  ?  ”  — 
“  Stop,  my  friend,  stop,”  said  Lully,  whisper¬ 
ing  in  his  ear,  “  I  knew  very  well  what  I  was 
about,  —  I  have  another  copy.”  Unhappily, 
this  pleasantry  was  followed  by  a  relapse ;  and 
the  prospect  of  inevitable  death  threw  Lully 
into  such  pangs  of  remorse,  that  he  submitted 


CONSCIENCE. 


CONSCIENCE. 


127 


to  do  penance  for  his  transgression  ;  and  died, 
binging  to  an  air  ot’  his  own  composing,  “  II 
faut  mourir,  pecheur  !  ilfautmourir  !  ”  Percy. 

953.  CONSCIENCE,  Comfort  of.  The  testimo¬ 
ny  of  a  good  conscience  will  make  the  comlorts 
of  heaven  descend  upon  man’s  ’weary  head, 
like  a  refreshing  dew  or  shower  upon  a  parched 
land;  it  will  give  him  lively  earnests  and 
secret  anticipations  of  approaching  joy  ;  it  will 
bid  his  soul  go  out  of  the  body  undauntedly, 
and  lift  up  his  head  with  confidence  before 
saints  and  angels.  The  comfort  which  it  con¬ 
veys  is  greater  than  the  capacities  of  mortality 
can  appreciate,  mighty  and  unspeakable,  and 
not  to  be  understood  till  it  is  felt.  Dr.  South. 

951.  CONSCIENCE.  Condemning.  Where  is 
there  a  power  to  be  found  comparable  to  that 
of  an  accusing  conscience,  which,  with  its  con¬ 
demning  voice,  fills  even  heroes  with  dismay, 
who  otherwise  would  not  have  trembled  before 
thousands;  and,  stronger  than  death,  deprives 
mighty  men,  who  are  accustomed  to  fear  noth¬ 
ing  and  no  one,  and  even  to  look  death  in  the 
face,  of  the  brazen  armor  of  their  courage, 
and  their  confidence  in  a  moment ;  which 
is  able  to  make  us  feel  the  validity  of  its 
sentence,  even  though  the  whole  world  should 
deny  it,  and  applaud  and  eulogize  our  names 
in  opposition  to  it;  and  which  transmutes 
into  gall  that  which  is  the  most  valuable  to 
us  in  the  world,  if  we  are  obliged  to  enjoy  it 
under  the  thunder  of  its  reproaches  ? 

Krummacher. 

955.  CONSCIENCE,  Cure  of.  An  evil  con¬ 
science  is  like  the  raging  sea,  which  can  only 
be  calmed  by  the  sign  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 
It  is  a  gnawing  worm  in  the  bones,  for  the 
removal  of  which,  nothing  less  is  required 
than  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Krummacher. 

956.  CONSCIENCE,  Defective.  Some  con¬ 
sciences  are  like  the  Achilles  of  Greek  fable, 
who  was  only  vulnerable  in  one  spot,  and  that 
the  heel ;  or  like  spiders’  webs,  which  catch 
harmless  flies,  and  are  broken  through  by 
hornets  and  bats. 

957.  CONSCIENCE,  Destroying.  Take  a  shield, 

and  cast  a  spear  upon  it,  and  it  will  leave  in  it 
one  great  dent ;  prick  it  all  over  with  a  mil¬ 
lion  little  needle-shafts,  and  they  will  take  the 
polish  from  it  far  more  than  the  piercing  of 
the  spear :  so  it  is  not  so  much  the  great  sins 
which  take  the  freshness  from  our  consciences, 
as  the  numberless  petty  faults  which  we  are  all 
the  while  committing.  Beecher. 

958.  CONSCIENCE,  Deteotion  by.  It  is  told  of 
a  Barbadoes  physician  and  slaveholder,  that, 
having  been  robbed  to  a  serious  extent  in  his 
su<pr-works,  he  discovered  the  thief  by  the 
following  ingenious  artifice.  Having  called 
his  slaves  together,  he  addressed  them  thus : 
“  My  friends,  the  great  serpent  appeared  to 
me  during  the  night,  and  told  me  that  the 
person  who  stole  my  money  should  at  this  in¬ 
stant,  this  very  instant,  h  ive  a  parrot’s  feather 
at  the  point  of  his  nose.”  On  this  announce¬ 
ment,  the  dishonest  slave,  anxious  to  find  out 
it  his  guilt  had  declared  itself,  put  his  finger 


to  his  nose.  “  Man,’  cried  the  master  instant¬ 
ly  “  ’tis  thou  who  hast  robbed  me :  the  great 
serpent  has  just  told  me  so.” 

959.  CONSCIENCE,  Disturbed.  As  the  ant¬ 
hill,  when  stirred,  sets  in  motion  its  living 
insects  in  every  direction,  so  the  conscience 
of  the  sinner,  disturbed  by  the  Spirit  or  judg¬ 
ments  of  God,  calls  up  before  its  vision  thou¬ 
sands  of  deeds  which  fill  the  soul  with  agony 
and  woe.  MlCosh. 

969.  CONSCIENCE,  Emblem  o£  Corridi  has 
ingeniously  contrived  an  apparatus  by  which  a 
ship’s  course  is  accurately  registered  during 
the  entire  voyage.  In  place  of  the  symbol  on 
the  card  of  the  vessel’s  compass,  indicating 
north,  a  hole  is  punctured,  and  a  small  lens 
inserted.  Through  this  the  light  passes,  and 
acts  upon  a  roll  of  sensitized  paper,  made  to 
move  with  a  regulated  speed  by  clockwork. 
The  paper  continually  changes  its  position 
with  the  ship ;  but  the  lens  is  ever  maintained 
in  the  magnetic  meridian :  hence  the  devia¬ 
tion  of  the  vessel  therefrom  is  recorded. 

96B.  CONSCIENCE,  Emblem  of  a  Troubled.  There 
is  a  species  of  poplar  whose  leaves  are  often 
rustled  by  a  breeze  too  faint  to  stir  the  foliage 
of  other  trees.  Noticing  the  fact  one  day, 
when  there  was  scarce  a  breath  of  air,  Gott¬ 
hold  thought  with  himself,  “  This  tree  is  the 
emblem  of  a  man  with  a  wounded  and  uneasy 
conscience,  which  takes  alarm  at  the  most 
trifling  cause,  and  agitates  him  to  such  a  pitch, 
that  he  knows  not  whither  to  fly.” 

962.  CONSCIENCE,  an  Evil.  An  ill  con¬ 

science  is  no  comfortable  companion  to  carry 
with  thee.  An  ill  conscience  is  like  a  thorn 
in  the  flesh.  A  thorn  in  the  hedge  may 
scratch  you  as  you  pass  by  it ;  but  a  thorn  in 
the  flesh  rankles  with  you  wherever  you  go : 
and  the  conscience,  the  ill  conscience,  the  con¬ 
science  that  is  ill  at  ease,  it  makes  you  ill  at 
ease.  You  cannot  have  peace  so  long  as  you 
have  an  evil  conscience,  so  long  as  there  is 
that  continual  monition  flashing  across  your 
mind  :  “  Judgment  cometh,  death  cometh  :  am 
I  ready  ?  ”  Many  a  time  when  you  go  to  your 
worldly  scenes  of  pleasure,  this  conscience, 
like  the  finger-writing  on  the  wall  of  the 
palace  of  the  King  of  Babylon,  alarms  and 
frightens  you.  You  tell  nobody  about  it. 
Strange  thoughts  strike  across  your  mind. 
You  have  no  rest.  Can  a  man  rest  on  a  pillow 
of  thorns  ?  Can  a  man  rest  with  the  heart¬ 
ache  ?  Can  a  man  rest  with  his  soul  disturbed 
with  the  horrors  of  guilt  V  I  tell  thee  there  is 
no  rest  to  thee  till  thou  contest  to  Christ.  lie 
alone  can  calm  a  conscience.  S.  Ct'ey. 

963.  CONSCIENCE,  Guilty.  According  to  fa¬ 
ble,  Ibycus  was  a  poet,  going  to  compete  for 
the  prizes  at  the  Isthmian  games.  As  he 
passed  through  a  grove  in  his  way,  he  was  met 
by  two  robbers,  and  slain.  A  flock  of  cranes 
were  flying  overhead.  With  none  else  to  hear, 
as  he  fell  he  cried,  “  Take  up  my  case,  ye 
cranes  1  ”  His  body  was  found,  and  his  fate 
greatly  lamented  by  all  Greece.  Thousands 
on  thousands  were  gathered  at  the  games. 
The  Furies  were  there  represented,  clad  in 


28 


coisrscrEisrcE . 


coisrscrEisrcE. 


black,  with  writhing  serpents  curling  around 
their  brows.  The  blood  curdled  while  they 
loudly  sang,  “  Woe,  woe,  to  him  who  has 
done  the  deed  of'  secret  murder !  We,  the 
fearful  family  of  night,  fasten  ourselves  upon 
his  whole  being.  No  pity  checks  our  course  : 
still  on  and  on  to  the  end  of  life,  we  give  him 
no  peace,  no  rest,”  This  and  more  they  sang, 
while  every  heart  trembled  with  undefined  ter¬ 
ror.  At  that  moment,  a  cry  burst  from  one  of 
the  upper  benches.  “  Look,  look,  comrade  ! 
yonder  are  the  cranes  of  Ibycus,”  as  a  flock 
of  cranes  appeared  above  the  theatre.  A 
guilty  conscience  revealed  the  murderers. 
They  were  arrested,  confessed  the  deed,  and 
the  Furies  were  avenged. 

964.  CONSCIENCE,  Hardening  the.  Look  but 

upon  a  youth  when  he  comes  first  to  be  an 
apprentice  to  some  artificer  or  handicraft 
trade,  his  hand  is  tender;  and  no  sooner  is  he 
set  to  work  than  it  blisters,  so  he  is  much 
pained  thereby ;  but  when  he  hath  continued 
some  time  at  work,  then  his  hand  hardens, 
and  he  goes  on  without  any  grievance  at  all. 
it  is  just  thus  with  a  sinner;  before  he  is  accus¬ 
tomed  to  an  evil  way,  conscience  is  tender 
and  full  of  remorse  :  but  a  continued  custom, 
and  making  a  trade  of  sin,  makes  the  con¬ 
science  to  be  hard  and  brawny,  able  to  feel 
nothing.  As  it  is  in  a  smith’s  forge,  a  dog 
that  comes  newly  in  cannot  endure  the  fiery 
sparks  to  fly  about  his  eai'S,  but,  being  once 
used  to  it,  he  sleeps  securely ;  so  let  wicked 
men  be  long  used  to  the  Devil’s  work -house, 
to  be  slaves  and  vassals  to  sin,  the  sparks  of 
hell-fire  limy  fly  about  them,  and  the  fire 
of  hell  flash  upon  their  souls,  yet  never  trouble 
them,  never  disturb  them  at  all :  and  all  this 
ariseth  from  a  continued  custom  in  the  course 
of  evil.  Spencer. 

965.  You  may  dim  the  surface  of  the  glass, 

so  that  it  shall  no  longer  be  painfully  bright, 
like  a  little  sun  lying  on  the  ground  ;  hut  your 
puny  operation  does  not  extinguish  the  great 
light  that  glows  in  heaven.  Thus  to  trample 
conscience  in  the  mire,  so  that  it  shall  no 
longer  reflect  God’s  holiness,  does  not  dis¬ 
charge  holiness  from  the  character  of  God. 
He  will  come  to  judge  the  world,  although  the 
world  madly  silence  the  witness  who  tells  of 
hia  coming.  Dr.  Arnot. 

960.  CONSCIENCE,  Horrors  of  a  Guilty.  Phi¬ 
lo  Judaeus  telleth,  that  Flaccus  played  all 
the  parts  of  cruelty  that  he  could  devise 
against  the  Jews,  lor  their  religion’s  sake ; 
but  afterwards,  when  the  doom  of  Caligula 
fell  upon  him,  and  he  was  banished  to  Andros, 
an  island  near  Greece,  he  was  so  tormented 
with  the  memory  of  his  bloody  iniquities,  and 
a  fear  of  suffering  for  them,  that,  if  he  saw  any 
man  walking  softly  near  to  him,  he  would  say 
to  himself,  “  This  man  is  devising  to  work  my 
destruction  :  ”  if  he  saw  any  go  hastily  “  Surely 
it  is  not  for  nothing :  he  maketh  speed  to  kill 
me.”  If  any  man  spake  him  fair,  he  suspected 
that  he  would  cozen  him,  and  sought  to 
entrap  him  ;  if  any  talked  roughly  to  him, 
then  he  thought  that  he  contemned  him.  Thus 


his  sin  did  lie  upon  him,  and  ever  remind  him 
that  some  vengeance  was  to  follow.  Spencer. 

967.  CONSCIENCE,  Indestructibilty  of.  Con¬ 

science,  like  every  other  faculty  of  the  soul,  is 
undeveloped  in  the  infant,  and  very  imper¬ 
fectly  developed  in  the  savage  ;  and  moreover, 
after  a  long  habit  of  inattention  to  its  voice, 
and  violation  of  its  law,  the  individual  sinner 
is  often  judicially  given  up  to  carnal  indiffer¬ 
ence  ;  his  conscience  for  a  time  lying  latent. 
Yet  it  is  certain  that  it  is  never  destroyed. 
1.  From  the  fact  that  it  is  often  aroused  to 
the  agonies  of  remorse.  2.  From  the  fact  that 
this  remorse  or  accusing  conscience  constitutes 
the  essential  torment  of  lost  souls  and  devils. 
This  is  the  worm  that  never  dieth.  Other¬ 
wise,  their  punishment  would  lose  its  moral 
character.  A.  A.  Hodge. 

968.  CONSCIENCE,  a  King.  Conscience  is 

God’s  king,  that  he  puts  in  a  man’s  breast ;  and 
conscience  ought  to  reign.  You  may  get  up  a 
civil  war  to  fight  against  conscience  ;  but  you 
cannot  kill  the  king.  You  may  dethrone  him 
for  a  while  ;  but  he  struggles  and  fights  for  the 
mastery.  S.  Coley. 

969.  CONSCIENCE,  Office  of.  How  beauti¬ 

fully  was  its  office  set  forth  in  the  ring,  which, 
according  to  an  Eastern  tale,  a  great  magician 
presented  to  his  prince  1  The  gift  was  of  in¬ 
estimable  value,  not  for  the  diamonds  and  ru¬ 
bies  and  pearls  that  gemmed  it,  but  for  a  rare 
and  mystic  property  in  the  metal.  It  sat  easily 
enough  in  ordinary  circumstances ;  but  so  soon 
as  its  wearer  formed  a  bad  thought  or  wish, 
designed  or  concocted  a  bad  action,  the  ring 
became  a  monitor.  Suddenly  contracting,  it 
pressed  painfully  on  the  finger,  warning  him 
of  sin.  The  ring  of  that  fable  is  just  that 
conscience  which  is  the  voice  of  God  within 
us,  which  is  his  law  written  on  the  fleshly  tab¬ 
lets  of  the  heart.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

970.  CONSCIENCE,  Offioious.  Many  men 
carry  their  conscience  like  a  drawn  sword,  cut¬ 
ting  this  way  and  that  in  the  world,  but 
sheathe  it,  and  keep  it  very  soft  and  quiet, 
when  it  is  turned  wi.hin  ;  thinking  that  a  sword 
should  not  be  allowed  to  cut  its  own  scabbard. 

Beecher. 

971.  CONSCIENCE,  Peace  of.  When  the 
Romans,  by  conquest,  might  have  given  law  to 
the  Grecians  at  Corinth,  in  the  solemn  time  of 
the  Isthmian  games,  their  general,  by  aheiald, 
unexpectedly  proclaimed  freedom  to  all  the 
cities  of  Greece.  The  proclamation  at  first  did 
so  amaze  the  Grecians,  that  they  did  not  be¬ 
lieve  it  to  be  true ;  hut,  when  it  was  pro¬ 
claimed  the  second  time,  they  gave  such  a 
shout,  that  the  very  birds  flying  in  the  air  were 
astonished  therewith,  and  fell  dead  to  the 
ground.  Now,  the  peace  that  the  Grecians  had 
was  but  the  peace  of  a  people  or  a  nation, 
and  a  great  blessing  of  God  too.  But  how 
much  more  reason  is  there  that  our  affections 
should  be  strained  to  the  highest  pitch  of  joy 
and  thanks  when  we  hear  of  the  proclamation 
of  the  peace  of  conscience ;  that  peace  which 
is  not  of  our  bodies  but  of  our  souls,  not  of 
our  earthly  but  of  our  heavenly  estate ;  a 


CONSCIENCE. 


CONSCIENCE. 


129 


peace  that  shall  be  begun  here,  that  shall 
endure  forever  hereafter ;  such  a  peace  as 
will  make  God  at  peace  with  us,  reconcile  us 
to  ourselves,  and  make  us  at  concord  with 
all  the  world  !  Spencer. 

972.  CONSCIENCE,  Power  of.  A  follower  of 
Pythagoras  once  bought  a  pair  of  shoes  from 
a  cobbler,  for  which  he  promised  to  pay  him  on 
a  future  day.  On  that  day,  he  took  the 
money ;  but,  finding  the  cobbler  had  died  in 
tlie  interim,  returned,  secretly  rejoicing  that 
he  could  retain  the  money,  and  get  a  pair  of 
shoes  for  nothing.  “  His  conscience,  however,” 
says  Seneca,  “  would  allow  him  no  rest,  till, 
taking  up  the  money,  he  went  back  to  the 
cobbler’s  shop,  and,  casting  in  the  money,  said, 

‘  Go  thy  way ;  for,  though  he  is  dead  to  all  the 
world  besides,  yet  he  is  alive  to  me.’  ” 

073.  CONSCIENCE,  Reviewing.  When  it  comes 
night,  and  the  streets  are  empty,  and  the 
lights  are  out,  and  the  business  and  the  driv¬ 
ing  and  gayety  are  over,  and  the  pall  of  sleep 
is  drawn  over  the  senses,  and  the  reason  and 
the  will  are  no  longer  on  the  watch,  then  Con¬ 
science  comes  out  solemnly,  and  walks  about 
in  the  silent  chambers  of  the  soul,  and  makes 
her  survey  and  her  comments ;  and  sometimes 
sits  down  and  sternly  reads  the  records  of  a 
life  that  the  waking  man  would  never  look 
into,  and  the  catalogue  of  crimes  that  are 
gathering  for  the  judgment.  And  as  Con¬ 
science  reads  and  reads  aloud,  and  soliloquizes, 
you  may  hear  the  still  small  deep  echo  of  her 
voice  reverberated  through  the  soul’s  most 
secret  unveiled  recesses.  Imagination  walks 
tremblingly  behind  her;  and  now,  they  two 
alone  pass  through  the  open  gate  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  into  the  future  and  eternal  world,  tor 
thither  all  things  in  man’s  being  naturally  and 
irresistibly  tend ;  and  then,  as  Conscience  is 
still  dwelling  upon  sin,  Imagination  draws  the 
judgment,  and  the  soul  is  presented  at  the 
bar  of  God,  and  the  eye  of  the  Judge  is  on  it, 
and  a  hand  of  fire  writes  as  on  the  walls  of 
the  universe,  “  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  bal¬ 
ance,  and  found  wanting.”  Then  whatever 
sinful  thoughts  or  passions,  words  or  deeds, 
the  Conscience  enumerates  and  dwells  upon, 
the  Imagination  with  prophetic  truth  fills 
eternity  with  corresponding  shapes  of  evil. 

Dr.  Cheever. 

971.  CONSCIENCE,  Self-Accusing.  Bessus, 
a  Grecian,  gave  as  a  reason  for  pulling  down 
the  birds’  nests  about  his  house,  that  the  birds 
never  ceased  to  accuse  him  of  the  murder  of 
his  father. 

975.  CONSCIENCE,  Stings  of.  The  Earl  of 
Brcadalbane  planned  the  massacre  of  Glencoe, 
and  carried  it  into  execution  in  the  most  cruel 
and  dastardly  manner.  Macaulay  speaking 
of  the  effects  produced  upon  the  minds  of  the 
guilty  perpetrators  of  this  atrocious  deed,  says 
that  “  Brcadalbane,  hardened  as  he  was,  felt 
the  stings  of  conscience  or  the  dread  of  retribu¬ 
tion.  lie  did  his  best  to  assume  an  air  of 
unconcern.  He  made  his  appearance  in  the 
most  fashionable  coffee-house  at  Edinburgh, 
and  talked  loudly  and  selLcomplacently  about 
9 


the  important  services  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged  among  the  mountains.  Some  of  his 
soldiers,  however,  who  observed  him  closely, 
whispered  that  all  this  bravery  was  put  on. 
He  was  not  the  man  that  he  had  been  before 
that  night.  The  form  of  his  countenance  was 
changed.  In  all  places,  at  all  hours,  whether 
he  waked  or  slept,  Glencoe  was  forever  before 
him.” 

970.  CONSCIENCE,  Terrors  of.  The  blind 
man  in  the  gospel,  newly  recovering  his  sight, 
imagined  trees  to  be  men  ;  and  the  soldiers  of 
Burgundy,  as  Comines  reports,  expecting  a 
battle,  supposed  thistles  to  be  lances.  Thus 
the  wicked  man  fears  where  no  fear  is ;  the 
guilty  conscience  conceives  every  thistle  to  be 
a  tree,  every  tree  a  man,  every  man  a  devil, 
alraid  of  every  man  that  it  sees,  nay,  many 
times  of  those  that  it  sees  not.  Not  much 
unlike  to  one  that  was  very  deep  in  debt,  and 
had  many  creditors,  who  as  he  walked  London 
streets  in  the  evening,  a  tenterhook  having 
catclied  his  cloak,  conceived  some  sergeant  had 
arrested  him.  Thus  the  ill-conscienced  man 
counts  every  creature  ho  meets  with  a  bailiff 
sent  from  God  to  ptlnish  him.  Spencer. 

077.  CONSCIENCE,  Torments  of.  It  is  a  man’s 
own  dishonesty,  his  crimes,  his  wickedness,  and. 
boldness,  that  takes  away  from  him  soundness 
of  mind  :  these  are  the  furies,  these  the  flames 
and  firebrands  of  the  wicked.  Cicero > 

978.  CONSCIENCE,  A  Troubled.  As  the  stag 
which  the  huntsman  has  hit  flies  through  bush 
and  brake,  over  stock  and  stone,  and  thereby 
exhausts  its  strength,  but  does  not  expel  the 
deadly  bullet  from  its  body  ;  so  does  experience 
show  that  they  who  have  troubled  consciences 
run  from  place  to  place,  but,  wherever  they  go, 
bear  with  them  their  dangerous  wounds. 

Gotthold. 

979.  CONSCIENCE,  Unenlightened.  Examin¬ 
ing  the  sun-dial,  to  ascertain  if  the  clocks 
were  right,  Gotthold  said  to  himself,  “-Dials 
are  no  doubt  most  ingenious  contrivances-;  but, 
however  ingenious,  they  are  of  no  uee  when 
the  sun  does  not  shine.  It  is  the  same  with  us. 
Destitute  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  of  the 
quickening  and  enlightening  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  we,  too,  whatever  be  our  natural 
gifts  and  talents,  are  good  for  nothing.” 

980.  CONSCIENCE,  Varies.  Conscience  is  a 

clock,  which  in  one  man  strikes  aloud,  and 
gives  warning ;  in  another,  the  hand  points  si¬ 
lently  to  the  figure,  but  strikes  not ;  meantime 
hours  pass  away,  and  death  hastens,  and  after 
death  comes  judgment.  Bp.  Taylor. 

981.  CONSCIENCE,  Varieties  of.  There  is 
not  on  earlh  a  more  capricious,  accommodat¬ 
ing,  or  abused  thing  than  conscience.  It 
would  be  very  possible  to  exhibit  a  curi¬ 
ous  classification  of  consciences  in  genera  and 
species.  What  copious  matter  for  speculation 
among  the  varieties  of  lawyer’s  conscience, 
cleric  conscience,  lay  conscience,  lord’s  con¬ 
science,  peasant’s  conscience,  hermit’s  con¬ 
science,  tradesman’s  conscience,  philosopher's 
conscience,  Christian’s  conscience,  conscience 
of  reason,  conscience  of  faith,  healthy  man’s 


130 


COISTSCTEN-CH. 


CO^TSECH  ATION. 


conscience,  sick  man’s  conscience,  ingenious 
conscience,  simple  conscience,  &c.  1  J.  Foster. 

982.  CONSCIENCE,  Voioo  of.  The  voice  of 

an  evil  conscience  is  not  one  evil  in  particular, 
but  a  multitude  of  evils.  It  is  a  barking  hell¬ 
hound,  a  monster  vomiting  fire,  a  raging  fury,  a 
tormenting  devil.  It  is  the  nature  and  quality 
of  a  guilty  conscience  to  flee  and  be  terrified, 
even  when  all  is  well,  and  when  prosperity 
abounds,  and  to  change  such  prosperity  into 
danger  and  death.  Luther. 

983.  CONSCIENCE,  Wakeful.  Though  in 
many  men  conscience  sleep  in  regard  to  mo¬ 
tion,  yet  it  never  sleeps  in  regard  to  observa¬ 
tion  and  notice.  It  may  be  hard  and  seared, 
it  can  never  be  blind.  Like  letters  written 
with  the  juice  of  lemon,  that  which  is  written 
upon  it.,  though  seemingly  invisible  anti  illegi¬ 
ble,  when  brought  before,  the  fire  of  God’s  judg¬ 
ment,  shall  come  forth  clear  and  expressive. 

AL  Cosh. 

984.  CONSCIENCE,  Warning  of.  A  man  may' 

be  saved  from  death  by  seeing  the  reflection  of 
danger  in  a  mirror,  when  the  danger  itself 
could  not  be  directly  seen.  The  executioner 
with  his  weapon  is  stealthily  approaching 
through  a  corridor  of  the  castle  to  the  spot 
where  the  devoted  invalid  reclines.  In  his 
musings,  the  captive  has  turned  his  vacant  eye 
towards  a  mirror  on  the  wall ;  and  the  faithful 
witness  reveals  the  impending  stroke  in  time 
to  secure  the  escape  of  the  victim.  It  is  thus 
that  the  mirror  in  a  man’s  breast  has  become 
in  a  sense  the  man’s  savior,  by  revealing  the 
wrath  to  come  before  its  coming.  Happy  they 
who  take  the  warning,  happy  they  who  turn 
and  live  !  Dr.  Arnot. 

985.  CONSECRATION,  Acceptable.  When  the 
people  of  (Jollatia  were  negotiating  an  uncon¬ 
ditional  capitulation  to  the  Romans,  Egerius, 
on  the  part  of  the  Romans,  inquired  of  the 
ambassadors,  “  Are  the  people  of  Collatia  in 
their  own  power  ?  ”  When  an  affirmative 
answer  was  given,  it  was  next  inquired,  “  Do 
you  deliver  up  yourselves,  the  people  of  Col¬ 
latia,  your  city,  your  fields,  your  waters,  your 
boundaries,  your  temples,  your  utensils,  all 
your  property,  divine  and  human,  into  my 
power,  and  the  power  of  the  Roman  people  ?  ” 
—  “We  surrender  all.”  —  “  And  so,”  said  he, 
“  I  accept  you.” 

986.  CONSECRATION,  Duty  of.  Bring  forth 
every  thing  separately,  —  yourself,  your  family, 
your  reputation,  your  property  ;  relinquish  all 
claim,  and  surrender  the  whole  to  God,  to  use 
and  to  enjoy  them  only  as  he  directs,  and  with 
reference  to  his  glory ;  never  to  withdraw  what 
you  solemnly  covenant  shall  be  only  his. 

Dr.  Ii.  S.  Foster. 

987.  CONSECRATION,  Entire.  Entire  con¬ 
secration  embraces  three  things,  —  being ,  doing , 
and  suffering.  We  must  be  willing  to  be,  to  do, 
and  to  suffer,  all  that  God  requires.  This  em¬ 
braces  reputation,  friends,  property,  and  time. 
It  covers  body,  mind,  and  soul.  These  are  to 
be  used  when ,  where ,  and  as  God  requires ; 
and  only  as  he  requires.  “  Unless,”  says  an 
American  divine,  “  the  Christian  is  willing  to 


make  such  a  consecration,  and  unless  he 
actually  adds  the  execution  of  the  thing  to  the 
desire  or  willingness  to  do  it,  by  a  formal  and 
decisive  act,  we  can  see  no  encouragement  that 
he  will  reach  the  desired  results  of  personal 
inward  inexperience.”  This  writer  further 
claims,  that  such  a  consecration  should  be 
made  “deliberately,”  “for  all  coming  time,” 
“  without  any  reserve,”  and  “  in  reliance  upon 
divine  strength.”  IE.  McDonald. 

988.  CONSECRATION,  and  Faith,  I  recollect  a 

story,  told  by  one  heathen  of  another,  in  the 
following  terms,  —  Eudamidas,  a  citizen  of  Cor¬ 
inth,  died  in  poverty  ;  but  having  two  wealthy 
friends,  Arctmus  and  Charixenus,  he  left  be¬ 
hind  him  the  following  testament :  In  virtue  of 
this  my  last  will,  I  bequeath  to  Arctseus  my 
aged  mother,  to  be  taken  home  to  his  house,  and 
supported  for  the  remainder  of  her  life ;  to  Char¬ 
ixenus  I  bequeath  my  daughter,  to  be  portioned 
and  honorably  fitted  out  by  him  to  the  best  of 
his  ability.  In  the  event,  however,  of  either  of 
the  two  dying,  my  will  is,  that  the  survivor  shall 
supply  the  place  of  the  deceased.  This  testa¬ 
ment  occasioned  much  mirth  and  laughter.  The 
two  legatees,  however,  were  pleased  with  the 
testimony  it  gave  of  the  confidence  reposed  in 
them  by  their  departed  friend ;  and  as,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days,  Charixenus  departed  this 
life,  Arctasus  undertook  the  double  trust,  and 
affectionately  executed  it.  If  heathens,  then, 
thus  trusted,  and  showed  themselves  so  faithful 
to  each  other,  even  after  their  decease,  why 
should  not  I  cherish  a  far  greater  confidence 
in  the  most  faithful  of  all  friends,  my  beloved 
Master,  Jesus  ?  I  hereby,  therefore,  nominate 
him  my  sole  heir,  bequeathing  and  consigning 
to  him,  first  my  soul,  and  next  my  children, 
sisters,  bloodcrelations,  and  acquaintances,  that 
he  may  adopt,  protect,  keep,  and  provide  for 
them  by  his  mighty  power  unto  salvation. 
The  whole  residue  of  the  estate  which  I  leave 
behind  me  in  the  world  shall  be  intrusted  to 
his  holy  counsel  and  will,  that  he  may  do  and 
deal  with  it  as  he  lists,  to  the  advancement  of 
his  glory,  and  the  salvation  of  those  I  leave 
behind.  Gotthold. 

989.  CONSECRATION,  Manner  of.  Perhaps 

there  are  no  words  which  express  more  clearly 
the  manner  of  performing  this  work  than 
“  altar  ”  and  “  sacrifice.”  We  are  required  to 
offer  our  “  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  ac¬ 
ceptable  unto  God.”  We  are  “  sanctified 
through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ,  once  for  all.”  Can  one  who  seeks  en¬ 
tire  sanctification  find  language  more  expres¬ 
sive  or  appropriate  than  the  following  ?  —  “I 
bring  all  to  God’s  altar.  Come,  Lord,  and 
accept  my  offering.”  W.  McDonald. 

990.  CONSECRATION,  Personal.  An  incident 
is  related  of  a  missionary,  and  a  proud  and 
powerful  Indian  chief.  The  chief  was  con¬ 
victed  of  sin.  Trembling  under  a  sense  of 
guilt,  he  approached  the  missionary,  and  prof¬ 
fered  his  belt  of  wampum,  to  be  freed  from  his 
crushing  fears.  “  No,”  said  the  missionary, 
“  Christ  cannot  accept  such  a  sacrifice.”  The 
Indian  departed,  but  soon  returned,  offering 


CONSEQTYENCES. 


CONSISTENCY.  131 


his  rifle,  and  the  skins  he  had  taken  in  hunting. 
“  No,”  was  the  reply  :  “  Christ  cannot  accept 
such  a  sacrifice.”  Again  the  Indian  went 
away,  but  soon  returned  once  more  with  a  trou¬ 
bled  conscience,  and  offered  his  wigwam,  wife, 
**hild,  every  thing,  tor  peace  and  pardon.  “  No,” 
was  still  the  reply :  “  Christ  cannot  accept 
such  a  sacrifice.”  The  chief  seemed  oppressed 
with  surprise  for  a  moment ;  then,  lifting  up 
tearful  eyes  to  the  face  of  the  missionary,  he 
feelingly  cried  out,  “  Here,  Lord,  take  poor 
Indian  too.” 

991.  CONSEQUENCES,  Disproportionate.  As 
the  dimensions  of  the  tree  are  not  always  pro¬ 
portioned  to  the  size  of  the  seed,  so  the  con¬ 
sequences  of  things  are  not  proportionate  to 
the  apparent  magnitude  of  those  events  which 
have  produced  them.  Thus  the  American 
Revolution,  from  which  little  was  expected, 
produced  much;  but  the  French  Revolution, 
from  which  much  was  expected,  produced  little. 

Colton. 

992.  CONSEQUENCES,  Rule  of.  The  rule  is 
this  (there  may  be  great  difficulty  in  applying 
it  in  individual  cases;  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  as  to  the  soundness  of  the  general  prin¬ 
ciple),  wherever  we  are  sure  that  duty  leads, 
wherever  we  are  sure  God  bids  us  go ;  then 
that  way  we  should  go,  whatever,  and  however 
painful,  the  consequences  may  be.  In  all  other 
cases,  a  prudent  man  will  carefully  weigh  the 
consequences  of  what  he  may  think  of  doing, 
and  be  guided  by  the  consideration  of  them ; 
but  if  God  clearly  points  the  way,  that  way  he 
ought  to  take,  disregarding  consequences. 

Boyd. 

993.  CONSIDERATION,  Christian.  A  man 
that  hath  a  journey  to  make,  although  he  has 
made  the  same  before,  would  not  pursue  it 
without  great  and  often  consideration,  espe¬ 
cially  whether  he  were  in  the  right  way  or  no, 
what  pace  he  held,  how  near  he  was  to  the 
journey’s  end,  and  the  like  ;  so  every  Christian 
hath  far  more  need  of  consideration,  who  must 
pass  from  earth  to  heaven,  being  subject  to 
manifold  dangers,  as  every  pleasure  of  the 
world,  every  lust,  every  dissolute  thought, 
every  alluring  sight  and  tempting  sound,  every 
Devil  upon  the  earth,  or  every  instrument  of 
his,  which  are  innumerable,  lying  in  wait  to 
spoil  him  upon  his  way  towards  heaven. 

Cawdray. 

994.  CONSIDERATION,  Fruit  of.  Considera¬ 

tion  is  the  bed  where  the  incorruptible  seed  is 
sown ;  and  on  the  ground  thus  prepared  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  doth  shine,  and  by  his 
warmth  produces  in  the  soul  all  manner  of 
pleasant  fruits.  Consideration,  like  the  Pool 
of  Bethesda,  draws  the  great  angel  of  the 
covenant  down,  who  stirs  the  pool,  and  gives 
it  a  healing  virtue;  and  immediately  the  blind 
receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  and  the 
lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  dead  are  raised 
up.  Anthony  [lor neck. 

995.  CONSIDERATION,  Importance  of  As  he 
would  be  thought  a  foolish  merchant,  who, 
for  quietness’  sate,  would  never  look  at  his 
account-book,  whether  he  were  behind  or  be¬ 


fore  ;  or  as  a  shipmaster  would  be  laughed  at, 
that,  to  avoid  care,  would  sit  down  and  make 
good  cheer,  and  let  the  ship  go  whither  she 
would  :  so  much  more,  in  the  business  of  our 
souls,  it  is  madness  and  folly  to  neglect  con¬ 
sideration  to  escape  the  trouble  ;  seeing,  in  the 
end,  this  negligence  must  turn  upon  us  more 
terrible  and  irremediable  calamity.  Cawdray. 

998.  CONSIDERATION,  Power  of  There  is 
a  case  related  of  a  reckless  son  upon  whom  all 
good  opportunities,  advice,  ami  influence  had 
been  lost,  who  promised  his  father  that  ho 
would  spend  a  half-hour  every  day  after  his 
death  in  consideration.  The  son  kept  the 
father’s  dying  request,  and  was  led  to  review 
his  conduct,  to  feel  and  repent  of  his  sins,  and 
filled  the  measure  of  his  days  in  Christian  use¬ 
fulness.  The  thoughtless  are  always  impeni¬ 
tent. 

997.  CONSIDERATION,  Wisdom  of  Titus  Ves- 

pasianus  was  much  affected  to  see  a  dolphin 
wreathed  and  fastened  about  an  anchor,  which 
emblem  signified  the  staidness  of  his  thoughts 
before  he  did  any  thing;  and,  when  he  had 
well  considered,  then  the  diligence  of  his  care 
in  the  execution  of  it.  The  dolphin  swims 
with  as  much  speed  in  the  sea  as  a  bird  flies 
in  the  air;  and  it  is  the  anchor  which  prevents 
the  ship  from  being  tossed  and  carried  away 
with  the  winds.  This  may  teach  us  to  look 
before  we  leap.  Spencer. 

998.  CONSISTENCY,  Advised.  Alexander  the 

Great  had  a  soldier  in  his  army  who  bore 
his  own  name,  but  was  a  great  coward.  The 
emperor,  enraged  at  his  conduct,  justly  said  to 
him,  “  Either  change  your  name,  or  learn  to 
honor  it.”  So  may  it  be  said  to  many  Chris¬ 
tians.  Bowes. 

999.  CONSISTENCY,  Brevities.  A  Christian, 

when  he  makes  a  good  profession,  should  be 
sure  to  make  his  profession  good.  It  is  sad  to 
see  many  walk  in  the  dark  themselves,  who 
carry  a  lantern  for  others.  Pecker.  — The  whole 
complexion  of  a  negro  is  less  noticed  than  a 
single  stain  on  the  features  of  a  white  coun¬ 
tenance.  Jay. 

1999.  CONSISTENCY,  Christian.  As  I  have 
known  an  infant  bear  such  striking  resemblance 
to  his  father,  that  what  the  tongue  could  not 
tell  his  face  did ;  and  people.  Struck  by  the 
likeness,  remarked  of  the  nursling,  “  He  is  the 
very  image  of  his  father :  ”  so  the  Christian  life, 
without  any  occasion  for  his  lips  talking  it, 
should  proclaim  him  to  the  world  a  child  of 
God.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

1091.  CONSISTENCY,  Conversational.  For 
my  part,  when  Christ  and  his  righteousness 
are  the  subject  of  conference,  I  know  not  how 
to  complain  of  poverty.  I  feel  no  weariness, 
but  could  rather  delight  to  talk  of  them  with¬ 
out  ceasing.  Would  you  not  expect  to  hear 
of  engagements  ami  victories  from  a  soldier? 
Would  any  be  surprised  to  find  a  merchant 
discoursing  of  foreign  affairs,  or  canvassing  the 
state  of  trade  ?  Why,  then,  should  not  the 
agents  for  the  court  of  heaven  treat  of  heavenly 
things?  Why  should  not  their  whole  conver¬ 
sation  savor  of'  their  calling?  Why  should 


132 


coisrsiSTKzsrcY. 


coisrsT^NrcY. 


they  be  one  thing  when  they  bend  the  knee  or 
speak  from  the  pulpit,  and  quite  a  different 
one  when  they  converse  in  the  parlor? 

Hervey. 

1002.  CONSISTENCY,  Power  of.  They  say 

the  world  has  an  eagle  eye  for  any  thing  in¬ 
consistent  ;  and  it  has  an  eagle  eye,  sharp  to 
discover  the  vagaries  and  inconsistencies  in 
the  defaulty  and  the  unworthy.  It  has  an  eagle 
eye;  but  the  eagle  winks  before  the  sun,  and 
the  burning  iris  of  its  eye  shrinks  abashed 
before  the  unsullied  purity  of  noon.  Let  your 
light  so  shine  before  men,  that  others,  awed 
and  charmed  by  the  consistency  of  your  godly 
life,  may  come  to  inquire,  and  to  say  they  have 
been  with  Jesus.  IV.  M.  Punshon. 

1003.  CONSISTENCY,  Required.  Before  thou 

reprehend  another,  take  heed  that  thou  art 
not  culpable  in  what  thou  goest  about  to  re¬ 
prehend.  lie  that  cleanses  a  blot  with  blurred 
fingers  will  make  a  greater  blot.  Even  the 
candle-snuffers  of  the  sanctuary  were  of  pure 
gold.  Quarles. 

1004.  CONSISTENCY,  Testimonial  to.  In  one 
of  the  older  States  resided  an  infidel,  the  owner 
of  a  saw-mill,  situated  by  the  side  of  a  high¬ 
way,  over  which  a  large  portion  of  a  Christian 
congregation  passed  every  sabbath  to  and  from 
the  church.  This  infidel,  having  no  regard  for 
the  sabbath,  was  as  busy,  and  his  mill  was  as 
noisy,  on  that  holy  day  as  any  other.  Before 
long,  it  was  observed,  however,  that,  a  certain 
time  before  service,  the  mill  would  stop,  remain 
silent,  and  appear  to  be  deserted  for  a  few 
minutes;  when  its  noise  and  clatter  would  re¬ 
commence,  and  continue  till  about  the  close  of 
the  service,  when  for  a  short  time  it  again 
ceased.  It  was  soon  noticed,  that  one  of  the 
deacons  of  the  church  passed,  the  mill  to,  the 
placeof  worship  during  the  silent  interval ;,  and 
so  punctual  was  he  to  the  hour,  that  the  infidel 
knew  just  when  to  stop  the  mill,  so.  that  it 
should  be  silent  while  the  deacon  was  passing, 
although  he  paid  no  regard  to  the  passing  of 
others.  On  being  asked  why  he  paid  this 
mark  of  respect  to  the  deacon,  he  replied, 
“  The  deacon  professes  just  what  the  rest  of 
you  do ;  but  he  lives,  also,  such  a  life,  that  it 
makes  me  feel  bad  here  (putting  his  hand  upon 
his  heart)  to  run  mv  mill  while  he  is  passing.” 

1 005.  CONSISTENCY,  True.  The  philosopher’s 
good  man  is  four-square ;  cast  him  where  you 
will,  like  a  dye,  he  falls  always  square  and 
sure  :  so,  cast  a  gracious  man  where  you  will, 
and  into  what  company  you  will,  and  into 
what  condition  you  will,  yet  still  he  falls  sure 
and  square  for  God  and  godliness.  Let  the  times 
be  never  so  sad,  nor  never  so  bad,  yet  a  gracious 
soul  will  keep  his  hold  ;  he  will  let  all  go  before 
he  will  let  his  God  go,  or  his  religion  go,  or 
his  integrity  go.  A  gracious  Christian  is  like 
gold.  Now  cast  gold  into  the  fire,  or  into 
the  water ;  cast  it  upon  the  dunghill,  or  into  the 
kennel;  cast  it  among  the  poor,  or  among  the 
rich  ;  among  the  religious,  or  among  the  wicked, 
yet  still  it  is  gold,  still  it  retains  its  purity  and 
excellency:  so  cast  a  gracious  Christian  (who 
is  the  only  golden  Christian  in  the  world)  into 


what  condition  you  will,  and  into  what  com¬ 
pany  you  will,  yet  still  he  will  retain  his 
purity,  his  innoceney.  T.  Brool  s. 

1006.  CONSOLATION,  Example  of.  St.  Chrys¬ 

ostom,  suffering  under  the  Empress  Eudoxia, 
tells  his  fiiend  Cyrieus,  how  he  armed  himself 
beforehand.  “  I  thought,”  said  he,  “  will  she 
banish  me  ?  ‘  The  earth  is  the  Lord’s,  and  the 

fulness  thereof.’  Take  away  my  goods  ?  Naked 
came  I  into  the  world,  and  naked  must  I  return. 
Will  she  stone  me?  I  remembered  Stephen. 
Behead  me  ?  John  the  Baptist  came  into  my 
mind.”  Spencer. 

1007.  CONSOLATION,  for  a  Mother.  Dr.  Payson, 
visiting  a  mother  who  was  disconsolate  for  the 
loss  of  a  child,  said,  “  Suppose,  now,  some  one 
was  making  a  beautiful  crown  for  you  to  wear, 
and  you  knew  it  was  for  you,  and  that  you 
were  to  receive  it  and  wear  it  as  soon  as  it 
should  be  done.  Now,  if  the  maker  of  it  were 
to  come,  and,  in  order  to  make  the  crown  more 
beautiful  and  splendid,  were  to  take  some  of 
your  jewels  to  put  into  it,  should  you  be  sor¬ 
rowful  and  unhappy  because  they  were  taken 
away  for  a  little  while,  when  you  knew  they 
were  gone  to  make  up  your  crown  ?  ” 

1<3>'®§.  CONSOLATION,  in  Trial.  A  poor  but 
worthy  inhabitant  of  Paris  once  went  to  the 
bishop  with  a  heart  almost  overwhelmed. 
“  Father,”  said  he  with  the  most  profound  hu¬ 
mility,  “lam  a  sinner;  I  feel  that  I  am  a 
sinner  :  but  it  is  against  my  will.  Every  hour 
I  ask  for  light,  and  humbly  pray  for  faith  ;  but 
still  I  am  overwhelmed  with  doubts.  Surely, 
if  I  were  not  despised  of  God,  he  would  not 
leave  me  to  struggle  thus  with  the  Adversary 
of  souls.”  The  bishop  thus  consoled  his  sor¬ 
rowing  son:  “The  King  of  France  has  two 
castles,  in  different  situations,  and  sends  a  com¬ 
mander  to  each  of  them.  The  Castle  of  Mon- 
tleberry  stands  in  a  place  remote  from  danger, 
far  inland  ;  but  the  Castle  of  La  Rochelle  is  on 
the  coast,  where  it  is  liable  to  continual  sieges. 
Now,  which  of  the  two  commanders,  think  you, 
stands  the  highest  in  the  estimation  of  the 
king,  the  commander  of  La  Rochelle,  or  he  of 
Montleberry  ?  ”  —  “  Doubtless,”  said  the  poor 
man,  “the  king  values  him  the  most  who  has 
the  hardest  task,  and  braves  the  greatest 
dangers.”  —  “Thou  art  rij^ht,”  replied  the 
bishop.  “  And  now  apply  this  matter  to  thy 
case  and  mine ;  for  my  heart  is  like  the  Castle 
of  Montleberry,  and  thine  like  that  of  La 
Rochelle.” 

1009.  CONSOLATION,  in  Trouble.  Gotthold 
remarked,  that  the  world  is  like  a  great  ocean, 
on  which,  strange  to  say,  most  of  the  mariners 
suffer  shipwreck  in  calm  and  pleasant  weather ; 
whereas  the  storms  and  raging  waves  of  trouble 
waft  them  to  the  haven  of  eternal  bliss.  “  Upon 
this  ocean  I,  too,  am  steering  my  little  bark. 
Be  with  me,  0  my  God  !  and  guide  me  to  the 
wished-for  shore.  It  will  matter  little  then, 
whether  I  sailed  in  calm  and  sunshine,  or 
through  storms  and  tempests.” 

1010.  CONSTANCY,  Advantage  of.  It  is  easy 
to  keep  that  armor  bright  which  is  daily  used  ; 
but,  hanging  by  the  wall  till  it  be  rusty,  it  will 


CONST^JSTCY. 


CONSTANCY. 


133 


take  some  time  and  pains  to  furbish  it  over 
again.  If  an  instrument  be  daily  played  upon, 
it  is  easily  kept  in  tune ;  but  let  it  be  a  while 
neglected,  and  the  strings  and  frets  break,  the 
bridge  flies  off’,  and  no  small  labor  is  required 
to  bring  it  into  order  again.  And  thus  also  it 
is  in  things  spiritual,  in  the  performance  of 
holy  duties;  if  we  continue  them  with  a  settled 
constancy,  they  will  be  easy,  familiar,  and 
delightful  to  us  :  but,  it'  once  intermitted,  it  is  a 
new  work  to  begin  again,  and  the  former  estate 
will  not  be  attained  but  with  much  endeavor 
and  great  difficulty.  Spencer. 

1011.  CONSTANCY,  Duty  of.  Many  who 
have  gone  into  the  field,  and  liked  the  work 
of  a  soldier  for  a  battle  or  two,  soon  have  had 
enough,  and  come  running  home  again ; 
whereas  few  can  bear  it  as  a  constant  trade  : 
war  is  a  thing  that  they  could  willingly  woo 
for  their  pleasure,  but  are  loath  to  wed  upon 
what  terms  soever.  Thus  many  are  easily 
persuaded  to  take  up  a  profession  of  religion, 
and  as  easily  persuaded  to  lay  it  down.  Oh  1 
this  constancy  and  persevering  is  a  hard  word; 
this  taking  up  the  cross  daily  ;  this  praying 
always;  this  watching  night  and  day,  and  never 
laying  aside  our  clothes  and  armor,  indulging 
ourselves  to  remit  and  unbend  in  our  holy 
waiting  upon  God,  and  walking  with  God, 
—  this  sends  many  sorrowful  from  Christ ; 
yet  this  is  the  saint’s  duty,  to  make  reli¬ 
gion  his  every  day’s  work,  without  any  vaca¬ 
tion  from  one  end  of  the  year  to  the  other. 

Spencer. 

1012.  CONSTANCY,  Example  of  Some  years 

ago,  in  working  to  establish  a  new  communica¬ 
tion  between  two  shafts  of  a  mine  at  Fahkin, 
the  capital  of  Dalecarlia,  the  body  of  a  miner 
was  discovered  in  a  perfect  state  of  preserva-  1 
tion.  No  one  could  identify  the  body  :  it  was  I 
merely  remembered  that  the  accident  by  which 
he  had  thus  been  buried  in  the  bosom  of  the 
earth  had  taken  place  above  fifty  years  before. 
All  inquiries  about  the  name  of  the  sufferer  had 
already'  ceased,  when  a  decrepit  old  woman, 
supported  on  crutches,  slowly  advanced  towards 
the  corpse,  and  knew  it  to  be  that  of  a  young 
man  to  whom  she  had  been  promised  in  mar¬ 
riage  more  than  half  a  century  ago.  She  threw 
herself  on  the  corpse,  which  had  all  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  a  bronze  statue,  bathed  it  with  her 
tears,  and  fainted  with  joy  at  once  more  be¬ 
holding  the  object  of  her  affections.  It  is 
easier  to  conceive  than  trace  the  singular  con¬ 
trast  afforded  by  that  couple,  —  the  one,  buried 
above  fifty  years  ago,  still  retaining  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  youth  ;  while  the  other,  weighed  down 
by  age,  evinced  all  the  fervency  of  youthful 
love.  Percy. 

1013.  CONSTANCY,  Fable  of.  Clyde  was  a 
water-nymph  wl»o  loved  the  sun-god  without 
any  return.  She  constantly  gazed  at  the  ob¬ 
ject  of  her  affection,  looking  at  him  when  he 
rose,  and  while  he  passed  his  daily  course. 
She  saw  no  other  object.  At  last,  her  limbs 
rooted,  and  hex*  face  .became  the  sun-flower, 
which  turns  on  its  stem  so  as  always  to  look  at  i 
the  sun. 


1014.  CONSTANCY,  Heroic.  A  mother  and 
her  seven  sons  were  brought  before  the  tyrant 
Antiochus  in  the  persecution  of  the  Jews,  and 
offered  a  discharge  if  they  would  but  taste 
swine’s  flesh.  They  unanimously  refused,  were 
“  tormented  with  scourges  and  whips,”  but 
still  refused.  “  What  wouldst  thou  ask  of  us  ? 
We  are  ready  to  die  rather  than  transgress 
the  laws  of  our  fathers,”  they  said.  The  en¬ 
raged  king  ordered  the  speaker  to  be  slain  in 
the  most  excruciating  manner.  His  mother 
and  six  brothers  were  compelled  to  witness  his 
awful  agony,  yet,  writh  unshaken  constancy, 
exhorted  one  another  to  die  manfully.  The 
second  son  follows  the  first  to  martyrdom. 
The  third  stretched  out  his  hands  to  the  execu¬ 
tioner  to  be  cut  off,  saying,  “  These  I  had  from 
Heaven,  and  for  his  laws  I  despise  them.” 
The  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  sons  endured  tor¬ 
ture  and  death  with  the  same  dauntless  fidelity. 
The  mother  and  her  youngest  son  remain. 
The  mangled  members  of  her  six  sons  strew 
the  ground.  Antiochus  now  lays  bribes  before 
the  youth.  Wealth  and  station  are  proffered 
him,  if  he  will  but  taste.  The  nobler  than 
Spartan  mother  addresses  him,  “  I  beseech 
thee,  my  son,  look  upon  the  heaven  and  the 
earth,  and  all  that  is  therein,  and  consider  that 
God  made  them  of  things  that  were  not ;  and 
so  was  mankind  made  likewise.  Fear  not  this 
tormentor,  but,  being  worthy  of  thy  brethren, 
take  thy  death,  that  I  may  receive  thee  in 
mercy  again  with  thy  brethren.”  O  wonder¬ 
ful  woman  !  The  record  runs,  “  Last  of  all, 
after  the  sons,  the  mother  died.”  These  Jew¬ 
ish  martyrs  inherited  the  promise,  being 
“  faithful  unto  death.” 

1015.  CONSTANCY,  of  St.  Vincent.  “  Vincent 
being  brought  before  the  tribunal  of  Dacian, 
together  with  his  bishop,  Valerius,  they  were 
accused  of  being  Christians,  and  contemners  of 
the  gods.  Valerius,  who  was  very  old,  and 
had  an  impediment  in  his  speech,  answered  to 
the  accusation  in  a  voice  so  low,  that  he  could 
scarcely  be  heard.  On  this,  St.  Vincent  burst 
forth  with  Christian  fervor,  ‘  How  is  this,  my 
father  1  canst  thou  not  speak  aloud,  and  defy 
this  pagan  dog  ?  Speak,  that  all  the  world 
may  hear ;  or  suffer  me,  who  am  only  thy  ser¬ 
vant,  to  speak  in  thy  stead  !  ’  The  bishop 
having  given  him  leave,  St.  Vincent  proclaimed 
his  faith  aloud,  defying  the  tortures  with  which 
they  were  threatened ;  so  that  the  wicked 
proconsul  was  filled  with  indignation.  He 
ordered  the  old  bishop  to  be  banished  from 
the  city  ;  but  Vincent,  who  had  defied  him,  he 
reserved  as  an  example  to  the  rest,  and  was 
resolved  to  bend  him  to  submission  by  the 
most  terrible  and  ingenious  tortures  that  cru¬ 
elty  could  invent.  The  young  saint  endured 
them  unflinching.  ‘  When  his  body  was  la¬ 
cerated  by  iron  forks,  he  only  smiled  on  his  tor¬ 
mentors.  The  pangs  they  inflicted  were  to  him 
delights ;  thorns  were  his  roses ;  the  flames  a 
refreshing  bath ;  death  itself  was  but  the  en¬ 
trance  to  life.’  They  laid  him,  torn,  bleeding, 
and  half  consumed  by  fire,  on  the  ground, 
strewn  with  potsherds,  and  left  him  there.  But 


134 


COIS'TEMPL^TION". 


CONTENTOIENT. 


God  sent  down  his  angels  to  comfort  him  ;  and, 
when  his  guards  looked  into  the  dungeon,  they 
beheld  it  filled  with  light  and  fragrance ;  they 
heard  the  angels  singing  songs  of  triumph,  and 
the  unconquerable  martyr  pouring  forth  his 
soul  in  hymns  of  thanksgiving :  he  even  called 
to  his  jailers  to  enter,  and  partake  of  the  celes¬ 
tial  delight  and  solace  which  had  been  vouch¬ 
safed  to  him ;  and  they,  being  amazed,  fell 
upon  their  knees,  and  acknowledged  the  true 
God.  Dacian  having  tried  tortures  in  vain, 
he  determined  to  try  seduction.  He  ordered 
a  bed  of  down  to  be  prepared,  strewn  with 
roses;  commanded  the  sufferer  to  be  laid  upon 
it,  and  allowed  his  friends  and  disciples  to 
approach  him.  They,  weeping,  stanched  his 
wounds,  and  dipped  their  kerchiefs  in  his  flow¬ 
ing  blood,  and  kissed  his  hands  and  brow,  and 
besought  him  to  live.  But  the  martyr,  who 
had  held  out  through  such  protracted  torments, 
had  no  sooner  been  laid  upon  the  bed  than 
his  pure  spirit,  disdaining  as  it  were  these 
treacherous  indulgences,  fled  to  heaven :  the 
angels  received  him  on  their  wings,  and  he  en¬ 
tered  into  bliss  ineffable  and  eternal.” 

19J10.  CONTEMPLATION,  Holy.  St.  Bernard 
compares  contemplation  to  the  eagle ;  for  as 
the  eagle  is  still  fastening  her  eye  upon  the 
radiant  beams  of  the  beautiful  sun,  so  contem¬ 
plation  is  still  viewing  the  glorious  beams 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Or,  else,  it  may 
be  compared  to  those  birds  of  whom  David 
speaks,  who  build  their  nest  by  the  altar  of 
God.  This  is  that  celestial  bird  that  builds 
her  nest  about  the  throne  of  glory.  This  is 
the  bee  which  flies  into  the  sweetest  gardens, 
and  sucks  honey  from  every  flower  of  paradise. 
“  By  meditation  I  can  converse  with  God,  sol¬ 
ace  myself  on  the  bosom  of  my  Beloved,  bathe 
myself  in  rivers  of  pleasure,  tread  the  paths  of 
my  rest,  and  view  the  mansions  of  my  eternity. 
What  makest  thou,  then,  O  my  soul  1  in  this 
valley  of  tears?  Up  upon  the  mount,  and 
view  the  land  of  promise.  What  makest  thou 
in  this  wilderness  of  trouble  ?  Up  upon  the 
wing,  and  take  thy  flight  to  heaven ;  let  thy 
thought  be  where  thy  happiness  is,  and  let 
thy  heart  be  where  thy  thoughts  are :  though 
thy  habitation  may  be  on  earth,  yet  thy  con¬ 
versation  shall  be  in  heaven.” 

1VK.  CONTEMPLATION,  Subjects  for.  A 
worldly-minded  man  will  have  matter  enough 
to  think  upon  in  worldly  things  for  a  whole 
year  together,  building  castles  in  the  air,  busy¬ 
ing  himself  about  things  that  are  not,  nor  ever 
shall  be.  Strange,  then,  that  any  man  should 
object  the  want  of  matter  in  the  contemplation 
of  things  spiritual ;  whereas,  did  he  but  resort 
to  God’s  storehouses,  open  the  large  volume  of 
the  creation,  and  unclasp  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
he  might  find  abundant  matter  of  meditation 
besides  the  consideration  of  his  own  misery,  — 
his  manifold  sins  and  corruptions,  wants  and 
imperfections,  God’s  great  mercies  and  bless¬ 
ings,  the  administration  of  his  judgments,  the 
workings  of  his  providence,  the  blessedness  of 
virtue  and  religion,  and  the  glories  of  heaven : 
so  that  there  is  no  lack  of  important  subjects 


1018.  CONTEMPT,  Nature  of.  Contempt 
naturally  implies  a  man’s  esteeming  of  himself 
greater  than  the  person  whom  he  contemns ; 
he,  therefore,  that  slights,  that  contemns,  an 
affront,  is  properly  superior  to  it ;  and  he 
conquers  an  injury  who  conquers  his  resent¬ 
ments  of  it.  Socrates,  being  kicked  by  an  ass, 
did  not  think  it  a  revenge  proper  for  Socrates 
to  kick  the  ass  a  train.  Dr.  South. 

1019.  CONTEMPT,  of  the  Truth.  As  they 

who  are  displeased  with  all  things  that  profit 
them  not;  or  as  a  blind  man,  who,  groping  by 
the  walls  of  a  fair  house,  doth  find  fault  with 
the  windows  because  they  are  not  so  smooth 
as  the  walls :  even  so  such  are  they  that  find 
fault  with  the  Scriptures  because  they  show 
the  spots  as  well  as  the  beauty,  the  vice  as 
well  as  the  virtue.  Cawdray. 

1020.  CONTENTION,  Avoiding.  As  we  avoid 
fighting  dogs,  lest  we  be  caught  by  the  shins  ; 
even  so  are  we  to  avoid  troublesome  spirits; 
that  are  ready  to  wrangle  about  every  trifle. 

Cawdray. 

1021.  CONTENTION,  Christian.  God  grant 

that  we  may  contend  with  other  churches,  as 
the  vine  with  the  olive,  which  of  us  shall  bear 
the  best  fruit ;  but  not,  as  the  brier  with  the 
thistle,  which  of  us  will  be  most  unprofita¬ 
ble  !  Lord  Bacon. 

1022.  CONTENTION,  Contagions.  As  a  little 

spark  many  times  setteth  a  whole  house  on 
fire ;  even  so  a  contentious  and  froward  per¬ 
son,  of  a  little  matter  of  nought,  maketh 
much  debate  and  division  among  lovers  and 
Iriends.  Cawdray. 

1023.  CONTENTION,  like  lire.  Contention 
is  like  fire ;  for  both  burn  so  long  as  there  is 
any  exhaustible  matter  to  contend  with.  Only 
herein  it  transcends  fire,  —  for  fire  begets  not 
matter,  but  consumes  it ;  debates  beget  matter, 
but  do  not  consume  it.  For  the  wicked  study 
causes  of  contention.  When  the  pope  could 
find  no  just  exception  against  Frederick  the 
emperor,  he  quarrelled  with  him  for  holding 
the  wrong  stirrup  when  the  great  prelate 
should  mount  his  palfrey ;  and  though  he 
might  easily  mistake,  for  emperors  are  not 
used  to  hold  stirrups,  yet  he  was  persecuted 
almost  to  excommunication  for  it.  T.  Adams. 

1924.  CONTENTION,  Occasion  of.  As  we  see 
one  coal  kindle  another,  and  wood  to  be 
apt  matter  to  make  a  fire ;  so  those  that  are 
disposed  to  contention  and  brawling  are  apt 
to  kindle  strife.  Cawdray. 

1025.  CONTENTION,  Useless.  A  young 
preacher  was  riding  out  with  one  of  his  dea¬ 
cons,  when  they  encountered  a  hog  lying  across 
the  road.  The  deacon  advised  the  preacher 
to  turn  out  for  the  hog ;  but  he  persisted  in 
keeping  the  road.  At  last,  the  preacher  was 
compelled  to  go  around  the  hog,  or  be  upset ; 
and  thus  effectually  learned  the  lesson,  “  Never 
contend  with  a  hog.” 

1026.  CONTENTMENT,  Aid  to.  A  poor  widow, 
not  having  bed-clothes  to  shelter  her  boy  from 
the  snow  which  was  blown  through  the  cracks 
of  her  miserable  hovel,  used  to  cover  him 
with  boards.  One  night,  he  said  to  her  smil- 


CONTENTMENT. 


CONTENTMENT.  135 


ingly  and  contentedly,  “  Ma,  what  do  poor 
folks  do  these  cold  nights,  that  haven’t  any 
boards  to  pat  on  their  children  ?  ” 

1027.  CONTENTMENT,  Argument  for.  Alex¬ 
ander  was  discontented  because  ivy  would  not 
grow  in  his  gardens  at  Babylon  ;  but  Diogenes 
was  more  wise,  who,  finding  a  mouse  in  his 
satchel,  said  he  saw  that  himself  was  not  so 
poor  but  some  were  glad  of  his  leavings.  Had 
we  but  hearts  to  improve  higher  providences, 
we  might  soon  rock  our  peevish  spirits  quiet. 

Spencer. 

1028.  CONTENTMENT,  Attained.  What  a 
beautiful  example  for  all  of  us  is  the  resolution 
of  the  old  lady,  who,  from  a  crabbed  and  anx¬ 
ious  body,  became  quite  the  opposite  1  When 
asked  what  had  induced  the  change,  she  re¬ 
plied,  “  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  been 
all  my  life  striving  for  a  contented  mind,  and 
finally  concluded  to  sit  down  contented  without 
it.” 

1029.  CONTENTMENT,  Blessing  of.  One 
observes  concerning  manna,  when  the  people 
were  contented  with  tlie  allowance  that  God 
gave  them,  then  it  was  very  good ;  but  when 
they  would  not  be  content  with  God's  allow¬ 
ance,  but  would  be  gathering  more,  then,  says 
the  text,  “  There  were  worms  in  it.”  So,  when 
we  are  content  with  our  conditions,  and  that 
which  God  disposeth  of  us  to  be  in,  there’s  a 
blessing  in  it;  but  if  we  must  needs  be  reach¬ 
ing  out  for  more  than  God  hath  allotted,  or  to 
keep  it  longer  than  God  would  have  us,  then 
there  will  be  worms  in  it,  a  canker  to  eat  it,  a 
moth  to  fret  it,  nothing  at  all  that  is  good. 

Spencer. 

1030.  CONTENTMENT,  Christian.  A  gentle¬ 
man,  travelling  on  a  misty  morning,  asked  a 
shepherd  what  weather  it  would  be.  “  It 
will  be,”  said  the  shepherd,  “  what  weather 
pleaseth  me.”  Being  requested  to  explain  his 
meaning,  he  said,  “  Sir,  it  shall  be  what  weather 
pleases  God ;  and  what  weather  pleases  God 
pleases  me.” 

1031.  CONTENTMENT,  Comfort  of.  By  the 

art  of  navigation,  with  great  pains  and  in¬ 
dustry,  men  fetch  in  the  silks  of  Persia,  the 
spices  of  Egypt,  the  gold  of  Ophir,  the  treas¬ 
ures  of  the  Indies.  By  the  art  of  contentment, 
a  man  may  stay  at  home,  and  fetch  in  the 
comfort  of  any  condition  whatsoever;  that  is, 
he  may  have  that  comfort  by  contentment  that 
he  should  have  if  he  had  the  very  things 
themselves.  Spencer. 

1032.  CONTENTMENT,  Example  of.  John 
Weoselus  of  Groningen,  who  was  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
was,  on  account  of  his  extensive  attainments, 
called  11  the  light  of  the  world,”  having  been 
once  introduced  into  the  presence  of  the  pope, 
was  requested  by  that  pontiff  to  ask  tor  some 
favor  for  himself.  “  Then,”  said  Wesselus,  “  I 
beg  you  to  give  me  out  of  the  Vatican  Library 
a  Greek  and  a  Hebrew  Bible.”  —  “You  shall 
have  them,”  said  Sixtus ;  “  but,  foolish  man, 
why  don’t  you  ask  for  a  bishopric  or  something 
of  that  sort  ?  ”  Said  Wesselus,  “  Because  I  do 
not  want  such  things.” 


1033.  CONTENTMENT,  Experienced.  A  bishop 
of  the  early  Church,  who  was  a  remarkable 
example  of  this  virtue,  was  asked  its  secret. 
The  venerable  old  man  replied,  “  It  consists  in 
nothing  more  than  making  a  right  use  of  my 
eyes.  In  whatever  state  I  am,  I  first  of  all  look 
up  to  heaven,  and  remember  that  my  principal 
business  here  is  to  get  there ;  I  then  look 
down  upon  the  earth,  and  call  to  mind  how 
small  a  place  I  shall  occupy  in  it  when  I  die 
and  am  buried ;  I  then  look  abroad  in  the 
world,  and  observe  what  multitudes  there  are 
who  are  in  all  respects  more  unhappy  than 
myself:  thus  I  learn  where  true  happiness  is 
placed,  where  all  our  cares  must  end,  and  what 
little  reason  I  have  to  repine  or  complain.” 

1934.  CONTENTMENT,  Grateful.  A  poor 
widow  living  in  a  house  open  to  the  snow  in 
winter,  and  who  could  have  no  fire  when  the 
wind  blew,  exclaimed,  “  How  favored  I  am  I 
for  when  it  is  coldest,  the  wind  does  not  blow, 
and  I  can  have  a  fire.”  When  rheumatism  had 
disabled  one  of  her  feet,  she  exclaimed  again, 
“  IIovv  favored  I  am  !  I  once  lost  the  use  of 
both  my  feet.”  Thus  in  every  calamity  she 
saw  some  especial  mercy. 

1935.  CONTENTMENT,  Ignorant.  The  cap¬ 
tain  of  a  whaleship  told  one  of  the  wretched 
natives  of  Greenland,  that  he  sincerely  pitied 
the  miserable  life  to  which  he  was  condemned. 
“  Miserable  !  ’’  exclaimed  the  savage.  “  I  have 
always  had  a  fishbone  through  my  nose,  and 
plenty  of  train-oil  to  drink  :  what  more  could 
i  desire  ?  ” 

1936.  CONTENTMENT,  Lesson  of.  Learn  to  be 
contented  with  your  condition.  Is  that  animal 
better  that  hath  two  or  three  mountains  to 
graze  on  than  a  little  bee  that  feeds  on  dew  or 
manna,  and  lives  on  what  falls  every  morning 
from  the  clouds,  the  storehouses  of  heaven? 
Can  a  man  quench  his  thirst  better  out  of  a 
river  than  a  full  cup,  or  drink  better  from  the 
fountain  which  is  finely  paved  with  marble 
than  when  it  wells  over  the  green  turf? 

Jerenu /  Taylor. 

1937.  CONTENTMENT,  in  Poverty,  there  is  a 
kind  of  dialogue  betwixt  one  Dr.  Thaulerus, 
and  a  poor  man  that  lay  begging  by  the  high¬ 
way  side.  “  Good-morrow,  poor  man  !  ”  said 
the  doctor.  “  I  never  had  any  bad  morrow,” 
said  the  beggar.  “  No  1  ”  said  the  doctor. 
“  Thou  art  a  miserable  poor  man ;  thou  art  as 
good  as  naked,  without  any  clothes  on  thy 
back,  no  friends,  nor  any  one  to  relieve  thee, 

—  how  can  it,  then,  be  true  that  thou  sayest, 
thou  never  hadst  any  bad  morrow  ?  ”  —  “  I’ll 
tell  you,”  says  the  beggar :  “  whether  I  am 
sick  or  in  health,  whether  it  be  warm  or 
cold  weather,  whether  I  be  clothed  or  naked, 
rich  or  poor,  I  bless  God  for  all.”  —  “  Oh ! 
but  friend,”  said  the  doctor,  “  what  if  Christ 
should  cast  thee  into  hell  V  ”  —  “  If  he  should,” 
says  he,  “  I  would  be  contented ;  but  I  have 
two  arms,  —  the  one  of  faith,  the  other  of  love, 

—  wherewith  I  would  lay  such  fast  hold  on 

him,  that  1  would  have  him  along  with  me ; 
and  then  I  am  sure  that  hell  would  be  heaven 
it’  he  were  there.”  Spencer. 


136 


COIJTEINTMIET^T. 


CONTROVERSY. 


1038.  CONTENTMENT,  Promoting.  A  philoso¬ 
pher  who  was  passing  through  a  mart  filled 
with  articles  of  taste  and  luxury,  made  himself 
quite  happy  with  this  simple  yet  sage  reflec¬ 
tion,  “  How  many  things  there  are  here  that 
I  do  not  want !  ” 

1039.  CONTENTMENT,  Propriety  of.  If  a 
traveller  hath  hut  enough  to  bring  him  to  his 
journey’s  end,  he  desires  no  more.  We  have 
but  a  day  to  live,  and  perhaps  we  may  be  now 
in  the  twelfth  hour  of  that  day ;  and,  if  God 
give  us  but  enough  to  bear  our  charges  till 
night,  it  is  sufficient:  let  us  be  content.  If  a 
man  had  the  lease  of  a  house  or  farm  but  for 
two  or  three  days,  and  he  should  fall  a  build¬ 
ing  or  planting,  would  he  not  be  judged  very 
indiscreet?  So,  when  we  have  but  a  short 
time  here,  and  death  calls  us  presently  off  the 
stage,  to  thirst  immoderately  after  the  world, 
and  pull  down  our  souls  to  build  up  an  estate 

•  were  it  not  extreme  follv  ?  Spencer. 

1010.  CONTENTMENT,  Reason  for.  A  king, 
walking  out  one  morning,  met  a  lad  at  the 
stable-door,  and  asked  him,  “  Well,  boy,  what 
do  you  do  ?  What  do  they  pay  you  V  ”  —  “  I 
help  in  the  stable,”  replied  the  lad;  “but 
I  have  nothing  except  victuals  and  clothes.” 
“Be  content,”  replied  the  king:  “I  have  no 
more.” 

1041.  CONTENTMENT,  Riches  of.  Content¬ 
ment  produces,  in  some  measure,  all  those 
effects  which  the  alchemist  usually  ascribes 
to  the  philosopher’s  stone ;  and,  if  it  does  not 
bring  riches,  it  does  the  same  thing,  by  ban¬ 
ishing  the  desire  of  them.  Addison. 

1012.  CONTENTMENT,  not  in  Riches.  A  man 
diseased  in  body  can  have  little  joy  of  his 
wealth,  be  it  ever  so  much.  A  golden  crown 
cannot  cure  the  headache,  nor  a  velvet  slipper 
give  ease  to  the  gout,  nor  a  purple  robe  fray 
away  a  burning  fever ;  a  sick  man  is  alike  sick 
wherever  you  lay  him,  —  on  a  bed  of  gold,  or 
on  a  pad  of  straw  ;  with  a  silk  quilt,  or  a  sorry 
rag  on  him :  so  no  more  can  riches,  gold  or 
silver,  land  and  livings,  had  a  man  ever  so 
much,  minister  unto  him  much  joy,  yea,  or  any 
true  joy  at  all,  where  the  mind  is  distract  and 
discontent.  Without  contentment,  there  is  no 
joy  of  aught,  there  is  no  profit,  no  pleasure  in 
any  thing.  Spencer. 

1043.  Contentment  consisteth  not  in  add¬ 

ing  more  fuel,  but  in  taking  away  some  fire  ; 
not  in  multiplying  of  wealth,  but  in  subtracting 
men’s  desires.  Worldly  riches,  like  nuts,  tear 
many  clothes  in  getting  them,  but  fill  no  belly 
with  eating  them,  obstructing  only  the  stomach 
with  toughness,  and  filling  the  bowels  with 
windiness.  Yea,  your  souls  may  sooner  surfeit, 
than  be  satisfied  with  earthly  things.  He  that 
at  first  thought  ten  thousand  pounds  too  much 
for  any  one  man  will  afterwards  think  ten 
million  too  little  for  himself.  T.  Fuller. 

1044.  CONTENTMENT,  Satisfaction  of.  Said 
a  venerable  farmer,  some  eighty  years  old,  to  a 
relative  who  had  lately  visited  him,  “  I  have 
lived  on  this  farm  for  more  than  half  a  century. 
I  have  no  desire  to  change  my  residence  as 
long  as  I  live  on  earth.  I  have  no  desire 


to  be  any  richer  than  I  now  am.  I  have  wor¬ 
shipped  the  God  of  my  fathers  with  the  same 
people  for  more  than  forty  years.  During  the 
time,  I  have  rarely  been  absent  from  the  sanc¬ 
tuary  on  the  sabbath,  and  have  never  lost  one 
communion  season.  I  have  never  been  con¬ 
fined  to  my  bed  by  sickness  a  singi  day.  The 
blessings  of  God  have  been  rien.y  spread 
around  me,  and  I  made  up  my  mind  long  age 
that,  it'  I  wished  to  be  happier,  I  must  have 
more  religion.”  Dr.  Haven. 

1045.  CONTENTMENT,  True.  It  is  not  to  be 
the  content  of  indifference,  of  indolence,  of 
unambitious  stupidity,  but  the  content  of  indus¬ 
trious  fidelity.  When  men  are  building  the 
foundations  of  vast  structures,  they  must  needs 
labor  far  below  the  surface,  and  in  disagreeable 
conditions.  But  every  course  of  stone  which 
they  lay  raises  them  higher;  and  at  length, 
when  they  reach  the  surface,  they  have  laid 
such  solid  work  under  them,  that  they  need  not 
fear  now  to  carry  up  their  walls,  through  tow¬ 
ering  stories,  till  they  overlook  the  whole  neigh¬ 
borhood.  A  man  proves  himself  fit  to  go  higher, 
who  shows  that  he  is  faithful  where  lie  is.  A 
man  that  will  not  do  well  in  his  present  place, 
because  he  longs  to  be  higher,  is  fit  neither  to 
be  where  he  is,  nor  yet  above  it :  he  is  already 
too  high,  and  should  be  put  lower.  Beecher. 

1046.  CONTRITION,  Emblem  of.  A  bruised 

reed  is  an  expressive  emblem  of  the  soul, 
broken  and  contrite  on  account  of  sin,  weeping 
and  mourning  for  transgression.  Christ  will 
not  break  it ;  that  is,  he  will  not  be  haughty, 
unforgiving,  and  cruel ;  he  will  heal  it,  pardon 
it,  and  give  it  strength.  A.  Barnes. 

1047.  CONTRITION,  Necessity  of.  Take  the 
cold  iron,  and  attempt  to  weld  it,  if  you 
can,  into  a  certain  shape.  How  fruitless  the 
effort  1  Lay  it  on  the  anvil,  seize  the  black¬ 
smith’s  hammer  with  all  your  might,  let  blow 
after  blow  fall  upon  it,  and  you  shall  have  done 
nothing ;  but  put  it  in  the  fire,  let  it  be  soft¬ 
ened  and  made  malleable,  then  lay  it  on  the 
anvil,  and  each  stroke  shall  have  a  mighty 
effect,  so  that  you  may  fashion  it  into  any  form 
you  may  desire :  so  take  your  heart,  not  cold 
as  it  is,  not  stony  as  it  is  by  nature,  but  put  it 
into  the  furnace  ;  there  let  it  be  molten,  and 
after  that  it  can  be  turned  like  wax  to  the  seal, 
and  fashioned  into  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Spurgeon. 

1048.  CONTROVERSY,  Benefit  of.  As  in 

many  of  the  Scotch  mountains  we  often  see  the 
cloud  hanging  on  its  side  as  a  part  of  the 
mountain  ;  but,  as  soon  as  it  is  broken  by 
the  wind,  it  descends  in  refreshing  dew  upon 
the  mountain-side,  and  runs  down  the  steep 
to  fructify  the  mountain-flowers :  so  the  mist 
of  controversy  is  a  means,  when  scattered,  of 
enriching  the  understanding  and  fructifying 
the  heart.  Bowes. 

1049.  CONTROVERSY,  Effects  of.  Christians, 
having  drawn  the  abstrusest  niceties  into  con¬ 
troversy,  did  thereby  so  destroy  peace,  love, 
and  charity  among  themselves,  that  they  lost 
the  whole  substance  of  religion,  and  in  a  man¬ 
ner  drove  Christianity  quite  out  of  the  field  : 


CONTROVERSY. 


CONVERSATION-.  137 


bo  that  the  Saracens,  taking  advantage  of  the 
weakness  of  power  and  distractions  of  councils 
which  those  divisions  had  caused,  soon  overran 
with  terrible  devastation  all  the  eastern  prov¬ 
inces  of  the  Roman  empire,  turned  every¬ 
where  their  churches  into  mosques,  and  torced 
on  them  the  abominable  imposture  of  Mahom¬ 
etanism.  Dean  Prideaux. 

1050.  CONTROVERSY,  End  of.  One  of  the 
ancient  Fathers  replied  to  a  clamorous  dis¬ 
putant,  who  shouted,  “  Hear  me,  hear  me  !  ” — 
“  I  will  neither  hear  thee,  nor  do  thou  hear  me  ; 
but  let  us  both  hear  Christ !  ” 

1051.  CONTROVERSY,  Not  Evil.  Reason 
teacheth  us,  that,  in  ignorance  and  implied  be¬ 
lief,  it  is  easy  to  agree,  as  colors  agree  in  the 
dark  ;  or,  if  any  country  decline  into  atheism, 
then  controversies  wax  dainty,  because  men  do 
not  think  religion  scarce  worth  the  falling-out 
for :  so  it  is  weak  divinity  to  account  contro¬ 
versies  an  ill  sign  in  the  Church.  Lord  Bacon. 

1052.  CONTROVERSY,  Test  of.  A  cobbler  at 
Leyden,  who  used  to  attend  the  public  dispu¬ 
tations  held  at  the  academy,  was  once  asked 
if  lie  understood  Latin.  “  No,”  replied  the 
mechanic ;  “  but  I  know  who  is  wrong  in  the 
argument.”  —  “  Ilow  V  ”  replied  his  friend. 
“  Why,  by  seeing  who  is  angry  first.” 

1053.  CONTROVERSY,  Using.  Xenocrates  dis¬ 
puted  so  long  about  wisdom,  that  Eudamidas 
facetiously  inquired  what  time  he  would  have 
left  to  use  it. 

1051.  CONVERSATION,  Dangerous.  Marcion 
the  heretic,  meeting  with  Polycarp,  desired  of 
him  that  he  might  know  him.  Polycarp  an¬ 
swered,  “As  for  thee,  I  know  thee  to  be  the 
first-born  of  the  Devil.”  St.  John,  coming 
to  a  bath,  found  Cerintlius  there,  and  hastened 
out,  saying  it  was  impossible  such  a  place 
should  stand  where  such  a  heretic  remained. 

Spencer. 

1055.  CONVERSATION,  Description  of.  Con¬ 

versation  is  the  music  of  the  mind,  —  an  intel¬ 
lectual  orchestra,  where  all  the  instruments 
should  bear  a  part ;  but  where  none  should  play 
together.  Each  of  the  performers  should  have 
a  just  appreciation  of  his  own  powers,  other¬ 
wise  an  unskilful  novitiate,  who  might  usurp 
the  first  fiddle,  would  infallibly  get  into  a 
scrape.  To  prevent  these  mistakes,  a  good 
master  of  the  band  will  be  particular  in  the 
assortment  of  the  performers  :  if  too  dissimilar, 
there  will  be  no  harmony ;  if  too  few,  there 
will  be  no  variety;  and,  if  too  numerous,  there 
will  be  no  order ;  for  the  presumption  of  one 
prater  might  silence  the  eloquence  of  a  Burke, 
or  the  wit  of  a  Sheridan,  as  a  single  kettle¬ 
drum  would  drown  the  finest  solo  of  Gioni- 
wieli  or  a  Jordini.  C.  Colton. 

1056.  CONVERSATION,  Effect  of,  While  Hopu, 
a  young  Sandwich-Islander,  was  in  America, 
he  spent  an  evening  in  a  company  where  an 
infidel  lawyer  tried  to  puzzle  him  with  difficult 
questions.  At  length  the  native  said,  “  I  am 
a  poor  heathen  boy.  It  is  not  strange  that 
my  blunders  in  English  should  amuse  you. 
But  soon  there  will  be  a  larger  meeting  than  this. 
We  shall  all  be  there.  They  will  ask  us 


all  one  question,  namely,  ‘  Do  you  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  ’  Now,  sir,  I  think  I  can  say 
‘  Yes.’  What  will  you  say,  sir  ?  ”  When  he  had 
stopped,  all  present  were  silent.  At  length  the 
lawyer  said,  that,  as  the  evening  was  far  gone, 
they  had  better  conclude  it  with  prayer ;  and 
proposed  that  the  native  youth  should  pray. 
He  did  so  ;  and,  as  he  poured  out  his  heart  to 
God,  the  lawyer  could  not  conceal  his  feelings. 
Tears  started  from  his  eyes,  and  he  sobbed 
aloud.  All  present  wept  too;  and,  when  they 
separated,  the  words,  “  What  will  you  say,  sir  V  ” 
followed  the  lawyer  home,  and  did  not  leave 
him  till  he  was  brou-jlit  to  the  Saviour. 

1057.  CONVERSATION,  in  Heaven.  As  a 
wheel,  although  it  turneth  about  on  the  ground, 
yet  the  greatest  part  of  it  is  always  from  the 
earth,  and  but  little  of  it  toucheth  the  ground  : 
so,  although  our  body  be  on  earth,  yet  the 
conversation  of  the  soul,  which  is  the  greater 
part  of  us,  must  be  in  heaven.  Cawdray. 

1058.  CONVERSATION,  Importance  of  Christian. 
A  young  man  under  conviction  for  sin  met  a 
Christian  whom  he  respected,  and  from  whom 
he  expected  a  word  appropriate  to  his  condi¬ 
tion.  Instead  of  that  he  said,  “  I  saw  you  in 
B.  last  week.  I  went  to  the  theatre,  and  you 
ought  to  have  gone.”  This  remark  sent  the 
seeker  into  some  years’  longer  bondage  to  sin, 
when,  through  mercy,  he  was  again  awakened, 
and  this  time  found  peace. 

I®55>.  CONVERSATION,  Profitable.  A  num¬ 
ber  of  friends  were  dining  together  in  England. 
To  prevent  the  introduction  of  sinful  or  idle 
conversation,  one  of  them  said,  “  Let  us  discuss 
the  question,  whether  we  shall  one  and  all  get 
to  heaven.”  This  most  unexpected  motion  in¬ 
duced  all  that  were  present  to  serious  thoughts, 
and  to  thoroughly  examine  themselves.  One 
thought,  “If  one  of  our  number  be  lost,  I  shall 
be  the  one.”  So  thought  another,  and  a  third, 
and  so  every  one  of  the  company.  Even 
the  waiters  at  the  table  became  serious  and 
thoughtful.  It  subsequently  appeared  that 
this  word  gave  the  first  start  to  the  conversion 
of  all  present  on  that  occasion. 

1060.  CONVERSATION,  Rebuke  of  Vain.  Mr. 
Locke  having  been  introduced  by  Lord  Shaftes¬ 
bury  to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  Lord 
Halifax,  these  three  noblemen,  instead  of  con¬ 
versing  with  that  philosopher  on  literary  sub¬ 
jects,  in  a  very  short  time  sat  down  to  cards. 
Mr.  Locke,  after  looking  on  for  some  time,  took 
out  his  pocket-book,  and  began  to  write  with 
great  attention.  One  of  the  company,  observ¬ 
ing  this,  took  the  liberty  of  asking  him  what  he 
was  writing.  “  My  lord,”  says  Locke,  “  I  am 
endeavoring,  as  far  as  possible,  to  profit  by  my 
.present  situation  ;  for,  having  waited  with  im¬ 
patience  for  the  honor  of  being  in  company 
with  the  greatest  geniuses  of  the  age,  I  thought 
I  could  do  nothing  better  than  to  write  down 
your  conversation  :  and,  indeed,  I  have  set 
down  the  substance  of  what  you  have  said  for 
this  hour  or  two.”  The  noblemen  immedi¬ 
ately  quitted  their  play,  and  entered  into  a 
conversation  suited  to  their  reputation  as  men 
of  genius.  Percy. 


138 


co:n~v'k:rsa.tio:n'. 


CONXKRSION. 


1061.  CONVERSATION,  Record  of.  Bishop 
Latimer,  when  examined  before  Bonner,  at 
first  answered  without  much  thought,  but,  hear¬ 
ing  the  noise  of  a  pen  behind  the  curtain,  be 
concluded  that  his  words  were  being  taken 
down,  and  became  more  cautious.  The  record¬ 
ing  angel  takes  down  not  our  words  only,  but 
also  our  deeds  and  thoughts. 

1062.  CONVERSATION,  Religious.  It  is  re¬ 
lated  of  Bishop  Usher  and  Dr.  Preston,  that, 
before  they  parted,  one  said  to  the  other, 
“  Come,  good  doctor,  let  us  talk  now  a  little  of 
Jesus  Christ.”  Or  the  doctor  said,  “  Come, 
my  lord  bishop,  let  me  hear  your  grace  talk 
of  the  goodness  of  God  with  your  wonted  elo¬ 
quence  ;  let  us  warm  each  other’s  hearts  with 
heaven,  that  we  may  the  better  bear  this  cold 
world.” 

1063.  CONVERSION,  Age  at.  Take  a  con¬ 
gregation  of  a  thousand  Christians ;  divide 
them  into  five  classes,  according  to  the  ages 
at  which  they  became  Christians.  Of  these 
thousand  Christians,  there  would  be,  probably, 
hopefully  converted,  under  twenty  years  of 
age,  548  ;  between  twenty  and  thirty  years 
ot  age,  337  ;  between  thirty  and  forty,  96; 
between  forty  and  fifty,  15;  between  fifty  and 
sixty,  3 ;  between  sixty  and  seventy,  1. 

Dr.  Spencer. 

1061.  CONVERSION,  Agents  of.  It  is  related 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  that  being  upon 
his  return  from  Patinos  to  Ephesus,  after  the 
death  of  D  nnician,  he  was  set  upon  by  a  coin- 
p’liy  of  thieves,  amongst  whom  was  a  young 
man  their  captain ;  to  him  St.  John  applied 
himself  by  way  of  wholesome  counsel  and 
advice,  which  took  so  good  effect,  that  he 
became  a  new  man,  and  was  converted,  and 
went  thereupon  to  all  his  fellow-thieves,  and 
besought  them,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
that  they  would  not  walk  any  longer  in  their 
former  wicked  ways.  He  told  them,  withal, 
that  he  was  troubled  in  conscience  for  his 
firmer  wicked  life ;  and  earnestly  entreated 
them,  that,  as  they  cared  for  the  eternal  wel¬ 
fare  of  their  own  poor  souls,  they  would  now 
k  ave  off’  their  old  courses,  and  live  more  con- 
scionably  for  the  time  to  come.  The  counsel 
was  good,  and  well  taken ;  so  that  many  of 
those  great  robbers  became  great  converts. 

Spencer. 

1066.  CONVERSION,  Almost,  Many  persons 
come  to  the  right  point  in  conversion  ;  but 
they  never  shove  off'.  I  question  them  about 
their  state,  and  I  find  all  as  it  should  be ;  but 
they  are  waiting  for  something,  they  know 
not  what;  standing  still  in  thought  and  feel¬ 
ing.  Beecher. 

1066.  CONVERSION,  Change  in.  None  of  the 
fanciful  transformations  of  which  Ovid  sang 
of  old  could  ever  rival  the  matchless  work  of 
God  when  he  displays  his  power  upon  the 
human  mind.  Oh,  what  a  difference  between 
a  sinner  and  a  saint !  between  “  dead  in  tres¬ 
passes  and  sins,”  and  quickened  by  divine 
grace  !  If  God  should  speak  to  Niagara,  and 
bid  its  floods  in  their  tremendous  leap  suddenly 
stand  still,  that  were  a  trifling  demonstration  , 


of  power  compared  with  the  staying  of  a  des 
perate  human  will.  If  he  should  suddenly 
speak  to  the  broad  Atlantic,  and  bill  it  be 
wrapped  in  flames,  we  should  not  even  then 
see  such  a  manifestation  of  his  greatness  as 
when  he  commands  the  human  heart,  and 
makes  it  submissive  to  his  love.  Spurgeon. 

1067.  CONVERSION,  by  Christ  only.  A  con¬ 
victed  sinner  sought  relief  by  conversation 
with  his  pastor.  This  was  repeated  without 
result.  At  last,  the  pastor  said,  “  Go  home. 
Man  cannot  help  you.  The  whole  matter  lies 
,  between  yourself  and  God.”  He  turned  away, 
downcast.  It  seemed  as  if  his  last  prop  was 
gone.  When  man  cast  him  off,  he  in  despair 
cast  the  burden  of  his  sins  upon  Christ,  and 
found  almost  immediate  relief.  Look  only  to 
Christ  for  salvation. 

1®6§.  CONVERSION,  Early.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  where  it  pours  its  immense 
flood  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  how  impossible 
would  it  be  to  stay  the  flow  of  its  waters,  and 
to  separate  from  each  other  the  drops  of  the 
various  streams  that  have  poured  into  it  on 
either  side !  —  of  the  Red  River,  the  Arkansas, 
the  Ohio,  and  the  Missouri ;  or  to  silt,  grain  by 
grain  from  the  detritus,  the  particles  of  sand 
that  have  wasted  from  the  Ozark,  or  the  Alle¬ 
ghany,  or  the  far  Rocky  Mountains  !  yet  how 
much  more  impossible  would  it  be,  when  char¬ 
acter  is  the  river,  and  habits,  formed  one  after 
another,  are  the  side-streams,  to  throw  a  little 
dam  of  conversion  across,  and  separate  the  bad 
from  the  good  1  Let  the  stream  run  pure  from 
its  source.  Beecher. 

1066.  CONVERSION,  Evidence  of.  Two  little 
children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  used  to  play  a  great 
deal  together.  They  both  became  converted. 
One  day,  the  boy  came  to  his  mother,  and  said, 
“  Mother,  I  know  that  Emma  is  a  Christian.” 
—  “  AVhat  makes  you  think  so,  my  child  ?  ”  — 
“  Because,  mother,  she  plays  like  a  Christian. 
If  you  take  every  thing  she’s  got,  she  don’t  get 
angry.  Before,  she  was  selfish ;  and,  if  she 
didn’t  have  every  thing  her  own  way,  she 
would  say,  ‘  I  won’t  play  with  you  :  you  are  an 
ugly  little  boy.’  ” 

1070.  CONVERSION,  Experience  of.  An  old 
soldier  said,  “  When  I  was  a  young  fellow  in 
the  army,  we  used  often  to  receive  the  word  of 
command,  1  Right  about  face !  ’  and,  when  I 
became  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  this  is  just  the 
command  I  received  from  my  Captain  still, 
calling  me  to  him,  ‘  Right  about  ’  from  where  I 
was  before ;  and  I  love  to  obey  the  call.” 

1071.  CONVERSION,  Eictitions.  Every  man 

hath  conversion,  and  the  new  birth ;  but  it  is 
not  lawfully  attained  :  they  had  never  a  sick 
night  for  sin :  conversion  came  to  them  as  a 
night-dream.  In  a  word,  hell  will  be  empty 
at  the  day  of  judgment,  and  heaven  crammed 
full.  Alas  1  it  is  neither  easy  nor  ordinary  to 
believe  and  to  be  saved.  Rutherford. 

1072.  CONVERSION,  of  Foolish  Dick.  There 
lived  in  the  west  of  England  a  well-known 
character  called  “  Foolish  Dick.”  One  day, 
he  was  going  for  a  pitcher  of  water,  when  a 
good  old  man  hailed  him  with,  “  So,  Dick,  you 


CONVERSION. 


CONVERSION. 


139 


are  going  to  the  well  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,”  he  replied. 
“  Well,  Dick,  the  woman  of  Samaria  found 
Jesus  at  the  well.”  —  “  Did  she  ?  ”  was  the 
answer.  “  Yes.”  The  remark,  riveted  on  Dick’s 
mind  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  quickened  him  into 
new  life.  He  thought,  “  Why  should  I  not 
find  Jesus  at  the  well  ?  Oh  that  I  could  find 
him  1  Will  he  come  to  me  ?  ”  He  prayed, 
and  found  Christ  at  the  well ;  left  his  water-pot 
to  tell  his  neighbors  what  he  had  found  ;  and 
from  that  time  proved  the  reality  of  his  con¬ 
version  by  his  holy  and  active  life. 

Biblical  Treasury. 

1073.  CONVERSION,  a  Great  Change.  A  Scotch 
girl  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of 
Whitefield.  She  was  asked  if  her  heart  was 
changed,  and  gave  the  beautiful  reply,  “  Some¬ 
thing  I  know  is  changed  ;  it  may  be  the  world, 
it  may  be  my  heart.  There  is  a  great  change 
somewhere,  I’m  sure ;  for  every  thing  is  differ¬ 
ent  from  what  it  once  was.” 

1074.  CONVERSION,  Habits  after.  Late  ob¬ 
servations  have  shown,  that,  under  many  cir¬ 
cumstances,  the  magnetic  needle,  even  after 
the  disturbing  influence  has  been  removed, 
will  keep  wavering,  and  require  many  days 
before  it  points  aright,  and  remains  steady 
to  the  pole :  so  is  it  ordinarily  with  the  soul 
after  it  has  begun  to  free  itself  from  the  dis¬ 
turbing  forces  of  the  flesh  and  the  world, 
and  to  convert  (turn)  itself  towards  God. 

Me  Cosh. 

1073.  CONVERSION,  Hinderance3  to.  Akaba 
was  the  captain  of  a  robber  clan.  His  treas¬ 
uries  were  filled  with  countless  stolen  stores. 
His  mind  was  ill  at  ease.  He  came  to  Ben- 
Achmet,  a  dervish  living  on  the  borders  of  a 
wilderness  in  Arabia,  and  thus  addressed  him, 
“  Five  hundred  swords  obey  my  nod,  innumer¬ 
able  slaves  bow  to  my  control,  my  storehouses 
are  filled  with  silver  and  gold ;  tell  me,  how 
can  I  add  to  all  these  the  hope  of  eternal  life  ?  ” 
The  dervish  led  him  to  a  rugged  mountain- 
track,  pointed  to  three  immense  stones,  bade 
him  take  them,  and  follow  him  to  the  top  of 
the  hill.  Akaba  took  them  up  ;  but,  with  such 
a  weight,  he  could  scarcely  move.  One  by  one, 
he  was  obliged  to  leave  them,  and  then  easily 
climbed  the  hill.  “  My  son,”  said  the  hermit, 
when  they  sat  on  the  top,  “you  have  a  three¬ 
fold  burden  to  hinder  you  on  the  road  to  a 
better  state.  Dismiss  the  robber  band,  set 
your  slaves  free,  give  back  your  ill-gotten  gain. 
Sooner  would  Akaba  reach  the  mountain-top, 
bearing  those  heavy  stones,  than  find  real 
happiness  in  power,  lust,  and  wealth.”  Akaba 
obeyed  the  hermit. 

1076.  CONVERSION,  Instantaneous.  When 
grace  subdues  a  rebel  man,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
the  citadel  first  is  taken,  afterwards  the  city. 
It  is  not  as  in  those  great  sieges  which  we  have 
lately  watched  with  such  anxious  interest. 
There,  approaching  with  his  brigades  anil  cav¬ 
alry  and  artillery,  man  sits  down  outside  the 
city.  He  begins  the  attack  from  a  distance, 
creeping  like  a  lion  to  the  spring,  with  trench 
and  parallel  and  battery,  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  walls.  These  at  length  are  breached  ;  the 


gates  are  blown  open;  through  the  deadly  gap 
the  red,  living  tide  rolls  in.  Fighting  from 
bastion  to  bastion,  from  street  to  street,  they 
pass  onward  to  the  citadel ;  and  there,  giving 
no  quarter,  and  receiving  none,  beneath  a  de¬ 
fiant  flag,  the  rebels,  perhaps,  stand  by  theii 
guns,  prolonging  a  desperate  resistance.  But, 
when  the  appointed  hour  of  conversion  comes, 
Christ  descends  by  his  Spirit  into- the  heart, — 
at  once  into  the  heart.  The  heart  won,  she 
fights  her  way  outward  from  a  new  heart  on 
to  new  habits.  A  change  without  succeeds 
the  change  within.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

1077.  CONVERSION,  Joy  of.  Cowper  the 

poet  relates  of  his  overpowering  sensations 
at  the  time  of  his  conversion,  “  Unless  the 
Almighty  had  been  under  me,  I  think  I  should 
have  been  overwhelmed  with  gratitude  and 
joy.  My  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  my  voice 
choked  with  transport.  I  could  only  look  up 
to  heaven  in  silent  fear,  overwhelmed  with  love 
and  wonder.”  Dr.  Jobson. 

1078.  CONVERSION,  Late.  Conversions  after 

forty  years  of  age  are  very  rare ;  like  the  scat¬ 
tered  grapes  on  the  remotest  branches  after 
the  vintage  is  over,  there  is  only  one  here  and 
there.  I  have  sometimes  seen  an  old  withered 
oak,  standing  with  its  stiff  and  leafless  branch¬ 
es  on  the  slopes  of  a  woody  hill,  though  the 
same  refreshing  rains  and  genial  sunshine  fell 
on  it  as  on  its  thriving  neighbors,  which  were 
green  with  renewed  youth,  and  rich  in  flowing 
foliage:  it  grew  not,  it  gave  no  signs  of  life  ; 
it  was  too  far  gone  for  genial  nature  to  assist. 
The  old  blanched  sapless  oak  is  an  emblem  of 
the  aged  sinner.  Dr.  Thomas. 

1079.  CONVERSION,  Marks  of.  A  Methodist 
laborer  in  Wesley’s  time,  Capt.  Webb,  when 
any  one  informed  him  of  the  conversion  of  a 
rich  man,  was  in  the  habit  of  asking,  “  Is  his 
purse  converted  ?  ”  He  agreed  with  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke,  who  used  to  say,  he  did  not  believe 
in  the  religion  that  cost  a  man  nothing. 

1080.  CONVERSION,  of  Mrs.  Judson.  “  It  is 
just  a  year  this  day,”  says  Mrs.  Judson,  “  since 
I  entertained  hope  in  Christ.  About  this  time 
in  the  evening,  when  reflecting  on  the  words 
of  the  lepers :  ‘  If  we  enter  into  the  eity,  then 
the  famine  is  in  the  city,  and  we  shall  die 
there ;  if  we  sit  still  here,  we  die  also ;  ’  and 
felt,  that,  if  I  returned  to  the  world,  I  should 
surely  perish ;  if  I  staid  where  I  then  was, 
I  should  perish,  and  I  could  but  perish  if  I 
threw  myself  on  the  mercy  of  Christ.  Then 
came  light  and  relief  and  comfort,  such  as  I 
never  knew  before.” 

1081.  CONVERSION,  Prompt.  An  Indian  and 
a  white  man,  at  worship  together,  were  both 
brought  under  conviction  by  the  same  sermon. 
The  Indian  was  shortly  after  led  to  rejoice  in 
pardoning  mercy.  The  white  man,  for  a  long 
time,  was  under  distress  of  mind,  and  at  times 
ready  to  despair ;  but  he  was  at  last  brought 
also  to  a  comfortable  experience  of  tbrgiving 
love.  Some  time  after,  meeting  his  red  brother, 
he  thus  addressed  him,  “  How  is  it  that  I 
should  be  so  long  under  conviction,  when  you 
found  comfort  so  soon  ?  ”  —  “  O  brother  1  ” 


140 


COiNTSTERSIOlSr. 


COT^rVERSION". 


replied  the  Indian,  “  me  tell  you.  There  come 
along  a  rich  prince.  He  propose  to  give  you 
a  new  coat.  You  look  at  your  coat,  and  say, 
‘  I  don’t  know  :  my  coat  pretty  good.  I  think 
it  will  do  a  little  longer.’  He  then  oiler  me 
new  coat.  I  look  on  my  old  blanket.  I  say, 
*  This  good  ior  nothing.’  I  ding  it  right  away, 
and  accept  the  beautiful  garment.  Just  so, 
brother,  you  try  to  keep  your  own  righteous¬ 
ness  for  some  time ;  you  loath  to  give  it  up  ; 
but  I,  poor  Indian,  had  none  :  therefore  I  glad 
at  once  to  receive  the  righteousness  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.” 

1082.  CONVERSION,  a  Reality.  Conversion 
is  no  repairing  of  the  old  building  ;  but  it  takes 
all  down,  and  erects  a  new  structure.  It  is  not 
the  putting  in  a  patch,  or  sewing  on  a  list 
of  holiness;  but,  with  the  true  convert,  holiness 
is  woven  into  all  his  powers,  principles,  and 
practice.  The  sincere  Christian  is  quite  a  new 
fabric,  —  from  the  foundation  to  the  top  stone 
all  new.  He  is  a  new  man,  a  new  creature. 
All  things  are  become  new.  Conversion  is  a 
deep  work,  a  heart-work  ;  it  turns  all  upside 
down,  and  makes  a  man  be  in  a  new  world. 
It  goes  throughout  with  men,  —  throughout  the 
mind,  throughout  the  members,  throughout 
the  motions  of  the  whole  life.  R.  Alleine. 

1083.  CONVERSION,  Remarkable.  Some  years 
since,  a  young  lady  on  a  pleasure-excursion  in 
the  harbor  of  Portland  fell  overboard,  and  was 
very  nearly  drowned.  After  her  return  to  con¬ 
sciousness,  she  stated,  that,  while  in  the  water 
her  whole  previous  life,  even  to  the  minutest 
incidents,  had  passed  before  her  mind  as  in  a 
visible  panorama.  This  review  of  her  life  so 
affected  her  with  a  sense  of  God’s  goodness 
and  her  own  ingratitude,  that  she  then  and 
there  cast  her  soul  upon  the  mercy  of  Christ, 
and  consecrated  herself  to  his  service.  Prior 
to  the  accident,  she  had  been  frivolous,  worldly- 
minded,  and  utterly  averse  to  religious  things. 
But,  immediately  on  her  recovery,  she  men¬ 
tioned  her  strange  experience  while  in  the 
water,  and  informed  her  friends  that  she  was 
now  a  Christian,  and  meant  henceforth  to  live 
a  Christian  life  And  she  did.  From  that 
day  to  the  day  of  her  death,  she  was  an  earnest 
and  faithful  disciple  of  Christ.  And  she 
always  said  she  was  converted  during  those 
few  moments  between  her  fall  into  the  water 
and  her  restoration  to  consciousness. 

Congregationalist. 

1084.  CONVERSION,  Romish.  A  black  was 
baptised  some  time  since  in  this  district  by  a 
Romish  priest.  The  name  given  was  Adam. 
The  aboriginal,  it  is  evident  from  what  followed, 
was  more  witty  than  devout.  Fasting  was  of 
course  enjoined  on  the  convert;  but  it  was  re¬ 
ported  that  he  was  not  duly  observant  of  this 
ordinance:  and,  upon  a  certain  Friday,  the 
priest  made  an  unexpected  raid  on  his  sable 
neophyte,  and  found  on  his  breakfast-table  a 
goodly  piece  of  beef.  The  reproof  and  exhor¬ 
tation  ended,  Adam  essayed  to  have  Ids  say, 
and  spoke  thus :  “  That  no  beef,  massa  1  you 
wash  me,  and  Christ  me,  and  cross  me,  and 
you  give  me  noder  name :  you  call  me  Adam. 


Me  wash  him,  and  Christ  him,  and  cross  him, 
and  call  him  fish.  Him  no  beef,  him  fish.” 
We  deem  that  it  was  quite  as  possible  for  tho 
one  ceremony  to  make  the  beef  fish  as  for 
the  other  rite  to  make  the  heathen  an  heir  of 
salvation.  Vanderkiste. 

1085.  CONVERSION,  Simile  of.  Conversion 
is  like  entirely  and  wholly  refitting  an  old  ship, 
and  employing  it  in  the  service  of  a  new  and 
better  master.  By  nature,  a  man  is  full  of 
vanity,  sailing  under  the  colors  of  the  world. 
Now,  when  Christ  meets  a  man,  and  apprehends 
him  in  conversion,  he  takes  him  off  all  the  ends 
he  had  in  himself,  takes  possession  of  the  ship, 
puts  in  a  new  pilot,  a  new  compass,  and  turns 
its  prow  another  way  ;  and  all  the  lading  (ho 
ship  contains,  which  he  dislikes,  he  throws 
overboard,  and  fills  it  with  a  better  cargo. 

Bowes. 

1086.  CONVERSION,  Sin  after.  When  a  man 
has  washed  his  body  in  the  bath,  he  does  not 
need  to  wash  again,  save  his  feet,  which  may 
be  soiled  even  in  passing  from  the  bath  to  the 
dressing-chamber.  This  most  aptly  represents 
the  general  purification,  which,  in  their  great 
principles,  the  heart  and  character  undergo 
when  a  sinner  is  converted  to  God  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  the  daily  and  hourly  soiling  or  pol¬ 
lution,  from  contact  with  the  world,  which 
every  convert  is  ever  contracting,  and  from 
which  he  is  ever  requiring  to  be  cleansed. 

Dr.  Wardlaw. 

!€>§?.  CONVERSION,  A  Singular,  An  “  Evan¬ 
gelical  Christendom  ”  letter  from  Italy  says, 
“  One  man,  who  has  since  become  a  colporter, 
was  saved  from  the  error  of  his  ways  in  a  very 
singular  manner.  Some  time  ago,  he  was  most 
wretched.  He  did  not  believe  in  God.  He 
tried  to  believe  in  the  Devil,  and  to  love  him. 
He  cherished  in  his  heart  the  infernal  image, 
and  read  with  avidity  all  that  related  to  Satan, 
or  could  recall  his  influence.  He  went  the 
length  of  invoking  him,  asking  the  Evil  One  to 
reveal  himself  to  him.  One  day,  the  cure  from 
the  p.ulpit  announced  that  the  town  of  Perugia 
was  infested  with  Protestants.  ‘  And  do  you 
know,  my  dear  brethren,’  said  he,  ‘  what  Prot¬ 
estants  are  ?  They  are  monsters  of  iniquity, 
who  have  renounced  Jesus  Christ,  and  who 
worship  the  Devil.’  —  ‘  Excellent  news  1  ’  said 
the  man  of  whom  we  are  speaking,  to  himself ; 
and  that  very  day  he  ran  to  the  meeting  of 
those  worshippers  of  the  Devil ;  and  it  was 
there  that  he  learned  to  give  himself  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  worship  him.” 

1©88.  CONVERSION,  of  Soldiers.  A  returned 
soldier  relates  his  conversion  in  a  rebel  prison 
at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  thus :  “  There  were  twenty-two 
of  us  in  that  prison,  all  wild  boys.  We  suffered 
every  kind  of  privation ;  but  we  spent  our 
time  in  any  way,  playing  cards,  and  the  like. 
We  were  pretty  much  all  at  cards  one  day,  when 
some  rebel  officers  came  in  ;  and  one  of  them 
read  the  names  of  eight  of  us,  with  the  order 
for  execution,  and  directed  those  whose  names 
were  called  to  prepare  immediately  for  death. 
Their  lives  were  to  be  taken  in  retaliation  for 
something  the  rebels  said  our  side  (the  Yan- 


coisrv^Rsionr. 


CONVICTION. 


141 


kees)  h:ul  lone.  Those  eight  of  our  comrades 
hardly  had  time  to  say  good-by,  and  they 
were  led  out,  and  hung.  It  came  upon  the 
rest  of  us  like  a  thunderbolt.  Then  we  began 
to  think  we  needed  something  more  than  we 
had,  to  be  ready  to  die.  We  didn’t  know  who 
would  have  to  go  next.  There  were  fourteen 
of  us  left.  We  got  a  Bible,  and  began  to  read 
and  pray.  We  bad  prayer-meetings  every  day, 
morning  and  night;  and  there,  in  that  prison, 
every  one  of  us  found  Christ.  One  of  the 
number  is  now  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  I 
have  been  able  to  hold  on  since;  and  my 
Christian  experience  is  the  sweetest  remem¬ 
brance  I  have  of  the  army.” 

1089.  CONVERSION,  Sound.  Where  there  is 
a  sound  conversion,  then  a  man  is  wholly  given 
unto  God,  to  serve  him  in  his  whole  man  both 
body,  soul,  and  spirit.  He  shakes  hands  with 
all  sins ;  he  sells  all  for  the  jewel  of  the  gos¬ 
pel  ;  he  regards  not  sin  in  his  heart,  but  hath  a 
respect  to  all  God’s  commandments.  R.  Bolton. 

1090.  CONVERSION,  Unsound.  A  man  may 

be  changed  from  worse  to  better ;  from  a  noto¬ 
rious  sinner  to  a  civil,  honest  man.  From  civil 
honesty,  he  may  pass  on  to  a  formal  Chris¬ 
tianity,  and  do  and  perform  religious  services, 
and  yet  lie  in  his  sins,  and  want  the  power  of 
inward  sanctification.  lie  may,  by  a  general 
power  of  the  Word,  in  some  sort  be  inwardly 
enlightened.  He  may  have  some  degree  of 
understanding  and  joy  in  the  Word,  and  may 
do  many  things  after  it,  and  forsake  many  sins  ; 
yet  for  all  this  he  comes  short  of  a  sound  con¬ 
version.  If  he  suller  one  sin  to  reign  in  him, 
he  is  not  the  Lord’s ;  for  this  is  a  certain  rule, 
that  true  turning  unto  God ,  and  the  remain¬ 
ing  in  the  practice  of  any  one  sin,  cannot  stand 
together.  R.  Bolton. 

1091.  CONVERSION,  of  Wilberforce.  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce  was  a  gay  young  man,  the  delight  of 
the  clubs,  and  the  joy  of  the  Doncaster  races. 
At  the  age  of  twenty,  he  was  elected  to  the 
British  Parliament,  was  sceptical  in  principles, 
and  inclined  to  ridicule  religion.  He  after¬ 
wards  accepted  the  truth  of  the  gospel  through 
the  influence  of  Dean  Milner  ;  but  his  heart 
was  troubled,  lie  must  enter  the  wicket  gate 
like  any  other  sinner.  He  says,  “I  laughed; 

I  sang;  I  was  apparently  gay  and  happy. 
Should  I  die  in  this  state,  I  must  go  to  a  place 
of  misery.”  The  sinfulness  of  sin  was  revealed 
to  his  perception.  His  anguish  was  insupport¬ 
able,  until  lie  sought  the  counsel  of  Cowper’s 
friend,  good  old  John  Newton,  whom  he  had 
often  heard  preach  when  he  lived  with  his 
uncle  and  aunt.  Mr.  Newton  “  entered  most 
kindly  and  affectionately  into  my  case,  and  told 
me  he  well  remembered  me,  and  had  never 
since  ceased  to  prag  for  me.”  It  is  the  old,  old 
story  of  the  omnipotence  of  prayer. 

1092.  CONVERT,  A  Zealous.  About  seven 
years  ago,  a  Chinese  convert  came  to  Ilong- 
Kong,  from  a  town  about  a  hundred  miles  in 
the  interior.  He  had  been  converted  through 
the  labors  of  a  colporter,  and  sought  the  mission¬ 
aries  for  advice  and  instruction.  He  was  bap¬ 
tized  and  instructed,  and  shortly  returned  to  i 


his  native  town.  The  next  year  he  came  again, 
bringing  with  him  a  new  convert,  who  had  been 
led  to  Christ  by  his  influence.  The  next  year, 
and  the  next,  he  came  again ;  each  time  with 
two  new  converts.  Early  in  1860  he  came  a 
fifth  time,  bringing  nine  converts  for  baptism ; 
and  in  the  spring  of  that  year  a  missionary 
visited  the  place,  and  baptized  forty-four  more. 
At  the  commencement  of  1861,  he  came  again 
with  sixteen  converts.  Here  is  an  example  for 
our  imitation.  Watchman  and  Reflector. 

1093.  CONVERTS,  Duty  of.  Before  the  cap¬ 
ture  of  Richmond,  and  at  other  times  during 
the  war,  officers  entered  the  meetings  where 
penitents  were  seeking  Christ,  and  gave  the 
order,  “  Fall  in  for  the  front  I  ”  Duty  begins  at 
the  altar ;  and  the  convert  must  enter  the  con¬ 
flict  as  the  soldier  prepares  for  battle. 

1091.  CONVERTS,  Responsibility  for.  The 
responsibility  of  preserving  ■’he  convert  in  his 
new  faith  and  experience  is  not  less,  but 
greater,  than  that  of  laboring  for  the  salvation 
of  sinners.  The  converts  of  the  early  Church 
were  called  Catechumens,  and  lor  the  strength¬ 
ening  and  development  of'  these  the  pastor’s 
labors  were  mainly  spent.  The  legend  of  the 
young  man  left  in  care  of  a  bishop  at  Ephesus, 
and  who,  by  his  neglect,  apostatized,  illustrates 
this.  St.  John’s  rebuke,  “  Alas,  alas  1  to  what  a 
guardian  have  I  trusted  our  brother  I  ”  has  too 
frequent  an  application  to  the  pastors  of  the 
churches.  Too  many  have  been  lost  to  the 
Church  and  to  God  through  inattention. 
“  Where  are  your  converts  V  ”  is  sometimes 
asked  with  a  wicked  disregard  of  personal 
responsibility  for  them.  A  direct  effort  to  de¬ 
stroy  them  could  hardly  be  more  effectual. 
The  shepherd  gathers  and  carries  the  lambs 
in  his  arms,  and  presses  them  to  his  bosom.  So 
should  the  shepherd  of  souls.  The  question 
which  God  put  to  Cain,  “  Where  is  thy  broth¬ 
er  V  ”  will  be  a  tearful  one  when  presented  to 
the  negligent  pastor  in  the  great  day  of  in¬ 
quisition.  The  Church  shares  this  responsi¬ 
bility  with  the  pastor.  Both  must  work  to¬ 
gether  to  conserve  her  members.  The  Church 
is  the  great  family;  converts  are  given  her, 
as  children  to  their  parents.  Those  babes  in 
Christ  must  be  appropriately  cared  for.  They 
are  not  to  be  left  to  starve  or  chill  and  die 
under  neglect.  Converts  leave  their  old  com¬ 
panions  and  pleasures  in  sin,  and  must  find 
others  in  the  Church.  The  Church  must  be  a 
kind,  sympathizing,  devoted,  and  faithful  par¬ 
ent  to  all  her  children.  She,  as  well  as  the 
Christian  parent,  should  be  able  to  present  her¬ 
self  before  the  Judge  of  all  in  the  reckoning 
day,  saying,  *■  Here  am  I  and  the  children 
thou  hast  given  me.  Not  one  of  them  is  lost.” 

B©9.>.  CONVICTION,  Agent  of.  No  human 
teacher  can  do  it;  conscience  cannot  do  it; 
law  in  none  of  its  forms,  human  or  divine,  can 
do  it :  nay,  the  gospel  itself  cannot  do  it. 
Although  the  Word  of  God  is  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  yet,  unless  the  Spirit  of  God  draws  forth 
that  sword,  it  lies  powerless  in  its  sheath. 
Only  when  the  Spirit  of  God  wields  it,  is  it 
quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  a  two- 


142 


CONVICTION'. 


CONTVTCTIOISr. 


edged  sword,  piercing  to  the  dividing  asunder 
of  (he  soul  and  spirit,  a  diseerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  purposes  of  the  heart.  There¬ 
fore,  as  the  work  of  convincing  the  world  of 
sin  is  one  which  nothing  less  than  the  Spirit 
of  God  can  effect,  and  which  yet  must  be 
effected  thoroughly,  if  sin  is  to  be  driven  out 
from  the  world,  our  Saviour  was  mercifully 
pleased  to  send  the  Comforter  to  produce  this 
conviction  in  mankind.  Hare. 

1096.  CONVICTION,  Case  of.  A  case  of 
conviction  was  that  of  one  aroused  during 
McCheyne’s  sermon  on  “  Unto  whom  coming 
as  unto  a  living  stone.”  As  he  spoke  of  the 
Father  taking  the  gem  out  of  his  bosom,  and 
laying  it  down  for  a  foundation-stone,  she  felt 
in  her  soul,  “  I  know  nothing  of  this  precious 
stone  :  I  am  surely  not  converted.”  This  led 
her  to  come  to  speak  with  him.  She  was  not 
under  deep  conviction  ;  but,  before  going  away, 
he  said,  “  You  are  a  poor,  vile  worm  :  it  is  a 
wonder  the  earth  does  not  open,  and  swallow 
you  up.”  These  words  were  blessed  to  pro¬ 
duce  a  very  awful  sense  of  sin.  She  came 
a  second  time,  with  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty 
drinking  up  her  spirit.  For  three  months,  she 
remained  in  this  state,  till,  having  once  more 
come  to  him  tor  counsel,  the  living  voice  ot 
Jesus  gave  life  to  her  soul.  McCheyne’s  Life. 

1097.  CONVICTION,  Experience  of.  When 

M.  Monod  and  I  attended  the  University 
of  Geneva,  there  was  a  professor  of  divinity 
who  confined  himself  to  lecturing  on  the  im¬ 
mortality  of  the  soul,  the  existence  of  God, 
and  similar  topics.  As  to  the  Trinity  he  did 
not  believe  it.  Instead  of  the  Bible,  he  gave 
us  quotations  from  Seneca  and  Plato.  St. 
Seneca  and  St.  Plato  were  the  two  saints 
whose  writings  he  held  up  to  admiration. 
But  the  Lord  sent  one  of  his  servants  to 
Geneva;  and  I  well  remember  the  visit  of 
Robert  Haldane.  I  heard  of  him  first  as  an 
English  or  Scotch  gentleman  who  spoke  much 
about  the  Bible,  which  seemed  a  very  strange 
thing  to  me  and  the  other  students,  to  whom 
it  was  a  shut  book.  I  afterwards  met  Mr. 
Haldane  at  a  private  house,  along  with  some 
other  friends,  and  heard  him  read  from  an 
English  Bible  a  chapter  from  Romans,  about 
the  natural  corruption  of  man,  —  a  doctrine  of 
which  I  had  .never  heard  before  :  in  fact,  I  was 
quite  astonished  to  hear  of  men  being  corrupt 
by  nature.  I  remember  saying  to  Mr.  Hal¬ 
dane,  “  Now  I  see  that  doctrine  in  the  Bible.” 
—  “  Yes,”  he  replied ;  “  but  do  you  see  it  in 
your  heart  ?  ”  That  was  a  simple  question  ;  but 
it  came  home  to  my  conscience.  It  was  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit ;  and  from  that  time  I  saw 
that  my  heart  was  corrupt,  and  knew  from  the 
Word  of  God  that  I  could  be  saved  by  grace 
alone.  Dr.  Merle  D’Aubigne. 

1098.  CONVICTION,  Fear  in.  You  have 
known  the  time  when  you  dared  not  shut  your 
eyes,  lor  fear  you  should  not  open  them  again 
on  earth ;  when  you  dreaded  the  shadows 
of  the  night,  lest  they  should  darken  forever 
the  light  of  the  sun,  anti  you  should  dwell  in 
outer  darkness  through  eternity.  You  have 


I  mourned  as  each  day  has  entered,  and  you 
have  wept  as  it  has  departed,  because  you  fan¬ 
cied  that  your  next  step  might  precipitate 
you  into  your  eternal  doom.  I  have  known 
what  it  is  to  tread  the  earth,  and  fear  lest 
every  tuft  of  grass  should  but  cover  a  door  to 
hell ;  trembling  lest  every  particle,  and  every 
atom,  and  every  stone,  should  be  so  at  league 
with  God  against  me  as  to  destroy  me. 

Spurgeon. 

1999.  CONVICTION,  Elimination  in,  Suppose 
a  traveller,  in  a  stormy  night,  should  take  up 
his  lodging  in  some  cave  in  the  woods,  where 
are  nothing  but  serpents  and  adders,  and  such 
like  venomous  creatures ;  he,  because  he  sees 
them  not,  sleeps  as  soundly  as  if  he  were  at 
home  in  his  own  bed :  but  when  the  morning 
comes,  and  he  sees  what  companions  are  about 
him,  he  useth  all  the  means  possible,  and 
maketh  all  the  haste  he  can  to  get  away.  In 
the  same  case  is  every  impenitent  sinner,  beset 
with  as  many  serpents  as  he  hath  sins,  though 
he  cannot  see  them,  and  therefore  fears  them 
not,  but  sleeps  as  soundly  as  if  he  were  in 
Solomon’s  bed,  about  which  was  a  guard  of 
threescore  thousand  of  the  valiant  of  Israel; 
but,  when  it  shall  once  please  God  to  open  his 
eyes,  then  he  sees  the  dangerous  condition  of 
his  estate,  and  labors  to  get  out  of  it  as  fast  as 
he  can.  Spencer. 

MOO.  CONVICTION,  Means  of.  The  original 
picture  of  Bishop  Asbury,  taken  in  Baltimoi'e, 
has  a  singular  history.  “  It  once  hung  over 
the  fireplace  of  a  planter’s  parlor  in  Mary¬ 
land,  and  where  a  bed  had  been  made  for  one 
of  his  men,  beastly  drunk.  Here  he  was  laid 
down,  entirely  insensible.  Just  as  the  day 
was  breaking,  and  the  rays  of  light  were  dimly 
falling  upon  the  portrait,  he  began  to  awake 
from  off  his  drunken  stupor  :  his  eyes  first  fell 
upon  the  uplifted  hand  of  the  venerable  bishop, 
and  he  fearfully  fancied  the  judgment  had 
come,  and  that  the  divine  King,  with  upraised 
arm,  was  about  to  pronounce  the  last  sentence 
of  condemnation  upon  him.  The  sight  pro¬ 
duced  a  powerful  influence  upon  his  mind, 
leading  him  to  repentance,  amendment,  and 
conversion.” 

MOS.  CONVICTION,  Necessity  of.  Without 
this  conviction  by  the  Spirit,  in  vain  would  the 
Son  of  God  have  come  in  the  flesh  ;  in  vain 
would  he  have  died  on  the  cross  for  the  sins 
of  mankind :  mankind  would  not,  could  not, 
have  been  saved.  They  could  not  because 
they  would  not.  Unless  a  man  be  well  aware 
that  he  is  laboring  under  a  disease,  he  will  not 
think  of  asking  tor  the  remedies  which  might 
cure  him  ;  nor  will  he  take  them,  although  you 
hold  them  out  to  him,  and  although  their  effi¬ 
cacy  may  have  been  proved  in  a  multitude  of 
cases, —  more  especially  if  they  happen  to  be 
distasteful  to  his  vitiated  palate.  If  he  mis¬ 
takes  the  convulsive  fits  of  a  fever  for  the 
vigor  of  health,  he  will  not  consent  to  practise 
that  abstinence  by  which  his  fever  might  be 
subdued.  Nor,  unless  we  are  fully  convinced 
that  our  souls  are  tormented  by  a  deadly, 
clinging  disease,  and  that  no  earthly  power  or 


iotwicttont. 


CORRUPTION. 


143 


skill  can  lieal  them,  shall  we  think  of  applying 
earnestly  for  health  to  the  only  Physician  of 
souls.  Hare. 

1102.  CONVICTION,  and  Pardon.  In  the  Inter¬ 
national  Exhibition  of  18G2  were  two  pictures. 
The  first  was  called  “  Waiting  for  the  Verdict.” 
At  the  door  of  a  room  where  a  trial  was  going 
on,  there  was  a  little  gathering  of  people. 
A  woman,  (oh,  what  agony  was  in  her  look  !) 
and  a  dear  little  child  lying  against  her  asleep ; 
another,  who  looked  like  the  grandmother, 
holding  the  youngest  child ;  the  grandfather," 
with  one  hand  fallen  down  between  his  legs, 
the  other  covering  his  face,  from  which  the  big 
tears  were  rolling ;  the  dog,  looking  up  and 
wondering;  the  elder  sister  standing  there 
against  the  door,  all  anxiety, —  what  meant 
it  all?  Before  the  bar  in  that  court  of  justice 
the  father  was  standing  ;  and  they  were  “  wait¬ 
ing  for  the  verdict.”  In  the  second  picture, 
the  same  people  were  standing  at  the  same 

lace;  only  one  is  among  them  we  did  not  see 

efore.  A  man  is  sitting  on  the  bench,  his 
wife,  with  joyiul  look,  embracing  him  ;  the  dog 
licking  his  hand  ;  the  grandmother,  with  eyes 
swollen  with  weeping,  only  they  are  tears  of 
joy  now,  holding  up  a  dear  little  child  for  a  kiss 
from  the  father,  who,  a  few  minutes  before,  had 
been  standing  before  that  bar.  Why  are  they 
all  so  changed  ?  Why  joy  where  there  was 
sorrow,  happiness  where  there  was  misery  ? 
A  “  word  only  ”  had  done  it  all.  “  Not  guilty,” 
‘“The  Acquittal.”  Biblical  Treasury. 

1103.  CONVICTION,  Resisted.  As  the  worst 
travelling  is  when  the  road  is  frozen  after  a 
thaw :  so  those  are  frequently  the  most  hard¬ 
ened,  who  have  had  some  convictions;  who 
have  had  some  knowledge  of  the  gospel,  and 
some  religious  affection,  and  have  then  relapsed 
into  their  natural  hard-heartedness. 

A  rrowsmith. 

1104.  CONVICTION,  Revelations  of.  Suppose 
a  messenger  from  God  should  take  us  by  the 
hand,  and  lead  us  up  the  steps  of  a  great  build¬ 
ing,  and,  as  we  entered  the  porch,  it  should 
begin  to  grow  dark.  Suppose  that  he  should 
then  open  a  door  into  a  very  large  hall,  which 
he  called  a  “  picture  gallery.”  As  we  enter 
it,  we  find  it  dark  as  night ;  but,  as  the  angel 
touches  a  spring,  the  light  flashes  in,  and  tills 
the  room.  We  now  see  that  the  walls  are 
hung  with  pictures, —  so  many,  and  so  large, 
that  they  cover  all  the  walls.  On  these  are 
painted  all  the  sins  that  we  have  ever  committed. 
On  one  picture  arc  painted  all  the  bad  words 
that  we  have  ever  spoken  ;  on  another  all  the 
crimes  and  jealousies  we  have  ever  felt;  on 
another  all  the  covetings  of  our  hearts,  all  the 
wrong  bargains  we  have  ever  made,  all 
the  unkindness  to  our  parents  and  friends  of 
which  we  have  ever  been  guilty,  all  our 
prayerless  mornings  and  evenings,  all  our 
neglect  of  God's  word,  all  our  ingratitude 
towards  our  heavenly  Father,  and  our  hard  feel¬ 
ings  towards  him,  all  our  abuse  of  the  Sabbath 
and  the  means  of  grace,  all  our  neglect  of 
the  Saviour,  and  our  grieving  away  the  Holy 
Spirit.  What  pictures  would  our  sins  —  open 


sins,  secret  sins,  heart-sins,  and  life-long  sins  — 
make  I  Who  would  dare  look  at  them  ?  What 
a  terrible  hall  that  would  be  I  It  would  truly 
be  a  “judgment-hall.”  It  would  make  us 
tremble.  Dr.  Todd. 

1105.  CONVICTION,  Superficial.  How  many 

are  like  Pliable  in  “  The  Pilgrim’s  Progress,” 
who  went  with  Christiar  a  little  way  !  He  was 
ravished  with  the  glory  of  the  prospect,  but  felt 
no  burden  upon  his  back  :  so,  when  they  came 
to  the  Slough  of  Despond,  he  was  at  once  dis¬ 
heartened,  and  turned  back  again,  yea,  began 
to  ridicule  his  former  efforts.  Bowes. 

1106.  CONVICTION,  Thorough.  If  a  man  is 
a  prey  to  a  mortal  disease  which  breaks  out  in 
blotches  and  sores,  there  is  no  use  in  merely 
plastering  over  the  sores,  you  must  go  to  the 
root  of  the  disease,  and  attack  it  in  its  strong¬ 
holds  ;  else,  being  checked  from  venting  itself 
outwardly,  it  will  range  the  fiercelier  within : 
just  so  it  is  with  sin.  There  is  little  profit  in 
telling  a  man  who  is  walking  after  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh,  that  such  or  such  an  act  is  wrong. 
Unless  you  go  to  the  root  of  sin  within  him, 
from  which  all  these  wrong  acts  spring,  even 
though  you  should  persuade  him  to  break  oflf 
some  bad  habits  ami  practices,  you  will  do  little 
real,  lasting,  essential  good.  Notwithstanding 
this  reformation,  as  he  will  deem  it,  he  may 
continue  just  as  sinful,  just  as  thorough  a  slave 
of  sin,  as  ever.  Nay,  his  case  may  be  still 
more  hopeless  ;  for  his  having  overcome  a  bad 
habit  or  two  may  beguile  him  into  fancying 
that  he  is  the  master  of  his  own  heart,  can 
sway  it  which  way  he  chooses,  and  has  only  to 
will  in  order  to  become  a  paragon  of  virtue. 

Hare. 

1107.  CORRECTION,  Duty  of.  If  we  should 

sec  a  madman  run  into  a  steep,  dangerous 
place,  it  were  much  better  to  stay  him,  and 
cause  him  to  be  bound  and  corrected,  than  to 
let  him  go  and  break  his  neck :  so  it  is  in  cor¬ 
recting  and  punishing  offenders  and  wicked 
livers.  Cawdray. 

110S.  CORRECTION,  Submission  to.  It  is  said 
of  iElian,  that  after  having  been  long  absent 
from  his  father,  being  asked  what  he  had  learned, 
he  answered,  he  should  know  that  ere  long ; 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  his  father  correcting  him, 
he  took  it  in  good  part,  and  said,  “  Sir,  you  see 
I  have  learned  somewhat  to  bear  with  your  an¬ 
ger,  and  patiently  to  endure  what  you  please 
to  inflict  upon  me.”  Spencer. 

1109.  CORRUPTION,  Natural.  As  the  nature 
of  trees  and  plants,  of  their  roots,  stocks,  stems, 
and  boughs,  is  in  the  seed  :  so  the  cause  of  our 
transgressions  is  our  own  corruption,  whereby 
we  are  moved  to  do  evil,  and  hindered  to 
do  good. 

1110.  CORRUPTION,  Original.  Like  as  com, 
although  it  be  never  so  clean  winnowed,  and 
purged  from  chaff,  yet,  when  it  is  sowed,  the 
same  seed  will  be  full  of  chaff  again,  until 
it  be  winnowed  and  made  clean :  even  so 
children  are  born  full  of  chaff  and  corruption 
of  original  sin,  until  that,  by  baptism  in  the 
blood  of  Christ,  through  the  wonderful  opera¬ 
tions  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  be  drawn  from 


144 


CORRUPTION. 


COXJRA.GJ-H. 


love  of  themselves  and  worldly  tilings  into  the 
pure  love  of  God.  Cawdray. 

1111.  CORRUPTION,  Use  of.  God  hath  so 

ordered  it  in  nature,  that  creatures  of  the 
greatest  excellency  should  have  some  manifest 
deformity,  whether  it  be  in  birds  or  beasts,  — 
among  birds,  the  peacock,  a  bird  of  the  gayest 
feathers,  yet  it  hath  the  foulest  feet;  the  swan, 
a  bird  of  the  whitest  feathers,  yet  of  the  black¬ 
est  skin ;  the  eagle,  a  bird  of  the  quickest 
sight,  and  of  the  highest  flight,  yet  the  most 
ravenous  among  birds;  and,  among  beasts,  the 
lion,  the  goodliest  of  all  the  woods,  yet  the 
most  fierce  and  cruel :  thus  God  hath  ordered 
it  even  amongst  the  creatures  irrational :  and 
thus  it  is  with  his  own  people  in  respect  of 
grace,  so  that  they  are  brought  to  j  udge  them¬ 
selves  the  least  of  saints,  and  greatest  of 
sinners.  Spencer. 

1112.  COUNSEL,  Corrupt.  As  he  ought  to 
suffer  the  greater  punishment  who  throws 
poison  into  a  common  well,  where  all  men 
draw  water  ;  so  offend  they  most,  and  are  with 
all  extremity  to  be  tormented,  who  corrupt 
the  public  mind  by  false  teaching. 

1113.  COUNSEL,  Evil.  As  Hypanis,  a  river 

in  Scythia,  has  a  marvellous  sweetness  until 
a  little  bitter  spring,  which  Herodotus  calls 
Erampes,  mingles  with  it,  and  gives  it  a  won¬ 
derful  bitterness ;  so  evil  counsel  given  to  chil¬ 
dren  and  youth  will  imbit.ter  the  whole  stream 
of  their  lives.  Cawdray. 

1114.  COUNSEL,  HI.  The  kingdom  of  Israel 
was  first  rent  and  broken  by  ill  counsel ;  upon 
which  counsel  there  are  set  for  our  instruction 
the  two  marks  whereby  bad  counsel  is  forever 
best  discerned,  —  that  it  was  young  counsel  for 
the  persons,  and  violent  counsel  for  the  matter. 

Lord  Bacon. 

1115.  COUNSEL,  Stability  in.  Solomon  hath 

pronounced  that  “  in  counsel  is  stability.” 
Things  will  have  their  first  or  second  agita¬ 
tion  :  if  they  be  not  tossed  upon  the  arguments 
of  counsel,  they  will  be  tossed  upon  the  waves 
of  fortune,  and  be  full  of  inconstancy,  doing 
and  undoing,  like  the  reeling  of  a  drunken 
man.  Lord  Bacon. 

1116.  COUNSEL,  Trust  in.  The  greatest 

trust  between  man  and  man  is  the  trust  of 
giving  counsel ;  for  in  other  confidences  men 
commit  the  parts  of  life,  their  lands,  their 
goods,  their  children,  their  credit,  some  partic¬ 
ular  affair:  but  to  such  as  they  make  their 
counsellors  they  commit  the  whole,  by  how 
much  the  more  they  are  obliged  to  all  faith 
and  integrity.  Lord  Bacon. 

1117.  COUNSEL,  Wicked.  A  young  man 
devoted  himself  to  a  religious  life.  His  un- 

odly  parents  sent  him  many  letters  to  dissuade 
im.  Being  fully  decided  to  go  on  in  his 
chosen  course,  when  any  letters  came  addressed 
to  him  he  threw  them  into  the  fire  at  once, 
without  opening  them.  When  friends  or  kin¬ 
dred  stand  between  us  and  Christ,  they  must 
be  disregarded. 

1118.  COUNSELLORS,  The  Indian’s.  An  In¬ 
dian,  being  among  his  white  neighbors,  asked 
for  a  little  tobacco  to  smoke;  and  one  of  them, 


having  some  loose  in  his  pocket,  gave  him  a 
handful.  The  day  following,  the  Indian  came 
back,  inquiring  for  the  donor,  saying  he  had 
found  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  among  the  tobacco. 
Being  told,  that,  as  it  was  given  him,  he  might 
as  well  keep  it,  he  answered,  pointing  to  his 
breast,  “  I  got  a  good  man  and  a  bad  man 
here ;  and  the  good  man  say,  ‘  It  is  not  mine  ; 
I  must  return  it  to  the  owner.’  The  bad  man 
say,  ‘  Why  1  he  gave  it  to  you,  and  it  is  your  own 
now.’  The  good  man  say,  ‘That’s  not  right: 
the  tobacco  is  yours,  not  the  money.’  The  bad 
man  say,  ‘  Never  mind,  you  got  it :  go  buy  some 
dram.’  The  good  man  say,  ‘  No,  no  :  you  must 
not  do  so.’  So  I  don’t  know  what  to  do,  and  I 
think  to  go  to  sleep  ;  but  the  good  man  and  the 
bad  keep  talking  all  night,  and  trouble  me: 
and,  now  I  bring  the  money  back,  I  feel 
good.” 

1119.  COUNSELLORS,  The  Two.  When  Gut- 

tenberg,  the  first  printer,  was  working  in  his 
cell  in  the  Monastery  of  St.  Abersgot,  he  tells 
us  that  he  heard  two  voices  address  him.  The 
one  bade  him  desist ;  told  him  the  power  his 
invention  would  put  into  the  hands  of  bad  men 
to  propagate  their  wickedness ;  told  him  how 
men  would  profane  the  art  he  had  created,  and 
how  posterity  would  have  cause  to  curse  the 
man  who  gave  it  to  the  world.  So  impressed 
was  Guttenberg  with  what  he  heard,  that  he 
took  a  hammer,  and  broke  to  pieces  the  types 
he  had  so  laboriously  put  together.  His  work 
of  destruction  was  only  stayed  by  another  voice, 
sweet  and  musical,  that  fell  on  his  ear,  telling 
him  to  go  on  and  rejoice  in  his  work ;  that  all 
good  might  be  made  the  cause  of  evil ;  but  that 
God  would  bless  the  right  in  the  end.  So  to 
all  of  us  still  come  those  voices  that  came  to 
Guttenberg. 

112<5>.  COURAGE,  Brevities.  A  great  deal  of 
talent  is  lost  to  the  world  for  the  want  of  a 
little  courage.  —  Sydney  Smith. - The  cow¬ 
ard  will  call  himself  a  wary  man.  —  Bacon. - 

The  servants  of  the  Lord  should  be  as  bold  for 
their  Master  as  the  Devil’s  servants  are  for 

theirs. —  Countess  of  Warwick. - We  fear 

men  so  much,  because  we  fear  God  so  little.  — 

Gurnall. - Things  out  of  hope  are  compassed 

oft  with  venturing. 

B12B.  COURAGE,  Christian.  The  King  of 
France  ordered  the  Prince  De  Conde  his  choice 
of  three  things,  —  first,  to  go  to  mass ;  sec¬ 
ond,  to  die;  or,  third,  to  be  imprisoned  for 
life.  The  answer  was,  “  With  regard  to  the 
first,  I  am  fully  determined  never  to  go  to 
mass:  as  to  the  other  two,  I  am  so  perfectly 
indifferent,  that  I  leave  the  choice  to  your 
Majesty.” 

1122.  COURAGE,  Demanded.  It  is  related  of 
Sir  Horace  Vere,  that,  when  in  the  Palatinate, 
a  council  of  war  was  called  ;  and,  there  being  a 
debate  whether  they  would  fight  or  not,  some 
Dutch  lord  said  that  the  enemy  had  many 
pieces  of  ordnance  planted  in  such  a  place, 
and  therefore  it  was  dangerous  to  fight.  He 
replied,  “My  lords,  if  you  fear  the  mouth  of 
a  cannon,  you  must  never  come  into  the  field.” 

Spencer. 


COURAGE 


COURTSHIP. 


145 


1123.  COURAGE,  Christian  Soldier's.  Crom¬ 
well’s  Ironsides  were  men  that  had  the  fear  of 
God  before  them,  and  made  some  conscience 
of  what  they  did.  They  were  always  victorious. 
They  went  into  battle,  praying,  and  singing 
psalms.  Their  watchword  was,  “  The  Lord 
of  hosts  is  with  us  ;  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our 
refuge.”  Every  soldier  had  his  pocket  Bible 
of  select  texts  for  soldiers,  and  fed  his  soul 
upon  the  word  of  God. 

1121.  COURAGE,  of  Luther.  As  Luther  drew 
near  the  door  which  was  about  to  admit 
him  into  the  presence  of  his  judges  (the 
Piet  of  Worms),  he  met  a  valiant  knight, 
the  celebrated  George  of  Freundsberg,  who 
four  years  later,  at  the  head  of  his  German 
lansquenets,  bent  the  knee  with  his  soldiers 
on  the  field  of  Pavia,  and  then,  charging 
to  the  left  of  the  French  army,  drove  it  into 
the  Ticino,  and  in  a  great  measure  decided 
the  captivity  of  the  King  of  France.  The  old 
general,  seeing  Luther  pass,  tapped  him  on  the 
shoulder,  and  shaking  his  head,  blanched  in 
many  battles,  said  kindly',  “  Poor  monk,  poor 
monk  !  thou  art  now  going  to  make  a  nobler 
stand  than  I  or  any  other  captains  have  ever 
made  in  the  bloodiest  of  our  battles.  But  if 
thy  cause  is  just,  and  thou  art  sure  of  it,  go 
forward  in  God’s  name,  and  fear  nothing. 
God  will  not  forsake  thee.”  A  noble  tribute 
of  respect  paid  by  the  courage  of  the  sword 
to  the  courage  of  the  mind.  D  ’A  ubigne. 

1 125.  COURAGE,  Noble.  A  poor  boy  was  at¬ 
tending  school  with  a  large  patch  on  his  knee. 
One  of  his  schoolfellows  nicknamed  him 
“  Old  Patch.”  “  Why  don’t  you  fight  him  V  ” 
cried  the  boys.  “  I’d  give  it  to  him.”  —  “  Oh  1  ” 
answered  the  boy,  “  you  don’t  suppose  I’m 
ashamed  of  my  patch,  do  you  V  Fur  my  part, 
I’m  thankful  for  a  good  mother  to  keep  me  out 
of  the  rags.  I  honor  my  patch  for  her  sake.” 

1120.  COURAGE,  Primitive  Christian.  Feliei- 
tas  was  a  noble  and  rich  widow  of  Rome,  in 
the  time  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  She  had  seven 
sons,  whom  she  instructed  in  the  Christian 
faith ;  and  her  influence  led  many  to  adopt  the 
Christian  religion.  She  and  her  sons  were 
cited  before  Publius,  the  prefect  of  the  city, 
who  tried  entreaty  and  threats  in  vain  to  in¬ 
duce  them  to  worship  false  gods  and  deny 
Christ.  He  appealed  to  the  maternal  feeling 
of  Felicitas;  but  she  replied,  that  her  sons 
would  know  how  to  choose  between  everlast¬ 
ing  life  and  everlasting  death.  One  by  one, 
they  were  required  to  adjure  Christ ;  but  the 
mother  exhorted  them  to  stand  firm,  and  told 
them  that  a  great  reward  awaited  them  in 
glory.  She  stood  by,  and  saw  her  eldest 
scourged  with  loaded  thongs  till  he  died  ;  the 
two  next  beaten  to  death  with  clubs ;  the  fourth 
flung  from  a  rock  ;  the  other  three  decapitated. 
Then,  in  the  midst  of  her  dead,  she  praised 
God  that  he  had  given  her  seven  sons  counted 
worthy  to  be  saints  in  paradise.  At  length, 
after  prolonged  and  excruciating  torture,  she 
was  beheaded. 

1127.  COURAGE,  Silence  of.  When  Homer 
tuaketli  his  brave  captains  march,  he  gives 
0 


them  silence  for  guide  ;  contrariwise,  he 
maketh  cowards  to  babble,  and  chatter  like 
cranes.  The  one  pass  along  like  great  rivers, 
letting  their  streams  glide  softly  with  sile.at 
majesty  :  the  others  do  nothing  else  but  mur¬ 
mur  like  little  brooks.  A  sign  of  not  being 
valiant  at  all  is  to  strive  to  seem  valiant. 

N.  Caussin. 

1128.  COURTESY,  Benevolence  of,  “If  a 
civil  word  or  two  will  make  a  man  happy,” 
said  a  French  king,  “he  must  be  wretched 
indeed  who  will  not  give  them  to  him.” 

1129.  COURTESY,'  Importance  of,  William 
Wirt’s  letter  to  his  daughter  contains  the  fol¬ 
lowing  passage  :  “I  want  to  tell  you  a  secret. 
The  way  to  make  yourself  pleasing  to  others  is 
to  show  them  attention.  The  whole  world  is 
like  the  miller  at  Mansfield,  ‘  who  cared  for 
nobody,  —  no,  not  he,  —  because  nobody  cared 
for  him.’  And  the  whole  world  would  serve 
you  so  if  you  gave  them  the  same  cause.  Let 
every  one,  therefore,  see  that  you  do  care  for 
them,  by  showing  them  what  Sterne  so  happily 
called  the  small  courtesies,  in  which  there  is 
no  parade,  whose  voice  is  too  still  to  tease, 
and  which  manifest  themselves  by  tender  and 
affectionate  looks  and  little  acts  of  attention, 
giving  others  the  preference  in  every  little 
enjoyment,  at  the  table,  in  the  field,  walking, 
sitting,  and  standing.” 

1939.  COURTESY,  Power  of.  Courtesy  to 
noble  minds  are  not  oidy  gifts,  but  purchases, 
that  buy  men  out  of  their  own  liberty.  Vio¬ 
lence  and  compulsion  are  not  half  so  danger¬ 
ous  ;  these  besiege  us  openly,  give  us  leave  to 
look  to  ourselves,  to  collect  our  forces,  and  re- 
lortify  when  we  are  sensible  of  our  own  weak¬ 
ness  :  but  the  other  undermines  us  by  a  fawning 
stratagem ;  and,  if  we  be  enemies,  they  make  us 
lay  down  our  weapons,  and  take  up  love. 

J.  Beaumont. 

9131.  COURTESY,  Similes  of.  As  the  tree 
is  known  by  its  fruits,  the  gold  by  the  touch, 
and  the  bell  by  the  sound ;  so  is  a  man’s  birth 
by  his  benevolence,  his  honor  by  his  humility, 
and  his  calling  by  his  courtesy.  As  the  peg 
straineth  the  lute-strings,  so  courtesy  stretch- 
eth  the  heart-strings.  Cawdray. 

1132.  COURTSHIP,  False  Notions  of.  Many 
young  ladies  indulge  in  very  nonsensical  no¬ 
tions  concerning  love.  They  fancy  themselves 
bound  to  be  “  smitten  ”  with  almost  every  silly 
idler  who  wears  a  fashionable  coat,  is  tolerably 
good-looking,  and  pays  them  particular  atten¬ 
tion.  Reason,  judgment,  deliberation,  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  fancies,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
love.  Hence  they  yield  to  their  feelings,  and 
give  their  company  to  young  men,  regardless 
of  warning,  advice,  or  entreaty.  A  father’s 
sadness,  a  mother’s  tears,  are  treated  with  con¬ 
tempt,  and  often  with  bitter  retorts.  Their 
lovers  use  flattering  words ;  and,  like  silly  moths 
fluttering  round  the  fatal  lamp,  they  allow 
themselves  to  be  charmed  into  certain  misery. 
Learn  that  your  affections  are  under  your  own 
control ;  that  pure  affection  is  founded  upon 
esteem  ;  that  estimable  qualities  in  a  man  can 
alone  secure  the  continuance  of  connubial 


146 


COURTSHIP. 


COVETOUS. 


love ;  that,  if  these  are  not  in  him,  your  love  I 
has  no  foundation,  and  will  fall,  a  wilted  I 
flower,  as  soon  as  the  excitement  of  youthful 
passion  is  overpast.  Dr.  Wise. 

1133.  COURTSHIP,  Interrupted.  A  young 
man,  paying  special  attention  to  a  young  lady, 
was  invited  into  the  parlor  to  await  her  appear¬ 
ance.  A  little  girl  about  five  years  old  slipped 
in,  and  said,  “  I  can  always  tell  when  you  are 
coming  to  our  house.  When  you  are  going  to 
be  here,  sister  begins  to  sing  and  be  good  :  she 
gives  me  cake  and  pie,  and  any  thing  I  want ; 
and  she  sings  so  sweetly  when  you  are  here  1 
and,  when  I  speak  to  her,  she  smiles  so  pleas¬ 
antly  1  I  wish  you  would  stay  here  all  the 
while ;  then  I  would  have  a  good  time.  But, 
when  you  go  off,  sister  is  not  good.  She  gets 
mad ;  and,  if  I  ask  her  for  any  thing,  she  slaps 
and  bangs  me  about.”  —  “  Fools  and  children 
tell  the  truth,”  quoth  he ;  and,  taking  his  hat, 
he  left,  and  returned  no  more. 

It34.  COURTSHIP,  Mistakes  in.  If  ever  cau¬ 
tion  is  needed,  it  is  here.  Mistake  is  so  easy ; 
undesigned  duplicity  is  so  natural  1  The  lady, 
wreathed  in  smiles,  and  moving  with  cautious 
effort  to  conceal  defects  of  temper  and  intel¬ 
lect,  acquires  almost  irresistible  influence. 
The  still  small  voice  of  the  better  judgment 
whispers,  “  Beware  !  ”  It  suggests  the  lack 
of  one  adornment,  the  excess  of  a  particular 
defect,  the  absence  of  certain  desirable  quali¬ 
ties  and  attainments  in  vain.  The  heart 
silences  the  cooler  dictates  of  the  mind ;  the 
question  is  put,  the  engagement  made,  the 
vows  exchanged,  the  marriage  celebrated ;  and 
the  wretched  parties  learn,  when  too  late,  their 
unfitness  for  each  other:  and  too  often  their 
subsequent  life  is  miserable  beyond  description. 
Be  careful,  therefore,  young  man,  at  the  very 
beginning.  When  a  slight  fondness  for  any 
lady  arises,  hold  it  in  check  till  you  have 
time  to  discover  what  she  is.  If  manifestly 
unfit,  intellectually,  morally,  or  socially,  to  be 
your  future  wife,  stifle  your  affection,  seek 
other  society.  The  pain  of  such  a  resolution 
will  bear  no  comparison  with  the  agony  conse¬ 
quent  upon  an  imprudent  marriage.  Dr.  Wise. 

1135.  COURTSHIP,  Nature  of.  What  is  it  in 

its  beginning  but  an  opportunity  to  ascertain 
their  fitness  for  each  other  ?  what  in  its 
progress  but  a  means  of  forming  and  strength¬ 
ening  that  genuine  affection,  which  is  the  true 
basis  of  marriage?  With  every  young  lady 
the  paramount  question  concerning  him  who 
offers  her  particular  attentions  ought  to  be, 
“  Is  he  worthy  of  my  love  ?  ”  Her  first  aim 
should  be  to  decide  it.  She  should  observe 
him  well  and  thoughtfully ;  study  his  character 
as  it  may  be  expressed  in  his  countenance,  his 
words,  spirit,  and  actions.  Through  her  par¬ 
ents  she  should  inquire  into  his  previous  his¬ 
tory.  Dr.  Wise. 

1136.  COVETOUS,  Characteristics  of  the.  The 
covetous  man  pines  in  plenty,  like  Tantalus 
up  to  the  chin  in  water,  and  yet  thirsty.  Like 
a  chemist,  he  turns  every  thing  into  silver,  — 
what  he  should  wear,  and  what  he  should  eat, — 
and  so  robs  back  and  belly  of  warmth,  of  suste¬ 


nance.  The  covetous  give  more  heed  to  the 
priests  of  Janus,  than  to  the  apostles  of  Jesus. 
Ilis  looks  to  his  entering  guests  are  like 
Diana’s  image  in  Chios,  which  frowned  with 
a  lowering  countenance  on  all  that  came  into 
the  temple,  but  looked  blithe  and  smiled  on 
them  that  departed.  As  the  dog  in  iEsop’s 
fable  lost  the  real  flesh  for  the  shadow  of  it, 
so  the  covetous  man  casts  away  the  true  riches 
for  the  love  of  the  shadowy.  T.  Adams. 

1137.  COVETOUS,  Delusion  of  the.  There  is 
a  fable  of  a  covetous  man,  who  chanced  to 
find  his  way  one  moonlight  night  into  a  fairy’s 
palace.  There  he  saw  bars,  apparently  of 
solid  gold,  strewed  on  every  side ;  and  he  was 
permitted  to  take  away  as  many  as  he  could 
carry.  In  the  morning,  when  the  sun  rose  on 
his  imaginary  treasure,  borne  home  with  so 
much  toil,  behold  !  there  was  only  a  bundle 
of  sticks ;  and  invisible  beings  filled  the  air 
around  him  with  scornful  laughter.  Such  shall 
be  the  confusion  of  many  a  man  that  died  in 
this  world  worth  his  thousands,  and  woke  up 
in  the  next  world  not  only  “  miserable  and 
poor  and  blind  and  naked,”  but  in  presence 
of  a  heap  of  fuel  stored  up  against  the  great 
day  of  burning. 

1138.  COVETOUS,  Pears  of  the,  That  which 
is  their  greatest  corrosive,  they  are  in  contin¬ 
ual  suspicion,  fear,  and  distrust.  He  thinks 
his  own  wife  and  children  are  so  many  thieves, 
and  go  about  to  cozen  him ;  his  servants  are 
all  false.  Timidus  Plutus,  an  old  proverb,  “  as 
fearful  as  Plutus  :  ”  so  doth  Aristophanes  and 
Lucian  bring  him  in  fearful,  still,  pale,  anxious, 
suspicious,  and  trusting  no  man.  “  They  are 
afraid  of  tempests,  tor  their  corn  ;  they  are 
afraid  of  their  friends,  lest  they  should  ask 
something  of  them,  beg,  or  borrow  ;  they  are 
afraid  of  their  enemies,  lest  they  hurt  them ; 
thieves,  lest  they  rob  them ;  they  are  afraid 
of  war,  and  afraid  of  peace ;  afraid  of  rich,  and 
afraid  of  poor ;  afraid  of  all.”  Last  of  all,  they 
are  afraid  of  want,  that  they  shall  die  beggars ; 
which  makes  them  lay  up  still,  and  dare  not  use 
that  they  have.  What  if  a  dear  year  come,  or 
dearth,  or  some  loss  ?  And,  were  it  not  that 
they  are  loath  to  lay  out  money  on  a  rope,  they 
would  be  hanged  forthwith,  and  sometimes  die 
to  save  charges ;  and  make  away  with  them¬ 
selves  if  their  corn  and  cattle  miscarry,  though 
they  have  abundance  left,  as  Agellius  notes. 
Valerius  makes  mention  of  one,  that,  in  a  fam¬ 
ine,  sold  a  mouse  lor  two  hundred  pence,  and 
famished  himself.  Such  are  their  cares,  griefs, 
and  perpetual  fears  1  These  symptoms  are 
elegantly  expressed  by  Theophrastus  in  his 
character  of  a  covetous  man :  “  Lying  in  bed,  he 
asked  his  wife  whether  she  shut  the  trunks  and 
chests  fast,  the  cap-case  be  sealed,  and  whether 
the  hall-door  be  bolted  ;  and,  though  she  say 
all  is  well,  he  riseth  out  of  his  bed  in  his  shirt, 
barefoot  and  barelegged,  to  see  whether  it  be 
so ;  with  a  dark  lantern  searching  every  corner, 
scarce  sleeping  a  wink  all  night.”  R.  Burton. 

1139.  C0VET0U3,  Madness  of  the.  Damasip- 
pus  the  stoic,  in  Horace,  proves  that  all  mortal 
men  dote  by  fits,  —  some  one  way,  some  another ; 


CO'VnETOTJS. 


COVETOUSNESS. 


147 


but  that  covetous  men  are  madder  than  the 
rest :  and  he  that  shall  truly  look  into  their 
estates  and  examine  their  symptoms  shall 
find  no  better  of  them  but  that  they  are  all 
fools,  as  Nabal  was.  For  what  greater  folly 
can  there  be,  or  madness,  than  to  macerate 
himself  when  he  need  not  ?  And  when,  as 
Cyprian  notes,  “  he  may  be  freed  from  his  bur¬ 
den,  and  eased  of  his  pains,  will  go  on  still, 
his  wealth  increasing,  when  he  hath  enough, 
to  g',c  more  to  live  beside  himself;  ”  to  starve 
his  genius,  keep  back  from  his  wife  and  chil¬ 
dren  ;  neither  letting  them  nor  friends  use  or 
enjoy  that  which  is  theirs  by  right,  and  which 
they  much  need  perhaps ;  like  a  hog,  or  dog  in 
the  manger,  he  doth  only  keep  it,  because  it 
shall  do  nobody  else  good,  hurting  himself  and 
others ;  and  for  a  little  momentary  pelf,  damn 
his  own  soul  ?  They  are  commonly  sad  and 
tetric  by  nature,  as  Ahab’s  spirit  was,  because 
he  could  not  get  Naboth’s  vineyard.  R.  Burton. 

1140.  COVETOUS,  Miseri&g  of  the.  Lucian,  in 

that  pleasant  and  witty  dialogue  called  Gallus, 
brings  in  Myeillus  the  cobbler  disputing  with 
his  cock,  sometimes  Pythagoras ;  where,  after 
much  speech  pro  and  con.  to  prove  the  hap¬ 
piness  of  a  mean  estate,  and  the  discontents 
of  a  rich  man,  Pythagoras’  cock  in  the  end,  to 
illustrate  by  examples  that  which  he  had  said, 
brings  him  to  Gnyphon  the  usurer’s  house  at 
midnight,  and  after  that  to  Eucrates;  whom 
they  lound  both  awake,  casting  up  their 
accounts,  and  telling  of  their  money,  lean,  dry, 
pale,  and  anxious,  still  suspecting  lest  some¬ 
body  should  make  a  hole  through  the  wall, 
and  so  get  in ;  or,  if  a  rat  or  mouse  did  but 
stir,  starting  upon  a  sudden,  and  running  to 
the  door  to  see  whether  all  were  fast.  Plautus, 
in  his  Aulularia,  makes  old  Euclio  command¬ 
ing  Staphyla  his  wife  to  shut  the  doors  fast, 
and  the  fire  to  be  put  out,  lest  anybody  should 
make  that  an  errand  to  come  to  his  house. 
When  he  washed  his  hands,  he  was  loath  to 
fling  away  the  foul  water,  complaining  that 
he  was  undone  because  the  smoke  got  out  of 
his  roof.  And  as  he  went  from  home,  seeing 
a  crow  scratch  upon  the  muck-hill,  returned 
in  haste,  taking  it  for  malum  omen ,  an  ill  sign, 
his  money  was  digged  up ;  with  many  such. 
He  that  will  but  observe  their  actions  shall 
find  these  and  many  such  passages  not  feigned 
for  sport,  but  really  performed,  verified,  indeed, 
by  such  covetous  and  miserable  wretches,  and 
that  it  is  mere  madness  to  live  like  a  wretch, 
and  die  rich.  R.  Burton. 

1141.  COVETOUS,  Uselessness  of  the.  It  is  a 

common  saying,  that  a  hog  is  good  for  nothing 
while  he  is  alive  :  not  good  for  use,  as  the  horse  ; 
nor  to  draw,  as  the  ox  ;  nor  to  clothe,  as  the 
sheep ;  nor  to  give  milk,  as  the  cow ;  nor  to 
keep  the  house,  as  the  dog  ;  but  only  for  the 
slaughter.  So  a  covetous  rich  man,  just  like 
a  hog,  doth  no  good  with  his  riches  whilst  he 
liveth  ;  but,  when  he  is  dead,  his  riches  come  to 
be  disposed  of.  Spencer. 

1142.  COVETOUSNESS,  Cornered.  A  gentle¬ 
man  called  upon  a  rich  friend  for  some  charity. 
“  Yes :  I  must  give  you  my  mite,”  said  the 


rich  man.  “  Do  you  mean  the  widow’s  mite  ?  ” 
asked  the  solicitor.  “  Certainly,”  was  the 
answer.  “  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  half  as 
much  as  she  gave,”  said  his  friend.  “  How 
much  are  you  worth  ?  ”  —  “  Seventy  thousand 
dollars.”  —  “  Give  me,  then,  your  check  for 
thirty-five  thousand  :  that  will  be  half  as  much 
as  the  widow  gave ;  for  she,  you  know,  gave 
her  all.”  The  rich  man  was  cornered.  Cove¬ 
tous  people  often  try  to  shelter  themselves 
behind  the  widow’s  mite. 

1143.  COVETOUSNESS,  Cure  for.  Diodorus 

Siculus  relates,  that  the  forest  of  the  Pyreneean 
Mountains  being  set  on  fire,  and  the  heat  pen¬ 
etrating  to  the  soil,  a  pure  stream  of  silver 
gushed  forth  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and 
revealed  for  the  first  time  the  existence  of  those 
rich  lodes,  afterwards  so  celebrated.  Cove¬ 
tousness  yields  up  of  its  pelf  for  sacred  uses  as 
unwillingly  as  if  it  were  appointed  to  succeed 
the  earth  in  the  office  of  holding  and  conceal¬ 
ing  it ;  but  let  the  fire  of  the  gospel  be  kindled 
in  the  Christian  Church,  and  its  ample  stores 
shall  be  seen  flowing  forth  from  their  hiding 
recesses,  and  becoming  “  the  fine  gold  of  the 
sanctuary.”  Biblical  Treasury. 

1144.  COVETOUSNESS,  ia  Death.  It  is  re¬ 
ported  of  a  wretched  rich  man,  who,  when  he 
heard  that  his  sickness  was  deadly,  sent  for  his 
bags  of  money,  and  hugged  them  in  his  arms, 
saying,  “  Oh  1  must  I  leave  you  ?  Oh !  must  I 
leave  you  V  ”  And  of  another,  who,  when  he 
lay  upon  his  sick-bed,  called  for  his  bags,  and 
laid  a  bag  of  gold  to  his  heart,  and  then  bade 
them  take  it  away,  saying,  “  It  will  not  do,  it 
will  not  do.”  A  third,  also,  being  near  death, 
clapped  a  twenty-shilling  piece  of  gold  in  his 
mouth,  saying,  “  I  am  wiser  than  some  :  I  will 
take  this  with  me.”  Now,  if  these  men’s  hearts 
had  been  ripped  up  after  they  had  been  dead, 
there  might  have  been  certainly  found  written 
in  them,  “  The  god  of  this  present  world.” 

Spencer. 

1145.  COVETOUSNESS,  Evils  of.  “The  de¬ 

sire  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil ;  and  they 
that  lust  after  it  pierce  themselves  through  with 
sorrows.”  Hippocrates,  therefore,  in  his  epistle 
to  Crateva,  an  herbalist,  gives  him  this  good 
counsel,  —  that  if  it  were  possible,  “  amongst 
other  herbs,  he  should  cut  up  that  weed  covetous¬ 
ness  by  the  roots,  that  there  be  no  remainder 
left ;  and  then  know  this  for  a  certainty,  that,  to¬ 
gether  with  their  bodies,  thou  mayest  quickly 
cure  all  the  diseases  of  their  minds.”  For  it  is, 
indeed,  the  pattern,  image,  epitome,  of  all 
melancholy,  the  fountain  of  many  miseries, 
much  discontented  care  and  woe, —  this  “  inor¬ 
dinate  or  immoderate  desire  of  gain,  to  get  or 
keep  money,”  as  Bonaventure  defines  it,  or, 
as  Austin  describes  it,  a  madness  of  the  soul ; 
Gregory,  a  torture  ;  Chrysostom,  an  insatiable 
drunkenness ;  Cyprian,  blindness,  speciosum 
supplicium,  a  plague  subverting  kingdoms, 
families,  an  incurable  disease ;  Budoeus,  an  ill 
habit,  “  yielding  to  no  remedies.”  Neither 
Esculapius  nor  Plutus  can  cure  them  ;  a  con¬ 
tinual  plague,  saith  Solomon,  and  vexation  of 
spirit,  another  hell.  R.  Burton. 


148 


COV'ETOTTSISnESS. 


COWARDICE. 


1146.  COVETOUSNESS,  Fatal,  M.  Foscue, 
the  French  millionnaire  miser,  in  order  to  make 
sure  of  his  treasures,  dug  a  cave  in  his  wine- 
cellar,  so  large  and  deep  that  he  could  go  down 
with  a  ladder.  At  the  entrance  was  a  door 
with  a  spring  lock,  which,  on  shutting,  would 
fasten  of  itself.  Alter  a  time,  he  was  missing. 
Search  was  made  lor  him,  but  to  no  purpose. 
At  last,  his  house  was  sold.  The  purchaser, 
oeginning  to  rebuild  it,  discovered  a  door  in 
this  cellar,  and,  going  down,  iound  him  lying 
dea  1  on  the  ground,  with  a  candlestick  near 
him  ;  and.  on  searching  farther,  discovered  the 
vast  wealth  which  he  had  amassed.  He  went 
into  the  cave ;  and,  the  door  by  some  accident 
shutting  after  him,  he  perished  for  want  of 
food.  He  had  eaten  the  candle,  and  gnawed 
the  flesh  off  both  his  arms.  Thus  died  this 
avaricious  wretch  in  the  midst  of  the  treasure 
which  he  had  heaped  together. 

1147.  ^COVETOUSNESS,  Folly  o£  If  you 
should  see  a  man  that  had  a  large  pond  of 
water,  yet  living  in  continual  thirst,  not  suffer¬ 
ing  himself  to  drink  half  a  draught  for  fear 
of  lessening  his  pond  ;  if  you  should  see  him 
wasting  his  time  and  strength  in  fetching  more 
water  to  his  pond,  always  thirsty,  yet  always 
carrying  a  bucket  of  water  in  his  hand,  watch¬ 
ing  early  and  late  to  catch  the  drops  of  rain, 
gaping  after  every  cloud,  and  running  greedily 
into  every  mire  and  mud  in  hopes  of  water,  and 
always  studying  how  to  make  every  ditch 
empty  itself  into  the  pond ;  if  you  should  see 
him  grow  gray  in  these  anxious  labors,  and  at 
last  end  a  careful,  thirsty  life  by  falling  into  his 
own  pond,  —  would  you  not  say  that  such  a  one 
was  not  only  the  author  of  his  own  disquiet, 
but  was  foolish  enough  to  be  reckoned  among 
madmen  ?  But,  foolish  and  absurd  as  this  char¬ 
acter  is,  it  does  not  represent  half  the  follies  and 
absurd  disquiets  of  the  covetous  man.  Law. 

1148.  After  hypocrites,  the  greatest  dupes 

the  Devil  has  are  those  who  exhaust  an  anx¬ 
ious  existence  in  the  disappointments  and 
vexations  of  business,  and  live  miserably  and 
meanly,  only  to  die  magnificently  and  rich. 
For,  like  the  hypocrites,  the  only  disinterested 
action  these  men  can  accuse  themselves  of  is 
that  of  serving  the  Devil  without  receiving  his 
wages.  He  that  stands  every  day  of  his  life 
behind  a  counter,  until  he  drops  from  it  into 
the  grave,  may  negotiate  many  very  profitable 
bargains  :  but  he  has  made  a  single  bad  one ;  so 
bad,  indeed,  that  it  counterbalances  all  the  rest. 
For  the  empty  foolery  of  dying  rich,  he  has 
paid  down  liis  health,  his  happiness,  and  his 
integrity.  Colton. 

1149.  COVETOUSNESS,  Greed  o£  “  Master,  I 
marvel  how  the  fishes  live  in  the  sea  ?  ”  “  Why, 
as  men  do  a-land  :  the  great  ones  eat  up  the 
little  ones.  I  can  compare  our  rich  misers  to 
nothing  so  fitly  as  to  a  whale :  he  plays  and 
tumbles,  driving  the  poor  fry  before  him,  and 
at  last  devours  them  all  at  a  mouthful.  Such 
whales  have  I  heard  on  the  land,  who  never 
leave  gaping,  till  they’ve  swallowed  the  whole 
parish,  —  church,  steeple,  bells,  and  all.” 

Shakspeare. 


1150.  COVETOUSNESS,  Penalty  of.  Charity 

was  solicited  from  a  rich  man  as  a  loan  to  the 
Lord.  He  replied,  “  The  security,  no  doubt, 
is  good,  and  the  interest  liberal ;  but  I  cannot 
give  such  long  credit.”  Within  two  weeks,  he 
heard  the  summons,  “  Thou  fool !  this  night 
thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee.”  The  God 
whom  he  would  not  trust  would  no  longer 
trust  him. 

1151.  COVETOUSNESS,  Poverty  of.  As  the 

ass  that  carrie th  meat  for  his  master’s  belly, 
and  clothes  for  his  back,  yet  himself  doth  feed 
upon  grass,  and  contenteth  himself  with  one 
hair-skin  ;  even  so  the  covetous  man,  whose 
chests  are  stuffed  with  money  and  his  ward¬ 
robe  with  apparel,  can  hardly  afford  his  belly 
a  good  meal’s  meat,  or  cover  his  back  with  a 
good  coat.  Cawdray. 

1152.  COVETOUSNESS,  Prevalence  of.  “As  I 
stood  one  day  by  Mr.  Jeffrys,”  says  Mrs.  Jef- 
frys  in  her  Journal,  “  catechising  the  children, 
I  asked  them  which  of  the  commandments  was 
most  difficult  to  observe.  One,  after  a  long 
pause,  mentioned  one,  and  another  a  different 
precept;  till  at  last  a  boy  about  twelve  years 
'  old  said,  ‘  The  last  is  the  hardest.’  Mr.  Jeffrys 
said,  ‘  Why  is  it  so,  my  boy  ?  ’  He  replied, 
1  Because,  for  one  who  is  poor  to  see  another 
possessing  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  great 
deal  of  clothes,  and  much  cattle  and  rice,  with¬ 
out  wishing  tor  some  of  them,  is  very  hard.  I 
think  no  person  can  keep  this  commandment.” 

Whitecross. 

1153.  COVETOUSNESS,  Similes  of,  Like  as 

an  infected  member  of  a  man  vexed  with  an 
itch  is  always  clawing  and  rubbing,  even  so 
the  covetous  mind  is  restless  in  gathering 
together.  As  fire  is  never  satisfied  with  wood, 
nor  the  earth  with  water,  nor  the  grave  with 
dead  carcasses,  nor  hell  with  its  prey;  so  the 
covetous  is  never  satisfied  with  money.  As 
the  fish  swallowing  the  hook,  together  with  the 
bait,  is  taken  and  killed  ;.  so  the  covetous  with 
their  gold  get  many  sorrows  which  entangle 
them  in  death  everlasting.  Cawdray. 

1154.  COVETOUSNESS,  Unhappiness  of.  It  is 

one  property,  which,  they  say,  is  required  of 
those  who  seek  for  the  philosopher’s  stone,  — 
that  they  must  not  do  it  with  any  covetous  desire 
to  be  rich;  for  otherwise  they  shall  never  find  it. 
But  most  true  it  is,  that  whosoever  would  have 
the  jewel  of  contentment  (which  turns  all  into 
gold,  yea,  want  into  wealth)  must  come  with 
minds  divested  of  all  ambitious  and  covetous 
thoughts,  else  are  they  likely  never  to  obtain 
it.  Spencer. 

1155.  COWARDICE,  Danger  of.  When  the 
passengers  gallop  by  as  if  fear  made  them 
speedy,  the  cur  follows  them  with  an  open 
mouth.  Let  them  walk  by  in  confident  neglect, 
and  the  dog  will  not  stir  at  all.  It  is  a  weak¬ 
ness  that  every  creature  takes  advantage  of. 

J.  Beaumont. 

1156.  COWARDICE,  Moral.  There  have 
been  men  who  could  discipline  and  control 
armed  legions  in  the  most  perilous  encounters, 
but  who  never  learnt  the  art  of  self-control. 
They  knew  nothing  of  fear  in  the  most  deadly 


COWARDICE. 


CREATION. 


149 


strifes,  when  the  slain  around  them  were  num¬ 
bered  by  thousands  ;  but  they  have  cowardly 
shrunk  from  the  contest  with  self.  They  have 
manfully  fought  for  the  liberties  and  honor  of 
their  country ;  but  they  have  been  the  meanest 
slaves  in  the  inner  world  of  the  heart.  Hosts 
of  vile  passions,  like  ghastly  spectres,  peopled 
their  souls ;  and  they  have  never  dared  to  look 
them  in  the  face,  or  to  take  one  of  them  as  a 
prisoner  of  war.  Instead  of  dragging  them  to 
the  altar,  and  slaying  them  like  deadly  foes  be¬ 
fore  the  Lord,  they  have  succumbed  to  them  ; 
nay,  more,  treacherous  to  their  highest  and  best 
interests,  they  have  cherished  and  fostered 
them.  Bold  as  they  may  have  been  elsewhere, 
they  proved  themselves  too  craven-hearted  to 
assault  these  internal  enemies,  or  to  chase  them 
away  from  the  field  of  the  heart.  It  is  a 
lamentable  fact,  nevertheless  a  fact,  that  some 
of  earth’s  greatest  heroes  have  been  the  basest 
moral  cowards.  As  the  reward  of  their  victo¬ 
ries,  they  have  been  adorned  with  robes  of 
office ;  their  breasts  have  been  decked  with 
stars,  and  made  to  flash  with  gems.  And  well 
they  might;  for  beneath  that  glittering  robe 
was  a  heart  stained  with  foulest  blots  and  in¬ 
famous  crimes.  The  gems,  in  many  cases, 
were  all  outside.  Not  a  single  star  of  virtue 
studded  the  heart,  or  beautified  the  soul. 
Within,  like  their  own  field  of  carnage,  was 
full  of  dead  men’s  bones,  moral  putrefaction, 
and  death.  R.  Roberts. 

1157.  COWARDICE,  Sight  of.  Oh,  how  un¬ 
comely  a  sight  it  is !  —  a  bold  sinner  and  a 
fearful  saint;  one  resolved  to  be  wicked,  and  a 
Christian  wavering  in  his  holy  course  ;  to  see 
guilt  put  innocency  to  flight,  and  hell  keep  the 
field,  impudently  braving  it  with  displayed 
banners  of  open  profaneness,  and  saints  to  hide 
their  colors  for  shame,  and  run  from  them  for 
fear,  who  should  rather  wrap  themselves  in 
chains,  and  die  upon  the  place,  than  thus  be¬ 
tray  the  glorious  name  of  God,  by  which  they 
are  called,  to  the  scorn  of  the  uncircutncised. 

Gurnall. 

1158.  CREATION,  Design  in.  A  gentleman 
who  had  discarded  the  thought  of  Deity  from 
his  mind,  while  travelling  in  Australia  was  led 
in  a  remarkable  way  to  a  belief  in  his  exist¬ 
ence.  Iiis  own  account  of  it  is  as  follows : 

“  Journeying  on  a  day  as  close  and  sultry  as 
can  well  be  imagined,  I  became,  after  some 
hours’  travel,  so  weary,  that  at  length  I  cast 
myself  down  beneath  the  most  shady  tree  I 
tould  find,  unable  to  hold  out  any  longer,  and 
letermined  to  await  the  cool  of  the  evening. 
As  I  lay  thus,  after  some  time  I  saw  the  seed- 
stem  of  a  little  plant,  close  before  me,  move  in 
the  slightest  degree  several  times,  each  time 
accompanying  the  motion  with  a  single  low, 
sharp  sound  like  the  tick  of  a  watch.  Inter¬ 
ested  to  discover  the  connection  between  the 
motion  and  the  sound,  I  leaned  over  and  ex¬ 
amined  it.  It  was  a  small  plant,  with  a  short 
and  more  than  proportionably  thick  flower- 
stem,  having  a  single  seed-pod  at  the  extremity. 
The  seed-pod  was  an  oblate  spheroid,  not 
much  larger  than  a  garden-pea;  but  it  was 


composed  of  a  number  of  sections,  which, 
shrinking  as  it  ripened,  separated  themselves 
from  one  another  :  and  finally  each  section  de¬ 
tached  itself  at  the  bottom  of  the  stalk,  which 
ran  right  through  to  the  upper  side,  and  sprang 
out,  nearly  straightening  itself ;  so  that  event¬ 
ually,  when  all  the  sections  had  extended 
themselves,  it  would  be  something  like  an  open 
umbrella.  But  to  the  extremity  of  each  of 
these  sections,  before  it  sprang  out,  on  the 
inside  was  attached  a  single  small  round  seed, 
which  was  cast,  by  the  spring  of  the  section  to 
which  it  belonged,  to  a  considerable  distance. 
I  struck  the  stem  lightly,  and  thus  artificially 
expedited  the  process  of  disjunction,  and 
found  that  the  seeds  were  thrown  out  upwards 
of  two  feet.  On  paying  close  attention  to  the 
plant  itself,  I  observed  that  its  stem  was  so 
stiff,  that  the  wind  could  have  no  power  to 
sway  it  to  and  fro,  and  thus  scatter  the  seed; 
so  low,  likewise,  that,  amidst  the  surrounding 
grass,  the  wind  would  scarcely  ever  reach  it  in 
force  sufficient  to  carry  the  seed  away ;  and, 
lastly,  that  it  was  placed  in  the  midst  of  leaves 
all  spreading  upwards  and  outwards  in  a 
funnel-form  from  the  root,  so  that,  if  the  seed 
were  not  cast  beyond  them,  they  would  catch 
and  carry  it  back  again  to  the  bosom  of  the 
plant  itself.  The  disadvantage,  then,  was 
threefold,  and  so  complete  in  the  whole  as  to 
bar  this  little  fraction  of  Nature  from  the  per¬ 
formance  of  one  of  its  grand  generic  offices,  — 
that  of  properly  depositing  its  seeds.  Nothing 
could  relieve  it  but  some  mechanical  contri¬ 
vance;  and  here  was  that  mechanical  con¬ 
trivance  ;  'and  not  only  was  it  a  contrivance 
in  itself,  but  there  was  design  and  adaptation 
in  fixing  the  very  juncture  of  its  operations. 
The  seed  should  not  be  thrown  off  till  it  was 
ripe ;  and,  till  it  was  so  ripe  that  its  very 
reservoir  began  to  separate  into  fragments,  this 
mechanical  contrivance  could  not  act.  The 
completion  of  the  ripening  process  was  the 
condition  on  which  the  contrivance  for  scatter¬ 
ing  the  seed  depended  for  coming  into  action. 
It  was  an  instance  of  design  and  contrivance 
so  indisputable,  that  there  was  no  leaving  it  to 
be  accounted  for  in  any  way  but  by  the  agency 
of  a  God.  Dr.  Leifcliild. 

1159.  CREATION,  Lesson  of.  As,  when  men 
behold  any  curious  work  of  a  skilful  craftsman, 
straightway  they  will  leave  the  work,  and 
inquire  after  him  that  made  it,  that  they 
may  praise  his  skill;  so  it  is  the  dutf  of 
Christians,  when  they  behold  everywhere  _n 
all  the  creatures  the  admirable  and  unspeak¬ 
able  wisdom,  goodness,  and  power  of  God, 
to  make  haste  from  the  creature,  and  go  for¬ 
ward  to  the  Creator  to  praise  and  glorify  him. 

Cawdray. 

1160.  CREATION,  Magnitude  of.  What  are 
the  few  worlds  which  sweep  with  us  about  the 
same  source  of  life  and  light  ?  Massive,  pon¬ 
derous  in  themselves;  some  of  them  immensely 
larger  than  our  own,  running  wider  revolutions, 
and  drawing  after  them  brighter  trains.  But 
even  this  one  solar  family,  recognizing  and 
claiming  members  in  the  outskirts  of  space,  — 


150 


CREATION. 


CRIME. 


it  is  as  nothing  to  what  the  eye  can  command, 
nothing  to  the  visible.  What  constellations 
are  thrown  over  the  firmament  in  all  the  pro¬ 
fusion  of  beauty  and  magnificence  !  And  when 
the  unaided  sense  has  roamed  to  its  utmost 
ken,  and  gazed  to  its  utmost  strength,  it  may 
call  the  instruments  of  science  to  its  assistance  ; 
and  it  shall  look  out  on  ampler  territories,  and 
take  hold  of  larger  notices.  Now  we  leave 
our  nook.  We  speak  in  no  terms  of  exaggera¬ 
tion  when  we  describe  what  we  see  as  beds 
and  floors  and  clouds  of  stars.  As  we  pierce 
the  awful  altitudes,  we  ascend  to  new  wonders. 
Apertures  constantly  open,  and  we  are  just 
suffered  a  glimpse  into  them.  Heaven  spreads 
above  heaven ;  new  arrangements  stand  re¬ 
vealed  ;  and  celestial  bodies,  in  shapes  hitherto 
undeveloped,  flame  as  at  the  portal  of  the 
eternal  throne  to  guard  its  access  and  pro¬ 
claim  its  terribleness.  Yet,  even  there,  are 
proofs  that  discovery  has  not  closed  its  re¬ 
searches  :  still  avenue  verges  from  avenue,  and 
height  rises  into  height.  And,  after  all,  this  is 
but  the  outer  court  of  “  His  high  and  holy 
place.”  Dr.  R.  W.  Hamilton. 

1161.  CREATION,  Order  in.  Take  up  the 
commonest  plant,  —  the  furze  that  grows  on  the 
common,  the  seaweed  that  clings  to  the  rocks 
washed  by  the  ocean,  or  the  fern  that  springs 
up  in  the  mountain-glen,  —  and  you  may  ob¬ 
serve  in  its  structure,  in  its  leaves,  or  pendicles, 
a  wonderful  correspondence  of  side  to  side, 
and  part  to  part.  Let  the  eye  travel  over 
Nature  as  we  walk  among  the  cultivated  fields, 
or  the  grassy  slopes  and  valleys  of  our  uplan  1 
countries,  or  among  the  thick  woods  where  the 
winds  have  strewn  the  seeds,  and  bush  and 
tree  of  every  kind  spring  up,  each  eager  to 
maintain  its  place,  and  to  show  its  separate 
form  and  beauty,  and  we  discover  an  order 
in  every  branch  and  blade  and  leaf  and 
shade  and  color.  Take  up  a  leaf  or  flower, 
and  examine  with  or  without  the  aid  which  art 
can  furnish,  and  observe  how  one  edge  has  the 
same  number  of  notches  upon  it  as  the  other 
edge,  and  what  nice  balancings  and  counter¬ 
poises  there  are,  and  how  nicely  the  lines  and 
dots  and  shadings  of  color  suit  each  other,  and 
recur  each  at  its  proper  place,  as  if  all  had 
been  done  by  the  most  exact  measurement, 
and  under  the  most  skilful  and  tasteful  eye. 
Rising  higher,  we  find  all  leading  events  in  the 
earth  and  heavens  to  run  in  periods.  Plants 
have  their  season  for  budding  and  growing, 
and  bearing  seed  and  fruit ;  and  their  whole 
existence  is  for  an  allotted  time.  The  life  of 
animals  and  of  man  himself  is  a  period  ;  and 
it  has  its  periodic  developments  of  infancy, 
youth,  and  manhood,  and  old  age.  The  very 
diseases  of  the  human  frame  have  their  peri¬ 
ods.  The  events  of  history,  in  respect  of 
politics,  civilization,  science,  literature,  and 
religion,  can  be  arranged  into  cycles,  and,  as  a 
whole,  exhibit  a  regular  though  a  somewhat 
complex  progression.  The  tides  of  the  ocean, 
and  in  many  places  the  currents,  flow  in  peri¬ 
ods  ;  and,  in  some  countries,  the  winds  blow 
and  the  rains  fall  at  certain  regular  seasons. 


The  variations  of  magnetism  on  the  earth’s 
surface  seem  to  be  periodical.  The  changes  in 
the  condition  of  the  earth  have  been  arranged 
into  geological  epochs.  The  year  is  a  period, 
and  it  has  its  seasons ;  and  there  are  maani 
annii  in  the  movements  of  the  planets,  and  the 
revolutions  of  the  binary  and  multiple  stars, 
and  probably  also  in  the  movements  of  the 
constellations  and  groups  of  the  nebular 
heavens.  MLCosh. 

1162.  CREATION,  the  Work  of  God.  Creation 

is  the  work  of  God  :  “  without  him  was  not 
any  thing  made  that  was  made.”  He  only  can 
create.  The  architect  can  rear  a  cathedral, 
the  sculptor  can  cut  forms  of  symmetry  and 
grace  from  marble,  the  painter  can  depict  life 
on  his  canvas,  the  machinist  can  construct  en¬ 
gines  that  shall  serve  the  nations  ;  but  not  one 
of  them  can  create.  They  work  with  materi¬ 
als  already  in  existence.  They  bring  existing 
things  into  new  combinations :  this  is  all. 
God  alone  can  create.  Dr.  Thomas. 

1163.  CREATOR,  Reasoning  with  the.  As  it  is 

unreasonable  for  the  piece  of  clay  to  challenge 
for  the  form,  shape,  or  use  that  it  is  made  for ; 
even  so  it  is  unreasonable  presumption  for  a 
man  to  reason  against  his  Maker  for  the  end 
that  he  is  made  for,  whether  it  be  to  honor  oi 
to  dishonor.  Cawdray. 

1164.  CREDULITY,  Boundless.  When  a 
sailor  told  his  mother  about  flying-fish,  the  old 
lady  shook  her  head,  and  said,  “  John,  John, 
what  a  liar  you  are  1”  But  when  he  told  her 
about  fishing  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  at  the  first 
throw  of  the  net  hauling  up  a  chariot-wheel 
made  all  of  gold,  and  inlaid  with  diamonds, 
which  he  supposed  was  one  of  the  wheels  of 
Pharaoh’s  chariot,  who  was  drowned  while  pur¬ 
suing  the  Israelites,  “  Lord  bless  us!  ”  said  she : 
“  now  that  is  possible.  Tell  me  such  stories 
as  that,  and  I’ll  believe  you;  but  never  talk  to 
me  of  such  things  as  flying-fish  !  ” 

1165.  CREDULITY,  Ignorant.  A  collier  was 
examined  on  the  subject  of  his  faith  as 
follows  :  “  What  do  you  believe  ?  ”  —  “I  believe 
what  the  Church  believes?”  —  “What,  then, 
does  the  Church  believe  ?  ”  —  “  The  Church  be¬ 
lieves  what  I  believe.”  —  “  Tell  me,  then,  I  pray 
you,  what  it  is  which  you  and  the  Church  both 
believe.”  —  “  Why,  truly,  sir,  the  Church  and  I 
both  believe  the  same  thing.” 

1166.  CREDULITY,  Superstitious.  In  1789, 
the  idea  of  the  destruction  of  the  world  by  fire 
became  very  prevalent  in  Norfolk,  Va.  One 
evening,  an  unusually  brilliant  aurora  borealis 
was  mistaken  for  the  beginning  of  the  expected 
conflagration.  The  most  of  the  population  of 
the  place  were  on  their  knees  in  the  streets, 
crying  out  in  great  trepidation.  An  intelligent 
stranger  pointed  out  to  them  that  it  was  only 
a  common  spectacle  in  more  northern  latitudes. 
They  begged  him  to  desist,  and  not  draw  down 
the  wrath  of  Heaven  upon  them. 

1167.  CRIME,  Beginning  of.  Of  all  the  adult 
male  criminals  in  London,  not  two  in  a  hun¬ 
dred  have  entered  upon  a  course  of  crime  who 
have  lived  an  honest  life  up  to  the  age  of 
twenty :  almost  all  who  enter  upon  a  course 


CRIMIiS'AJL.S. 


CROSS. 


151 


of  crime  do  so  between  the  ages  of  eight  and 
sixteen.  Earl  of  Shaftesbury. 

1168.  CRIMINALS,  Unreliability  of.  Three. 
German  robbers,  having  acquired  a  valuable 
booty,  agreed  to  divide  the  spoil,  and  to  retire 
from  so  dangerous  a  vocation.  When  the  day 
arrived  which  they  had  appointed  for  that 
purpose,  one  of  them  was  despatched  to  a 
neighboring  town  to  purchase  provisions  for 
their  last  carousal.  The  other  two  secretly 
agreed  to  murder  him  on  his  return,  that  each 
might  come  in  for  half  of  the  plunder,  instead 
of  one-third.  They  did  so.  But  the  murdered 
man  was  a  closer  calculator  than  his  assassins ; 
for  he  had  previously  poisoned  part  of  the  pro¬ 
visions,  in  order  that  he  might  appropriate  the 
whole  of  the  spoil  to  himself.  The  triumvirate 
of  worthies  were  found  dead  together.  Percy. 

1169.  CRITICISM,  Conceited.  Michael  Ange¬ 
lo  was  requested  by  the  Gonfalonierc  Soderini 
at  Florence,  to  undertake  to  form  a  statue 
out  of  a  misshapen  block  on  which  Simon  da 
Fiesole  had  before  been  unsuccessfully  em¬ 
ployed  in  endeavoring  to  represent  a  giant  in 
marble.  lie  accepted  the  commission,  and 
succeeded  in  producing  the  beautiful  figure 
known  under  the  name  of  the  David,  and 
which  now  stands  in  front  of  the  Palazzo 
Vecchio.  The  statue  being  finished,  the  Gon- 
faloniere  came  to  inspect  his  purchase,  and, 
among  other  criticisms  which  he  made,  objected 
to  the  nose  ;  and  added,  that  he  wished  some 
reduction  should  take  place  in  its  size.  Angelo 
mounted  the  scaffold,  and,  giving  a  few  harm¬ 
less  blows  on  the  stone,  let  fall  a  handful  of 
marble  dust  which  he  had  scraped  up  from  the 
floor  below,  and  then,  descending  from  his  sta¬ 
tion,  turned  to  the  Gonfaloniere  with  a  look 
expectant  of  his  approbation.  “  Ay,”  ex¬ 
claimed  the  sagacious  critic,  “  this  is  excellent : 
now  you  have  given  it  life  indeed.” 

1170.  CRITICISM,  Fable  of.  A  pig  once 

made  its  way  into  the  courtyard  of  a  lordly 
mansion,  sauntered  at  its  will  around  the  sta¬ 
bles  and  the  kitchen,  wallowed  in  filth,  crammed 
itself  full  of  pig-wash,  and  then  returned 
home  from  its  visit  a  pig  of  the  most  piggish 
order.  “  Well,  Kavron,  what  have  you  seen  ?  ” 
asked  its  owner.  “  They  do  say  that  rich  peo¬ 
ple’s  houses  are  full  of  pearls  and  diamonds, 
an  1  that  every  thing  there  is  the  finest  possible.” 
“  What  nonsense,  to  be  sure  1  ”  grunted  the 
pig.  “  I  saw  no  splendor  at  all,  —  nothing  but 
dirt  and  offal;  and  yet  I  didn’t  spare  my 
snout,  but  rummaged  the  whole  of  the  back 
yard.”  Krilof. 

1171.  CRITICISM,  Ignorant.  Ilans  Priem 
was  admitted  into  paradise  on  the  express  con¬ 
dition  that  he  was  not  to  indulge  a  habit  he  had 
acquired  of  censuring  and  criticising  whatever 
came  under  his  notice.  He  saw  two  angels 
carrying  a  beam  crossways,  and  knocking  it 
against  every  object  they  met ;  but  said  nothing. 
He  next  saw  two  other  angels  drawing  water 
from  a  fountain,  and  pouring  it  into  a  cask 
which  had  holes  in  the  bottom  ;  but  still  held 
his  peace.  At  many  other  things  of  the  same 
kind  he  also  suppressed  his  laughter  and  his 


remarks,  apprehending  that  he  might  other¬ 
wise  be  expelled  from  the  place.  At  last,  he 
saw  a  cart  stuck  fast  in  the  mire,  with  one  pair 
of  horses  yoked  into  it  before,  and  another 
pair  behind,  and  the  carter  urging  both  simul¬ 
taneously  forward.  It  was  more  than  Hans 
could  do  to  refrain  from  criticising  it;  and  the 
consequence  was,  that  he  was  seized  by  two 
angels,  and  turned  to  the  door.  Before  it 
closed  behind  him,  however,  he  looked  back, 
and  perceived  that  the  horses  were  winged,  and 
had  succeeded  in  drawing  the  cart  out  of  the 
mud  into  the  air ;  nor  can  there  be  any  doubt, 
that,  in  the  other  cases  of  the  beam  and  the 
cask,  there  were  equally  good  reasons  for  what 
was  done.  Gotthold. 

1172.  CROSS,  Burden  of  the.  Christ’s  cross 
is  the  sweetest  burden  that  ever  I  bore  :  it  is 
such  a  burden  as  wings  are  to  a  bird,  or  sails 
to  a  ship,  to  carry  me  forward  to  my  harbor. 

Rutherford. 

1173.  CROSS  of  Constantine.  Philostorgius, 
a  writer  of  the  fifth  century,  speaks  of  the 
cross,  which  he  represents  as  appearing  in  the 
sky  in  the  very  midst  of  the  battle  with  Max- 
entius ;  and  says  that  a  circle  of  stars  ranged 
around  it  like  a  rainbow,  forming  the  letters 
of  the  words,  “  By  this  thou  shalt  conquer.” 
Suidas  sums  up  the  whole  legend  thus  :  “  He 
saw  in  the  sky  a  column  of  light,  forming  a  cross, 
and  bearing,  ‘  By  this  conquer ;  ’  and  he  became 
a  Christian.” 

1174.  CROSS,  Christ's.  Krummacher  de¬ 
scribes  the  mysterious  cross  as  a  rock,  against 
which  the  very  waves  of  the  curse  break ;  as  a 
lightning-conductor,  by  which  the  destroying 
fluid  descends,  which  would  have  otherwise 
crushed  the  world.  Jesus,  who  mercifully  en¬ 
gaged  to  direct  the  thunderbolt  against  him¬ 
self,  does  so  while  hanging  yonder  in  profound 
darkness  upon  the  cross.  There  he  is,  as  the 
connecting  link  between  heaven  and  earth ; 
his  bleeding  arms  extended  wide,  stretched 
out  to  every  sinner ;  hands  pointed  to  the 
east  and  west,  indicating  the  gathering-in  of 
the  world  of  man  to  his  fold.  The  cross  is  di¬ 
rected  to  the  sky,  as  the  place  of  the  final 
triumph  of  his  work  in  redemption ;  and  its 
foot  fixed  in  the  earth  like  a  tree,  from  whose 
wondrous  branches  we  gather  the  fruit  of  an 
eternal  reconciliation  to  God  the  Father. 

Caughey. 

1175.  CROSS,  Discovery  of  the.  In  the  year 
of  our  Lord  326,  Helena,  mother  of  Constan¬ 
tine  the  Great,  when  seventy-nine  years  of 
age,  was  induced  by  the  warmth  of  her  piety 
to  visit  the  places  rendered  sacred  by  the 
Saviour’s  presence  and  sufferings.  The  hatred 
of  the  heathen  had  led  them  to  obliterate  as 
much  as  possible  all  traces  of  the  memorable 
events  which  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  had 
hallowed,  and  to  cover  Mount  Calvary  with 
stones  and  earth,  and  raise  thereon  a  temple 
to  the  goddess  Venus.  A  Jew,  however,  had 
treasured  up  what  traditions  he  could  gather, 
and  was  thus  enabled  to  point  out  to  Helena 
the  spot  where  our  Lord  had  been  buried. 

!  The  place  being  excavated,  three  crosses  were 


152 


CROSS. 


CROSS. 


found ;  and  the  title  which  that  of  Jesus  bore 
was  also  found  lying  apart  by  itself.  The  ques¬ 
tion  was,  how  the  cross  of  Christ  was  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  other  two.  Macarius, 
Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  suggested  that  their  re¬ 
spective  efficacy  should  be  tried  as  to  the  work¬ 
ing  of  miracles.  Sick  persons  were  brought 
forward,  and  touched  by  each  separately.  One 
only  wrought  the  desired  cures,  and  was  accord¬ 
ingly  acknowledged  to  be  the  true  cross. 

1176.  CROSS,  Fighting  under  the.  St.  Oswald 
was  a  Saxon  king  and  saint.  Having  been  dis¬ 
possessed  of  his  dominions  by  Cadwalla,  King 
of  the  Britons,  who,  besides  being  a  bloody 
and  rapacious  tyrant,  was  a  heathen,  he  lived 
for  some  time  in  exile  and  obscurity ;  but  at 
length  he  raised  an  army,  and  gave  battle  to 
his  enemy :  and,  the  two  armies  being  in 
sight  of  each  other,  “  Oswald  ordered  a  great 
cross  of  wood  to  be  made  in  haste ;  and,  the 
hole  being  dug  into  which  it  was  to  be  fixed, 
the  king,  full  of  faith,  laid  hold  of  it,  and  held 
it  with  both  hands  till  it  was  made  fast  by 
throwing  in  the  earth.  Then  raising  his  voice, 
he  cried,  ‘  Let  us  all  kneel  down,  and  beseech 
the  living  God  to  defend  us  from  the  haughty 
and  fierce  enemy  ;  for  he  knows  that  we  have 
undertaken  a  just  war  for  the  safety  of  our 
nation.’  Then  they  went  against  the  enemy, 
and  obtained  a  victory  as  their  faith  de¬ 
served.” 

1177.  CROSS,  Glory  of  the.  The  cross  of 
Christ  is  an  object  of  such  incomparable 
brightness,  that  it  spreads  a  glory  round  it  to 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  all  the  corners  of 
the  universe,  all  the  generations  of  time,  and 
all  the  ages  of  eternity.  The  greatest  actions 
or  events  that  ever  happened  on  earth  filled 
with  their  splendor  and  influence  but  a  mo¬ 
ment  of  time,  and  a  point  of  space :  the  splen¬ 
dor  of  this  great  object  fills  immensity  and 
eternity.  If  we  take  a  right  view  of  its  glory, 
we  shall  see  it  contemplated  with  attention, 
spreading  influence  and  attracting  looks  from 
times  past,  present,  and  to  come,  heaven,  earth, 
and  hell,  angels,  saints,  devils;  we  shall  see 
it  to  be  both  the  object  of  the  deepest  admira¬ 
tion  of  the  creatures  and  the  perfect  appro¬ 
bation  of  the  infinite  Creator ;  we  shall  see 
the  best  part  of  mankind,  the  Church  of  God, 
for  four  thousand  years  looking  forward  to  it 
before  it  happened ;  new  generations  yet  un¬ 
born  rising  up  to  admire  and  honor  it  in  con¬ 
tinual  successions,  till  time  shall  be  no  more; 
innumerable  multitudes  of  angels  and  saints 
looking  back  to  it  with  holy  transports  to  the 
remotest  ages  of  eternity.  Other  glories  decay 
by  length  of  time  :  if  the  splendor  of  this  ob¬ 
ject  change,  it  will  be  only  by  increasing. 
The  visible  sun  will  spend  his  beams  in  pro¬ 
cess  of  time,  and,  as  it  were,  grow  dim  with 
age :  this  object  hath  a  rich  stock  of  beams 
which  eternity  cannot  exhaust.  Maclaurin. 

1178.  CROSS,  The  Heraldic.  The  cross  be¬ 
came  the  distinguishing  badge  of  every  person 
who  joined  the  crusaders,  and  was  embroidered 
on  the  warrior’s  riaht  shoulder.  Bohemund, 
the  son  of  Robert  Guiscard,  Duke  of  Calabria, 


at  the  preaching  of  the  first  crusade,  was  be¬ 
sieging  a  castle  in  Terra  di  Lavora  with  Roger 
his  uncle.  No  sooner  did  he  receive  the  first 
news  of  it  than  he  was  seized  with  such  a 
pious  rage,  that  he  cut  his  coat  of  arms  into 
pieces,  and  made  them  into  crosses  ;  and,  tak¬ 
ing  one  himself,  he  distributed  the  remainder 
among  his  principal  officers,  and  set  off  to  join 
the  crusaders.  A  similar  story  is  told  of  St. 
Bernard,  who  went  to  Lewis  to  preach  the 
second  crusade.  The  pope  gave  him  some 
consecrated  crosses  to  be  distributed  amongst 
the  multitude ;  but  so  great  was  the  number  of 
those  who  wished  to  join  the  new  expedition, 
that  the  saint  soon  found  that  he  had  not  near¬ 
ly  sufficient.  lie  therefore  cut  his  garment 
into  small  crosses,  and  gave  them  to  all  who 
asked  him.  The  different  European  nations 
were  distinguished  by  crosses  of  various  colors ; 
and  the  cross  soon  became,  and  has  continued, 
the  badge  of  nearly  every  order  of  knight¬ 
hood. 

1179.  CROSS,  Humility  and  the.  The  cap¬ 
ture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Persians,  A.D.  614, 
placed  the  remains  of  the  cross  in  the  hands 
of  Cliosroes  II.,  who  mockingly  conveyed 
them  to  his  capital.  Fourteen  years  after¬ 
wards,  Heraclius  recovered  them,  and  had 
them  carried,  first  to  Constantinople,  and  then 
to  Jerusalem,  in  such  pomp,  that,  on  his  arrival 
before  the  latter  city,  he  found  the  gate  barred, 
and  entrance  forbidden.  Instructed  as  to  the 
cause  of  this  lnnderanee,  the  emperor  laid  aside 
the  trappings  of  his  greatness,  and,  barefooted, 
bore  on  his  own  shoulders  the  sacred  relic  up 
to  the  gate,  which  then  opened  of  itself,  and 
allowed  him  to  enter,  and  thus  place  his  charge 
beneath  the  dome  of  the  sepulchre. 

1180.  CROSS,  a  Key.  Damascen  likened 
the  cross  of  Christ  to  a  key  of  gold  which 
opens  paradise  for  us ;  but,  if  unaccepted,  it 
becomes  an  iron  key,  and  opens  the  gates  of 
hell  before  us. 

1181.  CROSS,  Offence  of  the.  Luther  was 
offered  to  be  made  a  cardinal  if  he  would  be 
quiet.  He  answered,  “  No,  not  if  I  might  be 
pope,”  and  defends  himself  thus  against  those 
that  thought  him  haply  a  proud  fool  for  his 
pains  :  “  Let  me  be  counted  fool,  or  any  thing, 
so  I  be  not  found  guilty  of  cowardly  silence.” 
The  Papists,  when  they  could  not  rule  him, 
railed  at  him,  and  called  him  an  apostate.  He 
confesseth  the  action,  and  saith,  “  I  am  indeed 
an  apostate,  but  a  blessed  and  holy  apostate  — 
one  that  hath  fallen  off  from  the  Devil.”  Then 
they  called  him  devil ;  but  what  saith  he  ? 
“  Luther  is  a  devil ;  be  it  so  :  but  Christ  liveth 
and  reigneth  ;  that’s  enough  for  Luther :  so  be 
it.”  Nay,  such  was  the  activity  of  Luther’s 
spirit,  that,  when  Erasmus  was  asked  by  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  why  the  pope  and  his 
clergy  could  so  little  abide  Luther,  he  an¬ 
swered,  “For  two  great  offences,  —  meddling 
with  the  pope’s  triple  crown  and  the  monks’ 
fat  paunches.”  And  hence  was  all  the  hatred. 

Spencer. 

1182.  CROSS,  Power  o£  A  heathen  ruler, 
who  had  heard  the  story  of  the  cross,  and 


CROSS. 


desired  to  know  its  power,  was  sick  unto 
death.  To  one  of  his  attendants  he  said, 
“  Make  a  cross,  and  lay  it  down  in  front  of  my 
door.”  When  this  was  done,  he  said,  “  Take 
me,  now,  and  lay  me  on  the  cross.  Extend 
my  hands  and  feet,  and  let  me  die.”  As  he 
lay  there  dying,  he  laid  hold  on  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and  said,  “  It  lifts  me  up;  it  lifts 
me ;  it  lifts  me ;  it  lifts  me !  ” 

1183.  CROSS,  Preaching  the.  Let  others  hold 
forth  the  terrors  of  hell  and  the  joys  of  heaven. 
Let  others  drench  their  congregations  with 
teachings  about  the  sacraments  and  the  Church. 
Give  me  the  cross  of  Christ.  This  is  the  only 
lever  which  has  ever  turned  the  world  upside 
down  hitherto,  and  made  men  forsake  their 
sins.  And,  if  this  will  not,  nothing  will.  A 
man  may  begin  preaching  with  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew ; 
but  he  will  do  little  or  no  good  among  his 
hearers  unless  he  knows  something  of  the 
cross.  Never  was  there  a  minister,  who  did 
much  for  the  conversion  of  souls,  who  did  not 
dwell  much  on  Christ  crucified.  Luther, 
Rutherford,  Whitefield,  M'Cheyne,  were  all 
most  eminent  preachers  of  the  cross.  This 
is  the  preaching  that  the  Holy  Ghost  delights 
to  bless.  He  loves  to  honor  those  who  honor 
the  cross.  Ryle. 

1181.  CROSS,  Prizing  the.  Tacitus  reports, 
that  though  the  amber-ring  among  the  Ro¬ 
mans  was  of  no  value,  yet,  after  the  emperor 
began  to  wear  it,  it  began  to  be  in  great  es¬ 
teem :  it  was  the  only  fashion  amongst  them. 
So  our  Saviour  has  borne  his  cross,  and  was 
borne  upon  it.  We  should  esteem  it  more 
highly  than  many  of  us  do,  and  bear  it  daily 
in  remembrance  of  him. 

1185.  CROSS,  Significance  of  the.  In  the 
type  of  the  brazen  serpent,  as  well  as  in  the  I 
divine  ordinances  respecting  One  that  was 
hanged  on  a  tree,  the  clearest  light  is  thrown 
on  the  horrible  cross  which  the  Son  of  God  is 
carrying  to  Calvary.  Those  beams  evidently 
form  the  stake  upon  which,  according  to  the 
romise,  the  storm  of  divine  judgment  should 
e  discharged.  It  is  the  scaffold,  where,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Rom.  iii.  25,  God  resolved  to  declare 
his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins  that 
are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God ;  the 
Moriah,  where,  for  the  benefit  of  a  sinful  world, 
the  curse  pronounced  in  paradise  is  endured 
in  the  sacred  humanity  of  the  great  Surety. 
The  altar  of  burnt-offering,  on  which  the 
Lamb  of  God  submitted  to  the  sum-total  of 
that  punishment  which  ought  in  justice  to 
have  fallen  upon  me ;  and  the  dying  bed, 
where  Death,  over  which  Satan  has  power, 
and  to  which  I  was  subject  by  a  sentence  of 
the  supreme  tribunal,  —  is  permitted  to  seize 
upon  and  slay  another  in  order  that  he  might 
forever  lose  his  claim  upon  me.  Such  is  the 
mysterious  cross  which  you  see  borne  towards 
Calvary.  It  is  the  sepulchre  of  a  world ;  for 
the  innumerable  host  of  those  that  are  saved, 
died,  in  the  eye  of  God,  with  Christ  upon  it. 
It  is  the  conductor  which  carries  off  the  de¬ 
stroying  Hash  from  our  race  by  his  attracting 


CROSSES.  153 

it  upot:  himself ;  the  tree  of  life,  the  leaves  of 
which  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

Krummachrr. 

118G.  CROSS,  Use  of  the.  Louis  XII.,  King 
of  France,  had  many  enemies  before  he  suc¬ 
ceeded  to  the  throne.  When  he  became  king, 
he  caused  a  list  to  be  made  of  his  persecutors, 
and  marked  against  each  of  their  names  a  large 
black  cross.  When  this  became  known,  the 
enemies  of  the  king  fled,  because  they  thought 
it  was  a  sign  that  he  intended  to  punish  them. 
Rut  the  king,  hearing  of  their  fears,  made  them 
be  recalled,  with  an  assurance  of  pardon  :  and 
said  that  he  had  put  a  cross  beside  each  name, 
to  remind  him  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  he 
might  endeavor  to  follow  the  example  of  Him 
who  had  prayed  for  his  murderers,  and  had 
exclaimed,  “Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do.”  God  places  the 
cross  by  the  side  or  upon  the  offences  of  the 
believing  penitent,  and  forgives  him.  Bate. 

i!87.  CROSSES,  Badges.  As  it  is  a  thing 
very  commendable  and  worthy  of  praise,  to 
ever  bear  about  him  the  signs  and  badges  of 
his  captain,  that  it  may  appear  to  whom  he 
belongeth;  so  it  is  no  little  honor  to  a  true 
Christian  man  to  pass  through  many  dangers, 
and  to  be  experienced  in  many  troubles,  and 
to  endure  many  afflictions,  for  his  Captain, 
Christ’s  sake  ;  tor  sorrows,  vexations,  and  trib¬ 
ulations  are  the  armor  and  badges  of  Christ. 

Cawdray. 

1J88.  CROSSES,  Exchanging.  One  complain¬ 
ing  of  the  burden  of  life  is  represented  as  re¬ 
ceiving  instruction  from  an  angel  in  a  dream. 
She  was  taken  to  a  place  where  lay  myriads 
of  crosses,  and  told  that  she  might  exchange 
her  own  for  any  she  chose.  She  laid  aside  her 
own,  and  took  up  a  jewelled  cross,  but  soon 
began  to  totter  under  its  great  weight ;  and 
was  glad  to  lay  it  down,  and  take  up  another 
of  chased  gold.  This  was  even  heavier  than  the 
other.  She  next  chose  a  cross  of  flowers  ;  but 
its  thorns  pierced  her  flesh,  and  became  un¬ 
bearable.  She  said,  “  Why  need  I  have  any 
cross  'I  ”  The  angel  answered,  “  No  cross,  no 
crown.”  She  soon  discovered  a  plain  cross, 
with  the  word  “  Love  ”  engraved  upon  it  in 
letters  of  gold,  took  it  up  joyfully,  saying,  “  I 
can  wear  this.”  She  found  that  she  had  chosen 
her  own  old  cross  again  :  it  fitted  her  exactly, 
and  she  was  convinced  it  was  the  best  for  her 
to  bear. 

1189.  CROSSES,  How  to  Bear.  Theresa  had 
received  a  present,  —  a  little  ebony  cross.  At 
one  time,  the  cross-piece  became  loose ;  and  she 
begged  her  father  to  repair  the  cross.  “  That 
I  will  do  very  willingly,”  said  her  father ;  “  and, 
by  means  of  it,  will  try  to  teach  you  a  lesson 
how  you  may  live  in  this  world,  and  no  afflic¬ 
tion  or  duty  prove  a  cross  to  you.  See  !  with¬ 
out  this  cross-piece,  the  longer  piece  is  not  a 
cross ;  only  when  the  cross-piece  is  added  is 
a  cross  formed.  So  it  is  in  every  trial  which 
we  call  a  cross.  The  longer  piece  represents 
God’s  will :  our  will,  which  always  desires  to 
cross  God’s  will,  is  represented  oy  the  cross¬ 
piece.  Each  cross  you  are  called  upon  to  bear, 


154 


CROSSES. 


CROWN. 


take  from  it  the  cross-piece  (your  will),  and 
it  will  no  longer  prove  a  cross  to  you.” 

1190.  CROSSES,  Lesson  of.  A  widow-lady, 
almost  in  despair,  complained,  “  No  other  roof 
is  so  constantly  beset  with  misery  as  mine.” 
It  pleased  God  to  teach  her  a  lesson  through  a 
dream.  One  night,  she  dreamed  that  a  whole 
town  stood  before  her,  and  every  house  in  it 
bore  a  cross  against  its  door  :  on  one  it  was  a 
very  large  one ;  on  the  next  it  was  of  less  size ; 
and,  on  others,  it  was  but  a  small  one.  Among 
all  the  crosses,  none  appeared  to  her  so  incon¬ 
siderable,  and  light  to  carry,  as  that  at  her  own 
door.  She  awoke  a  new  creature.  She  prayed 
God  to  pardon  her  for  her  murmuring  spirit, 
and  to  release  her  from  it ;  and  not  in  vain. 

1191.  CROSSES,  Parting  with.  Christ  and 
his  cross  are  not  separable  in  this  life,  howbe- 
it  Christ  and  his  cross  part  at  heaven’s  door ; 
for  there  is  no  house-room  for  crosses  in  heaven. 
One  tear,  one  sigh,  one  sad  heart,  one  loss, 
one  thought  of  trouble,  cannot  find  lodging 
there.  They  are  but  the  marks  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  down  in  this  wide  inn  and  stormy  coun¬ 
try  on  this  side  death.  Sorrow  and  the  saints 
are  not  married  together ;  or,  suppose  it  were 
so,  heaven  would  make  a  divorce.  Rutherford. 

1192.  CROSSES,  Prized.  Thanks  to  God  for 

crosses !  When  we  count  and  reckon  our 
losses  in  seeking  God,  we  find  that  godliness  is 
great  gain.  Great  partners  of  a  shipful  of 
gold  are  glad  to  see  the  ship  come  to  the  har¬ 
bor.  Surely,  we  and  our  Lord  Jesus  together 
have  a  shipful  of  gold  coming  home,  and  our 
gold  is  in  that  ship.  Some  are  so  in  love  with 
this  life,  that  they  sell  their  part  of  the  ship 
for  a  little  thing.  I  would  counsel  you  to  buy 
life,  but  sell  it  not,  and  give  not  away  your 
crosses  for  nothing.  The  inside  of  Christ’s 
cross  is  white  and  joyful,  and  the  farthest  end 
of  the  black  cross  is  a  fair  and  glorious  heaven 
of  ease.  Seeing  Christ  has  fastened  heaven 
to  the  far  end  of  the  cross,  and  he  will  not 
loose  the  knot  himself,  and  none  else  can,  let 
us  count  it  exceeding  joy  when  we  fall  into 
divers  temptations.  Rutherford. 

1193.  CROSSES,  Satisfaction  with.  When  his 

people  cannot  have  a  Providence  of  silk  and 
roses,  they  must  be  content  with  such  a  one 
as  he  carveth  out  to  them.  You  would  not  go  to 
heaven,  but  with  company  ;  and  you  may  per¬ 
ceive  that  the  way  of  those  who  went  before 
you  was  through  blood,  sufferings,  and  many 
afflictions;  nay,  Christ  the  Captain  went  in 
over  the  door-threshold  of  paradise,  bleeding 
to  death.  Rutherford. 

1194.  CROWN,  Condition  of  the.  It  is  not 

enough  to  begin  in  the  spirit,  and  end  in  the 
flesh ;  it  is  not  for  him  that  runneth,  but  for 
him  that  runneth  to  the  end,  that  persevereth, 
that  the  crown  is  reserved  :  it  is  he  that  shall 
eat  of  the  hidden  manna,  —  he  that  shall  have 
the  white  stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new  name 
written,  which  no  man  knoweth,  saving  he  that 
receiveth  it.  Spencer. 

1195.  CROWN,  Estimating  a.  Inside  those 
iron  gratings  that  protect  the  ancient  regalia 
of  our  kingdom,  vulgar  curiosity  sees  nothing 


but  a  display  of  jewels.  Its  stupid  eyes  are 
dazzled  by  the  gems  that  stud  the  crown  and 
the  sceptre.  The  unreflecting  multitude  fix 
their  thoughts  and  waste  their  admiration 
on  these.  They  go  away  to  talk  of  their 
beauty,  perhaps  to  covet  their  possession  ;  nor 
do  they  estimate  the  value  of  the  crown  but 
by  the  value  which  its  pearls  and  rubies  and 
diamonds  might  fetch  in  the  market.  The  eye 
of  a  patriot  gazing  thoughtfully  in  on  these 
relics  of  former  days  is  all  but  blind  to  what 
attracts  the  gaping  group.  The  admiration 
is  reserved  for  other  and  nobler  objects.  He 
looks  with  deep  and  meditative  interest  on 
that  rim  of  gold,  not  for  its  intrinsic  value,  but 
because  it  once  encircled  the  brow  of  Scot¬ 
land’s  greatest  king,  the  hero  of  her  independ- 
ance,  —  Robert  Bruce.  Regarded  in  some  such 
light,  estimated  by  the  sufferings  endured  for 
it,  how  great  the  value  of  that  crown  which 
Jesus  wears  !  Dr.  Guthrie. 

1196.  CROWN,  An  Incorruptible.  A  French 
officer,  who  was  a  prisoner  upon  his  parol  at 
Reading,  met  with  a  Bible  :  he  read  it,  and  was 
so  impressed  with  its  contents,  that  he  was 
convinced  of  the  folly  of  sceptical  principles 
and  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  resolved 
to  become  a  Protestant.  When  hi#  gay  asso¬ 
ciates  rallied  him  for  taking  so  serious  a  turn, 
he  said  in  his  vindication,  “  I  have  done  no 
more  than  my  old  school-fellow  Bernadotte, 
who  has  become  a  Lutheran.”  —  “  Yes ;  but  he 
became  so,”  said  his  associates,  “  to  obtain  a 
crown.”  —  “  My  motive,”  said  the  Christian 
officer,  “  is  the  same  :  we  only  differ  as  to  the 
place.  The  object  of  Bernadotte  is  to  obtain  a 
crown  in  Sweden  :  mine  is  to  obtain  a  crown 
in  heaven.” 

1197.  CROWN,  A  Jewelled.  A  retiring  young 
disciple,  who  shrank  from  labor  for  Jesus,  had 
a  dream,  which  she  thus  relates  :  “  I  thought  1 
was  in  heaven  ;  and  I  saw  there  two  crowns,  — 
one  plain,  and  the  other  jewelled.  I  thought, 
‘  Oh  !  if  I  may  but  wear  the  plainest  crown,  I 
shall  be  satisfied,  and  ask  or  wish  for  nothing 
more.’  But,  as  I  spoke  my  thoughts  to  myself, 
one  of  the  bright-winged  company  came  to  me, 
and  said,  1  It  is  your  duty  to  wear  a  jewelled 
crown ;  ’  and  when  I  thought  of  my  advan¬ 
tages,  my  Christian  friends,  my  means  of  reli¬ 
gious  improvement  and  usefulness,  I  saw  it  was 
not  right  that  I  should  be  content  with  a  bare 
entrance  into  heaven,  but  mine  must  indeed  be 
a  jewelled  crown.” 

1198.  CROWN,  Legend  of  the.  St.  Catherine 
of  Sienna,  that  Her  virtue  and  her  sanctity  might 
be  fully  manifested,  was  persecuted  and  vilified 
by  certain  envious  and  idle  nuns  of  the  Convent 
of  St.  Dominic,  among  whom  a  sister,  Palme- 
rina,  was  especially  malignant ;  and  these 
insisted  that  her  visions  were  merely  dreams, 
and  that  all  her  charitable  actions  proceeded 
from  vainglory.  She  laid  her  wrongs,  weeping, 
at  the  feet  of  Christ.  He  appeared  to  her, 
bearing  in  one  hand  a  crown  of  gold  and  jewels, 
in  the  other  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  bade  her 
choose  between  them.  She  took  from  his  hand 
the  crown  of  thorns,  and  placed  it  on  her  own 


CEO  WIST. 


CRUELTY. 


155 


head ;  pressing  it  down  hastily,  and  with  such 
force,  that  the  thorns  penetrated  to  her  brain, 
and  she  cried  out  with  the  agony.  Palmerina 
afterwards  repented,  and,  falling  at  the  feet  of 
Catherine,  begged  her  forgiveness,  which  was 
immediately  granted.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

1199.  CROWN,  A  Lost.  A  lady  in  a  dream 
wandered  around  heaven,  beholding  its  glories, 
and  came  at  last  to  the  crown-room.  Among 
the  crowns,  she  saw  one  exceedingly  beautiful. 
“  Who  is  this  for  ?  ” — “  It  was  intended  for  you,” 
said  the  angel ;  “  but  you  did  not  labor  tor  it, 
and  now  another  will  wear  it.” 

1200.  CROWN,  Race  for  a.  In  the  year  77G, 
on  the  death  of  Premislaus,  or  Lescus  I.,  King 
of  Poland,  the  people,  to  determine  who  should 
succeed,  appointed  a  race ;  and  declared,  who¬ 
ever  won  it,  should  be  king.  On  this,  one  of 
the  candidates  secretly  strewed  iron  hooks  in 
certain  parts  of  the  course,  by  which,  on  the 
day  of  competition,  the  horses  of  all  the  other 
candidates  were  lamed ;  while  he,  knowing  how 
to  avoid  them,  came  first  to  the  goal.  The 
fraud,  however,  being  discovered,  he  was  killed 
on  the  spot;  and  a  poor  fellow  called  Lescus, 
who  had  run  the  race  on  foot,  being  next  to 
the  impostor,  the  people  saluted  him  prince. 
It  is  said  that  he  always  kept  his  mean  clothes 
to  remind  him  of  his  humble  origin.  Percy. 

1201.  CRUCIFIXION,  Description  of  a.  Mr. 
James  Jones  of  Amoy,  an  eye-witness,  says, 
“  The  cross  was  of  the  Latin  form,  the  toot  being 
inserted  in  a  stout  plank ;  and  the  criminal, 
standing  on  a  board,  had  nails  driven  through 
his  feet,  his  hands  stretched  and  nailed  to  the 
cross-beam.  Iiis  legs  were  fastened  to  the  cross 
with  an  iron  chain,  and  his  arms  bound  with 
cords;  and  on  the  cord  round  his  waist  was 
inserted  a  piece  of  wood,  on  which  was  written 
his  name  and  offence.  A  similar  piece  on  his 
right  arm  contained  his  sentence ;  namely,  to 
remain  on  the  cross  day  and  night  until  he 
died :  another  on  his  left  arm  had  the  name 
of  the  judge,  with  his  titles  and  offices.  The 
criminal  was  nailed  to  the  cross  inside  the 
yamun,  in  the  presence  of  the  magistrate,  and 
then  carried  by  four  coolies  to  one  of  the 
principal  thoroughfares  leading  from  the  city, 
where  he  was  left  during  the  day,  but  removed 
at  night  inside  the  prison  for  fear  of  his 
friends  attempting  to  rescue  him,  and  again 
carried  forth  at  daylight  in  charge  of  two 
soldiers.  He  was  crucified  at  noon  on  Wednes¬ 
day,  and  at  five  in  the  evening  complained  of 
pain  in  the  chest,  and  thirst.  On  Thursday 
he  slept  for  some  hours,  when  the  cross  was 
laid  down  within  the  jail  enclosure.  No  one 
was  allowed  to  supply  him  with  food  or  drink ; 
and,  during  the  day,  there  was  quite  a  fair  in 
front  of  the  cross,  people  being  attracted  from 
a  distance,  and  the  sweetmeat  venders  driving 
a  large  trade.  On  Saturday  he  was  still  alive, 
when  the  taotal  was  appealed  to  by  a  foreigner 
to  put  an  end  to  the  wretch’s  sufferings ;  and 
he  immediately  gave  orders  that  vinegar  should 
be  administered,  which  he  expected  would 
produce  immediate  death :  but  the  result  was 
otherwise ;  and  at  sunset,  when  the  cross  was 


taken  witliin  the  jail,  two  soldiers,  with  stout 
bamboos,  broke  both  his  legs,  and  then  stran¬ 
gled  him.” 

1202.  CRUCIFIXION,  Impression  of  the.  Col. 
Gardiner  was  won  from  a  life  of  worldly  pleas¬ 
ure  by  a  dream,  in  which  he  saw  the  Saviour 
hanging  on  the  cross,  and  saying,  “  I  have  suf¬ 
fered  this  for  thee,  and  is  this  thy  return  ?  ” 
The  deep  conviction  of  his  ingratitude  led  him 
to  repentance  and  a  life  of  piety. 

1203.  CRUCIFIXION,  Realized.  A  little  girl 
in  a  mission-school  sat  on  the  front  scat ;  and, 
when  the  superintendent  was  telling  about  how 
they  hanged  Jesus  on  the  cross,  the  tears  came 
to  her  eyes,  and  she  had  to  get  up  and  go  out. 
In  the  afternoon,  she  came  back,  smiling;  and 
the  superintendent  asked  her,  “  Mary,  where 
did  you  go  this  morning?  ”  And  she  said,  “  O 
teacher  1  I  could  not  stand  it  when  you  spoke 
to  us  about  Jesus  being  nailed  on  the  cross;  for 
I  felt  just  as  if  I  helped  to  pound  the  nails  in ; 
and  I  went  off  a  little  piece  from  the  school, 
and  got  down  on  my  knees,  and  told  Jesus  that 
my  sins  helped  to  hang  him  on  the  cross  ;  and 
I  asked  him  to  please  forgive  me  for  helping  to 
kill  him ;  that  I  was  so  sorry  1  but  now  I  teel 
so  happy  1  ” 

1291.  CRUELTY,  Horrible.  When  the  cruel 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  cruel,  we  read  their 
late  with  horror,  not  with  pity.  Sylla  com¬ 
manded  the  bones  of  Marius  to  be  broken,  his 
eyes  to  be  pulled  out,  his  hands  to  be  cut  off, 
and  his  body  to  be  torn  in  pieces  with  pincers  ; 
and  Catiline  was  the  executioner.  “  A  piece 
of  cruelty,”  says  Seneca,  “  only  fit  for  Marius 
to  sutler,  Catiline  to  execute,  and  Sylla  to 
command.”  C.  Colton. 

120).  CRUELTY,  Punishment  of.  John  Cam¬ 
eron,  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  was  so  given  to 
covetousness,  extortion,  violence,  and  oppres¬ 
sion,  especially  upon  his  own  tenants  and  vas¬ 
sals,  that  he  would  scarcely  afford  them  bread 
to  eat,  or  clothes  to  cover  their  nakedness. 
But  the  night  before  Christmas  Day,  and  in  the 
midst  of  his  cruelties,  as  he  lay  in  bed  at  his 
house  in  Lockwood,  he  heard  a  voice  summon¬ 
ing  him  to  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ, 
and  give  an  account  of  his  actions.  Being  ter¬ 
rified  with  this  notice  and  the  pangs  of  a 
guilty  conscience,  he  called  up  his  servants, 
commanding  them  to  bring  lights,  and  stay  in 
the  room  with  him.  He  himself  took  a  book 
in  his  hand,  and  began  to  read ;  but  the  voice, 
being  heard  a  second  time,  struck  all  the  ser¬ 
vants  with  horror.  The  same  voice  repeating 
the  summons  a  third  time,  and  with  a  louder 
and  more  dreadful  accent,  the  bishop,  after  a 
lamentable  and  frightful  groan,  was  found  dead 
in  his  bed,  with  his  tongue  hanging  out  of  his 
mouth,  a  dreadful  spectacle  to  all  beholders. 
This  relation  is  made  by  the  celebrated  his¬ 
torian  Buchanan,  who  records  it  as  a  remark¬ 
able  example  of  God’s  judgment  against  the 
sin  of  oppression.  Whitecross. 

1206.  CRUELTY,  Result  of.  There  was  a 
lad  strolling  through  the  fields  with  his  sister. 
They  found  a  nest  of  rabbits.  The  sister  was 
charmed  with  the  nest  itself,  and  with  its  living 


156 


CRTTKLTY 


CXTRSKS. 


occupants ;  but  the  lad  seized  them,  mimick¬ 
ing  their  squeaks  and  their  struggles.  In  vain 
his  sister  wept  and  entreated :  he  flung  them 
up  into  the  air,  and  shouted  as  each  fell  dead 
upon  the  stones.  Ten  years  after,  that  sister 
sat  weeping  again  by  that  boy’s  side.  He  was 
in  chains,  sentenced  to  be  hung  for  shooting  a 
farmer  whilst  poaching  :  they  were  waiting  for 
the  awful  procession  to  knock  at  the  cell-door. 
“  Sister,”  he  said,  “  do  you  remember  the  nest 
of  rabbits  ten  years  ago,  how  you  begged  and 
prayed,  and  I  ridiculed  ?  I  verily  believe,  that, 
from  that  day,  God  forsook  me,  and  left  me  to 
follow  my  own  inclinations.  If  I  had  yielded 
to  your  tears  then,  you  and  I  would  not  be 
weeping  these  bitter  tears  now.” 

W.  J.  Bolton. 

1207.  CRUELTY,  and  Selfishness.  At  the 
time  of  the  destruction  of  the  man-of-war, 
“  Prince  George,”  by  fire,  off  Lisbon,  by  which 
four  hundred  and  eighty-five  persons  perished, 
the  fishermen  and  merchantmen,  of  which 
there  were  many  around  the  burning  ship, 
instead  of  rescuing  their  drowning  fellow-crea¬ 
tures,  busied  themselves  in  picking  up  fowls, 
and  whatever  else  floated  to  them  from  the 
wreck,  except  the  drowning  sailors. 

1208.  CRUELTY,  Unchristian.  The  Span¬ 

iards,  by  their  cruelty  to  the  natives  of  the 
Island  of  Cuba,  rendered  themselves  odious, 
and  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants 
the  strongest  prejudices  against  their  religion. 
A  chief  who  had  been  condemned  to  be  burnt, 
when  brought  to  the  stake,  was  exhorted  to 
embrace  Christianity,  assured  that  thereby  he 
would  be  admitted  to  heaven.  The  chief 
asked  if  there  were  any  Spaniards  in  heaven. 
“  Yes,”  said  the  priest  who  attended  him ;  “  but 
they  are  all  good  ones.”  The  chief  replied, 
“  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  go  to  a  place  where 
I  should  meet  with  but  one  :  therefore  do  not 
speak  to  me  any  more  of  your  religion,  but  let 
me  die.”  Whit  across. 

1209.  CURE,  A  Marvellous,  It  is  related  that 

a  certain  man  who  was  afflicted  with  a  cancer 
in  his  leg  went  to  perform  his  devotions  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damian  at  Rome  ; 
and  he  prayed  most  earnestly  that  these  be¬ 
neficent  saints  would  be  pleased  to  aid  him. 
When  he  had  prayed,  a  deep  sleep  fell  upon 
him.  Then  he  beheld  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Da¬ 
mian,  who  stood  beside  him  ;  and  one  carried 
a  box  of  ointment,  the  other  a  sharp  knife. 
And  one  said,  “  What  shall  we  do  to  replace 
this  diseased  leg  when  we  have  cut  it  off?” 
And  the  other  replied,  “  There  is  a  Moor  who 
has  been  buried  just  now  in  San  Pietro  in 
Vincole ;  let  us  take  his  leg  for  the  purpose.” 
Then  they  brought  the  leg  of  the  dead  man  ; 
and  with  it  they  replaced  the  leg  of  the  sick 
man,  anointing  it  with  celestial  ointment,  so 
that  he  remained  whole.  When  he  awoke,  he 
almost  doubted  whether  it  could  be  himself; 
but  his  neighbors,  seeing  that  he  was  healed, 
looked  into  the  tomb  of  the  Moor,  and  found 
that  there  had  been  an  exchange  of  legs  :  and 
thus  the  truth  of  this  great  miracle  was  proved 
to  all  beholders.  Mrs.  Jameson. 


1210.  CURIOSITY,  Danger  of,  The  African 
leopard  catches  and  destroys  the  antelope 
through  an  appeal  to  this  animal’s  curiosity. 
Concealing  himself  in  the  long  grass,  or  among 
the  leaves  of  green  branches  fallen,  or  trailing 
on  the  ground,  he  awaits  the  approach  of  his 
intended  victim.  He  knows  that  curiosity  is 
a  weakness  of  the  antelope ;  and,  when  the 
graceful  creature  comes  near  the  cunning  foe, 
he  stirs  the  green  covering,  which  attracts  the 
closer  inspection  of  the  antelope.  In  another 
moment,  the  leopard  springs  upon  the  incau¬ 
tious  visitor,  and  lays  the  bleeding  carcass  at 
his  feet.  We  are  reminded,  almost  daily,  of 
this  artful  destroyer  by  the  folly  and  ruin  of  a 
wicked  and  dangerous  curiosity  among  men. 

1211.  CURIOSITY,  Disordered.  Let  one 

speak  to  us  of  the  wisdom,  justice,  liberality," 
modesty,  and  temperance  of  another,  and  we 
will  scarcely  give  any  ear  thereto ;  but  let 
one  tell  us  that  some  young  wench  hath  lived 
incontinently,  or  that  some  woman  is  taken 
in  adultery,  or  that  there  is  strife  among 
brethren,  or  some  discord  among  friends,  we 
are  attentive  enough,  and  but  too  curious  to 
hear.  Cawdray. 

1212.  CURIOSITY,  Objects  of.  As  old  Lamia, 
who  had  eyes  like  spectacles,  which  she  could 
take  out  and  put  in  at  pleasure,  so  soon  as 
she  came  home,  used  to  lock  them  up  in  her 
coffer,  and  sat  down  to  her  spinning  as  blind 
as  a  beetle,  and  never  saw  what  she  did  in 
her  own  house,  but  no  sooner  went  abroad 
than  she  put  them  in  her  head  again  to 
behold  what  other  men  did  :  in  like  manner 
we  never  look  at  our  own  imperfections, 
although  they  be  as  clear  as  the  sun,  and  as 
big  as  a  mill-stone ;  but  we  can  quickly  descry 
other  men’s  vices,  though  it  be  at  midnight,  and 
they  not  so  large  as  a  pebble-stone.  Cawdray. 

1213.  CURIOSITY,  Restlessness  of.  As  men 

having  a  report  of  the  pleasure  and  abundance 
of  any  strange  country  are  never  quiet  till 
they  have  seen  it;  but  they  have  not  been 
there  a  year  till  they  are  in  greater  dislike 
with  it  than  they  were  with  their  native  soil ; 
for,  though  they  change  the  air,  they  never 
alter  their  nature;  their  minds  are  as  full  of 
fancies  as  ever  they  were  :  so  are  such  as  are 
possessed  of  wandering  cogitations,  who  must 
needs  be  of  every  trade,  and  change  their 
opinions  as  often  as  they  do  their  garments, 
having  one  foot  in  the  court,  and  another  in 
the  country ;  they  no  sooner  undertake  any 
thing  than  they  are  weary  of  it,  and  no  sooner 
give  it  over  than  they  would  forthwith  take 
it  up  again.  Cawdray. 

1214.  CURIOSITY,  Restraining,  It  is  re¬ 

ported  of  Democritus,  that,  walking  abroad, 
he  was  wont  to  shut  his  eyes,  lest  by  wander¬ 
ing  regards  his  mind  should  be  turned  from 
the  contemplation  of  honest  things ;  so,  like¬ 
wise,  must  we,  with  all  our  endeavors,  bar  and 
shut  up  this  curious  humor,  that  we  may  keep 
it  in,  and  search  after  nothing  but  that  which 
may  tend  to  our  edification.  Cawdray. 

1215.  CURSES,  Danger  of.  Diogenes  warned 
a  child,  whom  he  saw  throwing  stones  at 


CURSES. 


DAN  CTN"  Gr. 


157 


random  among  the  people,  to  take  heed  he 
did  not  hit  his  own  father.  Such  is  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  all  cursing  men,  whose  tongues  run 
with  great  speed  on  the  Devil’s  errands ;  whose 
maledictions  are  shot  out  of  their  mouths  like 
fools’  bolts,  not  regarding  where  they  light; 
whereas  many  times  they  fall  upon  their 
friends,  their  children,  and  often  themselves ; 
or  like  guns,  which  while  men  discharge  at  oth¬ 
ers  recoil  on  their  own  heads.  If  every  curse 
should  stick  a  visible  blister  on  the  tongue, 
as  it  doth  insensible  ones  on  the  soul,  how 
many  men’s  tongues  would  be  too  big  tor  their 
mouths,  and  their  mouths  as  an  open  sepul¬ 
chre  full  of  dead  men’s  bones  1  Spencer. 

1216.  CURSES,  Oriental.  We  observed  a 

Nubian  receive  a  severe  kick  from  a  camel; 
and  his  manner  of  expressing  his  indignation 
was  sufficiently  amusing.  He  instantly  fell  on 
his  knees,  and  after  devoting,  with  a  variety 
of  imprecations,  the  sacred  head  of  the  offend¬ 
er,  scattered  in  the  air  a  quantity  of  sand,  of 
which  the  greater  part  fell  on  himself.  Quarrels 
among  the  Arabs  are  carried  on  in  the  same 
manner.  Ww  I  ding  ton  and  Hamburg. 

1217.  CUSTOM,  Tyranny  of.  As  impossible  as 

it  is  for  a  blackamoor  to  cast  away  his  skin 
and  to  become  white,  and  for  a  leopard  to  put 
away  his  spots ;  so  impossible  is  it  for  them  that 
insnare  themselves,  and  accustom  themselves 
with  evil  doing,  to  change  their  custom,  and 
do  well.  Cawdrag. 

121$.  CYNIC,  Description  of  a.  The  cynic 
is  one  who  never  sees  a  good  quality  in  a  man, 
and  never  fails  to  see  a  bad  one.  He  is  the 
human  owl,  vigilant  in  darkness,  and  blind  to 
light;  mousing  for  vermin,  and  never  seeing 
noble  game.  The  cynic  puts  all  human  actions 
into  only  two  classes,  openly  bad  and  secretly 
bad.  All  virtue  and  generosity  and  disinter¬ 
estedness  are  merely  the  appearance  of  good, 
but  selfish  at  the  bottom.  He  holds  that  no 
man  does  a  good  thing  except  tor  profit.  The 
effect  of  his  conversation  upon  your  feelings  is 
to  chill  and  sear  them ;  to  send  you  away  sour 
and  morose.  His  criticisms  and  innuendoes  tall 
indiscriminately  upon  every  lovely  thing  like 
frost  upon  dowers.  If  a  man  is  said  to  be  pure 
and  chaste,  he  answers,  “  Yes,  in  the  daytime.” 
If  a  woman  is  pronounced  virtuous,  he  will 
reply,  “Yes,  as  yet.”  —  “  Mr.  A.  is  religious.”  — 
“  Yes,  on  Sundays.”  —  “  Mr.  B.  has  just  joined 
the  church.”  —  “  Certainly  :  the  elections  are 
coming  on.”  —  “  The  minister  of  the  gospel  is 
called  an  example  of  diligence.”  —  “  It  is  his 
trade.”  —  “  Such  a  man  is  generous.”  —  “Of 
other  men’s  money.”  —  “  That  man  is  obliging.” 
—  “  To  lull  suspicion  and  cheat  you.”  —  “  This 
man  is  upright.” — “Because  he  is  green.” 
Thus  his  eye  strains  out  every  good  quality, 
aud  takes  in  only  the  bad;  as  the  vulture, 
when  in  the  highest  heaven,  will  sail  by 
living  flocks  and  herds,  but  comes  like  an 
arrow  down  upon  the  smallest  carcass.  To 
him  religion  is  hypocrisy,  honesty  a  prepara¬ 
tion  for  fraud,  virtue  only  want  of  opportunity, 
and  undeniable  purity  asceticism.  The  live¬ 
long  day  he  will  coolly  sit  with  sneering  lip, 


uttering  sharp  speeches  in  the  quietest  manner, 
and  in  polished  phrase,  transfixing  every 
character  which  is  presented.  Beecher. 

1219.  DAMAGE,  Repairing,  Spiders  show 
much  perseverance  in  their  work.  Storms 
and  wind  destroy  their  nets,  which  they  go 
to  work  to  renew  as  soon  as  the  weather  will 
allow.  A  bird’s  wing  sweeps  away  the  delicate 
fabric  :  the  spider  again  erects  his  scaffolding, 
and  spreads  his  intricate  web.  When  it  is 
completed,  a  huge  bee  or  hornet  flies  against 
it,  breaching  his  fortification.  The  spider 
bears  this  adverse  fortune  with  exemplary 
patience;  and,  instead  of  spending  his  time 
in  useless  complaints  over  his  misfortunes,  he 
goes  at  once  to  work,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
damage  is  completely  repaired. 

1220.  DAMAGE,  Resisting.  As  idle  and 
slothful  soldiers  lying  in  camp  allow  the 
enemy  to  plunder  the '  country,  burn  the  vil¬ 
lages,  ravish  the  women,  and  produce  general 
havoc :  so  in  spiritual  warfare,  if  we  yield 
to  the  flesh  and  the  Devil,  we  shall  be  in  per¬ 
petual  misery ;  but,  if  we  resist  them  stout¬ 
ly,  we  shall  the  sooner  attain  rest.  Cawdrag. 

'  1221.  DANCING,  Culture  of.  A  newspaper 
correspondent  says,  “  1  have  seen  a  negro- 
boy  of  seven  years  old,  without  the  first  ele¬ 
ments  of  an  education,  dance  with  a  grace 
and  agility  of  motion  that  would  put  to  blush 
the  brightest  star  of  the  fashionable  ball¬ 
room.  The  most  accomplished  dancers  in 
the  world  are  untutored  savages,  who  practise, 
in  a  state  of  nudity,  around  their  camp-fires. 
What  special  incentive,  then,  can  a  cultivated, 
intellectual,  refined  youth  have  to  waste  pre¬ 
cious  time  in  an  amusement  in  which,  after 
all,  he  may  be  surpassed  by  a  rude  Hottentot, 
or  even  by  an  ape  1  ” 

1222.  DANCING,  Eastern.  Irwin,  in  his 
“  Voyage  up  tlie  Red  Sea,”  says,  “  We  were 
awakened  from  our  first  sleep  by  the  sounds 
of  tinkling  instruments,  accompanied  by  a 
chorus  of  female  voices.  I  looked  out  of 
tlie  window,  and  saw  a  band  of  thirty  damsels, 
at  least,  come  tripping  towards  us,  with  meas¬ 
ured  paces  and  animated  gestures.  The  moon 
shone  very  bright ;  and  we  had  a  full  view  of 
them,  from  their  entering  the  gate  of  our 
street,  until  they  reached  our  house.  Here 
they  stopped,  and,  spreading  themselves  in  a 
circle  before  the  door,  renewed  the  dance  and 
song  with  infinite  spirit,  and  recalled  to  our 
minds  the  picture  which  is  so  fully  given  of 
these  dancing  females  in  Holy  Writ.  After 
they  had  favored  us  a  few  minutes  with  their 
lively  performance,  they  moved  on  to  the 
hakeem’s  house;  and,  serenading  him  with  an 
air  or  two,  this  joyous  band  quitted  our 
quarter,  and  went,  as  the  dying  sounds  in¬ 
formed  us,  to  awaken  the  other  slumberers  of 
the  town  to  melody  and  joy.  We  were  impa¬ 
tient  to  know  the  cause  of  the  agreeable  dis¬ 
turbance  we  met  with  last  night,  and  learned 
from  one  of  our  guard,  that  the  dancing  girls 
observe  the  ceremony  we  were  witness  to  on 
the  first  visible  rise  of  the  Nile.  It  seems 
that  they  took  our  house  in  the  way  to  the 


DA^OTSTGK 


DAisrcnsra-. 


15S 

river,  where  they  went  down  to  bathe  at  that 
late  hour,  and  to  sing  the  praises  of  the  be¬ 
nevolent  Power  who  yearly  distributes  his 
waters  to  supply  the  necessities  of  the  na¬ 
tives.” 

1223.  DANCING,  and  Eternity.  A  revival 
was  in  progress  in  the  Houston-street  Presbyte¬ 
rian  Church,  New  York,  in  which  a  young  lady 
was  deeply  convicted.  From  its  solemn  scenes, 
she  turned  to  the  ball-room  with  its  frivolity 
and  fashion.  Conscience  was  outraged,  but 
not  slain.  Again  she  was  found  at  the  meet¬ 
ings,  and  urged  to  decide  for  God.  An  invi¬ 
tation  to  another  ball  turned  her  feet  from  the 
house  of  God.  She  went  to  the  ball,  and 
returned  home  only  to  die  without  hope.  Two 
short  weeks  saw  her  among  seekers  of  reli¬ 
gion,  then  in  the  ball-room,  again  in  the  place 
of  prayer,  again  in  the  ball-room,  and  then 
in  her  coffin. 

1224.  DANCING,  Evil  of.  A  son  was  en¬ 
treated  by  his  mother  to  give  up  balls,  because 
they  diverted  his  attention  from  serious  things ; 
but  he  justified  himself  by  the  example  of 
professed  Christians,  and  especially  of  a  Miss 
P.,  who,  he  said,  used  to  make  him  very  un¬ 
happy  by  her  serious  talk,  but  lately  had 
become  very  agreeable,  and  attended  balls. 
The  Spirit  still  strove  with  him;  but  he 
silenced  it  by  saying,  “  I  am  safe  if  she  is.” 
One  day,  he  received  an  injury  which  sent 
him.  unconscious  and  unprepared,  into  eternity. 
Dancing  kept  him  from  Christ.  Will  not  his 
blood  be  found  on  Miss  P.’s  garments  ? 

1225.  DANCING,  Fatal.  At  a  dancing-party, 
given  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Scott,  near  Avoca, 
Ala.,  recently,  the  participants  became  much 
heated  and  exhausted  by  dancing  nearly  all 
of  a  warm  night.  In  this  condition  they 
started  for  home.  The  weather  changed,  pro¬ 
ducing  alarming  results  on  their  excited  sys¬ 
tems.  Of  those  who  engaged  in  the  dance, 
two  died  the  next  morning,  seven  died  a  little 
later,  and  all  suffered  more  or  less.  This  is 
only  one  of  many  instances  of  the  fatal  result 
of  dancing.  Many  a  young  lady  rests  in  an 
untimely  grave  through  this  cause.  But  it  is 
a  poor  preparation  for  death. 

1226.  DANCING,  Gloomy.  A  pious  woman 
had  one  son,  who  grew  up  gay  and  dissipated. 
She  followed  him  with  prayers  and  entreaties; 
but  all  seemed  unavailing.  He  one  day  said, 
“  Mother,  let  me  have  my  best  clothes  :  I  am 
going  to  a  ball  to-night.”  She  urged  him  not 
to  go;  but  all  in  vain.  As  he  was  going,  she 
said,  “My  son,  remember  when  you  are  dan¬ 
cing,  I  shall  be  praying  to  the  Lord  to  convert 
your  soul.”  At  the  ball,  instead  of  the  usual 
gaj'ety,  an  unaccountable  gloom  pervaded  the 
whole  assembly.  One  said,  “  We  never  had 
so  dull  a  meeting  in  our  lives.”  The  young 
man  felt  his  conscience  smitten,  and  said,  “  I 
know  what  is  the  matter :  my  poor  old  mother 
is  now  praying  for  her  ungodly  son.”  He  took 
his  hat,  and  said,  “  I  will  never  be  found  in 
such  a  place  as  this  again.”  From  that  night, 
he  began  to  pray  for  mercy.  His  mother’s 
prayer  was  heard  for  his  conversion. 


1227.  DANOINGi  Inflnenoe  of.  A  young  lady 
a  professing  Christian,  invited  a  young  gen¬ 
tleman  to  be  one  of  a  social  dancing-party  at 
the  house  of  a  friend.  Not  many  months 
after,  during  a  season  of  religious  interest,  she 
came  to  him  to  converse  on  the  subject  of  hij 
soul’s  salvation.  He  reminded  her  of  the  in¬ 
vitation  given  some  months  before,  and  closed 
with  the  remark,  “  that  he  did  not  want  any 
such  Christians  to  talk  religion  to  him.” 

1228.  DANCING,  Rebuked.  A  wealthy  and 
fashionable  young  lady  gave  a  large  party,  and 
prefaced  her  invitations  with,  “  No  dancing.” 
But,  at  an  early  hour,  a  “  set  ”  was  formed ;  and 
a  young  lady,  recently  converted,  was  asked 
to  play  for  them.  She  went  to  the  piano, 
played  a  tender  interlude,  and,  accompanied 
by  a  friend,  sang  with  thrilling  effect,  “  I 
would  not  live  alway ;  I  ask  not  to  stay.” 
The  dancers  took  a  few  steps,  but  abandoned 
it  in  dismay ;  one  of  the  gayest  of  them  ex¬ 
claiming,  “  That’s  not  the  right  tune  to  dance 
by.”  The  song  closed,  the  player  and  all 
those  who  had  been  lured  in  by  false  pretences 
retired. 

1229.  DANCING,  Versus  Slander.  A  lady  who 
advocated  dancing  said  to  an  aged  minister 
of  another  denomination,  “  With  all  your 
objections  to  dancing,  you  will  be  obliged  to 
admit,  that  it  is  not  half  so  bad  as  to  be  in 
another  room  at  an  evening-party,  drinking, 
or  playing  cards,  or  perhaps  slandering  one’s 
neighbors.”  He  replied,  “  I  candidly  confess 
that  it  is  not  half  as  bad  as  either  of  these; 
and  if  the  members  of  your  church  are  obliged 
to  drink,  gamble,  slander  their  neighbors,  or 
dance,  I  say,  by  all  means,  dance,  or,  which 
is  still  better,  stay  at  home.  As  for  ours,  we 
are  not  obliged  to  do  either.” 

1230.  DANCING,  Snare  of.  As  apothecaries 

cover  their  pills  with  some  sweet  substance,  to 
make  them  go  down  easier ;  so  the  Devil,  under 
the  sport  and  pleasure  of  dances,  maketh  men 
to  swallow  lustful  desires  ;  and  if  they  proceed 
to  no  greater  iniquity,  yet  this  is  a  mortal 
wound  to  the  soul,  accursed  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Cawdray. 

1231.  DANCING,  Unsafe.  A  young  lady,  in 
giving  her  reasons  for  preferring  a  particular 
church,  remarked  that  she  “  liked  it  best  be¬ 
cause  it  allowed  its  members  to  dance.”  One 
is  reminded  of  an  incident  related  by  Dr. 
Whately,  of  an  old  bridge  which  had  long 
been  thought  unsafe  even  for  foot-passengers. 
People  usually  went  a  considerable  distance 
around  rather  than  venture  upon  it.  But  one 
evening  a  woman,  in  great  haste,  came  up  tc 
the  bridge  before  she  reflected  on  its  unsafe 
condition.  It  was  late,  and  she  had  yet  to 
dress  for  a  party.  She  could  not  go  all  the 
way  around,  though  still  afraid  to  venture. 
At  last,  a  happy  thought  seemed  to  strike  her. 
She  called  for  a  sedan-chair,  and  was  carried 
over.  Now,  the  young  lady  who  desired  to 
follow  the  world,  and  go  to  heaven  too,  was 
afraid  to  trust  her  own  judgment  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  dancing.  She  feared  the  tottering  arch 
might  give  way,  and  she  be  lost  forever.  To 


:DAJSrcrNX>. 


DANGER. 


159 


make  all  safe,  she  added  to  the  weight  of  her 
own  chance  of  error  the  additional  chances 
of  her  human  authority  being  wrong  also. 

5.  S.  Times. 

1232.  DANCING,  Warning  in.  Where  wild¬ 
ness  and  disorder  are  visible  in  the  dance, 
there  Satan,  death,  and  all  kinds  of  mischief, 
are  likewise  upon  the  floor.  For  this  reason, 
I  could  wish  that  the  dance  of  death  were 
painted  on  the  walls  of  all  ball-rooms,  in  order 
to  warn  the  dancers  not,  by  the  levity  of  their 
deportment,  to  provoke  the  God  of  righteous¬ 
ness  to  visit  them  with  a  sudden  judgment. 

Gotthold. 

1233.  DANGER,  Advantage  of.  Better  walk 
on  rugged  rocks  than  on  slippery  ice.  If  we 
lose  our  roll,  it  is  in  the  Arbor  of  Ease,  not  in 
the  Valley  of  Baca.  Few  Christians  backslide 
while  under  the  rod  :  it  is  usually  when  on  the 
lap  of  plenty  that  believers  sin.  Spurgeon. 

1234. 1  DANGER,  Approaching.  A  letter  from 
Portici,  at  the  foot  of  Vesuvius,  by  an  obser¬ 
vant  engineer  there,  gives  an  account  of  the 
formidable  mass  and  movement  of  the  lava- 
streams  at  its  late  eruption :  “  The  lava  is 

now  only  a  few  kilometres  distant  from  the 
smiling  villages  of  San  Ziorio,  San  Sebastiano, 
and  San  Giorgio.  In  a  week  from  now,  if  the 
craters  do  not  cease  to  flow,  tjiey  will  be  less 
than  a  heap  of  ruins ;  and  where  now  rise 
elegant  villas,  there  will  be  but  formless  masses 
of  scoria  and  lava.”  So  approaching  doom 
threatens  the  impenitent  and  unbelieving. 

1235.  DANGER,  Avoid.  A  boy  climbing 
among  the  Alps  saw  some  flowers  on  the 
verge  of  a  precipice,  and  sprang  forward  to 
get  them.  The  guide  shouted  his  warning; 
but  the  heedless  boy  grasped  the  flowers,  and 
fell  a  thousand  feet  upon  the  rocks  below  with 
them  in  his  hand.  It  was  a  dear  price  lor 
such  frail  things  ;  but  he  is  not  the  only  victim 
of  such  folly. 

1236.  DANGER,  Beware  of.  In  front  of  Gen. 
Harrow’s  division,  at  Kennesaw,  was  a  tree 
known  as  the  fatal  tree.  Eight  men  were 
shot,  one  after  another,  as  they  advanced  to 
secure  a  position  behind  its  huge  trunk.  A 
board  was  placed  there,  with  the  word 
“  Danger  ”  chalked  upon  it ;  which  the  rebel 
sharpshooters  shot  into  fragments.  Even 
after  this,  a  sergeant  took  his  place  behind  the 
tree,  only  to  be  pierced  with  two  Minie-balls. 
There  are  many  such  dangerous  posts  in  the 
world.  Beware  of  them  1 

1237.  DANGER,  Dreams  of  Safety  in.  A  ship¬ 
wrecked  voyager  once  told  his  experience. 
Tossed  for  nearly  eighty  days  in  an  open  boat, 
and  tortured  by  hunger,  sleep  came  but  rarely  ; 
yet  it  always  brought  the  same  dream  of  a 
well-laden  table,  welcomed  with  lively  shouts 
of  joy.  “  Every  one  of  us,”  said  the  voyager, 

dreamed  this  at  least  ten  times.  The  waking- 
up  to  the  truth  of  our  situation  was  horrible.” 

123§.  DANGER,  Effeot  of.  As  thirsty  men 
hasten  to  the  fountain,  but  having  quenched 
their  thirst,  and  filled  their  vessels,  turn  their 
backs  upon  it ;  so  those  who  are  beset  with 
perils  and  dangers  fly  to  the  fountain  of 


grace;  but,  being  relieved,  they  despise  the 
living  water.  Cawdray. 

1239.  DANGER,  Feelings  in.  A  child  lies  in 
his  little  bed  in  some  high  chamber  of  an  old 
castle,  and  hears  the  tempest  growling  in  the 
chimney,  and  the  prowling  thief-winds  at  the 
window,  and  the  scream  of  the  spirits  of , 
the  air.  The  storm  rocks  the  walls,  and  beats  i 
upon  the  roof ;  and  he  shudders,  and  covers  his  i 
head,  and  expects  at  every  burst  of  thunder  : 
that  the  castle  will  go  crashing  to  the  ground.  1 
But,  down  in  the  room  below,  his  father 
sits  unmoved,  reading  by  the  fire :  only  now 
and  then,  when  the  tempest  swells,  he  raises 
his  spectacles  for  a  moment,  and  exclaims, 

“  God  help  the  poor  wretches  on  the  sea, 
to-night  1  ”  or  “  I  hope  no  belated  traveller 
is  out  in  such  a  storm  as  this ;  ”  and  then  turns 
to  his  book  again.  In  the  morning,  the  child 
hardly  dares  to  look  forth,  lest  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  have  passed  away  ;  but  the  father 
only  walks  into  his  garden  to  see  if  some  old 
tree  has  been  blown  down,  or  some  unpropped 
vine  fallen  from  the  trellis.  In  times  of  peril 
and  disaster,  the  Christian,  through  his  faith 
and  hope  in  God,  is  like  the  father  by  the  fire  ; 
while  he  who  has  no  such  trust  is  tormented 
with  fear  and  apprehension  like  the  child  in 
the  chamber.  Beecher. 

1240.  DANGER,  Fleeing  from.  After  the 
burning  of  Rome,  Nero  threw  upon  the  Chris¬ 
tians  the  accusation  of  having  fired  the  city. 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  first  persecution,  in 
which  many  perished  by  terrible  and  hitherto 
unheard  of  deaths.  The  Christian  converts 
besought  St.  Peter  not  to  expose  his  life,  which 
was  dear,  and  necessary  to  the  well-being  of 
all :  and  at  length  he  consented  to  depart  from 
Rome  ;  but  as  he  fled  along  the  Appian  Way, 
about  two  miles  from  the  gates,  he  was  met  by 
a  vision  of  our  Saviour  travelling  towards  the 
city.  Struck  with  amazement,  he  exclaimed, 

“  Lord  1  whither  goest  thou  ?  ”  to  which  the 
Saviour,  looking  upon  him  with  a  mild  sadness, 
replied,  “  I  go  to  Rome  to  be  crucified  a  second 
time  ;  ”  and  vanished.  Peter,  taking  this  for  a 
sign  that  he  was  to  submit  himself  to  the  suf¬ 
ferings  prepared  for  him,  immediately  turned 
back,  and  re-entered  the  city.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

1241.  DANGER,  Greatest.  When  a  city  is 

compact  round  about  with  a  wall  that  is  im¬ 
pregnable,  it  will  yet  be  open  still  towards 
heaven,  and  therefore  cannot  be  out  of  danger, 
if  God  be  an  enemy.  For  all  their  walls  and 
bars,  God  could  rain  fire  and  brimstone  upon 
the  Sodomites  out  of  heaven.  Alexander 
asked  the  Scythians  what  they  were  most 
afraid  of ;  thinking  they  would  have  said  of 
himself,  who  was  so  victorious  everywhere. 
But  they  answered,  scoffingly,  they  were  most 
afraid  lest  heaven  should  fall  upon  them.  We, 
indeed,  need  not  fear  any  thing  but  this  only, 
lest  the  heaven  should  fall  upon  us,  lest  God 
should  be  our  enemy.  J.  Stoughton. 

1242.  DANGER,  Influence  of.  Two  young 
men,  one  a  Christian  and  the  other  a  sceptic, 
travelling  through  Switzerland,  walked  along 
the  brow  of  a  steep  cliff,  conversing  of  the 


160 


DANGER. 


DARKNESS. 


providence  of  God.  “  I  should  not  be  willing 
to  live  another  day,”  said  the  Christian  ear¬ 
nestly,  “  if  I  could  not  believe  that  the 
Almighty  directed  my  steps.  I  have  no  anxi¬ 
ety  ;  for  I  trust  his  unerring  guidance.  No 
circumstance  is  too  trifling  tor  his  control.” 
The  other  replied,  “  I  can  control  myself. 
See  here !  ”  And  he  paused  to  roll  a  stone 
down  the  precipice.  “  Did  the  Lord  direct 
that  pebble  ?  See  this  lonely  tree  standing  so 
near  the  edge  1  Do  you  suppose  God  ordained 
it  should  grow  just  in  that  spot  ?  Some  trav¬ 
eller  threw  the  seed.  Did  the  Almighty  declare 
just  where  it  should  fall,  and  take  root  V  ” 
He  threw  one  arm  around  a  limb  of  the  tree, 
and  leaned  against  the  trunk  for  his  compan¬ 
ion  to  reply.  The  soil  began  to  crumble ; 
and,  before  he  could  move,  that  part  of  the 
bank  had  fallen  upon  the  rocks  below.  Only 
his  arm  around  the  tree,  and  one  foot  upon  the 
stone,  where  it  partly  rested,  saved  his  life. 
For  an  instant,  both  travellers  stood  motionless. 
Then  the  Christian  fell  on  his  knees  in  prayer. 
The  sceptic  came,  and  reverently  knelt  beside 
him.  Silently  they  arose,  and  resumed  their 
journey.  God  himself  had  spoken  to  the  soul 
of  the  sceptic.  He  became  a  humble  Chris¬ 
tian,  and  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Tewksbury. 

1243.  DANGER,  Proverbs.  Flying  from  the 

bull,  I  fell  into  the  river.  —  Spanish. - To 

shun  Charybdis,  and  strike  upon  Scylla.  — 

Latin. - A  precipice  ahead,  wolves  behind. 

—  Latin. - To  be  between  the  Devil  and 

the  deep  sea.  —  English. - To  be  between 

the  hammer  and  the  anvil.  —  French. 

1244.  DANGER,  Universal.  There  is  not  a 

place  beneath  which  a  believer  walks,  that  is 
free  from  snares.  Behind  every  tree,  there  is 
the  Indian  with  his  barbed  arrow ;  behind 
every  bush,  there  is  the  lion  seeking  to  devour ; 
under  every  piece  of  grass,  there  lieth  the 
adder.  Spurgeon. 

1245.  DANGER,  Valley  of.  A  recent  explorer 
describes  a  visit  to  the  “  Valley  of  the  Shadow 
of  Death,”  near  Salt  Lake,  thus  :  “  The  whole 
party  started  slowly  down  the  slope  towards 
the  valley,  feeling  as  well  as  smelling  our  way 
cautiously.  The  doctor  had  provided  himself 
with  a  couple  of  Indian  dogs  and  several  live 
rabbits  for  the  purpose  of  making  experiments. 
After  scrambling  down  some  two  hundred 
yards,  the  doctor,  who  was  in  advance,  detected 
an  absence  of  oxygen  in  the  air  by  the  sudden 
change  of  temperature,  and  the  increased  dif¬ 
ficulty  he  experienced  in  respiration.  A  nau¬ 
seous,  suffocating  smell  was  also  perceptible 
every  time  the  wind  blew  towards  us.  The 
valley  was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  cir¬ 
cumference,  and  oval  in  shape.  Not  even  a 
blade  of  grass,  or  a  single  sage-busli,  or  any 
living  thing,  was  to  be  seen  within  it ;  but  a 

hastly  human  skeleton,  perfectly  white,  lay 

eside  one  of  the  nearest  springs.  Scattered 
around  were  the  skeletons  of  buffaloes,  deer, 
and  other  wild  animals.  The  bottom  of  the 
valley  appeared  to  be  a  hard,  sandy  soil,  dry 
and  cracked,  as  if  by  heat,  in  various  places. 
One  of  the  Indian  dogs  was  fastened  to  the 


end  of  a  lariat,  and  lowered  down ;  while  some 
of  the  party,  watches  in  hand,  observed  the 
effect.  In  fourteen  seconds,  the  dog  fell  down 
motionless,  and  in  three  minutes  was  dead. 
The  other  dog,  which  now  trotted  down  to  his 
companion,  was  motionless  in  twelve  seconds, 
and  lived  only  five  minutes.  A  rabbit  thrown 
in  died  in  a  minute  and  a  half;  and  a  second 
lived  only  a  minute  and  twenty  seconds.  Our 
guide  informed  us,  that  the  existence  of  the 
valley  had  been  known  to  his  tribe  for  several 
years.  Two  of  their  braves  perished  in  it 
while  endeavoring  to  corral  some  antelope,  all 
of  which  died  too.  The  springs  in  the  valley 
generate  such  a  large  volume  of  carbonic-acid 
gas  as  to  completely  poison  the  whole  surround¬ 
ing  atmosphere.  We  named  this  canon  on 
our  field-book  the  ‘Valley  of  the  Shadow  of 
Death  ;  ’  and,  while  some  of'  the  men  were  erect¬ 
ing  a  stone  pyramid  on  a  commanding  position, 
we  cut  from  an  old  pair  of  saddle-bags  a  stout 
piece  of  leather;  burned  in  the  warning,  ‘  Death 
Valley,  Enter  Not ;  ’  and  securely  fastened  it  to 
the  pillar.” 

1246.  DANGER,  Warnings  of.  The  great  cop¬ 
per-mine  of  England  extends  many  hundred 
yards  under  the  ocean,  whose  waves  are  per¬ 
petually  sounding  in  the  ears  of  the  workmen 
beneath.  When  storms  sweep  over  the  waters, 
the  roar  of  the  surges  beating  upon  the  shore 
is  terrific,  frightening  the  hardy  miners  from 
their  toil,  until,  not  unfrequently,  they  rush  to 
the  solid  earth,  under  the  open  sky.  The  roof 
above  the  mine  is  veined  with  shining  ore, 
whose  tempting  treasure  has  brought  the  exca¬ 
vation  already  too  near  the  surface.  A  large 
wooden  wedge  has  been  driven  into  a  crevice 
to  keep  out  the  dripping  tide.  An  entrance 
of  the  mighty  deep  once  made,  and  no  living 
worker  would  come  forth  from  the  imprisoned 
flood.  One  who  went  into  the  mine  says,  “  The 
awe-stricken  visitor  hurries  away  from  the 
scene  with  a  heart  appalled  in  view  of  the 
hourly  dangers.  Who  could  win  money  at 
such  a  risk,  with  the  sullen  roar  of  ocean  for¬ 
ever  sounding  its  warning  in  his  ears  ?  ” 

1247.  In  former  days,  when  a  military 
company  was  to  be  called  out,  the  notice  de¬ 
livered  to  each  of  the  members  was  called 
“  the  warning.”  An  officer,  who  was  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  having  given  the  warning  to  a  young  man, 
was  playfully  accosted  by  another  young  man, 
who  was  not  a  member  of  the  company,  with 
the  question,  “  Have  you  not  a  warning  for  me 
too  ?  ”  The  officer  replied,  “  Yes,  I  have  a 
warning  for  you :  I  warn  you  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come."  This  unexpected  reply  proved 
an  arrow  from  the  Lord’s  quiver ;  and  to  it  the 
young  man  ascribes  his  conversion. 

1248.  DARKNESS,  in  Death.  I  am  taking  a 

fearful  leap  in  the  dark.  Hobbes. 

1249.  DARKNESS,  Dread  of.  There  is,  no 
doubt,  a  natural  connection  between  darkness 
and  the  fear  with  which  it  so  commonly  affects 
mankind,  especially  the  unenlightened  and  less 
civilized  part  of  the  human  race.  This,  proba¬ 
bly,  is  greatly  aided  both  by  ignorance  and 
superstition;  but  it  is  found  very  common, 


DAJJKIN'KSS. 


and  almost  unconquerable.  “  Having  bathed, 
and  dined  on  bread  and  cheese,  we  set  out  on 
our  return  to  the  bark  ;  our  guides  urging  us  to 
be  quick,  lest  we  should  be  benighted.  They 
said  the  serpents  and  other  venomous  reptiles 
always  came  down  by  night  to  drink,  and  they 
were  apprehensive  that  we  should  tread  on 
them  :  they  also  said  that  we  should  meet  the 
robbers  at  night.  These  people  have  a  remark¬ 
able  aversion  to  being  caught  in  the  dark.  I 
remember  when  at  Dendera,  our  servant,  an 
Arab,  hurried  off  and  left  us  behind,  when  he 
thought  we  should  be  late  in  returning  to  our 
boat.  And,  whenever  our  lights  have  gone  out 
in  a  tomb  or  temple,  the  Arabs  have  always 
clapped  their  hands,  and  made  a  noise  to  keep 
their  spirits  up,  till  the  light  returned.” 

Irby  and  Mangles. 

1250.  DARKNESS,  Emblematical.  Darkness 

is  an  emblem  of  ignorance  and  error,  and  an 
emblem  the  most  striking.  As  the  pall  of 
darkness  is  drawn  over  the  world,  the  fair  face 
of  Nature  fades  from  the  sight ;  every  object 
becomes  indistinct,  or  is  wholly  obscured  ;  and 
all  that  can  cheer  the  sight  or  direct  the  steps 
of  man  vanishes  :  so  the  gradual  accumulation 
of  religious  errors,  thickening  with  every  age, 
banished  the  knowledge  of  God  and  his  truth 
from  the  understanding  of  men,  till  all  that 
was  sublime  in  speculation,  cheering  to  the 
heart,  supporting  to  the  hopes,  or  directive  to 
the  actions,  of  men,  passed  away  from  the  soul, 
and  left  the  intellectual  world,  like  that  of  na¬ 
ture,  deprived  of  light.  The  heaven  of  the 
soul  was  hung  with  blackness,  and  “  their  foolish 
heart  was  darkened.”  R.  Watson. 

1251.  DARKNESS,  Inner,  Goethe’s  last  words, 

when  his  sight  was  failing,  and  darkness  was 
gathering  in  upon  his  frame,  were  mournfully 
significant  of  a  deeper  darkness  that  reigned 
within  :  “  Open  the  shutters  and  let  in  more 
light  1  ”  Poor  man,  thus  crying  out  for  more 
light,  his  soul  departed.  Bowes. 

1252.  DARKNESS,  Onter,  A  company  of 

wretched  beggars,  who  in  a  dark  night  stand 
at  the  door  of  a  wedding-feast,  though  they 
ore  not  the  stately  preparations,  the  furnished 
tables,  the  costly  ornaments,  of  the  married 
couple  and  guests,  so  fully  and  clearly  and  dis¬ 
tinctly  as  the  guests  themselves,  who  sit  at  the 
table,  yet  by  lights  in  the  windows,  the  voices 
of  mirth  and  musicians,  with  the  confused 
sounds  of  instruments,  the  passage  to  and  fro  of 
attendants  with  their  cheer,  they  cannot  but 
observe  enough  to  think  themselves,  being  ex¬ 
cluded,  very  miserable  in  comparison  of  those 
who  are  attended  at  the  table,  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  their  mirth  and  plenty.  Christ  makes  the 
application.  Jenkyn. 

1253.  DARKNESS,  Power  of.  Sailing  once 
along  a  coast  where  a  friend  had  suffered  ship¬ 
wreck,  the  scene  which  recalled  his  danger 
filled  us  with  no  fear;  because,  while  his  ship, 
on  the  night  she  ran  ashore,  was  cutting  her 
way  through  the  densest  fog,  we  were  plough¬ 
ing  the  waters  of  a  silver  sea,  where  noble 
headlands,  and  pillared  cliffs,  and  scattered 
islands,  and  surf-beaten  reefs,  stood  bathed  in 

11 


DAY  OF  GRACE.  161 

the  brightest  moonshine.  There  was  no  dan¬ 
ger,  just  because  there  was  no  darkness. 

Dr.  Guthrie 

1254.  DARKNESS,  Regenerated.  Incredible 

as  it  may  appear  to  ignorance,  on  whose  ad¬ 
miring  eyes  it  flashes  rays  of  light,  science 
proves  that  the  diamond  is  formed  of  the  very 
same  matter  as  common  dull  black  coal.  It 
boasts  no  native  light ;  and  dark  in  the  dark¬ 
ness  as  the  mud  or  rock  where  it  lies  embedded, 
it  shines,  if  with  a  beautiful,  yet  with  a  bor¬ 
rowed  splendor.  How  meet  the  emblem  of 
the  priceless  jewels  that  adorn  the  Saviour’s 
crown  !  Dr.  Guthrie. 

1255.  DAY,  Life's.  Man’s  life  is  compared 
to  a  day.  This  day,  to  some,  may  be  distin¬ 
guished  into  twelve  hours.  The  first  gives  us 
nativity ;  secondly,  infancy ;  thirdly,  child¬ 
hood  ;  fourthly,  tender  age,  wherein  toys  and 
gauds  fill  up  our  scene  ;  fifthly,  youth  ;  sixth¬ 
ly,  our  high  noon.  God,  that  could  not  be 
heard  before  for  the  loud  noise  of  vanity,  now 
looks  for  audience,  for  obedience.  Seventhly  : 
this  is  full  of  cares  and  crosses ;  the  dugs  of 
the  world  taste  bitter;  it  is  full  time  that  this 
hour  should  wean  us.  The  eighth  brings  us  to 
a  sense  of  mortality ;  we  feel  our  blood  decaying. 
Ninthly,  our  bodies  go  crooked  and  stooping, 
to  put  us  in  mind  that  they  are  going  to  then 
original  earth.  Tenthly,  we  are  even  as  ‘lying , 
we  do  die  by  degrees  ;  our  senses  fail  us,  out 
eyes  are  dim  like  old  Isaac’s,  our  ears  deaf, 
our  tastes  dull,  our  grinders  are  done,  our  stilts 
unable  to  support  us.  Eleventhly,  we  are  a 
burden  to  ourselves,  to  our  friends ;  we  long 
for  death  if  any  hope  of  a  better  life  hath  pos¬ 
sessed  our  hearts.  The  twelfth  hour  it  comes. 
Which  of  these  hours  pass  over  us  without 
God’s  mercies,  without  our  voluntary  unthank¬ 
fulness,  unless  those  first  hours,  wherein  our 
ignorance  is  incapable  of  such  observance  ?  If 
none  of  these  hours  reclaim  us,  our  day  is  spent, 
and  the  night  comes,  —  that  night  “  wherein  no 
man  can  work  ”  (John  ix.  4)  actively  to  com¬ 
fort,  though  passively  he  works  forever  in 
torment.  I  know  that  God  cuts  many  a  one 
short  of  most  of  these  hours,  and  often  shuts 
up  his  daylight  before  he  comes  to  his  noon. 

T.  Adams. 

1256.  DAY,  Living  by  the,  When  I  used  to 
fish,  in  mountain-streams,  if  I  had  a  short  line 
and  rod,  I  could  direct  it  easily,  and  throw  it 
into  this  or  that  pool  as  I  pleased  ;  but,  if  I  let 
out  my  line  till  it  was  twenty  or  thirty  feet 
long,  I  could  not  direct  it,  but  I  was  the  victim 
of  every  floating  stick,  and  jutting  rock,  and 
overhanging  bough.  So  I  have  seen  men 
wading  down  the  stream  of  life,  jumping  from 
stone  to  stone,  slipping  on  this  rock,  and  falling 
into  that  pool,  because  their  line  was  so  long 
they  could  do  nothing  with  it, — -  a  line  that 
reached  down  forty  years  sometimes.  Now, 
if  you  would  avoid  these  difficulties,  shorten 
your  line  !  Let  it  reach  over  one  day  only ; 
for  “  sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.” 

Beecher. 

1257.  DAY  OF  GRACE,  Emblem  of  the.  It  is 
recorded  of  a  Roman  prince,  that  when  a  cap- 


162  DAY  OF  GRACE. 


DEATH. 


tivo.  whom  he  had  taken  demanded  time  to 
deliberate  whether  he  would  be  the  enemy  of 
Rome,  or  not,  the  prince  drew  a  circle  round 
him,  with  the  end  of  his  rod,  and  required  him 
to  decide  before  he  left  that  circle.  So  docs 
God  deal  with  sinners.  Bowes. 

1258.  DAY  OF  GRACE,  for  Every  Man.  It 

was  day  at  Jerusalem  in  Christ’s  time ;  at 
Ephesus,  in  St.  John’s  time ;  at  Corinth  and 
Philippi,  in  St.  Paul’s  time ;  at  Crete,  in  Titus’ 
time ;  at  Alexandria,  in  St.  Mark’s  time ;  at 
Smyrna,  in  Polyearp’s  time ;  at  Pergamos,  in 
Antipas’  time ;  at  Antioch,  in  Evodius’  and 
Ignatius’  time  ;  at  Constantinople,  in  St.  Chrys¬ 
ostom’s  time;  at  Hippo,  in  St.  Augustine’s 
time.  It  is  now  night  with  most  of  them,  and 
yet  day  with  us.  Jerusalem  had  a  day  ;  and 
every  city,  every  nation,  every  church,  every 
congregation,  every  man,  hath  a  day  of  grace, 
hath  an  accepted  time  if  he  do  but  accept  of 
it ;  and  he  may  find  God  if  he  seek  him  in 
time  :  but  if  he  let  the  Sun  of  righteousness  go 
down,  and  work  not  out  his  own  salvation 
whilst  it  is  called  to-day,  he  must  look  for 
nothing  but  perpetual  darkness  when  time  will 
be  swallowed  up  into  eternity,  when  there  will 
be  no  time  at  all.  Spencer. 

1259.  DAY  OF  GRACE,  Neglecting  the.  An 
artist  solicited  permission  to  paint  a  portrait 
of  the  queen.  The  favor  was  granted  ;  and  the 
favor  was  great,  for  it  would  make  the  fortune 
of  the  man.  A  place  was  fixed,  and  a  time. 
At  the  fixed  place  and  time  the  queen  appeared  : 
but  the  artist  was  not  there ;  he  was  not  ready 
yet.  When  he  did  arrive,  a  message  was  com¬ 
municated  to  him,  that  her  Majesty  had  de¬ 
parted,  and  would  not  return.  Such  is  the  tale. 
The  King  eternal  consented  to  meet  man.  He 
fixed  in  his  covenant,  and  promised  in  his  word, 
the  object,  place,  and  time  of  the  meeting :  it 
is  for  salvation  ;  it  is  in  Christ ;  it  is  now.  He 
has  been  true  to  his  own  appointment ;  but 
how  often  is  it  otherwise  with  man  1  Arnot. 

1269.  DEAD,  Communion  with  the.  I  have 
communion  with  my  dearest  love  before  the 
throne.  He  waits  for  me ;  he  beckons  me  away. 
I  want  to  be  a  meet  partaker  with  my  dear,  dear, 
holy  husband,  now  in  light.  I  want  to  feel  a 
fuller  degree  of  the  spirit  in  which  he  lives. 
O  Lord  !  thou  knowest  our  union  was  far  more 
in  the  spirit  than  in  the  flesh  :  thou  hast  said, 
“  What  God  hath  joined  together,  let  no  man 
put  asunder.”  Are  we  not  still  one  ? 

Mrs.  Fletcher. 

1261.  DEAD,  Messages  for  the.  A  pretty 
superstition  among  the  Seneca  Indians  is,  when 
a  maiden  dies,  they  imprison  a  young  bird  until 
it  first  begins  to  try  its  strength  of  song ;  and 
then,  loading  it  with  kisses  and  caresses,  they 
loose  its  bonds  over  the  grave,  in  the  belief 
that  it  will  not  fold  its  wings,  nor  close  its  eyes, 
until  it  has  flown  to  the  spirit-land,  and  de¬ 
livered  its  precious  burden  of  affection  to  the 
loved  and  the  lost. 

1262.  DEAD,  Nearness  to  the.  When  the  spirit 
of  the  living  Christian  draws  nigh  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  there  is  then  between  him  and  the 
spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  a  real  near¬ 


ness,  the  thought  of  which  should  be  most 
consolatory  to  those  whose  friends  have  fallen 
asleep  in  Jesus.  They  are  then  breathing 
the  same  atmosphere  of  communion  with 
Clirist  which  those  breathe  who  are  with 
him  in  paradise.  Tire  radii  of  a  circle,  in 
approaching  a  centre,  cannot  but,  in  the  nature 
of  things,  draw  near  to  one  another  ;  and  two 
hearts,  though  separated  by  oceans  and  moun¬ 
tains,  yea,  though  separated  by  a  greater 
gulf  which  divides  the  seen  from  the  unseen 
world,  if  both  approach  that  great  centre  of 
attraction  in  the  spiritual  world,  “  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,” 
cannot  but  really  and  truly  draw  near  to  one 
another,  though  there  may  be  no  outward 
visible  token  of  such  nearness.  Dr.  Goulburn. 

1263.  DEAD,  Yet  Speaking.  Dr.  Payson 
directed  a  label  to  be  placed  on  his  breast 
when  he  should  be  dead,  by  which  he  might 
speak  to  those  who  might  come  to  look  upoD 
his  corpse  :  “  Remember  the  words  which  1 
spake  unto  you  while  I  was  yet  with  you.” 
The  same  admonition,  engraved  on  ihe  plate 
of  his  coffin,  spoke  to  thousands  on  the  day  of 
his  interment. 

1264.  DEAD,  Unbnried.  There  are  many  dead 
people  in  the  world  who  are  not  yet  buried : 
there  are  thousands  who  have  been  dead  many 
years,  and  do  not  know  it.  When  a  man’s 
heart  is  cold  and  indifferent  about  religion, 
when  his  hands  are  never  employed  in  doing 
God’s  work,  when  his  heart  is  never  familiar 
with  his  ways,  when  his  tongue  is  seldom 
used  in  prayer  and  praise,  when  his  ears  are 
deaf  to  the  voice  of  Christ  in  the  gospel, 
when  his  eyes  are  blind  to  the  beauty  of 
heaven,  when  his  mind  is  full  of  the  world, 
and  has  no  room  or  time  for  spiritual  things, 

—  then  a  man  is  dead.  Ryle. 

1265.  DEATH,  Activity  in.  Gen.  Fisk  tells 
of  a  soldier  stricken  with  fever,  whose  ideal 
of  desirable  soldier  life  was  activity  “  at  the 
front.”  Visiting  him  in  the  hospital,  the 
general  asked,  “  Can’t  you  tell  me,  in  a  few 
words,  exactly  how  you  feel  about  dying  ?  ” 

—  “Yes,  general,”  said  the  expiring  soldier: 
“  it  seems  just  as  if  I  was  going  to  the  front.” 

1266.  DEATH,  Allegory  of.  Now  1  further 
saw,  that  betwixt  them  and  the  gate  was  a 
river ;  but  there  was  no  bridge  to  go  over,  and 
the  river  was  very  deep.  At  the  sight,  there¬ 
fore,  of  this  river,  the  pilgrims  were  much 
stunned;  but  the  men  that  went  with  them 
said,  “  You  must  go  through,  or  you  cannot 
come  at  the  gate.”  They  then  ad'lressed  them¬ 
selves  to  the  water :  and,  entering,  Christian 
began  to  sink ;  and,  crying  out  to  his  good 
friend  Hopeful,  he  said,  “  I  sink  in  deep 
waters ;  the  billows  go  over  my  head ;  all  his 
waves  go  over  me.”  Then  said  the  other, 
“  Be  of  good  cheer,  my  brother :  I  feel  the 
bottom,  and  it  is  good.”  Then  said  Christian, 
“  Ah  1  my  friend,  the  sorrow  of  death  hath 
compassed  me  about :  I  shall  not  see  the  land 
that  flows  with  milk  and  honey.”  And  with 
that  a  great  darkness  and  horror  fell  upon 
Christian,  so  that  he  could  not  see  before  him. 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


163 


Hopeful,  therefore,  here  had  much  ado  to  keep 
his  brother’s  head  above  water;  yea,  some¬ 
times  he  would  be  quite  gone  down,  and  then 
ere  a  while  would  rise  up  again  half  dead. 
Hopeful  did  also  endeavor  to  eomlort  him, 
saying,  “  Brother,  I  see  the  gate,  and  men 
standing  by  to  receive  us ;  ”  but  Christian  would 
answer,  “  It  is  you  they  wait  tor :  you  have 
been  hopeful  ever  since  I  knew  you.” — “  And 
so  have  you,”  said  he  to  Christian.  “  Ah, 
brother !  ”  said  he,  “  surely,  if  I  was  right,  lie 
would  now  rise  to  help  me ;  but  for  my  sins 
He  hath  brought  me  into  the  snare,  and  hath 
left  me.”  Then  I  saw  in  my  dream  that 
Christian  was  in  a  muse  a  while.  To  whom, 
also,  Hopeful  added  these  words,  “  Be  of 
good  cheer  ;  Jesus  Christ  makctli  thee  whole.” 
And  with  that  Christian  brake  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  “  Oh  !  I  see  him  again,  and  he  tells 
me,  ‘  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters, 
I  will  be  with  thee ;  and  through  the  rivers, 
they  shall  not  overflow  thee.’  ”  Then  they 
both  took  courage,  and  the  enemy  was  after 
that  as  still  as  a  stone  until  they  were  gone 
over.  Bunyan. 

1207.  DEATH,  Angel  of.  The  Mohammedan 
doctors  say,  that  Azrael  was  commissioned  to 
inflict  the  penalty  of  death  on  all  mankind, 
and  that,  until  the  time  of  Mahomet,  he  visibly 
struck  down  before  the  eyes  of  the  living 
those  whose  time  for  death  was  come  ;  and, 
though  not  always  visible  to  bystanders,  he 
was  supposed  to  be  always  seen  in  the  act  of 
inflicting  the  mortal  blow  by  those  whose  souls 
he  was  summoned  to  take  away.  Mahomet, 
struck  by  the  terrific  effect  which  this  pro¬ 
duced  upon  men,  entreated  that  the  angel  of 
death  should  take  away  the  souls  of  men 
without  the  visible  appearance ;  which  was 
thereafter  granted.  Henry  Christmas. 

1268.  DEATH,  not  Annihilation.  It  re¬ 
quires  but  little  reflection  to  convince  any  one 
tnit  death  is  not  the  destruction  of  any  thing: 
it  is  a  dissolution  of  parts.  But  not  a  particle 
of  the  dying  body  ceases  to  be.  The  noble 
ship  which  once  rode  proudly  on  the  ocean, 
the  glory  of  her  builders,  the  hope  of  her 
owners,  freighted  with  a  precious  cargo,  may 
be  wrecked,  and  scattered  in  broken  pieces 
over  the  waters,  and  parts  of  it  sunk  in  the 
depths  of  the  sea.  We  say  that  it  is  lost; 
but  it  is  not  annihilated :  not  a  particle  of  it 
has  passed  out  of  existence.  So  death  is  the 
separation  of  the  body  and  soul.  The  body 
goes  to  decay  :  it  may  be  reduced  to  ashes ;  it 
ma>  mingle  with  the  earth ;  it  may  be  dissi¬ 
pated  in  the  air ;  but  not  a  particle  of  it  is 
annihilated. 

126!).  DEATH,  Anxiety  about.  What  if  the 
leaves  were  to  fall  a-weeping,  and  say,  “  It 
will  be  so  painful  for  us  to  be  pulled  from  our 
6talks  when  autumn  comes?”  Foolish  fear! 
summer  goes,  and  autumn  succeeds.  The 
glory  of  death  is  upon  the  leaves ;  and  the 
gentlest  breeze  that  blows  takes  them  softly 
and  silently  from  the  bouMq  and  they  float 
slowly  down  like  fiery  sparks  upon  the  moss. 
It  is  hard  to  die  when  the  time  is  not  ripe. 


When  it  is,  it  will  be  easy.  We  need  not  die 
while  we  are  living.  Beecher. 

1270.  DEATH,  Appearance  of.  Many  a  man 

has  an  ill-favored  countenance,  is  lean  and 
haggard,  pale  and  sallow,  and  mean  in  his 
attire,  and  yet,  under  an  ungainly  exterior, 
conceals  great  talents  and  virtues.  Such  is 
the  case  with  death.  Ah,  me  !  how  much  that 
is  good  and  sweet  and  blessed  is  concealed 
beneath  its  sour  aspect  and  transitory  bitter¬ 
ness  1  It  is  not  I  who  die  when  I  die,  but  my 
sin  and  misery.  As  often  as  I  think  of  death, 
I  figure  to  myself  that  I  see  a  messenger  com¬ 
ing  from  a  distant  land,  bringing  me  good 
news  of  my  Saviour,  the  Bridegroom  of  my 
soul,  and  of  the  inheritance  which  he  has 
purchased  with  his  blood,  and  reserves  for  me 
in  heaven.  What  care  I  although  the  mes¬ 
senger  have  an  ugly  face,  be  armed  with 
a  long  dart,  wear  a  tattered  coat,  and  knock 
rudely  at  my  door  ?  I  attend  less  to  his  ap¬ 
pearance  than  to  his  business.  Gotthold. 

1271.  DEATH,  Approach  of.  It  was  the  cus¬ 
tom  of  a  poor  old  man,  each  morning  to  take 
his  vegetables  to  market ;  and,  as  he  went  from 
door  to  door,  he  would  say  in  a  sharp,  shrill 
tone,  “Who’s  the  next?  Who’s  the  next?” 
Even  before  he  had  received  the  money  for 
his  produce,  and  mounted  bis  cart,  he  would 
reiterate  the  same.  One  day,  the  well-known 
cry  rang  out,  “  Who’s  the  next  ?  ”  as  a  hearse, 
with  its  nodding  plumes,  slowly  passed  by. 
No  wonder,  then,  the  old  man’s  cry  was  espe¬ 
cially  impressive  1 

1272.  DEATH,  Beautiful.  A  preacher,  having 
been  sent  for  to  visit  a  Western  cabin,  found  a 
father  and  his  dying  daughter  surrounded  by 
evidences  of  luxury  and  taste.  He  asked  the 
daughter  if  she  knew  her  condition.  “  I  know 
that  my  Redeemer  liveth,”  said  she  in  a  voice 
whose  melody  was  like  the  sweetest  /Eolian 
tones.  A  half-hour  passed,  and  she  spoke  in 
the  same  deep,  rich,  melodious  voice:  “Fa¬ 
ther,  1  am  cold  :  lie  down  beside  me.”  And 
the  old  man  lay  down  by  his  dying  child ; 
and  she  twined  her  emaciated  arms  around 
his  neck,  and  murmured  in  a  dreamy  voice, 
“  Dear  father,  dear  father !  ”  —  “  My  child,” 
said  the  old  man,  “  doth  the  flood  seem  deep 
to  thee  ?  ”  —  Nay,  father,  for  my  soul  is  strong.” 
—  “  Seest  thou  the  thither  shore  ?  ”  —  “I  see 
it,  father ;  and  its  banks  are  green  with  immor¬ 
tal  verdure.”  —  “  Hearest  thou  the  voices  of  its 
inhabitants.” — “I  hear  them,  father,  as  the 
voices  of  angels  falling  from  afar  in  the  still  and 
solemn  night-time ;  and  they  call  me.  Her  voice 
too,  father  :  oh  1  I  heard  it  then.”  —  “  Doth  she 
speak  to  thee  ?  ”  —  “  She  speaketh  in  tones 
most  heavenly.”  —  “  Doth  she  smile  ?  ”  — 
“  An  angel  smile ;  but  a  cold,  calm  smile.  But 
I  am  cold,  cold,  cold  !  Father,  there’s  a  mist 
in  the  room.  You’ll  be  lonely,  lonely.  Is  this 
death,  father?”  —  “It  is  death,  Mary.”  — 
“  Thank  God  1  ’"  So  she  passed  away. 

1273.  DEATH,  A  Beautiful.  When  one  of 
Martin  Luther’s  children  lay  on  her  death- 

i  bed,  the  great  man  approached  her,  and  said 
I  to  her,  “  My  dear  littie  daughter,  my  beloved 


164 


DELATH. 


DELAJTJK. 


Margaret,  you  would  willingly  remain  with 
your  earthly  parents ;  but,  it'  God  calls  you, 
you  will  go  with  your  heavenly  Father.”  — 

“  Yes,  dear  father :  it  is  as  God  pleases.”  — 

“  Dear  little  girl  1  ”  he  exclaimed,  “  oh,  how  I 
love  you  !  The  spirit  is  willing;  but  the  tlesh 
is  weak.”  He  then  took  the  Bible,  and  read 
to  her  the  passage,  “  Thy  dead  men  shall 
live :  together  with  my  dead  body  shall  they 
arise.  Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the 
dust ;  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and 
the  earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead.”  He  then 
said,  “  My  daughter,  enter  thou  into  thy  rest¬ 
ing-place  in  peace.”  She  turned  her  eyes 
towards  him,  and  said  with  touching  sim¬ 
plicity,  “  Yes,  father.” 

1274.  DEATH,  a  Blessing,  I  congratulate 
you  and  myself,  that  life  is  passing  last  away. 
What  a  superlatively  grand  and  consoling  idea 
is  that  of  death  1  Without  this  radiant  idea, 
this  delightful  morning-star,  indicating  that 
the  luminary  of  eternity  is  going  to  rise,  life 
would,  to  my  view,  darken  into  midnight  mel¬ 
ancholy.  Oh,  the  expectation  of  living  here 
and  living  thus  always,  would  be  indeed  a 
prospect  of  overwhelming  despair  1  But  thanks 
be  to  that  fatal  decree  that  dooms  us  to  die  1 
thanks  to  that  gospel  which  opens  the  vision 
of  an  endless  life  1  and  thanks,  above  all,  to 
that  Saviour  friend  who  has  promised  to  con¬ 
duct  all  the  faithful  through  the  sacred  trance 
of  death,  into  scenes  of  paradise  and  everlast¬ 
ing  delight  1  ./.  Foster. 

1275.  DEATH,  Bribeless.  Death  will  not 
regard  any  ransom,  neither  will  he  rest  content, 
though  thou  givest  many  gifts.  “  Fie  !  ”  quoth 
that  great  Cardinal  Beauford,  “  will  not  death 
be  hired  Y  Will  money  do  nothing  ?  Wherefore 
should  I  die,  being  so  rich  Y  If  the  whole 
realm  would  save  my  life,  I  am  able  either  by 
policy  to  get  it,  or  by  riches  to  buy  it.”  Louis 
the  Eleventh  would  not  hear  of  death  all  the 
time  of  his  last  sickness ;  but,  when  he  saw 
there  was  no  remedy,  he  sent  for  the  holy 
waters  from  Rhemes ,  together  with  Aaron’s 
rod,  as  they  called  it,  and  other  holy  relics, 
thinking  therewith  to  stop  death’s  mouth,  and 
so  stave  him  off :  but  it  would  not.  J.  Trapp. 

1276.  DEATH,  Certainty  of.  Guerricus,  hear¬ 
ing  these  words  read  in  the  church,  “And  all 
the  days  that  Adam  lived  were  nine  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  and  he  died ;  all  the  days  of 
Seth  were  nine  hundred  and  twelve  years,  and 
he  died ;  and  all  the  days  of  Enos  were  nine 
hundred  and  five  years,  and  he  died ;  and  all 
the  days  of  Methuselah  were  nine  hundred 
and  sixty  and  nine  years,  and  he  died,”  —  was 
so  impressed,  that  he  began  immediately  to 
prepare  for  death. 

1277.  DEATH,  Change  of.  An  aged  Ghris- 
t.ian,  living  in  the  poor-house,  while  conversing 
with  a  minister,  showed  signs  of  much  joy. 
As  a  reason  for  it,  she  said,  “  0  sir !  I  was  just 
thinking  what  a  change  it  will  be  from  the  poor- 
house  to  heaven  I  ”  . 

1278.  DEATH,  of  Children.  “  Mamma,  my 
poor  little  head  hurts  so  1  ”  exclaims  a  little  girl 
of  four  summers,  as  she  rests  her  head  upon 


her  mother’s  bosom.  Her  mother  gently 
smooths  her  curling  locks.  “No  use,  now, 
mamma,  no  use ;  tor  I  forgot  all  about  my 
head,  and  you  would  too,  mamma,  if  you  had 
been  with  me  just  now.”  The  mother  said 
softly,  “  Where  was  my  sweet  little  Mary  ?  ” 
—  “  C  mamma  1  it  was  so  beautiful  1  and  the 
angels  were  dressed  so  pretty  1  —  the  brightest 
dresses  you  ever  saw,  mamma.  When  they 
all  saw  me,  they  ran  to  their  harps,  and  played 
the  sweetest  music  you  ever  heard.  Every 
thing  was  so  beautiful  and  bright,  I  whis¬ 
pered  to  one  of  them  not  to  stop  playing  until  1 
brought  my  mamma  to  hear  it.”  The  mother 
knew  that  the  messenger  of  death  was  there. 
The  child  raised  its  soft  eyes  to  its  mother’s, 
and,  smiling,  whispered,  “  Mamma,  will  you  sit 
here  and  listen  to  the  music  for  a  little  while, 
till  I  go  and  see  what  the  lovely  angel  wants 
with  me  ?  ”  Her  blue  eyes  closed  tranquil¬ 
ly,  and  she  whispered  “  good-night,”  and  fell 
asleep. 

1279.  A  few  years  ago,  in  a  New-England 
village,  a  little  boy  lay  upon  his  death-bed. 
Starting  suddenly  up,  he  exclaimed,  “  O 
mother,  mother  1  I  see  such  a  beautiful  country, 
and  so  many  little  children,  who  are  beckoning 
me  to  them ;  but  there  are  high  mountains 
between  us,  —  too  high  for  me  to  climb.  Who 
will  carry  me  over  ?  ”  After  thus  expressing 
himself,  he  leaned  back  upon  his  pillow,  and 
for  a  while  seemed  to  be  in  deep  thought ;  when 
once  more  arousing,  and  stretching  out  his 
little  hands,  he  cried  as  loud  as  his  feeble 
voice  would  permit,  “  Mother,  mother  1  the 
Strong  Man’s  come  to  carry  me  over  the  moun¬ 
tains  ;  ”  then  fell  peacefully  asleep. 

1289.  DEATH,  Christian,  Veitch  called  out 
to  some  of  the  ministers  in  the  room,  “  You 
passengers  for  glory,  how  near,  think  ye,  I  am 
to  the  New  Jerusalem  Y  ”  Some  answered, 
“  Not  tar,  sir.”  He  answered,  “  I’ll  wait  and 
climb,  until  I  be  up  among  that  innumerable 
company  of  angels  and  just  men.”  They  re¬ 
moved  his  wife  out  of  the  room  for  him ;  but, 
when  he  was  just  expiring,  she  would  come  in 
again,  and  came  running  to  his  bedside :  but 
he  turned. her  away  with  his  hand,  saying, 
“No  more  converse  with  the  creature  :  I  never 
will  look  back  again  1  ”  So  he  tell  asleep  in 
Christ.  Veitch’s  Memoirs 

1281.  DEATH,  Comfortable.  Without  love, 

nothing  can  make  death  comfortable.  By 
comfortable,  I  do  not  mean  stupid  or  senseless. 
I  would  not  say  he  died  comfortably  who  died 
of  an  apoplexy,  or  by  the  shot  of  a  cannon, 
any  more  than  he,  who,  having  his  conscience 
seared,  died  as  unconcerned  as  the  beasts  that 
perish.  Neither  do  I  believe  that  you  would 
envy  any  one  the  comfort  of  dying  raving 
mad.  But  by  a  comfortable  death,  I  mean  a 
calm  passage  out  of  life,  full  of  even,  rational 
peace  and  joy.  And  such  a  death,  all  the 
acting,  and  all  the  suffering,  in  the  world,  can¬ 
not  give  without  love.  J.  Wesley. 

1282.  DEATH,  Comfort  in.  My  faithful  Sa¬ 
viour  !  It  should  not  distress  me  though  all 
the  birds  of  the  air  were  daily  and  hourly  to 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


165 


sing  and  discourse  to  me  of  my  mortality. 
The  nectar  I  sip  from  thy  dripping  wounds 
swallows  up  the  few  bitter  drops  which  death 
pours  out  to  me  from  his  cup  at  my  departure 
from  this  world.  What,  Lord  Jesus,  should  I 
Ion"  for  more  than  to  depart  and  be  with  thee  ? 

Gotthold. 

1283.  DEATH,  Conflict  with.  A  well-known 
athelete  of  Avignon,  France,  named  Meis- 
sonnier,  literally  struggled  with  the  malady; 
and  his  last  words  were,  “  O  Death !  if  you 
were  a  man,  what  short  work  I’d  make  of 
you !  ” 

1284.  DEATH,  Conquered.  The  power  of 

death,  the  last  enemy,  is  destroyed,  as  it 
respects  all  who  believe  in  Christ :  instead  of 
being  the  jailer  of  hell  and  the  grave,  he  is 
now,  as  it  respects  Christ’s  people,  the  porter 
of  paradise.  All  he  can  now  do  is  to  cause 
them  to  sleep  in  Jesus,  release  their  immortal 
spirits  from  the  fetters  which  bind  them  to 
earth,  and  deposit  their  weary  bodies  in  the 
tomb  as  a  place  of  rest,  till  Christ  comes  at 
the  last  day  to  raise  them  incorruptible,  glori¬ 
ous,  and  immortal,  and  re-unite  them  to 
their  souls  in  a  state  of  perfect,  never-ending 
felicity.  Dr.  Payson. 

1285.  DEATH,  Consolation  with.  There  is  an 
inscription  on  a  child’s  tombstone  in  an  Eng¬ 
lish  churchyard,  as  follows  :  “  ‘  Who  plucked 
that  flower  ?  ’  cried  the  gardener  as  he  walked 
through  the  garden.  His  fellow-servant  an¬ 
swered,  ‘  The  Master.’  And  the  gardener 
held  his  peace.” 

1286.  DEATH,  Day  of.  The  Persians  had 

a  certain  day  in  the  year  called  “  Vitiorum 
intertum"  wherein  they  used  to  kill  all  serpents 
and  venomous  creatures :  such  a  day  as  that 
will  be  the  day  of  death  to  a  man  in  Christ. 
This  day,  the  old  serpent  dies  in  a  believer, 
that  hath  so  often  stung  him  in  his  tempta¬ 
tions  ;  this  day,  the  sins  of  the  godly,  those 
venomous  creatures,  shall  all  be  destroyed. 
They  shall  never  be  proud  more  ;  they  shall 
never  grieve  the  Spirit  of  God  more ;  the  death 
of  the  body  shall  quite  destroy  the  body  of 
death ;  so  that  sin,  which  is  the  midwife  that 
brought  death  into  the  world,  shall  be  the 
grave  to  bury  sin.  Spencer. 

1287.  DEATH,  a  Departure.  We  at  death 
leave  one  place  to  go  to  another :  if  godly,  we 
depart  from  our  place  here  on  earth,  and  go  to 
heaven  ;  we  depart  from  our  friends  on  earth, 
and  go  to  our  friends  in  heaven ;  we  depart 
from  the  valley  of  tears,  and  go  to  the  mount 
of  joy ;  we  depart  from  a  howling  wilderness, 

•  to  go  to  a  heavenly  paradise.  Who  would  be 
unwilling  to  exchange  a  Sodom  for  a  Zion,  an 
Egypt  for  a  Canaan,  misery  for  glory  ? 

B.  Keach. 

1288.  DEATH;  Desolations  of.  What  disar¬ 
rays  like  death  ?  It  defaces  the  fascination  of 
the  beautiful.  It  breaks  the  lamp  of  the  wise. 
It  withers  the  strength  of  the  mighty.  It 
snatches  the  store  of  the  rich.  Kings  are 
stripped  of  trapping,  trophy,  treasure :  “  Their 
glory  shall  not  descend  after  them.” 

Dr.  11.  W.  Hamilton. 


f  1289.  DEATH,  in  Duty.  He  that  dies  in  an 
earnest  pursuit  is  like  one  that  is  wounded  in 
hot  blood,  who,  for  the  time,  scarce  feels  the 
hurt :  and  therefore  a  mind  fixed  and  bent 
upon  somewhat  that  is  good  doth  avert  the 
dolors  of  death  ;  but,  above  all,  believe  it,  the 
sweetest  canticle  is,  “  Lord ,  now  lettest  thou  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace.”  Lord  Bacon. 

1290.  DEATH,  Emblem  of.  Two  little  birds 
had  a  nest  in  the  bushes  in  the  back  part  of 
the  garden.  Julia  found  the  nest.  It  had  four 
speckled  eggs  in  it.  One  day,  after  she  had 
been  away  some  time,  she  ran  into  the  garden 
to  take  a  peep  at  the  speckled  eggs.  Instead 
of  the  beautiful  eggs,  there  were  only  broken, 
empty  shells.  “  Oh  I  ”  she  said,  picking  out  the 
pieces,  “  the  beautiful  eggs  are  all  spoiled  and 
broken!”  —  “No,  Julia,”  said  her  brother; 
“  they  are  not  spoiled  :  the  best  part  of  them 
has  taken  wings,  and  flown  away.”  So  it  is  in 
death  :  the  body  left  behind  is  only  an  empty 
shell ;  while  its  soul,  the  better  part,  has  taken 
wings,  and  flown  away. 

1291.  DEATH,  Entertaining.  I  might  say 

much  of  the  commodities  Death  can  sell  a  man  : 
but,  briefly,  Death  is  a  friend  of  ours ;  and  he 
that  is  not  ready  to  entertain  him  is  not  at 
home.  Lord  Bacon. 

1292.  DEATH,  Equality  in.  Death  comes 
equally  to  us  all,  and  makes  us  all  equal  when 
it  comes.  The  ashes  of  an  oak  in  a  chimney 
are  no  epitaph  of  that,  to  tell  me  how  high  or 
how  large  that  was  :  it  tells  me  not  what  flocks 
it  sheltered  whilst  it  stood,  nor  what  men  it 
hurt  when  it  fell.  The  dust  of  great  men’s 
graves  is  speechless  too :  it  says  nothing ;  it 
distinguishes  nothing.  As  soon  the  dust  of 
a  wretch  whom  thou  wouldst  not,  as  of  a 
prince  whom  thou  couldst  not,  look  upon,  will 
trouble  thine  eyes  if  the  wind  blow  it  thither ; 
and  when  a  whirlwind  hath  blown  the  dust  of 
the  churchyard  into  the  church,  and  the  man 
sweeps  out  the  dust  of  the  church  into  the 
churcliyard,  who  will  undertake  to  sift  those 
dusts  again,  and  to  pronounce,  “  This  is  the 
patrician,  this  is  the  noble  flower,  and  this  the 
yeoman,  this  the  plebeian  bran  ”  ?  Dr.  Donne. 

1293.  DEATH,  Excellency  of.  Like  as  if  a 

poor  man  should  be  commanded  by  a  prince  to 
put  off  his  ragged  garments,  and  put  on  costly, 
royal  robes,  it  would  be  a  great  rejoicing  in  his 
heart;  so  much  more  joyful  news  must  this  be 
to  all  repentant  sinners,  when  the  King  of 
heaven  comes  to  them  by  death,  and  bids  them 
lay  down  their  patched  garments,  and  put  on 
the  princely  robe  of  immortality.  No  tongue 
can  express  the  excellency  of  this  most  blessed 
and  happy  estate.  Cawdray. 

1294.  DEATH,  Faith  in.  As  he  that  is  to 

fiass  over  some  broad  and  deep  river  must  not 
ook  downward  to  the  current  of  the  stream, 
but  must  set  his  foot  sure,  and  keep  his  eye  on 
the  bank,  on  the  farther  shore;  so  he  that 
draws  near  death  must  look  over  the  waves  of 
death,  and  fix  his  eye  of  faith  on  eternal  life. 

Cawdray. 

1295.  DEATH,  Fear  of  There  are  some  that 
are  like  what  is  fabled  of  the  swan.  The  an- 


166 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


cients  said  the  swan  never  sang  in  his  lifetime, 
but  always  sang  just  when  he  died.  Now, 
there  are  many  of  God’s  desponding  children, 
who  seem  to  go  all  their  life  under  a  cloud;  but 
they  get  a  swan’s  song  before  they  die.  The 
river  of  their  life  comes  running  down,  perhaps 
black  and  miry  with  troubles ;  and,  when  it 
begins  to  touch  the  white  foam  of  the  sea,  there 
comes  a  little  glistening  in  its  waters.  So, 
beloved,  though  we  may  have  been  very  much 
dispirited  by  reason  of  the  burden  of  the  way, 
when  we  get  to  the  end,  we  shall  have  sweet 
songs.  Are  you  afraid  of  dying  ?  Oh  1  never 
be  afraid  of  that :  be  afraid  of  living.  Living 
is  the  only  thing  which  can  do  any  mischief: 
dying  can  never  hurt  a  Christian.  Afraid  of 
the  grave  ?  It  is  like  the  bath  of  Esther,  in 
which  she  lay  for  a  time  to  purify  herself  with 
spices,  that  she  might  be  fit  for  her  lord. 

Spurgeon. 

1296.  DEATH,  Fearless  of.  “  I  want  to  talk 
to  you  about  heaven,”  said  a  dying  parent  to 
a  member  of  his  family.  “  We  may  not  be 
spared  to  each  other  long  :  may  we  meet  around 
the  throne  of  glory,  one  family  in  heaven  !  ” 
Overpowered  at  the  thought,  his  beloved 
daughter  exclaimed,  “  Surely  you  do  not  think 
there  is  any  danger?”  Calmly  and  beauti¬ 
fully  he  replied,  “  Danger !  my  darling.  Oh  ! 
do  not  use  that  word.  There  can  be  no  danger 
to  the  Christian,  whatever  may  happen.  All 
is  right ;  ail  is  well.  God  is  love.  All  is  well, 

—  everlastingly  well,  —  everlastingly  well.” 

Stevenson. 

1297.  DEATH,  The  First.  Death  did  not  first 

strike  Adam,  the  first  sinful  man ;  nor  Cain,  the 
first  hypocrite ;  but  Abel,  the  innocent  and 
righteous.  The  first  soul  that  met  with  death 
overcame  death :  the  first  soul  that  parted 
from  earth  went  to  heaven.  Death  argues 
not  displeasure ;  because  he  whom  God  loved 
best  died  first ;  and  the  murderer  was  punished 
while  living.  Bishop  Hall. 

1298.  DEATH,  Freedom  by.  If  a  man  live  in 

a  dark,  miserable  prison,  with  this  condition, 
that  he  should  not  come  forth  till  the  walls  of 
the  tower  were  fallen  down,  undoubtedly  he 
would  be  right  glad  to  see  the  walls  begin  to 
fall.  Even  so  our  soul  is  kept  within  the  body 
upon  earth,  as  in  captivity  and  bonds.  Now, 
as  soon  as  the  body  is  at  the  point  to  fall,  we 
ought  not  to  be  sorry ;  for  by  this  approacheth 
our  deliverance,  when  we,  out  of  the  prison  of 
misery,  shall  be  brought  before  the  most  amia¬ 
ble  countenance  of  God,  into  the  joyful  freedom 
of  heaven.  Cawdray. 

1299.  DEATH,  Gain  of.  What  is  the  decease 
of  a  saint  but  a  translation  out  of  a  valley  of 
death,  a  Golgotha,  a  place  of  skulls,  a  region 
where  death  reigns,  into  the  region  of  perfect 
and  everlasting  life  ?  It  is  not  to  be  called 
death  simply  or  absolutely,  but  with  diminution: 
it  is  only  death  in  a  certain  respect ;  when,  in 
a  higher  and  much  more  considerable  respect, 
it  is  a  birth  rather,  a  dying  out  of  one  world, 
and  a  being  born  at  the  same  time  into  another, 

—  a  much  more  lightsome,  a  purer,  and  more 
gloiious  world  The  soul  is  cured  in  a  moment  | 


of  whatsoever  was  grievous  or  afflicting  to  it ; 
and  the  body  put  into  a  certain  way  of  cure, 
—  of  being  made,  from  an  earthly,  mean,  mortal 
thing,  heavenly,  spiritual,  incorruptible,  and 
immortal.  John  Howe. 

1390.  Let  dissolution  come  when  it  will, 
it  can  do  the  Christian  no  harm  :  for  it  will  be 
but  a  passage  out  of  a  prison  into  a  palace ; 
out  of  a  sea  of  troubles  into  a  haven  of  rest ; 
out  of  a  crowd  of  enemies  to  an  innumerable 
company  of  true,  loving,  and  faithful  friends  ; 
out  of  shame,  reproach,  and  contempt,  into 
exceeding  great  and  eternal  glory.  Banyan. 

1301.  “  Paid  the  debt  of  nature.”  No ;  it 
is  not  paying  a  debt :  it  is  rather  like  bringing 
a  note  to  a  bank  to  obtain  solid  gold  in  ex¬ 
change  for  it.  In  this  case,  you  bring  this 
cumbrous  body,  which  is  nothing  worth,  and 
which  you  could  not  wish  to  retain  long :  you 
lay  it  down,  and  receive  for  it,  from  the  eternal 
treasures,  liberty,  victory,  knowledge,  rapture. 

J.  Foster. 

1302.  Living  is  death  :  dying  is  life.  We 

are  not  what  we  appear  to  be.  On  this  side 
of  the  grave,  we  are  exiles ;  on  that,  citizens : 
on  this  side,  orphans  ;  on  that,  children  :  on  this 
side,  captives ;  on  that,  freemen  :  on  this  side, 
disguised,  unknown  ;  on  that,  disclosed  and  pro¬ 
claimed  as  the  sons  of  God.  Beecher. 

1393.  DEATH,  Glorious,  It  is  said  that  when 

Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  in  his  expedition  to  the 
Iloly  Land,  came  within  view  of  Jerusalem, 
his  army,  seeing  the  high  turrets,  goodly  build¬ 
ings,  and  fair  fronts,  were  transported  with 
the  sight,  and  gave  such  a  mighty  shout,  that 
the  earth  was  thought  to  ring  with  the  noise 
thereof.  Such  is  the  rejoicing  of  a  godly  man 
in  death  when  he  beholds  the  towers  of  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  his  soul  longs  to  tak: 
possession  of  its  mansion  there.  How  doth 
he  delight  in  his  dissolution,  especially  when 
he  sees  grace  changing  into  glory,  hope  into 
fruition,  faith  into  vision,  and  love  into  per¬ 
fect  comprehension  1  Spencer. 

1394.  DEATH,  God  with  us  in.  It  is  true  that 
no  earthly  friend  can  accompany  us  through 
the  swellings  of  Jordan.  There  is  no  human 
arm  on  which  we  can  stay  as  we  walk  through 
the  dark  valley.  But  though  we  may  then  be 
alone  in  one  sense,  yet  we  need  not  in  another : 
the  Saviour  has  promised  to  accompany  us. 
He  says,  “  When  thou  passest  through  the 
waters,  I  will  be  with  thee.”  Surely,  then,  we 
may  sing  with  David,  “  Though  I  walk  through 
the  valley  and  shadow  of  death,  yet  will  I  fear 
no  evil :  for  Thou  art  with  me ;  Thy  rod  and 
Thy  staff  they  comfort  me.”  See  that  child 
who  has  to  go  through  a  dark  plantation  at 
the  dead  hour  of  night.  Does  he  fear  ?  No. 
Why  ?  Simply  because  his  father’s  hand  is 
locked  in  his.  The  presence  of  his  father 
dismisses  his  fears.  So,  when  we  are  in  the 
hands  of  our  heavenly  Father,  we  need  not 
fear.  He  who  holds  up  worlds  can  surely 
protect  us,  and  he  has  pledged  himself  to  do  so 
if  we  fully  trust  ourselves  to  him.  Whitson. 

1305.  DEATH,  Graduation.  As  scholars, 
I  who  have  spent  their  time  diligently  at  their 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


167 


books,  return  from  the  universities  to  their 
friends,  and  are  welcomed  home  both  of  father 
and  mother,  brother  and  sister,  every  one 
making  the  greatest  demonstrations  of  joy  at 
their  happy  return ;  so  when  true  Christians 
die,  and  depart  out  of  this  world,  where  they 
are  at  school,  to  return  to  their  Father’s  house, 
God  himself  is  the  first  that  biddeth  them 
welcome,  and  willeth  them  to  enter  into  the 
joy  of  their  Lord  and  Father.  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  next  who  leadeth  them  into  the  palace 
of  the  King:  “  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
ossess  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
vginning  of  the  world.”  Then  come  the 
angels,  who  carry  them  like  Lazarus  into 
Abraham’s  bosom  to  rejoice  forever. 

Cawdray. 

1306.  DEATH,  a  Halt.  A  sergeant  of  Du- 
ryea’s  Zouaves  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  and  lay  on  the  field  for  three  days, 
unrelieved.  At  last,  brought  to  the  hospital,  it 
was  too  late  to  save  his  life.  When  sinking, 
Col.  Rice  broke  the  news  to  him  thus :  “  Ser¬ 
geant.  we  are  going  to  halt  soon  :  we  shall  not 
march  much  farther  to-day.”  —  “  Are  we  going 
to  halt,  colonel,  so  early  in  the  day  ?  Are  we 
going  into  bivouac  before  night  ?  ” —  “  Yes,  ser¬ 
geant :  the  march  is  nearly  over;  the  bugle 
will  soon  sound  the  halt.”  The  tears  of  the 
colonel  interpreted  his  words;  and  the  sergeant 
said,  “  Do  you  mean  that  I  am  so  soon  to  die  V  ” 
—  “  Yes  :  you  are  soon  to  die.”  —  “  Well,  colo¬ 
nel,  I  am  glad  I  am  going  to  die  :  I  want  to 
rest,  the  march  has  been  so  long ;  but  I  am 
weary,  very  weary.  I  want  to  halt;  I  want 
to  be  with  Christ ;  I  want  to  be  with  my 
Saviour.”  He  bade  farewell  to  his  aunt  and 
sister  (who  had  reached  his  bedside),  sent 
keepsakes  to  his  mother  and  his  allianeed, 
and  cheering  words  to  his  comrades  of  the 
army ;  then  made  his  last  halt  on  earth  to 
bivouac  in  heaven. 

1307.  DEATH,  Happiness  in.  IIow  hard  it  is 

to  die  1  ”  remarked  a  friend  to  an  expiring 
believer.  “  Oh,  no,  no  !  ”  he  replied  ;  “  easy 
dying,  glorious  dying  1  ”  Looking  up  to  the 
clock,  he  said,  “  I  have  experienced  more  hap¬ 
piness  in  dying  two  hours  this  day,  than  in  my 
whole  life.  It  is  worth  a  whole  life  to  have 
such  an  end  as  this.  Oh  1  I  never  thought  that 
such  a  poor  worm  as  I  could  come  to  such  a 
glorious  death.”  Bishop  Thomson. 

1308.  In  the  battle  of  Quebec,  Gen.  Wolfe, 
being  wounded,  laid  himself  on  the  ground. 
Soon  after,  a  shout  was  heard  ;  and  one  of  the 
officers  near  him  exclaimed,  “  See  1  they  run  !  ” 
The  dying  hero  asked,  “  Who  run  ?  ”  —  “  The 
enemy,”  replied  the  officer :  “  they  give  way 
everywhere.”  The  general  said,  “  Now  God 
be  praised  :  I  shall  die  happy.”  He  then  turned 
on  his  side,  and  immediately  expired. 

1309.  DEATH,  Health.  Richard  Baxter, 
when  on  his  death-bed,  suffering  great  pain, 
was  asked  how  he  did ;  and  replied,  “  Almost 
well.”  At  length  the  final  hour  arrived,  and 
he  became,  in  his  own  language,  “  entirely  well.” 

1310.  DEATH,  A  Heathen’s,  A  Hindoo  of 
thoughtful  mind,  but  devoted  to  idolatry,  lay 


on  his  death-bed.  As  he  saw  himself  about  to 
plunge  into  that  boundless  unknown,  he  cried 
out,  “  What  will  become  of  me  ?  ” —  Oh  1  said 
a  Brahmin  who  stood  by,  “  you  will  inhabit 
another  body.”  —  “  And  where,”  said  he,  “  shall 
I  go  then  ?  ”  —  “  Into  another.”  —  “  And  where 
then?”  —  “  Into  another ;  and  so  on  through 
thousands  of  millions  ”  Darting  across  this 
whole  period  as  though  it  were  but  an  instant, 
he  cried,  “  Where  shall  I  go  then  ?  ”  Paganism 
could  not  answer ;  and  he  died,  agonizing  un¬ 
der  the  inquiry,  “  Where  shall  I  go  last  of  all  ?  ” 

1311.  DEATH,  the  Highest  Summons.  Ruth¬ 
erford,  while  on  his  death-bed,  was  cited  to 
answer  a  charge  in  court.  His  reply  was,  that, 
as  he  had  a  summons  to  a  court  of  higher 
jurisdiction,  he  would  not  be  able  to  attend. 
The  sheriff  a  short  time  since  served  a  sum¬ 
mons  upon  a  worldly  rich  man  to  appear  on  a 
certain  day  as  a  witness  in  court.  The  poor 
man  replied,  that  he  had  not  so  long  to  live. 
Before  the  time  he  should  have  appeared  at 
the  bar  of  an  earthly  court,  he  was  called  to 
the  heavenly.  The  unfortunate  man  had  pend¬ 
ing  in  court  a  suit  involving  a  large  amount 
of  money.  This  alone  occupied  his  mind,  and 
troubled  his  thoughts. 

1319.  DEATH,  Imminent.  “  My  ancestors,” 
said  a  sailor,  “  were  all  seamen,  and  all  of  them 
died  at  sea  :  my  father,  my  grandfather,  and 
my  great-grandfather,  were  all  buried  in  the 
sea.”  Then  said  a  citizen,  “  What  great  cause 
have  you  then,  when  you  set  out  to  sea,  to  re¬ 
member  your  death  1  and  to  commit  your  soul 
to  the  hands  of  God  1  ”  —  “  Yea,  but,”  said  the 
mariner  to  the  citizen,  “  where,  I  pray,  did 
your  father  and  your  grandfather  die  V  ”  — 
“  Why,”  said  he,  “  they  died  all  of  them  in 
their  beds.”  —  “  Truly,  then,”  said  the  mariner, 
“  what  a  care  had  you  need  to  have  every 
night,  when  you  go  to  bed,  to  think  of  your 
bed  as  the  grave,  and  the  clothes  that  cover  you 
as  the  earth  that  must  one  day  be  thrown  upon 
you  1  for  the  very  heathens  themselves  that  im¬ 
plored  as  many  deities  as  they  conceived  chi¬ 
meras  in  their  fancies,  yet  were  never  known  to 
erect  an  altar  to  Death,  because  that  was  ever 
held  uncertain  and  implacable.”  Spencer. 

1313.  DEATH,  an  Inquisitor.  It  is  with  us  in 

this  world  as  with  poor  men,  that,  being  invited 
to  a  rich  man’s  board,  have  the  use  of  his  plate 
and  silver  whilst  they  are  there;  but,  if  any  of 
them  are  so  bold  as  to  put  up  a  piece  of  {date 
or  a  spoon,  there  is  search  made  by  the  porter, 
ere  they  are  let  out,  for  what  is  missing.  So  it 
is  with  us  in  regard  to  temporal  blessings. 
We  have  liberty  to  use  them  while  here ;  but, 
when  we  go  hence,  there  is  One  waiting  that 
will  be  sure  to  strip  us,  and  suffer  nothing 
to  pass  with  us.  Spencer. 

1314.  DEATH,  Insensibility  to.  There  is  a 
bird  in  Ireland,  called  the  cock-of-the-wood, 
remarkable  for  his  fine  flesh  and  his  folly. 
They  fly  in  woods,  in  Hocks ;  and,  if  one  of 
them  be  shot,  the  rest  remove  not  but  to  the 
next  bough  or  tree  at  the  farthest ;  and  there 
stand  staring  at  the  shooter  till  the  whole  covey 
be  destroyed.  As  foolish  as  this  bird  is,  it  is 


168 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


wise  enough  to  be  the  emblem  of  the  wisest 
man  in  point  of  mortality.  Death  sweeps 
away,  one  after  another,  a  whole  generation ; 
and  those  that  remain  are  unmoved  by  it. 

Spencer. 

1*315.  DEATH,  Joy  in.  In  a  fearful  storm 
at  sea,  when  all  hope  was  lost,  and  it  seemed 
every  moment  that  the  ship  would  sink,  a  pious 
sailor  cried  out,  “  Blessed  be  God,  all  is  right !  ” 
and  began  to  sing.  Thus,  amidst  the  storms  of 
life,  on  the  dark  ocean  of  death,  and  amidst 
the  terrors  of  the  judgment-day,  the  Chris¬ 
tian  may  exultingly  exclaim,  “  Blessed  be  God, 
all  is  right !  ” 

1316.  DEATH,  a  Jubilee.  Among  the  Jews, 
the  jubilee  was  ever  a  very  welcome  year  to 
the  poor  and  oppressed,  because  then  every  one 
that  had  lost  or  sold  his  lands  returned  at  the 
blowing  of  the  trumpet,  and  took  possession 
of  his  estate,  and  thus  overcame  all  his  dis¬ 
abilities.  In  this  life,  we  are  like  the  poor  Jews, 
rifled,  plundered,  spoiled,  and  every  way 
straitened;  but  death  is  the  Christian’s  jubilee, 
restoring  his  lost  inheritance. 

1317.  DEATH,  Lesson  of.  Death  was  to  the 
Romans  the  end  of  sensation  and  pleasure  ;  yet, 
instead  of  regarding  the  emblems  of  it  with 
aversion,  they  rather  sought  in  them  a  higher 
relish  for  present  enjoyment.  A  skeleton  was 
not  unfrequently  introduced  among  the  guests 
at  festive  parties,  with  the  exhortation,  Viva- 
mus  dum  licet,  esse  bene,  “  Let  us  enjoy  life 
while  we  may.”  It  is  related  of  the  Egyptians, 
by  Herodotus  and  others,  that  in  order  to 
prevent  irregularities  at  their  convivial  meet¬ 
ings,  and  to  give  some  check  to  excessive 
mirth,  they  were  used  to  bring  into  the  room 
after  supper,  when  they  began  their  wine,  the 
image  of  a  dead  man  carved  in  wood,  or  a 
coffin,  probably  containing  the  embalmed  re¬ 
mains  of  some  ancestor  of  the  family.  This 
spectacle  was  presented  to  each  of  the  com¬ 
pany  by  a  person  whose  office  it  was  to  pro¬ 
nounce  distinctly  the  following  words  :  “  Look 
upon  this,  and  be  merry;  for  such  as  this, 
when  dead,  shalt  thou  be.” 

1318.  DEATH,  Life  in.  We  go  to  the  grave 

of  a  friend,  saying,  “  A  man  is  'dead ;  ”  but 
angels  throng  about  him,  saying,  “  A  man  is 
born.”  Beecher. 

1319.  DEATH,  Longing  for.  One  day,  a  child 
of  seven  years  was  brought  into  St.  Luke’s 
Hospital,  New  York.  His  leg  was  broken,  his 
backbone  shivered,  and  his  body  mangled,  by  a 
fall  from  a  building.  He  was  a  great  sufferer. 
Amputation  was  performed.  This,  it  was 
judged,  must  be  repeated.  When  told  of  it, 
he  prayed  to  Jesus  to  take  him ;  and  told  the 
little  girl  lying  in  the  next  bed,  “  Susie,  do  you 
know  that  every  night  Jesus  walks  through 
our  ward,  and  takes  one  or  two  of  us  little 
children  away  with  him  ?  and  I  have  been 
telling  him  how  much  I  want  to  go  with  him, 
and  that  I  can’t  bear  to  think  of  all  the  pain  I 
will  have  to-morrow  if  he  don’t  take  me.  I  am 
going  to  hold  my  hand  up  so,  for  fear  I  should 
be  asleep  when  Jesus  comes,  so  that,  when  he 
walks  through  our  room  to-night,  he  will  see  it, 


and  know  I  am  the  one  that  wants  so  much  to 
go  with  him.  I  have  told  him  I  would,  and  he 
will  look  for  me.”  The  children  went  to  sleep ; 
and  early  in  the  morning,  when  the  nurse  went 
to  look  at  all  the  children,  there  she  saw  little 
Willie  stiff  and  cold  in  death,  with  his  band 
just  above  the  bcd-clothcs,  held  up  by  the 
other,  as  he  had  told  Jesus  he  would  find  him. 

1.320.  DEATH,  Love  for  Souls  in.  The  time  was 
now  come  when  this  faithful  servant  of  the 
Lord,  David  Stoner,  must  die  ;  and  his  death 
affords  a  sublime  example  of  Christian  virtue. 
It  admirably  corresponds  with  the  tenor  of  his 
useful  life.  For  the  salvation  of  sinners  he 
lived  and  labored.  Solicitude  for  souls  was 
the  ceaseless  spring  of  his  zeal,  activity,  and 
wasting  exertions.  He  felt  the  “  ruling  pas¬ 
sion  strong  in  death.”  He  appeared  to  forget 
himself,  though  on  the  solemn  verge  of  eternity ; 
to  forget  his  wife,  though  soon  to  oecome  a 
disconsolate  widow  ;  to  forget  his  two  lovely 
boys,  then  passing  into  the  sad  destitution  of 
an  orphan  state  :  but  he  remembered  sinners. 
He  had  slumbered  for  some  time  :  the  silver 
cord  seemed  quite  loosed,  and  Nature  sinking 
in  its  last  decay,  when,  to  the  astonishment  of 
every  one  present,  he  looked  up,  and,  summon¬ 
ing  all  his  strength  to  one  last  effort,  cried 
aloud,  “  Lord,  save  sinners  !  Save  them  by 
thousands,  Lord  !  Subdue  them,  Lord  !  Con¬ 
quer  them,  Lord  !  ”  He  reiterated  these  peti¬ 
tions  nearly  twenty  times,  then  sank  down, 
reposed  his  head  on  the  pillow,  and  expired 
without  a  struggle  or  a  groan,  a  little  before 
twelve  o’clock,  aged  thirty-two  years,  six 
months,  and  seventeen  days.  Dr.  Hannah. 

1321.  DEATH,  Mark  for.  When  Harold, 

King  of  Denmark,  made  war  upon  Harquinus, 
and  was  ready  to  join  battle,  a  dart  was  seen 
flying  in  the  air,  hovering  this  way  and  that 
way,  as  though  it  sought  upon  whom  to  rest. 
When  all  stood  wondering  to  know  what  would 
become  of  this  strange  prodigy,  every  man 
fearing  for  himself,  at  last  the  dart  fell  upon 
Harquinus’  head,  and  slew  him.  Thus  Death 
shoots  Ills  arrows  amongst  us ;  here  he  hits  one 
that  is  rich,  there  another  that  is  poor,  now 
one  that  is  elder,  anon  one  that  is  younger, 
here  an  equal,  there  an  inferior.  None  of  us 
know  how  soon  the  arrow  will  fall  upon  our 
own  heads.  Let  it  be  our  care,  then,  that  we 
be  not  surprised.  Spencer. 

1322.  DEATH,  Meditation  on.  There  was  a 
motto  on  the  walls  of  the  Delphian  Temple, 
ascribed  to  Chilo,  one  of  the  seven  wise  men 
of  Greece,  “  Consider  the  End.” 

1323.  DEATH,  A  Messenger.  Death  is  like  a 
postman,  who  knocks  alike  at  the  door  of  rich 
and  poor;  and  brings  to  this  man  wedding- 
cards,  and  to  his  neighbor  a  funeral  envelope ; 
to  one  the  pleasant  news  that  his  richly-laden 
vessel  has  arrived  in  port,  and  to  another 
tidings  of  disaster  and  bankruptcy. 

1324.  DEATH,  Mighty.  It  is  therefore  death 
alone  that  can  suddenly  make  man  to  know 
himself.  He  tells  the  proud  and  insolent  that 
they  are  but  abjects,  and  humbles  them  at  the 
instant;  maizes  them  cry,  complain,  and  re- 


DE1A.TH. 


DEATH. 


169 


ent,  yea,  even  to  hate  their  forepassed 

appiness.  He  takes  the  account  of  the  rich, 
and  proves  him  a  beggar,  a  naked  beggar, 
which  hath  interest  in  nothing  but  in  the 
gravel  that  fills  his  mouth.  lie  holds  a  glass 
before  the  eyes  of  the  most  beautiful,  and 
makes  them  see  their  deformity  and  rottenness, 
and  they  acknowledge  it.  Raleigh. 

1325.  DEATH,  Mockery  of.  Charlemagne 
gave  instructions,  that,  when  he  died,  he 
should  be  buried  in  a  royal  position,  seated  in 
the  attitude  of  a  ruling  monarch.  He  had 
the  mausoleum  erected  after  the  model  of  the 
chapel  which  had  been  reared  over  the  sepul¬ 
chre  of  our  Saviour  at  Jerusalem.  In  a  tomb 
within  this  chapel,  he  was  placed  upon  a 
throne.  The  Gospels,  which  I  suppose  he  had 
often  read  whilst  he  was  living,  lie  would 
appear  determined  to  study  thoroughly  after 
he  was  dead.  He  directed  that  they  should 
be  laid  upon  his  knees  before  him :  by  his 
side  was  his  celebrated  sword ;  upon  his  head 
was  an  imperial  crown ;  and  a  royal  mantle 
covered  his  lifeless  shoulders.  Thus  his  body 
remained  for  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
years.  Nearly  a  thousand  years  after  Christ, 
the  tomb  was  opened  by  the  Emperor  O.ho. 
The  skeleton  form  of  the  body  was  found 
there,  dissolved  and  dismembered  ;  the  various 
ornaments  were  all  there  too  but  the  frame 
had  sunk  into  fragments,  the  bones  had  fallen 
disjointed  and  asunder;  and  there  remained 
nothing  but  the  ghastly  skull  wearing  its 
crown  still,  and  nothing  to  signify  royalty  but 
this  vain  pageant  of  death  in  its  most  hideous 
form.  The  various  relics  were  taken  up,  and 
are  now  preserved  at  Vienna ;  and  they  have 
often  since  been  employed  in  the  coronation 
of  the  emperors  of  Germany,  in  order  to 
signify  their  greatness,  and  their  being  suc¬ 
cessors  of  Charlemagne.  Dr.  Massie. 

132G.  DEATH,  Mysterious.  Death  has  a  deep 
meaning  and  many  issues.  We  cannot  by  our 
searching  find  it  out.  None  of  us  have  seen  its 
other  side.  Death  is  like  a  mighty  angel,  with 
one  foot  standing  on  time,  and  another  on 
eternity.  A  mot. 

1327.  DEATH,  Nearness  to.  What  is  said  to 
the  mariner  in  respect  to  his  ship  (  that  he 
always  sails  within  four  inches  of  death  )  that 
may  be  said  of  the  soul  in  relation  to  the  body, 
—  that  it  is  always  within  tour  inches  of  eter¬ 
nity.  If  the  ship  splits,  then  the  sailor  sinks ; 
if  our  earthly  vessel  break,  the  soul  is  gone, 
plunged  forever  in  the  bottomless  sea  and 
bank  less  ocean  of  eternity.  The  soul  that  shall 

reeipitately  launch  into  the  deep  before  he 

nows  whether  he  shall  sink  or  swim  is  an 
object  of  commiseration. 

1328.  DEATH,  Necessity  of.  When  I  die, 
the  centre  of  a  widely-extended  family  will  be 
taken  away ;  and  yet  it  is  scarcely  desirable 
that  such  a  centre  should  continue  very  long 
after  one’s  children  have  acquired  a  position 
of  their  own.  They  will  each  form  their  own 
new  and  special  circles  in  the  time  to  come. 
But  while  an  old  man,  with  the  remains  of  his 
former  strength,  sits  on  in  the  centre,  a  thou¬ 


sand  concessions  are  made  to  him  by  all  the 
other  families ;  and  horns  are  drawn  in  which 
are  intended  to  be  thrust  with  vigor,  or  to  be 
rubbed  off,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  old  must 
give  place  to  the  new.  And  as  to  the  gray- 
beard  himself;  when  time  has  tugged  at  us 
long,  we  cease  to  do  more  than  vegetate ;  we 
become  a  burden  to  ourselves  and  to  others ; 
and,  what  is  worst  of  all,  we  get  a  horrible 
longing  for  a  still  longer  life.  When  I  look  at 
many  old  men  around,  I  am  reminded  of 
Frederick  the  Great’s  expostulation  with  his 
grenadiers,  who  demurred  at  going  to  a  certain 
death,  “  What,  you  dogs !  would  you  go  on 
living  forever  ?  ”  Perthes. 

1329.  DEATH,  Not  Ready  for.  A  little  boy  in 
an  infant-class,  one  day  said  to  his  teacher, 
“  Our  little  baby’s  dead  1  ”  After  speaking 
about  it  for  a  few  minutes,  the  teacher  asked 
the  scholar,  “  Would  you  like  to  die  ?  ”  He 
replied,  “  Not  yet.”  The  child,  when  asked 
what  he  meant  by  saying  “  Not  yet,”  said, 
“  Not  till  I  get  a  new  heart.” 

1339.  DEATH,  Painless.  Madame  Swetchine 
seemed  to  be  suffering  dreadfully.  She  was 
dying  of  dropsy :  “deep  incisions”  were  has¬ 
tily  made  by  the  physician.  The  harrowing 
scene  continued  most  of  the  day ;  but  by  night 
“  the  suffocation  sensibly  diminished,  and  the 
effusion  of  water  on  the  brain  was  arrested.” 
She  was  herself  again,  and  could  converse  with 
her  attendants  the  next  day.  And  now  a  sin¬ 
gular  and  most  relieving  revelation  followed, 

—  one  that  should  comfort  all  sympathetic  wit¬ 
nesses  of  similar  scenes.  “  Saturday  morning 
she  said  to  me,”  writes  the  count,  “  4  Yesterday 
is  a  blank  tablet  for  me.  I  can  recall  nothing 
of  those  twenty-four  hours.  Even  this  morn¬ 
ing,  1  have  but  fragments  of  ideas.’  ”  A  visitor 
remarked  to  her,  “  Do  you  know  that  yesterday 
you  received  extreme  unction  ?  ”  She  replied 
very  calmly,  “  I  did  not  know  it :  why  did 
they  not  tell  me  sooner  V  ”  She  had,  in  fact, 
been  unconscious  of  the  whole  scene  which 
had  smitten  physician,  priest,  and  all  the 
household  with  inexpressible  terror.  She  was 
indeed  dying,  and  gradually  sunk  away,  but 
with  the  serenity  and  beauty  of  the  setting  sun, 

—  without  even  a  memory  of  the  apparently 
frightful  crisis. 

1331.  DEATH,  Peaceful.  How  often  is  the 
believer’s  death-bed  like  the  deep  calm  repose 
of  a  summer-evening  sky,  when  all  Nature  is 
hushed  to  rest ;  the  departing  soul,  like  the 
vanishing  sun,  peacefully  disappearing  only  to 
shine  in  another  and  brighter  hemisphere  I  “  I 
seem,”  said  Simeon  on  his  death-bed,  “  to 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait :  there  is  now 
nothing  but  peace,  the  sweetest  peace.” 

J.  A.  Macduff. 

1332.  DEATH,  Peace  in,  The  ship  has  set 
sail,  and  kept  on  her  course  many  days  and 
nights,  with  no  other  incidents  than  those  that 
are  common  to  all.  Suddenly  land  appears ; 
but  what  the  character  of  the  coast  may  be 
the  voyagers  cannot  discern  through  the 
tumult.  The  first  effect  of  a  near  approach 
to  land  is  a  very  great  commotion  in  the  waters. 


170 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


It  is  one  of  the  coral  islands  of  the  South 
Pacific,  encircled  by  a  ring  of  fearful  breakers 
at  some  little  distance  from  the  shore.  For¬ 
ward  the  ship  must  go :  the  waves  are  higher 
and  angrier  than  any  they  have  seen  in  the 
open  sea.  Presently  through  them,  partly 
over  them,  they  are  borne  at  a  bound  ;  strained, 
giddy,  and  almost  senseless,  they  find  them¬ 
selves  within  that  sentinel  ridge  of  crested 
waves  that  guard  the  shore  ;  and  the  portion 
of  sea  that  still  lies  before  them  is  calm  and 
clear  like  glass.  It  seems  a  lake  of  paradise, 
and  not  an  earthly  thing  at  all.  It  is  inex¬ 
pressibly  sweet  to  lie  on  its  bosom  after  the 
long  voyage  and  the  barren  ridge.  All  the 
heavens  are  mirrored  in  the  water ;  and  along 
its  edge  lies  a  flowery  land.  Across  the  belt 
of  sea  the  ship  glides  gently,  and  gently 
touches  soon  that  lovely  shore.  So  many  a 
Christian  has  been  thrown  into  a  great  tumult 
when  the  shore  of  eternity  suddenly  appeared 
before  him.  A  great  fear  tossed  and  sickened 
him  for  some  days ;  but,  when  that  barrier  was 
passed,  he  experienced  a  peace  deeper,  stiller, 
sweeter,  than  any  he  ever  knew  before.  A 
little  space  of  life’s  voyage  remained  after  the 
fear  of  death  had  sunk  into  a  calm,  and  belore 
the  immortal  felt  the  solid  of  eternal  rest. 

Arnot. 

1333.  DEATH,  a  Penalty.  To  steal  an  apple 
was,  with  Draco,  a  crime  of  as  deep  a  die  as  to 
commit  sacrilege;  even  “confirmed  idleness” 
was  punished  with  death.  On  Draco  himself 
being  once  asked,  why  he  punished  such 
petty  crimes  with  death,  he  made  this 
severe  answer,  that  the  smallest  of  them 
did  deserve  that,  and  that  there  was  not  a 
greater  punishment  he  could  find  out  for 
greater  crimes. 

1334.  DEATH,  Place  of.  John  Howard  the 
philanthropist,  honored  by  a  monument  in  St. 
Paul’s  Cathedral,  but  more  highly  honored  in 
the  hearts  of  relieved  prisoners,  when  parting 
with  a  friend  previous  to  an  intended  visit  to 
Egypt,  where  it  seemed  probable  that  he  would 
die  of  the  plague,  said  to  him,  “  We  shall 
soon  meet  in  heaven.  The  way  to  heaven  is 
as  near  from  Grand  Cairo  as  from  London.” 

1335.  DEATH,  Postscript  in.  A  dying  soldier, 
in  the  hospital  at  Gettysburg,  sent  his  last 
message  to  his  friends ;  and  then  desired  this 
postscript  to  be  added,  “  Tell  mother  to  urge 
my  brothers  to  serve  the  Lord.”  At  the  last, 
Christ’s  service  is  always  seen  to  be  the  impor¬ 
tant  thing. 

1336.  DEATH,  Power  of.  The  power  of  Death 
is  infinite  to  the  human  conception,  though  lim¬ 
ited  to  the  divine.  What  power,  save  the 
power  of  God,  is  more  than  a  match  for  it  ? 
Do  you  speak  of  the  power  of  money?  the 
power  of  Death  is  greater.  The  power  of  elo¬ 
quence  ;  the  power  of  ambition  ;  the  power 
of  physic;  the  power  of  love;  the  power  of 
life ;  the  power  of  armies,  of  Alexander, 
of  Caesar,  of  Napoleon,  of  Wellington;  the 
power  of  wisdom ;  the  power  of  nations ; 
the  power  of  kings,  emperors,  legislators, 
warriors,  heroes,  orators  ?  —  the  power  of 


Death  is  greater  than  they  all  combined. 
They  have  all  given  way  beneath  his  iron  rule 
of  might.  Death  is  stronger  than  all  the 
untold  myriads  of  human  beings,  irrational 
animals,  and  animate  existences,  which  have 
lived  in  the  ages  of  the  past.  They  have  all 
fallen  before  the  sweep  of  his  irresistible  arm ; 
and  he  holds  them  down  under  his  dominion 
of  corruption.  And  with  all  the  unprece¬ 
dented  forces  which  the  present  teeming  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  world  is  putting  forth  in  ten 
thousand  ways,  Death  shall  prove  himself  more 
than  conqueror  over  them  ;  and  they,  too,  shall 
be  brought  into  his  dark  domain.  And  what 
Death  has  done  in  the  past,  and  shall  do  in 
the  present,  he  shall  do  in  the  future.  But, 
great  as  is  the  power  of  Death,  Death  shall  be 
destroyed  by  Him  who  is  stronger,  —  Jesus 
Christ.  Bate. 

1337.  DEATH,  Premonitions  of.  Fletcher  the 
divine  had  a  dream  which  shadowed  out  his 
impending  dissolution  ;  and,  believing  it  to  be 
the  merciful  warning  of  heaven,  he  sent  for 
a  sculptor,  and  ordered  his  tomb.  “  Begin 
your  work  forthwith,”  he  said  ■  at  parting : 
“  there  is  no  time  to  lose.”  And,  unless  the 
artist  had  obeyed  the  admonition,  death  would 
have  proved  the  quicker  workman  of  the  two. 
Mozart  wrote  his  Requiem  under  the  convic¬ 
tion  that  the  monument  he  was  raising  to  his 
genius,  would,  by  the  power  of  association, 
prove  a  universal  monument  to  his  remains. 
When  life  was  fleeting  very  fast,  he  called  for 
the  score,  and,  musing  over  it,  said,  “  Did  I  not 
tell  you  truly,  that  it  was  for  myself  that  I 
composed  this  death-chant  ?  ” 

1338.  DEATH,  Preparation  for.  In  setting 
out  to  travel,  the  Moslem  is  more  anxious  to 
provide  himself  with  a  shroud  than  any  o^her 
change  of  linen.  If  he  is  ill  by  the  wayside, 
the  caravan,  which  waits  for  none,  moves  on, 
and  his  death  is  irresistible :  the  sufferer  then 
performs  the  ablution  with  sand,  clothes  him¬ 
self  with  his  shroud,  and  exercises  his  remain¬ 
ing  strength  in  scraping  a  grave  with  the  heap 
of  sand  on  the  windy  side  ;  then,  trusting  to 
the  desert-blast  to  cover  him,  he  quietly  lies 
down  to  die,  with  a  parting  prayer  that  his 
lonely  grave  may  not  be  forgotten  by  Jerafil, 
the  resurrection-angel,  at  the  last  day. 

Eliot  Warburton. 

1339.  DEATH,  Readiness  for.  A  lady  once 
asked  Mr.  Wesley,  “  Supposing  that  you  knew 
you  were  to  die  at  twelve  o’clock  to-morrow 
night,  how  would  you  spend  the  intervening 
time?  ”  — “How,  madam  ?  ”  he  replied  ;  “  why, 
just  as  I  intend  to  spend  it  now.  I  should 
preach  this  evening  at  Gloucester,  and  again 
at  five  to-morrow  morning ;  after  that,  I  should 
ride  to  Tewkesbury,  preach  in  the  afternoon, 
and  meet  the  societies  in  the  evening.  I  should 
then  repair  to  friend  Martin’s  house,  who  ex¬ 
pects  to  entertain  me ;  converse  and  pray  with 
the  family  as  usual ;  retire  to  my  room  at  ten 
o’clock ,  commend  myself  to  my  heavenly 
Father;  lie  down  to  rest;  and  wake  up  in 
glory.” 

1340.  Sir  John  Burgh,  a  brave  soldier, 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


171 


who  received  a  mortal  wound  in  the  Isle  of 
Rees,  and  being  advised  not  to  fear  death,  but 
to  prepare  himself  for  another  world,  an¬ 
swered,  “  I  thank  God  I  fear  not  death  :  these 
thirty  years  together,  I  never  rose  out  of  my 
bed  in  the  morning,  that  ever  I  made  account 
to  live  till  night.” 

1341.  DEATH,  Region  of.  If  any  one  has 
visited  Rome,  he  will  remember  —  for  none 
who  have  travelled  thither  can  forget  the  scene 
—  the  long  street  of  tombs  which  forms  one  of 
the  approaches  to  the  Eternal  City.  For  miles 
on  the  road,  these  monuments,  erected  over  the 
departed,  stand  on  either  side  of  the  way,  at 
brief  but  uncertain  intervals,  until  the  traveller 
reaches  the  gate.  Exactly  thus  it  is  with  us 
on  our  pilgrimage  to  that  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  Builder  and  Maker  is  God  : 
on  every  hand  we  are  reminded  of  our  mor¬ 
tality,  until  we,  in  our  turn,  fall  by  the  wayside, 
and  swell  the  number  of  the  dead.  Trench. 

1312.  DEATH,  Rejoicing  at.  As  a  traveller, 
having  passed  many  dangers,  rejoices  greatly 
when  he  nears  his  own  country  or  home ;  so 
may  the  Christian  as  he  approaches  the  heav¬ 
enly  country. 

1343.  DEATH,  Repentance  at.  Dr.  Todd  vis¬ 
ited  a  young  lady  who  was  very  sick,  and  fear¬ 
ful  of  death.  She  was  rational,  had  strong 
convictions  of  sin,  and,  after  a  few  days,  passed 
into  a  state  of  delightful  Christian  hope.  It 
seemed  one  of  the  clearest  cases  of  sick-bed 
repentance.  She  recovered,  and,  strange 
enough,  remembered  nothing  of  her  sick-bed 
experience. 

1344.  An  American  physician  stated,  that 

he  had  known  a  hundred  or  more  instances  in 
his  practice,  of  persons,  who,  in  prospect  of 
death,  had  been  hopefully  converted,  but  had 
subsequently  been  restored  to  health.  Out  of 
them  all,  he  did  not  know  of  more  than  three 
who  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  Christ 
after  their  recovery.  An  English  physician 
once  stated,  that  he  had  known  some  three 
hundred  sick  persons,  who,  soon  expecting  to 
die,  had  been  led,  as  they  supposed,  to  repent¬ 
ance  of  their  sins,  and  saving  faith  in  Christ, 
but  had  eventually  been  restored  to  health 
again.  Only  ten  of  all  this  number,  so  far  as 
he  knew,  gave  any  evidence  of  being  really  re¬ 
generated.  Soon  after  their  recovery,  they 
plunged,  as  a  general  thing,  into  the  tollies 
and  vices  of  the  world.  Arvine. 

1345.  DEATH,  Resurrection  from.  As  men 
lock  up  their  best  apparel  in  a  chest,  meaning 
to  wear  it  again  ;  even  so  are  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  faithful  buried  in  sure  and  certain  hope 
pf rising  again  to  life  everlasting.  Cawdray. 

1346.  DEATH,  to  the  Righteous.  Death  comes 
at  Christ’s  command  to  call  the  believer  to 
himself;  and,  grim  and  ghastly  though  be  the 
look  of  the  messenger,  surely  that  may  well 
be  welcome  in  the  sweetness  of  the  message  he 
brings.  Death  comes  to  set  the  spirit  free; 
and  rude  though  be  the  hand  that  knocks  off 
the  fetters,  and  painful  though  be  the  process 
of  liberation,  what  need  the  prisoner  care  for 
that,  when  it  is  to  freedom,  life,  home,  he  is 


about  to  be  emancipat'd  ?  Death  strikes  the 
horn-  of  the  soul’s  everlasting  espousals ;  and, 
though  the  sound  may  be  harsh,  what  matters 
that  ?  To  common  ears,  it  may  seem  a  death- 
knell  ;  to  the  ear  of  faith,  it  is  a  bridal  peal. 

Dr.  Caird. 

1347.  DEATH,  A  Scoffer's.  A  Christian  man 
once  occupied  a  desk  in  the  same  counting- 
room  on  the  wharf  with  a  man  much  older 
than  himself,  and  who  was  a  coarse,  profane 
|  atheist,  quite  disposed  to  make  others  like 
himself.  One  night,  as  they  were  about  shut¬ 
ting  up,  this  man  took  our  informant  by  the 
jacket,  and  said  flippantly,  that  he  was  sur¬ 
prised  “  such  a  clever  fellow  as  he  should 
believe  in  religion ;  ”  using  some  very  blasphe¬ 
mous  expression.  To  a  request  that  he  would 
abstain  from  such  language,  he  repeated  some 
of  his  profane  slang ;  and  to  a  remark,  that,  “  if 
such  notions  might  do  to  live  by,  they  would 
not  do  to  die  by,”  he  said,  “  I’ll  venture  it  1  ” 
—  “I  think  you  would  have  some  fears  if  it 
should  be  said  to  you,  ‘  Thou  fool  1  this  night 
thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee,’  ”  said  the 
friend.  “  I  am  ready,”  said  the  scoffer,  pointing 
and  looking  upward.  They  parted.  The  pro¬ 
fane  man  turned  the  corner  of  the  street  to  go 
one  way,  and  his  friend  went  in  the  opposite 
direction.  Within  one  minute  after  they  sep¬ 
arated,  the  former  fell  dead  upon  the  sidewalk. 

S.  S.  World. 

11348.  DEATH,  of  a  Senator.  Senator  Foote 
of  Vermont  experienced  pardon  during  his  last 
illness.  “  I  have,”  he  said,  “  been  thinking 
much  of'  these  two  lines  :  — 

‘  Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away  : 

'Tis  ail  that  1  can  tlo.’ 

“  I  begin  to  understand  that  this  comprehends 
all ;  and  I  am  beginning  to  lean  alone  on  Jesus 
Christ  as  my  Saviour  and  Friend.”  At  the 
last,  with  eyes  all  full  of  a  celestial  radiance, 
he  lifted  his  hands,  and  looked  up,  exclaiming, 
“  I  see  it,  I  see  it !  The  gates  are  wide  open  I 
Beautiful,  beautiful  1  ”  and,  without  a  movement 
or  a  pang,  immediately  expired. 

B  341).  DEATH,  Sin  in.  A  massive  piece  of 
timber  floating  upon  the  water  may  be  easily 
moved  towards  the  shore ;  but,  if  it  once  be 
grounded,  great  pains  of  many  men  are  required 
to  start  it.  Man’s  life  is  the  water ;  death,  the 
shore  ;  and  sin,  the  piece  of  timber.  In  life,  sin 
seems  trifling;  but  in  death  it  assumes  its  true 
proportions,  —  small  ones  so  great,  light  ones 
so  heavy,  that  the  poor  sinner  finds  them  a 
burden  insupportable,  and  cries  in  misery, 
“ ‘  Oh,  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  V  ’  ” 

Spencer. 

1350.  DEATH,  a  Sleep.  At  the  battle  of 
Gaines’  Mills,  two  brothers  were  wounded 
nearly  at  the  same  time.  They  were  found 
by  a  friend,  embraced  in  each  other’s  arms, 
talking  of  home,  mother,  and  their  love  of 
country.  They  prayed  for  each  other,  for 
absent  friends,  and  especially  for  mother. 
Soon  the  younger  died.  The  elder,  blind 
from  a  wound  in  the  face,  knew  it  not,  and 


172 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


continued  to  speak  encouraging  words  to  him. 
Hearing  no  reply,  he  s-id  in  a  pleased  way, 
“  Poor  little  Rob’s  asleep.”  It  was  his  last 
sleep ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  they  joined 
company  in  that  land  where  the  sound  of 
battle  will  never  disturb. 

1351.  DEATH,  A  Soldier’s.  A  hero  of  many 
battles,  as  he  lay  on  a  stretcher,  most  earnestly 
begged  for  salvation.  One  said,  “  What  is 
it  you  beg  for  ?  ”  —  “  What  is  it  ?  ”  he 
replied :  “  it  is  something  for  eternity ;  and 
I  am  unprepared  —  going  :  all  unprepared ! 
Oh!  beg  for  a  new  heart.  I  want  it  now: 
don’t  wait  1  I  want  it  at  once  !  ” 

1352.  DEATH,  Sting  of.  If  a  man  were  to 

fight  with  a  dragon,  his  best  way  to  deal  with 
him  is  to  pull  out  his  venomous  sting.  The 
dragon  which  every  Christian  man  has  to 
encounter  is  Death,  whose  sting  is  sin  :  there¬ 
fore,  that  we  may  not  be  foiled  by  Death,  we 
are  all  our  life  to  labor  to  deprive  him  of  this 
sting.  Cawdray. 

1353.  DEATH,  A  Strange.  Two  little  broth¬ 
ers,  Willie  and  Frank,  got  into  bed,  one  night, 
without  saying  their  prayers.  Willie  got  up 
and  prayed.  Going  to  bed  again,  he  said, 
“  Brother,  if  I  should  die  to-night,  I  would  not 
be  afraid :  I  don’t  think  it’s  hard  to  die.  Nurse 
says  the  angels  have  crowns  of  gold,  and 
harps ;  and  they  play  such  beautiful  music ! 
Oh,  how  I  wish  papa  and  mamma  and  you 
would  learn  to  pray  !  ”  The  next  morning, 
mother  asked,  “  Where  is  Willie  ?  ”  —  “  He  is 
asleep  yet :  I  spoke  to  him ;  but  he  did  not 
wake,”  said  Frank.  After  telling  a  strange 
dream,  Frank  said,  “  When  I  awoke,  his  eyes 
were  only  half  closed  :  that  made  me  think  at 
first  that  lie  was  awake,  and  his  lips  were 
parted.  I  whispered,  ‘  Willie  !  Willie!  ’  but  it 
did  not  wake  him.  Then  I  laid  my  hand  on 
him ;  but  he  was  so  cold  !  So,  when  I  found  he 
did  not  get  warm  all  night,  I  put  the  bed¬ 
clothes  tight  around  him,  and  did  not  try  to 
wake  him  again.”  The  mother’s  heart  under¬ 
stood  it.  She  ran  to  Willie’s  bedroom,  and 
found  him  cold  and  pale  in  death.  He  lay 
down  to  sleep,  and  woke  in  heaven. 

1354.  DEATH,  Subjugated,  “  It  is  as  natural 
to  die  as  to  be  born ;  and,  to  a  little  infant, 
perhaps  the  one  is  as  painful  as  the  other.” 
This  is  the  philosophic  view  of  death.  The 
Christian  has  nobler  consolation.  He  can  say, 
as  did  a  minister  recently  when  on  his  dying 
bed,  “  I  have  often  laughed  to  see  Death  shake 
hi  s  dart  at  me.  ‘  O  grave  1  where  is  thy  vic¬ 
tory  ?  ’  ” 

1355.  DEATH,  Sudden,  A  boy  who  had  been 
for  years  from  his  home  in  New  York,  wander¬ 
ing  over  the  world,  returned  to  seek  his  par-  | 
ents ;  but  they  had  moved,  and  time  had 
changed  the  whole  city.  He  spent  the  day  in 
seeking  them  up  and  down  many  streets  :  at 
last,  wearied  out,  he  applied  at  a  house,  and, 
leaning  against  the  door  in  his  exhaustion,  it 
was  pressed  open.  The  noise  drew  the  family 
from  an  apartment :  his  parents  were  the  oc¬ 
cupants,  and  fell  upon  his  neck.  So  earth’s 
wearied  ones  are  seeking  heaven :  they  lean  j 


against  the  door,  it  unexpectedly  opens,  and, 
lo  1  all  beyond  is  heaven.  Beecher. 

1356.  DEATH,  not  a  Surprise.  Robert  Bruce 
a  Scotch  minister,  sat  at  his  breakfast-table 
one  morning.  Having  eaten  a  boiled  egg,  he 
turned  to  his  daughter,  and  said,  “  I  think  I  am 
yet  hungry  :  you  may  bring  me  another  egg.” 
He  then  grew  thoughtful  a  moment,  and, 
musing  a  little,  added,  “  Hold,  daughter,  hold  ! 
my  Master  calleth  me  I  ”  Here  his  sight  failed 
him ;  but,  calling  for  a  Bible,  he  requested 
his  daughter  to  place  his  finger  on,  “I  am 
persuaded  that  neither  life  nor  death  shall  be 
able  to  separate  me  from  the  love  of  God 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.”  He  then 
said,  “  God  be  with  you,  my  children  I  I  have 
breakfasted  with  you,  and  shall  sup  with  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  this  night !  ”  These  were 
his  last  words ;  and,  without  a  groan,  he 
at  once  started  on  his  flight  to  everlasting 
glory. 

1357.  DEATH,  a  Surprise.  Had  you  been 
called  to  select  the  person  most  likely  to  see 
old  age  in  a  certain  New-England  village,  the 
choice  would  have  fallen,  probably,  upon  a 
young  lady  of  sixteen,  named  Ruth.  While 
others  around  her  were  preparing  for  death  by 
seeking  Christ,  she  said  the  sickly  might  do  so  ; 
but  she  had  no  such  need.  Her  buoyancy  of 
spirit  was  remarkable.  At  school,  after  a  romp 
at  recess,  she  suddenly  cried  but,  “  Oh,  my 
head !  ”  In  a  moment,  her  spirit  departed ; 
while  the  sickly,  whom  she  thought  needed 
religion  more  than  she  did,  survived. 

1358.  DEATH,  Temporary.  When  death  came 

at  last  to  Robert  Leighton,  the  circumstances 
were  very  affecting,  and  strangely  coincident 
with  his  express  wishes.  He  used  to  say,  if 
he  were  to  desire  a  place  where  to  die,  it  should 
be  an  inn.  Such  a  temporary  abode  was  to 
him  symbolical  of  the  world  ;  dying  there  was 
an  emblem  of  one  hastening  home.  He  had 
his  wish.  There  is  still  in  the  narrow  thorough¬ 
fare  called  War-wick  Lane,  returning  out  of 
Newgate  Street,  an  old  inn  bearing  the  sign 
of  the  “  Bell.”  The  writer  never  passes  it 
without  thinking  of  Leighton ;  for  there 
he  died.  Stoughton. 

1359.  DEATH,  a  Thief.  This  last  enemy 

strikes  the  body  unexpectedly,  as  a  robber 
forces  open  the  door  of  a  house  in  order 
to  reach  the  treasure  that  lies  within.  If 
the  soul’s  life  has  been  hid  with  Christ  in  God 
before  that  last  assault,  the  spoiler  will  be 
disappointed  of  his  prey.  Arnot. 

1360.  DEATH,  Time  of.  The  ancient  Turks 
believed  it  was  written  on  every  man’s  fore¬ 
head,  at  his  birth,  when  he  should  die.  Hence 
they  exposed  themselves  recklessly  to  every 
danger  in  war  or  pestilence,  and  perished  by 
thousands.  If  expostulated  with,  they  pointed 
to  their  foreheads  for  justification. 

1361.  DEATH,  at  ail  Times.  Death  reigns  in 
all  the  portions  of  our  time.  The  autumn, 
with  its  fruits,  provides  disorders  for  us,  and 
the  winter’s  cold  turns  them  into  sharp  diseases ; 
and  the  spring  brings  flowers  to  strew  o-ir 
hearse ;  and  the  summer  gives  green  tirf  and 


DEATH. 


DEATH. 


173 


brambles  to  bind  upon  our  graves.  Calentures 
and  surfeit,  cold  and  agues,  are  the  four  quar¬ 
ters  of  the  year ;  and  all  minister  to  death  :  and 
you  can  go  no  whither  but  you  tread  upon  a 
dead  man’s  bones.  Bishop  Taylor. 

1362.  DEATH,  a  Transfer.  Two  soldiers, 
remarking  upon  the  death  of  a  comrade,  said, 
“  There’s  another  poor  fellow  got  his  discharge.” 
—  “Not  that.”  —  “  Well,  if  not  discharged,  I’d 
like  to  know  what  he  is?” — “Only  trans¬ 
ferred.”  —  “  Transferred  where  ?  ”  —  “  To  the 
other  department.”  —  “What  for?”  —  “For 
duty  ?  '  ’  —  “  What  duty  ?  ”  —  “  Don’t  kno w  : 
that  depends  on  what  he  is  fit  for.” 

1363.  DEATH,  Triumph  in.  John  Wesley’s 

death-scene  was  one  of  the  most  peaceful  and 
triumphant  in  the  annals  of  the  Church. 
Prayer,  praise,  and  thankfulness  were  ever  on 
his  lips.  Many  golden  sentences  worthy  to 
be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance  were  ut¬ 
tered  during  his  last  hours.  He  sees  only  the 
shadow  of  his  friends  around  his  bed  :  “  Who 
are  these  ?  ”  —  “  We  are  come  to  rejoice  with 
you  :  you  are  going  to  receive  your  crown.”  — 
“  It  is  the  Lord’s  doing,”  he  calmly  replies,  “  and 
marvellous  in  our  eyes.  I  will  write  1  ”  he 
exclaims,  and  the  materials  are  placed  within 
his  reach  :  but  the  “  right  hand  has  forgot  her 
cunuing;”  and  “the  pen  of  the  once  ready 
writer  ”  refuses  to  move.  “  Let  me  write  for 
you,  sir,”  says  an  attendant.  “  What  woidd 
you  say?”  —  “Nothing  but  that  God  is  with 
us.”  — -  “  Now  we  have  done  all.  Let  us  all  go.” 
And  now,  with  all  his  remaining  strength,  he 
cries  out,  “  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us  1  ” 
And  again,  lifting  his  fleshless  arm  in  token  of 
victory,  and  raising  his  failing  voice  to  a  pitch 
of  holy  triumph,  ho  repeats  the  heart-reviving 
words,  “  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us  1  ” 
A  few  minutes  before  ten  o’clock  on  the  morn¬ 
ing  of  the  2d  of  March,  171)1.  he  slowly  and 
feebly  whispered,  “  Farewell,  farewell  1  ”  and 
literally,  “  without  a  lingering  groan,”  lie  calmly 
“fell  on  sleep,  having  served  his  generation 
by  the  will  of  God.”  H.  Moore. 

136i.  DEATH,  Triumph  over.  Rev.  John 
Reese  of  London,  when  on  his  death-bed,  was 
asked  for  his  experience.  He  replied,  “  Christ 
in  his  pei  son,  Christ  in  the  love  of  his  heart, 
and  Christ  in  the  power  of  his  arm,  is  the 
rock  on  which  I  rest ;  and  now,  Death, 
str  ike  1  ” 

136>>.  DEATH,  Unclouded.  A  lieutenant  in 
an  Iowa  regiment  was  brought  into  the  hos¬ 
pital,  wounded  in  the  shoulder.  At  first,  it 
was  thought  that  he  would  recover ;  but,  after 
a  few  days,  he  rapidly  declined.  Just  before 
his  death,  a  lady  nurse  said  to  him,  “  Lieu¬ 
tenant,  you  have  but  a  few  moments  to  live : 
if  you  have  any  word  to  send  to  your  wife  and 
little  one  in  Iowa,  you  must  speak  it  very 
quickly.”  He  looked  up  at  her,  his  face  shin¬ 
ing  like  an  angel’s,  and  said,  “  Tell  n.y  wife, 
that  there  is  not  a  cloud  between  me  and 
Jesus.”  Rev.  G.  S.  F.  Savage. 

1366.  DEATH,  Unexpect;),  A  minister  says, 
that  he  was  called,  early  one  morning,  by  a 
wife  to  visit  her  dying  husband.  She  appeared 


to  be  in  perfect  health.  They  knelt  to  pray 
with  the  dying  man,  and,  when  prayer  was  con¬ 
cluded,  he  found  the  wife  in  the  last  struggle  of 
the  mortal  conflict ;  and  the  dying  husband  min¬ 
gled  his  cries  with  the  frenzied  family.  Often 
the  well  die,  and  the  dying  live. 

1367.  DEATH  *  :  iversal.  No  sex  is  spared, 
no  age  exempt.  The  majestic  and  courtly 
roads  which  monarchs  pass  over,  the  way  that 
men  of  letters  tread,  the  path  the  warrior 
traverses,  the  short  and  simple  annals  of  the 
poor, — all  lead  to  the  same  place ;  all  terminate, 
however  varied  in  their  routes,  in  that  one 
enormous  nouse  which  is  appointed  for  all 
living.  One  short  sentence  closes  the  bio¬ 
graphy  of  every  man,  as  if  in  mockery  of  the 
unsubstantial  pretensions  of  human  pride,  — 
“  The  days  of  the  yearr  of  Methuselah  were 
969  years;  and  he  died.”  There  is  the  end  of 
it :  “  And  he  died.”  Such  is  the  frailty  of  this 
boasted  man.  “  It  is  appointed  unto  men  ” — 
unto  all  men  —  “  once  to  die.” 

W.  M.  Punshon. 

1368.  As  in  chess-play,  so  long  as  the 

game  is  playing,  all  the  men  stand  in  their 
order,  and  arc  respected  according  to  their 
places,  —  first  the  king,  then  the  queen,  then  the 
bishops,  after  them  the  knights,  and,  last  of  all, 
the  common  soldiers;  but  when  once  the  game 
is  ended,  and  tl  e  table  taken  away,  then  they 
are  all  confusedly  tumbled  into  a  bag,  and 
haply  the  king  is  lowest,  and  the  pawn  upmost. 
Even  so  it  is  wi*h  us  in  this  life  :  the  world  is  a 
huge  theatre  or  stage,  wherein  some  play  the 
parts  of  kings,  others  of  bishops,  some  lords, 
many  kni_hts,  and  others  yoemen;  but  death 
sends  all  alike  to  the  grave  and  to  the  judg¬ 
ment.  Spencer. 

1369.  DEc.TH,  Unprepared  for.  How  often 
we  hear  the  mournful  exclamation,  “  Too  late  1  ” 
from  men  who  tome  up  to  the  doors  of  a  bank 
just  as  the  key  has  turned  in  the  lock;  or  up 
to  the  great  gates  of  a  railway  terminus  just 
as  they  swing  to,  and  tell  the  tardy  traveller 
he  has  lost  his  train ;  or  up  to  the  post-office 
just  as  the  mail  has  been  despatched :  but 
how  should  we  tremble,  if  our  ears  could 
receive  the  despairing  cry  of  souls  whom  the 
stony  gaze  of  that  grim  messenger  has  fixed 
in  sin  forever! 

1370.  DEATH,  Vacation.  No  one  cries  when 

children,  long  absent  from  their  parents,  go 
home.  Vacation  morr.ing  is  a  jubilee.  Rut 
death  is  the  Christian’s  vacation  morning. 
School  is  out.  It  is  time  to  go  home.  It  is 
surprising  that  one  should  wish  life  here,  who 
may  have  life  in  heaven.  And,  when  friends 
have  gone  out  from  us  joyously,  I  think  we 
should  go  with  them  to  the  grave,  not  singing 
mournful  psalms,  but  scattering  flowers. 
Christians  are  wont  to  walk  in  black,  and 
sprinkle  the  ground  with  tears,  at  the  very- 
time  when  they  should  walk  in  white,  and 
illumine  the  way  by  smiles  and  radiant  hope. 
The  disciples  found  angels  at  the  grave  of  Him 
they  loved ;  and  we  should  always  find  them 
too,  but  that  our  eyes  are  too  full  of  tears  for 
seeing.  Beecher 


174 


DEATH. 


DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 


1371.  DEATH,  Victory  over.  In  this  world, 
he  that  is  to-day  conqueror  may  to-morrow 
himself  be  defeated.  Pompey  is  eclipsed  by 
Cmsar,  and  then  falls  by  the  hands  of  conspir¬ 
ators;  Napoleon  conquered  nearly  all  Europe, 
and  was  then  himself  conquered.  Put  (he 
Christian’s  conquest  of  death  is  absolute.  The 
result  is  final.  He  has  vanquished  the  last 
enemy,  and  has  no  more  battles  to  fight. 

13712.  DEATH.  Wai.ingfor.  The  Christian, 
at  his  death,  should  not  be  like  the  child,  who 
is  forced  by  the  rod  to  quit  his  play,  but  like 
one  who  is  wearied  of  it,  and  willing  to  go  to 
bed.  Neither  ought  lie  to  be  like  the  mariner, 
whose  vessel  is  drifted  by  the  violence  of  the 
tempest  from  the  shore,  tossed  to  and  fro  upon 
the  ocean,  and  at  last  suffers  wreck  and 
destruction ;  but  like  one  who  is  ready  for  the 
voyage,  and,  the  moment  the  wind  is  favor¬ 
able,  cheerfully  weighs  anchor,  and,  full  of 
hope  and  joy,  launches  forth  into  the  deep. 

Goitliold. 

1373.  DEATH.  Welcoming.  A  child  at 
school  welcomes  every  messenger  from  home 
to  him;  but  he  desires  most  the  messenger 
that  comes  for  him.  Joseph  sends  to  Jacob, 
and  for  him,  at  once  ;  and  his  father  not  only 
heard  the  words,  but  saw  the  wagons.  “  Oh  1 
these  are  really  to  carry  me  to  him  :  I  shall 
soon  see  my  son,  and  die  in  peace.”  Such  a 
messenger,  Christian,  is  death  to  you.  “  Come,” 
says  God :  “  you  have  toiled  long  enough,  you 
have  feared  long  enough,  you  have  groaned 
long  enough;  your  warfare  is  accomplished; 
enter  the  rest  which  the  Lord  your  God  giveth 
you.  Come ;  lor  all  things  are  now  ready.” 
“  But  the  swelling  river  rolls  between.”  Fear 
not.  The  ark  of  the  covenant  will  go  before 
you,  and  divide  the  waves,  and  you  shall  pass 
over  dry-shod.  And  then  let  the  streams  re¬ 
unite,  and  continue  to  How  on,  you  will  not 
wish  them  to  re-open  for  your  return.  What 
is  misery  to  others  is  joy  to  you.  “  I  shall  go 
the  way  whence  I  shall  not  return.”  W.  Jay. 

1374.  DEATH,  Wretched,  Once,  when  Miss 
Roscoe  was  in  his  room,  some  of  his  infidel 
associates  came  to  him,  and  in  a  loud,  hearts 
less  manner,  said,  “  Tom  Paine,  it  is  said  you 
are  turning  Christian,  but  we  hope  you  will 
die  as  you  have  lived ;  ”  and  then  went  away. 
Turning  to  Miss  Roscoe,  Paine  said,  “  You 
see  what  miserable  comforters  they  are.”  Once 
he  asked  her  if  she  had  read  any  of  his  writ¬ 
ings  :  she  told  him  she  had  begun  “  The  Age 
of  Reason  ;  ”  but  it  made  her  so  miserable,  that 
she  flung  it  into  the  fire.  “  I  wish  all  had 
done  as  you  did,”  he  said  ;  “  for,  if  the  Devil 
ever  had  any  agency  in  any  work,  he  had  it 
in  my  writing  that  book.”  When  going  to 
carry  him  any  refreshment,  she  repeatedly 
heard  him  uttering  the  language,  “  0  Lord  ! 
Lord  God  1  ”  or,  “  Lord  Jesus,  have  mercy  on 
me  1  ”  It  was  observed  that  during  his  illness 
he  wrote  a  great  deal ;  but,  as  nothing  was  ever 
heard  of  these  writings,  it  was  presumed  that 
his  infidel  associates  had  destroyed  them,  find¬ 
ing  them  not  in  keeping  with  his  former  views. 

Life  of  S  eplien  Grellet. 


1,375.  DEATH,  of  a  Young  Soeptio.  “  Begone ! 
he  cried  to  a  clergyman  :  “  I  want  none  of  your 
cant,”  when  he  showed  him  the  great  need 
of  repentance.  “  I  am  not  going  to  die  ;  and, 
if  I  were,  I  would  die  as  I  have  lived.”  The 
physician  came,  to  whom  he  said,  “  Oh !  tell  me. 
I’m  not  dying  :  I  will  not  die  !  ”  —  “  My  poor 
friend,  I  cannot  speak  falsely  to  you :  your 
soul  will,  ere  long, be  with  your  God.” — “My 
God  1  ”  he  said  :  “  I  have  no  God  save  the 
world  :  I  have  stifled  conviction,  I  have  fought 
against  God,  I  have  resisted  my  mother’s 
pleadings ;  and  now  you  tell  me  that  I  must 
die.  Do  you  know,”  he  added  in  an  awful 
whisper.  “  all  that  means  ?  If  I  die  to-day ,  I 
shall  go  to  hell!  Take  it  back:  tell  me  I’m 
not  going  to  die.  Father,”  he  said,  “’twas 
you  who  taught  me  this,  you  who  led  me  on  in 
this  way ;  and  now  you  say  I’m  to  die.  Stand 
back  !  ”  he  shrieked  :  “  I  will  not  die !  ”  And  a 
torrent  of  invectives  issued  from  his  fever- 
parched  lips,  so  terrible  in  their  madness,  that 
it  seemed  like  a  wail  from  the  sea  of  woe.  No 
wonder  the  poor  mother  was  borne,  fainting, 
from  the  room,  and  the  father’s  brow  was  cor¬ 
rugated,  while  great  drops  of  agony  rested 
there.  Ah,  that  infidel  father  1  how  must  his 
heart  have  bled  in  that  dreadful  hour,  when, 
in  the  midst  of  dire  cursings,  his  gifted  son  fell 
back  a  corpse  !  R.  T.  W.  Pierce. 

1376.  DEATH  OF  CHEIST,  Cause  of  the,  I  had 

a  friend,  who,  standing  by  the  side  of  a  piece 
of  frozen  water,  saw  a  young  lad  in  it,  and 
sprang  upon  the  ice  in  order  to  save  him. 
After  clutching  the  boy,  he  held  him  in  his 
hands,  and  cried  out,  “  Here  he  is  1  here  he 
is!  I  have  saved  him!”  But,  just  as  he 
caught  hold  of  the  boy,  he  sank  himself,  and 
his  body  was  not  found  for  some  time  after¬ 
wards,  when  he  was  quite  dead.  Oh  !  it  is  so 
with  Jesus.  My  soul  was  drowned.  From 
heaven’s  high  portals,  he  saw  me  sinking  in 
the  depth  of  hell.  He  plunged  in  to  rescue 
me.  Spurgeon. 

1377.  DEATH  OF  CHEIST,  Voluntary,  Like 
as  when  Mahomet,  the  second  of  that  name, 
besieged  Belgrade  in  Servia,  one  of  his  cap¬ 
tains  at  length  got  up  upon  the  wall  of  the  city, 
with  banner  displayed;  another  Bohemian, 
espying  this,  ran  to  the  captain,  and,  clasping 
him  fast  about  the  middle,  asked  one  Capistra- 
nus,  standing  beneath,  whether  it  would  be 
any  danger  of  damnation  to  his  soul  if  he 
should  cast  himself  down  headlong  with  that 
dog  (so  he  termed  the  Turk),  to  be  slain  with 
him.  Capistranus  answering  that  it  was  no 
danger  at  all  to  his  soul,  the  Bohemian 
forthwith  tumbled  himself  down,  with  the 
Turk  in  his  arms ;  and  so  by  his  own  death 
only  saved  the  life  of  all  the  city :  even  such 
an  exploit  was  this  of  Christ.  The  Devil,  like 
the  great  Turk,  besieging  not  only  one  city, 
but  even  all  mankind,  Christ  alone,  like  this 
noble  Bohemian,  encountered  him  ;  and  seeing 
the  case  was  so,  that  this  dog,  the  Devil,  could 
not  be  killed  stark  dead  except  he  died  also, 
therefore  he  made  no  reckoning  of  his  life,  but 
gave  himself  to  death  for  us,  that  he  only  dy- 


DKBT. 


DECISIO-N". 


175 


Ing  for  all  the  people,  by  his  death  our  deadly 
enemy  might  forever  be  destroyed.  Cawdray. 

1378.  DEBT,  Avoid.  John  Randolph  said, 
“  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  found  the  philosopher’s 
stone  :  it  is  ‘  Pay  as  you  go.’  ” 

1379.  Hunger,  cold,  rags,  hard  work,  con¬ 

tempt,  suspicion,  unjust  reproach,  are  disagree¬ 
able  ;  and  debt  is  infinitely  worse  than  them 
all.  And,  if  it  had  pleased  God  to  spare  either 
or  all  of  my  sons  to  be  the  support  and  solace 
of  my  declining  years,  the  lesson  which  I 
should  have  earnestly  sought  to  impress  upon 
them  is,  “  Never  run  into  debt !  Avoid  pecu¬ 
niary  obligation  as  you  would  pestilence  or 
famine.  If  you  have  but  fifty  cents,  and  can 
get  no  more  for  a  week,  buy  a  peck  of  corn, 
parch  it,  and  live  on  it,  rather  than  owe  any 
man  a  dollar.  Greeley. 

1380.  DEBT,  Brevities.  Lying  rides  upon 

Debt’s  back.  The  second  vice  is  lying,  the 
first  is  running  in  debt.  Creditors  have  better 
memories  than  debtors ;  and  creditors  are  a 
superstitious  sect,  great  observers  of  set  days 
and  times.  Those  have  a  short  Lent  who  owe 
money  to  be  paid  at  Easter.  Franklin. 

1381.  DEBT,  Danger  of.  Gulliver  was  pinned 
down  to  the  earth  by  pygmies  only  as  long  as 
his  thumb,  but  there  were  thousands  of  them  ; 
and  he  was  bound  down,  finger  by  finger,  with 
a  rope  no  larger  than  a  hair,  and  each  rope  of 
itself  he  could  have  taken  and  broken  on  the 
instant :  but,  altogether,  they  bound  him  fast, 
until  he  begged  for  mercy.  So  is  it  with  debt 
or  any  evil  habit. 

1382.  DEBT,  Prevention  of.  Peter  the  First, 

King  of  Portugal,  to  restrain  luxury,  and  pre¬ 
vent  the  ruin  of  families,  absolutely  forbade 
all  his  subjects  to  buy  or  sell  any  of  their  com¬ 
modities,  without  immediate  payment,  and 
made  the  second  commission  of  that  offence 
death.  Percy. 

1383.  DEBT,  Resort  in.  There  came  a  man 

of  God  to  Amaziah,  and  forbade  his  taking  the 
Ephraimites  to  battle,  because  God  was  not 
with  them.  “  Oh,  then !  ”  says  Amaziah,  “  what 
shall  I  do  for  die  hundred  talents  which  I  gave 
them  for  their  help  ?  ” —  “  No  matter,”  says  the 
prophet :  “  cannot  God  give  thee  more  than 
this  ?  ”  So  it  may  be  said  to  all  who  are  so 
entangled  in  a  labyrinth  of  engagements  that 
they  can  see  no  way  of  escape.  God,  if  he  be 
truly  sought  unto,  can  give  a  happy  issue, 
more  than  the  debt  comes  to.  When  they 
know  not  how  to  be  delivered,  nor  have  any 
means  or  power  in  their  view,  let  earnest  prayer 
be  joined  with  frugality,  skill,  and  industry,  and 
they  are  sure  to  be  delivered.  Spencer. 

1381.  DEBTOR,  Man  a.  Like  as,  if  thou 
fallcst  into  a  deep  river,  fc  ing  in  apparent 
danger  of  drowning,  if  any  man  should  cast 
thee  a  rope,  or  himself  leap  into  the  water  to 
save  thy  life,  thou  canst  not  sufficiently  confess 
and  acknowledge  thyself  his  debtor  to  do  him 
pleasure  and  service  all  the  days  of  thy  life ; 
so,  likewise,  we  were  not  only  in  danger  of 
falling  into  hell,  but  were  already  fallen,  even 
from  our  infancy,  and  daily,  through  our  sins, 
full  deeper  and  deeper  ;  yet  Christ  cast  us  not 


in  a  rope  to  pull  us  up  and  save  us,  but  threw 
himself  into  our  sea  of  woe,  into  our  hell ;  to 
be  short,  into  horrible  death,  wherein  we  were 
drowned,  to  pluck  us  forth :  and  therefore,  with 
great  zeal  and  affection  we  are  bound  to  say, 
“  Lord,  we  are  bound  to  love,  honor,  serve, 
please,  and  obey  thee  in  all  that  we  may,  with 
our  whole  hearts,  all  the  days  of  our  life.” 

Cawdray. 

1385.  DEBTOR,  An  Ungrateful.  A  great  fail¬ 
ure  was  caused  by  a  neglect  to  pay  little  debts. 
A  careful  businoss-man  declared  that  he  ought 
to  fail  who  should  be  guilty  of  such  folly,  and 
added,  that  he  did  not  owe  a  single  debt.  A 
friend  said,  “  \  ou  mistake  :  I  know  a  debt  that 
you  owe.  I  know  of  One  who  lent  you  the  fine 
house  you  live  in,  the  money  you  have  in  the 
bank,  all  the  riches  by  which  you  are  sur¬ 
rounded,  and  call  them  your  own.  More  than 
this,  lie  gave  you  health  and  friends.  How 
much  have  you  ever  paid  Him  ?  ”  —  “Ah  !  that 
is  a  different  thing.  I  don’t  think  much  about 
such  things ;  but  I  always  pay  every  cent  I  owe 
my  fellow-men.” —  “  You  are  like  the  merchant 
who  pays  all  his  little  debts,  and  lets  the  great 
ones  go,  and  then  boasts,  ‘  I  always  pay  my 
debts.’  My  friend,  the  great  debt  of  gratitude 
is  yet  unpaid.  Take  care  lest  the  Master  cast 
thee  into  prison;  aud  thou  ‘shall  not  come 
from  thence  till  thou  hast  paid  the  uttermost 
fathing.’  ” 

1389.  DECEIT,  Business.  Lysander  taught, 
that  children  were  to  be  deceived  with  trifles, 
as  rattles  and  gewgaws,  but  old  men  were  to 
be  gulled  with  oaths,  and  held  with  fair  prom¬ 
ises  :  and  it  is  now  grown  almost  a  trade  for 
men  to  be  so  slippery  in  their  dealings,  that 
they  can  find  loop-holes  to  wind  out  of  the 
most  cautious  contracts  for  advantage,  break 
faith,  promises,  bonds,  run  away  with  men’s 
goods  ;  so  that  Turks  and  Jews  are  more  trusty 
than  such  hollow  Christians.  Spencer. 

1387.  DECEIT,  at  the  World.  As  they  who 

walk  in  a  mist  cannot  see  well,  so  it  is  concern¬ 
ing  the  deceits  and  dissimulations  of  the  world, 
the  property  of  which  is  to  blind  them  that 
come  to  it,  that  they  may  not  see  their  own 
estate ;  even  as  a  raven  first  of  all  striketh  out 
the  poor  sheep’s  eyes  that  it  may  not  see  the 
way  to  escape.  Cawdray. 

1388.  DECISION,  Brave.  “  I  will  not  I  ”  said 
a  little  boy  stoutly.  “  What  won’t  you  do  ?  ”  a 
passer-by  asked.  “  That  boy  wants  me  to 
‘  make  believe  ’  something  to  my  mother ;  and 
I  won’t.”  he  answered. 

1389.  DECISION,  Christian.  A  soldier  given 
to  excessive  wickedness  was  deeply  awakened. 
At  the  evening  roll-call,  he  asked  permission  to 
say  a  few  words.  He  spoke  as  follows  :  “  Com¬ 
rades,  you  know  how  wicked  I  have  been, 
what  a  life  I  have  led  in  this  regiment.  With 
God’s  help,  this  day  Charley  Rockwell  turns 
over  a  new  leaf,  and  begins  to  live  as  a  Chris¬ 
tian.  He  wants  your  forgiveness  for  the 
wrongs  he  has  done,  and  asks  you  to  join  him 
in  trying  to  serve  Christ.”  He  made  his  decis¬ 
ion  consistent  by  restoring  his  gambling  gains, 
and  became  a  happy  Christian. 


176 


DECISION". 


DECISION". 


1390.  DECISION,  A  Contrast  of.  Wlaen 

Gen.  Suwaroff  commanded,  under  the  Prince 
of  Coburg,  on  the  frontiers  of  Turkey,  he  had 
an  army  of  twenty-two  thousand  men.  Coburg 
himself  had  thirty-seven  tho  isand,  and  the 
Turks  only  twenty-eight  thousand.  Prince 
Coburg’s  army,  which  had  taken  a  good 
position  on  a  rising  ground,  about  nine  miles 
distant  from  Suwaroff',  was  attacked,  and 
obliged  to  fall  back.  Coburg  then  wrote  to 
Suwaroff,  “  I  was  attacked  this  morning  by 
the  Turks.  I  have  lost  my  position  and 
artillery.  I  send  you  no  instructions  what  to 
do.  Use  your  own  judgment,  only  let  me 
know  what  you  have  done  as  soon  after  as  you 
can.”  Suwaroff  immediately  sent  the  follow¬ 
ing  answer,  “  I  shall  attack  the  Turks  to¬ 
morrow  morning,  drive  them  from  your  posi¬ 
tion,  and  retake  your  eannon.”  Before  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  Suwaroff  kept  his 
word ;  and  Coburg’s  army  had  the  cannon  and 
their  old  position  before  night.  Percy. 

1391.  DECISION,  Effect  of.  On  the  summit 

of  a  hill  in  a  Western  State  is  a  court-house, 
so  situated  that  the  raindrops  that  fall  on  one 
side  of  the  roof  descend  into  Lake  Erie,  and 
thence,  through  the  St.  Lawrence,  into  the 
Atlantic.  The  drops  on  tbe  other  side  trickle 
down  from  rivulet  to  river,  until  they  reach 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  and  enter  the  ocean 
by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  A  faint  breath  of 
wind  determines  the  destination  of  these  rain¬ 
drops  for  three  thousand  miles.  So  a  single 
act  determines,  sometimes,  a  human  destiny  for 
all  time  and  for  eternity.  Cuyler. 

1392.  DECISION,  Example  of.  A  soldier  in 
hospital  three  times  picked  up  the  hymn 
“  Will  you  go  ?  ”  which  was  scattered  as  a 
tract;  and  twice  threw  it  down  again.  The 
last  time,  he  read  it,  thought  of  it,  and,  taking 
his  pencil,  wrote  deliberately  on  the  margin 
these  words :  “  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  will 
try  to  go,  John  Waugh,  Company  G,  Tenth 
Regiment,  P.R.V.C.”  That  night,  he  went  to 
a  prayer-meeting,  read  his  resolution,  request¬ 
ed  prayers  for  his  salvation,  and  said,  “  I  am 
not  ashamed  of  Christ  now ;  but  I  am  ashamed 
of  myself  for  having  been  so  long  ashamed  of 
him.”  He  was  killed  a  few  months  after. 
How  timely  was  his  resolution  1 

£393.  DECISION,  Examples  of.  Cyprian,  on 
his  way  to  martyrdom,  was  told  by  the  em¬ 
peror  that  he  would  give  h:m  time  to  consider 
if  he  had  not  better  cast  a  grain  of  incense 
into  the  fire  in  honor  of  the  idol  gods,  than 
die  so  ignominiously.  Cyprian  replied,  “  There 
needs  no  deliberation  in  the  case.”  John 
Huss,  at  the  stake,  was  offered  a  pardon  if  he 
would  recant.  His  reply  was,  “  I  am  here, 
ready  to  suffer  death.”  Thomas  Hawks,  in 
like  circumstances,  said,  “  If  I  had  a  hundred 
bodies,  I  would  suffer  them  all  to  be  torn  in 
pieces,  rather  then  recant.” 

1394.  DECISION,  Pinn.  When  Kossuth  was 
an  exile  in  Turkey,  the  Government  was 
strongly  pressed  by  Russia  and  Austria  to  give 
him  up.  The  expedient  was  resorted  to,  by 
the  Sublime  Porte,  of  making  his  continued 


protection  contingent  on  his  embracing  Mo¬ 
hammedanism.  Hear  his  reply :  “  My  answer 
does  not  admit  of  hesitation.  Between  death 
and  shame  the  choice  can  neither  be  dubious 
nor  difficult.  Governor  of  Hungary,  and 
elected  to  the  high  place  by  the  confidence  of 
fifteen  millions  of  my  countrymen,  I  know  well 
what  I  owe  to  my  country,  even  in  exile. 
Even  as  a  private  individual,  I  have  an  hon¬ 
orable  path  to  pursue.  Though  once  the 
governor  of  a  generous  people,  I  leave  no 
inheritance  to  my  children.  They  shall  at 
least  bear  an  unsullied  name.  God’s  will  be 
done  !  I  am  prepared  to  die.”  C  D.  Foss. 

1395.  DECISION,  Man  of.  The  man  will 

not  re-examine  his  conclusions  with  endless 
repetition,  and  he  will  not  be  delayed  long  by 
consulting  other  persons  after  he  had  ceased 
to  consult  himself.  He  cannot  bear  to  sit  still 
among  unexecuted  decisions  and  unattempted 
projects.  Wj  wait  to  hear  of  his  achieve¬ 
ments,  and  are  confident  we  shall  not  wait 
long.  Tire  possibility  or  the  means  may  not 
be  obvious  to  us ;  but  we  know  that  every  thing 
will  be  attempted,  and  that  a  spirit  of  such 
determined  will  is  like  a  river,  which,  in  what¬ 
ever  manner  it  may  be  obstructed,  will  make 
its  way  somewdiere.  It  must  have  cost  Csesar 
many  anxious  hours  of  deliberation  before  he 
decided  to  pass  the  Rubicon ;  but  it  is  prob¬ 
able  he  suffered  but  few  to  elapse  between 
the  decision  and  the  execution.  And  any  one 
of  his  friends  who  should  have  been  apprised 
of  his  determination,  and  understood  his 
character,  wrould  have  smiled  contemptuously 
to  hear  it  insinuated,  that,  though  Caesar  had 
resolved,  Caesar  would  not  dare ;  or  that 
though  he  might  cross  the  Rubicon,  whose 
opposite  bank  presented  to  him  no  hostile 
legions,  he  might  come  to  other  rivers,  v'hich 
he  would  not  cross ;  or  that  either  rivers,  or 
any  other  obstacles,  would  deter  him  from 
prosecuting  his  determination  from  this  omi¬ 
nous  commencement  to  its  very  last  conse¬ 
quence.  J.  Foster. 

1396.  DECISION,  Manly.  Before  the  Reform 
Bill,  the  member  for  the  city  usually  subscribed 
fifty  guineas  to  the  Edinburgh  races ;  and, 
shortly  after  the  election  of  1841,  Mr.  Macau¬ 
lay  was  applied  to  on  this  behalf.  His  reply  is 
a  fine  specimen  of  manly  decision.  “  In  the 
first  place,”  he  says,  “  I  am  not  clear  that  the 
object  is  a  good  one.  In  the  next  place,  I  am 
clear,  that  by  giving  money  for  such  an  object, 
in  obedience  to  such  a  summons,  I  should  com¬ 
pletely  change  the  whole  character  of  my  con¬ 
nection  with  Edinburgh.  It  has  been  usual 
enough  for  rich  families  to  keep  a  hold  on  cor¬ 
rupt  boroughs  by  defraying  the  expenses  of 
public  amusements.  Sometimes  it  is  a  ball, 
sometimes  a  regatta.  The  Derby  family  used 
to  support  the  Preston  races.  The  members 
for  Beverley,  I  believe,  find  a  bull  for  their  con¬ 
stituents  to  bait.  But  these  were  not  the 
conditions  on  which  I  undertook  to  represent 
Edinburgh.  In  return  for  your  generous  confi¬ 
dence,  I  offer  faithful  parliamentary  service, 
and  nothing  else.  The  call  that  is  now  made 


DECISION-. 


DEEDS. 


177 


is  one  so  objectionable,  that  I  must  plainly  say 
I  would  rather  take  the  Chiltern  Hundreds 
than  comply  with  it.”  IF.  M.  Punshon. 

1397.  DECISION,  Pious.  A  pastor  request¬ 
ed  those  who  had  resolved  to  turn  from  the 
ways  of  sin  to  the  paths  of  righteousness,  who 
had  deliberately  decided  to  seek  the  Lord 
while  he  might  be  found,  to  give  their  names. 
“  Put  my  name  down,”  was  the  response  of 
one,  and  then  of  another,  and  another  ;  until 
there  was  a  noble  list  of  young  persons  who 
had  consecrated  themselves  to  the  service  of 
their  Lord. 

1398.  DECISION,  Power  of.  Cecina  P;ctus, 
a  Roman  noble,  was  convicted  of  treason,  and 
ordered  to  take  his  own  life.  He  was  not  a 
man  of  iron  nerve ;  and  he  hesitated.  Arria 
his  wife,  who  had  remained  throughout  the 
trial  at  his  side,  seized  the  dagger,  and  plunged 
it  to  the  hilt  in  her  own  breast.  Then,  hand¬ 
ing  it  to  her  husband,  she  exclaimed  with  her 
expiring  breath,  “  Pmtus,  it  does  not  hurt." 
He  hesitated  no  longer ;  and  in  a  moment  was 
with  her  in  the  world  of  spirits. 

1399.  DECISION,  Profession  of.  A  freedman 
said,  “  I  have  got  sai'e  by  de  go-back  corner, 
and  I  will  go  all  de  journey  home;  and,  if  you 
don’t  see  me  at  de  first  of  dem  twelve  gates, 
look  to  de  next  one,  for  I  shall  be  dere.” 
Another  says,  “  When  I  left  de  rebel  ranks,  and 
crossed  over  to  de  Lord’s  army,  I  tore  up  de 
bridge  behind  me.  Now  Pm  fightin’  with  de 
Captain  dat’s  never  lost  a  battle.” 

1400.  DECISION,  Religious.  It  is  heartily 
to  be  wished  that  God  would  make  us  all 
resolved  Christians,  which  will  make  us  like  a 
wall  of  brass  to  beat  back  all  the  arrows  of 
strong  persuasion  that  can  be  shot  against 
us,  like  an  armor  of  proof  against  all  the  Ana- 
kims  and  Zamzummins,  Scyllas  and  Sirens, 
temptations  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left. 
Like  the  angel  that  rolled  away  the  stone  from 
before  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  it  will  en¬ 
able  us  to  remove  the  great  mountains  of  oppo¬ 
sition  that  lie  in  our  way,  or  else  to  stride  over 
them ;  yea,  like  the  ballast  of  a  ship,  will  keep 
us  steady  in  the  cause  of  God  and  his  Church, 
who  would  otherwise  be  but  like  those  men¬ 
tioned  by  the  apostle,  —  men  of  double  minds, 
unsettled,  and  unstable  in  all  their  ways. 

Spencer. 

1401.  DECISION,  Suocess  of,  Alexander, 
being  asked  how  he  had  conquered  the  world, 
replied,  *'  By  not  delaying.” 

110‘J.  DEED,  Heroic.  At  the  time  of  the 
loss  of  “  The  Niagara”  on  the  Mississippi,  a 
negro-boy  tied  a  rope  around  his  body,  and 
attached  a  stick  of  wood  to  the  other  end. 
He  then  threw  himself  into  the  river,  and 
called  to  two  ladies  to  take  hold  of  the  piece 
of  wood.  After  much  persuasion,  they  did  so ; 
when  the  boy  struck  boldly  for  the  shore, 
which  he  ami  his  charge  reached  in  safety 
after  great  exertion.  The  ladies  were  strangers 
to  him ;  and,  to  save  them,  he  left  his  trunk 
containing  three  hundred  dollars. 

1403.  DEED,  Motherly.  On  a  train  passing 
through  Saratoga  was  a  man  with  an  infant 
12 


child,  from  the  Far  West.  His  garments 
showed  him  to  be  poor  ;  and  the  weed  on 
his  hat  indicated  that  the  child  was  mother¬ 
less.  The  child  was  restless;  and  the  father 
handled  it  awkwardly :  with  all  his  efforts,  he 
could  not  quiet  it.  He  wiped  the  tears  from 
the  child’s  eyes,  and  then  from  his  own.  All 
who  saw  pitied  him.  At  length,  a  richly- 
dressed  lady,  whose  infant  lay  in  the  arms  of 
its  nurse,  said,  “  Give  me  the  child,”  with 
motherly'  tenderness  in  her  tone.  The  poor 
man  gave  her  his  boy.  Its  coarse  and  soiled 
robes  rested  for  once  on  costly  silks  ;  its  head 
disappeared  under  her  shawl,  and  all  was  still. 
Like  the  Grecian  daughter,  who,  through  the 
iron  bars,  fed  her  starving  father,  so  did  this 
high-born  lady'  from  her  breast  feed  the  hun¬ 
gry  child ;  and  when  on  her  gentle  bosom  the 
little  one  lay  in  calm  and  unvexed  sleep,  she 
put  aside  the  shawl.  She  held  it  mile  after 
mile,  and  did  not  relinquish  it  till  her  own 
child  required  attention.  Men  recognized  the 
true  lady,  the  noble  mother. 

E 194.  DEED,  Noble.  After  the  battle  of 
Antietam,  a  gentleman,  passing  over  the  field 
of  blood,  saw  a  man  washing  at  a  brook :  as 
he  came  near,  he  recognized  a  doctor  of  divini¬ 
ty,  the  pastor  of  one  of  the  largest  churches  in 
Philadelphia,  and  a  delegate.  Said  he,  “  Doc¬ 
tor,  what  are  you  doing  ?  ”  The  doctor 
straightened  up,  and,  pointing  with  bis  fin¬ 
ger,  said,  “  Over  yonder  are  six  hundred 
wounded  men ;  most  of  them  lying  in  the 
bloody  shirts  in  which  they  were  wounded. 
Our  shirts  are  out,  and  we  shall  have  none  till 
to-morrow  morning :  so  I  thought  I  would  take 
a  few  of  the  worst  out  here,  and  wash  and  dry 
them  in  the  sun.  Do  you  think  there  is  any 
harm  in  it  ?  ”  Said  the  gentleman,  “  Doctor, 
I  know  God  has  blessed  you  abundantly  in 
your  work  in  Philadelphia;  but  I  do  not  think 
the  Master  ever  looked  upon  any  act  of  your 
life  with  more  pleasure  than  upon  this.”  —  “I 
believe  it,”  said  the  doctor,  and  turned  to  his 
washing.  Demond. 

E 105.  DEEDS,  Judged  by.  Such  as  thy 
words  are,  such  will  thy  conversation  be  es¬ 
teemed  ;  and  such  will  thy  deeds  as  thy  affec¬ 
tions  ;  and  such  thy  life  as  thy  deeds.  Socrates. 

1400.  DEEDS,  Kind.  When  Marshal  M'Ma- 
hon  was  entering  Paris  in  triumph  after  the 
battle  of  Magenta,  a  little  white-robed  girl  ad¬ 
vanced  to  present  him  with  a  bouquet.  He 
took  her  up,  and  stood  her  before  him  on  the 
saddle ;  and  not  all  his  deeds  of  heroic  valor 
ever  called  forth  such  shouts  of  applause  as 
this  simple  act.  The  child  wound  one  little 
arm  about  his  neck,  and  kissed  again  and  again 
the  bronzed  face  of  the  warrior,  who  returned 
her  caress  with  a  father’s  tenderness.  From 
that  moment,  he  was  donbly  the  idol  of  the 
enthusiastic  multitude.  When  Sir  Philip  Sid¬ 
ney,  after  being  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Zut- 
phen,  was  retiring  to  the  camp,  he  was  almost 
overcome  by  the  oppressive  heat.  Calling  for 
a  drink  of  water  to  quench  his  thirst,  a  soldier, 
with  great  difficulty,  procured  one  for  him. 
Just  as  he  was  raising  it  to  his  lips,  a  poor 


178 


DEEDS. 


DEGRADED. 


wounded  soldier  was  borne  by,  who  turned 
his  eyes  most  wishfully  towards  the  cooling 
draught.  Instantly  passing  the  bottle  down 
to  him,  he  said,  “  Thy  necessity  is  yet  greater 
than  mine.” 

1407.  DEEDS,  Memory  of  Good.  They  lie  in 

th  e  memory  of  age  like  the  coral  islands,  green 
and  sunny,  amidst  the  melancholy  waste  of 
ocean.  Dr.  Thomas. 

1408.  DEEDS,  Monumental.  Beneath  the 
flags  of  the  crypt  of  St.  Paul’s  Cathedral, 
London,  rests  the  body  of  the  great  architect, 
Sir  Christopher  Wren.  On  the  slab  above 
was  written,  “  Reader,  wouldst  thou  behold 
his  monument,  look  about  you.” 

1409.  DEFEN CE|  Armor  for.  As  it  is  an  ab¬ 
surdity  for  a  soldier  to  put  himself  into  the 
field  naked,  without  armor  and  weapons  to 
strike  the  enemy  and  to  defend  himself;  so  is 
it  always  necessary  for  a  Christian  to  be  armed 
at  all  points,  — especially  to  have  the  shield  of 
faith,  the  helmet  of  salvation,  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God. 

Cauidray. 

1410.  DEFENCE,  Invisible.  “  Complaint  was 
made  to  the  Governor  of  Anconium,  and  he 
ordered  Thecla  to  be  burned.  Then  the  young 
men  and  women  gathered  wood  and  straw  for 
the  burning  of  Thecla,  who,  being  brought 
naked  to  the  stake,  extorted  tears  from  the  gov¬ 
ernor,  for  he  was  surprised,  beholding  the  great¬ 
ness  of  her  beauty.  Then  the  people  kindled 
the  pile ;  but,  though  the  flame  was  exceedingly 
large,  it  did  not  touch  her,  for  God  took  com¬ 
passion  on  her.  The  fire  was  extinguished,  and 
she  was  preserved,  and  made  her  escape.  And 
Paul,  taking  Thecla  along  with  him,  went  for 
Antioch.  There  a  man  named  Alexander  ac¬ 
cused  her  before  the  governor,  and  she  was 
condemned  to  be  thrown  among  the  beasts ; 
which  when  the  people  saw,  they  cried  out, 
saying,  ‘The  judgments  declared  in  this  city 
are  unjust  1’  But  Thecla  desired  no  other 
favor  of  the  governor  than  that  her  chastity 
might  be  guarded  till  she  should  be  cast  to  the 
wild  beasts.  The  day  arrived,  and  she  was 
brought  to  the  amphitheatre  in  the  presence 
of  a  multitude  of  spectators;  and,  being 
stripped  of  her  drapery,  she  had  a  girdle  put 
round  her  body,  and  was  thrown  into  the  place 
appointed  for  fighting  with  the  beasts ;  and  the 
lions  and  the  bears  were  let  loose  upon  her. 
But  the  women  who  were  in  the  theatre  were 
struck  with  compassion,  and  groaned,  and 
cried  out,  ‘  O  unrighteous  judgment !  O  cruel 
sight  I  The  whole  city  ought  to  suffer  for  such 
crimes !  ’  and  one  of  them,  called  Trissina, 
wept  aloud.  Meantime  a  lioness,  which  was 
of  all  the  most  fierce,  ran  upon  Thecla,  and 
fell  down  at  her  feet ;  and  the  bears  and  the 
he-!ions  lay  as  though  they  were  fast  asleep, 
ar.ti  did  not  touch  her.  Upon  this,  the  govern¬ 
or  called  Thecla  from  among  the  beasts,  and 
said  to  her,  ‘  Who  art  thou,  woman,  that  not 
one  of  the  beasts  will  touch  thee  V  ’  And  Thec¬ 
la  replied,  ‘  I  am  a  servant  of  the  living  God, 
and  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ  his  Son.’  Then 
the  governor  ordered  her  clothes  to  be  brought, 


and  said  to  her,  ‘  Put  on  your  apparel  1  ’  and  he 
released  her.” 

1414.  DEFENCE,  Strange.  Tire  brittleness 
of  the  snake-star-fishes  is  highly  remarkable ; 
for,  at  the  slightest  touch,  they  separate  them¬ 
selves  into  pieces  with  wonderful  quickness 
and  ease.  Touch  the  common  brittle-star,  and 
it  flings  away  an  arm ;  hold  it,  and,  in  a  mo¬ 
ment,  not  a  process  remains  attached  to  the 
body.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  that,  owing  to 
this  facility  of  dismemberment,  the  brittle-stars 
disappoint  many  a  hungry  foe  of  at  least  part 
of  his  meal,  and  wriggle  out  of  his  reach  whilo 
he  feasts  on  one  of  their  cast-off  arms. 

Hartwig. 

1412.  DEGRADED,  Elevating  the.  When  the 
Athenians  built  the  Temple  of  Minerva,  a 
statue  was  wanted  to  place  upon  its  top.  A 
poor  mechanic'  competed  for  the  prize  with  a 
wealthy  sculptor  of  noble  birth.  The  day 
came  for  raising  the  stone.  That  of  the  patri¬ 
cian  was  unveiled  amid  raptures  of  applause  ; 
but  it  was  so  small,  that  as  it  ascended  its 
beauty  disappeared,  and,  when  it  reached  the 
top,  it  seemed  but  a  shapeless  block.  The 
statue  of  the  poor  mechanic  was  next  unveiled. 
It  seemed  huge  and  uncouth,  and  resembled 
nothing  divine  or  human ;  but,  as  it  ascended, 
its  apparent  deformity  disappeared ;  it  grew 
more  and  more  comely;  and  finally,  when  it 
reached  the  top,  it  seemed  animate  with  divine 
beauty  and  life.  The  poor  mechanic  won  the 
laurel,  and  was  borne  off  amid  the  shouts  of 
the  multitude.  If  among  us  there  are  men 
who  appear  rough  and  uncouth,  it  is  because 
we  have  not  lifted  them  up. 

1413.  DEGRADED,  Labor  for  the.  A  gentle¬ 
man  who  was  arranging  the  grounds  aiound 
his  residence  stumbled  over  a  lump  of  earth 
which  had  rolled  from  a  newly-unloaded  heap 
of  gravel.  He  kicked  it  aside,  and  bade  the 
gardener’s  son  remove  it  with  other  rubbish. 
The  boy  carried  the  clod  to  a  spot  beneath  the 
eaves  of  his  father’s  cottage,  where  the  rain 
fell  upon  it.  Erelong,  a  beautiful  vine  sprang 
out  of  it,  which  shaded  and  adorned  the  cot¬ 
tage,  and  was  annually  loaded  with  grapes  of 
the  richest  kind,  which  the  gentleman  was  glad 
to  buy,  at  a  high  price,  of  the  gardener’s  son. 
The  latent  principles  of  a  sublime  growth  are 
lying  in  many  a  clod,  now  quite  valueless  and 
unsightly  to  those  who  account  themselves  the 
rich  and  accomplished  of  the  earth.  The  clod 
would  come  to  life  and  bear  fruit  high  above 
their  heads,  if  there  were  only  given  to  it  a 
few  droppings  from  the  eaves. 

1414.  DEGRADED,  Morally.  We  were  sent 
into  this  world  to  love  God  and  to  love 
man,  to  do  good,  to  fill  up  life  with  deeds 
of  generosity  and  usefulness.  And  he  that 
refuses  to  work  out  that  high  destiny  is 
a  degraded  man.  He  may  turn  away  re¬ 
volted  from  every  thing  that  is  gross  ;  hi* 
sensuous  indulgences  may  be  all  marked  by 
refinement  and  taste ;  his  house  may  be  filled 
with  elegance ;  his  library  may  be  adorned 
with  books ;  there  may  be  the  sounds  in  his 
mansion  which  can  regale  the  ear,  the  deliea- 


DEITY. 


DELAY. 


179 


cies  which  can  stimulate  the  palate,  and  the 
forms  of  beauty  which  can  please  the  eye  ; 
there  may  be  nothing  in  his  whole  life  to 
offend  the  most  chastened  and  fastidious  deli¬ 
cacy:  and  yet,  if  the  history  of  all  this  be 
powers  frittered  upon  time  which  were  meant 
for  eternity,  the  man  is  degraded :  if  the 
spirit  which  was  created  to  find  its  enjoyment 
in  the  love  of  God  has  settled  down  satisfied 
with  the  love  of  the  world,  then  that  man  has 
turned  aside  from  a  celestial  feast  to  prey  on 
garbage.  F.  W.  Robertson. 

1415.  DEITY,  Emblem  of  the.  The  most  re¬ 
markable  and  beautiful  of  all  plants  is  the 
stately  banyan,  the  vegetable  wonder  of  India. 
Each  of  these  marvellous  trees  is  in  itself  a 
grove;  and  some  of  them  are  of  astonishing 
size,  as  they  continually  grow,  and,  contrary  to 
most  other  animal  and  vegetable  productions, 
seem  to  be  exempted  from  decay;  for  every 
branch  from  the  main  body  throws  out  its  own 
roots,  —  at  first  in  small  tender  fibres,  several 
yards  from  the  ground,  which  continually 
grow  thicker,  until,  by  a  gradual  descent,  they 
reach  its  surface,  where,  striking  in,  they  in¬ 
crease  to  a  large  trunk,  and  become  a  parent 
tree,  throwing  out  new  branches  from  the  top. 
These,  in  time,  suspend  their  roots,  and,  receiv¬ 
ing  nourishment  from  the  earth,  swell  into 
trunks,  and  send  forth  olher  branches;  thus 
continuing  in  a  state  of  progression  so  long  as 
the  first  parent  of  them  all  supplies  her  suste¬ 
nance.  No  wonder  that  the  pious  Hindoos  are 
particularly  fond  of  this  glorious  tree,  and  that 
they  consider  its  long  duration,  its  outstretch¬ 
ing  arms,  and  overshadowing  beneficence  as 
emblems  of  the  Deity,  of  whose  wisdom  and 
power  it  is  one  of  the  most  striking  monu¬ 
ments  1  Hartwig. 

1410.  DELAY,  Danger  of.  How  dangerous  to 
defer  those  momentous  reformations  which  con¬ 
science  is  solemnly  preaching  to  the  heart  1  If 
they  are  neglected,  the  difficulty  and  indisposi¬ 
tion  are  increasing  every  month.  The  mind  is 
receding,  degree  after  degree,  from  the  warm 
and  hopeful  zone  ;  till  at  last  it  will  enter  the 
arctic  circle,  and  become  fixed  in  relentless  and 
eternal  ice.  J.  Foster. 

1417.  DELAY,  Excuses  for.  The  Greenland¬ 
ers  excused  themselves  from  immediate  reform, 
one  saying,  “  I  have  much  powder  and  shot, 
which  I  must  spend  in  shooting  reindeer ;  ” 
another,  “  I  must  first  have  my  fill  of  bear’s- 
fiesh ;  another,  “  I  must  have  a  good  boat,  and 
then  I  will  believe.” 

1418.  DELAY,  Fatal.  A  woman  put  off  the 
invitation  to  repentance  by  saying  lightly, 
“  Oh  !  1  shall  only  want  five  minutes’  time,  when 
I  am  dying,  to  cry  for  mercy.”  This  same 
woman,  instead  of  offering  her  expected 
prayer,  expired,  crying,  “  I  am  damned,  I  am 
damned  1” 

1419.  DELAY,  Folly  of.  As  we  would  judge 
a  man  a  fool,  who,  having  a  great  choice  of 
strong  horses,  should  let  them  go  empty,  and 
lay  a  great  burden  upon  a  poor  beast  that 
could  scarce  bear  herself,  no  less  unreasona¬ 
ble  is  he,  who,  passing  over  the  vigorous  days 


of  youth  and  manhood,  defers  reformation  till 
feeble  old  age.  Cawdray. 

1420.  DELAY,  Habit  of.  An  aged  sinner 
said,  “  When  I  was  young,  I  said  to  myself,  ‘  I 
cannot  give  up  the  world  now,  but  will  by  ar.d 
by,  when  I  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life; 
then  I  shall  be  ready  to  attend  to  the  concerns 
of  my  soul.’  But  here  I  am  an  old  man.  I 
feel  no  readiness  nor  disposition  to  enter  upon 
the  work  of  my  salvation.  In  looking  back, 
I  often  feel  as  if  I  would  give  worlds  if  I  could 
be  placed  where  I  was  when  I  was  twenty 
years  old.  There  were  not  half  as  many  dif¬ 
ficulties  in  my  path  then  as  there  are  now.” 

1421.  DELAY,  Illustration  of.  A  young  man 
walked  the  deck  of  his  father’s  vessel.  Sud¬ 
denly  his  foot  slipped,  and  the  next  minute 
he  was  struggling  with  the  waves.  The  father 
caught  the  piercing  cry  of  his  drowning  son, 
“  Quick,  quick,  father !  or  you’ll  be  too  late !  ” 
In  vain  he  struggled,  and  vain  were  his  father’s 
efforts  to  save  him.  It  was  too  late.  He  sank 
to  rise  no  more ;  but  his  dying  cry,  “  Too  late !  ” 
rings  forever  in  the  father’s  ear. 

1422.  DELAY,  Incredulous.  A  Swiss  traveller 
describes  a  village  situated  on  the  slope  of 
a  great  mountain,  of  which  the  strata  shelve 
in  the  direction  of  the  place.  Huge  crags 
directly  overhanging  the  village,  and  massive 
enough  to  sweep  the  whole  of  it  into  the 
torrent  below,  have  become  separated  from  the 
main  body  of  the  mountain  by  great  fissures, 
and  now  scarcely  adhere  to  it.  When  they 
give  way,  the  village  must  perish ;  and  the 
catastrophe  may  happen  any  day.  For  years 
past,  engineers  have  been  sent  to  measure  the 
width  of  the  fissures;  and  report  them  con¬ 
stantly  increasing.  The  villagers,  for  more 
than  one  generation,  have  been  aware  of  their 
danger ;  subscriptions  have  been  once  or  twice 
opened  to  enable  them  to  remove :  yet  they 
live  on  in  their  doomed  dwellings  from  year  to 
year,  fortified  against  the  ultimate  certainty 
and  daily  probability  of  destruction  by  the 
common  sentiment,  “  Things  may  last  their 
time,  and  longer.” 

4423.  DELAY,  Influence  of.  An  old  man  en¬ 
treated  a  child  to  give  his  young  heart  to  God. 
The  child  answered,  “  But  why  do  not  you 
seek  God  V  ”  He  replied,  “  I  would,  child ;  but 
my  heart  is  hard,  my  heart  is  hard  !  ” 

4424.  DELAY,  Legend  of.  A  hermit  was 
conducted  by  an  angel  into  a  wood,  where  he 
saw  an  old  man  cutting  down  boughs  to  make 
up  a  burden.  When  it  was  large,  he  tied  it  up. 
and  attempted  to  lift  it  on  his  shoulder,  and 
carry  it  away ;  but,  finding  it  very  heavj ,  he 
laid  it  down  again,  cut  more  wood,  anil  hcapea 
it  on ;  and  then  tried  again  to  carry  it  off. 
This  he  repeated  several  times ;  always  adding 
something  to  the  load,  after  trying  in  vain  to 
raise  it  from  the  ground.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  hermit,  astonished  at  the  old  man’s  folly, 
desired  the  angel  to  explain  what  this  meant. 
“  You  behold,”  said  he,  “  in  the  foolish  old  man 
an  exact  representation  of  those,  who,  being 
made  sensible  of  the  burden  of  their  sins, 
resolve  to  repent,  but  soon  grow  weary,  and. 


180 


DELAY. 


DELrYERANCK. 


instead  of  lessening  their  burden,  increase  it 
every  day.  At  each  trial,  they  find  the  task 
heavier  than  before;  and  so  put  it  off  a  little 
longer,  in  the  vain  hope  that  they  will  by  and 
by  be  more  able  to  accomplish  it.  Thus  they 
go  on  adding  to  their  burden  till  it  grows  too 
heavy  to  be  borne ;  and  then,  in  despair  of 
God’s  mercy,  and  with  their  sins  unrepented 
of,  they  lie  down  and  die.  Turn  again,  my 
son,  and  behold  the  end  of  the  old  man  whom 
thou  sawest  heaping  up  a  load  of  boughs.” 
The  hermit  looked,  and  saw  him  in  vain  at¬ 
tempting  to  remove  the  pile,  which  was  now 
accumulated  far  beyond  his  strength  to  raise. 
His  feeble  limbs  tottered  over  their  burden ; 
the  poor  remains  of  his  strength  were  fast 
ebbing  away ;  the  darkness  of  death  was  gath¬ 
ering  around  him ;  and,  after  a  convulsive  and 
impotent  attempt  to  lift  the  pile,  he  fell  down 
and  expired. 

1135.  DELAY, Lessonof.  A  gentleman  wish¬ 
ing  to  convey,  together  with  a  gentle  reproof,  a 
useful  lesson,  to  liis  gardener, who  had  neglect¬ 
ed  to  prop  a  valuable  fruit-tree,  until  it  was 
damaged  by  a  high  wind,  observed,  “  You  see, 
gardener,  the  danger  of  putting  off  from  day 
to  day  the  doing  of  any  necessary  work ;  yet, 
in  this  way,  foolish  men  defer  their  repentance 
from  one  day  to  another,  until,  in  some  un¬ 
expected  moment,  the  wind  of  death  comes, 
and  blows  them  into  eternity.”  Whitecross. 

1 1  2®.  DELAY,  Peril  of.  There  is  a  story  told 
in  ancient  history  of  a  certain  king  who  lighted 
a  lamp,  and  had  it  hung  in  his  palace  :  he  then 
sent  heralds  forth  to  bring  every  criminal  and 
rebel  to  his  presence,  that  they  might  obtain 
pardon.  Those  who  came  while  the  lamp  was 
burning  were  set  free ;  but  those  who  delayed 
till  the  lamp  had  gone  out,  or  who  altogether 
neglected  the  invitation,  met  with  a  terrible 
death. 

14L27.  DELAY,  Presumption.  Pardon  is  some-- 
times  granted  to  the  criminal  at  the  place  of 
execution,  but  so  rarely,  that  it  cannot  be  de¬ 
pended  upon  :  no  more  can  death-bed  repent¬ 
ance  and  death-bed  pardon. 

1428.  DELAY,  Too  Long.  A  man  who  would 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  this  world  said  it  was 
too  soon  for  him  to  think  of  another  world.  He 
journeyed,  and  was  taken  ill  very  suddenly, 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  at  an  inn.  The 
people  there  sent  for  a  clergyman.  He  came ; 
and  the  dying  man,  looking  him  in  the  face, 
before  he  could  speak,  said  to  him,  “  Sir,  it  is 
too  late  !  ”  The  minister  said,  “  Christ  is  able 
to  save  to  the  uttermost,”  and  explained  the 
gospel  to  him.  He  replied,  “  Sir,  it  is  too  late  !  ” 
Tire  clergyman  asked,  “  Will  you  allow  me  to 
pray  with  you  V  ”  His  only  reply  was,  “  Sir,  it 
is  too  late  1  He  died,  saying,  “  It  is  too  late  1  ” 

Aruine. 

1429.  DELAY,  Warning  of.  A  Christian 
mother  warned  her  pleasure-loving  daughter 
of  her  danger,  as  she  was  preparing  for  a  ball. 
She  replied,  “  Time  enough  yet  for  me  to  at¬ 
tend  to  religion.”  Two  weeks  after,  she  was 
suddenly  stricken  down,  and  died  in  a  few 
hours,  exclaiming,  “  Oh  that  all  young  people 


were  present,  that  I  might  warn  them  not  to 
do  as  I  have  done  1  I  am  going  to  receive  my 
everlasting  fate.  I  am  going  to  dwell  with 
devils.” 

113®.  DELIBERATION,  First.  He  that  is  to 
climb  up  some  high  ladder  must  not  think, 
that,  setting  his  foot  upon  the  lowest  round, 
he  can  skip  over  all  the  rest,  and  reach  the 
top  without  further  effort.  Such  is  the  course 
of  our  life.  The  first  step  is  thought  of  God  ; 
the  last  step  full  assurance :  but  there  are  in 
the  middle  many  other  steps,  as  of  means, 
which  if  we  miss,  we  never  come  to  the  top, 
but  perish  in  the  midway,  to  all  eternity. 

Spencer. 

1431.  DELIBERATION.  Importance  of.  Mr. 

Mather  observes,  “  I  have  heard  one  say  that 
there  was  a  gentleman  in  the  nineteenth 
chapter  of  Acts  to  whom  he  was  more  indebted 
than  to  any  other  man  in  the  world.  This 
was  he  whom  our  translation  calls  the  town- 
clerk  of  Ephesus,  whose  counsel  it  was  to  do 
nothing  rashly.”  Upon  any  proposal  of  con¬ 
sequence,  it  was  a  usual  speech  with  him, 
“  We  will  first  advise  with  the  town-clerk  of 
Ephesus.”  One  in  a  fond  compliance  with 
a  friend,  forgetting  the  town-clerk,  may  do 
that  in  haste  which  he  may  repent  of  at  leis¬ 
ure,  —  may  do  what  may  cost  him  several 
hundreds  of  pounds,  besides  troubles  which  he 
would  not  have  undergone  for  thousands. 

Beaumont. 

1432.  DELIBERATION,  Proverbs.  Measure 
twice,  cut  but  once.  Second  thoughts  are 

best.  —  English. - The  night  brings  counsel. 

—  French. - Sleep  upon  it,  and  you  will 

take  counsel.  Spanish. 

1433.  DELIVERANCE,  Praise  for.  Theodosius 

being  told  of  the  wonderful  overthrow  of  the 
usurper  John  his  adversary,  he  and  all  his 
followers  resorted  to  the  temple,  where  they 
passed  over  the  day  with  praise  and  thanks¬ 
giving,  acknowledging  that  God  by  his  arm 
had  cast  down,  that  tyrant.  And  Heraclius 
being  delivered  from  Chesroes,  the  King  of  the 
Persians,  in  the  height  of  bis  triumph  at  By¬ 
zantium,  openly  praised  God  for  his  delivery ; 
and,  the  more  to  show  his  thankfulness,  did 
cause  to,  be  stamped  upon  his  coin  with  his 
own  .image,  these  words,  “Glory  be  to  God 
in.  heaven  I  because  he  hath  broken  the  iron 
doors,  and  hath  delivered  the  holy  kingdom 
of  Heraclius.”  Spencer. 

1434.  DELIVERANCE,  Providential.  A  com¬ 
pany  of  Covenanters  had  been  pursued  by  their 
persecutors  until  their  strength  was  exhausted 
Reaching  a  little  hill  which  separated  them 
from  their  pursuers,  their  leader  said,  “  Let  us 
pray  here  ;  for  if  the  Lord  hear  not  our  prayer, 
and  save  us,  we  are  all  dead  men.”  He  then 
prayed,  “  Twine  them  about  the  hill,  O  Lord  I 
and  cast  the  lap  of  thy  cloak  over  puir  old 
Saunders  and  these  puir  things.”  Before  he 
had  done  speaking,  a  mist  rose  up  about  the 
hill,  and  wrapped  the  devoted  little  band  about 
like  the  very  cloak  of  the  Lord  he  had  prayed 
for.  In  vain,  their  enemies  sought  to  find  them ; 
and,  while  they  were  wearying  themselves  in 


DELrVERAJSTCE. 


DENOMINATIOXALISM.  181 


the  effort,  an  order  came  which  sent  them  on 
an  errand  in  a  different  direction. 

S.  S.  Times. 

1435.  DELIVERANCE,  The  Sinner's.  So  mighty 

is  the  ever  rushing-torrent  of  sin,  that  no  arm 
but  that  which  is  as  strong  as  Deity  can  ever 
stop  the  sinner  from  being  hurried  down  to  the 
gulf  of  black  despair;  and,  when  nearing  that 
gulf,  so  impetuous  is  the  torrent  of  divine 
wrath,  that  nothing  can  snatch  the  soul  from 
perdition  but  an  atonement  which  is  as  divine 
as  God  himself.  Yet  faith  is  the  instrument 
of  accomplishing  the  whole  work.  It  delivers 
the  sinner  from  the  stream  of  sin ;  and  so, 
laying  hold  upon  the  omnipotence  of  the  Spirit, 
it  rescues  him  from  that  great  whirlpool  of 
destruction  into  which  his  soul  was  being 
hurried.  Spurgeon. 

1436.  DELIVERER,  Beholding  the.  On  the 
occasion  of  President  Lincoln’s  visit  to  Rich¬ 
mond,  as  soon  as  his  arrival  became  known, 
the  colored  people  whom  he  had  delivered 
from  bondage  crowded  around  him  in  wild 
enthusiasm.  They  gazed  upon  the  wonderful 
man ;  they  shouted,  they  danced,  waved  their 
handkerchiefs  and  hats;  they  cheered  enthusi¬ 
astically.  Some  cried,  “  Glory,  glory  !  ”  others, 
“  Thank  you,  dear  Jesus  for  this !  ”  oth¬ 
ers,  “  God  bless  you,  Massa  Linkum  !  ”  others, 
“  Bless  do  Lord  !  ”  What  triumphal  entry 
into  Rome  ever  equalled  this  entry  into  Rich¬ 
mond  by  our  delivering  President  ?  But,  ere 
long,  we  shall  all  gaze  on  a  greater  than  he, 
with  even  greater  satisfaction  than  those  re¬ 
deemed  ones  experienced. 

1437.  DELUSION,  Worldly.  This  is  the  ex¬ 

cellent  foppery  of  the  world,  that,  when  we 
are  sick  in  fortune  (often  the  surfeit  of  our 
own  behavior),  we  make  guilty  of  our  disas¬ 
ters  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars :  as  if 
we  were  villains  by  necessity  ;  fools  by  heav¬ 
enly  compulsion  ;  knaves,  thieves,  and  treach¬ 
erous  by  spherical  predominance  ;  drunkards, 
liars,  and  adulterers  by  an  enforced  order  of 
planetary  influence ;  and  all  that  we  are  evil 
by  a  divine  thrusting-on.  Shakspeare. 

1438.  DEMONS,  Legend  of.  “  One  night,  a 
certain  hermit  sat  meditating  in  his  solitary 
hut,  and  he  heard  a  sound  as  of  a  host  of  wild 
men  rushing  and  trampling  by  ;  and  he  opened 
his  window,  and  called  out,  and  demanded  who 
it  was  that  thus  disturbed  the  quiet  of  his  soli¬ 
tude:  and  a  voice  answered,  ‘  We  are  demons. 
Henry  the  Emperor  is  about  to  die  in  this 
moment ;  and  we  go  to  seize  his  soul.’  Then 
the  hermit  called  out  again,  ‘  I  conjure  thee, 
that,  on  thy  return,  thou  appear  before  me,  and 
tell  me  the  result.’  The  demon  promised, 
and  went  on  his  way.  And  in  the  same  night 
the  same  ghastly  sounds  were  again  heard, 
and  one  knocked  at  the  window ;  and  the 
hermit  hastened  to  open  it,  and,  behold  !  it  was 
tlie  same  demon  whom  he  had  spoken  to 
before.  ‘  Now,’  said  the  hermit,  ‘  how  has  it 
fared  with  thee  ?  ’  —  ‘  Ill !  to  desperation  1  ’ 
answered  the  fiend  in  a  fury.  ‘  We  came  at 
the  right  moment:  the  emperor  had  just  ex¬ 
pired  ;  and  we  hastened  to  prefer  our  claim, 


when,  lo !  his  good  angel  came  to  save  him. 
We  disputed  long ;  and  at  last  the  Angel  of 
Judgment  (St.  Michael)  laid  his  good  and 
evil  deeds  in  the  scales,  and,  behold  !  our  scale 
descended,  and  touched  the  earth.  The 
victory  was  ours !  when,  all  at  once,  yonder 
roasted  fellow  ’  (for  so  he  blasphemously  styled 
the  blessed  St.  Laurence)  ‘  appeared  on  his 
side,  and  flung  a  great  golden  pot  ’  (so  the 
reprobate  styled  the  holy  cup)  ‘  into  the  other 
scale ;  and  ours  flew  up :  and  we  were  forced 
to  make  off  in  a  hurry.  But  at  least  I  was 
avenged  on  the  golden  pot,  for  I  broke  off  the 
handle ;  and  here  it  is.’  And,  having  said  these 
words,  the  whole  company  of  demons  vanished. 
Then  the  hermit  rose  up  in  the  morning,  has¬ 
tened  to  the  city,  and  found  the  emperor  (lead  ; 
and  the  golden  cup  which  he  had  piously 
presented  to  the  Church  of  St.  Laurence  was 
found  with  only  one  handle,  the  other  having 
disappeared  that  same  night.” 

1439.  DEN OMIN ATION ALISM,  Accounted  for. 
Mr.  Ward,  the  Indian  missionary,  used  to  tell 
a  story  of  a  Brahmin,  who  was  asked  if  the 
various  views  of  Christians  about  their  own 
religion  did  not  lead  him  to  doubt  its  divine 
origin.  lie  replied,  “  Not  at  all.  Hear,  my 
brother.  There  was  once  a  city  of  which  all 
the  inhabitants  had  lost  their  sight :  they 
were  blind.  It  was  one  day  rumored  that  a 
magnificent  elephant  was  to  pass  through  their 
streets ;  and,  as  none  of  the  people  had  ever 
seen  an  elephant,  all  rushed  down  to  examine 
it,  and  pressed  close  for  free  inquiry.  One  felt 
his  leg,  another  his  trunk,  another  his  tail,  one 
his  ears,  and  one  his  tusk,  till  they  were  satis¬ 
fied.  The  elephant  went  on  his  way,  and  they 
returned  home.  Many  were  obliged  to  be 
content  with  the  reports  of  the  more  for¬ 
tunate.  After  a  time,  the  various  visitors  of 
the  gigantic  animal  began  to  converse  about 
him,  and  to  describe  to  others  what  they  had 
observed  :  but  all  their  evidence  seemed  con¬ 
tradictory,  since  each  bore  testimony  only  to 
the  particular  member  with  which  he  had 
come  in  contact ;  and  each  denied  what  his 
brother  attested.  Disputes  were  running  very 
high,  when  a  wise  old  Brahmin  interposed,  and 
said,  ‘  My  dear  brethren,  forbear,  I  beseech  you. 
All  those  to  whom  you  have  listened  are  right, 
and  all  are  wrong.  You  each  know  a  little, 
and  only  a  little,  of  the  great  creature  con¬ 
cerning  which  you  would  be  informed.  Now, 
instead  of  disputing,  put  together  all  you  have 
heard,  combine  the  different  testimonies  you 
have  received,  and,  by  so  doing,  you  may  best 
hope  to  gain  some  idea  of  the  whole.’  ” 

1440.  DENOMINATIONALISM,  Charity  of.  The 
fathers  of  Gardner  Spring  and  Stephen  H. 
Tyng  were  riding,  and  conversing  together 
about  the  change  of  Adoniram  Judson,  then 
but  recently  sent  out  as  a  missionary  by  the 
American  Board,  from  Congregationalism  to 
the  Baptist  Church.  Mr.  Tyng  said,  “  So 
your  chickens  have  turned  out  ducks.”  Mr. 
Spring  replied,  “  Yes  ;  and  I  should  be  willing 
to  set  on  hens’  eggs  all  my  days,  if  I  could 
hatch  such  ducks.” 


182  DENOMINATIONS. 


DENOMINATION’S. 


1141.  DEN OMENATIONS,  Advantage  of.  I  be¬ 
lieve,  sir,  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  general  en¬ 
gagement.  Now,  sir,  borrowing  the  allusion, 
will  you  permit  me  to  marshal  the  Christian 
army  on  those  principles  of  union  I  have  en¬ 
deavored  to  sustain  ?  Let,  then,  our  Bible 
societies,  with  their  auxiliaries,  be  a  line  of 
forts  established  along  the  enemy’s  frontier  as 
bulwarks  of  defence;  let  them  be  military 
magazines  well  stored  with  spiritual  weapons 
and  gospel  ammunition,  general  rallying-points 
for  the  whole  army,  and  strongholds  from 
whence  our  missionary  riflemen  may  sally  forth 
on  the  enemy.  Let  our  sabbath  schools  be 
military  academies,  in  which  the  young  cadets 
may  be  trained  for  the  battles  of  the  Lord. 
Let  the  tract  'societies  be  as  so  many  shot- 
houses  for  the  manufacture  of  that  small  but 
useful  material.  Having  thus,  sir,  disposed  of 
the  outworks,  let  us  endeavor  to  arrange  the 
army.  Suppose,  sir,  for  example,  we  begin 
with  the  Methodists  ;  and  as  they  are  said  to 
be  tolerable  pioneers  and  excellent  foragers  in 
new  countries,  and  active,  withal,  I  propose 
that  we  mount  them  on  horseback,  and  em¬ 
ploy  them  as  cavalry,  especially  on  the  fron¬ 
tiers.  And  as  our  Presbyterian  brethren  love 
an  open  field,  and  act  in  concert,  and  move  in 
solid  bodies,  let  them  constitute  our  infantry  ; 
let  them  occupy  the  centre  in  solid  columns, 
and  fight,  according  to  Napoleon’s  tactics,  in 
military  squares,  ever  presenting  a  firm  front 
to  the  enemy.  Our  Baptist  brethren  we  will 
station  along  the  rivers  and  lakes,  which,  we 
doubt  not,  they  will  gallantly  defend,  and  win 
many  laurels  in  the  lake  warfare.  Our  breth¬ 
ren  of  the  Protestant-Episcopal  Church  shall 
man  the  garrisons,  inspect  the  magazines,  and 
direct  the  batteries.  But,  sir,  we  want  artillery¬ 
men.  Whom  shall  we  employ  ?  The  light 
field-pieces  and  the  heavy  ordnance  must  be 
served.  I  propose,  sir,  that  we  commit  this  very 
important  department  to  our  brethren  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church ;  and,  sir,  may  they 
acquit  themselves  with  a  valor  worthy  their 
ancestors,  when  the  proud  flag  of  De  Witt 
swept  the  sea,  and  the  thunder  of  Van  Tromp 
shook  the  ocean.  And  now,  sir,  the  army  is 
arranged.  We  have  one  great  Captain,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  orders  we  are  all 
bound  to  obey.  Our  standard  is  the  cross, 
and  “  Onward  1  ”  is  the  watchword.  Let 
us  give  no  quarter :  we  fight  for  death  or 
victory.  At  the  same  time,  let  us  preserve 
our  original  order.  United  in  spirit  and 
design,  let  us  be  distinct  in  movement. 
Let  not  the  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery¬ 
men  mingle  in  one  indiscriminate  mass.  Let 
each  keep  his  proper  position,  adopt  his  pecu¬ 
liar  uniform,  act  under  his  local  colors,  and 
fight  in  his  own  peculiar  manner.  Thus  we 
shall  act  with  consistency  and  vigor,  without 
discomposing  each  other,  or  disordering  the 
ranks.  Let  a  strict  religious  discipline  pre¬ 
vail  throughout  the  camp ;  for  we  must  not 
suffer  that  shameful  reproach,  —  that  we  rec¬ 
ommend  to  others  what  we  practise  not  our¬ 
selves.  Accordingly,  let  us,  like  the  soldiers 


of  Oliver  Cromwell,  read  our  Bible,  and  pray 
twice  a  day  in  each  of  the  tents. 

G.  C.  Cookman. 

1442.  DENOMINATIONS,  Choice  of.  At  a 
Bible  Society  meeting  in  England,  a  Romish 
priest  came  on  the  platform,  and  said,  “  Now, 
gentlemen,  here  you  are  telling  us  we  should 
all  take  the  Bible,  and  join  you.  Which  shall 
we  join  ?  Here  you  are,  —  Episcopalians, 
Methodists,  Baptists,  Quakers,  Shakers,  and 
the  rest.  All  claim  to  be  the  best.  What 
shall  we  do  ?  ”  An  Irishman  replied,  “  I  an¬ 
swer  the  gentleman,  that,  if  he  will  join  any 
one  of  us,  lie  will  be  a  great  deal  better  than 
where  he  is  now.” 

1443.  DENOMINATIONS,  Fellowship  of.  In  the 

ark,  rooms  were  made.  Those  who  lived  in 
one  room  did  not  stand  or  sit  with  those  who 
lived  in  another;  but  they  were  all  in  the 
same  ark.  So  I  have  sometimes  thought,  there 
are  our  Wesleyan  friends;  some  of  them  love 
the  Lord  :  I  have  no  doubt  they  are  in  the  ark, 
though  they  do  not  occupy  the  same  apartment 
as  we  do.  There  are  our  Baptist  friends  who 
love  the  Lord  :  we  welcome  them  in  our  room. 
Then  there  are  our  Independent  friends ;  those 
also  love  the  Lord  :  they  are  in  another  room. 
And  our  Presbyterian  and  Episcopalian  breth¬ 
ren, —  in  all  these  various  sections  are  some 
who  are  called  of  God,  and  brought  into  the 
ark,  though  they  are  in  different  rooms.  But, 
beloved,  they  are  all  in  one  ark.  There  are 
not  two  gospels.  As  long  as  I  can  find  a  man 
that  holds  the  same  gospel,  it  does  not  matter 
what  order  of  church  government  he  adopts 
if  he  be  in  Christ  Jesus;  it  is  of  little  conse¬ 
quence  what  room  he  is  in,  so  long  as  he  is  in 
the  ark.  Happy  is  he  who  can  sometimes  put 
his  head  into  one  room,  and  sometimes  into 
another,  and  can  say  to  all  that  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  “  Grace  be  with  you  all  so  long 
as  you  are  in  the  ark”  1  Spurgeon. 

1444.  DENOMINATIONS,  in  Heaven,  John 
Wesley  once,  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  found 
himself,  as  he  thought,  at  the  gates  of  hell. 
He  knocked,  and  asked  who  were  within. 
“  Are  there  any  Roman  Catholics  here  ?  ”  he 
asked.  “  Yes,”  was  the  answer  ;  “  a  great 
many.”  —  “  Any  Church-of-England  men  ?  ” 
—  “  Yes  ;  a  great  many.”  —  “  Any  Presbyte¬ 
rians  ?  ” —  “Yes;  a  great  many.”  —  “Any 
Wesleyans  here?”  —  “Yes,  a  great  many.” 
Disappointed  and  dismayed,  especially  at  the 
last  reply,  he  turned  his  steps  upward,  and 
found  himself  at  the  gates  of  paradise ;  and 
here  he  repeated  the  same  questions.  “  Any 
Wesleyans  here?”  —  “No.”  —  “Any  Pres¬ 
byterians  ?  ”  —  No.”  —  “  Any  Church-of  Eng¬ 
land  men  ?  ”  —  “  No.”  —  “  Any  Roman  Catho¬ 
lics  ?  ”  —  “  No.”  —  “  Whom  have  you,  then, 
here?”  he  asked  in  astonishment.  “We 
know  nothing  here,”  was  the  reply,  “  of  any  of 
those  names  that  you  have  mentioned.  The 
only  name  of  which  we  know  any  thing  here 
is  4  Christian.’  We  are  all  Christians  here ; 
and  of  these  we  have  a  great  multitude,  which 
no  man  can  number,  of  all  nations  and  kin¬ 
dreds  and  peoples  and  tongues.” 


DENOMINATIONS. 


DEPORTMENT. 


183 


1445.  DENOMINATIONS,  Love  of,  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke  wrote  in  a  lady’s  album,  “  I  have  trav¬ 
elled  through  many  countries,  I  have  read  a 
great  many  books,  I  have  made  myself  ac¬ 
quainted  with  every  system  of  religion  in  the 
world,  and  have  come  to  this  conclusion,  — 
there  is  no  country  like  England ;  there  is  no 
book  like  the  Bible  ;  there  is  no  religion  like 
Christianity ;  and  there  is  no  section  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  like  Methodism.  But  it  may  be  asked, 
‘  Doctor,  are  you  not  a  bigot  ?  ’  No  1  for,  by 
the  grace  of  God.  I  am  a  Methodist !  ” 

1446.  DENOMINATIONS,  Result  of.  A  gentle¬ 
man  in  England  met  his  neighbor’s  coachman, 
looking  remarkably  facetious,  on  Monday 
morning.  As  the  man  touched  his  hat,  he 
said  to  him,  “  Well,  John,  what  has  happened 
to  make  you  look  so  pleasant  to-day  ?  ”  — 
“  Why,  sir,”  was  the  reply,  “  what  do  you 
think  ?  We  are  a  pretty  lot  at  our  house ;  that 
we  are.  I  started  with  five  of  us  in  the  old 
carriage,  yesterday  morning.  First  of  all,  I 
drove  the  young  mistress  to  the  Church,  and 
then  old  master  to  the  Wesley ans;  next  I  took 
young  master  to  the  Romans ;  and  wife  went  to 
the  Ranters ;  and,  when  I  had  put  up  the  horse, 
I  took  a  turn  myself  with  the  Calvinists.” 

1447.  DEPENDENCE,  Human.  We  enter 
upon  life  weak,  unconscious  infants,  depending 
every  moment  on  other  eyes  to  watch  tor  us, 
and  other  hands  to  ljiinister  to  us  ;  while  we 
kindle  in  their  hearts  the  most  powerful  emo¬ 
tions.  But  not  less  dependent  are  we  on  our 
fellow-creatures  for  our  continuance  in  life 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  There  is  not  a 
thread  of  clothing  which  covers  our  body,  not 
a  luxury  which  is  placed  on  our  table,  not  an 
article  which  supplies  the  means  of  labor,  not 
one  thing  which  is  required  by  us  as  civilized 
beings,  but  involves  the  labors  and  the  sacri¬ 
fices  of  others  in  our  behalf ;  while,  by  the 
same  law,  we  cannot  choose  but  contribute  to 
their  well-being.  The  cotton  which  the  artisan 
weaves  or  wears  has  been  cultivated  by  broth¬ 
ers  beneath  a  tropical  sun,  and,  possibly, 
beneath  a  tyrant’s  lash.  The  tea  he  drinks  has 
been  gathered  for  him  by  brothers  on  the  un¬ 
known  hillsides  of  distant  China.  A  mother 
writes  a  letter  to  her  son  in  some  distant  spot 
in  India,  and  conveys  it  in  silence  to  the  post- 
office,  perhaps  thinking  only  when  she  may  re¬ 
ceive  a  reply  from  her  boy.  But  how  much  is 
done  before  that  letter  reaches  its  destination  1 
The  hands  of  unknown  brethren  will  receive 
it,  and  transmit  it;  rapid  trains  will  convey  it 
over  leagues  of  railways ;  splendid  steamships 
will  sail  with  it;  and  hundreds  of  hands  will 
pass  it  from  port  to  port,  from  land  to  land.  It 
is  watched  day  and  night,  through  calm  and 
hurricane  ;  and  precious  lives  are  risked  to  keep 
it  in  security,  until,  in  silence  and  in  safety, 
after  months  of  travel,  it  is  delivered  from  the 
mother’s  hand  into  the  hand  of  her  child. 

Dr.  Macleod. 

1448.  DEPENDENCE,  Material.  Not  one  atom 
in  creation  exists  by  itself  or  for  itself  alone, 
but,  directly  or  indirectly,  influences  and  is  in¬ 
fluenced  by  every  other  atom.  The  move¬ 


ments  of  the  tiniest  wave,  which  rises  slowly 
over  the  dry  pebble  on  the  beach,  marking  the 
progress  of  the  advancing  tide  in  the  inland 
bay,  are  determined  by  the  majestic  movements 
of  the  great  ocean,  with  all  its  tides  that  sweep 
and  circulate  from  pole  to  pole.  The  rain¬ 
drop  which  falls  into  the  heart  of  a  wild  flower, 
and  rests  there  with  its  pure  and  sparkling 
diamond  lustre,  owes  its  birth  to  the  giant 
mountains  of  the  old  earth,  to  the  great  sea,  to 
the  all-encompassing  atmosphere,  to  the  mighty 
sun  ;  and  is  thus,  by  a  chain  of  forces,  united  in 
its  existence,  its  figure,  its  motion,  and  its  rest, 
to  the  most  distant  planet,  which,  beyond  the 
ken  of  the  telescope,  whirls  along  its  path  on 
the  mysterious  outskirts  of  space.  Thus,  too, 
the  needle  of  the  electric  telegraph  trembles 
beneath  the  influence  of  hidden  powers  which 
pervade  the  earth,  which  flash  in  the  thunder¬ 
storm,  awaken  the  hurricane,  or  burst  in  those 
bright  and  brilliant  coruscations  that  shoot 
across  the  midnight  of  our  northern  sky.  And 
so,  “  The  whole  round  earth  is  everywhere 
bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  throne  of 
God.”  Dr.  Macleod. 

1449.  DEPENDENCE,  Omnipotence  of.  Dim¬ 
ing  the  presidency  of  John  Adams,  a  German 
by  the  name  of  John  Fries  was  sentenced  to 
be  hung.  Fries  was  aged,  and  had  a  wife 
and  ten  children.  Previous  to  his  expected 
execution,  his  wife  arrived  in  the  city  with  her 
ten  children  ;  one  of  the  number  being  a  suck¬ 
ling.  Her  appearance  and  her  numerous  pro¬ 
geny  excited  great  commiseration.  A  petition 
was  prepared,  and  signed  by  thousands ;  and, 
through  friends,  an  audience  was  solicited  of 
the  President.  It  was  considered  of  vital 
importance  to  the  fate  of  Fries,  that  his  wife, 
accompanied  by  her  numerous  offspring,  should 
present  the  petition.  A  few  persons  con¬ 
ducted  her  to  the  presence  of  President  Adams. 
As  soon  as  they  approached  him,  the  aged 
matron,  with  her  nine  children  and  one  at  her 
breast,  kneeled  before  the  President,  and  in 
that  humble  posture  sued  for  the  life  of  her 
husband,  and  the  father  of  her  innocent  chil¬ 
dren.  The  President  became  so  affected,  that 
he  granted  an  immediate  pardon. 

1450.  DEPENDENCE,  Refuge  for.  Some  young 
ladies,  conversing  with  their  teacher  as  to  what 
they  would  do  in  the  event  of  an  anticipated 
calamity,  asked  their  teacher  where  her  refuge 
would  be.  She  answered,  “  My  refuge  would 
be  in  my  God.” 

1451.  DEPENDENCE,  Self.  The  man  who 

makes  every  thing  that  leads  to  happiness, 
or  near  to  it,  to  depend  upon  himself,  and  not 
upon  other  men,  on  whose  good  or  evil  actions 
his  own  doings  are  compelled  to  hinge  —  such 
a  one,  I  say,  has  adopted  the  very  best  plan 
for  living  happily.  This  is  the  man  of  moder¬ 
ation  ;  this  is  the  man  of  manly  character,  and 
of  wisdom.  Plato. 

1452.  DEPORTMENT,  Rules  for.  1.  It  should 

be  holy.  2.  It  should  be  without  offence. 
3.  It  should  be  loving  and  kind.  4.  It  should 
be  full  of  compassion  and  mercy.  5.  It  should 
be  peaceable.  J.  Beaumont. 


184 


DEPRAVITY. 


DEPRAVITY. 


1453.  DEPEA VITY|  Conviction  of.  A  fashion¬ 
able  lady  entered  church  in  a  strange  place, 
and  heard  a  sermon  on  human  depravity. 
During  the  week,  the  preacher  called  upon  her ; 
when  she  told  him  she  did  uot  believe  in  the 
doctrine  of  his  sermon.  He  asked  the  lady  to 
test  the  subject  by  reviewing  her  life,  alone 
beiore  God,  to  see  if  all  her  acts  had  been  done 
from  right  motives ;  which  she  promised  to  do. 
The  next  day,  the  preacher  called  again ;  when 
the  lady  confessed  that  she  did  not  find  one 
bright  spot  of  conscious  love  to  God  in  all  her 
past  life.  A  look  within  had  convinced  her 
of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine.  Feeling  now  the 
disease  of  sin,  she  went  to  the  Great  Physi¬ 
cian,  and  found  a  cure. 

1454.  DEPRAVITY,  Corruption  of.  The  Ro¬ 
mans  sometimes  compelled  a  captive  to  be 
joined  face  to  face  with  a  dead  body,  and  to 
bear  it  about  until  the  horrible  effluvia  de¬ 
stroyed  the  life  of  the  living  victim.  Virgil, 
speaking  of  Migentius,  describes  the  punish¬ 
ment,  — 

“  The  living  and  the  dead  at  his  command 

Were  coupled  face  to  face,  and  hand  to  hand; 

Till  choked  with  stench,  in  loathed  embraces  tied, 

The  lingering  wretches  pined  away  and  died.” 

1455.  DEPBAVITY,  a  Death.  Take  a  dead 

man,  and  put  fire  to  his  flesh,  pinch  him  with 
pincers,  prick  him  with  needles,  he  feels  it 
not;  scourge  him,  and  he  cries  not;  shout  in 
his  ear,  he  hears  not ;  threaten  him,  or  speak 
him  fair,  he  regards  not,  he  answers  not. 
This  is  the  condition  of  one  that  is  spiritually 
dead  in  sin  :  let  the  judgments  of  God,  and 
terrors  of  the  law,  be  laid  home  to  his  con¬ 
science,  let  the  flames  of  hell-fire  flash  in  his 
soul,  he  regards  them  not,  he  is  sermon-proof 
and  judgment-proof;  he  hears  of  judgments 
abroad,  and  sees  judgments  on  others;  nay, 
let  judgments  come  home  to  his  own  doors,  yet 
he  thinks  all  is  well ;  like  Solomon’s  fool,  he 
outstands  all  reproof.  Let  the  minister  hit  him 
never  so  home,  “  They  have  stricken  me,”  says 
he,  “  but  I  was  not  sick  ;  they  have  beaten  me, 
but  they  might  as  well  have  beaten  the  air.” 
Such,  and  so  deplorable,  is  the  sad  condition 
of  every  senseless  sinner.  Spencer. 

1456.  DEPEA VITY,  Doctrine  of.  A  minister 
travelling  through  tlie  West,  some  time  ago, 
asked  an  old  lady  on  whom  lie  called,  what  she 
thought  of  the  doctrine  of  total  depravity. 
“  Oh,  sir  !  ”  she  replied,  “  I  think  it  is  a  good 
doctrine  if  people  would  only  live  up  to  it.” 

1457.  DEPBAVITY,  Emblem  of.  In  a  vessel 
filled  with  muddy  water,  the  thickness  visibly 
subsided  to  the  bottom,  and  left  the  water 
purer  and  purer,  until  at  last  it  seemed  perfect¬ 
ly  limpid.  The  slightest  motion,  however, 
brought  the  sediment  again  to  the  top ;  and  the 
water  became  thick  and  turbid  as  before. 
“  Here,”  said  Gotthold,  when  he  saw  it,  “  we 
have  an  emblem  of  the  human  heart.  The 
heart  is  full  of  the  mud  of  sinful  lusts  and 
carnal  desires ;  and  the  consequence  is,  that  no 
pure  water  —  that  is,  <rood  and  holy  thoughts 
—  can  flow  from  it.  It  is,  in  truth,  a  miry  pit 


and  slough  of  sin,  in  which  all  sorts  of  ugly 
reptiles  are  bred  and  crawl.  Many  a  one, 
however,  is  deceived  by  it,  and  never  imagines 
his  heart  half  so  wicked  as  it  really  is,  because 
sometimes  its  lusts  are  at  rest,  and  sink  to  the 
bottom.  But  this  lasts  only  so  long  as  he  is 
without  opportunity  or  incitement  to  sin.  Let 
that  occur,  and  worldly  lusts  rise  so  thick,  that 
his  whole  thoughts,  words,  and  works  show  no 
trace  of  any  tiling  but  slime  and  impurity. 
One  is  meek  as  long  as  be  is  not  thwarted : 
cross  him,  and  he  is  like  powder  ignited  by 
the  smallest  spark,  and  blazing  up  with  a  loud 
report  and  destructive  effect.  Another  is  tem¬ 
perate  so  long  as  lie  has  no  jovial  companions; 
a  third  chaste  while  the  eye  of  men  are  upon 
him.” 

1458.  DEPBAVITY,  Enmity  of.  The  carnal 

mind,  which  is  enmity,  fortifies  the  soul  against 
God,  as  with  bars  and  doors ;  averts  it  from 
him;  carries  with  it  a  horrid,  guilty  conscious¬ 
ness,  which  fills  it  with  eternal  despair  and 
rage ;  and  in  wraps  it  in  the  blackness  of  dark¬ 
ness  forever.  Howe. 

1459.  DEPBAVITY,  Experience  of.  An  Afri¬ 
can  said  to  a  missionary,  “  Yesterday  morning, 
when  you  preach,  you  show  me  that  the  law 
be  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ. 
You  talk  about  the  ten  commandments.  You 
begin  at  the  first,  and  me  say  to  myself,  ‘  Me 
guilty  1  ’  the  second,  ‘  Me  guilty  !  ’  the  third, 
‘  Me  guilty  1  ’  the  fourth,  ‘  Me  guilty  !  ’  the 
filth,  ‘  Me  guilty  !  ’  Then  you  say  the  sixth, 
Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Me  say,  ‘  Ah  !  me  no 
guilty,  me  never  kill  some  person.’  You  say, 
‘  I  suppose  plenty  people  live  here,  who  say, 
“  Me.  no  guilty  of  that !  ”  Me  say  again  in  my 
heart,  ‘  Ah,  me  no  guilty  1  ’  Then  you  say, 
‘  Did  you  never  hate  any  person  ?  did  you 
never  wish  that  such  a  person,  such  a  man,  or 
such  a  woman,  was  dead  ?  ’  Massa,  you  talk 
plenty  about  that ;  and  what  I  feel  that  time  I 
can’t  tell  you.  I  talk  in  my  heart,  and  say, 
‘  Me  the  same  person !  ’  My  heart  begin  to 
beat ;  me  want  to  cry  ;  my  heart  heave  so  much 
me  don’t  know  what  to  do.  Massa,  me  think 
me  kill  ten  people  before  breakfast !  I  never 
think  I  so  bad.  Afterwards  you  talk  about 
the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  take  off  our  sin.  I 
think  I  stand  the  same  like  a  person  that  have 
a  big  stone  upon  him  head,  and  can’t  walk  — 
want  to  fall  down.  0  massa!  I  have  trouble 
too  much  :  I  no  sleep  all  night.  I  hope  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  take  my  sins  from  me. 
Suppose  he  no  save  me,  I  shall  go  to  hell 
forever.” 

1460.  DEPBAVITY,  Extent  of.  Northern  my¬ 
thology  tells  of  the  Migdard  serpent,  whom 
Odin  feared  would  bring  much  trouble  to  the 
gods.  He  caused  it  to  be  brought  to  him, 
when  he  hurled  it  into  the  deep  ocean.  But 
the  monster  grew  to  such  enormous  size,  that 
it  could  hold  its  tail  in  its  mouth,  thus  encir¬ 
cling  the  whole  earth.  So  extensive  is  that 
depravity  which  follows  the  serpent’s  trail 
from  Eden. 

1461.  DEPBAVITY,  A  Fact.  If  you  ask  how 
nature  hath  dejected  us,  how  we  came  originally 


DEPRAVITY. 


DEPRAVITY. 


185 


thus  depraved,  I  answer,  “We  know  not  so 
well  how  we  came  by  it,  as  we  are  sure  we 
have  it.  Nothing  is  more  certainly  true  to 
be  preached,  nothing  more  secretly  hard  to  be 
understood.  Therefore,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
town  on  fire,  let  us  not  busily  inquire  how  it 
came,  but  carefully  endeavor  to  put  it  out.  A 
traveller  passing  by,  and  seeing  a  man  fallen 
into  a  deep  pit,  began  to  wonder  how  he  fell 
in ;  to  whom  the  other  replied,  ‘  Do  thou,  good 
friend,  rather  study  how  to  help  me  out  than 
stand  questioning  how  I  came  in.”’ 

T.  A  ‘lams. 

1462.  DEPRAVITY,  Fear  of.  Let  us  not  for¬ 
get  that  we  have  all  a  caterpillar’s  nest  in  our 
own  bosoms :  I  mean  a  carnal  and  depraved 
heart,  in  which  wicked  lusts,  the  spawn  of 
original  sin,  are  bred,  and  swarm.  These,  if 
indulged,  immediately  creep  forth,  and  destroy 
both  soul  and  body.  It  gives  the  Christian 
enough  to  do  to  keep  them  down,  and  at  last 

ut  them  to  death.  To  this  effect,  Luther 

imself  said,  that  he  was  more  afraid  of  his 
own  heart  than  of  the  pope  and  all  his  cardi¬ 
nals  ;  and  to  myself  a  good  man  once  observed, 
“  My  own  heart  makes  life  bitter  to  me,  and 
death  sweet.”  Gotthold. 

1463.  DEPRAVITY,  Illustration  of.  A  few 
years  ago,  a  house  was  built  at  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne  ;  and  the  earth  which  was  dug  out  of  the 
foundations  was  thrown  over  a  piece  of  ground 
in  front,  intended  for  a  garden.  The  following 
spring,  a  number  of  caper-plants  came  up : 
they  were  not  common  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  their  appearance  excited  great 
surprise.  LTpon  inquiry,  it  was  found,  that, 
years  before,  that  ground  had  been  a  public 
garden  :  it  therefore  appeared  certain  that 
those  seeds  had  remained  dormant  while  buried 
deep  in  the  earth,  and  had  sprung  to  life  as 
soon  as  they  were  brought  within  the  influence 
of  heat  and  light.  How  like  to  our  hearts ! 
What  seeds  of  evil  may  lie  dormant  in  them  ! 

S pui'd  eon. 

1464.  DEPRAVITY,  Innate.  No  man  is  born 

wise ;  but  wisdom  and  virtue  require  a  tutor, 
though  we  can  easily  learn  to  be  vicious  with¬ 
out  a  master.  Seneca. 

1465.  DEPRAVITY,  Natural.  The  natural 

man  is  a  spiritual  monster.  Ilis  heart  is  where 
his  feet  should  be,  fixed  upon  earth ;  his  heels 
are  lifted  up  against  heaven,  which  his  heart 
should  be  set  on.  Ilis  face  is  towards  hell; 
his  back  towards  heaven.  He  loves  what  he 
should  hate,  and  hates  what  be  should  love ; 
joys  in  what  he  ought  to  mourn  for,  and  mourns 
for  what  he  ought  to  rejoice  in  ;  glories  in  his 
shame,  and  is  ashamed  of  his  glory ;  abhors 
what  he  should  desire,  and  desires  what  he 
fhould  abhor.  Boston. 

1466.  DEPRAVITY,  Power  of.  Melancthon 
entered  enthusiastically  upon  his  ministry,  but 
soon  complained,  as  many  another  has  felt,  to 
do,  “  that  old  Adam  was  too  hard  for  young 
Melancthon.”  Rev.  Ralph  Erskine  said  to  a 
robber  about  to  be  executed,  “  Rut  for  restrain¬ 
ing  grace,  I  had  been  brought  to  the  same  con¬ 
dition  with  this  unhappy  man.” 


1467.  DEPRAVITY,  Revealed.  When  the  light 

of  God’s  grace  comes  into  your  heart,  it  is  some- 
tiling  like  the  opening  of  the  windows  of  an  old 
cellar  that  has  been  shut  up  for  many  days. 
Down  in  that  cellar,  which  has  not  been  opened 
for  many  months,  are  all  kinds  of  loathsome 
creatures,  and  a  few  sickly  plants  blanched  by 
the  darkness.  The  walls  are  dark,  and  damp 
by  the  trail  of  reptiles :  it  is  a  horrid  filthy 
place,  in  which  no  one  would  willingly  enter. 
You  may  walk  there  in  the  dark  very  securely, 
and,  except  now  and  then  for  the  touch  of  some 
slimy  creature,  you  would  not  believe  the  place 
was  so  bad  and  filthy.  Open  those  shutters, 
clean  a  pane  of  glass,  let  a  little  light  in,  and  now 
see  how  a  thousand  noxious  things  have  marie 
this  place  their  habitation !  Sure,  ’twas  not  the 
light  that  made  this  place  so  horrible ;  but  it 
was  the  light  that  showed  how  horrible  it  was 
before.  So  let  God’s  grace  just  open  a  window, 
and  let  the  light  into  a  man’s  soul,  and  he  will 
stand  astonished  to  see  at  what  a  distance  he 
is  from  God.  Spurgeon. 

1468.  DEPRAVITY,  Symbol  of.  “  Children, 
are  there  any  snakes  in  Kansas?” — “  Yes, 
yes !  ”  —  “  What  kind  ?  any  striped  snakes  ?  ” 
—  “  Yes.”  —  “  Adders  ?  ”  —  “  Yes.”  —  “  Cop¬ 
perheads  ?  ”  —  “  Yes.”  —  “  Now,  suppose  you 
had  a  nest  of  snakes  in  the  cellar,  what  would 
you  do  with  them  ?  ”  —  “  Kill  them,  kill  them !  ” 
the  children  answered.  “  But  would  you  let 
them  grow  up  to  be  large  snakes?”  —  “  No.”  — 
“  What  then  ?  ”  —  “  Kill  them  when  they  are 
small.”  —  “Well,  children,  some  of  you,  I  am 
afraid,  have  got  snakes  in  your  bosoms.  Did 
any  of  you  ever  disobey  your  parents  ?  ”  — 
“  Yes,”  “  No,”  “  Yes.”  —  “  All !  there’s  a  snake 
there  1  Did  any  of  you  ever  tell  a  lie  ?  ”  — 
“No,”  “Yes,”  “No,”  “Yes.”  —  “There’s  a 
snake  there,  too.  And  now,  children,  I  want 
you  to  kill  these  snakes,  destroy  them  while 
they  are  small.  Tear  them  out  of  your  hearts.” 

Bishop  Simpson. 

1469.  DEPRAVITY,  Tests  of.  The  fall  of 

man  has  made  our  hearts  like  the  loadstone. 
We  refuse  gold  and  silver  and  pearls,  and 
priceless  jewels,  and  only  draw  to  ourselves 
inferior  things,  like  steel  and  iron.  A  man 
once  wrote  on  the  door  of  his  house,  “  Let 
nothing  evil  enter  here  1  ”  on  which  another, 
passing  by,  remarked,  “  Then  the  master  of  the 
house  must  never  come  in.”  Bowes. 

147©.  DEPRAVITY,  Total.  Samuel  Marsden, 
the  New-Zealand  missionary,  well  known  for 
his  piety  and  humility,  when  told,  one  day,  by 
a  friend,  how  basely  he  was  slandered,  “  Sir,” 
he  exclaimed,  “  these  men  don’t  know  the 
worst.  Why,  sir !  if  I  were  to  walk  through 
the  streets  with  my  heart  laid  bare,  the  very 
boys  would  pelt  me.” 

1471.  DEPRAVITY,  Unconscious.  It  is  with 
the  children  of  men  as  with  the  housewife, 
that,  having  diligently  swept  her  house,  and  cast 
the  dust  out  of  doors,  can  see  nothing  amiss,  — 
not  so  much  as  a  speck  of  dust  in  it ;  whereas, 
if  the  sun  shine  in  through  some  cranny  in  the 
wall,  she  may  soon  see  the  whole  house  swim 
aud  swarm  with  innumerable  atoms  of  dust. 


186 


DESIGNS. 


DESPAIR. 


floating  to  and  fro  in  the  air,  which,  for  dim¬ 
ness  of  light  or  sight,  before  she  was  not  able 
to  discern.  Even  so  it  is  with  many;  yet  a  lit¬ 
tle  beam  of  light,  reflecting  upon  then’  souls 
from  God’s  law,  will  discover  to  them  such  a 
mass  of  corruption  in  their  hearts,  and  errors 
in  their  lives,  that  it  shall  make  them  as  men 
amazed.  Spencer. 

1472.  DESIGNS,  Fate  of  Evil,  Maxentius, 

that  cruel  tyrant,  coming  with  an  army  against 
Constantine  the  Great,  to  deceive  him  and 
his  army,  caused  his  soldiers  to  make  a 
great  bridge  over  the  Tiber,  where  Constantine 
should  pass ;  and  cunningly  laid  planks  on  the 
ships,  that,  when  the  army  came  upon  the 
planks,  the  ships  should  sink,  and  so  drown 
the  enemy.  But  Maxentius,  hearing  of  Con¬ 
stantine’s  sudden  approach,  in  a  rage  rushed 
out  of  the  gates  of  Rome,  and  commanded  his 
followers  to  attend  him,  and,  through  fury  for¬ 
getting  his  own  work,  led  a  few  over  his  bridge  ; 
and,  the  ships  sinking,  himself  and  his  follow¬ 
ers  were  all  drowned.  Spencer. 

1473.  DESIGNS,  Penalty  of.  Henry  the 
Second  of  France,  in  a  great  rage  against  a 
Protestant  counsellor,  committed  him  into  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  nobles  to  be  imprisoned, 
saying,  that  he  would  see  him  burned  with  his 
own  eyes.  Within  a  few  days,  the  same  noble¬ 
man,  with  a  lance  put  into  his  hands  by  the 
king,  at  a  tilting-match,  run  the  said  lance 
into  one  of  the  king’s  eyes  ;  whereof  he  died. 

1474.  DESINE,  Ungratified.  A  certain  fox 
of  Gascony,  some  say  of  Normandy,  almost 
dying  with  hunger,  saw  some  grapes  at  the 
top  of  a  trellis.  He  would  willingly  have 
made  a  repast  of  them ;  but  as  he  could  not 
reach  them,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  he  said 
on  going  away,  “  They  are  too  sour  :  they  are 
good  only  for  blackguards.” 

1475.  DESIRES,  Growth  of.  The  countryman 
in  the  fable  would  needs  stay  till  the  river 
was  all  run  away,  and  then  go  over  dry-shod  ; 
but  the  river  did  run  on  still,  and  he  was  de¬ 
ceived  in  his  expectation.  Such  are  the  world¬ 
ling’s  inordinate  desires.  The  deceitful  heart 
promiseth  to  see  them  run  over  and  gone 
when  they  are  attained  to  such  a  measure ; 
and  then  they  are  stronger  and  wider,  more 
impotent  and  unruly,  than  before ;  for  a  covet¬ 
ous  heart  grasps  at  no  less  than  the  whole 
world,  would  fain  be  master  of  all,  and  dwell 
alone,  like  a  wen  in  the  body,  which  draws  all 
to  itself.  Let  it  have  never  so  much,  it  will 
reach  after  more,  add  house  to  house,  and  field 
to  field,  till  there  be  no  more  place  to  compass. 
Like  a  bladder,  it  swells  wider  and  wider,  the 
more  of  this  empty  world  is  put  into  it :  so 
boundless,  so  endless,  so  inordinate,  are  the  cor¬ 
rupt  desires  of  worldly-minded  men  !  Spencer. 

1476.  DBSERES,  Heavenly.  As  they  that  are 
strangers  in  a  foreign  country,  and  have  par¬ 
ents  and  great  wealth  in  their  native  soil, 
being  hardly  entreated  where  they  sojourn, 
are  very  glad  to  return  home,  and  beforehand 
seem  to  see  their  houses  and  possessions,  and 
to  talk  with  their  parents,  and  feel  a  fervent 
desire  to  be  soon  there ;  even  so  we,  if  we 


^member  that  we  have  treasures  of  eternal 
riches,  an  undefiled  inheritance,  immortal  and 
incorruptible,  which  is  reserved  for  us  in  glory, 
ought  to  be  ravished  with  a  fervent  desire  to 
be  lifted  up  thither.  Cawdray. 

1477.  DESIRES,  Moderate.  He  that  is  much 
habituated  to  delight  in  God  is  not  apt  to  fool¬ 
ish,  extravagant  desires.  This  is  the  sense  of 
such  a  one,  “  Not  my  will,  Lord,  but  thine,  be 
done.”  He  may  desire  the  same  thing  that 
others  do,  yet  not  with  the  same  peremptory 
and  precipitant  desire,  but  with  a  desire  tem¬ 
pered  with  submission,  and  with  a  reserved 
deference  of  the  matter  to  the  divine  pleasure : 
“  This  thing,  Lord,  I  desire  if  thou  see  good.” 
So  that  the  general  object  of  such  a  one’s 
desire  is  only  that  which  in  the  divine  estimate 
is  fit  and  good  for  him ;  and  though  he  desire 
this  or  that  particular  thing,  yet  not  as  it  is 
this  thing,  but  as  supposing  it  possible  this 
thing  may  be  judged  fit  for  him  by  the  supreme 
wisdom,  whereto  he  hath  referred  the  matter. 

John  Howe. 

1478.  DESIRES,  and  the  Passions.  The  passions 
and  desires,  like  the  two  twists  of  a  rope, 
mutually  mix  one  with  the  other,  and  twine 
inextricably  round  the  heart ;  producing  good 
if  moderately  indulged,  but  certain  destruc¬ 
tion  if  suffered  to  become  inordinate. 

R.  Burton 

147?).  DESIRES,  Power  of  the.  Desires  are 
the  pulses  of  the  soul :  as  physicians  judge  by 
appetite,  so  may  you  by  desires.  A  spiritual 
dropsy  or  an  unsatisfied  thirst  argues  a  dis¬ 
tempered  soul,  when,  like  the  horse-leech’s 
daughter,  you  still  cry,  “  Give,  give  1  ”  and  you 
are  never  contented,  but  must  have  more. 

T.  Manton. 

148®.  DESIRES,  Proverbs.  There  is  no 
pleasure  but  palls,  and  all  the  more  if  it  costs 

nothing.  —  Spanish. - The  sweet  grapes 

hang  liighest.  —  German. - Every  fish  that 

escapes  appears  greater  than  it  is.  —  Turkish. 

- A  man  who  can’t  sing  is  always  striving 

to  sing.  —  Latin.  — —  He  who  can’t  do  always 

wants  to  do.  —  Italian. - Forbid  a  fool  any 

thing,  and  that  he’ll  do.  English. 

1481.  DESIRES,  Worldly.  An  eagle,  flying 
over  a  valley  of  ice,  discovered  a  carcass,  upon 
which  it  descended,  and  feasted  so  long,  that 
its  wings  became  frozen  to  the  ice.  In  vain 
it  struggled  to  mount  upward :  a  vivid  emblem 
of  worldly  desires. 

1482.  DESPAIR,  Crime  of.  Daniel’s  prophe¬ 
cy  tells  of  four  beasts,  —  the  first  a  lion,  the 
second  a  bear,  the  third  a  leopard ;  but  the 
fourth,  without  distinction  of  either  kind  or 
sex  or  name,  is  said  to  be  very  fearful  and 
terrible  and  strong,  and  had  great  iron  teeth, 
destroyed,  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped 
under  his  feet.  Such  a  thing  is  despair  :  other 
sins  are  fearful  and  terrible  enough,  and  have 
as  it  were  the  rage  of  lions  and  bears  and 
leopards,  to  spoil  and  make  desolate  the  soul 
of  man  ;  but  despair  hath  horns  too,  —  horns  to 
push  at  God  with  blasphemy,  at  his  brethren 
with  injury,  and  at  his  own  soul  with  distrust 
of  mercy.  Despair  is  a  complicated  sin,  the 


DESPAIR. 


DESPAIR. 


187 


complement  of  all  sins.  The  greatest  sins  are 
said  to  be  those  which  are  opposed  to  the  three 
theological  virtues,  faith,  hope,  and  charity, — 
infidelity  to  faith,  despair  to  hope,  hatred  to 
charity ;  amongst  which,  infidelity  and  hatred, 
the  one  not  believing,  the  other  hating  God, 
are  in  themselves  worse  :  but,  in  regard  of  him 
that  sinneth,  despair  exceedeth  them  both,  in 
the  danger  that.  is  annexed  unto  it ;  for  what 
can  be  more  miserable,  what  more  foul,  than 
for  a  poor  miserable  wretch  not  to  take  pity 
of  his  own  soul  ?  Spencer. 

1483.  DESPAIR,  Death  of  Giant.  So  Mr. 
Great-Heart,  old  Honest,  and  the  four  young 
men,  went  up  to  Doubting  Castle  to  look  for 
Giant  Despair.  When  they  came  at  the  castle 
gate,  they  knocked  for  entrance  with  an  un¬ 
usual  noise.  At  that  the  old  Giant  comes  to 
the  gate ;  and  Diffidence,  his  wife,  follows. 
Then  said  he,  “  Who  and  what  is  he  that  is  so 
hardy  as  after  this  manner  to  molest  the  Giant 
Despair?  ”  Mr.  Great-Heart  replied,  “  It  is  I, 
Great-IIeart,  one  of  the  King  of  the  Celestial 
Country’s  conductors  of  pilgrims  to  their  place  ; 
and  I  demand  of  thee  that  thou  open  thy 

ates  for  my  entrance  :  prepare  thyself  also  to 

ght,  for  I  am  come  to  take  away  thy  head, 
and  to  demolish  Doubting  Castle.”  Now,  Giant 
Despair,  because  he  was  a  giant,  thought  no 
man  could  overcome  him  :  and  again,  thought 
he,  “  Since,  heretofore,  I  have  made  a  conquest 
of  angels,  shall  Great-Heart  make  me  a'raid  Y  ” 
So  he  harnessed  himself,  and  went  out.  He 
had  a  cap  of  steel  upon  his  head,  a  breast-plate 
of  fire  girded  to  him ;  and  he  came  out  in  iron 
shoes,  with  a  great  club  in  his  hand.  Then 
these  six  men  made  up  to  him,  and  beset  him 
behind  and  before ;  also  when  Diffidence,  the 
giantess,  came  up  to  help  him,  old  Mr.  Honest 
cut  her  down  at  one  blow.  Then  they  fought 
for  their  lives ;  and  Giant  Despair  was  brought 
down  to  the  ground,  but  was  very  loath  to  die. 
He  struggled  hard,  and  had,  as  they  say,  as 
many  lives  as  a  cat ;  but  Great-Heart  was  his 
death,  for  he  left  him  not  till  he  had  severed 
his  head  from  his  shoulders.  Bunyan. 

1484.  DESPAIR,  Evil  of.  Despair  is  like 

ffoward  children,  who,  when  you  take  away 
one  of  their  playthings,  throw  the  rest  into 
the  fire  for  madness.  It  grows  angry  with  it¬ 
self,  turns  its  own  executioner,  and  revenges  its 
misfortunes  on  its  own  head.  It  refuses  to  live 
under  disappointments  and  crosses,  and  chooses 
rather  not  to  be  at  all,  than  to  be  without  the 
thing  which  it  hath  once  imagined  necessary 
to  its  happiness.  Charron. 

1485.  DESPAIR,  Never.  A  young  man  had 
come  to  London  to  seek  employment,  but  being 
unsuccessful,  and  reduced  to  great  poverty,  he 
determined  to  throw  himself  into  the  Thames. 
On  passing  on  his  way  to  effect  his  desperate 
purpose,  he  saw  the  carriage  of  the  late  Mr. 
Hanway,  under  the  arms  of  which  was  the 
motto,  “  Never  despair.”  He  gave  up  the  de¬ 
sign  on  his  life,  and  subsequently  acquired  a 
competence. 

1486.  DESPAIR,  No  Cause  for.  A  tall  chim¬ 
ney  had  been  completed  j  and  the  scaffolding 


was  being  removed.  One  man  remained  on 
the  top  to  superintend  the  process.  A  rope 
should  have  been  left  for  him  to  descend  by.  His 
wife  was  at  home  washing,  when  her  little  boy 
burst  in  with,  “  Mother,  mother,  they’ve  forgot¬ 
ten  the  rope,  and  he’s  going  to  throw  himself 
down  !  ”  She  paused ;  her  lips  moved  in  the 
agony  of  prayer ;  and  she  rushed  forth.  A 
crowd  were  looking  up  to  the  poor  man,  who 
was  moving  round  and  round  the  narrow  cor¬ 
nice,  terrified  and  bewildered.  He  seemed  as 
if  at  any  moment  he  might  fall,  or  throw  him¬ 
self  down  in  despair.  His  wife  from  below 
cried  out,  “  Wait,  John  !  ”  The  man  became 
calm.  “  Take  off  thy  stocking  ;  unravel  the 
worsted.”  And  he  did  so.  “  Now  tie  the  end 
to  a  bit  of  mortar,  and  lower  gently.”  Down 
came  the  thread  and  the  bit  of  mortar,  swing¬ 
ing  backwards  and  forwards.  Lower  and 
lower  it  descended,  eagerly  watched  by  many 
eyes  :  it  was  now  within  reach,  and  was  gently 
seized  by  one  of  the  crowd.  They  fastened 
some  twine  to  the  thread.  “  Now  pull  up.” 
The  man  got  hold  of  the  twine.  The  rope 
was  now  fastened  on.  “  Pull  away  again.”  He 
at  length  seized  the  rope,  and  made  it  secure. 
There  were  a  few  moments  of  suspense,  and 
then,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  people,  he  threw 
himself  into  the  arms  of  his  wife,  sobbing, 
“  Thou’st  saved  me,  Mary  !  ”  The  worsted 
thread  was  not  despised  :  it  drew  after  it  the 
twine,  the  rope,  the  rescue  !  Ah  !  my  friend, 
thou  mayest  be  sunk  very  low  down  in  sin  and 
woe;  but  there  is  a  thread  of  divine  love,  that 
comes  from  the  throne  of  heaven,  and  touches 
even  thee.  Seize  that  thread.  It  may  be 
small ;  but  it  is  golden.  Improve  what  you 
have,  however  little,  and  more  shall  be  given. 
That  thin  thread  of  love,  if  you  will  not  neglect 
it,  shall  lift  even  you  up  to  God  and  glory. 
“  Who  hath  despised  the  day  of  small  things  ?  ” 

Newman  Hall. 

1487.  DESPAIR,  Religious.  A  man  utterly 
despairing  of  his  soul’s  salvation  thought  he 
might  as  well  be  in  hell  at  once,  and  went  to  a 
river,  with  a  design  to  throw  himself  in  ;  but, 
as  he  was  about  to  do  it,  he  seemed  to  hear  a 
voice  saying  to  him,  “  Who  can  tell  ?  ”  as  if 
the  words  had  been  audibly  delivered.  His 
thoughts  were  arrested,  and  thus  began  to 
work  on  the  passage  mentioned.  “  Who  can  tell 
what  God  can  do?  Who  can  tell  what  pur¬ 
poses  God  will  serve  in  my  recovery  Y  ”  By 
such  thoughts  as  these,  it  pleased  God  to 
enable  him,  through  all  his  doubts  and  fears, 
to  throw  himself  by  faith  on  Jesus  Christ,  as 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  that  come 
to  God  by  him  to  experience  the  riches  of 
grace. 

1488.  DESPAIR,  Weakness  of.  Saul  owed  his 
defeat  more  to  the  malign  influence  of  the  Witch 
of  Endor  than  to  the  arms  of  the  Philistines. 
When  she  buried  hope  in  his  brave  heart,  she 
dug  his  grave ;  victory  vanished  with  the  man¬ 
tled  phantom  :  and  when  Saul,  pale,  haggard, 
his  spirits  depressed,  his  courage  sunken  as  his 
eye,  went  to  fight,  he  had  no  chance.  The  bat¬ 
tle  of  Gilboa  was  lost  before  it  was  begun. 


188 


DESPONDEN  CY. 


DEYIATION. 


Despair,  in  truth,  is  about  as  bad  a  leader  as 
presumption :  this  is  Scylla,  that  Cliarybdis ; 
and  both  extremes  —  the  rock  horrid  with 
breakers,  and  the  glassy  but  treacherous  whirl¬ 
pool  —  are  alike  fatal.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

1489.  DESPONDENCY,  Cause  of.  A  patient 

investigation,  and  sometimes  a  not  very  tedious 
one,  will  ascertain  the  source  of  these  feelings, — 
some  morbid  state  of  the  stomach,  liver,  kidneys, 
or  other  part,  not  perceptible  to  the  patient,  yet 
sufficiently  discoverable  by  disturbed  functions.  I 
As  the  brain  itself,  or  the  heart,  may  be  the 
part  affected,  and  as  it  is  generally  known  that 
this  might  be  the  cause  of  depression,  it  is 
too  common  for  low-spirited  persons  to  imagine 
that  they  have  diseased  brain  or  heart.  “  A 
sound  mind  in  a  sound  body  ”  is  the  chief  con¬ 
dition  for  constituting  happiness;  but  the 
sound  mind  is  by  far  the  more  consequence ; 
for  we  see  persons  enduring  years  of  pain 
without  the  nervous  system  giving  way,  and 
consequently  with  a  cheerfulness  that  seems  to 
bid  defiance  to  suffering.  This,  however,  hap¬ 
pens  most  commonly  in  diseases  of  the  exter¬ 
nal  parts;  whilst  the  painless  or  almost  im¬ 
perceptible  affections  of  the  internal  organs, 
communicating  with  the  brain  by  the  eighth 
pair  of  nerves,  are  those  which  give  rise  to  the 
symptoms  recorded  by  that  truthful  observer 
Cullen,  —  “  languor,  sadness,  and  fear,  without 
adequate  cause.”  A.  Billing.  M.D. 

1490.  DESPONDENCY,  Fatal  Result  'of.  An 
exemplary  young  man,  a  member  of  the  Bap¬ 
tist  Church  in  Newark,  N.J.,  suddenly  lost  his 
enjoyment,  imagined  himself  doomed,  or,  even 
worse,  that  he  was  himself  the  Devil.  No 
encouragement  of  the  gospel  would  he  re¬ 
ceive.  He  went  to  the  railroad,  threw  himself 
before  an  approaching  locomotive,  and  was 
crushed. 

1491.  DESTRUCTION,  Personal.  Julian  the 
apostate  had  for  his  coat  of  arms  on  his  es¬ 
cutcheon  an  eagle  struck  through  the  heart 
with  a  shaft  feathered  from  her  own  wing,  with 
the  motto,  “  Our  death  flies  to  us  with  our  own 
feathers,  and  our  wings  pierce  us  to  the  very 
heart.”  The  moral  is,  that,  if  a  man  receives 
injury,  he  alone  has  caused  it,  and  is  alone  to 
blame. 

1492.  DESTRUCTION,  Responsibility  of.  A 
physician,  hearing  of  a  sick  man  who  is  likely 
to  die,  takes  some  remedy,  and  goes  and  knocks 
at  the  sick  man’s  door.  If  the  sick  man  does 
not  let  him  in,  he  dies ;  but  he  is  his  own  de¬ 
stroyer.  The  physician  did  what  he  could; 
but  the  sick  man  would  not  be  cured.  This  is 
the  case  of  the  impenitent  sinner,  at  whose 
heart  Christ  knocks  in  vain,  till  sudden  de¬ 
struction  comes  upon  the  neglecter.  He  might 
have  been  saved,  but  would  not  be. 

1493.  DESTRUCTION,  Self.  As  Noah  was 
drunk  with  his  own  wine,  Goliath  beheaded 
with  his  own  sword,  the  rose  destroyed  by  the 
canker  bred  in  itself,  the  breast  by  a  self-bred 
wolf,  the  apple  by  the  worm,  the  dam’s  belly 
eaten  through  by  the  young  vipers,  Agrippina 
killed  by  Nero  to  whom  she  gave  breath ;  so 
we  are  undone  by  ourselves,  our  destruction  is 


of  ourselves.  The  bitter  waters  of  Marali  and 
Mcribah  that  we  drink  so  deep  of  are  of  our  own 
mingling  and  imbittering ;  the  rods  that  scourge 
us  are  of  our  own  making;  sin,  like  a  friar, 
whips  itself;  punishment  is  connate,  innate 
to  sin.  We  may  thank  our  own  folly  for  our 
own  bane.  Spencer. 

1494.  DETECTION,  Sure.  A  mason  was  em¬ 
ployed  to  thin-whiten  the  walls  of  a  chamber. 
The  fluid  used  was  colorless  till  dried.  Being 

I  alone  in  the  room,  he  opened  a  drawer,  exam¬ 
ined  a  pocket-book,  and  handled  the  papers ; 
but,  finding  no  money,  placed  all  thing  as  they 
were,  forgetting  that  twelve  hours’  drying 
would  show  the  marks  of  his  wet  fingers.  But 
these  finger-marks,  which  he  lit  tle  thought  any 
one  would  ever  see,  exposed  his  guilt. 

1495.  DETRACTION,  Cursa  of.  The  Scrip¬ 
ture  saith,  “  If  ye  bite  one  another,  ye  shall 
be  consumed  one  of  another ;  ”  if  ye  fret  and 
gall  one  another’s  reputation,  the  end  will  be, 
that  every  man  shall  go  hence,  like  coin  cried 
down,  of  less  price  than  he  came  hither. 

Lord  Bacon. 

1496.  DETRACTION,  Meanness  of.  Unjustifia¬ 
ble  detraction  always  proves  the  weakness  as 
well  as  meanness  of  the  party  that  employs 
it.  To  be  constantly  carping  at  and  exagger¬ 
ating  petty  blemishes  in  the  characters  of 
ot.hirs,  putting  an  unfavorable  construction  on 
their  language,  or  “  damning  with  faint  praise  ” 
their  deeds,  betrays,  on  the  part  of  the  detract¬ 
or,  a  conscious  inability  to  maintain  a  reputa¬ 
ble  standing  on  legitimate  and  honorable 
ground.  The  course  pursued  proves  him  to 
be  a  sour,  surly,  mean-spirited  creature ;  and 
we  may  at  once  conclude  that  he  is  a  man  dis¬ 
appointed  and  broken  down.  He  belongs  to 
the  miserable  race  whose  special  vocation  it 
is  to  “  murder  fame,”  —  loathsome  leeches  on 
the  body  politic ;  or  ferocious  vampire-bats, 
that  mutilate  all  the  pure  things  they  can 
reach,  and  corrode  with  their  poisonous  slime 
every  thing  they  do  not  speedily  destroy. 

E.  L.  Magoon. 

1497.  DETRACTION,  Rebuked.  Two  friends 
dining  with  Rev.  S.  Pierce  of  Birmingham, 
during  a  temporary  absence,  one  said  some¬ 
thing  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  other.  Mr. 
Pierce  said,  “  He  is  here ;  take  him  aside,  and 
tell  him  of  it  by  himself :  you  may  do  him 
good.” 

4498.  DEVIATION,  Danger  of.  As  Michael 
Futcher  of  Romsey  was  walking  on  the  Te  - 
race  at  Windsor,  in  company  with  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  a  Friend  in  London,  King  George 
and  Queen  Charlotte  drew  towards  them. 
Both  entering  freely  into  conversation  with 
Michael  Futcher,  the  king  inquired  whether 
there  were  many  of  his  society  residing  in  his 
neighborhood  ;  saying  they  were  a  people  he 
had  a  great  respect  for.  Addressing  the  fe¬ 
male,  he  inquired  if  she  was  not  one  of  the 
society.  She  replied,  she  professed  to  be. 
The  king  then  said,  “  Is  there  not  here  too 
much  gauze  ?  ”  She  acknowledged  she  had 
deviated,  and  was  sorry  for  it.  The  king  re¬ 
plied,  “  And  I  am  sorry  for  it  too ;  for,  when 


DE'VnEljOI’MJffiNT. 


DEVIL. 


189 


people  once  begin  to  deviate,  they  do  not  know 
where  to  stop.” 

1499.  DEVELOPMENT,  Law  of.  There  is 
never  so  little  of  a  tree  as  when  it  is  in  the 
seed.  The  births  of  God  Almighty  are  births 
of  weakness.  Every  thing  in  the  universe 
comes  to  its  perfection  by  drill  and  marching, 
—  the  seed,  the  insect,  the  animal,  the  man, 
the  spiritual  man.  God  created  man  at  the 
lowest  point,  and  put  him  into  a  world  where 
almost  nothing  would  be  done  for  him,  and 
almost  every  thing  should  tempt  him  to  do  for 
himself.  The  very  help  which  God  gives 
men  is  by  teaching  them  how  to  help  them¬ 
selves.  Want,  sorrow,  mistake,  and  all  that 
men  call  evils,  are  but  disciplinarians,  who 
insist  that  the  scholar  shall  learn  his  lesson 
himself,  and  who  punish  him  until  he  does. 

Beecher. 

1500.  DEVIL,  Answer  to  the.  A  minister 
asked  a  little  converted  boy,  “  Does  not  the 
Devil  tell  you  that  you  are  not  a  Christian  ?  ”  — 
“Yes,  sometimes.” — “Well,  what  do  you 
say?”  —  “I  tell  him,”  replied  the  boy. 
“  whether  I  am  a  Christian  or  not  is  none  of 
his  business.” 

1501.  DEVIL,  a  Bishop.  Who  is  the  most 

diligent  bishop  and  prelate  in  all  England  ? 
I  will  tell  you :  it  is  the  Devil.  He  is  the 
most  diligent  preacher  of  all  other ;  he  is 
never  out  of  his  diocese ;  he  is  never  from  his 
cure  ;  ye  shall  never  find  him  unoccupied  ;  he 
is  ever  in  his  parish  ;  he  keepeth  residence  at 
all  times ;  ye  shall  never  find  him  out  of  the 
way,  call  for  him  when  ye  wiil ;  he  is  ever  at 
home,  the  most  diligent  preacher  in  all  the 
realm ;  he  is  ever  at  his  plough ;  he  is  ever 
applying  to  his  business ;  ye  shall  never  find 
him  idle,  I  warrant  you ;  and  his  office  is  to 
hinder  religion,  to  maintain  superstition,  to 
set  up  idolatry,  to  teach  all  kinds  of  popery. 
He  is  as  ready  as  can  be  wished  to  set  forth 
his  plough ;  to  devise  as  many  ways  as  can  be 
to  deface  and  obscure  God’s  glory.  Where 
the  Devil  is  resident,  and  hath  his  plough 
going,  there  away  with  books,  and  up  with 
candles  ;  away  with  Bibles,  and  up  with  beads  ; 
away  with  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  up 
with  the  light  of  candles,  yea,  at  noon-day. 
Where  the  Devil  is  resident,  that  he  may  pre¬ 
vail,  too,  with  all  superstition  and  idolatry, 
censing,  painting,  images,  candles,  palms, 
ashes,  holy  water,  and  new  service  of  men’s 
inventing,  as  though  man  could  invent  a  bet¬ 
ter  way  to  honor  God  with  than  God  himself 
hath  appointed,  down  with  Christ’s  cross, 
up  with  popish  purgatory ;  away  with  cloth¬ 
ing  the  naked,  supporting  the  poor  and  im¬ 
potent,  up  with  the  decking  of  images  and 
gay  garnishing  of  stocks  and  stones ;  down 
with  God’s  Will  and  most  Holy  Word,  up 
with  man’s  traditions  and  his  laws ;  down 
with  the  old  honor  due  unto  God,  and  up  with 
the  honor  of  the  new  gods.  Bp.  Latimer. 

1502.  DEVIL,  Deoeit  of  the.  It  was  ancient¬ 
ly  said  of  Eucrates,  “  Eucrates  has  more  tricks 
than  one  ;  thus  no  trap  will  easily  catch  him.” 
So  we  may  say  of  the  Devil,  that  he  hath  a 


thousand  ways  to  deceive :  he  can  transform 
himself  into  any  shape  whatsoever;  nay,  he 
knoweth  how  to  be  an  angel  of  light.  Spencer. 

1503.  DEVIL,  Defeat  of  the.  There  is  a  le¬ 
gend  of  Luther,  that,  during  a  serious  illness, 
the  Evil  One  seemed  to  enter  his  sick-room,  and, 
looking  at  lxim  with  a  triumphant  smile,  un¬ 
rolled  a  vast  roll  which  he  carried  in  his  arms. 
As  the  fiend  threw  one  end  of  it  on  the  floor, 
and  it  unwound  itself  with  the  impetus  he  had 
given  it,  Luther’s  eyes  were  fixed  on  it,  and,  to 
his  consternation,  he  read  there  the  long  and 
fearful  record  of  his  own  sins,  clearly  and  dis¬ 
tinctly  enumerated.  That  stout  heart  quailed 
before  that  ghastly  roll.  Suddenly  it  flashed  into 
his  mind  that  there  was  one  thing  not  written 
there.  He  said  aloud,  “  One  thing  you  have 
forgotten  :  the  rest  is  all  true ;  but  one  thing  you 
have  forgotten,  —  ‘  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.’  ”  As  he 
said  this,  the  “  Accuser  of  the  brethren,”  and 
his  heavy  roll  of  “  lamentation  and  mourning 
and  woe,”  disappeared  together. 

1594.  DEVIL,  Fighting  the.  He  who  would 
fight  the  Devil  with  his  own  weapons  must  not 
wonder  if  he  finds  him  an  overmatch.  South. 

1595.  DEVIL,  Rewards  of  the.  Charles,  King 

of  Sweden,  a  great  enemy  of  the  Jesuits,  when 
in  time  of  war  he  took  any  of  their  colleges, 
would  first  hang  up  all  the  old  Jesuits,  and 
then  put  the  rest  into  his  mines,  saying,  that, 
since  they  had  wrought  so  hard  above  ground, 
he  would  now  make  a  trial  how  they  could 
work  under  ground.  Thus  the  Devil,  when 
the  wicked  have  done  him  what  evil  service 
they  can  upon  earth,  he  confines  them  to  his 
lower  vaults  in  hell  forevermore.  A  sad  re¬ 
ward  1  —  to  sow  trouble,  and  reap  nothing  but 
horror,  and  vexation  of  spirit;  still  bringing 
fuel  to  that  fire  which  must  burn  themselves 
to  all  eternity.  Spencer. 

3  599.  DEVIL,  St.  Anthony  and  the.  “  One 
night,  as  Anthony  sat  in  his  cell,  he  heard  a 
knocking  at  the  door,  and,  going  to  see  who 
was  there,  he  beheld  a  man  of  terrible  aspect 
and  of  gigantic  stature;  and  he  said,  ‘  Who  art 
ihou  ?  ’  The  stranger  answered,  4  I  am  Satan  ; 
and  I  come  to  ask  thee  how  it  is  that  thou  and 
all  thy  disciples,  whenever  ye  stray  into  sin, 
or  any  evil  befall  ye,  lay  the  blame  and  the 
shame  on  me,  and  load  me  with  curses.’  And 
Anthony  said, 4  H  ave  we  not  cause  ?  Dost  thou 
not  go  about  seeking  whom  thou  mayst  devour, 
and  tempt  and  torment  us  ?  And  art  thou 
not  the  occasion  of  fall  to  many  Y  '  And  the 
demon  replied,  4  It  is  false  :  1  do  none  of  those 
things  of  which  men  accuse  me ;  it  is  their  own 
fault  ;  they  allure  each  other  to  sin  ;  they  tor¬ 
ment  and  oppress  each  other ;  they  are  tempt¬ 
ed  of  their  own  evil  propensities;  they  go 
about  seeking  occasion  to  sin;  and  then  they 
weakly  lay  the  cause  at  my  door :  for  since 
God  came  upon  earth,  and  was  made  man  to 
redeem  man,  my  power  is  at  an  end.  Lo  I  I 
have  no  arms,  I  have  no  dwelling-place,  and, 
wanting  every  thing,  can  perform  nothing.  Let 
men  complain  of  themselves,  not  of  me:  not 
I,  but  they  alone,  are  guilty.’  To  which  the 


190 


DEVIL. 


DKVOTIOISr. 


saint,  marvelling  at  so  much  sense  and  truth 
from  the  lips  of  the  Devil,  replied,  ‘  Although 
thou  art  called  the  Father  of  Lies,  in  this 
thou  hast  spoken  the  truth  ;  and,  even  for  this, 
blessed  be  the  name  of  Christ !  ’  And,  when 
Satan  heard  the  holy  name  of  the  Redeemer, 
he  vanished  into  air  with  a  loud  cry;  and  An¬ 
thony,  looking  out,  saw  nothing  but  the  desert, 
and  the  darkness  of  the  night.” 

1507.  DEVIL,  Schemes  of  the.  Tasso  tells  us, 
that  when  the  Crusaders,  who  had  vowed  to 
rescue  the  Holy  Land  from  the  infidels’  power, 
arrived  at  the  Holy  City,  Satan  held  a  council 
to  devise  some  means  to  defeat  the  plans  of  the 
Christians ;  and  Arruida,  a  beautiful  sorceress, 
was  commissioned  to  try  her  arts  upon  them. 
She  conducted  Rinaldo  to  her  splendid  palace, 
on  a  remote  island,  surrounded  by  delightful 
gardens  and  pleasure-grounds,  where  he  utter¬ 
ly  forgot  his  vows,  the  great  object  to  which 
he  had  devoted  his  life.  Carlo  and  Ubaldo 
hastened  from  the  Christian  army  to  rescue 
him,  which  they  did  by  a  remarkable  influ¬ 
ence,  which  even  the  sorceress  could  not  resist. 
Rinaldo  succeeded  at  length  in  converting  her 
to  the  Christian  faith. 

154)§.  DEVIL,  Symbol  of  the.  As  a  fisher¬ 
man,  when  he  has  a  great  fish  on  his  hook,  lets 
out  the  line,  so  that  the  fish  may  swallow  down 
the  hook,  and  be  more  surely  caught ;  even  so 
the  Devil,  when  he  has  a  poor  sinner  upon  his 
hook,  does  not,  at  the  first,  treat  him  roughly, 
but  stretches  out  his  rod,  line  and  all,  that  he 
may  make  the  surer  of  him,  and  hold  him  the 
faster.  Cawdray. 

1509.  DEVIL,  a  Traveller.  The  Devil  is  no 
idle  spirit,  but  a  walker,  a  vagrant  runagate 
walker,  like  Cain,  that  cannot  rest  in  a 
place.  I  have  heard  of  travellers  that  have 
seen  many  parts  of  the  world,  but  never 
any  perpetual  peripatetic,  or  universal  walker, 
but  Satan ;  who  hath  travelled  all  coasts  and 
corners  of  the  earth,  and  would  of  heaven  too, 
if  he  might  be  admitted.  He  is  not,  like  St. 
George’s  statue,  ever  on  horseback,  and  never 
riding ;  but,  as  if  he  were  knight-marshal  of 
the  whole  world,  he  is  ever  walking.  His 
motion  is  circular,  and  his  unwearied  steps 
know  no  rest.  He  hath  a  large  and  endless 
circuit.  His  walk  is  a  siege,  that  goes  about 
the  fort  to  find  the  weakest  place,  as  easiest  for 
battery.  “  He  walketh  about  as  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour.”  His  walks  are 
the  circumference,  and  man  the  centre.  The 
motive,  cause,  and  main  intention  of  his  jour¬ 
ney,  is  to  win  man.  As  he  walks  through  the 
streets,  there  he  throws  a  short  measure,  a  false 
balance,  into  a  tradesman’s  shop.  He  steps 
into  a  drinking-house,  and  kindles  a  quarrel. 
He  shoulders  to  the  bar,  and  pops  in  a  forged 
evidence,  a  counterfeit  seal.  He  dares  enter 
the  schools,  and  commence  schisms  and  con¬ 
tentions;  nay,  climb  up  into  the  pulpit,  and 
broach  sects  and  divisions.  He  travels  no 

ground  but  like  a  stinking  fog  or  dying  oppressor 
e  leaves  a  scent  behind  him.  T.  Adams. 
1510.  DEVIL,  Work  of  the.  And,  in  general, 
we  may  observe,  that  as  no  good  is  done  or 


spoken  or  thought  by  any  man  without  the  as¬ 
sistance  of  God  working  together  in  and  with 
those  that  believe  in  him,  so  there  is  no  evil 
done  or  spoken  or  thought  without  the  assist¬ 
ance  of  the  Devil,  who  worketh  with  energy  — 
with  strong  though  secret  power  —  in  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  unbelief.  Thus  he  entered  into  Judas, 
confirming  him  in  the  design  of  betraying  his 
Master.  Thus  he  put  it  into  the  heart  of 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  to  lie  unto  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And,  in  like  manner,  he  has  a  share  in 
all  the  actions  and  words  and  designs  of  evil 
men.  .  As  the  children  of  God  are  workers  to¬ 
gether  with  God  in  every  good  thought  or 
word  or  action,  so  the  children  of  the  Devil 
are  workers  together  with  him  in  every  evil 
thought  or  word  or  work.  So  that,  as  all  good 
tempers,  and,  remotely,  all  good  words  and 
actions,  are  the  fruit  of  the  Good  Spirit;  in 
like  manner,  all  evil  tempers,  with  all  the  words 
aitd  works  which  spring  from  them,  are  the 
fruits  of  the  Evil  Spirit ;  insomuch  that  all  the 
works  of  the  flesh,  of  our  evil  nature,  are  like¬ 
wise  the  work  of  the  Devil.  J.  Wesley. 

1511.  DEVILS,  Incarnate.  Dark,  profoundly 
hellish,  as  is  the  character  of  Satan  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  in  human  books  of  imagina¬ 
tion,  do  you  not  think  that  there  are  men  who 
are  the  Devil’s  masters  in  art,  in  craft,  in  lying, 
in  every  thing  which  is  devilish  ?  Have  you 
not  sometimes  felt  as  though  you  could  do  his 
Satanic  majesty  reverence  and  respect  in  com¬ 
parison  with  them?  Talk  of  devils  being 
confined  to  hell,  or  confined  to  invisibility  1 
We  have  them  by  shoals  in  the  crowded  towns 
and  cities  of  the  world.  Talk  of  raising  the 
Devil  1  What  need  for  that  when  they  are 
constantly  walking  to  and  fro  in  our  streets, 
seeking  whom  they  may  devour  1  There  they 
are  :  do  you  not  see  them  ?  you  do  not  recog¬ 
nize  them,  simply  because  they  have  not  the 
foot  or  the  tail. 

1512.  DEVOTION,  Acceptable.  We  read  a 
pretty  story  of  St.  Anthony,  who,  being  in  the 
wilderness,  led  there  a  very  hard  and  strict 
life,  insomuch  as  none  at  that  time  did  the 
like ;  to  whom  came  a  voice,  saying,  “An¬ 
thony,  thou  art  not  so  perfect  as  is  a  cobbler 
that  dwelleth  at  Alexandria.”  Anthony, 
hearing  this,  rose  up  forthwith,  and  took  his 
staff,  and  travelled  till  he  came  to  Alexan¬ 
dria,  where  he  found  the  cobbler.  The  cobbler 
was  astonished  to  see  so  reverend  a  father 
come  to  his  house.  Then  Anthony  said  unto 
him,  “  Come  and  tell  me  thy  whole  conversa¬ 
tion,  and  how  thou  spendest  thy  time.” —  “  Sir,” 
said  the  cobbler,  “  as  for  me,  good  works  have 
I  none ;  for  my  life  is  but  simple  and  slender.  I 
am  but  a  poor  cobbler.  In  the  morning  when  I 
rise,  I  pray  for  the  whole  city  wherein  I  dwell, 
especially  for  all  such  neighbors  and  poor 
friends  as  I  have  ;  after,  I  set  me  at  my  labor, 
where  I  spend  a  whole  day  in  getting  my  liv¬ 
ing.  And  1  keep  me  from  all  falsehood,  for  I 
hate  nothing  so  much  as  I  do  deeeitfulness ; 
wherefore,  when  I  make  any  man  a  promise,  I 
keep  it,  and  perform  it  truly.  And  thus  I  spend 
my  time  poorly,  with  my  wife  and  children, 


DEV  OTION. 


whom  I  teach  and  instruct,  as  far  as  my  wit 
will  serve  me,  to  fear  and  dread  God.  And 
this  is  the  sum  of  my  simple  life.”  Latimer. 

1513.  DEVOTION,  Filial.  A  degraded  old 
man  was  brought  before  Octavius  for  condem¬ 
nation.  One  of  the  judges  recognized  him  as 
his  father,  and,  instead  of  ignoring  the  relation, 
appealed  to  Ctesar,  saying,  “  My  father  has 
been  your  emeny,  and  I  your  officer :  he  de¬ 
serves  to  be  punished,  and  I  to  be  rewarded. 
One  favor  I  desire  of  you,  —  either  save  him  on 
my  account,  or  put  me  to  death  with  him.” 
The  father  was  pardoned  for  the  son's  sake. 

1514.  DEVOTION,  Industry  with.  The  inhab¬ 

itants  of  the  bishopric  of  Durham  pleaded  a 
privilege,  that  King  Edward  I.  had  no  power, 
although  on  necessary  occasion,  to  press  them 
to  go  out  of  their  country,  because,  they  termed 
themselves  holy-workfolk, — only  to  be  used 
in  defending  the  shrine  of  St.  Cuthbert.  Many 
are  much  mistaken,  thinking  if  they  be  once 
entered  into  the  trade  of  godliness,  they  can 
cancel  all  indentures  to  service,  and  have  a 
full  dispensation  to  be  idle  in  their  callings ; 
whereas  the  best  way  to  make  the  service 
of  God  comfortable  to  their  own  souls  is  their 
lawful  vocations,  there  being  ever  some  se¬ 
cret  good  accruing  to  such  as  are  diligent 
therein.  Spencer. 

1515.  DEVOTION,  Legend  of.  It  is  said  of 
St.  Francisca  Romana,  that  though  unwearied 
in  her  devotions,  yet  if,  during  her  prayers,  she 
was  called  away  by  her  husband  or  any  domes¬ 
tic  duty,  she  would  close  her  book,  saying  that 
“  a  wife  and  a  mother,  when  called  upon,  must 
quit  her  God  at  the  altar,  and  find  him  in  her 
household  affairs.”  “  Now,  it  happened  once, 
that,  in  reciting  the  office  of  Our  Lady,  she  was 
called  away  four  times,  just  as  she  was  begin¬ 
ning  the  same  verse,  and,  returning  the  fifth 
time,  she  found  that  verse  written  upon  the 

age  in  letters  of  golden  light  by  the  hand  of 

er  guardian  angel.” 

1516.  DEVOTION,  Office  of.  If  faith  be  the 

mainspring,  devotion  winds  up  the  machinery, 
and  keeps  it  in  continual  motion.  It  is  as  im¬ 
possible  for  the  soul  to  remain  strong  in  faith, 
and  active  in  obedience,  without  continued  com¬ 
munion  with  God  the  fountain  of  all  grace,  as 
it  is  for  a  clock  to  perform  its  revolutions  with¬ 
out  being  regularly  wuund  up.  Jackson. 

1517.  DEVOTION,  Quality  of.  A  musician  is 

commended,  not  that  he  played  so  long,  but  that 
he  played  so  well.  And  thus  it  is  not  the  days 
of  our  life,  but  the  goodness  of  our  life ;  not  the 
length  of  our  prayers,  but  the  fervency  of  our 
prayers ;  not  the  measure  of  our  profession,  but 
the  sincerity  of  our  profession,  —  that  is  ac¬ 
ceptable  unto  God.  Spencer. 

1518.  DEVOTEDNESS,  Jewish.  Josephus  says, 
that  certain  of  the  Jewish  priests,  at  the  time 
of  the  taking  of  the  temple,  were  standing  at 
the  altar.  They  were  waving  to  and  fro  the 
sacred  censers,  and  offering  their  prayers  and 
their  victims.  The  Romans  rushed  in,  sword  in 
hand.  There  were  shrieks  and  cries,  murders 
and  deaths ;  the  pavement  was  stained  with 
blood  :  but  the  priests  took  no  notice  whatever, 


DID'D’ICTTXjTTES.  191 

nor  would  they  turn  from  their  sacrifice,  till  at 
last  they  were  themselves  slain. 

1519.  DEVOTEDNESS,  Heathen.  A  Spartan 
youth  was  holding  the  censer  at  a  sacrifice 
when  Alexander  was  offering  a  victim.  I* 
chanced,  that,  while  he  held  the  censer,  a  ho 
coal  fell  upon  his  hand.  The  youth  stood  still 
and  never  flinched,  lest  by  any  utterance  or  crj 
the  sacrifice  should  be  disturbed;  for,  he  said, 
he  was  in  the  presence  of  Alexander,  and  he 
would  not  have  the  sacrifice  interrupted  for 
him :  and  thus  he  bore  the  pain  of  the  burning 
coal.  Let  us  remember  that  Spartan  youth, 
adding,  to  what  he  said,  “  We  are  in  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  Almighty  God.” 

Biblical  Treasury. 

1520.  DEVOTEDNESS,  Ministerial.  I  would 

rather  be  Brainard,  wrapped  in  my  bearskin, 
and  spitting  blood  upon  the  snow,  than  to  be 
Gabriel.  Bishop  Hamline. 

1521.  DIFFIOULTIES,  Allegory  of.  Then  the 

shepherds  led  the  pilgrims  to  some  new  places. 
The  first  was  Mount  Marvel,  where  they  looked, 
and  beheld  a  man  at  a  distance,  that  tumbled 
the  hills  about  with  words.  Then  they  asked 
the  shepherds  what  that  should  mean.  So 
they  told  them,  that  that  man  was  the  son  of 
one  Mr.  Great-Grace;  and  he  is  set  down  there 
to  teach  pilgrims  how  to  believe,  or  to  tum¬ 
ble  out  of  their  ways  what  difficulties  they 
should  meet  with  by  faith.  Then  said  Mr. 
Great-Heart,  “  I  know  him  :  he  is  a  man  above 
many.”  Bunyan. 

1522.  DnnCULTIESi  Avoiding.  Formality 

and  Hypocrisy  came  also  with  Christian  to 
the  foot  of  the  hill ;  but  when  they  saw  that  the 
hill  was  steep  and  high,  and  that  there  were 
two  other  ways  to  go,  —  and  supposing  also 
that  these  two  ways  might  meet  again  with 
that  up  which  Christian  went,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  hill,  —  therefore  they  were  re¬ 
solved  to  go  in  those  ways.  Now,  the  name 
of  one  of  those  ways  was  Danger,  and  the 
name  of  the  other  Destruction.  So  the  one 
took  the  way  which  is  called  Danger,  which 
led  him  into  a  great  wood ;  and  the  other 
took  directly  up  the  way  to  Destruction,  which 
led  him  into  a  wide  field  full  of  dark  moun¬ 
tains,  where  he  stumbled  and  fell,  and  rose  no 
more.  Bunyan. 

1523.  DIFFICULTIES,  Conquered.  Christopher 
Columbus,  the  son  of  a  poor  Genoese  wool- 
comber,  by  profession  a  sailor,  conceived  the 
idea  that  undiscovered  continents  existed  west 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  resolved  to  test  the  truth 
of  his  theory.  The  difficulties  of  ignorance, 
poverty,  and  repeated  disappointments,  seemed 
insurmountable.  The  Portuguese  court  disap¬ 
pointed  him.  His  native  city  would  not  lis¬ 
ten  to  him.  He  sought  the  aid  of  Venice  in 
vain.  At  last,  he  laid  his  case  before  Ferdi¬ 
nand  and  Isabella  of  Spain,  and  asked  for  ships 
and  men.  Heie,  wearied  with  delays,  he 
started  for  the  court  of  France,  but  was  re¬ 
called  by  Isabella,  who  sold  her  jewels  to  do- 
fray  the  expense  of  the  expedition.  In  stern 
resolve,  he  turned  his  ships’  prows  westward, 
undaunted  by  superstition  or  mutiny,  till  the 


192 


xdht'fictjTjTucs. 


DHniniCTJr,TY. 


lookout’s  cry,  “Land,  land!”  announced  a 
new  world,  and  a  glorious  triumph. 

1524.  DIFFICULTIES,  Discipline  of.  An  acorn 
is  not  an  oak-tree  when  it  is  sprouted.  It 
must  go  through  long  summers  and  fierce 
winters ;  it  has  to  endure  all  that  frost  and 
snow  and  thunder  and  storm  and  side-strik¬ 
ing  winds  can  bring,  before  it  is  a  full-grown 
oak.  These  are  rough  teachers ;  but  rugged 
schoolmasters  make  rugged  pupils.  So  a  man 
is  not  a  man  when  he  is  created  :  he  is  only 
begun.  His  manhood  must  come  with  years. 
A  man  who  goes  through  life  prosperous,  and 
comes  to  his  grave  without  a  wrinkle,  is  not 
half  a  man.  In  time  of  war,  whom  does  the 
general  select  for  some  hazardous  enterprise  ? 
He  looks  over  the  men,  and  chooses  the  sol¬ 
dier  whom  he  knows  will  not  flinch  at  danger, 
but  will  go  bravely  through  whatever  is  allotted 
to  him.  He  calls  him  that  he  may  receive 
his  orders  ;  the  officer,  blushing  with  pleasure 
to  be  thus  chosen,  hastens  away  to  execute 
them.  Difficulties  are  God’s  errands ;  and, 
when  we  are  sent  upon  them,  we  should  esteem 
it  a  proof  of  God’s  confidence,  as  a  compli¬ 
ment  from  God.  The  traveller  who  goes 
round  the  world  prepares  himself  to  pass 
through  all  latitudes,  and  to  meet  all  changes. 
So  a  man  must  be  prepared  to  take  life  as  it 
comes  ;  to  mount  the  hill  when  the  hill  swells, 
and  to  go  down  the  hill  when  the  hill  lowers  ; 
to  walk  the  plain  when  it  stretches  before  him, 
and  to  ford  the  river  when  it  rolls  over  the 
plain.  “I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengtheneth  me.”  Beecher. 

1525.  DIFFICULTIES,  Gaia  of.  Sirs,  are 
there  difficulties  in  your  path,  hiudering  your 

fiursuit  of  knowledge,  restraining  your  benevo- 
ent  endeavor,  making  your  spiritual  life  a 
contest  and  a  toil  V  Be  thankful  for  them. 
They  will  test  your  capabilities  of  resistance. 
You  will  be  impelled  to  persevere  from  the 
very  energy  of  the  opposition.  If  there  be 
any  might  in  your  soul,  like  the  avalanche  of 
snow,  it  will  acquire  additional  momentum 
from  the  obstacles  which  threaten  to  impede 
it  Many  a  man  has  thus  robed  himself  in 
the  spoils  of  a  vanquished  difficulty ;  and  his 
conquests  have  accumulated  at  every  onward 
and  upward  step,  until  he  has  rested  from  his 
labor,  the  successful  athlete  who  has  thrown 
the  world.  “  An  unfortunate  illustration,” 
you  are  ready  to  say ;  “  for  all  cannot  win  the 
Olympic  crown,  nor  wear  the  Isthmian  laurel. 
What  of  him  who  fails?  How  is  he  recom¬ 
pensed?  What  does  he  gain?  ”  What  ?  Why, 
strength  for  life.  His  training  has  insured 
him  that.  He  will  never  forget  the  gymnasium 
and  its  lessons.  He  will  always  be  a  stalwart 
man,  a  man  of  muscle  and  of  sinew.  The  real 
merit  is  not  in  the  success,  but  in  the  endeavor, 
and,  win  or  lose,  he  will  be  honored  and 
crowned.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

1526.  DIFFICULTIES,  Going  through,  The 
way  to  go  through  difficulties  is  the  same  as 
when  we  walk  home  through  a  fog.  When 
we  enter,  all  seems  dark  and  mist  before  us ; 
and,  as  we  advance,  we  are  completely  envel¬ 


oped  by  the  hazy,  cheerless  cloud.  But  if 
there  be  a  little  space  around  us,  which  is  clear 
enough  to  show  the  path  a  few  yards  before, 
it  is  enough.  On  we  go,  straight  through, 
and  we  have  our  reward  in  the  end.  So  it  is 
with  the  Christian.  Bowes. 

1527.  DIFFICULTIES,  Joy  of  Overcoming.  A 

husbandman  who  had  a  stony  and  sterile  piece 
of  land  went  on  lamenting,  day  after  day,  the 
labor  it  cost  him.  When,  however,  he  saw 
upon  it  a  capital  crop,  “  Fool  that  I  am  1  ”  said 
he  to  himself :  “  had  I  thought  more  of  the  har¬ 
vest,  and  less  of  the  labor,  how  much  vexation 
I  might  have  spared  myself  1  ”  Morgridge. 

1528.  DIFFICULTIES,  Look  Aloft  in.  “  Can 

you  climb?  ”  a  captain  asked  of  a  sailor-boy, 
before  taking  him  out  in  his  ship.  The  trial 
was  soon  after  made,  and  the  poor  boy’s  head 
began  to  grow  dizzy  as  he  mounted  higher  and 
higher  on  the  rigging.  “  Oh  1  I  shall  fall,”  he 
cried,  looking  down  upon  the  sea.  “  Look  up, 
my  boy  !  ”  shouted  the  captain  ;  and  so  he  did, 
and  gained  the  mast-head.  Thus  is  it  with  us. 
When  we  look  below,  and  see  the  waves,  we 
fear,  or,  like  Peter,  we  begin  to  sink ;  but  keep 
the  eye  fixed  on  Jesus,  “  look  up,”  and  the  dif¬ 
ficulty  is  overcome.  Bowes. 

1520.  DIFFICULTIES,  Solved.  Some  one 
said  to  Copernicus,  “  If  the  world  were  consti¬ 
tuted  as  you  say,  Venus  would  have  phases 
like  the  moon  :  she  has  none,  however.  What 
have  you  to  say  to  that  ?  ”  Copernicus  an¬ 
swered,  “  I  have  no  reply  to  give  ;  but  God  will 
be  so  good  as  that  an  answer  to  this  difficulty 
will  be  found.”  In  fact,  God  was  so  good,  that 
Galileo  invented  the  telescope,  with  which 
these  phases  of  Venus  were  discovered ;  but 
Copernicus  was  dead.  God  will  be  so  good 
that  we  shall  see  the  prodigies  of  his  power ; 
but  we  shall  then  be  living  an  eternal  life,  and 
shall  only  wonder  at  one  thing,  — our  own 
former  difficulties,  when  we  could  depend  upon 
the  great  God  of  heaven  for  their  solution. 

Madame  de  Gasparin. 

1530.  DIFFICULTIES,  Use  of.  The  dove  in 
the  fable,  annoyed  because  the  wind  had  ruf¬ 
fled  its  feathers,  foolishly  wished  for  a  firma¬ 
ment  free  of  air,  through  the  empty  space  of 
which  it  vainly  dreamed  its  unimpeded  wing 
would  dart  swift  as  “  the  nimble  lightning.” 
Silly  bird  1  without  that  air  it  could  neither  live 
nor  soar.  Do  not  ignobly  wish  every  breath  of 
opposition  away.  Difficulties  met  and  mas¬ 
tered  upbear  us  to  the  high  reaches  of  honor. 
By  deeds  of  daring,  Havelock  won  his  glorious 
fame.  Not  in  the  drawing-room,  but  amid  the 
perils  and  alarms  of  war,  “  leal-hearted,”  honest, 
brave  Lord  Clyde  has  earned  his  peerage. 

S.  Coley. 

1531.  DIFFICULTY,  Meeting.  I  beheld,  then, 
that  they  all  went  on  till  they  came  to  the  foot 
of  the  hill  Difficulty,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
was  a  spring.  There  were  also  in  the  same 
place  two  other  ways  besides  that  which  came 
straight  from  the  gate :  one  turned  to  the  left 
hand,  and  the  other  to  the  right,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  hill ;  but  the  narrow  way  lay  right  up 
the  hill,  and  the  name  of  the  going-up  the  side 


DQTFICTJXiTY. 


DILIGENCE. 


of  the  hill  is  called  Difficulty.  Christian  now 
went  to  the  spring,  and  drank  thereof  to  refresh 
himself ;  and  then  he  began  to  go  up  the  hill, 
saying,  — 

The  hill,  though  high,  I  covet  to  ascend; 

The  difficulty  will  not  me  offend; 

For  I  perceive  the  way  to  life  lies  here: 

Come,  pluck  up,  heart,  let’s  neither  faint  nor  fear. 
Better,  though  difficult,  the  right  way  to  go, 

Than  wrong,  though  easy,  where  the  end  is  woe. 

Bunyan. 

1532.  DIFFICULTY,  Overcoming.  Accustom 
rourself  to  master  and  overcome  things  of 
liffieulty  :  for,  if  you  observe,  the  left  hand,  for 
want  of  practice,  is  insignificant,  and  not 
adapted  to  general  business ;  yet  it  holds  the 
bridle  better  than  the  right,  from  constant  use. 

PI  ini/. 

1533.  DILIGENCE,  Advised.  What  though 

•ou  have  found  no  treasure,  nor  has  any  friend 
eft  you  a  rich  legacy  !  Diligence  is  the  mother 
of  good  luck,  and  God  gives  all  things  to  in¬ 
dustry.  Then  plough  deep  while  sluggards 
sleep,  and  you  shall  have  corn  to  sell  and 
to  keep.  Work  while  it  is  called  to-day ; 
for  you  know  not  how  much  you  may  be 
hindered  to-morrow.  One  to-day  is  worth 
two  to-morrows,  as  poor  Richard  says ;  and, 
further,  never  leave  that  till  to-morrow  which 
you  can  do  to-day.  Franklin. 

1531.  DILIGENCE,  Approved.  As  Satan  se¬ 
lects  his  disciples  when  they  are  idle,  so  our 
Saviour  chose  his  while  they  were  busy  at 
their  trade, — either  mending  their  nets,  or 
casting  them  into  the  sea.  Nay,  he  himself 
stooped  to  a  trade,  and  was  a  carpenter. 

Farrindon. 

1535.  DILIGENCE,  Example  of.  The  Rev.  T. 

Carter,  one  of  the  Puritan  ministers,  once  came 
unexpectedly  behind  one  of  his  acquaintances, 
who  was  busily  engaged  in  his  trade  as  a  tan¬ 
ner.  He  gave  him  a  pleasant  tap  on  the 
shoulder.  The  good  man  looked  behind  him, 
started,  and  said,  “  Sir,  I  am  ashamed  that  you 
should  find  me  thus  employed.”  Mr.  Carter 
replied,  “  Let  Christ,  when  lie  cometh,  find  me 
so  doing.”  —  “  What  1  ”  said  the  good  man, 
“doing  this?” — “Yes,”  said  Mr.  Carter; 
“  faithfully  performing  the  duties  of  my  call¬ 
ing.”  Ckeeoer. 

1536.  DILIGENCE,  Explained.  Diligence  com¬ 
prises  both  the  impulse  of  the  bow-string  that 
despatches  the  arrow,  and  the  feather  that 
keeps  it  true  to  its  aim.  Dilirjo ,  the  Latin 
word  from  which  diligence  is  derived,  means 
“  I  choose,”  “  select,”  or  “love.”  To  be  dili¬ 
gent,  therefore,  is  to  resemble  an  eager  hunter, 
who  selects  the  fattest  of  the  herd,  and,  leav¬ 
ing  the  rest,  pursues  and  captures  that  one. 
Napoleon  the  First  won  his  victories  chiefly  by 
rapid  concentration  of  his  forces  on  one  point 
of  the  enemy’s  line.  A  burning-glass  is  power¬ 
ful  because  it  focalizes  a  mass  of  sunbeams  on 
one  point.  So,  in  all  departments  of  activity, 
to  have  one  thing  to  do,  and  then  to  do  it,  is 
the  secret  ot  success. 

1537.  DILIGENCE,  Motives  to.  Suppose  every 
day  a  day  of  harvest;  suppose  it  a  market- 

13  . 


day ;  suppose  it  a  day  wherein  you  are  to  work 
in  a  golden  mine ;  suppose  it  a  ring,  which  you 
are  to  engrave  and  enamel  with  your  actions, 
to  be  at  night  presented  on  God’s  altar. 

N.  Caussin. 

1538.  DILIGENCE,  Power  of.  There  is  no 

art  nor  science  that  is  too  difficult  lor  industry 
to  attain  to  :  it  is  the  power  of  the  tongue,  and 
makes  a  man  understood  all  over  the  world. 
It  is  the  philosopher’s  stone,  that  turns  all 
metals  and  even  stones  into  gold,  and  suffers 
no  want  to  break  into  its  dwelling.  It  is  the 
north-west  passage,  that  brings  the  merchant’s 
ships  to  him  by  a  nearer  and  shorter  path.  In 
a  word,  it  conquers  all  enemies,  and  gives 
wings  to  blessings.  Farrindon. 

1539.  DILIGENCE,  Reward  of.  Long  ago,  a 
little  boy  was  entered  at  Harrow  school.  He 
was  put  into  a  class  beyond  his  years,  and 
where  all  the  scholars  had  all  the  advantage 
of  previous  instruction  denied  to  him.  His 
master  chid  him  for  his  dulness ;  and  all  his 
efforts  then  could  not  raise  him  from  the  lowest 
place  in  the  class.  But,  nothing  daunted,  he 
procured  the  grammars  and  other  elementary 
books  which  his  class-fellows  had  gone  through 
in  previous  terms.  He  devoted  the  hours  of 
play,  and  not  a  few  of  the  hours  of  sleep,  to 
the  mastering  of  these ;  till,  in  a  few  weeks, 
he  gradually  began  to  rise  :  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  shot  ahead  of  all  his  companions, 
and  became  not  only  leader  of  the  division, 
but  the  pride  of  Harrow.  You  may  see  the 
statue  of  that  boy,  whose  career  began  with 
this  fit  of  energetic  application,  in  St.  Paul’s 
Cathedral ;  for  he  lived  to  be  the  greatest 
Oriental  scholar  in  modern  Europe :  it  was 
Sir  William  Jones.  The  most  illustrious  in 
the  annals  of  philosophy  once  knew  no  more 
than  the  most  illiterate  now  do.  And  how  did 
he  arrive  at  his  peerless  dignity  ?  By  dint  of 
diligence ;  by  downright  painstaking. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

1510.  DILIGENCE,  Royal  Example  of.  When 
Lysander,  a  Lacedaemonian  general,  brought 
magnificent  presents  to  Cyrus,  he  was  shown, 
and  much  admired,  the  royal  gardens.  Cyrus 
told  him,  in  answer  to  his  inquiries,  that  he 
had  himself  drawn  and  entirely  marked  out 
the  plan  of  the  gardens,  and  had  planted  many 
of  the  trees  with  his  own  hands.  “  What  1  ” 
exclaimed  Lysander  with  astonishment,  and 
viewing  Cyrus  from  head  to  foot :  “  is  it  possible, 
that  with  those  purple  robes  and  splendid 
vestments,  those  strings  of  jewels  and  bracelets 
of  gold,  those  buskins  so  richly  embroidered, 
—  is  it  possible  that  you  could  play  the  gar¬ 
dener,  and  employ  your  royal  hands  in  plant¬ 
ing  trees  ?  ”  —  “  Does  that  surprise  you  ?  ”  said 
Cyrus :  “  I  assure  you,  that,  when  my  health 
permits,  I  never  sit  down  to  my  table  without 
having  fatigued  myself  either  in  military 
exercise,  rural  labor,  or  some  other  toilsome 
employment ;  to  which  I  apply  myself  with 
pleasure.”  Lysander.  still  more  amazed,  pressed 
Cyrus  by  the  hand,  and  said,  “  You  are  truly 
happy,  and  deserve  your  high  fortune,  since 
you  unite  it  with  virtue.” 


194 


DrLia-icisrca. 


DISCrPLXNnK. 


1541.  DILIGENCE,  Triumph  of.  There  came  1 

to  our  boarding-liouse  one  sabbath  evening  a  ( 
tall,  gawkisli,  white-haired  boy,  with  an  eye  < 
that  danced  and  rolled  like  a  snake’s ;  wearing  < 
a  broken,  rusty,  seedy  “  beaver;  ”  with  panta-  i 
loons  covering  about  half  of  the  calf;  bearing  ‘ 
under  his  arm  a  half-washed  shirt  tied  up  in  a  ; 
greasy  red  silk  handkerchief;  in  which  plight  ] 
he  was  ushered  into  the  parlor,  where  he  i 
seemed  as  restless  as  a  fish  out  of  water.  lie  i 
was  going  to  attend  school,  and  engaged  < 
board.  On  speaking,  he  proved  to  be  misera-  i 
bly  tongue-tied,  and,  withal,  lisped  so  shock¬ 
ingly,  that  you  would  be  reminded  of  the 
hissing  of  a  goose.  Of  course,  he  was  the 
laughing-stock  of  the  school ;  and,  strange  to  < 
tell,  those  who  were  the  nearest  akin  to  him  in 
circumstances  made  him  most  frequently  the 
object  of  their  silly  jests  and  cruel  taunts.  To 
the  surprise  of  all,  he  was  well  prepared  in  the 
languages  and  mathematics,  and  soon  rivalled 
the  best  scholars  of  the  school,  whose  former 
contempt  gave  place  to  jealousy  and  envy. 
He  became  a  finished  speaker,  a  first-rate 
scholar,  and,  the  last  time  I  heard  of  him,  was 
professor  in  a  Southern  college.  Such  success 
should  provoke  to  patience  and  perseverance 
those  who  have  to  contend  with  obstacles  such 
as  he  so  readily  surmounted.  There  are  few 
cases  more  hopeless.  Biblical  Recorder. 

1542.  DILIGENCE,  Witchcraft  of.  Pliny  re¬ 

lates  that  Cressinus  gathered  so  much  more 
wealth  from  a  small  piece  of  ground  than  his 
neighbors  could  from  a  much  larger  piece,  they 
accused  him  of  witchcraft.  To  defend  himself, 
he  brought  into  court  his  servants,  with  their 
instruments  of  labor,  and  said,  “My  witch¬ 
crafts,  O  ye  Romans  1  are  these.  These  ser¬ 
vants  and  these  tools  are  all  the  witchcraft 
that  I  know  of.  I  say  not  to  my  servants,  ‘  Go 
do  this  or  do  that,’  but,  ‘  Come,  let  us  go  do  it  1  ’ 
and  so  the  work  goes  on.”  Industry  and  dili¬ 
gence  make  any  man  excellent  and  glorious, 
and  chief  in  any  condition,  calling,  or  profes¬ 
sion.  Spencer. 

1543.  DISAPPOINTMENT,  Enduring.  It  is  a 
trite  saying,  that  disappointment  is  the  hardest 
of  all  things  to  bear,  —  hardest,  because  it  finds 
die  soul  unbraced  to  meet  it,  relaxed,  at  ease, 
and  tuned  to  indulgence  and  joy.  Disappoint¬ 
ment  imbitters  and  maddens.  It  may  be  the 
smallest  fraction  of  good,  —  a  little  morsel  of 
delight  which  a  wealthier  or  happier  would 
spurn ;  no  matter  if  it  be  but  the  killing  of 
the  prisoner’s  spider,  or  Mungo  Park’s  bit  of 
moss.  No  man  with  a  man’s  heart  in  him 
gets  far  on  his  wilderness  way  without  some 
bitter,  soul-searching  disappointment;  ha'ppy 
he  who  is  brave  enough  to  push  on  another 
stage  of  the  journey,  and  rest  in  Elim,  where 
there  are  twelve  springs,  —  living  springs  of 
water,  —  and  threescore  and  ten  palms ! 

./.  B.  Brown. 

1544.  DISAPPOINTMENT,  True  View  of. 
“  Doomed  to  disappointment,  as  usual !  ” —  “  Do 
not  say,  *  as  usual,’  ”  a  soft  voice  replied. 
“  You  sometimes  are  wonderfully  prospered.”— 
“  Yes,  1  say,  as  usual”  was  the  quick,  angry 


response.  “  I  find  the  path  blocked  up  which 
ever  way  I  turn  :  try  bard  as  I  may,  something 
or  other  upsets  all  my  plans.  I  might  as  well 
give  up  one  time  as  another.”  —  “  Perhaps  it 
isn’t  the  right  time,”  said  the  soft  voice  again ; 

“  may  be  God  would  prove  you  before  he  blesses 
you ;  perhaps  he  sees  that  you  are  not  pre¬ 
pared  lor  prosperity.  We  must  take  the  bless¬ 
ings  thankfully  as  they  come,  John,  and  the 
disappointments  too,  as  part  of  his  loving 
discipline.  Every  tiling  comes  best  in  God’s 
time.” 

1545.  DISCIPLINE,  Benefit  of.  In  Church,  it 

is  the  sinews  of  the  body  which  knit  and  join 
the  members  together  in  decent  order  and 
comeliness ;  it  is  a  bridle  to  stay  the  wicked 
from  their  mischiefs ;  it  is  a  spur  to  prick  for¬ 
ward  such  as  are  slow  and  negligent;  yea, 
and  for  all  men  it  is  the  Father’s  rod,  ever 
ready  to  chastise  gently  the  faults  committed, 
and  to  cause  them  afterwards  to  live  in  more 
godly  fear  and  reverence.  Cawdray. 

1546.  DISCIPLINE,  Comfort  of.  As  when  a 
man  goes  astray,  and  is  lost  in  a  forest,  it 
would  be  a  great  comfort  to  him  to  be  told 
of  his  error,  and  taught  the  right  way ;  so  the 
end  of  discipline  is  recovery,  and  should  evoke 
gratitude. 

1547.  DISCIPLINE,  Church.  If  there  were 

never  so  fair  a  garden  planted,  and  left  with¬ 
out  a  fence,  its  herbs  and  plants  would  soon 
be  rooted  up ;  so  it  is  in  the  Church  where  dis¬ 
cipline  is  wanting.  Cawdray. 

1548.  DISCIPLINE,  Not  Ruin.  Men  think 
God  is  destroying  them  because  he  is  tuning 
them.  The  violinist  screws  up  the  key  till  the 
tense  cord  sounds  the  concert-pitch ;  but  it  is 
not  to  break  it,  but  to  use  it  tunefully,  that  he 
stretches  the  string  upon  the  musical  rack. 

Beecher. 

1549.  DISCIPLINE,  Object  of.  Visiting  a  per¬ 
son  who  was  in  deep  affliction  and  sorrow, 
Gotthold  was  told  by  the  family  that  he  was  in 
the  garden.  Thither  he  followed,  and  found 
him  employed  in  clearing  a  vine  of  its  super¬ 
fluous  leaves.  After  a  friendly  salute,  he  in¬ 
quired  what  he  was  doing.  “  I  find,”  was  the 
reply,  “  that,  owing  to  the  abundant  rain,  tliis 

,  vine  is  overgrown  with  wood  and  leaves,  which 
prevents  the  sun  from  reaching  and  ripening 
the  grapes.  I  am  therefore  pruning  part  of 
them  away,  that  it  may  bring  its  fruit  to  matu¬ 
rity.”  Gotthold  rejoined,  “  And  do  you  find, 
that,  in  this  operation,  the  vine  resists  and 
opposes  you  ?  If  not,  why  are  you  displeased 
that  a  gracious  God  should  do  to  you  what 
your  vine  must  not  be  displeased  that  you  do 
to  it  ?  ” 

1550.  DISCIPLINE,  Power  of.  No  evil  pro¬ 
pensity  of  the  human  heart  is  so  powerful  that 
it  may  not  be  subdued  bv  discipline.  Seneca. 

1551.  DISCIPLINE,  Prayer  for.  O  Lord,  cor¬ 
rect  me,  but  with  judgment ;  not  in  thine  anger 

lest  thou  bring  me  to  nothing.  —  Jer.  x.  24. - 

Behold  us  willing  to  suffer  in  this  life  the  worst 
it  may  please  Thee  to  bring  upon  us ;  here  lay 
Thy  rod  upon  us ;  “  Consume  us  here,  cut  us  to 
pieces  here,  only  spare  us  in  eternity  1  ”  —  St, 


DISCTPLEKTE. 


DISCONTENTMENT.  195 


A  ugustine. - Send  us  poverty  now,  that  we 

may  be  spared  in  eternity ;  send  us  reproach 
now,  that  we  may  be  spared  in  eternity;  send 
us  sickness  now,  that  we  may  be  spared  in 
eternity;  send  us  just  as  many  evils  as  may 
please  Thee  in  this  world,  provided  we  may 
be  spared  forever  in  the  world  to  come,  —  that 
we  may  be  spared  in  eternity  !  Segneri. 

1552.  DISCIPLINE,  Severe.  A  child  a  short 

time  since  was  taken  ill  with  that  dangerous 
disorder  the  croup.  It  was  a  child  most  ar¬ 
dently  beloved,  and,  ordinarily,  very  obedient ; 
but,  in  this  state  of  uneasiness  and  pain,  he  re¬ 
fused  to  take  the  medicine  which  it  was  need¬ 
ful,  without  delay,  to  administer.  The  father, 
finding  him  resolute,  immediately  punished  his 
sick  and  suffering  son.  Under  these  circum¬ 
stances,  and  fearing  that  his  son  might  soon 
die,  it  must  have  been  a  most  severe  trial  to 
the  father  :  but  the  consequence  was,  that  the 
child  was  taught  that  sickness  was  no  excuse 
for  disobedience ;  and,  while  his  sickness  con¬ 
tinued,  he  promptly  took  whatever  medicine 
was  prescribed,  and  was  patient  and  submis¬ 
sive.  Soon  the  child  was  well.  Docs  any  one 
say  that  this  was  cruel  ?  It  was  one  of  the 
noblest  acts  of  kindness  which  could  have  been 
performed.  If  the  father  had  shrunk  from 
duty  here,  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that 
the  life  of  the  child  would  have  been  the  for¬ 
feit.  Abbott. 

1553.  DISCONTENT,  Cured.  We  often  make 
troublesome  changes  without  amendment,  and, 
frequently,  for  the  worse.  In  my  youth,  I  was 
passenger  in  a  little  sloop  descending  the  River 
Delaware.  There  being  no  wind,  we  were 
obliged,  when  the  tide  was  spent,  to  cast  anchor, 
and  wait  for  the  next.  The  heat  of  the  sun  on 
the  vessel  was  excessive ;  the  company  stran¬ 
gers  to  me,  and  not  very  agreeable.  Near  the 
river-side  I  saw  what  I  took  to  be  a  pleasant 
green  meadow,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a 
large  shady  tree,  where  it  struck  my  fancy  I 
could  sit  and  read,  having  a  book  in  my  pock¬ 
et,  and  pass  the  time  agreeably,  until  the 
tide  turned.  I  therefore  prevailed  with  the 
captain  to  put  me  ashore.  Being  landed,  I 
found  the  greatest  part  of  my  meadow  was 
really  a  marsh,  in  crossing  which,  to  come  at 
my  tree,  I  was  up  to  my  knees  in  mire ;  and  I 
had  not  placed  myself  under  its  shade  five  min¬ 
utes,  before  mosquitoes  in  swarms  found  me 
out,  attacked  my  legs,  hands,  and  face,  and 
made  my  reading  and  my  rest  impossible  :  so 
that  I  returned  to  the  beach,  and  called  for 
the  boat  to  come  and  take  me  on  board  again, 
where  I  was  obliged  to  bear  the  heat  I  strove 
to  quit,  and  also  the  laugh  of  the  company. 

Dr.  Franklin. 

1554.  DISCONTENT,  Punished.  A  person 
with  not  very  ample  means  of  support  was 
burthened  with  a  large  family.  A  neighbor 
had  just  called  to  tell  him  of  a  friend  who  had 
got  a  prize  in  the  lottery,  when  he  was  also 
Informed  of  the  birth  of  his  twelfth  child.  He 
exclaimed  peevishly,  “  God  sends  meat  to 
others,  children  to  me.”  It  so  happened,  that 
God,  at  whose  government  he  had  so  impious¬ 


ly  murmured,  sent  him  those  riches  he  longed 
for  ;  but,  as  he  sent  him  the  wished-for  wealth, 
he  deprived  him  of  the  children  he  had  com¬ 
plained  of.  lie  saw  them  one  by  one  go  to 
the  grave  before  him ;  and  in  advanced  life 
and  great  affluence,  when  he  endured  the 
stroke  of  having  his  last  beloved  daughter 
taken  from  his  eyes,  he  bitterly  remembered 
his  former  rebellious  murmurings  against  God. 

Whit  ecr  oss. 

1555.  DISCONTENT,  Unreasonable.  Herodotus 

tells  us  of  a  people  in  Africa,  who  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Atlas,  whose  daily  cus¬ 
tom  was  to  curse  the  sun  when  he  rises  high 
in  the  heavens,  because  his  excessive  heat 
scorched  and  tormented  them.  We  have  al¬ 
ways  thought  this  a  fine  illustration  of  discon¬ 
tent,  which  overlooks  blessings  and  dwells  upon 
evils.  Did  the  Atarautians  forget,  that,  to  the 
sun  they  cursed,  they  were  indebted  for  light, 
for  food,  for  the  fertility  of  their  country,  for 
ten  thousand  blessings,  without  which  their 
continued  existence  had  been  impossible?  Did 
they  think  what  their  condition  would  have 
been,  had  the  sun  they  cursed  left  the  ungrate¬ 
ful  complainers  for  a  month  in  darkness  ?  His 
absence  for  but  half  that  time  would  have 
made  them  pray  for  his  return  as  their  bene¬ 
factor,  as  heartily  even  as  they  cursed  him  as 
their  tormentor.  Family  Treasury. 

1556.  DISCONTENT,  Common.  Mr.  Cecil, 
riding  one  day  with  a  friend  in  a  very  windy 
day,  the  dust  being  very  troublesome,  his  com¬ 
panion  wished  that  they  could  ride  in  the 
fields,  where  they  would  be  free  from  dust ; 
and  this  wish  he  repeated  more  than  once 
while  on  the  road.  At  length,  they  reached 
the  fields,  when  the  flies  so  teased  his  friend’s 
horse,  that  he  could  scarcely  keep  his  seat  on 
the  saddle.  On  his  bitterly  complaining,  “  Ah  ! 
sir,”  said  Mr.  Cecil,  “  when  you  were  in  the 
road,  the  dust  was  your  only  trouble,  and  all 
your  anxiety  was  to  get  into  the  fields ;  you 
forgot  that  the  fly  was  there.  Now,  this  is  a 
true  picture  of  human  life,  and  you  will  find  it 
so  in  all  the  changes  you  make  in  future.  We 
know  the  trials  of  our  present  situation  ;  but  the 
next  will  have  trials,  and  perhaps  worse, 
though  they  may  be  of  a  different  kind.” 

Whitecross. 

1557.  DISCONTENTMENT,  Fable  of.  A  canary 

and  a  gold-fish  had  their  lot  thrown  together 
in  the  same  room.  One  hot  day,  the  master  of 
the  house  heard  the  fish  complaining  of  his 
dumb  condition,  and  envying  the  sweet  song 
of  his  companion  overhead,  “  Oh !  I  wish  I 
could  sing  as  sweetly  as  my  friend  up  there !  ” 
whilst  the  canary  was  eying  the  inhabitant  of 
the  globe,  “  How  cool  it  looks  1  I  wish  my  lot 
were  there  1  ”  —  “  So,  then,  it  shall  be,”  said  the 
master,  and  forthwith  placed  the  fish  in  the 
air,  and  the  bird  in  the  water ;  whereupon  they 
saw  their  folly,  and  repented  of  their  discon¬ 
tent.  Of  which  the  moral  is  sooner  drawn 
than  practised,  —  let  every  man  be  content  in 
the  state  in  which  Providence  has  placed  him, 
and  believe  that  it  is  what  is  best  fitted  for 
him.  Bowes. 


196  DISCO^STTIDIvrTMEjSJ'T. 


DISCRETION. 


1558.  DISCONTENTMENT,  Similo  of.  .  They 
that  are  not  content  with  their  present  condi¬ 
tion  are  like  little  children  upon  a  hill ;  and 
they  look  a  good  way  off,  and  see  another  hill, 
and  think,  if  they  were  on  the  top  of  that, 
then  they  were  able  to  touch  the  clouds  with 
their  fingers ;  but,  when  they  are  on  top  of  that 
hill,  alas !  they  are  as  far  iroin  the  clouds  as 
before.  So  it  is  with  many  who  think  another 
condition  would  give  them  happiness,  but,  when 
the  desired  position  is  attained,  find  themselves 
as  far  from  contentment  as  before. 

1559.  DISCORD,  Fable  of.  The  brave  Cad¬ 
mus  slew  a  fierce  dragon  with  his  javelin,  and 
was  directed  to  take  his  teeth,  and  sow  them  in 
the  earth.  Hardly  had  he  done  so  when  the 
clods  began  to  move,  and  the  points  of  spears 
to  appear  above  the  surface ;  next  came  up 
helmets  with  their  nodding  plumes ;  next  the 
shoulders  and  breasts  and  limbs  of  men,  with 
weapons;  and,  at  length,  a  harvest  of  armed 
warriors.  They  commenced  a  war  among 
themselves,  and  fought  till  nearly  all  were  slain. 
Five  only  that  sprang  from  the  dragon’s  teeth 
escaped  destruction. 

1560.  DISCORD,  Offence  of.  As  in  music,  if 

the  harmony  of  tones  be  not  complete,  they 
are  offensive  to  the  cultivated  ear ;  so,  if 
Christians  disagree  among  themselves,  they 
are  unacceptable  to  God.  Cawdray. 

1561.  DISCORD,  Unchristian.  Alexander  Sev- 
eras,  seeing  two  Christians  contending  one 
with  another,  commanded  that  they  should  not 
take  the  name  of  Christian  any  longer  upon 
them ;  saying,  “  You  dishonor  your  Master, 
Christ,  whose  disciples  you  profess  to  be.” 

Spencer. 

1562.  DISCOURAGEMENT,  Cnred.  Arago 
ascribes  his  success  to  words  found  on  the 
paper  cover  of  his  book  when  greatly  discour¬ 
aged.  They  were,  “  Go  on,  sir ;  go  on  !  The 
difficulties  you  meet  will  resolve  themselves  as 
you  advance.  Proceed,  and  light  will  dawn, 
and  shine  with  increased  clearness  on  your 
path,”  written  by  D’Alembert.  “  That  max¬ 
im,”  says  Arago,  “  was  my  greatest  master  in 
mathematics.”  Following  out  these  simple 
words,  “  Go  on,  sir ;  go  on  1  ”  made  him  the  first 
astronomical  mathematician  .of  his  age.  What 
Christians  it  would  make  of  us  1  What  he¬ 
roes  of  faith,  what  sages  in  holy  wisdom, 
should  we  become,  by  acting  out  that  maxim, 
“  Go  on,  sir  ;  go  on  !  ” 

1563.  DISCOURAGEMENT,  Groundless,  Dr. 
Judson  labored  diligently  for  six  years  in  Bur- 
mali  before  he  baptized  a  convert.  At  the  end 
of  three  years,  he  was  asked  what  evidence  he 
had  of  ultimate  success.  He  replied,  “  As 
much  as  there  is  a  God  who  will  fulfil  all  his 
promises.”  A  hundred  churches  and  thousands 
of  converts  already  answer  his  faith. 

1564.  DISCOURAGEMENTS,  Overcome,  Mr. 
Disraeli  might  well  have  given  up  after  his 
first  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons :  many 
men  would  never  have  opened  their  lips  there 
again.  There  is  sublimity  in  his  words,  “The 
day  will  come  when  you  will  be  glad  to  hear 
me,”  when  we  read  it  by  the  light  of  events. 


Galileo,  compelled  to  appear  to  come  down 
did  not  give  up.  Still  it  moves.  The  great 
Nonconformist  preacher,  Robert  Hall,  broke 
down  in  his  first  attempt  to  preach ;  but  ha 
did  not  give  up.  Mr.  Tennyson  might  have 
given  up,  had  he  been  disheartened  by  the 
sharp  reviews  of  his  earliest  volume.  George 
Stephenson  might  also  have  given  up,  when 
his  railway  and  his  locomotive  were  laughed  out 
of  the  Parliament  Committee.  Mr.  Thackeray 
might  have  given  up  when  the  publishers  re¬ 
fused  to  have  an)'  thing  to  do  with  “  Vanity 
Fair.”  Boyd. 

1565.  DISCOVERY,  Joy  of.  When  Archime¬ 
des  by  accident  discovered  the  method  by 
which  he  might  test  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
royal  crown  of  Hiero,  it  sent  him  out  into  the 
street  like  a  madman,  crying,  “  Eureka,  Eu¬ 
reka  1  ”  When  the  great  truth  of  the  world’s 
movement  dawned  upon  the  mind  of  Galileo, 
it  would  not  lie  silent,  though  its  expression 
should  shake  hoary  institutions  and  thrones, 
and  bring  down  upon  his  devoted  head  the 
anathemas  of  the  Church ;  and,  in  the  very 
moment  of  enforced  abjuration  compelled  him 
to  cry  out,  “  But  it  does  move.” 

1566.  DISCOVERY,  of  Sin.  Several  of  those 

ways  by  which  a  man’s  sin  overtakes  him,  and 
finds  him  out  in  this  world,  are  :  first,  the  very 
confidence  itself  of  secrecy  is  a  direct  and  nat¬ 
ural  cause  of  the  sinner’s  discovery ;  secondly, 
there  is  sometimes  a  strange,  providential  con¬ 
currence  of  unusual,  unlikely  accidents,  for  the 
bringing  to  light  great  villanies  ;  thirdly,  God 
sometimes  makes  one  great  sin  a  means  to 
detect  and  lay  open  another ;  fourthly,  God 
sometimes  infatuates  and  strikes  the  sinner 
with  frenzy,  and  such  a  distraction  as  makes 
him  reveal  all  his  hidden  guilt ;  fifthly,  God 
sometimes  lets  loose  the  sinner’s  conscience 
upon  him,  so  that  he  can  find  no  rest  within 
himself  till  he  has  confessed  and  declared  his 
sin ;  sixthly,  and  lastly,  God  sometimes  smites 
and  confounds  him  by  some  notable,  immediate 
judgment  from  heaven.  Dr.  South. 

156'3'.  DISCRETION,  Importance  of.  The  great¬ 
est  parts  without  discretion  may  be  fatal  to 
their  owner ;  as  Polyphemus,  deprived  of  his 
eye,  was  only  the  more  exposed  on  account  of 
his  enormous  strength  and  stature.  Hume. 

1568.  DISCRETION,  Test  of,  A  father  that 

had  three  sons  tested  their  discretion  by  giving 
each  an  apple  filled  with  rotten  specks.  The 
first  eat  his,  rotten  and  all ;  the  second  threw 
his  all  away  because  some  part  was  rotten ;  the 
third  picked  out  the  rot,  and  eat  what  was  good, 
and  was  adjudged  the  wisest.  Some  swallow 
down  all  that  is  presented ;  some  throw  away 
all  truth;  the  wise  choose  the  good,  and  re¬ 
fuse  the  evil.  Spencer. 

1569.  DISCRETION,  Value  of.  It  is  said  that 
several  of  the  fathers  came  to  St.  Anthony,  in¬ 
quiring  what  virtue  led  direct  to  perfection,  so 
that  a  man  might  shun  the  snares  of  Satan. 
He  bade  each  one  give  his  opinion.  One  said, 
“  Watching  and  sobriety ;  ”  another,  “  Fasting 
and  discipline ;  ”  a  third,  “  Humble  prayer;” 
a  fourth,  “  Poverty  and  obedience ;  ”  and  an- 


DISCTTSSIOH 


DISOBEDIENCE.  197 


other,  “Piety,  and  works  of  mercy.”  When 
each  had  spoken,  St.  Anthony  said  that  those 
were  excellent  graces ;  but  discretion  was  the 
chief  of  them  all.  An  ounce  of  discretion  is 
worth  a  pound  of  learning. 

1570.  DISCUSSION,  Disastrous.  There  were 
two  men,  says  Anselm,  who,  a  little  before  the 
sun  was  up,  fell  into  a  very  earnest  debate  as 
to  that  part  of  the  heavens  wherein  that  glo¬ 
rious  body  was  to  arise  that  day.  In  the 
controversy,  they  became  so  engaged  as  to  fall 
by  the  ears,  and  ceased  not  their  buffetings  till 
they  had  beaten  out  each  other’s  eyes.  So  it 
came  to  pass,  that,  when  the  sun  did  show  itselfj 
neither  of  the  champions  could  see  one  jot. 
So  it  often  is  with  controversialists. 

Bp.  Patrick. 

1571.  DISCUSSION,  Fruitlessness  of.  If  a  cat¬ 
alogue  were  made  of  all  the  truths  that  have 
been  discovered  by  wrangling  in  company,  or 
by  solemn  disputation  in  the  schools,  I  believe 
it  would  appear  that  the  contending  parties 
might  have  been  employed  as  advantageously 
to  mankind,  and  much  more  so  to  themselves, 
in  whipping  a  top,  or  brandishing  a  rattle. 

Dr.  Beattie. 

1572.  DISCUSSION,  Trivial.  A  French  jour¬ 

nal  reports  the  discovery  of  a  book  of  theologi¬ 
cal  discussions  written  by  some  of  the  early 
monks,  upon  such  questions  as  these  :  “  What 
was  the  shape  of  the  wings  of  the  Archangel 
Gabriel  V  ”  “  Did  Pilate  use  soap  when  lie 

washed  his  hands  ?  ”  “  How  much  wine  did 

they  drink  at  the  marriage  in  Cana?  ”  “  Are 

there  any  angels  with  barytone  voices  ?  ” 

“  Could  Christ  have  changed  himself  into  a 
Devil  or  into  a  pumpkin  ?  ”  “  If  a  priest  should 
be  interrupted  during  the  baptism  at  a  moment 
when  about  to  pronounce  the  name  of  the  I 
child,  and  should  pronounce  Sapristi,  should 
the  child  bear  through  life  the  name  of  Sapris¬ 
ti  ?  and  is  the  baptism  valid  ?  ” 

1573.  DISHONESTY,  Paltry.  A  young  aspi¬ 
rant  for  office  in  Iowa  drove  up  to  a  hotel, 
alighted,  and  engaged  a  room.  lie  desired 
his  trunk  taken  to  his  room  ;  and,  seeing  a  man 
passing  whom  he  supposed  to  be  the  porter,  he 
imperiously  ordered  him  to  take  it  up.  The 

orter  charged  him  twenty-five  cents,  which 
e  paid  with  a  marked  quarter  worth  only 
twenty  cents.  He  then  said,  “  You  know 
Gov.  Grimes?”  —  “Oh,  yes,  sir  1  ”  —  “Well, 
take  my  card  to  him,  and  tell  him  I  wish  an 
interview  at  his  earliest  convenience.”  —  “I 
am  Gov.  Grimes,  at  your  service,  sir.”  — 
“  You  —  I  —  that  is,  my  dear  sir,  I  beg  —  a  — 
a  thousand  pardons  !  ”  —  “  None  needed  at 
all,  sir,”  replied  Gov.  Grimes.  “  I  was  rather 
favorably  impressed  with  j  our  letter,  and  had 
thought  you  well  suited  for  the  office  specified ; 
but,  sir,  anjr  man  who  would  swindle  a  work¬ 
ing  man  out  of  a  paltry  five  cents  would  de¬ 
fraud  the  public  treasury,  had  he  an  oppor¬ 
tunity.  Good-evening,  sir !  ” 

1574.  DISHONESTY,  Ways  of.  It  is  a  uni¬ 
versal  form  of  dishonest}-  to  try  to  get  goods 
below  tlieir  value ;  and,  whenever  you  do  that, 
you  undertake  to  cheat.  The  man  who  wants 


to  get  a  thing  without  giving  a  fair  equivalent 
wants  to  be  dishonest.  If  it  costs,  to  make  a 
hat,  and  give  a  good  living  to  the  man  that 
works  upon  it,  and  a  moderate  profit  to  the 
man  that  sells  it,  three  dollars,  and  you  under¬ 
take  to  buy  it  for  two  dollars  and  a  half  you 
undertake  to  cheat  half  a  dollar.  If  you  at¬ 
tempt  to  beat  a  man  down,  and  to  get  his  goods 
for  less  than  a  fair  price,  you  are  attempting 
to  commit  burglary  as  much  as  though  you 
broke  into  his  shop  to  take  the  things  without 
paying  for  them.  There  is  cheating  on  both 
sides  of  the  counter,  and,  generalljq  less  behind 
it  than  before  it.  You  want  a  man  to  build 
you,  for  two  thousand  dollars,  a  house  that 
shall  be  worth  five  thousand  ;  and  what  is  the 
result?  You  teach  that  man  to  cheat  j»ou. 
You  make  him  dishonest.  You  drive  him  to 
the  necessity  of  using  poor  material,  and  of 
deceiving  j'ou  by  filling  up  holes  with  putty, 
and  covering  defects  with  paint.  Beecher. 

1575.  DISINTERESTEDNESS,  Example  of.  Te- 
rantius,  captain  to  the  Emperor  Adrian,  pre¬ 
sented  a  petition,  that  the  Christians  might 
have  a  temple  by  themselves,  in  which  to  wor¬ 
ship  God  apart  from  the  Allans.  The  emperor 
tore  his  petition,  and  threw  it  away,  bidding 
him  ask  something  for  himself,  and  it  should 
be  granted.  Terantius  modestly  gathered  up 
the  fragments  of  his  petition,  and  said  with 
true  nobility  of  mind,  “  If  I  cannot  be  heard 
in  God’s  cause,  I  will  never  ask  any  thing  for 
myself.”  Arvine. 

157G.  DISOBEDIENCE,  Effects  of.  “  Let  the 
sickles  alone,”  said  a  farmer  to  his  son,  who 
was  left  in  the  field  while  the  reapers  went  to 
dinner.  James  obeyed  his  father  for  a  time ; 
but  at  length  he  grew  lonesome,  and  took  up 
a  sickle  “just  to  look  at  it.”  He  then  felt  its 
edge,  and  then  thought  he  would  cut  “  one 
handful.”  In  so  doing,  he  cut  his  little  finger, 
inflicting  a  wound  which  rendered  the  middle 
joint  useless  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  When  it 
was  healed,  an  ugly  scar  and  a  stiff  finger 
were  lasting  mementos  of  his  disobedience. 
Disobedience  to  his  heavenly  Father  leaves  a 
scar  on  the  sinner’s  soul,  and  lessens  his  capa¬ 
city  for  virtue. 

1577.  DISOBEDIENCE,  Propagation  of.  As  the 

natural  disobedience  of  Adam  conveyed  itself 
by  natural  propagation,  from  him  to  all  his  off¬ 
spring  forever,  even  so  the  obedience  of  Christ 
pertains  to  those  who  are  spiritually  begot¬ 
ten  of  him  by  a  lively  faith.  Cawdray. 

1578.  DISOBEDIENCE,  Result  of.  A  young  ) 
man  was  chained  to  a  fellow-convict,  a.id  was  ( 
about  to  leave  his  native  country  and  heart¬ 
broken  mother,  probably  forever.  When  a  child, 
he  was  allowed  to  have  his  own  way.  When 
his  mother  ought  to  have  firmly  but  kindly  en¬ 
forced  obedience,  she  foolishly  yielded  to  his 
whims.  The  effect  of  this  unwise  home-train¬ 
ing  became  yearly  more  apparent.  When  sent 
to  school,  he  was  idle,  and  would  not  learn.  He 
soon  began  to  play  truant.  His  mother  scolded 
the  master  for  punishing  her  headstrong  boy. 
With  bad  companions,  he  was  soon  found  rob¬ 
bing  orchards  and  cruelly  treating  dumb  ani- 


198 


13ISSA.TISTT'^VCTIO]Sr. 


DISSElS'SIOIsr. 


mals.  His  career  was  from  bad  to  worse.  At 
last,  for  a  highway  robbery,  he  was  convicted, 
and  sentenced  to  fourteen  years’  penal  servi¬ 
tude. 

1579.  DISSATISFACTION,  Brevities.  “  Let 
well  enough  alone.”  The  misfortunes  of  most 
men  occur  through  a  struggle  to  improve  a 
tolerable  condition.  The  epitaph  is  in  point, 
“  I  was  well ;  I  wished  to  be  better ;  I  took 
physic  :  and  here  I  am.” 

1580.  DISSATISFACTION,  Cause  of.  “  I  think 
the  rain  was  very  provoking  1  ”  said  Bessie 
Jones,  looking  out  of  the  window  with  an  angry 
frown  upon  her  brow.  “  It  always  rains  when 
I  don’t  want  it.  It  is  spoiling  the  slides, 
and  there  won’t  be  an  inch  of  ice  left  in  an 
hour  to  skate  on.  Now,  where’s  my  fun  this 
afternoon,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  ”  —  “  You 
can  stay  at  home,  and  sew,”  said  her  aunt.  — 
“  I  want  to  skate,”  said  Bessie.  “  This  rain 
is  very  provoking.”  —  “The  provoking  is  all 
in  your  own  heart,  Bessie,”  said  her  brother. 
“  If  you  only  had  blue  sky  inside,  you  would 
not  mind  the  rain  outside.” 

1581.  DISSATISFACTION,  Christian.  In  the 
case  of  the  Christian,  dissatisfaction  as  to  pres¬ 
ent  attainments  arises,  not  from  the  circum¬ 
stance  that  the  very  objects  of  his  pursuit, 
like  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  are  in  them¬ 
selves  unsatisfactory  (so  that,  when  they  are 
realized,  they  ill  repay  the  strife  and  toil  by 
which  they  were  obtained),  but  that,  the 

reater  his  happiness,  the  greater  becomes 

is  capacity  for  bliss.  He  lives  above  the 
world,  and  breathes  the  atmosphere  of  heaven  ; 
but,  the  higher  he  ascends,  the  more  he  regrets 
that  he  dwells  so  far  below.  He  has  left  be¬ 
neath  his  feet  the  mists  of  the  valley,  and  the 
clouds,  in  their  courses ;  peradventure,  he  has 
even  gained  a  region  where  those  mists  and 
clouds  seldom  shut  out  the  sunshine :  but  he 
beholds  beyond  him  and  above  him  heights 
over  heights,  and  these  he  longs  and  intends 
to  scale.  And,  while  he  regards  his  present 
footing  but  as  the  table-land  where  he  may 
recruit  himself  a  little  for  nobler  enterprise, 
he  knows,  that,  should  he  reach  the  highest 
int  of  all,  he  will  but  stand  on  the  utmost 
undary  of  an  earthly  planet,  while  worlds 
upon  worlds  will  revolve  beyond  him  in  the 
boundlessness  of  space  and  the  plenitude  of 
celestial  glory.  D.  E.  Ford. 

1582.  DISSATISFACTION,  Common.  A  rural 
pastor  prayed  fervently  for  rain  during  a 
severe  drought,  which  began  to  fall  in  toircnts 
just  as  the  service  closed,  when  two  farmers 
walking  home  together  were  getting  fully  wet, 
and  one  remarked  to  the  other,  “  The  parson 
does  pray  with  a  good  unction.”  —  “Yes,” 
replied  the  other  ;  “  but  he  lacks  judgment.” 

1583.  DISSATISFACTION,  Contrast  of.  A 
mother,  who  sought  health  and  contentment 
by  journeying  from  place  to  place,  was  thus 
admonished  by  her  little  son,  aged  four  years, 
when  he  heard  that  they  were  about  to  start 
lor  another  place :  “  Oh,  ma  1  you  are  never 
satfsfied:  I  am  satisfied.”  We  should  be  hap¬ 
pier  if  we  could  be  always  children. 


1584.  DISSATISFACTION,  Cure  for.  “  I  will 
restore  your  daughter  to  life  again,  provided 
you  are  able  to  engrave  on  her  tomb  the  names 
of  three  persons  who  have  never  mourned,” 
said  an  Eastern  sage  to  a  prince  who  was 
mourning  immoderately  for  the  loss  of  a  child. 
The  prince  made  diligent  search  in  vain,  and 
was  silenced. 

1585.  DISSATISFACTION,  Human.  Give  a 
man  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  he  wants  the 
conveniences ;  give  him  the  conveniences, 
and  he  craves  for  the  luxuries ;  grant  him  the 
luxuries,  and  he  sighs  for  the  elegances ;  let 
him  have  the  elegances,  and  he  yearns  for  the 
follies ;  give  him  all  together,  and  he  com¬ 
plains  that  he  has  been  cheated  both  in  the 
price  and  quantity  of  the  articles. 

1586.  DISSATISFACTION,  Legend  of.  Krum- 
macher  tells  of  one  Baruch,  who  possessed 
the  treasures  of  India  and  Arabia,  to  whose 
riches  there  was  no  end,  whose  magnificent 
surroundings  ministered  every  temporal  de¬ 
light,  whose  amiable  wife  and  lovely  children 
left  nothing  to  be  desired ;  yet,  in  the  midst  of 
all,  he  was  most  miserable.  His  complaints 
grieved  all  about  him.  He  was  ready  to  de¬ 
stroy  his  own  life  to  be  rid  of  his  troubles. 
Then  he  heard  that  there  was  in  Memphis, 
in  the  land  of  Mizraim,  a  great  prophet ;  and 
taking  two  camels  and  a  trusted  servant,  with 
much  treasure,  he  started  to  see  the  prophet. 
In  the  desert  through  which  they  had  to  pass, 
they  lost  their  way ;  and  both  men  and  beasts 
were  ready  to  perish  with  thirst.  Then  Baruch 
began  to  appreciate  the  water  that  flowed  in 
his  fountains  at  Damascus,  and  would  have 
given  a  eamel’s-load  of  jewels  for  a  single 
draught.  They  killed  one  of  the  camels,  but 
found  no  water  in  it.  The  servant  was  struck 
blind,  but  faltered  not  in  his  devotion  to  his 
master.  BaruJi  now  felt  himself  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  misery  in  his  own  house,  and 
the  misery  of  his  servant,  and  bewailed  greatly. 
Then  he  cried  to  God,  saying,  “  Destroy  me, 
for  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  mercy  which  thou 
hast  shown  me ;  and  the  burden  of  my  sins 
oppresses  my  soul  grievously.”  Then  there 
was  a  noise  like  the  rushing  of  a  brook  from 
the  rocks.  The  camel  stretched  out  its  neck, 
and  Baruch  hastened  to  the  place,  and  found 
a  clear  and  abundant  fountain.  Then  Baruch 
praised  the  Lord  for  this  wonder.  When  all 
were  refreshed  by  the  fountain,  the  servant 
proposed  to  prepare  to  pursue  the  journey ;  but 
Baruch  said  he  had  found  in  the  desert  the 
wisdom  he  sought  from  the  prophet  of  Mizraim, 
and  was  now  ready  to  return  home.  Baruch’s 
wife  and  children  wondered  at  his  quick  return, 
and  wept  for  joy.  Then  Baruch  told  them, 
how  in  the  desert  he  had  learned  humility, 
and  to  see  the  grace  of  the  All-merciful ;  and 
that  he  now  returned  to  them  a  new  man,  with 
a  peace  in  his  heart  more  precious  than  gold 
and  silver.  Henceforth,  he  walked  meekly 
and  cheerfully,  helping  the  poor,  and  doing 
good  in  all  the  country. 

1587.  DISSENSION,  in  Church.  It  is  observed, 
1  that,  when  the  sheep  fall  a-butting  each  other, 


DISSENSION". 


DIVISIONS. 


199 


a  storm  follows  not  long  after;  and  they  say  of 
bees,  that,  when  they  strive  among  themselves, 
it  is  a  sign  that  the  queen  is  about  to  leave 
the  hive.  When  the  sheep  of  Christ  are  ma¬ 
lignant  one  against  another,  it  is  a  fearful  pre¬ 
sage  of  ensuing  ruin ;  when  there  are  tumults 
in  the  Church,  it  may  be  justly  feared  that  God 
is  about  to  remove  from  us.  Spencer. 

1588.  DISSENSION,  Danger  of,  It  is  said, 

that,  when  the  cranes  fall  out  among  them¬ 
selves,  the  fight  is  so  fierce,  that  they  beat 
dowji  one  another,  and  so  are  taken  as  they 
figb !.  Spencer. 

1589.  DISTRUST,  Groundless.  During  the 
g-.eat  plague  of  London,  in  1G65,  when  more 
than  seventy  thousand  persons  died,  all  who 
were  able  went  to  live  in  the  country,  hoping 
to  escape  the  infection.  Lord  Craven  was 
about  to  desert  his  post  of  duty,  and  fly  with 
the  rest.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  step  into 
the  coach,  he  heard  his  negro  postilion  say 
to  another  servant,  “  I  see  my  Lord  Craven’s 
God  does  not  live  in  London  :  he  lives  at  the 
country  estate.”  It  so  happened,  that  his  lord- 
ship  was  at  the  very  moment  in  the  hall,  close 
to  the  door,  with  his  hat  on,  and  putting  on  his 
gloves;  so  he  heard  what  the  negro  only  in¬ 
tended  his  fellow-servant  to  hear.  Lord 
Craven  was  much  impressed  :  he  was  led  to 
pray,  “  Lord,  pardon  my  unbelief,  and  that 
distrust  of  thy  providence  which  made  me 
think  of  running  from  thy  hand.”  lie  then 
ordered  the  horses  to  be  taken  from  the  coach, 
and  remained  in  London  during  the  terrible 
visitation.  He  was  remarkably  useful  to  the 
sick  folks  around  his  mansion ;  and,  though 
constantly  among  them,  he  never  caught  the 
infection. 

1590.  DISTRUST,  Rebuked.  Of  Martin  Lu¬ 

ther  it  has  been  said,  that,  though  generally 
cheerful  and  happy  in  his  God,  there  were 
times  when  he  passed  through  deep  waters, 
and  cried  in  bitterness  of  soul,  “  All  Thy 
waves  and  Thy  billows  are  gone  over  me.”  At 
these  times,  it  was  his  wife’s  part,  feeble  and 
ignorant  as  she  felt  herself  to  be,  to  encourage, 
comfort,  and  sometimes  reprove  him.  Once, 
when  nothing  seemed  to  avail,  he  was  induced 
to  leave  home  for  a  few  days,  in  the  hope  that 
he  might  recover  his  cheerfulness;  but  he 
returned  with  a  cloudy  and  dejected  coun¬ 
tenance.  IIow  great  was  his  surprise,  on 
entering  the  house,  to  find  his  wile  seated 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  attired  in  black 
garments,  and  with  a  mourning  cloak  thrown 
over  her;  while  she  pressed  to  her  eyes  her 
handkerchief,  as  if  weeping  bitterly  1  He 
eagerly  inquired  the  cause  of  her  distress, 
which  she  seemed  loath  at  first  to  communi¬ 
cate  ;  but,  on  his  again  imploring  her  to  speak, 
she  answered,  “  Only  think,  dear  doctor,  our 
Father  in  heaven  is  dead!  Judge  if  I  have 
not  cause  for  my  grief.”  Upon  this,  imme¬ 
diately  comprehending  her  riddle,  he  laughed, 
and,  embracing  her  said,  “  You  are  right,  dear 
Kate,  I  am  acting  as  if  there  were  no  God  in 
heaven.”  And  from  that  hour  his  melancholy 
left  him.  Mrs.  Brightwell. 


1591.  DISTRUST,  Reproved.  Look  on  the 
robin  redbreast;  how  cheerfully  doth  he  sit 
and  sing  in  the  chamber-window,  yet  knows 
not  where  he  is,  nor  where  he  shall  make  the 
next  meal,  and,  at  night,  must  shroud  himself 
in  a  bush  for  his  lodging !  AVhat  a  shame  is 
it,  then,  for  Christians,  that  see  before  them 
such  liberal  provisions  of  their  God,  and  find 
themselves  set  warm  under  their  roofs,  yet  are 
ready  to  droop  under  a  distrustful  and  un¬ 
thankful  darkness,  and  are  ready  to  say,  “  Can 
God-  make  windows  in  heaven?  Can  God 
prepare  a  table  in  the  wilderness  ?  ”  Spencer. 

1592.  DIVINITY,  Ornaments  of.  Whatever 
others  may  think  of  human  learning,  as  rhe¬ 
torical  figures  and  tropes  and  other  artificial 
ornaments  of  speech,  seeing  now  the  extraordi¬ 
nary  gifts  of  tongues  and  miracles  are  ceased, 
and  that  knowledge  is  not  infnsa ,  but  acquisita. 
Eloquence  may  serve  as  a  handmaid,  and 
tropes  and  figures  as  jewels  and  ornaments  to 
adorn  the  chaste  matron  Divinity.  Spencer. 

1593.  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST,  Disputed.  Two 
gentlemen  were  discussing  the  divinity  of 
Clmist,  when  one  of  them  affirmed,  that,  if  it 
were  so,  it  should  have  been  more  explicitly 
stated  in  the  Bible.  The  other  said,  “  How 
would  you  express  it  to  make  it  indubitable?  ” 
He  replied,  “I  would  say  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  true  God.”  The  other  answered,  “  You 
are  happy  in  the  choice  of  your  words ;  and 
they  are  the  very  words  of  inspiration.  St. 
John,  speaking  of  Christ,  says,  4  This  is  the 
true  God  and  eternal  life.’  ” 

1594.  DIVINITY  OP  CHRIST,  Experiencing  the. 
An  ignorant  cobbler  gave  his  testimony  thus 
to  the  divinity  of  Christ.  “  When  I  first  be¬ 
came  concerned  about  my  soul,  I  was  advised 
to  go  into  company,  and  spend  my  time  as 
merrily  as  I  could.  I  did  so  for  a  time ; 
but,  the  more  I  trifled,  the  more  my  misery  in¬ 
creased.  At  last,  I  was  persuaded  to  hear 
one  of  those  Methodist  ministers  who  came 
into  our  neighborhood,  and  preached  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour.  In  the  greatest  agony 
of  mind,  I  prayed  to  him  to  save  me,  and  to 
forgive  my  sins  ;  and  now  I  feel  that  he  has 
freely  forgiven  them  :  and  by  this  I  know  that 
he  is  the  Son  of  God.” 

1595.  DIVISIONS,  Danger  of.  If  two  ships 

at  sea,  being  of  the  same  squadron,  be  scat¬ 
tered  by  storm  from  each  other,  how  should 
they  come  to  the  relief  of  each  other  ?  If, 
again,  they  clash  together,  and  fall  foul,' 
how  should  the  one  endanger  the  other  and 
herself  too  ?  It  was  of  old  the  Dutch  device 
of  two  earthen  pots  swimming  upon  the  water, 
with  this  motto,  “  If  we  knock  together,  we 
sink  together.”  Spencer. 

1590.  DIVISIONS,  Result  of.  It  was  agreed 
upon,  by  both  armies  of  the  Romans  and  the 
Albans,  to  put  the  trial  of  all  to  the  issue  of  a 
battle  betwixt  six  brethren,  —  three  on  the  one 
side,  the  sons  of  Curatius ;  and  three  on  the  other, 
the  sons  of  Iloratius.  While  the  Curatii  were 
united,  though  all  three  sorely  wounded,  they 
killed  two  of  the  Iloratii.  The  third  began  to 
take  to  his  heels,  though  not  hurt  at  all ;  and 


200 


DIVORCE. 


DOESTG-  GOOD. 


■when  he  saw  them  follow  slowly,  one  after 
another,  because  of  wounds  and  heavy  armor,  he 
fell  upon  them  one  after  another,  and  slew  all 
three.  It  is  the  cunning  sleight  of  the  Devil  to 
divide  us,  that  he  may  prevail  against  us. 

Spencer. 

1597.  DIVORCE,  Arab  Method  of.  When  mar¬ 
ried  people  seek  a  separation  among  the  Arabs, 
the  cadi  orders  them  to  live  for  some  time  with 
a  discreet  and  austere  man  of  the  tribe,  that 
the  latter  may  examine  their  life,  and  see  on 
which  side  blame  lies.  This  elderly  man  makes 
a  report  at  the  expiration  of  the  appointed 
time  ;  and  this  report  is  the  foundation  on  which 
the  cadi  builds  his  judgment  of  divorc.e.  Ex¬ 
perience  has  demonstrated,  that  there  is  no 
better  method  of  restoring  peace  in  families. 
The  husband  and  wife,  put  thus  upon  their 
good  behavior,  resume  the  manners  of  courting- 
days.  Each  strives  to  be  more  amiable  than 
the  other,  to  convince  the  “  elder  of  Israel  ” 
that  it  is  not  this  one’s  fault  if  the  honey-moon 
changed  its  quarter. 

1598.  DOCTRINE,  Biblical  and  Human.  In  the 

Bible,  the  word  “  doctrine  ”  means  simply  teach¬ 
ing,  instruction.  It  was  a  moral  direction,  a 
simple  maxim,  or  a  familiar  practical  truth.  It 
certainly  was  not  that  thing  which  theologians 
have  made  doctrine  to  be,  —  a  mere  philo¬ 
sophical  abstraction.  The  doctrines  which 
the  schools  teach  are  no  more  like  those  of  the 
Bible  than  the  carved  beams  of  Solomon’s 
temple  were  like  God’s  cedar-trees  on  Mount 
Lebanon.  But  men  cut  and  hew  till  they 
have  shaped  their  own  fancies  out  of  God’s 
timber,  and  then  they  get  upon  them  like 
judgment-day  thrones,  and  call  all  the  world 
to  answer  at  their  feet  for  heresies  against 
their  idols.  Beecher. 

1599.  DOCTRINE,  Counterfeit.  As  he  is  a 
traitor  to  his  prince  who  taketh  upon  him  to 
coin  money  out  of  a  base  metal,  yea,  although 
in  the  stamp  he  putteth  for  a  show  the  image 
of  the  prince ;  so  he  that  shall  teach  any  doc¬ 
trine  that  cometli  not  from  God,  whatsoever 
he  say  for  it,  or  what  gloss  soever  he  set  on 
it,  is  a  traitor  unto  God,  yea,  a  cursed  traitor, 
though  he  were  an  angel  from  heaven.  Spencer. 

1600.  DOCTRINE,  Disagreement  in,  The  same 
doctrine  represented  to  two  different  minds 
will  appear  different  to  those  two  minds,  and 
must  appear  different,  because  the  minds  are 
different.  Let  me  give  you  an  illustration  of 
this.  Originally,  the  beautiful,  white,  trans¬ 
parent  light,  coming  down  from  its  world  above, 
was  transparent  like  the  sun  ;  but,  down  here  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  earth,  it  enters  the 
medium  of  a  flower ;  and,  as  soon  as  that  is 
done,  it  is  immediately  decomposed  into  a  great 
variety  of  tints  and  forms  of  life.  Originally 
white,  it  now  becomes  green  or  blue  or  red  or 
yellow  or  violet.  But  mark,  it  is  light  under 
every  one  of  those  forms  ;  and  the  same  light 
that  came  from  the  sun.  In  the  one  case,  it  is 
violet  light ;  in  the  other,  yellow  light ;  in  the 
other,  red  light;  in  the  other,  blue  light;  and, 
in  the  other,  green  light :  but  it  is  all  the  same 
light  modified,  that  is  all.  So  truth  in  the 


mind  of  God  is  transparent  and  clear,  as  it  is 
in  its  essence ;  but,  when  it  comes  down  to 
us  in  revelation,  it  becomes  decomposed  and 
refracted.  It  becomes  blue  or  yellow  or  red 
or  green  or  violet,  according  to  education  or 
prejudice,  or  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the 
mind ;  and  thus  it  is  transformed  into  many 
shapes  :  but  it  is  the  truth  still ;  only  it  is  col¬ 
ored  a  little,  according  to  the  constitution  of 
the  mind  to  which  it  comes.  T.  Jones. 

1601.  DOCTRINE,  Order  of.  After  a  storm 

comes  fair  weather,  after  winter  comes  sum¬ 
mer  :  so  in  the  doctrine  of  our  souls,  first  God 
teacheth  the  law,  preacheth  repentance,  threat¬ 
ened!  vengeance  for  sin,  casts  down  man  in  his 
own  sight,  and  lets  him  look  even  into  hell, 
with  fear  of  conscience  for  his  disobedience ; 
but  afterwards  he  comforts  him,  raises  him 
up,  and  heals  him.  Cawdray. 

1602.  DOCTRINE,  True.  The  question  is  not, 

whether  a  doctrine  is  beautiful,  but  whether  it 
is  true.  When  we  want  to  go  to  a  place,  we 
don’t  ask  whether  the  road  leads  through 
a  pretty  country,  £>ut  whether  it  is  the  right 
road,  the  road  pointed  out  by  authority,  the 
turnpike-road.  Hare. 

1603.  DOING  GOOD,  Apostolic  Example  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  was  a  stanch  Puritan,  and 
could  not  brook  the  least  approach  to  Popery 
“  What  are  these  ?  ”  he  once  inquired,  as  he 
saw  a  dozen  silver  statues  in  the  niches  of  a 
chapel.  “  The  twelve  apostles,”  replied  the 
trembling  dean.  “  Take  them  down,”  said 
Cromwell,  “  and  coin  them  into  money ;  so 
that  they  may  go  about  doing  good.” 

1694.  DOING  GOOD,  by  a  Child.  “  Children, 
I  want  each  of  you  to  bring  a  new  scholar  to 
the  school  with  you,  next  Sunday,”  said  the 
superintendent  of  a  Sunday  school  to  his  schol¬ 
ars,  one  day.  “  I  can’t  get  any  new  scholars,” 
said  several  of  the  children  to  themselves. 
“  I’ll  try  what  I  can  do,”  was  the  whispered 
response  of  a  few  others.  One  of  the  latter 
class  went  home  to  his  father,  and  said, 
“  Father,  will  you  go  to  the  Sunday  school 
with  me  ?  ”  —  “I  can’t  read,  my  son,”  replied 
the  father  with  a  look  of  shame.  “  Our 
teachers  will  teach  you,  dear  father,”  an¬ 
swered  the  boy,  with  respect  and  feeling  in 
his  tones.  “  Well,  I’ll  go,”  said  the  father. 
He  went,  learned  to  read,  sought  and  found 
the  Saviour,  and  at  length  became  a  colpor- 
ter.  Years  passed  on,  and  that  man  had 
established  four  hundred  Sunday  schools,  into 
which  thirty-five  thousand  children  were  gath¬ 
ered  1  Thus  you  see  what  trying  did.  That 
boy’s  efforts  were  like  a  tiny  rill,  which  soon 
swells  into  a  brook,  and  at  length  becomes  a 
river.  His  efforts,  by  God’s  grace,  saved  his 
father  ;  and  his  father,  being  saved,  led  thirty- 
five  thousand  children  to  the  Sunday  school ! 

P.  B.  Power. 

1605.  DOING  GOOD,  Comforts  of  In  the 
Holy  Land  lived  a  man  called  Eliab,  whom 
God  had  blessed  with  earthly  goods :  he  was 
also  cunning  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  East. 
But  all  this  could  not  bring  peace  to  his 
heart :  he  was  often  full  of  sorrow,  and  wished 


DOEN'Gr  GOOD. 


DOnSTG  GOOD. 


201 


to  die.  Then  a  man  of  God  came  to  him,  and 
showed  him  an  herb  possessed  of  wonderful 
powers  of  healing ;  but  Eliab  said,  “  What  is 
that  to  me  ?  My  body  lacks  not  health :  my 
soul  is  diseased.  It  were  better  for  me  to 
die.”  —  “  The  herb  will  do  thy  heart  good,” 
said  the  man  of  God.  “  Take  it,  and  heal 
seven  sick  men,  and  then  thou  mayest  die,  if 
thou  wilt.”  Eliab  did  as  he  was  desired,  and 
sou°ht  out  misery  in  its  abiding-places.  He 
heated  seven  sick  people,  and  succored  the 
poor  with  his  riches.  Then  the  man  of  God 
came  again  to  him,  and  said,  “  Here  is  an  herb 
of  death :  now  thou  mayest  die.”  But  Eliab 
cried,  “  God  forbid  1  My  soul  longetli  no 
more  for  death;  for  now  I  comprehend  the 
meaning  and  use  of  life.”  Krummacher. 

1G06.  DOING  GOOD,  Effect  of.  It  is  related 
of  George  Herbert,  that,  once  in  a  walk  to 
Salisbury  to  join  a  musical  party,  he  saw  a 
poor  man,  and  a  poorer  horse  that  had  fallen 
under  the  load.  Mr.  Herbert  put  off  his 
canonical  coat,  and  helped  the  poor  man  un¬ 
load  his  horse.  The  poor  man  blessed  him 
for  it,  and  he  blessed  the  poor  man.  Coming 
to  his  musical  friends  at  Salisbury,  they  began 
to  wonder  that  he  who  used  to  be  so  trim  and 
clean  came  into  that  company  so  soiled.  But 
he  told  them  the  occasion ;  and,  when  one  ot 
the  company  told  him  he  had  disparaged  him¬ 
self  by  such  dirty  employment,  his  answer  was, 
that  lie  thought  what  he  had  done  would  prove 
music  to  him  at  midnight ;  and  that  the  omis¬ 
sion  of  it  would  have  upbraided  and  made  dis¬ 
cord  in  his  conscience  whensoever  he  should 
pass  by  that  place. 

1607.  DOING  GOOD,  Example  of.  Emma 
Gray,  on  her  way  to  school,  passed  a  little 
boy  whose  hand  was  through  the  railings  of  a 
gentleman’s  front  garden,  trying  to  pick  a 
flower.  “  O  little  boy  I  ”  said  Emma  kindly, 
“  are  you  not  taking  that  without  leave  ?  ”  — 
“  Nobody  sees  me,”  answered  the  little  boy. 
“  Somebody  sees  you  from  the  blue  sky,”  an¬ 
swered  Emma.  “  God  says  we  must  not  take 
what  does  not  belong  to  us,  without  leave ;  and 

ou  will  grieve  him  if  you  do  so.”  —  “Shall 

?  ”  said  he :  “  then  I  won’t.”  He  drew  back 
his  hand,  and  went  away.  One  way  of  doing 
good  is  to  prevent  others  from  doing  wrong. 

1608.  DOING  GOOD,  Importance  of.  See  that 
well  on  the  mountain-side,  —  a  small,  rude, 
rocky  cup  full  of  crystal  water,  and  that  tiny 
rill  flowing  through  a  breach  in  its  brim.  The 
vessel  is  so  diminutive,  that  it  could  not  contain 
a  supply  of  water  for  a  single  family  a  single 
day.  But  ever  getting  through  secret  chan¬ 
nels,  and  ever  giving  by  an  open  overflow,  day 
and  night,  summer  and  winter,  from  year  to 
year,  it  discharges  in  the  aggregate  a  volume 
to  which  its  own  capacity  bears  no  apprecia¬ 
ble  proportion.  The  flow  from  that  diminu¬ 
tive  cup  might,  in  a  drought  or  war,  become 
life  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  city.  It  is  thus 
that  a  Christian,  if  lie  is  full  of  mercy  and 
good  fruits,  is  a  greater  blessing  to  the  world 
than  either  himself  or  his  neighbors  deem. 

Arnot. 


1609.  DOING  GOOD,  Legend  of.  A  Christian 
retired  to  a  hut  in  a  forest,  that  he  might  the 
better  serve  God  in  fasting,  meditation,  and 
prayer,  but,  to  his  surprise,  did  not  find  happi¬ 
ness.  Going  forth  with  a  murmuring  heart, 
he  one  day  met  a  sick  beggar,  whom  he  took 
to  his  hut,  fed,  clothed,  and  exhorted.  His 
own  grief  grew  lighter  in  the  labor.  The  next 
day  he  went  forth,  and  left  the  beggar  in  his 
hut.  On  his  return,  he  found  that  he  had  gone, 
and  taken  his  silver  cup  and  crucifix.  He 
started  after  the  thief  with  vengeance  in  his 
heart,  which  soon  changed  to  pity  as  he  thought 
of  the  poor,  tempted  brother.  lie  went  to  (he 
village  to  purchase  another  cup  and  crucifix, 
and  there  saw  a  crowd  draeirine:  the  beesrar 
before  a  magistrate.  He  pressed  through  the 
crowd,  and  whispered  to  the  thief,  “  Brother,  I 
will  stand  by  you,  and  shield  you.”  The  peo¬ 
ple,  astonished,  cried,  “  He  is  a  thief,  and  de¬ 
serves  to  lose  his  head  1  ”  But  the  Christian  fol¬ 
lowed  him  to  the  court,  and,  when  he  was  con¬ 
demned  to  imprisonment,  whispered,  “  Keep 
up  thy  heart,  brother :  I  will  go  with  thee.” 
They  both  entered  the  prison-walls  together. 
There  Christian  proposed  to  the  beggar  to  ex¬ 
change  garments  with  him,  and  so  escape  while 
he  staid  out  his  term  of  imprisonment.  Then 
a  strange  light  filled  the  prison.  The  beggar 
was  transformed  into  the  Lord  himself,  and 
said,  “  I  was  naked  and  you  clothed  me  ;  I  was 
hungry,  and  you  gave  me  food  ;  I  was  in  prison, 
and  you  came  unto  me.”  Then  the  hermit 
learned  that  enjoyment  consists,  not  in  seclu¬ 
sion  from  the  world,  but  in  ministering  to  the 
needy  in  it ;  and  the  reward  of  Christ,  “  In¬ 
asmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me.” 

1610.  DOING  GOOD,  Modes  of.  Mr.  Sawyer 

did  a  good  work  in  opening  a  refreshing  foun¬ 
tain  by  the  wayside.  Moral  fountains  may  be 
opened  by  the  wayside  for  refreshing  pilgrims, 
—  travellers  for  eternity.  One  sets  an  exam¬ 
ple  of  strict  integrity  in  the  midst  of  great 
temptations :  the  sight  is  as  refreshing  to  a 
tempted  pilgrim  as  is  a  fountain  to  a  thirsty 
traveller.  One  sets  an  example  of  Christian 
thankfulness,  and  trust  in  God  :  it  may  refresh 
many  a  pilgrim  who  is  careful  and  troubled 
about  many  things.  One  sets  an  example  of 
forgiveness,  and  of  returning  good  for  evil : 
it  may  refresh  and  invigorate  for  duty  many 
who  are  smarting  under  a  sense  of  injustice, 
and  tried  with  temptations  to  revenge.  We 
may  thus  open  fountains  by  the  wayside.  We 
may  not  know  how  many  we  may  thus  benefit ; 
but  God  does.  Dr.  Wise. 

161 1.  DOING  GOOD,  Power  of.  If  mountains 
are  to  be  moved,  if  whole  nations  are  to  be 
lilted  up  from  paganism  and  its  miry  pit,  the 
Xavier  or  Zinzendorf  the  Brainerd  or  Judson, 
who  seeks  to  raise  them  up,  would  need  himself 
to  dwell  on  high ;  he  would  need  a  strong  arm, 
and  a  firm  hold  on  heaven.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

1612.  DOING  GOOD,  a  Remedy.  Dr.  Blair 
was  called  to  attend  a  middle-aged  rich  lady 
who  had  many  imaginary  ills.  He  wrote  out 
and  left  a  plain  prescription,  which  ran  thus  : 


202 


IXDrN'G-  GOOD. 


DOTJB  LIC-MnSTDEIDlSrESS. 


“  Do  something  for  somebody.”  The  doctor 
heard  nothing  from  his  patient  till  Christmas 
morning,  when  he  was  hastily  summoned  to 
the  cottage  of  her  Irish  washerwoman.  “  It’s 
not  myself,  doctor,  it’s  me  wrist,  that’s  ailing. 
Ye  see,  I  was  afther  goin’  out  into  the  black 
darkness  for  a  few  bits  of  wood,  when  me  foot 
struck  this  basket.  It  stood  there  like  a  big 
mercy,  as  it  was,  full  of  soft  flannels  from 
Mrs.  AValker.  She  towld  me  that  your  medi¬ 
cine  cured  her,  doctor :  so,  if  ye’ll  plaze  to 
put  a  little  of  that  same  on  me  wrist,  I’ll  be 
none  the  worse  for  me  nice  present.”  —  “  It  is 
a  powerful  remedy,”  said  the  doctor  gravely  ; 
and,  more  than  once  in  after-years,  he  wrote 
"he  prescription,  “Do  something  for  somebody.” 

1613.  DOING  GOOD,  Reward  in.  The  shep- 

nerds  led  the  pilgrims  to  Mount  Charity,  where 
they  showed  them  a  man  that  had  a  bundle  of 
cloth  lying  before  him,  out  of  which  he  cut 
coats  and  garments  for  the  poor  that  stood 
about  him  ;  yet  his  bundle  or  roll  of  cloth  was 
never  the  less.  Then  said  they,  “  What  should 
this  be  ?  ”  —  “  This  is,”  said  the  shepherds,  “  to 
show  you,  that  he  who  has  a  heart  to  give  of 
his  labor  to  the  poor  shall  never  want  -where¬ 
withal.  ‘  He  that  watereth  shall  be  watered 
himself.’  '  And  the  cake  that  the  widow  gave 
to  the  prophet  did  not  cause  that  she  had  the 
less  in  her  barrel.”  Bunyan. 

1614.  DOING  GOOD,  in  Trifles.  There  is  a 
story  of  a  man  living  on  the  borders  of  an 
African  desert,  who  carried  daily  a  pitcher  of 
cold  water  to  the  dusty  thoroughfare,  and  left 
it  tor  any  thirsty  traveller  that  might  pass  that 
way. 

1615.  DOING  RIGHT,  Reward  of.  An  es¬ 
teemed  clerk  in  a  New- York  bank  was  request¬ 
ed  by  the  president,  one  Saturday  afternoon, 
to  come  to  the  bank  the  next  day,  and  help 
bring  up  the  back  work.  To  yield  to  the  re¬ 
quest  would  be  to  violate  the  sabbath  ;  and  he 
refused.  The  president  insisted,  and  threat¬ 
ened  to  discharge  him.  Still  he  refused,  and 
was  discharged,  with  no  prospect  of  further 
employment,  yet  with  an  approving  conscience. 
Shortly  after,  a  new  bank  was  organized,  and  a 
trusty  man  was  wanted  for  cashier.  The  same 
bank-president  offered  to  name  a  man,  who, 
sooner  than  sin,  gave  up  his  place ;  and  then 
told  the  story  of  his  discharged  clerk.  The 
nomination  was  at  once  accepted  ;  and  the 
upright  clerk  was  rewarded  with  a  higher 
position  and  an  increased  salary. 

1616.  DOING  WELL,  Consistent.  God  has 
given  us  two  hands,  and  but  one  tongue,  that 
we  might  doe  much,  and  say  but  little.  Yet  many 
say  so  much  and  doe  so  little,  as  though  they 
had  two  tongues,  and  but  one  hand ;  nay,  three 
tongues,  and  never  a  hand.  Such  as  these  may 
be  resembled  to  diverse  things,  —  to  a  whet¬ 
stone,  which,  being  blunt  itself,  makes  a  knife 
sharp;  to  a  painter,  which,  being  deformed 
himself,  makes  a  picture  faire;  to  a  bell, 
which  being  deafe,  and  hearing  not  itselfe,  calls 
the  people  into  the  church  to  heare;  to  a 
ridiculous  actor  in  the  oitie  of  Smyrna,  pro¬ 
nouncing  “0  caelum!  ”  (“  O  heaven  1  ”  )  pointed 


with  his  finger  towards  the  ground,  which  when 
Polemo,  the  chiefest  man  in  the  place,  sawe, 
he  could  abide  to  stay  no  longer,  and  went 
from  the  companie  in  a  chafe,  saying,  “  This 
foole  hath  made  a  solecism  with  his  hand :  he 
hath  spoken  false  Latin  with  his  hand.”  Such 
are  all  they  which  teach  one  thing,  and  do  an¬ 
other  ;  which  teach  well,  and  do  ill.  Plnyfere. 

lei*.  DOING  WELL,  Result  of.  A  noble 
saying  is  on  record  of  a  member  of  the  British 
House  of  Commons,  who,  by  his  own  industry 
and  perseverance,  had  won  his  way  to  that 
high  position.  A  proud  scion  of  the  aristoc¬ 
racy  one  day  taunted  him  with  his  humble 
origin,  saying,  “  I  remember  when  you  blacked 
my  father’s  boots.” —  “  Well,  sir,”  was  the  noble 
response,  “  Did  I  not  do  it  well  ?  ” 

1618.  DOUBLE-FACEDNESS,  Proverbs.  Sit¬ 
ting  on  two  stools.  —  Latin. - The  friar 

preached  against  stealing,  when  he  had  a  pud¬ 
ding  in  his  sleeve.  To  carry  two  faces  under 

one  hood.  —  English. - He  howls  with  the 

wolves  when  he  is  in  the  wood,  and  bleats  with 

the  sheep  in  the  field.  —  Dutch. - The  Vicar 

of  Bray  who  was  first  a  Papist,  then  a  Prot¬ 
estant,  afterward  a  Papist,  then  a  Protestant 
again,  would  not  admit  that  he  was  a  turncoat, 
lie  said,  “  I  have  always  stuck  to  my  principle ; 
which  is  this,  —  to  live  and  die  Vicar  of  Bray.” 

1619.  DOUBLE-FACEDNESS,  Symbol  of.  There 

are  minerals  which  exhibit  different  colors  on 
different  faces.  Tims  dichroite,  or  iolite,  is 
often  deep  blue  along  its  vertical  axis ;  but,  on 
a  side  perpendicular  to  this  axis,  it  is  brownish 
yellow.  The  phenomenon  results  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  particles  are  arranged  for 
reflecting  and  transmitting  light.  The  whole 
internal  structure  must  be  changed  before  the 
same  color  shall  be  presented  on  all  the  faces. 
There  is  a  moral  dichroism.  It  consists  in  a 
man’s  being  Janus-faced,  —  that  is,  double- 
faced,  —  both  in  his  principles  and  his  practice, 
in  order  to  secure  popular  favor  and  avoid 
odium.  The  chameleon  is  said  to  have  the  power 
of  assuming  the  color  of  the  object  on  which 
it  fastens :  so  this  man  means  to  conform  his 
creed  and  his  practice  to  those  which  are  most 
popular  in  the  community  where  he  happens  to 
abide  or  sojourn.  In  one  place,  he  is  orthodox ; 
in  another,  heterodox :  in  one,  an  advocate 
for  temperance ;  in  another,  loose  in  this  mat¬ 
ter,  both  in  theory  and  practice  :  in  one 
place,  proslavery ;  in  another,  antislavery. 
His  moral  and  religious  principles  are  not 
settled,  or,  rather,  he  makes  them  bend  to  his 
worldly  interest,  and  you  have  no  way  of  deter¬ 
mining  where  to  find  him  in  any  circumstance, 
except  to  inquire  what  aspect  self-interest  will 
require  him  to  put  on.  Nor  will  it  ever  be 
essentially  better  until  divine  grace  shall  have 
transformed  and  re-arranged  the  elements  of 
his  character.  Hitchcock. 

1620.  DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS,  Example  of. 
The  mad  prophet  Balaam  is  a  remarkable  in¬ 
stance  of  double-mindedness.  In  profession,  he 
would  be  a  prophet  of  Jehovah ;  in  practice,  he 
followed  and  “loved  the  wages  of  unrighteous¬ 
ness.  ’  ’  Despised  by  the  people  of  God, to  whom 


DOTJBLE-MXISrDEDI^ESS. 


DREAMS. 


203 


he  was  a  stumbling-block  ;  despised  and  re¬ 
proached  by  Balak  lor  bis  indecision,  —  he  died 
under  the  weight  of  a  double  curse,  and  left 
his  name  a  proverb  of  reproach  and  shame. 

Holmes. 

1621.  DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS,  Folly  of.  The 

fabled  Atlas,  who  carried  the  world  on  his 
shoulders,  attempted  nothing,  accomplished 
nothing,  compared  with  the  man  who  labors 
to  secure  both  this  world  and  the  next.  He 
has  two  souls,  or  minds,  which  govern  him  by 
turns ;  but,  in  the  end,  the  worldly  principle 
prevails.  His  folly  consists  in  trying  to  do 
what  is  in  itself  absolutely  impossible,  —  what 
no  man  ever  did  or  ever  can  do.  God  him¬ 
self  has  separated  the  world  from  the  cross  : 
what  God  hath  separated,  no  man  may  bring 
together.  Holmes. 

1622.  DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS,  Impossible,  Mark 
Antony  yoked  two  lions  to  his  chariot ;  but 
there  are  two  lions  no  man  ever  yoked  together 
yet,  —  the  lion  of  the  tribe  of  J udah,  and  the 
lion  of  the  pit.  These  can  never  go  together. 
Two  opinions  you  may  hold  in  politics,  perhaps  ; 
but  then  you  will  be  despised  by  everybody 
unless  you  are  of  one  opinion  or  the  other,  and 
act  as  an  independent  man  :  but  two  opinions 
in  the  matter  of  soul-religion  you  cannot  hold. 

Spurgeon. 

1623.  DOUBT,  Absurd.  Doubt  the  Eternal ! 

distrust  the  Omnipotent  1  O  traitorous  fear  ! 
Thinkest  thou  that  the  arm  which  piled  the 
heavens,  and  sustains  the  pillars  of  the  earth, 
shall  ever  be  palsied  ?  Shall  the  brow  which 
eternal  ages  have  rolled  over  without  scathing 
it,  at  last  be  furrowed  by  old  age  'l  What ! 
shall  the  Eternal  fail  thee  ?  God  is  too  wise 
to  err,  too  good  to  be  unkind.  Leave  off  doubt¬ 
ing  him,  and  begin  to  trust  him ;  tor,  in  so 
doing,  thou  wilt  put  a  crown  on  his  head  :  but, 
in  doubting  him,  thou  dost  trample  his  crown 
beneath  thy  feet.  Spurgeon. 

1624.  DOUBT,  Cure  for.  A  theological  stu¬ 
dent  once  called  on  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  in 
great  distress  of  mind,  doubting  whether  he  had 
been  converted.  The  doctor  said,  “  My  young 
brother,  you  know  what  repentance  is,  —  what 
faith  in  Christ  is.  You  think  you  once  re¬ 
pented,  and  once  believed.  Now,  don’t  fight 

our  doubts  ;  go  all  over  it  again  ;  repent  now, 

elieve  in  Christ  now :  that’s  the  way  to  have 
a  consciousness  of  acceptance  with  God.  I 
have  to  do  both  very  often.  Go  to  your  room, 
and  give  yourself  to  Christ  this  very  moment, 
and  let  doubts  go.  If  you  have  not  been  his 
disciple,  be  one  now.  Don’t  fight  the  Devil 
on  his  own  ground.  Choose  the  ground  of 
Christ’s  righteousness  and  atonement,  and 
then  fight  him.” 

1625.  DOUBT,  Removed.  It  is  related  that  a 
gentleman  of  London,  in  great  doubt  whether 
there  ever  was  such  a  person  as  Christ,  was 
going  home  one  night  in  the  dark,  when  a  man 
fell  into  his  arms,  and  the  beard  of  a  Jew 
brushed  against  his  face.  This  opportune 
meeting  with  one  of  those  who  crucified  Christ 
drove  his  doubts  away  instantly  and  torever. 
Mr.  Ryland  says,  “  In  the  croaking  of  a  Jew, 


I  hear,  as  if  the  voice  of  Gabriel  proclaimed 
from  heaven,  ‘  Jesus,  the  true  Messiah,  was 
crucified  without  the  gates  of  Jerusalem.’  ” 

1626.  DOUBTING,  Cured.  A  theological 
student  once  went  to  Dr.  Hodge  with  his 
difficulties  about  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour.  The  doctor  listened  patiently,  and 
then  said,  “  My  dear  young  friend,  your  difficul¬ 
ties  are  of  the  head.  If  I  should  answer  them, 
new  ones  would  suggest  themselves.  The  best 
way  to  remove  them,,  and  guard  yourself  from 
future  and  similar  troubles,  is  to  have  Christ 
within  you.  Learn  his  life ;  learn  to  trust  in 
him  more,  to  love  him  more ;  become  identified 
with  him ;  and  your  doubts  as  to  his  divinity 
will  disappear.”  The  young  student  followed 
his  advice ;  his  doubts  lied ;  and,  on  a  subse¬ 
quent  death-bed,  he  hore  his  testimony  to  the 
divinity  of  our  blessed  Lord. 

1627.  DOUBTING,  Cause  of.  And  what  is 

the  cause  of  doubting  but  the  disappearance 
of  truth  ?  How  comes  the  mind  to  be  fright¬ 
ened  and  amazed,  but  because  it  is  in  the 
dark  ?  When  truth  wraps  itself  in  a  cloud, 
and  shuns  the  eye,  then  the  reason  of  man  is 
in  suspense,  and  under  various  fluctuations 
which  way  to  determine ;  but  it  is  certainty 
alone  that  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  rational 
determinations.  Dr.  South. 

1628.  DOUBTING,  the  Promises.  But  we  fools 
believe  the  promises  as  the  man  that  read 
Plato’s  writings  concerning  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  So  long  as  the  book  was  in  his 
h  ind,  he  believed  that  all  was  true,  and  that 
the  soul  could  not  die  ;  but  so  soon  as  he  laid 
by  the  book,  presently  he  began  to  imagine 
that  the  soul  is  but  a  smoke  or  airy  vapor, 
that  perisheth  with  the  expiring  of  the  breath  : 
so  we,  at  starts,  do  assent  to  the  sweet  and 
precious  promises ;  but,  laying  aside  God’s 
book,  we  begin  to  call  all  in  question. 

Rutherford. 

1629.  DOUBTS,  Influence  of.  I  once  told  my 

congregation  that  I  had  passed  through  a 
season  of  doubt  and  fear.  One  of  my  elders 
said  to  me,  “  Sir,  I  am  sorry  you  told  the 
people  that.  Just  suppose  you  had  been 
swearing  or  stealing,  you  would  not  have  told 
them  of  it?”  —  “No,”  I  answered:  “that 
would  be  a  terrible  thing.”  —  “  Well,”  replied 
he,  “  I  don’t  think  it  is  much  worse  than  dis¬ 
believing  God  ;  and,  if  you  go  and  tell  the 
people  that,  you  set  them  a  bad  example.” 
And  he  was  right.  It  is  not  for  the  leader  in 
any  cause  to  doubt  the  success  of  the  enter¬ 
prise.  Spurgeon. 

1630.  DRAGON,  as  an  Emblem.  The  dragon 
is  the  emblem  of  sin  in  general,  and  of  idolatry 
in  particular.  The  dragon  slain  is  the  triumph 
of  Christianity  over  heathenism.  The  scrip- 
tured  phrase,  “jaws  of  hell,”  the  painters  have 
literally  rendered  by  the  huge  jaws  of  a 
dragon,  wide  open,  and  emitting  flames,  into 
which  the  souls  of  sinners  are  tumbled  head¬ 
long. 

1631.  DREAMS,  Conversion  in.  Dreams,  the 
disordered  fabrics  of  a  wild  imagination ; 
the  totterings,  often,  of  the  fair  pillars  of  a 


204 


DREAMS. 


DRESS. 


grand  conception  —  liow  can  they  be  the  means 
of  salvation  ?  You  know  Rowland  Hill’s  good 
answer  :  I  must  quote  it  in  default  of  a  better. 
When  a  woman  pleaded  that  she  was  saved 
because  she  dreamed,  he  said,  “  Well,  my  good 
woman,  it  is  very  nice  to  have  good  dreams 
when  you  are  asleep  :  but  1  want  to  see  how 
you  act  when  you  are  awake;  tor,  if  your  con¬ 
duct  is  not  consistent  in  religion  when  you  are 
awake,  I  will  not  give  a  snap  of  the  finger  for 
your  dreams.”  Spurgeon. 

1632.  DREAMS,  Divine  Aotion  in.  A  young 

woman  was  murdered  in  a  barn,  and  buried 
under  the  floor.  She  was  thought  by  all  who 
concerned  themselves  about  her  to  be  still 
alive  in  another  place ;  and  the  murder  re¬ 
mained  not  only  undiscovered,  but  unsuspected 
at  the  time,  when  the  young  woman’s  mother 
was  warned  repeatedly  in  a  dream  to  search 
the  barn.  She  did  so :  the  murder  was  thus 
discovered,  and  the  murderer  (Corder)  con¬ 
demned  and  executed.  Now,  from  what  other 
cause  than  a  supernatural  action  upon  the  mind 
of  the  mother  could  this  dream  have  been 
produced  ?  Dr.  Kitto. 

1633.  DREAMS,  Interpretation  of.  Many  peo¬ 

ple  find  out  more  mysteries  in  their  sleep  than 
they  can  well  expound  waking.  If  they  dream 
of  a  green  garden,  they  shall  hear  of  a  dead 
corpse ;  if  they  dream  they  shake  a  dead  man 
by  the  hand,  then  there  is  no  way  but  death. 
It  is  superstition,  folly,  to  repose  any  such 
confidence  in  dreams ;  but,  if  any  man  desire 
to  profit  by  them,  let  him  consider  in  what 
direction  these  usually  carry  him,  so  by  his 
thoughts  in  the  night,  he  shall  learn  to  know 
himself  by  day.  Be  his  dreams  lustful,  he  may 
ask  if  his  heart  runs  after  concupiscence ;  are 
they  turbulent,  they  may  indicate  a  contentious 
disposition ;  are  they  revengeful,  they  point 
out  malice;  run  they  upon  gold  and  silver, 
they  argue  covetousness.  Generally,  men 
answer  to  such  waking,  as  their  thoughts  do 
sleeping.  Spencer. 

1634.  DREAMS,  Pleasant.  A  French  writer 
has  said,  that,  to  dream  gloriously,  you  must 
act  gloriously  while  you  are  awake ;  and,  to 
bring  angels  down  to  converse  with  you  in 
your  sleep,  you  must  labor  in  the  cause  of 
virtue  during  the  day. 

1635.  DREAMS,  Providence  in.  Capt.  Yount 
of  California,  in  a  mid-winter’s  night,  had 
a  dream,  in  which  he  saw  what  appeared 
to  be  a  company  of  emigrants  arrested  by  the 
snows  of  the  mountains,  and  perishing  rapidly 
by  cold  and  hunger.  He  noted  the  very  cast 
of  the  scenery,  marked  by  a  huge  perpendicu¬ 
lar  front  of  white  rock  cliff ;  he  saw  the  men 
cutting  off  what  appeared  to  be  tree-tops 
rising  out  of  deep  gulfs  of  snow ;  be  distin¬ 
guished  the  very  features  of  the  persons,  and 
the  look  of  their  particular  distress.  He  woke, 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  distinctness 
and  apparent  reality  of  his  dream.  At  length 
he  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed  exactly  the  same 
dream  again.  In  the  morning,  he  could  not 
expel  it  from  his  mind.  Falling  in,  shortly, 
with  an  old  hunter  comrade,  he  told  him  the 


story ;  and  was  only  the  more  deeply  impressed 
by  his  recognizing,  without  hesitation,  the  sce¬ 
nery  of  the  dream.  This  comrade  came  over  the 
Sierra  by  the  Carson  Valley  Pass  (in  Cali¬ 
fornia),  and  declared  that  a  spot  in  the  pass 
answered  exactly  to  his  description.  By  this, 
the  unsophisticated  patriarch  was  decided. 
He  immediately  collected  a  company  of  men 
with  mules  and  blankets,  and  all  necessary 
provisions.  The  neighbors  were  laughing, 
meantime,  at  his  credulity.  “No  matter,” 
said  he  :  “  I  am  able  to  do  this,  and  I  will ;  for 
I  verily  believe  that  the  fact  is  according  to 
my  dream.”  The  men  were  sent  into  the 
mountains  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant, 
directly  to  the  Carson  Valley  Pass ;  and  there 
they  found  the  company  in  exactly  the  cuadi- 
tion  of  the  dream,  and  brought  in  the  ren  uant 
alive.  A  gentleman  present,  when  the  cap¬ 
tain  told  me,  said,  “  You  need  not  doubt  this ; 
for  we  Californians  all  know  the  facts,  at  1  the 
names  of  the  families  brought  in,  who  look 
upon  our  venerable  friend  as  a  kind  ( i  Sa¬ 
viour.”  Their  names  he  gave,  and  the  places 
where  they  reside ;  and  I  found,  afterwards, 
that  the  California  people  were  ready  every¬ 
where  to  second  his  testimony.  Dr.  Bushnell. 

1636.  DREAMS,  Various  Views  of.  The  Egyp¬ 

tians  and  Babylonians  attached  great  impor¬ 
tance  to  dreams ;  and  to  interpret  them  was  the 
work  of  a  distinct  and  learned  profession.  The 
Persians,  also,  attached  great  importance  to 
dreams ;  and  it  is  reported  Cyrus  was  cast  forth 
at  his  birth,  because  a  dream  of  his  mother 
was  interpreted  to  promise  him  universal 
empire.  In  the  Chou-king  of  the  Chinese,  it 
is  in  dreams  that  the  Sovereign  of  heaven 
makes  his  will  known  to  the  sovereign  of 
earth.  In  Homer,  dreams  came  from  Jove. 
The  Greeks  and  Romans  believed,  that,  in  the 
solitude  of  caves  and  groves  and  temples, 
the  gods  appeared  in  dreams,  and  deigned  to 
answer  in  dreams  their  votaries.  Among  the 
Hindoos,  dreams  give  a  coloring  to  the  whole 
business  of  life.  All  dreams  are  of  importance 
among  the  North  American  Indians.  The 
Moslems  hold  good  dreams  from  God,  and  bad 
from  the  Devil.  Dr.  Kitto. 

1637.  DREAMS,  Warnings  in,  It  is  said  that 
St.  Cyprian,  in  a  dream,  heard  the  proconsul 
give  order  that  he  should  be  beheaded,  and 
that  the  clerk  of  the  court  made  this  known  to 
Cyprian ;  when  he  desired  a  delay  of  the  execu¬ 
tion,  that  he  might  set  his  house  in  order, 
which  was  granted.  The  dream  was  fulfilled 
in  all  its  particulars.  Twelve  months  after  it, 
his  head  was  struck  off. 

1638.  DRESS,  Attention  to.  A  minister  called 
to  see  a  lady,  who  detained  him  a  long  time, 
while  she  was  dressing.  At  length,  she  ap¬ 
peared,  arrayed  in  all  the  frippery  of  fashion. 
The  minister  wept.  She  asked  the  cause  of 
his  grief.  He  replied,  “  I  weep,  madam,  to 
think  that  an  immortal  being  should  spend  so 
much  of  that  precious  time  which  was  given 
to  prepare  for  eternity,  in  thus  vainly  adorning 
that  body  which  must  so  soon  become  a  prey 
to  worms.” 


DRESS. 


DRESS. 


205 


1639.  DRESS,  Blood-Spots  on.  It  would  be 

strange  if  at  any  great  assembly,  which,  while 
it  dazzled  the  young  and  thoughtless,  beguiled 
the  gentler  hearts  that  beat  beneath  the  em¬ 
broidery  with  a  placid  sensation  of  luxurious 
benevolence,  as  if  by  all  that  they  wore  in  way¬ 
wardness  of  beauty,  comfort  had  first  been  given 
to  the  distressed,  and  aid  to  the  indigent,  —  it 
would  be  strange,  if,  for  a  moment,  the  spirits 
of  Truth  and  of  Error,  which  walk  invisibly 
among  the  masks  of  the  earth,  would  lift 
the  dimness  from  our  erring  thoughts,  and 
show  us  how  —  inasmuch  as  the  sums  exhausted 
by  that  magnificence  would  have  given  back 
the  failing  breath  to  many  an  unsheltered  out¬ 
cast  on  moor  and  street — they  who  wear  it 
have  literally  entered  into  partnership  with 
Death,  and  dressed  themselves  in  his  spoils. 
Yes :  if  the  veil  could  be  lifted  from  your 
thoughts,  but  from  your  human  sight,  you 
would  see  —  the  angels  do  see  —  on  those  gay 
white  dresses  of  yours  strange  dark  spots,  and 
crimson  patterns  that  you  knew  not  of,  — 
spots  of  the  inextinguishable  red  that  all  the 
seas  cannot  wash  away ;  —  yes  :  and  among  the 
pleasant  flowers  that  crown  your  fair  heads, 
and  glow  on  your  wreathed  hair,  you  would  see 
that  one  weed  was  always  twisted  that  no  one 
thought  of,  —  the  grass  that  grows  on  graves. 

./.  Ruskin. 

1640.  DRESS,  Crime  in.  As  long  as  there 

are  cold  and  nakedness  in  the  land  around 
you,  so  long  there  can  be  no  question  at  all 
but  that  splendor  of  dress  is  a  crime.  In  due 
time,  when  we  have  nothing  better  to  set 
people  to  work  at,  it  may  be  right  to  let  them 
make  lace  and  cut  jewels ;  but  as  long  as  there 
are  any  who  have  no  blankets  for  their  beds, 
and  no  rags  for  their  bodies,  so  long  it  is 
blanket-making  and  tailoring  we  must  set 
people  to  work  at,  not  lace.  J.  Ruskin. 

1641.  DRESS,  Effect  of.  Dress  has  a  moral 
effect  upon  the  conduct  of  mankind.  Let  any 
gentleman  find  himself  with  dirty  boots,  soiled 
neckcloth,  and  a  general  negligence  of  dress, 
he  will,  in  all  probability,  find  a  corresponding 
disposition  by  negligence  of  address. 

Sir  J.  Barrington. 

1649.  DRESS,  Importance  of  In  the  Bible, 
the  body  is  said  to  be  more  than  raiment. 
But  many  people  read  the  Bible  Ilebrew-wise, 
backward ;  and  thus  the  general  conviction 
now  is,  that  raiment  is  more  than  the  body. 

1643.  DRESS,  Love  of  A  man,  following 
the  occupation  of  wood-cutting,  wrought  with 
exemplary  zeal  the  six  working-days,  hoarding 
every  cent  not  required  to  furnish  him  with 
the  most  frugal  fare.  As  his  “  pile  ”  increased, 
he  invested  it  in  gold  ornaments,  —  watch- 
chain  of  massive  links,  shirt  and  sleeve  buttons, 
shoe-buckles,  then  buttons  for  vest  and  coat,  a 
hat-band  of  the  precious  metal,  a  heavy  gold¬ 
headed  cane ;  and,  in  short,  wherever  an  ounce 
of  it  could  be  bestowed  upon  his  person,  in  or 
out  of  taste,  it  was  done.  The  glory  of 
his  life,  his  sole  ambition,  was  to  don  this 
curious  attire  (which  was  deposited  for  safe 
keeping  during  the  week  in  one  of  the  banks) 


on  Sunday  morning,  and  then  spend  the 
day,  the  “  observed  of  all  observers,”  lounging 
about  the  office  or  bar-room  of  the  St.  Charles. 
He  never  drank,  and  rarely  spoke.  Mystery 
seemed  to  envelop  him.  No  one  knew  whence 
he  came,  or  the  origin  of  his  innocent  whim. 
Old  citizens  assured  you,  that,  year  after  year, 
his  narrow  savings  were  measured  by  the  in¬ 
crease  of  his  ornaments,  until  at  length  the 
value  of  the  anomalous  garments  came  to  be 
estimated  by  thousands  of  dollars.  By  ten 
o’clock  on  Sunday  night,  the  exliibition  was 
closed.  His  one  day  of  self-gratification  en¬ 
joyed,  his  costly  wardrobe  was  returned 
to  the  bank-vault,  and  he  came  back  into  the 
obscurity  of  a  wood-chopper.  IT.  //.  Milhurn. 

1644.  DRESS,  a  Memento.  As  a  thief,  by 
law  burned  in  the  forehead  for  theft,  ought,  so 
often  as  he  looketh  in  a  glass  and  perceiveth 
the  scar  thereof,  to  think  upon  and  detest  his 
inclination  to  that  vice ;  so  our  garments, 
being  as  the  scar  in  the  forehead  of  our  first 
parents  and  ourselves  for  their  ambition,  in 
that  they  sought  to  be  like  unto  God,  should,  by 
the  sight  of  them  only,  put  us  in  mind  to  re¬ 
nounce  all  pride  and  ambition.  Cawdray. 

1645.  DRESS,  Neglect  of.  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  while  a  law-student,  so  neglected  his 
dress,  that  he  was  seized  by  the  press-gang  as 
a  fit  person  for  the  king’s  service.  He  was 
recognized,  and  released  as  soon  as  it  was 
known  who  he  was.  This  taught  him  to  pay 
more  attention  to  his  attire.  Philopceman,  a 
noble  Grecian,  was  mistaken  for  a  servant,  and 
sent  to  splitting  wood,  and,  when  discovered, 
said  he  was  paying  the  interest  of  his  bad 
looks. 

1646.  DRESS,  Pride  in.  The  brightest  silk 
the  silkworm  weaves,  it  designs  to  be  its  shroud. 
When  it  has  attained  its  duration,  and  lived 
its  time,  it  looks  out  for  some  corner  where  it 
may  die  unseen ;  and  there  it  envelops  itself 
with  the  beautiful  web,  which  we  prize  so 
highly,  as  its  shroud.  Oh  that  those  who  flaunt 
in  their  gayety  would  remember  that  they  are 
wearing  a  shroud,  and  that  the  object  of  their 
pride  was  first  used  as  the  robe  to  cover  death  1 

Bowes. 

1647.  DRESS,  Rule  of.  Madam,  so  dress 

and  so  conduct  yourself,  that  persons  who  have 
been  in  your  company  shall  not  recollect  what 
you  had  on.  Rev.  John  Newton. 

1648.  DRESS,  Singularity  in.  A  celebrated 

old  general  used  to  dress  in  a  fantastic  man¬ 
ner  by  way  of  making  himself  better  known. 
It  is  true,  people  would  say,  “  Who  is  that  old 
fool '!  ”  but  it  is  also  true,  that  the  answer  was, 
“  That  is  the  famous  general,  who  took  such  a 
place.”  Percy. 

1619.  DRESS,  Vanity  in.  Some  fashionably- 
dressed  ladies  asked  a  clergyman  if  he  thought 
there  was  any  harm  in  their  wearing  feathers 
and  other  ornaments.  He  said,  “  There  is  no 
harm  in  feathers  and  flowers.  If  you  have  in 
your  heart  the  ridiculous  vanity  to  wish  to  be 
thought  pretty,  you  may  as  well  hang  out  the 
sign,  and  let  every  one  know  what  is  in  your 
heart.” 


206 


DRITSTKESTG-. 


IDRTJNT^EINlSnESS. 


1650.  DRINKING,  Argument  for.  Harootune, 
a  converted  Armenian  on  the  Harpoot  mission- 
field,  is  a  strong  temperance-man.  He  lives 
among  those  who  love  “  native  wine.”  To  one 
who  drank  a  glass  of  wine,  and  by  way  of  ex¬ 
cuse  asked,  “Didn’t  God  make  grapes?”  he 
indignantly  exclaimed,  “  God  made  dogs :  go 
eat  some  dog-carcass  I  He  made  poisons  too : 
go  eat  them,  and  kill  yourself  1  ” 

1651.  DRINKING,  Fashionable.  At  an  Epis¬ 
copal  convention,  a  discussion  on  temperance 
brought  up  the  “  wine-question.”  An  influen¬ 
tial  clergyman  rose,  and  made  a  vehement 
argument  in  favor  of  wine.  When  he  had 
resumed  his  seat,  a  layman  said,  “  Mr.  Moder¬ 
ator,  it  is  not  my  purpose,  in  rising,  to  answer 
the  learned  argument  you  have  just  listened 
to.  My  object  is  more  humble,  and,  I  hope, 
more  practical.  I  once  knew  a  father  in 
moderate  circumstances,  who  was  at  much  in¬ 
convenience  to  educate  a  beloved  son  at  col¬ 
lege.  Here  this  son  became  dissipated ;  but 
after  he  had  graduated,  and  returned  to  his 
father,  the  influence  of  home,  acting  upon  a 
generous  nature,  actually  reformed  him.  The 
father  was  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  that  his 
cherished  hopes  of  other  days  were  still  to  be 
realized.  Several  years  passed,  when,  the 
young  man  having  completed  his  professional 
study,  and  being  about  to  leave  his  father  to 
establish  himself  in  business,  he  was  invited 
to  dine  with  a  neighboring  clergyman  distin¬ 
guished  for  his  hospitality  and  social  qualities. 
At  this  dinner,  wine  was  introduced,  and  offered 
to  this  young  man,  who  refused  ;  pressed  upon 
him,  and  again  refused.  This  was  repeated, 
and  the  young  man  ridiculed  for  his  peculiar 
abstinence.  The  young  man  was  strong 
enough  to  overcome  appetite ;  but  he  could  not 
resist  ridicule.  He  drank,  and  fell,  and  from 
that  moment  became  a  confirmed  drunkard, 
and  long  since  has  found  a  drunkard’s  grave. 
Mr.  Moderator,”  continued  the  old  man,  with 
streaming  eyes,  “  I  am  that  father ;  and  it  was 
at  the  table  of  the  clergyman  who  has  just 
taken  his  seat  that  his  hospitality  ruined  the 
son  I  shall  never  cease  to  mourn.” 

1652.  DRINKING,  Usages  of.  Drinking-usages 

are  the  chief  cause  of  intemperance ;  and  these 
derive  their  force  and  authority,  in  the  first 
instance,  wholly  from  those  who  give  law  to 
fashion.  Bishop  Potter. 

1653.  It  is  the  reputable  Christian  wine- 
drinkers  who  are  the  men  who  send  forth  from 
the  high  places  of  society,  and  sometimes  even 
from  the  portals  of  the  sanctuary,  an  unsus¬ 
pected,  unrebuked,  but  powerful  influence, 
which  is  secretly  and  silently  doing  on  every 
side  —  among  the  young,  among  the  aged, 
among  even  females  —  its  work  of  death. 

Dr.  Nott. 

1654.  DRUNKARD,  in  Cold  Water.  While 
Father  Taylor  was  delivering  one  of  his  tem¬ 
perance  lectures,  a  well-known  drunkard,  feel¬ 
ing  touched,  commenced  hissing.  Instantly 
Father  Taylor  turned  the  attention  of  the 
large  audience  to  the  insolent  rowdy,  and  then 
forcibly  said,  as  he  pouited  to  his  victim, 


“  There’s  a  red  nose  got  into  cold  water.  Don’t 
you  hear  it  hiss  ?  ” 

1655.  DRUNKARD,  Reformed.  On  a  certain 

sabbath  evening  some  twenty  years  ago,  a 
reckless,  ill-dressed  young  man  was  idly  loun¬ 
ging  under  the  elm-trees  in  the  public  square 
of  Worcester.  He  had  become  a  wretched 
waif  on  the  current  of  sin.  His  days  were 
spent  in  the  waking  remorse  of  the  drunk¬ 
ard  ;  his  nights  were  passed  in  the  buf¬ 
fooneries  of  the  ale-house.  As  he  sauntered 
along,  out  of  humor  with  himself  and  with  all 
mankind,  a  kind  voice  saluted  him.  A  stran¬ 
ger  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and  said  in 
cordial  tones,  “Mr.  Gough,  go  down  to  our 
meeting  at  the  town-hall  to-night.”  A  brief 
conversation  followed,  so  winning  in  its  char¬ 
acter,  that  the  reckless  youth  consented  to  go. 
He  went ;  he  heard  the  appeals  there  made. 
With  tremulous  hand  he  signed  the  pledge  of 
total  abstinence.  By  God’s  help,  he  kept  it, 
and  keeps  it  yet.  The  poor  boot-crimper 
who  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder  —  good  Joel 
Stratton  —  has  lately  gone  to  heaven.  But 
the  youth  he  saved  is  to-day  the  foremost  of 
reformers  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Methinks, 
when  I  listen  to  the  thunders  of  applause  that 
greet  John  B.  Gough  on  the  platform  of 
Exeter  Hall  or  the  Academy  of  Music,  I  am 
hearing  the  echoes  of  that  tap  on  the  shoul¬ 
der,  and  of  that  kind  invitation  under  the 
ancient  elms  of  Worcester.  “  He  that  win- 
netli  souls  is  wise.”  T.  L.  Cui/ler. 

1656.  DRUNKENNESS,  Beginning  of  “  Tell 
me,”  said  a  gentleman  to  a  poor  drunkard, 
when  urging  him  to  give  up  the  intoxicating 
cup,  “  where  it  was  you  took  your  first  steps  in 
this  intemperate  course.”  —  “At  my father's 
table,”  replied  the  unhappy  young  man. 
“  Before  I  left  home  to  become  a  clerk,  I  had 
learned  to  love  the  drink  that  has  ruined  me. 
The  first,  drop  I  ever  tasted  was  handed  me  by 
my  now  heart-broken  mother.” 

1657.  DRUNKENNESS,  Conquest  of.  At  Baby¬ 

lon,  Alexander  the  Great  began  the  second 
night’s  carousal  with  twenty  guests  at  table. 
He  drank  the  health  of  every  person  at  table 
severally.  After  this,  he  called  for  Hercules’ 
cup,  which  held  an  incredible  quantity  ;  being 
filled,  he  poured  it  all  down,  drinking  to 
Proteas,  a  Macedonian  of  the  company.  After¬ 
wards,  he  pledged  him  again  in  the  same 
extravagant  bumper,  and  fell  instantly  upon 
the  floor.  Seneca  says,  “  Here,  then,  this  hero, 
unconquered  by  all  the  toils  of  prodigious 
marches,  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  sieges  and 
combats,  to  the  most  violent  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold  —  here  he  lies  subdued  by  his  intem¬ 
perance,  struck  to  the  earth  by  the  fatal  cup 
of  Hercules.”  He  was  seized  with  a  fever, 
which  terminated  in  death  in  a  few  days,  at 
the  age  of  thirty-eight  years.  Buck. 

1658.  DRUNKENNESS,  Cure  for.  A  stout 
lady,  whose  husband  went  home  so  drunk  that 
he  had  to  go  immediately  to  bed,  sewed  him 
up  in  a  blanket ;  then  took  a  cowhide,  and  with 
all  her  strength  commenced  beating  the  (lust 
out  of  the  blanket,  and  the  rum  out  ol  her 


DRTTTsTliEINrNnESS. 


DEUNKENNKSS. 


207 


husband.  Yells  and  screams  came  from  the 
blanket,  but  had  no  effect  till  the  husband  was 
thoroughly  sobered.  The  result  was  good : 
he  never  got  drunk  again. 

1659.  DRUNKENNESS,  Death  from.  John 
Tatson,  an  Indian,  a  native  of  Lyme  in  Con¬ 
necticut,  being  found  dead  on  a  winter’s  morn¬ 
ing,  not  far  from  a  tavern  where  he  had  been 
drinking  freely  of  spirituous  licptors  the  even¬ 
ing  before,  the  Indians  immediately  assembled 
a  jury  of  their  own  tribe,  who,  after  examin¬ 
ing  the  body,  unanimously  agreed,  “  that  the 
said  Tatson’s  death  was  occasioned  by  the 
freezing  of  a  large  quantity  of  water  in  his 
body,  that  had  been  imprudently  mixed  with 
the  rum  he  drank.” 

1660.  DRUNKENNESS,  Degradation  of.  There 
is  no  sin  which  doth  more  deface  God’s  image 
than  drunkenness  :  it  disguiseth  a  person,  and 
doth  even  unman  him.  Drunkenness  makes 
him  have  the  throat  of  a  fish,  the  belly  of  a 
swine,  and  the  head  of  an  ass.  Drunkenness 
is  the  shame  of  nature,  the  extinguisher  of 
reason,  the  shipwreck  of  chastity,  and  the 
murder  of  conscience.  Drunkenness  is  hurt¬ 
ful  to  the  body.  The  cup  kills  more  than  the 
cannon :  it  causes  dropsies,  catarrhs,  apoplex¬ 
ies;  it  fills  the  eye  with  fire,  and  the  legs 
with  water,  and  turns  the  body  into  a  hospital. 

T.  Watson. 

1661.  DRUNKENNESS,  Elevation  of.  Du 
Chaillu,  in  his  journey  to  Ashango  Land, 
called  upon  the  king  at  Anniambie,  and  found 
him  drunk,  as  usual.  “  Indeed,”  says  the 
traveller,  “  he  was  too  tipsy  to  stand  on  his 
legs  :  nevertheless  he  was  bullying  and  boast¬ 
ing  in  a  loud  tone  of  voice.  I  had  not  been 
in  his  place  long,  before  he  ordered  another 
calabash  full  of  palm-wine,  and  drank  about  a 
half-gallon  of  it.  This  finished  him  up  for  the 
day :  he  fell  back  into  the  arms  of  his  loving 
wives,  ejaculating  many  times,  “  I  am  a  big 
king  1  I  am  a  big  king  !  ”  The  voice  soon 
became  inaudible,  and  he  fell  asleep. 

1662.  DRUNKENNESS,  Horrible  Death  for. 
Joseph  Ralston  of  Phillipsburg,  Penn.,  met  with 
a  horrible  death,  by  freezing,  a  few  days  ago. 
He  had  been  drinking  freely,  and  had,  while 
drunk,  endeavored  to  wade  the  Moshannoo 
Creek ;  but,  ere  he  had  proceeded  two-thirds  of 
the  way,  his  limbs  refused  to  perform  their 
office.  He  grasped  a  bough  of  an  overhang¬ 
ing  tree,  unable  to  advance  farther ;  and  soon 
the  fast  congealing  water  cemented  close  about 
him.  —  a  tomb  of  ice  which  stretched  from 
shore  to  shore.  Two  days  after,  he  was  found 
there  rigid  as  an  icicle,  his  knees  imbedded 
in  a  sheet  of  the  frozen  element  seven  inches 
thick,  his  body  inclined  a  little  forward,  his 
hands  clutching  the  boughs,  eyes  astare,  and 
despair  pictured  on  his  features. 

Pittsburgh  Dispatch. 

1663.  DRUNKENNESS,  Illustration  of.  A 
druggist  who  keeps  a  store  in  the  western  part 
of  the  State,  and  is  more  fond  of  taking  jokes 
than  medicine,  was  recently  surprised  by  the 
appearance  of  a  thorough  Yankee,  who  asked, 
“  Be  yeou  the  drugger  V  ”  —  “  Well,  I  suppose 


so  :  I  sell  drugs.”  —  “  Well,  have  yeou  got  eny 
uv  this  ere  sentin’  stuff  as  the  gals  put  on 
their  hankerchers  ?  ”  —  “  Oh,  yes  I  ”  —  “  Wall, 
our  Sal  is  gwine  to  be  married  ;  and  she’s  gin 
me  a  ninepence,  and  told  me  to  invest  the 
whole  ’mount  in  sentin’  stuff,  so  to  make  her 
sweet,  ef  I  could  find  somethin’  to  suit :  so,  if  ( 
yeou’re  a  mind.  I’ll  just  smell  around.”  The 
Yankee  smelled  around  without  being  suited, 
until  the  “  drugger  ”  got  tired  of  him,  and,  tak¬ 
ing  down  a  bottle  of  hartshorn,  said,  “  I’ve  got 
a  scenting  stuff  that  will  suit  you.  A  single 
drop  on  a  handkerchief  will  stay  for  weeks, 
and  you  can’t  wash  it.  out ;  but,  to  get  the 
strength  of  it,  you  must  take  a  good  big  smell.” 
— “  Is  that  so,  mister  ?  Well,  jist  hold  on  a  min¬ 
ute  till  I  git  breath  ;  and,  when  I  say,  ‘  Now  !  ’ 
yeou  put  it  under  my  smeller.”  The  hartshorn 
of  course  knocked  tlie  Yankee  down,  as  liquor 
has  many  a  man.  Do  you  suppose  he  got  up 
and  smelt  again  ?  Rolling  his  sleeves,  and 
doubling  his  fists,  he  said,  “  Yeou  made  me 
smell  that  tarnal  everlasting  stuff,  mister ;  and 
now  I’ll  make  yeou  smell  brimstone.”  And  he 
gave  the  druggist  a  beating  which  he  will  re¬ 
member  for  years.  This  is  the  kind  of  treat¬ 
ment  Mr.  Gough  would  have  the  drunkard 
give  the  drink  that  knocks  him  down. 

1661.  DRUNKENNESS,  Incident  of.  A  cer¬ 
tain  doctor,  who  sometimes  drank  a  good  deal 
at  dinner,  was  summoned,  one  evening,  to  see 
a  lady-patient  when  he  was  more  than  “  half 
seas  over,”  and  conscious  that  he  was  so.  On 
feeling  her  pulse,  and  finding  himself  unable 
to  count  its  beats,  he  muttered,  “  Drunk,  by 
Jove  1  ”  Next  morning,  recollecting  the  cir¬ 
cumstance,  he  was  greatly  vexed,  and,  just  as 
he  was  thinking  what  explanation  he  should 
offer  to  the  lady,  a  letter  was  put  in  his  hand. 
“  She  too  well  knew,”  said  the  letter,  *•  that  he 
had  discovered  the  unfortunate  condition  in 
which  she  was  when  he  had  visited  her  ;  ”  and 
she  entreated  him  to  keep  the  matter  a  secret, 
in  consideration  of  the  enclosed,  —  a  hundred- 
dollar  bill. 

166,5.  DRUNKENNESS,  Madness  of.  Moliere, 
the  father  of  French  comedy,  being  in  a  deli-- 
cate  state  of  health,  left  Paris,  and  retired  to 
his  villa  at  Auteuil,  to  pass  a  short  time.  One 
day,  Boileau,  accompanied  by  Chapelle,  Lulli, 
De  Junsac,  Nantouillet,  came  to  visit  him. 
Moliere  could  not  join  them  on  account  of  his 
illness;  but  he  gave  the  keys  of  his  house  to 
Chapelle,  and  begged  him  to  do  the  honors  for 
him.  Chapelle  acquitted  himself  of  this  task 
in  such  a  manner,  that,  at  supper,  not  one  of 
them  was  sober.  They  began  to  discuss  the 
most  serious  matters;  and  at  last,  having  im¬ 
piously  decided  that  the  greatest  good  was 
never  to  have  been  born,  and  the  next  to  die 
as  soon  atterwards  as  possible,  they  resolved, 
shocking  as  the  proposition  may  sound,  to  go 
in  a  body,  and  drown  themselves  in  the  Seine. 
In  the  mean  while,  Moliere,  who  had  retired 
to  his  chamber,  was  informed  of  this  state  of 
affairs  ;  and,  invalid,  as  he  was.  he  hastened  to 
join  the  mad  party.  Seeing  how  far  gone  they 
were,  he  did  not  attempt  to  reason  them  out 


208 


aDRXJjSnvKN'JN'ESS. 


DUTY. 


of  tlieir  determination,  but  demanded  to  know 
what  he  had  done  that  they  should  think  of 
destroying  themselves  without  him.  “  He  is 
right,”  cried  Chapelle  ;  “we  have  been  unjust 
towards  him :  he  shall  be  drowned  with  us.” 
—  “  One  moment,  if  you  please,  though,”  ob¬ 
served  the  dramatist.  “  This  is  the  last  act 
of  our  lives,  and  not  to  be  undertaken  rashly  : 
if  we  drown  ourselves  at  this  hour  of  the 
night,  people  will  say  that  we  are  drunk,  and 
we  shall  lose  all  merit.  Let  us  wait  until 
morning ;  and  then,  in  broad  daylight,  and 
upon  empty  stomachs,  we  will  throw  ourselves 
into  the  river  in  the  face  of  our  fellow-crea¬ 
tures.”  This  was,  after  some  demurrer,  ap¬ 
proved  of;  and  the  next  morning,  bad  as  the 
world  was  allowed  to  be,  no  one  thought  it  bad 
enough  to  quit  it. 

1036.  DRUNKENNESS,  Perpetual.  An  anec¬ 
dote  is  told  of  a  man  who  rarely  failed  to  go 
to  bed  intoxicated,  and  disturbed  his  wile  the 
whole  night.  Upon  his  being  charged  by  a 
friend,  that  he  never  went  to  bed  sober,  he 
indignantly  denied  it,  and  gave  the  incidents 
of  one  particular  night  in  proof.  “  Pretty  soon 
alter  I  got  into  bed,  my  wife  said,  ‘  Why,  hus¬ 
band,  what  is  the  matter  with  you?  You  act 
strangely.’  —  ‘  Nothing  the  matter,’  said  I. 
‘  I’m  sure  there  is,’  said  she :  ‘  you  don’t  act 
natural  at  all.  Sha’n’t  1  get  up  and  get  some¬ 
thing  lor  you  ?  ’  And  she  got  up,  lighted  a 
candle,  and  came  to  the  bedside  to  look  at  me, 
shading  the  light  with  her  hand.  ‘  I  knew 
there  was  something  strange  about  you,’  said 
she:  ‘why,  you  are  sober  1  ’  Now,  this  is  a 
fact ;  and  my  wife  will  swear  to  it :  so  don’t 
you  slander  me  any  more  by  saying  I  haven’t 
been  to  bed  sober  in  six  months,  because  I 
have.” 

1667.  DRUNKENNESS,  Preventing,  Plutarch 
says,  that  Lyeurgus  preveuled  drunkenness 
among  the  Lacedaemonians  by  commanding 
that  all  their  vines  should  be  cut  down,  and 
allowing  none  to  grow  in  the  commonwealth. 
To  prevent  it  here,  all  the  distilleries  and  beer- 
breweries  must  be  stopped,  and  the  eider  and 
wine  making  prohibited. 

'  166§.  DRUNKENNESS,  Punishment  of.  In  the 
time  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  magistrates  in 
the  north  of  England  punished  drunkenness 
by  making  them  carry  what  is  called  the 
“  Drunkard’s  Cloak.”  This  was  a  large  barrel, 
with  one  head  out,  and  a  hole  in  the  other, 
through  which  the  offender  was  made  to  put 
his  head,  while  his  hands  were  drawn  through 
two  small  holes,  one  on  each  side.  With  this, 
he  was  compelled  to  march  along  the  public 
streets. 

1669.  DRUNKENNESS,  Rebuked.  A  rich  drunk¬ 
ard  kept  two  monkeys  for  his  sport.  Once  he 
looked  into  his  dining-room,  where  he  and  his 
guests  had  left  some  wine,  and  the  two  had 
mounted  the  table,  and  were  helping  them¬ 
selves  to  the  wine,  jabbering  and  gesturing  just 
as  they  had  seen  their  master  and  his  guests. 
Soon  they  were  merry,  and  jumped  about;  but 
at  last  they  got  to  fighting  on  the  floor,  and 
tearing  out  one  another’s  hair.  The  drunkard 


stood  in  amazement.  “  What !  ”  said  he,  “  is 
this  a  picture  of  myself?  Do  the  brutes  rebuke 
me  ?  ”  Ever  after  he  was  a  sober  man. 

1670.  DRUNKARDS,  How  to  Rescue.  A  poor 
victim  of  intemperance,  of  cultivated  intellect, 
had  lost  all  hope  of  escape  from  the  tyranny 
of  his  evil  habit,  and  really  despaired  of  any 
thing  but  a  drunkard's  grave  and  a  miserable 
eternity.  President  Davies  of  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  one  day  met  this  miserable  man, 
fell  iuto  a  conversation  with  him,  and  patient¬ 
ly  heard  his  doleful  story.  The  president  said 
to  him,  “  Sir,  be  of  good  cheer  :  you  can  be 
saved.  Sign  the  pledge.”  —  “  Oh  1  ”  said  the 
despairing  victim,  “I  have  often  signed  the 
pledge ;  but  I  have  always  broken  my  pledge.” 
—  “  But,”  said  the  president,  “  I  will  fc  e  your 
strength  to  keep  the  pledge.  I  will  be  your 
friend,  and,  with  a  loving  arm  around  you, 
will  hold  you  up.  When  your  appetite  burns, 
and  you  feel  as  if  you  must  gratify  it,  come  to 
my  house,  sit  down  with  me  in  the  study,  or 
with  the  family  in  the  parlor,  and  I  will  be  a 
shield  to  you.  All  that  I  can  do  for  you  with 
my  books,  my  sympathy,  my  experience,  my 
society,  my  love,  my  money,  I  will  do.  You 
shall  forget  your  appetite,  and  master  it.”  The 
tear  of  hope  and  joy  garnered  in  that  despair- 
ing  eye ;  and  the  astonished  man  replied.  “  Sir, 
will  you  do  all  that  ?  ”  —  “  Surely  I  will.”  — 
“  Then  I  will  overcome.”  He  signed  the  pledge, 
and,  as  long  as  the  president  lived,  he  kept  it. 

1671.  DRUNKARDS,  Influence  of.  Wilson,  in 
his  “  American  Ornithology,”  says  that  crows 
have  been  employed  to  catch  crows  by  the  fol¬ 
lowing  stratagem.  A  live  crow  is  pinned  by 
the  wings  down  to  the  ground,  on  his  back,  by 
means  of  sharp  forked  sticks.  Thus  situated, 
his  cries  are  loud  and  incessant,  especially  if 
any  other  crows  are  in  view.  These,  sweep¬ 
ing  down  about  him,  are  instantly  grappled 
and  held  fast  by  the  prostrate  prisoner  with 
the  same  irresistible  impulse  that  urges  a 
drowning  man  to  grasp  at  every  thing  within 
his  reach.  The  game  being  disengaged  from 
his  clutches,  the  trap  is  again  ready,  and,  by 
pinning  down  each  captive  successively,  in  a 
short  time  there  will  probably  be  a  large  flock 
screaming  in  the  air  in  concert  with  the  pris¬ 
oners  below.  Does  not  that  cunning  fowler, 
the  Devil,  use  this  artifice  full  well?  The 
brawling  drunkard,  the  blaspheming  infidel, 
fast  bound  himself,  is  clamoring  to  others, 
whom  he  will  soon  hold  fast  in  his  evil  power; 
these  again  becoming  snares  for  others.  AVhat 
a  grip  does  one  sinner  give  another !  and  how 
ready  a  tempted  one  is  to  become  a  tempter  1 

Spurgeon. 

1672.  DUTY,  Comfort  in.  It  was  while  stand¬ 

ing  on  the  poop  of  his  vessel,  amid  the  heat  and 
the  fire  of  severe  combat,  that  Nelson  received 
his  mortal  wound;  and,  on  being  afterwards 
assured  that  the  day  was  in  favor  of  his  coun¬ 
try’s  flag,  he  breathed  out  his  spirit  with  the 
words  on  his  lips,  “  Thank  God !  I  have  done 
my  duty !  ”  It  is  to  him  who  is  faithful  unto 
death,  that  there  is  held  out  the  crown  of 
glory.  Dr.  Ferguson. 


DUTY. 


DUTY. 


209 


1673.  DUTY,  Done.  In  a  terrible  thunder¬ 
shower,  a  large,  gay  household  gathered  in  one 
room  in  breathless  silence  and  anxiety.  Among 
them  was  a  little  child  of  seven  summers,  who 
.glanced  from  face  to  face  in  vague  wonder  at 
the  fear  expressed,  and  then  suddenly  kneeled 
down,  and,  with  closed  eyes  and  folded  hands, 
looked  up  to  heaven.  She  remained  there  in 
silence  a  few  moments ;  and  then,  rising,  she 
ran  quickly  to  her  mother,  saying,  “  O  mam¬ 
ma  !  I  have  done  what  I  could.” 

1671.  DUTY,  Excuse  from.  When  Palamedes 
came  to  Ithaca  to  invite  Ulysses  to  join  in  the 
expedition  against  Troy,  the  latter,  unwilling 
to  engage  in  the  undertaking,  betook  himself 
to  ploughing  the  sand,  and  sowing  salt,  on  the 
pretence  of  being  visited  with  insanity.  There 
are  multitudes  as  insane  as  Ulysses,  who  betake 
themselves  to  works  as  insane,  and  all  in  the 
way  of  pretene'e  to  excuse  themselves  from  the 
duties  to  which  God  calls  them. 

1675.  DUTY,  Exhortation  to.  Previous  to  the 
battle  of  Lutzen,  in  which  eighty  thousand 
Austrians  were  defeated  by  an  army  of  thirty- 
six  thousand  Prussians,  commanded  by  Fred¬ 
erick  the  Great,  this  monarch  ordered  all  his 
officers  to  attend  him,  and  thus  addressed  them  : 
“To-morrow  I  intend  giving  the  enemy  battle ; 
and,  as  it  will  decide  who  are  to  be  the  future 
masters  of  Silesia,  I  expect  every  one  of  you 
will  in  the  strictest  manner  do  his  duty.  If 
any  one  of  you  is  a  coward,  let  him  step  for¬ 
ward  before  he  makes  others  as  cowardly  as 
himself,  —  let  him  step  forward,  I  say,  and'  he 
shall  immediately  receive  his  discharge  with¬ 
out  ceremony  or  reproach.  I  see  there  is  none 
among  you  who  does  not  possess  true  heroism, 
and  will  not  display  it  in  defence  of  his 
king,  of  his  country,  and  of  himself.  I  shall 
be  in  the  front  and  in  the  rear  ;  shall  lly  from 
wing  to  wing ;  no  company  will  escape  my 
notice  ;  and  whoever  1  then  find  doing  his  duty, 
upon  him  will  I  heap  honor  and  favor.” 

1676.  DUTY,  Exposure  in.  A  story  is  told 
of  the  veteran  Sumner  at  the  battle  of  Antie- 
tam.  Ilis  son,  young  Capt.  Sumner,  a  youth 
of  twenty-one,  was  on  his  staff.  The  old  man 
calmly  stood  amidst  a  storm  of  shot  and  shells, 
and  turned  to  send  him  through  a  doubly  ra¬ 
ging  fire,  upon  a  mission  of  duty.  He  might 
never  see  his  boy  again ;  but  his  country  claimed 
his  life,  and,  as  lie  looked  upon  his  young  brow, 
he  grasped  his  hand,  encircled  him  in  his  arms, 
and  fondly  kissed  him.  “  Good-by,  Sammy  1  ” 
— “Good-by,  father  1”  And  the  youth,  mounting 
his  horse,  rode  gayly  on  the  message.  He  re¬ 
turned  unharmed,  and  again  his  hand  was 
grasped  with  a  cordial,  “  How  d’ye  do.  Sammy?  ” 
answered  by  a  grasp  of  equal  affection. 

1677.  DUTY,  Faithful  to.  During  the  dark 
day  of  1  780,  in  Connecticut  the  candles  were 
lighted  in  many  houses,  and  domestic  fowls 
went  to  their  roost.  The  people  thought  the 
day  of  judgment  had  come.  The  legislature 
was  then  in  session  in  Hartford.  The  house 
of  representatives  adjourned.  In  the  council, 
it  was  also  proposed.  Col.  Davenport  object¬ 
ed,  saying,  “  The  day  of  judgment  is  either 

H 


approaching,  tfr  it  is  not.  If  it  is  not,  there  is 
no  cause  for  adjourning  ;  if  it  is,  I  choose  to  be 
found  doing  my  duty.  I  wish,  therefore,  that 
candles  may  be  brought.” 

1678.  DUTY,  First.  At  the  battle  of  Antie- 
tam,  as  one  of  the  regiments  was  for  the  second 
time  going  into  the  conflict,  a  soldier  staggered. 
It  was  of  no  wound ;  but,  in  the  group  of 
dying  and  dead  through  which  they  were 
passing,  he  saw  his  father,  of  another  regiment, 
lying  dead.  There,  too,  was  a  wounded  man 
who  knew  them  both,  who  pointed  to  his 
father’s  corpse,  and  then  upward,  saying  only, 
“  It  is  all  right  with  him.”  Onward  went  the  son 
by  his  father’s  corpse,  to  do  his  duty  in  the 
line,  which,  with  bayonets  fixed,  advanced  upon 
the  enemy.  When  the  battle  was  over,  he 
came  back,  and,  with  other  help,  buried  his 
father. 

1679.  DUTY,  God  in.  It  was  the  speech  of 

Mr.  Bradford,  that  he  could  not  leave  a  duty 
till  he  had  found  communion  with  Christ  in  the 
duty,  till  he  had  brought  his  heart  into  a  duty- 
frame  ;  he  could  not  leave  confession  till  he 
had  found  his  heart  touched,  broken,  and  hum¬ 
bled  for  sin  ;  nor  petition  till  he  had  found  his 
heart  taken  with  the  beauties  of  the  things  de¬ 
sired,  and  carried  out  after  them ;  nor  could  he 
leave  thanksgiving,  till  he  had  found  his  spirit 
enlarged  and  his  soul  quickened  in  the  return 
of  praises,  — just  like  that  of  St.  Bernard,  who 
found  God  in  every  duty,  and  communion  with 
him  in  every  prayer  :  this  was  true,  sincere, 
complete  Christian  duty.  Spence. 

1689.  DUTY,  Happiness  of.  To  some,  duty, 
like  law,  seems  a  cheerless  and  rayless  thing. 
The  Sun  thinks  not  thus  when  he  “  rejoieeth 
as  a  bridegroom  coming  out  of  his  chamber,  or 
a  strong  man  to  run  a  race.”  There  is  a  sunny 
joy  in  the  motion,  the  life,  of  all  creatures, 
which,  to  the  tuned  and  attentive  ear,  is  music ; 
which  is  but  the  hum  of  duty  in  the  acting. 
The  song  of  the  creation  is  the  hymn  of  duty. 
Every  bird  that  sings,  every  bee  that  hums, 
every  flower  that  lifts  its  tremulous  voice  of 
praise  to  Him  who  has  made  so  good  a  world, 
every  star,  bears  its  part  in  the  great  flood  of 
harmony  which  floats  the  tributes  of  the 
duty  of  creation  before  the  eternal  throne 
For  man,  duty  in  the  doing  is  glory  in  the 
winning  ;  “  To  them,  who,  by  patient  continu¬ 
ance  in  well-doing  ”  (the  complete  picture  of 
duty),  “  seek  glory,  honor,  and  immortality, 
eternal  life.”  J.  B.  Browr.. 

1681.  DUTY,  Human.  I  see  in  this  world 

two  heaps ;  the  one  of  human  happiness,  and 
the  other  of  misery.  Now,  if  I  can  take  but 
the  smallest  bit  from  one.  and  add  it  to  the 
other,  I  carry  a  point.  If,  as  I  go  home,  a 
child  dropped  a  halfpenny,  and  if,  by  giving  it 
another,  I  can  wipe  away  its  tears,  I  feel  that 
I  have  done  something  :  and  I  should  be  glad 
indeed  to  do  greater  things ;  but  I  will  not 
neglect  this.  Rev.  John  Newton. 

1682.  DUTY,  Imperative.  The  conservation 
of  duty  to  the  public  ought  to  be  much  more 
precious  than  the  conservation  of  life  or  being, 
according  to  that  memorable  speech  of  Pom 


210 


DUTY. 


DYING-. 


peius  Magnus.  When  being  in  commission  of 
urveyance  for  a  famine  at  Rome,  and  being 
issuaded,  with  great  veliemency  and  instance 
by  his  friends  about  him,  that  he  should  not 
hazard  himself  to  sea  in  an  extremity  of 
weather,  he  said  only  to  them,  “Necesse  est  ut 
earn,  non  ut  vivam.”  Lord  Bacon. 

1683.  DUTY,  Legend  of.  There  is  a  beauti¬ 
ful  legend  illustrating  the  blessedness  of  per¬ 
forming  our  duty  at  whatever  cost  to  our  own 
inclination.  A  beautiful  vision  of  our  Saviour 
had  appeared  to  a  monk  ;  and  in  silent  bliss  he 
was  gazing  upon  it.  The  hour  arrived  at  which 
it  was  his  duty  to  feed  the  poor  of  the  convent. 
He  lingered  not  in  his  cell  to  enjoy  the  vision, 
but  left  it  to  perform  his  humble  duty.  When 
he  returned,  he  found  the  blessed  vision  still 
waiting  for  him,  and  uttering  these  words, 
“  Hadst  thou  staid,  I  must  have  fled.” 

1684.  DUTY,  Neglecting.  Dr.  Judson  sent 
once  for  an  erring  convert.  “  Look  here,”  he 
said,  taking  a  ruler,  and  tracing  a  crooked  line 
upon  the  floor,  —  “  here  is  where  you  have  been 
walking.  You  have  made  a  crooked  track, 
have  kept  near  it,  and  not  taken  to  new  roads; 
and  you  have,  to  a  certain  extent,  grown  in 
grace  :  and  now  here  you  stand.  You  know 
where  this  path  leads.  You  know  what  is  be¬ 
fore  you,  —  some  struggles,  some  sorrows,  and, 
■finally,  eternal  life  and  a  crown  of  glory.  But 
to  the  left  branches  off  another  very  pleasant 
road ;  and  along  the  air  floats,  rather  tempting¬ 
ly,  a  .pretty  bubble.  You  do  not  mean  to  leave 
the  path  you  have  walked  in  fifteen  years ;  you 
only  want  to  step  aside,  and  catch  the  bubble, 
and  think  you  will  come  back  again  :  but  you 
never  will.” 

1685.  DUTY,  Ours,  Duties  are  ours,  events 

are  God’s.  This  removes  an  infinite  burden 
from  the  shoulders  of  a  miserable,  tempted, 
dying  creature.  On  this  consideration  only, 
can  he  securely  lay  down  his  head,  and  close 
his  eyes.  Cecil. 

1686.  DUTY,  Path  of.  Old  Humphrey  has 

a  good  paper  against  wandering  from  the  path 
of  duty,  suggested  by  a  notice  at  the  entrance 
of  a  park  :  “  Take  notice.  In  walking  through 
these  grounds,  you  are  requested  to  keep  the 
footpath.”  Bunyan  has  supplied  the  same 
theme  for  solemn  warning,  in  the  pilgrim 
straying  into  By-path  Meadow.  Bowes. 

1687.  DUTY,  Perseveranoe  in.  William  Reid, 
an  old  man-of-war’s  man,  on  board  “  The 
Owasco,”  during  the  battle  of  Galveston  had 
two  fingers  shot  away,  and  was  ordered  below, 
but,  tying  his  handkerchief  around  his  fingers, 
continued  to  do  execution  with  his  rifle.  Half 
an  hour  later,  he  was  shot  through  the  shoulder, 
and  was  again  ordered  below,  but  replied, 
“  No,  sir  :  as  long  a9  there  is  any  fighting  to 
be  done,  I  stay  on  deck.”  At  the  roll-call  after 
the  battle,  he  stood  at  his  post,  ready  for  duty, 
and  was  displeased  when  told  that  his  place 
was  in  the  hospital. 

1688.  DUTY,  Preparation  for.  The  very 
heathens  themselves  would  not  admit  any  to 
ci ime  to  their  religious  services,  unless  they 
were  first  prepared;  as  that  of  iEneas  to  his 


father  Anchises,  upon  his  return  from  the  wars, 
Tu  genitor  cape  sacra  manu,  therefore  they  had 
one  that  cried  out  to  the  people,  “  All  you  that 
are  unclean  and  profane  depart  hence,  and 
come  not  near  us.”  And  shall  Christians,  then, 
who  have  learnt  better  things,  touch  holy  things 
with  unholy  hands  or  unholy  hearts  ?  Spencer. 

1689.  DUTY,  Sphere  of.  With  a  reserved- 
seat  ticket  in  his  hand,  a  gentleman  once  took 
his  place  in  a  public  hall,  according  to  the  num¬ 
ber  on  the  check,  and  sat  down  complacently 
in  the  indicated  position.  Soon  a  gentleman 
came  along  who  had  purchased  a  reserved  seat, 
and  politely  requested  him  to  move.  “  Thank 
you,  sir :  here  is  my  check  for  this  seat,”  said 
he.  “  Look  at  the  figures.”  —  “Much  obliged 
to  you,  sir,”  said  he.  “  Here  is  my  check :  look 
at  the  figures.”  He  did  look,  and  discov¬ 
ered  that  the  checks  were  duplicated,  both  call¬ 
ing  for  the  same  seat.  A  blunder  had  been 
made  somewhere,  which  implied  the  absurd¬ 
ity  of  locating  two  individuals  in  the  room  of 
one,  and  at  the  same  time.  No  such  compli¬ 
cations  occur  in  the  issuing  of  checks  for  our 
appointed  sphere  in  life. 

1690.  DUTY,  Strength  for.  How  often  hast 

thou  found  thyself,  at  the  entrance  into  a  duty, 
becalmed,  as  a  ship,  which,  at  first  setting  sail, 
hath  hardly  wind  to  swell  its  sails  while  under 
the  shore  and  shadow  of  the  trees,  but  meets  a 
fresh  gale  of  wind  when  got  into  the  open  sea  1 
Yea,  didst  thou  never  launch  out  to  duty  as 
the  apostles  to  sea,  when  the  wind  in  thy  face, 
as  if  the  Spirit  of  God,  instead  of  helping  thee 
on,  meant  to  drive  thee  back,  and  yet  hast 
found  Christ  walking  to  thee  before  the  duty 
was  done,  and  a  prosperous  voyage  made  of  it 
at  last?  Abraham  saw  not  the  ram  which  God 
had  provided  for  his  sacrifice  till  he  was  in  the 
mount.  In  the  mount  of  prayer  God  is  seen, 
even  when  the  Christian  does  often  go  up  the 
hill  towards  duty  with  a  heavy  heart  because 
he  can  as  yet  have  no  sight  of  him.  Turn 
not,  therefore,  back,  but  go  on  with  courage  : 
he  may  be  nearer  than  thou  thinkest.  “  In 
that  same  hour,”  saith  Christ,  “  it  shall  be 
given  unto  you.”  Gurnall. 

1691.  DUTY,  Undone.  He  who  is  false  to 

present  duty  breaks  a  thread  in  the  loom,  and 
will  find  the  flaw  when  he  may  have  forgotten 
its  cause.  Beecher. 

1692.  DYING,  Advantage  o£  Men  talk  about 

dying  as  though  it  was  going  towards  a  deso¬ 
late  place.  All  the  past  in  a  man’s  life  is 
down  hill,  and  towards  gloom  ;  and  all  the  fu¬ 
ture  in  a  man’s  life  is  up  hill,  and  towards  glorious 
sunrisings.  There  is  but  one  luminous  point, 
and  that  is  the  home  towards  which  we  are  tend¬ 
ing,  above  all  storms,  above  all  sin  and  peril. 
Dying  is  a  glorious  crowning ;  living  is  yet  toil¬ 
ing.  If  God  be  yours,  all  things  are  yours. 
Live  while  you  must,  yet  yearn  for  the  day  of 
consummation,  when  the  door  shall  be  thrown 
open,  and  the  bird  may  fiv  out  of  his  netted 
cage,  and  be  heard  singing  in  higher  spheres 
and  diviner  realms.  Beecher. 

1693.  DYING,  with  Christ.  A  famous  cap 
tain  once  said  to  a  soldier  dying  with  him, 


DYESTO. 


DYTN"<3-  TESTIMONIES.  211 


“  Hadst  thou  been  obscure  all  thy  life,  yet  art 
thou  not  a  little  honored  to-day  in  dying  with 
tby  master.”  N.  Caussin. 

16114.  DYING,  for  a  Friend.  In  the  battle  of 
Fort  Donnelson,  an  orderly  sergeant,  seeing  a 
rebel  point  a  rifle  at  the  captain  of  his  com¬ 
pany,  sprang  in  front  of  him,  received  the  ball 
in  his  own  breast,  and  fell  dead  in  the  arms  of 
the  man  he  had  saved.  The  noble  soldier  had 
been  reared  by  the  father  of  the  captain,  and 
had  before  declared,  if  he  could  but  save  the 
life  of  his  benefactor’s  son,  he  should  be 
happy. 

1695.  DYING,  Gain  of.  Death  to  the  saints 
is  not  so  much  a  penalty  as  it  is  a  remedy.  It 
delivers  them  up,  and  lets  them  into  such  joys 
as  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  con¬ 
ceive.  Yea,  a  man  may  as  well  with  a  coal 

aint  out  the  sun  in  all  its  splendor,  as  with 

is  pen  or  tongue  express,  or  with  his  heart 
(were  it  deep  as  the  sea)  conceive,  the  fulness 
of  those  joys,  and  sweetness  of  those  pleasures, 
which  the  saints  shall  enjoy  at  God’s  right 
hand  forevermore.  For  quality,  they  are  pleas¬ 
ures  ;  for  quantity,  fulness ;  lor  dignity,  at 
God’s  right  hand ;  for  eternity,  forevermore  : 
and  millions  of  years  multiplied  by  millions 
make  not  up  a  minute  to  this  eternity.  Younge. 

1696.  DYING,  Glorious.  A  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Gov.  Wright  recently  passed  away  amid  Ta¬ 
bor  splendor.  As  she  approached  death,  she 
said,  “  I’m  going  up  1  I’m  going  up  !  You  see 
I’m  going  up  on  the  ineffable  glory.  What  a  | 
glorious  approach  !  ”  To  her  husband  she  said, 
“Oh!  if  you  could  only  see  what  I  see,  you 
would  know  why  I  long  to  go.”  To  her  pas¬ 
tor,  who  was  reading  of  the  “  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,”  she  said,  “  There  is  no  val¬ 
ley.”  The  night  preceding  her  death,  she 
abode  in  the  third  heaven  of  rapture.  Being 
informed  that  her  feet  were  in  the  Jordan,  she 
said,  “  Oh,  I  am  so  glad !  ”  Her  last  words 
were,  “Jesus  is  peace.”  Such  is  the  outline 
of  an  obituary,  written  by  her  pastor,  Rev. 
(J.  D.  Foss. 

1697.  DYING,  Hopeless.  A  dying  soldier 
was  exhorted  to  throw  himself  into  the  arms 
of  Jesus.  “  He  is  not  here :  he  is  not  here  1  ” 
was  his  reply.  “  Not  here,  not  here  1  ”  were 
his  last  mournful  words. 

169$.  DYING,  at  his  Post.  A  captain  of  the 
name  of  Douglass,  who  commanded  “  The  Roy¬ 
al  Oak,”  when  the  Dutch  sailed  up  the  Med¬ 
way,  had  received  orders  to  defend  his  ship  to 
the  last  extremity,  but  not  to  retire  ;  and  there¬ 
fore,  when  his  ship  was  set  on  fire,  he  chose 
rather  to  perish  in  her  than  quit  his  station, 
exclaiming,  “  A  Douglass  was  never  known  to 
quit  his  post  without  orders  !  ” 

1699.  DYING,  Unexpected.  An  active  busi¬ 
ness-man,  seeing  death  unavoidable,  said  to 
bis  physician,  “  Doctor,  I  have  made  every 
provision  for  living ;  and  now  I  must  die, 
though  utterly  unprepared  for  it.”  A  young 
married  lady,  who  began  life  under  happy 
auspices,  had  just  completed  the  luxurious 
furnishing  of  a  noble  mansion,  and  secured 


every  thing  according  to  her  mind.  Even  the 
needles  were  put  in  place  in  the  work-room, 
and  all  things  promised  her  many  years  of 
comfort ;  but  Death  came  and  took  her  away 
when  she  was  just  re’ady  to  live. 

1700-1721.  DYING  TESTIMONIES,  of  Chris¬ 
tians.  M.  Henry.  —  Sin  is  bitter.  I  bless  God 
I  have  inward  supports. 

1701.  John  Howe.  —  I  expect  my  salva¬ 
tion,  not  as  a  profitable  servant,  but  as  a  par¬ 
doned  sinner. 

1702.  Martin  Luther.  —  Our  God  is 
the  God  from  whom  cometh  salvation  :  God  is 
the  Lord  by  whom  we  escape  death. 

1703.  Knox.  —  Live  in  Christ,  live  in 
Christ,  and  the  flesh  need  not  fear  death. 

1704.  Calvin.  —  Thou,  Lord,  bruisest 
me ;  but  I  am  abundantly  satisfied,  since  it 
is  from  thy  hand. 

1705.  J.  Wesley.  —  The  best  of  all  is, 
God  is  with  us.  Farewell  1  farewell  1 

1706.  C.  Wesley.  —  I  shall  be  satisfied 
with  thy  likeness,  —  satisfied,  satisfied  1 

1707.  Bellarmine.  —  It  is  safest  to  trust 
in  Jesus. 

170$.  Baxter.  —  I  have  pain  (there  is 
no  arguing  against  sense)  ;  but  I  have  peace, 
I  have  peace  1 

1709.  Dr.  Preston.  —  Blessed  be  God  1 
though  I  change  my  place,  I  shall  not  change 
my  company  ;  for  I  have  walked  with  God 
while  living,  and  now  I  go  to  rest  with  God. 

1710.  T.  Jones.  —  A  sinner  saved  !  a  sin¬ 
ner  saved  ! 

1711.  John  Janeway.  —  More  praise  still. 
Oh,  help  me  to  praise  Him  !  I  have  nothing 
else  to  do :  I  have  done  with  prayers  and 
other  ordinances. 

1712.  Eliot.  —  Oh,  come  in  glory  !  I 
have  long  waited  for  Thy  coming.  Let  no 
dark  cloud  rest  on  the  work  of  the  Indians. 
Let  it  live  when  I  am  dead.  Welcome,  joy ! 

1713.  Dr.  Payson.  —  The  battle’s  fought, 
the  battle’s  fought;  and  the  victory  is  won: 
the  victory  is  won  forever  1  I  am  going  to 
bathe  in  an  ocean  of  purity  and  benevolence 
and  happiness  to  all  eternity.  Faith  and  pa¬ 
tience,  hold  out. 

1714.  S.  Rutherford.  —  If  He  should 
slay  me  ten  thousand  times,  ten  thousand 
times  I’ll  trust.  I  feel,  I  feel,  1  believe  in 
joy,  and  rejoice ;  I  feed  on  manna.  Oh  for 
arms  to  embrace  Him  !  Oh  for  a  well-tuned 
harp ! 

1715.  J.  IIervey.  —  Oh,  welcome,  Death  1 
thou  mayst  well  be  reckoned  among  the  treas¬ 
ures  of  the  Christian.  The  great  conflict  is 
over ;  all  is  done.  To  live  is  Christ ;  but  to 
die  is  gain. 

1716.  Dr.  Goodwin.  —  Ah!  is  this  dying? 
IIow  have  I  dreaded  as  an  enemy  this  smiling 
friend  I 

1717.  G.  Sandford.  —  I’ll  praise.  I’ll 
praise,  I’ll  praise. 

171$.  Rev.  B.  Abbott.  —  Glory  to  God  1 
I  see  heaven  sweetly  opened  before  me  1 

1719.  Rev.  J.  Dickens.  —  “My  dear  bro¬ 
ther,  do  you  not  already  see  the  towers  ol  the 


212  DYING  TESTIMONIES. 

New  Jerusalem  ?  ”  said  a  Christian  brother. 
“  I  do,”  was  his  reply.  When  asked  by  the 
same  person  it'  they  should  engage  in  prayer, 
he  said,  “  I  would  rather  engage  in  praise.” 
In  that  exercise,  he  spent  his  last  breath. 
The  last  words  uttered  were,  “  Glory,  glory  1 
Come,  Lord  Jesus  1  ” 

1720.  Rev.  Joseph  Everett.  — “  Glory, 
glory,  glory  !  ”  (These  exclamations  of  rap¬ 
ture  continued  ibr  twenty-five  minutes,  and 
then  only  ceased  with  life  itself.) 

1721.  Humboi.dt. —  At  the  time  of  his 
death,  the  sun  was  shining  brilliantly  into  the 
room  in  which  he  was  lying  ;  and  it  is  stated 
that  his  last  words,  addressed  to  his  niece, 
were,  “  How  grand  these  rays  1  they  seem  to 
beckon  earth  to  heaven.” 

1722-173H.  DYING  TESTIMONIES,  of  Infi¬ 
dels.  Voltaire,  addressing  his  doctor,  said, 
“  I  am  abandoned  by  God  and  man.  I  will 
give  you  half  of  what  1  am  worth,  if  you  will 
give  me  six  months’  life.”  The  doctor  an¬ 
swered,  “  Sir,  you  cannot  live  six  weeks.” 
Voltaire  replied,  “  Then  1  shall  go  to  hell,  and 
you  will  go  with  me  ;  ”  and  soon  after  expired. 

1723.  Lord  Byron.  —  “  Shall  I  sue  for 
mercy  V  ”  After  a  long  pause,  he  added, 
“  Come,  come,  no  weakness  :  let’s  be  a  man  to 
the  last.” 

1724.  Altamont.  —  My  principles  have 
poisoned  my  friend ;  my  extravagance  has 
beggared  my  boy;  my  unkiudness  has  mur¬ 
dered  my  wile  I  And  is  there  another  hell  ? 
Oh,  thou  blasphemed,  yet  most  indulgent 
Lord  God  1  hell  is  a  reiuge  if  it  hides  me 
from  thy  frown. 

1725.  F  rancis  Spira,  an  Italian  apos¬ 
tate,  exclaimed  just  betore  death,  “My  sin  is 
greater  than  the  mercy  of  God.  I  have  de¬ 
nied  Christ  voluntarily  ;  I  feel  that  he  har¬ 
dens  me,  and  allows  me  no  hope.” 

1726.  Charles  IX.,  who  gave  order  for 
the  massacre  on  St.  Bartholomew’s  Bay,  ex¬ 
pired,  bathed  in  his  own  blood,  whilst  he  said, 
“What  blood  1  what  murders  I  1  know  not 
where  I  am.  How  will  all  this  end  ?  What 
shall  I  do  ?  I  am  lost  forever.  1  know  it.” 

1727.  Philip  III.  of  Spain.  —  Oh  would 
to  God  I  had  never  reigned  1  Oh  that  those 
years  I  have  spent  in  my  kingdom  I  had  lived 
a  solitary  life  in  the  wilderness  1  Oh  that  I 
had  lived  alone  with  God  1  How  much  more 
secure  should  I  now  have  diedl  With  how 
much  more  confidence  should  I  have  gone  to 
the  throne  of  God  !  What  doth  all  my  glory 
profit,  but  that  I  have  so  much  the  more  tor¬ 
ment  in  my  death  V 

1728.  “  Ah  1  Mr.  Harvey,”  said  a  dying 
man,  “  the  day  in  which  I  ought  to  have 
worked  is  over ;  and  now  I  see  a  horrible  night 
approaching,  bringing  with  it  the  blackness  of 
darkness  forever.” 

1729.  Mirabeau.  —  “  Crown  me  with  flow¬ 
ers,  intoxicate  me  with  perfume,  let  me  die  with 
the  sound  of  delicious  music.”  When  death 
came  nearer,  he  said,  “My  sufferings  are  in- 
;oh  rable  :  I  have  within  me  a  hundred  years 
of  life,  but  not  a  moment’s  courage.”  He  de- 


DYING  TESTIMONIES. 

mauded  and  received  a  draught  of  opium, 
under  the  influence  of  which  he  died. 

1730.  Francis  Newport.  —  Oh  the  in- 
sutlerable  pangs  of  hell  and  damnation  I 

1731.  Hobbes.  —  “  I  shall  be  glad  to  find 
a  hole  to  creep  out  of  the  world  at.”  He  had 
previously  said,  that,  were  he  the  master  of 
the  world,  he  would  give  it  all  to  live  one  day 
longer. 

1732-1749.  DYING  TESTIMONIES,  of  Mar¬ 
tyrs.  —  Cranmer,  thrusting  his  hand  into  the 
file,  said,  “  Thou  unworthy  hand  shalt  first 
burn :  1  will  be  revenged  of  thee  for  sub- 
seribing  lor  fear  of  death  to  that  damned 
scroll.” 

1733.  Bishop  Hooper,  to  one  that  ten¬ 
dered  a  pardon  upon  recantation,  said,  “If 
you  love  my  soul,  away  with  it ;  if  you  love 
my  soul,  away  with  it !  ”  One  of  the  commis¬ 
sioners  prayed  him  to  consider  that  life  is 
sweet,  and  death  is  bitter.  “  True,”  said  he ; 
“  but  the  death  to  come  is  more  bitter,  and 
the  life  to  come  is  more  sweet.” 

1734.  John  Bradford,  embracing  the 
reeds  and  fagots,  said,  “  Strait  is  the  way,  and 
narrow  is  the  gate,  and  lew  that  find  it.” 
And,  speaking  to  his  fellow-martyr,  said,  “  Be 
of  good  comfort,  brother,  for  we  shall  have 
a  merry  supper  with  the  Lord  this  night :  if 
there  be  any  way  to  heaven  on  horseback  or 
in  fiery  chariots,  this  is  it.” 

1735.  Elizabeth  Folkes,  embracing 
the  stake,  said,  “  Farewell,  all  the  world!  — 
farewell,  faith,  farewell,  hope,  and  welcome, 
love !  ” 

1736.  Alice  Driver,  when  the  chain 
was  about  her  neck,  said,  “  Here  is  a  good 
neckerchief:  God  be  blessed  for  itl  ” 

1737.  P  olycarp,  brought  to  martyrdom, 
prayed,  “  O  Father  of  thy  beloved  Son  Jesus 
Ghrist  1  I  bless  thee  that  thou  hast  counted  me 
worthy  of  this  day  to  receive  my  portion  in 
the  number  of  the  martyrs  in  the  cup  of 
Christ.” 

1738.  Marcus  of  Arethusa,  being  hung 
up  in  a  basket  smeared  with  honey,  to  be 
stung  to  death  by  bees,  exclaimed,  “  How  am 
1  advanced,  despising  you  that  are  upon  the 
earth !  ” 

1739.  John  Noyes,  kissing  the  stake, 
said,  “  Blessed  be  the  time  that  ever  1  was 
born  for  this  day  !  ”  To  his  fellow-martyrs  he 
said,  “  We  shall  not  lose  our  lives  in  this  tire, 
but  change  them  for  a  better,  and,  for  coals, 
have  pearls.” 

1740.  Hugh  Lavelocke,  comforting 
Jolin-a-Price,  his  fellow-martyr,  said  unto  him, 
“  Be  of  good  comfort,  my  brother ;  for  my  lord 
of  London  is  our  good  physician  :  he  will  cure 
thee  of  all  thy  blindness,  and  me  of  mj  lame¬ 
ness  this  day.” 

1741.  John  lluss  said  to  a  countryman 
who  threw  a  fagot  at  his  head,  “  O  holy  sim¬ 
plicity,  God  send  thee  better  light  I  You 
roast  the  goose  now;  but  a  swan  shall  come 
after  me,  and  he  shall  escape  your  fire.”  Huss, 
a  goose  in  the  Bohemian  language,  and  Luther 
a  swan. 


DYXNTGr  TESTIMONIES. 


DYING  TESTIMONIES.  213 


1742.  Castilia  Rupea.  —  Though  you 
throw  my  body  down  off  this  steep  hill,  yet 
will  my  soul  mount  upwards  again.  Your 
blasphemies  more  offend  my  mind  than  your 
torments  do  my  body. 

1743.  Henhy  Voes.  —  If  I  had  ten  heads, 
they  should  all  off  for  Ciirist. 

1744.  Petek  Bruce.  —  I  thank  God  my 
broken  leg  suffered  me  not  to  fiy  this  martyr¬ 
dom. 

1745.  Alexander  Cane,  when  a  fool’s- 
cap  was  put  on  his  head,  said,  “  Can  I  have 
a  greater  honor  done  me  than  to  be  served 
as  my  Lord  Christ  before  Herod  ?  ” 

1746.  John  Buisson.  —  I  shall  now  have 
a  double  jail  delivery,  —  one  out  of  my  sinful 
flesh,  another  from  the  loathsome  dungeon  1 
have  long  lain  in. 

1747.  George  Carpenter.  —  All  Ba¬ 
varia  is  not  so  dear  to  me  as  my  wife  and  chil¬ 
dren  ;  yet,  for  Christ’s  sake,  I  will  forsake  them 
cheerfully. 

1748. '  Dr.  Taylor,  as  he  was  going 
to  martyrdom :  “  I  shall  this  day  deceive  the 
worms  in  Hadley  churchyard.”  And,  when  he 
came  within  two  miles  of  Hadley,  “  Now,” 
saith  he,  “  lack  I  but  two  stiles  ;  and  I  am  even 
at  my  Father’s  house.” 

1849.  Dishop  Latimer,  to  one  that 
tempted  him  to  recant,  and  would  not  tell  his 
name.  —  “  Well,”  saith  he,  “  Christ  hath  named 
thee  in  that  saying,  ‘  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan.’  ”  And  being  urged  to  abjure,  “  I 
will,”  saith  he,  “  good  people  :  I  once  said  in 
a  sermon,  in  King  Edward’s  time,  confidently, 
that  Antichrist  was  forever  expelled  England  ; 
but  God  hath  showed  me  it  was  but  carnal 
confidence.”  To  Bishop  Ridley,  going  before 
him  to  the  stake,  he  said,  “  Be  of  good  cheer, 
Master  Ridley.  We  shall  light  such  a  candle, 
by  God’s  grace,  in  England  this  day,  as,  I  trust, 
shall  never  be  put  out  again.”  To  whom 
Bishop  Ridley  said,  “  Be  of  good  heart,  brother ; 
for  God  will  either  assuage  the  fury  of  tin 
flame,  or  else  strengthen  us  to  abide  it.” 

1750-1768.  DYING  TESTIMONIES,  of  Minis¬ 
ters.  William  Grimshaw.  —  I  am  happy  as  I 
can  be  on  earth,  and  as  sure  of  glory  as  if  I 
were  already  in  it.  Here  goes  an  unprofitable 
servant. 

1751.  George  Whitefield  said  while  at 
dinner  with  a  friend  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  “  I  shall 
die  silent.  It  has  pleased  God  to  enable  me  to 
bear  so  many  testimonies  for  him  during  my 
life,  that  he  will  require  none  from  me  when  I 
die.”  The  only  words  he  uttered  during  his 
agony  were,  “  I  am  dying.” 

1752.  Duncan  W right.  —  I  am  a  witness 
that  the  blood  of  Christ  does  cleanse  from  all 
sin.  Oh  the  goodness  of  God  to  a  poor  sinner  ! 
The  Lord  has  finished  his  work,  has  cleansed 
me,  and  filled  me  with  his  fulness.  Oh,  what  a 
weight  of  glory  will  that  be,  since  thy  weight 
of  grace,  0  Lord,  is  now  so  great  1  Jesus  is 
come ! 

1753.  John  Valton.  —  I  am  happy,  I  am 
happy  1  For  the  last  four  days,  my  soul  has 
constantly  been  in  a  state  of  inward  glory. 


I  have  done  with  prayer  now  :  I  can  love,  I 
can  praise,  but.  I  cannot  pray.  ‘  Now,  Lord, 
lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.’ 

1754.  J.  Parsons.  —  When  I  get  to  glory, 
I  will  make  heaven  ring  with  my  voice,  and 
wave  my  palm  over  the  heads  of  the  saints, 
crying,  “  Victory,  victory,  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb ! ” 

1755.  William  Hunter.  —  All  is  well, 
all  is  well  1 

1756.  Alexander  Mather.  —  He  that  I 
have  served  for  near  fifty  years  will  not  for¬ 
sake  me  now.  Glory  be  to  God  and  the  Lamb 
for  ever  and  ever !  Amen,  amen,  amen! 

1757.  Peard  Dickinson.  —  Hark  !  do  you 
not  hear  ?  They  are  come  up  for  me.  I  am 
ready,  quite  ready  1  Stop,  say  nothing  but 
“  Glory,  glory  1  ” 

1758.  Dr.  Judson.  —  I  am  not  tired  of  my 
work,  neither  am  I  tired  of  the  world ;  yet, 
when  Christ  calls  me  home,  I  shall  go  with  the 
gladness  of  a  boy  bounding  away  from  school. 
Death  will  never  take  me  by  surprise  :  do  not 
be  afraid  of  that,  I  feel  so  strong  in  Christ. 

1759.  John  Pawson.  —  1  know  I  am 
dying  :  but  my  death-bed  is  a  bed  of  roses  ;  I 
have  no  thorns  planted  upon  my  dying  pillow. 
Heaven  is  already  begun  ;  everlasting  life  is 
won,  is  won,  is  won  !  I  die  a  safe,  easy,  happy 
death.  Thou,  my  God,  art  present :  I  know,  I 
feel,  that  thou  art.  Precious  Jesus  1  Glory, 
glory,  be  to  God  ! 

1760.  Thomas  Rutherford.  —  He  has 
indeed  been  a  precious  Christ  to  me ;  and  now 
I  feel  him  to  be  iny  rock,  my  strength,  my  rest, 
my  hope,  my  joy,  my  all  in  all. 

1761.  George  Shadford. — Victory,  vic¬ 
tory,  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ! 

1762.  John  Fletcher.  —  Oh,  how  this 
soul  of  mine  longs  to  be  gone,  like  a  bird  out  of 
his  cage,  to  the  realms  of  bliss  !  Oh  that  some 
guardian  angel  might  be  commissioned,  for  I 
long  to  be  absent  from  the  body  ! 

1763.  Robert  Wilkinson.  —  Oh  what  has 
the  Lord  discovered  to  me  this  night !  Oh  the 
glory  of  God  1  the  glory  of  God  and  heaven  ! 
Oh  the  lovely  beauty,  the  happiness,  of  para¬ 
dise  !  God  is  all  love,  he  is  nothing  but  love. 
Oh,  help  me  praise  him  1  Oh,  help  me  to 
praise  him  !  I  shall  praise  him  forever !  I  shall 
praise  him  forever ! 

1761.  Edward  Perronet.  —  Glory  to 
God  in  the  height  of  his  divinity  !  Glory  to 
God  in  the  depths  of  his  humanity !  Glory 
to  God  in  his  all-sufEciency.  Into  his  hands  I 
commend  my  spirit. 

1765.  Robert  Newton.  —  Christ  Jesus 
the  Saviour  of  sinners  and  life  of  the  dead.  I 
am  going,  going,  going,  to  glory  1  Farewell,  sin  ! 
farewell,  death  1  Praise  the  Lord  ! 

1766.  Neandek. —  I  am  weary:  I  wiL 
now  go  to  sleep.  Good-night ! 

1767.  Dr.  W.  Fisic.  —  Glorious  hope  i 

1768-1772.  DYING  TESTIMONIES,  of 

Women.  A  young  woman,  once  a  professor  of 
religion,  died  exclaiming,  “  Oh,  I  cannot  die  ! 
1  want  to  see  his  face,  —  the  reconciled  face  of 


214  DYING-  TESTIMONIES. 


EAELY  PIETY. 


Jesus.  I  have  no  hope  ;  I  am  lost ;  I  cannot 
die  !  Oh  that  I  had  an  interest  in  his  blood  !  ” 

1769.  Some  one  spoke  to  Hannah  More 
of  her  good  deeds ,  when  she  answered,  “  Talk 
not  so  vainly.  I  utterly  cast  them  from  me, 
and  fall  low  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.”  Her 
last  word  was,  “  Joy !  ” 

1770.  “  Oh,  those  rays  of  glory  1  ”  said 
Mrs.  Clarkson  when  dying.  “  My  God,  I  come 
flying  to  thee  !  ”  said  Lady  Alice  Lucy.  Lady 
Hastings  said,  “  Oh  the  greatness  of  the  glory 
that  is  revealed  to  me  !  ” 

1771.  Beautiful  is  the  expression  of  the 
dying  poetess,  Mrs.  Hemans  :  “  I  feel  as  if  1 
were  sitting  with  Mary  at  the  feet  of  my  Re¬ 
deemer,  hearing  the  music  of  his  voice,  and 
learning  of  him  to  be  meek  and  lowly.”  No 
poetry,  she  said,  could  express,  nor  imagina¬ 
tion  conceive,  the  visions  of  blessedness  that 
flitted  across  her  fancy,  and  made  her  waking 
hours  more  delightful  than  those  even  that 
were  given  to  temporary  repose.  Similar  was 
the  experience  of  Mrs.  Rowe.  She  said  with 
tears  of  joy,  that  she  knew  not  that  she  had 
ever  felt  such  happiness  in  all  her  life. 

1772.  “  Oh,  sweet  dying  1  ”  said  Mrs.  Tal¬ 
bot  of  Reading.  “  If  this  be  dying,”  said 
Lady  Glenorchy,  “it  is  the  pleasantest  thing 
imaginable.”  “  Victory,  victory,  through  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  1  ”  said  Grace  Bennett. 
“I  shall  go  to  my  Father  this  night,”  said 
Lady  Huntingdon.  The  dying  injunction  of 
the  mother  of  the  Wesleys  was,  “  Children, 
when  I  am  gone,  sing  a  song  of  praise  to  God.” 
“  Though  a  pilgrim  walking  in  the  valley, 
the  mountain-tops  are  gleaming  from  peak  to 
peak,”  said  Miss  Florence  A.  Foster. 

1773.  EARLY  CONVERSIONS,  Benefit  of.  It  is 
reported,  that,  in  early  times,  the  crocodiles  be¬ 
came  so  numerous,  and  troublesome  to  the  in¬ 
habitants  along  the  Nile,  that  they  made  great 
efforts  to  destroy  them,  and  cried  to  their  god 
Osiris  to  help  them.  Then  a  little  animal,  the 
ichneumon,  appeared.  “  Behold,  Osiris  sends 
help  1  ”  said  a  priest.  “  How  dost  thou  mock 
us?”  said  the  people.  “Wait  for  the  issue, 
and  confide  in  the  Supreme  Power.  By  the 
hand  of  Deity  great  things  may  be  brought  to 
pass  by  means  apparently  trifling,”  answered 
the  priest.  The  little  animal  went  about  de¬ 
stroying  the  eggs  and  young  of  the  crocodile, 
and  soon  released  the  land  of  its  plague, 
which  all  the  people  failed  to  do.  “  See !  ” 
said  the  wise  priest,  “  if  you  wish  to  extinguish 
an  evil,  attack  its  germs  and  roots;  then  a 
trifle  may  do  what  afterwards  the  united  efforts 
of  many  will  fail  to  accomplish.” 

1774.  EARLY  CONVERSIONS,  Importance  of. 
There  was  an  abbot  who  desired  a  piece  of 
ground  that  lay  conveniently  for  him.  The 
owner  refused  to  sell  it,  yet,  with  much  persua¬ 
sion,  was  contented  to  let  it.  The  abbot  hired  it 
for  his  rent,  and  covenanted  only  to  farm  it 
with  one  crop.  He  had  his  bargain,  and  sowed 
it  with  acorns,  — a  crop  that  lasted  three  hun¬ 
dred  years.  Thus  Satan  begs  but  for  the  first 
crop.  Let  him  sow  thy  youth  with  acorns : 
they  will  grow  up  with  thy  years  to  sturdy  oaks, 


so  big-bulked  and  deep-rooted,  that  they  shall 
last  all  thy  life.  T.  Adams. 

1775.  EARLY  CONVERSIONS,  Possible.  A  girl 
thirteen  years  of  age  found  her  Saviour.  When 
she  acquainted  her  mother  with  the  fact,  the 
tearful  reply  was,  “  God  has  heard  my  prayers. 
I  expected  that  you  would  be  converted  when 
you  was  thirteen.”  —  “  But,  mother,  I  often 
felt  like  submitting  to  Christ  when  I  was  only 
four  or  five.”  —  Did  you,  dear  child?”  said 
her  mother;  “  but  I  did  not  expect  it  then.  I 
was  only  sowing  the  seed.  I  did  not  expect 
you  would  be  a  Christian  until  you  were  thir¬ 
teen.” 

1776.  EARLY  PIETY,  Encourage.  A  minister 
says,  that  a  little  girl  of  seven  years  came  for¬ 
ward  on  an  invitation  given  to  those  who 
wished  to  join  the  church.  He  passed  her  by 
because  of  her  size,  simply  telling  her  she 
must  join  the  church  when  she  was  old 
enough.  Three  times  she  came;  and  the  min¬ 
ister  says  he  felt  sharply  reproved  when  she 
asked,  “  Am  I  not  old  enough  to  love  Jesus 
now  ?  ” 

1777.  EARLY  PIETY,  Enduring.  As  a  vessel 

will  long  retain  and  keep  the  savor  of  that 
wherewith  it  is  first  seasoned ;  even  so,  if 
children  be  taught  good  things  while  they  be 
young  and  tender,  they  will  abide  the  longer 
with  them.  Cawdray. 

1778.  EARLY  PIETY,  Example  of.  Count 
Zinzendorf,  when  a  boy,  used  to  write  notes  to 
the  Saviour,  and  throw  them  out  of  the  window, 
hoping  that  he  would  find  them.  Later  in 
life,  while  journeying,  he  sent  back  his  com¬ 
panion,  that  he  might  converse  more  freely 
with  the  Lord,  with  whom  he  spake  audibly. 

1779.  EARLY  PIETY,  Happiness  of.  One  of 
Christ’s  lambs,  in  her  last  illness  felt  Christ  al¬ 
ways  near,  and  the  everlasting  arms  under¬ 
neath  her.  When  all  about  her  were  sad,  she 
felt  very  happy  that  she  was  going  to  Jesus. 
She  prayed  much,  and  praised  God  greatly  for 
temporal  comforts,  and  for  her  hope  of  glory. 

1780.  EARLY  PIETY,  Importance  o£  The 

most  important  ten  years  of  human  life  are 
from  five  to  fifteen  years  of  age.  The  vast 
majority  of  those  who  pass  twenty  irreligious 
are  never  converted  at  all.  Dr.  Spencer  tells 
us,  that,  out  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-five 
hopeful  converts  in  his  church,  one  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  were  under  twenty  years,  and 
only  four  had  passed  their  fiftieth  year.  I 
have  been  permitted,  during  my  ministry,  to 
receive  nearly  one  thousand  persons  into  the 
church  on  confession  of  their  faith ;  and  not 
one  dozen  of  these  had  outgrown  their  fiftieth 
year.  I  did,  indeed,  once  baptize  a  veteran 
of  eighty-five ;  but  the  ease  was  so  remarkable, 
that  it  excited  the  talk  and  wonder  of  the 
town.  Such  late  repentances  are  too  much 
like  what  the  blunt  dying  soldier  called 
“  flinging  the  fag-end  of  one’s  life  into  the  face 
of  the  Almighty.”  Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler. 

1781.  EARLY  PIETY,  Legend  of.  St.  Herman 
was  the  son  of  very  pooi  parents,  dwelling  in 
the  city  of  Cologne.  His  mother  brought  him 
up  piously,  giving  him  the  best  instructions  she 


EARLY  PIETY. 


ELAJRJNTESTINrESS. 


215 


vould  afford.  Every  day,  as  he  repaired  to 
school,  he  went  into  the  Church  of  St.  Mary, 
and,  kneeling  before  the  image  of  Our  Lady, 
said  his  simple  prayer  with  a  right  lowly  and 
loving  and  trusting  heart.  One  day  he  had  an 
apple  in  his  hand,  which  was  all  he  had  for  his 
dinner,  and,  after  he  had  finished  his  prayer, 
he  humbly  offered  bis  apple  in  childish  love 
and  faith  to  the  holy  image :  “  which  thing,” 
says  the  legend,  “  pleased  Our  Blessed  Lady ; 
and  she  stretched  forth  her  hand,  and  took  the 
apple,  and  gave  it  to  our  Lord  Jesus,  who  sat 
upon  her  knee ;  and  both  smiled  upon  Her¬ 
man.’'  Mrs.  Jameson. 

1782.  EARLY  PIETY,  Logic  of.  In  a  Chinese 
Christian  family  at  Amoy,  a  little  boy,  on  ask¬ 
ing  his  father  to  allow  him  to  be  baptized,  was 
told  that  he  was  too  young;  that  he  might  fall 
back  if  he  made  a  profession  when  lie  was  only 
a  little  boy.  To  this  he  made  the  reply, 
“Jesus  has  promised  to  carry  the  lambs  in  his 
arms.  I  am  only  a  little  boy  :  it  will  be  easier 
for  Jesus  to  carry  me.”  This  logic  was  too 
much  for  the  father.  lie  took  him  with  him, 
and  the  child  was  ere  long  baptized. 

1783.  EARLY  PIETY,  Possibility  of.  Presi¬ 
dent  Edwards  gives  a  narrative  of  Phoebe 
Bartlett,  a  child  only  five  years  old.  Her- 
religious  experience  was  wonderful.  For  sev¬ 
enty  years,  she  testified  to  the  gracious  love  of 
God  in  revealing  himself  to  her  when  she  was 
yet  a  child.  In  the  memoirs  of  Ur.  Justin 
Edwards,  it  is  stated,  that  the  heavenly  conver¬ 
sation  and  Christian  spirit  manifested  in  her 
last  sickness  were  the  means  of  bringing  him  to 
the  enjoyment  of  spiritual  life.  So  that,  al¬ 
though  she  was  not  permitted  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  public,  she  was  made  instrumental  in 
leading  another  person  to  do  so  with  eminent 
success. 

1784.  EARLY  RISING,  Examples  of  John 
Milton  writes  of  himself,  that  he  was  at  his 
studies,  “  in  winter,  often  ere  the  sound  of  any 
bell  awake  men  to  labor  or  to  devotion  ;  in 
summer,  as  oft  with  the  bird  that  first  rouses, 
or  not  much  tardier,  to  read  good  authors  till 
attention  be  weary,  or  memory  have  its  full 
fraught ;  then  with  useful  and  generous  labors 
preserving  the  body’s  health  and  hardiness.” 
Wesley  repeatedly  ascribes  his  own  health  and 
prolonged  life  to  the  practice  of  rising  at  four. 
When  seventy-eight  years  old  he  writes,  “  By 
the  blessing  of  God,  I  am  just  the  same  as 
when  I  ended  my  twenty-eighth  year.  This 
hath  God  wrought,  chiefly  by  my  constant  ex¬ 
ercise,  rising  early,  and  preaching  morning  and 
evening.” 

1785.  EARLY  RISING,  Fruits  of  Matthew 
Henry  used  to  be  in  his  study  at  four,  and  re¬ 
main  there  till  eight;  then,  after  breakfast  and 
family  prayer,  he  used  to  be  there  again  t.ill 
noon  ;  after  dinner,  he  resumed  his  book  or  pen 
till  four,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  in  visit¬ 
ing  his  friends.  Doddridge’s  “  Family  Exposi¬ 
tor,”  he  himself  alludes  to  as  an  example  of  the 
difference  of  rising  between  five  and  seven, 
which,  in  forty  years,  is  nearly  equivalent  to 
ten  years  more  of  life.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke’s 


Commentary”  was  chiefly  prepared  very  early 
in  the  morning.  Barnes’s  popular  and  useful 
“Commentary  ”  has  been  also  the  fruit  of  “  early 
morning  hours.”  Simeon’s  “Sketches”  were 
chiefly  worked  out  between  four  and  eight. 

Bowes. 

1786.  EARLY  RISING,  Habit  of  In  my  youtli, 
I  was  very  fond  of  sleep :  it  robbed  me  of  a 
great  deal  of  my  time ;  but  my  poor  Joseph 
( his  servant )  was  of  great  service  in  ena¬ 
bling  me  to  overcome  it.  I  promised  to  give 
Joseph  a  crown  every  time  that  he  would  make 
me  get  up  at  six.  Next  morning,  he  did  not  fail 
to  wake  me  and  to  torment  me ;  but  he  only 
received  abuse.  The  next  day,  he  did  the 
same,  with  no  better  success  ;  and  I  was  obliged 
to  confess,  at  noon,  that  I  had  lost  my  time. 
I  told  him  that  he  did  not  know  how  to  man¬ 
age  his  business :  he  ought  to  think  of  my 
promise,  and  not  mind  my  threats.  The  day 
following,  he  employed  force  :  I  begged  for  in¬ 
dulgence,  I  bid  him  be  gone,  I  stormed ;  but 
Joseph  persisted.  I  was  therefore  obliged  to 
comply  ;  and  he  was  rewarded  every  day  for 
the  abuse  which  he  suffered  at  the  moment 
when  I  awoke,  by  thanks,  accompanied  with  a 
crown,  which  he  received  about  an  hour  after. 
Yes  :  I  am  indebted  to  poor  Joseph  for  ten  or  a 
dozen  of  the  volumes  of  my  works.  Buffon. 

1787.  EARLY  RISING,  Importance  of  Few 

ever  live  to  a  great  age,  and  fewer  still  ever 
become  distinguished,  who  are  not  in  the 
habit  of  early  rising.  You  rise  late,  and,  of 
course,  commence  your  business  at  a  late  hour ; 
and  every  thing  goes  wrong  all  day.  Franklin 
says,  that  “he  wlio  rises  late  may  trot  all  day, 
and  not  have  overtaken  his  business  at  night.” 
Dean  Swift  avers,  that  he  never  knew  any  man 
come  to  greatness  and  eminence  who  lay  in 
bed  of  a  morning.  Dr.  J.  Todd. 

1788.  EARLY  TRAINING,  Lesson  of  Thel- 
wall  thought  it  very  unfair  to  influence  a  child’s 
mind  by  inculcating  any  opinions  before  it 
should  come  to  years  of  discretion,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  choose  for  itself.  In  reply  to  this  ab¬ 
surd  notion,  Coleridge  says,  “  I  showed  him 
my  garden,  and  told  him  it  was  my  botanical 
garden.”  —  “  How  so,”  said  he:  “it  is  covered 
with  weeds.” —  “Oh  1”  I  replied,  “that  is  because 
it  has  not  yet  come  to  its  age  of  discretion  and 
choice.  The  weeds,  you  see,  have  taken  the 
liberty  to  grow ;  and  I  thought  it  unfair  in  me 
to  prejudice  the  soil  towards  roses  and  straw¬ 
berries.” 

1789.  EARLY  TRAINING,  Reason  of  It  is 

common  sense  to  put  the  seal  to  the  wax  while 
it  is  soft  ;  to  bud  the  tender  twig  with  the  fruit 
it  should  bear;  to  go  to  the  fountain-head,  and 
guide  the  current  of  the  stream ;  and  to  lay 
hold  upon  the  young  tendrils  of  the  shooting 
vine,  and  to  train  them  as  we  would  have 
them  to  go.  Jackson. 

1790.  EARNESTNESS,  Contrast  of  A  peasan  t’s 
family  were  seated  in  their  cottage  when  the 
thatch  on  the  roof  was  in  flames ;  and,  not 
knowing  of  the  accident,  their  lives  were  in 
great  danger.  A  man  of  slow  habits,  a  spinner 
in  speech,  went  in  to  them  to  explain  the  acci- 


216 


KkAJRNrESTJSrKSS. 


EARTH. 


dent,  and  to  point  out  the  necessity  of  providing 
for  their  safety ;  but,  while  he  was  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  his  long-winded  observations,  another 
man  rushed  in,  concentrating  all  he  had  to 
say  in  a  single  word.  “  Fire,  fire  !  ”  cried  he ; 
when  the  alarmed  throng  immediately  started 
up,  and,  hurrying  through  the  cottage-door, 
escaped  the  danger.  G.  Moqridge. 

1791.  EARNESTNESS,  Example  of.  When  Dr. 
Chalmers  occupied  the  chair  of  philosophy  in 
the  College  of  St.  Andrews,  he  used  to  gather 
into  his  own  house  each  sabbath  evening,  the 
poorest  and  most  ignorant  of  the  vagrant  chil¬ 
dren  of  the  neighborhood ;  and  his  biography 
states,  that,  for  that  audience,  he  prepared  him¬ 
self  as  carefully,  with  his  pen  in  his  hand,  as 
lor  his  class  in  the  university.  So,  on  a  winter 
day,  through  frost,  and  in  the  face  of  a  driving 
snow-storm,  you  might  have  seen  him  walking 
five  miles  to  fulfil  an  appointment  of  religious 
worship  with  a  little  company  of  rustic  people 
at  Kilmany;  and  there,  amid  some  illiterate, 
shivering  cottagers,  too  few  for  a  church  or 
chapel,  met  in  a  damp  room,  —  an  audience 
that  many  men  would  have  thought  it  expe¬ 
dient  to  dismiss  at  once  “on  account  of  the 
weather,”  and  many  more  would  have  put  off 
with  some  crude,  unpremeditated  talk, —he 
preached  as  labored  and  as  eloquent  a  sermon 
as  would  have  moved  to  rapture  and  wonder 
the  learning  and  fashion  of  Glasgow  or  of 
London. 

£799.  EARNESTNESS,  Incitement  to.  Rev. 
Charles  Simeon  kept  the  picture  of  Henry 
Martyn  in  his  study.  Move  where  he  would 
through  the  apartment,  it  seemed  to  keep  its 
eyes  upon  him,  and  ever  to  say  to  him,  “  Be 
earnest,  be  earnest  1  don’t  trifle,  don’t  trifle  !  ” 
And  the  good  Simeon  would  gently  bow  to  the 
speaking  picture,  and,  with  a  smile,  reply,  “  Yes : 
I  will  be  in  earnest ;  I  will,  I  will  be  in  ear¬ 
nest  ;  I  will  not  trifle ;  for  souls  are  perishing, 
and  Jesus  is  to  be  glorified.”  O  Christian ! 
look  away  to  IMartyn’s  Master,  to  Simeon’s 
Saviour,  to  the  omniscient  One.  Ever  realize 
the  inspection  of  his  eye,  and  hear  his  voice. 

S.  J.  Moore. 

1793.  EARNESTNESS,  Ministerial.  Rev.  Row¬ 
land  Hill,  addressing  the  people  of  Wotlon, 
exclaimed,  “  Because  I  am  in  earnest,  men  call 
me  an  enthusiast.  When  I  first  came  into 
this  part  of  the  country,  I  was  walking  on 

onder  hill,  and  saw  a  gravel-pit  fall  in,  and 

ury  three  human  beings  alive.  I  lifted  up  my 
voice  for  help  so  loud,  that  I  was  heard  in  the 
town  below,  at  a  distance  of  near  a  mile.  Help 
came,  and  rescued  two  of  the  sufferers.  No 
one  called  me  an  enthusiast  then ;  and  when  I 
see  eternal  destruction  ready  to  fall  on  poor 
sinners,  and  about  to  entomb  them  irrecovera¬ 
bly  in  an  eternal  mass  of  woe,  and  call  aloud 
on  them  to  escape,  shall  I  be  called  an  enthu¬ 
siast  now  ?  No,  sinner :  I  am  no  enthusiast  in 
so  doing;  and  I  call  on  thee  aloud  to  fly  for 
refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  thee  in  the  gos¬ 
pel.” 

1794.  EARNESTNESS,  Official,  In  the  autumn 
of  1869,  an  epidemic  of  small-pox  was  feared 


in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  board  of  health 
resolved  to  prevent  it  by  a  general  vaccination. 
Eighty  agents  were  employed  to  visit  every 
house  and  family.  In  the  space  of  one  month, 
the  entire  work  was  accomplished,  and  the 
epidemic  prevented.  Christians  have  to  meet 
the  more  prevalent  disease,  sin,  and  require 
equal  earnestness. 

1795.  EARNESTNESS,  Perseveriag.  An  evan¬ 
gelist  says,  “  At  the  close  of  a  powerful  work 
in  an  Eastern  city,  as  I  was  about  to  leave 
(there  was  a  very  large  congregation  in  attend¬ 
ance),  and  at  a  conference-meeting,  a  lady  of 
fashion  arose  in  the  centre  of  the  house,  and 
with  many  tears  and  sobs  made  a  humble  con¬ 
fession,  that,  though  a  professor  of  religion,  she 
had  lived  for  herself  and  the  world.  She  still 
remained  standing  and  sobbing.  Finally  she 
was  able  to  request  prayers  for  the  conversion 
of  her  son.  He  was  present.  The  learned 
doctor  at  my  side  requested  me  to  urge  him,  to 
rise  for  prayer.  I  did  so ;  but  he  did  not  rise. 
The  doctor  said,  4  Urge  more.'  I  entreated 
him  again ;  but  he  did  not  rise.  The  doctor 
said  to  me,  4  Urge  more .’  Again  I  persuaded; 
and  he  arose,  and  was  soon  rejoicing  in  hope. 
About  a  week  after  leaving  the  place,  I  received 
a  letter,  informing  me  that  the  lady  referred  to 
(Mrs.  M.)  was  dead.  Not  long  after,  I  re¬ 
ceived  another  letter,  saying  that  Willie  M. 
was  died.  Both  died  rejoicing  in  hope.  Does 
any  one  suppose  that  I  then  thought  I  had 
urged  too  much  ?  ” 

1796.  EARTH,  Clinging  to  the.  If  a  child  had 

been  born,  and  spent  all  his  life,  in  the  Mam¬ 
moth  Cave,  how  impossible  would  it  be  for  him 
to  comprehend  the  upper  world !  Parents 
might  tell  him  of  its  life,  its  light,  its  beauty, 
and  its  sounds  of  joy ;  they  might  heap  up  the 
sands  into  mounds,  and  try  to  show  him  by 
stalactites  how  grass,  flowers,  and  trees  grow 
out  of  the  ground ;  till  at  length,  with  labori¬ 
ous  thinking,  the  child  would  fancy  he  had 
gained  a  true  idea  ol  ihe  unknown  land:  and 
yet,  though  he  longed  to  behold  it,  when  it 
came  that  he  was  to  go  forth,  it  would  be  with 
regret  for  the  familiar  crystals  and  rock-hewn 
rooms,  and  the  quiet  that  reigned  therein. 
But  when  he  came  up  some  May  morning, 
with  ten  thousand  birds  singing  in  the  trees, 
and  the  heavens  bright  and  blue,  and  full  of 
sunlight,  and  the  wind  blowing  softly  through 
the  young  leaves,  all  a-glitter  with  dew,  and 
the  landscape  stretching  away  green  and  beau¬ 
tiful  to  the  horizon,  with  what  rapture  would 
he  gaze  about  him,  and  see  how  poor  were  all 
the  fancyings  and  interpretations  which  were 
made  within  the  cave  of  the  things  which  grew 
and  lived  without  1  and  how  he  would  wonder 
that  he  could  ever  have  regretted  to  leave  the 
silence  and  dreary  darkness  of  his  old  abode ! 
So,  when  we  emerge  from  this  cave  of  earth 
into  that  land  where  spring-growths  are,  and 
where  is  eternal  summer,  how  shall  we  won¬ 
der  that  we  could  have  clung  so  fondly  to  this 
dark  and  barren  life  1  Beecher. 

1797.  EARTH,  Glory  of  the.  It  is  the  glory 
of  the  world  that  He  who  formed  it  dwelt  on 


ELAJRXH. 


EARTHLY  GREATNESS.  217 


it ;  of  the  air,  that  he  breathed  it ;  of  the  sun, 
that  it  shone  on  him ;  ot  the  ground,  that  it 
bore  him ;  of  the  sea,  that  he  walked  on  it ; 
of  the  elements,  that  they  nourished  him  ;  of 
the  waters,  that  they  refreshed  him ;  of  us  men, 
that  he  lived  and  died  among  us,  yea,  that  he 
lived  and  died  for  us  ;  that  he  assumed  our 
flesh  and  blood,  and  carried  it  to  the  highest 
heavens,  where  it  shines  as  the  eternal  orna¬ 
ment  and  wonder  of  the  creation  of  God. 

./.  Maclciurin. 

1798.  EARTH,  Insignificance  of.  If  a  man 
meditate  much  upon  the  universal  frame  of  Na¬ 
ture,  the  earth  with  man  upon  it  (the  divine¬ 
ness  of  souls  except)  will  not  seem  much  other 
than  an  ant-hill,  where  as  some  ants  carry 
;orn,  and  some  carry  their  young,  and  some  go 
'.mpty,  and  all  to  and  fro  a  little  heap  of  dust. 

Lord  Bacon. 

1799.  EARTH,  Magnitnde  of  the.  The  circum¬ 

ference  of  the  globe  is  twenty-five  thousand 
and  twenty  miles.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  com¬ 
prehend  so  stupendous  a  circle  as  to  put  down 
its  extent  in  figures.  It  becomes  more  palpa¬ 
ble,  perhaps,  by  comparison  such  as  this :  A 
railway-train  travelling  incessantly,  night  and 
day,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  miles  an  hour, 
would  require  six  weeks  to  go  round  it.  The 
cubical  bulk  of  the  earth  is  two  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  millions  of  cubic  miles.  Dr. 
Lardner  says,  “  If  the  materials  which  form 
the  globe  were  built  up  in  the  form  of  a  col¬ 
umn,  having  a  pedestal  of  the  magnitude  of 
England  and  Wales,  the  height  of  the  column 
would  be  nearly  lour  and  a  half  millions  of  mil¬ 
lions  of  miles.  A  tunnel  through  the  earth 
from  England  to  New  Zealand  would  be  near¬ 
ly  eight  thousand  miles  long.”  Timbs. 

1800.  EARTH,  Our  Mother.  It  is  this  earth, 

that,  like  a  kind  mother,  receives  us  at  our 
birth,  and  sustains  us  when  born ;  it  is  this 
alone,  ot  all  the  elements  around  us,  that  is 
never  found  an  enemy  to  man.  The  body  of 
waters  deluge  him  with  rain,  oppress  him  with 
hail,  and  drown  him  with  inundations  ;  the  air 
rushes  in  storms,  prefaces  the  tempest,  or  lights 
up  the  volcanoes :  but  the  Earth,  gentle  and 
indulgent,  ever  subservient  to  the  wants  of 
man,  spreads  his  walk  with  flowers,  and  his 
table  with  plenty ;  returns  with  interest  every 
good  committed  to  her  care,  and,  though  she 
supplies  the  poison,  she  still  supplies  the  anti¬ 
dote;  though  constantly  teased,  more  to  fur¬ 
nish  the  luxuries  of  man  than  his  necessities, 
yet,  even  to  the  last,  she  continues  her  kind 
indulgence,  and,  when  life  is  over,  she  piously 
covers  his  remains  in  her  bosom.  Pliny. 

1801.  EARTH,  Renewed.  As  when  gold  or 
silver  is  cast  into  the  furnace,  and  so  tried  in 
the  fire,  the  substance  remaineth,  but  the  dross 
is  that  which  only  perisheth :  so  in  the  last 
day,  the  fire  of  the  judgment  shall  consume 
and  abolish  the  corruptible  and  drossy  quality 
of  the  creature,  but  the  substance  shall  con¬ 
tinue.  What  though  the  fashion  of  the  world 
pass,  and  be  scoured  away  by  the  fire  of  that 
general  conflagration,  yet  the  matter  and  sub¬ 
stance  shall  remain.  The  heavens,  indeed,  shall 


pass  away  with  a  noise  or  rushing,  or  shrink 
together  like  a  scroll  of  parchment ;  the  ele¬ 
ments,  like  lead,  shall  melt  with  heat,  and  the 
earth,  with  the  works  that  are  therein,  shall 
be  burnt  up  :  vet  the  world  shall  not  be  con¬ 
sumed  to  nothing,  but  only  transchanged  into 
a  new  form,  and  converted  to  a  sabbatical  and 
better  use.  God,  out  of  the  very  ashes  of  it, 
will  produce  a  new  world,  even  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth,  wherein  shall  dwell  right¬ 
eousness.  Spencer. 

1802.  EARTH,  Transitory.  Like  the  lubble 
that  is  blown,  and  that,  when  the  rays  of  light 
fall  on  it,  glitters  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow, 
but,  whilst  we  gaze,  bursts,  and  is  no  more; 
like  the  gourd ,  which  casts  its  cooling  shade 
against  the  vehement  noontide  heat,  but,  ere 
the  next  day’s  sun,  has  utterly  withered  away  ; 
like  the  flower ,  that  blooms  and  sheds  its  fra¬ 
grance  in  the  morning,  but  in  the  evening  its 
beauty  and  its  odor  are  gone  ;  like  the  shadow 
that  flings  itself  for  a  moment  across  our  path, 
and  then  declinetli ;  like  a  vapor,  that  ap- 
pcareth,  and  is  quickly  dissipated,  and  we  see 
it  no  more :  so  rapidly  the  things  that  are  be¬ 
neath  consume  and  flee  away.  Oh  1  “  what 
shadows  we  are,  and  what  shadows  we  pursue  1  ” 
No  1  shadows  we  are  not,  “  though  shadows  we 
pursue.”  Oh  !  let  us  elevate  our  thoughts  from 
time  to  eternity,  and  transfer  our  affections 
from  earth  to  heaven.  Dr.  Beaumont. 

J893.  EARTH,  Vanity  of  the.  A  poor,  sick 
German  woman,  the  wife  of  a  blind  soldier, 
while  lying  on  the  bed  of  death  in  a  leaky  gar¬ 
ret  in  New  York,  told  her  brief  story  in  broken 
English  and  German,  while  the  tears  in  her 
eyes  attested  the  sincerity  of  her  feeling.  She 
beautifully  said,  “  Die  welt  ist  nichts;  der  him- 
mel  ist  alles !  ”  —  “  The  world  is  nothing ;  heaven 
is  every  thing  !  ” 

1804.  EARTHLY  GLORY,  Surpassed.  Croesus, 
King  of  Lydia,  who  felt  presumptuously  proud 
on  account  of  his  power  and  riches,  had  dressed 
himself,  one  day,  in  his  utmost  splendor  of  ap¬ 
parel  and  royal  ornaments,  and,  seating  him¬ 
self  on  his  throne,  exhibited  his  person  to  So¬ 
lon  as  comprehending  within  itself  the  sum 
and  substance  of  all  worldly  glory.  “  Have  you 
ever  beheld,”  said  he  to  the  Grecian  sage,  “  a 
spectacle  more  august ?  ”  —  “I  have,”  was  the 
answer.  “  There  is  neither  a  pheasant  in  our 
fields,  nor  a  peacock  in  our  courtyard,  nor  a 
cock  on  a  dunghill,  that  does  not  surpass  you 
in  glory.” 

1805.  EARTHLY  GREATNESS,  Parable  of. 

There  lived  at  the  court  of  King  Herod  a  rich 
man,  the  king’s  chamberlain,  who  was  clothed 
royally,  and  fared  sumptuously.  Once,  a  friend 
of  his  youth  visited  him,  feasted  with  him,  and 
praised  his  greatness.  The  chamberlain  took  a 
choice  apple  on  a  golden  plate,  and  presented  it 
to  the  friend  of  his  youth,  saying,  “  Behold  1  this 
apple  has  rested  on  £old,  and  its  form  is  very 
beautiful.”  The  stranger  cut  the  apple  in  two, 
and  in  its  centre  there  was  a  worm  !  Then  the 
stranger  looked  at  the  chamberlain ;  and  the 
chamberlain  bent  his  eyes  to  the  ground,  and 
sighed.  Krummacher 


218 


EDTJCAlTI03ST. 


1806.  EASE,  Danger  of.  As  a  pile  of  small 
dry  wood  is  quickly  kindled,  and  flames  out 
mightily,  so  lust  is  greatly  provoked  by  rioting, 
banqueting,  and  continual  pampering  of  the 
body,  and  by  the  absence  of  lawful  and  honest 
exercise,  giving  it  to  idleness,  sloth,  and  ease. 

Cawdray. 

1807.  EASE,  Fashionable.  Behold  the  grace¬ 

ful  and  sprightly  swallow,  zig-zagging  over  the 
clover-field,  skimming  the  limpid  lake,  whisk¬ 
ing  round  the  steeple,  or  dancing  gayly  in  the 
6ky  1  Behold  him,  in  high  spirits,  shrieking 
out  his  ecstasy  as  he  has  bolted  a  dragon-fly,  or 
darted  through  the  arrow-slits  of  an  old  turret, 
or  performed  some  other  feat  of  hirundine 
agility  !  And  notice  how  he  pays  his  morning 
visits,  alighting  elegantly  on  some  housetop, 
and  twittering  politely,  by  turns,  to  the  swal¬ 
lows  on  either  side  of  him  ;  and,  after  five  min¬ 
utes’  conversation,  off  and  away  to  call  for  his 
friend  at  the  castle.  And  now  he  has  gone 
upon  his  travels,  — gone  to  spend  the  winter  at 
Rome  or  Naples  ;  to  visit  Egypt  or  the  Holy 
Land,  or  perlbrm  some  more  recherche  pilgrim¬ 
age  to  Spain  or  the  coasts  of  Barbary.  And, 
when  he  comes  home  next  April,  sure  enough 
he  has  been  abroad  :  charming  climate,  highly 
delighted  with  the  cicadas  in  Italy,  and  the 
bees  on  Ilymettus ;  locusts  in  Africa  rather 
scarce  this  season ;  but,  upon  the  whole,  much 
pleased  with  his  trip,  and  returned  in  high 
health  and  spirits.  Robert  Hamilton. 

1808.  EASE,  Love  of.  We  love  well  sum¬ 

mer  religion,  and  to  be  that  which  sin  has 
made  us,  —  even  as  thin  skinned  as  if  we  were 
made  of  white  paper,  and  fain  be  carried  to 
heaven  in  a  close-covered  chariot,  wishing  from 
our  hearts  that  Christ  would  give  us  surety  and 
his  handwriting  and  his  seal  for  nothing  but 
a  fair  summer,  until  we  be  landed  in  at  heav¬ 
en’s  gates.  Rutherford. 

1800.  ECONOMY,  Advantage  of.  A  father 
picked  up  a  horseshoe  in  the  road,  which  his 
son  refused  to  touch,  and  sold  it  for  three 
farthings,  with  which  he  bought  some  cherries. 
They  journeyed  on,  and  the  hoy  became  thirsty 
and  tired.  The  father  dropped  now  and  then 
a  cherry,  which  the  son  was  glad  to  pick  up. 
When  the  last  was  eaten,  the  father  said,  “  Look, 
my  son  !  If  you  had  chosen  to  stoop  once,  and 
pick  up  a  piece  of  horseshoe,  you  would  not 
have  been  obliged  at  last  to  stoop  so  often  to 
pick  up  the  cherries.” 

1810.  ECONOMY,  Description  of.  Economy  is 
the  parent  of  integrity,  of  liberty,  and  of  ease, 
and  the  beauteous  sister  of  temperance,  of 
cheerfulness,  and  health  ;  and  profusencss  is  a 
cruel  and  crafty  demon,  that  gradually  involves 
her  followers  in  dependence  and  debts;  that  is, 
fetters  them  with  “  irons  that  enter  their  souls.” 

IMwksworth. 

1811.  ECONOMY,  a  Guardian.  The  largest 
reservoirs,  though  fed  by  abundant  and  living 
springs,  will  fail  to  supply  their  owners  with 
water,  if  secret  leaks  are  permitted  to  drain  off 
their  contents.  In  like  manner,  though  a  man 
may  by  skill  and  energy  convert  his  business 
into  a  flowing  Pactolus,  ever  depositing  its  gold¬ 


en  sands  in  his  coffers,  yet,  through  the  numer¬ 
ous  wastes  of  unfrugal  habits,  he  may  live 
embarrassed,  and  die  poor.  Economy  is  the 
guardian  of  property,  —  the  good  genius  whose 
presence  guides  the  footsteps  of  every  prosper¬ 
ous  and  successful  man.  Dr.  Wise. 

1812.  ECONOMY,  Industrious.  A  poor  New- 
Hampshire  farmer,  whose  farm  was  mortgaged 
for  half  its  value,  went  to  the  bank,  and  bor¬ 
rowed  on  his  note,  which  a  friend  had  indorsed 
for  him,  eleven  hundred  dollars.  He  then  went 
to  work  to  earn  money  to  pay  oft'  the  note  in 
regular  instalments.  He  spent  nothing,  saved 
every  thing,  and  worked  hard.  In  about  two 
years,  he  exclaimed,  “  I  am  a  free  man  !  I  have 
cleared  my  farm,  and  now  I  know  how  to  get 
another.” 

1813.  ECONOMY,  Need  of.  A  wanderer  filled 
his  travelling-pouch  with  savory  meats  and 
fruits,  as  his  way  would  lead  him  across  a  wide 
desert.  During  the  first  few  days,  he  journeyed 
through  the  smiling  fertile  fields ;  but,  instead 
of  plucking  the  fruits  which  Nature  here  of¬ 
fered  for  the  refreshment  of  the  traveller,  he 
found  it  more  convenient  to  eat  of  the  provis¬ 
ions  which  he  carried  with  him.  He  soon 
reached  the  desert.  After  journeying  onward 
for  a  few  days,  his  whole  store  of  food  was  ex¬ 
hausted.  He  now  began  to  wail  and  lament, 
for  nowhere  sprouted  a  blade  of  grass  :  every 
thing  was  covered  with  sand.  After  suffering 
for  two  long  days  the  torments  of  hunger  and 
of  thirst,  he  expired. 

1814.  ECONOMY,  Poor.  A  close-fisted  church¬ 
goer  paid  his  pew-rent  reluctantly,  saying 
that  he  should  waste  no  more  money  in  that 
way.  Nothing  could  change  his  resolution. 
He  staid  away  from  church,  and  his  sons  fol¬ 
lowed  his  example.  They  soon  formed  bad 
habits.  The  old  man  saved  his  pew-rent ;  but 
his  boys  squandered  all  his  property,  which 
they  managed  to  get  into  their  hands :  and  in 
his  old  age  he  was  turned  out  into  the  world 
houseless  and  penniless.  His  five  dollars  had 
cost  him  over  eight  thousand  dollars,  and  who 
can  estimate  all  the  other  losses  ? 

1815.  ECONOMY,  Reason  for.  A  young  col¬ 
ored  soldier  threw  away  a  piece  of  hard-tack ; 
when  another  soldier  said,  “John,  you  ought 
not  to  do  that.  Have  you  forgot  Fair  Oaks  so 
soon  ?  ”  Remembering  the  awful  three  days, 
during  which  they  nearly  starved,  the  young 
soldier  gathered  up  the  fragments,  and  placed 
them  in  his  haversack. 

1816.  EDUCATION,  Alternative  of.  To  be  able 
to  read  is  a  great  advantage ;  but  this  advan¬ 
tage  may  be  sadly  abused :  to  read  a  good 
book  may  be  a  blessing ;  but  a  good  book  may 
be  read  with  a  bad  purpose.  Tom  Paine  was 
a  reader,  and  he  read  the  best  of  books,  the 
Bible ;  but  he  read  it  to  scoff  at  it  and  revile  it; 
and  thus,  being  an  infidel  himself,  tainted  the 
minds  of  thousands  with  infidelity.  To  be  able 
to  write  is  a  great  advantage ;  but  this  talent 
may  be  made  a  curse.  Dr.  Dodd  is  a  melan¬ 
choly  instance  of  this ;  for  he  wrote  his  name  in 
the  commission  of  forgery,  for  which  crime  he 
suffered  an  ignominious  death.  Mogridge. 


TEDT7  CA.TION-. 


EDXT  CATION. 


219 


1817.  EDUCATION,  Ancient.  The  ancient 
Spartans  educated  their  youth  in  a  stern  and 
severe  drill,  beginning  with  the  earliest  infan¬ 
cy,  and  tending  to  make  the  body  elastic,  vig¬ 
orous,  and  firm  to  the  last  degree.  For  the 
mind  and  heart,  it  cared  nothing.  A  young 
man  who  could  neither  read  nor  write  might 

et  be  the  flower  of  Spartan  youth  if  he  could 

url  the  discus  farther  than  his  fellows,  or 
wield  the  javelin  with  more  vigor  and  grace ; 
or  if  he  could  endure,  without  a  groan,  the  sav¬ 
age  discipline  of  the  lash,  inflicted,  not  in  i 
punishment,  but  as  a  test  of  honor,  and  with 
all  the  sanctions  of  religion,  before  the  altars 
of  the  gods.  Nor  was  the  Athenian  culture, 
with  all  its  boasted  superiority  of  refinement, 
intrinsically  better.  It  was  an  intellectual  dis¬ 
cipline,  to  be  sure,  and,  as  such,  in  many  re¬ 
spects  superior  to  our  own  ;  but  it  took  little 
heed  to  the  spiritual  nature,  and  left  the  culture 
of  the  heart  to  accidental  agencies  to  a  great 
extent.  The  Persians,  perhaps  more  than  any 
other  nation  of  antiquity,  took  pains  to  implant 
moral  principles  in  the  minds  of  children  ;  yet 
even  their  morality  was  of  the  earth  earthy. 
It  sought  the  advantages  of  virtue  rather  than 
its  beauty.  Dr.  il IcClinlock. 

1818.  EDUCATION,  Beginning  of.  Education 
begins  with  life.  The  touch  first  ministers  to 
it,  afterwards  the  sight,  and  then  the  hearing. 
This  is  our  guide  in  seeking  to  assist  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  nature.  We  must  begin  with  present 
and  tangible  things  ;  we  must  then  give  absent 
things  a  visible  form  by  picture  ;  and  the  pic¬ 
ture  which  meets  the  eye  may  lead  to  the 
description  which  finds  its  way  to  the  mind 
only  by  the  ear.  Before  we  are  aware,  the 
foundations  of  the  character  are  laid;  and  no 
subsequent  instruction  can  remove  or  alter 
them.  Linnaeus  was  the  son  of  a  poor  Swed¬ 
ish  clergyman.  Ilis  father  had  a  little  flower- 
garden,  in  which  he  cultivated  all  the  flowers 
which  his  means  or  his  taste  could  select. 
Into  this  flower-garden  he  introduced  his  little 
son  from  his  infancy ;  and  this  little  garden 
undoubtedly  created  that  taste  in  the  child 
which  afterwards  made  him  the  first  botanist 
and  naturalist  of  his  age,  if  not  of  his  race. 

Dr.  J.  Todd. 

1819.  EDUCATION,  Brevities.  The  foal  of 
the  racer  neither  finds  out  his  speed,  nor  calls 
out  his  powers,  if  pastured  out  with  the  com¬ 
mon  herd  that  are  destined  for  the  collar  or 

the  yoke.  —  Colton. - Unless  your  cask  is 

perfectly  clean,  whatever  you  pour  into  it  turns 
sour.  Horace. 

1820.  EDUCATION,  Christian.  To  give  a  man 

a  Christian  education  is  to  make  him  love  God 
as  well  as  know  him  ;  to  make  him  have  faith 
in  Christ  as  well  as  to  have  been  taught  the 
facts  that  he  died  for  our  sins,  and  rose  again  ; 
to  make  him  open  his  heart  eagerly  to  every 
impulse  of  the  Holy  Shirk,  as  well  as  to  have 
been  taught  the  fact  as  it  is  in  the  Nicene 
Creed,  that  he  is  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  spir¬ 
itual  life.  Dr.  Arnold. 

1821.  EDUCATION,  Completeness  of.  Instruc¬ 
tion  anu  breed iny  are  to  education  as  parts  to  a 


whole :  the  instruction  respects  the  communi¬ 
cation  of  knowledge,  and  breeding  respects 
the  manners  or  outward  conduct;  but  educa¬ 
tion  comprehends  not  only  both  these,  but  the 
formation  of  the  mind,  the  regulation  of  the 
heart,  and  the  establishment  of  the  principles. 
Good  instruction  makes  one  wiser  ;  good  breed¬ 
ing  makes  one  more  polished  and  agreeable ; 
good  education  makes  one  really  good.  A 
want  of  education  will  always  be  to  the  injury 
if  not  to  the  ruin  of  the  sufferer ;  a  want  of 
I  instruction  is  of  more  or  less  inconvenience, 
according  to  circumstances  ;  a  want  of  breed¬ 
ing  only  unfits  a  man  for  the  society  of  the 
cultivated.  Education  belongs  to  the  period 
of  childhood  and  youth  ;  instruction  may  be 
given  at  different  ages  ;  good  breeding  is  best 
learned  in  the  early  part  of  life.  G.  Crabb. 

1822.  EDUCATION,  Contempt  of.  Pity  it  is 

that  commonly  more  care  is  had,  and  that 
among  very  wise  men,  to  find  a  cunning  man 
for  their  horses  than  a  cunning  man  for  their 
children.  To  one  they  will  give  a  stipend  of 
two  hundred  crowns  a  year,  and  are  loath  to 
offer  the  other  two  hundred  shillings.  God, 
that  sitteth  in  heaven,  laugheth  their  choice  to 
scorn,  and  rewardeth  their  liberality  as  it  should 
be ;  for  he  suffereth  them  to  have  tame  and 
well-ordered  horses,  but  wild  and  unfortunate 
children.  So  that,  in  the  end,  they  feel  more 
pleasure  in  their  horses  than  comfort  in  their 
children.  Ascham. 

1823.  EDUCATION,  Habit  in.  Were  you  to 
give  the  most  solemn  and  impressive  instruc¬ 
tion  possible  to  a  company  just  as  they  were 
going  into  a  theatre,  it  would  do  no  good. 
The  impressions  would  all  be  gone  in  an  hour, 
and  other  and  deeper  impressions  would  take 
their  place.  The  same  feelings  awakened  in 
an  audience  who  were  in  the  habit  of  daily 
prayer  would  be  likely  to  abide,  and  to  bring 
forth  the  fruits  of  eternal  life.  Those  chil¬ 
dren  who  are  prodigies  of  learning  and  attain¬ 
ment  in  early  life  often  prove  to  be  very 
ordinary  men  ;  and  the  surprise  is,  that  a  tree 
so  full  of  blossoms  should  produce  so  little 
fruit ;  while,  in  other  cases,  a  child  giving  but 
faint  promise  of  mind  in  early  life,  frequently 
becomes  great  and  wise  and  good  in  mature 
years.  This  difference  is  not  merely  to  be  at¬ 
tributed  to  the  slowness  with  which  these 
minds  were  developed,  but  to  the  habits  formed 
in  early  life.  A  child  may  acquire  thought 
slowdy,  yet  if  he  has  formed  the  habit  of  ac¬ 
quiring  each  thought  fully  and  distinctly,  and 
of  retaining  it  when  acquired,  he  will  even¬ 
tually  become  a  wise  man.  On  the  other 
hand,  that  boy  so  bright  before  you  now,  who 
commits  to  memory  so  readily,  or  who  is  so 
prompt  in  understanding,  and  so  quick  in  an¬ 
swering  your  questions,  may  be  forming  habits 
which  will  more  than  destroy  all  that  he  now 
obtains.  All  great  men  have  attributed  their 
success  more  to  the  mental  and  moral  habits 
acquired  in  early  life,  than  to  any  thing  else. 
Even  the  temper,  the  disposition,  is  formed  by 
acquired  habits ;  so  that  one  who  is  naturally  ir¬ 
ritable  may  become  a  calm  man.  Dr.  J.  Todd. 


220 


PCDTT  CATION. 


EDUCATION. 


1824.  EDUCATION,  Maternal.  Don’t  cram 
your  children  with  unreal  forms,  like  blown 
bladders,  which  occupy  all  the  room,  and  col¬ 
lapse  on  the  first  rude  rub  on  real  life.  In 
pity  to  your  children,  put  something  into  them 
that  will  last  and  wear.  Don’t  expend  all 
your  energies  in  tying  ornaments  on  them  to 
attract  the  gaze  of  the  curious  in  the  street ; 
get  into  them,  if  you  can,  some  of  that  orna¬ 
ment  which  is,  in  the  sight  of  God,  of  great 
price.  Mothers,  if  your  hearts  have  been 
quickened  by  the  Spirit,  take  your  fashions  from 
the  word  of  God.  Occupy  yourselves  mainly 
in  moulding  the  heart  and  life  of  your  children 
after  the  pattern  which  Jesus  showed  and 
taught.  This  will  give  you  most  enjoyment  at 
the  time,  and  most  honor  afterwards.  Arno/. 

1825.  EDUCATION,  Method  of.  Knowledge 
is  not  to  be  crammed  in  by  mere  naked  dicta¬ 
tion ;  you  must  teach  as  Nature  teaches, — 
gently,  softly,  kindly ;  a  little  now,  a  little 
then  ;  a  little  here,  a  little  there  ;  a  little  this 
way,  a  little  that  way.  See  how  Nature  trains 
her  plants  in  the  field  1  If  you  have  gone 
into  the  cornfield  early  in  the  morning,  you 
have  seen  the  little  drop  of  dew  on  the  top  of 
each  wlieat-ear,  standing  there  and  asking  the 
sun  to  kiss  it,  and  impart  to  it  some  new 
chemical  virtue ;  and  having  been  kissed  by 
the  sun,  and  invigorated,  it  looks  for  a  little 
groove,  a  little  canal,  a  little  fissure,  in  the  plant, 
and  runs  down  that  fissure  to  the  root,  and 
nourishes  it.  That  takes  place  every  morning  ; 
and  what  is  the  consequence  ?  Why,  there  is 
the  ear  filling  all  round  the  top  of  the  stalk, 
—  a  number  of  rows,  in  each  row  a  number 
of  little  granular  buds  when  the  summer  sun 
shines  out ;  the  dew  drop  is  formed,  and  these 
little  granular  buds  swell ;  they  harden  ;  they 
swell  again,  and  harden  again  :  the  summer 
sun  shines  out  still  more  bravely  :  and  then 
you  have  the  full  corn  in  the  ear,  which  bows 
its  head,  and  asks  the  reaper  to  take  it  in. 

Dr.  Beaumont. 

1826.  EDUCATION,  Mission  of.  It  is  related 
of  Michael  Angelo,  that,  while  walking  with 
some  friends  through  an  obscure  street  in  the 
city  of  Florence,  he  discovered  a  fine  block  of 
marble  lying  neglected  in  a  yard,  and  half 
buried  in  dirt  and  rubbish.  Regardless  of  his 
holiday  attire,  he  at  once  fell  to  work  upon  it, 
clearing  away  its  filth,  and  striving  to  lift  it 
from  the  slime  and  mire  in  which  it  lay.  His 
companions  asked  him,  in  astonishment,  what 
he  was  doing,  and  what  he  wanted  with  that 
worthless  piece  of  rock.  “  Oh  I  there’s  an 
angel  in  the  stone,”  was  the  answer;  “and  I 
must  get  it  out.”  He  had  it  removed  to  his 
studio,  and  with  patient  toil,  with  mallet  and 
chisel,  he  let  the  angel  out.  What  to  others 
was  but  a  rude,  unsightly  mass  of  stone,  to  his 
educated  eye  was  the  buried  glory  of  art;  and 
he  discovered  at  a  glance  what  might  be  made 
of  it.  A  mason  would  have  put  it  into  a  stone 
wall;  a  cartman  would  have  used  it  for  filling 
in,  or  to  grade  the  streets  :  but  he  transformed 
it  into  a  creation  of  genius,  and  gave  it  a  value 
for  ages  to  come. 


1827.  EDUCATION,  Mistake  concerning.  1 

have  observed,  that  most  ladies  who  have  had 
what  is  considered  as  an  education  have  no 
idea  of  an  education  progressive  through  life. 
Having  attained  a  certain  measure  of  accom¬ 
plishment,  knowledge,  manners,  &c.,  they  con¬ 
sider  themselves  as  made  up,  and  so  take  their 
station  :  they  are  pictures,  which,  being  quite 
finished,  are  now  put  in  a  frame,  —  a  gilded 
one,  if  possible,  —  and  hung  up  in  permanence 
of  beauty,  —  in  permanence,  that  is  to  say,  till 
Old  Time,  with  his  rude  and  dirty  fingers,  soils 
the  charming  colors.  ,/.  Foster. 

1828.  EDUCATION,  Necessity  of.  If  you  wish 

to  have  a  garden  filled  with  beautiful  flowers, 
what  course  do  you  take  ?  Do  you  leave  it  to 
the  chapter  of  accidents,  that  such  and  such 
flowers  shall  happen  to  collect  in  your  garden; 
that  they  shall  happen  to  take  such  and  such 
rows,  and  such  and  such  settings  ?  No  :  if  you 
wish  to  have  a  garden  fitted  with  beautiful 
flowers,  you  have  a  proper  selection  made ;  you 
have  them  set  at  proper  distances;  and  you 
have  the  soil  prepared  to  receive  them ;  and 
you  watch  them,  and  cultivate  them,  and  defend 
them.  Or  say  you  have  an  orchard,  and  you 
want  it  in  autumn  to  be  filled  with  ripe,  delicious 
fruit,  what  do  you  do  ?  Do  you  leave  it  to  the 
chapter  of  accidents,  whether  or  no  the  fruit- 
trees  shall  come  into  the  orchard,  and  whether 
or  no  they  shall  bear  that  delicious  fruit  which 
you  desire  ?  No  :  you  have  the  fruit-trees  se¬ 
lected,  you  have  the  land  prepared,  and  you 
have  them  placed  there,  and  you  watch  the 
young  bud  and  the  young  shoot,  and  you  take 
away  the  caterpillar,  and  you  favor  the  develop¬ 
ment  and  the  growth  of  the  tree,  and,  by  culti¬ 
vation  and  care,  you  obtain  your  desire,  and 
gather  a  harvest  of  rich  fruit.  And  shall  we 
cultivate  for  the  sake  of  having  a  collection  of 
beautiful  flowers?  shall  we  cultivate  labori¬ 
ously  for  the  sake  of  having  a  heap  of  rich 
and  delicious  fruit  ?  shall  we  train  and  disci¬ 
pline  regularly  for  the  sake  of  having  a  rich 
landscape  of  vegetable  beauty  ?  and  shall  not 
the  mind  be  cultivated,  when  the  harvest  to  be 
reaped  is  spiritual  beauty,  moral  excellence, 
eternal  advantages  ?  Dr.  Beaumont. 

1829.  EDUCATION,  Neglect  of.  As  we  see 

many  times  good  ground  grow  mossy  and  bar¬ 
ren  for  want  of  culture ;  so  it  is  with  good 
wits,  which,  being  neglected,  usually  become 
more  vicious  than  those  of  less  hope  and  preg¬ 
nancy.  The  foundations  of  an  honorable  and 
comfortable  age  are  laid  in  the  minority  of 
children  :  if  the  plant  be  not  kept  straight  at 
first,  the  tree  will  be  crooked  incurably  at  the 
last.  It  is  as  great  a  folly  to  lay  up  estates  for 
children,  and  to  take  no  care  of  themselves, 
who  must  enjoy  them,  as  to  be  curious  for  a 
handsome  shoe,  and  then  to  put  it  upon  a  gouty 
foot.  Bp.  Reynolds. 

1830.  EDUCATION,  Patience  in.  John  Wes¬ 
ley’s  home-education,  under  the  tutelage  of 
his  parents  themselves,  was  peculiar,  and  well 
calculated  to  initiate  him  early  in  habits  of 
order  and  perseverance  in  accomplishing  any 
object  he  might  undertake.  “  Why,  my  dear,” 


■EDUCATION. 


EDU  CATION. 


221 


said  his  father  to  his  mother,  while  patiently 
teaching  one  of  their  children  a  simple  lesson, 
which  it  was  slow  to  learn,  —  “  why,  my  dear, 
do  you  tell  that  dull  boy  the  same  tiling  twenty 
times  over?  ” —  “  Because,”  replied  the  mother, 
“  nineteen  times  won’t  do.  If  I  tell  him  but 
nineteen  times,  all  my  labor  is  lost ;  but  the 
twentieth  secures  the  object.” 

1831.  EDUCATION,  Practical.  I  received  a 
most  useful  hint  from  Dr.  Bacon,  then  father 
of  the  university,  when  I  was  at  college.  I 
used  frequently  to  visit  him  at  his  living,  near 
Oxford,  lie  would  frequently  say  to  me,  “  What 
are  you  doing  ?  What  are  your  studies  ?  ”  — 
“  I  am  reading  so  and  so.”  —  “  You  are  quite 
wrong.  When  I  was  young,  I  could  turn  any 

iece  of  Hebrew  into  Greek  verse  with  ease  ; 

ut  when  I  came  into  this  parish,  and  had  to 
teach  ignorant  people,  I  was  wholly  at  a  loss : 
I  had  no  furniture.  They  thought  me  a  great 
man ;  but  that  was  their  ignorance :  for  I  knew 
as  little  as  they  did  of  what  it  was  most  im¬ 
portant  for  them  to  know.  Study  chiefly  what 
you  can  turn  to  good  account  in  your  future 
life.”  Cecil. 

1832.  EDUCATION,  Primary.  One  evening 
not  long  since,  as  I  was  seated  at  my  table 
busily  engaged  in  sewing,  my  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  confused  noise  among  a  pile  of 
school-books  near  me.  I  soon  discovered  that 
it  was  caused  by  a  strife  for  pre-eminence 
among  them.  Each  claimed  to  be  most  im¬ 
portant  to  man.  When  my  attention  was  first 
drawn  to  them,  History  had  the  floor.  “  I 
am  the  most  useful  book  in  the  world,”  it 
exclaimed  boastingly.  “  Who  could  give  a 
knowledge  of  the  past  ages  of  the  world  were 
it  not  for  me  ?  What  else  contains  a  record 
of  the  warrior’s  fame,  of  the  statesman’s  re¬ 
nown,  of  all  great  deeds  in  ages  past  ?  On 
the  pages  of  History  will  the  great  deeds  that 
have  been  transpiring  for  the  past  few  years 
be  written.”  —  “  Stop,  vain  boaster  1  ”  ex¬ 
claimed  Geography.  “  I  think  I  can  claim 
supremacy  even  over  thee,  great  as  thou  art  1 
Who  would  know  even  that  there  was  a  world, 
were  it  not  for  my  pages  V  I  describe  countries, 
tell  where  different  bodies  of  water  lie,  and  even 
tell  what  different  nations  inhabit  various  por¬ 
tions  of  the  earth.  Were  it  not  for  me,  would 
it  be  known  even  that  the  earth  is  round  ?  ”  — 
“  Enough,  friend  Geography  1  ”  exclaimed 
Natural  Philosophy.  “  We  acknowledge  your 
importance  ;  but,  my  friends,  were  it  not  for 
me,  who  would  understand  why  the  apple  falls 
to  the  ground,  instead  of  rising  to  the  sky  ? 
Who  could  understand  the  law  of  gravitation,  or 
the  other  laws  which  govern  the  earth  ?  Who 
could  tell  how  steam  is  made  the  servant  of 
man  ;  or  how  news  is  made  to  flash  along  the 
telegraph-wire,  or  how  ” —  Up  sprang  a  little 
blue-backed  Spelling-Book.  “  Cease  this  squab¬ 
bling  !  ”  it  exclaimed.  “  Know  ye  that  I  am  the 
greatest  among  you  1  Were  it  not  for  these 
twenty-six  letters,  not  one  of  you  would  ever 
have  had  an  existence ;  to  me  you  owe  all  your 
greatness ;  without  me,  you  are  nothing.”  They 
all  hung  their  heads  abashed.  Burke's  Weekly. 


1833.  EDUCATION,  not  Religion.  Education 

doth  much  cultivate  and  refine  nature  :  edu¬ 
cation  is  a  good  wall  to  plant  the  vine  of  grace 
against ;  but  it  is  not  grace.  King  Jehoash 
was  good  as  long  as  his  uncle  Jehoiada  lived ; 
but,  when  Jehoiada  died,  all  Jehoash’s  religion 
was  buried  in  his  uncle’s  grave.  Have  not  we 
seen  many  who  have  been  trained  religiously 
under  their  parents,  and  were  very  hopeful,  yet 
these  fair  blossoms  of  hope  have  been  blown 
off’,  and  they  have  lived  to  be  a  shame  to  their 
friends  ?  T.  Watson. 

1834.  EDUCATION,  Religions.  O  young  man  I 

build  thy  studio  on  Calvary ;  there  raise  thine 
observatory,  and  scan  by  faith  the  lolly  things 
of  Nature.  Take  thee  a  hermit’s  cell  in  the 
garden  of  Getlisemane,  and  lave  thy  brow  with 
the  waters  of  Siloa.  Let  the  Bible  be  thy 
standard  classic,  thy  last  appeal  in  matters 
of  contention  ;  let  its  light  be  thine  illumina¬ 
tion  :  and  thou  shalt  become  more  wise  than 
Plato,  more  truly  learned  than  the  seven  sages 
of  antiquity.  Spurgeon. 

1835.  EDUCATION,  Specific.  Reading  maketh 

a  full  man ;  conference,  a  ready  man  ;  and  writ¬ 
ing,  an  exact  man.  Bacon. 

1836.  EDUCATION,  Sphere  of.  We  know 
that  the  gifts  which  men  have  do  not  come  from 
the  schools.  If  a  man  is  a  plain,  literal,  fac¬ 
tual  man,  you  can  make  a  great  deal  more  of 
him  in  his  own  line  by  education  than  without 
education;  just  as  you  can  make  a  great  deal 
more  of  a  potato  if  you  cultivate  it  than  if  you 
do  not:  but  no  cultivation  in  this  world  will 
ever  make  an  apple  out  of  a  potato.  It  can  be 
developed  ;  but  it  must  be  developed  according 
to  the  laws  of  its  own  nature.  Education  will 
make  it  more,  but  will  not  change  its  nature. 
If  a  man  was  not  born  eloquent,  he  cannot  be 
bred  to  eloquence  ;  if  a  man  was  not  born  to  a 
sense  of  color,  he  cannot  be  educated  to  a  sense 
of  color ;  if  a  man  was  not  born  to  a  sense  of 
form,  he  cannot  be  educated  to  a  sense  of  form  ; 
if  a  man  was  not  born  to  a  quick  creative  ge¬ 
nius,  he  cannot  be  trained  to  it.  Where  these 
things  exist,  they  are  gifts  in  the  beginning.  Ed¬ 
ucation  makes  them  better,  and  more  usable ;  but 
it  cannot  create  in  men  what  God  did  not  create 
in  them  when  he  started  them  in  life.  Beecher. 

1837.  EDUCATION,  Time  for.  That  child¬ 

hood  is  the  proper  period  for  education  is  one 
of  the  most  obvious  of  all  general  truths.  The 
law  on  which  it  is  founded  holds  good  in  all 
countries  and  all  times.  Its  range  is  not  lim¬ 
ited  to  human  kind.  It  traverses  the  bounda¬ 
ry  of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  determines  the 
form  of  a  branch  as  well  the  character  of  mac. 
The  world  teems  with  analogies,  both  real  and 
obvious,  whereby  the  moralist  may  enforce  the 
duty  of  educating  in  the  comparatively  pliable 
period  of  youth.  You  may,  within  certain  lim¬ 
its,  determine  at  will  the  direction  of  a  river, 
a  tree,  a  man,  if  you  touch  them  near  their 
sources,  where  they  are  tiny  and  tender;  but 
none  of  these,  when  full  grown,  can  be  bent, 
except  in  very  minute  degrees,  and  at  an  ex¬ 
pense  of  labor  greatly  disproportionate  to  the 
result.  A  mot. 


222 


EDIT  CATION. 


EFFORT. 


1838.  EDUCATION,  Use  of.  A  young  woman 
in  England,  born  stone  blind,  was  recently  re¬ 
stored  to  perfect  vision  in  four  days  by  a  sur¬ 
gical  operation.  The  effect  of  her  new  sense 
was  most  curious.  She  at  first  had  no  idea 
whatever  of  perspective.  She  put  her  hand  to 
the  window  to  try  to  catch  the  tree  on  the 
other  side  of  the  street,  and  was  utterly  igno¬ 
rant  also  of  common  tilings,  —  what  such  things 
as  a  bunch  of  keys  were,  or  a  watch,  or  a  com¬ 
mon  cup  and  saucer;  but  when  she  shut  her 
eyes,  and  was  allowed  to  touch  them,  she  told 
them  at  once. 

1839.  EDUCATION,  Value  of.  Of  all  the 

blessings  which  it  has  pleased  Providence  to 
allow  us  to  cultivate,  there  is  not  one  which 
breathes  a  purer  fragrance,  or  bears  a  heaven- 
lier  aspect,  than  education.  It  is  a  companion 
which  no  misfortunes  can  depress,  no  crime 
destroy,  no  enemy  alienate,  no  despotism 
enslave ;  at  home  a  friend,  abroad  an  introduc¬ 
tion  ;  in  solitude  a  solace,  in  society  an  orna¬ 
ment;  it  chastens  vice;  it  guides  virtue;  it 
gives  at  once  a  grace  and  government  to  ge¬ 
nius.  Without  it,  what  is  man  ?  A  splendid 
slave,  a  reasoning  savage,  vacillating  between 
the  dignity  of  an  intelligence  derived  from 
God  and  the  degradations  of  passions  partici¬ 
pated  with  brutes,  and,  in  the  accident  of  their 
alternate  ascendency,  shuddering  at  the  terrors 
of  an  hereafter,  or  hugging  the  horrid  hope  of 
annihilation.  Phillips. 

1840.  EDUCATION,  Views  of.  It  is  observed 

that  education  is  generally  the  worse  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  wealth  of  the  parents.  Many 
are  apt  to  think  that  to  dance,  fence,  speak 
French,  and  to  know  how  to  behave  among 
great  persons,  comprehends  the  whole  duty  of 
a  gentleman ;  which  opinion  is  enough  to  de¬ 
stroy  all  the  seeds  of  knowledge,  honor,  wis¬ 
dom,  and  virtue  among  us.  To  be  prudent, 
honest,  and  good,  are  infinitely  higher  accom¬ 
plishments  than  the  being  nice,  florid,  learned, 
or  the  possessors  of  all  those  showy  qualifica¬ 
tions  for  which  the  world  will  bestow  on  us  the 
appellations  of  great  scholars  and  fine  gentle¬ 
men.  Agesilaus,  being  asked  what  he  thought 
most  proper  for  boys  to  learn,  answered, 
What  they  ought  to  do  when  they  become 
men.  L.  M.  Stretch. 

1841.  EDUCATION,  Work  of.  A  bar  of  iron 
worth  five  dollars,  worked  into  horseshoes,  is 
worth  ten  dollars  and  fifty  cents ;  made  into 
needles,  it  is  worth  three  hundred  and  fifty-five 
dollars ;  made  into  penknife-blades,  it  is  worth 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-five 
dollars;  made  into  balance-springs  of  watches, 
it  is  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol¬ 
lars.  What  a  drilling  the  poor  bar  must  under¬ 
go  to  reach  all  that  1  but  hammered  and  beaten 
and  pounded  and  rolled  and  polished,  how  was 
its  value  increased  1  It  mi;_dit  well  have  quiv¬ 
ered  and  complained  under  the  hard  knocks  it 
got ;  but  were  they  not  all  necessary  to  draw 
out  its  fine  qualities,  and  fit  it  for  higher  offices? 
So,  children,  all  the  drilling  and  training 
which  you  are  subject  to  in  youth,  and  which 
often  seem  so  hard  to  you,  serve  to  bring  out 


your  nobler  and  finer  qualities,  and  fit  you  for 
more  responsible  posts  and  greater  usefulness 
in  the  world. 

1849.  EFFORT,  Benevolent.  It  is  related  that 
a  disciple  of  Mohammed  came  to  him  one  day, 
and  said,  “  O  prophet  1  my  mother  is  dead : 
what  is  the  best  alms  I  can  bestow  for  her 
good  ?  ”  The  prophet  replied,  “  Water.  Dig 
a  well  for  her,  and  give  water  to  the  thirsty.” 
The  man  did  so,  and  said,  “  This  well  is  for 
my  mother.” 

1843.  EFFORT,  Human.  A  child  sits  in  its 
little  skiff  on  the  Mississippi  River,  when  it  is 
swollen  by  a  freshet,  and  plies  the  oar,  and 
glides  swiftly  on  his  course ;  and  as  he  looks 
upon  the  banks,  and  sees  them  fly  rapidly  past 
him,  he  fondly  thinks  that  it  is  he  that  is  mak¬ 
ing  such  headway.  lie  is  doing  something 
towards  it ;  but,  if  he  wants  to  know  how  much, 
let  him  turn  his  skiff  around,  and  try  to  row 
up  stream.  What  gives  him  his  speed  ?  The 
dip  of  his  oar?  A  little  of  it;  but  the  vast 
sweep  of  the  Mississippi  current  is  that  which 
makes  the  dip  of  his  oar  so  like  an  eagle’s  wing 
for  speed.  Beecher. 

18  44.  EFFORT,  Individual.  When  Napoleon 
had  captured  the  town  of  Saragossa,  and  en¬ 
tered  its  gates  to  take  possession,  he  found 
the  battle  renewed  in  every  street  and  lane 
and  house.  So  the  Christian,  having  begun 
the  war  on  evil,  will  find  his  foe  in  every 
path. 

1845.  EFFORT,  Opportune.  During  a  great 
freshet,  a  man  in  a  skiff  was  swept  down  by  the 
current  of  the  stream.  A  friend  rode  swiftly 
to  a  bridge  a  few  miles  below,  reached  it  before 
the  skiff  passed,  threw  over  a  rope,  and,  as  the 
imperilled  man  was  borne  down,  called  to  him 
to  grasp  it  as  his  only  hope.  He  did  so,  and 
was  soon  safe.  The  effort  of  both  the  rescuer 
and  rescued  was  opportune.  So  must  ours  be 
in  working  for  imperilled  souls. 

18  46.  EFFORT,  Result  of.  During  the  revival 
of  1858  in  Ireland,  an  ignorant  man  was  con¬ 
verted,  who  could  do  nothing  more  than  tell 
what  Jesus  had  done  for  his  soul.  He  went 
over  into  some  mills  in  Scotland  where  thirteen 
hundred  hands  were  employed ;  and  so  great 
was  the  impression  made  upon  them  by  his 
simple  story,  that  no  less  than  six  hundred  of 
them  were  hopefully  led  to  the  Saviour. 

1847.  EFFORT,  Reward  of.  A  traveller, 
ready  to  perish  amid  the  snows  of  the  Alps, 
meets  a  fellow-traveller  in  worse  condition 
than  himself.  He  puts  forth  every  effort  to 
save  him,  and  is  rewarded  by  the  life  of  his 
fellow,  and  by  new  warmth  and  life  in  his  own 
freezing  limbs. 

1848.  EFFORT,  Special.  A  little  before  the 
fall  of  Richmond,  a  telegram  was  received  from 
Gen.  Sheridan,  announcing  the  capture  of 
Ewell  and  other  general  officers,  artillery, 
wagons,  &c.  He  winds  up  his  despatch  in 
these  words  :  “  If  the  thing  is  pressed,  I  think 
Lee  will  surrender.”  Mr.  Lincoln  replied, 
“  Let  it  be  pressed.”  It  was  pressed,  Lee  sur¬ 
rendered,  and  the  Confederacy  disappeared 
from  the  map  of  the  world. 


EGOTISM. 


ELECTION-. 


223 


1849.  EGOTISM,  Danger  of.  A  man  is  said 
to  have  been  drowned  by  making  a  bridge  of 
his  own  shadow ;  and,  again,  it  is  said  that  a 
company  of  thoughtless  fellows  mistook  their 
shadows  fora  bridge,  and  all  fell  into  the  river. 

1850  EGOTISM,  Embarrassment  of.  I  recollect, 

that,  when  Mr. -  wrote  his  own  life,  the 

pronoun  “  I  ”  occurred  so  often  in  it,  that  the 
rinter  was  obliged  to  borrow  I’s  from  his 
rother  printers,  as  his  I’s  had  run  out. 

Dr.  A.  Clarice. 

1851.  EGOTISM,  Example  of.  The  etymology 

of  an  egotist  may  be  rendered  thus :  One  of 
those  gluttonous  parts  of  speech,  that  gulp 
down  every  substantive  in  the  social  grammar 
into  its  personal  pronoun,  condensing  all  the 
tenses,  moods,  and  voices  of  other  people’s 
verbs  into  a  first  person  singular  of  its  own. 
Example  :  “  I  myself  saw  it  with  my  own  eyes, 
and  nobody  else  but  me,  I  say  1  ”  “I  was  to 
dine  with  the  admiral,”  said  such  a  one  to  a 
brother  officer  as  they  met  in  the  street ;  “  but 
I’ve  so  many  cards  for  to-night,  I  can’t  go.”  — 
“  I  received  the  same  invitation,”  said  his 
friend  ;  “and  I’ll  apologize  for  you.”  —  “Don’t 
trouble  yourself ;  pray  don’t  1  ”  —  “I  must  if 
you  don’t  come ;  for  the  admiral’s  invitation, 
you  know,  is  like  royalty’s,  —  a  command.”  — 
“  Don’t  mention  my  name.”  —  “I  certainly 
must,”  said  his  friend  as  they  shook  hands  to 
separate.”  —  “I  say,”  at  length  stammered  out 
the  hero  of  a  hundred  cards,  “  don’t  say  a  word 
about  me :  I  —  I  had  a  hint  to  stay  away.”  — 
“  A  hint  1  how  so  ?  ”  —  “  /  wasn't  incited.''  — 
“No!”  said  his  friend,  “not  invited!  Well, 
I  said  I  had  received  the  same  invitation,  for 
neither  was  I ;  but  I  wanted  to  see  how  it  lay 
between  us.”  J.  B.  Owen. 

1852.  EGOTISM,  Learned.  “  How  wise  I 
am  !  ”  cried  the  Finger-Post  to  a  Willow-Stump 
by  his  side.  “  Are  you  ?  ”  said  the  Willow. 
“  Am  I  ?  ”  indignantly  retorted  the  Post.  “  Do 
you  see  my  arms  Y  Are  not  the  name  to  the 
great  town,  the  road  to  it,  and  the  distance 
from  it,  plainly  written  there  Y  ”  —  “  Ah,  yes  !  ” 
said  the  Willow.  “  Then  you  must  acknowl¬ 
edge  how  superior  I  am  to  you.  Why  !  I  am 
a  public  teacher.”  —  “  True,  indeed,”  answered 
the  Willow,  “  and  learned  you  are  ;  but,  as  to 
wisdom,  I  see  little  difference  between  you  and 
me.  You  know  the  way  to  the  city,  I  believe, 
and  are  the  means  of  enabling  many  to  find  it ; 
but  here  you  have  stood  these  twenty  years, 
and  I  don’t  see  that  you  have  got  a  step  farther 
on  the  road  than  I  have,  who  don’t  profess  to 
understand  any  thing  about  it.” 

Original  Fables. 

1853.  EGOTISM,  Lesson  of.  There  was  a 
oung  Grecian  poet  who  was  so  much  praised 
y  the  people,  that  he  became  exceedingly  vain, 

and  thought  himself  superior  to  Ilesiod,  and 
other  masters  of  song.  He  visited  Plato,  and 
began  to  praise  his  own  performances,  when 
the  philosopher  addressed  him :  “  Tamvris, 
the  graceful  poet  of  Thrace,  came  to  King 
Eurytus,  who  rewarded  him  magnificently  for 
his  songs,  and  honored  him  as  the  favorite  of 
the  Muses.  This  spoiled  him ;  and  he  boasted 


that  he  would  gain  the  victory  if  the  Muses 
themselves  were  his  rivals.  The  Muses  chas¬ 
tised  Ills  presumption,  smote  him  with  blind¬ 
ness,  and  took  away  his  gift  of  song.  He  de¬ 
stroyed  himself:  his  arrogance  induced  his 
blindness  and  punishment.  The  Muses  made 
the  soul  of  Tamyris  enter  into  a  nightingale. 
Her  form  is  the  simplest  and  least  beautiful : 
she  hides  herself  in  the  dark  grove,  and  loves 
best  to  pour  forth  her  song  in  the  silence  of 
night.  She  knows  not  that  the  soul  of  a  Tam¬ 
yris  dwells  in  her  gentle  bosom.”  The  youth, 
filled  with  anger,  left  the  philosopher;  and  his 
name  is  not  now  known  among  the  bards  of 
Hellas. 

1851.  EGOTISM,  Trait  of.  An  egotist  will 
always  speak  of  himself,  either  in  praise  or  in 
censure ;  but  a  modest  man  shuns  making 
himself  the  subject  of  his  conversation. 

La  Bruybre. 

1855.  ELECTION,  Certainty  of.  They  that  are 
written  in  the  eternal  leaves  of  heaven  shall 
never  be  wrapped  in  the  cloudy  sheets  of  dark¬ 
ness.  A  man  may  have  his  name  written  in 
the  chronicles,  yet  lost ;  written  in  durable 
marble,  yet  perish ;  written  on  a  monument 
equal  to  a  colossus,  yet  be  ignominious  ;  writ¬ 
ten  on  the  hospital-gates,  yet  go  to  hell ; 
written  on  his  own  house,  yet  another  come  to 
possess  it.  All  these  are  but  writings  in  the 
dust,  or  upon  the  waters,  where  the  characters 
perish  as  soon  as  they  are  made.  They  no 
more  prove  a  man  happy  than  the  fool  could 
prove  Pontius  Pilate  a  saint  because  his  name 
was  written  in  the  creed.  But  they  that  are 
written  in  heaven  are  sure  to  inherit  it. 

T.  Adams. 

1856.  ELECTION,  Christian.  In  the  smiling 
plains  of  primitive  Christianity,  you  have 
God’s  election  without  Calvin’s  reprobation. 
Here  Christ  chooses  the  Jews,  without  reject¬ 
ing  the  Gentiles,  and  elects  Peter,  James,  and 
John  to  the  enjoyment  of  peculiar  privileges, 
without  reprobating  Matthew,  Thomas,  and 
Simon.  Here  nobody  is  damned  for  not  doing 
impossibilities,  or  for  doing  what  he  could  not 
possibly  help.  Here  all  that  are  saved  enjoy 
rewards  through  the  merits  of  Christ,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  degrees  of  evangelical  obedience 
which  the  Lord  enables,  not  forces,  them  to 
perform.  Here  free  wrath  never  appeared. 
Our  damnation  is  of  ourselves,  when  “we  neglect 
such  great  salvation  ”  by  obstinately  refusing^  to 
“  work  it  out  with  fear  and  trembling.”  But 
this  is  not  all :  here  free  grace  does  not  rejoice 
over  stocks,  but  over  men  who  gladly  confess 
that  their  salvation  is  all  of  God,  who,  for 
Christ’s  sake,  rectifies  their  free  agency,  helps 
their  infirmities,  and  “  works  in  them  to  will 
and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure.”  J.  Fletcher. 

1857.  ELECTION,  Insured.  A  senator  relat¬ 
ed  to  his  son  the  account  of  the  book  contain¬ 
ing  the  names  of  illustrious  members  of  the 
commonwealth.  The  son  desired  to  see  the 
outside.  It  was  glorious  to  look  upon.  “Oh  ! 
let  me  open  it,”  said  the  son.  “  Nay,”  said  the 
father  :  “  it’s  known  only  to  the  council.” 
Then  said  the  son,  “  Tell  me  if  my  name  it 


224 


ELECTION". 


ELOQUENCE. 


there.”  —  “And  that,”  said  the  father,  “is  a 
secret  known  only  to  the  council ;  and  it  cannot 
be  divulged.”  Then  he  desired  to  know  for 
what  achievements  the  names  were  inscribed 
in  that  book.  So  the  father  told  him ;  and 
related  to  him  the  achievements  and  noble 
deeds  by  which  they  had  eternized  their  names. 
“  Such,”  said  he,  “  are  written,  and  none  but 
such  are  written,  in  the  book.”  —  “And  will  my 
name  be  there  ?  ”  said  the  son.  “  I  cannot 
tell  thee,”  said  the  father :  “  if  thy  deeds  are 
-ike  theirs,  thou  shalt  be  written  in  the  book  ; 
if  not,  thou  shalt  not  be  written.”  And  then 
the  son  consulted  with  himself,  and  he  found 
that  his  whole  deeds  were  playing  and  singing 
and  drinking  and  amusing  himself;  and  he 
found  this  was  not  noble  nor  temperate  nor 
valiant.  And  as  he  could  not  read,  as  yet,  his 
name,  he  determined  to  “  make  his  calling  and 
election  sure.”  And  thus,  “  by  patient  contin¬ 
uance  in  well-doing,  the  end  is  crowned  with 
glory,  honor,  immortality,  and  eternal  life.” 

E.  P.  Hood. 

1858.  ELECTION,  Insuring.  Like  as  if  an 
astrologer  could  or  should  tell  an  ambitious 
cardinal  that  he  should  be  pope,  although  he 
did  put  an  undoubted  trust  therein,  yet,  tor  all 
that,  he  would  not  be  idle,  but  would  use  all 
the  means  he  possibly  could  to  attain  and  come 
to  that  dignity  ;  even  so  the  children  of  God, 
the  surer  they  are  that  Christ  hath  redeemed 
them,  so  much  the  more  they  understand  the 
great  good  will  of  God  towards  them,  and 
therefore  they  are  always  forced  more  and 
more,  by  godly  conversation  of  life,  to  make 
certain  unto  themselves  the  knowledge  of 
their  election  and  redemption  by  Christ. 

Cawdray. 

1859.  ELECTION,  Nature  of.  The  expression 
is  supposed  to  refer  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
ancients  selected  men  for  recruiting  their 
armies.  The  honor  of  being  chosen  was  es¬ 
teemed  the  reward  of  superiority,  and,  among 
the  Romans,  was  as  follows  :  The  consuls  sum¬ 
moned  to  the  capitol,  or  the  Campus  Martius, 
all  citizens  capable  of  bearing  arms,  from  the 
age  of  seventeen  to  forty-five.  They  drew  up 
by  tribes ;  and  lots  were  drawn  to  determine  in 
what  order  every  tribe  should  present  its  sol¬ 
diers.  That  which  was  the  first  order  chose 
the  first  four  citizens  who  were  judged  the 
most  proper  to  serve  in  the  war ;  and  the  six 
tribunes  who  commanded  the  first  legion  se¬ 
lected  one  of  these  four  whom  they  liked  best. 
The  tribunes  of  the  second  and  third  legions, 
likewise,  made  their  choice  one  after  another  ; 
and  he  that  remained  entered  into  the  fourth 
legion.  A  new  tribe  presented  other  four  sol¬ 
diers,  and  the  second  legion  chose  four.  The 
third  and  fourth  legions  had  the  same  advan¬ 
tage  in  their  turns.  In  this  manner,  each  tribe 
successfully  appointed  four  soldiers  till  the 
legions  were  complete.  They  next  proceeded  to 
the  creation  of  subaltern  officers,  whom  the 
tribunes  chose  from  among  the  soldiers  of  the 
greatest  reputation.  When  the  legions  were 
thus  completed,  the  citizens  who  had  been 
called,  but  not  chosen,  returned  to  their  re¬ 


spective  employments,  and  served  their  country 
in  other  capacities.  Townsend. 

1860.  ELECTION,  Signs  of.  Make  your  call¬ 

ing  sure,  and  by  that  your  election ;  for,  that 
being  done,  this  follows  of  itself.  We  are  not 
to  pry  immediately  into  the  decree,  but  to 
read  it  in  the  performance.  Though  the  mar¬ 
iner  sees  not  the  pole-star,  yet  the  needle  of 
the  compass,  which  points  to  it,  tells  him  which 
way  he  sails ;  thus  the  heart  which  is  touched 
with  the  loadstone  of  divine  love,  trembling 
with  godly  fear,  and  yet  still  looking  towards 
God  by  fixed  believing,  points  at  the  love  of 
election,  tells  the  soul  that  its  course  is  heav¬ 
enward,  towards  the  haven  of  eternal  rest. 
He  that  loves  may  be  sure  that  he  was  loved 
first,  and  he  that  chooses  God  for  his  delight 
and  portion  may  conclude,  confidently,  that 
God  hath  chosen  him  to  be  one  of  those  that 
shall  enjoy  him,  and  be  happy  in  him  forever; 
for  that  our  love  and  electing  of  him  is  but 
the  return  of  the  beams  of  his  love  shining 
upon  us.  Leighton. 

1861.  ELOQUENCE,  Acquiring.  I  owe  my 

success  in  life  to  one  single  fact;  namely,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-seven  I  commenced,  and 
continued  for  years,  the  process  of  daily 
reading  and  speaking  upon  the  contents  of 
some  historical  or  scientific  book.  These  off¬ 
hand  efforts  were  made  sometimes  in  a  corn¬ 
field,  at  others  in  the  forest,  and,  not  unffe- 
quently,  in  some  distant  barn,  with  the  horse, 
and  ox  for  my  auditors.  It  is  to  this  early 
practice  in  the  great  art  of  all  arts,  that  I  am 
indebted  for  the  primary  and  leading  impulses 
that  stimulated  me  forward,  and  shaped  and 
moulded  my  entire  subsequent  destiny.  Im¬ 
prove,  then,  young  gentlemen,  the  superior 
advantages  you  here  enjoy.  Let  not  a  day 
pass  without  exercising  your  powers  of  speech. 
There  is  no  power  like  that  of  oratory.  Cassar 
controlled  men  by  exciting  then-  fears ;  Cicero, 
by  captivating  their  affections  and  swaying 
their  passions.  The  influence  of  the  one  per¬ 
ished  with  its  author;  that  of  the  other  con¬ 
tinues  to  this  day.  Henry  Clay. 

1862.  ELOQUENCE,  Attraction  of.  When 
Le  Pere  Bourdaloue  preached  at  Rouen,  the 
tradesmen  forsook  their  shops,  lawyers  theii 
clients,  physicians  their  sick,  and  tavern-keep 
ers  their  bars ;  but,  when  I  preached  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year,  I  set  all  things  to  rights,  —  every 
man  minded  his  own  business.  Pere  Arrius. 

1863.  ELOQUENCE,  Hinderance  to.  A  loqua¬ 
cious  young  man  came  to  Socrates  to  learn 
the  art  of  oratory.  Socrates  asked  him  dou¬ 
ble  price.  “  Why  charge  me  double  ?  ”  asked 
the  youth.  Socrates  replied,  “  Because  I  must 
teach  you  two  sciences,  —  the  one,  how  to  be 
silent ;  and  the  other,  how  to  speak.” 

1864.  ELOQUENCE,  Natural.  It  has  been 
said  that  Mr.  Whitefield  could  produce  every 
emotion  of  the  human  heart  byr  pronouncing 
the  name,  “  Mesopotamia.”  Dr.  Lathrop  re¬ 
lated  a  scene  which  he  had  witnessed,  without 
any  feeling,  to  Mr.  Whitefield.  The  same  day, 
Dr.  Lathrop  listened  to  the  same  story,  by  Mr. 
Whitefield,  and  found  himself  bathed  in  tears. 


ELOQUENCE. 


ENCOURAGEMENT.  225 


1865.  ELOQUENCE,  Pulpit.  In  pulpit-clo- 
quence  the  grand  difficulty  lies  here,  —  to  give 
the  subject  all  the  dignity  it  so  fully  deserves, 
without  attaching  any  importance  to  ourselves. 
The  Christian  messenger  cannot  think  too 
highly  of  his  Prince,  nor  too  humbly  of  him-  | 
self.  This  is  that  secret  art  which  captivates 
and  improves  an  audience,  and  which  all  who 
see  will  fancy  they  could  imitate  ;  while  most 
who  try  will  fail.  C.  Colton. 

1868.  EMERGENCY,  A  Fearful.  The  founda¬ 
tions  of  a  gigantic  mill  were  laid  upon  the 
banks  of  a  rapid  stream  in  Western  New 
York ;  and  the  men  of  the  little  village  near 
gathered  to  raise  the  massive  frame  to  its 
place.  Bent  after  bent  was  lifted,  till  the  last 
and  heaviest  one  alone  was  left.  At  the  word 
ot  command,  this  rose  above  the  strong  arms 
which  held  the  pikes,  until  it  reached  what 
builders  call  “  the  pinch  in  the  bent ;  ’’  beyond 
which  it  passes  with  comparative  ease  to  the 
vertical  position,  and  there  it  stopped.  The 
master-builder  shouted  with  alarm,  “  Lift,  men, 
or  die !  ”  Every  muscle  was  strained  anew, 
but  in  vain.  There  it  hung  over  the  living 
throng,  like  an  engine  of  swift  destruction. 
Just  then,  three  men  appeared  in  the  high¬ 
way,  upon  the  brow  of  a  hill ;  and  the  call  for 
help  fell  on  their  ears  :  they  saw  the  peril, 
and  hastened  away  from  the  scene  with  cow¬ 
ardly  fear.  The  chief  workman  mounted  a 
plate  above  the  trembling  company,  and,  in 
tears,  again  shouted,  “  Lift,  men,  or  die  I  ” 
The  struggle  was  fruitless  :  the  frame  was  set¬ 
tling  towards  the  exhausted  throng.  Mean¬ 
while,  the  tidings  had  spread  through  the 
village;  the  women  had  gathered  along  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  current,  and  were  anx¬ 
iously  looking  up  to  the  imperilled  loved  ones. 
The  eye  of  the  builder  was  turned  upon  them 
a  moment;  and  then,  with  a  fresh  flood  of 
tears,  he  exclaimed,  “  Mothers,  if  you  would 
have  sons ;  wives,  if  you  would  have  hus¬ 
bands  ;  and  sisters,  if  you  would  have  bro¬ 
thers,  to-night,  come  and  help  us  !  With  the 
strong  impulse  of  woman’s  nature,  they  rushed 
across  the  stream,  and  stood  side  by  side  with 
the  dear  inmates  of  the  deserted  homes.  Then 
came  the  cry  of  distress  once  more  :  “  Now, 
altogether,  lift,  or  die  1  ”  And  they  did  lift. 
Up,  up,  went  the  frame.  A  stroke  of  the 
hammer,  and  all  was  safe.  The  re-action  con¬ 
fined  some  of  that  number  to  the  house  for 
weeks.  We  have  often  thought  of  the  inci¬ 
dent  when  a  crisis  comes  to  the  Church  of 
God.  The  spiritual  bent  will  rise  before  the 
ower  of  faith,  and  then  suddenly  pause,  and 
ang  in  suspense  before  the  tearful  gaze  of 
the  believing  heart.  The  Head  of  the  Church 
issues  his  call  to  his  servants,  urged  by  the  peril 
ot  the  souls  dear  to  them.  If  not  obeyed,  the 
falling  bent  crushes  out  the  life  which  might 
have  been  saved.  And  so,  in  national  and 
individual  history,  the  hour  of  decision  comes 
when  the  summoning  of  forces  in  heroic  har¬ 
mony  of  effort  alone  can  save  from  fatal  re¬ 
verses.  Tract.  Journal. 

1867.  EMPLOYMENT,  Healthfulnesa  of.  Em- 
15 


ployment,  which  Galen  calls  “Nature’s  physi¬ 
cian,”  is  so  essential  to  human  happiness,  that 
indolence  is  justly  considered  the  mother  of 
misery.  Burton. 

1868.  EMPLOYMENT,  Useful.  Working  as  an 
|  ordinary  hand  in  a  Philadelphia  ship-yard 
was  a  man  whose  peculiarity  was,  that,  while 
others  of  his  class  were  indulging  in  jollifica¬ 
tion,  he  was  incessantly  engaged  in  studying 
upon  mechanical  combinations.  One  of  his 
companions  secured  a  poodle-dog,  and  spent 
six  months  in  teaching  the  quadruped  to  exe¬ 
cute  a  jig  upon  his  hind  legs.  Knowlton  spent 
the  same  period  in  discovering  some  method 
by  which  he  could  saw  ship  timber  in  a  bev¬ 
elled  form.  The  first  man  taught  his  dog  to 
dance ;  Knowlton,  in  the  same  time,  discov¬ 
ered  a  mechanical  combination  that  enabled 
him  to  do  in  two  hours  the  work  that  would 
occupy  a  dozen  men,  by  slow  and  laborious 
process,  an  entire  day.  The  result  was,  Knowl¬ 
ton  rose  to  be  a  successful  inventor,  made  a  for¬ 
tune,  and  illustrates  the  folly  of  useless  em¬ 
ployment. 

1863.  EMULATION,  Necessity  of.  Although 
there  may  be  some  degree  of  pride  in  emula¬ 
tion,  yet  a  laudable  ambition  should  always  be 
encouraged,  especially  in  youth  ;  for,  without 
this,  they  will  never  rise  to  eminence  in  any 
thing.  When  we  think  of  some  of  the  great¬ 
est  generals,  historians,  or  poets,  what  was  it1 
but  emulation  that  brought  them  to  excel  oth¬ 
ers  ?  In  short,  without  emulation,  we  sink  into 
meanness  or  mediocrity  ;  for  nothing  great  or 
excellent  can  be  done  without  it. 

J.  Beaumont. 

1870.  EMULATION,  Trie,  We  should  look 
upon  the  merits  and  virtues  of  men,  to  emulate 
and  excel  them ;  not  upon  their  blemishes 
and  limits,  to  conform  to  them,  or  to  rejoice 
over  their  possessors. 

1871.  ENCOURAGEMENT,  Christian.  A  travel¬ 
ler  among  the  mountains  of  Madeira  set  out 
for  a  distant  summit,  but  was  soon  lost  in  a 
thick  mist.  He  would  have  given  up  in  de¬ 
spair  ;  but  his  guide  ran  on  before,  constantly 
calling  out,  “  Press  on,  master,  press  on : 
there’s  light  beyond !  ”  In  a  little  time,  they 
had  passed  the  region  of  clouds  and  darkness, 
and  stood  upon  the  mountain’s  top,  with  not 
a  cloud  to  obstruct  the  vision.  Beclouded,  de¬ 
spondent  pilgrim,  “  Press  on  :  there’s  light 
beyond.” 

1872.  ENCOURAGEMENT,  Example  of.  The 

Emperor  of  Rome,  one  day  during  the  child¬ 
hood  of  Galba,  took  him  by  the  chin,  and 
said,  “  Thou,  Galba,  shalt  one  day  sit  upon 
a  throne.”  A  like  promise  from  a  higher 
power  has  every  true  Christian. 

1873.  ENCOURAGEMENT,  Premature,  A 
young  man  under  deep  conviction  was  led  to 
confess  conversion  beiore  it  occurred.  His 
sinful  habits  still  held  sway  over  him ;  and  the 
horrors  of  his  soul  were  greater  than  ever. 
He  said,  “  Those  Christians  who  tried  to  help 
me  meant  well,  and  thought  I  was  converted. 
But  it  was  rushing  me  through.  I  knew  there 
was  a  distance  still  between  me  and  God,  — 


226  KTsTCOTJRAGEIMENX. 


BNDUEANCH. 


something  to  come  I  had  not  found.  And, 
oh !  how  much  I  suffered  before  I  lifted  from 
the  depths  of  despair  my  cry,  ‘  Jesus,  help 
me  1 

1874.  ENCOURAGEMENT,  Result  of.  Little 
Charley  was  the  dull  boy  of  his  school.  Even 
his  master  sometimes  taunted  him  with  his 
deficiencies.  One  day,  a  gentleman  who  was 
visiting  the  school  looked  over  some  boys 
who  were  making  their  first  attempt  to  write. 
There  was  a  general  burst  of  amusement  at 
poor  Charley’s  effort.  He  colored,  but  was 
silent.  “  Never  mind,  my  lad,”  said  the  gen¬ 
tleman,  cheering,  “  don’t  be  discouraged  :  just 
do  your  very  best,  and  you  will  be  a  writer 
some  day.  I  recollect,  when  I  first  began  to 
write,  being  quite  as  awkward  as  you  are ; 
but  I  persevered  :  and  now  look  here.”  He 
took  a  pen,  and  wrote  his  name  on  a  piece  of 
paper  in  fine,  legible  characters.  “  See  what 
I  can  do  now  !  ”  he  added.  Many  years  after¬ 
wards,  that  gentleman  met  Charley  again.  He 
had  turned  out  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
men  of  his  day ;  and  lie  expressed  his  firm 
conviction  that  he  owed  his  success  in  life,  un¬ 
der  God’s  blessing,  to  the  encouraging  speech 
made  by  the  school-visitant. 

1875.  ENCOURAGEMENT,  Strong.  When 

stars,  first  created,  start  forth  upon  their  vast 
circuits,  not  knowing  their  way,  if  they  were 
conscious  and  sentient,  they  might  feel  hope¬ 
less  of  maintaining  their  revolutions  and  or¬ 
bits,  and  despair  in  the  face  of  coming  ages. 
But,  without  hands  or  arms,  the  sun  holds 
them.  Without  cords  or  bands,  the  solar  king 
drives  them,  unharnessed,  on  their  mighty 
rounds  without  a  single  misstep,  and  will  bring 
them,  in  the  end,  to  their  bound,  without  a 
wanderer.  Now,  if  the  sun  can  do  this,  the 
sun,  which  is  but  a  thing  itself,  driven  and 
held,  shall  not  He  who  created  the  heavens, 
and  gave  the  sun  his  power,  be  able  to  hold 
us  by  the  attraction  of  his  heart,  the  strength 
of  his  hands,  and  the  omnipotence  of  his  af¬ 
fectionate  will  ?  Beecher. 

1876.  END,  Common.  Three  thousand  years 
and  more  ago,  a  proud  Egyptian  king  re¬ 
turned  to  his  capital  from  a  great  victory.  To 
celebrate  the  event,  he  ordered  a  sculptor  to 
portray  the  scene  in  the  hardest  stone.  It 
was  finished  at  last,  after  great  expense  and 
labor.  The  figures  would  look  absurd  enough 
to  our  eyes ;  but  no  doubt  they  were  greatly 
admired  in  their  own  day.  This  block  of 
sculptured  stone  withstood  the  wasting  power 
of  time  for  thousands  of  years,  and  at  last 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  learned  and  en¬ 
thusiastic  antiquarian, — Mr.  Abbott  of  New 
York.  With  great  pains,  he.  succeeded  in  re¬ 
moving  it  from  its  resting-place ;  and  then, 
after  the  perils  of  a  long  sea-voyage,  it  was 
landed  safely  on  our  shores.  How  wonderful 
it  seemed  that  such  a  work  of  art  should 
endure  for  so  many  ages  !  Now  it  seemed 
probable  that  it  might  last  a  great  many  more 
in  the  museum  for  which  it  was  destined ;  but, 
just  as  it  reached  its  final  resting-place,  a 
careless  carman  tumbled  it  roughly  on  the 


avement,  and  the  block  was  shivered  into 
undreds  of  fragments.  This,  then,  was  the  end 
for  which  it  had  been  saved  so  long. 

Christian  Banner. 

1877.  END,  Premonition  of  the.  “  My  next 
undertaking,”  said  Hogarth  to  a  company 
of  friends  around  his  table,  “  shall  be  the 
‘  End  of  all  Things.’  ”  —  “  If  that  is  the  case,” 
replied  one  of  his  friends,  “  your  business  will 
be  finished ;  for  there  will  be  an  end  to  the 
painter.”  —  “  There  will  be  so,”  answered 
Hogarth,  sighing  heavily ;  “and  therefore  the 
sooner  my  work  is  done  the  better.”  He  began 
the  next  day,  and  by  grouping  every  thing 
which  denotes  the  end  of  all  things,  —  a  broken 
bottle  ;  an  old  broom  worn  to  the  stump  ;  the 
butt-end  of  an  old  firelock ;  a  cracked  beil ;  a 
bow  unstrung ;  a  crown  tumbling  in  pieces ; 
towers  in  ruins ;  the  sign-post  of  a  tavern 
called  the  “  World’s  End,”  tumbling ;  the 
moon  in  her  wane ;  the  map  of  the  globe  burn¬ 
ing;  a  gibbet  falling,  the  body  gone,  and 
chains  which  held  it  falling  down ;  Phoebus 
and  his  horse  dead  in  the  clouds ;  a  vessel 
wrecked  ;  Time,  with  his  hour-glass  and  scythe 
broken,  a  tobacco-pipe  in  his  mouth,  the  last 
whiff  of  smoke  going  out ;  a  play-book  open, 
with  Exeunt  omnes  stamped  in  the  corner ; 
an  empty  purse  ;  and  a  statute  of  bankruptcy 
taken  out  against  Nature.  “  So  far  so  good,” 
cried  Hogarth :  “  nothing  remains  but  this,” 
taking  his  pencil  in  a  sort  of  prophetic  fury, 
and  dashing  off  the  similitude  of  a  painter’s 
palette  broken.  “  Finis  !  ”  exclaimed  Hogarth, 
“  the  deed  is  done,  all  is  over.”  He  never 
again  took  the  palette  in  hand ;  and  he  died 
in  about  a  year  after  he  had  finished  this 
extraordinary  tail-piece. 

1878.  ENDURANCE,  Duty  of.  Napoleon  said 
to  Lord  Whitworth,  at  the  time  of  the  rupture 
of  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  “  I  will  make  an  attack 
on  England  1  ”  —  “  That  is  your  affair,  sir,” 
was  the  reply.  “  I  will  annihilate  you  1  ”  roared 
the  consul.  “  Ah,  sir !  that  is  our  affair,”  was 
the  calm  and  noble  reply  of  the  representative 
of  a  great  people. 

1879.  ENDURANCE,  Example  of.  A  mother, 
with  her  three  children,  was  clinging  to  the 
wreck  of  steamer  “  Bohemian,”  when  the  moth¬ 
er  said  she  must  let  go,  and  be  drowned.  Her 
little  girl  said,  “ Hold  on  a  little  longer ,  mother  1 
don’t  let  go  now  :  Jesus  walked  on  the  water 
and  saved  Peter ;  and  perhaps  he  will  save  us.” 
The  little  girl’s  words  so  strengthened  her 
mother,  that  she  held  on  a  few  moments  more; 
when  a  boat  was  sent  to  them,  which  took 
them  safely  to  shore. 

1880.  ENDURANCE,  Honor  of.  There  lies  a 
ship  out  in  the  stream  1  It  is  beautiful  in  all 
its  lines.  It  has  swung  out  from  the  pier,  and 
is  lying  at  anchor  yonder ;  and  men,  as  they 
cross  the  river  on  the  ferry-boats,  stand,  and 
look  at  it,  and  admire  it ;  and  it  deserves  admi¬ 
ration.  But  it  has  never  been  out  of  port: 
there  it  stands,  green,  new,  untried ;  and  yet 
everybody  thinks  it  is  beautiful.  It  is  like 
childhood,  which  everybody  thinks  is  beautiful, 
or  ought  to  be.  There  comes  up  the  bay,  and 


EINrDTTRAJSTCE. 


entcjVeucs. 


227 


is  making  towards  the  navy-yard,  another  ship. 
It  is  an  old  ship-of-war.  It  has  been  in  both 
oceans,  and  has  been  round  the  world  many 
times.  It  has  given  and  taken  thunder-blows 
under  the  flag  of  its  country.  It  is  the  old 
“  Constitution,”  we  will  suppose.  She  anchors 
at  the  navy-yard.  See  how  men  throng  the 
cars,  and  go  to  the  navy-yard,  to  get  a  sight  of 
her  1  See  how  the  sailors  stand  upon  the  deck, 
and  gaze  upon  her  1  Some  of  them,  perchance, 
have  been  in  her;  and  to  them  she  is  thrice 
handsomer  than  any  new  vessel.  This  old  war- 
beaten  ship,  that  carries  the  memory  of  many 
memorable  campaigns,  lies  there ;  and  they 
look  at  its  breached  bow,  its  shattered  rigging, 
its  coarse  and  rude  lines,  its  dingy  sides, 
which  seem  long  since  to  have  parted  company 
with  paint ;  and  every  one  of  them  feels,  if  he 
is  a  true  patriot,  “God  bless  you!  old  thing; 
God  bless  you  1  ”  Beecher. 

1881.  ENDURANCE,  Use  of.  As  the  skilful 

pearl-seller  and  cunning  lapidary  doth  willingly 
suffer  the  Indian  diamond  or  adamant  to  be 
heavily  smitten,  because  he  knoweth  well  that 
the  hammer  and  anvil  will  sooner  be  bruised 
than  the  diamond  or  adamant  be  broken  ;  so 
our  most  wise  God  suffereth  men  of  excellent 
virtues,  of  unquenchable  love  and  charity,  and 
invincible  constancy,  to  fall  into  diverse  temp¬ 
tations,  great  afflictions,  and  manifold  miseries, 
because  he  will  have  their  moral  grace  to  break 
out  and  shine  before  men,  that  they,  seeing  the 
constancy  of  his  saints,  may  glorify  God  which 
is  in  heaven.  Caicdray. 

1882.  ENEMIES,  Benefit  of.  It  was  the  saying 

of  Socrates,  that  every  man  had  need  of  a  faith¬ 
ful  friend  and  a  bitter  enemy;  the  one  to  advise 
him,  and  the  other  to  make  him  look  about 
him.  Much  good  coincth  by  enemies ;  and  a 
good  use  may  be  made  of  them.  They  are 
the  workmen  that  fit  and  square  us  for  God’s 
building ;  they  are  the  rods  that  beat  off  the 
dust,  and  the  scullions  that  scour  off  the  rust, 
from  our  souls.  Were  it  not  for  enemies,  how 
could  we  exercise  the  graces  of  love  and 
charity,  patience  and  brotherly  kindness  ? 
Further:  enemies  are  the  fire  that  purgeth, 
the  water  that  cleanseth,  the  dross  of  our 
hearts.  Spencer. 

1883.  ENEMIES,  Best  Use  of.  A  gentleman 

calling  on  Archbishop  Tillotson  observed  in 
his  library  one  shelf  of  books,  of  various  forms 
and  sizes,  all  richly  bound,  finely  gilt  and  let¬ 
tered.  lie  inquired  what  favorite  authors  those 
were  that  had  been  so  remarkably  distin¬ 
guished  by  his  grace.  “  These,”  said  the 
archbishop,  “  are  my  own  personal  friends ; 
and,  what  is  more,  l  have  made  them  such 
(for  they  were  avowedly  my  enemies)  by  the 
use  I  have  made  of  those  hints  which  their 
malice  had  suggested  to  me.  From  these,  I 
have  received  more  profit  than  from  the  ad¬ 
vice  of  my  best  and  most  cordial  friends ; 
and  therefore  you  see  I  have  rewarded  them 
accordingly.”  Percy. 

1884.  ENEMIES,  Conquered.  It  is  recorded 
of  a  Chinese  emperor,  that,  on  being  apprised 
of  his  enemies  having  raised  an  insurrection 


in  one  of  the  distant  provinces,  he  said  to  his 
officers,  “  Come,  follow  me  ;  and  we  will  quickly 
destroy  them.”  He  marched  forward ;  and  the 
rebels  submitted  upon  his  approach.  All  now 
thought  that  he  would  take  the  most  signal 
revenge,  but  were  surprised  to  see  the  captives 
treated  with  mildness  and  humanity.  “  How  !  ” 
cried  the  first  minister :  “  is  this  the  manner 
in  which  you  fulfil  your  promise?  Your  royal 
word  was  given  that  your  enemies  should  be 
destroyed  ;  and,  behold  1  you  have  pardoned 
them  all,  and  even  caressed  some  of  them.” 
—  “I  promised,”  replied  the  emperor  with  a 
generous  air,  “  to  destroy  my  enemies.  I  have 
fulfilled  my  word  ;  for,  see,  they  are  enemies  no 
longer :  I  have  made  friends  of  them.” 

1885.  ENEMIES,  Duty  to.  A  soldier,  riding 
over  the  scene  of  a  battle-field  when  the  fight 
was  done,  came,  as  he  picked  his  steps  among 
the  dead,  to  a  body,  which,  stirring,  showed 
some  signs  of  life.  The  bleeding  form  wore 
the  dress  of  a  foe.  Regardless  of  that,  he  said 
to  his  attendant,  “Give  him  a  draught  of 
wine  ;  ”  and,  as  the  officer  stooped  down  to  do 
so,  the  wounded  soldier,  discovering  through 
the  mist  that  was  gathering  on  his  (lying  eye, 
in  this  good  Samaritan,  the  general  of  the 
troops  against  whom  he  had  been  fighting, 
raised  himself  on  his  elbow,  drew  a  pistol,  and, 
with  deadly  hate,  fired  it  at  his  benefactor’s 
head.  Happily,  the  bullet  missed  its  mark 
and  the  general,  as  soon  as  he  recovered  from 
his  surprise,  with  a  forgiveness  truly  magnani¬ 
mous,  said,  “  Give  it  to  him  all  the  same  !  ” 

1886.  ENEMIES,  Fear  of.  Like  as  if  one  had 
a  great  enemy,  and  the  queen,  who  is  but  a 
mortal  woman,  should  promise  to  protect  and 
defend  him,  he  would  not  fear ;  much  more 
we  ought  not  to  fear  our  enemies,  seeing  that 
God,  who  only  is  almighty,  doth  say,  “  Fear 
not ;  for  I  am  thy  Protector  and  thy  Defence  1  ” 

Cawdray. 

1887.  ENEMIES,  Loving.  It  used  to  be  said 

of  Archbishop  Cranmer,  “  If  you  would  be 
sure  to  have  Cranmer  do  you  a  good  turn,  you 
must  do  him  some  ill  one;”  for  though  he 
loved  to  do  good  to  all,  yet  especially  he  would 
watch  for  opportunity  to  do  good  to  such  as 
had  wronged  him.  Spencer. 

1888.  ENEMIES,  Reconciled  by  Death.  A  rebel 
from  one  of  the  Georgia  regiments  lay  with  a 
fearful  shot-wound  in  his  side,  which  tore  out 
several  of  his  ribs.  The  life-blood  of  the  poor 
fellow  was  fast  oozing  out,  when  one  of  our  troops 
came  dashing  forward  from  out  the  melee,  and 
fell,  sharply  wounded,  close  beside  him.  The 
Georgian  recognized  his  uniform,  though  he 
was  fatally  hurt,  and  feebly  held  out  his  hand. 
“  We  came  into  this  battle,”  he  said,  “  enemies : 
let  us  die  friends.  Farewell  1  ”  He  spoke  no 
more ;  but  his  companion  in  disaster  took  the 
extended  hand,  and  escaped  to  relate  this 
touching  filet. 

1889.  ENEMIES,  Reconciliation  of.  Edmund, 
surnamed  Ironside,  and  Canute,  the  first  Danish 
king,  after  long  strife  for  the  possession  of 
England,  made  peace  by  agreeing  to  divide  it 
between  them,  and  confirmed  it  by  putting  on 


223 


JEREMIES. 


ENJOYMENT. 


each  other’s  apparel  and  arms,  as  if  they  had 
transferred  their  persons  to  each  other,  —  Ca¬ 
nute  becoming  Edmund ;  and  Edmund,  Canute. 
“  Such  an  exchange,”  says  Buck,  “  is  there 
between  Christ  and  the  pardoned  sinner. 
Christ  puts  upon  the  Church  his  own  comeli¬ 
ness  ;  decks  her  with  his  own  jewels,  as  Isaac 
did  Rebecca.” 

1890.  ENEMIES,  Treatment  of.  A  little  girl 
ODe  day  went  toiler  mother  to  show  some  fruit 
that  had  been  given  her.  “  Your  friend,”  said 
the  mother,  “  has  been  very  kind.”  —  “  Yes,” 
said  the  child.  “  She  gave  me  more  than  these ; 
but  I  have  given  some  away.”  The  mother 
inquired  to  whom  she  had  given  them  ;  when 
she  answered,  “  I  gave  them  to  a  girl  who 
pushes  me  off  the  path,  and  makes  faces  at  me.” 
On  being  asked  why  she  gave  them  to  her, 
she  replied,  “  Because  I  thought  it  would  make 
her  know  that  I  wish  to  be  kind  to  her,  and 
she  will  not,  perhaps,  be  rude  and  unkind  to 
me  again.” 

1891.  ENEMY,  Magnanimity  towards  an.  When 
Augustus  heard  that  Lucius  Cinna  was  en¬ 
gaged  in  a  conspiracy  against  him,  he  was 
transported  with  rage,  for  he  had  heaped  many 
favors  upon  him ;  and  would  have  ordered  his 
instant  execution,  but  his  wife  Livia  pleaded 
with  him  to  try  the  power  of  clemency.  Cinna 
was  called  to  a  private  conference,  reminded 
of  the  favors  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of 
the  Caesar,  and  astonished  at  a  fresh  token  of 
favor  in  a  free  pardon  for  his  crime.  He  de¬ 
parted  to  be  a  firm  friend  ever  after,  was  ad¬ 
vanced  to  the  consular  dignity,  and,  at  his  death, 
nominated  Augustus  his  sole  heir  in  token  of 
his  gratitude. 

1892.  ENEMY,  Overcoming  an.  I  once  took  a 
nugget  to  a  gold-melter  to  be  assayed.  A 
friend  in  the  trade  explained  to  me  that  it  was 
not  enough  to  subject  the  metal  in  the  crucible 
to  the  greatest  heat  from  under  the  pot :  this 
would  only  heat  the  gold  to  the  furnace-heat, 
but  could  not  melt  it  into  fluid,  until  the  char¬ 
coal  was  put  on  the  top  of  the  crucible  as  well 
as  under  it;  and  then  it  would  be  molten. 
“  Thus,”  said  he,  “  the  Christian  is  bidden  to 
soften  down  and  subdue  his  hardest  adversary 
in  the  scriptural  metaphor  taken  from  our 
trade,  —  ‘  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if 
he  thirst,  give  him  drink :  for,  in  so  doing, 
thou  shall  heap  coals  of  fire  upon  his  head,’ 
i.e.,  effectually  melt  and  overcome  him.” 

J.  B.  Owen. 

1893.  ENERGY,  Examples  of.  I)r.  Arnold, 
the  Rugby  schoolmaster ;  Dr.  Chalmers,  the 
mighty  preacher  and  social  reformer ;  Robert 
Hall,  the  eloquent  minister  of  the  gospel ; 
Thomas  Clarkson  and  W.  Wilberforce,  cham¬ 
pions  of  negro  emancipation  ;  John  Howard, 
philanthropist;  Samuel  Budget  and  A.  T. 
Stewart,  merchants ;  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  and 
Daniel  Drew,  speculators,  —  are  noble  speci¬ 
mens  of  modern  energy  in  the  pursuits  of  the 
great  callings  of  life. 

1894.  ENERGY,  Genius  of.  There  is  no 
genius  in  life  like  the  genius  of  energy  and 
activity.  You  will  learn  that  all  the  traditions 


so  current  among  young  men  —  that  certain 
great  characters  have  wrought  their  greatness 
by  an  inspiration,  as  it  were  —  grow  out  of 
a  great  mistake.  And  you  will  further  find, 
when  you  come  to  measure  yourself  with  men, 
that  there  are  no  rivals  so  formidable  as  these 
earnest  determined  minds  which  reckon  the 
value  of  every  hour,  and  which  achieve 
eminence  by  persistent  application.  Literary 
ambition  may  inflame  you  at  certain  periods, 
and  the  thought  of  some  great  name  will  flash 
like  a  spark  into  the  midst  of  your  purposes ; 
you  dream  until  midnight  over  your  books ; 
you  set  up  shadows,  and  chase  them  down, 
other  shadows,  and  they  fly.  Dreaming  will 
never  catch  them.  Nothing  makes  the  “scent 
lie  well  ”  in  the  hunt  after  distinction,  but 
labor.  D.  G.  Mitchell. 

1895.  ENERGY,  Importance  of.  The  longer  I 
live,  the  more  I  am  certain  that  the  great 
difference  between  men  —  between  the  feeble 
and  the  powerful,  the  great  and  the  insignifi¬ 
cant —  is  energy,  invincible  determination,  a 
purpose  once  fixed,  and  then  death  or  victory. 
That  quality  will  do  any  thing  that  can  be 
done  in  this  world;  and  no  talents,  no  circum¬ 
stances,  no  opportunities,  will  make  a  two- 
legged  creature  a  man  without  it.  Buxton. 

1896.  ENERGY,  Power  of.  Napoleon  ex¬ 
plained  one  of  his  novel  and  daring  plans  to 
his  staff-officers,  when  one  of  them  said,  “  It  is 
impossible.”  —  “Impossible!  Impossible  is  the 
adjective  of  fools !  ”  It  was  this  spirit  that 
carried  vast  armies  over  the  Alps,  extended 
his  empire,  and  made  crowns  his  playthings. 

1897.  ENJOYMENT,  Condition  of.  I  knew  a 
man  who  had  amassed  great  wealth,  but  had 
no  children  to  inherit  it.  Smitten  with  the 
vain  and  strange  propensity  to  found  a  house, 
or  make  a  family,  as  it  is  called,  he  left  his 
riches  to  a  distant  relative.  His  successor 
found  himself  suddenly  raised  from  poverty  to 
affluence,  and  thrown  into  a  position  which  he 
had  not  been  trained  to  fill.  He  was  cast  into 
the  society  of  those  to  whose  tastes  and  habits 
and  accomplishments  he  was  an  utter  and 
an  awkward  stranger.  Did  many  envy  the 
child  of  fortune  V  They  might  have  spared 
their  envy.  Left  in  his  original  obscurity,  he 
had  been  a  happy  peasant,  whistling  his  way 
home  from  the  plough  to  a  thatch-roofed  cot¬ 
tage,  or  in  winter  nights,  around  the  blazing 
fagots,  laughing  loud  and  merry  among  un¬ 
polished  boors.  Child  of  misfortune  1  —  he 
buried  his  happiness  in  the  grave  of  his  bene¬ 
factor.  Neither  qualified  by  nature,  nor  fitted 
by  education,  for  his  position,  he  was  separated 
from  his  old,  only  to  be  despised  by  his  new 
associates.  And  how  bitterly  was  he  disap¬ 
pointed  to  find,  that  in  exchanging  poverty  for 
opulence,  daily  toil  for  injurious  indolence, 
humble  friends  for  more  distinguished  com¬ 
panions,  a  hard  bed  for  one  of  down,  this  turn 
in  his  fortunes  had  flung  him  on  a  couch,  not 
of  roses,  but  of  thorns  !  In  his  case,  the  hopes 
of  the  living  and  the  intentions  of  the  dead 
were  alike  frustrated.  The  prize  had  proved 
a  blank,  —  a  necessary  result  of  the  fatal  over- 


ENJOYMENT. 


ENVY. 


229 


eight  that  the  heir  had  not  been  made  meet 
for  the  inheritance.  Is  such  training  needed 
for  an  earthly  estate  ?  How  much  more  for 
the  “  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light  ”  ? 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

1898.  ENJOYMENT,  Earthly.  Theodoras  was 

a  Christian  young  man  in  Egypt,  who  with¬ 
drew  from  the  feasting  and  music  of  his  father’s 
house  to  meditate.  “  Here,”  he  thought,  “  is 
content  and  delight  enough  for  the  flesh.  I 
may  have  what  I  desire ;  but  how  long  will  this 
last  ?  This  will  not  hold  out  long.”  Then  he 
prayed,  “  O  Lord  !  let  me  not  die  eternally  ; 
let  me  live  eternally  to  praise  thee  1  ”  Ilis 
mother  persuaded  him  to  return  to  the  com¬ 
pany,  with  the  excuse  that  it  could  not  hold 
out  long.  Men  should  reason  :  “  I  am  now  in 
the  midst  of  temporal  enjoyments ;  but  will 
they  hold  out  long  ?  I  was  made  to  abide  for¬ 
ever.  What  are  a  few  hours  here  ?  If  years, 
they  are  nothing  to  eternity.”  Those  that  abide 
longest  in  health  and  prosperity  —  their  time 
is  but  a  bubble ;  they  are  gone,  and  the  memo¬ 
ry  of  them  is  perished.  Xenophilus,  in  Pliny, 
lived  a  hundred  and  five  years ;  but  what  is 
that  to  eternity  ?  Spencer. 

1899.  ENTERPRISE,  Illustration  of.  The 

bridge  at  Wavre  was  repeatedly  lost  and 
gained  before  the  French  were  able  to  make 
their  footing  good  beyond  it.  At  length,  a 
French  colonel  snatched  the  eagle  of  his  regi¬ 
ment,  and,  rushing  forward,  crossed  the  bridge, 
and  struck  it  into  the  ground  on  the  other 
side.  His  corps  followed,  with  a  unanimous 
shout  of  “Vive  I’Empereur!”  and,  although 
the  gallant  officer  who  thus  led  them  on  was 
slain  on  the  spot,  his  followers  succeeded  in 
carrying  the  village.  Percy. 

1900.  ENTERPRISES,  Moral.  All  human 

affairs  follow  Nature’s  great  analogue,  —  the 
growth  of  vegetation.  There  are  three  periods 
of  growth  in  every  plant.  The  first,  and  slow¬ 
est,  is  the  invisible  growth  by  the  root ;  the 
second,  and  much  accelerated,  is  the  visible 
growth  by  the  stem  ;  but,  when  root  and  stem 
have  gathered  their  forces,  there  comes  the 
third  period,  in  which  the  plant  quickly  flashes 
into  blossom,  and  rushes  into  fruit.  The  be¬ 
ginnings  of  moral  enterprises  in  this  world 
are  never  to  be  measured  by  any  apparent 
growth.  Beecher. 

1901.  ENTHUSIASM,  Advantage  of.  Peter 
Apple  of  Oakland,  Marion  County,  Ind., 
was  recruited  for  the  Eleventh  Regiment  of 
that  State,  and  took  part  in  the  attempt  to 
storm  one  of  the  Vicksburg  batteries.  The 
rebel  fire  was  so  destructive,  that  the  Union 
forces  recoiled.  Apple,  the  “  raw  recruit,” 
“  didn’t  see  ”  the  backward  movement,  and 
kept  going  ahead  until  he  came  up  to  one  of 
the  rebel  guns,  caught  a  gunner  by  the  collar, 
and  brought  him  within  our  lines,  saying, 
“  Boys,  why  didn’t  you  come  on  ?  Every  fel¬ 
low  might  have  got  one.” 

1902.  ENTHUSIASM,  Emits  of.  The  artist 
Correggio,  when  young,  saw  a  painting  by 
Raphael.  Long  and  ardently  did  the  thought¬ 
ful  boy  gaze  on  that  picture.  His  soul  drank 


I  in  its  beauty  as  flowers  drink  moisture  from 
I  the  mist.  He  waked  to  the  consciousness  of 
artistic  power.  Burning  with  the  enthusiasm 
of  enkindled  genius,  the  blood  rushing  to  his 
brow,  and  the  fire  flashing  from  his  eyes,  he 
cried  out,  “  I  also  am  a  painter !  ”  That  convic¬ 
tion  carried  him  through  his  initial  studies ;  it 
blended  the  colors  on  his  palette ;  it  guided 
his  pencil ;  it  shone  on  his  canvas,  until  the 
glorious  Titian,  on  witnessing  his  productions, 
exclaimed,  “  Were  I  not  Titian,  I  would  wish 
to  be  Correggio  !  ” 

1993.  ENTHUSIASM,  Mad.  A  poor  mad  en¬ 
thusiast  thought  he  might  ascend  to  heaven,  as 
well  as  Elijah,  in  a  chariot  of  fire,  and  so  set 
his  barn  on  fire,  that,  when  the  flames  reached 
his  elevated  position  among  the  hay,  the  thing 
might  be  accomplished.  The  chariot,  as  it 
approached  him,  looked  so  uncomfortable,  that 
he  concluded  not  to  go  up  just  yet,  and  hast¬ 
ened  out  of  the  way  .  Caughey. 

1901.  ENTHUSIASM,  Religious.  Galileo,  by 
his  wonderful  discoveries,  set  the  people  of 
Florence  to  gazing  at  the  skies.  It  is  said  that 
a  woman  among  them  greatly  admired  the 
milky-way,  and,  taking  advantage  of  the  uncer¬ 
tainties  of  telescopic  information,  she  declared 
it  as  her  opinion  that  it  was  all  done  in  honor 
of  Rome  (and  the  pope,  of  course),  insist¬ 
ing,  that,  in  breadth  and  length,  it  exactly 
covered  the  road  to  Rome.  With  her  arms 
extended,  she  would  exclaim,  “  Behold  !  see 
the  Virgin’s  chariot !  Regard  that  beautiful 
tracery  of  light,  which  extends  itself  even  as 
a  canopy  over  the  holy  road  to  Rome !  ”  And 
yet  no  one  hinted  that  this  little  episode  in 
science  occasioned  any  slur  against  the  science 
of  astronomy,  or  doubts  regarding  the  discov¬ 
eries  of  Galileo.  Caughey. 

1905.  ENTHUSIASM,  under  Trials.  Enthusi¬ 

asm  is  a  virtue  rarely  to  be  met  with  in  seasons 
of  calm  and  unruffled  prosperity.  Enthusiasm 
flourishes  in  adversity,  kindles  in  the  hour  of 
danger,  and  awakens  to  deeds  of  renown. 
The  terrors  of  persecution  only  serve  to  quick¬ 
en  the  energy  of  its  purposes.  It  swells  in 
proud  integrity;  and,  great  in  the  purity  of 
its  cause,  it  can  scatter  defiance  amidst  hosts 
of  enemies.  Dr.  Chalmers. 

1906.  ENVY,  Character  o£  Envy  is  the 
daughter  of  pride,  the  author  of  murder  and 
revenge,  the  beginner  of  secret  sedition,  the 
perpetual  tormentor  of  virtue.  Envy  is  the 
filthy  slime  of  the  soul ;  a  venom,  a  poison,  a 
quicksilver,  which  consumeth  the  flesh,  and 
drieth  tip  the  marrow  of  the  bones.  Socrates. 

1907.  ENVY,  Check  to.  It  should  help  to 

keep  us  from  envying  others,  when  we  consider 
how  many  there  are  above  whom  we  are  placed. 
Instead  of  fretting  that  they  are  preferred  be¬ 
fore  us  in  honor,  power,  estate,  or  interest,  in 
gifts,  graces,  or  usefulness,  we  have  reason  to 
bless  God  for  their  good  influence,  and  that 
we,  who  are  less  than  the  least,  are  not  put 
hindmost.  Henry. 

1908.  ENVY,  Deeds  o£  The  infatuated  Ca¬ 
ligula  slew  his  brother  because  he  was  a 
beautiful  young  man.  Mutius,  a  citizen  of 


230 


KlfVY. 


Rome,  was  noted  to  be  of  such  an  envious  and  | 
malevolent  disposition,  that  Publius,  one  day, 
observing  him  to  be  very  sad,  said,  “  Either 
some  great  evil  has  happened  to  Mutius,  or 
some  great  good  to  another.”  “  Dionysius 
the  tyrant,”  says  Plutarch,  “  out  of  envy,  pun¬ 
ished  Philoxenius  the  musician,  because  he 
could  sing,  and  Plato  the  philosopher,  because 
he  could  dispute,  better  than  himself.”  Cam- 
byses  killed  his  brother  Sinerdis  because  he 
could  draw  a  stronger  bow  than  himself  or  any 
of  his  party. 

1909.  ENVY,  Delight  o£  As  flies  leave  the 

sound,  and  light  upon  the  corrupted  and  putre¬ 
fied  parts  of  the  body,  and  so  delight  in  the  filth 
that  it  is  hard  to  keep  them  from  it ;  so  an 
envious  man  has  no  pleasure  in  good  qualities, 
but  only  in  that  which  is  diseased  and  cor¬ 
rupted.  Cauidray. 

1910.  ENVY,  Disadvantage  of.  The  benevo¬ 

lent  have  the  advantage  of  the  envious,  even 
in  this  present  life ;  for  the  envious  is  tormented 
not  only  by  all  the  ill  that  befalls  himself,  but 
by  all  the  good  that  happens  to  another: 
whereas  the  benevolent  man  is  the  better  pre¬ 
pared  to  bear  his  own  calamities  unruffled, 
from  the  complacency  and  serenity  he  has  se¬ 
cured  from  contemplating  the  prosperity  of  all 
around  him.  Colion. 

1911.  ENVY,  Examples  of.  We  shall  find  it 
in  Cain,  the  proto-murderer,  who  slew  his 
brother  at  the  instigation  of  envy.  We  shall 
find  it  in  the  dark  and  gloomy  and  revenge¬ 
ful  spirit  of  Saul,  who,  under  the  influence  of 
envy,  plotted  for  years  the  slaughter  of  David. 
We  shall  find  it  in  the  King  of  Israel,  when  he 
pined  for  the  vineyard  of  Naboth,  and  shed  his 
blood  to  gain  it.  Yea,  it  was  envy  that  perpe¬ 
trated  that  most  atrocious  crime  ever  planned 
in  hell  or  executed  on  earth,  on  which  Lhe  sun 
refused  to  look,  and  at  which  Nature  gave  signs 
of  abhorrence  by  the  rending  of  the  rocks : 

I  mean  the  crucifixion  of  Christ;  for  the 
evangelist  tells  us,  that,  for  envy,  the  Jews  de¬ 
livered  our  Lord.  ,/.  A .  James. 

1919.  ENVY,  Food  of.  Envy,  like  the  worm, 
never  runs  but  to  the  fairest  fruit :  like  a  cun¬ 
ning  bloodhound,  it  singles  out  the  fattest  deer 
in  the  flock.  Abraham’s  riches  were  the 
Philistines’ envy ;  and  Jacob’s  blessing  bred 
Esau’s  hatred.  ./.  Beaumont. 

1913.  ENVY,  Groundless.  Columbus,  alter 

his  discovery  of  America,  was  persecuted  by 
the  envy  of  the  Spanish  courtiers  for  the  hon¬ 
ors  which  were  heaped  upon  him  by  the  sove¬ 
reign  ;  and  once  at  a  table,  when  all  decorum 
was  banished  in  the  heat  of  wine,  they  mur¬ 
mured  loudly  at  the  caresses  he  received,  hav¬ 
ing,  as  they  said,  with  mere  animal  resolution 
pushed  liis  voyage  a  few  leagues  beyond  what 
any  one  had  chanced  to  have  done  before. 
Columbus  heard  them  with  great  patience,  and, 
taking  an  egg  from  the  dish,  proposed  that 
they  should  exhibit  their  ingenuity  by  making 
it  stand  on  an  end.  It  went  all  around ;  but 
no  one  succeeded.  “  Give  it  me,  gentlemen,” 
said  Columbus;  who  then  took  it,  and,  break¬ 
ing  it  at  one  of  the  ends,  it  stood  at  once. 


|  They  all  cried  out,  “  Why  1  I  could  have  dono 
that.”  —  “  Yes,  if  the  thought  had  struck  you,” 
replied  Columbus;  and,  if  the  thought  had 
struck  you,  you  might  have  discovered  Ameri¬ 
ca.”  Percy. 

1914.  ENVY,  Innate.  They  say  that  love 
and  tears  are  learned  without  any  master;  and 
I  may  say  that  there  is  no  great  need  of  study 
ing  at  the  court  to  learn  envy  and  revenge. 

N.  Caussin. 

1915.  ENVY,  Malice  of.  There  is  a  story  of 

two  men  who  dwelt  in  a  certain  city,  —  one  very 
envious,  and  the  other  very  covetous.  The 
ruler  of  the  city  sent  for  them,  promising  that 
whatever  they  desired  should  be  granted  them, 
on  the  condition  that  he  who  asked  first  should 
have  what  he  asked,  and  the  other  should  have 
the  same  doubled.  The  envious  man  would 
not  ask  first,  that  the  other  might  not  have 
more  than  himself ;  but,  being  pressed,  the  en¬ 
vious  man  desired  that  one  of  his  eyes  might 
be  pulled  out,  so  that  his  companion  might  lose 
both  of  his.  Spencer. 

1910.  ENVY,  Ministerial.  Will  any  workman 
malign  another  because  he  helpeth  him  to  do 
his  master’s  work  ?  Yet,  alas !  how  common  is 
this  heinous  crime  amidst  men  of  parts  and 
eminency  in  the  Church  !  They  can  secretly 
blot  the  reputation  of  such  as  stand  cross  to 
their  own ;  and  what  they  cannot  for  shame  do 
in  plain  and  open  terms,  lest  they  be  proved 
palpable  liars  and  slanderers,  they  will  do  in 
general  and  malicious  intentions,  raising  sus¬ 
picions  where  they  cannot  fasten  accusations. 
And  so  far  are  some  gone  in  this  satanical  vice, 
that  it  is  their  common  practice,  and  a  consid¬ 
erable  part  of  their  business,  to  keep  down  the 
estimation  of  those  they  dislike,  and  defame 
others  in  the  slyest  and  most  plausible  way ; 
and  some  go  so  far,  that  they  are  unwilling  that 
any  that  are  abler  than  themselves  should 
come  into  their  pulpits,  lest  thev  should  be  ap¬ 
plauded  above  themselves.  A  fearful  thing 
that  any  man  who  hath  the  l«ast  of  the  fear  of 
God  should  so  envy  at  God’s  gifts,  and  had 
rather  that  his  carnal  hearers  were  unconvert¬ 
ed,  and  the  drowsy  not  awakened,  than  that  it 
should  be  done  by  another  who  may  be  pre¬ 
ferred  before  them.  Baxter. 

1917.  ENVY,  Occasion  of.  Rising  glory  occa¬ 

sions  the  greatest  envy,  as  kindling  fires  the 
greatest  smoke.  Envy  is  the  reverse  of  char¬ 
ity  ;  and  as  that  is  the  supreme  source  of 
pleasure,  so  this  is  of  pain.  Envy  has  under 
its  banner  hatred,  calumny,  treachery,  with 
the  meagreness  of  famine,  the  venom  of'  pesti¬ 
lence,  and  the  rage  of  war.  Spencer. 

1918.  ENVY,  Personification  of.  The  poets 
imagined  that  Envy  dwelt  in  a  dark  cave ; 
being  pale  and  lean,  looking  asquint,  abound¬ 
ing  with  gall,  her  teeth  black,  never  rejoicing 
but  in  the  misfortune  of  others,  ever  unquiet 
and  careful,  and  continually  tormenting  herself. 

Wit. 

1919.  ENVY,  Poison  of.  The  adder  and  the 
toad  have  deadly  poison  in  them,  which  hurts 
others,  but  not  themselves ;  but  envy  is  so 
deadly,  that  it  killeth  him  that  hath  it, 


ENV Y. 


ERROR. 


231 


and  others  also.  The  envious  man  frets  and 
pines  away  when  others  do  well.  He  cannot 
eat  or  sleep  quietly,  unless  some  mischief  falls 
on  the  person  he  envies.  Cawdray. 

1920.  ENVY,  Self-ilestroying.  I  remember 
reading  somewhere  in  a  Grecian  story  of  a 
man  who  killed  himself  through  envy.  His 
fellow-citizens  had  reared  a  statue  to  one  of 
their  number  who  was  a  celebrated  victor  in 
the  public  games.  So  strong  was  the  feeling 
of  envy  which  this  incited  in  the  breast  of  one 
of  the  hero’s  rivals,  that  he  went  forth  every 
night,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  destroy  that  monu¬ 
ment.  After  repeated  efforts,  he  moved  it  from 
its  pedestal,  and  it  fell ;  and  in  its  fall  it  crushed 
him.  An  unintentional  symbolic  act  was  this, 
showing  the  suicidal  action  of  envy  on  the  soul. 
It  is  ever  an  element  of  misery,  a  burning  coal 
which  “  comes  hissing  hot  from  hell.” 

Dr.  Thomas. 

1921.  ENVY,  Similes  of.  As  a  shadow  accom¬ 

panies  those  that  walk  in  the  sun,  so  envy  is  a 
constant  companion  of  those  that  excel  others. 
As  there  is  no  shadow  where  there  is  no  sun, 
so  there  is  no  envy  where  there  is  no  prosper¬ 
ity.  As  the  joys  of  the  happy  increase,  the 
sorrows  of  the  envious  multiply.  As  a  ship 
tossed  with  continual  waves,  so  the  envious 
is  always  in  trouble  of  mind,  repining  at  the 
success  of  others.  Cawdray. 

1922.  ENVY,  Spirit  of.  To  pooh-pooh  what 

we  are  never  likely  to  possess  is  wonderfully 
easy.  The  confirmed  celibate  is  loudest  in  his 
denunciations  of  matrimony.  In  iEsop,  it  is 
the  tailless  fox  that  advocates  the  disuse  of 
tails.  It  is  the  grapes  we  cannot  reach  that 
we  call  sour.  JEneas  Sage. 

1923.  ENVY,  Universality  of.  Envy  is  a  weed 
that  grows  in  all  soils  and  climates,  and  is  no 
less  luxuriant  in  the  country  than  in  the  court ;  j 
is  not  confined  to  any  rank  of  men  or  extent  of 
fortune,  but  rages  in  the  breasts  of  all  degrees. 
Alexander  was  not  prouder  than  Diogenes ; 
and  it  may  be,  if  we  would  endeavor  to  surprise 
it  in  its  most  gaudy  dress  and  attire,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  its  full  empire  and  tyranny,  we 
should  find  it  in  schoolmasters  and  scholars,  or 
in  some  country  lady,  or  the  knight  her  hus¬ 
band  ;  all  which  ranks  of  people  more  despise 
their  neighbors  than  all  the  degrees  of  honor 
in  which  courts  abound ;  and  it  rages  as  much 
in  a  sordid,  affected  dress  as  in  all  the  silks  and 
embroideries  which  the  excess  of  the  age  and 
the  folly  of  youth  delight  to  be  adorned  with. 

Lord  Clarendon. 

1921.  ENVY,  Vice  of.  As  the  enmity  which 
is  between  eagles  and  dragons,  the  boar  and 
the  elephant,  between  whom  it  is  reported 
there  is  such  discord  and  hatred,  that,  even 
when  they  are  dead,  their  blood  will  in  no  wise 
mingle  together  ;  so  envy  and  virtue  can  in  no 
wise  agree.  He  that  will  be  in  favor  with  the 
envious  man  must  needs  be  vicious.  Cawdray. 

1925.  ERROR,  The  Castle  of.  In  that  part 
of  the  universe  known  as  this  present  evil  world , 
there  has  existed  for  ages  a  tower  called  the 
Castle  of  Error,  belonging  to  the  Prince  of  the 
Power  of  the  Air.  It  stands  in  a  very  low  situa¬ 


tion,  surrounded  by  the  bogs  and  marshes  of 
Depravity  and  Corruption.  In  consequence,  the 
climate  is  unhealthy.  The  fever  of  sin  prevails 
in  the  castle  and  neighborhood;  the  whole  of 
the  region  of  Error  is  shrouded  by  dense  clouds 
of  ignorance  ;  the  atmosphere  is  one  of  perpetual 
gloom ;  the  sun  never  pierces  it ;  there  are  no 
stars  in  the  sky :  the  only  light  that  is  ever 
seen  there  is  the  ignis  faluus  of  human  wisdom, 
which  Hits  deceitfully  over  the  bogs  of  De¬ 
pravity.  Of  the  tribes  who  inhabit  the  neigh¬ 
borhood,  some  are  afflicted  with  total  blindness, 
others  are  partially  blind ;  while  the  rest  are  so 
near-sighted,  that  they  are  unable  to  direct  their 
steps.  Amongst  these  may  be  mentioned  the 
Idolaters,  Papists,  and  Ritualists,  all  sprung 
from  the  same  stock,  and  totally  blind ;  not 
forgetting  the  Backsliders  and  Procrastinat¬ 
ors,  who  are  partially  blind,  together  with 
the  Misers  and  Pharisees,  who  are  near-sighted. 
Within  the  castle  are  many  captives ;  some 
whose  eyes  have  been  put  out  by  prejudice ; 
others  who  are  bound  hand  and  foot  by  the 
fetters  o i  selfishness  ;  numbers  are  perpetually 
lashed  by  guilty  conscience ;  while  the  rest, 
crushed  to  the  earth  by  loads  of  remorse,  are 
pining  in  the  dark  dungeons  of  despair.  To 
defend  the  castle,  the  prince  has  an  army.  He 
has  a  body  of  in  fidel  artillery,  who  fire  fallacious 
arguments,  crafty  insinuations,  and  exploding 
shells  of  ridicule  from  the  cannons  of  scepticism 
and  the  mortars  of  unbelief.  Beside  these,  he 
has  a  strong  force  of  cavalry,  composed  of  play¬ 
goers, Sabbath-excursionists,  and  open  profligates  ; 
all  of  whom  lead  a  fast  life,  carried  onward  by 
sensual  pleasures,  and  armed  with  recklessness. 
Ilis  infantry  consists  of  outwardly  moral  sinners, 
who  are  armed  with  the  rifles  of  indifference,  and 
do  him  more  service  than  his  cavalry  and  artil¬ 
lery  combined.  Such  is  the  Castle  of  Error 
at  present ;  but  it  is  destined  to  fall.  Already, 
detachments  of  the  army  of  truth  have  demol¬ 
ished  some  of  its  ramparts ;  many  of  its  cap¬ 
tives  have  been  released.  The  Prince  of 
Peace,  with  the  main  army,  hourly  gaining 
strength,  is  on  the  march  to  the  rescue.  Brave 
hearts  are  with  him ;  the  sound  of  his  chariot- 
wheels  is  borne  upon  the  breeze;  the  gospel 
trumpets  blast  shrill  echoes  through  the  val¬ 
leys  ;  the  martial  tramp  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
cross  salutes  our  ears ;  and  soon  shall  Error's 
stronghold  be  swept  away,  and  the  blood¬ 
stained  banners  of  Calvary  wave  victorious 
o’er  the  world.  Men  of  Israel,  help  I  Come 
up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  1  —  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord  against  the  mighty.  T.  T. 

1926.  ERROR,  Danger  of.  Let  us  beware  of 
the  first  wrong  direction  of  thought  and  feel¬ 
ing  ;  however  minute  the  degree,  fearful  may 
be  the  after-deviations.  The  voyager  enters 
a  current  which  seems  propitious ;  there  is  no 
apparent  diversion  from  his  course ;  his  bark 
speeds  well ;  his  oar  does  not  toil,  nor  his  sail 
strain  ;  in  his  confidence,  all  promises  sucoess. 
But,  while  he  examines,  scarcely  does  it  seem 
that  he  has  advanced.  Much  again  and  again 
reminds  him  of  what  he  has  noticed  just 
before.  A  strange  familiarity  impresses  his 


232 


ESCAPES. 


sense.  Still,  current  flows  into  current ;  while 
onward  and  buoyant  is  liis  track.  Soon  he 
feels  an  unnatural  vibration.  Where  he  glided, 
he  now  whirls  along.  The  truth  seizes  upon 
him  :  he  is  sweeping  a  whirlpool.  Long  since, 
he  has  entered  the  verge  of  a  maelstrom,  and 
he  is  now  the  sport  of  its  gyrations.  No  power 
is  left  his  helm  or  mast ;  he  is  the  trembling, 
unresisting  prey.  He  hears  the  roar ;  he  is 
drawn  into  the  suck  of  the  vortex.  Not  only 
the  circle  lessens,  the  very  surface  slopes ; 
the  central  funnel  and  abyss,  dark-heaving, 
smooth,  vitreous,  yawns.  The  mariner  shrieks, 
the  skiff  is  swallowed  up,  where  the  waters 
only  separate  to  close,  where  the  outermost 
attraction  was  but  the  minister  to  the  famine 
of  this  devouring  maw.  Dr.  R.  W.  Hamilton. 

1927.  ERROR,  Deceitful.  Error  is  a  thing 
that  does  not  always  discover  itself  to  the  first 
view :  it  is  often  fan-  as  well  as  deceitful ;  and 
therefore  that  understanding  that  will  sell  its 
assent  to  first  appearances  is  in  danger  of 
the  snare,  and  to  mistake  an  imposture  tor  an 
oracle.  An  error  may  look  speciously  in  a 
principle,  which  will  betray  ugliness  enough  in 
the  consequences.  It  may  be  honey  in  the 
mouth,  and  wormwood  in  the  belly ;  delicious 
to  the  first  apprehensions,  but  found  destructive 
upon  after  inquiry  and  experiment.  Dr.  South. 

1928.  ERROR,  The  Incorrigibility  of.  In  a 

time  of  great  sickness  in  England,  when  the 
sick  were  beaten  on  the  face  by  their  friends, 
they  would  cry  out,  “  Oh !  you  kill  me ;  you  kill 
me  !  ”  whereas  they  would  have  killed  them, 
had  they  left  them  alone ;  for  to  sleep  was  to 
die.  So  it  is  with  those  whom  the  sickness 
of  error  hath  surprised.  If  you  try  to  cure 
them,  they  cry,  “  Oh  !  you  persecute  us  :  ” 
whereas  they  should  acknowledge  it  a  happy 
violence  that  pulleth  them  out  of  the  fire ; 
blessed  bonds  which  tie  them  to  Christ,  and 
comfortable  fetters  which  keep  their  feet  in 
the  way  of  peace.  Spencer. 

1929.  ESCAPE,  Narrow.  Prof.  Ruggles  of 
Dartmouth  College,  in  attempting  to  re¬ 
cover  a  lady’s  parasol  which  slid  down  the 
bank  of  Niagara  River  at  Goat  Island,  fell 
down  to  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice.  He 
caught  hold  of  the  roots  of  an  upturned  tree, 
which  seemed  ready  to  fall  over  the  precipice. 
The  ladies  shrieked ;  but  no  help  was  at  hand. 
One  of  the  ladies  took  off  her  skirt,  and  tore 
it  into  strips,  which  she  tied  together,  and  made 
a  rope  long  enough,  by  tying  on  other  articles, 
to  reach  down  to  Mr.  Ruggles,  who,  taking 
hold  of  it,  was  able  to  walk  slowly  up  the 
bank.  The  suspense  was  fearful.  Had  the 
rope  given  away,  Mr.  Ruggles  must  have  been 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  a  hundred  feet 
below.  Thus  the  souls  of  men  are  imperilled 
on  slippery  rocks ;  but  the  cable  of  hope  is 
thrown  out  for  their  rescue. 

1930.  ESCAPE,  Providential.  Many  years 
since,  a  steamboat  was  accustomed  to  make 
daily  trips  between  Buffalo  and  Niagara  Falls. 
The  nearest  point  at  which  she  could  approach 
the  mighty  cataract  was  Chippewa  Creek, 
about  ten  miles  distant  on  the  Canada  side. 


One  day,  there  was  a  pleasure-excursion ;  and 
several  hundred  men,  women,  and  children, 
went  down  from  Buffalo.  After  spending  the 
day  in  all  sorts  of  amusements,  they  gathered 
themselves  on  board  the  boat,  towards  night, 
to  return  to  their  homes.  By  some  miscal¬ 
culation  of  the  engineer,  sufficient  steam  had 
not  been  generated ;  and  when,  after  passing 
out  of  the  creek,  the  boat  met  the  strong,  rapid 
current  of  the  river,  instead  of  going  forward, 
she  was  slowly  borne  backward,  towards  the 
dreadful  cataract.  The  people  on  board  be¬ 
came  instantly  alarmed.  The  color  fled  from 
their  cheeks  ;  they  stood  in  speechless  horror ; 
the  roar  of  the  cataract  sounded  tearfully  dis¬ 
tinct  in  their  ears  as  they  were  slowly  borne 
back  towards  it.  At  length,  the  engineer  be¬ 
thought  him  of  the  oil  with  which  lie  lubricated 
the  machinery.  He  threw  it  into  the  furnace  : 
the  flame  blazed  up  intensely ;  steam  was 
generated  more  rapidly ;  the  wheel  moved 
round  with  increased  velocity.  There  was  a 
pause  as  the  Titan  forces  were  contending  for 
the  mastery.  A  moment  more,  and  there 
was  an  upward  movement.  Slowly  the  boat 
made  way  against  the  current.  In  a  short 
time,  the  danger  was  passed.  A  venerable 
man  among  the  passengers  said,  “  The  Lord 
hath  delivered  us.  Great  is  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  Let  us  pray.”  And  down  upon  the 
deck  kneeled  the  multitude,  while  the  heartfelt 
offering  of  thanksgiving  went  up  to  God,  who 
had  wrought  out  for  them  so  great  a  salvation. 
But  it  did  not  end  here.  The  feeling  that 
had  been  awakened  by  the  near  approach  of 
death  did  not,  with  all,  pass  away  when  the 
danger  was  over,  as  is  very  often  the  case. 
Even  there,  on  the  brink  of  that  awful  preci¬ 
pice,  many  found  the  Saviour.  A  revival 
followed  in  the  church  to  which  many  of  them 
belonged ;  and  many  found  peace  in  believing. 
One,  a  man  of  great  wealth,  dedicated  much 
of  it  to  God  in  the  building  of  a  church  as  a 
memorial  of  his  gratitude  for  being  snatched 
from  destruction  both  in  this  life  and  the  life 
to  come. 

1931.  ESCAPES,  Providential.  Two  brothers 
were  walking  together,  when  a  violent  storm 
of  thunder  and  lightning  overtook  them.  One 
was  struck  dead  on  the  spot,  the  other  was 
spared ;  else  would  the  name  of  the  great 
reformer  Martin  Luther  have  been  unknown 
to  mankind.  By  the  siege  of  Leicester,  a 
young  soldier  about  seventeen  years  of  age 
was  drawn  out  for  sentry  duty.  One  of  liis 
comrades  was  very  anxious  to  take  his  place. 
No  objection  was  made,  and  this  man  went. 
He  was  shot  dead  while  on  guard.  The  young 
man  first  drawn,  afterwards  became  the  author 
of  the  “  Pilgrim’s  Progress.”  John  Wesley, 
when  a  child,  was  only  just  preserved  from 
fire.  Almost  the  moment  after  he  was  rescued, 
the  roof  of  the  house  where  he  had  been  fell 
in.  John  Knox  was  always  wont  to  sit  at  the 
head  of  the  table  with  his  back  to  the  window. 
On  one  particular  evening,  without  being  able 
to  account  for  it,  he  would  neither  himself  sit 
in  the  chair,  nor  permit  any  one  else  to  occupy 


ESTATE. 


ETERNITY. 


233 


his  place.  That  very  night,  a  bullet  was  shot 
in  at  the  window  purposely  to  kill  him  :  it 
grazed  the  chair  in  which  he  usually  sat,  and 
made  a  hole  in  the  foot  of  a  candlestick  on  the 
table. 

1932.  ESTATE,  Cost  of  an.  “  What  is  the 
value  of  this  estate  ?  ”  said  a  gentleman  to 
another  with  whom  he  was  riding,  as  they 
passed  a  fine  mansion  surrounded  by  lair  and 
fertile  fields.  “  I  don’t  know  what  it  is  valued 
at :  I  know  what  it  cost  its  late  possessor.”  — 
“  How  much  ?  ”  —  “  His  soul.  Early  in  life, 
he  professed  faith  in  Christ,  and  obtained  a 
subordinate  position  in  a  mercantile  establish¬ 
ment.  He  continued  to  maintain  a  reputable 
religious  profession  till  he  became  a  partner  in 
the  firm.  Then  he  gave  less  attention  to  re¬ 
ligion,  and  more  and  more  to  business  ;  and  the 
cares  of  the  world  choked  the  word.  He  be¬ 
came  exceedingly  rich  in  money,  but  so  poor 
and  miserly  in  soul,  that  none  would  have  sus- 

()ected  that  he  had  ever  been  religious.  At 
ength,  he  purchased  the  large  estate  referred 
to,  built  a  costly  mansion,  sickened,  and  died. 
Just  before  he  died,  he  remarked,  ‘  My  pros¬ 
perity  has  been  my  ruin.’  ” 

1933.  ESTATE,  A  Tearful.  When  a  malefac¬ 
tor,  on  the  day  of  assize,  is  brought  forth  from 
the  jail,  with  bolts  and  fetters,  to  come  before 
the  judge ;  as  he  is  going,  all  men  pity  him, 
and  speak  comfortably  to  him,  because  he  is 
now  to  be  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  an  earthly 
judge.  Such  is  the  estate  of  all  impenitent 
sinners,  yet  far  more  miserable  than  the  case 
of  this  man  ;  for  they  are  in  bondage  under  sin 
and  Satan,  and  this  short  life  is  the  way  they 
arc  going  every  hour  to  the  bar  of  God’s  jus¬ 
tice,  there  to  be  arraigned,  and  to  have  sen¬ 
tence  of  condemnation  given  against  them. 

Cawdray. 

1934.  ESTEEM,  Cultivating  Self  The  cele¬ 
brated  Dr.  Busby  kept  on  his  hat  when  visited 
by  King  Charles  II.,  and  apologized  for  his 
apparent  want  of  respect  by  saying  that  he 
should  never  be  able  to  keep  his  scholars  in 
subjection  if  they  thought  that  there  was  a 
greater  man  in  the  world  than  himself.  The 
same  feeling  seems  to  have  actuated  the  Gaelic 
chiefs,  who  were  excessively  proud  of  their  rank 
and  prerogatives.  When  the  first  Marquess 
of  Huntley,  then  the  chief  of  the  clan  Gordon, 
was  presented  at  the  court  of  James  VI..  he 
did  not  so  much  as  incline  his  head  before  his 
sovereign.  Being  asked  why  he  failed  in  this 
point  of  etiquette,  lie  replied,  that  he  had  no 
intention  whatever  of  showing  any  disrespect 
to  his  king,  but  that  he  came  from  a  country 
where  all  the  world  were  accustomed  to  how 
down  before  him.  A  similar  instance  occurred 
with  the  head  of  another  family.  When 
George  II.  offered  a  patent  of  nobility  to  the 
chief  of  the  Grants,  the  proud  Celt  refused  it, 
saying,  “  Wha  would  then  be  Laird  of  Grant  ?” 

Percy. 

1935.  ESTEEM,  Fable  of  Self.  It  was  prettiiy 
devised  of  A3sop  :  the  fly  sat  upon  the  axletree 
of  the  chariot- wheel,  and  said,  “  What  a  dust 
do  I  raise  1  ”  So  are  there  some  vain  persons, 


that  whatsoever  goeth  alone,  or  moveth  upon 
greater  means,  if  they  have  never  so  little 
hand  in  it,  they  think  it  is  they  that  carry  it. 

Lord  Bacon. 

1936.  ESTEEM.  True  Self  “  Why  did  you 
not  pocket  some  of  those  pears  ?  ”  said  one 
boy  to  another.  “  Nobody  was  there  to  see 
you.”  —  “Yes,  there  was:  I  was  there  to  see 
myself ;  and  I  never  mean  to  see  myself  do  a 
mean  thing.” 

1937.  ETERNITY,  Approaching.  “Whence, 
my  brethren,  do  you  derive  your  confidence 
that  your  dying  day  is  so  remote  ?  From  your 
youth?  ” — “  Yes,”  you  reply  :  “I  am  as  yet  only 
twenty,  thirty  years  old.”  —  “  Ah  1  you  com¬ 
pletely  deceive  yourselves.  No :  it  is  not  that 
you  have  advanced  twenty  or  thirty  years,  but 
that  death  has  gained  twenty  or  thirty  years 
upon  you.  God  has  given  you  thirty  years  of 
grace,  by  suffering  you  to  live  :  you  are  his 
debtor  for  these  years  ;  and  they  have  brought 
you  so  much  the  nearer  to  that  term  when 
death  awaits  you.  Take  heed,  then  !  Eternity 
already  marks  upon  your  brow  the  fatal  in¬ 
stant  in  which  it  will  begin  for  you.  Eternity  1 
Ah  !  know  you  what  it  is  ?  It  is  a  timepiece, 
whose  pendulum  speaks  incessantly,  repeats 
two  words  only,  in  the  silence  of  the  tomb,  — 
‘  Ever,  never  :  never,  ever,  and  forever.’  Dur¬ 
ing  these  fearful  vibrations,  a  reprobate  cries 
out,  ‘  What  is  the  hour  ?  ’  And  a  voice  of  a 
fellow-wretch  replies,  ‘  Eternity  !  ’  ”  Bridaine. 

1938.  ETERNITY,  Character  in.  Before  the 
sun  has  climbed  above  the  horizon,  all  objects 
on  earth  are  blended  in  one  common  indistinct 
gray  hue:  you  can  just  discern  their  difference 
of  form.  The  sun  rises,  color  appears,  out¬ 
lines  define  themselves,  variety  and  time  are 
born  at  once.  Before,  there  was  only  a  dull 
monotony ;  now,  there  is  harmony.  The  life 
to  come  has  a  similar  marvel  in  reserve.  At 
the  first  ray  of  its  light,  our  true  characters, 
purified,  but  preserving  their  identity',  will 
more  fully'  expand  ;  and  the  result  of  the  in¬ 
finite  diversity  will  be  a  complete  unity. 

Madame  de  Gasparin. 

1939.  ETERNITY,  Comparison  of.  By  con¬ 
stant  rubbing,  earth,  stone,  and  even  iron,  is 
at  last  worn  away ;  but  what  time  it  would 
take  to  wear  away  a  rock,  an  entire  mountain, 
by  rubbing  it  merely  with  the  finger  t  Well, 
it  a  lost  soul  were  told,  “  God  is  going  to 
change  into  steel  the  earth,  with  all  that  com¬ 
poses  it,  such  as  stones,  trees,  rocks,  moun¬ 
tains,  & c. :  he  will  afterwards  permit  an  ant  to 
come  once  every  hundred  years  on  that  enor¬ 
mous  globe  of  polished  steel,  and  when  that 
little  animal  shall  have  succeeded  in  wearing 
it  all  away,  merely  by  passing  over  it,  eternity 
shall  be  ended  ”  —  can  you  even  imagine  the 
millions  of  ages  it  would  take  that  ant  to  wear 
away  even  the  thickness  of  a  knife-blade? 
And  what  is  a  knife-blade  to  the  thickness  of 
a  mountain  ?  to  the  whole  earth  ?  If  one  said 
to  a  soul,  “  When  that  incredible  task  shall 
have  been  finished  by  the  ant,  your  eternity 
shall  be  ended,”  it  would  be  a  mistake:  its 
eternity  would  be  only  commencing.  Ah  1 


234 


ETERNITY. 


ETERNITY. 


well  might  one  say,  “  Think  of  thy  last  end, 
and  thou  shalt  never  sin.” 

1940.  ETERNITY,  Consideration  of.  When 
there  were  several  attempts  made  upon  Lu¬ 
ther  to  draw  him  back  again  to  the  Romish 
side,  one  proposed  a  sum  of  money  to  be  of- 
fered  unto  him.  “  No,  that  will  not  do,”  says 
another ;  “  that  German  beast  cares  not  ior 
money,  nor  any  temporal  thing  whatsoever :  ” 
and  so  they  ceased  any  further  tampering  that 
way.  Such  was  the  Christian  resolution  of 
those  forty  martyrs  under  the  persecution  of 
Licinius  the  emperor,  A.D.  300,  that  when 
Agrieolaus,  his  chief  governor,  and  one  of  the 
Devil’s  prime  agents,  set  upon  them  by  several 
ways  to  renounce  Christ,  and  at  last  tempted 
them  with  money  and  preferments,  they  all 
cried  out  with  one  consent,  “  O  eternity,  eter¬ 
nity  !  give  money  that  may  last  forever,  and 
glory  that  may  never  fade  away.”  Spencer. 

1941.  ETERNITY,  Defined.  A  pupil  of  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb  Institution  of  Paris  was  asked, 
“  What  is  eternity  ?  ”  and  replied,  “  It  is  the 
lifetime  of  the  Almighty.” 

1942.  ETERNITY,  Definition  of.  Eternity  is 
infinite  duration ;  duration  discharged  from  all 
limits,  without  beginning,  without  succession, 
and  without  end.  The  schoolmen  phrase  it 
panctum  sians,  “  an  ever-abiding  present.”  We, 
however,  can  positively  conceive  of  eternity 
only  as  duration  indefinitely  extended  from 
the  present  moment  in  two  directions,  —  as  to 
the  past,  and  as  to  the  future.  These  are  im¬ 
properly  expressed  as  eternity  a  parte  ante,  or 
past ;  and  eternity  a  parte  post,  or  future. 

A.  A.  Hodge. 

1943.  ETERNITY,  Dread  of.  Oh  that  I  was 

to  lie  upon  the  fire  that  never  is  quenched  a 
thousand  years,  to  purchase  the  favor  of  God, 
and  be  reconciled  to  him  again  !  But  it  is 
a  fruitless  wish.  Millions  of  millions  of  years 
will  bring  me  no  nearer  to  the  end  of  my  tor¬ 
ment  than  one  poor  hour.  O  eternity,  eter¬ 
nity  !  Who  can  discover  the  abyss  of  eternity  ? 
Who  can  paraphrase  upon  these  words,  '"  for 
ever  and  ever  ”  ?  Francis  Newport. 

1944.  ETERNITY,  Duration  of.  When  I  en¬ 
deavor  to  represent  eternity,  I  avail  myself 
of  whatever  I  can  conceive  most  long  and 
durable.  I  heap  imagination  upon  imagina¬ 
tion,  conjecture  upon  conjecture.  First,  I 
consider  those  long  lives  which  all  men  wish, 
and  some  attain.  I  do  more:  I  turn  to  an¬ 
cient  chronicles.  I  go  back  to  the  patriarchal 
age,  and  consider  life  extending  through  a 
thousand  years ;  and  I  say  to  myself,  “  All  this 
is  not  eternity:  all  this  is  only  a  point  in  com¬ 
parison  of  eternity  1  ”  Having  represented  to 
myself  real  objects,  I  form  ideas  of  imaginary 
ones.  I  go  from  our  age  to  the  time  of  pub¬ 
lishing  the  gospel ;  from  thence  to  the  publica¬ 
tion  of  the  law ;  from  the  law  to  the  flood ;  from 
the  flood  to  the  creation ;  I  join  this  epoch  to 
the  present  time ;  and  I  imagine  Adam  yet 
living.  Had  Adam  lived  till  now,  and  had  he 
lived  in  misery,  had  he  passed  all  his  time  in 
a  fire  or  on  a  rack,  what  idea  must  we  form  of 
his  condition  ?  At  what  price  would  we  agree 


to  expose  ourselves  to  misery  so  great  ?  What 
imperial  glory  would  appear  glorious,  were  it 
followed  by  so  much  woe  ?  Yet  this  is  not 
eternity  :  all  this  is  nothing  in  comparison 
of  eternity  1  I  go  farther  still,  I  proceed  from 
one  supposition  to  another.  I  take  the  greatest 
number  of  years  that  can  be  imagined  ;  I  add 
ages  to  ages,  millions  of  ages  to  millions  of 
ages;  I  form  of  all  these  one  fixed  number, 
and  I  stay  my  imagination.  After  this,  I  supr 
pose  God  to  create  a  world  like  this  which  we 
inhabit ;  I  suppose  him  creating  it  by  forming 
one  atom  after  another,  and  employing,  in  the 
production  of  each  atom,  the  time  fixed  in  my 
calculation  just  now  mentioned.  What  num¬ 
berless  ages  would  the  creation  of  such  a 
world  in  such  a  manner  require !  Then  I 
suppose  the  Creator  to  arrange  these  atoms, 
and  to  pursue  the  same  plan  of  arranging  them 
as  of  creating  them.  What  numberless  ages 
would  such  an  an-angement  require  ?  Finally, 
I  suppose  him  to  dissolve  and  annihilate  the 
whole,  and,  observing  the  same  method  in  this 
dissolution  as  he  observed  in  the  creation  and 
disposition  of  the  whole,  what  an  immense 
duration  would  be  consumed !  Yet  this  is  not 
eternity  :  all  this  is  only  a  point  in  comparison 
of  eternity !  Saurin. 

1945.  ETERNITY,  Gain  of.  Symphorianus, 
a  Christian  young  man,  as  he  was  dragged  to 
death  at  Augustodunum,  met  his  mother  upon 
the  way,  carrying  herself  like  an  heroic  Chris¬ 
tian  lady.  She  called  to  her  son,  and  said, 
“  Son !  my  son,  I  say,  remember  life  eternal ; 
look  up  to  heaven ;  lift  up  thine  eye  to  Him 
that  reigneth  there :  life  is  not  taken  from 
thee,  but,  exchanged  for  a  better.”  At  which 
words  of  his  mother,  the  young  man  was  so 
exceedingly  animated,  that  he  went  willingly 
to  execution,  and  cheerfully  laid  down  his 
head  upon  the  block,  and  was  beheaded. 

Spencer. 

1946.  ETERNITY,  of  God.  A  deaf  and  dumb 
pupil  in  the  institution  of  Paris,  being  desired 
to  express  his  idea  of  the  eternity  of  God, 
replied,  “  It  is  duration  without  beginning  or 
end;  existence  without  bound  or  dimension; 
present  without  past  or  future  :  his  eternity 
is  youth  without  infancy  or  old  age ;  life  with¬ 
out  birth  or  death ;  to-day  without  yesterday 
or  to-morrow.” 

1947.  ETERNITY,  Hastening  to.  The  wheels 

of  Nature  are  not  made  to  roll  backward: 
every  thing  presses  on  towards  eternity.  From 
the  birth  of  time,  an  impetuous  current  has  set 
in,  which  bears  all  the  sons  of  men  towards 
that  interminable  ocean.  Robert  Hall. 

1948.  ETERNITY,  Hopes  of.  What  is  life 
but  a  circulation  of  little  mean  actions?  We 
spend  the  day  in  trifles ;  and,  when  the  night 
comes,  we  throw  ourselves  into  the  bed  of  folly, 
among  dreams  and  broken  thoughts,  and  wild 
imaginations.  Our  reason  lies  asleep  by  us  ; 
and  we  are  for  the  time  arrant  brutes  as  those 
that  sleep  in  the  stalls  or  in  the  field.  Are  not 
the  capacities  of  man  higher  than  these  ? 
and  ought  not  his  ambitions  and  expectations 
to  be  greater?  Let  us  be  adventurers  for 


ICTER-NTTY. 


ETERNITY. 


235 


another  world.  It  is  at  least  a  fair  and  noble 
chance  ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  this  worth  our 
thoughts  or  our  passions.  If  we  should  be 
disappointed,  we  are  still  no  worse  than  the 
rest  of  our  fellow-mortals  ;  and,  if  we  succeed 
in  our  expectations,  we  are  eternally  happy. 

Barnet. 

1949.  ETERNITY,  Immeasurable.  An  old 
writer  says,  “  Suppose  a  little  bird  is  set-  to 
remove  this  globe  by  taking  from  it  one  grain 
of  sand  at  a  time,  and  to  come  only  once  in  a 
thousand  years.  She  takes  her  first  grain,  and 
away  she  flies  on  her  long  and  weary  course  ; 
and  long,  long,  are  the  days  ere  she  returns 
again.  It  will  doubtless  seem  to  many  as  if 
she  never  would  return  ;  but,  when  a  thousand 

ears  have  rolled  away,  she  comes  panting 

ack  for  one  more  grain  of  sand :  and  this 
globe  is  again  lessened  by  just  one  grain  of  its 
almost  countless  sands.  So  the  work  goes  on  ; 
so  eternity  wears  away,  —  only  it  does  not  ex¬ 
haust  itself  a  particle.  That  little  bird  will 
one  day  have  finished  her  task,  and  the  last 
sand  will  have  been  taken  away ;  but  even  then 
eternity  will  have  only  begun.  Its  sands  are 
never  to  be  exhausted.  One  would  suppose  that 
the  angels  would  become  so  old,  so  hoary  with 
the  weight  of  centuries,  and  every  being  so  old, 
they  would  be  weary  of  life  ;  but  this  supposing 
only  shows  that  we  are  judging  of  the  effects 
of  time  in  that  eternal  state  by  its  observed 
effect  in  this  transient  world.  But  we  fail  to 
consider  that  God  made  this  world  for  a  tran¬ 
sient  life;  that  for  one  that  shall  never  pass 
away.  Taking  up  again  our  figure  of  the 
little  bird  removing  the  sands  of  our  globe,  we 
may  extend  it,  and  suppose,  that,  after  she  had 
finished  this  world,  she  takes  up  successfully 
the  other  planets  of  our  system,  —  Mercury, 
and  Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  Her- 
schel,  each  and  all  on  the  same  law, — one 
grain  each  thousand  years,  and,  when  these  are 
all  exhausted,  then  the  sun,  and  then  each  of 
the  fixed  stars,  until  the  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  those  stupendous  orbs  are  all  re¬ 
moved  and  gone.  But  even  then  eternity  is 
not  exhausted.  We  have  not  yet  even  an  ap¬ 
proximation  towards  its  end.  End  ? —  there 
is  no  end  1  That  poor  old  bird  makes  prog¬ 
ress.  Though  exceedingly  slow,  she  will  one 
day  have  done  her  appointed  task;  but  she 
will  not  even  then  have  come  any  nearer  to 
the  end  of  eternity.  Eternity!  —  who  can 
compute  it  ?  No  finite  mind ;  and  yet  this 
idea  is  not  fiction,  but  sober  fact.  There  is  no 
possible  room  for  mistake,  no  ground  for  doubt.” 

1950.  ETERNITY,  Man  without  an.  Alas  1  what 
is  man,  whether  he  be  deprived  of  that  light 
which  is  from  on  high,  or  whether  he  discard 
it  ?  A  frail  and  trembling  creature,  standing  on 
Time,  that  bleak  and  narrow  isthmus  between 
two  eternities,  he  sees  nothing  but  impene¬ 
trable  darkness  on  the  one  hand,  and  doubt, 
distrust,  and  conjecture  still  more  perplexing, 
on  the  other.  Most  gladly  would  he  take  an 
observation  as  to  whence  he  has  come,  or 
whither  he  is  going.  Alas!  he  has  not  the 
means :  his  telescope  is  too  dim,  his  compass 


too  wavering,  his  plummet  too  short.  Nor  is 
that  little  spot,  his  present  state,  one  whit 
more  intelligible,  since  it  may  prove  a  quick¬ 
sand  that  may  sink  in  a  moment  from  his  feet : 
it  can  afford  him  no  certain  reckoning  as  to 
that  immeasurable  ocean  that  he  may  have 
traversed,  or  that  still  more  formidable  one 
that  he  must.  Colton. 

1951.  ETERNITY,  no  Measurement  of.  Sup¬ 
pose,  after  one  of  our  most  violent  snow-storms, 
which  covers  the  earth  for  thousands  of  miles, 
one  single  Hake  were  melted  in  a  thousand 
years ;  or  if  a  single  beam  of  the  sun’s  rays 
stood  for  a  year,  and  as  many  years  were  added 
as  there  have  been  rays  flooding  the  earth  since 
the  sun  began  to  shine ;  or  if  a  single  drop 
of  the  ocean  were  exhaled  in  a  million  years,  till 
the  last  drop  was  taken  up,  —  though  we  can¬ 
not  conceive  the  duration  of  such  apparently 
almost  interminable  periods,  yet  though  we 
could,  eternity  would  stretch  as  far  beyond 
them  as  if  they  had  not  yet  begun.  Beecher. 

1952.  ETERNITY,  Meditating  on.  An  emi¬ 
nent  minister,  after  being  silent  in  company  a 
considerable  time,  and  being  asked  the  reason, 
signified  that  the  powers  of  his  mind  had  been 
solemnly  absorbed  with  the  thought  of  ever¬ 
lasting  happiness.  “Oh  !  my  friends,”  said  he, 
with  an  energy  that  surprised  all  present, 
“  consider  what  it  is  to  be  forever  with  the 
Lord,  —  forever,  forever,  forever.” 

1953.  ETERNITY,  Parts  of.  There  are  three 

times,  if  times  they  may  be  called,  or  parts  of 
eternity  :  the  first,  the  time  before  beginnings, 
when  the  Godhead  was  only,  without  the  being 
of  any  creature ;  the  second,  the  time  of  the 
mystery,  which  continueth  from  the  creation  to 
the  dissolution  of  the  world  ;  and  the  third, 
the  time  of  the  revelation  of  the  sons  of  God, 
which  time  is  the  last,  and  is  everlasting,  with¬ 
out  change.  Lord  Bacon. 

1951.  ETERNITY,  Preparation  for.  There  was 
a  certain  nobleman  who  kept  a  fool,  to  whom 
he  one  day  gave  a  stall’,  with  a  charge  to  keep 
it  till  he  should  meet  with  one  who  was  a  great¬ 
er  fool  than  himself.  Not  many  years  after,  the 
nobleman  fell  sick,  even  unto  death.  The  fool 
came  to  see  him.  His  sick  lord  said  to  him, 
“I  must  shortly  leave  you.”  —  “And  whither 
are  you  going? ”  said  the  fool.  “ Into  another 
world,”  replied  his  lordship.  “And  when  will 
you  return?  within  a  month?” — “No.”  — 
“  Within  a  year  ?  ” —  “  No.” —  “  When,  then  ?  ” 
— “  Never  1  ” —  “  Never  ?  ”  said  the  fool.  “And 
what  provision  hast  thou  made  for  thy  enter¬ 
tainment  there,  whither  thou  goest  ?  ” —  “  None 
at  all.” — “No  1  ”  said  the  fool ;  “none  at  all  1 
Here,  then,  take  my  stall';  for,  with  all  my 
folly,  I  am  not  guilty  of  any  folly  such  as  this.” 

Bp.  Hall. 

1955.  ETERNITY,  Progressiveness  o£  Eterni¬ 

ty  will  be  one  glorious  morning,  with  the  sun 
ever  climbing  higher  and  higher;  one  blessed 
spring-time,  and  yet  richer  summer,  —  every 
plant  in  full  flower,  but  every  flower  the  bud 
of  a  lovelier.  MelvUl. 

1956.  ETERNITY,  Question  of.  A  profligate 
young  man,  as  an  aged  hermit  passed  by  him, 


236 


ETERNITY. 


EVIDENCE. 


barefoot,  called  out  after  him,  “  Father,  what 
a  miserable  condition  you  are  in  if  there  be 
not  another  world  after  this  !  ”  —  “  True,  my 
son,”  replied  the  anchorite  ;  but  what  will 
thine  be,  if  there  be  ?  ” 

1057.  ETERNITY,  Reminder  of.  It  is  said 
that  there  is  a  parish  in  Savoy,  that  has  the 
fjllowing  placard  in  every  house :  “Under¬ 
stand  well  the  force  of  the  words :  A  God,  a 
moment,  an  eternity,  —  a  God  who  sees  thee, 
a  moment  which  flees  from  thee,  an  eternity 
which  awaits  thee ;  a  God,  whom  you  serve 
so  ill ;  a  moment,  of  which  you  so  little  profit ; 
an  eternity,  which  you  hazard  so  rashly.” 

1058.  ETERNITY,  for  Souls.  Add  together 

ages  of  ages,  multiply  them  by  the  leaves  on 
the  trees,  the  sand  on  the  seashore,  and  the 
dust  of  the  earth ;  still  you  will  be  no  nearer 
the  termination  of  Jehovah’s  existence  than 
when  you  first  began  your  calctilation.  And 
let  us  remember  that  the  duration  of  his  exist¬ 
ence  is  the  only  measure  of  our  own.  As  it 
respects  futurity,  we  are  all  as  immortal  as 
Jehovah  himself.  Dr.  Payson. 

1959.  ETERNITY,  Thoughts  of.  In  the  conse¬ 
cration  service  of  the  primitive  Church,  the 
candidate  for  the  office  of  a  bishop  was  ex¬ 
horted  to  have  eternity  in  all  his  thoughts. 
Once,  on  an  occasion  of  the  inauguration  of 
an  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  people,  stand- 
ng  on  either  side,  as  he  passed,  cried,  “  Re¬ 
member  eternity.” 

1969.  ETERNITY,  no  Time  in.  Lord  William 
Russell,  when  he  was  on  the  scaffold,  about  to 
be  beheaded,  took  his  watch  from  his  pocket, 
and  gave  it  to  Dr.  Burnett,  who  was  attending 
him,  with  the  remark,  “  My  timepiece  may  be 
of  service  to  you.  I  have  no  further  occasion 
for  it.  My  thoughts  are  fixed  on  eternity.” 

1961.  ETERNITY,  Unprepared  for.  A  lady  hav¬ 
ing  spent  an  afternoon  and  evening  at  cards 
and  in  gay  company,  when  she  returned  home, 
found  her  servant-maid  reading  a  pious  book. 
She  looked  over  her  shoulder,  and  said,  “  Poor 
melancholy  soul  1  what  pleasure  canst  thou  find 
in  poring  so  long  over  that  book  ?  ”  That 
night,  she  could  not  sleep,  but  lay  sighing 
and  weeping  very  much  ;  and  her  servant 
twice  asked  her  what  was  the  matter.  At 
length  she  burst  into  tears,  and  said,  “  Oh  !  it 
is  one  word  I  saw  in  your  book  that  troubles 
me.  There  I  saw  that  word  ‘  eternity  !  ’  Oh  ! 
how  happy  should  I  be  if  I  were  prepared  for 
eternity  1  ”  This  led  her  to  seek  earnestly  to 
be  ready  for  the  eternal  world. 

1962.  ETERNITY,  Working  for.  Apelles  the 
Grecian  painter,  when  asked  why  he  touched 
and  retouched  his  pictures  with  so  much  care, 
answered,  “  Because  I  paint  for  eternity.” 

1963.  EVANGELIST,  Female,  About  seven 
years  ago,  Mrs.  Bartlett,  one  of  the  members 
of  Mr.  Spurgeon’s  church,  took  the  charge  of  a 
class  of  senior  women,  who  met  together  every 
sabbath  in  New  Park-street  Chapel.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  months,  the  class,  which  at  first 
consisted  of  less  than  half  a  dozen  members, 
increased,  until,  at  the  opening  of  the  Metro¬ 
politan  Tabernacle,  it  numbered  fifty  persons. 


Conversions  were  numerous;  and,  in  tho 
course  of  a  short  time,  it  became  necessary  to 
hold  the  sabbath-afternoon  services  in  a  larger 
room.  The  lecture-hall,  which  will  accommo¬ 
date  about  nine  hundred  persons,  was  occupied. 
At  the  end  of  a  few  months,  there  were  three 
hundred  attendants  ;  at  the  end  of  twelve,  five 
hundred.  It  has  increased  in  numbers,  until 
the  average  attendance  is  now  between  seven 
and  eight  hundred.  The  major  portion  con¬ 
sists  of  women  between  the  ages  of  thirty  and 
seventy ;  and,  indeed,  many  who  have  been 
converted  through  Mrs.  Bartlett’s  means  are 
considerably  older  than  herself.  The  service, 
which  is  conducted  by  this  remarkable  lady 
with  only  casual  assistance,  consists  of  singing, 
a  prayer,  and  an  address,  sometimes  founded 
on  a  passage  from  Scripture,  and  as  often 
from  an  incident  which  has  occurred  during 
the  week,  and  which  has  been  impressed  on 
the  mind  of  the  teacher.  Her  class  has  con¬ 
tributed  six  hundred  members  to  the  church 
over  which  Mr.  Spurgeon  officiates,  during  the 
past  six  years ;  and  last  year  about  one  hun¬ 
dred  joined  the  church.  The  example  set 
by  this  devoted  woman  is  being  followed  by 
many  of  her  converts,  who  are  employed  in 
mission-work  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Mrs.  Bartlett  has  now  found  it  necessary  to 
make  this  mission  her  life-work ;  and  her 
undivided  attention  is  given  to  it. 

N.  Y.  Independent. 

1964.  EVANGELIST,  An  Invalid.  I  was 

appointed  to  the  village  of  B.,  and  had  jour¬ 
neyed  more  than  half  the  distance,  when  a  lo¬ 
cal  brother  inquired,  “  Where  are  you  going  ?  ” 
I  cheerfully  replied  where ;  upon  which  he  re¬ 
marked,  “  Ah  1  there  is  one  woman  there  worth 
fourteen  men.”  Having  dined  with  this  Chris¬ 
tian  sister,  she  at  once  proposed  a  visit  to  the 
sick ;  and  though  the  interim  was  brief  there 
were  two  of  special  interest.  It  being  a  lovely 
summer’s  day,  “  Would  it  be  agreeable,”  in¬ 
quired  my  friend,  “  to  hold  a  short  service  in 
the  open  air,  near  the  residence  of  an  afflicted 
saint  who  can  no  longer  go  up  to  the  house  of 
God  ?  ”  To  this  the  writer  assented.  It  was  a 
blessed  service.  She  has  a  lending  library  of 
suitable  religious  works  circulating  over  several 
villages,  visits  the  homes  of  rich  and  poor  for 
spiritual  conversations  and  prayer,  conducts 
mothers’  meetings,  and  evening  services  for 
inquirers.  She  has  on  one  or  more  occasions 
supplied  the  lack  of  the  appointed  minister 
rather  than  suffer  the  people  to  return  with¬ 
out  the  usual  sermon.  With  a  helper  such 
as  the  above  in  every  church  in  this  land,  what 
might  Christianity  accomplish !  And  yet  this 
sister  is  an  invalid.  Methodist  Times. 

1965.  EVIDENCE,  Circumstantial.  An  old  lady 
kept  a  shop  in  a  row  of  houses  bordering 
on  La  Place  St.  Michel  in  Paris.  She  was 
generally  known  to  have  a  quantity  of  money 
in  the  house.  She  had  only  one  servant, 
a  boy  who  had  been  with  her  for  a  long 
time.  She  slept  at  the  back  of  the  shop,  on 
the  ground-floor ;  and  the  boy  on  the  fourth 
story,  which  could  only  be  approached  from 


EYrDENCE. 


EVIL. 


237 


outside  the  house.  He  used  to  lock  up  the 
shop  at  night,  and  carry  away  the  key.  One 
morning,  the  door  was  observed  to  be  open 
earlier  than  usual ;  and,  as  no  one  was  seen 
moving,  some  of  the  neighbors  looked  in. 
The  door  was  not  broken.  They  found  the 
old  lady  dead  in  her  bed,  having  received  sev¬ 
eral  wounds,  as  it  seemed,  from  a  knife ;  and  a 
knife,  covered  with  blood,  was  lying  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  the  shop-floor.  In  one  hand  of  the 
corpse  was  a  thick  lock  of  hair,  and  in  the 
other  hand  a  cravat.  The  knife  and  cravat 
undoubtedly  belonged  to  the  shop-boy  ;  and 
the  lock  of  hair  exactly  resembled  his.  He 
was  charged  with  the  crime,  and  confessed  it, 
and  was  broken  on  the  wheel.  A  short  time 
afterwards,  another  boy,  in  a  wine-shop  near, 
being  taken  up  for  another  offence,  on  his 
death-bed  confessed  to  the  crime.  He  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  shop-boy  accused  of 
the  crime,  and  often  dressed  his  hair.  He 
had,  little  by  little,  collected  enough  of  hair 
from  the  comb  he  used  to  make  into  a  stout 
lock ;  and  he  had  put  it  into  the  deceased’s 
hand.  He  had  procured  one  of  the  other 
boy’s  cravats,  and  his  knife ;  and  he  had 
taken  in  wax  an  impression  of  the  key. 

Westminster  Review. 

1966.  EVIDENCE,  Conclusive.  In  a  trial  for 
murder  in  Hertfordshire,  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  the  First,  among  other  evidence  that 
the  person  had  not  committed  suicide,  but  was 
murdered,  a  witness  stated  that  there  was  the 

rint  of  a  thumb  and  four  fingers  of  a  left 

and,  in  blood,  upon  the  body.  Chief  Jus¬ 
tice.  —  How  can  you  know  the  print  of  a  left 
hand  from  the  print  of  the  right  in  such  a 
case?  Witness.  —  My  lord,  it  is  hard  to  de¬ 
scribe;  but,  if  it  please  that  honorable  judge 
to  put  his  left  hand  upon  your  left  hand,  you 
cannot  possibly  place  your  right  hand  in  the 
same  posture.  The  judges  did  so  accordingly; 
and  the  fact  was  found  to  be  as  stated  by  the 
witness.  Three  of  the  persons  indicted  for 
the  murder  were  found  guilty,  and  executed. 

Percy. 

1967.  EVIDENCE,  Weight  of.  At  one  time, 
Dr.  Wayland  was  lecturing  on  the  weight  of 
evidence  furnished  by  human  testimony.  He 
was  illustrating  its  authority  and  sufficiency 
even  for  the  establishment  of  miracles.  A 
member  of  the  class,  not  entirely  satisfied  of 
the  correctness  of  the  teaching,  suggested  a 
practical  application  of  the  doctrine.  “  What 
would  you  say,  Dr.  Wayland,  if  I  stated,  that, 
as  I  was  coming  up  College  Street,  I  saw  the 
lamp-post  at  the  corner  dance?  ”  —  “I  should 
ask  you  where  you  had  been,  my  son,”  was 
the  quiet  reply. 

1968.  EVIL,  Advantage  of.  Open  evil  at  all 
events  does  this  good :  it  keeps  good  on  the 
alert.  When  there  is  no  likelihood  of  an 
enemy’s  approaching,  the  garrison  slumber  at 
their  post. 

1969.  EVIL,  Anticipating.  Most  people  can 
bear  one  day’s  evil.  The  thing  that  breaks 
men  down  is  the  trying  to  bear  on  one  day  the 
evil  of  two  days,  twenty  days,  a  hundred 


days.  You  may  remember  the  story  of  Miss 
Jane  Taylor,  of  a  certain  clock.  The  pen¬ 
dulum  of  that  clock  began  to  calculate  how 
often  it  would  have  to  swing  backwards  and 
forwards  in  the  week  and  in  the  month  to 
come  ;  then,  working  still  further  into  futurity, 
it  calculated,  by  a  pretty  hard  exercise  of 
mental  arithmetic,  how  often  it  would  have  to 
swing  in  a  year;  and  it  got  so  frightened  at 
the  awful,  prospect,  that  it  determined  at  once 
to  stop.  There  was  something  crushing  in 
that  long  lookout.  The  pendulum  was  not 
afraid  of  a  hundred  beats,  or  of  a  thousand  ; 
but  the  prospect  of  millions  terrified  it. 

Country  Parson. 

1970.  EVIL,  Avoiding.  “  I  have  orders,  posi¬ 
tive  orders,  not  to  go  there,  —  orders  that  1  dare 
not  disobey,”  said  a  youth  who  was  being 
tempteil  to  a  smoking  and  gambling  saloon. 
“  Come  1  don’t  be  so  womanish  :  come  along 
like  a  man  1  ”  shouted  the  youths.  “  No : 
I  can’t  break  orders,”  said  John.  “  What 
special  orders  have  you  got  ?  Come,  show 
them  to  us,  if  you  can.  Show  us  the  orders.” 
John  took  a  neat  little  book  from  his 
pocket,  and  read  aloud  :  “  ‘  Enter  not  into  the 
path  of  the  wicked,  .and  go  not  in  the  way  of 
evil  men.  Avoid  it,  pass  not  by  it,  turn  from 
it,  and  pass  away  !  ’  Now,”  said  John,  “  you 
see  my  orders  forbid  my  going  with  you.  They 
are  God’s  orders ;  and  by  his  help  I  mean  to 
keep  them.” 

1971.  EVIL,  Brevities.  He  who  will  fight  the 
Devil  at  his  own  weapon  must  not  wonder  if 

he  finds  him  an  over-match.  —  South. - Fire 

a  short  time  neglected  acquires  irresistible 
force.  Better  one  thorn  plucked  out  than  that 
all  remain.  —  Horace. - There  are  no  cir¬ 

cumstances,  however  unfortunate,  that  clever 
people  do  not  extract  some  advantage  from. 

La  Rochefoucauld. 

1972.  EVIL,  Destroyed  by  Christ.  There  is  a 
fable  of  ancient  mythology,  to  the  efl’ect  that 
Apollo,  who  represents  the  sun,  killed  a  huge 
poisonous  serpent  by  arrows  surely  aimed  and 
shot  from  afiir.  It  intimates  that  sunbeams 
darting  straight  from  heaven  destroy  many 
deadly  things  that  crawl  upon  the  ground,  and 
so  make  the  world  a  safer  habitation.  The 
parable  is,  in  this  respect,  a  stroke  of  truth ; 
and  it  coincides  with  a  feature  of  the  eternal 
covenant. 

1973.  EVIL,  Definition  of.  The  truest  defini¬ 
tion  of  evil  is  that  which  represents  it  as  some¬ 
thing  contrary  to  nature.  Evil  is  evil  because 
it  is  unnatural.  A  vine  which  should  bear  olive 
berries,  an  eye  to  which  blue  seems  yellow, 
would  be  diseased.  An  unnatural  mother,  an 
unnatural  son,  an  unnatural  act,  are  the 
strongest  terms  of  condemnation. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

1974.  EVIL,  Enduring.  Augustine  has  said, 

“  One  of  the  goodliest  spectacles,  able  to  at¬ 
tract  angels  to  the  gates  of  heaven  to  behold 
it,  is  neither  theatres,  amphitheatres,  pyramids, 
nor  obelisks,  but  a  man  who  knoweth  how  to 
do  well  and  bear  ill,  and  to  vindicate  himself 
from  ill  by  doing  well.”  N.  Caussin. 


238 


EVIL. 


EVIL. 


1975.  EVIL,  for  Evil.  Tamerlane  the  Great, 

having  made  war  on  Bajazet,  Emperor  of  the 
Turks,  overthrew  him  in  battle,  and  took  him 
prisoner.  The  victor  gave  the  captive  mon¬ 
arch  at  first  a  very  civil  reception  ;  and,  enter¬ 
ing  into  familiar  conversation  with  him,  said, 
“  Now,  king,  tell  me  freely  and  truly  what 
thou  wouldst  have  done  with  me  had  I  fallen 
into  thy  power.”  Bajazet,  who  was  of  a  fierce 
and  haughty  spirit,  is  said  to  have  thus  replied, 
“  Had  the  gods  given  unto  me  the  victory, 
I  would  have  enclosed  thee  in  an  iron  cage, 
and  carried  thee  about  with  me  as  a  spectacle 
of  derision  to  the  world.”  Tamerlane  wrath- 
fully  replied,  “  Then,  proud  man,  as  thou 
wouldst  have  done  to  me,  even  so  shall  I  do 
unto  thee.”  A  strong  iron  cage  was  made, 
into  which  the  fallen  emperor  was  thrust ;  and 
thus,  exposed  like  a  wild  beast,  he  was  carried 
along  in  the  train  of  his  conqueror.  Nearly 
three  years  were  passed  by  the  once  mighty 
Bajazet  in  this  cruel  state  of  durance;  and  at 
last,  being  told  that  he  must  be  carried  into 
Tartary,  despairing  of  then  obtaining  his  free¬ 
dom,  he  struck  his  head  with  such  violence 
against  the  bars  of  his  cage  as  to  put  an  end 
to  his  wretched  life.  Percy. 

1976.  EVIL,  Good  for.  A  man  was  seen  one 
day  going  in  a  boat  on  a  river  with  a  large  dog, 
which  he  wished  to  get  rid  of  by  drowning. 
He  succeeded  in  throwing  the  animal  into  the 
water ;  but  the  creature  sought  to  re-enter  the 
boat.  As  the  man  was  attempting  to  beat  off 
the  dog  from  the  boat,  he  fell  overboard,  and 
would  have  been  drowned,  had  not  the  dog 
seized  him  by  his  coat,  and  brought  him  to  the 
shore. 

1977.  EVIL,  How  to  Avoid.  “  How  is  it  you 
never  go  with  any  bad  boy,  or  get  into  bad 
scrapes  ?  ”  asked  one  little  fellow  of  his  play¬ 
mate.  “  Oh  1  ”  said  the  other,  —  “  that’s  ’cause 
I  don’t  say  ‘  No  ’  easy.” 

1978.  EVIL,  Legend  of  Triumph  over.  The  le¬ 
gend  of  St.  George,  as  it  was  accepted  by  the 
people  and  artists  of  the  middle  ages,  runs 
thus :  He  was  a  native  of  Cappadocia,  living 
in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Diocletian,  born  of 
noble  Christian  parents,  and  a  tribune  in  the 
army.  It  is  related,  that,  in  travelling  to  join 
his  legion,  he  came  to  a  certain  city  in  Libya 
called  Selene.  The  inhabitants  of  this  city 
were  in  great  trouble  and  consternation  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  the  ravages  of  a  monstrous  dragon, 
which  issued  from  a  neighboring  lake  or  marsh, 
and  devoured  the  flocks  and  herds  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  who  had  taken  refuge  within  the  walls : 
and  to  prevent  him  from  approaching  the  city, 
the  air  of  which  was  poisoned  by  his  pestiferous 
oreath,  they  offered  him  daily  two  sheep ;  and, 
when  the  sheep  were  exhausted,  they  were 
forced  to  sacrifice  to  him  two  of  their  children 
daily,  to  save  the  rest.  The  children  were 
taken  by  lot  (all  under  the  age  of  fifteen) ; 
and  the  whole  city  was  filled  with  mourning, 
with  the  lamentations  of  bereaved  parents, 
and  the  cries  of  the  innocent  victims.  Now 
the  king  of  this  city  had  one  daughter,  exceed¬ 
ingly  fair;  and  her  name  was  Cleodolinda. 


» 

And  after  some  time,  when  many  people 
had  perished,  the  lot  fell  upon  her;  and  the 
monarch,  in  his  despair,  offered  all  his  gold  and 
treasures,  and  even  the  half  of  his  kingdom,  to 
redeem  her :  but  the  people  murmured,  saying, 
“  Is  this  just,  O  King  1  that  thou  by  thine  own 
edict  hast  made  us  desolate,  and,  behold  1  now 
thou  wouldst  withhold  thine  own  child  ?  ”  And 
they  waxed  more  and  more  wroth  ;  and  they 
threatened  to  burn  him  in  his  palace,  unless 
the  princess  was  delivered  up.  Then  the  king 
submitted,  and  asked  only  a  delay  of  eight 
days  to  bewail  her  fate ;  which  was  granted. 
And  at  the  end  of  eight  days,  the  princess,  being 
clothed  in  her  royal  robes,  was  led  forth  as  a 
victim  for  sacrifice ;  and  she  fell  at  her  father’s 
feet,  and  asked  his  blessing,  saying  that  she  was 
ready  to  die  for  her  people  :  and  then,  amid 
tears  and  lamentations,  she  was  put  forth,  and 
the  gates  shut  against  her.  Slowly  she  walked 
towards  the  dwelling  of  the  dragon,  the  path 
being  drearily  strewn  with  the  bones  of  former 
victims  ;  and  she  wept  as  she  went  on  her  way. 
Now,  at  this  time,  St.  George  was  passing  by, 
mounted  on  his  good  steed ;  and,  being  moved 
to  see  so  beautiful  a  virgin  in  tears,  he  paused 
to  ask  her  why  she  wept ;  and  she  told  him. 
And  he  said,  “  Fear  not,  for  I  will  deliver  you  1  ” 
And  she  replied,  “  O  noble  youth  1  tarry  not 
here,  lest  thou  perish  with  me,  but  fly,  I  beseech 
thee !  ”  But  St.  George  would  not. ;  and  he 
said,  “  God  forbid  that  I  should  fly  1  I  will  lift 
my  hand  against  this  loathly  tiling,  and  will 
deliver  thee  through  the  power  of  Jesus 
Christ  1  ”  At  that  moment,  the  monster  was 
seen  emerging  from  his  lair,  and  half  crawling, 
half  flying  towards  them.  Then  the  virgin 
princess  trembled  exceedingly,  and  cried  out, 
“  Fly,  I  beseech  thee,  brave  knight,  and  leave 
me  here  to  die  1  ”  But  he  answered  not ;  only 
making  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  calling  on  the 
name  of  the  Redeemer,  he  spurred  towards  the 
dragon;  and,  after  a  terrible  and  prolonged 
combat,  he  pinned  him  to  the  earth  with  his 
lance.  Then  he  desired  the  princess  to  bring 
her  girdle  :  and  he  bound  the  dragon  fast,  and 
gave  the  girdle  to  her  hand  ;  and  the  subdued 
monster  crawled  after  them  like  a  dog.  In 
this  guise,  they  approached  the  city.  The  peo¬ 
ple  being  greatly  terrified,  St.  George  called 
out  to  them,  saying,  “Fear  nothing  1  only  be¬ 
lieve  in  the  God  through  whose  might  I  have 
conquered  this  adversary,  and  be  baptized, 
and  I  will  destroy  him  before  your  eyes.”  So 
the  king  and  his  people  believed,  and  were 
baptized,  — twenty  thousand  people  in  one  day. 
Then  St.  George  slew  the  dragon,  and  cut  off 
his  head  ;  and  the  king  bestowed  great  rewards 
and  treasures  on  the  victorious  knight ;  but 
he  distributed  all  to  the  poor,  and  kept  nothing, 
and  went  on  his  way,  and  came  to  Palestine. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

1979.  EVIL,  Overcome.  A  delegate  of  the 
Christian  Commission,  passing  among  the 
wounded  at  Gettysburg,  said  to  a  wounded 
Confederate  officer,  “  Colonel,  can  I  do  any 
thing  for  you  ?  ” — “  No  1  ”  was  his  defiant  reply. 
The  offer  was  repeated,  after  a  time,  with  like 


EVIL. 


EVILS. 


239 


result.  The  air  became  offensive  from  heat 
and  wounds.  The  delegate  offered  to  put 
cologne  on  his  handkerchief.  The  officer, 
bursting  into  tears,  said,  “  I  have  no  handker¬ 
chief.  ”  -  “  You  shall  have  one,”  said  the  dele¬ 
gate,  wetting  his  own,  and  giving  it  to  him. 
'The  subdued  rebel  said,  “  I  can’t  understand 
you  Yankees  :  you  fight  us  like  devils,  and 
then  you  treat  us  like  angels.  I  am  sorry  I 
entered  this  war.” 

1980.  EVTL,  Overruled,  Robert  I  locate,  be¬ 
cause  he  could  not  enjoy  peaceably  his  small 
living  in  Lincolnshire,  on  account  of  a  quarrel¬ 
some  knight,  went  up  to  London  to  right  him¬ 
self  ;  and  there  came  into  favor  with  King 
Henry  VIII.,  and  was  at  length  appointed 
Archbishop  of  York.  What  was  intended  to  do 
him  much  harm  fell  out  to  his  great  advantage. 

1981.  EVIL,  Power  of.  I  do  not  know  why 
it  is,  that,  by  the  constitution  of  the  universe, 
evil  has  so  much  more  power  than  good  to  pro¬ 
duce  its  effect,  and  to  propagate  its  nature. 
One  drop  of  foul  will  pollute  a  whole  cup  of 
fair  water ;  but  one  drop  of  fair  water  has  no 
power  to  appreciably  improve  a  cup  of  foul. 
Sharp  pain  present  in  a  tooth  or  a  toe  will 
make  the  whole  man  miserable,  though  all  the 
rest  of  his  body  be  easy ;  but,  if  all  the  rest  of 
the  body  be  suffering,  an  easy  tooth  or  toe  will 
cause  no  perceptible  alleviation.  Dr.  Boyd. 

1982.  EVIL,  Progress  in.  As  there  is  a  law 
of  continuity,  whereby,  in  ascending,  we  can 
only  mount  step  by  step ;  so  they  who  descend 
must  sink  with  an  ever-increasing  velocity. 
No  propagation  is  more  rapid  than  that  of  evil; 
no  growth  more  certain.  He  who  is  in  for  a 
penny,  if  he  does  not  resolutely  fly,  will  find 
that  lie  is  in  for  a  pound. 

1983.  EVIL,  Resisting.  Three  little  boys 

were  playing  horse  in  the  street.  With  a  dash 
and  a  flourish,  they  came  prancing  around  the 
corner  just  by  a  grocer’s  wagon,  that  was  wait¬ 
ing  there  while  the  driver  had  gone  into  the 
house.  Quick  as  thought,  one  little  fellow 
climbed  up,  and  picked  off  a  red  apple,  which 
he  began  to  put  into  his  pocket.  “  Hold  on  !  ” 
said  one  of  the  other  boys :  “  put  that  back.”  — 
“  Why  Y  ”  —  “  Because  it  does  not  belong  to 
you.”  —  “  But  I  am  going  to  keep  it  anyway  !  ” 
was  the  dogged  reply.  “  Well,  then,  you  shall 
not  be  in  our  play,”  was  the  brave  response  ; 
and,  forthwith,  he  commenced  taking  off  “  the 
bridle.”  This  bold  treatment  produced  the  de¬ 
sired  effect.  The  little  offender  tossed  the 
apple  back,  and  off  they  all  scampered  gay  as 
larks.  This  was  standing  up  for  the  right 
bravely.  Dr.  Wise. 

1981.  EVIL,  Rewarded.  The  Bishop  of  Ver¬ 
dun  advised  King  Louis  XI.  of  France  to  have 
an  iron  cage  made,  in  which  prisoners  could  be 
confined.  It  was  so  constructed,  that  a  man 
could  neither  stand  upright,  nor  lie  down  all 
his  length  in  it;  so  that  he  must  be  always  in 
a  bent  position.  Some  time  after,  the  bishop 
displeased  the  king,  and  was  the  very  first  per¬ 
son  to  be  shut  up  in  the  cage  which  he  had 
himself  contrived ;  where  he  remained  for  four¬ 
teen  years. 


1985.  EVIL,  Society  of  the.  Sophronius,  a 
wise  teacher,  would  not  suffer  even  his  grown¬ 
up  sons  and  daughters  to  associate  with  those 
whose  conduct  was  not  pure  and  upright. 
“  Dear  father,”  said  the  gentle  Eulalia  to  him 
one  day,  when  he  forbade  her,  in  company 
with  her  brother,  to  visit  the  volatile  Lucinda,, 
—  “  dear  father,  you  must  think  us  very  child¬ 
ish  if  you  imagine  that  we  should  be  exposed  to 
danger  by  it.”  The  father  took  in  silence  a 
dead  coal  from  the  hearth,  and  reached  it  to  his 
daughter.  “  It  will  not  burn  you,  my  child : 
take  it.”  Eulalia  did  so,  and,  behold  !  her 
beautiful  white  hand  was  soiled  and  blackened, 
and,  as  it  chanced,  her  white  dress  also.  “  We 
cannot  be  too  careful  in  handling  coals,”  said 
Eulalia  in  vexation.  “  Yes,  truly  1  ”  said  the 
father.  “  You  see,  my  child,  the  coals,  even  if 
they  do  not  burn,  blacken :  so  it  is  with  th^ 
company  of  the  vicious.” 

1986.  EVIL,  Triumph  of.  When  the  fierce 
Tamerlane  went  forth  to  his  terrible  battles, 
he  used  to  require  of  his  soldiery  a  certain 
number  of  human  heads  to  be  brought  to  him. 
These  he  had  curiously  piled  up  into  columns 
anil  pyramids,  so  that  he  might  gloat  his  eyes 
on  the  ghastly  faces  of  his  conquered  enemies. 
And  so,  with  jests  and  shouts,  the  rude  sol¬ 
diers  wrought  on  the  terrible  pile.  On  the 
ruins  of  Bagdad,  a  pyramid  was  erected,  con¬ 
taining  thirty  thousand  human  skulls.  They 
were  arranged  in  symmetrical  order,  and  pre¬ 
sented  every  variety  of  human  anguish  and 
despair.  Oh !  what  a  fearful  sight  it  must 
have  been  1  Who  could  have  had  a  heart 
hard  enough  to  look  upon  it?  Yet  this  savage 
Tartar  rejoieed  in  the  sight.  It  was  the  most 
beautifid  object  in  the  world  to  him.  The 
greater  his  pyramid,  the  grander  he  considered 
his  conquest. 

1987.  EVILS,  Advantage  of.  One  shipwreck 

is  worth  a  thousand  sermons  to  demonstrate 
the  instability  of  fortune  ;  one  death  in  a  fami¬ 
ly  is  worth  a  thousand  homilies  to  prove  the 
transitoriness  of  earthly  blessing ;  the  hiding 
of  our  patron’s  countenance  will  sooner  blanch 
the  cheek  of  ambition  than  the  tragedy  of 
Wolsey’s  fall ;  one  falsehood  detected will  read 
a  better  lesson  upon  truth ;  one  hypocrisy  un¬ 
covered,  one  stratagem  outwitted,  one  crime 
punished  in  our  own  person,  will  do  more  to 
put  the  soul  to  shame  and  confusion,  and  pre¬ 
pare  it  for  reason  and  reflection,  for  faith  and 
repentance,  than  many  sermons  and  many 
prayers.  E.  Jrring. 

1988.  EVILS,  Compensation  of.  The  thunder¬ 
storm,  that  wields  the  bolt  of  death,  refreshes 
the  parched  earth,  and  purifies  the  air.  The 
force  of  gravitation,  which  causes  concussions, 
and  renders  a  fall  often  fatal,  serves  to  keep  all 
movable  things  stable  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth  :  otherwise,  every  living  thing  might  be 
thrown  off  by  its  rotations.  The  winds  that, 
sometimes,  concentrating  their  forces,  produce 
storms  and  hurricanes,  or  lash  the  sea  into 
foam,  and  carry  down  our  floating  castles  to 
destruction,  bear  on  their  hosom  the  moisten¬ 
ing  vapors  which  render  earth  fertile,  and 


240 


TCVTL.S. 


EXAJMPLK. 


air  soil  and  balmy.  They  disperse,  too,  tne  I 
pestilential  exhalations  that  arise  from  fetid 
and  decaying  matter ;  thus  shedding  from 
their  tyings  the  dews  of  life,  and  carrying 
away  vapors  of  death  to  be  purified  and  ren¬ 
dered  harmless  by  fresh  chemical  combina¬ 
tions.  Yea,  even  those  convulsive  movements 
which  arise  from  unseen  workings  of  Nature’s 
dark  laboratory,  —  earthquakes  and  upheav- 
ings  —  that  sometimes  spread  destruction  in 
their  course,  are  merciful  provisions  against 
the  wear  and  tear  of  ages,  which,  by  their  dis¬ 
integrating  process  would  level  the  earth  into  a 
plain,  and  cover  it  with  ocean.  T.  Ragg. 

1980.  EVILS,  Views  of.  Evils  in  the  journey 
of  life  are  like  the  hills  which  alarm  travellers 
upon  their  road  :  they  both  appear  great  at  a 
distance,  but,  when  we  approach  them,  we  find 
that  they  are  far  less  insurmountable  than  we 
had  conceived.  Colton. 

1900.  EXAGGERATION,  Habit  of  The  habit 
of  exaggeration,  like  dram-drinking,  becomes 
a  slavish  necessary  ;  and  they  who  practise  it 
pass  their  lives  in  a  kind  of  mental  telescope, 
through  whose  magnifying  medium  they  look 
upon  themselves  and  every  thing  around  them. 

J.  B.  Owen. 

1991.  EXAGGERATION,  Weakness  of  I  knew 
a  lady  whose  screams  at  the  sight  of  a  spider 
were  almost  as  loud  as  if  the  house  were  on 
fire,  and  a  gentleman  who  seldom  spoke  of  a 
common  shower  without  using  the  expression, 

“  It  rained  cats  and  dogs ;  ”  and  the  conse¬ 
quence  was,  that  the  scream  of  the  one  sel¬ 
dom  alarmed  me,  and  the  description  of  the 
other  seldom  surprised  me.  Young  people 
will  soon  be  aware,  if  their  teachers  are  in  the 
habit,  in  this  sense,  in  making  much  out  of 
little.  Avoid  all  exaggeration,  and  be  sober, 
modest,  and  truthful  in  all  your  observations. 
A  whining  beggar,  who  took  up  his  accustomed 
stand  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  accosted  a 
Quaker,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  passing  that 
way.  “  Have  pity  upon  me  1  ”  said  he,  “  and 
give  me  a  halfpenny  to  buy  me  a  bit  of  bread  ; 
for  I  have  not  broken  my  fast  to-day.”  —  “I 
should  pity  thee,”  replied  the  Quaker,  “  if  I 
believed  thee ;  but,  as  thou  hast  said  exactly 
the  same  thing  every  day  lor  the  last  fort¬ 
night,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  word  of  truth 
in  thy  story.  Mogridge. 

1992.  EXAMINATION,  Daily.  Seneca  tells 
of  a  Roman  that  kept  his  soul  as  clean  as  the 
best  housewife  keeps  her  house ;  every  night 
sweeping  out  the  dust,  and  washing  all  the 
vessels,  examining  his  own  soul :  “  YVhat  infir¬ 
mity  hast  thou  healed  ?  What  fault  hast  thou 
done,  and  not  repented  ?  In  what  degree  art 
thou  bettered  ?  ”  Then  he  would  lie  down,  ex¬ 
claiming,  “  With  how  welcome  sleep,  and  how 
quiet  rest,  do  I  entertain  the  night  1  ”  It  were 
to  be  wished  that  all  men  would  do  the  like,  — 
keep  a  daybook  of  all  their  actions  and  trans¬ 
actions  with  the  world ;  commune  with  their 
own  hearts  ;  sum  up  the  words  and  works  of  I 
the  day  passed  with  an  Omnia  bene !  as  church¬ 
wardens  were  wont  to  do  when  they  gave  up 
their  presentments :  then  would  their  night’s 


rest  be  quiet,  and  they  lie  down  in  safety ;  for 
God  himself  would  keep  them.  Spencer. 

1993.  EXAMPLE,  Boasting  of  A  man  boast¬ 
ed  of  his  constant  attendance  at  church  ;  but 
it  was  found  that  he  slept  most  of  the  time 
while  there.  Another  bestowed  many  words  of 
sympathy  on  a  poorly-clad  woman,  and  ended 
by  promising  her  a  sixpence  next  time  they 
met.  His  companion,  without  saying  any 
thing,  placed  a  half-crown  in  the  poor  woman’s 
hand.  Some  laborers  suspected  one  of  their 
number  of  going  to  the  bottle  oftener  than  he 
ought,  and  blacked  its  mouth  to  detect  him. 
Soon  there  was  a  cry  that  somebody  had  been 
at  the  bottle ;  when  the  drinker  with  a  black 
ring  round  his  lips  bawled  out,  that  he  was 
innocent  of  it  as  the  child  that  was  unborn. 
“  We  might  have  believed  you,”  replied  his 
companions,  “  only,  loud  as  your  tongue  is, 
your  lips  are  a  great  deal  louder.” 

1994.  EXAMPLE,  Christ  our.  men  Alex¬ 
ander  the  Great  marched  through  Persia,  his 
way  was  stopped  with  ice  and  snow.  His 
soldiers  became  tired  out  with  hard  marching, 
and,  being  discouraged,  would  have  gone  no 
farther;  but  he,  perceiving  it,  dismounted  from 
his  horse,  and  made  his  way  through  the  ice 
in  the  midst  of  them  all  with  a  pickaxe.  They 
were  all  ashamed ;  and  his  friends,  the  cap¬ 
tains  of  the  army,  and,  lastly,  the  common 
soldiers,  followed  him.  So  should  all  men 
follow  Christ  by  that  rough  and  unpleasant 
way  of  the  cross ;  he  having  left  them  an  ex¬ 
ample,  they  are  to  follow  in  his  steps. 

Spencer. 

1995.  EXAMPLE,  Copying.  Some  time  ago,  a 

boy  went  home  from  a  ragged-school  with  his 
dirty  face  washed  clean.  His  mother,  at  first, 
hardly  recognized  her  own  son,  so  magic  was 
the  change.  However,  it  pleased  her ;  and 
very  soon  she  washed  her  face.  Her  husband, 
returning  from  his  daily  work,  was  no  less 
struck  with  the  marvellous  change  in  her  ap¬ 
pearance  ;  and  he'  took  it  up,  and  washed  away 
his  hardened  coat  of  grim  and  dust :  so  it 
spread  through  the  whole  family ;  and  the 
neighbors  saw  it  and  admired.  And  the  dark 
and  dismal  alley,  so  long  the  abode  of  dirt  and 
filth,  became  an  amusing  but  instructive  in¬ 
stance  of  what  often  follows  from  copying 
what  we  see  in  others.  Bowes. 

1996.  EXAMPLE,  a  Demonstration.  Mathema¬ 
ticians  demonstrate  their  theorems  by  schemes 
and  diagrams,  which,  in  effect,  are  but  sensible 
instances ;  orators  back  their  eutkymemes  (or 
rational  argumentations)  with  inductions  (or 
singular  examples)  ;  philosophers  allege  the 
practice  of  Socrates,  Zeno,  and  the  like  per¬ 
sons  of  famous  wisdom  and  virtue,  to  authorize 
their  doctrine ;  politics  and  civil  prudence  is 
more  easily  and  sweetly  drawn  out  of  good 
history  than  out  of  books  “  De  Republica.” 
Artificers  describe  models,  and  set  patterns 
before  their  disciples,  with  greater  success 
than  if  they  should  deliver  accurate  rules  and 
precepts  to  them ;  for  who  would  not  more 
readily  learn  to  build  by  viewing  carefully  the 
parts  and  framework  of  a  well-contrived  struc- 


EXAMPLE. 


EXAMPLE. 


241 


turf,  than  by  a  studious  inquiry  into  the  rules 
of  architecture  ?  or  to  draw,  by  setting  a  good 
picture  before  him,  than  by  merely  speculat¬ 
ing  upon  the  laws  of  perspective  V  or  to  write 
fairly  and  expeditely  by  imitating  one  good 
copy,  than  by  hearkening  to  a  thousand  oral 
prescriptions,  the  understanding  of  which,  a 
faculty  of  applying  them  to  practice,  may  prove 
more  difficult  and  tedious  than  the  whole  prac¬ 
tice  itself  as  directed  by  a  copy  ?  Dr.  Barrow. 

11)07.  EXAMPLE,  Educational.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  a  good  example  doth  far  more  effect¬ 
ually  instruct  than  good  precepts ;  because  it 
doth  not  only  express  the  same  virtues  that 
the  precepts  enjoin,  but  also  expresses  them 
with  much  more  grace  and  emphasis.  For 
whereas  precepts  and  discourses  of  virtue  are 
only  the  dead  pictures  and  artificial  landscapes 
and  descriptions  of  it,  a  virtuous  example  is 
virtue  itself,  informed  and  animated,  alive 
and  in  motion,  exerting  and  exhibiting  itself 
in  all  its  natural  charms  and  graces.  And, 
therefore,  as  we  know  a  man  much  better 
when  we  see  him  alive,  and  in  action,  than 
when  we  only  see  his  picture ;  so  we  under¬ 
stand  virtue  much  better  when  we  see  it  living, 
and  acting  in  a  good  example,  than  when  we 
only  behold  it  described  and  pictured  in  vari¬ 
ous  precepts  and  discourses.  J.  Scott. 

1998.  EXAMPLE,  Fatal.  A  man  who  bore 
the  reputation  of  a  Christian  at  home,  being 
in  the  city,  went  to  the  theatre,  thinking  the 
act  would  never  be  known.  Some  years  after, 
he  was  sent  for  to  visit  a  dying  man.  This 
man  charged  him  with  the  ruin  of  his  soul. 
While  young,  he  had  seen  the  professed  Chris¬ 
tian  enter  the  'theatre,  and  followed  his  exam- 

le ;  saying  to  himself,  that,  if  a  ehurch-mem- 

er  and  Sunday-school  superintendent  could 
do  this,  he  could.  He  had  become  hardened 
in  sin,  and  now  lay  hopeless  in  death,  but  felt 
that  the  crisis  of  his  life  was  that  fatal  ex¬ 
ample. 

1999.  EXAMPLE,  A  Father’s.  A  young 
minister,  when  about  to  be  ordained,  stated, 
that,  at  one  period  of  his  life,  he  was  nearly  an 
infidel.  “  But,”  said  he,  “  there  was  one  ar¬ 
gument  in  favor  of  Christianity  which  I  could 
never  refute,  —  the  consistent  conduct  of  my 
father.” 

2000.  EXAMPLE,  Known  by  Our.  At  Oxford, 
some  twenty  years  ago,  a  tutor  of  one  of  the 
colleges  limped  in  his  walk.  Stopping  one 
day  last  summer  at  a  railway  station,  he  was 
accosted  by  a  well-known  politician,  who  recog¬ 
nized  him,  and  asked  if  he  was  not  the  chap¬ 
lain  of  the  college  at  such  a  time,  naming 
the  year.  The  doctor  replied,  that  he  was.  “  I 
was  there,”  said  his  interrogator ;  “  and  I  knew 
you  by  your  limp.”  — “  Well,”  said  the  doctor, 
“  it  seems  my  limping  made  a  deeper  impres¬ 
sion  on  you  than  my  preaching.”  —  “  Ah, 
doctor !  ”  was  the  reply :  “  it  is  the  highest 
compliment  you  can  pay  a  minister  to  say  he 
is  known  by  his  walk  rather  than  by  his  con¬ 
versation.” 

2001.  EXAMPLE,  Good.  As  they  who  deck 
themselves  have  the  looking-glass  before  their 

16 


eyes ;  so  they  who  go  about  any  worthy  thing 
must  have  the  example  of  worthy  men  in  mind, 
and  do  it  in  that  manner  that  others  may  not 
scorn  to  make  them  their  example.  Cawdray. 

2002.  EXAMPLE,  A  Martyr’s.  A  young  man 
named  Jones  came  to  Bishop  Farrar  a  few 
days  before  he  suffered,  and  lamented  the 
painfulness  of  the  death  prepared  for  him. 
The  bishop,  in  faith,  relying  upon  the  extraor¬ 
dinary  support  vouchsafed  to  those  who  were 
thus  publicly  called  to  seal  their  testimony 
with  their  blood,  told  the  youth  to  mark  him 
while  suffering  that  painful  death,  and,  if  he 
saw  him  once  stir,  then  to  give  no  credit  to  the 
doctrines  he  had  preached.  Jones  adds,  “  And 
as  he  said,  so  he  right  well  performed  tfce 
same  :  for  so  patiently  he  stood,  that  he  never 
moved  ;  but  even  as  he  stood,  holding  up  his 
stumps,  so  still  he  continued,  till  one  Richard 
Gravell  with  a  staff  dashed  him  upon  the  head, 
and  struck  him  down.”  Bowes. 

2093.  EXAMPLE,  Maternal.  A  young  infidel 
was  one  night  in  bed,  contemplating  the  char¬ 
acter  of  his  mother.  “  I  see,”  said  he  within 
himself,  “  two  unquestionable  facts.  First,  my 
mother  is  greatly  afflicted  in  circumstances, 
body  and  mind  ;  and  I  see  that  she  cheerfully 
bears  up  under  all  by  the  support  she  derives 
from  constantly  retiring  to  her  closet  and  her 
Bible.  Secondly,  that  she  has  a  secret  spring 
of  comfort  of  which  I  know  nothing ;  while  I, 
who  give  an  unbounded  loose  to  my  appetites, 
and  seek  pleasure  by  every  means,  seldom  or 
never  find  it.  If,  however,  there  is  any  such 
secret  in  religion,  why  may  not  I  attain  to  it  as 
well  as  my  mother  ?  I  will  immediately  seek 
it  of  God.”  Thus  the  influence  of  Christianity, 
exhibited  in  its  beauty  by  a  living  example 
before  him,  led  Richard  Cecil  to  know  Christ 
himself,  and  to  glorify  him  by  a  life  of  most 
successful  devotion  to  his  service.  Morse. 

2001.  EXAMPLE,  Parental.  The  ancient 
Romans  were  accustomed  to  place  the  busts 
of  their  distinguished  ancestors  in  the  vesti¬ 
bules  of  their  houses,  that  they  might  be  con¬ 
tinually  reminded  of  their  noble  deeds.  They 
supposed  that  a  recollection  of  their  illustrious 
virtues  would  lead  to  the  imitation  of  the 
same  by  all  the  living  members  of  their  house¬ 
holds.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  influence 
of  this  practice  was  most  happy  upon  the 
living,  awakening  in  many  breasts  high  and 
noble  aspirations.  At  any  rate,  history  records 
the  names  of  many  renowned  Romans,  who 
descended  from  the  families  in  which  this  cus¬ 
tom  was  observed.  The  young  grew  up  to 
reverence  the  worthies  whose  statues  they 
daily  saw,  and  to  emulate  the  virtues  which 
gave  their  ancestors  such  lasting  fame.  In 
these  days,  we  have  no  busts  of  honored  an¬ 
cestors  in  the  porches  of  our  dwellings ;  but 
we  have  something  more  impressive.  The 
characters  of  living  parents  are  constantly 
presented  for  the  imitation  of  children.  Their 
example  is  continually  sending  forth  a  silent 
power  to  mould  young  hearts  for  good  or  ill ; 
not  for  a  single  month  or  year,  but  through 
the  whole  impressible  period  of  childhood  and 


242 


■KXAJVnPLK. 


EXCESS. 


youth,  the  influence  of  parental  example  is 
thus  felt.  If  it  be  constituted  of  the  highest 
and  purest  elements,  the  results  will  be  un¬ 
speakably  precious.  Sons  and  daughters  will 
become  patterns  of  propriety  and  goodness, 
because  their  parents  are  such. 

2005.  EXAMPLE,  Paternal.  A  mother  relates 
the  following :  “  As  I  was  about  to  enter  my 
nursery,  to  look  after  my  little  ones,  I  observed 
the  youngest,  a  boy  three  years  of  age,  look¬ 
ing  over  a  book,  which  he  had  taken  from 
a  shelf,  resembling  a  family  Bible  used  before 
morning  and  evening  prayer.  Struck  with 
the  unusual  solemnity  of  his  manner,  I  watched 
his  movements.  With  great  precision  and 
apparent  devotion,  he  went  through  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  reading  and  singing,  and  kneeling  for 
prayer,  in  imitation  of  his  father’s  daily  ex¬ 
ample.  And  never  was  manner,  voice,  or 
gesture  more  properly  copied.  Trifling  as 
was  this  circumstance,  so  deep  and  solemn 
was  the  impression  made  upon  my  mind,  that 
to  this  time  I  feel  myself  mentally  exclaiming, 
‘  What  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be  in 
all  holy  conversation  and  godliness  !  ’  ” 

2006.  EXAMPLE,  and  Precept.  It  was  Xeno¬ 

phon’s  observation,  grounded  upon  his  own 
experience,  that  the  memory  of  Socrates’  con¬ 
versation  did  greatly  profit  his  acquaintance. 
And  Seneca  saith,  that  the  crowd  of  philoso¬ 
phers  which  followed  the  same  wise  man 
derived  more  of  their  ethics  from  his  manners 
than  his  words.  And  he  that  shall  reflect 
upon  the  story  concerning  his  behavior,  when 
he  was  by  malicious  envy  persecuted  to  death, 
may,  perhaps,  be  more  edified  thereby  than  by 
all  his  subtle  discourses  about  death  and  the 
soul’s  state  after  it.  Dr.  Barrow. 

2007.  EXAMPLE,  versus  Preoept.  A  system 
of  precepts,  though  exquisitely  compacted,  is, 
in  comparison,  but  a  skeleton,  —  a  dry,  meagre, 
lifeless  bulk ;  exhibiting  nothing  of  person, 
place,  time,  manner,  degree,  wherein  chiefly 
the  flesh  and  blood,  the  color  and  graces,  the 
life  and  soul  of  things,  consist,  whereby  they 
please,  effect,  and  move  us :  but  example  im¬ 
parts  thereto  a  goodly  corpulency,  a  life,  a 
motion  ;  renders  it  conspicuous  and  active, 
transforming  its  national  universality  into  the 
reality  of  singular  subsistence.  Dr.  Barrow. 

2008.  EXAMPLE,  Primitive.  Justin  Martyr 

confesses,  that  he  left  philosophy,  and  became 
a  Christian  scholar,  through  the  admiration 
that  he  had  to  behold  the  innocent  and  godly 
lives  of  the  primitive  Christians;  hearing  them 
pray  unto  God  for  the  good  and  welfare  of 
those,  who,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  sought 
their  ruin.  Spencer. 

2009.  EXAMPLE,  Power  of.  When  native 
converts  on  the  Island  of  Madagascar  used  to 
present  themselves  for  baptism,  it  was  often 
asked  of  them,  “  What  first  led  you  to  think 
of  becoming  Christians.  Was  it  a  particular 
sermon  or  address,  or  the  reading  of  God’s 
Word?”  The  answer  usually  was,  that  the 
changed  conduct  of  others  who  had  become 
Christians  was  what  first  arrested  their  atten¬ 
tion.  “  I  knew  this  man  to  be  a  thief ;  that  one 


was  a  drunkard  ;  another  was  very  cruel  and 
unkind  to  his  family.  Now  they  are  all 
changed.  The  thief  is  an  honest  man,  the 
drunkard  is  sober  and  respectable,  and  the 
other  is  gentle  and  kind  in  his  home.  There 
must  be  something  in  a  religion  that  can  work 
such  changes.”  S.  S.  Times. 

2010.  EXAMPLE,  Reproved.  A  gentleman 
engaged  in  a  large  manufacturing  concern  was 
in  the  practice  of  taking  frequent  journeys  in 
connection  with  his  business;  and,  in  order  to 
hasten  his  return  to  his  family,  he  not  unfre- 
quently  travelled  on  the  evenings  of  the  Lord’s 
Day.  His  little  boy,  on  one  of  these  occasions, 
said  to  his  mamma,  “  How  is  it  that  dear  papa, 
who  is  such  a  good  man,  travels  on  Sunday  ?  ” 
—  “  My  dear,  it  is  because  he  has  so  much  to  do. 
If  he  acted  otherwise,  he  would  not  have  ‘  a 
minute  to  spare  ’  for  his  family.”  —  “  Mamma, 
does  God  allow  us  to  break  his  commandments 
when  it  seems  necessary  to  do  so  ?  ”  On  his 
return,  Mrs.  M.  related  to  her  husband  the 
child’s  remarks.  “  My  dear,  it  is  the  last  time. 
Tell  my  boy  I  stand  corrected.  I  trust,  I  shall 
never  again  do  what  may  prove  a  stumbling- 
block  to  our  children.  They  shall  never  have 
to  say  that  their  lather’s  example  led  them 
astray.” 

2011.  EXAMPLE,  Self-propagating.  Example  is 

like  the  press:  a  thing  done  is  the  thought 
printed;  it  may  be  repeated  if  it  cannot  be 
recalled ;  it  has  gone  forth  with  a  selftpropa- 
gating  power,  and  may  run  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  and  descend  from  generation  to  genera¬ 
tion.  H.  Melvill. 

2012.  EXAMPLE,  Triumph  of.  A  soldier  in 
a  Massachusetts  regiment  was  often  asked  by 
his  comrades  to  join  them  in  “  taking  a  drink  ” 
or  “  a  game  of  cards.”  But  he  steadily  re¬ 
fused,  until  it  became  a  sort  of  joke  to  solicit 
him.  Finally,  angered  by  his  quiet  “  No,” 
one  asked  him  why  he  declined  mingling  with 
them  in  these  pleasures,  and  inquired  if  he 
considered  himself  “  too  good  ”  to  take  a  so¬ 
cial  glass  with  his  fellows.  “  Not  too  good,” 
he  replied  pleasantly ;  “  but  I  promised  my  old 
father  and  mother  that  I  would  never  touch 
a  card  or  drink  a  glass  of  liquor  in  camp.” 
His  companions  ridiculed  him  with  fearful 
oaths ;  but  he  held  his  peace :  and,  finding  he 
would  not  retaliate,  they  gradually  ceased  to 
annoy  him.  But  soon  their  games  of  cards 
seemed  to  have  lost  their  fascination,  and  the 
social  glass  parted  with  its  old  relish,  until, 
eventually,  more  than  half  the  number  aban¬ 
doned  both. 

2013.  EXCESS,  Brevities.  Violent  fires  soon 

burn  out  themselves.  —  Shakspeare. - The 

misfortune  is,  that,  when  man  has  found  honey, 
he  enters  upon  the  feast  with  an  appetite  so 
voracious,  that  he  usually  destroys  his  own  de¬ 
light  by  excess  and  satiety  —  Knox. Every 

inordinate  cup  is  unblest,  and  the  ingredient 

is  a  devil.  —  Shakspeare. - Too  much  is 

stark  nought.  —  W elsh. - One  may  be  sur¬ 

feited  with  eating  tarts.  Gentleness  does  more 

than  violence.  —  French. - Soon  fire,  soon 

ashes.  —  Dutch. - A  bow  overbent  will 


EXCESS. 


weaken.  Extremes  meet.  Too  far  east  is 
west.  A  baited  cat  may  grow  as  fierce  as  a 
lion.  English. 

2014.  EXCESS,  Evils  of.  Honey  is  delight¬ 
ful  ;  but  too  much  breeds  choler  and  disease. 
Fragrant  flowers  are  sweet  to  smell,  and,  mod¬ 
erately  used,  refresh  the  brain;  but  excess 
causes  headache.  Light  is  pleasant  to  the 
eyes;  but  too  much  staring  into  sunbeams 
dazzles  or  blinds  them.  Moderate  joys  and 
delights  are  ever  best,  least  hurtful,  most  con¬ 
tentful,  and  comfortable  to  our  spirits ;  where¬ 
as  intemperance,  immoderateness,  and  excess 
mar  all  pleasure  and  delight,  though  them¬ 
selves  never  so  pleasant  and  delightful. 

Spencer. 

2015.  EXCELLENCE,  Attainment  of.  The 
man  who  would  excel  must  be  judicious  in  the 
allotment,  and  diligent  in  the  improvement, 
of  his  time.  It  was  a  maxim  of  the  Latins, 
that  “  no  one  reached  the  summit  of  honor, 
unless  he  prudently  used  his  time.”  This 
prudent  use  of  time,  rather  than  any  extraor¬ 
dinary  natural  power,  has  been  the  secret  of 
success,  in  a  vast  majority  of  instances,  among 
those  who  have  been  distinguished  for  extraor¬ 
dinary  parts,  and  have  accomplished  extraor- 
dinary  results.  When  Luther  was  asked  how- 
he  had  found  time  to  translate  the  Bible, 
he  said,  “  I  did  a  little  every  day.”  The  well- 
known  habits  of  Wesley  with  reference  to  the 
use  of  his  time  are  a  striking  characteristic  of 
the  man,  and  give  us  the  key  to  his  success. 
They  tell  us  how,  in  addition  to  all  his  other 
labors,  he  wrote  and  prepared  for  the  press 
more  books  than  most  men  find  time  to  read. 
I  remember  reading  somewhere  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  a  picture,  representing  a  man  at  the 
base  of  a  mountain,  with  his  coat  and  hat 
upon  the  ground,  delving  into  it  with  a  pick¬ 
axe  :  above  him  the  motto,  “  Little  by  little.” 
Let  this  be  the  motto  of  him  that  would  ex¬ 
cel.  Slowly,  and  amidst  many  discourage¬ 
ments,  may  the  fabric  rise ;  but  its  fair  pro¬ 
portions  will  at  length  shine  forth  in  the 
“  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.” 

Bp.  Clark. 

2016.  EXCITEMENT,  Illumination  of  The 

soul’s  hours  of  strong  excitement  are  its  lumi¬ 
nous  hours,  its  mountains  of  vision,  from 
which  it  looks  over  the  landscape  of  life  with 
unobstructed  gaze.  And  the  observations  it 
then  takes,  and  the  judgments  it  forms,  as 
far  transcend  the  scope  and  truth  of  its  ordi¬ 
nary  sight  and  reasoning,  as  the  view  from 
the  seaward-looking  mountain  transcends  the 
view  from  the  pent-up  valley.  Beecher. 

2017.  EXCITEMENT,  Real.  The  religious  ex¬ 
citement  in  the  army  was  often  very  great. 
Dr.  Patterson  says,  “  The  faces  and  utterances 
of  the  men  denoted  the  deepest  feelings.  I 
had  not  been  accustomed  to  so  much  excite¬ 
ment  at  home,  and  so  expressed  myself  to  an 
officer  present.  ‘  You  should  have  heard 
them  express  their  feelings,’  said  he,  ‘when, 
with  the  skirmish  line,  they  took  the  enemy’s 
works  at  Dabney’s  Mills.’  It  did  seem  as  if 
they  were  wrestling  in  mortal  conflict  with 


excuses.  243 

sin.”  Real  battle  is  always  attended  by 
excitement. 

2018.  EXCITEMENT,  Use  of  Many  men 
confound-  moral  excitements  with  those  of 
their  passions,  and  think  it  not  prudent  to 
act  upon  their  feelings.  They  wait  till  ex¬ 
citement  has  cooled.  The  excitement  of  pas¬ 
sion  should  cool,  but  of  the  nobler  powers 
never.  I  should  as  soon  think  of  saying  to 
the  workmen  at  a  foundry,  “  Why  do  you 
pour  that  liquid,  scintillating  iron  into  the 
mould  ?  why  do  you  not  wait  till  it  is  cold 
before  you  do  it  ?  ”  as  of  asking  a  man  if  he 
heeded  his  convictions  and  his  judgments  of 
moral  truths  when  his  intellect  was  roused 
and  his  heart  on  fire.  If  he  waits  till  he  has 
cooled  down,  they  will  be  as  dross  and  cin¬ 
ders  compared  to  what  they  would  have  been 
when  his  heart  throbbed,  and  was  alive  with 
blessed  excitement.  Beecher. 

2010.  EXCUSES,  Common.  Just  after  Bun- 
van’s  Christian  had  left  the  cross,  he  found 
three  men  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  fast  asleep, 
with  fetters  upon  their  heels.  Their  names  were 
Simple,  Sloth,  and  Presumption,  —  apt  types 
of  the  different  classes  of  men  who  put  off 
gospel  offers  with  vain  excuses.  When  urged 
by  Christian  to  awake  and  rise,  Simple  said, 
“I  see  no  danger;”  Sloth  said,  “  Yet  a  little 
more  sleep ;  ”  and  Presumption  said,  “  Every 
vat  must  stand  upon  its  own  bottom.”  And  so 
they  lay  down  to  sleep  again,  and  Christian 
went  on  his  way. 

2020.  EXCUSES,  Example  of  The  Duke  of 

Ossuna,  Viceroy  of  Naples,  passing  through 
Barcelona,  went  on  board  the  Cape  galley ; 
and,  passing  through  the  crew  of  slaves,  he 
asked  several  of  them  what  their  offences 
were.  Every  one  excused  himself  upon  vari¬ 
ous  pretences  :  one  said  he  was  put  in  out  of 
malice,  another  by  bribery  of  the  judge  ;  but 
all  of  them  unjustly.  The  duke  came  at  last 
to  a  sturdy  little  black  man,  whom  he  ques¬ 
tioned  as  to  what  he  was  there  for  ?  “  My  lord,” 
said  he,  “  I  cannot  deny  but  I  am  justly  put  in 
here ;  for  I  wanted  money,  and  so  took  a  purse 
near  Tarragona,  to  keep  me  from  starving.” 
The  duke,  on  hearing  this,  gave  him  two  or 
three  blows  on  the  shoulder  with  his  stick, 
saying,  “  You  rogue  1  what  are  you  doing 
among  so  many  honest,  innocent  men  ?  Get 
you  out  of  their  company.”  The  poor  fellow 
was  then  set  at  liberty,  while  the  rest  were  left 
to  tug  at  the  oar.  Percy. 

2021.  EXCUSES,  Proverbs.  He  that  does 
amiss  never  lacks  excuse.  Any  excuse  will  serve 
when  one  has  not  a  mind  to  do  a  tiling.  — 

Italian. - The  archer  that  shoots  ill  has  a 

lie  ready.  —  Spanish. - He  that  excuses 

himself  accuses  himself.  —  French. - A  bad 

workman  always  complains  of  his  tools.  “  Who 
can  help  sickness  ?  ”  quoth  the  drunken  wife 
when  she  lay  in  the  gutter.  English. 

2022.  EXCUSES,  Ready.  A  cat,  having  been 
once  taken  in  a  net,  promised  a  rat  which  had 
released  him,  never  more  to  eat  either  rats  or 
mice.  It  happened,  one  day,  that  he  caught  a 
bat  in  a  barn.  Master  Grimalkin  was  at  first 


244 


EXCUSES. 


EXPEDIENCY. 


puzzled ;  out  he  was  not  puzzled  very  long. 
“  I  dare  not  eat  you  as  a  mouse,”  said  he ; 
“  but  I  will  devour  you  as  a  bird.”  With  this 
conscientious  distinction,  he  made  a  good  din¬ 
ner  of  it. 

2023.  EXCUSES,  Reported  to  God.  A  little 
boy  on  his  death-bed,  urging  his  lather  to  re¬ 
pentance,  said,  “  Father,  I  am  going  to  heaven  : 
what  shall  E  tell  Jesus  is  the  reason  why  you 
won’t  love  him  ?  ” 

2024.  EXCUSES,  Useless.  Excuses  are  easi¬ 
ly  made.  There  is  no  action  so  trivial,  or 
crime  so  great,  but  the  selfish  heart  can  frame 
an  excuse  lor  it.  But  are  these  excuses  valid  Y 
Will  our  self-vindication  absolve  us  at  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ  ?  “  He  knoweth  our 
hearts.”  They  are  not  even  satisfactory  to 
ourselves,  —  much  less  to  God.  Sinner,  if  you 
have  a  valid  excuse  for'  impenitence,  write  it 
out;  nay,  cast  it  in  brass,  hang  it  up  in  your 
house  ;  delight  in  it,  for  it  is  your  savior  ;  and 
teach  it  to  others,  that  they  may  share  your 
joy.  When  you  come  to  die,  take  it  with  you 
down  into  the  grave ;  when  the  trump  of  God 
calls  the  dead  to  judgment,  convey  it  to  the 
throne,  and  show  it  to  the  Judge.  If  it  will 
justify  you  in  life,  it  will  excuse  you  in  eternity. 

2025.  EXCUSES,  Vain.  Some  people  would 

come  to  church ;  but  they  want  fit  clothes, 
—  a  hat,  a  bonnet,  or  a  shawl;  or  they  want 
some  one  to  look  after  the  children  at  home ; 
or  they  want  a  seat  of  their  own  at  church. 
They  want  time ;  they  want  rest  after  the  six 
days’  work ;  they  want  —  But  their  wants 
are  innumerable.  Yet  there  is  one  want  they 
never  name,  which  would  swallow  up  all  the 
rest :  they  want  —  the  will.  “  Where  there’s 
a  will,  there’s  a  way.”  Bowes. 

2026.  EXISTENCE,  Blanks  in.  A  person 
under  the  influence  of  chloroform,  ether,  or 
spirituous  liquors,  remembers  nothing  which 
has  occurred  :  hence  the  two  former  fluids  are 
frequently  used  during  the  performance  of 
surgical  operations.  A  leg  may  now  be  re¬ 
moved,  a  new  nose  made,  or  any  tedious 
operation  may  be  performed,  without  the  pa¬ 
tient  being  in  the  least  degree  cognizant  of 
the  process.  Surgeons  now  constantly  employ 
these  remedies.  When  chloroform  is  used  in 
sufficient  quantity,  it  induces  a  state  of  perfect 
insensibility.  During  this  state,  the  surgeon 
performs  the  operation ;  and  the  patient  neith¬ 
er  winces,  nor  shows  the  slightest  sign  of  pain, 
but  remains  with  a  placid  countenance,  as 
though  he  were  thrown  into  a  gentle  sleep. 
After  a  short  time,  he  suddenly  wakes  up, 
rubs  his  eyes,  and  stares  around  him.  The 
interval  is  a  blank  in  his  existence.  When  all 
is  over,  I  frequently  heard  the  patient  ask 
when  the  surgeon  will  begin ;  and  he  is  de¬ 
lighted,  when  he  is  told  that  the  whole  has 
been  completed  without  his  knowledge.  The 
memory  of  the  event  is  lost  from  the  action  of 
the  ether  or  chloroform  on  the  blood,  prevent¬ 
ing  it  from  acting  properly  on  the  brain. 

Timbs. 

2027.  EXISTENCE,  Measuring.  Existence  is 
not  to  be  measured  by  mere  duration.  An 


oak  lives  for  centuries ;  generation  after  gene¬ 
ration  of  mortals  the  meanwhile  passing  away : 
but  who  would  exchange  for  the  life  of  a  plant, 
though  protracted  for  ages,  a  single  day  of  the 
existence  of  a  living,  conscious,  thinking  man  ? 

Dr.  Caird. 

2028.  EXISTENCE,  Proofs  of.  Existence  is 
the  state  of  being,  or  having  an  actual  essence. 
Mr.  Locke  says,  that  we  arrive  at  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  our  own  existence  by  intuition ;  of  the 
existence  of  God,  by  demonstration ;  of  other 
things,  by  sensation.  As  for  our  own  exist¬ 
ence,  continues  he,  we  perceive  it  so  plainly, 
that  it  neither  needs,  nor  is  capable  of,  any 
proof.  I  think,  I  reason,  I  feel  pleasure  and 
pain  :  can  any  of  these  be  more  evident  to  me 
than  my  own  existence?  If  I  doubt  of  all 
these  tilings,  that  very  doubt  makes  me  per¬ 
ceive  my  own  existence,  and  will  not  suffer 
me  to  doubt.  If  I  know  I  doubt,  I  have  as 
certain  a  perception  of  the  thing  doubting  as 
of  that  thought  which  I  call  doubt :  experience, 
then,  convinces  us  that  we  have  an  intuitive 
knowledge  of  our  own  existence.  Maunder. 

2029.  EXPECTATION,  Contrast  of.  As  two 
persons  journeying  homeward  —  the  one  to  re¬ 
ceive  honor  for  service  done  abroad,  the  other 
as  a  prisoner  to  be  arraigned  for  treason  against 
his  sovereign  —  would  not  be  alike  merry 
upon  the  way,  though  he  that  was  under  arrest 
should  sing,  and  make  great  show  of  courage 
and  innocence ;  so  with  virtuous  and  wicked 
men  in  this  world :  the  first  think  upon  the 
day  of  death  as  the  day  of  their  deliverance, 
and  their  hearts  leap  tor  joy,  considering  the 
glorious  heritage  to  which  it  ushers  them  ;  but 
the  others  fall  into  melancholy  at  thought  of 
the  doom  to  which  death  brings  them. 

2639.  EXPECTATION,  Groundless.  A  teacher 
of  the  ireedmen  in  one  of  the  Southern  States 
was  sitting  at  the  window  of  her  room,  watch¬ 
ing  two  negroes  loading  goods  into  a  cart. 
One  of  them  was  disposed  to  shirk  :  the  other 
stopped,  and,  looking  sharply  at  the  lazy  one, 
said,  “  Sam,  do  you  expect  to  go  to  heaven  ?  ” 
—  “  Yes.”  —  “  Then  take  hold  and  lift !  ” 

2631.  EXPECTATION,  and  Realization.  Late 
in  spring,  when  the  weather  was  beautiful,  and 
the  fruit-trees  showed  one  mass  of  blossom, 
Gotthold,  walking  in  his  garden,  and  feasting 
his  eyes  with  their  splendor,  made  the  follow¬ 
ing  observations  to  a  friend  :  “  These  trees 
bear  much  more  blossom  than  they  can  possi¬ 
bly  ripen  into  fruit.  This  shows  in  them  an 
inward  and  natural  disposition  to  pay  liberally 
for  the  ground  they  occupy ;  but  afterwards 
they  are  more  or  less  hindered  by  outward 
circumstances  from  carrying  it  into  effect.” 

2032.  EXPEDIENCY,  Brevities. '  “  All  things 
to  all  men,”  in  any  sense  but  the  right  sense,  is 

nothing  to  any  man.  —  Tapper. - “  Honesty 

is  the  best  policy ;  ”  but  he  who  acts  from  that 
principle  is  not  an  honest  man,  because  he 
acts  from  policy,  and  not  from  the  love  of 
right. —  Abp.  Wkatelij. - The  highest  prin¬ 

ciple  is  the  highest  expediency. 

2033.  EXPEDIENCY,  Emblem  o£  Burgomeis- 
ter  Guericke  constructed  a  gigantic  barometer. 


EXPEDIENCY. 


EXPERIENCE. 


245 


with  a  tube  thirty  feet  in  height,  part  of  which 
projected  above  the  roof  of  his  house,  at  Mag¬ 
deburg.  The  index  was  the  figure  of  a  man, 
who,  in  fair  weather,  was  seen  standing  full  size 
above  the  roof ;  but,  when  a  storm  was  brewing, 
he  cautiously  withdrew  for  security  and  shel¬ 
ter.  Antitype  of  religionists  and  politicians ! 
When  the  sun  shines  brightly,  and  the  breezes 
scarcely  breathe  across  the  landscape,  how 
erect  and  bold  they  look !  But  let  the  clouds 
gather,  and  the  thunders  mutter,  and  what  a 
drawing-in  of  diminished  heads  1  O  rare, 
satirical  Burgomeister  1  you  must  have  had 
an  alderman’s  experience.  Dr.  W.  F.  Warren. 

2034.  EXPEDIENCY,  Failure  of.  As  Tibe¬ 

rius  the  Emperor,  who,  being  desirous  to  have 
canonized  Christ  among  the  numbers  of  the 
saints,  thought  it  expedient  first  to  have 
therein  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  but,  while 
he  waited  for  their  consent,  Christ  was  uncan- 
onizod ;  whereas,  Tiberius  might  very  well 
have  done  it  himself :  so  it  is  with  careless 
Christians,  who,  in  a  matter  so  manifest,  will 
yet  wait  for  others’  consent,  to  the  hazard  of 
their  own  salvation,  and  discovery  of  their  own 
obstinate  folly.  Cawdraj. 

2035.  EXPEDIENCY,  Political.  During  the 
passage  of  the  national  troops  through  Mis¬ 
souri,  in  pursuit  of  Gen.  Price,  a  crowd  of 
negroes  came  out  from  a  large  house  to  see 
them  ;  when  the  following  colloquy  took  place : 
“  Boys,  are  you  all  for  the  Union  ?  ”  —  “  Oh, 
yes !  massa  :  when  you’s  about,  we  is.”  — “  And 
when  Price  comes,  you  are  secesh,  are  you  ?  ”  — 
“  Yes,  massa :  we  good  secesli  then.  Can’t  allow 
de  white  folks  to  git  ’head  niggers  in  dat  way.” 

2036.  EXPEDIENCY,  Symbol  of.  The  cha¬ 
meleon  is  particularly  noted  for  its  singular 
faculty  of  changing  color  voluntarily,  which 
enables  it  to  conceal  itself,  by  adopting  that 
of  the  branches  around,  and  by  the  peculiar 
structure  of  its  enormously  projecting  eyes. 
Although  the  movements  of  its  head  are  lim¬ 
ited,  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  its  stifF 
neck,  this  deficiency  is  amply  compensated  by 
the  wide  range  of  its  vision ;  each  eye  being 
able  to  move  about  in  all  directions  independ¬ 
ently  of  the  other.  Thus,  while  one  of  them 
gazes  upon  the  heavens,  the  other  minutely 
examines  the  ground ;  or,  while  one  of  them 
rolls  in  its  orbit,  the  other  remains  fixed ;  nay, 
their  mobility  is  so  great,  that,  without  even 
moving  his  stiff  head,  this  wonderful  saurian, 
like  Janus  the  double-faced  god  of  ancient 
Rome,  can  see  at  the  same  time  all  that  goes 
on  before  and  behind  him.  This  mutual  inde¬ 
pendence  of  the  eyes  is  owing  to  the  imperfect 
sympathy  which  subsists  between  the  two  tubes 
of  the  brain  and  the  two  sets  of  nerves  which 
ramify  through  the  opposite  sides  of  its  frame. 
Hence,  also,  one  side  ot  the  body  may  be  asleep 
while  the  other  is  vigilant ;  one  may  be  green 
while  the  other  is  ash-blue :  and  it  is  even 
said,  that  the  chameleon  is  utterly  unable  to 
swim,  because  the  muscles  of  both  sides  are 
incapable  of  acting  in  concert.  Hartivig. 

2037.  EXPERIENCE,  Benefit  o£  There  was 
an  Indian,  who,  whenever  he  reached  a  dan¬ 


gerous  bog  in  the  swamp,  would  put  up  a  stake 
to  mark  the  spot.  By  this  means,  he  not  only 
guarded  his  future  movements,  but  furnished  a 
warning  to  others  who  might  pass  that  way. 
This  is  the  benefit  one  generation  derives  from 
another. 

2038.  EXPERIENCE,  Birds'.  Birds  have 
been  very  useful  to  shipwrecked  sailors  upon 
strange  coasts,  as  they  assured  them  what 
fruit  was  safe  to  eat.  However  beautiful  and 
tempting  the  fruit  might  appear,  the  sailors 
touched  them  not,  unless  the  birds  had  fust 
pecked  them  ;  then  they  partook  freely. 

Cauqheij. 

2039.  EXPERIENCE,  Brevities.  All  is  but 
lip-wisdom  which  wants  experience.  —  Sidney. 

- To  most  men,  experience  is  only  like  the 

stern-lights  of  a  ship,  which  illumine  only  the 
track  it  has  passed.  Coleridge. 

2040.  EXPERIENCE,  Comfort  ofi  Lassus,  one 
of  the  wise  men  of  Greece,  being  asked  what 
would  render  life  most  pleasant  and  comforta¬ 
ble,  replied,  “  Experience.” 

2041.  EXPERIENCE,  Difference  in.  The  ex¬ 
periences  of  no  two  persons  are  precisely  alike 
in  every  feature  or  in  any  one  feature.  No 
two  have  faces  alike.  All  have  faces,  how¬ 
ever,  if  they  are  human.  No  two  have  any 
one  feature  precisely  the  same ;  yet  all  have 
the  same  features.  He  who  should  have  two 
mouths,  or  three  eyes,  or  two  noses,  would  be 
a  monster,  not  a  man.  And  he  who  should 
have  no  mouth  or  nose  or  eyes  at  all  would 
be  a  deformed  man  at  best.  So,  in  religious 
experience,  all  have  the  same  general  experi¬ 
ence,  all  have  the  same  general  features, 
though  no  two  are  exactly  alike. 

W.  E.  Boardman. 

2042.  EXPERIENCE,  Emblem  of.  Faith,  in 

its  reproductive  power  and  progress  of  growth, 
may  be  compared  to  the  great  Oriental  banyan- 
tree.  It  springs  up  in  God,  rooted  in  God’s 
word ;  and  soon  there  are  the  great  waving 
branches  of  experience.  Then  from  these 
very  branches  the  runners  go  down  again  into 
God’s  word  ;  and  thence  spring  up  again  new 
products  of  faith,  and  new  trees  of  experi¬ 
ence,  till  one  and  the  same  tree  becomes  in 
itself  a  grove,  with  pillared  shades  and  echo¬ 
ing  walks  between.  So  experience  first  grows 
out  of  faith ;  and  then  greater  faith  grows  out 
of  experience,  the  word  of  God  being  all  the 
while  the  region  of  its  roots  ;  and,  again,  a  still 
vaster,  richer  experience  grows  out  of  that 
faith,  till  every  branch  becomes  not  only  a 
product,  but  a  parent  stock  set  in  the  same 
word,  and  all  expanding  into  a  various  mag¬ 
nificent  and  enlarging  forest.  Cheever. 

2043.  EXPERIENCE,  A  Happy.  Uncle  John¬ 
son  was  a  pious  old  slave  of  the  family  of 
Pres.  Harrison,  who  was  made  free  at  the 
age  of  one  hundred  years.  A  friend  of  his  for 
many  years  gives  the  following  account :  One 
day,  while  at  work  in  his  garden,  singing  and 
shouting,  I  said,  “  You  seem  happy  to-day.”  — 
“  Yes,  massa :  I’se  jus’  tinking  ”  (and  then  his 
emotions  prevented  further  utterance'),  —  “  I’se 
jus’  tinking,  dat  if  de  crumbs  dat  fell  from  de 


240 


EXPERIENCE. 


EXPEREEN  CE. 


Master’s  table  in  dis  world  am  so  good, what  will 
de  great  loaf  in  glory  be  ?  I  tells  ye,  massa, 
dar  will  be  'nuff  an’  to  spare  dere.”  At 
another  time,  when  he  seemed  very  happy,  and 
I  heard  him  shout,  “  Lord  Jesus,  will  dere  be 
one  for  me  ?  ”  I  said,  “  You  are  having  a  good 
time  to-day  ?  ”  He  answered,  “  O  massa  1  I 
was  meditatin’  ’bout  Jesus  bein’  de  carpenter  ; 
an’  so  he  can  make  mansions  for  his  people  in 
glory.”  And  then,  with  uplifted  face,  and  with 
tears,  he  cried  out,  “  O  Jesus  !  will  dere  be  one 
for  me  ?  ”  Once,  after  he  had  been  ill  for  a 
few  days,  I  said,  “  Uncle  Johnson,  I  thought 
your  appointed  time  had  about  come.”  —  “  Oh, 
yes,  massa !  one  day,  I  t’ought  I  could  see  de 
dust  ob  de  chariot  cornin’  ober  de  mountains  ; 
and  den  something  said,  ‘  Hold  on,  Johnson,  a 
little  longer  :  I’ll  come  around  directly.’  Yes  : 
an’  I  will  hold  on  anoder  hundred  years,  for 
I’m  bound  for  Canaan.”  One  day,  Rev.  Dr. 
II.  called  on  him.  At  parting,  the  doctor 
said,  “Well,  Uncle  Johnson,  I  must  go;”  and 
then,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  said,  “  Good-by. 
I  shall  probably  hear  soon  that  you  have  gone 
over  Jordan,  but  we  will  follow  on.”  The  old 
man  replied,  “  Yes,  massa :  a  great  many  years 
ago,  young  men  like  you  tell  me  dat ;  an’  den, 
after  a  bit,  I’d  hear  dey  ha’  gone,  an’  I’m  a  pil¬ 
grim  yet :  but  I  always  manages  to  send  word.” 
—  “  Well,  if  I  should  die  first,  what  word  would 
you  send  ?  ”  said  Dr.  H.  “  O  massa  1  if  you 
get  home  to  glory  afore  I  do  ”  (weeping),  “  tell 
’em  to  keep  de  table  standin’ ;  for  Johnson  is 
holding  on  his  wav.” 

2044.  EXPERIENCE,  An  Indian’s.  “Broth¬ 
ers,  I’ve  been  long  in  the  warfare  :  fifty-nine 

Sirs  on  my  way.  I’m  seventy-six  years  of  age. 

e  winds  have  blown  hard  on  this  old  car¬ 
cass  ;  but  the  good  hope  is  here.  I  see  you 
white  people  brought  up  at  home,  able  to  read, 
taught  arts  and  sciences ;  and  yet  you  live 
without  Jesus  1  Poor  me !  —  I  grew  up  wild, 
no  father,  brought  up  in  the  woods;  yet  I 
found  him.  Some  of  you  have  knowed  me 
many  years,  and  I’m  a  good  boy  yet.  Poor 
me  1  —  couldn’t  read,  knew  nothing ;  yet  gave 
Jesus  my  heart.  The  first  Bible  I  ever  had  I 
took  home,  put  under  my  pillow,  and  slept 
with  it  there.  This  old  frame  totters,  the 
strong  wind  shakes  it,  and  it  must  go  down  ; 
but  I  bless  Jesus,  I’m  under  way  to  glory.” 
Not  a  few  wept,  and  praised  God,  as  Mingo 
gave  his  testimony. 

2045.  EXPERIENCE,  Instructive.  I  well  know 
now  what  it  is  to  have  preached  from  a  text 
which  I  did  not  so  much  as  understand  till  it 
was  thoroughly  opened  to  me  by  experience. 

Cecil. 

2046.  EXPERIENCE,  Key  to.  Loyola’s  great 
effort  was  to  tread  the  world  beneath  his  feet, 
and  to  rise  into  a  mystic  region  of  rapt  ideal¬ 
ism,  where  high  spiritual  intercourse  with  the 
unseen  world  might  be  enjoyed.  The  main 
stress  of  his  struggle  was  to  mortify  the  desires 
of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  to  spiritualize 
the  carnal  nature.  Luther’s  great  effort, 
prompted  by  an  urgent  sense  of  guilt,  was  to 
reconcile  himself  to  an  offended  Deity ;  and 


the  main  stress  of  his  struggle  was  to  bring 
into  a  state  of  right  adjustment  his  persona' 
and  immediate  relationship  with  God.  Dr. 
Chalmers’s  great  effort  was  to  prepare  for  an 
eternity  felt  to  be  at  hand,  by  discharging 
aright  the  duties  of  time ;  and  the  main  stress 
of  his  struggle  was  to  bring  his  disposition  and 
conduct  towards  all  around  him  up  to  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  the  divine  law.  Dr.  Hanna. 

2047.  EXPERIENCE,  Knowledge  by.  Practi¬ 

cal  sciences  are  not  to  be  learned  but  in  the 
way  of  action.  It  is  experience  that  must  give 
knowledge  in  the  Christian  profession,  as  well 
as  in  all  others ;  and  the  knowledge  drawn 
from  experience  is  quite  of  another  kind  from 
that  which  flows  from  speculation  or  discourse. 
It  is  not  the  opinion,  but  the  path,  of  the  just, 
that  the  wisest  of  men  tells  us  shines  more  and 
more  unto  a  perfect  day.  The  obedient,  and 
the  men  of  practice,  are  those  sons  of  light 
that  shall  outgrow  all  their  doubts  and  igno¬ 
rances,  that  shall  ride  upon  these  clouds,  and 
triumph  over  their  present  imperfections,  till 
persuasion  pass  into  knowledge,  and  knowledge 
advance  into  assurance,  and  all  come  at  length 
to  be  completed  in  the  beatific  vision,  and  a 
full  fruition  of  those  joys  which  God  has  in 
reserve  for  them  whom  by  his  grace  he  shall 
prepare  for  glory.  Dr.  South. 

2048.  EXPERIENCE,  Narrating.  Thomas 
Bilney  was  an  ardent  young  convert,  and 
longed  to  do  something  for  his  Master.  Hugh 
Latimer  was  a  zealous  Roman-Catholic  priest, 
who  preached  against  the  Reformation.  Bilney 
went  to  him,  and  told  him  that  he  wished  to 
confess.  In  the  privacy  of  the  confessional,  he 
told  him  the  whole  burning  story  of  his  con¬ 
viction,  conversion,  and  new-found  happiness. 
The  Spirit  helped,  and  Latimer’s  heart  was 
probed  and  changed.  From  that  hour,  Lati¬ 
mer  gave  his  life  to  the  cause  he  had  before  op¬ 
posed,  and  sealed  liis  testimony  with  his  blood. 

2049.  EXPERIENCE,  Power  of.  A  learned 
atheist  once  met  a  plain  countryman  going  to 
church.  He  asked  him,  “  Where  are  you 
going?” — “lam  going  to  church,  sir,”  was 
the  reply.  “  What  to  do  there  ?  ”  —  “  To  wor¬ 
ship  God.”  —  “  Pray,  whether  is  your  God  a 
great  or  a  little  God  ?  ”  —  “  He  is  both,  sir.”  — 
“  How  can  he  be  both  ?  ”  —  “  He  is  so  great, 
sir,  that  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain 
him,  and  so  little,  that  he  can  dwell  in  my  poor 
heart.”  The  atheist  declared  that  this  simple 
answer  of  the  countryman  had  much  effect 
upon  his  mind. 

2050.  EXPERIENCE,  Proverbs.  Bought  wit 

is  best.  A  smooth  sea  never  made  a  skilful 
mariner.  Tire  proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the 
eating. — English. - One  who  has  been  bit¬ 

ten  by  a  serpent  is  afraid  of  a  rope.  —  Hebrew. 

- He  that  has  been  wrecked  shudders  even 

at  still  water.  —  Ovid. - An  ass  does  not 

stumble  twice  over  the  same  stone.  —  French. 

- Old  crows  are  hard  to  catch.  —  German. 

- Do  not  judge  of  the  ship  while  it  is  on 

the  stocks.  Italian. 

2051.  EXPERIENCE,  Relation  of.  At  night, 
when  a  railroad-train,  having  stopped  at  a 


EXJPERXEIVCE. 


EXTRAVAGANCE.  247 


station,  ts  about  to  start  again,  in  order  that 
the  conductor  may  know  that  every  thing  is 
as  it  should  be,  the  brakeman  on  the  last  car 
calls  out,  through  the  darkness,  “  All  right 
here  !  ”  and  the  next  man  takes  up  the  word, 
“  All  right  here  1  ”  and  the  next  echoes,  “  All 
right  here  1  ”  and  so  it  passes  along  the  line, 
and  the  train  moves  on.  It  does  me  good  to 
sit  here  while  you  speak  of  the  life  you  are 
guiding  through  the  world’s  darkness,  and 
pass  the  word  from  one  to  another,  “  All 
right  here  1  ”  All  is  right  everywhere  when 
the  heart  is  right.  Beecher. 

2052.  EXPERIENCE,  in  Religion.  A  hundred 

thousand  tongues  may  discourse  to  you  about 
the  sweetness  of  honey ;  but  you  can  never 
have  such  knowledge  of  it  as  by  taste.  So  a 
world  full  of  books  may  tell  you  wonders  of 
the  things  of  God  in  religion ;  but  you  can 
never  understand  them  exactly  but  by  the 
taste  of  experience.  N.  Caussin. 

2053.  EXPERIENCE,  Telling.  A  New-Zealand 
girl  went  to  England  to  be  educated.  She 
became  a  true  Christian ;  and,  when  about 
to  return,  some  of  her  playmates,  said,  “  Why 
go  back  to  New  Zealand  ?  you  are  accus¬ 
tomed  to  England  now ;  you  love  its  shady 
lanes  and  clover-fields ;  it  suits  your  health ; 
besides,  you  may  be  shipwrecked  on  the 
ocean ;  you  may  be  killed  and  eaten  up  by 
your  own  people :  everybody  will  have  for¬ 
gotten  you.”  —  “  What !  ”  said  she,  “  do  you 
think  that  I  could  keep  the  ‘  good  news  ’  to 
myself?  Do  you  think  I  could  be  content  with 
having  got  pardon  and  peace  and  eternal  life 
for  myself,  and  not  go  and  tell  my  dear  father 
and  mother  how  they  may  get  it  too  ?  I 
would  go  if  I  had  to  swim  there.” 

2054.  EXPERIENCE,  Testimony  of.  From  cu¬ 

riosity,  a  lawyer  entered  a  meeting  for  the  rela¬ 
tion  of  Christian  experience,  and  took  notes ; 
but  so  impressed  was  he,  that,  at  the  close,  he 
arose,  and  said,  “  My  friends,  I  hold  in  my 
hands  the  testimony  of  no  less  than  sixty  per¬ 
sons  who  have  spoken  here  this  morning,  who 
all  testify,  with  one  consent,  that  there  is  a 
divine  reality  in  religion  ;  they  having  expe¬ 
rienced  its  power  in  their  own  hearts.  Many 
of  these  persons  I  know.  Their  word  would 
be  received  in  any  court  of  justice.  Lie  they 
would  not,  I  know  ;  and  mistaken  they  cannot 
all  be.  I  have  hitherto  been  sceptical  in  rela- 
tion  to  these  matters.  I  now  tell  you  that 
I  am  fully  convinced  of  the  truth,  and  that  I 
intend  to  lead  a  new  life.  Will  you  pray  for 
me  ?  ”  Dr.  Haven. 

2055.  EXPERIENCE,  not  Uniform.  You  are 
too  apt  to  feel  that  your  religious  experience 
must  be  the  same'  as  others  have ;  but  where 
will  you  find  analogies  for  this  ?  Certainly  not 
in  nature.  God’s  works  do  not  come  from  his 
hand  like  coin  from  the  mint.  It  seems  as  if 
it  were  a  necessity  that  each  one  should  be,  in 
some  sort,  distinct  from  every  other.  No  two 
leaves  on  the  same  tree  are  precisely  alike ; 
no  two  buds  on  one  bush  have  the  same  un¬ 
folding,  nor  do  they  seek  to  have.  What  if 
God  should  command  the  flowers  to  appear 


before  him,  and  the  sunflower  should  come 
bending  low  with  shame  because  it  was  not  a 
violet ;  and  the  violet  should  come  striving  to 
lift  itself  up  to  be  like  a  sunflower;  and  the 
lily  should  seek  to  gain  the  bloom  of  the  rose 
and  the  rose,  the  whiteness  of  the  lily  :  and  so 
each  one,  disdaining  itself,  should  seek  to  grow 
into  the  likeness  of  the  other  ?  God  would  say, 
“  Stop,  foolish  flowers  1  I  gave  you  your  owi| 
forms  and  hues  and  odors ;  and  I  wish  you  tc 
bring  what  you  have  received.  O  sunflower ! 
come  as  a  sunflower ;  and  you,  sweet  violet, 
come  as  a  violet ;  and  let  the  rose  bring  the 
rose’s  bloom ;  and  the  lily,  the  lily’s  whiteness.” 
Perceiving  their  folly,  and  ceasing  to  long  for 
what  they  had  not,  violet  and  rose,  lily  and 
geranium,  mignonette  and  anemone,  and  all 
the  floral  train,  would  come,  each  in  its  own 
loveliness,  to  send  up  its  fragrance  as  incense, 
and  all  wreathe  themselves  in  a  garland  of 
beauty  about  the  throne  of  God.  Now,  God 
speaks  to  you  as  to  the  flowers,  and  says, 
“  Come  with  the  form  and  nature  that  I  gave 
you.  If  you  are  made  a  violet,  come  as  a  vio¬ 
let  ;  if  you  are  a  rose,  come  as  a  rose  :  if  you 
are  a  shrub,  do  not  desire  to  be  a  tree ;  let 
every  thing  abide  in  the  nature  which  I  gave 
it,  and  grow  to  the  full  excellence  that  is 
contained  in  that  nature.”  Beecher. 

205G.  EXPERIENCE,  Utility  of.  God  sends 
Experience  to  paint  men’s  portraits.  Does 
some  longing  youth  look  at  the  settled  face  of 
a  Washington,  whose  lineaments  have  been 
transmitted  to  us  by  the  artist’s  skill,  and 
strive  to  wear  as  noble  a  mien  ?  That  look 
—  the  winds  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  trials  of 
the  Jersey  winter,  the  sufferings  at  Cambridge, 
the  conflicts  with  Congress,  wrought  it  out; 
and  he  who  would  gain  it  must  pass  through 
as  stern  a  school.  Beecher. 

2057.  EXPERIENCE,  Wages  of.  Experience 

is  an  excellent  schoolmaster;  but  he  does 
charge  such  dreadful  wages !  Carlyle. 

2058.  EXPERIMENT,  Advantage  o£  Barba¬ 
rism  is  marked  by  a  state  of  society  in  which 
the  tendency  is  downward,  and  civilization  by 
the  reverse.  Experiment  is  found  only  with 
the  latter:  it  is  the  herald  of  improvement. 
By  this,  Archimedes  learned  the  power  of  the 
lever;  Watt  how  to  apply  steam;  and  Morse 
how  to  make  the  lightning  carry  his  messages. 
Many  experiments  fail ;  but  the  grand  result 
is  great  gain  to  the  arts  and  industries  of  the 
world. 

2059.  EXPERIMENT,  a  Trial.  Experience 

is  that  which  has  been  tried ;  experiment  is 
the  thing  to  be  tried :  experience  is  certain, 
as  it  is  a  deduction  from  the  past  for  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  present ;  the  experiment  is  uncer¬ 
tain,  and  serves  a  future  purpose  :  experience 
is  an  unerring  guide,  which  no  man  can  de¬ 
sert  without  falling  into  error ;  experiments 
may  fail,  or  be  superseded  by  others  more  per¬ 
fect.  G.  Crabb. 

2060.  EXTRAVAGANCE,  Penalty  of.  By  those 
who  are  curious  in  tracing  the  remote  causes 
of  great  events,  Michael  Angelo  may  perhaps 
be  found,  though  unexpectedly,  to  have  laid 


248  EXTRAVAGANCE. 


EYES. 


tlie  first  stone  of  the  Reformation.  His  monu¬ 
ment  to  Julius  II.  demanded  a  building  of  cor¬ 
responding  magnificence ;  and  the  Church  of 
St.  Peter  was  erected.  To  prosecute  the 
undertaking,  money  was  wanted;  and  indul¬ 
gences  were  sold  to  supply  the  deficiency  of 
the  treasury.  A  monk  of  Saxony  opposed  the 
authority  of  the  Church;  and  it  is  singular, 
that  the  means  which  were  employed  to  raise 
the  most  splendid  edifice  to  the  Catholic  faith 
which  the  world  had  ever  seen,  should,  at  the 
same  time,  have  shaken  that  religion  to  its 
foundation.  Percy. 

2061.  EXTRAVAGANCE,  Religions.  Rather 
leave  the  ark  to  shake  as  it  shall  please  God, 
than  put  unworthy  hands  to  hold  it  up. 

Lord  Bacon. 

2062.  EXTREMITY,  Help  in.  Johnny  Hall 
was  a  poor  boy.  “  Please  give  me  something 
to  eat,  I  am  very  hungry,”  he  said  one  evening 
to  his  mother.  She  let  her  work  fall,  and  drew 
Johnny  towards  her.  Her  tears  fell  fast  as  she 
said,  “  Mamma  is  very  poor,  and  cannot  give 
you  any  supper  to-night.”  He  said,  “  Never 
mind,  mamma :  1  shall  soon  be  asleep ;  and 
then  I  sha’n’t  feel  hungry.  But  you  will  sit 
and  sew,  and  be  so  hungry  and  cold  I  Poor 
mamma  I  ”  he  said,  and  kissed  her  many  times 
to  comfort  her.  “  Now,  Johnny,  you  may  say 
your  prayers.”  He  repeated,  “  Our  Father,” 
with  her,  until  they  came  to  the  petition, 
“  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.”  The 
earnestness,  almost  agony,  with  which  the 
mother  uttered  these  words  impressed  Johnny 
strongly.  He  said  them  over  again :  “  Glee 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  Then,  opening 
his  blue  eyes,  he  fixed  them  on  his  mother, 
and  said,  “  We  shall  never  be  hungry  any 
more.  God  is  our  Father ;  and  he  will  hear 
us.”  The  prayer  was  finished,  and  Johnny 
laid  to  rest.  The  mother  sewed  with  renewed 
energy.  Her  heart  was  sustained  by  the  sim¬ 
ple  faith  of  her  child.  Many  were  the  gra¬ 
cious  promises  which  came  to  her  remem¬ 
brance.  Although  tired  and  hungry,  still  it 
was  with  a  light  heart  she  sank  to  rest.  Early 
in  the  morning,  a  gentleman  called,  on  bis  way 
to  business.  He  wished  Johnny’s  mother  to 
come  to  his  home  to  take  charge  of  his  two 
motherless  boys ;  and  she  immediately  accepted 
the  offer. 

2063.  EXTREMITY,  Relief  in,  In  a  village 
in  Poland,  there  lived  a  pious  peasant.  With¬ 
out  any  fault  on  his  part,  he  had  come  short  in 
the  payment  of  his  rent ;  and  the  landlord  had 
threatened  to  turn  him  out,  although  it  was  in 
the  middle  of  winter.  On  the  next  day,  he, 
with  his  wile  and  children,  were  to  leave  their 
home.  During  the  evening,  he  was  conducting 
family  worship,  and,  while  reading  a  portion  of 
Holy  Scripture,  there  was  a  knock  at  the  win¬ 
dow.  It  proceeded  from  an  old  friend,  a  raven, 
which  Dorby’s  father  had  taken  from  the  nest, 
and  trained.  He  opened  the  window :  the 
raven  popped  in,  having  in  its  beak  a  ring  set 
with  costly  stones.  At  first,  he  thought  of  dis¬ 
posing  of  the  ring ;  but,  on  reflection,  he  took 
it  to  the  minister.  The  la* ter  at  once  recog¬ 


nized  the  ring  as  one  belonging  to  King  Stan¬ 
islaus,  to  whom  he  went  immediately,  and  told 
the  story.  The  king  sent  for  Dorby,  and  ro 
warded  him,  so  that,  at  once,  he  was  relieved  of 
want ;  and  the  next  year  he  made  him  a  pres¬ 
ent  of  a  new  house  and  garden.  Above  the 
house-door  a  tablet  was  erected,  with  the 
Bible  text  inscribed  thereon  :  “  Thou  calledst 
in  trouble,  and  I  delivered  thee.” 

2664.  EYE,  Influence  of  the,  A  beautiful  eye 

makes  silence  eloquent;  a  kind  eye  makes  con¬ 
tradiction  an  assent ;  an  enraged  eye  makes 
beauty  deformed.  This  little  member  gives 
life  to  every  other  part  about  us  :  and  I  be¬ 
lieve  that  the  story  of  Argus  implies  no  more 
than  that  the  eye  is  in  every  part ;  that  is  to 
say,  every  other  part  would  be  mutilated,  were 
not  its  force  represented  more  by  the  eye  than 
by  itself.  Addison. 

2665.  EYE,  Power  of  the.  During  the  Sepoy 
Rebellion  in  India,  a  party  of  British  soldiers 
were  being  towed  up  the  Indus,  on  flats,  by  a 
steamer.  From  time  to  time,  they  stopped, 
landed,  cooked  a  meal,  and  rested  for  a  short 
time.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  two  of  the 
men  were  walking  along  a  narrow  path,  with 
high,  thick,  jungly  grass  on  each  side.  As 
they  proceeded,  it  came  into  the  mind  of  one 
of  them,  that  where  they  were  was  a  suitable 
resort  for  tigers.  Scarcely  had  the  thought 
crossed  him,  when  there  emerged  from  the 
grass,  and  faced  them,  an  immense  tiger.  The 
man  cried,  and  ran.  The  other,  by  a  sort  of 
stupid  fascination,  stared  at  the  animal.  This 
stare  was  probably  their  deliverance.  Making 
off  from  them,  the  magnificent  fellow  leaped 
over  a  party  of  soldiers  at  cards,  snapped  up  a 
dog,  and  left  the  neighborhood.  Bib.  Treasury. 

2666.  EYES,  Grandfather's.  Myra  used  to  be 
entertained  by  her  grandfather,  who  likened 
her  to  a  fresh  bud,  that  would  soon  burst  into  a 
flower ;  and  himself  to  a  faded  leaf,  which  was 
almost  ready  to  fall  from  the  tree.  One  day, 
after  Myra  had  had  a  pleasant  walk  with  her 
grandfather,  she  sat  down  with  her  mother; 
and  then  they  talked  together  in  the  following 
manner :  “  I  wish  I  had  grandfather’s  eyes, 
mother !  ”  —  “  What  can  you  possibly  want 
with  the  eyes  of  your  grandfather,  Myra  ?  ”  — 
“  Oh  1  if  I  had  his  eyes,  I  should  see  all  that 
he  sees  when  we  are  walking  together ;  but 
now  I  cannot  see  half  so  much  as  he  does.”  — 
“  No !  that  is  very  strange,  when  you  are 
young,  and  he  is  old.  He  often  says  that  his 
sight  is  not  what  it  used  to  be ;  and,  though 
the  Bible  is  in  large  print,  he  is  obliged  to  use 
spectacles.”  —  “  Yes,  mother  ;  but,  for  all  that, 
he  can  see  more  than  I  can.”  —  “  Tell  me  what 
you  mean,  love ;  for  I  cannot  at  all  understand 
you.”  —  “  Why,  when  we  walk  out  in  the 
fields  and  lanes,  let  us  look  at  what  we  will, 
he  says  he  sees  God’s  goodness  in  every  thing.” 
—  “  Ah,  Myra  !  it  is  not  grandfather’s  eyes,  but 
grandfather’s  faith,  that  you  want.  Pray  to 
God  to  open  the  eyes  of  your  understanding, 
to  give  you  a  heart  to  love  and  trust  him,  and 
you  will  then  see  him,  not  only  in  all  the  works 
of  his  hand,  but  in  all  the  events  of  life.” 


EYES. 


2067.  EYES,  Offending.  Legend  of  St.  Lncia. 
“  In  the  city  wherein  the  blessed  Lucia  dwelt, 
there  dwelt  also  a  youth,  who,  having  once  be¬ 
held  her,  became  enamoured  of  her  beauty ; 
and  by  messages,  promises,  and  gifts,  he  ceased 
not  to  woo  her :  but  Lucia,  being  a  Christian, 
and  fearing  God,  resisted  all  these  attacks  on 
her  virtue.  Now  this  youth,  in  his  letters  and 
his  tender  speeches,  was  accustomed  to  protest 
that  it  was  the  brightness  of  her  eyes  which 
inflamed  him  ;  and  that  it  was  for  the  sake  of 
those  beautiful  eyes  he  pursued  her,  leaving 
her  no  rest,  because  those  eyes  left  him  no  rest, 
by  day  or  by  night.  Lucia,  considering  these 
things,  and  calling  to  mind  the  words  of  Christ, 
*  If  thine  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast 
it  from  thee,’  and  fearing  lest  her  eyes  should 
be  the  cause  of  damnation  to  the  young  man, 
and  perhaps,  also,  to  herself,  called  for  a  knife, 
and  took  out  her  beautiful  eyes,  and  sent  them 
to  her  lover  in  a  dish,  with  these  words  :  ‘  Here 
hast  thou  what  thou  hast  so  much  desired ; 
and,  for  the  rest,  I  beseech  thee,  leave  me  now 
in  peace.’  Whereat  the  young  man,  being 
utterly  astonished,  and  full  of  grief  and  re¬ 
morse,  not  only  ceased  his  pursuit,  but  became 
also  a  convert  of  Christ,  and  lived  ever  af¬ 
terwards  an  example  of  virtue  and  chastity. 
But  God  would  not  suffer  that  the  blessed 
Lucia,  having  given  this  proof  of  her  courage 
and  piety,  should  remain  blind ;  for  one  day, 
as  she  knelt  in  prayer,  behold !  her  eyes 
were  restored  to  her  more  beautiful  than  be¬ 
fore.” 

206S.  EYES,  Opened.  An  artist  was  once 
studying  a  curious  work  of  art,  and  became  so 
absorbed  in  the  contemplation  as  to  forget  all 
else  about  him.  A  spectator,  observing  him, 
asked  what  pleasure  he  could  take  in  gazing  so 
long  on  what  seemed  so  indifferent  an  object 
to  him.  “  Hadst  thou  my  eyes,”  was  the  reply, 
“  thou  wouldst  be  as  much  ravished  as  I  am.” 
Ah  1  do  we  not  all  need  to  have  our  eyes 
opened,  that  we  may  “  behold  wondrous  things 
out  of  God’s  law  ”  ? 

2060.  EYES,  Right  Use  of  the.  An  old  author 
says,  we  ought  not  to  look  tor  that  in  the  law 
which  can  only  be  found  in  the  gospel ;  nor 
look  for  that  in  ourselves  which  can  only  be 
found  in  Christ ;  nor  to  look  tor  that  in  the 
creature  which  can  only  be  found  in  the  Crea¬ 
tor  ;  nor  to  look  for  that  on  earth  which  can 
only  be  found  in  heaven. 

2070.  EYES,  for  Two  Worlds.  There  swims 
on  the  surface  of  the  summer  brook,  familiar 
to  all  dwellers  in  the  country,  a  certain  black 
beetle,  which  loves  to  hold  insect  conventions 
in  some  quiet  eddy,  and  spend  the  hours  in 
whirling  round  in  all  manner  of  tangled  curves. 
One  curious  thing  in  the  construction  of  this 
diminutive  insect  is,  that  it  possesses  two  pairs 
of  eyes,  so  placed,  that,  when  it  floats  along, 
one  pair  is  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
the  other  below.  All  these  eyes  are  designed  to 
be  used,  —  the  one  pair  to  view  things  beneath 
the  surface ;  and  the  other  pair,  the  things 
above  it :  the  one  looks  for  food,  the  other 
looks  out  for  danger  and  for  enjoyment.  The 


FAITH.  249 

two  together  fit  the  insect  for  its  life  on  the 
dividing  line  between  air  and  water. 

Dr.  Crane. 

2071.  FABLE,  Nature  of  a.  The  fable  is  al¬ 
legorical  :  its  actions  are  natural,  but  its  agents 
are  imaginary.  The  tale  is  fictitious,  but  not 
imaginary :  both  the  agents  and  actions  are 
drawn  from  the  passing  scenes  of  life.  Gods 
and  goddesses,  animals  and  men,  trees,  vege¬ 
tables,  and  inanimate  objects  in  general,  may 
be  made  the  agents  of  a  fable ;  but  of  a  tale , 
properly  speaking,  only  men  or  supernatural 
spirits  can  be  the  agents.  Of  the  former  de¬ 
scription  are  the  celebrated  fables  of  iEsop ; 
and  of  the  latter  the  tales  of  Marmontel,  the 
tales  of  the  Genii,  the  Chinese  tales,  &e.  Fables 
are  written  for  instruction ;  tales,  principally 
for  amusement :  fables  consist  mostly  of  only 
one  incident  or  action,  from  which  a  moral 
may  be  drawn  ;  tales,  always  of  many,  which 
excite  an  interest  for  an  individual.  G.  Crabb. 

2072.  FACULTIES,  Development  of  the.  Krum- 
macher  tells  of  a  countryman,  the  owner  of 
great  estates,  noted  for  his  wisdom  and  pru¬ 
dence,  who  was  obliged  to  go  on  a  journey  for 
several  months.  He  called  his  son,  and  gave 
him  charge  of  all  till  his  return.  The  youth 
was  dismayed  at  the  task  ;  but  his  father  bade 
him  farewell,  and  departed.  The  youth,  Joses 
by  name,  undertook  the  work  with  much  fear, 
but  took  courage,  and  said,  “  My  father  hath 
confided  it  to  me  :  therefore  I  must  fulfil  my 
work.”  So  he  wrought  vigorously,  and  im¬ 
proved  greatly.  After  many  months,  the  father 
returned,  and  found  the  estates,  the  flocks 
and  herds,  all  in  good  order  ;  and  the  fame  of 
his  son  spread  through  all  the  country.  Then 
the  father  praised  the  good  management  of 
his  son.  The.  son  said,  “  But,  my  father,  what 
if  I  had  had  ill  success  ?  ”  The  father  smiled, 
and  said,  “  I  knew  your  abilities  ;  but  you  did 
not  know  them.  I  wished  to  give  you  self- 
reliance  :  therefore  I  demanded  a  great  thing 
of  you.  You  were  a  youth ;  but  now  you  are 
become  a  man.” 

2073.  FACULTIES,  Use  o£  Our  gifts  and 

attainments  are  not  only  to  be  light  and 
warmth  in  our  own  dwellings,  but  are,  as  well, 
to  shine  throngh  the  window,  into  the  dark 
night,  to  guide  and  cheer  bewildered  travellers 
upon  the  road.  Beecher. 

2074.  FAITH,  Accompaniment  o£  Suppose 
I  say,  “  A  tree  cannot  be  struck  without  thun¬ 
der  :  ”  that  is  true ;  tor  there  is  never  destruc¬ 
tive  lightning  without  thunder.  But,  again, 
if  I  say,  “  The  tree  was  struck  by  lightning 
without  thunder :  ”  that  is  true  too,  if  I  mean 
that  the  lightning  alone  struck  it  without  the 
thunder  striking  it.  Yet  read  the  two  asser¬ 
tions,  and  they  seem  contradictory.  So,  in 
the  same  way,  St.  Paul  says,  “  Faith  justifies 
without  works;”  that  is,  faith  alone  is  that 
which  justifies  us,  not  works.  But  St.  James 
says,  “  Not  a  faith  which  is  without  works.” 
There  will  be  works  with  faith,  as  there  is 
thunder  with  lightning;  but  just  as  it  is  not 
the  thunder,  but  the  lightning  (the  lightning 
without  the  thunder),  that  strikes  the  tree :  so 


250 


FAITH. 


faith;. 


it  is  not  the  works  which  justify.  Put  it  in 
one  sentence,  —  faith  alone  'ustifies,  but  not 
the  faith  which  is  alone.  Lightning  alone 
strikes,  but  not  the  lightning  which  is  alone 
without  thunder ;  for  that  is  only  summer 
lightning,  and  harmless.  F.  IV.  Robertson. 

2075.  FAITH,  Anticipations  of.  Just  as  the 

wayworn  and  weary  traveller,  fainting  beneath 
a  burning  sun,  and  scarce  able  to  drag  his 
limbs  along,  gathers  new  vigor  when  his 
thoughts  go  forward  to  the  journey’s  end,  and 
his  home,  and  his  wife,  and  his  little  ones,  and 
all  that  is  dear  to  his  ear  and  his  eye ;  even 
so  the  pilgrim  to  heaven,  faint  with  fatigue, 
harassed  with  a  thousand  cares,  and  half  heart¬ 
broken  with  griefs  with  which  no  stranger  can 
intermeddle,  —  even  so  he  is  inspired  with  fresh 
courage  and  comfort  when  faith  sets  before 
him  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  the  glories 
of  the  land  afar  off’.  R.  B.  Nichol. 

2076.  FAITH,  Application  of.  As  it  is  no 

advantage  for  a  wounded  man  to  have  the  best 
medicine  lying  by  his  side,  unless  it  is  applied 
to  his  wound  ;  so  little  do  the  mercies  of  God 
profit  us,  unless  we  have  faith  to  apply  them 
to  our  sinful  hearts.  Cawdray. 

2077.  FAITH,  Beginning  of.  When  the  sus¬ 
pension  bridge  across  the  Niagara  was  to  be 
erected,  the  question  was,  how  to  get  the  cable 
over.  With  a  favoring  wind,  a  kite  was  ele¬ 
vated,  which  alighted  on  the  other  shore.  To 
its  insignificant  string,  a  cord  was  attached, 
which  was  drawn  over,  then  a  rope,  then  a 
larger  rope,  then  a  cable  strong  enough  to  sus¬ 
tain  the  iron  cable  which  supported  the  bridge, 
over  which  heavily-laden  trains  pass  in  safety. 
This  could  never  have  been  done  but  for  the 
little  kite-string,  which  may  represent  a  weak 
faith,  yet  reaches  to  Christ  and  heaven,  and 
may  enlarge  to  gigantic  proportions,  and  hold 
its  possessor  fast  anchored  within  the  veil. 

2078.  FAITH,  Benefit  o£  While  I  was  pon¬ 
dering  bow  to  get  my  rent  discharged,  and  had 
no  way  but  to  borrow  it,  there  came  a  dear 
friend  to  me,  and  brought  me  five  pounds, 
which  furnished  me  with  an  overplus  besides 
my  rent.  It  was  a  seasonable  present,  sent  by 
a  liberal  hand ;  yet  I  own  God  chiefly  in  it. 
That  is  a  perfumed  gift  which  comes  from  God 
as  a  token  of  love,  after  the  exercise  of  faith 
in  prayer.  How  good  is  God  to  me !  I  live 
nobly,  and  am  so  far  from  wanting,  that  I  have 
all,  and  abound ;  and,  when  supplies  fail  one 
way,  God  makes  them  up  another. 

Rev.  0.  Heywood. 

2079.  FAITH,  A  Child's.  A  poor  little  Ger¬ 
man  boy,  who  desired  admission  to  the  Mora¬ 
vian  School,  wrote  a  letter,  and  put  it  into  the 

ost-office,  addressed  to  the  Lord  Jesus  in 

eaven.  It  ran  about  thus  :  “  My  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  I  have  lost  my  father. 
We  are  very  poor ;  but  I  know  that  thou  tell- 
est  us  in  thy  word,  that  whatsoever  we  shall 
ask  God  in  thy  name  he  will  give  it  to  us.  I 
believe  what  thou  sayest,  Lord  Jesus.  I  pray, 
then,  unto  God,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  that  he 
will  give  my  mother  the  means  of  placing  me 
in  the  Moravian  School :  I  should  like  so  much 


to  continue  to  be  taught  1  I  pray  unto  thee 
already  ;  but  I  will  love  thee  still  more.”  The 
postmaster,  seeing  the  strange  address,  opened 
the  letter.  It  was  read  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Moravian  Society,  when  the  Baroness  de  la 
Leppe  became  his  patroness,  and  sent  him  to 
the  school  he  desired. 

2080.  FAITH,  in  Christ.  Look  at  that  loco¬ 
motive  as  it  snorts  like  a  giant  war-horse  to  its 
place  in  the  station  at  the  head  of  the  train. 
You  have  in  that  engine  power  of  amplest 
capacity  to  drag  at  swiftest  pace  the  far- 
stretcliing  carriages.  Boiler,  tubes,  pistons, 
fire,  steam,  — all  are  in  perfect  order ;  and 
that  broad-browed  man  gives  assurance  of 
tried  ability  to  guide  the  charge  committed  to 
him.  You  look :  carriage  after  carriage  is 
filled,  the  hour  has  struck,  the  bell  rung ;  and 
yet  there  is  no  departure,  no  movement,  nor 
would  be  till  “  crack  of  doom,”  if  one  thing 
remained  as  it  now  is.  Aha  1  the  lack  is  dis¬ 
covered  :  the  uniting  hooks  that  bind  engine 
and  train  together  were  wanting.  They  have 
been  supplied.  Like  two  great  hands,  they 
have  clasped  ;  and  a  screw  has  so  riveted  en¬ 
gine  and  carriage,  that  they  form,  as  it  were, 
one  thing,  one  whole ;  and  away  through  the 
dark  sweeps  the  heavy-laden  train  with  its 
freight  of  immortals.  Mark  1  no  one  ever 
supposes  that  it  is  the  uniting  hook  or  link 
or  coupling,  that  draws  the  train.  A  child 
knows  that  it  is  the  engine  that  draws  it. 
Nevertheless,  without  that  hook  or  link  or 
coupling,  all  the  power  of  the  engine  were  of 
no  avail :  the  train  would  stand  still  forever. 
Exactly  so,  my  brethren,  is  it  in  the  relation 
of  faith  to  Christ.  It  is  not  our  faith  that 
saves  us,  but  Christ  that  saves  us.  Grosart. 

2081.  FAITH,  Clear.  When  the  water  of  a 
gently-flowing  river  is  unruffled  and  clear,  it 
reflects  most  beautifully  the  floating  clouds 
and  the  overhanging  objects ;  but,  when  agi¬ 
tated,  it  becomes  in  a  great  measure  opaque, 
and  loses  its  power  of  reflection.  So  it  is  with 
the  faith  of  Christians ;  when  clear  and  lively, 
how  strong  and  beautiful  are  its  reflections  of 
the  things  of  God,  which  as  objects  hang  over 
it !  but  when  it  is  deadened  by  the  influence 
of  the  world,  or  corrupted  with  sin  of  any 
degree,  its  clearness  disappears,  and  the  spir¬ 
itual  things  of  God  are  lost  from  its  bosom. 

Bate. 

2082.  FAITH,  Condition  of.  After  a  weary 
march  through  the  desert,  Mahomet  was  camp¬ 
ing  with  his  followers,  and  overheard  one  of 
them  say,  “  I  will  loose  my  camel,  and  commit 
it  to  God ;  ”  to  which  he  replied,  “  Friend,  tie 
thy  camel,  and  commit  it  to  God.” 

2083.  FAITH,  Controlling.  Conscience  is  so 
modified  by  a  man’s  faith,  that  it  will  sanction 
an  act  in  one  man  which  it  will  condemn  in 
another.  A  Roman  Catholic  believes  that  he 
ought  to  pray  to  the  Virgin  Mary  to  intercede 
for  him  with  God ;  and,  if  a  good  Roman 
Catholic  were  to  neglect  his  worship  to  the 
saints,  his  conscience  would  smite  him,  until 
he  would  confess  his  sin  with  tears.  Now,  if 
a  good  Protestant  were  to  pray  to  saints,  or  to 


FAITH. 


FAITH. 


251 


any  other  being  but  God,  his  conscience  would 
smite  him  for  doing  that  which  the  conscience 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  smote  him  for  not 
doing.  So  the  heathen  mother  will  conscien¬ 
tiously  throw  her  infant  into  the  Ganges,  or 
under  the  wheels  of  Juggernaut,  while  the 
conscience  of  a  Christian  mother  would  con¬ 
vict  her  of  murder,  were  she  to  do  the  same 
act.  Conscience  seldom  convicts  those  that 
Christians  call  impenitent  persons  for  neglect¬ 
ing  to  pray ;  while,  the  moment  a  man  becomes 
a  true  believer,  he  will  be  convicted  of  guilt 
if  he  neglects  the  duty.  So  certainly  and  so 
clearly  is  it  true,  that  a  man’s  conscience  is 
governed  by  his  faith.  J.  B.  Walker. 

2084.  FAITH,  Co-operating  with.  We  should 

act  with  as  much  energy  as  those  who  expect 
every  thing  from  themselves ;  and  we  should 
pray  with  as  much  earnestness  as  those  who 
expect  every  thing  from  God.  Colton. 

2085.  FAITH,  in  Darkness.  One  evening,  a 
father  and  his  little  daughter,  who  had  been 
spending  the  afternoon  at  a  neighbor’s,  started 
through  the  darkness  for  home.  It  was  the 
first  time  that  she  had  ever  been  out  doors 
in  the  night ;  and  she  began  to  be  troubled 
about  the  way  home.  “  I  can’t  see  our  house, 
papa.  I  don’t  know  the  way.  Where  are  we 
going?”  she  said  anxiously.  He  replied,  “I 
can  see  the  road ;  and,  if  you  keep  hold  of  my 
hand,  I  will  take  care  of  you.”  Then  she 
said,  as  if  chiding  and  comforting  herself, 
“  Yes,  you  do  know  the  way ;  don’t  you, 
papa?  You  will  take  care  of  your  little  girl, 
’cause  you  love  her;  don’t  you,  papa?  ”  Alter 
this,  she  only  grasped  his  hand  a  little  tighter, 
and  trudged  cheerfully  onward  wherever  he 
led  the  way. 

2086.  FAITH,  Eclipse  of.  The  Moon,  in  an 
eclipse,  complained  to  the  Sun,  Why,  O  my 
dearest  friend !  dost  thou  not  shine  upon  me 
as  usual?” — “Do  I  not?”  said  the  Sun:  “I 
am  sure  I  am  shining  as  I  always  do.  Why 
do  you  not  enjoy  my  light  as  usual  ?  ”  —  “  Oh, 

I  see  1  ”  said  the  Moon  :  “  the  Earth  has  got 
between  us.”  This  is  the  trouble  with  every 
backslider. 

2087.  FAITH,  Emblem  of.  One  says,  “  I  re¬ 
ceived  a  package,  the  other  day,  of  samples 
of  telescopes  and  other  glasses.  I  examined 
them  to  see  if  they  were  the  right  articles. 
When  it  began  to  be  dark,  I  unwrapped  one 
of  the  telescopes,  to  try  it.  After  arranging 
the  slides,  I  placed  it  to  my  eye,  when,  to  my 
astonishment,  a  star  was  quite  visible.  I  took 
away  the  glass  again,  and  I  found  there  was 
no  star  to  be  seen  with  the  natural  eye ;  but, 
through  the  glass,  it  was  seen  plainly,  and 
seemed  to  be  near.  ‘Well,’  thought  I,  ‘the 
telescope  that  gives  such  a  sight  of  a  star 
where,  to  the  natural  eye,  there  is  not  one, 
must  be  the  right  sort  of  glass.’  True  faith  is 
exactly  like  this  telescope.” 

2088.  FAITH,  Encouraged.  A  man  having 
many  children,  and  one  amongst  the  rest  a 
small  undergrowth,  a  very  weakling  —  doth  he 
cast  off  this  child  ?  doth  he  therefore  cease  to 
be  a  father  ?  No  :  his  bowels  are  the  more 


enlarged ;  he  provides  for  it,  supports  it,  cher¬ 
ishes  it,  more  than  all  the  rest,  till,  in  some 
measure,  it  be  enabled  to  help  itself.  Thus 
God  (if  we  be  weak  in  faith,  though  we  be 
but  as  younglings  of  Christ’s  flock,  we  must 
not  therefore  be  discouraged)  —  he  will  take 
care  of  us,  not  cast  us  off.  Spencer. 

2080.  FAITH,  Encouragement  to.  During  the 
dark  hours  of  the  late  Rebellion,  while  the 
colored  people  were  despondent,  and  uncertain 
of  their  fate,  one  of  their  number,  approaching 
Gen.  Grant,  said,  “  How  de  do  Ginral  Grant?” 
and  extended  his  hand,  which  the  general  cor¬ 
dially  shook.  “  How  am  tings  goin’,  ginral  ?  ” 
The  general’s  reply  was,  “  Every  thing  is 
going  right,  sir.”  In  a  brief  period,  the 
assuring  words  passed  around  the  contraband 
camp,  changing  their  despondency  to  hope  and 
joy.  If  the  despondent  Christian  will  go  to  his 
Commander,  he  may  be  assured  “everything 
is  going  right.” 

2090.  FAITH,  Excellency  of.  Take  a  piece  of 

wax  and  a  piece  of  gold,  of  the  same  magni¬ 
tude  :  the  wax  is  not  valuable  with  the  gold  ; 
but  as  this  wax  is  placed  at  the  end  of  some 
will,  by  virtue  of  which  some  great  estate  is 
confirmed  and  conveyed,  so  it  may  be  worth 
many  hundred  pounds.  So  faith,  considered 
purely  in  itself,  doth  challenge  nothing  more 
than  other  graces ;  nay,  in  some  sense  it  is  infe¬ 
rior,  it  being  an  empty  hand.  But  as  this  hand 
receives  the  precious  alms  of  Christ’s  merits, 
and  is  an  instrument,  or  channel,  through  which 
the  blessed  streams  of  life  flow  to  us  from  him, 
so  it  doth  challenge  a  superiority  over,  and  is 
more  excellent  than,  all  other  graces  what¬ 
soever.  Spencer. 

2091.  FAITH,  Expectation  in.  An  old  lady 
was  one  night  reading  that  passage  in  the 
Bible  which  speaks  of  the  faith  that  can  re¬ 
move  mountains.  Now,  there  was  behind  her 
humble  dwelling  a  high  hill,  which  hid  the 
nearest  village  from  her  view.  She  had  often 
wished  that  this  hill  might  be  taken  away. 
So,  before  retiring,  she  prayed  that  this  hill 
might  be  removed,  because  she  had  faith  that 
it  would  be  done.  But  in  the  morning,  when 
she  arose,  she  lifted  the  curtain,  and,  lo  I  the 
mountain  was  still  there.  Then  the  old  lady 
said  to  her  son  who  was  then  coming  in,  “  Just 
as  I  expected,  John  :  the  old  hill  stands  yet.” 

2092.  FAITH,  in  Extremity.  A  child  of  five 
years,  overwhelmed  with  the  loss  of  a  gold 
locket  which  contained  a  lock  of  her  dead 
mother’s  hair,  cried  out,  “  If  God  will  not  help 
me,  no  one  else  can.”  She  feared  her  father’s 
anger,  and  hoped  to  avert  it  by  finding  the 
locket.  She  knew  that  she  might  pray  for 
this,  but  thought,  that,  to  be  heard,  she  must 
pray  in  church.  The  Sunday  came  at  length ; 
and  in  her  pew  she  prayed  for  the  return  of 
the  locket,  ending  with,  “  If  You  do  not  help 
me,  no  one  else  can.”  She  returned  home,  and 
found  that  the  lost  treasure  had  been  replaced 
by  the  thief.  This  is  the  initial  incident  in 
the  life  of  the  English  authoress  Anna  Sliipton 

2093.  FAITH,  in  Falsehood.  When  the  Eng¬ 
lish  army  under  Harold,  and  the  Norman 


252 


FAITH. 


FVaTH. 


under  William  the  Conqueror,  were  set  in 
array  for  that  fearful  conflict  which  decided 
the  fate  of  the  two  armies  and  the  political 
destinies  of  Great  Britain,  William,  perceiving 
that  he  could  not,  by  a  fair  attack,  move  the 
solid  columns  of  the  English  ranks,  had  re¬ 
course  to  a  false  movement  in  order  to  gain 
the  victory.  He  gave  orders  that  one  flank  of 
his  army  should  feign  to  be  flying  from  the 
field  in  disorder.  The  officers  of  the  English 
army  believed  the  falsehood,  pursued  them,  and 
were  cut  off.  A  second  time,  a  false  move¬ 
ment  was  made  in  another  part  of  the  field. 
The  English  again  believed,  pursued,  and  were 
cut  off.  By  these  movements,  the  fortunes  of 
the  day  were  determined.  Although  the  Eng¬ 
lish  had  the  evidence  of  their  senses,  yet  they 
were  led  to  believe  a  falsehood  :  they  acted 
in  view  of  it ;  the  consequence  was,  the  de¬ 
struction  of  a  great  part  of  their  army,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Norman  power  in  Eng¬ 
land  It  is  an  incontrovertible  fact,  that  the 
whole  heathen  world,  ancient  and  modern, 
have  believed  in  and  worshipped  unholy  beings 
as  gods.  Now,  from  the  necessities  of  the  case,  | 
the  worshipper  becomes  assimilated  to  the 
character  of  the  object  worshipped.  In  con¬ 
sequence  of  believing  falsehood  concerning 
the  character  of  God,  all  heathendom,  at  the 
present  hour,  is  filled  with  ignorance,  impurity, 
and  crime.  J.  B.  Walker. 

201)  1.  FAITH,  Flight  of.  As  those  birds  that 
soar  highest  in  the  firmament  are  not  so  quick¬ 
ly  snared  as  others ;  so  those  men  that  have 
an  eye  of  faith  upon  Christ,  whose  minds  mount 
above  the  skies,  are  not  so  soon  snared  by  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  Devil  as  others. 

Cawdray. 

2095.  FAITH,  Freedom  of.  Men  have  no 

more  of  you  to  work  upon  than  some  inches 
of  phlegmatic  clay.  Your  souls,  your  love  to 
Christ,  your  faith,  cannot  be  summoned  nor 
sentenced  nor  accused  nor  condemned  by 
pope,  deputy,  ruler,  or  tyrant.  Your  faith  is  a 
free  lord,  and  cannot  be  a  captive.  All  the 
malice  of  hell  and  of  earth  can  but  hurt  the 
scabbard  of  a  believer;  and  death,  at  the  most, 
can  get  but  a  clay-pawn  in  keeping  till  your 
Lord  take  the  King’s  keys  and  open  your 
graves.  Rutherford. 

2096.  FAITH,  a  Guide.  Faith  is  like  the  mag¬ 

netic  needle  —  often  trembling,  yet  ever  true ; 
swayed,  amidst  the  tempest’s  wildest  toss¬ 
ings,  by  the  invisible  mysterious  spell,  which 
never  fails  to  direct  it  right.  It  is  computed 
there  are  about  fifty  thousand  voyagers  always 
upon  the  ocean.  Who  can  describe  the  obli¬ 
gation  these  are  all  under  to  this  constant,  un¬ 
erring  guide  ?  Bowes. 

2097.  FAITH,  Happiness  of  Cliristians  might 
avoid  much  trouble  and  inconvenience  if  they 
would  only  believe  what  they  profess,  —  that 
God  is  able  to  make  them  happy  without  any 
thing  else.  They  imagine  if  such  a  dear  friend 
were  to  die,  or  such  and  such  blessings  to  be 
removed,  they  should  be  miserable ;  whereas 
God  can  make  them  a  thousand  times  happier 
without  them.  To  mention  my  own  case. 


God  has  been  depriving  me  of  one  blessing 
after  another  :  but,  as  every  one  was  removed, 
he  has  come  in,  and  filled  up  its  place ;  and 
now,  when  I  am  a  cripple,  and  not  able  to 
move,  I  am  happier  than  ever  I  was  in  my  life 
before,  or  ever  expected  to  be.  And,  if  I  had 
believed  this  twenty  years  ago,  I  might  have 
been  spared  much  anxiety.  Dr.  Payson. 

2998.  FAITH,  Hope  with.  The  heir  must  be¬ 
lieve  his  title  to  an  estate  in  reversion  before 
he  can  hope  for  it :  faith  believes  its  title  to 
glory,  and  then  hope  waits  for  it.  Did  not 
faith  feed  the  lamp  of  hope  with  oil,  it  would 
soon  die.  Ambrose. 

2099.  FAITH,  Illustrated.  A  residence  was 
discovered  to  be  on  fire.  All  the  inmates  but 
one  boy  escaped  from  it.  He  was  in  a  cham¬ 
ber;  and  the  flames  cut  off  egress  by  the  stair¬ 
way.  He  ran  to  the  window,  and  cried,  “  O 
father !  how  shall  I  get  out  ?  ”  He  could  be 
seen  by  the  fire  in  the  room ;  but  the  thick 
black  smoke  kept  him  from  seeing  the  people 
below.  He  heard  their  voices ;  and  he  cried, 
“  Oh,  save  me  1  ”  —  “  Here  I  am,  my  son  !  ” 
|  said  the  father ;  and  he  held  out  his  arms  for 
Charles  to  jump  into  them.  “  Here  I  am  I 
don’t  fear.  Drop  down ;  and  I  will  be  sure  to 
catch  you.”  Charles  crept  out  of  the  win¬ 
dow,  but  hung  fast  by  it.  He  knew  it  was 
very  high  from  the  ground  ;  and  he  was  afraid 
to  let  go.  “  Drop  down,  my  boy  !  ”  cried  the 
father.  “  Oh  1  I  can’t  see  you,  dear  father.” 
“  But  I  am  here.  You  can  trust  me :  I  will 
save  you.”  —  “I  am  afraid,  father,  I  shall  fall.” 

—  “  Let  go,  and  don’t  fear !  ”  cried  the  people. 
“  Your  father  will  be  sure  to  catch  you.” 
And  now  Charles  felt  the  flames.  He  was 
certain,  that,  if  he  hung  there,  he  should  be 
burnt.  He  knew  that  his  father  was  strong, 
that  he  loved  him,  and  that  he  was  waiting 
to  save  him :  then  he  let  go  his  hold,  and  in 
a  moment  he  was  in  his  father’s  arms. 

2190.  FAITH,  Importance  o£  The  root  of  a 
tree  is  a  ragged  and  a  jagged  thing,  —  no  shape, 
no  proportion,  no  comeliness,  in  it,  and  there¬ 
fore  keeps  itself  in  the  earth,  as  unwilling  to 
be  seen  ;  yet  all  the  beauty  that  is  in  the  tree, 

—  the  straightness  of  the  bulk  and  body,  the 

spreading  fairness  of  the  branches,  the  glory 
of  the  leaves  and  flowers,  the  commodity  of 
the  fruits,  —  proceed  from  the  root :  by  that  the 
whole  subsisteth.  So  faith  seems  to  be  but  a 
sorry  grace,  a  virtue  of  no  regard  ;  devotion  is 
acceptable,  for  it  honors  God ;  charity  is  no¬ 
ble,  for  it  does  good  to  men ;  holiness  is  the 
image  of  heaven,  therefore  beauteous ;  thank¬ 
fulness  is  the  tune  of  angels,  therefore  melodi¬ 
ous.  But  what  is  faith  good  for  ?  Yes  :  it  is 
good  for  every  good  purpose,  —  the  foundation 
and  root  of  all  graces.  All  the  prayers  made 
by  devotion,  all  the  good  works  done  by  char¬ 
ity,  all  the  actual  expressions  of  holiness,  all 
the  praises  sounded  forth  by  thankfulness, 
come  from  the  root  of  faith,  that  is  the  life  of 
them  all.  Faith  doth  animate  works,  as  the 
body  lives  by  the  soul.  Spencer. 

2101.  FAITH,  Justifying.  Justifying  faith 
implies  not  only  a  divine  evidence  or  convic- 


FAITH. 


FAITH. 


tion  that  “  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the 
woHd  nnto  himself,”  but  a  sure  trust  and  con¬ 
fidence  that  Christ  died  for  my  sins,  that  he 
loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me ;  and  at 
what  time  soever  a  sinner  thus  believes,  be  it 
in  his  early  childhood,  in  the  strength  of  his 
years,  or  when  he  is  old  and  hoary-haired,  God 
justifieth  that  ungodly  one  :  God,  for  the  sake 
of  his  Son,  pardoneth  and  absolveth  him  who 
had  in  him,  till  then,  no  good  thing.  J.  Wesley. 

2102.  FAITH,  Key  of.  When  a  man  hath 
liberty  to  go  into  the  treasure-house  of  a  king, 
to  enrich  himself,  he  will  first  seek  the  keys 
wherewith  to  open  the  doors ;  so,  if  we  desire 
to  be  enriched  with  God’s  grace,  we  must  first 
labor  to  have  faith,  which  is  the  only  key  of 
God’s  treasure-house,  and  secures  us  all  graces 
needful  both  for  body  and  soul.  Cawdray. 

2103.  FAITH,  Knowledge  of.  St.  Chrysostom 

is  wont  to  insist,  by  virtue  of  faith,  rustic  and 
mechanic  idiots  do,  in  true  knowledge,  surpass 
the  most  refined  wits,  and  children  prove  wiser 
than  old  philosophers.  An  idiot  can  tell  us  that 
which  a  learned  infidel  doth  not  know  ;  a  child 
can  assure  us  that  wherein  a  deep  philosopher 
is  not  resolved :  for  ask  a  boor,  or  a  boy  edu¬ 
cated  in  our  religion,  who  made  him,  he  will 
tell  you,  God  Almighty;  which  is  more  than 
Aristotle  or  Democritus  would  have  told.  De¬ 
mand  of  him  why  he  was  made,  he  will  answer 
you,  to  serve  and  glorify  his  Maker ;  and  hard¬ 
ly  would  Pythagoras  or  Plato  have  replied  so 
wisely.  Examine  him  concerning  his  soul,  he 
will  aver  that  it  is  immortal ;  that  it  shall  un¬ 
dergo  a  judgment  after  this  life;  that,  accord¬ 
ingly,  it  shall  abide  in  a  state  of  bliss  or  misery 
everlasting:  about  which  points  neither  Soc¬ 
rates  nor  Seneca  could  assure  any  thing.  In¬ 
quire  of  him  how  things  are  upheld,  how  gov¬ 
erned  and  ordered,  he  presently  will  reply, 
By  the  powerful  hand  and  wise  providence  of 
God :  whereas,  among  philosophers,  one  would 
ascribe  all  events  to  the  current  of  fate ;  anoth¬ 
er,  to  the  tides  of  fortune ;  one,  to  blind  influ¬ 
ences  of  stars ;  another,  to  a  confused  jumble  of 
atoms.  Pose  him  about  the  main  points  of  mo¬ 
rality  and  duty,  and  he  will,  in  a  few  words, 
better  inform  you  than  Cicero  or  Epictetus,  or 
Aristotle  or  Plutarch,  in  their  large  tracts  and 
voluminous  discourses  about  matters  of  that 
nature.  Dr.  Barrow. 

2101.  FAITH,  Life  of.  Have  you  ever  thought 
of  the  life  of  a  child  ?  Why,  the  life  of  a  child 
is  a  perfect  life  of  faith.  That  little  child  — 
what  can  that  little  child  do  ?  Why,  that  little 
chihl  could  not  find  its  way  to  the  street-end,  and 
back  again.  It  would  be  lost  if  you  trusted 
it  alone.  That  little  child  could  not  find  the 
next  meal.  If  you  left  that  little  child,  it 
would  die  of  want.  That  little  child  could  not 
furnish  a  shelter  for  its  own  head  to-night.  And 
yet  has  that  little  child  any  fear  about  it?  has 
that  little  child  any  sort  of  alarm  about  it  ? 
Not  at  all  1  How  comes  it  that  the  child’s  life 
is  the  happy  life  it  is?  Because,  instinctively 
and  beautifully,  it  is  a  life  of  faith.  That 
child  could  not  buy  the  next  loaf;  but  it  has  a 
firm  belief  that  “  father”  can.  That  child 


could  not  provide  for  itself  the  garments  for 
to-morrow  ;  but  it  has  an  unbounded  belief  in 
“  father’s”  power  to  do  it  and  “  mother’s”  pow¬ 
er  to  do  it.  That  child  could  not  do  it  for 
itself  one  day  ;  but  it  never  costs  that  child  a 
moment’s  concern.  Its  life  is  a  life  of  perfect 
faith  in  its  parents.  S.  Coley. 

2103.  FAITH.  Living  by,  The  true  Chris¬ 
tian  is  a  man  working  under  water,  he  is  out 
of  his  proper  element ;  he  could  not  live  at  all, 
spiritually,  unless  he  drew  down  continually 
that  pure,  fresh,  vital  air  into  his  soul, —  even 
the  air  of  the  heaven  above  him.  His  soul  would 
die  without  it :  but  prayer  is  the  open  mouth, 
and  faith  is  the  pipe,  by  which  he  constantly 
inspires  the  air  of  the  pure  heaven  above  him; 
and,  strengthened  by  supplies  of  grace,  he  is 
enabled  to  work  in  this  dim  world,  till,  his 
day’s  work  being  over,  he  is  drawn  up,  or 
rather  springs  up,  as  the  diver  in  the  bell  rises 
to  the  surface  as  soon  as  “  the  weights  ”  that 
kept  him  down  are  shaken  off.  Champney. 

2106.  FAITH,  and  Love.  Some  naturalists 
desired  to  obtain  the  wild-flowers  that  grew  on 
the  side  of  a  dangerous  gorge  in  the  Scotch 
Highlands.  They  offered  a  boy  a  liberal  sum 
to  descend  by  a  rope,  and  get  them.  He  looked 
at  the  money,  thought  of  the  danger,  and 
replied,  “  I  will,  if  my  father  will  hold  the  rope.” 
With  unshrinking  nerves,  he  suffered  his  father 
to  put  the  rope  about  him,  lower  him  into  that 
abyss,  and  to  suspend  him  there  while  he  filled 
his  little  basket  with  the  coveted  flowers. 

210?.  FAITH,  Mighty.  See  Abraham  sitting 
in  bis  tent-dorr  1  God  tells  him  to  take  his  son 
to  a  mountain  in  the  land  of  Moriah,  and  there 
give  him  tor  a  burnt  offering.  Without  con¬ 
ferring  with  flesh  and  blood,  he  prepares  for  the 
journey  and  the  awful  sacrifice ;  and,  on  the 
morning  of  the  third  day,  I  see  him  on  the  top 
of  the  mountain,  with  the  altar  built,  fire 
kindled,  Isaac  bound,  and  the  knife  raised  to 
strike  the  blow.  What  now,  Abraham  ?  wilt 
thou  slay  thy  son,  and  make  the  promise  of 
God  of  no  effect?  Has  not  God  said,  “In 
Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called”?  “Yes:  I 
know  that  is  the  promise ;  but  now  God  has 
commanded  me  to  offer  Isaac  for  a  burnt  offer¬ 
ing  ;  and  I  will  do  it,  for  God  will  raise  him  from 
the  dead.” — “  Did’st  thou  ever  see  one  rise 
from  the  dead  that  had  been  cut  in  pieces,  and 
burnt  to  ashes  ?  ” —  “  No ;  but  the  same  God 
who  made  the  promise  has  given  the  com¬ 
mandment,  and  the  command  cannot  make  war 
on  the  promise.”  How  the  patriarch’s  faith 
carries  him  above  the  dust  raised  by  human 
reason  !  Abraham  knew  that  God’s  promise 
would  march  right  forward  to  fulfilment. 

II.  V.  Lawrence. 

2108.  FAITH,  Natural.  All  men  are  born 
with  faith.  Faith  is  as  natural  to  a  man  as 
grief  or  love  or  anger.  One  Of  the  earliest 
flowers  that  spring  up  in  the  soul,  it  smiles 
on  a  mother  from  her  infant’s  cradle ;  and, 
living  on  through  the  rudest  storms  of  life,  it 
never  dies  till  the  hour  of  death.  On  the 
face  of  a  child  which  has  been  left  for  a  little 
time  with  strangers,  and  maybe  caressed  with 


254 


FAITH. 


FAITH. 


their  kisses,  and  courted  with  their  smiles,  and 
fondled  and  dandled  in  their  arms,  I  have 
6een  a  cloud  gathering,  and  growing  darker,  till, 
at.  length,  it  burst  in  cries  of  terror,  and 
showers  of  tears.  The  mother  returns ;  and, 
when  the  babe  holds  out  its  little  arms  to  her, 
I  see  in  these  arms  the  arms  of  faith ;  and 
when,  like  a  believer  restored  to  the  bosom  of 
his  God,  it  is  nestling  in  a  mother’s  embrace, 
and  the  cloud  passes  from  liis  brow,  and  its 
tears  are  changed  into  smiles,  and  its  terror 
into  calm  serenity,  we  behold  the  principle  of 
faith  in  play.  This  is  one  of  its  earliest,  and, 
so  far  as  nature  is  concerned,  one  of  its  most 
beautiful  developments.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2109.  FAITH,  Need  of.  A  poor  widow  was 
weeping  in  the  room  where  lay  the  body  of 
her  husband.  Their  only  child  came  in,  and 
said,  “  Why  do  you  weep  so,  mother  ?  ”  The 
mother  told  him  of  their  loss,  and  especially 
referred  to  their  poverty.  Looking  into  her 
face,  the  little  fellow  said,  “Is  God  dead,  moth¬ 
er  ?  ” 

2110.  FAITH,  Obedient.  The  beautiful  reply 
of  a  child,  when  asked,  “  What  is  faith  ?  ”  was, 
“  Doing  God’s  will,  and  asking  no  questions.” 

2111.  FAITH,  Office  of.  Faith  always  goes 
before,  hope  follows  after,  and  may,  in  some 
sort,  be  said  to  be  the  daughter  of  faith  ;  for  it 
is  as  impossible  for  a  man  to  hope  for  that  which 
he  believes  not,  as  for  a  painter  to  draw  a  pic¬ 
ture  in  the  air.  Faith  is  the  Christian’s  logic ; 
hope,  his  rhetoric.  Faith  perceives  what  is  to 
be  done ;  hope  gives  alacrity  to  the  doing  it. 
Faith  guides,  adviseth,  rectifieth;  hope  coura¬ 
geously  encounters  with  all  adversaries.  There¬ 
fore  faith  is  compared  to  a  doctor  in  the  schools  ; 
hope,  to  a  captain  in  the  wars.  Faith  discerns 
the  truth  ;  hope  fights  against  impatience,  hea¬ 
viness  of  spirit,  infirmity,  dejectedness,  despera¬ 
tion.  Faith  looks  to  the  word  of  a  thing  ;  hope, 
to  the  thing  of  the  word  :  so  that  faith  hath 
for  its  object  the  truth  of  God ;  hope,  the  good¬ 
ness  of  God.  Faith  is  of  things  both  good 
and  bad ;  hope,  of  good  things  only.  A  man 
believes  there  is  a  hell  as  truly  as  he  believes 
there  is  a  heaven  ;  but  he  fears  the  one,  and 
hopes  only  for  the  other.  Faith  hath  for  its 
object  things  past,  present,  and  future.  Hope 
only  respects  and  expects  things  to  come. 

T.  Adams. 

2112.  FAITH,  Overcoming.  We  read  in  his¬ 
tory  of  one  in  departed  days  who  fancied  that 
he  had  accomplished  this  hard  task.  He  car¬ 
ried  his  victorious  arms  over  every  region  of 
the  then  known  earth :  he  subjugated  king 
after  king,  and  brought  nation  alter  nation 
beneath  his  sway,  and  then  fancied  that  he 
had  “  overcome  the  world.”  He  felt  it  sad  to 
think  that  his  heroic  task  was  done,  and 
wept  that  there  were  no  more  worlds  to  con¬ 
quer.  Oh,  far  astray,  far  mistaken  !  There 
was  one  world  to  conquer  yet,  to  which  that 
conqueror  was  a  slave  ;  a  world  to  overcome 
which  the  arms  of  Alexander  were  of  no 
avail :  for  “  this  is  the  victory  that  overcom- 
eth  the  world,  even  our  faith.” 

Rev.  A.  K.  H.  Boyd. 


2113.  FAITH,  and  Prayer.  A  correspcndent 
of  “  The  Boston  Journal,”  who  has  recently 
visited  George  Muller,  the  founder  of  the  or¬ 
phan  establishment  at  Bristol,  Eng.,  consisting 
of  five  large  stone  houses,  containing  twelve 
hundred  children,  who  has  received  and  ex¬ 
pended  two  million  seventy-five  hundred  dol¬ 
lars,  sent  to  him  without  solicitation,  in  answer 
to  prayer,  says  that  he  is  a  poor  man,  who  lives 
in  the  simplest  style,  not  allowing  himself  a 
lounge  or  rocking-chair.  He  has  great  execu¬ 
tive  ability,  and  is  the  sole  manager  of  his  im¬ 
mense  concern.  The  correspondent  talked  with 
merchants,  tradesmen,  draymen,  and  people  of 
all  classes  in  Bristol,  religious  and  irreligious  ; 
and  all  expressed  the  highest  confidence  in  his 
piety,  honor,  and  integrity. 

21.14.  FAITH,  Personal.  Whosoever  will  go 
to  heaven  must  have  a  faith  of  his  own.  In 
Gideon’s  camp,  every  soldier  had  his  own 
pitcher ;  among  Solomon’s  men  of  valor,  every 
one  wore  his  own  sword  :  and  these  were  they 
that  got  the  victories.  The  five  wise  virgins 
had  every  one  oil  in  her  lamp  ;  and  only  these 
enter  in  with  the  bridegroom.  Another’s  eat¬ 
ing  of  dainty  meat  makes  thee  none  the  fatter. 

T.  Adams. 

2115.  FAITH,  in  the  Promises.  A  captive  was 
brought  before  an  Asiatic  prince  :  the  cimeter 
was  already  raised  over  his  head,  when,  op¬ 
pressed  by  intolerable  thirst,  he  asked  for 
water.  A  cup  was  handed  him  :  he  held  it  as 
if  apprehensive  lest  the  cimeter  would  fall 
while  he  was  in  the  act  of  drinking.  “  Take 
courage  !  ”  said  the  prince :  “  your  life  will  be 
spared  till  you  drink  this  water.”  He  in¬ 
stantly  dashed  the  cup  of  water  to  the  ground. 
The  good  faith  of  the  barbarian  saved  him. 
The  word  had  passed,  it  was  enough  ;  and  the 
captive  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

2116.  FAITH,  in  Providence.  One  winter,  a 
poor  little  orphan-boy  of  six  or  eight  years 
begged  a  lady  to  allow  him  to  clean  away  the 
snow  from  her  steps.  “  Do  you  get  much  to 
do,  my  little  boy,”  said  the  lady.  “  Some¬ 
times  I  do,”  said  the  boy ;  “  but  often  I  get 
very  little.”  —  “  And  are  you  never  afraid  that 
you  will  not  get  enough  to  live  on  ?  ”  The 
child  looked  perplexed,  and  said,  “  Don’t  you 
think  God  will  take  care  of  a  boy  if  he  puts 
his  trust  in  him,  and  does  the  best  he  can  ?  ” 

2117.  FAITH,  Reign  of.  The  philosopher, 

when  he  would  persuade  the  king  to  settle  his 
court  and  place  of  residence  in  the  heart  of 
his  dominion,  laid  before  him  a  bull’s  hide, 
ready  tanned,  which  when  he  stood  upon  any 
one  side  of  it,  and  so  kept  down  that,  the 
other  side  would  rise  up  ;  when  he  removed  to 
the  side  that  rose  up,  and  kept  down  that,  then 
the  side  he  came  from  would  rise  as  high ;  but, 
when  he  stood  in  the  middle,  he  kept  down  all 
alike.  Thus  faith  is  this  great  king,  which, 
being  seated  in  the  heart,  makes  provision 
against  every  rebellion,  keeps  down  every 
mutiny,  and  marshals  and  orders  every  action 
and  affection.  Spencer. 

2118.  FAITH,  Required,  A  little  boy  was 
walking  with  his  father  through  a  piece  cf 


FAITH. 


BTATTH. 


255 


woods  at  night ;  and  they  were  lighted  on  their 
way  by  the  glimmer  of  a  lantern.  The  boy, 
who  was  carrying  the  lantern,  complained  to 
his  father  that  the  light  shone  but  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  ahead ;  and  he  requested  his  father  to 
turn  back,  because  he  could  not  see  the  way 
better.  His  father  told  him  to  proceed  as  far 
as  he  could  see  the  way,  and  the  light  would 
continue  to  shine  in  advance  of  him. 

2119.  FAITH,  Riches  of.  A  dying  woman 
said,  “  Is  he  not  a  precious  Saviour  ?  so  great 
and  good,  and  willing  to  save  all  us  poor  sin¬ 
ners  1  ”  She  was  lying  on  a  hard  bed  in  the 
dreary  infirmary-ward  of  a  work-house;  and 
the  power  of  faith  and  love  to  create  a  hap¬ 
piness  independent  of  circumstances  came 
out  with  almost  startling  force  in  her  answer 
to  the  inquiry,  “  You  know  him,  then,  and  love 
him?” — “Yes;  I  do  know  him,  and  love 
him :  his  presence  makes  a  heaven  of  this 
room.  If  you  heaped  up  my  bed  with  gold 
and  silver,”  she  added ;  “  if  you  could  give 
me  the  queen’s  carriage  and  horses,  and  her 
palace  and  her  garden,  and  all  her  beauti¬ 
ful  flowers,  and  health  and  strength  to  enjoy 
it  all,  —  I  would  not  take  them,  if  they  would 
hinder  me  from  going  home  to  my  Saviour. 
They  talk  of  the  pains  of  dying :  what  will 
they  be  to  me  ?  They  will  but  hurry  me  to 
heaven  and  to  Jesus.” 

2129.  FAITH,  Robes  of  There  are  divers 
degrees  of  faith,  as  divers-colored  cloths  ;  but 
the  saving  faith  is  arrayed  in  the  scarlet  robe, 
hath  dipped  and  dyed  herself  in  the  blood  of 
her  Saviour  Jesus  :  yet  is  she  white,  pure 
white,  as  the  snow  of  Lebanon.  So  are  all 
that  be  washed  in  that  red  fountain  :  “  They 
have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.”  T.  Adams. 

2121.  FAITH,  Safety  of  The  captain  of  a 
ship  which  was  overtaken  by  a  storm  at  sea 
announced  that  death  to  all  was  certain.  A 
praying  sailor-boy  on  board  answered,  “  God 
will  save  us  yet.”  The  ship  was  on  her  beam- 
ends,  and  seemed  ready  to  go  down  at  once. 
At  that  moment,  a  great  wave  struck  and 
righted  the  ship ;  and,  a  few  days  alter,  she 
rode  safely  into  New-York  Harbor. 

2122.  FAITH,  Salvation  by.  God  has  linked 

faith  and  salvation  together  by  more  than 
“  hooks  of  steel,”  —  even  by  his  unchangeable 
decree.  No  decrees  of  God  are  more  certain 
than  these  :  “  He  that  believeth  shall  be  saved ; 
and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.” 
He  that  believeth  is  passed  already  from  death 
to  life,  while  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already.  Dr.  Hope. 

2123.  FAITH,  Saving.  It  is  not  the  quantity 
of  thy  faith  that  shall  save  thee.  A  drop  of 
water  is  as  true  water  as  the  whole  ocean  ;  so 
a  little  faith  is  as  true  faith  as  the  greatest. 
A  child  eight  days  old  is  as  really  a  man  as 
one  of  sixty  years  ;  a  spark  of  fire  is  as  true  fire 
as  a  great  flame ;  a  sickly  man  is  as  truly  liv¬ 
ing  as  a  well  man.  So  it  is  not  the  measure  of 
thy  faith  that  saves  thee,  —  it  is  the  blood  that 
it  grips  to  that  saves  thee;  as  the  weak  hand 
of  a  child,  that  leads  the  spoon  to  the  mouth, 


will  feed  as  well  as  the  strong  arm  of  a  man  ; 
for  it  is  not  the  hand  that  fee  ds  thee,  but  the 
meat.  So,  if  thou  canst  grip  Christ  ever  so 
weakly,  he  will  not  let  thee  perish.  T.  Adams. 

2124.  FAITH,  as  a  Shield.  A  shield  is  a 

piece  of  armor  that  soldiers  were  wont  to  carry 
with  them  into  the  field  of  battle ;  so  is  faith 
a  part  of  the  Christian’s  armor  with  which  he 
fights  in  the  soul’s  warfare.  A  shield  is  for 
defence  ;  so  is  faith.  A  shield  is  not  a  fixture 
for  any  particular  part  of  the  body,  as  the  breast¬ 
plate,  the  helmet,  &c.,  but  was  for  the  hand, 
to  be  moved  about  according  to  the  direction 
in  which  the  darts  came ;  so  is  faith  a  shield 
against  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked,  coming 
to  whatever  part  of  the  Christian  they  may. 
A  shield  doth  not  only  defend  the  whole  body, 
but  it  is  a  defence  to  other  parts  of  a  soldier’s 
armor  also ;  it  keeps  off  the  dart  from  the 
helmet  and  breastplate  likewise  :  so  faith  is 
not  only  a  safeguard  to  the  whole  soul,  but  to 
all  the  particular  parts  of  the  Christian  life 
and  character.  The  shield  of  faith  protects 
the  girdle  of  truth,  the  helmet  of  salvation, 
and  the  breastplate  of  righteousness.  A  shield 
hath  been  of  wonderful  advantage  to  soldiers 
of  former  times.  What  wonderful  things  can 
be  said  of  faith  as  a  shield  in  the  hands  of 
God’s  people  in  all  ages  1  B.  Keach. 

2125.  FAITH,  Sight  of.  Sight  is  the  noblest 

sense ;  it  is  quick ;  we  can  look  from  earth 
to  heaven  in  a  moment :  it  is  large ;  we  can 
see  the  hemisphere  of  the  heavens  at  one 
view  :  it  is  sure  and  certain  ;  in  hearing,  we 
may  be  deceived ;  and,  lastly,  it  is  the  most 
affecting  sense.  Even  so,  faith  is  the  quickest, 
the  largest,  the  most  certain,  the  most  affect¬ 
ing  grace :  like  an  eagle  in  the  clouds,  at  one 
view,  it  sees  Christ  in  heaven,  and  looks  down 
upon  the  world ;  it  looks  backwards  and  for¬ 
wards  ;  it  sees  things  past,  present,  and  to 
come.  Sibbes. 

2126.  FAITH,  not  Sight.  By  constant  sight, 
the  effect  of  objects  seen  grows  less ;  by 
constant  faith,  the  effect  of  objects  believed 
in  grows  greater.  The  probable  reason  of  this 
is,  that  personal  observation  does  not  admit 
of  the  influence  of  the  imagination  in  impress¬ 
ing  the  fact;  while  unseen  objects,  realized  by 
faith,  have  the  auxiliary  aid  of  the  imagination, 
not  to  exaggerate  them,  but  to  clothe  them 
with  living  colors,  and  impress  them  upon  the 
heart.  Whether  this  be  the  reason  or  nob 
the  fact  is  true,  that,  the  more  frequently  we 
see,  the  less  we  feel,  the  power  of  an  object ; 
while,  the  more  frequently  we  dwell  upon  an 
object  by  faith,  the  more  we  feel  its  power. 

J.  B.  Walker. 

2127.  FAITH,  A  Soldier's.  One  day,  when 
Napoleon  I.  was  reviewing  his  troops  in  Paris, 
he  let  fall  the  reins  of  his  horse  from  bis  hands 
upon  the  animal’s  neck  ;  when  the  proud  char¬ 
ger  galloped  away.  Before  the  rider  could 
recover  the  bridle,  a  common  soldier  ran  out 
from  the  ranks,  caught  the  reins,  stopped  the 
horse,  and  placed  the  bridle  again  in  the  hands 
of  the  emperor.  “  Much  obliged  to  you,  cap¬ 
tain,”  said  Napoleon.  The  man  immediately 


256 


FAITH. 


FAITH. 


believed  the  chief,  and  said,  “  Of  what  regi-  I 
rnent,  sir.”  Napoleon,  delighted  with  his  quick  | 
perception,  and  ready  trust  in  his  word,  re¬ 
plied,  “  Of  my  Guards  !  ”  and  rode  away. 
As  soon  as  the  emperor  left,  he  laid  down  his 
gun,  saying,  “  He  may  take  it  who  will;  ”  and, 
instead  of  returning  to  the  ranks  whence  he 
so  suddenly  issued,  he  started  for  the  company 
of  staff-officers.  They  were  amazed  at  his  ap¬ 
parent  rudeness,  and  disobedience  of  orders ; 
and  one  of  the  generals  contemptuously  said, 
“What  does  this  fellow  want  here  ?  ”  —  “  This 
fellow,”  replied  the  soldier  proudly,  “  is  a  cap¬ 
tain  of  the  Guard.”  —  “  You  !  my  poor  friend : 
you  arc  mad  to  say  so,”  was  the  answer  of  the 
superior  officer.  “  He  said  it,”  replied  the 
soldier,  pointing  to  the  emperor,  still  in  sight. 

“  I  ask  your  pardon,  sir,”  said  the  general  re¬ 
spectfully  :  “  I  was  not  aware  of  it.”  And  so 
the  soldier  came  duly  to  his  post  as  a  captain 
of  Napoleon’s  Guard. 

212§.  FAITH,  Strength  of,  A  lion  in  conflict 
with  the  powers  of  hell,  faith  lies  down  like  a 
lamb  at  the  feet  of  the  Lord  of  heaven.  It 
returns  and  rests  “  in  quietness  and  in  confl¬ 
uence.’  Indeed,  in  this  way  it  obtains  salva¬ 
tion  and  strength.  The  calm  resting  upon  God 
makes  it  victorious  over  all  beside.  In  truth, 
it  is  lie  who  fights  for  the  believer,  with  the 
believer,  in  the  believer.  Faith  does  nothing 
alone,  nothing  of  itself  but  every  thing  under 
God,  by  God,  through  God.  J.  Stoughton. 

21 2i).  FAITH,  Submission  of.  A  lad  stood  on 
the  roof  of  a  very  high  building  ;  when  his  foot 
slipped,  and  he  fell.  In  falling,  he  caught  by 
a  rope,  and  hung  suspended  in  mid-air,  where 
he  could  sustain  himself  but  a  short  time.  At 
this  moment,  a  powerful  man  rushed  out  of  the 
house,  and,  standing  beneath  him  with  extend¬ 
ed  arms,  called  out,  “  Let  go  of  the  rope  1  I 
will  receive  you.”  —  “  I  can’t  do  it.”  —  “  Let  go 
of  the  rope,  and  I  promise  you  shall  escape 
unharmed.”  The  boy  hesitated  for  a  moment, 
and  then,  quitting  his  hold,  dropped  easily  and 
safely  into  the  arms  of  his  deliverer. 

2130.  FAITH,  Target  of.  Our  faith  is  the 
centre  of  the  target  at  which  God  doth  shoot 
when  he  tries  us  ;  and,  if  any  other  grace  shall 
escape  untried,  certainly  faith  shall  not. 

Spurgeon. 

2131.  FAITH,  Test  of.  There  was  a  British 
regiment  once  ordered  to  charge  a  body  of 
French  cuirassiers.  The  trumpets  sounded; 
and  away  they  went  boldly  at  them,  but  not 
to  victory.  They  broke  like  a  wave  that 
launches  itself  against  a  rock.  They  were 
sacrificed  to  a  trader’s  fraud.  Forged  not  of 
truest  steel,  but  worthless  metal,  their  swords 
bent  double  at  the  first  stroke.  What  could 
humai.  strength  or  the  most  gallant  bravery  do 
against  such  odds  ?  They  were  slaughtered  like 
sheep  on  the  field.  And,  ever  since  I  read  that 
tragedy,  I  have  thought  I  would  not  go  to  battle 
unless  my  sword  were  proved ;  I  would  not  go 
to  sea  with  anchors  that  had  not  been  tried. 
But,  of  all  things  for  a  man’s  comfort  and  peace, 
what  needs  60  much  to  be  proved  as  his  faith, 
its  truth  and  genuineness  ?  Anyway,  it  is  a 


serious  thing  to  face  death,  and  meet  the  King 
of  Terrors  on  his  own  ground ;  but  were  our 
faith  never  tried  till  we  stood  face  to  face  in 
the  valley  with  our  last  enemy,  face  to  face 
with  our  God  at  the  bar  of  judgment,  it  were 
still  more  serious.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2132.  FAITH,  Training  the.  You  must  train  the 

faith.  Is  that  possible  ?  Yes  :  I  will  give  you 
an  instance.  Richard  Cecil  one  day  went  into 
a  room  where  his  little  girl  was,  bright-eyed 
and  happy  as  she  could  be.  Somebody  had 
just  given  her  a  box  of  very  beautiful  heads. 
The  little  child  ran  to  her  papa  immediately 
to  show  this  little  gift.  “  They  are  very  beauti¬ 
ful,  my  child,”  he  said ;  “  but  now,  my  dear, 
throw  them  behind  the  fire.”  The  little  girl 
looked  for  a  moment.  It  was  a  great  trial. 
“  Now,  I  shall  not  compel  you  to  do  it ;  I  leave 
it  to  you  :  but  you  never  knew  papa  to  ask  you 
to  do  a  thing  that  was  not  kind  to  you.  I  can¬ 
not  tell  you  why ;  but,  if  you  can  trust  me,  do 
so.”  It  cost  a  great  effort :  but  the  little  child 
began  in  her  own  way  to  think,  “  Father  has 
always  been  kind  to  me ;  I  suppose  it  is  right.” 
And  she  took  the  box,  and,  with  a  great  effort, 
threw  it  behind  the  fire.  The  father  said  no 
more  for  some  time.  The  next  day,  however, 
he  presented  her  with  something  far  more 
beautiful,  and  which  she  had  long  desired. 
“  Now,”  said  he,  “  my  child,  I  did  this  to  teach 
you  to  trust  in  that  greater  Father  in  heaven. 
Many  a  time  in  your  life,  he  will  require  you  to 
give  up  and  to  avoid  what  you  cannot  see  the 
reasons  for  avoiding ;  but,  if  you  trust  that 
Father  as  you  have  trusted  me,  you  will  always 
find  it  best.”  That  was  training  the  child’s 
faith.  S.  Coley. 

2133.  FAITH,  Trial  of.  A  father  was  once 
amusing  his  children  with  an  electric  machine ; 
and,  after  one  or  two  had  received  the  shock, 
they  drew  back  from  the  apparatus  with  evi¬ 
dent  dread.  The  father  presently  held  out  the 
jar  uncharged,  and  consequently  harmless,  and 
said,  “  If  you  touch  it  now,  you  will  feel  noth¬ 
ing.  Who  will  try  ?  ”  The  children  drew 
back  with  their  hands  behind  them.  “  Don’t 
you  believe  me  ?  ”  said  he.  “  Yes,  sir ;  ”  and 
the  hands  were  held  out  to  prove  their  faith, 
but  were  quickly  withdrawn  before  they 
reached  the  dangerous  knob.  One  alone,  a 
timid  little  girl,  had  that  kind  of  confidence 
which  really  led  her  to  trust  her  father.  The 
rest  believed,  but  had  not  heartfelt  faith. 
Even  the  little  believer’s  faith  was  not  unwa¬ 
vering.  You  could  see  on  her  face,  when  the 
little  knuckle  approached  the  harmless  brass 
ball,  a  slight  expression  of  anxiety,  showing 
she  had  some  doubts  and  fears  after  all ;  and 
there  was  an  evident  feeling  of  relief,  when, 
from  actual  trial,  she  experienced  the  case  to 
be  as  her  father  represented  it. 

Illustrations  of  Truth. 

2134.  FAITH,  True,  The  trial  of  faith  is 
by  finding  what  we  will  do  for  God.  To  trust 
him  when  we  have  the  securities  in  our  own 
iron  chest  is  easy,  and  not  thankworthy :  but 
to  depend  on  him  for  what  we  cannot  see,  as 
it  is  more  hard  for  man  to  do,  so  it  is  more 


FAITH. 


FAITH. 


257 


acceptable  to  God  when  done  ;  for  in  that  act 
we  make  confession  of  his  deity.  Feltham. 

2135.  FAITH,  Unites  to  Christ.  As  the  graft 

is  kept  in  union  with  the  stock  by  means  of 
the  clay  which  has  been  applied  by  the  gar¬ 
dener,  so  is  the  believer  united  to  Christ  by 
faith,  which  is  the  gift  of  God.  The  clay 
cement  keeps  the  parts  together,  but  has  no 
virtue  in  itself:  so  faith  is  the  means  of  union 
to  Christ ;  it  shows  that  the  husbandman  has 
been  there.  When  the  clay  is  removed  in  an 
ordinary  tree,  the  graft  is  found  united  to  the 
6tock :  so,  when  faith  is  swallowed  up  in  sight, 
then  the  perfect  union  of  Christ  and  his 
people  is  seen.  J.  H.  Balfour. 

2136.  FAITH,  Untutored.  Dr.  Beecher,  in  his 
Autobiography,  tells  of  ft  poor  pious  Indian 
woman  whom  he  once  knew  on  Long  Island. 
He  says  that  one  fall,  just  before  Thanksgiv¬ 
ing,  ■while  standing  on  a  hill  near  the  beach, 
she  saw  a  large  flock  of  brant  (a  species  of 
wild  goose)  flying  over ;  and  she  said,  “  Oh 
that  the  Lord  would  give  me  one  of  those  brant 
to  keep  Thanksgiving  with  1  ”  Immediately  a 
duck-hawk  darted  from  a  tree  near  by,  and, 
flying  into  the  flock,  struck  one  of  them  dead. 
It  fell  not  far  distant;  and  Betty  went  and 
picked  it  up,  fully  believing  that  the  Lord  had 
sent  it  to  her  for  her  Thanksgiving  dinner. 
At  another  time,  when  she  received  a  present 
of  a  basket  of  meat  from  an  acquaintance,'  she 
said,  “  Thank  the  Lord  for  giving  me  this 
meat;  and  thank  you  too,  Col.  Gardiner.” 

Dr.  Wise. 

2137.  FAITH,  Unwavering.  Pray  for  unwa¬ 

vering  faith, — a  strong  (as  Jabez  Bunting,  when 
dying,  said),  an  obstinate  faith  in  God.  Seek 
such  faith  as  not  only  lays  hold  of  him,  but 
holds  him,  and  won’t  let  him  go  ;  that  has  the 
grasp  of  a  drowning  man.  Seek  a  faith  great¬ 
er  than  Joshua’s,  when,  laying  his  hand  on  the 
sun,  he  held  it  back  from  going  on  ;  a  faith 
like  Jacob’s,  who,  strange  as  it  seems,  held 
God  from  going  away,  as,  endowed  with  super¬ 
human  energy,  he  wrestled  the  night  through 
with  an  angel,  and,  the  stronger  of  the  two, 
prevailed,  replying  to  the  prayer,  “  Let  me  go, 
tor  the  day  breaketh  ;  ”  “1  will  not  let  thee  go 
unless  thou  bless  me.”  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2138.  FAITH,  Value  of.  Faith  is  compared 

to  gold ;  but  faith  is  much  more  noble  than 
gold.  As  gold  is  the  most  precious  metal  in 
things  mortal,  so  faith  doth  most  excel  in 
things  spiritual.  Cawdray. 

2139.  FAITH,  Venture  of.  Faith  is  nothing 
else  but  the  soul’s  venture.  It  ventures  to 
Christ,  in  opposition  to  all  legal  terrors.  It 
ventures  on  Christ,  in  opposition  to  our  guilti¬ 
ness.  It  ventures  for  Christ,  in  opposition  to 
all  difficulties  and  discouragements. 

IF.  Bridge. 

2140.  FAITH,  Victories  of.  The  undertakings 
of  Alexander,  of  Hannibal,  of  Ca?sar,  did  not 
signify  valor  like  to  this :  their  achievements 
were  but  toys  in  comparison  to  these.  Those 
famous  gallants  would  have  found  it  infinitely 
harder  to  conquer  the  world  in  this  way :  to 
have  subdued  their  lusts,  and  mastered  their 

17 


passions,  would  have  proved  far  more  difficult 
than  to  get  advantage  in  scuffles  with  armed 
men  ;  to  discomfit  legions  of  devils  would  have 
been  to  them  another  kind  of  work  than  was 
the  vanquishing  squadrons  of  Persians,  of 
Gauls,  of  Romans ;  to  have  set  upon  their  own 
ambition  and  vanity,  their  intemperance,  their 
revenge,  to  have  quelled  those  inward  ene¬ 
mies,  to  have  sustained  affronts,  disgraces, 
afflictions,  with  a  calm  and  contented  mind, 
—  would  have  more  tried  their  courage  than 
all  which  they  attempted.  Dr.  Barrow. 

2111.  FAITH,  Victorious.  In  ancient  history, 
there  is  a  story  of  a  valiant  captain  whose  barn 
nerwas  almost  always  first  in- the  fight;  whose 
sword  was  dreaded  by  his  enemies,  lor  it  was 
the  herald  of  slaughter  and  victory.  His  king 
once  asked  to  see  the  sword.  He  took  it,  quiet 
ly  examined  it,  and  sent  it  back  with  this  raes 
sage  :  “  I  see  nothing  wonderful  in  the  sword. 
I  cannot  see  why  any  man'  should  be  afraid 
of  it.”  The  captain  sent  the  reply “  Your 
Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  examine  the 
sword  ;  but  I  did  not  send  the  arm  that  wielded 
it.  If  you  had  examined,  that,  and  the  heart 
that  guided  the  arm,  you  would  have  under¬ 
stood  the  mystery.” 

2112.  FAITH,  Visions  of.  Faith1  is  a  certain 
image  of  eternity  ;  all  things  are  present  to  it; 
things  past  and  things  to  come  are  all  so  be¬ 
fore  the  eyes  of  faith,  that  he  in  whose  eyes 
that  candle  is  enkindled  beholds  heaven  as 
present,  and  sees  how  blessedi  a  thing  it  is  to 
die  in  God’s  favor,  and  to  be  chimed  to  our 
grave  with  the  music  of  a  good  conscience. 
Faith  converses  with  the  angels,  and  antedates 
the  hymns  of  glory.  Every  man  that  hath1  this 
grace  is  as  certain  that  there  are  glories  for 
him,  if  he  persevere  in  his  duty,  as  if  he  had 
heard  and  sung  the  thanksgiving-song  for  the 
blessed  sentence  of  doomsday.  Bp.  Taylor. 

2113.  FAITH,  Walking  by.  Andrew  Fuller 
was  to  preach  before  a  ministerial  associa¬ 
tion.  On  his  way  there,  the  roads  in-,  several 
places  were  flooded  from  recent  rains.  Mr. 
Fuller  came  to  one  place  where  the  water  was 
very  deep,  and,  being  a  stranger  to,  its  exact 
depth,  was  unwilling  to  go  on.  A  countryman 
acquainted  with  the  water  cried  out,  “  Go  on, 
sir  1  you  are  quite  safe  1  ”  Fuller  urged  on  his 
horse;  but  the  water  soon  touched  his  saddle, 
and  he  stopped  to  think.  “  Go  on,  sir  1  all  is 
right  1  ”  shouted  the  man.  Taking  the  man 
at  his  word,  Fuller  proceeded;  and  the  text 
was  suggested,  “  We  walk  by  faith,  not  by 
sight.” 

2144.  FAITH,  Wavering.  When  a  breeze 

blows  on  a  bed  of  willows,  all  heads  bend 
gracefully :  not  one  resists.  But  it  costs  the 
willows  nothing  to  yield  ;  and,  when  the  wind 
changes,  you  may  see  them  all  pointing  the 
other  way.  Behold  a  picture  of  smooth,  hol¬ 
low,  unreal  faith  1  A  mot. 

2145.  FAITH,  Weak.  As  a  man  with  a  pal¬ 
sied  hand  can  stretch  it  out  as  well  to  receive 
a  gift  at  the  hand  of  a  king  as  he  that  is  more 
sound,  though  it  be  not  so  firmly  and  stead¬ 
fastly  ;  so  a  weak  faith  will  as  truly  apprehend 


258 


FAITH. 


iELAHTHTHTLISnESS. 


God’s  promises  for  the  pardon  of  sin  as  a 
strong  faith,  though  not  so  soundly.  Cawdray. 

.  2146.  Even  in  a  spark,  there  is  fire.  Only 
try  it,  lay  suitable  fuel  on  it,  and  see  whether 
it  will  not  kindle  the  heap,  and  burst  into  a 
flame.  Faith,  though  it  may  be  weak,  is  never¬ 
theless  faith.  Faith  is  not  always  a  glowing 
torch :  it  is  sometimes  a  glimmering  taper. 
The  taper  gives  light  as  well  as  the  torch,  but 
not  so  brightly.  H.  Muller. 

2147.  FAITH  AND  WORKS,  Advised.  A  bishop 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  says,  “  When  I  was 
about  entering  the  ministry,  I  was  one  day  in 
conversation  with  an  old  Christian  friend,  who 
said,  ‘  You  are  to  be  ordained  :  when  you  are 
ordained,  preach  to  sinners  as  you  find  them ; 
tell  them  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  they  shall  be  as  safe  as  if  they  were  in 
heaven ;  and  then  tell  them  to  work  like 
horses.’  ” 

2148.  FAITH  AND  WORKS,  Marriage  of,  The 
second  chapter  of  the  Epistle  by  James  seems, 
to  my  mind,  to  describe  a  spiritual  wedding. 
We  are  “bidden  to  a  marriage;”  and,  as  at 
the  older  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee,  the  holy 
Master  is  present,  and  consummates  the  nup¬ 
tials.  The  parties  to  be  united  are  but  sym¬ 
bolic  personages,  and  yet  are  real  and  life-like 
too.  The  bride  is  young  and  beautiful,  —  ever 
young,  and  ever  clothed  upon  with  light  as 
with  a  garment.  Her  face  is  clear  as  the  day ; 
her  look  is  firm,  and  yet  trustful.  She  is  not 
of  the  earth,  but  heaven-born,  and  wears  her 
celestial  parentage  in  every  lineament  of  her 
radiant  countenance.  Her  name  is  “Faith.” 
She  is  the  daughter  of  God.  And  beside  her 
stands  one  whose  lusty  form  was  made  for 
deeds  of  daring  and  endurance.  He  is  sinewy 
and  athletic.  There  is  valor  in  his  eye,  and 
“  cunning  in  his  ten  fingers,”  and  strength  in 
his  right  arm.  He  was  created  to  act,  to  do, 
to  suffer.  He  was  formed  for  strife  and  strug¬ 
gle.  His  name  is  “  Action.”  With  solemn 
rites,  the  two  are  joined  in  wedlock.  They 
are  both  to  love,  and  both  to  obey.  They  are 
always  to  live  and  move  and  suffer  and  con¬ 
quer  together.  They  are  to  be  the  fruitful 
parents  of  every  thing  good  on  earth.  On 
them,  while  united,  Jehovah  pronounces  a 
“  blessing  ”  richer  than  that  which  gladdened 
the  nuptials  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  or  of  Ja¬ 
cob  and  Leah.  While  united,  they  are  to  live 
and  grow  and  conquer  ;  when  separated,  they 
are  to  droop  and  perish.  For  each  other,  and 
in  each  other,  and  with  each  other,  their  days 
of  struggle  and  victory  are  to  be  passed,  until 
time  shall  be  no  longer.  And  so  “  faith  ”  and 
“  works  ”  were  coupled  by  infinite  Wisdom ; 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  world  it  was  sol¬ 
emnly  announced,  “  What  God  hath  joined 
together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.” 

T.  L.  Cuyler. 

2149.  FAITH  AND  WORKS,  Need  of.  Two 
gentlemen  were  one  day  crossing  the  river  in 
a  ferry-boat.  A  dispute  about  faith  and  works 
arose,  —  one  saying  that  good  works  were  of 
small  importance,  and  that,  faith  was  every 
thing ;  the  other  asserting  the  contrary.  Not 


being  able  to  convince  each  other,  the  ferry¬ 
man  asked  permission  to  give  his  opinion, 
Consent  being  granted,  he  said,  “  I  hold  in  my 
hand  two  oars.  That  in  my  right  hand  I  call 
‘  faith  ;  ’  the  other,  in  my  left,  ‘  works.’  Now, 
gentlemen,  please  to  observe :  I  pull  the  oar  of 
faith,  and  pull  that  alone.  See  1  the  boat  goes 
round  and  round,  and  the  boat  makes  no  pro¬ 
gress.  I  do  the  same  with  the  oar  of  works, 
and  with  a  precisely  similar  result,  —  no  ad¬ 
vance.  Mark  !  I  pull  both  together,  we  go  on 
apace;  and  in  a  very  few  minutes  we  shall  be 
at  our  landing-place.  So,  in  my  humble  opin¬ 
ion,  faith  without  works,  or  works  without 
faith,  will  not  suffice.  Let  there  be  both,  and 
the  haven  of  eternal  rest  is  sure  to  be  reached.” 

2150.  FAITH  AND  WORKS,  Progeny  of.  From 
that  union  have  sprung  up  a  glorious  progeny. 
All  the  mighty  deeds  which  have  ennobled  and 
elevated  humanity  own  that  parentage.  Faith 
and  action  have  been  the  source,  under  God, 
of  every  thing  good  and  great  and  enduring 
in  the  Church  of  Christ  :  the  very  Church 
itself  exists  through  them.  Its  model  men 
were  men  of  faith  and  action.  Such  have  ever 
been  God’s  true  evangelists.  Such  was  Lu¬ 
ther,  the  flaming  iconoclast  of  Europe  ;  to-day 
writing  theses  and  commentaries,  and  to-mor¬ 
row  translating  the  Scriptures,  or  hurling  fresh 
invective  against  the  black  domination  of  the 
Man  of  Sin.  Such  were  Baxter,  the  indefati¬ 
gable  pastor  ;  Edwards,  the  perpetual  thinker; 
Neander,  the  perpetual  student;  Owen,  the 
perpetual  writer;  Knox,  the  untiring  reform¬ 
er;  Whitefield,  the  untiring  preacher;  and 
Chalmers,  who  appears  to  have  been  pastor, 
preacher,  writer,  thinker,  and  reformer,  all  in 
one.  Brethren,  such  may  God  honor  us  in 
being.  A  faith  sound  as  that  of  the  Westmin¬ 
ster  Assembly  will  not  save  the  dying  world 
around  us  unless  it  flows  out  into  action. 

T.  L.  Cuyler. 

2151.  FAITHFULNESS,  Coatly.  A  man  gave 
his  two  infant  children  in  charge  of  a  negro 
slave,  to  be  by  him  cared  for,  and  taken  to  a 
distant  port.  The  ship  was  wrecked,  and  had 
to  be  abandoned.  The  boats  were  nearly  full. 
The  slave  had  his  choice  to  leave  the  children, 
or  himself  be  left.  He  kissed  them  ;  bade  the 
sailors  take  good  care  of  them,  and  tell  his 
master  of  his  faithfulness  ;  and  soon  went 
bravely  down  with  the  foundering  ship. 

2152.  FAITHFULNESS,  Demanded.  Many  fill 
their  life  with  regrets  for  being  confined  to 
such  a  narrow  sphere  of  usefulness.  If  they 
only  were  in  the  ministerial  office,  or  had  mil¬ 
lions  of  money,  they  would  do  so  and  so ;  but 
what  can  an  ordinary  laborer,  a  poor  Sunday- 
school  teacher,  accomplish  ?  Friend,  be  con¬ 
tent  to  serve  God  where  he  has  placed  you ; 
for  there  precisely  you  can  accomplish  the 
most.  It  is  better  to  make  the  best  of  what 
you  have,  than  to  fret  and  pouf  for  what  you 
have  not.  The  man  with  one  talent  is  never 
accountable  for  five  ;  but,  for  his  one,  he  must 
give  as  strict  an  account  as  the  other  for  his 
five.  It  may  require  more  humility  to  husband 
one  talent  than  five,  and,  so  far  as  the  improve- 


FAJTT£FrDXi!N‘!ESS. 


FALL. 


259 


ment  or  misimprovement  of  either  is  con¬ 
cerned,  they  are  both  equally  important  in  the 
sight  of  God.  The  king’s  million  and  the 
widow’s  mite  are  worth  the  same  with  the 
Eternal. 

2153.  FAITHFULNESS,  Divine.  A  storekeep¬ 
er  of  the  Christian  Commission  was  requested 
to  cut  the  slices  of  bread  thinner,  as  the  sup¬ 
ply  was  running  low.  He  said,  “  Oh,  no  1  I 
can’t :  the  poor  fellows  are  so  hungry !  ” —  “  But 
our  bread  will  soon  be  gone.”  —  “  Well,  I  have 
faith  to  believe  the  Lord  will  send  us  more 
before  we  are  quite  out.”  He  did  as  he  liked, 
feeding  the  hungry  soldiers  that  pressed  about 
him.  The  last  loaf  was  taken  from  the  shelf, 
and  hundreds  were  still  unfed,  when  an  im¬ 
mense  load  of  provisions  was  driven  up  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  Commission,  —  more  than 
enough  to  supply  all  their  wants.  It  came 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  to  Gettysburg,  just 
in  time.  The  Lord  does  not  require  thin 
slices,  but  a  strong  faith. 

2154.  FAITHFULNESS,  Enduring.  The  legend 
of  Christina  the  Roman  maiden,  is,  that  her 
father  was  an  idolater,  and  she  a  devoted 
Christian.  One  day,  a  crowd  of  beggars 
moved  her  compassion.  Sha  took  her  father’s 
idols  of  gold  and  silver,  and,  having  broken 
them  up,  threw  the  fragments  among  the  beg¬ 
gars.  At  this,  her  father  caused  her  to  be 
beaten,  and  then  thrown  into  a  dungeon  ;  but 
the  angels  healed  and  comforted  her.  Her  fa¬ 
ther  next  caused  her  to  be  thrown  into  a  lake 
with  a  millstone  round  her  neck ;  but  the 
angels  held  up  the  stone,  clothed  her  in  a  white 
garment,  and  brought  her  safe  to  land.  Then 
her  father  ordered  her  to  be  thrown  into  a 
fiery  furnace,  where  she  remained  five  days  un¬ 
harmed,  singing  praises  to  God.  She  was  next 
dragged  to  the  Temple  of  Apollo,  to  sacrifice ; 
but,  when  she  looked  at  the  idol,  it  fell  down 
before  her.  In  prison,  she  sang  the  praises  of 
God  continually,  when  her  tongue  was  cut  out : 
yet  she  sang  more  sweetly  than  ever.  She  was 
shut  up  in  a  dungeon  with  venomous  reptiles, 
who  became  harmless  in  her  presence.  At  last, 
she  was  shot  to  death  with  arrows,  and  went 
up  to  receive  the  matryr’s  crown  as  the  reward 
of  her  dauntless  fortitude. 

2155.  FAITHFULNESS,  Patriotio.  When  Com. 
Smith  received  a  telegram  that  “  The  Con¬ 
gress,”  which  was  commanded  by  his  son,  had 
struck  her  flag,  he  remarked,  “  Then  Joe  is 
dead !  ”  It  was  the  father’s  eulogy  over  his 
dead  son.  He  was  indeed  dead. 

2156.  FAITHFULNESS,  Persistent.  A  dog 
which  accompanied  Lieut.  Pheff  of  Illinois  to 
the  war  was  with  his  master  when  he  was 
killed  at  Pittsburg  Landing ;  watched  over 
his  body  till  it  was  buried ;  and  then  staid  by 
the  grave,  never  leaving  it,  except  for  his 
meals.  Thus  he  watched  for  twelve  days,  till 
the  lieutenant’s  widow  came,  and  took  him 
and  his  master’s  body  away. 

2157.  FAITHFULNESS,  Rarity  of.  A  gentle¬ 
man  having  but  one  servant  thought  him  over¬ 
burdened  with  work,  and  took  another  to  help 
him.  When  he  had  two,  one  trusted  to  the 


other ;  often  both  were  missing,  and  the  work 
was  not  done.  Then  he  added  another,  and 
was  worse  served  than  ever.  Then  he  said, 
“  When  I  had  one  servant,  I  had  a  servant ; 
when  I  had  two,  I  had  but  half  a  one  ;  now  I 
have  three,  I  have  never  a  one.”  God  has 
many  servants,  but  little  good  service. 

Spencer. 

2158.  FAITHFULNESS,  Reason  for.  On  catch¬ 
ing  the  first  sight  of  the  Mamelukes  drawn  up 
in  order  of  battle  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  in 
view  of  the  Pyramids,  Bonaparte,  riding  Ite- 
fore  the  ranks,  cried,  “  Soldiers !  from  the 
summits  of  yonder  Pyramids,  forty  generar 
tions  are  watching  you.”  “  Forty  generations 
look  down  upon  you,”  is  the  other  and  better 
version. 

2159.  FAITHFULNESS,  Rewarded.  The  pious 
Lutheran  minister  at  Berlin,  Paul  Gerhard, 
was  deposed  from  his  office,  and  banished  the 
country  in  1666  by  the  elector,  Frederic  Wil¬ 
liam  the  Great,  on  account  of  the  faithful  dis¬ 
charge  of  his  ministerial  duties.  Not  know¬ 
ing  whither  to  go,  he  and  his  wife  passed  out 
of  the  city,  and  finally  stopped  at  a  tavern, 
oppressed  with  care  and  grief.  Gerhard  en¬ 
deavored  to  comfort  his  partner  by  the  text, 
“  Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord,  trust  also 
in  him  ;  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass.”  Then 
he  wrote  a  hymn  embodying  this  sentiment. 
Before  he  had  finished  its  perusal,  the  agents 
of  Duke  Christian  of  Mersburg  invited  him  to 
an  interview  with  that  prince,  by  whom  he 
was  appointed  Archdeacon  at  Luebben. 

2160.  FAITHFULNESS,  Scrupulous.  During 
a  flood  in  St.  Petersburg,  the  sentinel  before 
the  palace  refused  to  leave  his  post  (though 
ordered  so  to  do  by  the  empress,  and  death 
by  drowning  seemed  imminent)  till  relieved 
by  the  proper  officer. 

2161.  FAITHFULNESS,  Test  of.  Bishop  Hoop¬ 
er  was  condemned  to  be  burned  at  Gloucester, 
in  Queen  Mary’s  reign.  A  gentleman,  with  the 
view  of  inducing  him  to  recant,  said  to  him, 
“  Life  is  sweet,  and  death  is  bitter.”  Hooper 
replied,  “  The  death  to  come  is  more  bitter, 
and  the  life  to  come  more  sweet.  I  am  come 
hither  to  end  this  life,  and  suffer  death,  be¬ 
cause  I  will  not  gainsay  the  truth  I  have  here 
formerly  taught  you.”  When  brought  to  the 
stake,  a  box,  with  a  pardon  from  the  queen 
in  it,  was  set  before  him.  The  determined 
martyr  cried  out,  “  If  you  love  my  soul,  away 
with  it!  if  you  love  my  soul,  away  with  it!  ” 

2162.  FALL,  Consequences  of  the.  The  harp 
of  Eden,  alas  !  is  broken.  Unstrung  and  mute, 
an  exiled  race  have  hung  it  on  the  willows ; 
and  “  Ichabod  ”  stands  written  now  in  the  fur¬ 
rows  of  man’s  guilty  forehead,  and  on  the 
wreck  of  his  ruined  estate.  Some  things  re¬ 
main  unaffected  by  the  blight  of  sin,  as  God 
made  them  for  himself;  the  flowers  have  lost 
neither  their  bloom  nor  fragrance ;  the  rose 
smells  as  sweet  as  it  did  when  bathed  in  the 
dews  of  paradise ;  and  seas  and  seasons,  obe¬ 
dient  to  their  original  impulse,  roll  on  as  of 
old  to  their  Maker’s  glory.  But  from  man, 
alas  !  how  is  the  glory  departed  1  Look  at 


260 


FAT  iL. 


FAX.  LIN  Gr. 


his  body  when  the  light  of  the  eye  is  quenched, 
and  the  countenance  is  changed,  and  the 
noble  form  is  festering  in  corruption,  mould¬ 
ering  into  the  dust  of  death;  or  (change  still 
more  hideous)  look  at  the  soul !  The  spirit  of 

E"  dead,  the  mind  under  a  dark  eclipse, 
id  to  God  rankling  in  that  once  loving 
heart,  it  retains  but  some  vestiges  of  its  origi¬ 
nal  grandeur, — just  enough,  like  the  beautiful 
tracery  anil  noble  arches  of  a  ruined  pile,  to 
make  us  feel  what  glory  once  was  there,  and 
now  is  gone.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2163.  FALL,  Effect  of  the.  When  man  sinned, 
then,  in  the  language  of  our  great  poet,  “  All 
Nature  felt  the  wound.”  Man  was  as  the 
highest  note  in  the  scale  of  creation ;  and, 
when  he  descended,  through  all  Nature  there 
followed  a  corresponding  reduction.  It  be¬ 
came  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  not  by 
an  act  of  its  own  will,  but  by  reason  of  him 
who  subjected  the  same  ;  by  reason,  that  is, 
of  man  (Rom.  viii.  20).  Trench. 

2164.  FALL,  Emblem  of  the.  We  have  some¬ 
times  thought  that  we  saw  the  fittest  emblem 
of  man’s  fallen  state  in  the  ruins  of  an  old 
church :  now  deserted,  now  desecrated,  de¬ 
filed,  what  a  change  is  there  1  Save  in  the 
ivy,  that,  like  pity,  clings  to  the  crumbling 
wall,  sustaining  and  veiling  its  decay,  and  in 
some  sweet  wild -flower  rooted  in  window¬ 
sill  or  gaping  rent,  beauty  and  life  are  gone. 
Yet  there,  once  on  a  time,  many  a  person 
was  baptized  to  God  ;  there  holy  words  were 
spoken,  holy  vows  were  taken,  and  holy  com¬ 
munions  held.  There  are  eyes  in  glory  that 
turn  with  interest  to  that  lonely  spot.  God 
and  man  often  met  within  these  roofless 
walls  :  “  This  and  that  man  were  born  there.” 
But  now  the  only  sounds  are  the  sighing  of 
the  wind  or  the  roar  of  the  storm,  the  hoot 
of  the  owl  or  the  hiss  of  the  serpent :  no  life 
is  found  there  now  but  in  the  brood  of  the 
night-bird,  which  has  its  nest  among  the  ruins 
above,  or  in  the  worms  that  fatten  upon  the 
dead  in  their  cold  graves  below.  “  The  glory 
is  departed.”  And  once  a  shrine  of  God,  but 
now  a  deserted  sanctuary,  may  we  not  write 
‘  Ichabod  ’  on  the  heart  ?  The  ruin  resounds 
with  the  echoes  which  the  ear  of  fancy  hears 
muttering  among  the  desolate  heaps  of  Baby¬ 
lon, —  “  Fallen,  fallen,  fallen.”  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2165.  FALL,  Influence  of  the.  The  world  was 
made  for  man,  and  man  for  God.  The  upper 
link  gave  way ;  and  all  that  depended  on  it 
fell.  Man  rebelled,  and  carried  away  from  its 
allegiance  a  subject  world.  Arnot. 

2166.  FALL,  Permission  of  the.  Surely,  God 
is  so  just,  that  he  can  sanction  no  evil ;  and  so 
good,  that  he  can  permit  no  evil,  except  it  be 
with  the  design  to  bring  a  greater  good  out  of 
it.  A  ugustme. 

2B6  7.  FALL,  Testimony  to  the.  No  man  that 
takes  a  view  of  his  own  dark  and  blinded 
mind,  his  slow  and  dull  apprehension,  his  un¬ 
certain,  staggering  judgment,  roving  conjec¬ 
tures,  feeble  and  mistaken  reasonings  about  j 
matters  that  concerns  him  most,  ijl  ipelina-  j 
lions,  propension,  co  what  is  unlawful  to  him  , 


and  destructive,  aversion  to  his  truest  interests 
and  best  good,  irresolution,  drowsy  sloth,  exor¬ 
bitant  and  ravenous  appetites  and  desires, 
impotent  and  self-vexing  passions,  can  think 
human  nature,  in  him,  is  in  its  primitive  i  nteg- 
rity,  and  so  pure  as  when  it  first  issued  from 
its  high  and  most  pure  original.  Howe. 

2168.  FALL,  Tradition  of  the.  The  Persian 
tradition  is  to  the  effect,  that  man,  at  first, 
enjoyed  a  period  of  happiness  and  innocence 
in  an  elevated  region  which  his  god,  Ormuzd, 
had  assigned  to  him ;  but  it  was  necessary  to 
his  existence  in  this  state,  that  he  should  be 
humble  of  heart,  and  humbly  obey  the  divine 
ordinances ;  pure  he  must  be  of  thought,  pure 
of  word,  pure  of  deed.  For  a  time,  the  first 
pair  were  holy  and  happy.  But  at  last  Aliri- 
man,  the  evil  one,  appeared,  and  beat  down 
their  good  dispositions ;  and,  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  his  glozing  lies,  they  began  to  as¬ 
cribe  their  blessings  to  him.  Emboldened  by 
this  success,  Ahriman  the  liar  presented  him¬ 
self  again,  and  brought  with  him  fruit;  of 
which  they  ate :  and  in  that  instant,  of  a  hun¬ 
dred  excellences  which  they  possessed,  all  but 
one  departed  from  them ;  and  they  became 
subject  to  misery  and  death. 

2169.  FALLING,  Fear  of.  There  was  a  holy 

man,  that  rarely  heard  of  other  men’s  crimson 
sins,  but  he  usually  bedewed  the  place  with 
his  tears,  considering  that  the  seeds  of  those 
very  sins  were  in  his  own  nature.  In  thy 
nature  thou  hast  that  which  would  lead  thee, 
with  the  Pharisees,  to  oppose  Christ ;  and, 
with  Judas,  to  betray  Christ ;  and,  with  Pilate, 
to  condemn  Christ ;  and,  with  the  soldiers,  to 
crucify  Christ.  Oh,  what  a  monster  wouldst 
thou  prove,  should  God  but  leave  thee  to  act 
suitably  to  that  sinful  and  woful  nature  of 
thine  1  “  I  have  known  a  good  old  man,”  says 

Bernard,  “  who,  when  he  heard  of  any  one 
that  had  committed  some  notorious  offence, 
was  wont  to  say  within  himself,  ‘  He  fell  to¬ 
day;  so  may  I  to-morrow.’  Now,  the  reason  why 
humble  souls'  keep  up  in  themselves  a  holy 
fear  of  falling  is  because  that  is  the  very  best 
way  to  preserve  them  in  their  upward  path. 
“  Happy  is  the  man  that  feareth  always  ;  but 
he  that  hardeneth  his  heart  shall  fall  into 
mischief.”  Brooks. 

2170.  FALLING,  Reason  of.  “  Mother,”  said 
little  Nezzie,  one  morning,  after  having  fallen 
from  his  bed,  “  I  think  I  know  why  I  fell  out 
of  bed  last  night.  It  was  because  I  slept  too 
near  the  place  where  I  got  in.”  Musing  a  little, 
he  added  :  “  No,  that  was  not  the  reason  :  it 
was  because  1  slept  too  near  where  I  fell 
out.” 

2171.  FALLING,  Risk  of.  No  man  would 
willingly  hazard  himself  upon  a  fall  that  may 
break  his  leg,  or  some  other  bone,  though  he 
could  be  most  sure  that  he  should  not  break 
his  neck,  or  that  his  life  were  not  at  all  in 
danger,  and  that  he  should  be  perfectly  cured ; 
yet  the  pain  and  trouble  of  such  a  hurt  would 
terrify  him,  and  make  him  very,  fearful  when 
he  walks  iu  danger.  The  “  broken  bones  ” 
that  David  complains  of  after  his  fall  may 


FALSEHOOD. 


FAME. 


261 


work  fear  and  wariness  in  those  that  hear  him, 
though  they  were  certain  of  a  like  recovery. 

Leighton. 

*2172.  FALSEHOOD,  Acting.  Pope  Sixtus, 
when  cardinal,  counterfeited  sickness,  and  all 
the  infirmities  of  age,  so  well  as  to  deceive  the 
whole  conclave.  His  name  was  Montalto. 
Both  parties  supposed  that  he  would  not  live 
a  year ;  and,  on  a  division  for  the  vacant  apos¬ 
tolic  chair,  he  was  elected.  The  moment  he 
had  won  the  desired  power,  he  threw  away 
his  crutches,  and  began  to  sing  the  Te  Deum, 
with  a  much  stronger  voice  than  his  electors 
had  bargained  for;  and,  instead  of  walking 
with  a  tottering  step,  he  marched  in  their 
presence  with  a  firm  gait,  and  perfectly  up¬ 
right.  On  some  one  commenting  on  his  sud¬ 
den  change,  he  replied,  “  While  I  was  looking 
for  the  keys  of  St.  Peter,  it  was  necessary  to 
stoop ;  but,  having  found  them,  the  case  is  al¬ 
tered.”  E.  L.  Magoon. 

2173.  FALSEHOOD,  Brevity  of.  Falsehood  is 

fire  in  stubble  :  it  likewise  turns  all  the  light 
stuff  around  it  into  its  own  substance  for  a 
moment,  —  one  crackling,  blazing  moment,  — 
and  then  dies ;  and  all  its  contents  are  scattered 
in  the  wind,  without  place,  or  evidence  of  their 
existence,  —  as  viewless  as  the  wind  which  scat¬ 
ters  them.  Coleridge. 

2174.  FALSEHOOD,  Gain  of.  When  Aristotle 
was  asked  what  a  man  could  gain  by  telling  a 
falsehood,  he  replied,  “  Never  to  be  credited 
when  he  speaks  the  truth.” 

2175.  FALSEHOOD,  by  Insinuation.  Often  are 
the  most  painful  wrongs  inflicted  through  the 
medium  of  covert  innuendoes  and  malignant 
insinuations.  Half  of  a  fact  is  a  whole  false¬ 
hood.  He  who  gives  the  truth  a  false  coloring 
by  a  false  manner  of  telling  it  is  the  worst  of 
liars.  Such  was  Doeg  in  his  testimony  against 
the  priests.  He  stated  the  facts  in  the  case, 
but  gave  them  such  an  artful  interpretation  as 
to  impart  to  them  the  aspect  and  influence  of 
the  most  flagrant  falsehoods.  It  was  through 
the  same  mode  of  procedure,  that  our  Lord 
was  condemned.  A  perverse  misconstruction 
was  given  to  his  words,  so  that  what  was 
spoken  in  loyalty  to  the  highest  truth  was 
transformed  into  treason  worthy  of  death. 

E.  L.  Magoon. 

2176.  FALSEHOOD,  Parental.  “  Father  tells 
wrong  stories ;  don’t  he,  Emery  ?  Didn’t  you 
hear  him  say  to  Mr.  Ballard,  yesterday  morn¬ 
ing,  that  he  paid  two  hundred  dollars  for  the 
new  horse,  when  he  told  mother  the  night  be¬ 
fore  it  only  cost  him  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  ?  And  don’t  you  know  he  told  him,  too, 
he  should  be  obliged  to  ask  him  sixty  dollars 
per  acre  for  that  farm  land,  which  was  just 
what  it  cost  him  a  year  ago;  when  I  saw 
father  pay  money  for  it,  and  know  it  was  only 
forty  ?  And  then  to  shut  us  up  here  because 
I  told  him  we  came  directly  from  school,  when 
he  happened  to  see  us  stopping  to  play  by  the 
wayside  I  Oh  1  didn’t  he  look  stern  when  he 
said  he  would  not  have  any  lying  boys  about 
him  V  I  wanted  to  ask  him  why  he  told  Mr. 
Welles,  this  morning,  he  was  such  a  faithful 


friend  to  him,  and  would  do  any  thing  to  favor 
him,  and  then  turn  right  around,  the  moment 
he  was  gone,  and  say  he  despised  the  man,  and 
would  not  do  him  a  good  turn  to  save  his  life ; 
and,  when  mother  remonstrated  a  little,  he 
said,  ‘  Oh  I  policy,  my  dear :  Mr.  Welles  is  a 
man  of  influence.’  ” 

2177.  FALSEHOOD,  Part.  Falsehood  is  never 

so  successful  as  when  she  baits  her  hook  with 
truth.  No  opinions  so  fatally  mislead  us  as 
those  that  are  not  wholly  wrong ;  as  no  watches 
so  effectually  deceive  the  wearer  as  those  that 
are  sometimes  fight.  Colton. 

2178.  FALSEHOOD,  Perpetuity  of  a.  A  little 
newsboy,  to  sell  his  paper,  told  a  lie.  The 
matter  came  up  in  Sabbath  school.  “  Would 
you  tell  a  lie  for  three  cents  ?  ”  asked  a  teacher 
of  one  of  the  boys.  “  No,  ma’am  1  ”  answered 
Dick,  very  decidedly.  “  For  a  dollar  ?  ”  —  “  No, 
ma’am  1  ”  —  “  For  a  thousand  dollars  ?  ”  Dick 
was  staggered.  A  thousand  dollars  looked 
big.  Oh  I  would  it  not  buy  lots  of  things  ? 
While  he  was  thinking,  another  boy  behind 
him  roared  out,  “  No,  ma’am !  ”  —  “  Why  not  ?  ” 
asked  the  teacher.  “  Because,  when  the  thou¬ 
sand  dollars  is  all  gone,  and  all  the  tilings 
they  have  got  with  them  are  gone  too,  the  lie 
is  there  all  the  same,”  answered  the  boy. 

2170.  FALSEHOOD,  Resisting.  When  the 
immortal  Sidney  was  told  that  he  might  save 
his  life  by  telling  a  falsehood  by  denying  his 
hand-writing,  he  answered,  “When  God  hath 
brought  me  into  a  dilemma,  in  which  I  must 
assert  a  lie,  or  lose  my  life,  he  gives  me  a 
clear  indication  of  my  duty ;  which  is  to  prefer 
death  to  falsehood.” 

2180.  FAME,  Advantage  o£  Boerliaave  once 
received  a  letter  from  China,  directed  “  To  the 
Illustrious  Boerliaave,  Europe,  ”  which  reached 
him  as  safely  as  if  it  had  been  addressed 
to  Leyden,  Holland,  his  place  of  residence. 

2181.  FAME,  Bitterness  of.  “  Save  me  from 
the  horrors  of  a  jail !  ”  were  almost  the  dying 
words  of  the  poet  Burns.  Campbell,  who 
wrote  “  The  Pleasures  of  Hope,”  speaks  in 
this  melancholy  strain :  “lam  alone  in  the 
world.  My  wife  and  the  child  of  my  hopes 
are  dead.  My  only  surviving  child  is  con¬ 
signed  to  a  living  tomb,  —  a  lunatic  asylum. 
My  last  hopes  are  blighted.  As  for  fame,  it  is 
a  bubble  that  must  soon  burst.  Earned  for 
others,  shared  with  others,  it  was  sweet ;  but 
at  my  age,  to  my  own  solitary  experience,  it  is 
bitter.  Left  in  my  chamber  alone  with  my¬ 
self,  is  it  wonderful  my  philosophy  at  times 
takes  flight ;  that  I  rush  into  company,  resort 
to  that  which  blunts,  but  heals  no  pang ;  and 
then,  sick  of  the  world,  and  dissatisfied  with 
myself,  shrink  back  into  solitude  ?  ” 

2182.  FAME,  in  Death.  The  illustrious 
statesman  William  Pitt,  the  favorite  of  king 
and  people,  “died,”  says  Wilberforce  his 
friend,  “of  a  broken  heart.”  On  his  dying- 
bed,  he  is  stated  to  have  said,  “  I  fear  I  have 
neglected  prayer  too  much  to  make  it  availa¬ 
ble  on  a  death-bed.”  Still  more  distressing 
was  the  closing  scene  of  Sheridan’s  career. 
He  who  had  stood  on  the  pinnacle  of  glory, 


262 


IT.AJVCE. 


FAMILY. 


and  gained  the  mo9t  flattering  distinctions, 
■writes,  in  old  age,  to  one  of  his  friends,  “  I  am 
absolutely  undone  and  broken-hearted.”  Mis¬ 
fortunes  crowded  on  him  ;  and  his  last  moments 
were  haunted  by  fears  of  a  prison.  Forsaken 
by  his  gay  associates,  dispirited,  and  world- 
weary,  he  closed  his  eyes  in  gloom  and  sorrow. 
Sir  Walter  Scott  thus  gives  his  dirge  of  life. 
Referring  to  his  departure  from  Abbotsford,  he 
writes,  “  When  I  think  what  this  place  now 
is,  and  what  it  has  been  not  long  ago,  I  think 
my  heart  will  break.  Some  new  object  of 
complaint  comes  every  moment ;  sicknesses 
come  thicker  and  thicker ;  friends  are  fewer 
and  fewer.  The  recollection  of  youth,  health, 
and  powers  of  activity  neither  improved  nor 
enjoyed,  is  a  poor  strain  of  comfort.  The  best 
is,  the  long  halt  will  arrive  at  length,  and  close 
all.” 

2183.  FAME,  Limited.  When  we  had 
smoked  our  pipes  a  while,  and  all  the  servants 
gone  away,  I  presented  a  letter  of  the  Arch¬ 
bishop  of  Canterbury.  It  was  received  in 
due  form,  and,  after  a  short  explanatory  ex¬ 
ordium,  was  read  aloud  to  the  patriarch,  first 
in  English,  and  then  translated  into  Greek. 
“  And  who,”  quoth  the  Patriarch  of  Constanti¬ 
nople,  the  supreme  head  and  primate  of  the 
Greek  Church  in  Asia,  — •  “  who  is  the  Arch¬ 
bishop  of  Canterbury  ?  ” — “  What  ?  ”  said  I,  a 
little  astonished  at  the  question.  “  Who,” 
said  he,  “  is  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  ?  ”' 
—  “  Why,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.”  — 
“  Archbishop  of  what  ?  ”  said  the  patriarch. 
“  Canterbury ,”  said  I.  “  Oh  !  ”  said  the  patri¬ 
arch  :  “  ah,  yes  !  and  who  is  he  ?  ”  Here  all 
my  friends  and  myself  were  taken  aback  sorely. 

Curzon. 

2184.  FAME,  Posthumous.  The  noblest  re¬ 

nown  is  posthumous  fame ;  and  the  most 
refined  ambition  is  the  desire  of  such  fame. 
A  vulgar  mind  may  thirst  for  immediate  pop¬ 
ularity  ;  and  very  moderate  talent,  dexter¬ 
ously  managed,  may  win,  for  the  moment,  the 
hosannas  of  the  million.  But  it  is  a  Horace 
or  a  Milton,  a  Socrates  or  a  Sidney,  who  can 
listen  without  bitterness  to  plaudits  heaped  on 
feebler  rivals,  and  calmly  anticipate  the  day 
when  posterity  will  do  justice  to  the  powers  or 
the  achievements  of  which  he  is  already  con¬ 
scious.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

2183.  FAME,  Temple  of.  Chaucer,  in  his 
“  House  of  Fame,”  represents  it  as  a  magnifi¬ 
cent  palace,  situated  upon  a  mountain  of  ice, 
and  supported  by  rows  of  pillars,  on  which 
are  inscribed  the  names  of  those  whom  the 
capricious  goddess  Fame  decides  to  honor. 
In  this  chilly  atmosphere,  the  despotic  goddess 
ho1  ds  her  court,  and  decrees  her  unsatisfying 
and  unjust  favors. 

2186.  FAME,  Transient.  If  a  man  do  not 
erect  in  this  age  his  own  tomb,  ere  he  dies, 
he  shall  live  no  longer  in  monument  than  the 
bell  rings  and  the  widow  weeps.  Shakspeare. 

2187.  FAME,  Unreliability  of.  Alexander, 
being  much  taken  with  the  answers  of  Dio¬ 
genes,  bade  him  ask  what  he  would,  and  he 
should  have  it.  The  philosopher  demanded 


the  least  proportion  of  immortality.  “  That 
is  not  in  my  gift,”  says  Alexander.  “  No,” 
quoth  Diogenes  ;  “  then  why  doth  Alexander 
take  such  pains  to  conquer  the  world,  when 
he  cannot  assure  himself  of  one  moment  to 
enjoy  it  ?  ” 

2188.  FAME,  Vanity  of.  Fame  is  like  a  river, 
that  beareth  up  things  light  and  swollen,  and 
drowns  things  weighty  and  solid.  Lord  Bacon. 

2189.  FAMILY,  Discord  in  a.  The  fire  of  dis¬ 

cord  turns  a  house  into  a  little  hell,  full  of  the 
tormenting  passions,  sorrow  and  anguish,  dis¬ 
dain  and  despite,  malice  and  envy,  that  blast 
the  most  flourishing  families.  W.  Bates. 

2190.  FAMILY,  Faults  in  a.  What  can  be 

more  irksome  than  to  hear  two  sisters  contin¬ 
ually  setting  each  other  right  upon  trifling 
points,  and  differing  from  each  other  in  opin¬ 
ion,  for  no  apparent  reason  but  from  a  habit 
of  contradiction  ?  It  is  generally  on  such 
trifles  that  this  bad  habit  shows  itself,  so  that 
it  may  seem  needless  to  advert  to  it ;  but  it  is 
a  family  fault,  and  should  be  watched  against : 
for  it  is  an  annoyance,  though  but  a  petty  one, 
never  to  be  able  to  open  your  lips  without  be¬ 
ing  harassed  by  such  contradictions  as,  “  Oh, 
no  1  that  happened  on  Tuesday,  not  Wednes¬ 
day  ;  ”  or,  if  you  remark  that  the  clouds  look 
threatening,  to  be  asked  in  a  tone  of  surprise, 
“  Do  you  think  it  looks  like  rain  ?  I  am  sure 
there  is  no  appearance  of  such  a  thing.”  Nar¬ 
rate  an  incident,  every  small  item  is  corrected ; 
hazard  an  opinion,  it  is  wondered  at  or  contra¬ 
dicted  ;  assert  a  fact,  it  is  doubted  and  ques¬ 
tioned  ;  till  you  at  length  keep  silence  in  de¬ 
spair.  Bowes. 

2191.  FAMILY,  Godless.  A  house  without  a 
roof  would  scarcely  be  a  more  indifferent  home 
than  a  family  unsheltered  by  God’s  friendship, 
and  the  sense  of  being  always  rested  in  his 
providential  care  and  guidance.  Dr.  Bushnell. 

2192.  FAMILY,  A  Happy.  A  traveller  in  Ger¬ 
many  saw  a  singular  sight  in  a  tavern  where 
he  stopped  for  dinner.  After  dinner,  the  lar, I- 
lord  put  on  the  floor  a  great  dish  of  soup,  and 
gave  a  loud  whistle.  There  came  into  the 
room  a  big  dog,  a  large  cat,  an  old  raven,  and 
a  very  large  rat  with  a  bell  about  its  neck. 
They  all  four  went  to  the  dish,  and,  without 
disturbing  each  other,  fed  together.  After 
they  had  dined,  the  dog,  cat,  and  rat  lay  be¬ 
fore  the  fire,  while  Mr.  Raven,  in  his  black 
coat,  hopped  around  the  room.  The  landlord 
had  trained  these  animals  so  that  not  one  of 
them  offered  to  hurt  any  of  the  others.  He 
said  that  the  rat  was  the  most  useful  of  the 
four ;  for  the  noise  he  made  by  tinkling  his 
bells,  as  he  went  through  the  house,  drove  all 
the  rats  and  mice  away.  The  captain  says  he 
thinks,  that  if  a  dog  and  a  rat,  a  cat  and  a  bird, 
can  live  happily  together,  little  children,  espe¬ 
cially  brothers  and  sisters,  ought  to  do  the  same. 

2193.  FAMILY,  Inconsistency  in  the.  I  have 
been  in  his  family,  said  Christian  of  Talka¬ 
tive,  and  have  observed  him  both  at  home  and 
abroad  ;  and  I  know  what  1  say  of  him  is  the 
truth.  His  house  is  as  empty  of  religion  as 
the  white  of  an  egg  is  of  savor.  There  is 


K'wAJVIILiY. 


FAMILY  PRAYER.  263 


neither  prayer  nor  sign  of  repentance  for  sin ; 
yea,  the  brute  in  his  kind  serves  God  far  bet¬ 
ter  than  he.  He  is  the  very  stain,  reproach, 
and  shame  of  religion  to  all  that  know  him : 
it  can  hardly  have  a  good  word  in  all  that  end 
of  the  town  where  he  dwells,  through  him. 
Thus  say  the  common  people  of  him,  —  “A 
saint  abroad,  and  a  devil  at  home.”  His  poor 
family  find  it  so.  He  is  such  a  churl !  such  a 
railer  at,  and  so  unreasonable  with,  his  servants, 
that  they  neither  know  how  to  do  lor  or  to 
speak  to  him.  Men  that  have  any  dealings 
with  him  say  it  is  better  to  deal  with  a  Turk 
than  with  him  ;  for  fairer  dealings  they  shall 
have  at  his  hands.  This  Talkative,  if  it  be 
possible,  will  go  beyond  them,  defraud,  beguile, 
and  overreach  them.  Besides,  he  brings  up 
his  sons  to  follow  his  steps  ;  and,  if  he  finds  in 
any  of  them  a  “  foolish  timorousness  ”  (for  so 
he  calls  the  first  appearance  of  tender  con¬ 
science),  he  calls  them  fools  and  block¬ 
heads,  and  by  no  means  will  employ  them  in 
much,  or  speak  to  their  commendation  before 
others.  For  my  part,  I  am  of  opinion  that  he 
has  by  his  wicked  life  caused  many  to  stum¬ 
ble  anil  fall ;  and  will  be,  if  God  prevents  not, 
the  ruin  of  many  more.  Bunyan. 

2194.  FAMILY,  Joy  in  the.  Among  those 

who  rose  for  prayers  one  night  at  a  school- 
house  meeting,  were  three  adult  children  of  an 
aged  father,  a  member  of  my  church.  The  old 
man’s  heart  was  deeply  moved  as  he  saw  them 
rise ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  opportunity  was  given 
for  remarks,  he  was  on  his  feet.  I  shall  not  soon 
forget  the  scene.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  present 
with  power,  the  room  silent,  and  many  cheeks 
wet  with  tears.  With  a  full  heart  and  tremu¬ 
lous  voice,  that  white-haired  father  urged  all  to 
come  to  Jesus ;  and  then,  turning  to  his  children, 
he  said  with  a  simple  earnestness  that  thrilled 
every  heart,  “  Oh,  my  children  !  do  come  to 
Christ  now  1  ”  I  rode  home  with  the  family 
that  night  in  the  great  farm-wagon  ;  and,  as  we 
crept  slowly  along  those  prairie  slopes  in  the 
beautiful  moonlight,  the  old  man  still  preached 
Jesus  to  his  weeping  children.  It  seemed  as 
if  he  could  not  cease.  We  knelt  together 
once  more  at  the  family  altar  before  retiring. 
In  a  few  days,  all  those  children  were  rejoicing 
in  a  new-found  Saviour.  S.  J.  W. 

2195.  FAMILY,  Life  in  the.  “  Is  such  a  man 
a  Christian  ?  ”  was  asked  of  Whitefield.  “  How 
should  I  know  V  ”  was  the  answer  :  “  I  never 
lived  with  him.” 

2196.  FAMILY,  Maxims  for  the.  Let  God  be 
first.  Never  be  idle.  The  power  of  littles. 
I  will  try.  Attend  to  minor  morals.  Be  happy, 
and  make  happy.  Never  say,  “  We  must  do 
as  others  do.” 

2197.  FAMILY,  Quarrels  in  a.  Gotthold, 
nearing  that  several  relatives  were  soon  to 
meet  for  the  purpose  of  dividing  a  considera¬ 
ble  inheritance,  took  occasion  to  say  to  them, 
“  Take  heed  that  you  do  not  divide  hearts  as 
well  as  property.  The  eye  of  a  man  often 
looks  askance  when  others  attempt  to  share 
with  him  that  of  which  he  would  fain  appro¬ 
priate  the  whole.  A  philosopher  not  improp¬ 


erly  calls  self-love  a  dissolvent,  because  it 
often  disunites  the  hearts  of  the  nearest  rela¬ 
tives,  and  converts  their  love  into  hatred. 
In  Paris,  not  many  years  ago,  two  gentlemen 
at  the  division  of  a  property  of  which  they  had 
been  left  joint-heirs,  proceeded  from  words  to 
blows ;  when  one  of  them,  killed  the  other  with 
a  pestle,  and  afterwards  cut  his  own  throat. 
In  this  way,  Satan  came  in  for  a  share.  I  my¬ 
self  was  once  present  at  the  implementing  of 
a  will,  when  the  minds  of  the  relations  became 
exasperated  to  such  a  pitch,  that  they  broke 
to  pieces  the  most  costly  vessels,  and  tore  into 
shreds  beautiful  tapestries  and  hangings; 
neither  wishing  to  give  any  thing  to  the  other. 
Nor  did  they  ever  afterwards  in  their  lives 
meet,  or  exchange  words.  O  cursed  wealth  I 
of  which  the  Devil  makes  an  apple  of  discord. 
O  unhallowed  inheritance  !  which  breaks  the 
bond  of  Christian  love,  and  forfeits  the  inherit¬ 
ance  in  heaven.” 

2198.  FAMILY,  A  Patriotic.  The  father  of 
a  small  family,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebel¬ 
lion,  felt  that  he  could  not  stay  at  home  while 
his  neighbors  went  to  the  war.  The  boys 
agreed  to  take  care  of  the  place,  and  help 
mother,  while  the  father  fought  for  the  flag. 
Each  did  his  part  well.  The  boys’  farming 
elicited  the  commendation  of  a  passing  gentle¬ 
man,  to  whom  one  of  them  said,  “Father’s 
fighting,  I’m  digging,  and  mother’s  pray¬ 
ing.”  —  “  Fighting,  digging,  and  praying  !  ” 
cried  the  gentleman.  “  That’s  the  patriotism 
that  will  bring  the  country  out  of  her  distress.” 

2199.  FAMILY,  Peace  in  the.  Dr.  Newton 
tells  of  an  old  couple  that  were  known  to  have 
been  constantly  quarrelling  for  many  years. 
All  at  once,  the  strife  ceased.  The  village 
gossip  called  to  inquire  what  had  produced 
the  change.  She  was  told  that  they  kept  two 
Scripture  bears  in  the  house ;  and  it  was  due 
to  them.  The  one  was,  “  Bear  ye  one  an¬ 
other’s  burdens  ;  ”  the  other,  “  Forbearing  one 
another  in  love.”  Their  names  were  Bear  and 
Forbear.  The  explanation  of  it  was,  the  old 
couple  had  become  real,  practical  Christians. 

2200.  FAMILY  PIETY,  Absence  of.  A  little 
boy,  the  child  of  irreligious  parents,  was  visit¬ 
ing  in  a  minister’s  family,  entering  heartily 
into  all  the  religious  exercises.  One  day,  his 
mother  found  him  praying,  and  said,  “  What 
are  you  doing  ?  ”  He  answered,  “  O  mamma  ! 
we  must  pray  all  we  can  while  we  are  in 
Madison ;  ’tause  der’s  no  God  in  Albany.” 

2201.  FAMILY  PRAYER,  Dnty  of.  A  profess¬ 
or  of  religion  married  a  wife  of  irreligious 
sentiments  and  associations ;  and,  in  deference 
to  her,  dropped  his  custom  of  family  prayer. 
Some  time  after,  she  told  him  she  thought  she 
was  marrying  a  Christian ;  but  now  she 
doubted  it,  for  Christians  pray  with  their  fami¬ 
lies.  He  excused  himself  on  the  ground  of 
regard  for  her.  She  told  him  that  that  had 
nothing  to  do  with  his  duty,  and  that  she  liked 
to  see  professors  faithful  and  consistent.  She 
would  not  wait  till  morning,  but  insisted  that 
the  family  altar  should  be  restored  at  once, 
which  was  done  to  the  great  comfort  of  both 


264  FAJMTr.Y  PRAYER 


FAMILY  WORSHIP. 


Let  every  Christian  perform  this  duty  regard¬ 
less  of  opposition  or  supposed  indifference. 

2202.  FAMILY  PRAYER,  Negleot  of.  A  very 
small  girl  whose  mother  was  dead,  and  whose 
father  Lad  married  again,  but  had  not  resumed 
family  worship,  soon  after  the  event,  accosted 
him,  “Father,  is  God  dead?”  —  “No,  my 
child,”  said  he  :  “  what  makes  you  ask  that 
question  ?  ”  —  “  Why,  you  used  to  pray  to  him 
night  and  morning  when  my  mother  was  alive  ; 
but  you  don’t  now.  I  did  not  know  but  God 
was  dead  too.” 

2203.  FAMILY  PRAYER,  Punctuality  in.  John 
Howard  the  philanthropist  never  neglected 
the  duty  of  family  prayer,  though  there  were 
but  one,  and  that  one  a  servant,  to  join  him ; 
always  declaring,  that,  where  he  had  a  tent, 
God  should  have  an  altar.  Wherever  he  was 
when  the  time  came,  the  duty  was  attended 
to.  The  presence  of  no  one  was  allowed  to 
interfere  with  it ;  and  every  call  of  business 
must  wait  outside  the  locked  door  till  it  was 
ended. 

2204.  FAMILY  PRAYER,  Rejeoting.  A  well- 
to-do  and  intelligent  farmer,  who  had  eight 
grown-up  children,  was  powerfully  convicted  for 
sin,  but  would  not  yield  to  be  saved.  Being 
asked  what  the  nature  of  his  difficulties  was, 
he  said,  “  If  I  become  a  Christian,  and  make 
a  profession  of  religion,  I  must  have  family 
worship.  But  I  cannot  take  my  Bible,  read  a 
chapter,  and  then  kneel  down  and  pray,  in  the 
presence  of  my  family.  Had  I  commenced 
when  I  was  young,  as  I  ought  to  have  done,  it 
would  have  been  comparatively  easy  ;  but  now 
most  of  them  are  grown  up  around  me,  and  I 
cannot  do  it ;  I  cannot  do  it.”  And  he  did 
not. 

2205.  FAMILY  PRAYER,  Result  of,  A  mer¬ 
chant  had  taken  a  new  clerk  into  his  family, and, 
after  their  first  breakfast  together,  was  leaving 
without  family  prayer;  when  his  wife  called  him 
back,  and  placed  the  Bible  in  his  hands.  He 
read  a  chapter,  and  prayed  with  much  fervor. 
Six  weeks  after,  that  clerk  was  converted,  and 
ascribed  his  change  to  the  earnest  prayers  in 
the  family  of  his  employer. 

2206.  FAMILY  PRAYER,  Secured.  A  little 
girl  of  five  years  visited  her  grandfather’s,  and 
so  much  enjoyed  the  family  prayers  there,  that, 
on  her  return,  she  besought  her  father  to  read 
and  pray  as  grandpa  did.  Night  after  night 
6he  urged  her  father  with  tears,  till  he  yielded 
to  her  desire,  and  became  an  active  and  useful 
Christian. 

2207.  FAMILY  RELIGION,  Failure  of.  The 
father  prays  in  the  morning  that  his  children 
may  grow  up  in  the  Lord,  and  calls  it  even  the 
principal  good  of  their  life,  that  they  are  to  be 
Christians,  living  to  God  and  for  the  world  to 
come.  Then  he  goes  out  into  the  field  or  the 
shop  or  the  house  of  trade,  and,  delving  there 
all  day  in  his  gains,  keeps  praying  from  morn¬ 
ing  to  night,  without  knowing  it,  that  his  fam¬ 
ily  may  be  rich.  His  plans  and  works,  faith¬ 
fully  seconded  by  an  affectionate  wife,  pull 
exactly  contrary  to  the  pull  of  his  prayers,  and 
to  all  their  common  teaching  in  religion. 


Their  tempers  are  worldly,  and  make  a  worldly 
atmosphere  in  the  house.  Pride,  the  ambition 
of  show  and  social  standing,  envy  to  what  is 
above,  jealousy  of  what  is  below,  follies  of 
dress  and  fashion,  and  the  more  foolish  elation 
felt  when  a  son  is  praised  or  a  daughter  ad¬ 
mired  in  the  matter  of  personal  appearance, 
or,  what  is  no  better,  a  manifest  preparing  and 
foretasting  of  this  folly  when  the  son  or  daugh¬ 
ter  is  so  young  as  to  be  the  more  certainly 
poisoned  by  the  infection  of  it,  —  oh,  these  un¬ 
spoken,  damning  prayers  !  how  many  are  they, 
and  how  totally  do  they  fill  up  the  days  1 
The  mornings  open  with  a  reverent,  fervent- 
sounding  prayer  of  words  ;  and  then  the  days 
come  after,  piling  up  petitions  of  ends,  aims, 
tempers,  passions,  and  works,  that  ask  for  any 
thing  and  every  thing  but  what  accords  with 
the  genuine  rule  of  religion.  The  prayer  of 
the  morning  is  that  tlie  son,  the  daughter,  all  the 
sons,  all  the  daughters,  may  be  Christians; 
and  then  the  prayers  that  follow  are  for  any 
thing  but  that,  or  any  thing,  in  fact,  most  con¬ 
trary  to  that.  Is  it  any  wonder,  when  we 
consider  this  common  disagreement  between 
the  prayers,  even  the  fervent  prayers,  of  the 
family,  and  all  other  concerns,  enjoyments,  and 
ends  of  the  common  life  beside,  that  so  many 
fine  shows  of  family  piety  are  yet  followed  by 
so  much  of  godless  and  even  reprobate  charac¬ 
ter  in  the  children  ?  Dr.  Bushnell. 

2208.  FAMILY  WORSHIP,  Mode  of.  Philip 

Henry  was  most  exemplary  in  his  practice  of 
family  devotion.  Besides  the  regular  plan  of 
reading  and  expounding  the  Scriptures  morn¬ 
ing  and  evening,  he  used  strongly  to  recom¬ 
mend  singing;  saying  that  it  was  a  way  of 
exhibiting  godliness,  like  Rahab’s  scarlet 
thread,  to  such  as  pass  by  our  windows.  His 
children  and  servants  used  to  take  notes  of  his 
expositions ;  and  the  foundation  of  Matthew 
Henry’s  “  Commentary  ”  was  laid  from  these 
notes.  Besides  this,  on  Thursday  evening, 
instead  of  reading,  he  used  to  catechise  his 
children  and  servants  upon  the  Assembly’s 
Catechism,  with  the  proofs,  or  sometimes  in  a 
smaller  catechism ;  or  else  they  read,  and  he 
examined  them  in  some  other  useful  book,  as 
Mr.  Poole’s  “  Dialogues  against  the  Papists  ;  ” 
and  on  Saturday  evening  they  gave  him  an 
account  of  what  they  could  remember  of  the 
chapters  they  had  read  through  during  the 
week,  each  a  several  part  in  order.  Besides 
this,  he  had  also  days  of  humiliation  with  his 
family.  The  consequence  was,  that,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  blessings  resulting  to  his  own 
children,  many  who  came  to  live  with  them 
dated  their  first  impressions  from  these  ser¬ 
vices,  and  gave  God  thanks  that  they  ever  came 
under  his  roof.  Bowes. 

2209.  FAMILY  WORSHIP,  Time  for.  At  the 
time  of  the  recent  Indian  outbreak,  the  mis¬ 
sionary  among  them  was  advised  of  his  danger 
just  as  his  family  were  engaging  in  family  wor¬ 
ship.  They  went  through  it  as  usual ;  and, 
before  they  were  done,  the  savages  were  in  the 
house.  Taking  a  few  necessaries,  they  has¬ 
tened  to  conceal  themselves.  Though  often  in 


FAJVUNTE. 


eight  of  the  Indians  and  of  burning  buildings, 
they  escaped  all  injury,  and  made  a  long  jour¬ 
ney  in  an  open  country  without  any  illness. 
Doubtless  the  God  whom  they  honored  sent  an 
angel  guard  to  defend  them  against  all  their 
enemies. 

2210.  FAMTNE,  Incident  o£  An  Algerian 
paper,  the  “  Echo  d’Oran,”  has  the  following  : 
“  No  historical  famine  has  presented  to  the  sad¬ 
dened  eye  of  humanity  so  horrible  a  spectacle 
as  that  which  is  at  this  moment  to  be  observed 
among  the  Arabs.  Two  days  ago,  a  native 
woman  in  the  neighborhood  of  Misserghin 
killed  her  daughter,  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
gave  the  flesh  to  her  other  children,  and  par¬ 
took  of  it  herself.  The  legal  authorities, 
hearing  of  the  circumstance,  at  once  proceeded 
to  the  spot,  and,  on  entering  the  hut  occupied 
by  these  cannibals,  learned  that  the  heart,  the 
liver,  and  the  interior  portions  of  the  corpse, 
were  eaten,  because  they  could  not  keep. 
The  mother  was  occupied  in  salting  the  flesh, 
cut  up  into  pieces,  exactly  as  is  done  with 
pork.” 

2211.  FAMINE,  Supply  in.  While  St.  Nicho¬ 
las  was  bishop  of  Myra,  the  city  and  province 
were  desolated  by  a  dreadful  famine ;  and  he 
was  told  that  certain  ships  laden  with  wheat 
had  arrived  in  the  port  of  Myra.  He  went, 
therefore,  and  required  of  the  captains  of  these 
vessels  that  they  should  give  him  out  of  each 
a  hundred  hogsheads  of  wheat  for  the  relief 
of  his  people;  but  they  answered,  “  We  dare 
not  do  this  thing ;  for  the  wheat  was  measured 
at  Alexandria,  and  we  must  deliver  it  into  the 
granary  of  the  emperor.”  And  St.  Nicholas 
said,  “  Do  as  I  have  ordered  you  ;  for  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that,  when 
ye  discharge  your  cargo,  there  shall  be  found 
no  diminution.”  So  the  men  believed  him ; 
and,  when  they  arrived  in  Constantinople,  they 
found  exactly  the  same  quantity  that  they  had 
received  at  Alexandria.  In  the  meantime,  St. 
Nicholas  distributed  the  corn  to  the  people 
according  to  their  wants ;  and  it  was  miracu¬ 
lously  multiplied  in  his  hands,  so  that  they 
had  not  only  enough  to  eat,  but  sufficient  to 
sow  their  lands  lor  the  following*  year. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

2212.  FANATIC,  Description  of  the,  The  fa¬ 

natic,  big  with  pride,  and  full  of  himself,  re¬ 
jects  reason,  and  takes  the  emotions  of  his  own 
passions  for  those  of  grace  ;  and,  far  from  con¬ 
ducting  himself  with  Christian  modesty  an  1 
love,  he  follows  the  reveries  of  his  imaginations, 
as  if  they  were  the  inspirations  of  the  Divine 
Spirit.  He  imitates  the  follies  of  enthusiastic 
fools,  and,  if  occasion  offer,  the  cruelties  of 
bloody  persecutors.  ./.  Fletcher. 

2213.  FANATICISM,  Subjects  of.  Fanaticism 
is  the  most  likely  to  prevail  where  the  public 
mind  is  brought  under  any  powerful  excite¬ 
ment.  But,  far  from  real  piety  not  being  found 
in  any  sort  of  connection  with  enthusiasm,  the 
fact  is,  that  fanaticism  rarely  enters  except 
where  piety  abounds.  It  is  the  strong  and  full 
habit  of  body  which  has  the  strongest  tenden¬ 
cy  to  fever.  It  is  the  full  mcr  which  over- 1 


FASHION.  265 

flows  its  banks.  It  is  the  lofty  genius  which 
is  commonly  lashed  on  to  madness. 

J.  W.  Cunningham. 

2214.  FANCY,  Power  of.  Most  marvellous 
and  enviable  is  that  fecundity  of  fancy  which 
can  adorn  whatever  it  touches ;  which  can 
invest  naked  fact  and  dry  reasoning  with  un¬ 
looked-for  beauty  ;  make  flowerets  bloom  even 
on  the  brow  of  the  precipice;  and,  when 
nothing  better  can  be  had,  can  turn  the  very 
substance  of  the  rock  itself  into  moss  and 
lichens.  This  faculty  is  incomparably  the 
most  important  for  the  vivid  and  attractive 
exhibition  of  truth  to  the  minds  of  men. 

A.  Fuller. 

2215.  FANCY,  A  Sanctified.  We  should  make 

our  fancy  serviceable  to  us  in  spiritual  things. 
And,  seeing  God  has  condescended  to  repre¬ 
sent  heavenly  things  to  us  under  earthly  terms, 
we  should  follow  God’s  dealing  herein.  A 
sanctified  fancy  will  make  every  creature  a 
ladder  to  heaven.  Sibbes. 

2216.  FASHION,  Absurd,  We  laugh  heartily 

to  see  a  whole  flock  of  sheep  jump  because  one 
did  so:  might  not  one  imagine  that  superior 
beings  do  the  same  by  us,  and  for  exactly  the 
same  reason  ?  Greoille. 

2217.  FASHION,  Caprice  of.  The  English 

have  always  been  proverbial  for  their  caprice 
in  dress ;  and  Lucas  de  Ileere,  who  represent¬ 
ed  an  Englishman  in  a  state  of  nudity,  with 
cloth  and  shears  near  him,  yet  at  a  loss  what 
to  do  with  them,  justly  ridiculed  the  national 
foible.  The  Italians  have  a  story,  which 
formed,  in  all  probability,  the  basis  of  De 
Heere’s  jest.  A  man,  they  say,  who  was  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  an  idiot,  ran  about  the  streets 
naked,  carrying  a  piece  of  cloth  upon  his 
shoulders.  When  he  was  asked  why  he  did 
not  dress  himself,  since  he  had  the  materials, 
lie  replied,  “  Because  I  wait  to  see  in  what 
manner  the  fashions  will  end.”  Percy. 

2218.  FASHION,  in  Church,  If  you  wish  to 
see  the  latest  fashions,  go  to  church.  Rustling 
silks,  expensive  millinery,  jewels,  and  gold 
abound  there.  The  want  of  such  trifles  has 
kept  many  an  otherwise  sensible  woman  from 
church.  There  is  far  more  attention  to  ap¬ 
pearances  before  men  than  before  God.  How 
many  souls  is  fashion  shutting  out  of  heaven  1 

2219.  FASHION,  Clerical.  In  the  year  1523, 
Luther  laid  aside  the  monk’s  costume,  and 
thenceforth  dressed  according  to  the  fashions 
of  the  world.  He  chose  black  clothes ;  and, 
consequently,  that  became  the  fashion  of  the 
clergy.  His  reason  for  choosing  this  color  was 
this :  The  Elector  of  Saxony  took  an  interest 
in  him,  and  now  and  then  sent  him  a  piece  of 
black  cloth,  being  at  that  time  the  court  fash¬ 
ion,  and  because  Luther  preferred  it :  so  his 
scholars  thought  it  would  become  them  to  wear 
the  same  colors  as  their  master.  From  that 
time,  black  has  been  the  color  most  worn  by  the 
clergy. 

2220.  FASHION,  Cost  of.  The  skipper  of  a 
shallop  employed  between  Cape  May  and 
Philadelphia  had  done  us  some  small  service, 

I  for  which  he  refused  to  be  paid.  My  wife, 


266 


FASHION'. 


FASHION. 


understanding  that  he  had  a  daughter,  sent  her 
a  present  of  a  new-fashioned  cap.  Three 
years  after,  this  skipper,  being  at  my  house 
with  an  old  farmer  of  Cape  May,  his  passen¬ 
ger,  he  mentioned  the  cap,  and  how  much  his 
daughter  had  been  pleased  with  it.  “  But,” 
said  he,  “  it  proved  a  dear  cap  to  our  congre¬ 
gation.”  —  “  How  so  ?  ” —  “  When  my  daughter 
appeared  with  it  at  meeting,  it  was  so  much 
admired,  that  all  the  girls  resolved  to  get  such 
caps  from  Philadelphia;  and  my  wife  and  I 
computed  that  the  whole  could  not  have  cost 
less  than  a  hundred  pounds.”  —  “  True,”  said 
the  farmer ;  “  but  you  do  not  tell  all  the  story. 
I  think  the  cap  was,  nevertheless,  an  advantage 
to  us ;  for  it  was  the  first  thing  that  put  our 
girls  upon  knitting  worsted  mittens  for  sale  at 
Philadelphia,  that  they  might  have  wherewith¬ 
al  to  buy  caps  and  ribbons  there ;  and  you 
know  that  this  industry  has  continued,  and  is 
likely  to  continue,  and  increase  to  a  much 
greater  value,  and  to  answer  better  purposes. 
Upon  the  whole,  I  was  more  reconciled  to  this 
little  piece  of  luxury,  since  not  only  the  girls 
were  made  happier  by  having  fine  caps,  but  the 
Philadelphians  by  the  supply  of  warm  mittens.” 

Dr.  Franklin. 

2221.  FASHION,  Covetousness  of.  I  have  seen 
a  woman,  professing  to  love  Christ  more  than 
the  world,  clad  in  a  silk  dress  costing  seventy- 
five  dollars  ;  making-up  and  trimmings  of 
same,  forty  dollars ;  bonnet  (or  apology  for 
one),  thirty-five  dollars ;  velvet  mantle,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  diamond  ring,  five 
hundred  dollars ;  watch,  chain,  pin,  and  other 
trappings,  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  :  total, 
one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  — 
all  hung  upon  a  frail,  dying  woman.  I  have 
seen  her,  at  a  meeting  in  behalf  of  homeless 
wanderers  in  New  York,  wipe  her  eyes  upon 
an  expensive  embroidered  handkerchief  at  the 
story  of  their  sufferings,  and,  when  the  contri¬ 
bution-box  came  round,  take  from  a  well-filled 
porte-monnaie,  of  costly  workmanship,  twenty- 
five  cents  to  aid  the  society  formed  to  promote 
their  welfare.  Ah !  thought  I :  dollars  for 
ribbons,  and  pennies  for  Christ. 

From  a  Sermon. 

2222.  FASHION,  Cruelty  of.  A  fine-looking 
man,  of  noble  physique,  and  clad  in  overcoat, 
gloves,  and  stout  boots,  was  walking  out  the 
other  day  with  his  little  three-year-old  daugh¬ 
ter,  a  pale-faced  child  with  bare  neck  and 
arms,  and  morocco  slippers.  A  neighbor, 
meeting  them,  began  to  ask,  with  great  appar¬ 
ent  concern,  after  the  father’s  health  ;  adding, 
“  But  Pm  glad  your  little  one  does  not  inherit 
your  feeble  constitution.”  —  “Feeble  constitu¬ 
tion  1  ”  exclaimed  the  astonished  parent :  “  why, 
I  was  never  sick  a  day  in  my  life ;  while,  as  to 
my  daughter,  we  fear  she  has  her  mother’s  con¬ 
sumptive  tendencies.”  —  “  Indeed  !  ”  replied  his 
friend,  with  a  sly  twinkle  of  the  eye  :  “  you 
took  such  extra  care  to  protect  yourself  from 
the  cold,  while  she  goes  bare-necked  and  in 
pasteboard  shoes,  I  inferred  that  it  was  you 
that  inherited  the  mother’s  consumptive  ten¬ 
dencies,  and  not  she.” 


2223.  FASHION,  Fate  of.  It  was  foimerly 

the  custom,  that,  when  fashions  were  worn  out 
at  Paris,  the  milliners  and  dressmakers  sent 
the  antiquated  articles  to  Russia  and  Sweden, 
with  which  countries  the  commerce  of  fashion 
was  not  the  least  important.  A  vessel  laden 
with  such  merchandise  was  once  run  down  in 
the  channel  of  St.  Petersburg.  Next  day,  a  sal¬ 
mon  was  caught  in  the  Neva,  dressed  in  a 
white  satin  gown  ;  in  the  same  net  were  found 
two  large  cod-fish,  nearly  enveloped  in  muslin 
handkerchiefs  :  and  it  was  supposed  that  many 
a  shark  and  porpoise  was  dressed  in  robes  of 
the  latest  fashion,  which  had  been  intended  for 
the  fair  ladies  of  St.  Petersburg.  Percy. 

2224.  FASHION,  Greed  of.  A  woman  gave 
jive  cents  at  a  collection,  and  then  complained 
of  the  frequency  of  these  calls.  The  same 
week,  she  paid  twenty  dollars  for  a  fashionable 
bonnet  for  one  of  her  daughters.  Another 
gave  three  cents  at  a  missionary  collection,  and 
the  next  day  many  dollars  for  a  new  pair  of 
ear-rings.  A  church-member  had  nothing  to 
give  for  church  extension,  but  spent,  the  same 
season,  many  hundred  dollars  at  a  fashionable 
watering-place  for  personal  pleasure  in  the 
service  of  fashion. 

2225.  FASHION,  Heartlessness  of.  There  is  a 

set  of  people  whom  I  cannot  bear,  —  the  pinks 
of  fashionable  propriety,  —  whose  every  word 
is  precise,  and  whose  every  movement  is  un¬ 
exceptionable  ;  but  who,  though  versed  in  all 
the  categories  of  polite  behavior,  have  not  a 
particle  of  soul  or  cordiality  about  them.  We 
allow  that  their  manners  may  be  abundantly 
correct.  There  may  be  elegance  in  every  ges¬ 
ture,  and  gracefulness  in  every  position  ;  not 
a  smile  out  of  place,  and  not  a  step  that  would 
not  bear  the  measurement  of  the  severest  scru¬ 
tiny.  This  is  all  very  fine  :  but  what  I  want 
is  the  heart  and  gayety  of  social  intercourse  ; 
the  frankness  that  spreads  ease  and  animation 
around  it ;  the  eye  that  speaks  affability  to 
all,  that  chases  timidity  from  every  bosom,  and 
tells  every  man  in  the  company  to  be  confident 
and  happy.  Chalmers. 

2226.  FASHION,  Influence  of.  “  Ma,  if  I  should 
die,  and  go  to  heaven,  should  I  wear  my  moire- 
antique  dress  ?  ”  —  “  No,  my  love  :  we  can 
scarcely  suppose  we  shall  wear  the  attire  of 
this  world  in  the  next.”  —  “  Then  tell  me, 
ma,  how  the  angels  would  know  I  belonged  to 
the  best  society.” 

2227.  FASHION,  Origin  o£  An  old  Scotch 
preacher  is  reported  to  have  said,  in  one  of  his 
sermons  at  Aberdeen,  “  Ye  people  of  Aberdeen 
get  your  fashions  from  Glasgow,  and  Glasgow 
from  Edinburgh,  and  Edinburgh  from  London, 
and  London  from  Paris,  and  Paris  from  the 
Devil.” 

222S.  FASHION,  Price  ofl  A  young  lady  of 
twenty,  a  child  of  rich  parents,  was  trained  by 
her  mother  to  all  the  arts  of  fashionable  life. 
The  daughter  was  gay  amid  the  flatteries  of 
her  admirers,  and  the  mother’s  pride  was  sat¬ 
isfied.  Soon  sickness  came,  and  the  minister 
was  called  in.  He  talked  of  death,  judgment, 
and  eternity;  and  the  young  lady  trembled. 


FASHION. 


FATHER. 


267 


In  her  dying  hour,  she  called  for  her  fine 
clothes.  They  were  brought ;  and,  looking  up 
to  her  mother,  she  said,  “  These  have  ruined 
me.  You  never  told  me  I  must  die.  You 
taught  me  that  my  errand  into  this  world  was 
to  be  gay  and  dressy,  and  to  enjoy  the  vanities 
of  life.  What  could  you  mean?  You  knew 
I  must  die,  and  go  to  judgment.  You  never 
told  me  to  read  the  Bible,  or  go  to  church 
unless  to  make  a  display  of  some  new  finery. 
Mother,  you  have  ruined  me.  Take  them 
away,  and  keep  them  as  a  remembrance  of 
your  sin  and  my  sad  end.”  A  few  moments 
after,  she  died. 

2229.  FASHION,  Woman  of.  A  woman  must 
not  have  one  quality  of  a  ship ;  and  that  is,  too 
much  rigging.  Oh  1  what  a  wonder  is  it  to  see 
a  ship  under  sail,  with  her  tacklings,  and  her 
masts,  and  her  tops  and  top-gallants,  with  her 
upper  decks  and  her  netherdecks,  and  so  be¬ 
decked,  with  her  streamers,  flags,  and  ensigns, 
and  I  know  not  what.  Yea,  what  a  world  of 
wonders  is  it  to  see  a  woman,  created  in  God’s 
image,  so  miscreate  oftentimes  and  deformed, 
with  her  French,  her  Spanish,  and  her  foolish 
fashions,  that  he  that  made  her,  when  he  looks 
upon  her,  shall  hardly  know  her ;  with  her 
plumes,  her  fans,  and  a  silken  vizard  :  with  a 
ruff  like  a  sail ;  yea,  a  ruff  like  a  rainbow ; 
with  a  feather  in  her  cap  like  a  flag  in  her  top, 
to  tell  (I  think)  which  way  the  wind  wiil  blow. 

Ii.  Wilkinson. 

2230.  FASTING,  Christian.  “  Although  Chris¬ 
tians,”  says  Dr.  Neander,  “  did  not  retire  from 
the  business  of  life,”  yet  they  were  accustomed 
to  devote  many  separate  days  entirely  to 
examining  their  own  hearts,  and  pouring  them 
out  before  God,  while  they  dedicated  their 
lives  anew  to  him  with  uninterrupted  prayers, 
in  order  that  they  might  again  return  to  their 
ordinary  occupations  with  a  renewed  spirit  of 
zeal  and  seriousness.  These  days  of  holy  de¬ 
votion,  days  of  prayer  and  penitence,  which 
individual  Christians  appointed  for  themselves, 
were  often  a  kind  of  fast-days.  They  were  ac¬ 
customed  to  limit  their  corporal  wants  on  those 
days,  or  to  fast  entirely.  That  wliich  was 
spared  by  their  abstinence  was  applied  to  the 
support  of  the  poorer  brethren.  R.  Watson. 

2231.  FASTING,  End  of.  The  object  of  fast¬ 

ing  is  the  mortification  of  sin.  Is  your  mind 
distempered,  your  heart  hard,  your  grace 
weak,  and  corruptions  strong?  Doth  pride, 
envy,  malice,  the  love  of  the  world,  or  any 
other  filthiness  of  the  flesh  or  spirit,  prevail  ? 
Fasting  is  then  your  duty.  Some  demons  will 
not  come  forth  but  by  fasting  and  much 
prayer.  When  this  is  the  case,  fasting  is  the 
most  proper  remedy,  and  should  be  used  as 
the  chief  means  thereto.  J.  Beaumont. 

2232.  FASTING,  Occasions  of  Men  accused 
in  times  past  were  wont  humbly  to  abase 
themselves  before  the  judge,  with  long  beards, 
uncombed  hair,  and  black  array,  that  they 
might  secure  his  mercy.  So  when  pestilence, 
famine,  or  war  begin  to  rage,  or  any  calamity 
hangs  over  us,  it  becomes  us  to  present  our¬ 
selves  in  piteous  array,  with  fasting  and  prayer, 


before  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  that  his  anger 
may  be  turned  away  from  us.  Caivdray. 

2233.  FASTING,  Origin  of.  In  the  early 
stages  of  civilization,  no  idea  is  more  prevalent 
and  operative  than  that  the  Deity  is  propiti¬ 
ated  by  voluntary  sufferings  on  the  part  of  his 
creatures.  Hence  ensued  all  kinds  of  bodily 
mortification,  and  even  the  sacrifice  of  life  it¬ 
self.  The  notion  that  the  gods  were  jealous 
of  man’s  happiness  runs  through  the  entire 
texture  of  Greek  and  Roman  mythology.  But 
what  more  pleasurable  than  food  to  man, 
especially  to  the  semi-barbarian  ?  The  denial 
of  such  a  pleasure  must,  then,  be  well  pleasing 
to  the  Divinity.  Abstinence,  which  seemed 
imposed  by  Providence,  if  not  in  expiation  of 
guilt,  yet  as  an  accompaniment  of  sorrow, 
easily  became  regarded  as  a  religious  duty. 

Kitto. 

2234.  FATHER,  Conversion  of  a.  A  little  In¬ 
dian  girl,  seven  years  old,  was  wasting  away 
with  consumption.  She  had  been  failing  rap¬ 
idly  for  several  days.  One  afternoon,  when 
she  seemed  brighter,  she  begged  that  her  father 
might  be  called.  lie  came.  Then,  looking  up 
to  him  with  her  bright  but  sunken  eyes,  she 
said,  “  I  want  to  go  to  the  brook  once  more. 
May  I  go?”  Without  saying  a  word,  he 
folded  her  in  his  arms,  and  carried  her  down 
to  the  brook.  He  sat  down  in  the  shade, 
where  the  little  girl  could  see  the  water, 
and  the  bright  play  of  light  and  shade  be¬ 
tween  the  alders.  She  watched  them  a  mo¬ 
ment;  and  then,  turning  away  her  wasted  face, 
she  said  earnestly,  “  Pray,  father.”  —  “  Oh  1 
I  can’t,  my  darling,”  he  said  hastily.  “  But  do 
pray,  father,  do  pray,”  she  pleaded.  “  No,  no  I 
How  can  I  ?  No,  no  1  ”  —  “  Father,”  said  she, 
laying  her  little  thin  hand  upon  his  arm,  — ■ 
“  father,  I’m  going  to  heaven  soon ;  and  I  want 
to  tell  Jesus  Christ,  wLci.  I  see  him,  that  my 
father  prays.”  The  strong  man’s  head  was 
bowed ;  and  there  went  up  from  that  brookside 
such  a  prayer  of  repentance,  and  confession, 
and  supplication  for  forgiveness,  as  must  have 
thrilled  with  joy  the  courts  of  heaven.  Ho 
unclosed  his  eyes :  the  little  one  was  dead  1 
Her  freed  spirit  had  fled  on  the  wings  of  joy 
and  faith,  to  tell  the  Saviour,  “  My  father 
prays  !  ” 

2235.  FATHER,  A  Devoted.  An  Indian,  hav¬ 
ing  slain  one  of  another  tribe,  fled  to  the  French 
for  safety.  The  offended  Choctaws,  whom  no 
gifts  would  appease,  demanded  his  blood.  The 
Indian  Mingo,  being  produced,  declared  him¬ 
self  a  true  man,  and  ready  to  die,  but  regret¬ 
ful  on  account  of  his  aged  father,  his  wife,  and 
infant  children.  His  father  then  rose  up,  and 
offered  to  suffer  in  his  son’s  place,  and  was 
accepted.  His  friends  gathered  about  him, 
and  said  their  farewell  with  many  tears.  The 
aged  father  then  laid  his  head  upon  the  execu¬ 
tioner’s  block,  which  was  quickly  cut  off.  A 
noble  example  of  paternal  devotion  1 

2236.  FATHER,  Example.  A  father  and  his 
son  were  in  company,  when,  to  the  question 
“  What  will  you  take  to  drink  ?  ”  the  son  re¬ 
plied,  “  I’ll  take  what  father  takes.”  The 


268 


FATHER. 


IT-A-UXiTS. 


thought  of  his  responsibility  flashed  upon  the 
father,  who  answered,  “  I’ll  take  water.”  An¬ 
other  choice  might  have  sent  his  son  into  a 
drunkard’s  grave. 

2237.  FATHER,  Going  to  the,  Not  long 
since,  a  minister  gave  out  as  his  text,  “  I 
will  arise  and  go  unto  my  ”  —  Here  he  fell 
speechless  ;  and  the  word  “  Father  ”  was  pro¬ 
nounced  in  his  heavenly  presence. 

2238.  FATHER,  in  Heaven.  A  clergyman 
asked  some  children,  “  Why  do  we  say  in  the 
Lord’s  prayer,  ‘  Who  art  in  heaven,’  since  God 
is  everywhere  Y  ”  He  saw  a  little  drummer, 
who  looked  as  though  he  could  give  an  an¬ 
swer,  and  turned  to  him  for  it.  “  Well,  little 
soldier,  what  say  you  ?  ”  —  “  Because  it  is  his 
headquarters.” 

2239.  FATHER,  Message  to  a.  A  soldier  en¬ 
tered  the  rooms  of  the  Christian  Commission 
at  Nashville,  to  secure  an  envelope,  in  which 
to  enclose  the  bloody  scrap  of  a  leaf  from  a 
dying  son  to  his  father.  The  soldier  said  the 
son  was  his  partner.  In  the  charge  on  Kene- 
saw  Mountain,  he  discovered  him  staggering 
back,  with  blood  streaming  from  his  mouth. 
A  minnie-ball  had  severed  his  tongue  at  the 
roots,  so  that  he  could  not  speak.  He  made 
his  partner  understand  that  he  wanted  paper 
and  pencil ;  when  he  wrote,  with  bloody  fin¬ 
gers,  trembling  in  death,  the  solitary  line,  — 
“Father,  meet  me  in  heaven.”  He  tried  to 
sign  his  name  ;  but  only  an  irregular  and  van¬ 
ishing  line  appeared :  life  had  fled. 

2240.  FATHER,  Salvation  of  a.  A  little  girl, 
sitting  with  her  wicked  father,  asked  him  if  he 
ever  prayed  ;  which  made  him  very  angry.  She 
told  him  that  the  preacher  said,  “  All  good 
people  pray ;  and  they  who  do  not  pray  are 
not  going  to  heaven.  ”  And  she  added,  “  Pa, 
which  way  are  you  going  Y  ”  It  flashed  upon 
him  that  he  was  in  the  way  of  death.  He 
became  repentant,  and,  in  a  few  days,  was  a 
happy  convert. 

2241.  FAULT-FINDER,  Useful.  In  Massachu¬ 
setts  lived  a  man  who  was  a  bold  leader  of 
all  opposition  to  religion,  and  always  ready  to 
publish  abroad  any  delinquencies  which  might 
be  discovered  in  any  professor  of  religion.  At 
length,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  remove  from 
the  place  to  another  part  of  the  country. 
Meeting  the  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
church  one  day,  he  said,  after  passing  the  usual 
salutation,  “  Well,  I  suppose  you  know  that  I 
am  going  to  leave  town  soon ;  and  you  will 
probably  be  glad  of  it.”  —  “  Glad  of  it  Y  Why, 
no,”  said  the  minister :  “  you  are  one  of  our 
most  useful  men ;  and  I  think  I  shall  hardly 
know  how  to  spare  you.”  Taken  aback 
somewhat  by  such  a  reply,  he  immediately 
asked,  “  How  is  that  ?  ”  —  “  Why,”  rejoined 
the  minister,  “  there  can’t  be  a  sheep  that  gets 
afoot  out  of  this  fold,  but  that  you  will  always 
bark  from  one  end  of  the  town  to  the  other.  I 
think  you  have  really  been  one  of  the  most 
useful  watch-dogs  that  I  ever  knew.” 

2242.  FAULTS,  Beholding.  A  wise  heathen 
said,  “  Every  man  carries  two  wallets  with 
him,  hanging  the  one  before  and  the  other 


behind  him.  Into  that  before,  he  puts  the 
faults  of  others  ;  into  that  behind,  he  puts  his 
own.  By  this  means  he  never  sees  his  own 
failings,  while  he  has  those  of  others  always  be¬ 
fore  him.” 

^  2243.  FAULTS,  Discovered.  Ralph  Waldo 
Emerson  says  that  the  girl  at  the  spinning- 
frame  tied  a  broken  thread  so  carelessly,  that, 
when  the  fabric  was  woven  and  dressed,  it 
was  imperfect ;  and  the  master  traced  it  back 
to  the  girl  who  carelessly  caused  it,  and  she 
was  made  to  pay  the  damage.  So  it  will  be 
with  us,  if  we  do  not  exert  a  good  influence  on 
society :  there  will  be  a  damaged  woof,  a 
faulty  thread ;  and  the  Great  Master  will  trace 
the  fault  to  its  source. 

2244.  FAULTS,  Hiding.  An  ingenious  de¬ 
vice  of  some  men  to  avoid  criticism  of  their 
real  faults  is  to  affect  some  eccentricity.  W  ear 
a  hat  without  a  rim,  or  a  coat  with  only  one 
flap  ;  shave  your  face  on  one  side  only,  or  never 
cut  your  beard ;  live  on  pigs’  tails  and  salt,  or 
keep  a  tame  hyena,  —  and  you  will  have  thrown 
a  tub  to  the  whale,  which  will  prevent  his  mo¬ 
lesting  you.  It  is  told  of  Alcibiades,  that, 
finding  his  irregularities  becoming  the  general 

I  topic  of  conversation  at  Athens,  and  having  a 
very  fine  dog,  which  he  had  given  a  large  sum 
of  money  for,  he  cut  off  its  tail,  which  was 
reckoned  a  great  ornament.  His  friends  told 
him  the  whole  city  blamed  him  for  so  foolish 
an  action,  and  talked  of  nothing  else.  “  That 
is  what  I  meant,”  said  he.  “  I’d  rather  they 
should  talk  of  my  dog’s  tail  than  scrutinize 
my  conduct.” 

2245.  FAULTS,  Home.  Homes  are  more 
often  darkened  by  the  continual  recurrence  of 
small  faults  than  by  the  actual  presence  of  any 
decided  vice.  Those  evils  are  apparently  of 
very  small  magnitude ;  yet  it  is  easier  to  grap¬ 
ple  with  the  other.  The  Eastern  traveller  can 
combine  his  forces,  and  hunt  down  the  tiger 
that  prowls  upon  his  path ;  but  he  can  scarcely 
escape  the  mosquitoes  that  infest  the  air  he 
breathes,  or  the  fleas  that  infest  the  sand  he 
treads.  The  drunkard  has  been  known  to  re¬ 
nounce  his  darling  vice  ;  the  slave  to  dress  and 
extravagance,  her  besetting  sin  :  but  the  wasp¬ 
ish  temper,  the  irritating  tone,  the  rude,  dog¬ 
matic  manners,  and  the  hundred  nameless 
negligences  that  spoil  the  beauty  of  associa¬ 
tion,  have  rarely  done  other  than  proceed  till 
the  action  of  disgust  and  gradual  alienation 
has  turned  all  the  currents  of  affection  from 
their  course,  leaving  nothing  but  a  barren 
track  over  which  the  mere  skeleton  of  the 
companionship  stalks  alone.  Dr.  Thompson. 

2246.  FAULTS,  Parading.  When  the  absent 
are  spoken  of,  some  will  speak  gold  of  them, 
some  silver,  some  iron,  some  lead,  and  some 
always  speak  dirt;  for  they  have  a  natural 
attraction  towards  what  is  evil,  and  think  it 
shows  penetration  in  them.  As  a  cat  watching 
for  mice  does  not  look  up  though  an  elephant 
goes  by,  so  they  are  so  busy  mousing  for  defects, 
that  they  let  great  excellences  pass  them  un¬ 
noticed.  I  will  not  say  it  is  not  Christian  to 
make  beads  of  others’  faults,  and  tell  them  over 


FAXrLTS. 


FEAE. 


269 


every  day :  I  say  it  is  infernal.  If  you  want 
to  know  how  the  Devil  feels,  you  do  know  if 
you  are  such  a  one.  Beecher. 

2247.  FAULTS,  Proverbs.  It  is  a  good  horse 
that  never  stumbles.  Every  rose  has  its  thorn. 

—  English. - The  priest  errs  at  the  altar.  — 

Italian. - He  who  wants  a  mule  without 

fault  may  go  afoot.  —  Spanish. - He  who  re¬ 

lates  the  faults  of  others  to  you  designs  to  relate 
yours  to  them.  The  best  friends  we  have  in  the 
world  are  the  spies  of  our  actions,  who  pub¬ 
lish  our  faults.  Asiatic. 

224§.  FAULTS,  Reproving.  Yu,  Emperor  of 
China,  had  a  minister  who  never  failed  to  tell 
him  of  his  faults  with  the  freedom  of  a  friend. 
This  was  so  frequent,  that  the  emperor  became 
displeased,  and  determined  to  rid  himself  of 
so  importunate  a  counsellor.  The  queen,  his 
mother,  being  informed  of  it,  instantly  present¬ 
ed  herself  to  him,  and  wished  him  joy.  “  Joy  1  ” 
said  the  emperor :  “  of  what  ?  ”  —  “  Why,  my 
son,”  said  she,  “of  a  circumstance  that  has 
hardly  ever  happened  to  any  monarch  upon 
earth.  You  are  in  possession  of  a  subject 
who  has  the  courage  to  admonish  you  of  your 
faults  ;  and  who,  in  that  very  honest  quality,  is 
the  finest  courtier  and  the  most  artful  flatter¬ 
er,  since  he  thus  insinuates  that  you  have  the 
virtue  and  greatness  to  hear  it.”  Percg. 

2249.  FAULT3,  Telling.  It  is  one  of  the 
severest  tests  of  friendship  to  tell  your  friend 
of  his  faults.  If  you  are  angry  with  a  man,  or 
hate  him,  it  is  not  hard  to  go  to  him  and  stab 
him  with  words  :  but  so  to  love  a  man  that  you 
cannot  bear  to  seethe  stain  of  sin  upon  him, 
and  to  speak  painful  truth  through  loving 
words,  —  that  is  friendship.  But  few  have 
such  friends.  Our  enemies  usually  teach  us 
what  we  are,  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  Beecher. 

2250.  FEAR,  Anxious.  It  is  curious  to  think 
how  often  these  needless  fears,  which  cause  so 
much  unnecessary  anxiety  and  misery,  are  the 
resultof  pure  miscalculation  ;  and  this  miscal¬ 
culation  not  made  in  a  hurry,  but  deliberately. 
I  have  a  friend  who  told  me  this.  When  he 
was  married,  he  had  exactly  five  hundred 
pounds  a  year,  and  no  means  of  adding  to  that 
income.  So,  as  he  could  not  increase  his 
income,  his  business  was  to  keep  down  his 
expenditure  below  it.  But  neither  he  nor  his 
wife  knew  much  about  household  management ; 
and  he  was  a  good  deal  victimized  by  his  ser¬ 
vants.  After  doing  all  he  could  to  economize, 
he  found,  at  the  end  of  the  third  month  of  his 
financial  year,  that  he  had  spent  exactly  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  Four  times 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  he  calcu¬ 
lated,  made  six  hundred  pounds  a  year ;  which 
was  just  one  hundred  more  than  he  had  got. 
So  the  debtor’s  prison  appeared  to  loom  in  view, 
or  some  total  change  in  his  mode  of  life,  which 
it  seemed  almost  impossible  for  him  to  make, 
without  very  painful  circumstances  :  and  for 
weeks  the  thought  almost  drove  him  distracted. 
Day  and  night  it  never  was  absent.  At  length, 
one  day,  brooding  over  his  prospects,  he  sud¬ 
denly  discovered  that  four  times  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  made  just  five  hundred,  and 


not  six  hundred :  so  that  all  his  fears  were 
groundless.  He  was  relieved,  he  told  me ;  but 
somehow  his  heart  had  been  so  burdened 
and  sunk  by  those  anxious  weeks,  that,  though 
the  cause  of  anxiety  was  removed,  it  was  a  long 
time  before  it  seemed  to  recover  its  spring. 

Boyd. 

2251.  FEAR,  in  Brave  Men.  One  of  the  bra¬ 
vest  and  best  generals  that  Europe  ever  pro¬ 
duced  said  that  he  never  could  snuff  a  candle 
with  his  fingers  without  suffering  from  the  feat 
of  being  burned.  He  was  not  afraid  on  the 
battle-field,  but  he  was  afraid  of  scorching  his 
fingers.  There  was  a  man  who  never  saw  a 
thunder-cloud  without  trembling  lest  he  should 
be  struck  with  lightning;  and  yet,  when  he 
came  to  the  end  of  life,  he  had  no  fear  of  death, 
but  welcomed  it  as  he  would  rest  from  a  tire¬ 
some  journey.  Another,  who  would  faint  at  the 
sight  of  blood,  was  as  cheerful  in  view  of  imme¬ 
diate  dissolution  as  though  he  had  been  invited 
to  a  party,  and  was  hastening  to  go.  A  strong 
man,  who  had  braved  dangers  upon  the  land 
and  sea,  was  absolutely  afraid  of  being  alone 
in  the  dark.  He  had  no  fear  of  any  thing  he 
could  see,  but  a  mortal  dread  of  the  unseen. 

2252.  FEAR,  and  Confidence.  St.  Ambrose 
says  that  a  Christian  wife  was  on  a  journey 
with  her  heathen  husband,  when  a  terrific 
thunder-storm  arose,  which  overwhelmed  the 
man  with  terror.  His  wife  asked  the  cause. 
He  replied,  “  Are  not  you  afraid  V  ”  She  an¬ 
swered,  “  No,  not  at  all :  for  I  know  that  it 
is  the  voice  of  my  heavenly  Father;  and  shall 
a  child  be  afraid  of  a  father’s  voice  ?  ”  The 
husband  saw  that  his  wife  had  what  he  had 
not ;  and  this  led  him  to  the  adoption  of  Chris¬ 
tianity. 

2253.  FEAR,  in  Conviotion.  As,  when  the  air 

is  covered  with  clouds,  and  the  sun  darkened, 
tempests  begin  to  arise,  lightnings  fly  from 
heaven,  rumblings  are  in  the  air,  the  clouds 
burst,  and  the  thunder-crack  comes,  and  rain 
falls,  to  be  followed  by  sunshine  and  fair 
weather;  so  a  man  touched  in  conscience 
with  sorrow  for  his  sins,  oppressed  with  their 
burden  and  vileness,  complains  to  God,  sighs, 
sobs,  and  groans  like  the  thunder-crack,  dares 
no£_  look  up  to  heaven  for  his  wickedness,  but 
condemns  himself,  and  [tours  out  tears  like 
drops  of  rain.  Straightway  follows  quietness 
of  conscience,  with  wondering,  and  praising  the 
unspeakable  goodness  of  God,  for  his  mercies 
and  comforts  in  Christ.  Cawdray. 

2254.  FEAR,  Cowardly.  The  very  worst 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  lock  the  closet  door 
when  you  think  probably  there  is  a  skeleton 
within.  Fling  it  wide  open ;  search  with  a 
paraffine  lamp  into  every  corner.  A  hundred 
to  one,  there  is  no  skeleton  there  at  all.  But 
from  youth  to  age  we  must  be  battling  with 
the  dastardly  tendency  to  walk  away  from  the 
white  donkey  in  the  shadow,  which  we  ought 
to  walk  up  to.  I  have  seen  a  little  child,  who 
had  cut  her  finger,  entreat  that  it  might  just 
be  tied  up,  without  ever  being  looked  at :  she 
was  afraid  to  look  at  it.  But  when  it  was 
looked  at,  and  washed  and  sorted,  she  saw 


270 


IFEfAJR. 


FEAR. 


how  little  a  thing  it  was  for  all  the  blood  that 
came  from  it ;  and  about  nine-tenths  of  her 
fear  fled  away.  Boyd. 

2255.  FEAR,  Cure  for.  A  ship  was  on  her 
voyage  for  a  southern  port,  when  a  fearful 
storm  burst  upon  her,  filling  all  hearts  with 
fear.  A  sailor  had  his  little  boy  on  board  with 
him.  Seeing  his  confidence,  a  passenger 
asked  him,  “Don’t  you  think  the  bark  will  be 
lost,  and  all  be  drowned  V  ”  —  “  Oh,  no  1  ”  he 
answex-ed:  “I  have  just  been  out  on  deck; 
and  I  know  we  are  all  safe,  lor  father's  at  the 
wheel.” 

2256.  FEAR,  Effects  of.  Fear  sometimes 

adds  wings  to  the  heels,  and  sometimes  nails 
them  to  the  ground,  and  fetters  them  from 
moving.  Montaigne. 

2257.  FEAR,  Filial.  A  little  boy  was 
tempted  to  pluck  some  cherries  from  a  tree 
which  his  father  had  forbidden  him  to  touch. 

“  You  need  not  be  afraid,”  said  his  companion ; 

“  for,  if  your  father  should  find  out  that  you 
have  taken  them,  he  is  too  kind  to  hurt  you.” 
“  Ah  !  ”  said  the  little  fellow  :  “  that  is  the  vei'y 
reason  why  I  would  not  touch  them ;  for, 
though  my  father  would  not  hurt  me,  yet  I 
should  hurt  him  by  my  disobedience.” 

2258.  FEAR,  of  God.  An  African  traveller 
says,  that,  when  among  one  of  the  most 
degraded  and  savage  tribes  he  met  with,  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  the  idol  of  the  tribe 
stuck  upon  a  high  pole,  as  if  intended  to 
convey  the  idea  that  he  could  see  all  around 
the  country,  and  every  one  of  the  people.  And 
such  is  their  superstitious  faith,  that  they 
believe  that  every  act  of  dishonesty  would  be 
seen  by  their  god,  if  they  were  guilty  of  such 
an  act,  and  that  they  would  be  punished  ac¬ 
cordingly.  The  effect  of  this  faith  is,  that  no 
dishonest  act  is  perpetrated  within  sight  of 
this  idol,  and  the  most  valuable  property  is 
perfectly  secure. 

2250.  FEAR,  Groundlessness  of.  There  was  a 
time  when  the  astronomer,  observing  the  per¬ 
turbations  in  the  movements  of  the  planets, 
would  have  predicted  irreparable  destruction 
to  the  solar  system.  The  calculation  of 
Laplace  demonsti’ated  the  groundlessness 
of  this  fear;  showing  that  these  seeming  ir- 
regulai'ities  were  subject  to  fixed  laws;  that 
they  never  exceed  a  certain  limit,  mutually 
correct  each  other,  and  cannot  possibly  become 
dangerous.  This  fact  of  science  may  be  ap- 
lied  to  defections  from  the  faith  and  the 
armony  of  the  Christian  system. 

2260.  FEAR,  Influenoe  of.  Fear  guides  more 

to  their  duty  than  gratitude.  For  one  man  who 
is  virtuous  from  the  love  of  virtue,  from  the 
obligation  which  he  thinks  he  lies  under  to 
the  Giver  of  all,  there  are  ten  thousand  who 
are  good  only  from  their  apprehension  of  pun¬ 
ishment.  Goldsmith. 

2261.  FEAR,  and  Love.  A  military  officer 
being  in  a  dreadful  storm,  his  lady,  who  was 
sitting  in  the  cabin  near  him,  and  filled  with 
alarm  for  the  safety  of  the  vessel,  was  so  sur¬ 
prised  at  his  composure,  that  she  cried  out, 
“  My  dear,  are  you  not  afraid  ?  How  is  it  pos¬ 


sible  you  can  be  so  calm  in  such  a  storm  V  * 
He  arose  from  a  chair  lashed  to  the  deck,  and 
drew  his  swoi’d.  Pointing  it  to  his  wife’s 
breast,  he  said,  “  Are  you  not  afraid  ?  ”  She 
instantly  replied,  “No,  —  certainly  not.”  — 

“  Why  V  ”  said  the  officer.  “  Because,”  re¬ 
joined  his  lady,  “  I  know  the  sword  is  in  the 
hand  of  my  husband ;  and  he  loves  me  too 
well  to  hurt  me.”  —  “  Then,”  said  he,  “  rernern- 
ber,  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  that 
He  holds  the  winds  in  his  fist,  and  the  waters 
in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.” 

2262.  FEAR|  ffiisoonception  of.  He  that  stands 
below,  and  looks  to  the  top  of  St.  Paul’s,  or 
any  other  high  place,  thinks  the  people  upon 
the  height  but  children,  while  those  below  are 
giants.  If  he  stands  on  the  height,  and  looks 
down,  the  case  is  reversed.  So  it  is  with 
men.  Their  troubles  and  worldly  interests 
seem  great  while  gi’ovelling  among  them ;  but 
let  them  get  up  where  God  resides,  and  how 
trivial  will  all  appear  I 

2263.  FEAR,  of  Men.  During  a  revival,  a 
pi-oud-spirited  young  man  was  convicted;  but 
pride  and  the  fear  of  his  associates  prevented 
his  yielding  to  Christ.  A  few  years  later,  when 
on  his  bed  of  death,  he  saw  his  folly,  and  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  Oh  I  if  I  could  be  raised  up,  I  would 
not  be  ashamed  to  be  a  Christian  1  ” 

2264.  FEAR,  Natural.  Fear,  in  itself,  is  a 
thing  not  sinful;  for  is  not  fear  a  thing  nat¬ 
ural,  and  for  men’s  pi’eservation  necessary,  im¬ 
planted  in  us  by  the  provident  and  most  gra¬ 
cious  Giver  of  all  good  things,  to  the  end  that  we 
might  not  run  headlong  upon  those  mischiefs 
wherewith  we  are  not  able  to  encounter,  but 
use  the  remedy  of  shunning  those  evils  which 
we  have  not  ability  to  withstand?  Hooker. 

2265.  FEAR,  Overcome.  A  father  said  that 
his  little  girl,  who  was  much  afraid  of  the  dark, 
slept  at  night  in  a  crib  beside  his  bed.  Often 
had  he  been  wakened  during  the  night  by  a 
little  voice  saying,  “  Papa,  it’s  dark  !  It’s  dark, 
papa  1  Take  Nellie’s  hand.”  And  when,  in 
answer,  he  had  taken  hold  of  the  lifted  hand, 
she  sank  quietly  to  sleep,  all  her  fears  being 
taken  away.  The  remembrance  of  the  pleading 
voice  had  often  helped  him  to  l'emernber,  in  the 
midst  of  troubles  and  distress,  that  he,  too,  had 
a  Father  to  whom  he  could  lift  his  hand  and 
say,  “  Father,  it  is  dark  1  Take  my  hand.” 

2266.  FEAR,  Primary.  As  the  bristle  on  the 

shoemaker’s  thread  goes  through  the  hole  first, 
and  draws  the  thread  after  it ;  so  the  fear  of 
God’s  vengeance  first  goes  before,  breaking 
man’s  heart,  and  then  follows  the  thread  of 
God’s  mercies  in  Christ.  Cawdray. 

2267.  FEAR,  Remedy  for.  It  was  wise  advice 
of  Sydney  Smith,  when  he  said  that  those  who 
desire  to  go  hopefully  and  cheerfully  through 
their  work  in  this  life  should  “take  short 
views ;  ”  not  plan  too  far  ahead  :  take  the  pres¬ 
ent  blessing,  and  be  thankful  for  it.  Boyd. 

2268.  FEAR,  Removed.  The  answer  of  a 
Christian  sailor,  who  was  not  sure  that  he 
could  swim,  when  asked  why  he  remained  so 
calm  in  a  fearful  storm,  was,  “  Though  I  sink,  I 
shall  only  drop  into  the  hollow  of  my  Father’s 


IT1G.AJR. 


ITEELING. 


271 


hand :  for  he  holds  all  these  waters  there.” 
Another  says,  “  My  life  hangs  by  a  single 
thread;  but  that  thread  is  in  a  Father’s  hand.” 

2269.  FEAR,  Reproved.  A  little  girl  enticed 
her  father  into  the  closet  to  hide  from  her 
mother,  whom  she  heard  ascending  the  stairs. 
She  proposed  to  close  the  door  entirely ;  but 
her  father  said,  “  Hadn’t  we  better  have  it 
open  just  a  crack?  ’tis  so  dark  in  here.”  The 
little  creature  insisted  upon  its  being  tightly 
latched;  when  she  sought  her  father’s  hand, 
and  said,  in  a  most  protecting  way,  “  Don't  be 
afraid,  papa." 

2270.  FEAR,  Ridiculousness  of.  My  friend 
Jones  told  me,  that,  after  several  months  of  ex¬ 
tremely  hard  head  work,  which  had  lowered  his 
nervous  system,  he  found  himself  getting  into  a 
way  of  vaguely  dreading  what  might  come 
next,  and  often  received  his  letters  in  the 
morning  with  many  anticipations  of  evil.  But, 
happily,  a  friend  came  to  visit  him  who  carried 
all  this  about  a  hundred  degrees  farther;  who 
had  come  through  all  his  life  expecting  at  least 
an  earthquake  daily,  if  not  the  end  of  the 
world.  And  Jones  was  set  right.  In  the 
words  of  Wordsworth,  “  He  looked  upon  him, 
and  was  calmed  and  cheered.”  Jones  saw  how 
like  a  fool  his  friend  seemed,  and  there  came 
a  healthy  re-aetion  ;  and  he  opened  his  letter¬ 
box  bravely  every  morning,  and  was  all  right 
again.  Yes :  let  us  see  the  Helot  drunk,  and  it 
will  teach  us  to  keep  sober.  My  friend  Gray 
told  me,  that,  for  some  little  space,  he  felt  a 
growing  tendency  to  scrubbiness  in  money 
matters ;  but,  having  witnessed  pinching  and 
paring  (without  the  least  need  for  them)  car¬ 
ried  to  a  transcendent  degree  by  some  one 
else,  the  very  name  of  economy  was  made  to 
stink  in  his  nostrils ;  and  he  felt  a  mad  desire 
to  pitch  half-crowns  about  the  streets  wherever 
he  went.  In  this  case  the  re-action  went  too 
far ;  but,  in  a  week  or  two,  Gray  came  back  to 
the  middle  course,  which  is  the  safest  and  best. 

Boyd. 

2271.  FEAR,  Unreasonable.  A  royal  Bengal 
tiger,  kept  at  the  Residency,  Calcutta,  exhibit¬ 
ed  the  greatest  terror  at  the  sight  of  a  mouse. 
If  the  mouse  moved  about,  the  tiger  ran  or 
sprang  away,  as  if  in  dread  of  destruction.  A 
fall  of  his  foot  would  have  crushed  his  enemy ; 
but  his  fear  made  him  blind  to  the  truth. 

2272.  FEAR,  Use  of.  Many  men  affect  to 

despise  fear,  and,  in  preaching,  resent  any  ap¬ 
peal  to  it ;  but  not  to  fear  where  there  is  occa¬ 
sion  is  as  great  a  weakness  as  to  fear  unduly, 
without  reason.  God  planted  fear  in  the  soul 
as  truly  as  he  planted  hope  or  courage.  Fear 
is  a  kind  of  bell,  or  gong,  which  rings  the  mind 
into  quick  life  and  avoidance  upon  the  ap¬ 
proach  of  danger :  it  is  the  soul’s  signal  for 
rallving.  Beecher. 

2273.  FEARLESSNESS,  Christian.  What  can 
I  fear  ?  Will  it  be  death  V  but  you  know  that 
Christ  is  my  life,  and  that  I  shall  gain  by 
death.  Will  it  be  exile?  but  the  earth,  and  all 
its  fulness,  is  the  Lord’s.  Will  it  be  the  loss 
of  wealth?  but  we  brought  nothing  into  the 
world,  and  can  carry  nothing  out.  Thus,  all 


the  terrors  of  the  world  are  contemptible  in 
my  eyes ;  and  I  smile  at  all  its  good  things. 
Poverty  I  do  not  fear ;  riches  I  do  not  sigh 
for ;  death  I  do  not  shrink  from  ;  and  life  I  do 
not  desire,  save  only  for  the  progress  of  your 
souls.  Chrysostom. 

2274.  FEAST,  How  to  Make  a.  Lord  Chief- 
Justice  Hale  frequently  invited  his  poor  neigh¬ 
bors  to  dinner,  and  made  them  sit  at  table 
with  himself.  If  any  of  them  were  sick,  so  that 
they  could  not  come,  he  would  send  provisions 
to  them  warm  from  his  own  table. 

2275.  FEAST,  Meditation  for  a.  The  Egyp¬ 

tians  had  a  skeleton  brought  into  their  feast  to 
remind  them  of  their  mortality.  At  Prester- 
John’s  table,  a  death’s-head  was  the  first  thing 
set  on ;  and  Philip  had  not  only  a  boy  to  warn 
him  every  morning,  but  a  dead  man’s  skull  on 
his  table  every  meal,  to  remind  him  of  his 
mortality.  At  every  meal,  we  ought  to  say  to 
ourselves,  “Alas!  this  feeding  and  feasting  is 
but  a  little  repairing  and  propping  up  of  a 
poor  ruinous  house,  that  ere  long  will  fall  to 
the  ground.”  Spencer. 

2276.  FEELING,  and  Actions.  A  thought¬ 
ful  man  once  heard  another  much  praised  for 
good  feelings.  “  What  has  he  done  ?  ”  asked 
the  old  man  again  and  again.  The  company 
owned  they  could  not  name  any  thing  in  par¬ 
ticular.  “  Yes,”  answered  the  cynic  :  “  you  say 
that  he  is  a  man  that  has  good  feelings.  Now, 
gentlemen,  let  me  tell  you  that  there  are  peo¬ 
ple  in  this  world  who  get  a  good  name  simply 
on  account  of  their  feelings.  You  can’t  tell 
one  generous  action  they  ever  performed  in 
their  lives;  but  they  can  look  and  talk  most 
benevolently.  I  know  a  man  in  this  town  that 
you  all  would  call  a  surly,  rough,  and  unamia- 
blc  man,  and  yet  he  has  done  more  acts  of 
kindness  in  this  county  than  all  of  you  put 
together.  You  may  judge  people’s  actions  by 
their  feelings ;  but  I  judge  people’s  feelings 
by  their  actions.” 

2277.  FEELING,  Brevities.  Our  union  with 
Christ  is  the  union  of  the  covenant,  and  there¬ 
fore  not  dependent  upon  frames  and  feelings. 

—  A.  L.  Newton. - The  rock  does  not 

shake  nor  change,  though  the  sea  may  ebb  and 

flow  about  it.  —  Rutherford. - He  who  looks 

upon  Christ  through  frames  and  feelings  is 
like  one  who  sees  the  sun  on  water,  which 
quivers  and  moves  as  the  water  moves ;  but  he 
that  looks  upon  him  in  the  glass  of  his  word, 
by  faith,  sees  him  ever  the  same. 

2278.  FEELING,  Departed.  The  surgeon  dis¬ 
ciplines  himself  to  behold  suffering  unmoved ; 
familiarity  always  induces  indifference :  the 
child  fears  death,  and  is  deeply  affected  at  the 
sight  of  the  dead ;  the  old  grow  stoical,  and 
view  the  dead  without  a  tear.  So  with  reli¬ 
gious  emotions,  —  men  discipline  themselves 
into  the  stolidity  of  a  marble  statue,  live  un¬ 
moved,  and  launch  into  eternity  without  a  fear. 

2279.  FEELING,  Depending  on,  To  depend 
upon  feeling  in  religion  is  unsafe  and  dangerous. 
A  man  may  as  well  think  of  holding  fast  to  the 
clouds,  building  upon  running  sand,  or  rely¬ 
ing  on  the  wind.  The  clouds,  the  sand,  the 


272 


ETEB'LiIIN'  GK 


FIDELITY. 


wind,  are  no  more  changeable  and  uncertain 
than  are  feelings.  A  change  in  circumstances, 
or  a  change  in  health,  or  a  change  in  friends, 
tvill  often  produce  an  equal  change  in  feeling. 
Our  religion  should  be  like  the  sun  ;  cloud,  or 
no  cloud,  go  on  in  its  shining  course  :  like  the 
earth;  wind,  or  no  wind,  roll  on  in  its  orbit. 
We  should  “  stand  by  faith,”  “  live  by  faith,” 
and  “  hold  fast  the  profession  of  our  faith.” 

Bate. 

2280.  FEELING,  and  Faith.  There  are  two 

classes  of  Christians ;  those  who  live  chiefly  by 
emotion,  and  those  who  live  chiefly  by  laith. 
The  first  class,  those  who  live  chiefly  by  emo¬ 
tion,  remind  one  of  ships,  that  move  by  the 
outward  impulse  of  winds  operating  upon  sails : 
they  are  often  in  a  dead  calm,  often  out  of 
then-  course,  and  sometimes  driven  back  ;  and 
it  is  only  when  the  winds  are  fair  and  power- 
fill,  that  they  move  onward  with  rapidity.  The 
other  class,  those  who  live  chiefly  by  faith,  re¬ 
mind  one  of  the  magnificent  steamers  which 
cross  the  Atlantic,  which  are  moved  by  an 
interior  and  permanent  principle,  and  which, 
setting  at  defiance  all  ordinary  obstacles,  ad¬ 
vance  steadily  and  swiftly  to  their  destination, 
through  calm  and  storm,  through  cloud  and 
sunshine.  Dr.  Upham. 

2281.  FEELING,  Overcome,  The  power  of 

absolutely  repressing  the  slightest  outward 
exhibition  of  feeling  was  matter  of  especial 
pride  with  the  red  men.  If  they  were  glad, 
they  never  looked  it ;  if  the  most  awful  mis¬ 
fortune  befell  them,  it  wrought  not  the  least 
change  in  their  iron  features  and  their  im¬ 
pressive  demeanor.  From  his  tree-rocked  cra¬ 
dle  to  his  bier,  the  Indian  brave  was  trained 
to  bear  all  the  extremes  of  good  and  evil  with¬ 
out  making  any  signs  of  what  he  felt.  If  he 
met  a  friend,  the  dearest  on  earth,  or  if  he  was 
being  tortured  to  death  at  the  fiery  stake,  he 
preserved  the  same  fixed,  immovable  aspect. 
And  you  could  not  please  him  better  than  by 
believing  that  he  was  so  completely  beyond  all 
feeling  as  he  seemed ;  for  he  set  himself  out  as 
“  the  stoic  of  the  woods,  and  a  man  without  a 
tear.”  Boyd. 

2282.  FEELING,  Serving  God  without,  I  asked 
a  young  man,  “  Do  you  have  any  anxiety  about 
yourself  as  a  sinner  against  God  ?  ”  He  said, 
“  I  know  I  am  a  sinner ;  but  I  feel  very  little 
on  the  subject.”  —  “  Are  you  trying  to  do  what 
God  tells  you  to  do  as  well  as  you  are  able, 
and  with  such  light  as  you  have  ?  ”  I  asked. 
“  Oh,  no,  sir  1  for  it  would  seem  to  be  mockery 
for  one  who  feels  so  little  as  I  do  to  attempt 
to  pertorm  any  religious  duty.”  —  “  You  admit 
that  God  does  require  of  you  repentance  and 
faith  and  worship,  and  a  holy  life ;  do  you 
not  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  sir  :  I  must  admit  all  this ; 
but  I  do  not  feel  it.”  —  “  What  would  you  ad¬ 
vise  a  customer  to  do  who  had  contracted  a 
debt  at  this  store ;  who  admits  the  debt,  and 
that  he  ought  to  pay  it ;  but  says  he  knows  all 
this,  but  has  so  little  feeling  about  it  ?  ”  In 
an  instant,  he  said,  “  I  would  advise  him  to  pay 
it,  feeling  or  no  feeling  l”  —  “  That  is  just  what 
I  want  you  to  do,”  I  said.  “  What  shall  I  do  ?  ” 


he  asked.  “  Come  to  the  inquiry-meeting  to¬ 
night.;  and,  meanwhile,  do  you  search  your 
Bible,  and  ask  God  for  help.”  —  “I  will  do 
the  best  I  can,”  was  his  reply.  That  evening, 
he  admitted  no  progress,  only  he  saw  his  guilt 
more  clearly ;  but  he  would  do  all  God  required 
as  well  as  he  could.  I  never  saw  him  shed  a 
tear,  or  betray  a  tithe  of  the  emotion  the  young 
man  does  who  has  just  left  my  room  ;  but,  as 
fast  as  light  came,  he  obeyed  it.  In  a  lit¬ 
tle  time,  he  was  hoping  he  had  passed  from 
death  unto  life ;  and  for  years  he  has  lived  a 
faithful,  beautiful,  Christian  life. 

President  Tuttle. 

2283.  FEELING,  Variable,  The  variableness 
of  Christian  moods  is  often  a  matter  of  great 
and  unnecessary  suffering;  but  Christian  life 
does  not  follow  the  changes  of  feeling.  Our 
feelings  are  but  the  torch  ;  and  our  life  is  the 
man  that  carries  it.  The  wind  that  flares  the 
flame  does  not  make  the  man  waver.  The 
flame  may  sway  hither  and  thither;  but  he 
holds  his  course  straight  on.  Thus,  oftentimes, 
it  is  that  our  Christian  hopes  are  carried,  as 
one  carries  a  lighted  candle  through  the  windy 
street,  that  seems  never  to  be  so  nearly  blown 
out  as  when  we  step  through  the  open  door, 
and,  in  a  moment,  we  are  safe  within.  Our 
wind-blown  feelings  rise  and  fall  through  all 
our  life ;  and  the  draught  of  death  threatens 
quite  to  extinguish  them :  but  one  moment 
more,  and  they  shall  rise  and  forever  shine 
serenely  in  the  unstormed  air  of  heaven. 

I%66cll€.V» 

2284.  FELLOWSHIP,  Christian.  Christian 
society  is  like  a  bundle  of  sticks  laid  together, 
whereof  one  kindles  another.  Solitary  men 
have  fewest  provocations  to  evil,  but,  again, 
fewest  incitations  to  good.  So  much  as  doing 
good  is  better  than  not  doing  evil  will  I  ac¬ 
count  Christian  good  fellowship  better  than 
an  hermitisli  and  melancholy  solitariness. 

Bp.  Hall. 

2285.  FELLOWSHIP,  Human.  As  there  is  no 

one  part  of  our  body  hurt,  but  every  other  mem¬ 
ber  feels  it ;  so  ought  we  to  have  compassion 
upon  any  that  are  in  trouble,  or  sorrow  of  any 
kind,  and  to  make  our  neighbors’  business  our 
own.  Cawdray. 

2286.  FELLOWSHIP,  Law  of.  Fellowship  of 

souls  does  not  consist  in  the  proximity  of  per¬ 
sons.  There  are  millions  who  live  in  close 
personal  contact  —  dwell  under  the  same  roof, 
board  at  the  same  table,  and  work  in  the  same 
shop  —  between  whose  minds  there  is  scarcely 
a  point  of  contact,  whose  souls  are  as  far  asun¬ 
der  as  the  poles ;  whilst,  contrariwise,  there 
are  those  separated  by  oceans  and  continents, 
ay,  by  the  mysterious  gulf  that  divides  time 
from  eternity,  between  whom  there  is  a  con¬ 
stant  intercourse,  a  delightful  fellowship.  In 
truth,  we  have  often  more  communion  with  the 
distant  than  the  near.  Dr.  Thomas. 

2287.  FIDELITY,  Canine.  An  Edinburgh  cor¬ 
respondent  of  “  The  Boston  Journal  ”  says,  that 
some  five  years  ago,  a  man  was  buried  in  the 
Greyfriars’  Cemetery  in  the  former  city.  His 
dog  made  a  bed  on  his  grave.  From  that  time 


B’JLDEXjITV. 


FIDELITY. 


273 


to  this  he  has  lived  in  that  yard.  At  a  given 
time,  on  the  pealing-out  of  the  clock,  the  dog 
goes  out  for  breakfast,  which  is  given  to  him 
at  one  place.  At  one  o’clock,  as  the  time  is 
struck,  he  goes  to  a  baker’s,  who  has  given  his 
dinner  all  these  years.  He  consumes  about 
one  hour  and  a  half  to  refresh  himself.  He 
then  comes  back,  and  keeps  watch.  He  has 
done  this  more  than  five  years.  What  is 
queer,  on  Saturdays  he  will  wait  for  an  extra 
dinner.  This  he  keeps  till  Sunday.  He  does 
not  go  for  dinner  on  that  day.  Thousands 
visit  the  yard  to  see  this  dog. 

2288.  FIDELITY,  Christian.  There  have  been 

men  on  this  earth  of  God’s,  of  whom  it  was 
simply  true  that  it  was  easier  to  turn  the  sun 
from  its  course  than  these  from  the  paths  of 
honor.  There  have  been  men,  like  John  the 
Baptist,  who  could  speak  the  truth  which  had 
made  their  own  spirits  free,  with  the  axe  above 
their  neck.  There  have  been  men  redeemed 
in  their  inmost  being  by  Christ,  on  whom  ty¬ 
rants  and  mobs  have  done  their  worst ;  and 
when,  like  Stephen,  the  stones  crashed  in 
upon  their  brain,  or  when  their  flesh  hissed  or 
crackled  in  the  flames,  were  calmly  superior 
to  it  all.  F.  IF.  Roberson. 

2289.  FIDELITY,  Comfort  of.  Whitefield  and 
a  pious  companion  were  much  annoyed,  one 
night,  at  a  public  house,  by  a  set  of  gamblers  I 
in  the  room  adjoining  where  they  slept.  Their  | 
noisy  clamor  and  horrid  blasphemy  so  excited 
Whitefield’s  abhorrence  and  pious  sympathy, 
that  he  could  not  rest.  “  I  will  go  to  them, 
and  reprove  their  wickedness,”  said  he.  II  is 
companion  remonstrated  in  vain.  He  went. 
His  words  of  reproof  were  apparently  power¬ 
less  upon  them.  Returning,  he  laid  down  to 
sleep.  His  companion  asked  him,  “  What 
did  you  gain  by  it  ?  ”  —  “A  soft  pillow,”  he 
said,  and  soon  fell  asleep. 

2290.  FIDELITY,  Conjugal.  Paulina,  the  wife 

of  Seneca,  being  determined  not  to  survive  her 
husband,  whom  Nero  had  condemned  to  death, 
opened  a  vein  in  her  arm,  and  would  soon  have 
bled  to  death,  if  the  tyrant  had  not  sent  per¬ 
sons  who  compelled  her  to  stop  the  blood. 
For  the  remainder  of  her  life,  her  face  wore 
an  unusual  paleness,  which,  says  Tacitus,  was 
a  glorious  testimony  of  her  fidelity  to  her  hus¬ 
band.  Percy. 

2291.  FIDELITYi  Episcopal.  Yalens  the 
emperor,  a  zealous  Arian,  went  on  a  kind  of 
a  visitation-tour  through  his  dominions,  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  his  subjects  to  confess  the 
same  faith  as  himself:  so  he  and  his  prefect 
came  to  Cmsarasa.  The  prefect  sent  for  Basil ; 
and,  after  a  little  altercation,  he  asked  him 
if  he  was  not  ashamed  to  profess  a  different 
creed  from  that  of  the  emperor.  Basil  inti¬ 
mated,  that  he  thought  it  better  to  stand  alone 
by  the  side  of  the  truth  than  with  all  the 
world  on  the  side  of  falsehood.  The  prefect 
lost  his  patience,  and  began  to  talk  of  other 
weapons  than  those  of  argument.  “  Are  you 
not  afraid  to  oppose  me  ?  ”  he  said  to  Basil. 

“  Why  should  I  fear  ?  ”  said  Basil :  “  what  will 
happen  ?  ”  The  prefect,  bloated  with  rage, 

18 


and  almost  choked  with  passion,  gasped  out 
convulsively,  “  Confiscation,  banishment,  tor¬ 
ture,  death  I  ”  —  “Have  you  nothing  else?” 
asked  the  undaunted  bishop ;  “  for  nothing 
you  have  spoken  has  any  effect  on  me.  He 
that  has  nothing  to  lose  is  not  afraid  of 
confiscation.  Save  these  threadbare,  tattered 
garments,  and  a  few  books,  I  have  nothing  you 
can  take.  And  as  to  banishment,  you  cannot 
banish  me ;  for  the  earth  is  the  Lord’s,  and  the 
fulness  thereof,  whose  stranger  and  pilgrim  I 
am.  And  as  to  torture,  the  first  stroke  would 
kill  me ;  and  to  kill  me  is  to  send  me  to  glory.  ” 
—  “  No  man  ever  spoke  to  me  like  that  before,” 
said  the  crest-fallen  official.  “  Perhaps  you 
never  met  with  a  Christian  bishop  before,” 
was  the  reply.  A  widow,  one  of  Basil’s  flock, 
threw  herself  under  his  protection,  and  he 
risked  his  life  to  insure  her  safety.  The  emper¬ 
or,  with  a  body  of  soldiers,  went  to  the  church, 
and  demanded  the  sacrament  at  Basil’s  hand  ; 
and  he  determined  to  die  rather  than  dispense 
the  emblems  of  Christ’s  death  to  one  who  re¬ 
pudiated  his  divinity.  At  last,  a  day  of  clouds 
and  storms  was  followed  by  a  calm  and  tran¬ 
quil  sunset :  Basil  closed  his  eyes  upon  this 
scene  of  trouble,  to  open  them  upon  the  un¬ 
broken  calm  that  slumbers  on  the  everlasting 
hills.  F.  ./.  Sharr. 

2292.  FIDELITY,  Exemplified.  When  Poly¬ 
carp  was  brought  to  the  tribunal  before  whom 
he  was  tried,  the  proconsul  asked  him  if  he 
was  Polycarp;  to  which  he  assented.  The 
proconsul  then  began  to  exhort  him,  saying, 
“  Have  pity  on  thine  own  great  age ;  swear 
by  the  fortune  of  Caesar  ;  repent ;  say,  ‘  Take 
away  the  Atheists  ’  ”  (meaning  the  Christians). 
Polycarp,  casting  his  eye  solemnly  over  the 
multitude,  waving  his  hand  to  them,  and  look¬ 
ing  up  to  heaven,  said,  “  Take  away  these 
Atheists ;  ”  meaning  the  idolaters  around  him. 
The  proconsul  still  urging  him,  and  saying, 
“  Swear,  and  I  will  release  thee ;  reproach 
Christ,”  Polycarp  said,  “  Eighty  and  six  years 
have  I  served  him,  and  he  hath  never  wronged 
me ;  and  how  can  I  blaspheme  my  King,  who 
hath  saved  me  ?  ”  —  “I  have  wild  beasts,”  said 
the  proconsul,  “and  will  expose  you  to  them 
unless  you  repent.”  —  “  Call  them !  ”  said  the 
martyr.  “  I  will  tame  your  spirit  by  fire,”' 
said  the  Roman.  “  You  threaten  me,”  said 
Polycarp,  “  with  the  fire  which  burns  only  for 
a  moment,  but  arc  yourself  ignorant  of  the  fire 
of  eternal  punishment,  reserved  for  the  un¬ 
godly.”  Soon  after,  being  bound  on  the  burn¬ 
ing  stake,  he  thanked  God  for  the  honor  of 
the  martyr’s  fate ;  and  soon  his  spirit  went  up 
to  wear  the  martyr’s  crown. 

2293.  FIDELITY,  Illustration  of.  The  fidelity 
of  the  keepers  of  the  lighthouse  once  on  Mi¬ 
not’s  Ledge,  near  Boston,  may  well  be  imi¬ 
tated.  In  the  terrible  April  gale  of  1851,  this 
beautiful  structure  was  destroyed.  Two  men 
were  in  it  at  the  time ;  and  a  vast  multitude 
were  gathered  upon  the  shore,  waiting,  in  anx¬ 
ious  distress,  for  the  expected  catastrophe. 
Every  hour,  however,  the  bell  tolled  the  time, 
and  ever  the  light  pierced  the  dark  raging 


274 


FIDELITY. 


FLAG. 


storm,  and  bid  the  sailor  beware.  No  howl¬ 
ing  blast  could  silence  the  one,  or  rising  wave 
extinguish  the  other.  At  last,  one  giant  wave, 
mightier  than  the  rest,  rose  up  and  threw  its 
arms  around  the  tower,  and  laid  it  low  in  the 
waves.  Then  alone  was  the  bell  silent ;  then 
alone  did  the  light  cease  to  shine.  J.  M.  Reid. 

2294.  FIDELITY,  Heroio.  At  the  critical 

moment  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  when  every 
thing  depended  on  the  steadiness  of  the  sol¬ 
diery,  courier  after  courier  kept  dashing  into 
the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  an¬ 
nouncing,  that,  unless  the  troops  at  an  impor¬ 
tant  point  were  immediately  relieved  or  with¬ 
drawn,  they  must  soon  yield  before  the  im¬ 
petuous  onsets  of  the  French.  By  all  of  these 
the  duke  sent  back  the  selfsame,  spirit-stirring 
message,  “  Stand  firm  1  ”  —  “  But  we  shall  all 
perish ;  ”  remonstrated  the  officer.  “  Stand 
firm  I  ”  again  answered  the  iron-hearted  chief¬ 
tain.  “  You’ll  find  us  there  !  ”  rejoined  the 
other  as  he  fiercely  galloped  away.  The  re¬ 
sult  proved  the  truth  of  his  reply ;  for  every 
man  of  that  doomed  brigade  fell  bravely  fight¬ 
ing  at  his  post.  Bib.  Treasury. 

2295.  FIDELITY,  Memento  of.  There  is  noth¬ 
ing  in  Pompeii  that  invests  it  with  a  deeper 
interest  than  the  spot  where  a  soldier  of  old 
Rome  displayed  a  most  heroic  fidelity.  That 
fatal  day  on  which  Vesuvius,  at  whose  feet 
the  city  stood,  burst  out  into  an  eruption  that 
shook  the  earth,  a  sentinel  kept  watch  by  the 
gate  which  looked  to  the  burning  mountain. 
Amidst  the  fearful  disorder,  the  sentinel  had 
been  forgotten ;  and  as  Rome  required  her 
sentinels,  happen  what  might,  to  hold  their 
posts  till  relieved  by  the  guard,  or  set  at  lib¬ 
erty  by  their  officers,  he  had  to  choose  between 
death  and  dishonor.  Pattern  of  fidelity,  he 
stands  by  his  post.  Slowly,  but  surely,  the 
ashes  rise  on  his  manly  form  ;  now  they  reach 
his  breast ;  and  now,  covering  his  lips,  they 
choke  his  breathing.  He  also  was  “  faithful 
unto  death.”  After  seventeen  centuries,  they 
found  his  skeleton  standing  erect  in  a  marble 
niche,  clad  in  its  rusty  armor,  the  helmet  on 
his  empty  skull,  and  his  bony  fingers  still 
closed  upon  his  spear. 

2296.  FIDELITY,  Patriotic.  The  noble  Gen. 
Rice,  dying  on  the  field  of  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,  desired  to  be  turned  over.  “  Which 
way  ?  ”  asked  a  lieutenant.  “  Towards  the 
enemy,”  was  his  indistinct  reply.  He  was 
turned  so  as  to  face  in  death  the  foe  he  fought 
in  life.  He  was  asked,  “  How  does  Christ 
seem  to  you  now  ?  ”  —  “  Near  by,”  was  his 
whispered  answer.  Thus  died  the  hero,  true 
to  his  country  and  his  God. 

2297.  FIDELITY,  Religions,  When  Kossuth, 
escaping  the  pursuit  of  the  Cossacks,  sought 
the  protection  of  the  sultan,  that  monarch 
offered  him  safety,  wealth,  and  high  military 
command,  if  he  would  renounce  Christianity, 
and  embrace  the  religion  of  Mahomet.  A  re¬ 
fusal  of  these  conditions,  for  any  thing  he 
knew  to  the  contrary,  would  be  equivalent  to 
throwing  himself  upon  the  sword  of  Russia, 
which  was  whetted  for  his  destruction.  And 


this  was  his  answer  :  “  Welcome,  if  need  be, 
the  axe  or  the  gibbet ,  but  evil  befall  the 
tongue  that  dares  to  make  to  me  so  infamous 
a  proposal  1  Biblical  Treasury. 

2298.  FIDELITY,  Remarkable.  When  Lord 
Rawdon  was  in  South  Carolina,  during  the 
American  war,  he  had  to  send  an  express  of 
great  importance  through  a  country  filled  with 
the  enemy ;  which  a  corporal  of  the  Seventeenth 
Dragoons,  of  known  courage  and  intelligence, 
was  selected  to  escort.  They  had  not  proceed¬ 
ed  far  when  they  were  fired  upon,  the  express 
killed,  and  the  corporal  wounded  in  the  side. 
Careless  of  his  wounds,  he  thought  but  of  his 
duty.  He  snatched  the  despatch  from  the  dying 
man,  and  rode  on,  till,  from  the  loss  of  blood,  h° 
fell ;  when,  fearing  the  despatch  would  be  taken 
by  the  enemy,  he  thrushed  it  into  the  wound 
until  it  closed  upon  it.  He  was  found  next 
day  by  a  British  patrole,  with  a  smile  of  con¬ 
scious  virtue  on  his  countenance,  with  only  life 
sufficiently  remaining  to  point  to  the  fatal  de¬ 
pository  of  his  secret.  In  searching  the  wound 
was  found  the  cause  of  his  death ;  for  the  sur¬ 
geon  declared  that  it  was  not  itself  mortal,  but 
rendered  so  by  the  insertion  of  the  paper. 

Percy. 

2299.  FIDELITY,  Rewarded.  Henry  V.,  on 

the  evening  of  Agincourt,  found  the  chivalric 
David  Gam  still  clasping  the  banner,  which, 
through  the  fight,  his  strength  had  borne,  and 
his  right  arm  defended.  Often  had  the  mon¬ 
arch  noticed  that  pennon  waving  in  the  fore¬ 
most  van  of  the  men  of  England  who  that 
day,  pierced,  broke,  and  routed  the  proud 
ranks  of  France.  The  king  knighted  him  as 
he  lay.  The  hero  died,  but,  dying,  was  en¬ 
nobled.  S.  Coley. 

2300.  FIRMNESS,  Moral,  George  III.  was  a 

man  of  firm  mind.  His  speech  on  the  Roman- 
Catholic  question  shows  his  character :  “  I  can 
give  up  my  crown,  and  retire  from  power ;  I 
can  quit  my  palace,  and  live  in  a  cottage ; 
I  can  lay  my  head  on  a  block,  and  lose  my  life  : 
but  I  can  not  break  my  oath.”  Twiss. 

2301.  FLAG,  Lift  up  the.  At  the  fight  at 
Scarytown,  Va.,  the  soldier  John  Haven  was 
wounded.  He  was  a  handsome,  intelligent 
young  man,  as  brave  as  a  lion,  and  the  pet  of 
the  company.  His  right  hip  was  shot  away 
just  as  he  was  passing  a  ball  to  his  gun.  When 
his  captain  saw  him  fall,  he  ran  and  picked 
him  up,  and  conveyed  him  in  his  own  arms  to 
a  place  of  safety.  “  Never  mind  me,  captain,” 
he  cried  ;  “  but  don’t  let  that  flag  go  down  1  ” 

2302.  FLAG,  True  to  bis,  In  the  fierce  fight 
of  Trautenau,  the  advancing  Prussians  came 
upon  a  ditch  half  filled  with  dead  and  wounded 
Austrians.  Among  the  latter  was  a  young 
officer,  evidently  badly  wounded.  He  was  lying 
on  his  back  in  the  wet  ditch.  Moved  with  com¬ 
passion,  the  Prussians  were  about  to  remove  the 
wounded  man,  that  his  case  might  be  attended 
to  by  the  surgeon ;  when  he  entreated  to  be 
allowed  to  lie  where  he  was,  as  he  felt  quite 
cool  and  comfortable.  He  expired  shortly  after. 
When  the  dead  body  was  removed,  it  was 
found,  that,  even  in  death,  it  had  served  to  pro- 


jnLA.TTinREIR. 


FLESH. 


275 


tect  the  “  bit  of  rag,”  which,  in  the  morning 
of  that  bloody  day,  had  been  the  standard  of 
the  regiment.  He  had  carefully  folded  it  up, 
and  then  lain  down  upon  it  to  die.  His  foes 
forebore  to  take  away  the  trophy :  they 
wrapped  it  round  him,  and  left  him  to  take 
his  rest  upon  it.  A  Prussian  general  told  this 
story  with  his  head  uncovered. 

2303.  FLATTERER,  Description  of  the.  As  a 

looking-glass  doth  imitate  whatsoever  is  set 
before  it ;  so  a  flatterer,  in  voice  and  gesture, 
will  imitate  thee.  If  thou  laugh,  and  be  mer¬ 
ry,  he  will  also  be  merry  ;  if  thou  weep,  he 
will  weep  for  company ;  if  thou  backbite  and 
slander  a  man,  he  will  take  tby  part,  and  will, 
with  railings  and  obloquies,  grievously  wound 
the  same  man ;  if  thou  wilt  praise  thyself,  he 
will  help  thee ;  if  thou  lovest  to  hear  thyself 
praised  of  others,  he  will  carry  thee  to  the 
skies.  When  he  will  work  upon  men  that  be 
sad  and  heavy,  he  is  presently  translated  into 
their  humor.  With  men  that  are  remiss,  and 
without  courage,  he  dealeth  merrily.  He  han- 
dleth  old  men  gravely,  and  young  men  courte¬ 
ously  ;  with  wicked  men,  he  is  bold  and 
impudent ;  and,  with  libidinous  and  lecherous 
people,  he  is  filthy  and  shameless.  The  flatter¬ 
er  hath  always  at  his  fingers’-ends  the  inclina¬ 
tions  and  dispositions  of  all  persons,  high  and 
low  :  he  leaves  out  none,  that  he  may  deceive 
all :  he  will  praise  thee  in  thy  presence,  and 
scorn  thee  in  thy  absence ;  for  the  flatterer  is 
doubled-tongued.  Cawdray. 

2304.  FLATTERY,  Answered.  When  the 
French  ambassador  visited  Lord  Bacon  in 
his  last  illness,  and  found  him  in  bed,  with  the 
curtains  drawn,  he  addressed  this  compliment 
to  him  :  “  You  are  like  the  angels,  of  whom  we 
read  and  hear  much,  but  have  not  the  pleasure 
Df  seeing  them.”  The  reply  was  the  sentiment 
of  a  philosopher,  and  not  unworthy  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian  :  “  If  the  complaisance  of  others  compares 
me  to  an  angel,  my  infirmities  tell  me  I  am  a 
man.” 

2305.  FLATTERY,  Currency  of.  The  coin 
most  current  among  mankind  is  flattery ;  the 
only  benefit  of  which  is,  that,  by  hearing 
what  we  are  not,  we  may  learn  what  we  ought 
to  be. 

2306.  FLATTERY,  and  Churlishness.  A  cha¬ 
meleon  once  met  a  porcupine,  and  complained 
that  he  had  taken  great  pains  to  make  friends 
with  everybody ;  but,  strange  to  say,  he  had 
entirely  failed,  and  could  not  now  be  sure  that 
he  had  a  friend  in  the  world.  “  And  by  what 
means,”  said  the  porcupine,  “  have  you  sought 
to  make  friends  ?  ”  —  “  By  flattery,”  said  the 
chameleon.  “  1  have  adapted  myself  to  all  I 
met ;  humored  the  follies  and  foibles  of  every 
one.  In  order  to  make  people  believe  that  I 
liked  them,  I  have  imitated  their  manners,  as 
if  I  considered  them  models  of  perfection.  So 
far  have  I  gone  in  this,  that  it  has  become  a 
habit  with  me ;  and  now  my  very  skin  takes 
the  hue  and  complexion  of  the  thing  that  hap¬ 
pens  to  be  nearest.  Yet  all  this  has  been  in 
vain ;  for  everybody  calls  me  a  turn-coat,  and 
I  am  generally  considered  selfish,  hypocritical, 


and  base.”  —  “  And  no  doubt  you  deserve  all 
this,”  said  the  porcupine.  “  I  have  taken  a 
different  course ;  but  I  must  confess  that  I  have 
as  few  friends  as  you.  I  adopted  the  rule  to 
resent  every  injury,  and  every  encroachment 
upon  my  dignity.  I  would  allow  no  one  even 
to  touch  me,  without  sticking  into  him  one  or 
more  of  my  sharp  quills.  I  determined  to  take 
care  of  number  one  ;  and  the  result  has  been, 
that,  while  I  have  vindicated  my  rights,  I  have 
created  a  universal  dislike.  I  am  called  old 
‘  Touch-me-not ;  ’  and,  if  I  am  not  as  much  de¬ 
spised,  I  am  even  more  disliked  than  you,  Sir 
Chameleon.” 

2307.  FLATTERY,  Danger  of.  Whitefield, 
when  flattered,  said,  “  Take  care  of  fire  :  I 
carry  powder  about  me.” 

2308.  FLATTERY,  Evils  of.  When  Alexan¬ 

der  the  Great  had  received  from  an  arrow  a 
wound  that  would  not  heal,  he  said  to  his  para¬ 
sites,  “You  say  that  I  am  Jupiter’s  son;  but 
this  wound  proves  me  a  feeble  man.”  Unde¬ 
served  praise  is  always  fatal  in  its  effects  on 
the  vain-glorious  dupe.  More  danger  lurks  in 
adulation  than  in  abuse,  since  it  is  the  slaver 
that  kills,  and  not  the  bite.  They  who  are 
voracious  of  vain  compliments  drink  from  a 
Circean  cup,  which  first  exhilarates  to  mad¬ 
ness,  and  then  destroys.  E.  L.  Magoon. 

2309.  FLATTERY,  Rebuked.  A  flattering 
priest  told  Constantine  the  Great,  that  his 
virtues  deserved  the  empire  of  the  world  here, 
and  to  reign  with  the  Son  of  God  hereafter. 
The  emperor  cried,  “  Fie,  fie  I  for  shame  !  let 
me  hear  no  more  such  unseemly  speeches ;  but, 
rather,  suppliantly  pray  to  my  almighty  Mak¬ 
er,  that,  in  this  life  and  the  life  to  come,  I 
may  be  reckoned  worthy  to  be  his  servant.” 

2310.  FLATTERY,  Reward  of.  A  member  of 

the  Grammont  family  one  day  found  Cardinal 
Richelieu  employed  in  jumping,  and,  with  all 
the  cunning  flattery  of  a  Frenchman  and  a 
courtier,  offered  to  jump  against  him.  He 
suffered  the  man  of  political  power  to  jump 
higher,  and  soon  after  found  himself  rewarded 
with  a  lucrative  office.  E.  L.  Magoon. 

2311.  FLATTERY,  Satisfaction  o£  As  there  is 

no  character  so  deformed  as  to  fright  away 
from  it  the  prostitutes  of  praise,  so  there  is  no 
degree  of  encomiastic  veneration  which  pride 
has  refused.  The  emperors  of  Rome  suffered 
themselves  to  be  worshipped,  in  their  lives, 
with  altars  and  sacrifice ;  and,  in  an  age  more 
enlightened,  terms  peculiar  to  the  Supreme 
Being  have  been  applied  to  wretches  whom 
it  was  the  reproach  of  humanity  to  number 
among  men,  and  whom  nothing  but  riches  or 
power  hindered  those  that  wrote  or  read  their 
deification  from  hunting  into  the  toils  of  justice 
as  disturbers  of  the  peace.  Johnson. 

2312.  FLESH,  Conflicts  of  the.  You  that  carry 
flesh  and  blood  about  with  you,  and  sinful  na¬ 
tures,  and  do  perceive  the  conflicts  of  the  flesh 
against  the  spirit,  weigh  with  yourselves  what 
it  is  the  flesh  conflicts  with  you  for :  it  is  no 
less  than  for  the  immortal  soul,  as  the  Apostle 
Peter  tells  you,  “  I  beseech  you,  as  strangers 
and  pilgrims,  abstain  from  fleshly  lusts  which 


276 


FLESH. 


FOGY. 


war  against  the  soul.”  The  flesh  aims  to 
damn  the  soul.  It  is  in  this  conflict  as 
Caesar  said  in  the  battle  he  had  once  in  Africa 
with  the  children  and  partakers  of  Porapoy, 
that,  in  other  battles,  he  was  wont  to  fight  for 
lory,  but  there  and  then  he  was  obliged  to 
ght  for  his  life.  Remember  thy  precious  soul 
lies  at  stake  in  this  conflict.  Christopher  Love. 

2313.  FLESH,  Use  of  the.  Polydorus,  a 
heathen  youth,  had  abandoned  the  crooked 

ath  of  idolatry,  and  received  with  a  faithful 
eart  the  words  of  truth.  As  he  condemned 
the  lusts  of  paganism,  and  repented  of  his  for¬ 
mer  life,  he  retired  into  a  solitary  place,  and 
renounced  every  pleasure  of  nature  and  life. 
Then  Justus  his  master,  who  had  converted 
him,  went  to  the  youth,  and  took  him  to  a 
tree  planted  by  a  brook,  bearing  flowers  and 
fruit,  and  said  to  him,  “  Polydorus  observe  this 
tree.  The  Lord  has  given  it  to  us  for  an  ex¬ 
ample,  that  we  may  be  rich  in  good  fruit.  The 
youth  looked  at  the  tree,  and  said,  “  The  tree 
is  happy  without  temptations  and  the  war 
against  the  flesh :  it  fulfils  its  destiny  in  si¬ 
lence,  bearing  flowers  and  fruit  in  its  season.” 
Then  the  old  man  smiled,  and  said,  “  Would 
not  the  tree  be  more  perfect  without  the  low 
root  creeping  along  in  the  dark  soil,  and  drink¬ 
ing  the  slimy  nourishment  from  the  brook?” 
—  “  But,”  said  the  youth,  “it  supports  the  stem 
of  the  tree,  and  provides  it  with  sap  to  bring 
forth  flowers  and  fruit.”  Then  the  old  man 
lifted  up  his  voice,  and  said,  “  ‘  Go  thou,  and 
do  likewise.’  Despise  not  the  senses,  nor  their 
influence ;  for  they  are  the  low  root  of  life : 
but  let  them  always  be  low.  Form  what  this 
root  conveys  to  thee  into  spiritual  flowers  and 
fruit.  Like  the  branches  and  the  twigs  of  the 
tree,  all  thy  thoughts  and  doings  will  then  be 
directed  towards  heaven ;  and  the  light  of  truth 
will  silently  lead  thee  to  perfection.”  Polydo¬ 
rus  left  the  wilderness,  lived  in  intercourse 
with  mankind,  and  taught  many  by  word  and 
example.  Krummacher. 

2314.  FLOOD,  Tradition  of  the.  Mythology 
represents  a  woful,  bloody,  wicked,  iron  age, 
when  avarice  prevailed,  the  affections  were  de¬ 
throned,  war  and  slaughter  desolated  the  earth, 
and  the  gods  abandoned  it.  At  this  state 
of  things,  Jupiter  burned  with  anger,  and 
called  a  council  of  the  gods.  He  addressed 
them,  setting  forth  the  awful  condition  of 
things  upon  the  earth,  and  announced  his  de¬ 
termination  to  destroy  all  its  inhabitants,  and 
provide  a  new  race,  worthy  of  life,  and  true 
worshippers  of  the  gods.  He  took  a  thunder¬ 
bolt,  and  was  about  to  launch  it  upon  the 
world  to  destroy  it  by  fire,  when  he  thought 
it  might  enkindle  the  heavens  also.  He  then 
resolved  to  drown  it.  He  made  the  clouds 
pour  out  torrents  of  rain.  He  called  on  Nep¬ 
tune  for  aid,  who  unloosed  the  rivers,  and 

oured  the  oceans  over  their  shores.  Flocks, 
erds,  men,  houses,  and  temples  were  swept 
away.  Only  here  and  there  a  hill-top  pro¬ 
jected  above  the  all-pervading  ocean.  “  The 
fishes  swim  among  the  tree-tops.  Where  the 
graceful  lambs  played  but  now,  unwieldy  sea- 


|  calves  gambol.  The  wolf  swims  among  the 
sheep,  the  yellow  lions  and  tigers  struggle  in 
the  water.  The  strength  of  the  wild  boar 
serves  him  not,  nor  his  swiftness  the  stag. 
The  birds  fall  with  weary  wing  into  the  water, 
having  found  no  land  ior  a  resting-place.  At 
length,  Parnassus  alone,  of  all  the  mountains, 
over-topped  the  waves  ;  and  the  Deucalion  and 
his  wife  Pyrrha,  of  the  race  of  Prometheus, 
found  refuge,  —  he  a  just  man,  and  she  a  faith¬ 
ful  worshipper  of  the  gods.”  Then  Jupiter 
scattered  the  clouds ;  and  Neptune  caused 
Triton,  with  his  shell,  to  sound  a  retreat  to 
the  waters,  and  they  returned  to  their  ac¬ 
customed  courses.  Deucalion  and  his  wife 
went  to  a  surviving  temple,  to  worship,  and 
obtain  instruction  from  the  gods.  They  received 
instruction,  which  they  understood  to  mean, 
that  they  should  go  forth,  casting  stones  behind 
them.  They  did  so  ;  and  the  slimy  stones  be- 
.gan  to  grow  into  the  human  form,  like  a  block 
in  the  hands  of  the  sculptor.  Those  thrown 
by  the  man  became  men,  and  those  by  the 
woman  became  women.  Thus  was  the  earth 
repeopled  with  a  hardy  race,  adapted  to  labor 
as  we  find  ourselves  to  be  at  this  day,  giving 
plain  indications  of  our  origin. 

2315.  FLOWERS,  Goodness  of  God  in.  Me*- 

thinks,  if  there  were  no  other  proofs  in  the 
world  of ,  God’s  goodness,  the  flowers  would 
supply  them  in  abundance.  Answer  it  to  thy¬ 
self,  poor  soul,  that  doubtest  of  his  love,  that 
darest  not  trust  the  voice  in  thine  own  heart, 
telling  thee  that  thy  Father  in  heaven  is  all 
which  that  heart  can  adore.  Why  has  he 
made  these  flowers  ?  why  does  he  send  to  thee 
these  little  joys,  as  gentle  and  unnoticed,  often, 
as  a  mother’s  kiss  upon  a  sleeping  child? 
There  is  not,  it  would  seem,  a  conceivable 
reason  to  be  given  for  the  existence  of  flowers 
(at  least  for  then’  beauty  and  perfume),  other 
than  the  intention  to  provide  for  man  a  pure 
and  most  delicate  pleasure.  Geologists  tell  us, 
that,  in  the  earlier  epochs,  there  are  few  traces 
of  flowers  ;  such  as  there  were  being  small,  and 
probably  of  the  secondary  colors,  mere  vessels 
tor  the  ripening  of  the  seeds.  Only  when  the 
human  era  approached  the  order  of  the  ro- 
sacese,  appeared  the  fruit-trees  with  their  luxu¬ 
rious  burdens,  and  all  our  brightest  and  sweet¬ 
est  flowers,  till  “  the  wilderness  rejoiced  and 
blossomed  as  the  rose.”  Miss  Cobhe. 

2316.  FOGY,  Legend  of  a.  Peter  Klaus, 
a  goatherd  from  Sittendorf,  when  leading  his 
herd  to  pasture  on  the  Kyff'hauser,  was  accost¬ 
ed  by  a  young  man,  who  beckoned  him  to  fol¬ 
low.  He  was  led  into  a  deep  dell,  where 
twelve  knightly  personages  played  silently  at 
skittles.  There  he  discovered  a  can  of  fragrant 
wine ;  and,  drinking  from  it,  was  at  length 
overpowered  by  sleep.  When  he  awoke,  he 
found  himself  again  on  the  plain  where  his 
goats  were  accustomed  to  rest.  Rubbing  his 
eyes,  he  could  see  neither  dog  nor  goats,  and 
was  astonished  at  the  height  of  the  grass,  and 
at  trees  which  he  had  never  before  observed. 
Descending  the  mountain,  and  entering  the 
village,  he  finds,  to  his  coi  stemation,  that 


FOLLOWIN' <3-  CHRIST. 


ROOD. 


277 


every  thing  in  the  place  wears  an  altered  look ; 
most  of  the  people  are  strangers  to  him  ;  the 
few  acquaintances  he  meets  seem  to  have 
grown  suddenly  old ;  and  only,  at  last,  by  mu¬ 
tual  inquiries,  the  truth  is  elicited  that  he  has 
been  asleep  for  twenty  years.  Wheeler. 

2317.  FOLLOWING  CHRIST,  In  death.  When 
John  Huss,  the  Bohemian  martyr,  was  brought 
out  to  be  burned,  they  put  on  his  head  a  triple 
crown  of  paper,  with  painted  devils  on  it. 
On  seeing  it,  he  said,  “  My  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
for  my  sake,  wore  a  crown  of  thorns :  why 
should  not  I,  then,  for  his  sake,  wear  this  light 
crown,  be  it  ever  so  ignominious  ?  Truly  I 
I  will  do  it,  and  that  willingly.”  When  it  was 
set  upon  his  head,  the  bishops  said,  “  Now  we 
commit  thy  soul  to  the  Devil.”  —  “  But  I,” 
said  Huss,  lifting  up  his  eyes  towards  heaven, 
“  do  commit  my  spirit  into  thy  hands,  O  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  1  to  thee  I  commend  my  spirit, 
wl  iich  thou  hast  redeemed.” 

2318.  FOLLOWING  CHRIST,  FuUy.  Two 
persons  were  walking  together  one  very  dark 
night,  when  one  said  to  the  other,  who  knew 
the  road  well,  “  I  shall  follow  you,  so  as  to  be 
right.”  lie  soon  fell  into  a  ditch,  and  accused 
the  other  with  his  fall.  The  other  replied, 
“  Then  you  did  not  follow  me  exactly ;  for  I 
have  kept  free.”  A  side-step  had  caused  the 
fall.  There  is  like  danger  in  not  following 
Christ  fully. 

2319.  FOLLOWING  CHRIST,  Influence  of.  It 

is  reported  in  the  Bohemian  story,  that  St. 
Wenceslaus,  their  king,  one  winter  night  going 
to  his  devotions  in  a  remote  church,  barefooted, 
in  the  snow  and  sharpness  of  unequal  and 
pointed  ice,  his  servant,  Redevivus,  who  waited 
upon  his  master’s  piety,  and  endeavored  to 
imitate  his  affections,  began  to  faint  through 
the  violence  of  the  snow  and  cold,  till  the  king 
commanded  him  to  follow  him,  and  set  his 
feet  in  the  same  footsteps  which  his  feet  should 
mark  for  him.  The  servant  did  so,  and  either 
fancied  a  cure  or  found  one ;  for  he  followed  his 
prince,  helped  forward  with  shame  and  zeal 
to  his  imitation,  and  by  the  forming  footsteps 
in  the  snow.  In  the  same  manner  does  the 
blessed  Jesus ;  for  since  our  way  is  trouble¬ 
some,  obscure,  full  of  objection  and  danger, 
apt  to  be  mistaken,  and  to  affright  our  industry, 
he  commands  us  to  mark  his  footsteps,  to  tread 
where  his  feet  have  stood ;  and  not  only  in¬ 
vites  us  forward  by  the  argument  of  his  ex¬ 
ample,  but  he  hath  trodden  down  much  of  the 
difficulty,  and  made  the  way  easier,  and  fit  for 
our  feet.  Jeremy  Taylor. 

2320.  FOLLOWING  CHRIST,  Only.  One  day, 
thinking  to  amuse  him,  his  wife  read  to  Dr. 
Judson  some  newspaper  notices,  in  which  he 
was  compared  to  one  or  other  of  the  apostles. 
He  was  exceedingly  distressed ;  and  then  he 
added,  “  Nor  do  I  want  to  be  like  them.  I  do 
not  want  to  be  like  Paul  nor  Apollos  nor  Ce¬ 
phas,  nor  any  mere  man.  I  want  to  be  like 
Christ.  We  have  only  one  perfectly  safe  Ex¬ 
emplar,  —  only  One,  who,  tempted  like  as  we 
are  in  every  point,  was  yet  without  sin.  I  want 
to  follow  him  only,  copy  his  teachings,  drink 


in  his  Spirit,  place  my  feet  in  his  footprints, 
and  measure  my  short-comings  by  these  and 
these  alone.  Oh,  to  be  more  like  Christ !  ” 

2321.  FOLLOWING  CHRIST,  Motive  for.  Fran¬ 

cis  I.  of  France  had  not  reached  his  twentieth 
year  when  he  was  present  at  the  celebrated 
battle  of  Marignan,  which  lasted  two  days. 
The  Marshal  de  Trivulee,  who  had  been  in 
eighteen  pitched  battles,  said  that  those  were 
the  play  of  infants ;  but  that  this  of  Marignan 
was  the  combat  of  giants.  Francis  performed 
on  this  occasion  prodigies  of  valor  :  he  fought 
less  as  a  king  than  as  a  soldier.  Having  per¬ 
ceived  his  standard-bearer  surrounded  by  the 
enemy,  he  precipitated  himself  to  his  assistance 
in  the  midst  of  lances  and  halberts.  He  was 
presently  surrounded ;  his  horse  pierced  with 
several  wounds ;  and  his  casque  despoiled  of  its 
plumes.  He  must  have  been  inevitably  over¬ 
whelmed,  if  a  body  of  troops  detached  from 
the  allies  had  not  hastened  to  his  succor. 
Francis  hazarded  this  battle  against  the  ad¬ 
vice  of  his  generals;  and  cut  short  all  remon¬ 
strance  by  the  celebrated  expression,  which 
became  afterwards  proverbial,  “  Let  him  that 
loves  me  follow  me.”  Percy. 

2322.  FOOD,  Miraculous.  Legend  of  St.  An¬ 
thony  and  St.  Paul,  Hermits.  Anthony  found  the 
hermit  Paul  dwelling  in  a  cave  amid  savage 
rocks,  with  a  palm-tree  and  a  fountain  near. 
The  cave  had  been  his  home  for  ninety  years. 
These  two  venerable  men,  after  gazing  for  a 
while  upon  each  other,  embraced  with  tears  of 
joy,  and  sat  down  by  the  fountain ;  and  Paul 
asked  of  Anthony  concerning  the  world,  and 
if  there  yet  existed  idolaters,  and  many  other 
things ;  and  they  held  long  communion  to¬ 
gether.  While  they  talked,  forgetting  the 
flight  of  time  and  the  wants  of  nature,  there 
came  a  raven,  which  alighted  on  the  tree, 
and  then,  after  a  little  space,  flew  away,  and 
’returned,  carrying  in  his  beak  a  small  loaf,  and 
let  it  fall  between  them ;  then  Paul,  lifting 
up  his  eyes,  blessed  the  goodness  of  God,  and 
said,  “  For  sixty  years,  every  day  hath  this 
raven  brought  me  half  a  loaf;  but  because 
thou  art  come,  my  brother,  lo !  the  portion  is 
doubled;  and  we  are  fed  as  Elijah  was  fed  in 
the  wilderness.”  Then  there  arose  between 
these  two  holy  men  a  contention,  out  of  their 
great  modesty  and  humility,  which  of  the  two 
should  break  the  bread  :  at  last,  they  both  took 
hold  of  the  loaf,  and  broke  it  between  them. 
Then  they  ate,  and  drank  of  the  water  of  the 
fountain,  and  returned  thanks.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

2323.  FOOD,  Providential.  Bishop  Bascom 
was  preaching,  on  one  occasion,  in  a  cabin  which 
was  at  once  church  and  dwelling.  In  the  very 
midst  of  his  sermon,  his  host,  who  sat  near  the 
door,  suddenly  rose  from  his  seat,  snatched  the 
gun  from  its  wooden  brackets  upon  which  it 
lay  against  the  joist,  went  hastily  out,  fired  it 
off,  and,  returning,  put  the  gun  in  its  place,  and 
quietly  seated  himself  to  hear  the  remainder  of 
the  sermon.  After  service  was  ended,  Bascom 
inquired  of  the  man  the  meaning  of  this  strange 
conduct.  “  Sir,”  said  he,  “  we  are  entirely  out 
of  meat ;  and  I  was  perplexed  to  know  what  we 


278 


FOLLY. 


FOREKNOWLEDGE. 


should  give  you  for  dinner,  and  it  was  prevent¬ 
ing  me  from  enjoying  the  sermon,  when  God 
sent  a  flock  of  wild  turkeys  this  way.  I  hap¬ 
pened  to  see  them,  took  my  gun,  and  killed  two 
at  a  shot.  My  mind  felt  easy ;  and  I  enjoyed 
the  remainder  of  the  sermon  with  perfect  satis¬ 
faction.” 

2324.  FOLLY,  Brevities.  None  but  a  fool  is 

always  right.  —  Hare. - He  must  be  a  thor¬ 

ough  fool  who  can  learn  nothing  from  his  own 
folly. 

2325.  FOLLY,  Danger  of.  A  man  who  had 
a  valuable  diamond  was  so  foolish  as  to  play 
with  it  by  throwing  it  over  the  side  of  the 
ship.  He  kept  throwing  it  up  while  leaning 
over  the  bulwarks  of  the  vessel,  and  catching 
it  again.  A  friend  expostulated  with  him  ;  but 
he  replied,  “  Oh  1  never  fear,  I've  done  it  so 
often !  ”  At  last  he  missed  his  aim,  and  the 
treasure  was  gone,  —  and  lost  beyond  recall. 

Bowes. 

2326.  FOLLY,  Example  of.  It  once  happened 

that  there  was  a  fire  in  a  lunatic  asylum.  When 
the  deliverers  were  going  from  room  to  room, 
rescuing  the  poor  creatures  from  death,  they 
found  one  poor  maniac  sitting,  rubbing  his 
hands  with  delight,  looking  at  the  blazing  raft¬ 
ers  above  his  head,  and  enjoying  the  scene  with 
intense  and  pitiable  pleasure.  Poor  man  1  he 
did  not  know  his  danger.  A  few  moments 
more,  the  rafters  would  have  fallen  in,  and 
buried  him  in  the  general  ruin.  Bowes. 

2327.  FOLLY,  Human.  Alfonsus,  King  of 
Castile,  used  to  employ  his  leisure-hours  in  the 
study  of  astronomy.  Having  discovered  what 
he  supposed  to  be  an  irregularity,  he  said,  “  If 
I  had  been  by  when  the  Maker  of  the  world 
was  at  work,  I  could  have  given  him  some  good 
advice.” 

2328.  FOLLY,  Parable  of.  Hazael,  the  son 
of  an  Eastern  prince,  had  been  educated  in  the 
valley  of  the  wise  men,  and  had  passed  there 
the  days  of  his  boyhood.  Then  his  father  sent 
him  to  Persia  to  finish  his  education,  and  to 
learn  the  ways  and  manners  of  men.  Perfect 
liberty  was  granted  to  the  youth ;  but  Serujah, 
his  old  master,  secretly  watched  the  life  and 
doings  of  the  prince.  When  he  arrived  in 
Persia,  he  was  led  away  by  the  pleasures  of  the 
capital  and  the  turmoil  of  luxurious  life ;  so  that 
he  forgot  his  destination,  and  thoughtlessly  gave 
up  his  heart  to  pleasure :  he  remembered  no 
longer  his  royal  calling.  When  he  was  one  day 
walking  in  the  pleasure-gardens  of  Ispahan, 
Serujah  passed  him  in  the  garb  of  a  pilgrim, 
having  a  staff  in  his  right  hand.  But  Hazael 
knew  Serujah,  and  asked  him,  “  Whence 
comest  thou,  and  whither  goest  thou  ?  ”  Seru¬ 
jah  answered,  and  said,  “  I  know  not.”  Then 
the  youth  marvelled,  and  said,  “  Hast  thou 
left  thy  home,  and  dost  thou  travel  abroad  not 
knowing  whither?”  Serujah  answered,  “I 
have  forgotten  it :  I  walk  to  and  fro ;  and  the 
path  which  seems  to  me  the  widest  and  the 
must  pleasant,  that  choose  I.”  —  “  And  whither 
will  such  bootless  wanderings  lead  thee?  ”  asked 
the  astonished  youth.  Serujah  answered,  “  I 
know  not :  why  should  I  care  ?  ”  Then  Hazael 


turned  to  those  who  stood  around  him,  and 
said,  “  This  man  was  the  teacher  of  my  youth, 
and  full  of  wisdom ;  but,  behold  !  he  has  grown 
foolish,  and  lacks  understanding.  Alas !  how  is 
he  changed,  and  become  like  another  being  1  ” 
Then  Serujah  threw  down  his  wallet,  and  went 
to  the  youth,  and  said,  “  Thou  sayest  it,  Ha¬ 
zael,  my  life  has  changed  like  thine.  Formerly, 
I  was  thy  guide,  and  thou  didst  follow  me  in  the 
way  which  I  showed  thee.  But  now  I  have 
ceased  to  be  thy  guide ;  I  have  begun  to  follow 
thee.  Behold,  my  wandering !  wherein  I  lose 
sight  of  the  way,  and  the  goal  is  like  thine : 
reason  has  departed  from  thee,  even  as  it  has 
quitted  me.  Who  is  the  more  foolish,  thou  or 
I  ?  and  which  of  us  is  wandering  in  the  worse 
path?”  Thus  said  Serujah.  Then  Hazael 
acknowledged  his  transgression,  and  returned 
to  the  way  of  wisdom,  which  Serujah  had 
taught  him.  Krummacher. 

2329.  FORBEARANCE,  Human.  The  Jews 

would  not  willingly  tread  upon  the  smallest 
piece  of  paper  in  their  way,  but  took  it  up  ;  for 
possibly,  said  they,  the  name  of  God  may  be 
on  it.  Though  there  was  a  little  superstition 
in  that,  yet  much  good  may  be  learned  from 
it,  if  we  apply  it  to  men.  Trample  not  on 
any  :  there  may  be  some  work  of  grace  there 
that  thou  knowest  not  of.  The  name  of  God 
may  be  written  upon  that  soul  thou  treadest 
on ;  it  may  be  a  soul  that  Christ  thought  so 
much  of  as  to  give  his  precious  blood  for  it : 
therefore  despise  it  not.  Leighton. 

2330.  FOREKNOWLEDGE,  and  Duty.  Behold 

the  sad  state  of  a  disabled  ship  far  out  upon 
the  sea!  —  dismasted,  leaking  badly,  water 
gaining  four  to  six  inches  an  hour,  pumps 
going,  water  increasing  in  the  hold.  A  consul¬ 
tation  of  officers :  result,  that,  by  the  most  des¬ 
perate  efforts,  the  ship  might  be  kept  afloat  a 
few  hours,  by  which  time  relief  might  possibly 
come.  But  one  of  the  officers  objects,  “If 
God  foresees  that  we  shall  all  go  to  the  bot¬ 
tom,  why,  to  the  bottom  we  must  go ;  if,  by 
his  foreknowledge,  he  perceives  we  shall  be 
lost,  then  to  be  lost  is  our  unavoidable  doom : 
therefore  there  is  no  use  whatever  of  struggling 
against  God’s  foreknowledge.  Besides,  if  he 
foresees  we  shall  be  saved,  then  saved  we  must 
be,  whether  we  contribute  any  thing  to  it  or 
or  not.”  Another  replies,  “  We  have  nothing 
to  do  with  God’s  foreknowledge,  because  we 
know  nothing  about  it.  Our  business  is,  and 
our  duty,  to  keep  the  vessel  afloat  as  long  as 
we  can.  How  can  we  answer  to  that  same 
God  for  the  loss  of  our  lives,  if  we  sit  down 
supinely,  and  let  our  ship  go  down  under  our 
feet?  Let  us  fly  to  the  pumps!”  Behold 
them  toiling  hour  after  hour,  while  the  “  fore¬ 
knowledge  man  ”  is  lounging  below,  pronoun¬ 
cing  them  a  parcel  of  fools  in  trying  to  change 
God’s  foreknowledge.  When,  lo  1  in  the  hour 
of  extremity,  a  vessel  appears  on  the  horizon ! 
On  the  wings  of  the  winds,  she  is  carried  to 
their  relief;  and  they  are  all  saved  from  a 
watery  grave.  Had  all  been  of  the  mind  of 
the  second  officer,  they  would  have  undoubted¬ 
ly  gone  to  the  bottom.  Caugheg. 


3TOREVV\AJRN"ENr  Gr. 


rOR&XVE3STESS. 


279 


2331.  FOREWARNING,  Advantage  of.  It  is 
reported,  that  a  certain  Jew  should  have 

oisoned  Luther,  but  was  happily  prevented 
y  his  picture,  which  was  sent  to  Luther,  with 
a  warning,  from  a  faithful  friend,  that  he  should 
take  heed  of  such  a  man  when  he  saw  him ;  by 
which  he  knew  the  murderer,  and  so  escaped 
his  hands.  Thus  it  is  that  the  word  of  God 
shows  us  the  face  of  those  lusts  which  Satan 
employs  to  butcher  our  precious  souls. 

Spencer. 

2332.  FORGETFULNESS,  Attained.  Virgil 
describes  the  River  Lethe  as  flowing  through 
the  tranquil  landscape  and  waving  groves  of 
Elysium.  On  its  banks  wandered  a  countless 
multitude,  who  ever  and  anon  drank  of  its 
waters.  These  were  supposed  to  wash  away 
all  memory  of  past  life. 

2333.  FORGETFULNESS,  Common.  Like  as 
a  child  that  learneth  the  alphabet,  when  he 
hath  once  learned  his  letters,  yet  has  to  learn 
them  over  again ;  even  so  many  parishioners 
are  so  forgetful,  that,  when  they  are  past  one 
principle  and  point  of  religion,  they  must  yet 
be  brought  back  again  to  the  same.  Cawdray. 

2334.  FORGETFULNESS,  Criminal.  It  is  said 

of  Hadrian  VI.,  that,  having  built  a  stately 
college  at  Lovain,  he  set  this  inscription  on 
the  front  in  golden  letters,  Trajeclum  plantavit, 
Lovanium  rigavil;  sed  Ccesar  dedit  incrementum  : 
“  Utrecht  planted  me”  (tor  there  he  was  born), 
“  Lovain  watered  me  ”  (for  there  he  was  bred) ; 
“  but  Caesar  gave  the  increase,”  who  from  the 
ferula  brought  him  to  the  crosier,  —  of  a 
schoolmaster,  made  him  Pope  of  Rome.  A 
witty  passenger,  reproving  his  folly,  under¬ 
wrote,  “  Here  was  no  room  for  God  to  do  any 
thin^r.”  Spencer. 

2335.  FORGETFULNESS,  Danger  of.  A  moth¬ 
er  directed  her  little  (laughter  to  pick  up  some 
pieces  of  broken  glass  which  lay  in  the  yard. 
She  replied,  “  Yes,  in  a  minute,”  but  soon  for¬ 
got  it.  The  same  day,  a  scream  caused  the 
girl  to  run  to  the  yard,  where  she  found  her 
mother  bleeding  from  wounds  caused  by  the 
glass  which  she  forgot  to  pick  up.  It  taught 
the  girl  not  to  delay,  and  not  to  forget. 

2336.  FORGETFULNESS,  Incident  o£  Yester¬ 

day  I  went  three  times  to  the  post-office  be¬ 
fore  I  could  get  my  letters  mailed.  The  first 
time,  I  asked  for  and  received  my  mail.  When 
I  took  off  my  hat,  on  reaching  home,  out 
tumbled  the  letters  that  I  had  been  writing. 
Feeling  rather  annoyed  at  myself,  I  replaced 
them,  and  walked  back  to  the  office.  “  Any 
letters  for  me  V  ”  I  said,  seeing  the  clerk  did 
not  move  on  my  appearance.  “  Why,  Mr. 
Beecher,  you  just  took  them  all  away,”  he 
answered.  “  Oh  !  ”  said  I,  remembering  that 
such  was  the  fact.  I  turned  away,  and,  reach¬ 
ing  home  again,  took  off  my  hat ;  when  out 
fell  the  letters.  “  You  fool!”  said  I,  exasper¬ 
ated,  “  now  carry  them  back  all  the  way  in 
your  hand,  and  see  if  you  can’t  get  them  in.” 
This  time  I  succeeded.  Beecher. 

2337.  FORGETFULNESS,  Ungrateful.  “  Your 
father  had  a  battle  with  Apollyon,”  said  Great- 
Heart  to  Samuel,  “  at  a  place  yonder  before  us, 


in  a  narrow  passage,  just  beyond  Forgetful 
Green.  And,  indeed,  the  place  is  the  most 
dreadful  place  in  all  these  parts;  for,  if  at  any 
time  pilgrims  meet  with  any  brunt,  it  is  when 
they  forget  what  favors  they  have  received, 
and  how  unworthy  they  are  of  them.  This  is 
the  place,  also,  where  others  have  been  hard  put 
to  it.  But  more  of  the  place  when  we  come 
to  it ;  for  I  persuade  myself,  that,  to  this  day, 
there  remains  either  some  signs  of  the  battle, 
or  some  monument  to  testify  that  such  a 
battle  was  fought  there.”  Bunyan. 

2338.  FORGIVENESS,  Christian.  As  a  seal 
leaves  a  mark  of  itself  in  the  wax,  whereby  it 
is  known ;  so  it  is  with  every  one  who  has  a 
readiness  to  forgive  others  :  for  by  it  the  Chris¬ 
tian  may  know  that  God  hath  sealed  the  for¬ 
giveness  of  his  sins  upon  his  heart.  Cawdray. 

2339.  FORGIVENESS,  Condition  o£  As  men 
do  not  give  alms  to  a  stout  beggar,  who,  though 
needy,  will  not  confess  it,  nor  ask  favor ;  no 
more  will  the  Lord  give  us  forgiveness  of  sins 
unless  we  humble  ourselves  before  him,  with 
true  feeling  of  our  poverty  and  misery. 

Cawdray. 

2340.  FORGIVENESS,  Cnltivating.  Socrates, 
when  he  was  abused  in  a  comedy,  laughed  at 
it ;  when  Polyargus,  not  able  to  bear  such  an 
indignity,  went  and  hanged  himself.  Augustus 
slighted  the  satires  and  bitter  invectives  which 
the  Pasquins  of  that  time  invented  against 
him ;  and,  when  the  senate  would  have  further 
informed  him  of  them,  he  would  not  hear  them. 

Sp6TlC6T» 

2341.  FORGIVENESS,  Doctrine  o£  The  ven¬ 
erable  Dr.  Duff  once  read  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  to  a  number  of  Hindu  youths ;  and 
when  he  came  to  the  passage,  “  I  say  unto 
you,  love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse 
you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and 
pray  for  them  who  despitefully  use  you  and 
persecute  you,”  so  deep  and  intense  was  the 
impression  produced  on  one  of  them,  that  he 
exclaimed  in  ecstasy,  “  Oh !  how  beautiful, 
how  divine  1  this  is  the  truth,  this  is  the  truth  !  ” 
And  for  days  and  weeks,  he  could  not  help  re¬ 
peating,  “  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that 
curse  you,”  &c. ;  constantly  exclaiming,  “  How 
beautiful !  surely  this  is  the  truth !  ”  Nor 
could  he  rest  until  he  had  renounced  his  false 
gods  and  their  senseless  worship,  and  accepted 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

2342.  FORGIVENESS,  Example  of.  In  a  school 
in  Ireland,  one  boy  struck  another ;  and,  when 
he  was  about  to  be  punished,  the  injured  boy 
begged  for  his  pardon.  The  master  asked, 
“  Why  do  you  wish  to  keep  him  from  being 
flogged  V  ”  The  boy  replied,  “  I  have  read  in 
the  New  Testament  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
said  that  we  should  forgive  our  enemies ;  and 
therefore  I  forgive  him,  and  beg  he  may  not 
be  punished  for  my  sake.” 

2343.  FORGIVENESS,  Freeness  o£  A  Chris¬ 
tian  man  found  in  one  of  his  visits  of  mercy 
a  young  female,  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
living  in  sin,  and  wretched  beyond  all  descrip¬ 
tion.  He  soon  learned  her  history.  She  had 
left  her  home  some  months  before,  had  fallen 


280 


inoR&rvEisrEss. 


FORG-IYENKSS. 


into  sin,  and  ever  since  had  been  sinking 
lower  and  lower  in  guilt.  “  Oh !  ”  she  ex¬ 
claimed  with  bitter  grief,  “  that  I  were  at 
home  once  more  !  But  my  father  will  not  re¬ 
ceive  me  :  I  am  sure  that  he  will  not.  He  can¬ 
not  love  me  now;  he  will  never  forgive  me;  I 
am  confident  he  must  always  hate  and  despise 
me  ;  I  have  lost  his  affection  forever.”  —  “  Have 
you  ever  tried  him  ?  ”  inquired  this  Christian 
friend.  “  Ho :  I  dare  not.”  —  “  Does  your 
father  know  where  you  are  ?  ”  —  “  No  :  I  have 
never  written  to  him  since  I  left  home.”  — 
“  Then  I  will  write  to  him  at  once.”  —  “  It  is 
of  no  use,  sir;  no  use.”  —  “Well,  we  shall 
see  about  that :  we  can  but  try.”  A  letter 
was  accordingly  written,  and  well  prayed 
over.  By  return  of  post,  such  an  answer  came 
back  as  made  the  good  man  rejoice,  and  the 
wanderer  weep  abundantly.  “  Immediate  ” 
was  written  large  on  the  outside  ;  and  the  sub¬ 
stance  of  the  epistle  was,  “  Beady  to  forgive.” 
“  This,”  said  the  father,  “  is  what  I  have 
been  earnestly  praying  for :  I  have  longed  to 
know  where  my  wanderer  was,  and  yearned 
to  hear  that  she  was  willing  to  return.  Let 
her  come  back  at  once  :  I  will  forgive  all,  and 
love  her  still.”  Now,  observe  that  the  readi¬ 
ness  of  this  father  to  forgive  his  child,  and  to 
receive  her  again,  was  a  fact  before  the  letter 
was  wi’itten,  —  a  fact  all  the  time  she  thought 
so  hardly  of  her  father,  and  judged  his  heart 
by  her  own  deservings.  Sunday  at  Home. 

2344.  FORGIVENESS,  by  God  only,  As  the 
prince  or  ruler  only  has  power  to  pardon 
treason  in  his  subjects,  so  God  only  has  power 
to  forgive  sin.  As  no  man  can  forgive  a  debt 
but  the  creditor  to  whom  the  debt  is  due ;  so 
God  only  can  forgive  us  our  debts,  whose 
debtors  we  are  to  an  incalculable  amount. 

2345.  FORGIVENESS,  Hope  of,  Benhadad, 
King  of  Assyria,  being  overcome  by  the  King 
of  Israel,  was  told  that  the  kings  of  Israel 
were  merciful  men,  and  therefore  sent  his  ser¬ 
vants,  clothed  with  sackcloth,  and  ropes  about 
their  necks,  to  entreat  pardon  and  peace. 
When  the  king  saw  their  submission,  he  made 
a  covenant  of  peace  with  them.  God  is  mer¬ 
ciful  ;  and  condemned  sinners  should  hasten  to 
make  their  submission  to  him,  that  they  may 
be  forgiven. 

2346.  FORGIVENESS,  Illustrated.  “  What 

can  Jesus  Christ  do  for  you  now  ?  ”  said  an 
inhuman  slave-master,  when  in  the  act  of  ap- 
plying  the  lacerating  whip  to  an  already  half- 
murdered  slave.  “  Him  teach  me  to  forgive 
you,  massa,”  was  his  reply.  Phillips. 

2347.  FORGIVENESS,  Influence  of.  A  worthy 
old  colored  woman  was  walking  quietly  along 
a  street  in  New  York,  carrying  a  basket  of 
apples,  when  a  mischievous  sailor,  seeing  her, 
stumbled  against  her,  and  upset  her  basket,  and 
then  stood  to  hear  her  fret  at  his  trick,  and 
enjoy  a  laugh  at  her  expense.  But  what  was 
his  astonishment  when  she  meekly  picked  up 
the  apples  without  any  resentment  in  her  man¬ 
ner,  and  giving  him  a  dignified  look  of  mingled 
sorrow,  kindness,  and  pity,  said,  “  God  forgive 
you,  my  son,  as  I  do  1  ”  That  touched  a  tender 


chord  in  the  heart  of  the  rude  jack-tar.  He 
felt  ashamed,  self-condemned,  and  repentant. 
The  tear  started  in  his  eye :  he  felt  that  he  must 
make  some  reparation.  So,  heartily  confess¬ 
ing  his  error,  and  thrusting  his  hands  into  his 
pockets,  and  pulling  out  a  lot  of  loose  “  change,” 
he  forced  it  upon  the  wondering  old  black 
woman,  exclaiming,  “  God  bless  you,  kind  moth¬ 
er  !  I’ll  never  do  so  again  !  ” 

234§.  FORGIVENESS,  Joy  of.  The  Rev. 
Peter  Jones,  a  converted  Indian  chief  from 
America,  when  in  this  country  —  after  describ¬ 
ing  his  pierced  and  wounded  condition  under 
conviction  for  sin,  as  a  stricken  deer  who  left 
the  herd  to  die  —  said  of  the  sensations  of  new 
life  experienced  by  him  on  the  day  of  his  sal¬ 
vation,  “  On  that  day,  the  world  seemed  all 
fresh  and  new  to  me.  It  seemed  like  a  new 
creation.  I  looked  around ;  and  the  trees  and 
the  fields  were  so  green,  the  lake  was  so  blue, 
the  sunshine  so  bright,  the  sky  was  so 
glad  !  Oh  1  that  was  a  handsome  day  on  which 
God,  for  Christ’s  sake,  forgave  my  sins  1  ” 

Dr.  Jobson. 

2349.  FORGIVENESS,  Necessary.  When  Mr. 
Wesley  was  on  his  voyage  with  Gen.  Ogle¬ 
thorpe  to  Georgia,  the  general  threatened  re¬ 
venge  upon  an  offending  servant,  saying,  “I 
never  forgive.”  —  “  Then  I  hope,  sir,”  said  Mr. 
Wesley,  “you  never  sin.”  The  general  felt 
the  force  of  the  rebuke,  and  modified  his  action 
towards  the  servant. 

2350.  FORGIVENESS,  Nobility  of,  Generous 
and  magnanimous  minds  are  readiest  to  for¬ 
give  ;  and  it  is  a  weakness  and  impotency  of 
mind  to  be  unable  to  forgive.  Lord  Bacon. 

2351.  FORGIVENESS,  Power  of.  Near  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a  Turkish 
grandee  in  Hungary  made  a  Christian  noble¬ 
man  his  prisoner,  and  treated  him  with  the  ut¬ 
most  barbarity.  The  slave  —  for  such  he  was 
—  was  yoked  with  an  ox,  and  compelled  to  drag 
the  plough.  But  the  fortune  of  war  is  changing ; 
and  the  Turk  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Hun¬ 
garians,  who  said  to  their  enslaved  fellow- 
countryman,  “  Now  take  your  revenge  upon 
your  enemy.”  This  was  in  accordance  with 
the  custom  of  the  age ;  and  the  Turk,  supposing, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  he  would  be  tortured 
to  death,  had  already  swallowed  poison,  when 
a  messenger  came  from  his  Christian  slave, 
telling  him  to  go  in  peace ;  he  had  nothing  to 
fear.  The  Moslem  was  so  impressed  with  this 
heavenly  spirit,  that  he  proclaimed  with  his 
dying  breath,  “  I  will  not  die  a  Moslem ;  but  I 
die  a  Christian :  for  there  is  no  religion  but 
that  of  Christ  which  teaches  forgiveness  of  in¬ 
juries.” 

2352.  FORGIVENESS,  Reasons  for.  He  that 
cannot  forgive  others  breaks  down  the  bridge 
over  which  he  must  pass  himself;  for  every  one 
has  need  to  be  forgiven.  As  when  the  sea- 
worm  makes  a  hole  in  the  shell  of  the  mussel, 
the  hole  is  filled  up  with  a  pearl ;  so,  when  the 
heart  is  pierced  by  an  injury,  forgiveness  is 
like  a  pearl,  healing  and  filling  up  the  wound. 

2353.  FORGIVENESS,  Restdt  of.  A  soldier 
in  the  garrison  town  of  Woolwich,  who  was  an 


IfORG-rSTENESS. 


FORMAIJSM. 


281 


incorrigi  ale  offender,  upon  whom  every  sort  of 
punishment  had  been  tried  in  vain,  was  again 
brought  up  for  trial.  He  had  nothing  to  say 
except  that  he  was  sorry  for  his  conduct.  His 
colonel  concluded  a  few  appropriate  remarks 
by  saying,  “  We  have  resolved  to  forgive  you.” 
The  sentence  was  so  new,  that  the  soldier  broke 
down  at  once.  “  Forgiven ,”  was  entered  oppo¬ 
site  the  charge  made  against  him  in  the  record. 
He  was  never  after  known  to  be  guilty  of  a 
fault.  Mercy  triumphed. 

2354.  FORGIVENESS,  Romish.  A  priest,  after 
examining  a  colporter’s  pack,  said  to  him, 
“  Sir,  I  perceive  that  in  your  books  a  great 
deal  is  said  about  conversion,  and  nothing 
about  confession :  it  is  clear  that  yours  are 
Protestant  books.”  A  notary  who  was  pres¬ 
ent  opened  the  New  Testament.  “  But  do 

ou  not  see,”  said  he  to  the  curate,  “  that 

esus  Christ  forgave  the  thief  without  the  in¬ 
tervention  of  a  priest  to  confess  him  ?  And, 
when  St.  Stephen  was  dying,  did  he  ask  for  a 
priest  to  confess  him  ?  ”  The  dilemma  was 
embarrassing.  ‘‘  Sir,”  answered  the  priest 
gravely,  “  the  rules  of  the  Church  in  ancient 
times  were  different  to  what  they  are  at  the 
present  day.” 

2355.  FORGIVENESS,  Rale  of.  In  the  mid¬ 
dle  ages,  when  the  great  lords  and  knights 
were  always  at  war  with  each  other,  one  of 
them  resolved  to  revenge  himself  upon  a  neigh¬ 
bor  who  had  offended  him.  It  chanced,  that, 
on  the  very  evening  when  he  had  made  this 
resolution,  he  heard  that  his  enemy  was  to 
pass  near  his  castle,  with  only  a  few  men  with 
him.  It  was  a  good  opportunity  to  take  his 
revenge,  and  he  determined  not  to  let  it  pass. 
He  spoke  of  this  plan  in  the  presence  of  his 
chaplain,  who  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  him  to 
give  it  up.  The  good  man  said  a  great  deal 
to  the  duke  about  the  sin  of  what  he  was  going 
to  do,  but  in  vain.  At  length,  seeing  that  all 
his  words  had  no  effect,  he  said,  “  My  lord, 
since  I  cannot  persuade  you  to  give  up  this 
plan  of  yours,  will  you  at  least  consent  to 
come  with  me  to  the  chapel,  that  we  may  pray 
together  before  you  go  ?  ”  The  duke  consent¬ 
ed  ;  and  the  chaplain  and  he  knelt  together  in 
prayer.  Then  the  mercy-loving  Christian  said 
to  the  revengeful  warrior,  “  Will  you  repeat 
after  me,  sentence  by  sentence,  the  prayer 
which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  taught 
to  his  disciples?  ”  —  “  I  will  do  it,”  replied  the 
duke.  He  did  it  accordingly.  The  chaplain 
said  a  sentence,  and  the  duke  repeated  it,  till 
he  came  to  the  petition,  “  Forgive  us  our  tres¬ 
passes  as  we  forgive  them  that  trespass  against 
us.”  There  the  duke  was  silent.  “  My  lord 
duke,  you  are  silent,”  said  the  chaplain.  “  Will 
you  be  so  good  as  to  continue  to  repeat  the 
words  after  me,  if  you  dare  say  so?  —  ‘For¬ 
give  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them  that 
trespass  against  us.’  ”  —  “I  cannot,”  replied  the 
duke.  “  Well,  God  cannot  forgive  you ;  for  he 
has  said  so.  He  himself  has  given  this  prayer. 
Therefore,  you  must  either  give  up  your  re¬ 
venge,  or  give  up  saying  this  prayer ;  for  to 
ask  God  to  pardon,  you  as  you  pardon  others 


is  to  ask  him  to  take  vengeance  on  you  for  all 
your  sins.  Go  now,  my  iord,  and  meet  your 
victim.  God  will  meet  you  at  the  great  day 
of  judgment.”  The  iron  will  of  the  duke  was 
broken.  “  No,”  said  he :  “I  will  finish  my 
prayer:  ‘My  God,  my  Father,  pardon  me; 
forgive  me  as  I  desire  to  forgive  him  who  has 
offended  me ;  lead  me  not  into  temptation,  but 
deliver  me  from  evil  1  ’  ”  —  “  Amen  I  ”  said  the 
chaplain.  “  Amen  !  ”  repeated  the  duke,  who 
now  understood  the  Lord’s  Prayer  better  than 
he  had  ever  done  before,  since  he  had  learned 
to  apply  it  to  himself.  Bib.  Treasury. 

2356.  FORGIVENESS,  Spirit  of.  When  Lu¬ 

ther  had  wofully  wronged  and  reviled  Calvin, 
“  Well,  said  Calvin,  let  Luther  hate  me,  and 
call  me  Devil  a  thousand  times,  yet  I  will  love 
him,  and  acknowledge  him  to  be  a  precious  ser¬ 
vant  of  God.”  This  was  an  excellent  tempei 
of  Calvin,  and  such  as  ought  always  to  be  cul 
tivated.  Spencer. 

2357.  FORGIVENESS,  Ugly.  There  is  an 

ugly  kind  of  forgiveness  in  this  world,  —  a 
kind  of  hedgehog  forgiveness,  shot  out  like 
quills.  Men  take  one  who  has  offended,  and 
set  him  down  before  the  blowpipe  of  their  in¬ 
dignation,  and  scorch  him,  and  burn  his  fault 
into  him ;  and,  when  they  have  kneaded  him 
sufficiently  with  their  fiery  fists,  then  —  they 
forgive  him.  Beecher. 

2358.  FORMALISM,  Brevities.  Some  may 
live  upon  forms ;  but  there  is  no  dying  upon 
forms.  Formalists,  like  Pharaoh’s  lean  kine, 
are  full-fed,  yet  lean.  To  pursue  the  ways  of 
God  with  a  guilty  conscience  is  Satan’s  great 
receipt  for  perpetual  failure. 

2359.  FORMALISM,  in  the  Church.  Many 
churches  are  like  conservatories,  in  which  the 
members  are  like  a  flower  in  a  flower-pot : 
there  it  is  in  the  flower-pot,  and  it  cannot  get 
out ;  and  little  sticks  are  put  down  beside  it 
to  keep  it  in  a  particular  position  ;  and  ever) 
branch  that  attempts  to  go  beyond  a  given 
point  is  instantly  snipped  off  in  order  that 
the  flower  may  assume  an  ideal  shape.  And 
the  members  of  many  churches  are  like  gerar- 
niums  trained  for  show,  tied  up,  and  con¬ 
strained  in  root  and  branch  and  stem.  There 
are  thousands  of  people  in  churches  that  sit 
around  in  their  respective  rows,  and  take 
whatever  nourishment  is  dealt  out  to  them, 
and  grow  in  just  the  shape  as  prescribed  for 
them  by  those  that  have  them  in  charge,  and 
have  no  voice  in  determining  what  kind  of 
structure  shall  be  made  of  them.  Beecher. 

2360.  FORMALISM,  Design  of.  Forms  were 
designed,  by  Him  who  knoweth  our  frame,  to 
be  the  means  by  which  we  might  ascend  to  the 
enjoyment  of  himself.  But  when  the  mind 
halts  in  the  symbol,  instead  of  rising  from  it 
to  the  thing  signified;  when  the  man  runs  up 
and  down  the  ladder,  instead  of  reaching  the 
eminence  which  commands  the  glorious  pros¬ 
pect,  —  he  loses  the  enjoyment  inseparable  from 
intercourse  with  the  blissful  reality.  Pearson. 

2361.  FORMALISM,  Illustration  of.  A  gentle¬ 
man  once  entered  a  hall  with  his  son.  They 
saw  a  number  of  well-dressed  people,  —  some  of 


282 


FORMALISM. 


PORTUKE . 


them  standing  together  in  groups,  others  apart ; 
some  sitting  in  various  postures.  The  son’s 
attention  was  fixed  by  a  pleasant-looking  gen¬ 
tleman,  somewhat  gaudily  dressed.  lie  said, 
“Father,  who  is  that  gentleman  ?  He  seems 
a  mild,  pleasant-looking  person  ;  but  what  a 
singular  dress  he  wears  1  Who  is  he  ?  ”  — 
“  Ask  the  gentleman  who  stands  near  you,” 
said  the  father.  “  If  you  please,  sir,  can  you 
inform  me  who  that  gentleman  opposite  is  ?  ” 
No  answer.  The  boy  thinks  it  strange.  At 
last  the  father  tells  him,  “  My  son,  those  are 
only  wax  figures :  there  is  no  life  in  them ; 
they  are  all  outside,  —  very  fair  to  look  at,  but 
there  is  no  soul,  no  life :  they  are  outside, 
and  nothing  else.”  So  it  is  with  those  who 
have  no  internal  religion. 

2362.  FORMALISM,  Lifelessness  of.  The  artist 
may  mould  matter  into  forms  of  surprising 
beauty,  and  make  us  feel  their  elevating  and 

unifying  influences ;  but  what  is  the  marble 
loses  of  a  Michael  Angelo,  or  the  cold  statue 
of  his  living  Christ,  compared  to  the  embodi¬ 
ment  of  Jesus  in  the  sculpture  of  a  holy  life  ? 
What  are  all  the  forms  of  moral  beauty  in  the 
Pharisee  of  religion,  compared  with  the  true 
and  holy  life  of  the  heart  of  the  devoted 
Christian  ?  Bp.  Thompson. 

2363.  FORTITUDE,  Defined.  Christian  forti¬ 

tude  may  be  defined  as  that  state  of  mind  which 
arises  from  truth,  and  confidence  in  God ;  en¬ 
ables  us  to  stand  collected  and  undisturbed  in 
the  time  of  difficulty  and  danger;  and  is  at  an 
equal  distance  from  rashness  on  the  one  hand, 
and  pusillanimity  on  the  other.  Buck. 

2364.  FORTITUDE,  Legend  of.  Agatha  was 
a  native  of  Catania,  Sicily,  who  suffered  in  the 
Decian  persecution.  Quintianus  ruled  there, 
and,  having  heard  of  the  great  beauty  of 
maiden  Agatha,  ordered  her  before  him,  and 
tempted  her  with  flatteries  and  rich  presents ; 
all  of  which  she  scorned.  She  was  then  given 
over  to  a  practical  courtesan  to  be  subjugated, 
whose  arts  also  failed.  The  courtesan  reported 
to  Quintianus,  that  “  sooner  shall  the  sword  at 
thy  side  become  liquid  lead,  and  the  rocks  dis¬ 
solve  and  flow  like  water,  than  the  heart  of 
this  damsel  be  subdued  to  thy  will.”  Again 
she  was  ordered  before  him,  and  commanded 
to  abjure  Christ,  whom  she  boldly  confessed. 
Then,  threatened  with  torture,  she  replied,  “  If 
thou  shouldst  throw  me  to  the  wild  beasts,  the 
power  of  Christ  would  render  them  meek  as 
Iambs ;  if  thou  shouldst  kindle  a  fire  to  con¬ 
sume  me,  the  angels  would  quench  it  with  dews 
from  heaven ;  if  thou  shouldst  tear  me  with 
scourges,  the  Holy  Spirit  would  render  thy 
tortures  harmless.”  Her  flesh  was  mangled, 
and  her  breasts  lacerated.  St.  Peter  came  to 
her  dungeon  at  midnight,  saying,  “  I  am  come 
to  heal  thee,  my  daughter.”  Then  he  healed 
her.  Her  dungeon  was  opened,  and  her 
guards  dismayed  ;  but  she  refused  to  fly  from 
the  crown  of  martyrdom.  When  Quintianus 
heard  of  this  marvel,  he  caused  her  to  be 
bound  and  cast  into  a  great  fire,  from  the  effects 
of  which  her  pure  spirit  took  its  flight  to 
eternal  glory. 


2365.  FORTUNE,  Brevities.  We  do  not  know 
what  is  really  good  or  bad  fortune.  —  Rous - 

seau. - It  requires  greater  virtues  to  support 

good  than  bad  fortune.  —  La  Rochefoucauld. 

- Good  or  bad  fortune  generally  pursues 

those  who  have  the  greatest  share  of  either. 

Ibid. 

2366.  FORTUNE,  Caprice  of.  It  is  with  For¬ 

tune  as  with  fantastical  mistresses,  —  she  makes 
sport  with  those  that  are  ready  to  die  for  her, 
and  throws  herself  at  the  feet  of  others  that 
despise  her.  J.  Beaumont. 

2367.  FORTUNE,  Favorites  of.  There  are 

some  men  who  are  Fortune’s  favorites,  and  who, 
like  cats,  light  forever  upon  their  legs.  Wilkes 
was  one  of  these  didappers,  whom,  if  you  had 
stripped  naked,  and  thrown  over  Westminster 
Bridge,  you  might  have  met  on  the  very  next 
day,  with  a  bag  wig  on  his  head,  a  sword  by 
his  side,  a  lace  coat  upon  his  back,  and  money 
in  his  pocket.  C.  Colton. 

2368.  FORTUNE,  Gifts  o£  A  native  of  Mas¬ 

sachusetts,  “  more  famed  for  his  money  than  his 
wit,”  inquired  of  some  merchants  whom  he 
knew,  how  he  should  dispose  of  a  few  hun¬ 
dred  dollars.  To  hoax  him,  they  answered, 
“  Why,  buy  a  cargo  of  warming-pans,  and  send 
them  to  the  West  Indies,  to  be  sure!”  Not 
suspecting  the  trick,  he  bought  all  the  warm¬ 
ing-pans  he  could  find,  and  sent  them  to  a 
climate  where  there  was  every  reason  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  ice  would  be  far  more  acceptable. 
But  “  Providence  sometimes  shows  his  con¬ 
tempt  of  wealth  by  giving .  it  to  such  fools.” 
The  warming-pans  met  with  a  rapid  sale  ;  the 
tops  being  used  for  strainers,  and  the  lower 
parts  for  dippers,  in  the  manufacture  of  mo¬ 
lasses.  With  the  proceeds  of  this  profitable 
cargo,  he  built  a  vessel ;  and  being  informed 
by  the  carpenter,  that  wales  were  wanting,  he 
called  on  an  acquaintance,  and  said,  “My 
head  workman  sends  me  word  that  he  wants 
wales  for  the  vessel.  What  does  he  mean  ?  ” 
“  Why,  whalebones,  to  be  sure  1  ”  answered  the 
man,  who,  like  everybody  else,  was  willing  to 
impose  on  his  stupidity.  Whalebones  were 
accordingly  bought ;  but,  finding  that  Boston 
could  not  furnish  enough,  he  emptied  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  The  ship-carpenters, 
of  course,  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  his  expense ; 
but,  by  a  singular  turn  of  fortune,  this  blunder 
also  was  the  means  of  increasing  his  wealth. 
It  soon  after  became  fashionable  for  ladies  to 
wear  stays  completely  lined  with  whalebone ; 
and,  as  none  was  to  be  found  in  the  country,  it 
brought  an  immense  price.  Thus  his  coffers 
were  a  second  time  filled  by  his  odd  specula¬ 
tions.  Percy. 

2369.  FORTUNE,  Good  and  Bad.  Good  and 
bad  fortunes  are  equally  necessary  to  develop 
the  powers  of  the  soul. 

2370.  FORTUNE,  Honoring.  Years  ago,  a  pen¬ 
niless  boy,  on  a  journey,  paid  for  his  meal  by 
doing  a  job  of  work.  Fortune  honored  him, 
and  he  came  to  be  the  possessor  of  millions 
which  he  bestowed  with  a  lavish  hand  on  works 
of  charity  and  philanthropy.  He  therein  hon¬ 
ored  fortune.  To-day,  the  ships  of  two  nations 


EOFtTTJTNTE. 


FREEDOM. 


283 


escort  his  remains  to  his  native  shores,  honor¬ 
ing  him  as  never  a  man  was  honored  before. 
George  Peabody  has  made  his  name  honorable 
by  a  noble  use  of  fortune. 

2371.  FORTUNE,  Managing.  We  should  man¬ 
age  our  fortune  as  we  do  our  health,  —  enjoy  it 
when  good,  be  patient  when  it  is  bad,  and 
enjoy  it  any  way. 

2372.  FORTUNE,  Proverbs.  God  sends  fools 
fortune.  It  is  better  to  be  born  lucky  than 

rich.  —  English. - Fortune  makes  a  fool  of 

him  whom  she  too  much  favors.  — Latin. - 

Fortune  and  women  are  fond  of  fools. —  Ger¬ 
man.  - Put  your  finger  in  the  fire,  and  say 

it  was  your  fortune.  Scotch. 

2373.  FORTUNE,  Trifles  in.  Surely,  no  man 

can  reflect  without  wonder,  upon  the  vicissi¬ 
tudes  of  human  life,  arising  from  causes  in 
the  highest  degree  accidental  and  trifling.  If 
you  trace  the  necessary  concatenation  of  hu¬ 
man  events  a  very  little  way  back,  you  may 
perhaps  discover  that  a  person’s  very  going 
in  or  out  of  a  door  has  been  the  means  of  color¬ 
ing  with  misery  or  happiness  the  remaining 
current  of  his  life.  Greville. 

2374.  FOUNTAIN  OF  LIFE,  Allegory  of  the. 
The  prefect  who  governed  Rome,  during  the 
absence  of  Trajan  on  his  expedition  against 
the  Dacians,  commanded  Clement  to  be  brought 
before  him ;  and,  on  his  refusal  to  sacrifice  to 
the  false  gods,  he  ordered  him  to  be  banished 
to  an  island  whither  many  convicts  were  sent, 
and  obliged  to  work  in  the  quarries  of  stone. 
There  did  many  Christians  already  sigh  in 
chains ;  and  several  voluntarily  accompanied 
the  good  bishop,  willing  to  partake  of  his 
banishment.  Clement  found  the  unhappy 
prisoners  not  only  condemned  to  hard  labor, 
but  suffering  cruelly  from  the  want  of  water, 
which  they  bad  to  bring  from  a  distance  of  ten 
miles.  The  saint,  moved  with  compassion, 
knelt  down,  and  prayed ;  and,  raising  bis  eyes, 
he  suddenly  saw  a  lamb  standing  upon  the 
summit  of  a  rising  ground,  which,  remaining 
invisible  to  all  beside  himself,  he  knew  could 
be  none  other  than  the  Lamb  of  God  :  there¬ 
fore  St.  Clement  took  up  a  pick-axe,  and  went 
before  the  people  to  the  hill ;  and,  digging  there, 
a  clear  and  abundant  stream  gushed  forth,  to 
the  great  consolation  of  the  people. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

2375.  FOUNTAIN  OF  LIFE,  Coming  to  the. 
During  a  revival  in  a  town  in  Oliio,  a  man  who 
had  been  very  worldly-minded  was  awakened, 
but  for  some  time  concealed  his  feelings  even 
from  his  wife,  who  was  a  praying  woman.  She 
left  him,  one  evening,  in  charge  of  his  little  girl 
of  three  years  of  age.  After  her  departure, 
his  anxiety  of  mind  became  so  great,  that  he 
walked  the  room  in  his  agony.  The  little  girl 
noticed  his  agitation,  and  inquired,  “  What 
ails  you,  pa  ?  ”  He  replied,  “  Nothing,”  and 
endeavored  to  quiet  his  feelings,  but  all  in 
vain.  The  child  looked  up  sympathizingly  in 
his  face,  and  inquired,  with  all  the  artlessness 
and  simplicity  of  childhood,  “  Pa,  if  you  were 
dry,  wouldn’t  you  go  and  get  a  drink  of  water  ?  ” 
The  father  started  as  if  a  voice  from  heaven 


had  fallen  on  his  ear.  He  thought  of  his 
thirsty  soul  famishing  for  the  waters  of  life ; 
he  thought  of  that  living  fountain  opened 
in  the  gospel ;  he  believed,  and  straightway 
fell  at  the  Saviour’s  feet.  From  that  hour,  ht 
dates  the  dawning  of  a  new  light  and  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  a  new  life. 

2376.  FOUNTAIN  OF  LIFE,  Dying  at  the.  A 

soldier  of  one  of  the  Western  armies,  being 
severely  wounded,  asked  his  nurse  if  he  could 
read.  Being  assured  that  he  could,  he  asked 
him  to  read  the  chapter  about  “  coming  to  the 
waters.”  It  was  read  and  re-read ;  and  then 
prayer  was  offered  by  the  nurse.  The  same 
fifty-fifth  of  Isaiah  was  read  to  the  patient 
morning  and  evening,  “  Ho,  every  one  that 
tliirsteth  !  come  ye  to  the  waters.”  It  was 
read  as  usual  on  the  last  morning,  when  he  in¬ 
sisted  upon  being  placed  upon  his  knees  to 
pray  for  himself.  He  began  to  repeat  the 
Lord’s  Prayer,  when  his  spirit  fled  to  the  land 
of  crystal  waters. 

2377.  FOUNTAIN  OF  LIFE,  Emblem  of  the.  Tho 

little  River  Restonica  in  Corsica  has  the  won¬ 
derful  property  of  whitening  every  thing  thrown 
into  it.  Its  waters  are  clear  as  crystal,  and 
the  small  stones  which  are  seen  in  its  bed  are 
as  white  as  chalk.  Any  kind  of  metal,  but 
particularly  iron,  when  dipped  into  it,  has  the 
appearance  of  being  plated  with  silver.  The 
quality  of  its  waters,  also,  is  esteemed  highly 
salubrious. 

2378.  FOUNTAIN  OF  LIFE,  Influence  of  the- 

The  Jordan  flows  into  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret 
muddy  and  dark-colored,  but  precipitates  its 
impurities,  and  flows  from  it  clear  and  pure. 

2379.  FOUNTAIN  OF  LIFE,  Opened.  It  is  re¬ 
lated  of  a  benevolent  man,  that  he  lived  in  a 
village  poorly  supplied  with  water.  Dry  sea¬ 
sons  exhausted  the  wells,  and  reduced  the 
citizens  to  great  straits.  About  a  mile  distant 
was  a  never-faiiiug  spring.  The  waters  from 
this  he  conducted  by  pipes  to  the  heart  of  the 
village,  and  so  furnished  a  supply  at  all  sea¬ 
sons  to  the  inhabitants.  This  act  of  generosity 
touched  the  people ;  and,  when  he  was  dead, 
they  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory  by 
the  fountain  that  he  had  opened  for  their  ben¬ 
efit.  Such  a  fountain  has  Jesus  opened  to 
assuage  the  thirst  and  save  the  lives  of  perish¬ 
ing  men.  It  rises  as  the  river  of  the  water  of 
life  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb ; 
and  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  call  to  the  thirst¬ 
ing  multitudes  lining  its  banks  to  approaoh, 
and  partake  freely  of  its  healing  virtue. 

2380.  FREEDOM,  Christian.  “  He  is  free  that 
lives  as  he  will,”  from  Cicero,  insisted  on  by 
St.  Augustine ;  that  is,  who  neither  wishes  any 
thing,  nor  fears  any  thing ;  who  in  all  things 
acquiesces  in  the  will  of  God ;  who  minds  noth¬ 
ing  but  his  own  things,  and  accounts  nothing 
his  own  but  God ;  who  savors  nothing  but 
God  ;  who  is  moved  only  by  the  will  of  God. 

A.  A.  Hodge. 

2381.  FREEDOM,  Purchased.  Gen.  Fisk  de¬ 
scribes  the  sale  of  a  pious  old  slave  as  follows: 
“  How  much  lor  this  old  man  ?  ”  said  the  glib 
auctioneer.  “  Here  is  a  fine  man,  honest,  faith- 


284 


FREEDOM. 


FREE  GRACE. 


ful,  a  good  preacher :  how  much  ?  how  much  ? 
Gentlemen,  bid  something  1  Twenty-five  dol¬ 
lars  is  bid ;  twenty-five,  twenty-five  only,  for 
this  excellent  servant  ?  Thirty  is  bid  ;  thir¬ 
ty,  thirty,  forty :  do  I  hear  forty  ?  Forty ; 
fifty  V  fifty ;  sixty  ?  sixty ;  sixty-five  ?  sixty- 
five.”  The  old  man’s  heart  beat  quick :  his 
eyes  were  flooded  with  tears.  He  had  laid  up 
a  little  money,  hoping  to  buy  himself,  and  die 
free ;  his  fortune  was  already  nearly  reached, 
the  bids  were  running  him  up  beyond  his  own 
means.  In  a  clear  voice,  dictated  by  hope,  he 
cried  aloud,  “  Seventy  !  ”  The  slave-buyers 
stood  aghast :  the  moral  effect  stilled  the  crowd. 
“  Seventy,  seventy,”  cried  the  auctioneer ; 
“  seventy,  seventy,  and  —  done  1  ”  Precious 
purchase !  he  was  free  who  had  always  been 
a  slave. 

2382.  FREEDOM,  Watching  for.  In  the  year 
1830,  on  the  night  preceding  the  1st  of  Au¬ 
gust,  the  day  the  slaves  in  our  West-Indian 
colonies  were  to  come  into  possession  of  the 
freedom  promised  them,  many  of  them,  we  are 
told,  never  went  to  bed  at  all.  Thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  them  assembled  in  their 
places  of  worship,  engaging  in  devotional  du¬ 
ties,  and  singing  praises  to  God,  wailing  for 
the  first  streak  of  the  light  of  the  morning  of 
that  day  on  which  they  were  to  be  made  free. 
Some  of  their  number  were  sent  to  the  hills, 
from  which  they  might  obtain  the  first  view 
of  the  coming  day,  and,  by  a  signal,  intimate 
to  their  brethren  down  in  the  valley  the  dawn 
of  that  day  that  was  to  make  them  men,  and 
no  longer,  as  they  had  hitherto  been,  mere 
goods  and  chattels,  —  men  with  souls  that  God 
had  created  to  live  forever.  How  eagerly 
must  these  men  have  watched  for  the  morning ! 

Rev.  T.  W.  Aveling. 

2383.  FREE  GRACE,  Accept.  A  ship  was 
sailing  in  the  southern  waters  of  the  Atlantic, 
when  they  saw  another  vessel  making  signals 
of  distress.  They  bore  down  towards  the  dis¬ 
tressed  ship,  and  hailed  them.  “  What  is  the 
matter?” — “We  are  dying  for  water,”  was 
the  response.  “  Dip  it  up,  then  !  ”  was  the  an¬ 
swer.  “  You  are  in  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon 
River.”  There  those  sailors  were  thirsting 
and  suffering  and  fearing  and  longing  for 
water,  and  supposing  that  there  was  nothing 
but  the  ocean’s  brine  around  them,  when,  in 
fact,  they  had  sailed  unconsciously  into  the 
broad  mouth  of  the  mightiest  river  on  the 
globe,  and  did  not  know  it.  And  though  to 
to  them  it  seemed  that  they  must  perish  with 
thirst,  yet  there  was  a  hundred  miles  of  fresh 
water  all  around  them ;  and  they  had  nothing 
to  do  but  to  “  dip  it  up  !  ” 

2384.  FREE  GRACE,  Complaint  of.  Christ  Je¬ 
sus  has  freely  made  himself  our  Great  Deliv¬ 
erer  ;  and  shall  we  complain  that  his  work  is  too 
gratuitous,  and  that  his  deliverance  is  too  com¬ 
plete  ?  What  should  we  feel  to  hear  the  sol¬ 
diers  of  Prussia  say,  in  reference  to  Waterloo, 
“  It  was  too  easy  a  victory  !  ”  Would  we  not 
indignantly  reply,  “  So  indeed  it  was  to  you  : 
our  general  bore  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day ;  he  gained  a  hard-fought  victory,  and  gave 


you  a  retreating  and  conquered  enemy  to  pur¬ 
sue  ”  ?  This  reply  furnishes  us  with  an  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  Christian’s  position  :  Jesus,  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  has  conquered  sin  and 
death  and  Satan  ;  he  triumphed  over  them  in 
his  cross,  and  calls  us  to  pursue  the  conquered 
foe.  The  duty  of  the  Christian  is  to  follow  in 
the  wake  of  victory.  Dr.  Stevenson. 

2385.  FREE  GRACE  versus  the  Decrees.  As 

1  sat  in  the  church  in  Geneva  where  Calvin 
used  to  thunder,  I  blessed  God  for  all  the 
hard  blows  the  brusque  old  reformer  struck  at 
Popery,  and  also  that  we  have  now  a  better 
Protestantism  than  he  taught.  And,  as  the 
minister  there  sprinkled  the  water  of  holy 
baptism  on  a  babe,  I  could  but  think  of  what 
Calvin  termed  “  the  horrible  decree,”  and  of 
the  dread  uncertainty  with  which  many  of  his 
followers  used  to  contemplate  the  destiny  of 
deceased  infants,  and  of  the  blessed  certainty 
with  which  all  evangelical  Christians  contem¬ 
plate  it  now.  I  fell  back  on  Mrs.  Stowe’s 
“  Theology  of  the  Bones,”  and  blessed  God 
that  it  has  become  the  theology  of  the  best 
brains  in  Christendom.  When  the  broken¬ 
hearted,  bereaved  mother  had  worked  herself 
into  a  despairing  frenzy  over  her  conception 
of  the  God  of  Edwards  and  Hopkins,  the  old 
colored  nurse  gathered  the  pale  form  to  her 
bosom,  and  said,  “  Honey,  darlin’,  ye  ain’t 
right:  dar’s  a  drefful  mistake  somewhar. 
Why  1  de  Lord  ainlt  like  what  ye  tink  :  he  loves 
ye,  honey  I  Why  !  jes’  feel  how  I  loves  ye,  — 
poor  ole  black  Candace ;  an’  I  ain’t  better’n 
him  as  made  me.  .  .  .  Dar  jes’  ain’t  but  one 
ting  to  come  to,  an’  dat  ar’s  Jesus.  Jes’  come 
right  down  to  whar  poor  ole  black  Candace 
has  to  stay  allers:  it’s  a  good  place,  darlin’  1 
Look  right  at  Jesus.  .  .  .  Dar’s  a  God  ye  can 
love  1  ”  C.  D.  Foss. 

2386.  FREE  GRACE,  in  Dying.  Mr.  McLaren 
and  Mr.  Gustart  were  ministers  of  the  Tol- 
booth  Church,  Edinburgh.  When  Mr.  Mc¬ 
Laren  was  dying,  Mr.  Gustart  paid  him  a  visit, 
and  put  the  question  to  him,  “  What  are  you 
doing,  brother  ?  ”  His  answer  was,  “  Doing  1 
I’ll  tell  you  what  I  am  doing,  brother.  I  am 
gathering  together  all  my  prayers,  all  my  ser¬ 
mons,  all  my  good  deeds,  all  my  evil  deeds  ; 
and  I  am  going  to  throw  them  all  overboard, 
and  swim  to  glory  on  the  plank  of  free 
grace.” 

2387.  FREE  GRACE,  Example  o£  Mr.  Wesley 
said  to  a  highwayman  who  had  demanded  his 
money,  “  The  time  may  come  when  you  may 
regret  the  course  of  life  in  which  you  are  en¬ 
gaged.  Remember  this :  ‘  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin.’  ”  Years  after,  he 
was  met  by  the  same  man,  who  told  him  that 
he  had  been  led  to  Christ  through  the  influence 
of  that  verse. 

2388.  FREE  GRACE,  Experienced.  A  poor 
idiot  in  England  went  to  church,  when  the 
minister  took  for  a  text,  “  And  a  highway 
shall  be  there,  and  a  way ;  and  it  shall  be  called 
The  way  of  holiness ;  the  unclean  shall  not 
pass  over  it ;  but  it  shall  be  for  those :  the  way- 
laring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err  therein.’’ 


ERETETTIASTESS. 


irnrEisnDSHXP. 


285 


On  hearing  this,  the  poor  idiot  got  up,  and,  re¬ 
gardless  of  those  around  him,  clapped  his 
hands,  and  cried  out,  “  Then  I  shall  be  saved  t 
then  /  shall  be  saved  1  ” 

2389.  FEETFULNESS,  Cure  for.  Silence  is 
the  most  effectual  cure  for  fretfulness.  A  man 
who  is  fretful  is  like  a  cloudy  day  that  cannot 
rain  :  in  a  little  while,  it  will  clear  off.  So  a 
man  that  is  fretful  and  peevish  may  look  ugly ; 
but  if  he  holds  his  mouth  tight,  and  gives  no 
expression  to  it,  after  a  while,  it  will  clear  up, 
—  the  mind  will  get  in  another  quarter.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  but  the  indulgence  and  ex¬ 
pression  of  these  feelings  cultivate  them,  while 
with  a  disposition  to  restrain  them  they  would 
grow  weaker  and  weaker. 

2390.  FEETFULNESS,  Prevented.  Two  gar¬ 
deners  had  their  crops  of  peas  killed  by  the 
frost ;  one  of  whom,  who  had  fretted  greatly, 
and  grumbled  at  the  loss,  visiting  his  neighbor 
some  time  after,  was  astonished  to  see  another 
fine  crop  growing,  and  inquired  how  it  could 
be.  “  These  are  what  I  sowed  while  you  were 
fretting,”  was  the  reply.  “  Why,  don’t  you 
fret  ?  ”  —  “  Yes ;  but  I  put  it  off  till  I  have 
repaired  the  mischief.”  —  “Why,  then  there’s 
no  need  to  fret  at  all.”  —  “  True  :  that’s  the 
reason  I  put  it  off” 

2391.  FRETFULNESS,  Rebnked.  A  little  girl 
said,  “  Mother,  does  God  ever  fret  or  scold  V  ” 
The  query  arrested  the  mother’s  attention, 
almost  with  a  shock.  “  Why,  Lizzie  ?  what 
mat  es  you  ask  that  question  ?  ”  —  “  Why,  God 
is  good :  you  know  you  used  to  call  him  the 
‘  Good  Man,’  when  I  was  little ;  and  I  should 
like  to  know  if  he  ever  scolds.”  —  “  No,  child  : 
no.”  —  “  Well,  I’m  glad  he  don’t ;  for  scolding 
always  makes  me  ieel  so  bad,  even  if  it  is  not 
my  fault.  I  don’t  think  that  I  could  love  God 
much  if  he  scolded.” 

2392.  FEETFULNESS,  Rule  for.  Never  fret 
about  what  you  can’t  help,  because  it  won’t 
do  any  good.  Never  fret  about  what  you 
can  help ;  because,  if  you  can  help  it,  do  so. 
When  you  arc  tempted  to  grumble  about  any 
thing,  ask  yourself,  “  Can  I  help  this  ?  ”  and, 
if  you  can’t,  don’t  fret ;  but,  if  you  can,  do  so. 

2393.  FRIEND,  The  All-Sufficient.  Seneca, 

going  to  comfort  his  friend  Polybius,  persuades 
him  to  bear  his  afflictions  patiently,  because 
he  was  the  emperor’s  favorite  ;  and  tells  him 
that  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  complain 
while  Cajsar  was  his  friend.  Oh  !  but  the  sure 
word  of  God  affords  a  better  cordial,  —  that 
which  is  true  comfort  indeed :  it  bids  every 
true  child  of  God  not  to  be  overmuch  de¬ 
jected  under  the  greatest  of  afflictions,  because 
he  is  God’s  favorite,  God’s  jewel,  God’s  child, 
God’s  inheritance.  Spencer. 

2391.  FRIEND,  a  Constant.  Doctor,  what 
shall  I  do  ?  ”  asked  a  patient  of  her  medical 
adviser :  “  my  friends  are  all  out  of  town.” 

“  You  may  have  one  Friend,”  was  the  answer, 

“  who  is  never  out  of  the  way,  but  ever  near, 
and  ewr  true.  Jesus  is  the  best  friend  for 
earth  or  heaven.”  Pres.  Edwards,  when  he 
came  to  die,  —  his  last  words,  after  bidding 
his  relations  good-by,  were,  “  Now,  where  is 


Jesus  of  Nazareth,  my  true  and  never-failing 
friend  V  ”  And,  so  saying,  he  fell  asleep. 

2395.  FRIEND,  Loss  of  a.  The  loss  of  my 
friend,  as  it  shall  moderately  grieve  mb,  so  it 
shall  another  way  much  benefit  me  in  recom¬ 
pense  of  his  want ;  for  it  shall  make  me  think 
more  often  and  seriously  of  earth  and  of 
heaven,  —  of  earth,  for  his  body  which  is  re¬ 
posed  in  it ;  of  heaven,  for  his  soul  which 
possesseth  it  before  me :  of  earth,  to  put  me 
in  mind  of  my  like  frailty  and  mortality ;  of 
heaven,  to  make  me  desire,  and  after  a  sort 
emulate,  his  happiness  and  glory.  Bp.  Hall. 

2396.  FRIENDSHIP,  Basis  of,  True  friend- 
ship  can  only  be  made  between  true  men. 
Hearts  are  the  soul  of  honor.  There  can  be 
no  lasting  friendship  between  bad  men.  Bad 
men  may  pretend  to  loVe  each  other ;  but  their 
friendship  is  a  rope  of  sand,  which  shall  be 
broken  at  any  convenient  season.  But  if  a 
man  have  a  sincere  heart  within  him,  and  be 
true  and  noble,  then  we  may  confide  in  him. 

Spurgeon. 

2397.  FRIENDSHIP,  Brevities.  Friendship  is 

the  only  thing  in  the  world  concerning  the 
use  of  which  all  mankind  are  agreed.  —  Cice¬ 
ro.  - Kindred  passions  and  pursuits  are 

the  natural  groundwork  of  friendship.  Real 
friendship  is  of  slow  growth,  and  never  thrives, 
unless  ingrafted  upon  a  stock  of  known  and  re¬ 
ciprocal  merit.  —  Chesterfield.. - The  youth 

of  friendship  is  better  than  its  old  age.  —  llaz- 

lilt. - Make  not  thy  friends  too  cheap  to 

thee,  nor  thyself  to  thy  friend.  —  Fuller. - 

Purchase  not  friends  by  gifts :  when  thou 
ceasest  to  give,  such  will  cease  to  love.  —  Ibid. 
- Lord  Brooks  was  so  proud  of  his  friend¬ 
ship  with  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  that  he  chose  for 
his  epitaph,  “  Here  lies  Sir  Philip  Sidney’s 
friend.” 

2398.  FRIENDSHIP,  Christian.  When  Chris¬ 

tianity  came  to  renew  our  nature,  and  to  restore 
our  laws,  and  to  increase  her  privileges,  and  to 
make  her  aptness  to  become  religion,  then  it 
was  declared  that  our  friendships  were  to  be 
universal  as  our  conversation  ;  that  is,  actual 
to  all  with  whom  we  converse,  and  potentially 
extended  unto  those  with  whom  we  did  not. 
For  he  who  was  to  treat  his  enemies  with  for¬ 
giveness  and  prayers,  and  love  and  benefi¬ 
cence,  was  indeed  to  have  no  enemies,  and  to 
have  all  friends.  Bp.  Taylor. 

2399.  FRIENDSHIP,  Condition  of.  An  earth¬ 
en  pot  and  one  of  brass  were  one  day  carried 
away  by  a  great  inundation.  “  Brother,”  said 
the  latter,  “  do  not  be  afraid  :  I  will  do  you  no 
harm.” —  “  Oh !  keep  away  from  me,  I  pray 
you,”  replied  the  ibrmer ;  “  for  if  it  happens 
that  the  current  dashes  you  against  me,  or  me 
against  you,  our  constitutions  are  so  different, 
that  you  will  break  me  into  a  thousand  pieces.” 

2100.  FRIENDSHIP,  Cultivating.  Get  not 
your  friends  by  bare  compliments,  but  by  giv¬ 
ing  them  sensible  tokens  of  your  love.  It  is 
well  worth  while  to  learn  how  to  win  the  heart 
of  man  the  right  way.  Force  is  of  no  use  to 
make  or  preserve  a  friend,  who  is  an  animal 
that  is  never  caught  and  tamed  but  by  kind- 


286 


rRIENDSHIP. 


FRIENDSHIP. 


ness  and  pleasure.  Excite  them  by  your  civil¬ 
ities,  and  show  them  that  you  desire  nothing 
more  than  their  satisfaction ;  oblige  witli  all 
your  soul  that  friend  who  has  made  you  a 
present  of  his  own.  Socrates. 

2401.  FRIENDSHIP,  Fruits  of.  Friendship 
maketli  indeed  a  fair  day  in  the  affections  from 
storms  and  tempests ;  but  it  maketli  daylight  in 
the  understanding,  out  of  darkness  and  confu¬ 
sion  of  thoughts.  Whosoever  hath  his  mind 
fraught  with  many  thoughts,  his  wits  do  clarify 
and  break  up  in  the  communicating  and  dis¬ 
coursing  with  one  another,  he  tosseth  his 
thoughts  more  easily,  he  marshalleth  them 
more  orderly,  he  seeth  how  they  look  when 
they  are  turned  into  words  ;  finally,  he  waxeth 
wiser  than  himself,  and  that  more  by  an  hour’s 
discourse  than  by  a  day’s  meditation. 

Lord  Bacon. 

2402.  FRIENDSHIP,  Image  of.  One  morning 

in  spring,  two  youths  were  walking  arm  in  arm 
in  a  wood.  “  Let  us  try,”  said  the  one  to  the 
other,  “  to  find  the  image  of  our  friendship ; 
for  man  loves  to  find  the  picture  of  his  own  life 
in  nature.”  —  “  Behold  the  ivy  clinging  to  the 
young  oak !  The  tree  grows  in  youthful  beauty 
and  vigor,  like  the  column  of  a  temple  which 
youths  and  virgins  have  adorned  with  the  first 
foliage  of  spring.  The  tender  ivy  clings  to 
the  oak,  as  if  it  strove  to  become  one  with  the 
tree ;  but  for  the  oak,  it  would  creep  in  the 
dust.”  Krummacher. 

2403.  FRIENDSHIP,  Measure  of.  The  quali¬ 

ties  of  your  friends  will  be  those  of  your 
enemies,  —  cold  friends,  cold  enemies  ;  half 
friends,  half  enemies;  fervid  enemies,  warm 
friends.  Lavater. 

2404.  FRIENDSHIP,  Proverbs.  He  that  is 

absent  will  not  be  the  heir.  —  Latin. - The 

dead  and  the  absent  have  no  friends.  —  Span¬ 
ish.  - The  absent  are  always  in  the  wrong. 

—  French. - Friends  agree  best  at  a  dis¬ 
tance.  —  English. - Love  your  neighbor,  but 

do  not  pull  down  the  hedge.  Let  the  guest  go 

before  the  storm  bursts.  —  German. - Better 

be  unmannerly  than  troublesome.  Too  much 

familiarity  breeds  contempt.  —  English. - 

He  that  quits  his  place  loses  it.  French. 

2405.  FRIENDSHIP,  Repairing.  If  a  man 

doos  not  make  new  acquaintances  as  he  advan¬ 
ces  in  life,  he  will  soon  find  himself  left  alone. 
A  man  should  keep  his  friendship  in  constant 
repair.  Johnson. 

2406.  FRIENDSHIP,  Sinful.  Friendship 

6ealed  by  companionship  in  sin  will  not  last 
long.  It  is  not  worth  having.  It  deserves  not 
to  be  known  by  that  noble  name.  Friends  that 
are  glued  together  by  the  6lime  of  their  lusts 
will  be  torn  asunder  soon  ;  and  these  foul  exu¬ 
dations  that  seem  now  to  bind  them  into  one 
will  become  the  fuel  to  a  flame  of  mutual  hate 
when  first  a  spark  of  disagreement  fall.  They 
will  bite  and  devour  one  another.  The  de¬ 
gree  of  their  privacy  to  each  other’s  wicked¬ 
ness  will  be  the  measure  of  their  dislike  and 
distrust.  Arnot. 

240?.  FRIENDSHIP,  Strange.  The  rhinoce¬ 
ros  is  frequently  accompanied  by  a  bird,  which, 


at  the  approach  of  danger,  gives  a  shrill  cry 
of  warning.  The  rhinoceros  can  only  see 
what  is  immediately  before  him,  and  may  be 
approached  from  the  leeward  within  a  few 
paces.  The  bird  sees  better,  and  is  his  senti¬ 
nel  and  friend ;  often  saving  him  from  death. 
A  bird  similarly  defends  the  African  buffalo. 
The  bird  hops  on  the  ground  beside  the  beast, 
or  rides  upon  his  back ;  but  his  flight  is  the 
signal  of  alarm.  The  little  monkeys  of  the 
tropics  form  similar  friendship  with  larger  an¬ 
imals.  A  lion  and  a  dog,  and  a  tigress  and  a 
dog,  have  been  fast  friends. 

2408.  FRIENDSHIP,  Tried.  Col.  Byrd  of 
Virginia  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Cherokees, 
and  was  condemned  to  death.  In  the  tribe 
was  a  chief  that  had  before  been  his  friend. 
At  the  approach  of  the  executioners,  he  threw 
himself  upon  the  intended  victim,  saying, 
“  This  man  is  my  friend  :  before  you  can  get 
at  him,  you  must  kill  me  ;  ”  which  saved  him. 

2409.  FRIENDSHIP,  True.  Damon  was  sen¬ 
tenced  to  die  on  a  certain  day,  and  sought 
permission  of  Dionysius  of  Syracuse  to  visit 
his  family  in  the  interim.  It  was  granted,  on 
condition  of  securing  a  hostage  for  himself. 
Pythias  heard  of  it,  and  volunteered  to  stand 
in  his  friend’s  place.  The  king  visited  him 
in  prison,  and  conversed  with  him  about  the 
motive  of  his  conduct ;  affirming  his  disbe¬ 
lief  in  the  influence  of  friendship.  Pythias 
expressed  his  wish  to  die  that  his  friend’s  honor 
might  be  vindicated.  He  prayed  the  gods  to 
delay  the  return  of  Damon  till  after  his  own 
execution  in  his  stead.  The  fatal  day  arrived. 
Dionysius  sat  on  a  moving  throne,  drawn  by 
six  white  horses.  Pythias  mounted  the  scaf¬ 
fold,  and  calmly  addressed  the  spectators : 
“  My  prayer  is  heard  :  the  gods  are  propitious  ; 
for  the  winds  have  been  contrary  till  yester¬ 
day.  Damon  could  not  come  ;  he  could  not 
conquer  impossibilities;  he  will  be  here  to¬ 
morrow,  and  the  blood  which  is  shed  to-day 
shall  have  ransomed  the  life  of  my  friend. 
Oh  1  could  I  erase  from  your  bosoms  every 
mean  suspicion  of  the  honor  of  Damon,  I  should 
go  to  my  death  as  I  would  to  my  bridal.  My 
friend  will  be  found  noble,  his  truth  unim¬ 
peachable  ;  he  will  speedily  prove  it ;  he  is 
now  on  his  way,  accusing  himself,  the  adverse 
elements,  and  the  gods  :  but  I  haste  to  prevent 
his  speed.  Executioner,  do  your  office.”  As  he 
closed,  a  voice  in  the  distance  cried,  “  Stop 
the  execution  1  ”  which  was  repeated  by  the 
whole  assembly.  A  man  rode  up  at  full  speed, 
mounted  the  scaffold,  and  embraced  Pythias, 
crying,  “  You  are  safe,  my  beloved  friend  1  I 
now  have  nothing  but  death  to  suffer,  and  am 
delivered  from  reproaches  for  having  endan- 

fered  a  life  so  much  dearer  than  my  own.” 

lamon  replied,  “  Fatal  haste,  cruel  impatience  1 
What  envious  powers  have  wrought  impossi¬ 
bilities  in  your  favor  ?  But  I  will  not  be 
wholly  disappointed.  Since  I  cannot  die  to 
save,  I  will  not  survive  you.”  The  king  heard, 
and  was  moved  to  tears.  Ascending  the  scaf¬ 
fold,  he  cried,  “Live,  live,  ye  incomparable 
pair  1  Ye  have  borne  unquestionable  testi- 


FRIENDS. 


^RTJITTT'TJX.IsrE  S  S .  287 


mony  to  the  existence  of  virtue ;  and  that  vir¬ 
tue  equally  evinces  the  existence  of  a  God  to 
reward  it.  Live  happy,  live  renowned,  and 
oh!  form  me  by  your  precepts,  as  ye  have  in¬ 
vited  me  by  your  example,  to  be  worthy  of  the 

articipation  of  so  sacred  a  friendship.”  If 

eathenism  had  such  friendships,  what  may  be 
expected  of  Christianity? 

2410.  FRIENDS,  The  Best.  “  I  wish  that  I 
had  some  good  friends  to  help  me  on  in  life  !  ” 
cried  lazy  Dennis.  “  Good  friends  ?  Why, 

ou  have  ten  !  ”  replied  his  master.  “  I’m  sure 

haven’t  half  so  many ;  and  those  I  have  are 
too  poor  to  help  me.”  —  “  Count  your  fingers, 
my  boy,”  said  his  master.  Dennis  looked 
down  at  his  strong  hands.  “  Count  thumbs 
and  all,”  added  the  master.  “  I  have  :  there 
are  ten,”  said  the  lad.  “  Then  never  say  you 
have  not  ten  good  friends  able  to  help  you  on 
in  life.  Try  what  those  true  friends  can  do, 
before  you  go  to  grumbling  and  fretting  because 
you  do  not  get  help  from  others.” 

2411.  FRIENDS,  Distrust  of.  “Friends!” 

said  Socrates,  “  there  is  no  friend.”  Another 
says,  A  friend  is  a  changeable  creature,  like  the 
colors  of  the  peacock.  Many  friends  are  not 
more  fickle  than  false ;  like  deep  ponds,  clear 
at  the  top,  and  muddy  at  the  bottom.  Try 
before  you  trust,  and,  when  you  have  tried, 
trust  not  over  far,  lest  you  cry  out  as  Queen 
Elizabeth,  “  In  trust,  I  have  found  treason  ;  ” 
or  as  Julius  Caesar,  when  stabbed  by  Brutus, 
“  What !  thou,  Brutus  I  ”  He  received  twenty- 
three  wounds,  mostly  at  the  hands  of  those 
whose  lives  he  had  spared.  Buck. 

2412.  FRIENDS,  Fickleness  of.  The  bees 
were  haunting  the  flowering  trees  in  crowds, 
humming  among  the  branches,  and  gathering 
honey  in  the  flowers.  Said  Gotthold,  “  Here 
is  an  image  of  temporal  prosperity.  So  long  as 
there  is  blossom  on  the  trees,  and  honey  in  the 
blossom,  the  bees  will  frequent  them  in  crowds, 
and  fill  the  place  with  their  music  ;  but  when 
the  blossom  is  over,  and  the  honey  gone,  they, 
too,  will  disappear.  The  same  happens  in  the 
world,  among  men.  In  the  abodes  of  fortune 
and  pleasure,  friends  will  be  found  in  plenty  ; 
but,  when  fortune  flies  away,  they  depart  along 
with  it.  Temporal  gain  is  the  world’s  honey 
and  the  .allurement  with  which  you  may  entice 
it  whithersoever  you  will ;  but  where  the  gain 
terminates,  there,  likewise,  do  the  love  and 
friendship  of  the  world  stop.  For  this  reason, 
let  all  good  men  be  advised  to  fly  to  Christ 
crucified,  who  never  forsakes  in  their  distress 
those  who  truly  seek  him.” 

2413.  FRIENDS,  Forsaking.  St.  Jerome  said, 
“If  my  father  should  stand  before  me,  my 
mother  should  hang  upon  me,  my  brethren 
should  press  about  me,  I  would  break  through 
my  brethren,  throw  down  my  mother,  tread 
under  feet  my  father,  that  I  might  the  faster 
cleave  unto  Christ  Jesus  my  Saviour.” 

2414.  FRIENDS,  Parable  of.  It  is  a  witty 
parable  which  one  of  the  fathers  hath,  of  a 
man  that  had  three  friends ;  two  whereof  he 
loved  entirely,  the  third  but  indifferently. 
This  man,  being  called  in  question  for  his  life, 


sought  help  of  his  friends.  The  first  would  bear 
him  company  some  part  of  his  way,  the 
second  -would  lend  him  some  money  for  his 
journey ;  and  that  was  all  they  would  or  could 
do  for  him :  but  the  third,  whom  he  least  re¬ 
spected,  and  from  whom  he  expected  least, 
would  go  all  the  way,  and  abide  all  the  while 
with  him ;  yea,  he  would  appear  with  him, 
and  plead  for  him.  This  man  is  every  one 
of  us  ;  and  our  three  friends  are  the  flesh,  the 
world,  and  our  own  conscience.  Spencer. 

2415.  FRIENDS,  Proverbs.  Before  you  make 
a  friend,  eat  a  peck  of  salt  with  him.  He  is 
my  friend  who  grinds  at  my  mill.  —  English. 

- Friendship  canna  stand  aye  on  one  side. 

—  Scotch. - Deeds  are  love,  and  not  fine 

speeches.  Broken  friendship  may  be  soldered, 
but  never  made  sound.  A  reconciled  friend 

is  a  double  foe.  —  Spanish. - Little  presents 

keep  up  friendship.  —  French. - Let  us 

have  florins,  and  we  shall  find  cousins.  Let 
him  that  is  wretched  and  beggared  try  every¬ 
body,  and  then  his  friends.  —  Italian. - 

They  are  rich  who  have  friends.  There  is  no 
living  without  friends.  Portuguese. 

2416.  FRUGALITY,  in  Trifles.  What  main¬ 

tains  one  vice  would  bring  up  two  children. 
You  may  think,  perhaps,  that  a  little  tea,  or  a 
little  punch  now  and  then,  diet  a  little  more 
costly,  clothes  a  little  finer,  and  a  little  enter¬ 
tainment  now  and  then,  can  be  no  great  mat¬ 
ter;  but,  remember,  many  a  little  makes  a 
mickle.  Beware  of  little  expenses.  A  small 
leak  will  sink  a  great  ship,  as  Poor  Richard 
says ;  and,  again,  Who  dainties  love  shall  beg¬ 
gars  prove  ;  and,  moreover,  Fools  make  feasts, 
and  wise  men  eat  them.  Franklin. 

2417.  FRUITFULNESS,  Cause  of.  Sorrows 

are  the  spurs  which  goad  us  to  our  sublimest 
endeavors  :  they  freshen  and  purify  the  soul ; 
they  wake  its  powers  into  activity ;  they  set  in 
motion  its  deepest  springs;  they  crystallize  its 
slumbering  desires  into  stern  resolves,  which,  in 
turn,  they  shape  into  mighty  deeds.  It  fore¬ 
tastes  the  blessedness  of  heaven ;  for  the  joy  of 
that  holy  world  will  much  consist  in  glorious 
life-deeds  inscribed  imperishably  in  the  records 
of  the  book  of  life.  Rev.  J.  Atkinson. 

2418.  FRUITFULNESS,  Contrast  o£  There 

is  a  counterfeit  olive-tree  in  Palestine.  It  is 
called  the  wild  olive,  or  the  oleaster.  It  is  in 
all  points  like  the  genuine  tree,  except  that  it 
yields  no  fruit.  Alas  I  how  many  wild  olives 
are  there  in  the  church !  When  I  see  a  man 
taking  up  large  space  in  Christ’s  spiritual  or¬ 
chard,  and  absorbing  a  vast  deal  of  sunlight 
and  soil,  and  yielding  no  real  fruit,  I  say,  “  Ah  1 
there  is  an  oleaster !  ”  Bowes. 

2419.  FRUITFULNESS,  Emblem  of.  The 
olive  presents  a  beautiful  emblem  of  Christian 
fruitfulness.  “  Generous  old  tree,  munificent  to 
the  lofty  and  the  lowly,  yielding  thy  grateful 
fruit  to  prince  and  peasant,  —  for  two  hundred 
years  thou  shookest  down  thy  ripe  mercies.  One 
generation  cometh,  and  another  goeth;  but 
still  the  olive-berries  fall.  Thou  bearest  fruit 
with  all  thy  might ;  never  stinting  thyself,  and 
never  robbing  thy  owner  of  his  score  of  brim- 


288  FRTJ1TF  lirUSTESS. 


GKAJYLB3LUN'  Gr. 


ming  jars.  Even  when  thou  standest  on  the 
most  barren,  desolate  stone-bed,  thou  canst 
bring  ‘  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock,’  and  pour 
down  fatness  on  the  very  spot  that  is  mocked 
with  dreariness  and  desolation.  Here  is  an 
emblem  of  Christian  fruitfulness  worthy  of 
study  in  these  cold,  revivalless,  unproductive 
days.”  T.  L,  Cuyler. 

2420.  FRUITFULNESS,  Passion  for.  It  is 
said  of  Rev.  Dr.  Franklin  that  he  had  a  pas¬ 
sion  for  fruitfulness.  His  signet-ring  had  for 
a  device  a  fruit-bearing  tree,  with  the  motto 
from  Ps.  i.  3.  And  when  near  his  end,  being 
asked  by  his  son  and  pastoral  successor  for 
some  word  of  condensed  wisdom  to  be  treas¬ 
ured  up  as  a  remembrance  and  a  prompter,  he 
breathed  into  his  ear  the  word,  “  fruitful.” 

•  Bowes. 

242 1. _  FUNERAL,  A  joyous.  A  heartless, 
miserly  old  man  died  at  an  advanced  age,  pos¬ 
sessed  of  considerable  property,  no  portion  of 
which  could  he  be  prevailed  on,  during  life,  to 
part  with  to  the  pressing  necessities  of  those* 
around  him.  His  stewardslup  closed.  At  once 
niggardly  and  ostentatious,  he  left  in  his  will, 
that  “one  thousand  pounds  should  be  expended 
on  his  funeral.”  To  a  benevolent  lady  of  the 
neighborhood,  whose  earliest  and  latest  thought 
had  reference  to  the  welfare  of  the  necessitous, 
this  happy  suggestion  occurred  :  “  Why  not 
benefit  the  poor  by  this  strange  injunction  V 
Why  not  invite  all  the  needy,  infirm,  and  aged 
of  the  neighborhood  to  this  rich  man’s  funeral, 
and  give  them  clothing  suited  to  the  cere¬ 
mony?”  The  idea  was  adopted  and  carried 
out.  It  was  a  delightful  funeral,  —  the  most 
cheerful  scene  that  had  been  witnessed  there 
for  years.  No  tears,  no  groans,  no  sighs, 
not  a  mourner  visible;  everybody  smiling, 
and  in  tip-top  spirits.  The  old  women  came 
trotting  along,  each  in  a  warm  comfortable 
cloak,  new  gown  and  bonnet ;  the  old  men  in 
a  full  suit  of  decent  black.  None  thought  it 
necessary  to  look  lugubrious  and  lachrymose, 
or  other  than  they  really  felt,  —  heart-glad. 
Right  joyous  was  the  spectacle  1  and  pleasant 
to  many  was  the  thought,  that  the  old  miser 
who  had  taken  special  care  to  aid  no  poor  crea¬ 
tures  when  alive  should  have  made  so  many 
aged  hearts  light  and  happy  when  he  died. 
Yes ;  that  was  a  funeral  worth  attending. 

Rev.  Erslcine  Neale. 

2422.  FUTURE,  Ignorance  of  the.  None, 
indeed,  can  open  the  “  seven-sealed  book,”  or 
look  forward  over  the  dim  and  shadowy  field 
stretching  out  inimitably  before  him.  The 
astronomer  discourses  on  the  rate  at  which  a 
sunbeam  travels,  and  explains  how  the  flash¬ 
ing  lightning  may  be  dispersed,  and  its  terri¬ 
ble  swoop  evaded.  He  even  indicates  those 
spheres  where  storms  never  gather,  and  thun¬ 
ders  never  roll ;  but  he  cannot  solve  the  anxious 
problems  of  our  future,  nor  help  us  by  his  great 
wisdom  to  avoid  its  manifold  evils,  because 
they  come  unforewarned.  Nor  will  the  lives 
of  those  gone  before  avail  us,  seeing  no  two 
lives  are  marked  by  the  same  vicissitudes,  or 
checkered  by  the  same  light  and  shades,  the 


same  joy  and  sorrow.  In  the  eloquent  words 
of  a  foreign  divine,  “We  can  become  familiar 
with  a  landscape ;  we  know  where  to  find  the 
waterfall,  and  the  shady  ledge  where  the  vio¬ 
lets  grow  in  spring  and  the  sassafras  gives 
forth  its  odors  :  but  we  can  never  become 
familiar  with  our  life-landscape ;  we  can  never 
tell  where  we  shall  come  upon  the  shady  dell, 
or  where  the  fountains  will  gush  and  the 
birds  sing.  That  is  with  God.”  And  his 
name  be  praised  that  it  is  so  1  for  a  definite 
prescience  thereof  would,  in  most  instances, 
cloud  the  whole  course  of  life,  poison  every 
stream  of  enjoyment,  and  render  existence  a 
curse  of  no  ordinary  magnitude. 

Edwin  Davies. 

2423.  FUTURE,  of  Lifo.  The  future  is 
always  fairy-land  to  the  young.  Life  is  like 
a  beautiful  and  winding  lane ;  on  either  side 
bright  flowers,  and  beautiful  butterflies,  and 
tempting  fruits,  which  we  scarcely  pause  to 
admire  and  to  taste,  so  eager  are  we  to  hasten 
to  an  opening  which  we  imagine  will  be  more 
beautiful  still ;  but  by  degrees,  as  we  advance, 
the  trees  grow  bleak,  the  flowers  and  butter¬ 
flies  fail,  the  fruits  disappear,  and  we  find  we 
have  arrived  to  reach  a  desert  waste.  Sala. 

2424.  FUTURE,  Question  of  the.  St.  Philip  de 
Neri  followed  the  anticipations  of  a  young  law- 
student  through  all  the  stages  of  his  expected 
triumphs  with  the  question,  “  And  then  ?  ”  It 
came  in  at  every  point;  and  last  of  all,  with  his 
imagined  victories  won,  the  impressive  question 
was,  “  And  then  ?  ”  The  student  felt  its  force, 
and  was  led  to  give  up  the  law  for  the  minis¬ 
try. 

2423.  GAIN,  By  Death.  One  of  the  mar¬ 
tyrs  said  to  his  executioner,  “  You  take  a  life 
from  me  that  I  cannot  keep,  and  bestow  a  life 
upon  me  that  I  cannot  lose  ;  which  is  as  if  you 
should  rob  mo  of  counters,  and  furnish  me  with 
gold.” 

2426.  GAIN,  •Unsatisfactory.  A  gentleman 
who  had  made  an  immense  fortune  by  priva¬ 
teering  resolved  to  build  himself  a  splendid 
hotel  in  Paris,  rivalling  even  the  imperial  pal¬ 
ace.  It  was  finished,  and  furnished  in  the  most 
sumptuous  manner.  He  reserved  for  himself 
the  pleasure  of  a  brilliant  surprise,  never  hav¬ 
ing  entered  the  building  till  all  wa3  completed. 
At  last,  every  thing  was  in  order.  The  lights, 
reflected  by  silver  and  crystal,  blaze  brilliantly 
in  every  room.  The  owner  enters,  but  sees  not 
the  splendor.  He  rebukes  the  servants  for  not 
having  lighted  his  palace.  Alas  1  he  is  not  per¬ 
mitted  to  behold  his  own  proud  creation.  He 
was  stricken  blind  in  the  hour  of  his  triumph. 
His  sight  never  returned.  His  furniture  was 
sold  under  the  auctioneer’s  hammer ;  and  his 
house  was  pulled  down  to  make  room  for  some 
improvement. 

2427.  GAMBLING,  Inhumanity  of.  A  lady  of 
fortune  in  a  fashionable  town  was  in  the  habit 
of  sending  invitations  to  the  gay  of  her  own 
class,  to  form  evening  card-parties  at  her  house. 
On  one  occasion,  she  had  collected  an  evening 
party  of  the  most  stylish  guests  the  town  pos¬ 
sessed.  The  cards  were  introduced,  as  on  for 


G-AJM^BLnST  Gr. 


GENIUS. 


289 


mer  occasions ;  and  when  all  were  absorbed  in 
the  favorite  game,  and  the  excitement  was  at 
its  highest,  the  lady  suddenly  fainted,  and  fell 
under  the  table.  The  company  all  rose ;  but 
one  said,  “  Stay  1  —  don’t  touch  the  bell.  Let 
us  finish  the  game.  She  would  have  done  so 
herself,  and  would  wish  us,  if  she  spoke.”  The 
game  lasted  another  half-hour;  and  ihen  they 
rang  the  bell,  and  sent  for  the  doctor :  but  he 
pronounced  her  to  have  been  dead  twenty  min¬ 
utes.  Clements. 

2128.  GAMBLING,  Place  o£  Dr.  Cuyler  de¬ 
scribes  a  visit  to  one  of  the  hells  of  New  York, 
— Morrissey’s  Club-house.  The  doors  were  open 
to  all ;  a  sumptuous  supper  was  spread  free  to 
the  players ;  the  furniture  was  elegant ;  the 
players  were  fashionably  dressed.  They  gath¬ 
ered  about  a  roulette-table,  staked  large  piles 
of  greenbacks,  and  lost  or  won  in  silence.  Be¬ 
hind  each,  the  arch-gamester.  Satan,  seemed 
luring  each  to  stake  his  conscience  for  gold, 
knowing  that  he  was  sure  to  cheat  them  out  of 
their  immortal  souls. 

2120.  GAYETY,  End  of.  A  Parisian  gentle¬ 
man  who  had  educated  his  daughter  Ninon 
for  the  gay  world,  on  his  death-bed  thus  ad¬ 
dressed  her,  “  Draw  near,  Ninon :  you  see 
that  nothing  more  remains  for  me  than  the 
sad  remembrance  of  those  enjoyments  which  I 
am  about  to  quit  forever.  But,  alas  1  my  regrets 
are  as  useless  as  vain :  you,  who  will  survive 
me,  must  make  the  best  of  your  precious  time.” 

2430.  GENEROSITY,  Example  of.  Demetrius, 
the  conqueror  of  cities,  having  for  just  cause 
made  war  upon  and  subdued  Athens,  instead 
of  putting  all  to  the  sword,  as  they  expected, 
said  that  he  would  revenge  himself  by  grant¬ 
ing  them  pardon,  and  being  their  friend,  and 
assuring  them,  that,  while  they  had  been  ab¬ 
sent,  his  soldiers  had  tilled  their  houses  with 
provisions. 

2431.  GENEROSITY,  Rare.  One  great  rea¬ 

son  why  men  practise  generosity  so  little  in 
the  world  is  their  finding  so  little  there. 
Generosity  is  catching;  and,  if  so  many  es¬ 
cape  it,  it  is,  in  a  small  degree,  for  the  same 
reason  that  countrymen  escape  the  small-pox, 
—  because  they  meet  with  no  one  to  give  it  to 
them.  Greville. 

2432.  GENIUS,  Brevities.  There  is  no  great 
genius  free  from  some  tincture  of  madness.  — 

Seneca. - Genius  is  supposed  to  be  a  power 

of  producing  excellences  which  are  out  of 
reach  of  the  ru'es  of  art,  —  a  power  which  no 
precepts  can  teach,  and  which  no  industry 

can  acquire.  — Sir. ./.  Reynold s. - All  great 

men  are,  in  some  degree,  inspired.  —  Cicero. 

- Men  of  genius  are  often  dull  and  inert 

in  society ;  as  the  blazing  meteor,  when  it  de¬ 
scends  to  earth,  is  only  a  stone.  —  Longfellow. 

2433.  GENIUS,  versus  Industry.  Some  years 
ago,  certain  capitalists  of  England  built  “  The 
Great  Eastern,”  which,  in  dimensions  and  ton¬ 
nage,  was  truly  the  “  mistress  of  the  sea.”  She 
was  fitted  up  in  the  most  gorgeous  manner.  It 
seemed  as  though  she  must  supersede  all  ship¬ 
ping  with  which  she  came  in  competition. 
From  the  time  she  first  crossed  the  ocean  to  the 

19 


present,  smaller  ships,  bearing  no  comparison 
with  her  in  size  and  capability,  have  been 
crossing  and  recrossing  the  ocean  constantly, 
stopping  in  port  only  long  enough  to  unload 
one  cargo,  and  take  on  another ;  thus  con¬ 
stantly  enriching  their  owners.  This  has  been 
done  so  quietly,  that  the  world  has  hardly  no¬ 
ticed  it.  IIow  different  with  “  The  Great 
Eastern  ”  1  She  has  crossed  the  ocean  only  a 
few  times,  with  the  eyes  of  the  world  upon 
her,  her  arrival  and  departure  being  heralded 
all  over  the  land  ;  and  yet  she  has  come  and 
gone  almost  empty,  having  been  a  dead  loss 
to  her  owners. 

2434.  GENIUS,  and  Infidelity.  The  most 
ethereal  creations  of  fantastic  fancy  were 
shaped  by  a  mind  that  could  read  the  life  of 
Christ,  and  then  blaspheme*  the  Adorable. 
The  truest  utterances,  and  some  of  the  deepest 
ever  spoken,  revealing  the  unrest  and  the  ago¬ 
ny  that  lie  hid  in  the  heart  of  man,  came  from 
one  whose  life  was,  from  first  to  last,  selfish. 
The  highest  astronomer  of  this  age,  before 
whose  clear  eye  creation  lay  revealed  in  all 
its  perfect  order,  was  one  whose  spirit  refused 
to  recognize  the  Cause  of  causes.  The  mighty 
heart  of  genius  had  failed  to  reach  the  things 
which  God  imparts  to  a  humble  spirit. 

F.  ]V.  Robertson. 

2433.  GENIUS,  Law  of.  Mr.  Webster  once 
replied  to  a  gentleman  who  pressed  him  to 
speak  on  a  subject  of  great  importance,  “  The 
subject  interests  me  deeply ;  but  I  have  not 
time.  There,  sir,”  pointing  to  a  large  pile  of 
unanswered  letters  to  which  he  must  reply 
before  the  close  of  the  session  (which  was  then 
three  days  off),  “  I  have  no  time  to  master  the 
subject  so  as  to  do  it  justice.” — “But,  Mr. 
Webster,  a  few  words  from  you  would  do  much 
to  awaken  public  attention  to  it.”  —  “  If 
there  be  so  much  weight  in  my  word,”  said  Mr. 
Webster,  “  it  is  because  I  do  not  allow  myself 
to  speak  on  any  subject  until  my  mind  is  imbued 
with  it.”  Demosthenes  was  once  urged  to  speak 
on  a  great  and  sudden  emergency.  “  I  am  not 
prepared,”  said  he ;  and  obstinately  refused. 
The  law  of  labor  is  equally  binding  on  genius 
and  mediocrity.  Dr.  Haven. 

2436.  GENIUS,  Plans  of.  “  On  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine,  there  lies  in  ancient  simplicity  an 
old  town,  whose  grand  cathedral  is  to  all  a 
glory  and  a  joy.  Ages  ago,  the  deep  founda¬ 
tion-trench  was  dug,  and  the  walls  went  slowly 
upward.  Generation  after  generation,  father 
and  child,  and  grandchildren  and  great-grand¬ 
children,  looked  upon  the  massive  but  unfin¬ 
ished  towers  ;  and  to-day  a  throng,  who  have 
no  memory  of  those  who  laid  the  corner-stone, 
are  carrying  up  the  spires,  already  nearing 
heaven.  The  old  plan  of  the  architect,  whose 
bones  long  ago  crumbled  in  the  dust,  is  still 
their  guide,  lie  died  without  seeing,  save  by 
the  eye  of  genius,  the  glorious  pile  he  planned ; 
and,  when  he  rises  in  the  resurrection,  that 
pile  will  sink  to  dust.  His  work  was  only  hu¬ 
man  ;  but  was  not  his  a  nobler  work  than  the 
perfecting  of  a  structure  which  one  generation 
may  finish,  and  another  leave  in  ruins  ?  ” 


290 


GENIUS. 


GEOLOGIST. 


2437.  GENIUS,  Power  o£  Vulcan  is  the 
fabled  artificer  among  the  gods  of  Greece. 
“  He  built  of  brass  the  houses  of  the  gods.  He 
made  tor  them  the  golden  shoes  with  which 
they  trod  the  air  or  the  water,  or  moved  from 
place  to  place  with  the  speed  of  the  wind. 
He  shod  with  brass  the  celestial  steeds  which 
whirled  the  chariots  of  the  gods  through  the 
air,  or  along  the  surface  of  the  sea.  He  was 
able  to  give  his  workmanship  self-motion.  He 
even  endowed  with  intelligence  the  golden 
handmaidens  whom  he  made  to  wait  on  him¬ 
self.” 

2438.  GENIUS,  without  Keligion.  Genius  — 
what  is  it  ?  Without  religion,  genius  is  only 
a  lamp  on  the  outer  gate  of  a  palace.  It  may 
serve  to  cast  a  gleam  of  light  on  those  that  are 
without,  while  the  inhabitant  sits  in  darkness. 

H.  More. 

2439.  GENIUS,  Test  of.  Few  minds  are  sun¬ 
like, —  sources  of  light  in  themselves  and  to 
others.  Many  others  are  moons,  which  shine 
with  a  derivative  and  reflected  light.  Among 
the  tests  to  distinguish  them  is  this,  —  the  for¬ 
mer  are  always  full ;  the  latter,  only  now  and 
■then,  when  their  suns  are  shining  full  upon 
them. 

2440.  GENIUS,  Waste  of.  Genius,  like  the 
lark,  is  apt  to  despise  its  nest  upon  the  earth, 
and  waste  its  time  in  fluttering  and  quavering 
among  the  clouds ;  but  common  sense  is  the 
humbler  fowl,  which  picks  up  the  barleycorns, 
and  crows  and  fattens  at  leisure. 

2441.  GENTLEMAN,  Defined.  A  Christian  is 

■God  Almighty’s  gentleman.  The  real  gentle¬ 
man  should  be  gentle  in  every  thing  ;  at  least 
in  every  thing  that  depends  on  himself,  —  in 
carriage,  temper,  constructions,  aims,  desires. 
He  ought,  therefore,  to  be  be  mild,  calm,  quiet, 
even,  temperate ;  not  hasty  in  judgment,  not 
exorbitant  in  ambition,  not  overbearing,  not 
proud,  not  rapacious,  not  oppressive for  these 
things  are  contrary  to  gentleness.  Hare. 

2442.  GENTLEMAN,  Example  of  a.  Gen.  Lee 

was  in  the  cars  going  to  Richmond,  and  had 
-a  seat  at  the  extreme  end.  The  other  seats 
were  filled  with  officers  and  soldiers.  An  old 
woman,  of  humble  appearance,  entered  at  one 
of  the  stations,  and  finding  no  seat,  and  none 
having  been  offered  her,  approached  the  gen¬ 
eral.  He  immediately  arose,  and  gave  her  his 
seat.  Immediately  there  was  a  general  rising, 
and  proffering  of  seats  to  “  Mass.  Robert  :  ” 
but  he  calmly  said,  “  No,  gentlemen  :  if  there 
was  no  seat  for  the  infirm  old  woman,  there 
can  he  none  for  me.”  The  effect  was  remark¬ 
able.  One  after  another  got  out  of  the  car,  as 
if  the  seats  were  too  hot  to  sit  on ;  and  the 
general  and  the  old  lady  soon  had  the  car  be¬ 
fore  them  where  to  choose.  Dr.  Bond. 

2443.  GENTLEMAN,  Nature’s.  He  that  en¬ 

joys  the  intimacy  of  the  great,  and  neither 
disgusts  them  by  familiarity,  nor  disgraces  him¬ 
self  by  servility,  proves  that  he  is  as  perfect  a 
geni  leman  by  nature  as  his  companion  is  by 
rank.  Colton. 

2444.  GENTLEMAN,  True.  A  true  gentle¬ 
man  is  what  one  seldom  sees.  He  is  properly 


a  compound  of  the  various  good  qualities  that 
embellish  mankind.  As  the  great  poet  ani¬ 
mates  all  the  different  parts  of  learning  by  the 
force  of  his  genius,  and  irradiates  all  the  com¬ 
pass  of  his  knowledge  by  the  lustre  and  bright¬ 
ness  of  his  imagination ;  so  all  the  great  and 
solid  perfections  of  life  appear  in  the  finished 
gentleman,  with  a  beautiful  gloss  and  varnish : 
every  thing  he  says  or  docs  is  accompanied 
with  a  manner  or  charm  that  draws  the  ad¬ 
miration  or  good-will  of  every  beholder. 

Steele. 

2443.  GENTLENESS,  Description  of.  Gentle¬ 
ness  is  love  in  society.  It  is  love  holding  in¬ 
tercourse  with  those  around  it.  It  is  that 
cordiality  of  aspect  and  that  soul  of  speech, 
which  assure  us  that  kind  and  earnest  hearts 
may  still  be  met  with  here  below.  It  is  that 
quiet  influence,  which,  like  the  scented  flame 
of  an  alabaster  lamp,  fills  many  a  home  with 
light  and  warmth  and  fragrance  altogether. 
It  is  the  carpet,  soft  and  deep,  which,  whilst 
it  diffuses  a  look  of  ample  comfort,  deadens 
many  a  creaking  sound.  It  is  the  curtain, 
which  from  many  a  beloved  form  wards 
off  at  once  the  summer’s  glow  and  the  win¬ 
ter’s  wind.  It  is  the  pillow  on  which  sickness 
lays  its  head  and  forgets  half  its  misery, 
and  to  which  death  comes  in  a  balmier  dream. 
It  is  considerateness.  It  is  tenderness  of  feel¬ 
ing.  It  is  warmth  of  affection.  It  is  prompti¬ 
tude  of  sympathy.  It  is  love  in  all  its  depths 
and  all  its  delicacy.  It  is  every  thing  included 
in  that  matchless  grace,  the  gentleness  of  Christ. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

2446.  GENTLENESS,  Need  of.  Wishing  to 
seal  a  letter,  Gotthold  called  for  a  lighted 
candle.  The  maid  obeyed  his  orders  ;  but,  pro¬ 
ceeding  too  hastily,  the  flame,  which  had  not 
yet  gathered  sufficient  strength,  went  out. 
“  Here,”  said  Gotthold,  “  we  have  that  which 
may  well  remind  us  of  the  gentleness  and  mod¬ 
eration  to  be  observed  in  our  comportment 
towards  weak  and  erring  brethren.  Had  this 
candle,  when  first  lighted,  been  carried  slowly, 
and  shaded  by  the  hand  from  the  air,  it  would 
not  have  been  extinguished,  but  would  soon 
have  burned  with  vigor.  In  like  manner, 
many  a  weak  brother  might  be  set  right,  if  we 
only  came  to  his  help  in  the  right  way  and 
with  kindly  advice.” 

2447.  GENTLENESS,  Power  of.  By  invin¬ 
cible,  self-controlling  gentleness,  the  mother  at 
last  wins  back  to  virtue  the  son  whom  no 
threats,  no  severities,  no  storms  and  upbraid- 
ings  of  passion,  could  subdue.  Geologists  tell 
us,  that’  the  calm  and  silent  influence  of  the 
atmosphere  is  a  power  mightier  than  all  the 
noisier  forces  of  Nature.  Rocks  and  mountains 
are  worn  down  and  subdued  by  it. 

2448.  GEOLOGIST,  Conversion  of  a.  A  scep¬ 
tical  geologist,  while  out  with  an  exploring- 
party,  was  seized  with  great  fear  and  anxiety, 
which  nothing  could  drive  away.  He  took  a 
Bible,  went  by  himself,  and  found  peace  in 
seeking  the  God  whose  existence  he  had  tried 
to  disbelieve.  It  afterwards  appeared  that  his 
wife  had  engaged  several  others  to  join  with 


GKEOIjOGrY. 


GIVING. 


291 


her  in  prayer  for  her  absent  husband.  These 
prayers  were  almost  immediately  answered,  as 
above.  Prayer  is  the  best  argument  against 
infidelity. 

2449.  GEOLOGY,  Records  of.  Dr.  Boynton 
says  that  a  family  removed  from  Florida  to  the 
State  of  Maine.  Among  them  was  a  boy  who 
had  never  seen  a  snow-storm.  One  morning, 
he  got  up  and  found  the  ground  all  white.  He 
went  to  the  door,  and  found  cat’s  tracks  on  the 
step.  He  went  to  his  mother,  and  expressed 
his  wonder.  She  told  him  it  was  only  snow, 
that  God  sent  down.  “  But,”  said  the  boy, 
“  did  God  send  down  the  cat’s  tracks  too, 
mamma?  ” 

2450.  GIFTS,  Diversity  of.  We  discover 

diversity  of  gifts  by  a  reference  to  Whitefield 
and  Handel.  The  one  was  in  eloquence  what 
the  other  was  in  sacred  song :  the  one  appeal¬ 
ing  through  the  understanding  to  the  heart 
and  conscience,  calling  on  men  everywhere  to 
repent  and  turn  to  God ;  the  other  drawing  out, 
and  bearing  upward,  as  a  sweet  incense  before 
the  altar  of  the  upper  sanctuary,  the  devout 
aspirations  of  the  new-born  soul.  There  was 
an  “  air,  a  soul,  a  movement ,  in  the  oratory  of 
Whitefield,”  which  created  iudescribable  emo¬ 
tions  in  his  vast  assemblies.  Handel  equally 
electrified  the  multitudes  in  Westminster  Ab¬ 
bey.  His  power  of  song  while  he  performed 
“  The  Messiah”  raised  them  to  their  feet.  And 
yet  greater  wonders  did  Whitefield  when 
preaching  the  Messiah  to  the  scores  of  thou¬ 
sands  in  Moorfields.  H.  Read. 

2 151.  GIFTS,  Enumeration  of.  He  has  gifted 
us  with  the  innocent  pleasures  of  sense.  He 
has  annexed  enjoyment  to  every  action  of  the 
life ;  so  that,  when  body  and  mind  are  alike  in 
health,  we  can  neither  eat,  drink,  walk,  talk,  or 
sleep,  without  sensations  of  pleasure.  He  has 
gifted  us  with  powers  of  imagination,  —  made 
us  susceptible  of  the  rich  poetry  with  which 
He  has  filled  creation.  He  has  given  us  the 
capacity  for  high  thoughts  and  feelings.  He 
has  endowed  us  to  expand,  to  analyze,  to  illus¬ 
trate,  to  compare,  to  combine.  He  has  gifted 
us  with  the  principle  of  friendship.  He  has 
implanted  in  us  the  social  nature.  He  has 
gifted  us  with  the  pleasures  of  hope,  drawing 
•  comfort  from  every  element  of  sorrow,  and 
soothing  each  Marah  of  the  heart’s  bitterness. 
He  has  gifted  us  with  the  pleasures  of  memory, 
embalming  the  recollection  of  the  past  in  an 
amber  that  never  fades  away,  and  that  is  proof 
against  the  corrupting  influences  of  time, 
thrilling  again  the  spirit  with  the  pleasures 
that  once  thrilled  the  heart  of  youth.  He  has 
gifted  us,  above  all.  with  the  pleasures  of  holi¬ 
ness,  the  blessed  feeling  of  conscious  pardon, 
the  calm  satisfaction  of  assured  faith,  the  en¬ 
riching  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  —  heaven 
around  us,  heaven  within  us,  heaven  beyond 
us,  heaven  above  us,  and  the  bright  and  cheer¬ 
ing  prospect  of  the  enjoyment  of  that  heaven 
forever.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

2452.  GIFTS,  and  Graces.  As  many  vapors, 
rising  from  the  sea,  meet  together  in  one  cloud, 
and  that  cloud  falls  down  divided  into  many 


drops,  and  those  drops  run  together,  making 
rills  of  water,  which  meet  in  channels,  and 
those  channels  run  into  brooks,  and  those 
brooks  into  rivers,  and  those  rivers  into  the 
sea ;  so  it  either  is  or  should  be  with  the  gifts 
and  graces  of  the  Church.  They  all  come 
down  from  God,  divided  severally  as  he  will 
to  various  Christians.  They  should  flow  through 
the  channels  of  their  special  vocations  into  the 
common  streams  of  public  use  for  church  or 
commonwealth,  and  ultimately  return  into  the 
great  ocean  of  his  glory,  from  whence  they 
originally  came.  Bishop  Hall. 

2453.  GIFTS,  Preserving.  Men  preserve  the 
fire  by  blowing  it :  so,  by  diligence,  we  must 
kindle  the  gifts  of  God  bestowed  on  us. 

Caw  dr  ay. 

2454.  GIFTS,  Proverbs.  He  gives  an  egg  to 
get  a  chicken.  People  give  to  the  rich,  and  take 

from  the  poor.  —  German. - To  one  who  has 

a  pie  in  the  oven  you  may  give  a  bit  of  your 

cake.  —  French. - Let  that  which  is  lost  be 

for  God.  —  Spanish. - No  one  is  so  open- 

handed  as  he  that  has  nothing  to  give.  — 

French. - Broad  thongs  are  cut  from 

other  men’s  leather.  —  Latin. - There  is  no 

grace  in  a  benefit  that  sticks  to  the  fingers. 

Seneca. 

2455.  GIFTS,  Snpematnral.  Cmdmon  knew 

nothing  of  literature,  nor  of  verse,  nor  of  song; 
so  that  when  he  was  at  table,  and  the  harp 
came  to  him  in  his  turn,  he  rose  up  and  left 
the  guests,  and  went  his  way.  And  it  hap¬ 
pened,  on  a  certain  occasion,  that  he  had  done 
so,  and  had  gone  into  the  stable,  where  it  was 
his  business  to  care  for  the  horses  ;  and  he  laid 
himself  down  to  sleep.  And  in  his  sleep  an 
angel  appeared  to  him,  and  said,  “  Canlmon, 
sing  to  me  a  song.”  And  he  answered,  “I  can¬ 
not  sing,  and  therefore  I  left  the  entertain¬ 
ment,  and  came  hither,  because  I  could  not 
sing.”  And  the  other,  answering  him,  said, 
“  You  shall  sing,  notwithstanding.”  He  asked, 
“  What  shall  I  sing  ?  ”  And  the  angel  replied, 
“  Sing  the  beginning  of  created  beings.”  There¬ 
upon  Cmdinon  presently  began  to  sing  verses 
in  praise  of  God,  the  Father  and  Creator  of 
all  things ;  and,  awakening  from  his  sleep,  he 
remembered  all  he  had  sung  in  his  dream,  and 
added  much  more  to  the  same  effect  in  most 
melodious  verse.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

2456.  GIFTS,  Using.  There  is  a  story  of 

some  mountains  of  salt  in  Cuinana,  which 
never  diminished,  though  carried  away  in 
much  abundance  by  merchants;  but  when 
once  they  were  monopolized  to  the  benefit  of 
a  private  purse,  then  the  salt  decreased,  till 
afterwards  all  were  allowed  to  take  of  it, 
when  it  had  a  new  access  and  increase.  The 
truth  of  this  story  may  be  uncertain  ;  but  the 
application  is  true  :  he  that  envies  others 
the  use  of  his  gifts  decays  then,  but  he  thrives 
most  that  is  most  diffusive.  Spencer. 

2457.  GIVING,  Credit  for.  After  a  charity- 
sermon  in  Edinburgh,  one  of  the  congrega¬ 
tion,  by  accident,  put  a  crown-piece  in  the 
plate,  instead  of  a  penny,  and,  starting  back  at 
its  white  and  precious  face,  asked  to  have  it 


292 


G-rVXNTG-. 


GLORY. 


back.  But  he  who  held  the  plate  said,  “  In 
once,  in  forever.” — ‘‘A  weel,  a  weel  1  ”  grunted 
the  unwilling  giver:  “I’ll  get  credit  for  it  in 
heaven.” — “Na,  na,”  said  the  collector :  “ye’ll 
get  credit  only  for  the  penny.” 

2458.  GIVING,  Family.  A  missionary  was 
asking  for  help  in  spreading  the  gospel,  when 
a  negro  with  a  wooden  leg  came  forward,  and, 
laying  down  three  parcels,  said,  “  That’s  for 
me,  massa,  and  that’s  for  my  wife,  and  that  for 
my  child,”  —  in  all  thirteen  dollars.  When 
asked  if  he  was  not  giving  too  much,  he  re¬ 
lied,  “  God’s  work  must  be  done,  massa,  and 

may  be  dead  1  ” 

2459.  GIVING,  Heartily.  Andrew  Fuller, 
■when  on  a  begging  tour  for  the  cause  of  mis¬ 
sions,  called  on  a  wealthy  nobleman  to  whom 
he  was  unknown,  but  who  had  heard  much  of 
Fuller’s  talents  and  piety.  After  he  had  stated 
to  him  the  object  of  his  visit,  his  lordship  ob¬ 
served,  that  he  thought  he  should  make  him 
no  donation.  Dr.  Fuller  was  preparing  to 
return,  when  the  nobleman  remarked,  that 
there  was  one  man  to  whom,  if  he  could  see 
him,  he  thought  he  would  give  something  for 
the  mission,  and  that  man  was  Andrew  Fuller. 
Mr.  Fuller  immediately  replied,  “My  name, 
sir,  is  Andrew  Fuller.”  On  this,  the  noble¬ 
man,  with  some  hesitation,  gave  him  a  guinea. 
Observing  the  indifference  of  the  donor,  Mr. 
Fuller  looked  him  in  the  face  with  much 
gravity,  and  said,  “  Does  this  donation,  sir, 
come  from  your  heart  ?  If  it  does  not,  I  wish 
not  to  receive  it.”  The  nobleman  was  melted 
and  overcome  with  this  honest  frankness,  and, 
taking  from  his  purse  ten  guineas  more,  said, 
“  These,  sir,  these  come  from  my  heart." 

2460.  GIVING,  Luxury  of.  I  knew  a  lad  in 
Christ  once,  who  adopted  the  principle  of 
giving  a  tenth  to  God.  When  he  won  a 
money-prize  for  an  essay  on  a  religious  subject, 
he  felt  he  could  not  give  less  then  one-fifth  of 
it.  He  had  never  after  that  been  able  to  deny 
himself  the  pleasure  of  having  a  fifth  to  give. 
God  had  wonderfully  blessed  that  lad,  and  in¬ 
creased  his  means,  and  his  enjoyment  of  the 
luxury  of  luxuries,  —  the  luxury  of  doing  good. 
That  lad  was  C.  H.  Spurgeon. 

2461.  GIVING,  Measure  of.  Ilohaunes,  the 
blind  missionary  of  Harpoot,  tells  of  a  place 
where  the  Board  had  spent  much  money  with 
little  result,  where  he  was  sent.  It  was  a  poor 
place.  The  people  were  to  raise  six  hundred 
piastres ;  and  the  Board  was  to  pay  the  balance 
of  his  salary.  The  people  said  they  could  not 
raise  that  sum  ;  a  neighboring  pastor  said  it 
was  impossible,  they  were  so  poor.  After 
much  anxiety,  the  missionary  laid  the  case 
before  God  in  prayer,  when  it  was  impressed 
upon  him  that  each  should  give  his  tenth.  He 
proposed  it  to  the  people,  and  they  agreed  to 
it.  The  money  was  easily  raised,  and  amounted 
to  more  than  the  entire  salary.  That  people 
never  prospered  so  much  before ;  their  crops 
were  abundant,  and  their  satisfaction  great. 
They  not  only  supported  their  preacher  and 
school-teacher,  but  gave  two  thousand  piastres 
to  other  purposes. 


2462.  GIVING,  Modes  of.  Some  men  give  sc 

that  you  are  angry  every  time  you  ask  them  to 
contribute.  They  give  so  that  their  gold  and 
silver  shoot  you  like  a  bullet.  Other  persons 
give  with  such  beauty,  that  you  remember  it 
as  long  as  you  live ;  and  you  say,  “  It  is  a  pleas¬ 
ure  to  go  to  such  men.”  There  are  some  men 
that  give  as  springs  do :  whether  you  go  to 
them  or  not,  they  are  always  full ;  and  your 
part  is  merely  to  put  your  dish  under  the  ever- 
flowing  stream.  Others  give  just  as  a  pump 
does  where  the  well  is  dry,  and  the  pump 
leaks,  Beecher. 

2463.  GIVING,  and  Praying.  A  little  girl 
of  six  years  old,  who  was  very  desirous  of 
putting  her  pennies  into  the  missionary-box 
with  others,  when  saying  her  evening  prayers 
at  her  father’s  knee,  hesitated  a  moment,  and 
then  added,  “  Lord  bless  my  two  pennies  for 
Jesus’  sake.  Amen  1  ”  She  prayed  thus  every 
night  after  giving  her  pennies  for  the  mission¬ 
ary-box. 

2464.  GIVING,  Safety  of.  Those  Spaniards 
in  Mexico  who  were  chased  of  the  Indians 
tell  us  what  to  do  with  our  goods  in  our  ex¬ 
tremity.  They  being  to  pass  over  a  river  in 
their  flight,  as  many  as  cast  away  their  gold 
swam  over  safe ;  but  some,  more  covetous, 
keeping  their  gold,  were  either  drowned  with 
it,  or  overtaken  and  slain  by  the  savages  :  you 
have  received,  now  learn  to  give. 

Lord  Bacon. 

2465.  GLORY,  Ascribed  to  God.  King  Ed¬ 

ward  III.  was  accounted  to  have  done  tilings 
more  commendable  than  his  victories ;  for,  hav¬ 
ing  vanquished  the  French  king  by  force  of 
battle,  he  put  off  from  himself  the  whole  glory, 
and  gave  it  devoutly  to  God,  causing  to  be 
sung,  “  Not  unto  us,  Lord,  not  unto  us,  Lord, 
but  unto  thy  name,  be  the  glory  given,”  &c. 
And  thus  must  every  one  do,  be  his  achieve¬ 
ments  never  so  great.  Spencer. 

2466.  GLORY,  Attraction  of.  I  remember, 

on  my  return  to  France,  after  a  long  voyage 
to  India,  as  soon  as  the  sailors  had  discerned 
the  shores  of  their  native  country,  they  be¬ 
came,  in  a  great  measure,  incapable  of  attend¬ 
ing  to  the  duties  of  the  ship.  Some  looked  at 
it  wistfully,  others  dressed  themselves  in  their 
best  clothes;  some  talked,  others  wept.  As 
we  approached,  their  joy  became  greater  ;  and 
still  more  intense  was  it  when  we  came  into 
port,  and  saw  on  the  quay  their  parents  and 
children  :  so  that  we  had  to  get,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  port,  another  set  of  sailors  to 
bring  us  into  the  harbor.  Thus  would  it  be 
with  God’s  children,  if  they  saw  the  full  and 
unclouded  glory  of  eternity  before  they  reach 
the  eternal  heaven.  Dr.  Pierre. 

2464.  GLORY,  in  Death,  A  little  before 
Mr.  Golding’s  death,  when  his  brother  said 
to  him,  “  You  seem  to  enjoy  foretastes  of 
heaven,”  he  replied,  “  Oh  1  this  is  no  longer 
a  foretaste :  this  is  heaven  1  I  not  only  feel , 
the  climate,  but  I  breathe  the  fine  ambrosial 
air,  of  heaven,  and  soon  shall  enjoy  the  com¬ 
pany.”  The  last  words  he  was  heard  to  utter 
were,  “  Glory,  glory,  glory  !  ” 


GLORY. 


GOD. 


293 


2468.  GLORY,  Divine.  As  the  "lory  of  God 

infinitely  transcends  man  with  all  his  abilities 
and  honors,  so  it  should  be  in  greater  esteem 
than  any  or  all  things  that  can  be  brought  in 
comparison  with  it.  Cawdray. 

2469.  GLORY,  End  of  Earthly.  In  order  to 
reclaim  a  miser,  Constantine  the  Great  took 
a  lance,  and  marked  out  a  space  of  ground  of 
the  size  of  the  human  body,  and  told  him, 
“Add  heap  to  heap,  accumulate  riches  upon 
riches,  extend  the  bounds  of  your  possessions, 
conquer  the  whole  world;  in  a  few  days,  such 
a  spot  as  this  will  be  all  you  will  have:” 

2470.  GLORY,  Experience  of  Flavel.at  one 
time,  on  a  journey,  set  himself  to  improve  his 
time  by  meditation ;  when  his  mind  grew  in¬ 
tent,  till  at  length  he  had  such  ravishing  tastes 
of  heavenly  joy, and  such  full  assurance  of  his 
inte'-est  therein,  that  he  utterly  lost  the  sight 
and  sense  of  this  world  and  all  its  concerns,  so 
ilct  he  knew  not  where  he  was.  At  last,  per¬ 
ceiving  himself  faint  through  a  peat  loss  of 
blood  from  bis  nose, he  alighted  fr  m  his  horse, 
and  sat  down  at  a  spring,  where  lie  washed 
and  refreshed  himself,  earnestly  desiring,  if  it 
were  the  will  of  God,  that  he  might  there  leave 
the  world.  Ilis  spirits  reviving,  he  finished  his 
journey  in  the  same  delightful  frame.  lie  pass¬ 
ed  that  night  without  any  sleep, — the  joy  of  the 
Lord  still  overflowing  him,  so  that  he  seemed 
an  inhabitant  of  the  other  world.  After  this, 
a  heavenly  serenity  and  sweet  peace  long  con¬ 
tinued  with  him ;  and  for  many  years  he  called 
that  day  “  one  of  the  days  of  heaven.  ’  ’  Bowes. 

2471.  GLORY,  Foretaste cf.  Bunyan brings 
his  pilgrims  into  the  land  of  Beulah,  which  was 
situated  near  the  Holy  City.  To  those  who 
abide  here, doubt, fear, and  want  are  unknown. 
Plenty  abounds;  the  fragrant  air  rings  with 
melody  from  morn  to  even;  and  the  shining 
ones  walk  among  the  inhabitants.  They  could 
see  the  city  of  pearl  and  precious  stones, 
whose  streets  were  gold;  and  were  filled  with 
strong  desire  to  enter  there. 

2472.  GLORY,  Ful’n  r,ssof  As  when  several 

vessels  of  different  sizes  are  cast  into  the  sea, 
some  receive  more,  and  some  less,  yet  all  are 
full;  so  will  it  be  among  the  saints  of  God  in 
heaven:  all,  without  exception,  will  be  full  of 
glory.  Cawdrny. 

2473.  GLORY,  PiEsion  for.  After  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  Marathon,  in  which  Miltiades  distin¬ 
guished  himself,  Themistocles,  then  very 
young, was  observed  to  be  very  moody. passing 
whole  nights  in  a  wakeful  silence.  Being  asked 
the  cause,  he  said,  “  The  trophies  of  Miltiades 
will  not  suffer  me  to  sleep.”  In  a  few  years, 
he  became  the  first  man  in  Greece. 

2474.  GLORY,  Remains  of.  Just  before  Sa- 
ladin  the  Great  uttered  his  last  sigh,  he  called 
the  herald  who  had  carried  his  banner  before 
him  in  all  his  battles,  and  commanded  him  to 
fasten  to  the  top  of  a  lance  the  shroud  in  which 
he  was  soon  to  be  buried.  “  Go,”  said  he; 
“carry  the  lance,  unfurl  this  banner;  and, 
while  you  lift  up  this  standard,  proclaim: 
‘  This,  this,  is  all  that  remains  to  Saladin  the 
Great  of  all  his  glory.’  ” 


2475.  GLORY,  Shor1  Way  to.  A  Christian 
soldier  whose  term  of  enlistment  had  nearly 
expired,  was  anticipating  much  pleasure  from 
rejoining  his  family  and  friends.  Being  re¬ 
minded  that  he  might,  fall  first,  he  replied,  “  I 
know  it;  but,  if  I  fall,  the  battle-field  will  only 
be  a  shorter  cut  to  glory.”  In  the  battle  of 
the  Wilderness,  he  went  home  by  the  shorter 
way. 

2176.  GrD-A  coupling.  Among  the  Jews, the 
wave-offering  was  waved  horizontally  to  the 
four  points,  and  the  heave-offering  heaved  up 
and  down,  to  signify  that  he  was  Lord  of  heav¬ 
en  and  earth.  Bowes. 

2477.  GrD,  Acknowlcdgi’g  When  the  Span- 
ish  Armada  was  overthrown  by  the  storm, 
England  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck,  with  the 
inscription,  “  Afflarit  Bens,  ft  dissrpanttir :  ” 
“God  blew  on  them, and  they  were  scattered.” 
On  all  her  coin  is  stamped,  “  D(i  Gratia .” 
The  United  States  has,  since  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion,  put  on  her  coin  the  legend,  “In 
God  we  trust.” 

2478.  GO  \  All  h  All.  King  Porus,  when 

Alexander  asked  him, being  then  his  prisoner, 
how  he  would  be  used, answered  in  one  word, 
“  Basilikeios;  ”  that  is,  “Like  a  king.”  Alex¬ 
ander  again  replying,  “Do  you  desire  nothing 
else?” — “No,”  said  he:  “all  things  are  in 
this  one  word,  ‘  Like  a  king.’  ”  Whereupon 
Alexander  restored  him  again.  But  this  has 
not  always  been  the  happiness  of  kings  and 
princes.  Yet  he  that  hath  God  hath  all  things, 
because  God  is  all  things.  Take  a  pen,  and 
write  down  riches,  honors,  preferments,  they 
are  but  as  so  many  ciphers;  they  signify  noth¬ 
ing:  but  write  down  God  alone,  and  he  will 
raise  them  to  thousands,  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands.  And  then  it  is  that  a  Christian  is  truly 
happy,— when  he  can  find  himself  and  all 
things  in  his  God.  Spencer. 

2479.  GOD,  f:-r  All.  The  sun  does  not  shine 

for  a  few  trees  and  flowers,  but  for  the  wide 
world’s  joy.  The  lowly  pine  on  the  mountain- 
top  waves  its  sombre  boughs,  and  cries,  “Thou 
artmy  sun;”  and  the  little  meadow-violet  lifts 
its  cup  of  blue,  and  whispers  with  its  perfumed 
breath,  “Thou  art  my  sun;”  and  the  grain  in  a 
thousand  fields  rustles  in  the  wind,  and  makes 
answer,  “Thou  art  my  sun.”  So  God  fits  efful¬ 
gent  in  heaven,  not  for  a  favored  few,  but  for 
the  universe  of  life;  and  there  is  no  creature 
so  poor  or  so  low,  that  he  may  not  look  up  with 
childlike  confidence,  and  say,  “  My  Father, 
thou  art  mine.”  Beecher 

2480.  GOD,  All—uffici  ncy  of.  “Fear  not!  I 

will  help  thee.”  Fear  not!  If  there  were  an 
ant  at  the  door  of  thy  granary,  asking  for 
help,  it  would  not  ruin  thee  to  give  him  a  grain 
of  thy  wheat;  and  thou  art  nothing  but  a  tiny 
insect  at  the  door  of  My  all-sufficiency.  1  will 
help  thee.  Spvryeon. 

24811.  GOD,  Anger  of.  As  water  is  deepest 
where  it  is  the  stillest;  so,  where  God  is  most 
silent  in  threatening,  and  patient  in  sparing, 
there  he  is  most  inflamed  with  anger,  and  pur¬ 
pose  of  revenge.  And  therefore  the  fewer  the 
judgments  be  that  are  poured  forth  upon  the 


294 


GOD. 


GrOD. 


wicked  in  this  life,  the  more  are  reserved  in 
store  for  them  in  the  life  to  come.  Cawdray. 

2482.  GOD,  Attractive  Presentation  of.  A  little 
child  was  taken  by  her  father  to  see  and  hear 
the  famous  George  Whitefield.  A  deep  im¬ 
pression  was  made  upon  her  heart.  She  was 
taken  ill  the  next  day,  and,  when  she  was 
dying,  said,  “  Let  me  go  to  Mr.  Whitefield’s 
God  1  ” 

2483.  GOD,  Belief  in  a.  Many  men  believe 

in  the  existence  of  a  God ;  but  they  do  not  love 
that  belief.  They  know  there  is  a  God  ;  but 
they  greatly  wish  there  were  none.  Some 
would  be  very  pleased,  yea,  would  set  the  bells 
a-ringing,  if  you  believed  there  were  no  God. 
Why,  if  there  were  no  God,  then  you  might 
live  just  as  you  liked;  if  there  were  no  God, 
then  you  might  run  riot,  and  have  no  fear  of 
future  consequences.  It  would  be  to  you  the 
greatest  joy  that  could  be,  if  you  heard  that 
the  eternal  God  had  ceased  to  be.  But  the 
Christian  never  wishes  any  such  a  thing  as 
that.  The  thought  that  there  is  a  God  is  the 
sunshine  of  his  existence.  Spurgeon. 

2484.  GOD,  Bounty  o£  A  tree  was  so  laden 
with  iruit,  that  it  bent  its  branches  to  the 

Sound,  and  offered  it  to  men  in  handfuls. 

otthold  beheld  it  with  pleasure,  praised  God 
for  the  blessing,  and  approached  to  take  some. 
The  force  which  he  used  shook  the  slender 
bough  ;  and  the  consequence  was,  that  several 
dropped  at  his  feet.  “  Fair  tree,”  he  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  how  generous  thou  art  1  Thou  giv- 
est  me  more  than  I  desire ;  reminding  me 
thereby  of  the  incomprehensible  and  unmer¬ 
ited  goodness  of  God,  which  presents  its  bless¬ 
ings  upon  loaded  branches.” 

2485.  GOD,  Caro  of.  In  the  days  of  the  Ref¬ 
ormation,  Brentius  of  Wurtemberg,  being  pur¬ 
sued  by  persecuting  soldiers,  escaped  into  a 
hay-loft,  and  concealed  himself  under  the  hay. 
The  soldiers  entered  the  place,  and  ran  their 
bayonets  up  through  the  hay,  without  detect¬ 
ing  him.  Every  day,  for  fourteen  days,  a  hen 
laid  an  egg  in  the  hay,  which  was  his  only 
means  of  support.  Then  the  supply  ceased, 
which  he  took  as  an  intimation  of  Providence, 
that  it  would  now  be  safe  to  come  out  from 
his  concealment.  He  found  that  the  soldiers 
hail  just  left  the  town  ;  and  he  was  able  to  seek 
a  place  of  safety. 

2486.  GOD,  Children  of.  The  Roman  cen¬ 
sors  took  a  ring  off  the  finger  of  the  son  of 
Africanus,  in  which  his  father’s  image  was  en¬ 
graven,  because  he  was  degenerated  from  the 
noble  qualities  of  his  father ;  not  allowing  him 
to  wear  on  his  finger  what  he  did  not  bear  in 
his  mind.  Neither  will  God  suffer  any  to  bear 
his  name  who  do  not  bear  his  image.  Spencer. 

2487.  GOD,  Conception  of.  A  Jew  entered  a 
Persian  temple,  and  saw  there  the  sacred  fire. 
He  said  to  the  priest,  “  How,  do  you  worship 
fire  ?  ”  —  “  Not  the  fire :  it  is  to  us  an  emblem 
of  the  sun  and  of  his  animating  light,  ”  said 
the  priest.  Then  asked  the  Jew,  “  Do  you 
adore  the  sun  as  a  deity  ?  Do  you  not  know 
that  he  also  is  a  creature  of  the  Almighty  ?  ” 
The  priest  answered,  that  the  sun  was  to  them 


only  an  emblem  of  the  invisible  light  which 
preserves  all  things.  The  Israelite  continued, 
“  Does  your  nation  distinguish  the  imaae  from 
the  original?  They  call  the  sun  their  gou, 
and  kneel  before  the  earthly  flame.  You  daz¬ 
zle  the  eye  of  the  body,  but  darken  that  of  the 
mind ;  in  presenting  to  them  the  terrestrial 
light,  you  take  from  them  the  celestial.”  The 
Persian  asked,  “  How  do  you  name  the  Su¬ 
preme  Being  ?  ”  —  “  We  call  him  Jehovah  Ado- 
nai ;  that  is,  the  Lord  who  was,  who  is,  and 
shall  be.” — “  Your  word  is  great  and  glorious  ; 
but  it  is  terrible,”  said  the  Persian.  A  Chris¬ 
tian  approaching  said,  “  We  cal!  him  Abba 
Father.”  Then  the  Gentile  and  the  Jew  re¬ 
garded  each  other  with  surprise,  and  said, 
“Your  word  is  the  nearest  and  the  highest; 
but  who  gives  you  courage  to  call  the  Eternal 
thus?”  —  “The  Father  himself,”  said  the 
Christian,  who  then  expounded  to  them  the 
plan  of  redemption.  Then  they  believed,  and 
lifted  up  their  eyes  to  heaven,  saying,  “  Father, 
dear  Father;”  and  joined  hands,  and  called 
each  other  brethren.  Krummaclier. 

2488.  GOD,  Confidence  in.  Two  boys  were 
conversing  about  Elijah’s  ascent  in  the  chariot 
of  fire.  Said  one,  “  Wouldn’t  you  be  alraid 
to  ride  in  such  a  chariot  ?  ” — “  No,”  was  the 
reply ;  “  not  if  God  drove.” 

2489.  GOD,  the  Creator.  When  Napoleon 
was  returning  to  France  from  the  expedition 
to  Egypt,  a  group  of  French  officers  one  even¬ 
ing  entered  into  a  discussion  concerning  the 
existence  of  a  God.  They  were  on  the  deck 
of  the  vessel  that  bore  them  over  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  Sea.  Thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
infidel  and  atheistical  spirit  of  the  times,  they 
were  unanimous  in  their  denial  of  this  truth. 
It  was  at  length  proposed  to  ask  the  opinion 
of  Napoleon  on  the  subject,  who  was  standing 
alone,  wrapt  in  silent  thought.  On  hearing 
the  question,  “  Is  there  a  God  ?  ”  he  raised  his 
hand,  and,  pointing  to  the  starry  firmament, 
simply  responded,  “  Gentlemen,  who  mads  all 
that  ?  ” 

2499.  GOD,  a  Defence.  Numa,  the  Roman 
Emperor,  was  once  engaged  worshipping  his 
gods  while  the  enemy  was  advancing  to  de¬ 
stroy  his  army.  One  ran  and  informed  him 
of  his  danger,  to  whom  he  replied,  “  I  am  about 
the  service  of  my  God.”  This  service  was  to 
him  a  guaranty  of  safety.  Another  said, 
“  Let  him  fight  who  has  a  mind  to  it :  I  am 
not  so  mad  as  to  fight  against  him  who  trusts 
to  have  God  for  his  defender  and  deliverer.” 
He  was  preparing  his  army  to  attack  a  neigh¬ 
boring  prince.  A  returning  spy  reported  the 
prince  as  preparing  to  meet  him  by  commit¬ 
ting  his  cause  to  God,  and  giving  himself  to 
fasting  and  prayer.  Hence  the  above  declara¬ 
tion. 

2491.  GOD,  Description  of.  All  things  in  the 
natural  world  symbolize  God,  yet  none  of  them 
speak  of  him  but  in  broken  and  imperfect 
words.  High  above  all  he  sits,  sublimer  than 
mountains,  grander  than  storms,  sweeter  than 
blossoms  and  tender  fruits,  nobler  than  lords, 
truer  than  parents,  more  loving  than  lovers. 


GOD. 


GOD. 


295 


His  feet  tread  the  lowest  places  of  the  earth  ; 
but  his  head  is  above  all  glory ;  and  every¬ 
where  he  is  supreme.  Beecher. 

2492.  GOD,  Distance  from.  We  cannot  tell 

how  far  is  the  nearest  fixed  star,  and  we  know 
that  the  mass  of  mankind  would  conjecture  it 
a  lew  miles  at  most :  could  we  approach  nearer, 
we  would,  for  the  first  Lime,  learn  how  far  we 
were.  Surely  it  is  so  with  our  religious  esti¬ 
mates  of  approximation  to  the  light  and  glory 
of  God.  The  earth-born  crowd  afar,  if  they 
think  at  all  of  the  matter,  never  dream  them¬ 
selves  so  darkly,  so  remotely  exiled  :  it  is  only 
he  who  struggles  nearer  and  much  nearer,  that 
begins  at  length  to  perceive  the  true  amount 
of  the  distance.  Archer  Butler. 

2493.  GOD,  Emblems  of.  One  of  the  most 

ancient  hieroglyphic  representations  of  God 
was  the  figure  of  an  eye  upon  a  sceptre,  to 
denote  that  God  sees  and  rules  all  things..  The 
Egyptian  hieroglyphic  was  a  winged  globe, 
and  a  serpent  coming  out  of  it,  —  the  globe  to 
signify  God’s  eternity;  the  wings,  his  active 
power;  and  the  serpent,  his  wisdom.  The 
Thracian  emblem  was  a  sun  with  three  beams, 
—  one  shining  upon  a  sea  of  ice,  and  melting 
it ;  another  upon  a  rock,  and  melting  it ;  and 
a  third  upon  a  dead  man,  and  putting  life  into 
him.  Bowes. 

2494.  GOD,  Empire  of.  We  have  passed 
from  planet  to  planet,  from  sun  to  sun,  from 
system  to  system;  we  have  reached  beyond 
the  limits  of  this  mighty  solar  cluster  with 
which  we  are  allied ;  we  have  found  other 
island  universes  sweeping  through  space :  the 
great  unfinished  problem  still  remains,  — 
Whence  came  this  universe  ?  Have  all  these 
stars  which  glitter  in  the  heavens  been  shining 
from  all  eternity  ?  Has  our  globe  been  rolling 
round  the  sun  lor  ceaseless  ages?  Whence 
came  this  magnificent  architecture,  whose 
architraves  rise  in  splendor  belbre  us  in  every 
direction  ?  Is  it  all  the  work  of  chance  ?  I 
answer,  No !  It  is  not  the  work  of  chance. 
Who  shall  reveal  to  us  the  true  cosmography 
of  the  universe  by  which  we  are  surrounded  ? 
It  is  the  work  of  an  Omnipotent  Architect. 
Around  us  and  above  us  rise  sun  and  system, 
cluster  and  universe  ;  and  I  doubt  not,  that,  in 
every  region  of  this  vast  empire  of  God,  hymns 
of  praise  and  anthems  of  glory  are  rising  and 
reverberating  from  sun  to  sun,  and  from  system 
to  system,  heard  by  Omnipotence  alone  across 
immensity  and  through  eternity.  Prof.  Mitchell. 

2495.  GOD,  Enemies  of  As  Solomon,  in 

Jewish  legend,  compelled  the  wicked  spirits 
to  assist  in  the  temple  which  he  was  building, 
so  does  God  compel  even  his  enemies,  and 
them  when  they  are  striving  most  fiercely 
against  him,  to  do  his  work,  though  they  mean 
not  so,  and  to  contribute  their  stones  to  that 
temple  of  which  he  is  the  Builder  and  the 
Mai  ter.  Abp.  Trench. 

2496.  GOD,  Evidence  of.  A  man  that  should 
meet  with  a  palace  beset  with  pleasant  gardens, 
adorned  with  stately  avenues,  furnished  with 
well-contrived  aqueducts,  cascades,  and  all 
other  appendages  conducing  to  convenience  or 


pleasure,  would  easily  imagine  that  propor¬ 
tionable  architecture  and  magnificence  were 
within ;  but  we  should  conclude  the  man  was 
out  of  his  wits  that  should  assert  and  plead, 
that  all  was  the  work  of  chance,  or  other  than 
of  some  wise  and  skilful  hand.  And  so,  when 
we  survey  the  bare  outworks  of  this  our  globe  ; 
when  we  see  so  vast  a  body  accoutred  with 
so  noble  a  furniture  of  air,  light,  and  gravity ; 
with  every  thing,  in  short,  that  is  necessary  to 
the  preservation  and  security  of  the  globe  it¬ 
self,  or  that  conduceth  to  the  life,  health,  and 
happiness,  to  the  propagation  and  increase,  of 
all  the  prodigious  variety  of  creatures  the 
globe  is  stocked  with ;  when  we  see  nothing 
wanting,  nothing  redundant  or  frivolous,  noth¬ 
ing  botching  or  ill  made,  but  that  every  thing, 
even  in  the  very  appendages  alone,  exactly  an- 
swereth  all  its  ends  and  occasions,  —  what  else 
can  be  concluded  but  that  all  was  made  with 
manifest  design,  and  that  all  the  whole  struc¬ 
ture  is  the  work  of  some  intelligent  Being, 
some  Artist  of  power  and  skill  equivalent  to 
such  a  work  ?  Derham. 

2497.  GOD,  Existence  of  Basil  called  the 

world  a  school,  wherein  reasonable  souls  are 
taught  the  knowledge  of  God.  In  a  musical 
instrument,  when  we  observe  divers  strings 
meet  in  harmony,  we  conclude  that  some  skilful 
musician  tuned  them.  When  we  see  thou¬ 
sands  of  men  in  a  field,  marshalled  under  several 
colors,  all  yielding  exact  obedience,  we  infer 
that  there  is  a  general,  whose  commands  they 
are  all  subject  to.  In  a  watch,  when  we  take 
notice  of  great  and  small  wheels,  all  so  fitted 
as  to  concur  to  an  orderly  motion,  we  acknowl¬ 
edge  the  skill  of  an  artificer.  When  we  come 
into  a  printing-house,  and  see  a  great  number 
of  different  letters  so  ordered  as  to  make  a 
book,  the  consideration  hereof  maketh  it  evi¬ 
dent  that  there  is  a  composer,  by  whose  art 
they  were  brought  into  such  a  frame.  When 
we  behold  a  fair  building,  we  conclude  it  had 
an  architect ;  a  stately  ship,  well  rigged,  and 
safely  conducted  to  the  port,  that  it  hath  a 
pilot.  So  here :  the  visible  world  is  such  an 
instrument,  army,  watch,  book,  building,  ship, 
as  undeniably  argueth  a  God,  who  was  and  is 
the  tuner,  general,  and  artificer,  the  composer, 
architect,  and  pilot  of  it.  Arrowsmith. 

2498.  GOD,  Eye  of.  How  dreadful  is  the 
eye  of  God  on  him  who  wants  to  sin  !  Do  you 
know  about  Lafayette,  that  great  man  who 
was  the  friend  of  Washington?  He  tells  us 
that  he  was  once  shut  up  in  a  little  room  in  a 
gloomy  prison  for  a  great  while.  In  the  door 
of  his  little  cell  was  a  very  small  hole  cut. 
At  that  hole,  a  soldier  was  placed  day  and 
night  to  watch  him.  All  lie  could  see  was  the 
soldier’s  eye;  but  that  eye  was  always  there. 
Day  and  night,  every  moment  when  he  looked 
up,  he  always  saw  that  eye.  Oh  I  he  says,  it 
was  dreadful  1  There  was  no  escape,  no  hid¬ 
ing  :  when  he  lay  down,  and  when  he  rose  up, 
that  eye  was  watching  him.  How  dreadful 
will  the  eye  of  God  be  upon  the  sinner,  as  it 
watches  him  in  the  eternal  world  forever  1 

Dr.  J.  Todd. 


296 


GOD. 


GOD. 


14499.  GOD,  Faithfulness  o£  The  supplies  of 
a  missionary  among  the  Indians  were  reduced, 
for  three  persons,  to  one  small  piece  of  meat 
and  three  potatoes.  It  was  winter.  There 
was  no  game,  and  no  means  of  obtaining  any. 
They  laid  their  case  before  God  in  prayer, 
and  claimed  his  promise,  that  the  trusting  shall 
be  fed.  The  last  morsel  they  had  was  spread 
on  the  table,  when  an  Indian  came  in  with  a 
quarter  of  venison,  saying,  “  I  come  to  feed 
you.”  When  the  Indian  heard  of  their  ex¬ 
tremity  and  prayer,  he  said,  “  Now  I  know 
why,  when  I  killed  my  deer,  seven  miles  away, 
something  said  to  me,  ‘  Go  quickly,  and  carry 
a  piece  to  the  missionary !  ’  ” 

2500.  GOD,  a  Father,  Christ  revealed  God 
as  a  Father.  In  his  first  and  last  words,  Christ 
calls  him  “  Father.”  As  a  Father,  God  thinks 
of  us,  loves  us,  works  for  us,  cares  for  us.  pro¬ 
tects  us,  provides  for  us  in  the  future.  “  Fath¬ 
er  ”  is  the  most  endearing  appellation  in  which 
he  is  made  known  unto  us.  “  I  should  have 
been  a  French  atheist,”  said  Randolph,  “had 
it  not  been  for  one  recollection ;  and  that  was 
when  my  departed  mother  used  to  take  my 
little  hands  in  hers,  and  cause  me  on  my  knees 
to  say,  ‘Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.’” 
“  This  little  word  ‘  Father,’  ”  says  Gurnall, 
“  lisped  by  faith  in  prayer,  by  a  real  Christian, 
exceeds  the  eloquence  of  Demosthenes,  Cicero, 
and  all  the  famous  speakers  in  the  world.” 
“  I  never  fear,”  said  a  little  child,  “  when  my 
Father  is  with  me.” 

2501.  GOD,  Favor  of.  When  Antigonns  was 

ready  to  engage  in  a  sea-fight  with  Ptolemy’s 
armada,  and  the  pilot  cried  out,  “  How  many 
are  they  more  than  we  ?  ”  the  courageous 
king  replied,  “  ’Tis  true,  if  you  count  their 
numbers,  they  surpass  us ;  but  for  how  many 
do  you  value  me  ?  ”  Our  God  is  sufficient 
against  all  the  combined  forces  of  earth  and 
hell.  Spencer. 

2502.  GOD,  Fear  of.  The  pagan  nations 

have  ever  stood  in  awe  of  deities,  whose  wrath 
they  have  deprecated,  but  whose  love  they 
have  never  dared  to  hope  for.  In  the  East- 
India  Museum  in  London,  there  is  an  elabo¬ 
rately-carved  ivory  idol,  from  India,  with  twelve 
hands,  and  in  every  hand  a  different  instrument 
of  cruelty.  Papists  put  God  far  away,  and 
trust  to  the  intervention  of  priests,  of  saints, 
and  of  the  virgin.  Prayers  for  a  man  must  still 
go  on  after  his  death,  and  money  be  paid  to 
buy  God  off  from  his  vengeance.  On  the  door 
of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Nicholas,  in  Fribourg, 
Switzerland,  I  saw  a  notice  requesting  the 
prayers  of  the  charitable  for  a  youth  who  had 
died  a  few  days  before,  “  fortified  by  the  sacra¬ 
ments  of  the  church ;  ”  and,  inside,  a  painting 
of  sundry  persons  in  the  flames  of  purgatory, 
with  a  contribution-box  underneath,  and  this 
inscription,  “  Oh !  rescue  us ;  you,  at  least,  who 
are  our  friends.”  C.  D.  Foss. 

2503.  GOD,  Fulness  of.  Though  numberless 
irops  be  in  the  sea,  yet,  if  one  be  taken  out  of 
it,  it  hath  so  much  the  less,  though  insensibly ; 
but  God,  because  he  is  infinite,  can  admit  of 
ro  diminution.  Therefore  are  men  niggardly, 


because,  the  more  they  give,  the  less  they 
have;  but  thou,  Lord,  mayst  give  what  thou 
wilt  without  abatement  of  thy  store.  Good 
prayers  never  come  weeping  home  :  I  am  sure 
1  shall  receive  either  what  I  ask  or  what  I 
should  ask.  Bp.  Hall. 

2504.  GOD,  Gifts  of.  A  certain  emperor 
coming  into  Egypt,  to  show  the  zeal  he  had  to 
the  public  good,  said  to  the  Egyptians,  “  Draw 
from  me  as  from  your  River  Nilus.” 

2505.  GOD,  Goodness  of.  As  the  sun  sends 

forth  a  benign  and  gentle  influence  on  the  seed 
of  plants,  that  it  may  invite  forth  the  active 
and  plastic  power  from  its  recess  and  secrecy, 
that,  by  rising  into  the  tallness  and  dimensions 
of  a  tree,  it  may  still  receive  a  greater  and 
more  refreshing  influence  from  its  foster-father, 
the  prince  of  all  the  bodies  of  light ;  and,  in 
all  these  emanations,  the  sun  itself  receives  no 
advantage,  but  the  honor  of  doing  benefits  :  so 
doth  the  Almighty  Father  of  all  the  creatures. 
He  at  first  sends  forth  his  blessings  upon  us, 
that  we,  by  using  them  aright,  should  make 
ourselves  capable  of  greater ;  while  giving 
glory  to  God,  and  doing  homage  to  him,  are 
nothing  to  his  advantage  but  only  to  ours;  our 
duties  towards  him  being  vapors  ascending 
from  the  earth,  not  at  all  to  refresh  the  regions 
of  the  clouds,  but  to  return  back  in  a  fruitful 
and  refreshing  shower ;  and  God  created  us, 
not  that  we  can  increase  his  felicity,  but  that 
He  might  have  a  subject  receptive  of  felicity 
from  him.  Bp.  Taylor. 

2506.  GOD,  in  Grace.  He  who  garnishes 

the  heavens  beautifies  the  soul  ;  he  who  re¬ 
news  the  face  of  the  earth,  also  restores  the 
forfeited  powers  of  the  mind  :  for  “  not  by  works 
of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  ac¬ 
cording  to  his  mercy,  hath  he  saved  us,  by  the 
washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.”  As  no  human  skill  could 
beautify  the  earth  with  the  treasures  of  spring, 
so  no  mortal  power  could  have  provided  the 
robe  of  righteousness  with  which  every  soul 
must  be  clad  ere  it  can  enter  heaven.  Sooner 
could  you  weave  the  glorious  web  of  summer 
beauty,  than  prepare  a  garb  of  acceptable 
righteousness.  J.  Parker. 

250?'.  GOD,  Greatness  of.  If  philosophy  is  to 
be  believed,  our  world  is  but  an  outlying  cor¬ 
ner  of  creation  ;  bearing,  perhaps,  as  small  a 
proportion  to  the  great  universe  as  a  single 
grain  bears  to  all  the  sands  of  the  seashore, 
or  one  small  quivering  leaf  to  the  foliage  of  a 
boundless  forest.  Yet  even  within  this  earth’s 
narrow  limits,  how  vast  the  work  of  Providence ! 
how  soon  is  the  mind  lost  in  contemplating  it ! 
How  great  that  Being  whose  hand  paints  every 
flower,  and  shapes  every  leaf ;  who  forms  every 
bud  on  every  tree,  and  every  infant  in  the 
darkness  of  the  womb ;  who  feeds  each  crawl¬ 
ing  worm  with  a  parent’s  care,  and  watches 
like  a  mother  over  the  insect  that  sleeps  away 
the  ni'jlit  in  the  bosom  of  a  flower ;  who  throws 
open  the  golden  gates  of  day,  and  draws  around 
a  sleeping  world  the  dusky  curtains  of  the 
night;  who  measures  out  the  drops  of  every 
shower,  the  whirling  snowflakes,  and  the  sands 


GOD. 


GrOD. 


297 


of  man’s  eventful  life ;  who  determines  alike 
the  fall  of  a  sparrow  and  the  u  r,e  of  a  king¬ 
dom,  and  so  overrules  the  tide  of  human  for¬ 
tunes,  that  whatever  befall  him,  come  joy  or 
sorrow,  the  believer  says,  “  It  is  the  Lord  :  let 
him  do  what  seemeth  him  good  ”  1 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

2508.  GOD,  our  Heritage.  What  can  we 

wish  for  in  an  heritage  that  is  not  to  be  found 
in  God  V  AVould  wc  have  large  possessions? 
He  is  immensity.  AVould  we  have  a  sure  es¬ 
tate  ?  He  is  immutability.  AVould  we  have 
a  term  of  long  continuance  ?  He  is  eternity  it¬ 
self.  Arrowsmith. 

2509.  GOD,  Holiness  of.  The  holiness  of  God 

is  not  to  be  conceived  of  as  one  attribute  among 
others  :  it  is  rather  a  general  term  representing 
the  conception  of  his  consummate  perfection 
and  total  glory.  It  is  his  infinite  moral  per¬ 
fection  crowning  his  infinite  intelligence  and 
power.  There  is  a  glory  of  each  attribute 
viewed  abstractedly,  and  a  glory  of  the  whole 
together.  The  intellectual  nature  is  the  essen¬ 
tial  basis  of  the  moral.  Infinite  moral  perfec¬ 
tion  is  the  crown  of  the  Godhead.  Holiness  is 
the  total  glory  thus  crowned.  Hodge. 

251©.  GOD|  Tlie  Ideal.  Many  people  have 
their  own  god ;  and  he  is  much  what  the  French 
may  mean  when  they  talk  of  Le  bon  Dieu,  — 
very  indulgent,  rather  weak,  near  at  hand 
when  wc  want  any  thing,  but  far  away,  out  of 
sight,  when  we  have  a  mind  to  do  wrong. 
Such  a  god  is  as  much  an  idol  as  if  he  were  an 
image  of  stone.  Hare. 

2511.  GOD,  Incomprehensible.  Simonides,  a 
heathen  poet,  being  asked  by  Hiero,  King  of 
Syracuse,  AVhat  is  God?  desired  a  day  to 
think  upon  it.  At  its  end,  he  desired  two. 
Thus  he  continued  to  double  the  number  of 
days  before  he  could  give  an  answer.  The 
king  asked  what  he  meant  by  this  conduct. 
The  poet  replied,  “  The  more  I  think  of  God, 
he  is  still  the  more  unknown  tome.” 

2512.  GOD,  Indefinable.  As  the  human  mind 

is  finite,  and  conceives  by  defining  the  limits 
of  its  thought,  and  as  God  is  known  to  us  to  be 
infinite,  it  is  evident  that  the  human  mind  can 
never  be  capable  of  conceiving  God  adequately 
as  he  is,  or  of  defining  his  being.  Ilodge. 

2513.  GOD,  Invisible.  Krummacher  says, 
that  an  idolatrous  tribe  chose  a  Jew  named 
Abiah  to  rule  over  them,  who  was  greatly 
grieved  at  the  idolatry  of  his  subjects,  and 
angry  because  they  would  not  reform.  The 
Lord  said  to  him,  “  Thinkest  thou  I  cannot 
destroy  their  idols  ?  and  yet  I  suffer  the  sun  to 
shine  upon  them.  Go  thou,  and  do  likewise.” 
Abiah  suffered  them,  and  had  a  successful 
reign.  AVhen  he  came  to  die,  he  told  the  peo- 

le  that  his  son  would  be  their  king  ;  that  they 
ad  never  seen  his  face,  but  should  know  his 
government  by  the  fruits  thereof.  The  people 
promised  obedience,  kept  the  promise,  and 
prospered  greatly,  though  they  had  never  seen 
their  king.  AVise  commands  came  from  the 
palace.  Like  the  beams  of  the  sun,  the  kind 
influence  of  the  invisible  monarch  spread  over 
the  nation,  reaching  every  child  of  want. 


Then  they  all  marvelled,  and  said,  “  We  sea 
him  not :  how  can  he  see  us  ?  ”  Then  the  peo¬ 
ple  longed  to  see  and  bless  him,  as  they  did 
their  idols.  They  made  images  of  him.  At 
last,  they  came  together  before  the  palace- 
gates,  and  implored,  “  Oh  !  let  our  lord  the 
king  suffer  us  to  see  his  face.”  Then  the 
king  came  forth  in  simple  raiment;  and  the 
people  rejoiced  and  wondered,  and  said,  “  AVe 
know  thy  face ;  ”  for  he  had  often  walked 
among  them  unknown.  Then  the  king  said, 
“  Now  you  see  that  I  am  a  man  like  you. 
Think  ye  that  this  mortal  flesh  has  reigned 
over  you  ?  Not  so  :  that  which  has  guided  you 
ye  cannot  see ;  neither  can  I.  Can  ye  see  wis¬ 
dom,  kindness,  and  justice  ?  Now  ye  see  me, 
but  ye  do  not  see  them.  Judge  ye  what  is  my 
earthly  form.  Can  the  visible  create  the  in¬ 
visible?  That  which  is  in  me,  also,  is  not 
mine,  but  His  who  made  me  your  king.”  After 
this,  the  people  returned  to  their  homes,  bless¬ 
ing  their  king.  They  broke  in  pieces  their 
pictures,  images,  and  idols,  and  believed  in  Him 
who  is  invisible. 

2514.  GOD,  Irresistible.  As  you  stood  some 

stormy  day  upon  a  sea-cliff',  and  marked  the 
giant  billow  rise  from  the  deep  to  rush  on  with 
foaming  crest,  and  throw  itself  thundering  on 
the  trembling  shore,  did  you  ever  fancy  that 
you  could  stay  its  course,  and  hurl  it  back  to 
the  depths  of  ocean  ?  Did  you  ever  stand 
beneath  the  leaden,  lowering  cloud,  and  mark 
the  lightning’s  leap,  as  it  shot  and  flashed, 
dazzling  athwart  the  gloom,  and  think  that 
you  could  grasp  the  bolt,  and  change  its  path? 
Still  more  foolish  and  vain  his  thought,  who 
fancies  that  he  can  arrest  or  turn  aside  the 
purpose  of  God,  saying,  “  AVhat  is  the  Al¬ 
mighty,  that  we  should  serve  him  ?  Let  us 
break  his  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  Ills 
cords  from  us.”  Break  his  bands  asunder  1 
How  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall 
laugh  1  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2515.  GOD,  Justice  and  Mercy  of.  Justice  and 
mercy  are  the  two  arms  of  God,  which  em¬ 
brace,  bear,  and  govern  the  whole  world  :  they 
are  the  two  engines  of  the  great  Archimedes, 
which  make  heaven  descend  upon  earth,  and 
earth  mount  to  heaven.  They  are  the  bass  and 
treble  strings  of  the  great  lute  of  heaven,  which 
make  all  the  harmonies  and  tunable  sym¬ 
phonies  of  this  universe.  Now,  as  mercy  is 
infinite,  so  is  justice.  The  divine  essence 
holdeth  these  two  perfections  as  the  two  scales 
of  the  balance,  —  always  equally  poised. 

N.  Cauxsin. 

2516.  GOD,  Knowledge  of.  The  Albigensian 
war,  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  cen¬ 
tury,  commenced  with  the  storming  of  Bezicres, 
and  a  massacre,  in  which  fifteen  thousand 
persons,  or,  according  to  some  accounts,  sixty 
thousand,  were  put  to  the  sword.  Not  a  living 
soul  escaped,  as  witnesses  assure  us.  It  was 
here  that  a  Cistercian  monk,  who  led  on  the 
crusaders,  being  asked  how  the  Catholics  were 
to  be  distinguished  from  heretics,  answered, 
“  Kill  them  all  1  God  will  know  his  own.” 

Percy. 


298 


GKDD. 


GOD. 


2517.  GOD,  oar  Knowledge  of.  A  young  child, 

who  has  hitherto  fancied  that  the  rim  of  the 
sky  rests  on  the  earth  a  few  miles  away,  and 
that  the  whole  world  lies  within  that  circle, 
sails  down  the  Forth  there,  and  sees  the  river- 
banks  gradually  widening,  and  the  river  pass¬ 
ing  into  a  frith.  When  he  comes  back,  he  tells 
his  young  companions  how  large  the  ocean  is. 
Poor  boy  !  he  has  not  seen  the  ocean,  —  only 
the  widened  river.  Just  so  with  all  creature- 
knowledge  of  God.  Though  all  the  archangels 
were  to  utter  all  they  know,  there  would  still 
remain  an  infinity  untold.  Culcross. 

2518.  GOD,  Liberality  of.  An  indigent  philos¬ 
opher  at  the  court  of  Alexander  sought  relief 
at  the  hand  of  that  sovereign,  and  received  an 
order  on  his  treasurer  for  any  sum  he  should 
ask.  He  immediately  demanded  ten  thousand 
pounds.  The  treasurer  demurred  to  the  ex¬ 
travagant  amount ;  but  Alexander  replied, 
“  Let  the  money  be  instantly  paid,  i  am 
delighted  with  this  philosopher’s  way  of  think¬ 
ing  :  he  has  done  me  a  singular  honor.  By 
the  largeness  of  his  request,  he  shows  the  high 
idea  he  has  conceived  of  my  wealth  and  mu¬ 
nificence.”  God  is  honored  in  like  manner. 

2519.  GOD,  Life  of.  To  me  this  is  the  pro- 

foundest  of  all  truths,  —  that  the  whole  of  the 
life  ol  God  is  the  sacrifice  of  self.  God  is 
love  :  love  is  sacrifice, —  to  give  rather  than  to 
receive,  —  the  blessedness  of  self-giving.  If  the 
life  of  God  were  not  such,  it  would  be  false¬ 
hood  to  say  that  God  is  love ;  for,  even  in  our 
human  nature,  that  which  seeks  to  enjoy  all, 
instead  of  giving  all,  is  known  by  a  very  dif¬ 
ferent  name  from  that  of  love.  All  the  life  of 
God  is  a  flow  of  this  divine  self-giving  charity. 
Creation  itself  is  sacrifice,  —  the  selfimporta¬ 
tion  of  the  Divine  Being.  Redemption,  too,  is 
sacrifice,  else  it  could  not  be  love;  for  which 
reason  we  will  not  surrender  one  iota  of  the 
truth  that  the  death  of  Christ  was  the  sacrifice 
of  God.  F.  W.  Robertson. 

2520.  GOD,  Longing  for.  Once,  a  king,  in 
crossing  the  desert  in  a  lone  caravan,  was 
parched  with  thirst.  Dreadful  is  that  dry  and 
thirsty  land  where  no  water  is  !  The  sands 
were  strewn  with  the  wrecks  of  caravans,  the 
skeletons  of  men  who  had  died  of  thirst  lying 
in  tl.at  dread  cemetery ;  and  then  the  cry 
arose,  “  Water,  water !  there  is  no  water  1  ”  It 
was  a  fearful  moment.  Parched  throats  and 
eyes  hopelessly  looked  up  to  the  all-too-cloudy 
sky  along  the  plain ;  overhead,  the  red-hot 
copper  sun.  Then  said  one,  “  We  must  let 
loose  the  harts,  —  the  light,  fleet  harts.”  They 
bounded  in  all  directions.  Keen  in  their  in¬ 
stinctive  scent  of  water,  the  spring  was  found  ; 
and  then,  when  they  sat  to  rest  beside  the 
beautiful  and  blessed  pool,  —  then  said  the 
king,  as  he  took  forth  his  tablets  and  wrote, 

“  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water-brooks,  so 
pantelh  my  soul  after  thee,  0  God.” 

E.  P.  Hood. 

2521.  GOD,  Love  of.  History’s  noblest  deed 
and  record  of  love  is  in  the  self-devotion  of 
one  generous  heathen,  Pylades,  who  forfeited 
his  life  to  save  his  friend ;  but  “  God  com- 


mendeth  his  We  to  us,  in  that,  while  we  were 
yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us  1  ”  Y ou  have 
not  yet  seen,  ’  says  a  great  writer  an-i  profound 
thinker,  “  the  greatest  gift  of  all,  —  the  heart 
of  God,  the  love  of  his  heart,  the  heart  of 
his  love.  And  will  he  in  very  deed  show  us 
that?  Yes,  unveil  that  cross,  and  see.  It  was 
his  only  mode  of  showing  us  his  heart.  It  is 
infinite  love  laboring  to  reveal  itself,  —  agoniz¬ 
ing  to  utter  the  fulness  of  infinite  love.  Apart 
from  that  act,  a  boundless  ocean  of  love  would 
have  remained  forever  shut  up  and  concealed 
in  the  heart  of  God ;  but  now  it  has  found 
an  ocean-channel.  Beyond  this,  he  cannot  go. 
Once  and  forever  the  proof  has  been  given,  — 
1  God  is  love.’  ”  Macduff. 

2522.  GOD,  for  Man.  See  we  not  that 

heaven  is  all  for  earth?  Doth  it  cause  one 
sprig  of  an  herb  to  grow  in  itself?  It  giveth 
all  it  hath,  and  is  perpetually  content  with 
what  it  is.  So  God  is  all  for  us,  as  if  man 
were  his  God,  saith  St.  Thomas.  If  we  be 
miserable,  he  is  not  therefore  disdainful ;  if 
he  be  high,  he  is  not  therefore  far  distant 
from  our  inferior  condition.  He  is  all,  in  all 
things ;  ever  present ;  continually  doing  some¬ 
what  for  our  well-being.  N.  Caussin. 

2523.  GOD,  Mercy  o£  A  merchant  that 

keeps  a  book  of  debit  and  credit  writes  both 
what  is  owing  him  and  what  he  oweth  him¬ 
self,  and  then  casteth  up  the  whole.  But  God 
doth  not  so  :  his  mercy  is  triumphant  over  his 
justice;  and  therefore  he  wipes  out  what  we 
owe  him,  and  writes  down  that  only  which  he 
owes  us  by  promise.  Spencer. 

2524.  GOD,  Messenger  of.  A  good  man,  who 
had  served  God  many  years,  was  sitting  one 
day,  with  several  persons,  eating  a  meal  upon 
a  bank  very  near  a  pit ;  and  he  was  nearest 
to  the  mouth  of  it.  Whilst  he  was  eating,  a 
pigeon  came,  and  fluttered  in  his  breast,  and 
slightly  pecked  him.  In  about  five  minutes, 
it  came  again,  and  did  the  same.  The  old 
man  then  said,  “  I  will  follow  thee,  pretty  mes¬ 
senger,  and  see  where  thou  comest  from.”  He 
rose  up  to  follow  the  bird  ;  and,  while  he  was 
away,  the  banks  of  the  pit  fell  in,  and  his 
companions  were  all  killed.  This  happened 
at  a  mine  near  Swansea,  in  England. 

2525.  GOD,  Might  of.  King  Canute,  a  Dan¬ 
ish  conqueror  of  Britain,  was  one  day  flattered 
by  his  courtiers  on  account  of  his  power.  Then 
he  ordered  his  throne  to  be  placed  by  the  sea¬ 
side.  The  tide  was  rolling  in,  and  threatened 
to  drown  him.  He  commanded  the  waves  to 
stop.  Of  course,  they  did  not.  Then  he 
said  to  his  flatterers,  “  Behold,  how  small  is 
the  might  of  kings !  ” 

2526.  GOD,  Munificence  of.  Every  part  of 
Nature  seems  to  pay  its  tribute  to  man,  in  the 
great  variety  of  tribes,  as  well  the  prodigious 
number  of  individuals  of  each  various  tribe, 
of  all  creatures.  There  are  so  many  beasts, 
so  many  birds,  so  many  insects,  so  many  rep¬ 
tiles,  so  many  trees,  so  many  plants,  upon  the 
land ;  so  many  fishes,  sea-plants,  and  other 
creatures  in  the  waters  ;  so  .many  minerals, 
metals,  and  fossils  in  the  subterraneous  re- 


GrOD. 


GOD. 


299 


gions,  —  that  there  is  nothing  wanting  to  the 
use  of  man,  or  any  other  creature  of  this  lower 
world.  The  munificence  of  the  Creator  is 
such,  that  there  is  enough  to  supply  the  wants 
and  conveniences  of  all  creatures  in  all  places, 
all  ages,  and  upon  all  occasions.  Derliam. 

2527.  GOD,  Names  of.  At  the  recent  Ex¬ 
position  in  Paris,  Louis  Berger,  the  philologist, 
met  a  poor  barber  of  his  acquaintance  selling 
nuts.  To  relieve  him,  he  wrote  the  name  of 
God  in  forty-eight  languages,  directed  him  to 
get  it  printed,  and  sell  it  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Exposition.  The  barber  did  so ;  and,  when 
Berger  subsequently  asked  him  what  luck  the 
name  of  God  had  brought  him,  he  replied, 
“  Five  dollars  a  day,  thanks  to  your  kindness  !  ” 
“  Those  that  honor  me  I  will  honor,”  saith  God. 

2528.  GOD,  No  Images  of  At  Buhapurum, 
a  child  about  eight  years  old,  who  had  been 
educated  in  Christianity,  was  ridiculed  on  that 
account  by  some  heathens  older  than  himself. 
In  reply,  he  repeated  what  he  had  been  taught 
respecting  God.  “  Show  us  your  God,”  said 
the  heathen.  “  I  cannot  do  that,”  answered 
the  child ;  “  but  1  can  soon  show  you  yours.” 
Taking  a  stone,  and  daubing  it  with  some  re¬ 
semblance  of  a  human  face,  he  placed  it  upon 
the  ground,  and  pushing  it  towards  them  with 
his  foot,  “  There,”  said  he,  “  is  such  a  god  as 
you  worship.” 

2529.  GOD,  No  Likeness  of.  One  day  when 
Mr.  Richards,  missionary  in  India,  was  con¬ 
versing  with  the  natives,  a  fakir  came  up, 
and  put  into  his  hand  a  small  stone,  about  the 
size  of  a  sixpence,  with  the  impression  of  two 
human  likenesses  sculptured  on  the  surface : 
he  also  proffered  a  few  grains  office,  and  said, 
“  This  is  Mahadeo !  ”  Mr.  Richards  said,  “  Do 
you  know  the  meaning  of  ‘  Mahadeo  ’  ?  ”  The 
fakir  replied,  “  No.”  Mr.  Richards  proceeded, 
“  ‘  Mahadeo  ’  means  the  great  God,  —  he  who 
is  God  of  gods,  and  besides  whom  there  can  be 
no  other.  Now,  this  great  God  is  a  spirit.  No 
one  can  see  a  spirit,  who  is  intangible. 
Whence,  then,  this  visible  impression  on  a 
senseless,  hard,  immovable  stone  ?  To  whom 
will  ye  liken  God  ?  or  what  likeness  will  ye 
compare  unto  him  ?  God  is  the  high  and 
lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose 
name  is  Holy.  He  hath  said,  I  am  Jehovah : 
there  is  no  God  beside  me  1  ”  The  poor  lakir 
was  serious,  respectful,  and  attentive,  continu¬ 
ally  exclaiming,  “  Your  words  are  true.” 

2530.  GOD,  Omnipotence  of.  A  certain  man 
went  to  a  dervis,  and  proposed  three  ques¬ 
tions  :  “  First,  Why  do  they  say  that  God  is 
omnipresent '?  I  do  not  see  him  in  any  place  : 
show  me  where  he  is.  Secondly,  Why  is  man 
punished  for  his  crimes,  since  whatever  he  does 
proceeds  from  God  ?  Man  has  no  free  will, 
lor  he  cannot  do  auy  thing  contrary  to  the  will 
of  God ;  and,  if  he  had  power,  he  would  do 
every  thing  for  his  own  good.  Thirdly,  How 
can  God  punish  Satan  in  hell-fire,  since  he  is 
formed  of  that  element  ?  and  what  impression 
can  fire  make  on  itself?  ”  The  dervis  took 
up  a  large  clod  of  earth,  and  struck  him  on  the 
head  with  it.  The  man  went  to  the  cadi,  and 


said,  “  I  proposed  three  questions  to  a  dervis, 
who  flung  such  a  clod  of  earth  at  me  as  has 
made  my  head  ache.”  The  cadi,  having  sent 
for  the  dervis,  asked,  “  Why  did  you  throw  a 
clod  of  earth  at  his  head,  instead  of  answering 
his  questions  ?  ”  The  dervis  replied,  “  The 
clod  of  earth  was  an  answer  to  his  speech.  He 
says  he  has  a  pain  in  his  head  :  let  him  show 
me  the  pain,  and  I  will  make  God  visible  to 
him.  And  why  does  he  exhibit  a  complaint 
to  you  against  me  ?  Whatever  I  did  was  the 
act  of  God.  I  did  not  strike  him  without  the 
will  of  God,  and  what  power  do  I  possess  ? 
And,  as  he  is  compounded  of  earth,  liow  can 
he  suffer  pair  from  that  element  ?  ”  The  man 
was  confounded,  and  the  cadi  highly  pleased, 
with  the  dervis’s  answer.  J.  II.  Vincent. 

2539.  GOD,  Omnipresence  of.  To  the  Hebrews, 
the  external  universe  is  just  a  black  screen  con¬ 
cealing  God.  All  things  are  full  of,  yet  all  dis¬ 
tinct  from,  him.  The  cloud  on  the  mountain 
is  bis  covering ;  the  muttering  from  the  cham¬ 
bers  of  the  thunder  is  his  voice ;  that  sound  on 
the  tup  of  the  mulberry-trees  is  his  “going;  ” 
in  that  wind,  which  bends  the  forest  or  curls 
the  clouds,  he  is  walking  ;  that  sun  is  his  still 
commanding  eye.  Whither  can  they  go  from 
his  spirit  ?  whither  can  they  flee  from  his  pres¬ 
ence?  At  every  step  and  in  every  circum¬ 
stance,  they  feci  themselves  God-enclosed,  God- 
filled,  God-breatliing  men,  with  a  spiritual  pres¬ 
ence  lowering  or  smiling  on  them  from  the  sky, 
sounding  in  wild  tempest,  or  creeping  in  panic 
stillness  across  the  surface  of  the  earth ;  and, 
if  they  turn  within,  lo  1  it  is  there  also,  —  an 
“  eye  ”  hung  in  the  central  darkness  of  their 
own  hearts.  Hence  the  Muse  of  the  Hebrew 
bard  is  not  Dame  Memory,  nor  any  of  her 
seen  daughters,  but  the  almighty,  all-pervad¬ 
ing  Spirit  himself,  who  is  at  once  the  subject, 
the  auditor,  and  the  inspirer,  of  the  song. 

Gilfillan. 

2532.  GOD,  Omniscience  of.  Julius  Drusus, 
a  Roman  tribune,  had  a  house  that  in  many 
places  lay  exposed  to  the  view  of  the  neigh¬ 
borhood.  A  person  came  and  offered,  that,  for 
five  talents  he  would  so  alter  it,  that  it  should 
not  be  liable  to  that  inconvenience.  “  I  will 
give  thee  ten  talents,”  said  Drusus,  “  if  thou 
canst  make  my  house  conspicuous  in  every 
room  of  it,  that  so  all  the  city  may  behold  in 
what  manner  I  lead  my  life.”  It  would  be 
well  for  us  to  recollect,  that  we  are  all  thus 
continally  exposed  to  the  eye  of  God. 

Whitecross. 

2533.  The  master  of  three  drunken  and 
thievish  slaves,  having  observed  a  great  change 
in  their  conduct,  asked  its  cause.  One  of  them 
replied,  “  Massa,  God  Almighty  in  top  1  ” 
(above).  He  was  answered,  “  Was  not  God 
Almighty  in  top  when  you  got  drunk,  and 
robbed  me  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  massa  ;  but  we  not 
know  then.”  He  then  asked  them  how  they 
came  to  know.  They  answered,  “  Massa,  we 
been  gone  a  chapel,  and  preacher  tell  we  so ; 
and  now  we  ’fraid  to  get  drunk,  and  rob,  like 
fore  time.  Goil  will  see,  and  he  will  be  angry: 
him  see  ebery  thing.” 


300 


GOD. 


GOD. 


2531.  The  omniscience  of  God  is  a  great 
check  to  sin,  and  motive  to  virtue.  A  heathen 
philosopher  advised  his  pupils  to  imagine  that 
some  distinguished  character  was  always  look¬ 
ing  at  them,  as  the  best  aid  to  excellence  of 
life. 

2535.  GOD,  Patience  of.  Suppose  a  man 

should  come  into  a  curious  artificer’s  shop,  and 
there,  with  one  blow,  dash  in  pieces  such  a 
piece  of  art  that  had  cost  many  years’  study 
and  pains  in  the  contriving  thereof,  how  could 
he  bear  with  it,  how  would  he  take  on  to  see 
the  workmanship  of  his  hands  so  rashly,  so  wil¬ 
fully  destroyed  ?  He  could  not  but  take  it  ill, 
and  be  much  troubled  thereat.  Thus  it  is,  that, 
as  soon  as  God  had  set  up  and  perfected  the 
frame  of  the  world,  sin  gave  a  subtle  shake  to 
all :  it  unpinned  the  frame,  and  had  like  to 
have  pulled  all  in  pieees  again  ;  nay,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  promise  of  Christ,  all  this 
goodly  frame  had  been  reduced  to  its  primitive 
nothing  again.  Man,  by  his  sin,  had  pulled 
down  all  about  his  ears ;  but  God  in  mercy 
keeps  it  up  :  man,  by  sin,  provokes  God  ;  but 
God  in  mercy  passeth  by  all  affronts  whatso¬ 
ever.  Oli  the  wonderful  mercy  1  oh  the  omni¬ 
potent  patience,  of  God  1  Spencer. 

2536.  GOD,  Place  of.  A  heathen  philosopher 

once  asked  a  Christian,  “Where  is  God?” 
The  Christian  answered,  “  Let  me  first  ask 
you,  Where  is  he  not  ?”  Arrowsmith. 

253'?.  GOD,  Our  portion.  To  have  a  portion 
in  God  is  to  possess  that  which  includes  in 
itself  all  created  good.  The  man  who  is  in 
possession  of  some  great  masterpiece  in  paint¬ 
ing  or  sculpture  need  not  envy  others  who  have 
only  casts  or  copies  of  it.  The  original  plate 
or  stereotype  is  more  valuable  than  any  im¬ 
pressions  or  engravings  thrown  off  from  it; 
and  he  who  owns  the  former  owns  that  which 
includes,  is  capable  of  producing,  all  the  latter. 
.  .  .  Surveying  the  wonders  of  creation,  or 
even  with  the  word  of  inspiration  in  his  hand, 
the  Christian  can  say,  “  Glorious  though  these 
things  be,  to  me  belongs  that  which  is  more 
glorious  far.  The  streams  are  precious,  but  1 
have  the  Fountain;  the  vesture  is  beautiful, 
but  the  Weaver  is  mine ;  the  portrait  in  its 
every  lineament  is  lovely,  but  that  great  Origi¬ 
nal,  whose  beauty  it  but  feebly  depicts,  is  mine, 
my  own.  ‘  God  is  my  portion  ;  the  Lord  is  mine 
inheritance.’  To  me  belongs  all  actual  and  all 
possible  good,  all  created  and  uncreated  beau¬ 
ty,  all  that  eye  hath  seen  or  imagination  con¬ 
ceived  :  and  more  than  that ;  for  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  it  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man  to  conceive,  what  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him.  All  things 
and  beings,  all  that  life  reveals  or  death  con¬ 
ceals,  every  thing  within  the  boundless  possi¬ 
bilities  of  creating  wisdom  and  power  is  mine  ; 
for  God,  the  Creator  and  Fountain  of  all,  is 
mine.”  Dr.  Caird. 

2538.  GOD,  Presence  o£  If  you  were  cast  out 
of  your  country  a  thousand  miles  off,  you  are 
not  out  of  God’s  precinct :  his  arm  is  there  to 
cherish  the  good,  as  well  as  to  drag  out  the 
wicked.  It  is  the  same  God,  the  same  presence, 


in  every  country,  as  well  as  the  same  sun, 
moon,  and  stars ;  and  were  not  God  every¬ 
where,  yet  he  would  not  be  meaner  than  his 
creature,  the  sun  in  the  firmament,  which  visits 
every  part  of  the  habitable  world  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  Charnock. 

2539.  GOD,  Promise  of.  If  a  king  should 
promise  one  a  living  whilst  he  lived,  it  would 
lessen  his  carefulness  for  earthly  things.  How 
much  more  should  Cod’s  promise  make  us 
careless  for  worldly  things,  seeing  he  is  the 
King  of  all  kings  1  Cawdray. 

25-40.  GOD,  Providence  of.  As  the  smallest 
birds  of  the  earth  are  not  taken  without  the 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father,  so  nothing  good 
or  evil  happens  to  God’s  children  without  his 
provident  will.  Cawdray. 

2541.  GOD,  Beading  the  Name  of  The  freed- 
men  exhibited  great  anxiety  to  learn  to  read. 
One  of  them,  an  old  preacher,  spelled  out  the 
word  Goo,  and  was  told  that  it  was  the  name 
of  the  One.  he  sometimes  preached  about.  He 
held  up  his  hands  in  surprise,  exclaiming,  “  Is 
this  the  name  of  God,  and  that  the  way  it 
looks  when  printed  ?  ”  Then,  brushing  away 
his  tears,  he  gazed  upon  the  blessed  name, 
saying,  “  Oh,  blessed  day  !  God  has  permitted 
his  old  eyes  to  see  to  read  his  name.” 

2512.  GOD,  in  Bedemption.  The  character 
of  God  is  but  little  seen  but  from  revelation. 
Redemption  — •  that  is  the  glass  which  reflects 
its  true  beauty.  Look  at  the  light  of  day :  it 
presents  one  uniform  and  undistinguished  and 
unbroken  mass  of  light ;  the  many  beautiful  rays 
and  colors  which  united  together  to  form  that 
light  are  lost  and  hid  from  our  eyes.  It  is 
science  only  that  has  discovered  to  us  this  fact. 
But  when  we  take  the  prism,  and  cause  this 
apparently  simple  and  uncompounded  light  to 
pass  through  its  sides,  we  are  charmed  with 
the  beauty  of  its  rays,  the  richness  and  variety 
of  its  colors:  so,  when  we  turn  away  from  the 
glass  which  redemption  holds  up,  how  many 
of  the  attributes  of  God  are  hid  from  us  1  That 
it  is  which  (as  the  prism  separates  and  un¬ 
twists  the  rays  of  light)  brings  to  light  the  hid¬ 
den  glories  of  the  Godhead.  There  it  is :  his 
justice  and  mercy,  his  holiness  and  purity  and 
love,  beam,  and,  like  rays  of  light,  pour  their 
effulgence  on  our  astonished  sight;  and  the 
Almighty  shines  forth  in  all  the  glory  and 
beauty  of  these  attributes  now  manifested  and 
revealed  to  his  creation.  Salter. 

2543.  GOD,  Eefleoted.  The  beautiful  rays 
coming  from  the  face  of  God,  and  shining  in 
such  loveliness  around  us,  are  reflected  and 
refracted  when  they  come  in  contact  with  the 
human  heart.  Each  heart  is  apt  to  receive 
only  such  as  please  it,  and  to  reject  the  others; 
hence  the  many-colored  aspects,  some  of  them 
hideous  in  the  extreme,  in  which  God  is  pre¬ 
sented  to  different  nations  and  individuals ; 
hence  the  room  for  each  man  fashioning  a  god 
after  his  own  heart.  An  evil  conscience,  re¬ 
flecting  only  the  red  rays,  calls  up  a  god  who 
delights  in  blood;  the  man  of  flue  sentiment, 
reflecting  only  the  softer  rays,  paints  from  the 
hues  of  his  own  feelings  a  god  of  mere  seusi- 


GOD. 


GOD. 


30  J 


bility,  tender  as  that  of  the  hero  of  a  modern 
romance;  the  man  of  glowing  imagination  will 
array  in  gorgeous  but  delusive  coloring,  and  in 
the  flowing  drapery  of  majesty  and  grandeur ; 
beneath  which,  however,  there  is  little  or  no 
reality ;  the  observer  of  laws  will  represent 
him  as  the  embodiment  of  order,  as  blank  and 
as  black  as  the  sun  looks  when  we  have  gazed 
upon  him  till  we  are  no  longer  sensible  of  his 
brightness.  Me  Cosh. 

2544.  GOD,  a  Refuge.  A  heathen  could  say, 

when  a  bird,  scared  by  a  hawk,  tlew  into  his 
bosom  for  refuge,  “I  will  not  kill  thee,  nor  be¬ 
tray  thee  to  thine  enemy,  seeing  thou  fiiest  to 
me  for  sanctuary  :  ”  much  less  will  God  either 
slay  or  give  up  the  soul  that  takes  sanctuary 
in  his  name.  Gurnall. 

2545.  GOD,  no  Respeoter  of  Persons.  With 

God  there  is  no  free  man  but  his  servant, 
though  in  the  galleys;  no  slave  but  the  sin¬ 
ner,  though  in  a  palace ;  none  noble  but  the 
virtuous,  if  never  so  basely  descended ;  none 
rich  but  he  that  possesseth  God,  even  in  rags  ; 
none  wise  but  lie  that  is  a  fool  to  himself  and 
the  world  ;  none  happy  but  he  whom  the  world 
pities.  Let  me  be  free,  noble,  rich,  wise,  happy, 
to  God.  Bp.  Hall. 

2516.  GOD,  Rewards  of.  As  a  master  supplies 
his  faithful  servants  with  every  thing  necessary, 
and  takes  care  that  nothing  be  wanting,  but,  if 
they  are  unfaithful,  he  reverses  his  treatment 
of  them ;  even  so  God,  the  true  owner  of  the 
earth  and  all  that  dwell  therein.  Cawdraij. 

2547.  GOD,  Riches  of.  God  is  ro  rich,  that 
he  can  put  more  of  what  is  beautii’ul  upon  a 
single  lily  or  tulip  than  the  great  King  Solo¬ 
mon  could  put  on  all  his  clothing.  The  hoarse, 
homely  peacock  carries  more  that  is  beautiful 
upon  his  tail  than  the  richest  king  could  ever 
show.  And  even  the  poor  butterfly,  which  is 
to  live  but  a  few  hours,  has  a  more  glorious 
dress  than  the  proudest,  richest  man  that  ever 
lived.  God  can  dress  this  poor  worm  up  so, 
because  he  is  rich.  If,  then,  he  can  take  such 
care  of  the  lilies,  the  birds,  and  insects,  and 
make  them  more  beautiful  than  man  can  ever 
be,  will  he  not  take  care  of  us,  if  we  obey  him  ? 
Suppose  you  had  a  rich  father,  so  rich,  that  he 
had  a  hogshead  full  of  gold,  and  a  great  barn 
full  of  silver :  do  you  think,  that,  if  you  were  to 
be  a  good  child,  he  would  ever  refuse  to  take 
care  of  you  ?  But  God  has  more  gold  and 
silver  laid  up  in  the  ground,  which  men  have 
not  yet  dug  up,  than  would  make  a  mountain  ; 
it  may  be,  thousands  of  mountains.  Can  he 
not  take  care  of  you  ?  Suppose  your  father 
had  more  oxen  and  horses  and  cattle  than  you 
could  count  over  in  a  day,  or  in  a  week  :  would 
he  not  be  able  to  take  care  of  his  child,  and 
give  him  every  thing  he  needs  ?  Yes.  But 
God  has  “  cattle  upon  ten  thousand  hills ;  ”  and 
“  every  beast  of  the  forest  ”  is  his,  and  his  are 
“  all  the  fowls  of  the  air.”  Can  he  not  give 
you  food  from  all  these  cattle,  and  clothe  you, 
and  give  you  beds  from  the  feathers  of  all 
these  fowls  ?  Yes  :  he  is  able  to  do  it  all.  Sup¬ 
pose  your  fuller  was  so  rich,  that  he  had  ten 
thousand  men  to  work  for  him  every  day,  all 


at  work,  and  all  paid  to  their  mind,  and  all 
happy  in  working  for  him:  would  you  have 
any  fears  that  he  could  not  take  care  of  you 
and  do  you  good  ?  But  God  has  more  ser¬ 
vants  than  these  :  he  has  all  the  good  people 
on  earth  in  his  employment,  and  all  the  angels 
in  heaven.  He  pays  them  all.  And,  if  you 
need  any  thing,  he  can  send  one,  or  a  million, 
of  these  his  servants  to  you,  to  help  you. 

Dr.  J.  Todd. 

2548.  GOD,  a  Rock.  What  are  the  reasons 
for  which  our  God  is  compared  to  a  rock? 
First,  then,  a  rock  is  steadfast :  its  stability,  as 
contrasted  with  the  flowing  waters  of  the  sea 
or  the  shifting  sands  of  the  desert,  is  the 
first  thing  that  strikes  us.  “  With  him  is  no 
variabkneD3,  neither  cnadow  of  turning.” 
Next,  a  rock  is  often  chosen  as  the  site  of'  a 
stronghold,  from  the  security  it  gives.  Men 
build  their  castles  upon  a  rock,  for  purposes 
of  defence  :  the  wise  man  built  his  house  upon 
the  rock  for  safety  in  the  storm  :  “  The  Lord  is 
my  rock  and  my  fortress.”  Again  :  in  Pales¬ 
tine  we  find  that  the  rock  often  contained  a 
cave,  or  cleft,  used  as  a  hiding-place :  “  Enter 
into  the  rock,  and  hide  thee  in  the  dust.”  In 
such  a  cleft,  Moses  was  hidden  :  “  I  will  put 
thee  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock,  and  will  cover  thee 
with  my  hand  while  I  pass  by  ”  (Exod.  xxxiii. 
22).  A  rock  became  also  a  shelter  in  another 
sense  :  “  The  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary 
land  ;  ”  “  Lead  me  to  the  rock  that  is  higher 
than  I.”  And  the  rock  that  gave  security  was 
also  a  source  of  refreshment:  for  “he  opened 
the  rock,  and  the  waters  gushed  out ;  ”  so  that 
they  drank  of  that  spiritual  rock  that  followed 
them,  and  that  rock  was  Christ.”  Cameron. 

2549.  GOD,  Secrets  of.  Be  not  curious  to 

search  into  the  secrets  of  God;  pick  not  the 
lock  where  he  hath  allowed  no  key.  He  that 
will  be  sifting  every  cloud  may  be  smitten 
with  a  thunderbolt;  and  he  that  will  be  too 
familiar  with  God’s  secrets  may  be  over¬ 
whelmed  in  his  judgments.  Adam  would  curi¬ 
ously  increase  his  knowledge;  therefore  Adam 
shamefully  lost  his  goodness  :  the  Bethshe- 
mites  would  needs  pry  into  the  ark  of  God ; 
therefore  the  hand  of  God  slew  about  fifty 
thousand  of  them.  Therefore  hover  not  about 
this  flame,  lest  we  scorch  our  win 'is.  For  my 
part,  seeing  God  hath  made  me  his  secretary, 
I  will  carefully  improve  myself  by  what  he  has 
revealed,  and  not  curiously  inquire  into  or 
after  what  lie  hath  reserved.  Adams. 

2559.  GOD,  Seeing.  When  I  behold  all  the 
requisite-1  in  organs,  where  music  is  in  perfec¬ 
tion,  J  stay  not  on  the  iron,  lead,  wood,  the 
pipes,  nor  on  the  bellows:  my  spirit  flieth  to 
that  hidden  spirit,  which  distributeth  itself 
with  so  melodious  proportionable  divisions 
throughout  the  whole  instrument.  So,  when  I 
contemplate  the  world,  I  stick  not  on  the  body 
of  the  sun,  the  stars,  the  elements,  the  stones, 
the  metals,  the  plants,  nor  the  living  creatures : 
1  penetrate  into  that  secret  Spirit,  which  in- 
sinuatetli  itself  thereunto  with  such  admirable 
power,  such  ravishing  sweetness,  and  incom¬ 
parable  harmony.  N.  Caussin. 


302 


GOD. 


GOD. 


2551.  GOD,  a  Shield,  A  shield  is  for  defence 
and  safeguard  of  the  body  in  time  of  battle : 
God  is  the  defence  and  safeguai'd  of  his  people 
in  the  conflicts  of  life.  A  shield  is  not  only 
to  defend  and  preserve  one  part  of  the  body, 
but  every  part :  God  defends  the  souls  of  his 
saints  in  their  entirety.  A  shield  is  used  to 
keep  that  part  of  the  body  that  is  struck  at  by 
the  enemy ;  it  is  a  movable  piece  of  armor, 
that  a  skilful  hand  can  turn  this  way  or  that 
way,  to  take  the  blow  or  arrow,  according  as 
he  sees  it  directed  against  him :  so  God  by 
his  truth,  spirit,  &c.,  protects  his  people. 

Keacli. 

2552.  GOD,  Submission  to.  If  the  barbarian 

ambassador  came  expressly  to  the  Romans,  to 
negotiate,  on  the  part  of  his  country,  for  per¬ 
mission  to  be  their  servants,  declaring  that  a 
voluntary  submission  to  a  foreign  power  was 
preferable  to  a  wild  and  disorderly  freedom, 
well  may  the  Christian  triumph  in  the  peace 
to  be  obtained  by  an  unreserved  submission 
to  Him  who  is  emphatically  called  the  God  of 
order.  Buck. 

2553.  GOD,  a  San,  “  The  Lord  God  is  a 
sun”  conveys  a  striking  and  impressive  truth 
when  we  think  of  the  sun  only  in  his  obvious 
character  as  a  source  of  light  and  heat.  But 
what  new  energy  is  given  to  this  magnificent 
emblem  when  we  learn  from  astronomy  that  he 
is  a  grand  centre  of  attraction,  and  when  we, 
in  addition,  take  in  that  sublime  generalization 
that  the  sun  is  the  ultimate  source  of  every 
form  of  power  existing  in  the  world  1  The 
wind  wafts  the  commerce  of  every  nation  over 
the  mighty  deep ;  but  the  heat  of  the  sun  has 
rarefied  the  air,  and  set  that  wind  in  motion. 
The  descending  stream  yields  a  power  which 
grinds  your  grain,  turns  your  spindles,  works 
your  looms,  drives  your  forges;  but  it  is  be¬ 
cause  the  sun  gathered  up  the  vapor  from  the 
ocean,  which  fell  upon  the  hills,  and  is  finding 
its  way  back  to  the  source  whence  it  came. 
The  expansive  energy  of  steam  propels  your 
engines  ;  but  the  force  with  which  it  operates 
is  locked  up  in  the  coal  (the  remains  of  extinct 
forests  stored  among  your  hills),  or  is  derived 
from  the  wood  that  abounds  in  your  forests, 
which  now  crown  and  beautify  their  summits. 
Both  these  primeval  and  these  existing  forests 
drew  their  subsistence  from  the  sun  :  it  is  the 
chemical  force  resident  in  his  rays  which  dis¬ 
engaged  their  carbon  from  the  atmosphere,  and 
laid  it  up  as  a  source  of  power  for  future  use. 
The  animal  exerts  a  force  by  muscular  con¬ 
traction  ;  he  draws  it  from  the  vegetable  on 
which  he  feeds ;  the  vegetable  derives  it  from 
the  sun,  whose  rays  determine  its  growth. 
Every  time  you  lift  your  arm,  every  time  you 
take  a  step,  you  are  drawing  on  the  power  the 
sun  has  given  you.  When  you  step  into  the 
railway-carriage,  it  is  the  sun-power  that  hur¬ 
ries  you  along.  When  gentle  breezes  fan  your 
languid  cheek,  and  when  the  resistless  tornado 
levels  cities  in  its  fury,  they  are  the  servants 
of  the  sun.  What  an  emblem  of  Him  in  whom 
we  live  and  move,  and  have  our  being  1 

Prof.  Green. 


2554.  GOD,  Testing.  The  Hindoos  have  a 

tradition,  that  a  man,  whose  name  was  Yeatha 
Veyather,  was  once  asked  by  some  prophet, 
“  Who  is  the  greatest  God,  Siva  or  Vishnu  ?  ” 
The  man  then  stretched  forth  his  hand  to¬ 
ward  a  temple  of  Vishnu,  and  said,  “  He  is 
the  greatest.”  Immediately  his  arm  became 
stiff  and  withered.  The  prophet,  seeing  this, 
then  prayed  to  Siva;,  and  his  hand  was  re¬ 
stored.  Roberts. 

2555.  GOD,  Titles  of.  When  Alexander, 

the  con  of  Philip,  was  at  Babylon,  he  sent  for 
a  priest  from  every  country  and  nation  which 
he  had  vanquished,  and  assembled  them  to¬ 
gether  in  his  palace.  Then  he  sat  down  on 
his  throne,  and  asked  them,  saying,  “  Tell  me, 
do  you  acknowledge  and  worship  a  supreme 
invisible  Being  ?  ”  Then  all  the  priests  bowed 
their  heads,  and  answered,  “  Yea,  O  king  !  ” 
And  the  king  asked  again,  “  By  what  name 
do  you  call  this  Being  V  ”  Then  the  priest 
from  India  answered,  “  We  call  it  Brahma, 
which  signifieth  the  Great.”  The  priest 
from  Persia  said,  “  We  call  it  Ormus ;  that  is, 
the  Light.”  The  priest  from  Judma  said, 
“  We  call  it  Jehovah  Adonai,  the  Lord  which 
is,  which  was,  and  is  to  come.”  Thus  each 
priest  had  a  peculiar  word  and  particular  name 
by  which  he  designated  the  Supreme  Being. 
Then  the  king  was  wroth  in  his  heart,  and 
said,  “  You  have  only  one  Lord  and  King, 
henceforth,  you  shall  have  only  one  God,  Zeus 
is  his  name.”  Then  the  priests  were  grieved 
at  the  saying  of  the  king,  and  spake,  “  Our 
people  always  called  him  by  the  name  we 
have  proclaimed,  from  their  youth  up  :  how, 
then,  may  we  change  it  ?  ”  But  the  king  was 
yet  more  wroth.  Then  an  old  sage  stood 
forth,  a  Brahmin,  who  had  accompanied  him 
to  Babylon,  and  said,  “  Will  it  please  my  lord 
the  king,  that  I  speak  unto  this  assembly  ?  ” 
Then  he  turned  to  the  priests,  and  said,  “  Doth 
not  the  celestial  daystar,  the  source  of  earthly 
light,  shine  upon  everyone  of  you?”  Then 
all  the  priests  bowed  their  heads,  and  an¬ 
swered,  “  Yea  1  ”  Then  the  Brahmin  asked 
them,  one  by  one,  “  How  do  you  call  it  l J> 
And  each  priest  told  him  a  different  word  and 
a  peculiar  name,  according  to  his  own  country 
and  nation.  Then  the  Brahmin  said  to  the 
king,  “  Shall  they  not  henceforth  call  the  day- 
star  by  one  name  ?  Helios  is  his  name.”  At 
these  words,  the  king  was  ashamed,  and  said, 
“  Let  them  each  use  their  own  word  ;  for  I  per¬ 
ceive  that  the  name  and  the  image  constitute 
not  the  being.  Krummacher. 

2556.  GOD,  Trial  of  a.  Rufinus  says,  that 
the  Chaldaeans,  who  adored  fire,  carried  their 
god  into  several  countries,  to  try  his  power 
over  the  gods  of  other  nations.  He  baffled  the 
images  of  brass,  gold,  silver,  wood,  or  of  what¬ 
ever  other  material  they  were  formed,  testifying 
his  power  by  reducing  them  to  dust ;  and  thus 
his  worship  was  almost  everywhere  established. 
But,  when  he  was  brought  to  Egypt,  the  priest 
of  Canopus  thought  of  a  stratagem,  which 
succeeded  in  evincing  the  superiority  of  the 
god  whom  he  served.  The  jars  in  which  the 


GOD. 


GOD. 


303 


Egyptians  were  wont  to  purify  the  water  of 
the  Nile,  having  been  perforated  on  all  sides 
with  small  imperceptible  holes,  he  took  one 
of  them,  stopped  the  holes  with  wax,  and  fitted 
to  the  jar’s  mouth  the  head  of  an  idol.  When 
the  Chaldaean  priests  applied  their  fire  to  this 
strange  idol,  the  heat,  of  course,  melted  the 
wax ;  and  the  water,  flowing  out,  extinguished 
the  fire,  giving  Canopus  the  victory  over  the 
god  of  the  Chaldmans. 

2557.  GOD,  Tiiaity  of.  As  the  sun  hath  three 

distinct  proper Ur-r,  —  as  the  globe,  the  light, 
and  the  heat, —  and  though  each  of  these  keeps 
its  distinct  traits,  there  is  but  one  sun,  not  three 
suns :  so  in  Deity,  the  unity  of  essence  is  not 
taken  away  by  distinction  of  persons ;  and 
yet  there  is  no  confounding  of  persons,  or 
changing  of  one  into  another.  As  there  is 
but  one  sun  throughout  the  whole  world,  no 
more  is  there  but  one  God.  As  the  sun  shows 
himself  by  his  beams,  so  God  the  Father 
shows  himself  by  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
his  Word  and  Eternal  Wisdom.  As  the  sun 
by  his  heat  makes  us  fed  his  force,  so  God 
makes  us  feel  his  Holy  .Spirit,  which  is  his  in¬ 
finite  power.  Cawdray. 

2558.  GOD,  Trust  in.  Wesley,  preaching  at 
Doncaster,  said,  a  poor  Romanist  woman,  hav¬ 
ing  broken  her  crucifix,  went  to  her  priest,  fre¬ 
quently  crying  out,  “  Now  I  have  broken  my 
crucifix,  I  have  nothing  to  trust  in  but  the 
great  God.”  Wesley  exclaimed,  “  What  a 
mercy  she  had  a  great  God  to  trust  in  !  ”  A 
Romanist  present  was  powerfully  affected. 

‘  The  great  God  to  trust  in  ”  touched  his  heart. 
He  was  very  deeply  convinced  of  his  need  of 
(alvation,  and  joined  the  Methodist  society, 
rad  became  an  ornament  to  religion. 

2559.  GOD,  Unity  of.  A  little  boy  being 
isked,  “  How  many  gods  are  there?  ”  implied, 
“One.” — “How  do  you  know  that?”  — 
“  Because,”  said  the  boy,  “  there  is  only  room 
for  one;  for  he  fills  heaven  and  earth.” 

2509.  GOD,  Unsearchable.  Though  the  sun 
is  the  source  and  fountain  of  light,  there  is 
little  good  in  gazing  at  the  sun,  except  to  get 
blinded.  No  one  ever  saw  the  better  for  look¬ 
ing  the  sun  directly  in  the  face.  It  is  a  child’s 
trick  :  grown-up  people  know  better.  We  use 
the  light  which  the  sun  gives,  to  see  by,  and 
to  search  into  all  things,  —  the  sun  excepted. 
Him  we  cannot  explore  beyond  what  he  re¬ 
veals  of  himself  in  the  light  and  heat  which 
he  sheds  upon  us,  and  in  the  colors  by  which 
he  is  reflected  from  the  earth.  There  is  no 
searching  of  the  sun  :  our  eyes  are  too  weak. 
How  much  less  can  we  search  the  sun’s 
Creator,  before  whom  the  myriads  of  suns  are 
but  as  so  many  cloud-bodies  1  ,/.  Pulsford. 

2561.  GOD,  Unseen.  It  presented  a  difficulty 
to  the  mind  of  the  Emperor  Trajan,  that  God 
should  be  everywhere,  and  yet  not  to  be  seen 
by  mortal  eye.  “  You  teach  me,”  said  the 
emperor,  on  one  occasion,  to  Rabhi  Joshua, 
“  that  jour  God  is  everywhere  ;  and  you  boast 
that  he  resides  among  your  nation.  I  should 
like  to  see  him.”  —  “  God’s  presence  is  indeed 
everywhere,”  said  the  rabbi ;  “  but  he  cannot 


be  seen.  No  mortal  eye  can  behold  his  glory.” 
The  emperor  insisted.  “  Well,”  said  Joshua ; 
“  but  suppose  we  go  first,  and  look  at  one  of 
his  ambassadors.”  The  emperor  assented. 
The  rabbi  took  him  into  the  open  air.  It  was 
noonday ;  and  he  bade  him  look  on  the  sun, 
blazing  in  its  meridian  splendor.  “  I  cannot 
sec,”  said  Trajan :  “  the  light  dazzles  me.” 
Said  the  rabbi,  .  “  Thou  art  unable  to  bear 
the  light  of  one  of  his  creatures,  —  how,  then, 
could st  thou  look  upon  the  Creator?  Would 
not  such  a  light  annihilate  thee  ?  ” 

2562.  GOD,  Veracity  of.  Of  Sertorius  it  is 

said  that  he  performed  his  promises  by  words 
only ;  and  of  the  Emperor  Pertinax,  that  he , 
was  rather  kind-spoken  than  beneficial  to  any. 
Not  so  the  Almighty.  Trapp. 

2563.  GOD,  Views  of.  Take  a  straight  stick, 
and  put  it  into  the  water,  and  it  will  seem 
crooked  ?  Why  ?  Because  we  look  upon  it 
through  two  mediums,  —  air  and  water.  Thus 
the  proceedings  of  God  in  his  justice,  which 
in  themselves  are  straight,  without  the  least 
obliquity,  seem  unto  us  crooked.  That  wicked 
men  should  prosper,  and  good  men  be  afflicted ; 
that  the  Israelites  should  make  the  bricks,  and 
the  Egyptians  dwell  in  the  houses;  that  ser¬ 
vants  should  ride  on  horseback,  and  princes  go 
on  foot,  —  these  are  things  that  make  the  best 
Christians  stagger  in  their  judgments.  And 
why  ?  But  because  they  look  upon  God’s  pro¬ 
ceedings  through  a  double  medium,  —  of  flesh 
and  spirit ;  that  so  all  things  seem  to  go  cross, 
though,  indeed,  they  are  right  enough.  And 
hence  it  is  that  God’s  proceedings  in  his  justice 
are  not  so  well  discerned ;  the  eyes  of  man 
alone  being  not  competent  judges  thereof. 

Spencer. 

2564.  GOD,  Watchfulness  of.  As  there  is  no 

babe  cradled  and  rocked  that  has  not  its 
mother,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  life,  to  over¬ 
hang  it  by  night  and  by  day,  to  kiss  it  as  it 
sleeps,  and  to  cover  it  with  smiles  and  caresses 
when  it  wakes ;  so  every  creature  that  is  born 
into  life  has  a  God  whose  ever-watehful  soul 
broods  tenderly  over  it  by  day  and  by  night, 
and  who  interspheres  it  in  his  own  radiant 
thought  and  feeling.  Beecher. 

2565.  GOD,  Ways  of.  God  often  lets  his 

people  reach  the  shore  as  on  the  planks  of  a 
shipwrecked  vessel.  He  deprives  us  of  the 
cisterns  in  order  to  make  us  drink  out  of 
the  fountains  of  waters.  He  frequently  takes 
away  our  supports,  not  that  we  may  fall  to  the 
ground,  but  that  he  may  himself  become  our 
rod  and  our  staff.  The  embarrassments  of 
his  people  are  only  the  festive  scaffoldings  on 
which  his  might,  his  faithfulness,  and  his  mercy 
celebrate  their  triumphs.  Krummacher 

2566.  GOD,  Wisdom  of.  There  are  in  the 
sunbeam  three  dilferent  principles,  —  the 
chemical,  the  luminiferous,  and  caloric ;  and 
each  of  these  has  a  special  function  to  discharge 
in  relation  to  the  plants  of  the  earth.  The 
chemical  principle  has  a  powerful  influence 
in  germinating  the  plant :  the  luminous  rays 
assist  it  in  secreting  from  the  atmosphere  the 
carbon  which  it  requires  in  order  to  its  growth 


304 


GrOD. 


GODLINESS. 


■while  the  heat-rays  are  required  to  nurture 
the  seed,  and  form  the  reproductive  elements. 
Now  it  is  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Hunt,  the  first  of  these  is  most 
powerful,  relatively  to  the  others,  in  spring; 
that  it  decreases  in  summer,  while  the  second 
becomes  more  powerful ;  and  that  in  autumn 
both  are  lessened,  while  the  third  increases  in 
force,  —  that  is,  each  principle  becomes  potent 
at  the  very  time  when  it  is  most  required. 

McCosh. 

2567.  GOD,  Works  of.  The  works  of  God 
everywhere  show  perfect  wisdom  in  their 
Author.  Take  the  air  for  example.  If  this 
were  a  few  miles  less  in  height  than  it  is,  men 
would  soon  be  suffocated ;  if  it  were  a  few 
miles  more,  it  would  be  uncndurably  hot 
wherever  the  sun’s  rays  penetrated.  Take  land 
and  water  for  another  example.  If  the  land 
were  harder  or  softer  than  it  is,  it  could  not 
be  cultivated  ;  if  softer,  nothing  could  be  made 
firm  on  the  surface.  If  the  water  of  the  sea 
were  heavier,  the  fishes  would  rise  to  the  sur¬ 
face,  and  could  not  swim ;  if  it  were  lighter, 
the  fish  would  sink  to  the  bottom,  and  die. 
Another  example  is  the  proportionate  size  and 
weight  of  man  and  the  globe.  If  a  man  were 
conveyed  to  the  moon,  he  would  weigh  five 
times  less  than  on  the  earth  :  he  might  bound 
up  like  a  grasshopper,  and  would  be  easily 
upset.  If  the  earth  were  as  large  as  Jupiter, 
and  otherwise  as  now,  our  weight  would  be 
increased  eleven  times,  and  none  of  us  could 
walk  or  stand  upright. 

Condensed  from  L.  Gaussen. 

2568.  GOD,  in  his  Works.  The  painter’s 
soul  is,  no  doubt,  thrown  into  his  painting,  and 
the  sculptor’s  and  architect’s  into  their  statues 
and  buildings;  but  their  souls  meanwhile  exist 
apart,  and  are  capable  of  other  acts  besides 
these.  In  a  sense  as  true  as  it  is  grand,  the 
soul  of  the  Creator  is  streaming  through  the 
order  and  life  of  creation ;  but  meanwhile  he 
exists  independent  of  and  far  above  them. 

Ale  Cosh. 

2569.  GOD,  Yearning  for.  When  my  blood 
flows  like  wine,  when  all  is  ease  and  prosperi¬ 
ty,  when  the  sky  is  blue*  and  birds  sing,  and 
flowers  blossom,  and  my  life  is  an  anthem 
moving  in  time  and  tune,  then  this  world’s  joy 
and  affection  suffice.  But  when  a  change 
comes,  when  I  am  weary  and  disappointed, 
when  the  skies  lower  into  the  sombre  night, 
when  there  is  no  song  of  bird,  and  the  perfume 
of  flowers  is  but  their  dying  breath,  when  all 
is  sunsetting  and  autumn,  then  I  yearn  for 
Him  who  sits  with  the  summer  of  love  in  his 
soul,  and  feel  that  all  earthly  affection  is  but  a 
glowworm-light,  compared  to  that  which 
blazes  with  such  effulgence  in  the  heart  of  God. 

Beecher. 

257®.  GODLINESS,  Advantage  of.  A  learned 
philosopher  objected  to  religion,  that,  if  he 
should  adopt  it,  he  should  lose  all  he  had  in  the 
world.  A  Christian  friend  said,  no  one  ever 
lost  any  thing  by  serving  Christ ;  and  offered 
to  give  his  bond  to  indemnify  the  philosopher 
for  all  losses  he  should  suffer  on  that  account. 


The  bond  was  duly  executed,  and  the  philoso 
pher  became  a  praying  man.  Just  before  his 
death,  he  sent  for  his  Christian  friend,  and 
gave  him  the  paper,  saying,  “  Take  this  bond, 
and  tear  it  up.  I  release  you  from  your  prom¬ 
ise.  Jesus  has  made  up  to  me  a  hundred-fold 
for  all  I  ever  did  or  suffered  on  his  account. 
77 icre  is  nothing  left  for  you  to  pay.  Tell  every¬ 
body  how  true  it  is  that  there  is  great  profit  in 
serving  Jesus.” 

2571.  GODLINESS  Distinguishing.  When  the 

ungodly  and  the  godly  fall  into  the  same  sin, 
how  can  we  distinguish  between  them  ?  By  a 
simple  test,  —  a  test  by  which  you  may  know  a 
sheep  from  a  swine,  when  both  have  fallen  into 
the  same  slough,  and  are,  in  fact,  so  bemired, 
that  you  can  hardly  tell  the  one  from  the 
other.  The  unclean  animal,  in  circumstances 
agreeable  to  its  nature,  wallows  in  the  mire ; 
but  the  sheep  (type  of  the  godly)  fills  the  air 
with  its  bleatings,  nor  ceases  to  struggle  to  get 
out.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2572.  GODLINESS,  Exceptions  to.  Ajax  seemed 

devout  towards  God  so  long  as  nothing  was 
required  of  him  contrary  to  his  affections ;  but 
when  he  was  commanded  to  spare  Ulysses,  — 
“  In  other  things  I  will  obey  thee,  but  not  in 
this  thing,”  said  lie.  So  it  is  with  the  religion 
of  many  at  the  present  day.  Cawdray. 

2573.  GODLINESS,  Gain  of.  What  is  gain  ? 

The  worldly  man  says  money :  the  word  of  God 
says  godliness.  What  can  money  do  ?  Can  it 
cure  an  aching  head  ?  Can  it  ease  an  aching 
heart  ?  Can  it  scare  away  disease  ?  Can  it 
restore  health  to  the  sickly  frame,  or  hope  to 
the  hopeless  heart  ?  Ah,  no  1  It  may  purchase 
a  softer  pillow  to  nurse  the  pain;  it  may  se¬ 
cure  a  more  experienced  physician  to  battle 
with  the  disease  ;  it  may  find  a  sunnier  clime, 
in  which  the  wasted  frame  may  pine  and  lan¬ 
guish  till  it  be  laid  to  rest  in  its  long  home : 
but  there  the  power  of  money  ends.  Plow  is 
it  with  godliness?  It  cannot  purchase  the 
softer  pillow.  Yes,  it  can.  It  can  place  the 
aching  head,  the  aching  heart,  on  the  pillow,  — 
the  soft,  the  downy  pillow  of  contentment. 
“  Father,  not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done.”  It 
can  secure  the  services  of  the  Great  Physician 
and  the  balm  of  Gilead,  —  the  hand  that  heals 
both  soul  and  body.  It  can  waft  the  wearied 
heart,  that  feels  the  pangs  of  suffering,  the  in¬ 
roads  of  disease,  or  the  approach  of  death,  — 
that  heart  it  can  waft  into  the  sunnier  regions 
of  eternal  day ;  and,  while  the  wasted  body 
pines,  the  brightening  spirit,  hovering  on  the 
outskirts  of  heaven,  tastes  a  peace  that  passeth 
all  understanding,  a  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory.  R.  B.  Nichol. 

2574.  G0DLINE3S,  Hatred  of.  As  the  owl 

is  hooted  and  wondered  at  among  other  birds ; 
even  so  the  godly  are  often  made  a  gazing- 
stock  and  wonderment  to  the  ungodly,  because 
the  course  of  godliness  is  most  strange  and 
foolish  in  their  eyes.  Cawdray 

2575.  GODLINESS,  Heritage  of.  As  a  son 
may  assuredly  trust  that  his  father  will  do  all 
things  possible  for  his  advantage ;  so  may  we, 
having  Almighty  God  for  our  Father,  assure 


GODLUNTESS. 


GOTJ3. 


305 


ourselves  that  we  shall  lack  nothing,  either  in 
this  world  or  the  world  to  come,  that  shall  be 
profitable  for  us.  Cawdray. 

2576.  GODLINESS,  Influence  of.  John  Smith, 
the  Wesleyan  preacher  of  England,  was  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  no  remarkable  mental  power  or 
culture.  The  beginning  of  his  ministry  was  a 
failure,  which  drove  him  nearer  to  Christ,  till 
his  power  became  akin  to  the  miraculous.  His 
presence  carried  the  power  of  God  with  it.  It 
was  claimed,  that,  when  he  entered  an  audience, 
an  additional  spiritual  influence  could  be  felt. 
His  word  was  with  power.  His  life  was  power, 
because  he  walked  with  God.  Rev.  Benjamin 
Abbott  was  a  man  of  like  power,  whose  influ¬ 
ence  could  only  be  ascribed  to  his  godliness. 

2577.  GODLINESS,  Merchandise  of.  A  mer¬ 
chant  in  a  single  morning  will  make  a  hundred 
pounds,  while  poor  men  work  hard  for  a  shil¬ 
ling.  The  voice  of  Nature  is,  “  How  shall  we 
come  to  be  rich  V  ”  Prize  the  trade  of  godliness. 
Works  of  morality  are  like  the  laboring  man ; 
but  godliness  is  a  full  merchant’s  trade,  that 
brings  in  hundreds  and  thousands  at  a  clap. 
Such  a  trade  would  God  have  us  set  our  hearts 
upon.  As  Cleopatra  said  to  Marcus  Antonius, 
it  was  not  for  him  to  fish  for  gudgeons,  but  for 
towns,  forts,  and  castles ;  so  it  is  not  for  the 
godly  to  be  trading  for  transitory  trash,  but  for 
eternal  life,  glory,  and  immortality.  Spencer. 

2578.  GODLINESS,  Need  of.  Before  the  com¬ 

ing  of  Christ,  sacrifices,  to  be  acceptable,  were, 
by  God’s  command,  to  be  seasoned  with  salt, 
else  the  Lord  would  not  allow  them  :  so,  unless 
we  be  seasoned  with  the  salt  of  true  godliness, 
we,  and  all  our  doings,  shall  be  unsavory  to  the 
Lord.  Cawdray. 

2579.  GODLINESS,  PrcCt  of.  There  dwelt 
an  old  and  prosperous  couple  near  London,  of 
whom  a  charity  was  asked,  to  which  the  wife 
replied,  “  Why,  sir,  we  have  lost  a  deal  by  re- 
ligon  since  we  first  began  :  my  husband  knows 
that  very  well.  Have  we  not,  Thomas  V  ” 
After  a  solemn*  pause,  Thomas  answered,  ‘’Yes, 
Mary,  we  have.  Before  I  got  religion,  Mary, 
I  had  an  old  slouched  hat.  a  tattered  coat,  and 
mended  shoes  and  stockings ;  but  I  have  lost 
them  long  ago.  And,  Mary,  you  know,  that, 
poor  as  I  was,  I  had  a  habit  of  getting  drunk, 
and  quarrelling  with  you  ;  anu  that  you  know 
I  have  lost.  And  then  I  had  a  hardened  con¬ 
science,  and  wicked  heart,  and  ten  thousand 
guilty  fears ;  but  all  are  lost,  completely  lost, 
and,  like  a  millstone,  cast  into  the  deepest  sea. 
And,  Mary,  you  have  been  a  loser  too,  though 
not  so  great  a  loser  as  myself.  Before  we  got 
religion,  Mary,  you  had  a  //ashing- tray,  in 
which  you  washed  for  hire  ;  but  since  then  you 
have  lost  your  washing-tray.  And  you  had  a 
gown  and  bonnet  much  the  worse  for  wear ; 
but  you  have  lost  them  long  ago.  And  you* 
had  many  an  aching  heart  concerning  me  at 
times  ;  but  these  you  happily  have  lost.  And 
1  could  even  wish  that  you  had  lost  as  much  as 
1  have  lost ;  for  what  we  lose  for  religion  will 
be  an  everlasting  gain.” 

2580.  GODLINESS,  Power  of.  As  the  panther 
has  four  claws,  and  no  more,  on  each  toot  be¬ 

20 


hind,  but  five  claws,  and  no  less,  on  each  foot 
before ;  so  the  godly,  though  they  be  weak 
worldward,  yet  are  they  strong  Godward. 

Cawdray. 

2581.  GODLINESS,  Superiority  of.  Suppose  a 
man,  sentenced  to  death,  and  cast  into  prison, 
sends  for  one  of  his  friends  to  sue  the  king  for 
pardon.  He  answers  that  he  cannot,  but  will 
give  him  a  winding-sheet  and  a  coffin.  He 
sends  to  another,  who  can  do  no  more  than 
to  see  him  buried.  But  a  third  goes  to  the 
king,  and  gets  a  pardon  for  him.  Riches  is 
the  first,  friends  the  second,  godliness  the  third, 
which  gets  us  a  pardon  for  our  sins,  and  a 
promise  of  both  this  life  and  that  to  come. 

Spencer. 

2582.  GOLD,  Cost  of.  A  ship  bearing  a  hun¬ 

dred  emigrants  has  been  driven  from  her 
course,  and  wrecked  on  a  desert  island,  far 
from  the  tracks  of  man.  There  is  no  way  of 
escape ;  but  there  are  means  of  subsistence. 
An  ocean,  unvisited  by  ordinary  voyagers,  cir¬ 
cles  round  their  prison ;  but  they  have  seed, 
with  a  rich  soil  to  receive,  and  a  genial  climate 
to  ripen  it.  Ere  any  plan  has  been  laid,  or 
any  operations  begun,  an  exploring-party  re¬ 
turns  to  headquarters,  reporting  the  discov¬ 
ery  of  a  gold  mine.  Thither  instantly  the 
whole  party  resort  to  dig.  They  labor,  suc¬ 
cessfully,  day  by  day,  and  month  after 
month.  They  acquire  and  accumulate  large 
heaps  of  gold.  But  spring  is  past,  and  not  a 
field  has  been  cleared,  nor  a  grain  of  seed  com¬ 
mitted  to  the  ground.  The  summer  comes, 
and  their  wealth  increases ;  but  the  store  of 
food  is  small.  In  harvest  they  begin  to  dis¬ 
cover  that  their  heaps  of  gold  are  worthless. 
When  famine  stares  them  in  the  face,  a  sus¬ 
picion  shoots  across  their  fainting  hearts  that 
the  gold  has  cheated  them.  They  rush  to  the 
woods,  fell  the  trees,  dig  the  roots,  till  the 
ground,  sow  the  seed.  It  is  too  late  1  Winter 
has  come ;  and.  their  seed  rots  in  the  ground. 
They  die  of  want  in  the  midst  of  their  treas¬ 
ures.  This  earth  is  the  little  isle,  eternity  the 
ocean  round  it :  on  this  shore  we  have  been  cast. 
There  is  a  living  seed ;  but  gold  mines  attract 
us.  We  spend  spring  and  summer  there  ; 
winter  overtakes  us  toiling  there,  destitute  of 
the  bread  of  life,  forgetting  that  we  ought  to 
“  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  right¬ 
eousness;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  us.”  Rev.  W.  Arno/. 

2583.  GOLD,  Duration  of.  For  a  foundation, 
men  prefer  rock  to  sand,  because  it  is  durable ; 
and,  to  this  property,  gold  itself  owes  much  of 
its  value.  It  does  not  melt  like  ice,  nor  rust 
like  iron,  nor  burn,  like  wood,  nor  crumble  into 
dust  like  stone.  On  opening  the  grave  of  an 
old  Etruscan  king,,  they  found  him  lying  robed 
and  crowned* as  his  warriors  had  entombed  him 
two  thousand  years  before.  An  impressive 
spectacle  I  but  one  they  had  hardly  seen,  when  it 
vanished  from  their  sight.  Touched  by  the  fresh 
air  admitted  at  the  open  door,  body  and  robes 
dissolved  in  a  moment,  leaving  nothing  where 
they  had  lain  but  a  thin  layer  of  dust.  Not 
so  the  golden  fillet  that  bound  his  brows :  of 


306 


GOLD. 


GOOD. 


all  that  funeral  pomp,  it  only  remains  un¬ 
changed.  Not  time,  nor  even  fire  itself,  de¬ 
stroys  this  precious  metal :  the  flames  may 
cleanse,  but  they  cannot  consume  it.  They 
esteem  themselves  happy  who  have  their  cof¬ 
fers  filled  with  it ;  but  how  much  happier  those 
who  have  obtained  what  the  Spirit  counsels 
men  to  buy,  —  “  gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou 
mayest  be  rich  ”  1 

2584.  GOLD,  Fable  of  Midas.  Bacchus  once 
offered  Midas  his  choice  of  gifts.  “  He  asked 
that  whatever  he  might  touch  should  be 
changed  into  gold.  Bacchus  consented,  though 
sorry  that  he  had  not  made  a  better  choice. 
Midas  went  his  way,  rejoicing  in  his  newly  ac¬ 
quired  power,  which  he  hastened  to  put  to  the 
test.  He  could  scarce  believe  his  eyes,  when 
he  found  a  twig  of  an  oak,  which  he  had 
plucked,  become  gold  in  his  hand.  He  took 
up  a  stone  ;  it  changed  to  "old.  He  touched 
a  sod  ;  it  did  the  same.  He  took  an  apple 
from  a  tree ;  you  would  have  thought  he  had 
robbed  the  garden  of  the  Hesperides.  His 
joy  knew  no  bounds ;  and,  when  he  got  home, 
he  ordered  the  servants  to  set  a  splendid  re¬ 
past  on  the  table.  Then  he  found,  to  his  dis¬ 
may,  that,  whether  he  touched  bread,  it  har¬ 
dened  in  his  hand,  or  put  a  morsel  to  his  lips, 
it  defied  his  teeth.  He  took  a  glass  of  wine ; 
but  it  flowed  down  his  throat  like  melted  gold.” 
In  consternation,  fearing  starvation,  he  held 
up  his  arms,  shining  with  gold,  to  Bacchus, 
and  besought  him  to  take  back  his  gift.  Bac¬ 
chus  said,  “  Go  to  the  River  Pactolus,  trace 
the  stream  to  its  fountain-head,  there  plunge 
■your  head  and  body  in,  and  wash  away  your 
fault  and  its  punishment.”  Hence  Midas 
learned  to  hate  wealth  and  splendor. 

2585.  GOLD,  Greed  of.  “When  I  was  a 
lad,”  says  one,  “  an  old  gentleman  took  some 
trouble  to  teach  me  a  little  knowledge  of 
the  world.  With  this  view,  I  remember,  he 
once  asked  me  when  a  man  was  rich  enough. 
I  replied,  ‘  When  he  has  a  thousand  dollars.’ 
He  said,  ‘  No.’  —  ‘  Two  thousand  V  ’  —  ‘  No.  — 
*  Ten  thousand  ?  ’  —  4  No.’  —  ‘  Twenty  thou¬ 
sand  ?  ’  —  ‘  No.’  —  1  A  hundred  thousand  ?  ’ 
which  I  thought  would  settle  the  business ; 
but,  he  still  continuing  to  say  ‘  No,’  I  gave  it 
up,  and  confessed  I  could  not  tell,  but  begged 
he  would  inform  me.  He  gravely  said, 1  When 
he  has  a  little  more  than  he  has  got ;  and  that 
is  never.  If  he  acquires  one  thousand,  he 
wishes  to  have  two  thousand,  then  five,  then 
twenty,  then  fifty ;  from  that  his  riches  might 
amount  to  a  hundred  thousand,  and  so  on,  till 
he  has  grasped  the  whole  world ;  after  which, 
he  would  look  about  him,  like  Alexander,  for 
other  worlds  to  .possess.’” 

2586.  GOLD,  Marrying  for.  Give  him  gold 
•enough,  and  marry  him  to  a  puppet,  or  an  aglet- 
baby,  or  an  old  trot,  with  ne’er  a  tooth  in  her 
head,  though  she  have  as  many  diseases  as 
two  and  fifty  horses ;  why,  nothing  comes 
amiss,  so  money  comes  withal.  Shakspeare. 

2587.  GOLD,  Mottoes  about.  A  vain  man’s 
motto  is,  “  Win  gold,  and  wear  it ;  ”  a  gener¬ 
ous,  “Win  gold,  and  share  it;”  a  miser’s, 


“  Win  gold,  and  spare  it ;  ”  a  profligate’s, 
“  Win  gold,  and  spend  it ;  ”  a  broker  s,  “  Win 
gold,  and  lend  it ;  ”  a  gambler’s,  “  Win  gold, 
and  lose  it ;  ”  a  wise  man’s,  “  Win  gold,  and 
use  it.” 

2588.  GOLD,  Power  of.  A  man  who  is  fur¬ 

nished  with  arguments  from  the  mint  will 
convince  his  antagonist  much  sooner  than  one 
who  draws  them  from  reason  and  philosophy. 
Gold  is  a  wonderful  clearer  of  the  understand¬ 
ing;  it  dissipates  every  doubt  and  scruple  in 
an  instant ;  accommodates  itself  to  the  meanest 
capacities ;  silences  the  loud  and  clamorous, 
and  brings  over  the  most  obstinate  and  in¬ 
flexible.  Philip  of  Macedon  was  a  man  of 
most  invincible  reason  this  way.  He  refuted 
by  it  all  the  wisdom  of  Athens,  confounded 
their  statesmen,  struck  their  orators  dumb, 
and,  at  length,  argued  them  out  of  their  liber¬ 
ties.  Addison. 

2589.  GOLD,  Vanity  of.  Learn  in  youth  to 
withstand  the  fascination  of  money,  and  not  to 
contemplate  it  with  pleasure  or  appetence,  as  if 
it  were  some  excellent  and  precious  thing.  It 
is,  in  fact,  glittering  earth,  and  nothing  more. 
Unstable  and  fugitive,  it  flits  from  one  to  an¬ 
other,  and  is  like  the  withered  leaves  which 
the  wind  drives  to  and  fro,  and  collects  here 
in  one  heap,  there  in  another.  I  know  not 
whether  there  exists  such  a  thing  as  a  coin 
stamped  with  a  pair  of  pinions ;  but  I  wish 
this  were  the  device  which  monarchs  put 
upon  their  dollars  and  ducats,  to  show  that 
riches  make  to  themselves  wings,  and  fly  away. 

'  Gotthold. 

2599.  GOLDEN  RULE,  Applied.  A  rich  man 
made  his  will,  leaving  all  he  had  to  a  com¬ 
pany  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  dispose  of,  but 
reserving  to  his  right  heir  “  such  a  portion  as 
pleaseth  them.”  The  heir  having  sued  the 
company  for  his  share  of  the  property,  the 
judge  inquired,  whether  they  wished  to  carry 
out  the  will  of  the  testator,  and,  if  so,  what 
provision  they  proposed  making  for  the  heir. 
4‘  He  shall  have  a  tenth  part,”  said  they ;  “  and 
we  will  retain  for  ourselves  the  other  nine.” 
“  Take,  then,”  said  the  judge,  “  the  tenth  part 
to  yourselves,  and  leave  the  rest  to  the  heir ; 
for,  by  the  will,  he  is  to  have  what  part  pleaseth 
you.” 

2591.  GOLDEN  RULE,  Keeping  the.  The 
horse  of  a  pious  man  living  in  Massachusetts 
happening  to  stray  into  the  road,  his  neighbor 
put  him  into  the  pound.  Meeting  the  owner 
soon  after,  he  told  him  what  he  had  done  ;_ 
“  And  if  I  catch  him  in  the  road  again,”  ho 
said,  “  I’ll  do  it  again.”  —  “  Neighbor,”  replied 
the  other,  “  not  long  since,  I  looked  out  of  my 
window  in  the  night,  and  saw  your  cattle  in 
my  meadow,  and  I  drove  them  out  and  shut 
them  in  your  yard ;  and  I’ll  do  it  again."  The 
man  liberated  the  horse  from  the  pound,  and 
paid  the  charges  himself. 

2592.  GOOD,  Mixture  of.  Good  and  evil,  we 
know,  in  the  field  of  this  world  grow  up  to¬ 
gether  almost  inseparably;  and  the  knowledge 
of  good  is  so  involved  and  interwoven  with 
the  knowledge  of  evil,  and  in  so  many  cunning 


GOOD  DEEDS. 


GOODNESS. 


307 


resemblances,  hard  to  be  discerned,  that  those 
confused  seeds  which  were  imposed  upon 
Psyche  as  an  incessant  labor  to  cull  out  and 
sort  asunder,  were  not  more  intermixed.  It 
was  from  out  the  rind  of  one  apple  tasted,  that 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  as  two  twins 
cleaving  together,  leaped  forth  into  the  world. 

Milton. 

2593.  GOOD  DEEDS,  Reproductiveness  of.  A 
bird  may  pluck  a  fruit  from  its  stem,  and  con¬ 
vey  it  to  a  distant  isle.  There  its  seed  may 
spring  up :  it  may  reproduce  itself  until  the 
island  is  covered  with  flowers,  and  converted 
into  a  scene  of  beauty  and  loveliness.  When 
agriculturists  require  to  lay  down  a  piece  of 
land  for  pasturage,  they  do  it  by  a  practice 
which  they  call  inoculation ;  that  is,  they  will 
insert  small  pieces  of  turf  in  the  soil  at  short 
distances  apart  from  each  other,  and  from 
these  centres  they  will  grow  and  gradually  ex¬ 
tend,  until  the  whole  field  is  covered  with  ver¬ 
dure.  So  a  Christian,  by  his  efforts  to  do 
good,  may  unconsciously  enlist  others  in  the 
same  pious  labors ;  they,  in  their  turn,  may 
inspire  more  minds ;  and  thus,  from  the  small 
seed  deposited  by  the  humble  Christian,  may 
spring  innumerable  fruits  and  flowers  of  grace 
to  fill  and  beautifv  the  Church  of  God. 

2594.  GOOD  DEEDS,  Reward  of.  He  that 
does  good  to  another  man  does  also  good  to 
himselfi  not  only  in  the  consequences,  but  in 
the  very  act  of  doing  it;  for  the  conscience 
of  well  doing  is  an  ample  reward.  Seneca. 

2595.  GOOD  DEEDS,  Talking  of  oar.  A  friend 

of  Cujsar’s  had  preserved  a  certain  man  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  triumvirate  proscription, 
and  talked  so  much  about  it,  that  the  poor 
man  exclaimed,  “  Restore  me  up  to  Caisar 
again  I  I  had  rather  undergo  a  thousand 
deaths  than  be  continually  upbraided  by  thee 
with  my  life.”  Spencer. 

2596.  GOOD  NAME,  Definition  of  a.  A  good 
name  is  properly  that  reputation  of  virtue  that 
every  man  may  challenge  as  his  right  and  due  in 
the  opinions  of  others,  till  lie  has  made  forfeit  of 
it  by  the  viciousness  of  his  actions.  Dr.  South. 

2597.  GOOD  NAME,  Destroying  a.  He  that 

tears  away  a  man’s  good  name  tears  his  flesh 
from  his  bones,  and,  by  letting  him  live,  gives 
him  only  a  cruel  opportunity  of  feeling  his 
misery,  of  burying  his  better  part,  and  surviv¬ 
ing  himself.  Dr.  South. 

2598.  GOOD  NAME,  Endurance  of  a.  “  A  good 

name  is  like  precious  ointment:”  it  fillcth  all 
round  about,  and  will  not  easily  away;  for  the 
odors  of  ointments  are  more  durable  than 
those  of  flowers.  Lord  Bacon. 

2599.  GOOD  NAME,  Growth  of  a.  As  a  rill 
from  a  fountain  increases  as  it  flows,  rises  into 
a  stream,  swells  into  a  river,  so,  symbolically, 
are  the  origin  and  course  of  a  good  name.  At 
first,  its  beginning  is  small ;  it  takes  its  rise 
from  home,  its  natural  source  ;  extends  to  the 
neighborhood;  stretches  through  the  commu¬ 
nity  ;  and,  finally,  takes  a  range  proportioned 
to  the  qualities  by  which  it  is  supported  —  its 
talents,  virtue,  and  usefulness  the  surest  basis 
of  an  honorable  reputation.  W.  Mackenzie. 


2600.  GOOD  NAME,  Preserving  a.  ’Twa? 

good  counsel  the  moralist  gave,  when  he  said, 
“  Whatsoever  commodity  you  lose,  be  sure  yet 
to  preserve  that  jewel  of  a  good  name.”  “  A 
good  renown  is  better  than  a  golden  girdle,” 
say  some.  “  And  a  man’s  eye,  and  his  good 
name,  can  bear  no  jests,”  say  others.  “And,  if 
I  may  but  keep  a  good  name,  I  have  wealth 
enough,”  said  the  naturalist.”  O  friends  1  as 
ever  you  would  keep  a  good  name,  keep  off 
from  the  very  appearance  of  evil ;  for  the  very 
appearance  of  evil  will  both  eclipse  and  wound 
a  man’s  name  and  his  conscience  at  once. 
Certainly,  a  man  were  better  not  to  live  than 
to  outlive  his  good  name.  A  man’s  good  name 
is  like  a  piece  of  white  paper,  which,  if  once 
blotted,  will  very  hardly  be  got  out  again  so  as 
to  leave  no  trace  of  it  behind.  It  is  like  a  fair 
structure  a  long  time  a-rcaring,  but  quickly 
ruined ;  or  like  a  merchant’s  estate,  long  a-get- 
ting,  but  lost  in  a  moment.  And  therefore 
how  much  does  it  concern  every  Christian  to 
keep  his  name  as  he  would  keep  his  life  !  and 
this  he  can  never  do,  except  he  keep  off  from 
the  appearance  of  evil.  ’Tis  his  name  only 
than  shall  be  kept  green  and  flourishing  like 
the  rod  of  Aaron,  that  was  laid  up  in  the 
tabernacle,  whe  keeps  off  from  the  appearance 
of  evil.  lie  takes  the  best  and  wisest  course 
under  heaven  to  preserve  his  good  name  in 
the  world,  and  to  maintain  the  peace  of  his 
conscience,  who  is  most  studious  and  indus¬ 
trious  to  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil. 

T.  Brooks. 

2601.  GOOD  NAME,  Tainted.  Garments  that 
have  once  one  rent  in  them  are  subject  to  be 
torn  on  every  nail ;  and  glasses  that  are  once 
cracked  are  soor  broken  :  such  is  man’s  good 
name  once  tainted  with  just  reproach. 

Bp.  Hall. 

2602.  GOOD  NAME,  Value  of  a.  Good  name 

in  man  and  woman  is  the  immediate  jewel  of 
their  souls.  Shakspeare. 

2603.  GOODNESS,  Degrees  of.  If  a  man  be 
gracious  and  courteous  to  strangers,  it  shows  he 
is  a  citizen  of  the  world,  and  that  his  heart  is 
no  island  cut  off  from  other  lands,  but  a  conti¬ 
nent  that  joins  to  them ;  if  he  be  compassionate 
towards  the  afflictions  of  others,  it  shows  that 
his  heart  is  like  the  noble  tree  that  is  wrounded 
itself  when  it  gives  the  balm ;  if  he  easily 
pardons  and  remits  offences,  it  shows  that  his 
mind  is  planted  above  injuries,  so  that  he  can¬ 
not  be  shot:  if  he  be  thankful  for  small  bene¬ 
fits,  it  shows  that  he  weighs  men’s  minds,  and 
not  their  trash  ;  but,  above  all,  if  he  have  St. 
Paul’s  perfection,  that  he  would  wish  to  be  an 
anathema  from  Christ  for  the  salvation  of  his 
brethren,  it  shows  much  of  a  divine  nature, 
and  a  kind  of  conformity  with  Christ  himself. 

Lord  Bacon. 

2604.  GOODNESS,  Immortality  of.  There  is 
nothing,  no,  nothing,  innocent  or  good,  that 
dies  and  is  forgotten  :  let  us  hold  that  faith, 
or  none.  An  infant,  a  prattling  child,  dying 
in  its  cradle,  will  live  again  in  the  better 
thoughts  of  those  who  loved  it ;  and  plays  its 
part,  through  them,  in  the  redeeming  actions 


308 


G-OOD^ESS. 


GOOD  WORKS. 


of  the  world,  though  its  body  be  burned  to 
ashes,  or  drowned  in  the  deepest  sea.  There 
is  not  an  angel  added  to  the  host  of  heaven 
but  does  its  blessed  work  on  earth  in  those 
that  loved  it  here.  Forgotten  1 — oh!  if  the 
good  deeds  of  human  creatures  could  be  traced 
to  their  source,  how  beautiful  would  even  death 
appear !  for  how  much  charity,  mercy,  and  pu¬ 
rified  affection  would  be  seen  to  have  growth 
in  dusty  graves.  C.  Dickens. 

2605.  GOODNESS,  Mixed.  The  rabbins  note 

a  principle  of  nature, —  that  putrefaction  is 
more  dangerous  before  maturity  than  after;  and 
another  uoteth  a  position  in  moral  philosophy, 
—  that  men  abandoned  to  vice  do  not  so  much 
corrupt  manners  as  those  that  are  half  good 
and  half  evil.  Lord  Bacon. 

2606.  GOODNESS,  Nature  of.  Goodness  is 

love  in  action,  love  with  its  hand  at  the  plough, 
love  with  the  burden  on  its  back.  It  is  love 
carrying  medicine  to  the  sick,  and  food  to  the 
famished.  It  is  love  reading  the  Bible  to 
the  blind,  and  explaining  the  gospel  to  the 
felon  in  his  cell.  It  is  love  at  the  Sunday- 
class,  or  in  the  ragged-school.  It  is  love  at 
the  hovel-door,  or  sailing  far  away  in  the  mis¬ 
sionary  ship.  But,  whatever  task  it  undertakes, 
it  is  still  the  same,  —  love  following  His  foot¬ 
steps,  “  who  went  about  continually  doing 
good.”  Dr. ./.  Hamilton. 

2607.  GOODNESS,  Perseverance  in.  The  phi¬ 

losopher,  being  asked  in  his  old  age  why  he 
did  .not  give  over  his  practice,  and  take  his 
ease,  answered,  “  When  a  man  is  to  run  a  race 
of  forty  furlongs,  would  you  have  him  sit  down 
at  the  nine  and  thirtieth,  and  so  lose  the  prize  ? 
We  do  not  keep  a  good  fire  all  day,  and  let  it 
go  out  in  the  evening,  whet;  it  is  coldest;  but 
then  rather  lay  on  more  fuel,  that  we  may  go 
warm  to  bed.”  He  that  slakes  tire  heat  of  his 
zeal  in  old  age  will  go  cold  to  bed,  and  in  a 
worse  case  to  his  grave.  Though  the  begin¬ 
ning  be  more  than  half,  yet  the  end  is  more 
,han  all.  Spencer. 

2608.  GOODNESS,  Superiority  of.  When  a 

wealthy  merchant  bragged  to  Lycon,  a  wise 
philosopher,  of  the  multitude  of  his  ships,  and 
his  extensive  trade,  he  answered,  “  I  esteem 
not  that  to  be  felicity  which  hangs  upon  ropes 
and  cables.”  When  a  man  is  at  the  last  cast, 
it  is  true  piety,  and  not  prosperity,  that  shall 
stand  a  man  in  stead.  The  smoke  of  a  great 
man’s  sacrifice  smells  never  the  sweeter  before 
God  because  he  is  clothed  with  silk,  or,  like 
the  bird  of  paradise,  adorned  with  plumes  and 
feathers.  No :  it  is  the  inside  that  God  re¬ 
gards.  Spencer. 

2609.  GOODNESS,  True.  True  goodness  is 

like  the  glow-worm  in  this,  that  it  shines  most 
when  no  eyes,  except  those  of  Heaven,  are 
upon  it.  Hare. 

2610.  GOODNESS  OF  GOD,  in  Affliction.  A  Sun¬ 
day-school  teacher  with  the  movable  alphabet 
put  together  the  sentence,  “  The  Lord  is  good 
to  all ;  ”  and  required  his  class  to  repeat  it. 
One  little  fellow  refused.  The  teacher  asked 
his  reason.  He  said,  because  it  was  not  true  : 
“  God  is  not  good  to  father,  nor  to  me.  He 


has  taken  my  little  brother  away;  and  fathei 
is  home  crying  about  it.”  The  teacher  ex¬ 
plained,  that  God,  in  love,  had  taken  the  little 
brother  to  a  better  home,  and  would  take  him 
and  his  father  to  join  him  if  they  loved  the 
Saviour.  The  child  said,  “  Oh  !  I'll  go  and 
tell  lather;  ”  and  at  once  ran  to  him  with  his 
lesson  of  comfort.  It  consoled  and  benefited 
both  father  and  child. 

2611.  GOODNESS  OF  GOD,  Experience  of.  A 

German,  just  converted,  was  greatly  surprised 
at  the  goodness  of  God  to  him,  which  he  now 
realized.  One  day,  he  was  overheard  in  prayer 
saying,  “  O  Lord  Jesus  1  I  didn’t  know  you 
were  so  good.”  How  general  is  this  igno- 

o  o  o 

ranee ! 

2612.  GOODNESS  OF  GOD,  Infinite.  There  is 

not  so  much  sin  in  man  as  there  is  goodness  in 
God.  There  is  a  vaster  disproportion  between 
sin  and  grace  than  between  a  spark  and  an 
ocean.  Who  would  doubt  whether  a  spark 
could  be  quenched  in  an  ocean  ?  Thy  thoughts 
of  disobedience  towards  God  have  been  within 
the  compass  of  time ;  but  his  goodness  hath 
been  bubbling  up  towards  thee  from  all  eter¬ 
nity.  Culverwell. 

2613.  GOODNESS  OF  GOD,  Shown.  The  Island 
of  Fierro  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  Canary 
group  ;  and  it  has  received  its  name  on  account 
of  its  iron-bound  soil,  through  which  no  river 
or  stream  flows.  It  has  also  but  very  few  wells, 
and  these  not  very  good.  In  the  midst  of  the 
island  there  grows  a  tree,  the  leaves  of  which 
are  long  and  narrow,  and  continue  in  constant 
verdure  winter  and  summer ;  and  the  branches 
are  covered  with  a  cloud  which  is  never  dis¬ 
pelled,  but,  resolving  itself  into  a  moisture, 
causes  to  fall  from  its  leaves  a  very  clear  wa¬ 
ter  in  such  abundance,  that  cisterns  placed  at 
its  foot  io  receive  it  are  never  empty. 

2614.  GOOD  WORKS,  of  the  Christian.  If  so  be 

that  a  Christian  doth  good  works,  whereby  he 
showetli  love  to  his  neighbor,  ho  is  not  there¬ 
fore  made  a  Christian,  or  righteous ;  but  he 
must  needs  be  a  Christian  and  righteous  be¬ 
fore.  He  doth  good  works,  indeed;  but  they 
do  not  make  a  Christian :  the  tree  bringctli 
forth  and  giveth  fruit,  and  not  the  fruit  the 
tree.  So  none  is  made  a  Christian  by  works, 
but  by  Christ.  Luther. 

2615.  GOOD  WORKS,  Fountain  of.  Verily, 

good  works  constitute  a  refreshing  stream  in 
this  world,  wherever  they  are  found  flowing.  It 
is  a  pity  that  they  are  too  often  like  Oriental 
torrents,  “  wafers  that  fail  ”  in  the  time  of  great¬ 
est  need.  When  we  meet  the  stream  actually 
flowing,  and  refreshing  the  land,  we  trace  it  up¬ 
ward  in  order  to  discover  the  fountain  whence 
it,  springs.  Threading  our  way  upward,  guided 
by  the  river,  we  have  found  at  length  the  placid 
lake  from  which  the  river  runs.  Behind  all 
genuine  good  works,  and  above  them,  love  will, 
sooner  or  later,  certainly  be  found.  It  is  never 
good  works  alone :  uniformly,  in  fact,  and  ne¬ 
cessarily  in  the  nature  of  things,  we  find  the 
two  constituents  existing  as  a  complex  whole, 
—  “  love  and  good  works,”  the  fountain  and  the 
flowing  stream.  Amot. 


GOOD  WORKS. 


2616.  GOOD  WORKS,  Manifesting.  Those 
which  are  planted  in  the  church  must  not  con¬ 
ceal  the  grace  they  have  received,  no  more 
than  a  tree  doth  his  sap.  We  glory  in  the 
discovery  of  rich  metals  and  precious  stones 
which  Nature  hath  buried  in  the  sea  ;  we  suffer 
nothing  of  this  great  world  to  lie  hid  ;  we  labor 
to  bring  it  forth,  to  behold,  to  show  it :  so 
should  we  deal  with  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the 
Spirit,  which  God  hath  treasured  up  in  this 
little  world  of  ours.  True  grace  is  diffusive  : 
no  tree  can  more  strive  to  send  forth  fruit  than 
it  will  to  show  itself  in  good  works.  Spencer. 

2617.  GOOD  WORKS,  Parable  of.  A  king 
sent  three  subjects  through  his  dominions  with 
instructions  to  do  what  each  thought  would 
please  him  most.  The  first  collected  curiosi¬ 
ties  ;  the  second  discoursed  eloquently  of  the 
glory  of  his  prince ;  the  third  went  everywhere 
doing  good.  Each  returned,  and  made  his 
report.  Each  received  praise.  The  curiosities 
were  soon  lost ;  the  loyalty  of  the  second  was 
prized ;  but  the  last,  for  his  good  works,  was 
exalted  above  the  others. 

2618.  GOOD  WORKS,  Planning.  Contrive 
over  night  the  good  works  you  are  to  do  next 
day,  if  God  spare  you,  —  on  what  points  you 
are  to  meditate,  what  sin  you  are  to  vanquish, 
what  virtue  you  are  to  practise,  what  business 
you  are  to  do  :  that,  with  a  well-digested  fore¬ 
sight,  you  may  give  birth  to  every  thing  in  its 
own  time.  This  is  Ariadne’s  clew,  which 
guides  our  actions  in  the  labyrinth  of  time, 
without  which  all  would  go  to  confusion. 

N.  Caussin. 

2619.  GOOD  WORKS,  Profit  of.  As  ciphers, 
added  one  by  one  in  an  endless  row  to  the  left 
hind  of  a  unit,  are  of  no  value,  but,  on  the 
right  hand,  rapidly  multiply  its  power,  so, 
although  good  works  are  of  no  avail  to  make  a 
man  a  Christian,  yet  a  Christian’s  good  works 
are  both  pleasing  to  God  and  profitable  to  men. 

A  mot. 

2620.  GOOD  WORKS,  Root  o£  As  there  are 

no  fruits  before  there  is  a  tree,  so  works  can¬ 
not  be  good  unless  the  person  be  first  righteous 
and  good.  Homilies. 

2621.  GOOD  WORKS,  Use  of.  “  God,”  said  a 
minister  to  a  boy  who  stood  watching  a  cater¬ 
pillar  spinning  a  very  beautiful  cocoon, —  “  God 
sets  that  little  creature  a  task  to  do ;  and  dili¬ 
gently  and  skilfully  he  does  it :  and  so  God 
gives  us  good  works  to  perform  in  his  name 
and  for  his  sake.  But,  were  the  insect  to  re¬ 
main  satisfied  forever  in  the  silken  ball  which 
he  is  weaving,  it  would  become,  not  his  home, 
but  his  tomb.  No :  forcing  a  way  through  it, 
and  not  resting  in  it,  will  the  winged  creature 
reach  sunshine  and  air.  He  must  leave  his 
own  works  behind  if  he  would  shine  in  free¬ 
dom  and  joy.  And  so  it  is  with  the  Chris¬ 
tian.” 

2622.  GOSPEL,  Alchemy  of  the.  Wonderful 
alchemy  of  God’s  grace  it  is  which  transmutes 
tribulation  into  triumph,  turns  waters  of  Marah 
into  a  healthful  fountain,  enables  one  to  gather 
grapes  of  thorns,  anil  figs  of  thistles,  causes  the 
rose  to  bloom  through  a  whole  winter  of  trials, 


GOSPEL.  309 

and  helps  the  soul  to  regard  afflictions  at 
promises,  not  threatenings  1 

2623.  GOSPEL,  an  Anthem.  The  gospel  is  an 
anthem  from  the  harps  of  heaven ;  the  music 
of  the  River  of  Lite  washing  its  -shores  on  high, 
and  pouring  in  cascades  upon  the  earth.  Not 
so  cheerful  was  the  song  of  the  morning-stars  ; 
nor  the  shout  of  the  sons  of  God  so  joyful. 
Gushing  from  the  fountains  of  eternal  harmony, 
it  was  first  heard  on  earth  in  a  low  tone  of 
solemn  gladness,  uttered  in  Eden  by  the  Lord 
God  himself.  This  gave  the  key-note  of  the 
gospel-song.  Patriarchs  caught  it  up,  and 
taught  it  to  the  generations  following.  It 
breathed  from  the  harp  of  the  psalmists,  and 
rang  like  a  clarion  from  tower  and  mountain- 
top,  as  prophets  proclaimed  the  year  of  jubilee. 
Fresh  notes  from  heaven  have  enriched  the 
harmony,  as  the  Lord  of  hosts  and  his  angels 
have  revealed  new  promises,  and  called  on  the 
suffering  children  of  Zion  to  be  joyful  in  their 
king.  From  bondage  and  exile,  from  dens  and 
caves,  from  bloody  fields  and  fiery  stakes,  and 
peaceful  death-beds,  have  they  answered,  in 
tones  which  have  cheered  the  disconsolate,  and 
made  oppressors  shake  upon  their  thrones; 
while  sun  and  moon,  and  all  the  stars  of  light, 
stormy  wind  fulfilling  his  words,  the  roaring 
sea  ar.d  the  fulness  thereof,  mountains  and 
hills,  fruitful  fields,  and  all  the  trees  of  the 
wood,  have  rejoiced  before  the  Lord,  and  the 
coming  of  his  Anointed  for  the  redemption  of 
his  people,  and  the  glory  of  his  holy  name. 

Dr.  Hnge. 

2621.  GOSPEL,  Ashamed  of  the.  Ashamed  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ!  Let  the  sceptic,  let  the 
wicked  profligate,  blush  at  his  deeds  of  dark¬ 
ness,  which  will  not  bear  the  light,  lest  they 
should  be  made  manifest;  but  never  let  the 
Christian  blush  to  own  the  holy  gospel.  Where 
is  the  philosopher  who  is  ashamed  to  own  the 
God  of  Nature  ?  Where  is  the  Jew  that  is 
ashamed  of  Moses  ?  or  the  Moslem  that  is 
ashamed  of  Mahomet?  and  shall  the  Chris¬ 
tian,  and  the  Christian  minister,  be  ashamed  of 
Christ  ?  God  forbid  I  No  !  let  me  be  ashamed 
of  myself,  let  me  be  ashamed  of  the  world,  and 
let  me  blush  at  sin  ;  but  never,  never,  let  me 
be  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  1 

Dr.  R.  Newton. 

2625.  GOSPEL,  Changeless.  The  gospel  is  a 

flant  which  is  not  affected  by  earthly  changes, 
t  is  the  same  in  the  temperate  as  in  the  torrid 
zone,  and  as  in  the  frigid.  It  does  not  seem 
to  be  scorched  by  heats,  or  benumbed  by 
cold.  Age  does  not  diminish  the  fresh¬ 
ness  of  its  bloom ;  soil  does  not  affect  its  na¬ 
ture  ;  climate  does  not  modify  its  peculiar 
properties.  Among  the  frost-bound  latitudes 
of  North  America,  and  the  burning  sands  of 
Africa,  or  the  fertile  plains  of  India,  we  find  it 
still  shooting  up  the  same  plant  of  renown,  the 
same  vine  of  the  Lord’s  right-hand  planting, 
the  same  “  tree  of  life,”  raised  up  from  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  time,  “  whose  leaves  were  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations,”  and  under  which  all 
kindreds  and  tribes  and  tongues  and  people 
shall  one  day  rejoice,  when  privileged  to  take 


310 


GOSPEL. 


GOSPEL. 


shelter  under  its  all-covering  shade,  and  draw  1 
refreshing  nourishment  from  its  perennial  t 
fruits.  Dr.  Duff,  i 

2626.  GOSPEL,  Comparison  of  the.  As  to  its  ( 
origin  and  glory,  the  gospel  may  be  compared  to  1 
an  angel  “  standing  in  the  sun as  to  the  territo-  f 
rial  range  of  its  commission,  it  may  be  compared  1 
to  “  an  angel  flying  in  the  midst  of  heaven  ;  ”  I 
as  to  the  gracious  mysteries  of  salvation  to  I 
which  it  points,  it  may  be  compared  to  the  an-  ; 
gels  looking  into  the  ark  of  the  covenant ;  as  1 
to  the  pure  and  holy  worship  which  it  enjoins,  ; 
and  over  which  it  presides,  it  may  be  compared  1 
to  the  angel  standing  beside  the  altar  of  in-  1 
cense ;  as  to  the  hopes  and  inspirations  which 
it  warrants  and  sustains,  it  may  be  compared 
to  an  angel  at  heaven’s  gate,  saying  to  us  poor 
dusty  wayfarers,  “  Come  up  hither.”  But, 
looking  at  the  relations  of  the  gospel  to  men  in 
the  business  of  everyday  life,  we  may  regard  it 
still  as  an  angel  (losing  nothing  of  its  ethereal 
beauty  and  celestial  brightness) ;  but  then  it  is 
an  angel  full  of  condescension  and  brotherly 
companionship ;  an  angel  mingling  with  us, 
and  talking  to  us,  helping  and  guiding  and 
comforting  us ;  an  angel  recognizing  our  earth¬ 
ly  wants,  and  sympathizing  with  us  in  our 
earthly  trials,  like  the  angel  who  came  to  Abra¬ 
ham  under  the  trees  of  Mamre,  and  to  Lot  in 
his  house  at  Sodom ;  like  the  angel  who  ap¬ 
peared  to  Oman  while  he  was  threshing  wheat ; 
like  the  angel  who  appeared  to  Zechariah  in 
the  shop  of  the  four  carpenters ;  like  the  angel 
who  touched  Elijah  asleep,  and  showed  him  a 
“  cake  baken  on  the  coals,  and  a  cruse  of  water 
at  his  head ;  ”  and  like  the  angel  who  came  to 
Peter  in  prison,  and  took  off  his  chains,  and 
set  him  free.  Thus  does  the  religion  of  the 
Bible  come  home  to  us,  and  put  itself  on  a  level 
with  us ;  entering  fully  into  our  temporal  cir¬ 
cumstances,  temporal  necessities,  temporal  du¬ 
ties,  and  temporal  trials.  J.  Stoughton. 

2627.  GOSPEL,  Difficulties  in  the.  Whoever 

takes  pains  to  survey  the  circle  of  the  sciences 
will  perceive  that  there  is  not  one  to  which  I 
difficulties  are  not  attached,  and  against  which 
objections  may  not  be  raised.  Those  who 
profess  a  natural  religion  are  involved  in 
similar  difficulties,  and  must  throw  it  away,  as 
well  as  the  gospel,  if  a  full  and  satisfactory  an¬ 
swer  to  every  objection  be  essential  to  their 
belief ;  so  that  the  deist  is,  in  this  respect, 
more  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  Christian  than 
he  is  aware.  | 

2628.  GOSPEL,  Diffusion  of  the.  It  begins  in 
the  individual’s  heart ;  and  secretly,  silently, 
but  powerfully,  and  without  force  or  fraud  or 
noise,  it  spreads,  till  the  whole  nature  is  pene¬ 
trated  by  its  influence,  and  assimilated  to  a 
new  character.  It  is  silent  as  the  dew  of 
heaven,  but  as  saturating  also.  Like  a  sweet 
stream,  it  runs  along  many  a  mile  in  silent 
beauty.  You  may  trace  its  course,  not  by 
roaring  cataracts,  and  rolling  bowlders,  and 
rent  rocks,  but  by  the  belt  of  verdure,  green¬ 
ness,  and  fertility,  that  extends  along  its  mar¬ 
gin.  Tire  fact  is,  all  great  forces  are  silent ; 
strength  is  quiet ;  all  great  things  are  still ; 


high  brows  are  calm.  It  is  the  vulgar  idea 
that  thunder  and  lightning  are  the  mightiest 
forces,  because  they  are  the  most  audible. 
Gravitation,  which  is  unseen  and  unheard, 
binds  suns  and  stars  into  harmony,  and  puts 
forth  a  force  vastly  greater  than  that  of  the 
lightning.  *Thc  light,  which  comes  so  silently 
that  it  does  not  injure  an  infant’s  eye,  makes 
the  whole  earth  burst  into  buds  and  blossoms, 
and  yet  it  is  not  heard.  Thus  love  and  truth, 
the  compound  elements  of  the  gospel  leaven, 
are  silent,  but  mighty  in  their  action,  —  mightier 
far  than  hate  and  persecution,  and  bribes  and 
falsehoods,  and  sword  and  musket.  Souls  are 
won,  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my 
Spirit  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Dr.  Cumming. 

2629.  GOSPEL,  Evidence  of  the.  Christ  pro¬ 
posed,  as  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  gospel- 
system,  its  practical  effect  upon  individuals 
who  receive  and  obey  the  truth.  “  If  any  man 
will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  God.”  If  a  sick  man  calls  a 
physician,  who  prescribes  a  certain  medicine, 
which,  by  his  receiving  it  according  to  the 
directions,  cures  him,  he  then  knows  both 
the  efficacy  of  the  medicine  and  the  skill  of  the 
physician.  Experience  is  evidence  to  the 
saints  of  the  divinity  of  the  system ;  and  its 
effects  in  restoring  the  soul  to  moral  health  is 
evidence  to  the  world  of  the  divine  efficacy 
and  power  of  its  doctrines.  “  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them.”  J.  B.  Walker. 

26:30.  GOSPEL,  Fruits  of  the.  As  seed  sown 
brings  forth  grain  according  to  its  kind  ;  so  the 
gospel  preached  brings  forth  that  which  it 
teaches ;  to  wit,  faith  in  Christ,  amendment  of 
life,  the  knowledge  of  God,  love  to  God  and 
our  neighbor,  and  such  other  fruits  as  are 
preached.  Cawdray. 

2631.  GOSPEL,  Hatred  of  the.  Felix,  Earl 
of  War  ten  burgh,  swore  in  the  presence  of 
several,  that,  before  he  died,  he  would  ride  up 
to  the  spurs  in  the  blood  of  the  Lutherans. 
That  very  night  he  was  strangled  in  his  own 

I  blood.  After  John  Huss  was  burned,  his  ad¬ 
versaries  got  his  heart,  which  was  left  untouched 
•  by  the  fire,  and  beat  it  with  their  staves.  The 
bones  of  Martin  Bucer  and  Paulus  Fagius 
;  were  taken  up  and  burnt  after  they  had  a  long 

■  time  been  buried  in  silence.  Spencer. 

2632.  GOSPEL,  Influence  of  the.  All  depends 
,  upon  man  himself.  The  sun  brings  life  to  some 
i  branches,  and  death  to  others.  If  a  branch  is 

on  the  tree,  and  the  tree  is  properly  rooted  in 
i  the  soil,  the  sun  will  bring  life  to  it ;  but,  if  the 
,  branch  be  amputated,  the  sun  will  wither  it  to 

■  death.  It  is  the  same  sun,  and  the  branches 

-  have  grown  in  the  same  forest,  or  even  on  the 
i  same  tree;  and  yet  the  shining  of  the  sun 
f  means  life  to  the  one,  and  death  to  the  other, 
t  It  is  precisely  so  with  the  gpspel :  if  a  man 
t  will  not  put  himself  in  the  right  relation  to  it,  it 
r  will  be  his  utter  destruction.  Dr.  J.  Parker. 
I  2633.  GOSPEL,  Life  and  Death  in  the.  Even 

-  as  it  is  with  the  proclamation  of  a  prince, 

-  which  he  sendeth  out  to  his  rebellious  subjects, 
;  wherein  he  maketh  offer  not  only  of  pardon, 
;  but  of  grace  and  favor  to  those  that  will  lay 


GOSPEL. 


GOSPEL. 


311 


down  their  arms,  and  come  in,  showing  them¬ 
selves  loyal  and  obedient ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  threateneth  extremity  of  punishment  to 
those  that  shall  yet  stand  out.  Now  this  proc¬ 
lamation  with  the  same  breath  breatheth  out 
both  life  and  death,  —  life  to  those  who  will 
hearken  to  it  (which  is  the  main  end  and  intent 
of  proclaiming  it),  but  death  to  those  that  op¬ 
pose  themselves  against  it.  Even  so  it  is  with 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Spencer. 

2634.  GOSPEL,  Love  in  the.  The  chief  ele¬ 

ment  in  the  gospel  is  love.  The  atmosphere 
is  sometimes  terrible  with  thunder,  and  riven 
with  lightning,  impregnated  with  pestilence, 
and  charged  with  destruction  ;  but  it  is  gener¬ 
ally  and  chiefly  a  means  of  health,  filled  with 
beautiful  sounds,  fragrant  with  sweetest  odors, 
hung  with  golden  drapery,  the  pathway  of 
sunbeams,  the  womb  of  refreshing  showers,  the 
source  of  sparkling  dew,  the  parent  of  harvests 
and  fountain  of  earthly  life :  so  is  the  gospel  of 
the  blessed  God.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2635.  GOSPEL,  Power  of  the.  Pliiletus,  a 
disciple  of  Hermogenes  the  conjuror,  coming 
to  dispute  with  St.  James  the  elder,  relied 
much  upon  his  sophistry ;  but  the  apostle 
preached  Christ  unto  him  with  that  powerful¬ 
ness,  that  Pliiletus,  returning  back  to  his  mas¬ 
ter,  told  him,  “  I  went  forth  a  conjurer,  but  am 
returned  a  Christian.” 

2630.  GOSPEL,  Rejecting  the.  As  a  mur¬ 
derer  condemned  to  death,  despising  pardon 
which  a  merciful  king  offers  him,  procures  for 
himself  more  grievous  punishment ;  so  any  one 
hearing  the  offer  of  gospel  grace,  and  rejecting 
the  same,  brings  upon  himself  heavier  punish¬ 
ment.  Cawdray. 

2637.  GOSPEL,  Rejoicing  in  the.  Procopius 

reports,  that  near  the  pole,  where  the  night 
lasts  many  months,  the  inhabitants  go  up  to 
the  tops  of  the  mountains,  when  it  is  time  for 
the  sun  to  appear,  striving  who  shall  get  the 
first  sight.  At  its  appearance,  they  deck  them¬ 
selves  in  their  best  apparel,  embrace  each  other 
with  joy,  and  cry,  “  Ecce  sol !  ”  “  Behold  the 

sun !  ”  How  much  more  should  we  rejoice  in  the 
light  of  the  gospel  1  Spencer. 

2638.  GOSPEL,  Spreading  the.  At  the  close 
of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  I  was  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  It  happened,  that,  on  a 
Saturday  afternoon  in  February,  a  ship  was 
discovered  in  the  ofling,  which  was  supposed  to 
be  a  cartel,  bringing  home  our  commissioners 
at  Ghent  from  their  unsuccessful  mission.  The 
sun  had  set  gloomily  before  any  intelligence 
from  the  vessel  had  reached  the  city.  Expec¬ 
tation  became  painfully  intense  as  the  hours  of 
darkness  drew  on.  At  length,  a  boat  reached 
the  wharf,  announcing  the  fact  that  a  treaty  of 
peace  had  been  signed,  and  was  waiting  for 
nothing  but  the  action  of  our  government  to 
become  a  law.  The  men  on  whose  ears  these 
words  first  fell  rushed  in  breathless  haste  into 
tlie  city  to  repeat  them  to  their  friends,  shout¬ 
ing  as  they  ran  through  the  streets,  “  Peace, 
peace,  peace  1  ”  Every  one  who  heard  the 
sound  repeated  it.  From  house  to  house,  from 
street  to  street,  the  news  spread  with  electric 


rapidity.  The  whole  city  was  in  commotion. 
Mon  bearing  lighted  torches  were  flying  to  and 
fro,  shouting  like  madmen,  “  Peace,  peace, 
peace  !  ”  When  the  rapture  had  partially  sub¬ 
sided,  one  idea  occupied  every  mind.  But  few 
men  slept  that  night.  In  groups  they  were 
gathered  in  the  streets  and  by  the  fireside, 
beguiling  the  hours  of  midnight  by  reminding 
each  other  that  the  agony  of  war  was  over, 
and  that  a  worn-out  and  distracted  country 
was  about  to  enter  again  upon  its  wonted  ca¬ 
reer  of  prosperity.  Thus,  every  one  becoming 
a  herald,  the  news  soon  reached  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  the  city ;  and  in  this  sense 
the  city  was  evangelized.  All  this,  you  see, 
was  reasonable  and  proper;  but  when  Jehovah 
has  offered  to  our  world  a  treaty  of  peace, 
when  men  doomed  to  hell  may  be  raised  to 
seats  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  why  is  not  a 
similar  zeal  displayed  in  proclaiming  the  good 
news  V  Why  are  men  perishing  all  around  us, 
and  no  one  has  ever  personally  offered  to  them 
salvation  through  a  crucified  Redeemer  ? 

Dr.  Wayland. 

2639.  GOSPEL,  Stability  of  the.  Like  the 

treacherous  signal-boats  that  are  sometimes 
stationed  by  the  wreckers  off  an  iron-bound 
coast,  the  shifting  systems  of  false  religion  are 
continually  changing  their  places.  Like  them, 
they  attract  only  to  bewilder,  and  allure  only 
to  destroy.  The  unwary  mariner  follows  them 
with  a  trembling  uncertainty,  and  only  finds 
out  where  he  is  when  he  feels  his  ill-fated  ves¬ 
sel  crashing  into  a  thousand  fragments  on  the 
beach.  But  how  different  from  these  floating 
and  delusive  systems  is  that  unchanging  gos¬ 
pel  of  Christ,  which  stands  forth,  like  the  tow¬ 
ering  lighthouse  of  Eddystone,  with  its  beacon- 
blaze  streaming  far  out  over  the  midnight  sea  1 
The  angry  waves,  through  many  a  long  year, 
have  rolled  in,  thundering  against  that  tower’s 
base  ;  the  winds  of  heaven  have  warred 
fiercely  around  its  pinnacle ;  the  rains  have 
dashed  against  its  gleaming  lantern  :  hut  there 
it  stands.  It  moves  not,  it  trembles  not ;  for  it 
is  “  founded  on  a  rock.”  Year  after  year,  the 
storm-stricken  mariner  looks  out  for  its  star- 
like  light  as  he  sweeps  in  through  the  British 
Channel.  It  is  the  first  object  that  meets  his 
eye  as  he  returns  on  his  homeward  voyage ;  it 
is  the  last  he  beholds,  long  after  his  native 
land  has  sunk  beneath  the  evening  wave.  So 
is  it  with  the  unchanging  gospel  of  Christ. 
While  other  systems  rise  and  fall,  and  pass 
into  nothingness,  this  gospel  (like  its  immuta¬ 
ble  Author)  is  “  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever.”  While  other  false  and  flashing 
lights  are  extinguished,  this,  the  “  true  light,” 
ever  shineth.  T.  L.  Cuyler. 

2640.  GOSPEL,  Sublimity  of  the.  The  Bible 
contains  a  complete  series  of  facts  and  of  his¬ 
torical  men  to  explain  time  and  eternity,  such 
as  no  other  religion  has  to  offer.  If  it  is  not 
the  true  religion,  one  is  very  excusable  in  being 
deceived ;  for  every  thing  in  it  is  grand,  and 
worthy  of  God.  I  search  in  vain  in  history 
to  find  the  similar  to  Jesus  Christ,  or  any  thing 
which  can  approach  the  gospel.  Neither 


312 


GOSPEL. 


GrOVKRNTVCEI^T. 


history  nor  humanity  nor  the  ages  nor  na¬ 
ture  offer  me  any  thing  with  which  I  am  able 
to  compare  it  or  explain  it.  Here  every  thing 
is  extraordinary.  The  more  I  consider  the 
gospel,  the  more  I  am  assured  that  there  is 
nothing  there  which  is  not  beyond  the  march 
of  events,  and  above  the  human  mind.  Even 
the  impious  themselves  have  never  dared  to 
deny  the  sublimity  of  the  gospel,  which  in¬ 
spires  them  with  a  sort  of  compulsory  venera¬ 
tion.  What  happiness  that  book  procures  for 
those  that  believe  it !  What  marvels  those 
admire  there  who  reflect  upon  it !  Napoleon. 

2641.  GOSPEL,  Vitality  of  the.  See  what  vi¬ 
tality  the  Gospel  has  1  Plunge  her  under  the 
wave,  and  she  rises  the  purer  from  her  crash¬ 
ing  ;  thrust  her  in  the  fire,  and  she  comes  out 
the  more  bright  for  her  burning ;  cut  her  in 
sunder,  and  each  piece  shall  make  another 
church ;  behead  her,  and,  like  the  hydra  of  old, 
she  shall  have  a  hundred  heads  for  every  one 
you  cut  away.  She  cannot  die,  she  must  live ; 
for  she  has  the  power  of  God  within  her. 

Spurgeon. 

2642.  GOSPELS,  Symbol  of  the,  Doubtless  the 

pregnant  symbol  of  the  early  Church,  accord¬ 
ing  to  which  the  four  Gospels  found  their  type 
and  prophecy  in  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise, 
which  together  watered  the  whole  earth,  going 
each  a  different  way,  and  yet  issuing  all  from  a 
single  head,  —  a  symbol  which  we  find  ever¬ 
more  repeated  in  the  works  of  early  Christian 
art,  wherein,  from  a  single  cross-surmounted 
hill,  four  streams  are.  seen  welling  out:  this 
symbol  was  so  great  and  general  a  favorite, 
because  it  did  embody  under  a  beautiful 
image  this  fact,  namely,  how  the  Gospels  were 
indeed  four,  and  yet  in  their  higher  unity  but 
one.  And  so  not  less,  when  the  Evangelists 
were  found,  as  they  often  were,  in  the  “  four 
living  creatures  ”  of  Ezekiel’s  vision,  of  whom 
each  with  a  different  countenance  looked  a 
different  way;  and  yet  all  of  them  together  up¬ 
held  the  throne  and  chariot  of  God,  and  ever 
moved  as  being  informed  by  one  and  the  self¬ 
same  Spirit,  —  this,  too,  was  something  more 
and  better  than  a  mere  fanciful  playing  with 
Scripture  :  there  was  a  deep  truth  lying  at  the 
root  of  this  application,  and  abundantly  justi¬ 
fying  its  use.  Archbishop  Trench. 

2643.  GOVERNMENT,  of  Children,  Lord 
North,  the  father  of  the  celebrated  Charles 
James  Fox,  was  one  who  thought  that  all 
restrictions  upon  youth  fetter  the  mind :  he 
would  not,  therefore,  permit  his  son  to  be  con¬ 
tradicted  or  opposed.  The  boy  one  day  en¬ 
tered  his  father’s  library  at  a  time  when  he  was 
preparing  some  despatches  of  earnest  impor¬ 
tance.  After  looking  at  them  a  few  minutes, 
he  said,  “Father,  I’ve  a  good  mind  to  throw 
the  ink  over  these  papers.”  —  “  No,”  said  the 
father,  “  you  must  not  do  it ;  for  they  are  of 
great  importance,  and  must  be  despatched 
early  in  the  morning.”  —  “But  I  will  throw 
it,”  was  the  reply  :  “  it  will  be  such  fun  !  ”  And 
so  he  did  ;  and  the  foolish  father,  without  re¬ 
proof  or  censure,  quietly  proceeded  to  repair 
the  mischief  by  rewriting  the  blotted  papers, 


—  a  task  which  occupied  him  the  whole 
night. 

2644.  GOVERNMENT,  Emblem  of  God’s.  Visit¬ 
ing  a  friend  one  day,  Gotthold  found  him 
seated  with  his  family  at  table,  and  observed 
that  the  children  all  received  a  due  portion 
of  food,  and  were  required  to  eat  in  it  a  quiet 
and  orderly  way ;  but  that  beside  the  father's 
plate,  there  was  also  lying  upon  the  table  a 
rod,  to  warn  them  against  improprieties  of  con¬ 
duct  and  manners.  He  thereupon  observed  to 
his  friend,  “  You  treat  your  children  as  our 
heavenly  Father  treats  his.  He,  too,  prepares 
a  table  before  them,  and  gives  them  all  sorts 
of  good  things,  spiritual  and  temporal,  to 
enjoy;  and  yet  the  rod,  which  is  another  name 
for  the  cross,  must  likewise  be  at  hand,  that 
we  may  not  become  fro  ward,  but  walk  in  holy 
fear  and  filial  obedience.  <  )f  this  truth,  God 
has  given  us  an  almost  similar  emblem  in  the 
Sacred  Scriptures.  For  the  ark  of  the  Old 
Testament  contained  not  only  the  golden  pot 
with  the  manna,  but  also  Aaron’s  rod,  which 
blossomed,  to  intimate  the  authority  he  exer¬ 
cises  over  his  family,  and  teach  us,  that,  al¬ 
though  he  feeds  the  members  with  the  hidden 
manna  of  his  sweet  grace,  he  also  purposes  to 
use  the  rod  if  he  shall  see  cause.” 

2645.  GOVERNMENT,  Mode  of.  Tarquin  the 

Proud,  being  asked  what  was  the  best  mode 
of  governing  a  conquered  city,  replied  by  beat¬ 
ing  down  with  his  staff  all  the  tallest  poppies 
in  his  garden.  Livy. 

2646.  GOVERNMENT,  Satire  on.  One  having 
reconciled  the  emperor  and  the  pope,  and 
placed  them  on  majestic  thrones,  brought  the 
several  states  and  conditions  of  the  world  before 
them.  First  came  a  counsellor  of  state,  with 
the  motto,  “  I  advise  you  two ;  ”  then  a  cour¬ 
tier,  with,  “  I  flatter  you  three  ;  ”  then  a  hus¬ 
bandman,  “  I  feed  you  four ;  ”  then  a  mer¬ 
chant,  “  I  cozen  you  five  ;  ”  then  a  lawyer,  “  I 
rob  you  six  ;  ”  then  a  soldier,  “  I  fight  for  you 
seven  ;  ”  then  a  physician,  “  I  kill  you  eight;  ” 
lastly  a  priest,  “  I  absolve  you  nine.” 

Spencer. 

2647.  GOVERNMENT,  School.  Once  when 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Prentice  was  teaching  a  public 
school  in  Roxbury,  he  threatened  to  punish 
with  six  blows  of  a  heavy  ferule  the  first  boy 
detected  in  whispering ;  and  appointed  detec¬ 
tives.  Shortly  after,  one  of  them  shouted, 
“  Master  John  Zigler  is  whispering.”  John 
was  called  up,  and  asked  if  it  was  a  fact.  John, 
by  the  way.  was  a  favorite  both  with  his  teach¬ 
er  and  schoolmates.  “Yes,”  answered  John. 
“  I  was  not  a  ware  what  I  was  about.  I  was 
intent  on  working  out  a  sum,  and  requested 
the  boy  who  sat  next  to  hand  me  an  arithmetic 
that  contained  the  rule  which  I  wished  to  see.” 
The  doctor  regretted  his  hasty  threat,  but  told 
John  that  he  could  not  suffer  him  to  whisper, 
or  escape  the  punishment;  and  continued,  “I 
wish  I  could  avoid  it,  but  cannot  without  a  for¬ 
feiture  of  my  word.  I  will,”  he  continued, 
“  leave  it  to  any  three  scholars  you  may  choose 
to  say  whether  or  not  I  omit  the  punishment.” 
John  said  he  would  agree  to  that,  and  unmedi- 


GOVERNMENT. 


GRACE* 


313 


ately  called  out  three  hoys.  The  doctor  told 
them  to  return  a  verdict ;  which  they  soon  did, 
after  consultation,  as  follows :  “  The  master’s 
word  must  be  kept  inviolate.  John  must  re¬ 
ceive  the  threatened  six  blows  of  the  ferule : 
but  it  must  be  inflicted  on  voluntary  proxies : 
and  we  the  arbitrators  will  share  the  punish¬ 
ment  by  receiving  each  of  us  two  of  the  blows.” 
John,  who  had  listened  to  the  verdict,  stepped 
up  to  the  doctor,  and,  with  outstretched  hand, 
exclaimed,  “  Master,  here  is  my  hand :  they 
sha’n’t  be  struck  a  blow!  I  will  receive  the 
punishment.”  The  doctor,  under  pretence  of 
wiping  his  face,  shielded  his  eyes,  and,  telling 
the  boys  to  go  to  their  seats,  said  he  would 
think  of  it  to  his  dying  day ;  but  the  punish¬ 
ment  was  never  inflicted. 

2GIS.  GOVERNMENT,  Seditions  in.  The  sur¬ 
est  way  to  prevent  seditions,  if  the  times  do 
bear  it,  is  to  take  away  the  matter  of  them  ; 
for,  if  there  be  fuel  prepared,  it  is  hard  to  tell 
whence  the  spark  shall  come  that  shall  set  it 
on  fire.  Lord  Bacon. 

2619.  GRACE,  Abounding.  A  restless,  wound¬ 
ed  soldier  in  the  hospital,  when  informed  that 
the  surgeon  was  coining,  said,  “  It  ain’t  such 
help  that  I  want.  I  am  a  dreadful  wicked  man.” 
The  Christian  nurse  tried  to  comfort  him  with 
the  promises  of  the  Bible ;  but  he  could  not  be 
comforted.  At  length  he  read,  “  For  God  so  i 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begot¬ 
ten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him 
should  not  perish.”  The  despairing  soldier 
grasped  at  the  word  “  whosoever,”  but  thought 
it  could  not  include  such  a  wicked  sinner  as 
he  was.  lie  was  assured,  that  he,  so  vile, 
hardened,  wretched,  and  sick,  was  included 
in  it.  This  word  “whosoever”  saved  him. 
He  went  into  the  vale  of  death,  supported 
by  it,  believing  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  word  gives  universal  hope. 

‘2650.  GRACE,  Activity  of.  Grace  infuseth  a 
spirit  of  activity  into  a  person.  Grace  doth  not 
lie  dormant  in  the  soul ;  it  is  not  a  sleepy  habit, 
but  it  makes  a  Christian,  like  a  seraphim,  swift¬ 
winged  in  his  heavenly  motions.  Grace  is  like 
fire :  it  makes  one  burn  in  love  to  God. 

T.  Watson. 

2651.  GRACE,  Adaptation  of.  The  trees  are 
adapted  to  the  demand  of  their  position.  The 
fir  of  the  northern  hills  defies  the  wintry  blast 
by  reason  of  its  strong  roots,  which  penetrate 
the  crevices  of  the  soil,  or  grasp  the  rocks  in 
their  arms.  The  oak  is  a  match  for  the  tem¬ 
pest  till  decay  has  undermined  its  strength. 
The  tall  palms  send  their  roots  down  three 
feet  into  the  earth,  and  then  spread  out,  secur¬ 
ing  a  firm  anchorage,  and  are  able  to  stand  the 
sweep  of  the  desert  winds.  The  roots  of  the 
pine  are  spread  over  the  surface;  but  it  grows 
in  less  exposed  situations,  and  is  shielded  by 
the  social  life  of  the  forest.  The  tropical  for¬ 
ests  are  held  in  place  by  the  climbing  plants, 
which  bind  the  trees  together  like  the  rigging 
of  a  ship.  Frequently,  tall  trees,  uprooted  by 
the  winds,  or  mined  by  the  streams,  are  still 
held  up  by  these  wonderful  natural  cables. 
They  are  thus  enabled  to  root  anew,  and  pro-  | 


long  their  life.  The  roots  of  the  tree  must 
always  be  equal  to  its  support.  The  man¬ 
grove  which  fringes  the  estuaries  and  lagoons 
of  the  tropics,  exposed  to  the  tides,  on  a  shift¬ 
ing  soil,  supports  itself  by  sending  roots  from 
its  trunk  and  lower  branches  down  into  the 
muddy  ground ;  so  that  the  whole  has  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  a  tree  propped  up  by  artificial 
stakes.  We  may  infer,  that  a  like  wise  ad¬ 
justment  pervades  the  moral  world. 

2652.  GRACE,  All  through.  Two  or  three 
years  before  the  death  of  that  eminent  servant 
of  Christ,  Rev.  John  Newton,  an  aged  friend, 
and  brother  in  the  ministry,  called  on  him  to 
breakfast.  Family  prayer  followed  ;  and  the 
portion  of  Scripture  for  the  day  was  read  to 
him.  In  it  occurred  the  verse,  “  By  the  grace 
of  God,  I  am  what  I  am.”  After  the  reading 
of  this  text,  he  uttered  this  affecting  soliloquy  : 

“  I  am  not  what  I  ought  to  be,  —  ah  !  how  imper¬ 
fect  and  deficient !  I  am  not  what  I  wish  to 
be.  I  abhor  what  is  evil,  and  I  would  cleave 
to  what  is  good.  I  am  not  what  I  hope  to 
be.  Soon,  soon,  shall  I  put  off  mortality,  and, 
with  mortality,  all  sin  and  imperfection.  Yet 
though  I  am  not  what  I  ought  to  be,  nor  what 
I  wish  to  be,  nor  what  I  hope  to  be, I  can  truly 
say  I  am  not  what  I  once  was, — a  slave  to 
sin  and  Satan;  and  lean  heartily  join  with 
the  apostle,  and  acknowledge,  ‘By  the  grace 
of  God,  I  am  what  I  am.’  ” 

2653.  GRACE,  Bank  of.  Do  not  give  me  S' 
ready  money  now  :  give  a  check-book,  and 

let  me  draw  what  I  like.  This  is  what  God 
does  with  the  believer.  He  does  not  immedi¬ 
ately  transfer  his  inheritance  to  him,  but  lets 
him  draw  what  he  needs  out  of  the  riches  of 
his  fulness  in  Christ  Jesus.  Spurgeon. 

2651.  GRACE,  Beginning  o£  Tyndale  tells 
us,  that  a  block  of  ice  under  the  converged 
sunbeam  will  suddenly  (an  inch  or  inches 
below  the  surface,;  seem  to  resolve  itself  into 
a  cluster  of  glittering  stars,  each  with  six 
petal-rays,  shining  with  the  lustre  of  bur¬ 
nished  silver.  “  Those  petal-rays  are  a  tiny 
water-flower,  formed  around  a  star-like  vacu¬ 
um,  and  vying  in  beauty  with  the  frost-works 
of  a  winter’s  morning.”  So,  dov/n  deep  iu  the 
icy  heart  of  the  worldling,  tlw  little  water- 
flowers  are  forming  around  the  vacuum  that 
glitters  in  the  consciousness,  under  the  melt¬ 
ing  power  of  love ;  and  the  little  water-drops 
trickle  out  here  and  there,  when  none  but  the 
All-seeing  notes  their  fall.  S.  li.  Platt. 

2655.  GRACE,  Continue.!.  The  acts  of  breath-  / 
ing  which  I  performed  yesterday  will  not  keep 
me  alive  to-day  :  I  must  continue  to  breathe 
afresh  every  moment,  or  animal  life  ceases. 

In  like  manner,  yesterday’s  grace  and  spiritual 
strength  must  he  renewed,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
must  continue  to  breathe  on  my  soul  from  mo¬ 
ment  to  moment,  in  order  to  my  enjoying  the 
consolations,  and  to  my  working  the  works,  of 
God.  Toplady. 

2656.  GRACE,  Decay  of.  As  leaves  fall  from 
the  trees,  so  the  graces  of  God  decay,  and  drop 
away,  in  the  wicked,  one  after  another,  as  if 

I  there  was  a  consumption.  Cawdray. 


314 


GRACE. 


GRACE. 


2657.  GRACE,  Decline  in.  If  Satan  cannot 
hinder  the  birth  of  graces,  then  he  labors  to 
be  the  death  of  graces.  This  is  too  ordinary, 
to  see  a  Christian  lose  his  first  love,  and  to  fall 
from  his  first  works.  This  love  that  was  for¬ 
merly  an  ascending  flame,  always  sparkling  up 
to  heaven,  is  now,  like  a  little  spark,  almost  suf¬ 
focated  with  the  earth.  The  godly  sorrow  that 
was  once  a  swelling  torrent,  like  Jordan  over¬ 
flowing  his  banks,  is  now  like  Job’s  summer 
brook,  which  makes  the  traveller  ashamed. 
His  proceedings  against  sin,  once  furious,  like 
the  march  of  Jehu  against  Ahab;  but  now, 
like  Samson  he  can  sleep  in  Delilah’s  lap 
while  she  steals  away  his  strength.  Before, 
he  could  not  give  rest  to  his  eyes  till  God  had 
given  rest  to  his  soul ;  but  now  he  can  lie  down 
with  sin  in  his  bosom,  and  wounds  in  his  con¬ 
science.  At  first,  his  zeal  did  eat  him  up  ;  but 
now  his  decayings  have  eaten  up  his  zeal. 

2658.  GRACE,  Development  of.  A  little  grace 
from  Christ  is  better  than  noneat  all,  just  as 
a  little  money  is  better  than  no  money.  A 
computation  has  been  made,  showing  how  a 
single  penny,  by  a  process  of  accumulation  in 
use,  —  by  interest  and  compound  interest,  — 
might  grow  into  a  sum  equal  to  the  national 
debt.  Even  so  the  smallest  amount  of  divine 
grace,  if  properly  appreciated  and  used,  will 
increase  in  the  soul  until  all  the  “  fulness  of 
God  ”  is  possessed  and  enjoyed.  “  Grow  in 
grace,”  according  to  its  life  and  power,  and 

ou  shall  ultimately  come  to  perfection  and 

eaven.  Bate. 

2659.  GRACE,  Election  of.  A  gentleman  of 
Arminian  principles,  being  about. to  pay  a 
Cornish  miner,  who  was  a  Calvinist,  a  certain 
sum  of  money,  addressed  him  thus  :  “  Malaclii, 
is  it  decreed  that  I  should  pay  thee  this  mo¬ 
ney  ?”  The  miner  promptly  replied,  “  But  it 
into  my  hand,  and  I’ll  tell  you.”  Is  it  not  to 
be  wished  that  many  professors  of  religion 
would  imitate  the  conduct  of  this  miner,  and 
infer  their  “  election  of  grace  ”  merely  by  their 
actually  possessing  the  blessing  of  grace  ? 

2660.  GRACE,  Emblem  of.  Pliny  mentions  a 
fragrant  myrtle,  abounding  in  his  day,  which 
possessed  a  peculiar  virtue,  a  sprig  of  which, 
carried  in  the  hand,  was  imagined  to  possess 
the  power  of  sustaining  the  vigor  of  the  body, 
that  it  would  not  tire  ;  and  to  have  an  exhila¬ 
rating  effect  upon  the  mind,  so  that  no  one 
would  become  faint  or  discouraged.  Grace 
surpasses  this  in  fragrance  and  virtue ;  for  it 
cures  all  maladies  of  body  and  soul. 

2661.  GRACE,  Experience  of.  In  a  period  of 
religious  awakening,  Sammy  thought  himself 
a  subject  of  the  work,  and,  with  others,  pre¬ 
sented  himself  for  admission  to  the  church. 
The  office-bearers  hesitated,  on  the  ground 
that  he  might  not  have  sufficient  capacity  to 
comprehend  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  and 
the  evidences  of  conversion.  They  concluded, 
however,  to  examine  him,  and  began  with 
the  subject  of  regeneration.  “  Do  you  think, 
Sammy,  ”  said  the  pastor,  “  that  you  have  been 
born  again  ?  ”  —  “  I  think  I  have,”  was  the 
answer.  “Well  if  so,  whose  work  is  that?” 


—  “  Oh !  God  did  a  part,  and  I  did  a  part.”  — 
“Ah!  what  part  did  you  do,  Sammy?”  — 
“  Why,  I  opposed  God  all  I  could ;  and  he  did 
the  rest.”  The  result  of  the  examination 
was,  that,  so  far  as  they  could  judge,  the  Holy 
Spirit  had  been  Sammy’s  theological  teacher, 
and  had  indeed  created  him  anew  in  Christ, 
“  not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast.” 

Christian  Treasury. 

2662.  GRACE,  Falling  from.  It  is  possible  to 

begin  in  the  Spirit,  and  to  end  in  the  flesh ;  it 
is  possible  to  be  seriously  hindered ;  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  come  short  of  the  promise  of  the  grace 
of  God.  Clouds  sometimes  obscure  the  bright¬ 
est  evening  and  the  sunniest  morning.  A 
slight  atmospheric  change  may  transform  an 
Alpine  ascent  from  a  safe  excitement  into  an 
imminent  peril.  It  is  thus  in  the  natural 
world ;  and  so  is  it  in  the  realm  of  grace. 
There  are  numberless  causes,  arising  from  the 
circumstances  of  external  things,  or  from  the 
inbred  and  unsubdued  corruption  of  our  own 
traitorous  hearts,  which  may  endanger  the 
constancy  of  the  Christian,  and  cause  his 
goodness  to  be  even  as  the  morning  cloud 
and  as  the  early  dew,  goodly  and  sparkling  in 
promise,  but,  by  the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun,  very 
speedily  exhaled.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

2663.  GRACE,  Free.  Ilad  I  all  the  faith  of 

the  patriarchs,  all  the  zeal  of  the  prophets,  all 
the  good  works  of  the  apostles,  the  constancy 
of  the  martyrs,  and  all  the  flaming  devotion  of 
seraphs,  I  would  disclaim  them  all  in  point  of 
dependence,  and  rely  only  on  free  grace.  I 
would  count  all  but  dung  and  dross  when  put 
in  competition  with  the  infinitely  precious 
death  and  meritorious  righteousness  of  my 
dear  Saviour  Jesus  Christ;  and,  if  ever  a  true 
and  lasting  reformation  of  manners  is  pro¬ 
duced  amongst  us,  it  must  (under  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  Eternal  Spirit)  be  produced  by 
the  doctrines  of  free  grace.  Till  these  doc¬ 
trines  are  generally  inculcated,  the  most  ele¬ 
gant  harangues  from  the  pulpit,  or  the  most 
correct  dissertations  from  the  press,  will  be  no 
better  than  a  pointless  arrow  or  a  broken 
bow.  Hervey. 

2661.  GRACE,  Fruits  of.  Plutarch  asks  how 
it  is  that  the  fig-tree,  whose  root,  stem, 
branches,  and  leaves  are  so  extremely  bitter, 
should  bear  such  sweet  and  pleasant  fruit.  It 
may  also  be  asked  how  the  sweet  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  can  grow  on  the  bitter  stock  of  Nature. 
Not  otherwise  but  by  faith  and  repentance 
being  grafted  into  the  stock  of  Christ  Jesus. 

Spencer. 

2665.  GRACE,  Gradual.  As  a  man  looking 
at  a  dial  cannot  see  the  shadow  move,  yet 
after  a  while  he  perceives  that  it  has  moved ; 
so  it  is  in  the  use  of  the  means  of  grace. 

2666.  GRACE,  Growth  in.  Grace  may  be, 
and  often  is,  found  where  there  is  no  natural 
softness  or  amiableness  of  temper.  Where  this 
exists,  it  will  grow  with  greater  rapidity,  and 
expand  to  greater  magnitude,  and  flourish  in 
greater  beauty,  like  the  mountain-ash  in  the 
rich  mould  of  the  valley  ;  but  still  it  may  be 
planted,  like  that  noble  tree,  in  less  congenial 


GRACE. 


GRACE. 


313 


situation,  and  thrive,  in  obedience  to  the  law 
of  its  nature,  amid  barrenness  and  rocks. 

Illustrations  of  Truth. 

2667.  GRACE,  versus  Guilt.  Gotthold  in¬ 
specting  the  operations  of  a  goldsmith  who 
was  setting  a  diamond,  saw  him  place  a  dark 
leaf  in  the  capsule  which  it  was  intended  to 
fill.  On  inquiring  for  what  purpose  this  was 
done,  he  was  told  that  it  improved  the  bright¬ 
ness  and  sparkling  of  the  jewel. 

2668.  GRACE,  How  to  Recover.  If  by  an)' 
mischance  the  vestal  fires  of  Greece  were  al¬ 
lowed  to  go  out,  they  could  only  be  rekindled 
by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  So  with  grace  in  the 
soul  of  man  :  if  it  should  expire,  nothing  but 
the  rays  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  can  re¬ 
kindle  it. 

2669.  GRACE,  Increase  in.  The  being  of 
grace  must  go  before  the  increase  of  it ;  for 
there  is  no  growth  without  life,  no  building 
without  a  foundation.  Put  a  dry  stick  into  the 
ground,  and  dress  and  water  it  as  much  as  you 
will,  it  will  continue  the  same  till  it  rot ;  but 
set  a  living  plant  by  the  side  of  it,  and  though 
much  less  at  first,  yet  it  soon  begins  to  shoot, 
and  in  time  becomes  a  wide-spreading  tree. 

Lavington. 

2G7®.  GRACE,  Invincibility  of.  Divine  grace, 
even  in  the  heart  of  weak  and  sinful  man,  is 
an  invincible  thing.  Drown  it  in  the  waters 
of  adversity,  it  rises  more  beautiful,  as  not  be¬ 
ing  drowned  indeed,  but  only  washed  :  throw 
it  into  the  furnace  of  fiery  trials,  it  conies  out 
purer,  and  loses  nothing  but  the  dross  which 
our  corrupt  nature  mixes  with  it.  Leighton. 

2671.  GRACE,  Light  of.  As  the  pilot  of  a 

ship,  without  the  light  of  sun  or  moon  or  stars, 
cannot  make  the  haven  of  any  land,  so  a  man 
without  the  light  of  grace  cannot  make  the 
haven  of  glory.  Cawdray. 

2672.  GRACE,  Marvel  of.  God  would  buiid 

for  himself  a  palace  in  heaven  of  living  stones. 
Where  did  he  get  them  ?  Did  he  go  to  the 
quarries  of  Paros  ?  Hath  he  brought  forth  the 
richest  and  the  purest  marble  from  the  quarries 
of  perfection  ?  No,  ye  saints :  look  to  “  the 
hole  of  the  pit  whence  ye  were  digged,  and 
to  the  rock  whence  ye  were  hewn  1  ”  Ye  were 
full  of  sin :  so  far  from  being  stones  that  were 
white  with  purity,  ye  were  black  with  defile¬ 
ment,  seemingly  utterly  unfit  to  be  stones  in 
the  spiritual  temple,  which  should  be  the 
dwelling-place  of  the  Most  High.  Goldsmiths 
make  exquisite  forms  from  precious  mate¬ 
rial  ;  they  fashion  the  bracelet  and  the  ring 
from  gold  :  God  maketh  his  precious  things 
out  of  base  material ;  and  from  the  black  peb¬ 
bles  of  the  defiling  brooks  he  hath  taken  up 
stones,  which  he  hath  set  in  the  golden  ring  of 
his  immutable  love,  to  make  them  gems  to 
sparkle  on  his  finger  forever.  He  hath  not  se¬ 
lected  the  best,  but  apparently  the  worst  of 
men  to  be  the  monuments  of  his  grace ;  and, 
when  he  would  have  a  choir  in  heaven,  he 
sent  Mercy  to  earth  to  find  out  the  dumb,  and 
teach  them  to  sing.  Spurgeon. 

2673.  GRACE,  at  Meals.  Dr.  Franklin,  when 
a  child,  found  the  long  graces  used  by  his 


father  before  and  after  meals  very  tedious. 
One  day,  after  the  winter’s  provisions  had  been 
salted,  —  “I  think, father,”  said  Benjamin,  “if 
you  were  to  say  grace  over  the  whole  cask, 
once  for  all,  it  would  be  a  vast  saving  of 
time.”  Percy. 

2674.  GRACE,  More.  Mr.  Fletcher  of  Made- 
ly,  having  written  a  pamphlet  which  secured 
the  approval  of  the  king,  was  asked  what  ben¬ 
efit  the  king  should  bestow  upon  him.  Mr. 
Fletcher  made  the  characteristic  reply,  that  he 
was  sensible  of  the  kindness  intended,  but  only 
wanted  one  thing ;  and  that  was,  more  grace. 

2675.  GRACE,  Need  o£  If  God  should  make 

us  an  offer  thus  large,  —  “  Search  all  the  gener¬ 
ations  of  men  since  the  fall  of  Adam,  find  one 
that  has  done  only  one  action  which  has  passed 
from  him  pure,  without  any  stain  or  blemish  at 
all,  and  for  that  one  man’s  only  action  neither 
men  nor  devils  shall  be  tormented,”  do  you 
think  any  one  person  could  be  found  that  has 
done  one  such  perfect  action?  We  firmly 
believe  not ;  and,  if  so,  then  all  must  be  of 
free  grace.  It  is  the  peculiar  glory  of  gospel 
grace  to  humble  every  believer  in  the  dust, 
and  from  gratitude  and  love  to  produce  the 
best  obedience.  Hooker. 

2676.  GRACE,  Offered.  A  benevolent  rich 

man  had  a  very  poor  neighbor,  to  whom  he 
sent  this  message  :  “  I  wish  to  make  you  the 
gift  of  a  farm.”  The  poor  man  was  pleased 
with  the  idea  of  having  a  farm,  but  was  too 
proud  at  once  to  receive  it  as  a  gift.  So  he 
thought  of  the  matter  much  and  anxiously. 
His  desire  to  have  a  home  of  his  own  was  daily 
growing  stronger ;  but  his  pride  was  great. 
At  length,  he  determined  to  visit  him  who  had 
made  the  offer.  But  a  strange  delusion  about 
this  time  seized  him  ;  for  he  imagined  that  he 
had  a  bag  of  gold.  So  he  came  with  his  bag,  and 
said  to  the  rich  man,  “I  have  received  your 
message,  and  have  come  to  see  you.  I  wish  to 
own  the  farm  ;  but  I  wish  to  pay  for  it.  I  will 
give  you  a  bag  of  gold  for  it.”  —  “  Let  us  see 
your  gold,”  said  the  owner  of  the  farm. 
“  Look  again  :  I  do  not  think  it  is  even  silver.” 
The  poor  man  looked,  tears  stood  in  his  eyes, 
and  his  delusion  seemed  to  be  gone ;  and  he 
said,  “  Alas !  I  am  undone :  it  is  not  even  cop¬ 
per  ;  it  is  but  ashes.  How  poor  I  am  1  I 
wish  to  own  that  farm  ;  but  I  have  nothing  to 
pay.  Will  you  give  me  the  farm  ?  ”  The  rich 
man  replied,  “  Yes  :  that  was  my  first  and  only 
offer.  Will  you  accept  it  on  such  terms?” 
With  humility,  but  with  eagerness,  the  poor 
man  said,  “  Yes:  and  a  thousand  blessings  on 
you  for  your  kindness !  ”  Dr.  Plumer. 

2677.  GRACE,  Operations  of.  The  grandest 
operations  both  in  nature  and  in  grace  are  the 
most  silent  and  imperceptible.  The  shallow 
brook  babbles  in  its  passage,  and  is  heard  by 
every  one ;  but  the  coming  on  of  the  seasons 
is  silent  and  unseen.  The  storm  rages  and 
alarms ;  but  its  fury  is  soon  exhausted,  and  its 
effects  are  partial, and  soon  remedied:  but  the 
dew,  though  gentle  and  unheard,  is  immense 
in  quantity,  and  the  very  life  of  large  portions 
of  the  earth.  And  these  are  pictures  of  the 


316 


GEACE. 


GRACES. 


operations  of  grace  in  the  church  and  in  the 
soul.  R.  Cecil. 

2078.  CEACE,  Preserving,  As  fire  is  kept  up 
by  blowing,  and  putting  on  wood ;  so  the  grace 
of  (rod  must  be  daily  stirred  by  the  use  of  the 
Word,  sacraments,  and  prayer,  by  meditating, 
striving,  seeking,  and  knocking.  Catclray. 

2079.  GEACE,  Provisions  of.  Grace  does  not 

stand  upon  a  distant  mountain-top,  and  call  on 
the  sinner  to  climb  up  the  steep  heights  that 
he  may  obtain  its  treasures  :  it  comes  down 
into  the  valley  in  quest  of  him;  nay,  it  stretch¬ 
es  down  its  hand  into  the  very  lowest  depths 
of  the  horrible  pit  to  pluck  him  thence  out  of 
the  miry  clay.  It  does  not  offer  to  pay  the 
ninety  and  nine  talents  if  he  will  pay  the  re¬ 
maining  one :  it  provides  payment  for  the 
whole,  whatever  the  sum  may  be.  It  does  not 
offer  to  complete  the  work  if  he  will  only  begin 
it  by  doing  what  he  can  :  it  takes  the  whole 
work  in  hand  from  first  to  last,  presupposing 
his  total  helplessness.  It  does  not  bargain  with 
the  sinner,  that  if  he  will  throw  off  a  tew  sins, 
and  put  forth  some  efforts  after  better  things, 
it  will  step  in  and  relieve  him  of  the  rest  by 
forgiving  and  cleansing  him :  it  comes  up  to 
him  at  once,  with  nothing  short  of  complete 
forgiveness  as  the  starting-point  of  all  his 
efforts  to  be  holy.  It  does  not  say,  “  Go,  and 
sin  no  more,  and  I  will  not  condemn  thee  :  ” 
it  says  at  once,  “  Neither  do  I  condemn  thee  : 
go,  and  sin  no  more.”  Rev.  H.  Bonar. 

2680.  GEACE,  Recovering.  As  a  spring-lock 

closes  of  itself,  but  cannot  be  unlocked  with¬ 
out  a  key ;  so  we  of  ourselves  may  run  into 
sin,  but  cannot  return  without  the  key  of  God’s 
grace.  Cawdray. 

2681.  GRACE,  Rescue  of.  A  young  man  of 
fortune  lived  vilely  and  recklessly  till  his 
means  were  gone  and  he  was  abandoned  by 
his  friends  and  associates.  He  resolved  to 
end  his  life,  and  went  to  the  river’s  brink  in 
the  darkness  for  that  purpose.  A  light  in  a 
house  near  attracted  him.  Going  towards  it, 
he  heard  singing  and  prayer.  He  entered, 
and  found  a  meeting,  in  which  the  text  was, 
“  Ho  thyself  no  harm.”  He  asked  some  there 
how  they  knew  his  thoughts,  for  he  had  told  his 
intentions  to  no  one ;  and  they  were  as  much 
surprised  as  he.  This  led  to  his  repentance ; 
and  he  was  restored  to  favor,  and  became  an 
eminent  Christian. 

2682.  GRACE,  Riches  o£  A  gentleman  one 
day  took  an  acquaintance  upon  the  leads  of 
his  house  to  show  him  the  extent  of  his  pos¬ 
sessions.  Waving  his  hand  about,  “  There,” 
says  he,  “  that  is  my  estate.”  Then  pointing 
to  a  great  distance  on  one  side,  “  Do  you  see 
that  farm?” — “Yes.”  —  “Well,  that  is 
mine.”  Pointing  again  to  the  other  side,  “  Do 
you  see  that  house?”  —  “Yes.”  —  “Well, 
that  also  belongs  to  me.”  Then  said  his 
friend,  “  Do  you  see  that  little  village  out 
yonder?”  —  “Yes.”  —  “Well,  there  lives  a 
poor  woman  in  that  village  who  can  say  more 
than  all  this.”  —  “  Ah  1  what  can  she  say  ?  ” 
—  “  Why,  she  can  say,  ‘  Christ  is  mine.’  ”  He 
looked  confounded,  and  said  no  more. 


2683.  GRACE,  A  Solitary.  Dr.  Kane,  finding 

a  flower  under  the  Humboldt  glacier,  was  more 
affected  by  it,  because  it  grew  beneath  the  lip 
and  cold  bosom  of  the  ice,  than  he  would  have 
been  by  the  most  gorgeous  garden-bloom.  So 
some  single  struggling  grace,  in  the  heart  of 
one  far  removed  from  divine  influences,  may 
be  dearer  to  God  than  a  whole  catalogue  of 
virtues  in  the  life  of  one  more  favored  of 
Heaven.  Beecher. 

2684.  GRACE,  Wonder  of.  “  Mary,”  said  a 
preacher,  addressing  a  colored  convert,  “  is 
not  the  love  of  God  wonderful  ?  —  is  it  not 
wonderful  ?  ”  She  replied,  “  I  do  not  think  it 
is  so  wonderful,  because  it  is  just  like  him.” 

2683.  GRACES,  Christian.  When  wc  receive 
a  grace,  it  is  not  because  God  out  of  his  in¬ 
finite  stores  takes  a  grace  and  hands  it  down 
to  us,  because  it  is  produced  in  our  life.  As 
pictures  are  slid  into  a  magic-lantern,  and  then 
reflected  upon  a  wall :  so  many  people  think 
God  slides  graces  into  the  heart,  and  that  the 
man’s  life  only  reflects  them.  But  graces  are 
not  interjected  pictures .  their  forms  and  col¬ 
ors  are  the  substance  of  the  heart.  When 
a  watch  is  rightly  construe  tod,  God  does  not 
put  time  into  it  hour  by  hour :  the  regular 
working  of  the  machinery,  so  far  as  the  watch 
is  concerned,  makes  and  marks  the  time.  Now, 
religion,  the  sum  of  the  graces,  is  making  the 
right  journey  heavenward,  —  keeping  time  to 
God.  Beecher. 

2686.  GRACES,  Constancy  of  the.  Christian 
graces  should  be  like  Croton  water,  which 
presses  from  the  reservoir  on  every  faucet  in 
the  city.  Each  one  should  be  full,  and  ready  for 
use  when  needed  ;  whereas  they  are  too  often 
like  a  pump  run  down,  and  need  a  deal  of  work¬ 
ing  belbre  they  can  supply  our  need.  Beecher. 

"2687.  GRACES,  Cultivation  of  the.  All  our 
graces  are  to  be  cultivated  to  the  neglect  of 
none  of  them.  If  one  side  of  a  tree  grows, 
and  the  other  does  not.  the  tree  acquires  a 
crooked  form,  —  is  a  misshapen  thing.  Nor  are 
monsters  among  mankind  made  only  by  want 
of  parts,  as  when  the  body  wants  a  limb,  or  a 
face  an  eye,  or  a  leg  a  foot,  or  the  arm  a  hand, 
but  also  by  some  one  part  growing  in  excess 
of  others.  Analogous  in  its  results  to  this  is 
the  unequal  growth  of  Christian  graces.  Let 
fear,  for  example,  that  godly  fear  which  is  so 
strong  a  safeguard  of  the  soul,  grow  out  of  due 
proportion  to  faith,  and  the  result  is  a  gloomy, 
despondent,  unhappy  Christian.  Or  li  t  that 
zeal  which  makes  us  like  a  flaming  fire  in  the 
service  of  our  God  grow  more  than  knowl¬ 
edge,  prudence,  wisdom ;  and  like  a  machine 
without  director  or  balance-wheel,  generating 
into  extravagance,  it  carries  men  away  into 
the  region  of  wild  fanaticism.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2688.  GRACES,  Development  of.  Men  plant 
prayers  and  endeavors,  and  go  the  next  day 
looking  to  see  if  they  have  borne  graces.  Now, 
God  does  not  send  graces  as  he  sends  light 
and  rain ;  but  they  are  wrought  in  us  through 
long  days  of  discipline  and  growth.  Acorns 
and  graces  sprout  quickly,  but  grow  long  before 
ripening.  Beecher. 


GRACES. 


GRATITUDE. 


317 


2089.  GRACES,  Influence  of.  Men’s  graces 
must  get  the  better  of  their  faults  as  a  farmer’s 
crops  do  of  the  weeds,  —  by  growth.  When 
the  corn  is  low,  the  farmer  uses  the  plough  to 
root  up  the  weeds :  but  when  it  is  high,  and 
shakes  its  palm-like  leaves  in  the  wind,  lie  says, 
“  Let  the  corn  take  care  of  them ;  ”  for  the  dense 
shadow  of  growing  corn  is  as  fatal  to  weeds  as 
the  edge  of  the  sickle.  Beecher. 

2699.  GRACES,  Production  of  tho.  Many  peo¬ 
ple  seem  to  imagine  that  God  keeps  a  gracious 
apothecary’s  shop  above,  with  faith  and  meek¬ 
ness  and  humility  put  up  in  bottles  ready  for 
purchasers ;  and  that,  as  they  could  go  into  a 
perfumer’s  here  below,  and  ask  for  this  or  that 
extract,  so  they  can  go  to  God,  and  ask  for  this 
or  that  grace.  They  think  if  they  go  into  their 
closet  at  night,  and  pray  with  faith  for  faith, 
if  the  expression  be  not  an  absurdity,  that 
the  next  morning  it  will  be  delivered  to  them. 
Christian  graces  can  never  be  obtained  in  this 
way.  They  must  be  the  outgrowth  of  the  life. 
The  prayer  for  graces  will  be  answered;  but 
God  will  make  us  work  out  each  one  with  fear 
and  trembling.  The  spire  that  almost  touches 
the  stars  does  not  rise,  isolated,  from  the 
ground :  beneath  it,  and  supporting  it,  is  the 
massy  substructure,  the  vast  cathedral  of  stone. 
So  faith  cannot  soar  alone  to  heaven  :  it  must 
be  the  steeple  and  spire  of  the  whole  life-build¬ 
ing.  Beecher. 

2099.  GRACES,  Removal  of.  When  the  king 
removes  his  court,  nothing  is  left  behind  but 
bare  walls  and  rubbish.  So,  if  God  removes 
from  a  man’s  heart,  wherein  he  has  kept  his 
court,  his  graces  will  not  stay  behind.  Then 
farewell,  peace ;  farewell,  comfort:  nothing  is 
left  behind  but  confusion  and  disorder. 

Spencer. 

2692.  GRACES,  Weak.  Weak  souls,  remem¬ 
ber  this, —  as  Joseph  sent  chariots  to  bring  his 
father  and  his  brethren  to  him,  so  Go.l  would 
have  your  weak  graces  to  be  as  chariots  to 
bring  you  to  himself,  who  is  the  Strengtliener, 
Cheri  slier,  and  Increaser  of  grace. 

T.  Brooks. 

2693.  GRATITUDE,  Analogy  of.  If  you  con¬ 

sider  the  universe  as  one  body,  you  shall  find 
society  and  conversation  to  supply  the  office  of 
the  blood  and  spirits ;  and  if  is  gratitude  that 
makes  them  circulate.  Look  over  the  whole 
creation,  and  you  shall  see  that  the  band  or 
cement  that  holds  together  all  the  parts  of  this 
great  and  glorious  fabric  is  gratitude,  or  some¬ 
thing  like  it:  you  may  observe  it  in  all  the 
elements;  for  does  not  the  air  feed  the  flame? 
and  does  not  the  flame  at  the  same  time  warm 
and  enlighten  the  air?  Is  not  the  sea  always 
sending  forth  as  well  as  taking  in?  And  does 
not  the  earth  quit  scores  with  all  the  elements, 
in  the  noble  fruits  and  produodou:;  that  issue 
from  it?  And  in  all  the  light  and  influence 
that  the  heavens  bestow  upon  this  lower  world, 
though  the  lower  world  cannot  equal  their 
benefaction,  yet,  with  a  kind  of  grateful  return, 
it  reflects  those  rays  that  it  cannot  recompense ; 
so  that  there  is  some  return,  however,  though 
there  can  be  no  requital.  Dr.  South. 


2691.  GRATITUDE,  Coin  of.  A  soldier  in  tho 
late  war  could  not  understand  how  men  should 
do  the  hard  service  of  the  hospital  and  battle¬ 
field  without  pay.  A  delegate  of  the  Christian 
Commission  told  him,  that  the  hearty  grasp  of 
the  hand,  and  “  God  bless  you  !  ”  of  the  relieved, 
was  pay  enough  for  him.  The  grateful  soldier 
replied,  “  Shure,  an  ’av  that’s  the  pay  ye  take, 
why,  thin,  God  bliss  ye  1  God  bliss  ye !  Ye’ll 
be  rich  of  the  coin  uv  me  heart  all  yere  days.” 

2695.  GRATITUDE,  Example  of.  An  Irish 
bishop,  having  lost  his  way,  once  called  at  the 
cottage  of  a  poor  woman  for  direction,  when  he 
found  her  just  finishing  her  dinner  of  cold  wa¬ 
ter  and  a  crust  of  dry  bread,  but,  in  the  height 
of  thankfulness,  praising  God  as  if  in  the  midst 
of  unbounded  mercies,  as  she  said,  “  What, 
have  all  this  and  Christ  besides  I  ”  Bowes. 

2696.  GRATITUDE,  Measure  of.  What  causes 

such  a  miscalculation  in  the  amount  of  grati¬ 
tude  which  men  expect  for  the  favors  they 
have  done,  is,  that  the  pride  of  the  giver  and 
that  of  the  receiver  can  never  agree  as  to  the 
value  of  the  benefit.  La  Rochefoucauld. 

2697.  GRATITUDE,  Memorial  of.  A  very  poor 
and  aged  man,  busied  in  planting  and  grafting 
an  apple-tree,  was  rudely  interrupted  by  this 
interrogation,  “  Why  do  you  plant  trees,  who 
cannot  hope  to  eat  the  fruit  of  them  ?  ”  He 
raised  himself  up,  and,  leaning  upon  his  spade, 
replied,  “  Some  one  planted  trees  for  me  be¬ 
fore  I  was  born  ;  and  1  have  eaten  the  fruit.  I 
now  plant  for  others,  that  the  memorial  of  my 
gratitude  may  exist  when  I  am  dead  and 
gone.” 

2698.  GRATITUDE.  Practicable.  As  grati¬ 

tude  is  a  necessary  and  a  glorious,  so  also  is 
it  an  obvious,  a  cheap,  and  an  easy  virtue ;  so 
obvious,  that,  wherever  there  is  life,  there  is 
place  lor  it ;  so  cheap,  that  the  covetous  man 
may  be  gratified  without  expense  ;  and  so  easy, 
that  the  sluggard  may  be  so,  likewise,  without 
labor.  Seneca. 

2699.  GRATITUDE,  Offering  of.  A  rich  youth 

in  Koine  had  sutfered  from  a  dangerous  illness. 
On  recovering  his  health,  his  heart  was  tilled 
with  gratitude ;  and  he  exclaimed,  *•  O  thou 
all-sulficient  Creator  1  could  man  recompense 
thee,  how  willingly  woeid  I  give  thee  all  my 
possessions  1  Ilermas,  the  herdman,  heard 
this,  and  said  to  the  rich  youth,  “  All  good 
gifts  come  from  above  :  thither  thou  canst  send 
nothing.  Come,  follow  me.”  He  took  him 
to  a  hut  where  was  nothing  but  misery  and 
wretchedness.  The  father  lay  on  a  bed  of 
sickness,  the  mother  wept,  the  children  were 
destitute  of  clothing,  and  crying  for  bread. 
Ilermas  said,  “  See  here  an  altar  lor  the  sacri¬ 
fice  ;  see  here  the  Lord’s  brethren  and  represent¬ 
atives.”  The  youth  assisted  them  bountifully ; 
and  the  poor  people  called  him  an  angel  of 
God.  Hennas  smiled,  and  said,  “  Thus  turn 
always  thy  grate  a  1  countenance,  first  to  heav¬ 
en,  and  then  to  earth.”  Krwnmacher. 

2700.  GRATITUDE,  Tribute  of.  An  Illinois 
farmer  was  discovered  kneeling  at  the  head  of 
a  soldier’s  grave  at  Nashville.  Being  asked, 
“  Is  that  your  boy  ?  ”  he  repli  ed,  “  No  :  he  lived 


318 


GrR-A.'VTEC. 


GRAVE. 


in  our  town,  and  I  have  come  to  find  his  grave.” 
The  observer  said,  “  Perhaps  you  represent 
his  father,  who  could  not  come  ?  ”  —  “  Yes  : 
my  neighbor  was  glad  to  have  me  come  ;  but  I 
came  for  myself.  You  see  I  have  seven  chil¬ 
dren,  all  of  them  small ;  and  my  wife  is  sickly. 
I  was  drafted.  There  was  nobody  to  carry  on 
the  farm ;  and  I  could  not  hire  a  substitute. 
My  thirteen  dollars  a  month  would  not  feed  the 
family.  It  seemed  as  though  I  must  go,  and 
they  must  suffer.  When  wc  were  in  our  great¬ 
est  trouble  about  it,  — just  the  morning  l  was 
to  report  at  camp,  —  my  neighbor’s  son  came 
over  to  the  house,  and  offered  to  go  to  war  for 
me.  lie  said,  he  had  nobody  depending  on 
him,  and  could  go  better  than  I.  He  went, 
and  was  wounded  at  Chickamauga;  was 
brought  to  a  Nashville  hospital;  and  this  is 
his  grave.”  The  farmer  had  come  a  long  dis¬ 
tance,  at  heavy  cost,  to  write  upon  the  head- 
board  of  his  soldier  friend,  “  Died  for  me.” 

2701.  GRAVE,  Christ  conquers  in  the.  It  is 
related  of  a  German  emperor  of  a  former  age, 
that,  borne  about  in  his  open  war-chariot,  com¬ 
pletely  armed,  he  put  a  whole  hostile  army 
to  the  rout,  even  when  dying.  In  the  quiet 
garden,  there  is  even  more  than  this.  It  is 
true,  that,  in  the  present  instance,  the  adver¬ 
saries  act  as  if  they  were  the  victors  ;  but  in¬ 
wardly  they  arc  the  vanquished.  The  slum¬ 
bering  hero  of  Judah  took  from  them  the  armor 
of  careless  confidence,  and  filled  their  souls  with 
a  cloud  of  terrific  and  oppressive  forebodings. 

Krummacher. 

2702.  GRAVE,  End  of  All.  Your  worm  is 

your  only  emperor  for  diet.  W e  fat  all  crea¬ 
tures  else  to  fat  us ;  and  we  fat  ourselves  for 
maggots.  Your  fat  king  and  your  lean  beg¬ 
gar  is  but  variable  service,  —  two  dishes  but  to 
one  table  :  that’s  the  end.  Shakspeare. 

2703.  GRAVE,  Equality  in  the.  When  Isaiah 
had  said  that  “  all  flesh  was  grass,”  as  though 
he  would  correct  his  speech,  he  adds,  M  and  the 
glory  of  it  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field.”  As  if 
he  should  say,  some  men  have  more  glory  than 
others,  and  they  are  like  flowers :  the  others 
are  like  grass,  —  no  great  difference.  The 
flower  shows  fairer;  but  grass  stands  longer. 
One  scythe  cuts  both  down,  like  the  fat  sheep 
and  the  lean,  that  feed  in  two  pastures,  but 
are  killed  in  one  slaughter.  So,  though  the 
great  man  lives  in  his  palace,  and  the  poor 
man  dwells  in  his  cottage,  yet  both  shall  meet 
at  the  grave,  and  vanish  together. 

Henry  Smith. 

2704.  GRAVE,  Greed  of  the.  But,  alas  1  these 
graves  are  not  yet  full.  In  Reason’s  ear,  —  an 
ear  ringing  ever  with  strange  and  mystic 
sounds,  —  there  is  heard  a  voice  from  the 
thousand  tombs,  saying,  “  Yet  there  is  room.” 
The  churchyard  among  _  the  hills  has  a  voice, 
and  says,  “  There  is  room  under  the  solitary 
birch  which  waves  over  me.”  The  city  ceme¬ 
tery  has  a  voice,  and  says,  “  Crowded  as  I  am, 
I  can  yet  open  a  corner  for  thy  dust :  yet  there 
is  room.”  The  field  of  battle  says,  “  There  is 
room  :  I  have  earth  enough  to  cover  all  my 
slain.”  The  depths  of  the  ocean  say,  “  Thou¬ 


sands  have  gone  down  within  me  ;  nay,  one 
entire  world  has  become  the  prey  of  my  waters: 
still  my  caverns  are  not  crowded,  yet  there 
is  room.”  The  heart  of  the  earth  has  a  voice, 
a  hollow  voice,  and  says,  “  I  am  empty :  yet 
there  is  room.”  Do  not  all  the  graves  thus 
compose  one  melancholy  chorus,  and  say,  “  Yet 
there  is  room ;  room  for  thee,  thou  maiden 
adorned  with  virtue  and  loveliness ;  room  for 
thee,  thou  aged  man  ;  room  for  thee,  thou  saint, 
as  surely  as  there  was  room  for  thy  Saviour; 
room  for  thee,  thou  sinner,  as  surely  as  thy  kin¬ 
dred  before  thee  have  laid  themselves  and 
their  iniquities  down  in  the  dust;  room  for  all, 
for  all  must  in  us  at  last  lie  down.”  GUfillan. 

2705.  GRAVE,  Legend  of  the  First.  The  dog 
which  had  watched  Abel’s  flocks  guarded  also 
his  corpse,  protecting  it  against  beasts,  and 
birds  of  prey.  Adam  and  Eve  sat  beside  it, 
and  wept,  not  knowing  what  to  do.  But  a 
raven,  whose  friend  had  died,  said,  “  I  will  go 
and  teach  Adam  what  he  must  do  with  his 
son.”  It  dug  a  grave,  and  laid  the  dead  raven 
in  it.  When  Adam  saw  this,  he  said  to  Eve, 
“  Let  us  do  the  same  with  our  child  1  ”  The 
Lord  rewarded  the  raven  ;  and  no  one  is  there¬ 
fore  allowed  to  harm  their  young.  They  have 
food  in  abundance,  and  their  cry  for  rain  is 
always  heard.  Kitto. 

27©6.  GRAVE,  Light  in  the.  It  is  said  that 
the  Romans  had  a  practice  of  lighting  up  their 
tombs  by  placing  lamps  in  them.  These  lamps 
have  been  often  found.  Man  does  need  a  light 
to  scatter  the  terrors  of  the  dark  grave.  Christ, 
the  light  of  the  world,  makes  the  Christian’s 
tomb  all  light. 

2707.  GRAVE,  Rest  Beyond  the.  To  all  our  race 

the  grave  throws  open  dreary  refuge.  Thou¬ 
sands  hide  themselves  in  this  sanctuary,  loaded 
with  most  direful  guilt,  pursued  with  most  ex¬ 
ecrated  memory.  And  is  there  no  rest  to  which 
the  spirit  of  the  Christian  springs  ?  Shall  not 
he  who  died  in  the  Lord  be  present  with  the 
Lord  ?  We  will  not  point  to  the  grave,  and 
welcome  it  as  our  rest  and  defence  from 
trouble,  and  release  from  care  :  we  will  look 
to  the  heavens  for  the  peace  of  our  sabbath, 
for  the  security  of  our  refuge,  for  the  endear¬ 
ment  of  our  home.  Dr.  R.  W.  Hamilton. 

2708.  GRAVE,  Rest  in  the.  The  grave — how 
still  1  how  tranquil  1  Its  inmates  suffer  no  ad¬ 
versity,  foment  uo  strife,  harbor  no  fear.  They 
“  know  nothing.”  “  Their  thoughts  perish.” 
The  rich  and  the  poor  meet,  together ;  the  proud 
and  the  mean  are  laid  beside  each  other ;  cap¬ 
tives  are  as  bold  as  conquerors;  slaves  are 
as  attended  as  kings ;  neither  is  there  advance 
nor  repulse,  disdain  nor  recrimination  ;  the 
equality  of  mankind  here  adduces  its  proof, 
and  the  spirit  of  levelling  here  gluts  its  rage  : 
without  a  distinction,  an  annoyance,  a  passion, 
they  are  all  at  rest.  There  is  the  one  house 
appointed  for  all  living ;  the  bed  on  which  all 
await  their  sure,  their  last,  and,  it  may  be,  their 
only  repose.  Thither  we  may  escape  from  the 
din  and  bustle  of  the  world  :  its  follies  will 
not  pursue  us,  its  excitements  will  not  agitate 
us,  its  votaries  will  not  disturb  us.  There 


GRA’VTTY. 


GREAT  M3C3ST. 


319 


only  can  we  be  secured  from  the  inroad  of  its 
cares,  and  be  withdrawn  from  the  jar  of  its  dis¬ 
cords.  Thither  we  may  escape  from  the  pas¬ 
sions  which  consume  all  earthly  peace,  the 
gnawing  of  envy,  the  canker  of  avarice,  the 
sting  of  remorse,  the  tumult  of  vengeance, 
the  pang  of  despair.  The  fever  which  parched 
our  blood  shall  chill,  the  fierce  throbbings  of 
desire  shall  subside,  and  the  uproar  of  con¬ 
tending  lusts  shall  settle  and  hush  into  the 
quiet  of  our  kindred  earth.  Thitlier  we  may 
escape  from  each  skyey  influence  ;  the  summer’s 
drought  and  winter’s  cold  will  fall  unheeded  on 
our  dwelling;  spring  will  not  mock  by  its  bud¬ 
ding,  nor  autumn  sadden  us  by  its  decay. 
Thither  we  may  escape  from  the  keen  inflic¬ 
tions  of  poverty  :  we  shall  all  of  us  have  the 
apparel,  tenement,  pillow,  and  service  we  want. 
Thither  we  may  escape  from  the  painful  days 
and  wearisome  nights  appointed  to  us :  our 
eyes  will  not  be  held  waking,  nor  will  our 
sleep  depart  from  us.  Thither  we  may  escape 
from  slander  and  detraction  :  their  rumor  will 
not  taint  our  peace,  nor  reach  our  abode. 
Thither  we  may  escape  from  insensibility,  un¬ 
kindness,  and  ingratitude :  there  can  be  no 
colder  hearts  than  those  which  there  perish  in 
our  bosoms  to  beat  and  warm  no  more. 

Dr.  R.  W.  Hamilton. 

2709.  GRAVITY,  False.  There  is  a  false 

gravity  which  is  a  very  ill  symptom ;  and  it 
may  be  said,  that  as  rivers  which  run  very 
slowly  have  always  the  most  mud  at  the  bot¬ 
tom,  so  a  solid  stiffness  in  the  constant  course 
of  a  man’s  life  is  a  sign  of  a  thick  bed  of  mud 
at  the  bottom  of  his  brain.  Saville. 

2710.  GREAT  MEN,  Appearance  of.  It  is  with 

great  men  as  with  high  mountains.  They  op¬ 
press  with  awe  when  we  stand  under  them  ; 
they  disappoint  our  insatiable  imaginations 
when  we  are  nigh,  but  not  quite  close  to  them ; 
and  then,  the  farther  we  recede  from  them, 
the  more  astonishing  they  appear,  until  their 
bases  being  concealed  by  intervening  objects, 
they  at  one  moment  seem  miraculously  lifted 
above  the  earth,  and  the  next  strike  our  fancies 
as  let  down  from  heaven.  Hare. 

2711.  GREAT  MEN,  Condition  of.  The  great 
and  successful  men  of  history  are  commonly 
made  by  the  great  occasions  they  fill.  They 
are  the  men  who  had  faith  to  meet  such  occa¬ 
sions  ;  and  therefore  the  occasions  marked 
them,  called  them  to  come  and  be  what  the 
successes  of  their  faith  would  make  them. 
The  boy  is  but  a  shepherd  ;  but  he  hears  from 
his  panic-stricken  countrymen  of  the  giant 
champion  of  their  enemies.  A  fire  seizes  him, 
and  he  goes  down,  with  nothing  but  his  sling 
and  his  heart  of  faith,  to  lay  that  champion  in 
the  dust.  Next  he  is  a  great  military  leader; 
next  the  king  of  his  country.  As  with  David, 
so  with  Nchemiah  ;  as  witli  him,  so  with  Paul ; 
as  with  him,  so  with  Luther.  A  Socrates,  a 
Tally,  a  Cromwell,  a  Washington,  —  all  the 
great  master-spirits,  the  founders  and  lawgiv¬ 
ers  of  empires,  and  defenders  of  the  rights  of 
man,  —  are  made  by  the  same  law.  These  did 
not  shrink  despairingly  within  the  compass  of 


their  poor  abilities  ;  but  in  their  heart  of  faith 
they  embraced  each  one  his  cause,  and  went 
forth,  under  the  inspiring  force  of  their  call,  to 
apprehend  that  for  which  they  were  appre¬ 
hended.  Dr.  Bushnell. 

2712.  GREAT  MSN,  Definition  of.  A  great 

man  is  one  who  has  done  such  works  as  none 
other  man  has  done  before  him  ;  who  has  in 
any  way  considerably  exalted  the  standard  of 
excellence  which  he  found  existing ;  who  has 
heightened  for  us  our  idea  of  the  capabilities 
of  our  common  nature.  To  see  things  hither¬ 
to  invisible  to  others,  and  so  to  embody  them, 
as  that,  henceforth,  others  shall  see  them  too ; 
to  attempt  things  heretofore  impossible  to 
others,  and  so  to  realize  them,  as  that,  hence¬ 
forth,  others  shall  do  them  too, —  either  of  those 
things  is  the  token  of  a  great  man.  The 
greatest  men  have  been  able  both  to  see  and 
to  do  :  they  have  combined  in  their  charac¬ 
ters,  equally,  insight  and  energy,  elevation 
of  mind  an  !  decision  of  will.  Myers. 

2713.  GREAT  MEN,  Distinguishing.  I  think  it 

is  Warburton  who  draws  a  very  just  distinction 
between  a  man  of  true  greatness  and  a  medi- 
ocrist.  “  If,”  says  he,  “  you  want  to  recommend 
yourself  to  the  former,  take  care  that  he  quits 
your  society  with  a  good  opinion  of  you :  if 
your  object  is  to  please  the  latter,  take  care 
that  he  leaves  you  with  a  good  opinion  of  him¬ 
self.”  Colton. 

2714.  GREAT  MEN,  Elevation  of,  Just  as  the 

traveller  whom  we  see  on  yonder  mountain 
height  began  his  ascent  from  the  plain,  so  the 
greatest  man  of  whom  the  world  can  boast  is 
but  one  of  ourselves,  standing  on  higher 
ground,  and  in  virtue  of  his  wider  intelligence, 
his  nobler  thoughts,  his  loftier  character,  his 
purer  inspiration,  or  his  more  manly  doing, 
claiming  the.  empire  as  his  right.  Hare. 

2715.  GREAT  MEN,  Opportunities  of.  Subtract 

from  a  great  man  all  that  he  owes  to  opportu¬ 
nity,  and  all  that  he  owes  to  chance,  all  that  he 
has  gained  by  the  wisdom  of  his  friends  and 
by  the  folly  of  his  enemies,  and  our  Brobdig- 
nag  will  often  become  a  Liliputian.  I  think  it 
is  Voltaire  who  observes,  that  it  was  fortunate 
for  Cromwell  that  he  appeared  upon  the  stage 
at  the  precise  moment  when  the  people  were 
tired  of  kings ;  and  as  unfortunate  for  his  son 
Richard,  that  he  had  to  make  good  his  preten¬ 
sions  at  a  moment  when  the  people  were 
equally  tired  of  protectors.  Colton. 

271 G.  GREAT  MEN,  Origin  of.  Columbus  was 
the  son  of  a  weaver,  and  a  weaver  himself.  Cer¬ 
vantes  was  a  common  soldier.  Homer  was  the 
son  of  a  small  farmer.  Mol i 6 re  was  the  son  of 
a  tapestry-maker.  Demosthenes  was  the  son 
of  a  cutler.  Terence  was  a  slave.  Oliver 
Cromwell  was  the  son  of  a  London  brewer. 
Howard  was  an  apprentice  to  a  grocer.  Frank¬ 
lin  was  a  journeyman  printer,  and  son  of  a 
tallow-chandler  and  soap-boiler.  Dr.  Thomas, 
Bishop  of  Worcester,  was  the  son  of  a  linen- 
draper.  Daniel  Defoe  was  a  hostler,  and  son 
of  a  butcher.  Wliitefield  was  the  son  of  an  inn¬ 
keeper  at  Gloucester.  Virgil  was  the  son  of  a 
porter.  Horace  was  the  son  of  a  shopkeeper. 


320 


GHEtEtA-T  MEST. 


GREATNESS. 


Shakspeare  was  the  son  of  a  wood  ••  stapler. 
Milton  was  the  son  of  a  money-scrivener. 
Robert  Burns  was  a  ploughman  in  Ayrshire. 
Mohammed,  called  the  prophet,  was  a  driver 
of  asses.  Mohamet  Ali  was  a  barber.  Madame 
Bernadotte  was  a  washerwoman  of  Paris. 
Napoleon,  descendant  of  an  obscure  family  of 
Corsica,  was  a  major  when  he  married  Jose¬ 
phine,  the  daughter  of  a  tobacconist  Creole  of 
Martinique.  Gen.  Escartero  was  a  vestry 
clerk.  Bolivar  was  a  druggist.  Vasco  de  Gama 
was  a  sailor.  John  Jacob  Astor  once  sold  apples 
in  the  streets  of  New  York.  Catherine,  Em¬ 
press  of  Russia,  was  a  camp-grisette.  Ci'ncin- 
natus  was  ploughing  in  his  vineyard  when  the 
dictatorship  of  Rome  was  offered  him.  Elihu 
Burritt  was  a  blacksmith.  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  a  rail-splitter.  Gen.  Grant  was  a  tanner. 
Com.  Vanderbilt  was  a  ferryman.  Daniel  Drew 
was  a  poor  widow’s  son.  Senator  Wilson  was 
a  cobbler.  Gen.  Banks  says  that  he  graduated 
at  a  university  which  had  a  waterwheel  at  the 
bottom,  and  a  bell  on  the  top. 

2717.  GREAT  MEN,  Perseverance  of.  It  is  not 
tools  that  make  the  workman,  but  the  trained 
skill  and  perseverance  of  the  man  himself. 
Indeed,  it  is  proverbial  that  the  bad  workman 
never  yet  had  a  good  tool.  Some  one  asked 
Opie  by  what  wonderful  process  he  mixed  his 
colors.  “  I  mix  them  with  my  brains,  sir,”  was 
his  reply.  It  is  the  same  with  every  workman 
who  would  excel.  Ferguson  made  marvellous 
things  —  such  as  his  wooden  clock,  that  accu¬ 
rately  measured  the  hours — by  means  of  a  com¬ 
mon  penknife,  a  tool  in  everybody’s  hand ;  but 
then  everybody  is  not  a  Ferguson.  A  pan  of 
water  and  two  thermometers  were  the  tools  by 
which  Dr.  Black  discovered  latent  heat;  and  a 
prism,  a  lens,  and  a  sheet  of  pasteboard  enabled 
Newton  to  unfold  the  composition  of  light  and 
the  origin  of  color.  An  eminent  foreign  savant 
once  called  upon  Dr.  Wollaston,  and  requested 
to  be  shown  over  his  laboratories,  in  which 
science  had  been  enriched  by  so  many  impor- 1 
tant  discoveries;  when  the  doctor  took  him 
into  a  little  study,  and,  pointing  to  an  old  tea- 
tray  on  the  table,  containing  a  few  watch- 
glasses,  test-papers,  a  small  balance,  and  a  blow¬ 
pipe,  said,  There  is  all  the  laboratory  I  have.” 
Stothard  learned  the  art  of  combining  colors  by 
closely  studying  butterflies’  wings:  he  would 
often  say  that  no  one  knew  what  he  owed  to 
these  tiny  insects.  A  burnt  stick  and  a  barn¬ 
door  served  Wilkie  in  lieu  of  pencil  and  can¬ 
vas.  Bewick  first  practised  drawing  on  the 
cottage-walls  of  his  native  village,  which  he 
covered  with  his  sketches  in  chalk ;  and  Ben¬ 
jamin  West  made  his  first  brushes  out  of  the 
cat’s  tail.  Franklin  first  robbed  the  thunder¬ 
cloud  of  its  lightning  by  means  of  a  kite  made 
with  two  cross-sticks  and  a  silk-handkerchief. 
Watt  made  his  first  model  of  the  condensing 
steam-engine  out  of  an  anatomist’s  old  syringe. 
Gifford  worked  his  first  problem  in  mathe¬ 
matics,  when  a  cobbler’s  apprentice,  upon  small 
scraps  of  leather,  which  he  beat  smooth  for  the 
purpose ;  whilst  Rittenhouse,  the  astronomer, 
first  calculated  eclipses  on  his  plough-handle. 


2718.  GREAT  MEN,  True,  The  great  men 

of  the  earth  are  the  shadowy  men,  who,  having 
lived  and  died,  now  live  again  and  forever 
through  their  undying  thoughts.  Thus  living, 
though  their  footfalls  are  heard  no  more,  their 
voices  are  louder  than  the  thunder,  and  un¬ 
ceasing  as  the  flow  of  tides  or  air.  Moses  was 
not  half  living  when  he  was  alive.  His  real 
life  has  been  since  he  died.  The  prophets 
seemed  almost  useless  in  their  time.  They 
did  little  for  themselves  or  for  the  Church  of 
that  day  ;  but,  when  you  look  at  the  life  they 
have  lived  since,  you  shall  find  they  have  been 
God’s  pilots,  guiding  the  Church  through  all 
perils.  From  their  black  bosoms,  they  sent 
forth  the  blast  of  his  lightning  and  the  roar  of 
his  thunder  ;  and  to-day,  if  the  Church  needs 
rebuke  and  denunciation,  it  is  they  who  must 
hurl  it.  I  could  have  killed  old  Jeremiah  if  I 
could  have  got  at  his  ribs  ;  but  I  should  like 
to  see  the  archer  that  could  hit  him  now. 
Martin  Luther  was  mighty  when  he  lived : 
but  the  shadowy  Luther  is  mightier  than  a 
regiment  of  fleshly  Luthers.  When  he  was 
on  earth,  he  in  some  sense  asked  the  pope 
leave  to  be,  and  the  emperor  and  the  elector 
leave  to  be ;  he  asked  the  stream  and  the 
wheat  to  give  him  sustenance  for  a  day  :  but 
now  that  his  body  is  dead,  now  that  that  rub¬ 
bish  is  out  of  the  way,  he  asks  no  leave  cf 
pope  or  elector  or  emperor,  but  is  the  mon¬ 
arch  of  thought,  and  the  noblest  defender  of 
the  faith  to  the  end  of  time.  Beecher. 

2719.  GREATNESS,  Danger  of.  In  our  fields, 
abundance  of  wet  breeds  abundance  of  weeds, 
and,  consequently,  great  scarcity  of  corn.  And 
is  it  not  so  with  our  souls  ?  The  more  of  God’s 
blessings  and  wealth,  the  more  weeds  of  carnal¬ 
ity  and  vanity ;  and  the  more  rich  to  the  world, 
the  less  righteous  to  God  commonly.  Spencer. 

272®.  GREATNESS,  Divine.  When  Massillon, 
one  of  the  greatest  divines  France  ever  knew, 
was  called  to  preach  the  funeral-sermon  of  the 
departed  icing,  in  the  cathedral  at  Paris,  before 
the  reigning  king,  the  royal  lamily,  tlie  Cham¬ 
bers,  and  the  grandees  of  France,  he  took  with 
him  to  the  sacred  desk  a  little  golden  urn  con¬ 
taining  a  lock  of  hair  of  the  late  king.  The 
immense  congregation  was  seated,  and  the  si¬ 
lence  of  death  reigned.  Massillon  arose,  hold¬ 
ing  the  urn  in  his  fingers ;  his  hand  resting 
upon  the  sacred  cushion.  All  eyes  were  in¬ 
stantly  fixed  upon  him.  Moments,  minutes, 
passed.  Massillon  stood  motionless,  pale  as  a 
statue.  The  feeling  became  intense.  Many 
believed  he  was  struck  dumb  before  the  august 
assembly ;  many  sighed  and  groaned  aloud ; 
many  eyes  were  suffused  with  tears  ;  when  the 
hand  of  Massillon  was  seen  slowly  raising  the 
little  golden  urn,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  king. 
As  the  hand  was  returned  to  the  sacred  cushion, 
the  loud  and  solemn  voice  of  Massillon  was 
heard  in  every  part  of  the  cathedral,  “  God 
alone  is  great!”  So  I  say  to  you  to-day, 
“  There  is  no  human  greatness :  God  alone  is 
great !  ”  G.  C.  Cookman. 

2721.  GREATNESS,  Empty.  A  person  who 
had  been  up  in  a  balloon  was  asked  whether 


GREATNESS. 


GROWTH. 


321 


he  did  not  find  it  very  hot  when  he  got  so 
near  to  the  sun.  This  is  a  vulgar  notion  of 
greatness.  People  fancy  they  shall  get  near 
the  sun  if  they  can  but  discover  or  devise 
some  trick  to  lift  them  from  the  ground.  Nor 
would  it  be  difficult  to  point  out  sundry  anal¬ 
ogies  between  these  bladders  from  the  wind- 
vaults  of  iEolus,  and  the  means  and  imple¬ 
ments  by  which  men  attempt  to  raise  them¬ 
selves.  All,  however,  that  can  be  effected  in 
this  way,  is  happily  altogether  insignificant. 
The  farther  we  are  borne  above  the  plain  of 
common  humanity,  the  colder  it  grows.  We 
swell  out  till  we  are  nigh  to  bursting ;  and 
manifold  experience  teaches  us,  that  our  hu¬ 
man  strength,  like  that  of  Autens,  becomes 
weakness  as  soon  as  we  are  severed  from  the 
refreshing  and  renovating  breast  of  our  mighty 
mother.  Hare. 

2722.  GREATNESS,  Envying.  If  we  did  but 

know  how  little  some  enjoy  of  the  great  things 
they  possess,  there  would  not  be  much  envy  in 
the  world.  Younq. 

2723.  GREATNESS,  Habits  of.  He  only  'is 
great  who  has  the  habits  of  greatness ;  who, 
after  performing  what  none  in  ten  thousand 
could  accomplish,  passes  on  like  Samson, 
and  “tells  neither  father  nor  mother  of  it.” 

2724.  GREATNESS,  Height  of.  The  greatest 
man  is  he  who  chooses  the  right  with  invin¬ 
cible  resolution  ;  who  resists  the  sorest  temp¬ 
tations  from  within  and  without;  who  bears 
the  heaviest  burdens  cheerfully  ;  who  is  the 
calmest  in  storms,  and  whose  reliance  on  truth, 
on  virtue,  on  God,  is  the  most  unfaltering. 

Channing. 

2725.  GREATNESS,  Supreme. 

A  certain  pacha,  dead  five  thousand  years, 

Once  from  his  harem  fled  in  sudden  tears, 

And  had  this  sentence  on  the  city’s  gate 
Deeply  engraven:  “Only  God  is  Great.” 

So  these  four  words  above  the  city’s  noise 
Hung  like  the  accents  of  an  angel’s  voice, 

And  evermore  from  the  high  barbican 
Saluted  each  returning  caravan. 

Lost  is  that  city’s  glory.  Every  gust 

Lifts,  with  crisp  leaves,  the  unknown  pacha's  dust; 

And  all  is  ruin,  save  one  wrinkled  gate, 

Whereon  is  written,  “Only  God  is  Great.” 

2726.  GREATNESS,  Transient.  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  that  wonderful  scholar,  of  whom  it  is 
said  that  he  “surpassed  the  whole  human  face 
in  genius,”  upon  being  requested  in  his  declin¬ 
ing  vears  to  explain  some  passage  on  his  chief 
mathematical  work,  could  only  reply,  that  “  he 
knew  it  was  true  once.”  It  is  also  said  of  that 
celebrated  military  commander  the  first  Duke 
of  Marlborough,  when  the  bistory  of  his  own. 
campaigns  were  read  to  him  to  beguile  the 
tedious  hours  in  the  evening  of  life,  and  wholly 
unconscious  of  his  own  part  in  the  matter, 
would  exclaim  from  time  to  time,  “  Who  com¬ 
manded  ?  ” 

2727.  GREATNESS,  True.  The  truly  great 

consider,  first  how  they  may  gain  the  approba¬ 
tion  of  God,  and,  secondly,  that  of  their  own 
conscience ;  having  dwne  tl:  is,  they  would  will¬ 
ingly  conciliate  the  good  opinion  of  their 
fellow-men.  Colton. 


272§.  GREETING,  Friendly.  As  ships  meet 
at  sea  a  moment  together,  when  words  ol 
greeting  must  be  spoken,  and  then  away  upor 
the  deep ;  so  men  meet  in  this  world :  and  1 
think  we  should  cross  no  man’s  path  without 
hailing  him,  and,  if  he  needs,  giving  him  sup 
plies.  Beecher 

2729.  GRIEF,  Effect  of.  Guarino  Veronese 

ancestor  of  the  author  of  the  “  Pastor  Fido,’ 
having  studied  Greek  at  Constantinople, 
brought  from  thence,  on  his  return;  two  cases 
of  Greek  manuscripts,  the  fruit  of  his  indefatb 
gable  researches.  One  of  these  being  lost  at 
sea  on  the  shipwreck  of  the  vessel,  his  chagrin 
at  losing  such  a  literary  treasure  had  the  effect 
of  turning  the  hair  of  Guarino  gray  in  one 
night.  Sismondi. 

2730.  GRIEF,  Private.  If  the  internal  griefs 
of  every  man  could  be  read,  written  on  his 
forehead,  how  many  who  now  excite  envy 
would  appear  to  be  objects  of  pity  ! 

Metastalio. 

2731.  GRIEF,  Vicissitude  of.  Grief  is  a. 
flower  as  delicate  and  prompt  to  fade  as  happi¬ 
ness.  Still  it  does  not  wholly  die.  Like  the 
magic  rose,  dried  and  unrecognizable,  a  warm' 
air  breathed  on  it  will  suffice  to  renew  its  bloom. 

Madame  De  Gasparin ; 

2732.  GROWTH,  Analogy  of.  A  tree  or  plant 
sends  its  roots  downward,  and  its  stems  up¬ 
ward.  The  roots  are  the  mouths  of  the  tree. 
Through  them,  they  take  up  from  the  soil  what¬ 
ever  is  necessary  to  their  growth.  As  the 
trunk  and  branches  of  a  tree  increase,  the 
roots  spread  out,  so  as  to  absorb  more  nutritive 
salt.  The  earth  and  the  air  furnish  the  mate¬ 
rial  with  which  the  tree  is  built  up.  The  soil1 
contains  substances,  which,  loosened  by  the 
frost  or  the  plough,  or  by  water,  arc  dissolved’ 
by  it,  and  prepared  as  food  for  the  hungry 
tree.  The  leaves  are  the  lungs  of  trees.  With 
these  they  inhale  the  atmosphere,  and  elaborate 
such  gases  as  the  nature  of  the  species  requires. 
The  rain,  the  snow,  the  frost,  the  sunshine,  the 
wind,  all  help  to  mature  the  tree,  till  it  stands 
with  buttressed  roots  and  giant  arms,  the  king 
of  the  forest.  It  gives  us  a  lesson  for  human  life, 
—  shows  the  importance  of  fundamental  work, 
and  the  way  to  secure  maturity  of  character, 
and  strengthens  faith  in  the  providence  of 
God. 

2733.  GROWTH,  in  Grace.  A  Quaker  con¬ 
gregation  had  been  sitting  in  silence  for  a  long 
time,  when  a  little  boy  between  five  and  sLx 
years  of  age  stood  up,  and,  with  a  childish  lisp, 
gave  utterance  to  the  following ;  “  My  friends, 
1  wish  the  Lord  would  make  us  all  gooder  and 
gooder  and  gooder ,  till  there  is  no  bad  left  1  ” 

2734.  GROWTH,  Marks  of  Religions.  Growth 

in  grace  manifests  itself  by  a  simplicity,  that 
is,  a  greater  naturalness  of  character.  There 
will  be  more  usefulness,  and  less  noise ;  more 
tenderness  of  conscience,  and  less  scrupulosity ; 
there  will  be  more  peace,  more  humility.  When 
the  full  corn  is  in  the  ear,  it  bends  down  be¬ 
cause  it  is  full.  —  Cecil. - Religion,  in  its 

rise,  interests  us  almost  exclusively  about  our¬ 
selves  ;  in  its  progress,  it  engages  .is  about 


322 


GROWTH. 


GrUTD.AJN"  CE. 


the  welfare  of  our  fellow-creatures ;  in  its  more 
advanced  stages,  it  animates  us  to  consult  in 
all  things,  and  to  exalt,  to  the  utmost  of  our 
power,  the  honor  of  our  God.  Simeon. 

2735.  GROWTH,  Possible.  Watch  and  pray 
against  failures,  but  take  heed  of  desponding 
under  them.  Be  content  to  travel  as  you  arc 
able.  The  oak  springs  from  the  acorn,  but 
does  not  become  a  tree  at  once.  Because  the 
stage-wagon  cannot  travel  to  York  as  fast  as 
the  stage-coach  can,  would  you  say  it  will 
never  get  there  ?  The  mushroom  springs  up 
in  a  night ;  but  what  is  a  mushroom  ?  Do 
not  be  satisfied  to  be  a  dwarf,  but  remember 
that  there  must  be  time  to  grow. 

Mrs.  Hawkes. 

2736.  GROWTH,  Rapid.  The  simplest  plants 

—  the  confervas,  algae  lichens,  and  mushrooms 

—  consist  only  of  soft  cellular  tissues ;  and  in 

these,  owing  to  their  loose  nature,  growth  fre¬ 
quently  proceeds  with  a  marvellous  celerity. 
In  twenty-five  minutes,  a  mushroom  shoots  up 
three  inches  high ;  and  another  species,  in  a 
single  night,  swells  from  the  size  of  a  pin’s  head 
to  that  of  a  large  pumpkin.  The  nereocystus 
lutkena,  an  alga  occurring  on  the  north-west 
coast  of  America,  which  has  stems  resembling 
whipcord,  three  hundred  feet  in  length,  and 
terminating  with  a  bunch  of  leaves  thirty  or 
forty  feet  long,  is  but  the  produce  of  a  single 
summer.  Hart  wig. 

2737.  GRUMBLERS,  Characteristics  of.  If  all 
the  grumblers  in  the  world  were  summoned 
together  by  some  thundering  Calliope,  what 
an  army  there  would  be !  Since  the  days  of 
Xerxes,  nothing  could  compare  with  such  a 
host.  You  will  find  them  everywhere  as  thick 
as  the  frogs  of  Egypt.  No  trade,  calling,  or 
profession  is  free  from  them.  Let  us  describe 
them.  Grumblers  are  usually  a  very  lazy  set. 
Having  no  disposition  to  work  themselves, 
they  spend  their  time  in  whining,  and  com¬ 
plaining  both  about  their  own  affairs  and  those 
of  their  neighbors.  They  are  usually  a  year 
behind  the  age,  and  therefore,  when  they  un¬ 
dertake  an  enterprise,  they  find  themselves  so 
far  down  stream,  that  all  the  winds  and  tides 
of  sympathy,  so  necessary  to  success,  are  against 
them.  They  are  usually  very  independent, 
“  caring  nothing  for  nobody.”  Determined  to 
go  it  “  blind,”  they  find  it  a  “  wide  berth  ”  and 
a  “  hard  road  to  travel  ”  wherever  their  foot¬ 
steps  lead  them.  They  are  easily  scared.  They 
always  see  double  :  a  lion  is  in  the  way  sure  ; 
no  mistake  about  it.  There  is  always  “  some¬ 
thing  about  to  happen.”  “  Look  out  for  break¬ 
ers  ”  is  the  great  refrain  of  their  every-day 
song.  They  have  a  most  capacious  appetite 
for  favors  as  well  as  food ;  and  are  therefore 
always  on  hand,  and  “just  in  time  to  accept 
the  gift  of  a  very  iparficular  friend.”  Their 
favorite  motto  is,  “  Small  favors  thankfully  re¬ 
ceived,  and  larger  ones  in  (proportion.”  They 
are  always  very  jealous  of  “  character  and  in¬ 
fluence  in  society,”  and  generally  “  quite  as 
good  as  anybody :  ”  they  should  therefore  be 
treated  with  great  consideration.  They  are 
usually  long-lived  in  the  opinions  of  their 


friends,  and  should  therefore  be  cured  of 
their  disease  as  soon  as  possible. 

2738.  GRUMBLING,  Care  for.  In  a  love-feast 
in  Yorkshire,  a  good  man  had  been  drawing 
out  a  long  complaining  strain  of  experiences 
about  his  trials  and  difficulties  in  the  way  to 
heaven.  Another,  of  a  different  spirit,  fol¬ 
lowed,  who  said,  “I  see  our  brother  who  has 
just  sat  down  lives  in  Grumbling  Street.  I 
lived  there  myself  for  some  time,  and  never 
enjoyed  good  health.  The  air  was  bad,  the 
house  bad,  the  water  bad ;  the  birds  never 
came  and  sung  in  the  street ;  and  I  was  gloomy 
and  sad  enough.  But  I  ‘  flitted.’  I  got  into 
Thanksgiving  Street ;  and,  ever  since  then,  I 
have  had  good  health,  and  so  have  my  family. 
The  air  is  pure,  the  water  pure,  the  house 
good  ;  the  sun  shines  on  it  all  day ;  the  birds 
are  always  singing  ;  and  I  am  happy  as  I  can 
live.  Now,  I  recommend  our  brother  to  ‘  flit.’ 
There  are  plenty  of  houses  to  let  on  Thanks¬ 
giving  Street ;  and  I  am  sure  he  will  find  him¬ 
self  a  new  man  if  he  will  only  come :  and  I 
will  be  right  glad  to  have  him  as  a  neighbor.” 

2739.  GUARDIAN,  The  Omniscient,  A  painter 
named  Leech  died  recently  in  England.  When 
a  boy,  he  attended  a  large  boarding-school,  and 
would  remain  during  the  long  terms  away  from 
his  parents.  When  he  first  left  his  home,  he  was 
homesick ;  but  after  a  while,  in  the  company 
of  his  companions,  this  wore  away.  But  his 
mother  pined  to  see  her  boy.  It  was  not  cus¬ 
tomary  for  the  parents  to  visit  their  children 
at  school ;  but  the  loving  mother  felt  such  a 
strong  desire  to  see  her  son,  that  she  arranged 
this  plan  :  All  around  the  play-ground  of  the 
school  were  high  blocks  of  buildings.  Mrs. 
Leech  hired  an  upper  room  in  one  of  these 
houses,  from  the  windows  of  which  the  whole 
play-ground  could  be  seen.  Into  this  room 
she  went  every  time  she  came  to  the  city,  and 
there,  from  the  window,  looked  down  upon  the 
happy  little  fellows  playing  below.  One  among 
them  all  her  fond  eye  would  seek  out.  He  did 
not  know  that  any  one  was  looking  down  upon 
him  ;  he  did  not  think  that  his  best  friend  on 
earth  was  so  near,  that,  if  he  had  spoken  her 
name,  she  would  have  answered  at  once  :  but 
on  he  went  with  his  play,  while  that  tear- 
dimmed  eye  followed  him  wherever  he  moved. 
She  was  an  emblem  of  our  ever-watchful  God. 

2740.  GUIDANCE,  Definite.  One  day,  a  staff- 
officer  found  Gen.  Lander  with  a  Bible  in  his 
hand,  and  said,  “  General,  do  you  ever  search 
the  Scriptures  ?  ”  Gen.  Lander  replied,  “  My 
mother  gave  me  a  Bible,  which  I  have  always 
carried  with  me.  Once  in  the  Rocky  Moun¬ 
tains,  I  had  only  fifteen  pounds  of  flour.  We 
used  to  collect  grasshoppers  at  four  o’clock  in 
the  day  to  catch  some  fish  for  our  supper  at 
night.  It  was  during  the  Mormon  war ;  and 
my  men  desired  to  turn  back.  I  was  then 
searching  for  a  route  for  the  wagon-road.  ‘  I 
will  turn  back  if  the  Bible  says  so,’  said  I; 
‘and  we  will  take  it  as  an  inspiration.’  I 
opened  the  book  at  the  following  passage: 
‘Go  on,  and  search  the  mountain;  and  the 
gates  of  the  city  shall  not  be  shut  against  you.’  * 


GUIDANCE. 


HAlilT. 


323 


All  concurred  in  the  definite  statement  of  the 

[tassage ;  and  the  heroic  explorer  once  more 
ed  his  men  into  the  wild  country  of  the  In¬ 
dians.  Moore. 

2741.  GUIDANCE,  Divine.  John  Newton 
thinks,  that  neither  the  casting  of  lots,  the 
opening  of  the  Bible  at  a  venture,  nor  the 
sudden  impression  of  a  text,  nor  freedom  in 
prayer  over  a  matter,  nor  a  dream,  furnishes 
any  reliable  direction.  The  Lord  rather  opens 
and  shuts,  throws  down  the  walls  of  difficulty, 
or  hedges  the  way  with  thorns,  for  those  who 
confidingly  seek  his  guidance  by  prayer.  They 
know  that  their  concerns  are  in  liis  hands, 
and  fear  to  run  before  he  sends,  or  to  delay 
when  he  directs  an  advance. 

2742.  GUIDANCE,  Seeking  God’s.  The  Israel¬ 
ites  usually  asked  counsel  of  God  by  the 
Ephod,  the  Grecians  by  their  Oracles,  the 
Persians  by  their  Magi,  the  Egyptians  by  their 
Ilierophante,  the  Indians  by  their  Gymno- 
sophistm,  the  ancient  Gauls  and  Britons  by 
their  Druids,  the  Romans  by  their  Augurs, 
or  Soothayers.  It- was  not  lawful  to  propose 
any  matter  of  moment  in  the  senate  before 
then-  wizards  had  made  observations  from  the 
heaven  or  sky.  That  which  they  did  im¬ 
piously  and  superstitiously,  we  may,  nay,  we 
ought,  to  do  in  another  sense,  piously,  reli¬ 
giously,  conscionably  ;  i.e.,  not  to  embark  our¬ 
selves  into  any  action  of  great  importance  and 
consequence  before  we  have  observed  from 
heaven,  not  the  flight  of  birds,  not  the  houses 
of  planets,  or  their  aspects  or  conjunctions, 
but  the  countenance  of  God,  whether  it  shineth 
upon  our  enterprises  or  not,  whether  he  ap¬ 
prove  of  our  projects  and  designs  or  not. 

Spencer. 

2743.  GUIDE,  Parable  of  the.  A  wanderer 
had  to  go  a  long  and  dangerous  journey  over 
a  rugged  and  rocky  mountain,  and  knew  not 
the  way.  He  asked  a  traveller  for  information. 
He  pointed  out  the  road  to  him  clearly  and 
distinctly,  together  with  all  the  by-ways  and 
precipices  of  which  he  must  beware,  and  the 
rocks  he  should  climb :  he  gave  him  also  a  leaf 
of  paper,  describing  the  way  exactly.  The 
wanderer  observed  all  this  attentively;  but, 
as  he  journeyed,  the  rocks  grew  steeper,  and 
the  way  seemed  to  lose  itself  in  the  lonely, 
dreary  ravines.  Ilis  courage  failed  him : 
anxiously  he  looked  up  to  the  towering  rocks, 
and  cried,  ‘‘  It  is  impossible  for  man  to  ascend 
so  steep  a  path,  and  to  climb  these  rugged 
rocks.  The  wings  of’  eagles,  and  the  feet  of 
the  mountain-goat,  alone  can  do  it.”  He 
turned,  thinking  to  return  by  the  way  he  had 
come ;  but  he  heard  a  voice  exclaiming,  “  Take 
courage,  and  follow  me  1  ”  He  looked  around, 
and  beheld  the  man  who  had  pointed  out  the 
way  to  him.  11c  saw  him  walk  steadily  be¬ 
tween  the  ravines  and  precipices  and  the  rush¬ 
ing  mountain-torrents.  This  inspired  him 
with  new  confidence ;  and  he  followed  vigor¬ 
ously.  Before  nightfall,  they  had  ascended  the 
mountain ;  and  a  lovely  valley,  where  blos¬ 
somed  myrtle  and  poiuegranate-tree,  received 
them  at  the  end  of  their  pilgrimage.  Then 


the  cheerful  wanderer  thanked  his  friend,  and 
said,  “  How  can  I  express  my  gratitude  to 
thee  ?  Thou  hast  not  only  guided  me  on  the 
right  way,  but  hast  also  given  me  strength  and 
courage  to  persevere.”  The  other  answered, 
“  Not  so  :  am  I  not  a  wanderer  like  thyself? 
and  art  thou  not  the  same  man  as  before  ? 
Thou  hast  only  seen  by  my  example  what  thou 
art,  and  what  thou  art  able  to  do.” 

Krummacher. 

2744.  GUILTY,  Acquittal  of  the.  At  the 

Stafford  assizes,  one  of  the  prisoners  was  in¬ 
dicted  for  a  burglary  and  robbery,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  counsel,  pleaded 
guilty  ;  nor  could  he  be  persuaded  to  offer  any 
other  plea  until  the  judge  threatened,  in  case 
he  persisted,  that  he  would  order  him  for 
speedy  execution.  He  then  pleaded  not 
guilty,  and  his  trial  proceeded ;  but,  owing  to 
defective  evidence,  he  was  very  unexpectedly 
acquitted.  Percy. 

2745.  GUILTY,  Detection  of  the.  A  laboring 
man  of  Tobolski  in  Siberia,  who  had  deposited 
in  a  purse-skin,  which  he  wore  at  his  breast, 
the  hard-earned  savings  of  his  life,  was  mur¬ 
dered  by  two  of  his  companions  for  the  sake 
of  his  little  treasure.  The  murderers  escaped 
to  a  neighboring  forest,  followed  by  two  dogs 
belonging  to  the  deceased,  which  would  not 
quit  them.  The  wretches  did  every  thing  to 
appease  tlimn,  but  in  vain.  They  then  en¬ 
deavored  to  kill  them;  but  the  dogs  were  upon 
their  guard,  and  continued  to  howl  dreadfully. 
Reduced  to  despair,  the  murderers,  at  the  end 
of  two  days,  returned  to  Krasnojarsk,  and 
delivered  themselves  into  the  hands  of  justice. 

Percy. 

274G.  HABIT,  an  Apologue.  The  story  runs, 
that,  as  Abdallah  lingeied  over  his  morning 
repast,  a  liltle  fly  alighted  on  his  goblet,  took 
a  sip, and  was  gone.  It  came  again  and  again; 
increased  its  charms;  became  bolder  and  bolder; 
grew  in  size  till  its  presented  the  likeness  of  a 
man;  consumed  Abdallah’s  meat,  so  that  he 
grew  thin  and  weak  while  his  guest  became 
great  and  strong.  Then  contention  arose  be¬ 
tween  them,  and  the  youth  smote  the  demon, 
so  that  he  departed ;  and  the  youth  rejoiced  at 
his  deliverance.  But  the  demon  soon  came 
again,  charmingly  arrayed,  and  was  restored 
to  favor.  On  the  morrow,  the  youth  came  not 
to  his  teacher.  The  mufti,  searching,  found 
him  in  his  chamber  lying  dead  upon  his  divan. 
His  visage  was  black  and  swollen ;  and  on  his 
throat  was  the  pressure  of  a  finger,  broader 
than  the  palm  of  a  mighty  man.  Ilis  treasures 
were  gone.  In  the  garden,  the  mufti  discov¬ 
ered  the  footprints  of  a  giant,  one  of  which 
measured  six  cubits.  Such  is  the  Oriental 
portrayal  of  the  growth  and  power  of  habit. 

2747.  HABIT,  Comfort  of.  Habit  will  recon¬ 
cile  us  to  every  thing  but  change;  and  even  to 
change,  if  it  recur  not  too  quickly.  Milton, 
therefore,  makes  his  hell  an  ice-house,  as  well 
as  an  oven ;  and  f  reezes  his  devils  at  one 
period,  but  bakes  them  at  another.  The  late 
Sir  George  Staunton  informed  me  that  be 
had  visited  a  man  in  India  who  had  committed 


324 


ELAJBIT. 


HABIT. 


a  murder ;  and  in  order  not  only  to  save  his 
life,  but,  what  was  of  much  more  consequence, 
his  caste,  he  submitted  to  the  penalty  imposed  : 
this  was,  that  he  should  sleep  for  seven  years 
on  a  bedstead,  without  any  mattress,  the  whole 
surface  of  which  was  studded  with  points  of 
iron  resembling  nails,  but  not  so  sharp  as  to 
penetrate  his  flesh.  Sir  George  saw  him  in 
the  fifth  year  of  his  probation  ;  and  his  skin 
was  then  like  the  hide  of  a  rhinoceros,  but 
more  callous.  At  that  time,  however,  he  could 
sleep  comfortably  on  his  “ bed  of  thorns;"  and 
remarked,  that,  at  the  expiration  of  the  term 
of  his  sentence,  he  should  most  probably  con¬ 
tinue  that  system  from  choice  which  he  had 
been  obliged  to  adopt  from  necessity. 

C.  Colton. 

274§.  HABIT,  Danger  of.  I  know  from  ex¬ 
perience  that  habit  can,  in  direct  opposition 
to  every  conviction  of  the  mind,  and  but  little 
aided  by  the  elements  of  temptation  (such  as 
present  pleasure,  &c.),  induce  a  repetition  of 
the  most  unworthy  actions.  The  mind  is  weak 
where  it  has  once  given  way.  It  is  long  be¬ 
fore  a  principle  restored  can  become  as  firm  as 
one  that  has  never  been  moved.  It  is  as  in 
the  case  of  a  mound  of  a  reservoir:  if  this 
mound  has  in  one  place  been  broken,  what¬ 
ever  care  has  been  taken  to  make  the  repaired 
part  as  strong  as  possible,  the  probability  is, 
that,  if  it  give  way  again,  it  will  be  in  that 
place.  J.  Foster. 

2749.  HABIT,  in  Death.  Lord  Campbell  says 
that  Lord  Tenterden,  the  celebrated  judge, 
expired  with  these  words  on  his  lips :  “  Gentle¬ 
men  of  the  jury,  you  will  now  consider  your 
verdict.” 

2750.  HABIT,  Description  of.  Habit  may  be 
illustrated  by  a  beaten  path :  as  the  traveller 
is  apt  to  fall  into  and  follow  this,  so  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  are  likely  to  pursue  the 
track  which  they  have  often  followed  before. 
As  the  stream  gradually  wears  the  channel 
deeper  in  which  it  runs,  and  thus  becomes 
more  surely  bound  to  its  accustomed  course ; 
so  the  current  of  the  mind  and  heart  grows 
more  and  more  restricted  to  the  course  in 
which  habit  has  taught  them  to  flow.  These 
intellectual  and  moral  habits  form  many  pecu¬ 
liarities  of  character,  and  chiefly  distinguish 
one  individual  from  another.  They  are,  there¬ 
fore,  of  the  utmost  importance. 

S.  G.  Goodrich. 

2759.  HABIT,  Equine.  A  battle  occurred 
near  the  corral,  where  a  large  number  of 
Gen.  Sheridan’s  worn-out  horses  were  confined. 
During  the  heavy  firing,  they  grew  warlike, 
formed  in  squadrons,  and  charged  upon  a 
number  of  mules,  two  of  whom  they  killed ; 
when  the  rest  fled.  They  next  charged  upon, 
and  overthrew  a  high  rail-fence,  and  did 
not  cease  their  demonstrations  till  the  firing 
ceased. 

2752.  HABIT,  Examples  of.  Keep  a  gamester 

'rom  the  dice,  and  a  good  student  from  his 
book,  and  it  is  wonderful.  Shakspeare. 

2753.  HABIT,  Fable  of.  Dejanira,  wife  of 
Hercules,  received  from  Nessus  some  of  his 


own  blood,  which  she  was  directed  to  use  as  a 
powerful  charm  in  order  to  retain  her  husband’s 
affections.  Hercules  was  about  to  offer  sacri¬ 
fice  to  the  gods  for  a  recent  victory,  and  sent 
home  for  a  white  garment  to  wear  on  the  oc¬ 
casion.  His  wife  thought  it  time  to  try  the 
charm ;  so  steeped  the  robe  in  the  blood  of 
Nessus.  When  the  garment  became  warm  on 
the  body  of  Hercules,  the  poison  penetrated 
all  his  members,  causing  extreme  pain.  He 
wrenched  off  the  garment,  which  stuck  to  his 
flesh,  and  tore  away  with  it  whole  pieces  of  his 
body.  He  hastened  to  his  wife,  who,  behold¬ 
ing  his  agony,  brought  on  by  her  device,  went 
and  hung  herself.  He,  driven  to  madness, 
prepared  his  funeral-pyre  upon  Mt.  Hit  a,  and, 
laying  down  upon  it,  caused  it  to  be  lighted ; 
thus  by  death  destroying  what  his  life  could 
not  withstand.  The  mighty  Hercules,  of  whom 
Jove  was  proud,  yielded  to  the  power  of  an 
insignificant  charm.  Thus  have  many  mighty 
fallen. 

2754.  HABIT,  Force  of.  There  is  an  Eastern 
tale  of  a  magician,  who  discovered  by  his  in¬ 
cantation,  that  the  philosopher’s  stone  lay  on 
the  bank  of  a  certain  river,  but  was  unable  to 
determine  its  exact  locality.  He  therefore 
strolled  along  the  bank  with  a  piece  of  iron,  to 
which  he  applied  successively  all  the  pebbles 
he  found.  As  one  after  another  they  produced 
no  change  in  the  metal,  he  flung  them  into  the 
stream.  At  last  he  hit  on  the  object  of  his 
search,  and  the  iron  became  gold  in  his  hand  ; 
but,  alas  1  he  had  become  so  accustomed  to 
the  “  touch-and-go  ”  movement,  that  the  real 
stone  was  involuntarily  thrown  into  the  river 
after  the  others,  and  lost  to  him  forever. 

2755.  HABIT,  Formation  of.  We  all  acknowl¬ 
edge  the  strength  of  habit.  Its  power  increas¬ 
es  with  time.  In  youth,  it  may  seem  to  us  like 
the  filmy  line  of  the  spider :  in  age,  like  the 
fly  caught  in  its  toils,  we  struggle  in  vain. 
“  Habit,  if  not  resisted,”  says  St.  Augustine, 
“  becomes  necessity.”  The  physical  force  of 
habit  is  thus  clearly  illustrated  by  Dr.  Combe  : 

A  tendency  to  resume  the  same  mode  of  ac¬ 
tion  at  stated  times  is  peculiarly  the  charac¬ 
teristic  of  the  nervous  system  ;  and,  on  this 
account,  regularity  is  of  great  consequence  in 
exercising  the  moral  and  intellectual  power. 
All  nervous  diseases  have  a  marked  tendency 
to  observe  regular  periods  ;  and  the  natural  in¬ 
clination  to  sleep  at  the  approach  of  night  is 
another  instance  of  the  same  fact.  It  is  this 
principle  of  our  nature  which  promotes  the  for¬ 
mation  of  what  are  called  habits.  If  we  re¬ 
peat  any  kind  of  mental  effort  every  day  at 
the  same  hour,  we  at  last  find  ourselves  enter¬ 
ing  upon  it,  without  premeditation,  when  the 
time  approaches.”  Mrs.  Sirjourney. 

2756..  HABIT,  Illustrated.  The  wolf  Fenris, 
of  Northern-,  mythology,  occasioned  the  gods 
much  trouble.  He  possessed  remarkable 
strength,  breaking  the  strongest  fetters  as  if 
they  had  been  spiders’  threads.  At  the  request 
of  the  gods,  the  mountain-spirits  made  the 
wonderful  chain  called  Gleipnir,  with  which 
to  bind  him.  It  was  composed  of  six  articles. 


H-AJBIT. 


HAPPENESS. 


325 


—  the  noise  made  by  the  footfall  of  a  cat, 
the  beards  of  women,  the  roots  of  stones,  the 
breath  of  fishes,  the  nerves  of  bears,  and  the 
spittle  of  birds,  —  things  so  absurd  as  to  awak¬ 
en  no  suspicion.  It  was  made  smooth  and  soft, 
and  appeared  as  slight  as  a  ribbon.  With  the 
promise  of  the  gods  to  unbind  him  if  he  found 
it  too  strong  to  break,  the  wolf  suffered  him¬ 
self  to  be  bound.  Then  he  found,  to  his  dis¬ 
may,  that  he  could  not  break  the  chain ;  neither 
would  the  gods  release  him.  Such  is  the  fate 
of  most  who  indulge  in  little  sins  till  they  are 
bound  fast  forever. 

2757.  HABIT,  Influence  of.  Some  Lake-Su¬ 
perior  miners,  accustomed  to  work  deep  down 
in  the  earth,  were  about  contracting  for  anoth¬ 
er  mine  ;  but,  when  they  found  that  their  work 
would  be  on  the  surface,  they  refused  it,  pre¬ 
ferring  idleness  and  want  to  such  unaccustomed 
labor. 

2758.  HABIT,  Law  o£  This  law  is  the  ma¬ 
gistrate  of  a  man’s  life.  It  is  not  the  pilot  di¬ 
recting  the  vessel  :  it  is  the  vessel  abandoned 
to  the  force  of  the  current,  the  influence  of  the 
tides,  and  the  control  of  the  winds. 

Joseph  Johnson. 

2759.  HABIT,  Power  of.  There  is  a  fable  of 
a  princess  who  must  make  her  escape  from  a 
castle,  or  starve.  The  gate  is  open  :  the  bright 
sun  invites  her  forth.  Only  a  spider’s  web 
hangs  across  the  passage.  This  she  brushes 
aside,  when,  lo  1  another,  and  so  on,  till  she 
sits  down  and  weeps,  feeling,  that,  though  there 
is  only  a  spider's  web  between  her  and  liberty, 
she  cannot  escape.  Habit  is  like  these  spi¬ 
ders’  webs.  To  meet  each  act  is  an  herculean 
task,  but  grace  can  uproot  and  conquer  it. 

2760.  HABIT,  Ruling.  An  officer  of  a 
Maine  regiment  lay  sick  of  a  fever  near  Sav¬ 
age’s  Station,  Va.  In  his  delirium,  he  fought 
his  battles  over  again.  He  would  cry  to  bis 
men,  “  Deploy  to  the  left !  ”  “  Keep  out  of  that 
ambuscade  1  ”  “  Now,  go,  my  braves,  double- 
quick,  and  strike  for  your  flag !  ”  “  On,  on, 
you’ll  win  the  day !  ”  Such  were  his  last  words. 

2761.  HABIT,  Unconsciousness  of.  After  a  se¬ 
ries  of  years  winding  up  a  watch  at  a  certain 
hour,  it  becomes  so  much  a  routine  as  to  be 
done  in  utter  unconsciousness :  meanwhile  the 
mind  and  body  are  engaged  in  something  en¬ 
tirely  different.  An  old  man  is  reported  to 
have  scolded  his  maid-servant  very  severely 
for  not  having  put  his  glass  in  the  proper  posi¬ 
tion  for  shaving.  “  Why,  sir,”  replied  the  girl, 

“  I  have  omitted  it  for  months ;  and  I  thought 
you  could  shave  just  as  well  without  it.” 

2762.  HABITS,  Good,  There  are  four  good 
habits, —  punctuality,  accuracy,  steadiness,  and 
despatch.  Without  the  first  of  these,  time  is 
wasted ;  without  the  second,  mistakes  the  most 
hurtful  to  our  own  credit  and  interest,  and  that 
»f  others,  may  be  committed  ;  without  the  third, 
nothing  can  be  well  done ;  and  without  the 
fourth,  opportunities  of  great  advantage  are 
lost,  which  it  is  impossible  to  recall. 

2763.  HABITS,  Inveterate.  Bad  habits  are 
very  easily  formed;  and,  when  they  are  once 
formed,  they  are  just  like  the  course  of  a 


mighty  river.  You  know,  that  when  the  river 
has  worn  out  a  course  for  itself,  whether 
through  the  soft  soil,  or  the  hard  rock,  or  the 
pleasant  meadow,  it  is  very  difficult  to  divert 
it  out  of  its  accustomed  channel.  Some  of 
the  oldest  rivers  in  the  world  have  the  same 
place  in  the  map,  and  the  same  windings  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  which  they  first  cut  for 
themselves  ;  and  that  way  they  have  continued 
to  follow  through  the  succession  of  all  coming 
generations.  J.  A.  Wallace. 

2764.  HABITS,  Power  of  Early.  Miss  Mar- 
tiueau  tells  of  a  white  infant  who  was  cap¬ 
tured  by  the  Indians,  and  grew  up  among 
them,  trained  to  their  habits,  and  to  think 
that  to  take  the  greatest  number  of  scalps  was 
the  highest  glory.  While  yet  a  youth,  he  was 
rescued,  was  educated,  and  subsequently  be¬ 
came  a  minister.  During  the  Revolutionary 
War,  he  held  a  pastorate  near  the  scene  of 
conflict.  lie  went  into  the  field  of  battle  in 
his  ministerial  dress,  but  returned  changed. 
A  gentleman  saw  blood  on  his  shirt,  and  said, 
‘‘  You  are  wounded.”  The  clergyman  put  up 
his  hands  as  if  to  conceal  the  wound.  The 
gentleman,  thinking  it  ought  to  be  looked  to, 
pulled  open  his  shirt,  and  from  beneath  it  took 
out  a  bloody  scalp  !  “  I  could  not  help  it,”  said 
the  victim  of  early  habits.  lie  ran  to  the  In¬ 
dians,  and  never  again  appeared  among  the 
whites. 

2765.  HALF-MEASURES,  Danger  o£  The  Earl 

of  Bath,  inveighing  in  strong  terms,  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  against  the  administration 
of  Fox  and  Pitt,  was  reminded  that  the  latter 
was  about  to  be  dismissed,  and  that  Fox  only" 
would  remain  in  office.  “  This  half-measure,”' 
said  his  lordship,  “  is  the  worst  of  all,  and  re¬ 
minds  me  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot.  The  lord-  ' 
chamberlain  was  sent  to  examine  the  vaults 
underneath  the  Parliament  House,  and  re¬ 
turned  with  the  report,  that  he  had  found  five 
aud  twenty  barrels  of  gunpowder,  but  that  he 
had  removed  ten  of  them,  and  hoped  the  re-' 
mainder  would  do  no  harm.”  Percy. 

2766.  HARDENING,  the  Heart.  The  pirate 
Gibbs,  whose  name  for  many  years  was  a  ter¬ 
ror  to  commerce,  was  finally  captured,  and  exe¬ 
cuted  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  acknowl¬ 
edged  before  his  death,  that,  when  he  commit¬ 
ted  the  first  murder,  his  conscience  made  a  hell 
within  his  bosom  ;  but,  after  he  had  sailed  for 
years  under  the  black-flag,  his  conscience  be¬ 
came  so  blunted,  he  could  rob  a  vessel,  murder 
all  its  crew,  and  then  lie  down  as  peacefully  1 
to  rest  as  an  infant  in  its  cradle. 

2767.  HAPPINESS,  Blessed.  A  pious  and 
cheerful  old  slave,  being  asked  if  he  was  nev¬ 
er  unhappy,  answered,  “  I  nebber  allows  my¬ 
self  to  ’fleet  on  de  bad  tings  dat  happen  to  me, 
nor  de  good  tings  dat  I  nebber  had  ;  and,  when 
I  tink  about  something  to  call  my  ovn,  it  seems 
as  if  I  had  a  big  treasure  rigfif  here,  dat  I  don’t 
owe  any  man  for.  When  all  de  rest  ob  de 
world  are  saying,  ‘  Dis  is  my  house,’  ‘  Dat  is 
my  sugar-mill,’  ‘  Dere  is  my  great  cotton- 
patch,’  I  say,  ‘  Dere  is  my  hope,  and  dere  is 
my  Saviour :  ’  and,  when  I  own  de  Lord  Jesus, 


326 


BLAJPFENTESS. 


HLAJPPESTKSS. 


it  seems  as  if  I  owned  all  de  rest ;  for  de  earth 
is  de  Lord’s,  and  de  fulness  dereof.  De  air  is 
mine,  and  I  can  bread  it ;  de  sunshine  is  mine, 
and  I  can  sit  in  it ;  de  earth  is  mine,  and  I  can 
lie  down  on  it  to  sleep.” 

2768.  HAPPINESS,  Christian.  It  was  once 
said  by  Solon,  “No  man  ought  to  be  called  a 
happy  man  till  he  dies,”  because  be  does  not 
know  what  his  life  is  to  be ;  but  Christians 
may  always  call  themselves  happy  men  here, 
because,  wherever  their  tent  is  carried,  they 
cannot  pitch  it  where  the  cloud  does  not 
move,  and  where  they  are  not  surrounded  by 
a  circle  of  tire.  “  I  will  be  a  wall  of  fire 
round  about  them,  and  their  glory  in  the 
midst.”  They  cannot  dwell  where  God  is  not 
householder,  warder,  and  bulwark  of  salvation. 

Spurgeon. 

2769.  HAPPINESS,  Condition  of.  The  foun¬ 

tain  of  content  must  spring  up  in  the  mind ; 
and  he  who  has  so  little  knowledge  of  human 
nature  as  to  seek  happiness  by  changing  any 
thing  but  his  own  dispositions  will  waste  his 
life  in  fruitless  efforts,  and  multiply  the  griefs 
which  he  purposes  to  remove.  Johnson. 

2770.  HAPPINESS,  Creature.  If  you  go  to  the 
creature  to  make  you  happy,  the  earth  will  tell 
you  that  happiness  grows  not  in  the  furrows  of, 
the  field  ;  the  sea,  that  it  is  not  in  the  treasures 
of  the  deep.  Cattle  will  say,  “  It  is  not  on  our 
backs.”  Crowns  will  say,  “  It  is  too  precious  a 
gem  to  be  found  in  us :  we  can  adorn  the  head, 
but  we  cannot  satisfy  the  heart.”  Spencer. 

2771.  HAPPINESS,  Equality  of.  Happiness 

is  much  more  equally  divided  than  some  of  us 
imagine.  One  man  shall  possess  most  of  the 
materials,  but  little  of  the  thing :  another  man 
possesses  much  of  the  thing,  but  very  few  of 
the  materials.  Colton. 

2772.  HAPPINESS,  Essential  of.  He  must  be 
miserable  who  does  not  consider  himself  hap¬ 
py,  although  he  could  command  the  universe. 
No  man  can  be  happy  who  does  not  think  him¬ 
self  so  ;  for  it  signifies  not  how  exalted  soever 
your  station  may  be,  if  it  appear  to  you  bad. 

Seneca. 

2773.  HAPPINESS,  Experience  regarding.  Eight 
gentlemen  were  once  travelling  together ;  when 
each  gave  his  experience  in  reply  to  the  ques¬ 
tion,  “Are  you  happy,  fully  happy?”  A 
banker  said  that  he  had  acquired  a  fortune, 
which  was  invested  beyond  a  possibility  of 
loss ;  that  he  had  a  most  lovely  and  devoted 
family,  yet  the  thought  that  he  must  leave 
them  all  forever  cast  a  funeral-pall  over  the 
decline  of  his  life.  A  military  officer  said  that 
he  had  known  glory  and  the  intoxication  of 
triumph ;  but,  after  the  battle,  he  passed  over 
the  field,  and  found  a  brother-officer  dying. 
Trying  to  relieve  him,  the  dying  man  said, 

“  Thank  you  ;  but  it  is  too  late.  We  must  all 
die  :  think  upon  it ;  think  upon  it.”  This 
scene  and  these  words  fastened  upon  him,  and 
le  could  find  no  deliverance.  He  confessed 
his  unhappiness.  A  diplomatist  spoke  of  the 
honors  and  gratitude  showered  upon  him  dur¬ 
ing  a  long  and  successful  career,  yet  confessed 
an  emptiness  of  the  heart,  a  secret  malady, 


which  all  his  honors  could  not  cure.  A  poet 
told  of  the  pleasures  he  enjoyed  with  the 
Muses  ;  of  the  applause  of  the  people  ;  of  his 
fame,  which  he  was  assured  was  immortal : 
but,  dissatisfied,  he  cries  out,  “  What  is  such 
an  immortality  ?  ”  and  declares  his  unsatisfied 
longing  for  a  higher  immortality.  A  man  of 
the  world  said  that  his  effort  had  been  to 
laugh  at  every  thing ;  to  look  at  the  bright  side 
of  things,  and  be  gay  ;  to  find  pleasure  in  the 
ball-room,  theatre,  and  other  amusements  ;  yet 
confessed  that  he  sometimes  had  the  ennui. 
and  was  not  perfectly  happy.  A  lawyer  of 
threescore  and  ten  said  that  he  had  health, 
wealth,  reputation,  and  domestic  felicity  ;  that, 
during  his  period  of  labor,  he  longed  for  just 
what  he  now  possessed ;  but  he  did  not  find 
the  expected  enjoyment,  and  contentment  was 
not  his  heritage.  His  hours  were  long ;  his 
existence  monotonous:  he  was  not  fully  happy. 
A  religious  professor,  who  seems  to  have  been 
only  a  ritualist  at  best,  professed  his  strict 
adherence  to  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and 
his  punctual  performance  of  its  duties,  without 
being  happy  at  all.  A  Christian  physician 
narrated  his  search  for  happiness  in  the  world 
and  in  his  profession  in  vain  ;  how  he  had 
been  led  by  the  Scriptures  to  see  himself  a 
sinner,  and  to  look  to  Christ  as  liis  Saviour : 
since  which  he  had  found  peace,  contentment, 
and  joy,  and  had  no  fear  of  the  end,  which  to 
him  was  but  the  commencement. 

2774.  HAPPINESS,  in  God.  St.  Augustine 
tells  of  two  who  were  passing  a  stately  house 
with  fine  grounds ;  when  one  asked  to  whom 
they  belonged,  and,  having  learned,  replied, 
“  Oh  1  that  is  a  happy  man  indeed.”  The 
other  answered,  “  Not  so  happy  as  you  think ; 
for  it  is  not  such  happiness  to  have  that  house 
and  land.  But  he  is  happy  indeed  who  has 
the  Lord  to  be  his  God ;  it  is  a  privilege 
which  exceeds  all  things  whatsoever :  for  he 
who  has  honor  and  riches  may  go  to  hell  for 
all  them  ;  but  he  who  has  God  for  his  God  is 
sure  to  be  everlastingly  happy.”  Spencer. 

2775.  HAPPINESS,  Heavenly.  Nicepliorus 

tells  of  one  Agbasus,  a  great  man,  that,  hear¬ 
ing  so  much  of  the  fame  of  Christ,  he  sent  a 
painter  to  take  his  picture  ;  and  that,  when  the 
painter  came,  he  could  not  do  it,  because  of 
the  radiancy  and  divine  splendor  which  sat 
on  Christ’s  face.  Neither  can  any  express  the 
happiness  of  heaven.  Spencer. 

2776.  HAPPINESS,  Human.  As  the  ivy  twines 
around  the  oak,  so  does  misery  and  misfortune 
encompass  the  happiness  of  man.  Felicity, 
pure  and  unalloyed  felicity,  is  not  a  plant  of 
earthly  growth  :  her  gardens  are  the  skies. 

Burton. 

2777.  HAPPINESS,  Incomplete.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  and  another  had  a  discussion  on  earthly 
happiness,  in  the  streets  of  Edinburgh ;  when 
one  appealed  to  a  simple  lad  called  Daft 
Jamie,  to  know  if  he  was  not  perfectly  happy. 
He  assented ;  but  Sir  Walter  said,  “Is  there 
naething  ava  that  troubles  you,  Jamie?”  — 
“  Ouie,  sir:  I  wud  be  unco  weal  and  happy, 
war  it  not  for  that  hubble  jack  that  follows 


KLA-PPESTESS. 


HAPPINESS. 


327 


me  a’  the  time,  ‘  crying,  Hubble,  bubble,  bub¬ 
ble  1  ’  ”  —  “  Now,”  said  Sir  Walter,  “  you  will 
find  that  every  person  has  something  in  this 
world,  either  real  or  imaginary,  that  keeps 
him  from  being  completely  happy.” 

2778..  HAPPINESS,  Ingredients  of.  Pound  St. 
Paul’s  Church  into  atoms,  and  consider  any 
single  atom :  it  is,  to  be  sure,  good  for  noth¬ 
ing  ;  but  put  all  these  atoms  together,  and  you 
have  St.  Paul’s  Church.  So  it  is  with  human 
felicity,  which  is  made  up  of  many  ingredi¬ 
ents,  each  of  which  may  be  shown  to  be  very 
insignificant.  Johnson. 

2779.  HAPPINESS,  in  Little  Things.  The  idea 
has  been  transmitted  from  generation  to  gen¬ 
eration,  that  happiness  is  one  large  and  beau¬ 
tiful  precious  stone,  —  a  single  gem,  so  rare 
that  all  search  after  it  is  vain,  all  effort  for  it 
hopeless.  It  is  not  so.  Happiness  is  a  mo¬ 
saic,  composed  of  many  smaller  stones.  Each, 
taken  apart  and  viewed  singly,  may  be  of  lit¬ 
tle  value ;  but  when  all  are  grouped  together, 
and  judiciously  combined  and  set,  they  form 
a  pleasing  and  graceful  whole,  —  a  costly 
jewel.  Trample  not  under  foot,  then,  the 
little  pleasures  which  a  gracious  Providence 
scatters  in  the  daily  path,  and  which,  in  eager 
search  after  some  great  and  exciting  joy,  we 
are  so  apt  to  overlook. 

2789.  HAPPINESS,  Marred.  In  the  consti¬ 
tution  both  of  our  mind  and  our  body,  every 
thing  must  go  on  right,  and  harmonize  well 
together,  to  make  us  happy ;  but,  should  any¬ 
thing  go  wrong,  this  is  quite  enough  to  make 
us  miserable :  and  although  the  joys  of  this 
world  are  vain  and  short,  yet  its  sorrows  are 
real  and  lasting  ;  lor  1  will  show  you  a  ton  of 
pain  with  greater  ease  than  an  ounce  of  per¬ 
fect  pleasure.  Colton. 

2781.  HAPPINESS,  Opinions  of  Yarro  reck¬ 
ons  up  two  hundred  and  eighty  different 
opinions  of  what  constitutes  happiness.  Lu¬ 
cian  gives  a  long  catalogue  of  the  ideas  of 
philosophers,  and  refutes  them  all. 

2782.  HAPPINESS,  Perfect.  It  is  heaven 

upon  earth  to  have  a  man’s  mind  move  in 
charity,  rest  in  Providence,  and  turn  upon  the 
poles  of  truth.  Lord  Bacon. 

2783.  HAPPINESS,  Power  of.  A  Prussian 
nobleman,  who  did  not  believe  in  God  nor  in 
the  Bible,  once  overheard  a  little  girl  singing. 
It  was  a  sweet  strain  ;  and  a  child’s  voice  is 
always  irresistible.  As  he  drew  near,  he  saw 
tears  upon  her  cheeks,  as  if  she  had  been  weep¬ 
ing.  “  Why  are  you  crying  as  you  sing  ?  ”  he 
kindly  asked  her.  “  Oh,  I  am  so  happy  1  ” 
said  the  little  girl.  “  But  why  do  you  weep  if 
you  are  so  happy?  ”  —  “I  love  Jesus  so  well,” 
the  little  girl  said,  “  that  I  was  crying  for  joy.” 
—  “But  where  is  Jesus?”  asked  the  noble¬ 
man.  “  In  heaven.”  —  “  How  can  he  do  any 
thing  for  you  if  he  is  in  heaven.  He  cannot 
give  you  clothes  and  playthings  as  your  par¬ 
ents  and  friends  do.”  —  “  Oh,  yes  1  he  can  do 
something  for  me.  He  comes  to  my  heart,  and 
makes  me  happy.” — “  Nonsense  1”  said  the 
nobleman  :  “  that  is  nonsense.”  —  “  Oh,  no  ! 
it  is  not  nonsense,”  answered  the  little  evan¬ 


gelist.  “  I  know  it  is  the  truth,  and  it  makes 
me  glad.”  The  nobleman  turned  away ;  but 
an  angel  had  touched  his  heart.  He  sought 
the  little  girl’s  Saviour,  and  joy  came  with 
him. 

2784.  HAPPINESS,  Profession  of  I  earn  that 

I  eat,  get  that  I  wear,  owe  no  man  hate,  envy 
no  man’s  happiness,  glad  of  other  men’s  good, 
and  content  with  my  harm.  Shakspeare. 

2785.  HAPPINESS,  Bare.  After  the  death 
of  Abdermau,  Caliph  of  Cordova,  the  follow¬ 
ing  paper  was  found  in  his  own  handwriting  : 
“  Fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  I  became  ca¬ 
liph.  I  have  possessed  riches,  honors,  pleas¬ 
ures,  friends ;  in  short,  every  thing  that  man 
can  desire  in  this  world.  I  have  reckoned  up 
the  days  in  which  I  could  say  I  was  really 
happy  ;  and  they  amount  to  fourteen.” 

2786.  HAPPINESS,  Religious.  A  careless 

man,  a  reckless  sinner,  was  arrested  in  the 
midst  of  his  wild  career  of  wickedness,  and 
brought  to  repentance.  By  the  great  mercy 
of  God,  he  was  converted,  pardoned,  and  began 
to  lead  a  new  life.  The  great  change  in  his 
habits  excited  the  remarks  of  all  the  neighbors. 
Meeting  with  one  of  his  old  associates  one  day, 
the  latter  remarked,  ‘  I  hear  you  have  given  up 
all  your  pleasures.”  —  “No,”  replied  the  other 
calmly  :  “  I  never  knew  what  pleasure  was  till 
now.  And  as  I  have  tried  the  pleasure  of  sin 
and  religion  both,  and  you  only  one,  I  ought 
to  be  the  best  judge.”  Dr.  Wise. 

2787.  HAPPINESS,  Revelation  of.  What  this 
is  the  Bible  alone  shows  clearly  and  certainly, 
and  points  out  the  way  that  leads  to  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  it.  This  is  that  which  prevailed  with 
St.  Augustine  to  study  the  Scriptures,  and 
engaged  his  affections  to  them.  “  In  Cicero 
and  Plato,  and  other  such  writers,”  says  he, 
“  I  meet  with  many  things  acutely-  said,  and 
things  that  excite  a  certain  warmth  of  emotion ; 
but  in  none  of  them  do  I  find  these  words, 

‘  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor,  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  ivill  give  you  rest.’  ” 

S.  T.  Coleridge. 

2788.  HAPPINESS,  School  of.  If  happiness 
were  an  attainment  of  the  mind,  to  be  acquired, 
as  a  science  or  an  art  is  learned  from  the  mas¬ 
ter,  no  place  could  contain  the  numbers  that 
would  flock  to  the  school.  But  there  is  no 
such  school :  each  must  learn  the  lesson  by 
himself. 

2789.  HAPPINESS,  Search  for.  “  Wliat  you 

demand  is  here,  or  at  U  iubrae.”  You  traverse 
the  world  in  search  of  happiness,  which  is 
within  the  reach  of  every  man :  a  contented 
mind  confers  it  on  all.  Horace. 

2790.  HAPPINESS,  Secret  of.  A  missionary 
from  India  relates  the  experience  of  a  native 
Christian  whom  he  was  called  to  visit.  Inquir¬ 
ing  the  state  of  her  mind,  she  replied,  “  Hap¬ 
py,  happy  I  I  have  Christ  here!”  laying  her 
hand  on  the  Bengalee  Bible,  “  and  Christ 
here  !  ”  pressing  it  to  her  heart,  “  and  Christ 
there!”  pointing  towards  heaven. 

2791.  HAPPINESS,  Secured,  lire  bride  that 
hath  good  cheere  within,  and  good  musicke, 
and  a  good  bridegroome  with  her,  may  be  mer- 


328 


HAPPESnESS. 


HATRED. 


rie,  though  the  hail  chance  to  rattle  upon  the 
tiles  without  upon  her  wedding-day.  Though 
the  world  should  rattle  about  his  ears,  a  man 
may  sit  merrie  that  sits  at  the  feast  of  a.  good 
conscience.  There  is  no  heaven  so  clcere  as 
a  good  conscience.  J.  Stoughton. 

2V92.  HAPPINESS,  Sensuous,  Ariosto,  in  one 
of  his  romantic  legends,  tells  us  of  a  tree, 
many-branched,  and  covered  with  delectable 
bunches  ;  but  whoso  shook  that  tree  to  win  the 
fruit,  found,  too  late,  that  not  fruit,  but  stones 
of  crushing  weight,  came  down  upon  his  head. 
The  sensualities  which  fools  call  pleasure  are 
such  a  tree :  they  who  seek  its  fruit  become  its 
victims.  S.  Coley. 

2703.  HAPPINESS,  Support  of.  In  passing 
through  the  hospitals  at  Fredericksburg,  Mr. 
Stuart  was  attracted  by  the  remarkably  happy 
face  of  a  wounded  soldier,  and  said,  “  You 
seem  happy,  my  friend.  I  trust  it  is  because 
our  faith  in  Christ  is  firm.”  —  “  Yes  :  I  took 
im  with  me  to  the  army.”  Deceived  by 
the  soldier’s  cheerfulness,  Mr.  Stuart  said, 
“  I  trust  you  are  not  much  hurt ;  ”  when  the 
brave  heart  rolled  down  the  covering,  and 
showed  him  that  both  his  legs  were  gone.  He 
died  in  the  same  marvellous  peace. 

2794.  HAPPINESS,  in  Suffering.  A  sergeant, 
who  had  a  leg  carried  away  by  a  shell  in  the 
second  Bull-Run  battle,  declared  himself, 
though  suffering,  and  hopelessly  wounded,  to  be 
“  the  happiest  man  you  ever  saw.”  He  lay  on 
the  field  all  night,  engaged  in  prayer.  He 
said,  “  I  prayed  ;  and  Christ  seemed  to  come 
and  stand  by  my  side  all  night :  and  he 
comforted  me.  I  felt  sure  that  my  sins  were 
all  washed  away  in  his  blood ;  and  I  do  tell 
you,  chaplain,  that  I  forgot  all  about  my  wounds 
for  the  moment.  It  was  the  happiest  night  of 
my  life.”  In  this  frame  of  mind,  he  passed  the 
few  remainining  days  .of  life,  and  then  sweetly 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

2795.  HAPPINESS,  Thankfulness  of.  A  poor 
slave  in  one  of  the  West-India  Islands  had 
learned  well  the  lesson  of  trusting  in  God.  A 
missionary  said  to  him,  “  Well,  Sambo,  if  your 
driver  should  lay  you  down  to  whip  you,  what 
would  you  do  ?  ”  —  “  Me  love  God,  and  trust 
him  all  de  same.”  —  “  But,  if  you  could  get  no 
meat  to  eat,  what  would  you  do  ?  ”  —  “  Me 
eat,  me  tank  me  Fader;  me  no  eat,  me  tank 
me  Fader:  me  live,  me  tank  me  Fader;  me 
die,  me  tank  me  Fader !  ” 

2796.  HAPPINESS,  Using,  The  day  had 
been  overcast :  suddenly  the  sun  shone  out,  and 
a  little  patch  of  sunshine  brightened  the  cor¬ 
ner  of  the  carpet.  Immediately  Tray  got  up, 
and,  with  a  wise  look,  trotted  to  the  bright 
place,  and  laid  himself  in  it.  “  There’s  true 
philosophy,”  said  George  :  “  only  one  patch  of 
sun-light  in  the  place,  and  the  sagacious  little 
dog  walks  out  of  the  shadow  to  roll  himself  in 
the  brightness.” 

2797.  HAPPINESS,  Views  of.  In  what  does 
the  summum  bonum,  the  supreme  good, consist? 
Four  different  opinions  on  this  question  ob¬ 
tained  from  the  ancients.  Plato  answers,  “  We 
must  find  happiness  by  taking  an  interest  in 


i  the  things  of  life :  we  must  love  life,  but  re¬ 
member,  that,  after  death,  we  shall  live  again.” 
Epicurus  said,  “  Live :  accept  life  without 
thinking  of  ever  living  again  after  death.” 
Zeno  answers,  “  We  must  take  no  interest  in 
this  life  :  in  a  measure,  we  must  make  ourselves 
independent  of  life,  and  not  live  at  all.  We 
must  become  even  from  the  present  a  free 
power,  a  god.  We  must  triumph  over  fate, 
emancipate  our  natures,  free  them  from  all 
restraints,  sure  as  we  are,  that,  after  this  life, 
our  connection  with  this  world  is  forever 
broken  off.”  St.  Augustine,  the  Christian 
father,  says,  “Be  not  over-interested  in  this 
life :  think,  with  Plato,  that  it  is  only  a  state 
contrary  to  the  original  nature  of  man ;  and 
like  Zeno,  that  this  chain  will  not  last  very 
long,  not  reproduce  itself;  but  instead  of  seek 
ing,  like  Zeno,  a  Saviour  in  yourself,  seek  him 
in  God  alone,  the  wisdom  which  has  become 
incarnate  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.” 

Dr.  Haven. 

2798.  HARMONY,  Condition  of.  The  story 

of  Amphion  sets  forth  how,  whatever  we  may 
have  to  build,  be  it  a  house,  a  city,  or  achurch, 
the  most  powerful  of  all  powers  that  we  can 
employ  in  building  it  is  harmony  and  love. 
Only  the  love  must  be  of  a  genuine,  lasting 
kind ;  not  a  spirit  of  weak  compromise,  sacri¬ 
ficing  principle  to  expedients,  and  abandon¬ 
ing  truths  for  the  sake  of  tying  a  love-knot 
of  errors,  but  strong  from  being  in  unison  with 
what  alone  is  true,  and  lasting,  — the  will  and 
word  of  God.  Else  the  bricks  will  fall  out  as 
quickly  as  they  have  fallen  in.  Hare. 

2799.  HARMONY,  Example  of.  The  stone- 
corals  grow  by  germination  ;  so  that  each  po¬ 
lypary  consists  of  a  series  of  generations,  con¬ 
stantly  increasing  and  multiplying,  without  ever 
separating  from  the  parent  stock.  A  neces¬ 
sary  consequence  of  this  mode  of  propagation 
is  the  intimate  union  of  all  the  members  of 
these  vast  communities.  Each  polyp  has 
its  own  tentacles,  mouth,  and  stomach  ;  each  is 
capable  of  shrinking  within  its  cell,  or  seizing 
its  prey ;  but  here  its  individuality  ceases,  as 
it  communicates  by  membranes  and  vessels 
with  its  neighbors ;  and  the  juices  which  it 
elaborates  are  made  to  contribute  to  the  nutri¬ 
tion  of  the  whole  community.  Linked  together 
by  an  indissoluble  chain,  five  millions  of  indi¬ 
viduals  live  together  in  peace  and  harmony  in 
one  single  porite  of  ten  feet  diameter. 

Hartwig. 

2800.  HARMONY,  Need  o£  The  following 
incident  in  the  life  of  Lord  Nelson  contains  a 
lesson  for  Christians.  On  the  day  before 
the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  Nelson  took  Colling- 
wood  and  Rotherham,  who  were  at  variance, 
to  a  spot  where  they  could  see  the  fleet  opposed 
to  them.  “  Yonder,”  said  the  admiral,  “  are 
your  enemies :  shake  hands,  and  be  good 
friends,  like  good  Englishmen.” 

2801.  HATRED,  Habit  of.  If  you  hate  your 

enemies,  you  will  contract  such  a  vicious  habit 
of  mind  as  by  degrees  will  break  out  upon 
those  who  are  your  friends,  or  those  who  are 
indifferent  to  you.  Plutarch. 


HATRED. 


HEARERS. 


329 


2802.  HATRED,  Object  o£  It  is  the  nature 

of  the  human  disposition  to  hate  him  whom 
you  have  injured.  Tacitus. 

2803.  HEARERS,  Careless.  It  is  said  by 
naturalists,  that,  if  water  and  wine  be  poured 
into  a  vessel  made  of  the  ivy-tree,  the  wine  will 
leak  out,  and  leave  the  water  behind.  Such 
are  all  worldly,  careless  hearers  of  God’s  word. 

Spencer. 

2804.  BEARERS,  Constant.  It  is  said  that 

the  Jokers,  or  pilgrim  saints  of  Ceylon,  will 
take  their  station  at  the  foot  of  the  cypress, 
and  there  remain  night  and  day,  watching  and 
watchful,  heedless  of  sunshine  or  of  storms, 
impelled  by  the  tradition  that  the  leaves  of 
that  ancient  tree,  falling  only  at  distant  and 
uncertain  intervals,  can,  if  gathered  and  eaten, 
restore  the  wasting  frame  to  all  the  energies 
of  youth.  A  plant  of  nobler  growth  lias  been 
sown  in  our  world ;  the  leaves  of  which  never 
fade,  nor  are  its  fruits  consumed.  The  latter 
are  lor  meat,  and  the  former  are  for  medicine  ; 
and  out  of  the  heavenly  sanctuary  issue  the 
waters  which  maintain  their  freshness.  Not 
at  long  and  unknown  intervals  do  they  descend. 
Regularly  and  ever  weekly  are  they  within  out¬ 
reach.  Shall  we  think  it  an  unwelcome  task 
to  tarry  a  few  moments  beneath  the  consecrated 
shade  while  we  await  the  first  shaking  of  the 
blessing-laden  boughs  ?  Miss  Henderson. 

2805.  HEARERS,  Critical.  A  man  that 

comes  hungry  to  his  meal  feeds  heartily  on  the 
meat  set  before  him,  not  regarding  the  metal, 
or  form  of  the  platter,  wherein  it  is  served ; 
who,  afterwards,  when  his  stomach  is  satisfied, 
begins  to  play  with  the  dish,  or  to  read  sen¬ 
tences  on  his  trencher.  Those  auditors  who 
can  find  nothing  to  do  but  note  elegant  words 
and  phrases,  or  rhetorical  colors,  or,  perhaps, 
an  ill  grace  of  gesture  in  a  pithy  and  material 
speech,  argue  themselves  full  ere  they  come  to 
the  feast;  and  therefore  go  away  with  little 
pleasure,  and  no  profit.  Bp.  Hall. 

2803.  HEARERS,  Impatient.  A  remarkable 
change  has  taken  place  among  the  people  of 
this  country  in  regard  to  the  public  service 
of  religion.  Our  forefathers  put  their  clocks 
on  the  outside  of  their  places  of  worship,  that 
they  might  not  be  too  late  in  their  attendance  : 
we  have  transferred  them  to  the  inside  of  the 
house  of  God,  lest  we  should  stay  too  long  in 
the  service,  — a  sad  and  an  ominous  change. 

II.  Watson. 

2807.  HEARERS,  Inattentive.  It  is  said  of 
Demosthenes,  that  speaking  to  the  Athenians 
on  a  very  serious  subject,  and  finding  them  to 
be  inattentive,  he  paused,  and  told  them  that 
he  had  something  of  special  importance  to  re¬ 
late,  which  he  was  anxious  that  they  should 
all  hear.  Silence  being  thus  obtained,  and 
every  eye  fixed  upon  him,  he  said  that  two 
men,  having  bargained  for  the  hire  of  an  ass, 
were  travelling  from  Athens  to  Megara  on  a 
very  hot  day ;  and  both  of  them  striving  to 
enjoy  the  shadow  of  the  ass.  One  of  them  said 
that  he  hired  the  ass  and  the  shadow  too  ;  the 
other  said  that  he  hired  the  ass  only,  and  not 
the  shadow.  Having  made  this  statement, 


Demosthenes  retired ;  when  the  people  pressed 
him  with  great  eagerness  to  return,  and  finish 
his  tale.  “  O  ye  Athenians  1  ”  said  he,  “  will 
ye  attend  to  me  when  speaking  about  the 
shadow  of  an  ass ;  and  will  ye  not  attend  to 
me  when  I  address  you  on  the  most  important 
affairs  ?  ” 

2808.  HEARERS,  Interested.  A  gentleman 
once  said  to  Rowland  Hill,  “  It  is  sixty-five 
years  since  I  first  heard  you  preach  ;  and  the 
sermon  was  well  worth  remembering.  You 
remarked,  that  some  people  are  very  squeamish 
about  the  manner  of  a  clergyman  in  preach¬ 
ing  ;  but  you  then  added,  “  Supposing  one  is 
hearing  a  will  read,  expecting  to  receive  a 
legacy,  would  you  employ  the  time  in  criticis¬ 
ing  the  lawyer’s  manner  while  reading  it  ? 
No  :  you  would  give  all  your  interest  to  ascer¬ 
tain  if  any  thing  were  left  to  yourself,  and 
how  much.  Let  that,  then,  be  the  way  in 
which  you  listen  to  the  gospel.” 

2830.  HEARERS,  Kinds  of.  There  are  four 
different  kinds  of  hearers  of  the  word,  —  those 
like  a  sponge,  that  suck  up  good  and  bad  to¬ 
gether,  and  let  both  run  out  immediately; 
those  like  a  sand-glass,  that  let  what  enters 
in  at  one  ear  pass  out  at  the  other,  hearing 
without  thinking  ;  those  like  a  strainer,  letting 
go  the  good,  and  retaining  the  bad  ;  and  those 
like  a  sieve,  letting  go  the  chafi',  and  retain¬ 
ing  the  good  grain.  Boston. 

281©.  HEARERS,  Motives  of.  As  there  were 
wise  virgins  and  foolish  virgins,  so  there  are 
wise  hearers  and  foolish  hearers.  Some  are  so 
nice,  that  they  had  rather  pine  than  take  their 
food  of  any  which  is  licensed  by  a  bishop  ;  as 
if  Elias  should  refuse  his  food  because  a  raven 
brought  it  to  him,  and  not  an  angel.  Some 
come  unto  the  service  to  save  forfeiture,  and 
then  they  stay  the  sermon  for  shame;  some 
come  because  they  would  not  be  counted 
atheists;  some  come  because  they  would  avoid 
the  name  of  papists  ;  some  come  to  please  their 
friends.  One  hath  a  good  man  to  his  friend; 
and,  lest  he  should  offend  him,  he  frequents  the 
preacher’s,  that  his  friend  may  think  well  of 
him.  Some  come  with  their  masters  and  mis¬ 
tresses  for  attendance.  Some  come  with  a  fame  : 
they  have  heard  great  speech  of  the  man,  and 
therefore  they  will  spend  one  hour  to  hear 
him  once,  but  to  see  whether  it  be  so  as  they 
say.  Some  come  because  they  are  idle  :  to  pass 
the  time,  they  go  to  a  sermon,  lest  they  should 
be  weary  of  doing  nothing.  Some  come  with 
their  fellows  :  one  saith,  “  Let  us  go  to  the  ser¬ 
mon.”  —  “  Content,”  saith  he ;  and  he  goeth  for 
company.  Some  hear  the  sound  of  a  voice  as 
they  pass  by  the  church,  and  step  in  before  they 
be  aware.  Another  hath  some  occasion  of  busi¬ 
ness,  and  he  appoints  a  friend  to  meet  him  at 
such  a  sermon,  as  they  do  at  Paul’s.  All 
these  are  accidental  hearers,  like  children 
which  sit  in  the  market,  and  neither  buy  nor 
sell :  but  as  many  foxes  have  been  taken  when 
they  came  to  take  ;  so  they  which  come  to  spy 
or  wonder  or  gaze  or  scoff  have  changed  their 
minds  before  they  went  home,  like  one  which 
finds  when  he  doth  not  seek.  Henry  Smith. 


S30 


Tl  hlAJBiijiniS* 


HEART. 


2S11.  HEARERS,  Offending.  As  a  thistle,  if 
stroked  upward,  will  not  molest  a  man,  but, 
if  stroked  downward,  will  prick  him  :  so  many 
hearers  of  the  word,  so  long  as  ihe  minister 
preaches  pleasant  things,  are  pleased  with 
him ;  but  so  soon  as  he  rubs  them  a  little  on 
the  gall,  and  touches  them  home  to  the  quick, 
then  they  kick  and  storm  at  the  same. 

Cawdray. 

2812.  HEARERS,  Only.  There  are  some 
diseases  that  are  called  the  reproaches  of  phy¬ 
sicians  ;  and  there  are  some  people  that  may  be 
truly  called  the  reproaches  of  ministers :  and 
those  are  they  who  are  great  hearers  and 
talkers  and  admirers  of  ministers,  but  never 
obey  the  doctrines  delivered  by  them. 

T.  Brooks. 

2813.  HEARERS,  Practical.  A  young  Chris¬ 
tian  one  sabbath  heard  Jay  give  eight  reasons 
why  we  should  be  thankful :  from  that  time 
he  put  up  his  thanksgiving  every  week  for  that 
blessed  boon.  On  another  occasion,  hearing  a 
funeral-sermon,  in  which  the  preacher  spoke  of 
a  lady  who  set  apart  a  portion  of  every  day 
to  pray  for  the  great  religious  societies  of  our 
land,  he  then  and  there  determined  to  follow  her 
example ;  and  has  carried  out  the  resolution 
from  that  period.  On  another  occasion,  hear¬ 
ing  a  sermon  on  Daniel’s  praying  three  times, 
he  determined  to  adopt  Daniel’s  plan,  and, 
though  often  short  of  time,  has  done  it  for 
thirty  years,  and  can  no  more  live  without  it 
than  without  his  meals.  Biblical  Treasury. 

2814.  HEARERS,  Tastes  of.  One  is  like  an 

Athenian,  and  he  hcarkeneth  after  news  :  if  the 
preacher  say  any  tiling  of  our  armies  beyond 
the  sea,  or  council  at  home,  or  matters  of 
court,  that  is  his  lure.  Another  is  like  the 
Pharisee,  and  he  watcheth  if  any  thing  be  said 
that  may  be  wrested  to  be  spoken  against  per¬ 
sons  in  high  place,  that  they  may  play  the  devil 
in  accusing  of  his  brethren :  let  him  write  that 
in  his  tables  too.  Another  smacks  of  eloquence ; 
and  he  gapes  for  a  phrase,  that,  when  he 
cometh  to  liis  ordinary,  he  may  have  one  fig¬ 
ure  more  to  grace  and  worship  his  tale.  Anoth¬ 
er  is  malcontent ;  and  he  never  pricketh  up  his 
ears  till  the  preacher  come  to  gird  against 
some  whom  he  spiteth;  and  when  the  sermon 
is  done,  he  remembereth  nothing  which  was 
said  to  him,  but  that  which  was  spoken  against 
another.  Another  cometh  to  gaze  about  the 
church  :  he  hath  an  evil  eye,  which  is  still  look¬ 
ing  upon  that  from  which  Job  did  avert  his  eye. 
Another  cometh  to  muse  :  so  soon  as  he  is  set, 
he  falleth  into  a  brown  study ;  sometimes  his 
mind  runs  on  his  market,  sometimes  of  his 
journey,  sometimes  of  his  suit,  sometimes  of 
his  dinner,  sometimes  of  his  sport  after  dinner ; 
and  the  sermon  is  done  before  the  man  thinks 
where  he  is.  Another  cometh  to  hear ;  but  so 
soon  as  the  preacher  hath  said  his  prayer,  he 
falls  fast  asleep,  as  though  he  had  been  brought 
in  for  a  corpse,  and  the  preacher  should  preach  I 
at  his  funeral.  Henry  Smith. 

2815.  HEARING,  Benefit  of  When  a  man 
says  he  received  a  blessing  under  a  sermon,  I 
beg  to  inquire  what  effect  it  has  produced. 


The  Roman  soldiers  proved  the  effect  produced 
by  Anthony’s  sermon,  when  they  flew  to  avenge 
the  death  of  Cmsar.  J.  Newton. 

2816.  HEARING,  Inattentive.  When  Bishop 
Aylmer  saw  his  congregation  inattentive,  he 
would  recite  some  verses  from  the  Hebrew 
Bible.  His  audience  ■would  stare  with  aston¬ 
ishment  ;  when  he  would  tell  them  the  folly  of 
listening  to  an  unknown  tongue,  and  neglect¬ 
ing  words  so  easily  comprehended. 

2817.  HEARING,  Obedient.  A  missionarv  to 
one  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  preached  on 
stealing,  enforcing  also  the  duty  of  restitution. 
The  next  morning,  he  found  his  house  sur¬ 
rounded  by  natives  bringing  their  stolen  goods. 
“  We  have  not  been  able  to  sleep  all  night,” 
they  said  :  “  we  were  at  chapel  yesterday,  and 
heard  you  say  from  the  word  of  God  that  Je¬ 
hovah  commanded  us  not  to  steal ;  whereas  we 
used  to  worship  a  god  who  we  thought  would 
protect  thieves.  We  have  stolen.  All  these 
things  that  we  have  brought  with  us  are 
stolen  goods.”  Then  one  of  the  men  held 
up  a  saw,  saying,  “  I  stole  this  from  the  carpen¬ 
ter  of  a  ship.”  The  people  begged  Mr.  Nott 
to  keep  the  things  until  they  could  find  the 
owners.  One  man  who  had  stolen  from  a  mis¬ 
sionary  then  on  another  island  took  a  voyage 
of  seventy  miles  to  restore  the  goods. 

2818.  HEARING,  Practical.  “Is  the  sermon 
done  ?  ”  was  asked  of  one  who  returned  from 
church  sooner  than  usual.  “  No,  not  yet,”  was 
the  answer :  “  it  is  preached,  but  it  still  re¬ 
mains  to  be  done.” 

2819.  HEARING,  Profitable.  There  is  a  story 
of  two  men,  who,  walking  together,  found  a 
young  tree  laden  with  fruit.  They  both  gath¬ 
ered,  and  satisfied  themselves  for  the  present ; 
but  one  of  them  took  all  the  remaining  fruit 
and  carried  it  away  with  him  :  the  other  took 
the  tree,  and  planted  it  in  his  own  ground, 
where  it  prospered  and  brought  forth  fruit 
every  year ;  so  that  though  the  former  had 
more  at  present,  yet  this  had  some  when  he 
had  none.  They  who  hear  the  word,  and  have 
large  memories  and  nothing  else,  may  carry 
away  most  of  the  word  at  present ;  yet  he  that 
perhaps  can  but  remember  little,  who  carries 
away  the  tree,  plants  the  word  in  his  heart, 
and  obeys  it  in  his  life,  shall  have  fruit  when 
the  other  has  none. 

2820.  HEARING,  Right  Spirit  in.  When  Juli¬ 

us  Mascaron  preached  before  the  French  court, 
some  envious  persons  would  have  made  a  crime 
of  the  freedom  with  which  he  announced  the 
truths  of  Christianity  to  King  Louis  XIV. 
His  majesty  very  spiritedly  rebuked  them, 
saying,  “  He  has  done  his  duty  :  it  remains  for 
us  to  do  ours.”  Percy. 

2821.  HEART,  Activity  of  the.  The  sea  works, 

the  heavens  move,  the  earth  never  stands  still. 
Thus  the  heart  of  man  never  rests,  sleeping  or 
waking :  it  fancies  more  in  a  moment  than  it 
can  compass  in  many  years.  Lust  entices 
it,  vanity  possesses  it,  anger  disquiets  it,  pleas¬ 
ure  seduces  it,  envy  torments  it,  sorrow  and 
sadness  vex  and  molest  it.  It  finds  no  rest 
until  it  returns  to  Christ.  Spencer. 


HEART. 


HEART. 


331 


2822.  HEART,  Attacks  upon  the.  Inasmuch 
as  the  heart  is  the  most  important  part  of  man, 
—  for  out  of  it  arc  the  issues  of  life,  —  it  would 
be  natural  to  expect  that  Satan,  when  he  in¬ 
tended  to  do  mischief  to  manhood,  would  be 
sure  to  make  his  strongest  and  most  perpetual 
attacks  upon  the  heart.  What  we  might  have 
guessed  in  wisdom  is  certainly  true  in  experi¬ 
ence;  for  although  Satan  will  tempt  and  try 
us  in  every  way,  though  every  gate  of  the 
town  of  Mansoul  may  be  battered,  though 
against  every  part  of  the  walls  thereof  he  will 
be  sure  to  bring  out  his  great  guns,  yet  the 
place  against  which  he  levels  his  deadliest 
malice  aud  his  most  furious  strength  is  the 
heart.  Into  the  heart,  already  of  itself  evil 
enough,  he  thrusts  the  seeds  of  every  evil 
thing,  and  doth  his  utmost  to  make  it  a  den  of 
unclean  birds,  a  garden  of  poisonous  trees,  a 
river  flowing  with  destructive  water. 

Spurgeon. 

2823.  HEART,  Change  of.  Suppose  my  watch 

were  not  going  well :  would  it.  do  it  any  good 
were  I  to  go  to  the  town-clock,  and  take  out  my 
key,  and  make  the  hands  of  the  watch  to  point 
the  same  as  those  of  the  clock  ?  You  know 
this  would  do  no  good ;  for  the  hands  would 
soon  be  as  far  wrong  as  ever.  I  must  send  my 
watch  to  the  watchmaker,  that  lie  may  put  its 
heart  right,  and  then  the  hands  will  go  right 
too.  So  it  is  with  you,  children.  You  must 
first  get  your  heart  put  right :  then  your  hands 
will  go  right,  and  your  feet,  and  all  will  go 
right.  Bee.  J.  Inglis. 

2824.  HEART,  Christ  Entering  the.  Suppose 

you  were  in  a  dark  room  in  the  morning,  the 
shutters  closed  and  fastened,  and  only  as  much 
light  coming  through  the  chinks  as  made  you 
aware  it  was  day  outside.  And  suppose  you 
should  say  to  a  companion  with  you,  “  Let  us 
open  the  windows,  and  let  in  the  light.”  What 
would  you  think  if  he  replied,  “  No,  no :  you 
must  first  put  the  darkness  out,  or  the  light 
will  not  enter  ”  ?  You  would  laugh  at  his  ab¬ 
surdity.  Just  so  we  cannot  put  sin  out  of  our 
hearts  to  prepare  for  Christ’s  entering :  we 
must  open,  and  take  him  in,  and  sin  will  flee. 
Fling  the  window  open  at  once,  and  let  Christ 
shine  in.  Dr.  Edmond. 

2823.  HEART,  Christ  Knocking  at  the.  In  Hol¬ 
man  Hunt’s  picture,  “  The  Light  of  the  World,” 
is  represented  an  august  person  standing  with 
a  lamp  in  his  hands  under  a  midnight  sky,  on 
the  outside  of  a  walled  enclosure,  the  entrance- 
ate  of  which  is  barred.  He  stands  as  one  who 
as  knocked  over  and  over  and  over  again,  and 
received  no  answer;  and  you  observe  that  the 
wild  vine  and  bramble  have  grown  over  the 
gate,  showing  how  long  and  resolutely  it  has 
been  closed.  So  Christ  stands  outside  the 
temple  of  our  hearts,  willing  to  enter  and  con¬ 
secrate  them,  if  we  will  but  open  the  door. 

Biblical  Treasury. 

2826.  HEART,  Christ's  Kingdom  in  the.  A 
wounded  soldier-boy  was  dying  in  a  hospital. 
The  lady  who  watched  by  his  bedside  said  to 
him,  “  My  dear  boy,  if  this  should  be  death 
that  is  coming  upon  you,  are  you  ready  to  meet 


your  God  ?  ”  He  answered,  “  I  am  ready,  dear 
lady ;  for  this  has  long  been  his  kingdom ;  ”  and 
as  he  spoke  he  placed  his  hand  upon  his  heart. 
“  Do  you  mean,”  questioned  the  lady  gently, 
“  that  God  rules  and  reigns  in  your  heart  V  ” 
“  Yes,”  he  answered ;  but  his  voice  sounded 
far  off,  sweet  and  low,  as  if  it  came  from  a  soul 
already  well  on  its  way  through  the  “  dark 
valley  and  shadow  of  death.” 

2827.  HEART,  Controlling  the.  The  heart  of 
man  is  older  than  his  head.  The  first-born  is 
sensitive,  but  blind.  Reason,  his  younger  broth¬ 
er,  has  a  cold  but  all-comprehensive  glance. 
The  blind  must  consent  to  be  led  by  the 
clear-sighted,  if  he  would  avoid  falling. 

Zeigler. 

2828.  HEART,  Corruptions  in  the.  Methodius 
compares  the  inbred  corruptions  of  man’s  heart 
to  a  wild  fig-tree  growing  upon  the  wall  of 
some  goodly  temple  or  stately  palace,  whereof, 
although  the  main  trunk  of  the  stem  be  broke 
off,  and  stump  of  the  root  be  plucked  up,  yet 
the  fibrous  strings  of  it,  piercing  into  the  joints 
of  the  stone-work,  will  not  be  utterly  extracted, 
but  will  ever  and  anon  be  shooting  and  sprout¬ 
ing  out,  until  the  whole  frame  of  the  building 
be  dissolved,  and  the  stone-work  thereof  be 
disjointed  and  pulled  in  pieces.  T.  Brooks. 

2820.  HEART,  Cure  for  a.  There  is  a  story 
of  an  earl  that  was  much  given  to  immoderate 
anger ;  and  the  means  he  used  to  cure  it  was 
by  studying  Christ,  his  patience  under  the  in¬ 
juries  and  affronts  offered  him  :  and  he  never 
suffered  the  meditation  to  pass  before  he  found 
his  heart  transformed  to  the  similitude  of  Christ 
Jesus.  Spencer. 

2830.  HEART,  Deceitfulness  of  the.  The  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  accounts  given  of  the  infamous 
Robespierre,  in  connection  with  the  horrible 
atrocities  committed  during  the  French  Revo¬ 
lution,  serves  as  an  illustration  of  the  subject. 
This  man  originally  seemed  an  amiable  man : 
so  he  was  deemed  in  all  his  neighborhood.  He 
published  two  books,  —  one  on  electricity,  the 
other  on  the  code  of  criminal  jurisprudence; 
lamenting  that  it  was  so  sanguinary,  and  en¬ 
deavoring  to  ameliorate  it.  But  the  current 
of  the  Revolution  laid  hold  on  him,  and  the 
flood  hurried  him  away ;  and  he  became  the 
reverse  of  all  he  appeared  before.  IF.  Jay. 

2831.  HEART,  Depravity  of  the.  There  is 
enough  tinder  in  the  heart  of 'the  best  men 
in  the  world  to  light  a  fire  that  shall  burn  to 
the  lowest  hell,  unless  God  should  quench  the 
sparks  as  they  fall.  There  is  enough  corruption, 
depravity,  and  wickedness  in  the  heart  of  the 
most  holy  man  that  is  now  alive  to  damn  his 
soul  to  all  eternity,  if  free  and  sovereign  grace 
does  not  prevent.  O  Christian  1  thou  hast 
need  to  pray.  But  I  think  I  hear  you  saying, 
“  Is  thy  servant  a  dog,  that  I  should  do  this 
thing  V”  So  said  Hazael,  when  the  prophet 
told  him  that  he  would  slay  his  master;  but  he 
went  home,  and  took  a  wet  cloth,  and  spread  it 
over  his  master’s  face  and  choked  him,  and  did 
the  next  day  the  sin  which  he  abhorred  be¬ 
fore.  Boast  not  thyself,  then,  O  Christian ! 

Spurgeon. 


332 


HEART. 


2S3‘2.  HEART,  Diversities  of.  There  are  no 
buds  which  can  open  without  the  sun  ;  but 
there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  time  it  takes 
them  to  unfold.  Some  have  their  outer  petals 
so  closely  wrapped  and  glued  together,  that 
there  must  be  many  days  of  warm  shining  be¬ 
fore  they  will  begin  to  expand ;  and  others 
there  are  which  make  haste  to  get  out  of  the 
ground,  and  almost  as  soon  as  they  are  buds 
they  are  blossoms.  So  is  it  with  human  hearts. 
Some  are  so  cold  and  impervious  that  it  seems 
as  though  God’s  Spirit  never  could  reach 
them ;  and  others  there  are  which  open  to  its 
first  influences.  Beecher. 

2833.  HEART,  Divided.  In  every  age  and 

country,  there  are  some  found  with  divided 
hearts  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Such  was 
Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  who,  while  he  blessed  the 
Lord  that  Solomon  was  king,  and  gladly  traded 
with  him  for  some  of  the  materials  for  building 
a  temple  to  Jehovah,  also  contributed  one 
hundred  and  twenty  talents  of  gold  towards 
its  erection ;  and  yet,  in  his  own  country,  he 
dedicated  a  golden  pillar  to  Jupiter,  built  the 
temples  of  Hercules  and  Astarte  (the  Ashta- 
roth  of  the  Sidonians),  and  enriched  the  shrines 
of  the  god  and  goddess  by  valuable  gifts.  So 
there  are  some  people  now  who  appear  very 
religious  at  times,  and  yet  their  hearts  go  after 
covetousness,  and  they  are  quite  at  home  in 
the  circles  of  the  gay  and  in  the  indulgence  of 
6inful  pleasures.  W.  J.  F. 

2834.  HEART,  Fear  of  the.  I  am  more  afraid 

of  my  own  heart  than  of  the  pope  and  ail  his 
cardinals.  I  have  within  me  the  great  pope, 
—  self.  Luther. 

2835.  HEART,  FiHing  the.  You  may  as  soon 
fill  a  bag  with  wisdom,  a  chest  with  virtue,  or 
a  circle  with  a  triangle,  as  the  heart  of  man 
with  any  thing  here  below.  A  man  may  have 
enough  of  the  world  to  sink  him,  but  lie  can 
never  have  enough  to  satisfy  him.  T.  Brooks. 

2836.  HEART,  a  Furnace.  The  heart  of  man 

is  a  furnace  continually  burning.  If  thou  wilt 
nourish  it  with  meditations  of  the  love  of  God, 
there  will  appear  a  bright  flame  of  love  to 
God  and  man  ;  but  if  thou  maintain  it  with 
thoughts  of  self-love,  then  it  will  be  f  ull  of  vile 
smoke,  stench,  and  darkness.  Cawdray. 

2837.  HEART,  Good,  There  was  a  great 
master  among  the  Jews,  who  bid  his  scholars 
consider  and  tell  him  what  was  the  best  way 
wherein  a  man  should  always  keep.  One 
came  and  said  that  there  was  nothing  better 
than  a  good  eye ;  which  is,  in  their  language,  a 
liberal  and  contented  disposition.  Another 
said  a  good  companion  is  the  best  thing  in  the 
world.  A  third  said  a  good  neighbor  was 
the  best  thing  he  could  desire ;  and  a  fourth 
preferred  a  man  that  could  foresee  things  to 
come ;  that  is,  a  wise  person.  But  at  last  there 
came  in  one  Eleazer ;  and  he  said  a  good  heart 
was  better  than  them  all.  “  True,”  said  the 
master :  “  thou  hast  comprehended  in  two  words 
all  that  the  rest  have  said.  For  he  that  hath  a 
good  heart  will  be  both  contented  and  a  good 
companion,  a  good  neighbor,  and  easily  see 
what  is  fit  to  be  done  by  him.”  Bp.  Patrick. 


2838.  HEART,  Guilty.  In  the  case  of  the 
criminal  who  has  long  stifled  his  conscience, 
the  heart  beats  violently  when  he  labors  under 
apprehension  or  anxiety.  We  are  told  of  an 
ingenious  judge,  who,  as  an  easy  and  expedi¬ 
tious  way  of  detecting  a  murderer  among  a 
number  of  persons  who  were  suspected,  ordered 
them  all  to  stand  round  him  in  a  circle  and  un¬ 
cover  their  bosoms.  He  then  proceeded  to  lay 
his  hand  upon  each  in  succession,  over  the 
region  of  the  heart,  and  discovered  the  per¬ 
petrator  by  the  violence  of  the  palpitation. 

Gotthold. 

2839.  HEART,  Hardening  the.  On  a  winter 
evening,  when  the  frost  is  setting  in  with 
growing  intensity,  and  when  the  sun  is  now 
far  past  the  meridian,  and  gradually  sinking  in 
the  western  sky,  there  is  a  double  reason  why 
the  ground  grows  every  moment  harder  and 
more  impenetrable  to  the  plough.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  frost  of  evening,  with  ever  increas¬ 
ing  intensity,  is  indurating  the  stiffening  clods: 
on  the  other  hand,  the  genial  rays  which 
alone  can  soften  them  are  every  moment  with¬ 
drawing  and  losing  their  enlivening  power. 
Take  heed  that  it  be  not  so  with  you.  As  long 
as  you  are  unconverted,  you  are  under  a  double 
process  of  hardening.  The  frosts  of  an  eternal 
night  are  settling  down  upon  your  souls  ;  and 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  with  westering  wheel, 
is  hastening  to  set  upon  you  forever  more.  If, 
then,  the  plough  of  grace  cannot  force  its  way 
into  your  ice-bound  heart  to-day,  what  likeli¬ 
hood  is  there  that  it  will  enter  to-morrow  ? 

McCheyne. 

2840.  HEART,  Hardness  of  the.  Stones  are 

charged  with  the  worst  species  of  hardness  : 
“  As  stubborn  as  a  stone.”  And  yet  the  hard¬ 
est  stones  subndt  to  be  smoothed  and  rounded 
under  the  soft  friction  of  water.  Ask  the 
myriads  of  stones  on  the  seashore  what  has 
become  of  all  their  angles,  once  so  sharp,  and 
of  the  roughness  and  unconthness  of  their 
whole  appearance.  Their  simple  reply  is, 
“  Water  wrought  with  us,  nothing  but  water; 
and  none  of  us  resisted.”  If  they  yield  to  be 
fashioned  by  the  water,  and  you  do  not  to  be 
fashioned  by  God,  what  wonder  if  the  very 
stones  cry  against  you  !  Puls  ford. 

2841.  HEART,  Home  of  the.  It  is  recorded 

of  Edward  the  First,  that  he  had  a  great  desire 
to  go  to  the  Holy  Land;  but,  being  hindered  by 
a  domestic  war,  he  gave  his  son  a  strict  charge 
upon  his  deathbed,  that,  after  his  death,  he 
should  cause  his  heart  to  be  conveyed  thither; 
and  to  that  purpose  he  had  prepared  two-and- 
thirty  thousand  pounds  to  defray  the  charge, 
and  ordered  that  seven-score  knights,  with 
their  several  retinues,  should  attend  it  there. 
Thus  the  saints  and  dear  children  of  God, 
though  they  have  not  their  bodies  in  heaven, 
yet  their  hearts  are  there.  Spencer. 

2842.  HEART,  Hornets  in  the.  The  Saviour 
does  not  stop  to  prove  that  these  things  come 
out  of  the  heart.  He  asserts  it  because  it  is 
self-evident.  When  you  see  a  thing  coming 
forth,  you  are  clear  it  was  there  first.  Last 
summer,  I  noticed  hornets  continually  flying 


HE1AJRT. 


HEART. 


333 


from  a  number  of  decayed  logs  in  my  garden. 
I  saw  them  constantly  flying  in  and  out;  and  I 
did  not  think  myself  at  all  unreasonable  in 
concluding  that  there  was  a  hornet's  nest 
there.  And  so,  if  we  see  the  hornets  of  sin 
flying  out  of  a  man,  we  suppose  at  once  there 
is  sin  within  him.  Spurgeon. 

2843.  HEART,  Image  in  the.  Visiting  a 

Eaintcr,  Gotthold  said,  “A  painter  requires, 
y  long  and  repeatedly  viewing  the  counte¬ 
nance  he  has  to  paint,  to  impress  it,  in  the  first 
instance,  on  his  heart,  in  order  afterwards  to 
produce  it  with  colors  upon  the  canvas.  And, 
in  the  same  way,  it  is  upon  the  heart  that  the 
image  of  Jesus  Christ  must  first  be  formed, 
and  then  afterwards  transferred  into  a  holy 
life  and  an  affectionate  and  godly  walk.  Once 
impressed  upon  the  heart,  it  will  soon  show 
itself  in  the  thoughts,  words,  actions,  and 
gestures.  And,  in  this  work,  never  must  we 
grow  weary  or  dispirited.  A  picture  is  not 
painted  at  a  stroke,  but  is  brought  by  slot* 
degrees,  after  many  sittings,  and  with  cautious 
touches,  to  perfection.” 

2844.  HEART,  for  Jesus.  A  little  boy  in 
Sienna,  during  a  long  illness,  had  spoken  oc¬ 
casionally  to  the  evangelist  Kay  of  going  to 
Jesus.  He  conceived  the  odd  idea  of  disposing 
among  his  friends,  by  way  of  legacy,  of  the 
several  parts  of  bis  body.  All  seemed  to  be 
bequeathed,  when  the  mother  remarked  that 
he  had  omitted  “  the  dear  little  heart.”  The 
little  patient  replied,  that  “  the  little  heart  must 
be  kept  for  Jems.” 

2845.  HEART,  Lock  for  the.  A  lock  was 
shown  to  Gotthold,  constructed  of  rings,  which 
were  severally  inscribed  with  certain  letters, 
and  could  be  turned  round  until  the  letters  rep¬ 
resented  the  name  •“Jesus.”  It  was  only  when 
the  rings  were  disposed  in  this  manner  that 
the  lock  could  be  opened.  The  invention 
pleased  him  beyond  measure ;  and  he  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  Oh  that  I  could  put  such  a  lock  as 
this  upon  my  heart  1  Our  hearts  are  already 
locked,  no  doubt,  but  generally  with  a  lock  of 

Suite  another  kind.  Many  need  only  to  hear 
le  words  ‘gain,’  ‘honor,’  ‘pleasure,’  ‘riches,’ 
‘revenge,’  and  their  heart  opens  in  a  moment; 
whereas  to  the  Saviour  and  to  his  holy  name 
it  continues  shut.” 

2840.  HEART,  New.  A  teacher  asked  a 
little  girl  in  her  class,  “  Uo  you  think  you 
have  a  new  heart V  ”  —  “Yes,  teacher:  I  hope 
so,”  replied  the  child.  “What  makes  you 
hope  so?” — “Because  I  love  the  things 
which  I  used  to  hate,  and  hate  what  I  used  to 
love.” 

284’?.  HEART,  Occupied.  A  profane  sea- 
captain  came  to  a  mission-station  on  the 
Pacific ;  and  the  missionary  talked  with  him 
upon  religious  subjects.  The  captain  said, 
“I  came  away  from  Nantucket  after  whales; 

I  have  sailed  round  Cape  Horn  for  whales ;  I 
am  now  up  in  the  Northern  Pacific  Ocean 
after  whales.  I  tliink  of  nothing  but  whales. 

I  fear  your  labor  would  be  entirely  lost  upon 
me,  and  I  ought  to  be  honest  with  you.  I 
tare  lor  nothing,  by  day,  but  whales,  and  I 


dream  of  them  by  night.  If  you  should  open 
my  heart,  I  think  you  would  find  the  shape 
of  a  small  sperm-whale  there.” 

2848.  HEART,  Peaceful.  Unless  the  heart  be 

kept  peaceable,  the  life  will  not  be  happy.  If 
calm  doth  not  reign  over  that  inner  lake  within 
the  soul  which  feeds  the  rivers  of  our  life,  the 
rivers  themselves  will  always  be  in  storm.  Our 
outward  acts  will  always  tell  that  they  were 
born  in  tempests,  by  being  tempestuous  them¬ 
selves.  We  all  desire  to  lead  a  joyous  life :  the 
bright  eye  and  the  elastic  foot  are  things  which 
we  each  of  us  desire ;  to  carry  about  a  con¬ 
tented  mind  is  that  to  which  most  men  are 
continually  aspiring.  Let  us  remember  that  the 
only  way  to  keep  our  life  peaceful  and  happy 
is  to  keep  the  heart  at  rest ;  for,  come  poverty, 
come  wealth,  come  honor,  come  shame,  come 
plenty,  or  come  scarcity,  if  the  heart  be  quiet, 
there  will  be  happiness  anywhere.  But,  what¬ 
ever  the  sunshine  and  the  brightness,  if  the 
heart  be  troubled,  the  whole  life  must  be 
troubled  too.  Spurgeon. 

2849.  HEART,  Question  of  the.  “  I  have 
plunged  deeply  into  pleasure,”  said  one,  “  have 
sought  happiness  in  the  dancing-hall,  at  the 
gaming-table  and  the  wine-cup ;  and  might  en¬ 
joy  it,  but  for  the  thought,  that,  thousands  of 
miles  away,  my  father  is  daily  pleading  with 
God  for  my  salvation.”  Another  acknowledged, 
“  I  have  amassed  wealth ;  my  success  has  ex¬ 
ceeded  my  hi  vilest  anticipation ;  but  the  fear¬ 
ful  question,  ‘  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own 
soul  ?  ’  which,  years  ago,  I  heard  in  a  humble 
church,  in  my  native  village,  rings  in  my  ears 
and  poisons  mv  enjoyment.” 

2850.  HEART,  Renewing  the.  A  little  boy 
once  said,  “  How  hard  it  is  to  do  right  1  ”  and 
so  hard  did  he  find  it,  that,  after  a  while,  he 
added.  “  It’s  of  no  use  trying.”  But  be  was  a 
boy  who  had  learnt  to  read  and  understand  the 
Bible;  and  one  day  he  thought  to  himself, 

“  Why !  I  have  been  trying  to  change  myself  all 
this  time ;  and  here  1  read  that  only  God  can 
change  me.  How  foolish  I  have  been  not  to 
ask  him  1  ”  Reo.  S.  G.  Green. 

2851.  HEART,  a  Reservoir.  You  have  seen 

the  great  reservoirs  provided  by  our  water  com¬ 
panies,  in  which  the  water  which  is  to  supply 
hundreds  of  streets  and  thousands  of  houses  is 
kept.  Now,  the  heart  is  just  the  reservoir  of 
man  ;  and  our  life  is  allowed  to  flow  in  its  proper 
season.  That  life  may  flow  through  different 
pipes,  —  the  mouth,  the  hand,  the  eye ;  but  still 
all  the  issues  of  hand,  of  eye,  of  lip,  derive 
their  source  from  the  great  fountain  and  central 
reservoir,  the  heart ;  and  hence  there  is  no  dif¬ 
ficulty  in  showing  the  great  necessity  that  ex¬ 
ists  for  keeping  this  reservoir  —  the  heart  —  in 
a  proper  state  and  condition ;  since  otherwise 
that  which  flows  through  the  pipes  must  be 
tainted  and  corrupt.  Spurgeon. 

2852.  HEART,  Right,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  a 
noble  Englishman  and  true  Christian,  was  pu- 
sillaniinously  sacrificed  by  James  I.,  and  con¬ 
demned  to  be  beheaded,  on  a  false  charge  of 
treason.  The  executioner  asked  him  which 


334 


T '  lEA^RT. 


HEATHENISM. 


way  lie  would  lay  his  head.  He  replied,  “  So 
the  heart  be  right,  it  is  no  matter  which  way 
the  head  lies.” 

3853.  HEART,  Right  Use  of  the.  A  young  lady 
who  was  converted  after  losing  a  dear  sister 
was  asked,  “  Did  you  feel  any  more  than  usual 
interest  in  seeking  the  salvation  of  your  soul 
before  the  sickness  and  death  of  your  sister?  ” 
She  replied,  “  Yes :  I  have  been  thinking  more 
than  usual  of  the  subject  for  some  months.  I 
have  been  resolved  all  summer  that  I  would 
try  to  do  right  in  every  thing.  But,”  she  added, 
“  I  could  not  help  feeling  all  the  time ,  that,  in 
doing  right,  the  first  thing  was  to  give  mg  heart 
to  Jesus.” 

3854.  HEART,  of  Stone,  Near  by  a  stone,  in 

a  mass  of  rock  that  had  fallen  from  some  over¬ 
hanging  crag,  we  once  came  upon  an  adder,  as 
it  lay  in  ribbon  coil  basking^  on  the  sunny 
ground.  At  our  approach  the  reptile  stirred, 
uncoiled  itself,  and,  hissing,  gave  signs  of  battle. 
Attacked,  it  retreated,  and,  making  for  that 
gray  stone,  wormed  itself  into  a  hole  in  its  side. 
Its  nest  and  home  were  there.  And,  looking  on 
that  sheltered  rock,  the  home  and  nest  of  the 
adder,  it  seemed  to  me  a  fitting  emblem  of  that 
heart  which  the  Bible  describes  as  “  a  heart  of 
stone.”  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3855.  HEART,  Strife  for  the.  There  is  such 

strife  for  the  heart  as  there  was  for  Moses’  body. 
“  Give  it  me,”  saith  the  Lord;  “  Give  it  me,” 
saith  the  Tempter;  “Give  it  me,”  saith  the 
pope  ;  “  Give  it  me,”  saith  riches ;  “  Give  it 
me,”  saith  pleasure :  as  though  thou  must 
needs  give  it.  Now,  here  is  the  choice : 
whether  thou  wilt  give  it  to  God  or  to  the 
Devil.  God’s  heart  or  the  Devil’s  heart,  — 
whose  wilt  thou  be  ?  Thus  doth  man  hang  in  a 
balance,  like  a  young  virgin  which  hath  many 
suitors  :  some  she  fancieth  for  their  parentage, 
some  for  personage,  some  for  friends,  some  for 
wealth,  some  for  wit,  some  for  virtue ;  and,  after 
all,  chooseth  the  worst  of  all.  So  the  heart  hath 
many  suitors  besides  God  ;  that  sometimes  she 
marrieth  with  one,  sometimes  with  another :  the 
world  keeps  her,  the  flesh  keeps  her,  the  Devil 
keeps  her ;  which  have  no  more  interest  in  her 
than  Ilerod  to  his  sister,  but  seek  her  spoil ;  like 
them  that  marry  for  riches  are  glad  when  one 
dies,  that  another  may  come.  These  suitors  are 
like  Absalom,  who  did  not  seek  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  like  David,  but  stole  them  with 
flattery  and  lies.  Henry  Smith. 

2856.  HEART,  Treasures  of  the.  The  heart  of 
many  a  poor  neglected  Christian  is  as  if  we 
opened  some  rude  sea-chest,  brought  by  a  for¬ 
eign  ship  from  distant  lands,  which,  though  it 
have  so  rude  an  outside,  is  full  of  pearls  and 
gems  and  diamonds. 

3857.  HEART,  Trouble  in  the.  I  recollect  a 
story  of  a  monk,  who  resolved  to  leave  his 
monastery,  on  the  ground  that  he  there  too 
frequently  met  with  causes  of  provocation, 
and  was  betrayed  into  anger  and  other  sins. 
Accordingly  lie  retired  into  the  desert,  in  the 
hope  that,  solitude  would  enable  him  to  serve 
God  with  an  easier  mind.  One  day,  however, 
his  pitcher  happened  to  be  upset,  and,  when 


lifted  up,  fell  a  second  time  ;  which  kindled  his 
anger  to  such  a  pitch,  that  he  dashed  it  to  the 
!  ground,  and  broke  it  into  a  thousand  pieces, 
lie  soon,  however,  came  to  himself,  and  said, 
“  I  now  see  that  I  cannot  be  at  peace,  even  in 
solitude ;  and  that  the  fault  lies  not  in  others, 
but  in  myself.”  He  then  returned  to  the  mon¬ 
astery,  and,  after  many  strenuous  efforts,  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  subduing  his  passions,  not  by  flight, 
but  by  mortification  and  self-denial.  Gotthold. 

3858.  HEART,  Unregenerated.  “  Would  you 
like  to  go  to  heaven  and  see  sister  Lily  ?  ” 
asked  a  father  one  day,  speaking  to  his  little 
Netta.  “  No,  papa,”  said  Netta  honestly.  “  I 
don’t  want  to  go  to  heaven  :  I  want  to  go  to 
Pittsburg  to  sec  Aunt  Hattie.”  Netta  evi¬ 
dently  loved  Aunt  Hattie  more  than  she  loved 
the  departed  Lily  or  heaven.  Netta  needed  a 
new  heart.  J.  II.  Vincent. 

2859.  HEART,  Unsatisfied.  Rossini,  the  great 
Italian  musician,  said  to  a  friend  who  congrat¬ 
ulated  him  on  his  continued  triumphs,  “  I 
would  give  all  this  glory  that  the  world  en¬ 
vies  me,  all  my  operas,  all  that  I  have  done, 
for  some  sweet  days  of  youth  and  love.” 

286®.  HEART,  Value  of  the.  When  a  law 
was  made,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  that  all 
the  people  should  attend  the  church,  the  pa¬ 
pists  sent  to  Rome  to  know  the  pleasure  of  his 
Holiness.  He  returned  for  answer,  “Tell  the 
Catholics  in  England  to  give  me  their  hearts , 
and  the  queen  may  take  the  rest.” 

2861.  HEART,  Wearing  the.  It  has  been  truly 
said  that  the  human  heart  is  like  the  millstone, 
which,  if  there  be  wheat  beneath  it,  will  grind 
to  purposes  of  health ;  if  not,  will  grind  still, 
at  the  will  of  the  wild  wind,  but  on  itself. 
So  does  the  heart  wear  out  itself  against  its 
own  thought,  —  one  fixed  idea,  one  remem¬ 
brance  and  no  other,  one  stationary,  wear¬ 
ing  anguish.  This  is  remorse,  passing  into 
despair ;  itself  the  goad  to  fresh  and  wilder 
crimes.  F.  IP.  Robertson. 

28G3.  HEART,  Writing  on  the.  Famous  pub¬ 
lic  places,  as  mountain-summits  or  battle-mon¬ 
uments,  are  often  covered  over  with  deep-cut 
inscriptions  of  every  kind  and  age,  —  records  of 
ambition  or  folly.  How  like  the  heart  of  man, 
that,  more  lasting  than  the  granite  rock,  in¬ 
vites  every  comer  to  cut  his  name  upon  it  1 

2863.  HEATHENISM,  Gods  of.  It  is  not  enough 
to  say  that  the  idolatry  of  the  Old  and  of  the 
New  Testament  was  precisely  like  that  of  Hin- 
dostan.  The  idolatry  of  India  is  worse.  The 
gods  of  Greece  and  Rome  had  at  least  human 
features ;  they  were  made  from  the  model  of 
men  who  were  of  jningled  passions  like  our¬ 
selves:  but  among  the  three  hundred  millions 
of  the  gods  of  India,  affecting  the  character 
of  their  worshippers,  there  is  not  one  which 
represents  a  virtue,  not  one  which  is  not  a 
monster  of  iniquity.  Why  do  the  Hindoos 
scarcely  ever  worship  their  chief  god  Brah¬ 
ma?  It  is  because  he  is  reckoned  too  bad  to 
be  worshipped ;  and  the  gods,  by  consent,  de¬ 
termined  that  he  should  not.  Their  god  Shi¬ 
va  has  for  his  prevailing  characteristics,  re¬ 
venge  and  malignity  ;  the  character  of  Krishna 


HEATHENISM. 


HEAVEN. 


335 


Is  notoriously  that  of  a  licentious  profligate ; 
their  god  Juggernaut  is  represented  by  an 
old  idol  without  legs  or  arms,  because  the  legs 
and  arms  of  the  god  were  cut  off  by  a  sentence 
of  the  gods  for  his  incurable  iniquity.  Now, 
if  these  are  the  principal  deities  of  India,  what 
but  impurity  and  cruelty  can  be  the  result  of  a 
religion  which  has  such  patrons  in  its  gods  ? 
Imagine  a  religion,  whose  priests  generally 
should  be  like  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  —  a  monster 
of  iniquity,  who  outdid  the  emperors  of  Rome 
in  cruelty  and  wickedness.  Such  are  the 
Brahmins  of  India,  the  priests  that  model  and 
form  the  national  character.  Bib.  'Treasury. 

286  4.  HEATHENISM,  Hopelessness  of.  There 
was  a  small  Burman  family,  consisting  of  a 
young  married  pair  and  their  little  child,  a 
boy  of  two  years.  This  child  was  taken  sick 
and  died.  A  day  or  two  after,  the  parents, 
attended  by  some  friends,  carried  the  little 
body  into  a  waste  place  outside  of  the  town; 
and,  having  constructed  a  funeral-pile,  they 
laid  the  corpse  on  it,  and  burned  it  to  ashes. 
The  mother  then  scraped  up  the  poor  remains 
with  her  hands,  and  spread  over  them  a  thin 
covering  of  soil.  Every  morning  after  this, 
for  several  days,  she  was  seen  by  the  mission¬ 
ary  as  she  passed  by  his  house  on  her  way  to 
the  grave,  if  such  it  could  be  called,  some¬ 
times  with  her  hair  wildly  dishevelled,  and 
uttering  such  piteous  wails  and  howls  as  can 
come  only  from  a  broken-hearted  and  despair¬ 
ing  heathen  mother.  One  morning,  the  mis¬ 
sionary  was  standing  not  far  from  the  grave 
when  the  wretched  woman  made  her  accus¬ 
tomed  visit.  Bending  in  agony  over  the  spot 
where  lay  the  ashes  of  her  boy,  she  suddenly 
became  aware  of  the  presence  of  a  large  ser- 
ent,  which  had  probably  been  attracted  thither 
y  some  slight  remaining  warmth  in  the  ashes, 
and  was  just  about  to  dart  its  poisonous  fangs 
into  her  hand.  Starting  back  with  an  expres¬ 
sion  of  intense  fear  and  horror,  she  fled  from 
the  spot,  shrieking  as  she  went,  ‘*  Has  my  child 
become  a  serpent  ?  Has  my  child  become  a  ser¬ 
pent  ?  ” 

2865.  HEATHENISM,  Ignorance  of.  The  men 
who  built  the  Pyramids  worshipped  loathsome 
insects  and  animals.  The.  Phoenicians,  who 
invented  letters,  chained  the  images  of  their 
gods  to  their  altars,  that  they  might  not  aban¬ 
don  them.  The  cultured  men  of  Rome  made 
important  plans  by  .auguries  derived  from  the 
entrails  of  sheep  or  the  flight  of  birds.  Plu¬ 
tarch  thought  that  the  souls  of  men  were  made 
out  of  the  moon,  and  would  return  to  it.  Plato 
and  Seneca  thought  the  stars  required  nour¬ 
ishment,  and  were  eager  for  pasture. 

2866.  HEATHENISM,  Sacrifices  of.  During 
the  ir  stay  at  Coomassie,  the  English  witnessed 
dreadful  scenes,  which  seem  to  sink  the  Ashan- 
tee  character  even  below  the  ordinary  level  of 
savage  life.  The  king  had  lately  sacrificed  on 
the  grave  of  his  mother  three  thousand  vic¬ 
tims;  and  at  the  death  of  the  late  sovereign, 
the  sacrifice  was  continued  weekly  lor  three 
months,  consisting  each  time  of  two  hundred 
slaves.  The  absurd  belief  here  entertained, 


that  the  rank  of  the  deceased  in  the  future 
world  is  decided  by  the  train  which  he  carries 
along  with  him,  makes  those  who  survive  in¬ 
terested  in  promoting,  by  this  means,  the  ex¬ 
altation  of  a  departed  parent  or  friend.  The 
carboceers  and  princes,  in  order  to  court  royal 
favor,  often  rush  out,  seize  the  first  person  they 
meet,  and  drag  him  in  for  sacrifice.  While 
the  custom  lasts,  therefore,  it  is  with  trembling 
steps  that  any  one  crosses  his  threshold ;  and 
when  compelled  to  do  so,  he  rushes  along  with 
the  utmost  speed,  dreading  every  instant  the 
murderous  grasp  which  would  consign  him  to 
death.  Biblical  Treasury. 

2867.  HEATHENISM,  Superstition  of.  There 

is  a  practice  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the 
isles  of  the  South  Seas,  who  still  retain  their 
idolatrous  worship,  of  revering  those  of  their 
fellow-creatures  who  have  done  some  wonder¬ 
ful  or  daring  deed  as  gods,  and  worshipping 
them  as  such.  In  Samoa,  there  is  a  high,  steep, 
and  craggy  mountain.  A  young  man,  a  native 
of  the  isle,  was  very  desirous  of  becoming  a 
god  ;  he  thought  there  was  something  very 
grand  in  being  worshipped  and  prayed  to  :  so, 
on  one  occasion,  being  in  company  with  a  num¬ 
ber  of  his  friends  and  companions,  he  turned 
to  them  and  said,  “  I  will  go  to  the  top  of  that 
great  mountain  ;  and  if  you  see  me  flying,  I 
shall  be  a  god.”  His  credulous  companions 
shouted  to  him,  “  Away,  away  1  we  will  wor¬ 
ship  you :  away,  away  1  ”  lie  toiled  up  the 
sides  of  the  mountain,  and  arrived  at  the  top. 
His  friends  eagerly  watched  him.  Presently 
he  stretched  out  his  arms,  and  the  people  cried 
out,  “  He  is  flying  1  he  is  flying  1  He  is  a  god  1  ” 
Then  the  young  man  was  seen  to  rise  from  the 
mountain,  and  he  disappeared.  1 1  is  friends 
shouted  again,  “  He  is  a  god  1  he  is  a  god  1  We 
will  worship  him  !  ”  And  so  they  did  for  many 
years ;  but,  after  a  long  time,  his  mangled  body 
was  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  other  side  of 
the  mountain,  from  which  he  had  thrown  him¬ 
self  down,  while  the  people  thought  he  was 
flying.  Biblical  Treasury. 

2868.  HEAVEN,  Activity  in.  I  could  hardly 

wish  to  enter  heaven,  did  I  believe  its  inhab¬ 
itants  were  idly  to  sit  by  purling  streams,  fanned 
by  balmy  airs.  Heaven,  to  be  a  place  of  hap¬ 
piness,  must  be  a  place  of  activity.  Has  the 
far-reaching  mind  of  Newton  ceased  its  pro¬ 
found  investigations  ?  Has  David  hung  up 
his  harp,  as  useless  as  the  dusty  arms  in  West¬ 
minster  Abbey  ?  Has  Paul,  glowing  with 
Godlike  enthusiasm,  ceased  itinerating  the 
universe  of  God  V  Are  Peter  and  Cyprian 
and  Edwards  and  Payson  and  Evarts  idling 
away  eternity  in  mere  psalm-singing  V  Heaven 
is  a  place  of  restless  activity,  the  abode  of 
never-tiring  thought.  David  and  Isaiah  will 
sweep  nobler  and  loftier  strains  in  eternity ; 
and  the  minds  of  the  saints,  unclogged  by 
cumbersome  clay,  will  forever  feast  on  the  ban¬ 
quet  of  rich  and  glorious  thought.  My  young 
friends,  go  on,  then ;  you  will  never  get 
through.  An  eternity  of  untiring  action  is  be¬ 
fore  you,  and  the  universe  of  thought  is  your 
field.  Beecher. 


336 


HE^WTcnsr. 


HEAVEN. 


2869.  HEAVEN,  Admittance  to.  Gov.  Cor¬ 
win  says  that  some  church  members  will  have 
to  make  a  great  many  explanations,  before  St. 
Peter,  the  reported  keeper  of  the  gate  of 
heaven,  will  let  them  in.  The  character  of 
others  is  so  unequivocal  that  none  will  be  re¬ 
quired  :  the  gate  will  fly  wide  open  before 
them. 

2870.  HEAVEN,  Associations  of.  What  a 
heavenful  of  princely  creatures  the  Eternal 
Father  will  have,  when  all  the  redeemed  shall 
be  presented  to  him  in  the  brightness  of  his 
Son’s  glory,  even  as  his  Son  is  the  brightness 
of  his  glory  1  Christ  has  said,  “  They  will 
shine  like  so  many  suns,  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
Father.”  A  whole  heavenful  of  glorious- 
bodied  creatures,  each  one  emitting  a  splendor 
like  the  glorious  body  of  the  Lord  !  “  We  are 
now  the  sons  of  God  ;  but  it  doth  not  yet  ap¬ 
pear  what  we  shall  be.”  Dr.  R.  IV.  Hamilton. 

2871.  HEAVEN,  Attraction  of.  In  the  twilight 
of  a  summer  evening,  a  pastor  called  at  the 
residence  of  one  of  his  parishioners,  and  found, 
seated  in  the  doorway,  a  little  boy  with  both 
hands  extended  upward,  holding  a  line.  “  What 
are  you  doing  here,  my  little  friend  ?  ”  in¬ 
quired  the  minister.  “  Flying  my  kite,  sir,” 
was  the  reply.  “  Flying  your  kite  1  ”  ex¬ 
claimed  the  pastor.  “  I  can  see  no  kite  :  you 
can  see  none.”  —  “I  know  it,  sir,”  responded 
the  lad.  “I  cannot  see  it;  but  I  know  it  is 
there,  for  I  feel  it  pull.”  If  our  affections 
are  set  upon  things  above,  we  shall  have  a 
sense  of  it  which  cannot  be  mistaken. 

2872.  HEAVEN,  Children  in.  Perhaps  God 

does  with  his  heavenly  garden  as  we  do  with 
our  own.  He  may  chiefly  stock  it  from  nur¬ 
series,  and  select  lor  transplanting  what  is  yet 
in  its  young  and  tender  age,  —  flowers  before 
they  have  bloomed,  and  trees  ere  they  begin  to 
bear.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2873.  HEAVEN,  Christ  in.  A  little  negro-boy, 

when  on  his  death-bed,  was  visited  by  a  mis¬ 
sionary,  to  whom  he  spoke  of  the  happiness  he 
felt,  and  the  longing  desire  he  had  to  be  with 
Jesus.  “  I  am  going  to  heaven  soon  ;  and  then 
I  shall  see  Jesus,  and  be  with  him  forever,” 
said  the  little  fellow.  “  But,”  rejoined  the 
missionary,  “  if  Jesus  were  to  leave  heaven, 
what  would  you  do?” — “I  would  follow 
him,”  replied  the  boy.  “  But  suppose,”  said 
the  missionary,  “  Jesus  went  to  hell :  what 
would  you  do  then  ?  ”  In  an  instant,  with  an 
intelligent  look  and  a  smile  on  his  countenance, 
he  replied,  “  Ah,  massa  I  there  is  no  hell  where 
Jesus  is.”  S.  M  Houghton. 

287-1.  HEAVEN,  a  City.  A  city  never  built 
with  hands,  nor  hoary  with  the  years  of  time; 
a  city  whose  inhabitants  no  census  has  num¬ 
bered  ;  a  city  through  whose  street  rushes  no 
tide  of  business,  nor  nodding  hearse  creeps 
slowly  with  its  burden  to  the  tomb ;  a  city 
without  griefs  or  graves,  without  sins  or  sor¬ 
row's,  without  births  or  burials,  without  mar¬ 
riages  or  mournings ;  a  city  which  glories  in 
having  .Jesus  for  its  king,  angels  for  its  guards, 
saints  for  citizens;  whose  walls  are  salvation, 
and  whose  gates  are  praise.  Dr.  Guthrie. 


2875.  HEAVEN,  Contention  in,  A  minister 
once  asked  his  Sunday-school  children,  if 
there  should  be  any  such  thing  as  contention 
in  heaven,  what  they  thought  it  would  be 
about.  “  O  sir  1  ”  they  replied,  “  there  will 
be  no  strife  there.”  —  “Well,  but  supposing 
there  should  be  such  a  thing :  what  do  you 
think  it  would  be  about  ?  ”  —  “  Well,  sir,”  said 
one,  “  I  suppose,  if  there  be  any  contention,  it 
will  be  who  shall  get  nearest  to  Jesus  Christ. 

2876.  HEAVEN,  Dawn  of.  A  converted 
heathen  child  coming  to  the  gates  of  death 
said,  “  After  this,  heaven  1  ”  Blumhardt,  when 
dying,  exclaimed,  “  Light  breaks  in  1  hallelu¬ 
jah  I  ”  and  expired.  Olympia  Morata,  dying, 
declared,  “I  distinctly  behold  a  place  filled 
with  ineffable  light.” 

2877.  HEAVEN,  no  Death  in.  A  Christian 
lady,  on  her  death-bed,  in  reply  to  a  remark  of 
her  brother,  who  was  taking  lea  ve  of  her  to  re¬ 
turn  to  his  distant  residence,  that  he  should 
probably  never  again  meet  her  in  the  land  of 
the  living,  answered,  “  Brother,  I  trust  we 
shall  meet  in  the  land  of  the  living :  we  are 
now  in  the  land  of  the  dying.” 

2878.  HEAVEN,  Dimensions  of.  Revelations, 

twenty-first  chapter,  sixteenth  verse,  “  And  he 
measured  the  city  with  a  reed,  twelve  thousand 
furlongs.  The  length,  height,  and  breadth  of  it 
are  equal.”  Twelve  thousand  furlongs,  7,92^,- 
000  feet,  which,  being  cubed,  is  948,988,000,- 
000,000,000,000,000  cubic  feet,  the  half  of 
which  we  will  reserve  for  the  throne  of  God  and 
the  court  of  heaven,  half  of  the  balance  for  the 
streets ;  and  the  remainder  divided  by  4.96,  the 
cubical  feet  in  the  rooms  19  feet  square  and 
16  feet  high,  will  be  5,743,759,000,000  rooms. 
We  will  now  suppose  the  world  always  did 
and  always  will  contain  900,000,000  of  inhab¬ 
itants,  and  a  generation  will  last  33)  years, 
(2,700,000  every  century),  and  that  the  world 
stands  100,000  years,  —  27,000,000,000,000 
persons.  Then  suppose  there  were  11,230 
such  worlds,  equal  to  this  number  of  inhabit¬ 
ants  and  duration  of  years,  then  there  would 
be  a  room  16  feet  long  and  1  7  feet  wide  and  15 
feet  high  for  each  person  ;  and  yet  there  would 
be  room.  Episcopal  Methodist. 

2879.  HEAVEN,  Distance  to.  We  measure 

distance  by  time.  We  are  apt  to  say  that  a  cer¬ 
tain  place  is  so  many  hours  from  us.  If  it  is  a 
hundred  miles  off,  and  there  is  no  railroad,  we 
think  it  a  long  way  :  if  there  is  a  railway,  we 
think  we  can  be  there  in  no  time.  But  how 
near  must  we  say  heaven  is  ?  —  for  it  is  just 
one  sigh,  and  we  get  there.  Why,  my  breth¬ 
ren,  our  departed  friends  are  only  in  the  upper 
room,  as  it  were,  of  the  same  house.  They  have 
not  gone  far  off :  they  are  up  stairs,  and  we  are 
down  below.  Spurgeon. 

288®.  HEAVEN,  Duration  of.  Suppose  the 
whole  world  were  a  sea,  and  that,  when  every 
thousand  years  expired,  a  bird  must  carry  aw  ay 
or  drink  up  only  one  drop  of  it.  In  process  of 
time,  it  will  come  to  pass  that  this  sea,  fhot  gh 
very  huge,  shall  be  dried  up ;  but  yet  many 
thousand  millions  of  years  must  be  passed  be- 
lbre  this  can  be  done.  Now,  if  a  man  should 


HEAVEN. 


HEAVEN. 


337 


enjoy  happiness  in  heaven  only  for  the  space 
of  time  in  which  this  sea  is  drying  up,  he  would 
think  his  case  most  happy  and  blessed :  but, 
behold  !  the  elect  shall  enjoy  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  not  only  for  that  time,  but,  when  it  is 
ended,  they  shall  enjoy  it  as  long  again ;  and, 
•when  all  is  done,  they  shall  be  as  far  from 
ending  of  this  their  joy  as  they  were  at  the  be¬ 
ginning.  W.  Perkins. 

2881.  HEAVEN,  Employment  in.  Dr.  Dick 
argues,  that  the  redeemed  in  heaven  will 
cultivate  arithmetic,  geometry,  trigonometry, 
conic  sections,  astronomy,  natural  philosophy, 
chemistry,  anatomy,  and  physiology,  and  the 
various  branches  of  history.  Had  he  lived  in 
these  days,  he  might  have  added  geology,  men¬ 
tal  and  moral  science,  and  all  other  branches 
of  a  modern  university  curriculum ;  but  he 
would  have  made  a  sorry  heaven  for  some  of 
us. 

2882.  HEAVEN,  Entering.  As  Bunyan’s  pil¬ 
grims  drew  near  the  gate  of  the  Celestial  City,  a 

freat  company  came  out  to  meet  them  ;  and  the 
ing’s  trumpeters  saluted  them  with  ten  thou¬ 
sand  welcomes.  They  were  escorted  up  to  the 
gates  by  the  glorious  throng,  amid  the  singing 
of  angels,  and  the  notes  of  the  trumpeters ; 
while  the  bells  of  the  city  itself  rang  out  a 
joyful  welcome.  The  pilgrims  were  enrap¬ 
tured  with  their  company  and  the  prospect 
before  them,  as  many  a  dying  saint  has 
been. 

2883.  HEAVEN,  Entranoe  to.  You  see  yonder 
ship.  After  a  long  voyage,  it  has  neared  the 
haven,  but  is  much  injured.  The  sails  are  rent 
to  ribhons ;  and  it  is  in  such  a  iorlorn  condition, 
that  it  cannot  come  up  to  the  harbor.  A  steam- 
tug  is  pulling  it  in  with  the  greatest  possible 
difficulty.  That  is  like  the  righteous  being 
“  scarcely  saved.”  But  do  you  see  that  other 
ship  ?  It  has  made  a  prosperous  voyage  ;  and 
now,  laden  to  the  water’s  edge,  with  the  sails 
all  up,  and  with  the  white  canvas  filled  with 
the  wind,  it  rides  into  the  harbor  joyously  and 
nobly.  That  is  an  “  abundant  entrance.” 

Spurgeon. 

2884.  HEAVEN,  Fighting  for.  Julius  Caesar 
coming  towards  Rome  with  his  army,  and  hear¬ 
ing  the  senate  and  people  had  fled  from  it,  said, 
“  They  that  will  not  fight  for  this  city  what 
city  will  they  fight  for?  ”  If  we  will  not  take 
pains  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  what  king¬ 
dom  will  we  take  pains  for  Y  T.  W atson. 

2885.  HEAVEN,  Figures  of.  It  is  held  forth 
to  our  view  as  a  banquet,  where  our  souls  shall 
be  satisfied  forevermore ;  the  beauties  of  Je¬ 
hovah’s  face,  the  mysteries  of  divine  grace, 
the  riches  of  redeeming  love,  communion  with 
God  and  the  Lamb,  fellowship  with  the  infi¬ 
nite  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  being  the 
heavenly  fulness  on  which  we  shall  feed.  As 
a  paradise,  —  a  garden  of  fruits  and  flowers, 
on  which  our  spiritual  natures  and  gracious 
tastes  will  be  regaled  through  one  evcr-verdant 
spring  and  golden  summer ;  a  paradise  where 
lurks  no  serpent  to  destroy,  and  where  fruits 
and  flowers  shall  never  fade  and  droop,  nor  die. 
As  an  inheritance ;  but  then  an  inheritance 
22 


that  is  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth 
not  away,  —  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light.  As  a  kingdom,  whose  immunities,  felici¬ 
ties,  and  glories  are  splendid  and  vast,  perma¬ 
nent  and  real,  quite  overwhelming,  indeed,  to 
our  present  feeble  imaginings.  As  a  country 
over  whose  wide  regions  we  shall  traverse  in 
all  the  might  of  our  untried  faculties,  and  in  all 
the  glow  of  new  and  heaven-born  energies,  dis¬ 
covering  and  gathering  fresh  harvests  of  intel¬ 
ligence,  satisfaction,  and  delight.  As  a  city 
whose  walls  arc  burnished  gold,  who  -.e  pave¬ 
ment  is  jasper,  sardonyx,  and  onyx,  through 
which  flows  the  river  of  life ;  the  inhabitants  of 
which  hunger  no  more,  thirst  no  mote,  sicken 
no  more,  weep  no  more,  die  no  more ;  a  city 
where  there  is  no  need  of  the  sun  by  day,  in 
which  there  is  no  night  at  all,  and  of  which  the 
Lord  God  Almighty  is  the  light,  and  the  Lamb 
the  glory.  As  a  palace,  where  dwells  the  Lord; 
our  righteousness,  the  King  in  his  beauty  dis¬ 
played, —  his  beauty  of  holiest  love;  in  the 
eternal  sunshine  of  whose  countenance  bask 
and  exult  the  host  that  worship  at  his  feet.  As 
a  building  that  has  God  for  its  Maker,  immor¬ 
tality  for  its  walls,  and  eternity  for  its  day.  As 
a  sanctuary,  where  the  thrice-lioly  divinity  en¬ 
shrined  in  our  own  nature  in  the  person  of 
Immanuel  is  worshipped  and  adored,  without  a> 
sigh,  without  an  imperfection,  and  without  in¬ 
termission  ;  where  hymns  of  praise,  hallelu¬ 
jahs  of  salvation,  and  hosannahs  of  redemp¬ 
tion,  uttered  by  blest  voices  without  number, 
ever  sound  before  the  throne.  As  a  temple 
bright  with  the  divine  glory,  filled  with  the 
divine  presence,  streaming  with  divine  beauty, 
and  peopled  with  shining  monuments  of  di¬ 
vine  goodness,  mercy,  and  grace. 

Dr.  Btaumoni. 

2886.  HEAVEN,  Fitness  for.  A  clergyman 
riding  beside  a  profane  coachman  who  dis¬ 
charged  volley  after  volley  of  oaths,  fixing  his 
eyes  upon  him,  said,  “  I  cannot  imagine  what 
you  will  do  in  heaven  1  There  are  no  horses 
or  coaches  or  saddles  or  bridles  or  public- 
houses  in  heaven.  There  will  be  no  one  to 
swear  at,  or  to  whom  you  can  use  bad  lan¬ 
guage.  I  cannot  think  what  you  will  do  when 
you  get  to  heaven  1  ”  Years  after,  the  same 
clergyman  was  called  to  see  a  dying  man,  who 
told  him  that  he  was  saved  through  his  rebuke, 
“  I  cannot  think  what  you  will  do  in  heaven.” 

2887.  HEAVEN,  Fruition  of.  If  I  am  allowed 

to  give  a  metaphorical  allusion  to  the  future 
state  of  the  blessed,  I  should  imagine  it  by  the 
orange-grove  in  that  sheltered  glen  on  which 
the  sun  is  now  beginning  to  shine,  and  of 
which  the  trees  are,  at  the  same  time,  loaded 
with  sweet:  golden. fruit  and  balmy  silver  flow¬ 
ers.  Sucli i objects  may  well  portray  a  state  in 
which  hope  and  fruition  become  one  eternal 
feeling.  Sir  Id.  Davy. 

2888.  HEAVEN,  Glimpses  of.  The  rabbins 
report,  that,  when  Joseph  gathered  much  corn 
in  Egypt,  he  threw  the  chaff  into  the  Nile, 
that,  flowing  to  the  neighboring  cities  and 
nations  more  remote,  they  might  know  what 
abundance  was  laid  up  for  them.  Sc  God  hath 


338 


ECEAlWEHST. 


HEAVEN. 


thrown  some  husks  to  us  in  this  world,  that, 
tasting  the  sweetness  thereof,  we  might  aspire 
to  his  bounty  above.  If  there  be  such  glory 
in  God’s  footstool,  what  will  there  be  in  his 
throne  ?  If  he  give  us  so  much  in  the  land  of 
our  pilgrimage,  what  will  he  not  give  us  in  our 
own  country?  if  so  much  to  his  enemies,  what 
will  he  not  give  to  his  friends  ?  Spencer. 

2889.  HEAVEN,  Glories  of.  All  the  visions 

were  rich,  but  this  the  richest,  —  that  the  floor 
of  the  house  shall  be  covered  with  gold.  The 
floor  and  street  are  walking-places,  and  how 
rich  will  our  steps  be  then  1  Alas  I  here  we 
sometimes  step  into  the  ruin,  and  then,  again, 
stumble  upon  blocks  and  stones.  Then  we 
sometimes  fall  into  the  holes,  and  have  our 
heel  caught  in  a  snare  ;  but  then  there  will  be 
none  of  these.  Gold,  gold  1  all  will  be  gold 
and  golden  perfections  when  we  come  into  the 
Holy  Place.  The  idolatrous  temple  of  Diana 
was  so  bright  and  dazzling,  that  the  door-keep¬ 
er  cried  always  to  them  that  entered,  “  Take 
heed  to  your  eyes  1  ”  What  faculties  of  vision 
must  we  have  to  behold  the  glory  of  the 
temple  above  1  Buck. 

2890.  HEAVEN,  Glory  of  the  Saints  in,  There 

is  this  difference  between  the  Sun  of  righteous¬ 
ness  and  that  in  the  sky,  —  that  whereas  the 
latter,  by  his  presence,  eclipses  all  the  planets 
(his  attendants),  the  former,  though  radiant 
with  a  much  brighter  splendor,  will  by  his 
presence  impart  glory  to  his  saints,  according 
to  that  word,  “  When  Christ,  who  is  our  life, 
shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with 
him  in  glory.”  So  that  the  elect,  in  relation 
to  this  Sun,  shall  not  be  like  stars,  which  his 
shining  obscures,  and  makes  to  disappear, 
out  like  polished  silver,  or  well-glazed  arms, 
or  those  vaster  balls  of  burnished  brass  the  tops 
of  churches  are  sometimes  adorned  with,  which 
shine  not  till  they  are  shined  upon,  and  derive 
their  glittering  brightness,  and  all  the  dazzling 
fire  that  environs  and  illustrates  them,  from 
their  being  exposed  (unscreened)  to  the  sun’s 
refulgent  beams.  R.  Boyle. 

2891.  HEAVEN,  God  in,  The  presence  of 

God  in  the  most  miserable  places  that  can  be 
were  a  greater  happiness  than  the  absence  of 
God  in  the  most  glorious  place  that  can  be. 
David  would  not  be  afraid,  though  he  walked 
in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  so  that 
God  were  with  him.  Luther  would  rather  be 
in  hell  with  God’s  presence  than  in  heaven, 
God  being  absent.  If  the  presence  of  God 
takes  away  the  dread  of  the  shadow  of  the  val¬ 
ley  of  death,  and  makes  hell  to  be  more  desired 
than  heaven,  what  will  the  presence  of  God 
make  heaven  to  be?  The  three  children  in 
the  fiery  furnace,  with  God’s  presence,  were 
happy.  Iiow  happy,  then,  are  the  saints  with 
God’s  presence  in  heaven  !  ./.  Burroughs. 

2892.  HEAVEN,  Going  to.  Two  Cistercian 
monks  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VIII.  were 
threatened,  before  their  martyrdom,  by  the 
lord-mayor  of  that  time,  that  they  should  be 
tied  in  a  sack,  and  thrown  into  the  Thames. 

*•  My  lord,”  said  one,  “  we  are  going  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven;  and  whether  we  go  by! 


land  or  water  is  of  very  little  consequence 
to  us.” 

2893.  HEAVEN,  The  Grave  not,  A  little  city 
boy  whose  mother  had  died  had  told  him  that 
she  was  going  to  heaven.  She  was  buried  in 
a  beautiful  cemetery,  amid  the  trees  and  flow¬ 
ers.  As  he  stood  by  her  grave,  he  looked 
about  him,  and  then  into  the  grave  where  his 
mother’s  corpse  was  laid,  and  asked,  “  Is  this 
heaven  ?  ” 

2894.  HEAVEN,  Hastening  to.  Why  do  we 

not  go  home  ?  Why  are  we  like  a  silly  child, 
that  when  his  father  sends  him  forth,  and  bids 
him  hie  him  home  again,  every  flower  that  he 
meets  with  in  the  field,  every  sign  he  sees  in 
the  street,  every  companion  that  meets  him  in 
the  way,  stops  him,  and  hinders  him  from  re¬ 
pairing  to  his  father?  So  it  is  with  us  for  the 
most  part :  every  trifle,  every  profit,  every 
bauble,  every  matter  of  pleasure,  every  delight, 
is  enough  to  divert  and  turn  aside  our  thoughts 
from  death,  from  home,  from  heaven,  from  our 
God;  and  we  are  taken  up  and  lose  ourselves, 
I  know  not  where.  Sibbes. 

2895.  HEAVEN,  Home.  Mr.  Mead,  an  aged 
Christian,  when  asked  how  he  did,  answered, 
“  I  am  going  home  as  fast  as  I  can,  as  every 
honest  man  ought  to  do  when  his  day’s  work 
is  over ;  and  I  bless  God  I  have  a  good  home 
to  go  to.” 

2896.  HEAVEN,  a  Home.  “  Home  ” — oh,  how 

sweet  is  that  word  !  What  beautiful  and  ten¬ 
der  associations  cluster  thick  around  it  1  Com¬ 
pared  with  it,  house,  mansion,  palace,  are  cold, 
heartless  terms.  But  “  home  1  ”  that  word  quick¬ 
ens  the  pulse,  warms  the  heart,  stirs  the  soul 
to  its  depths,  makes  age  feel  young  again, 
rouses  apathy  into  energy,  sustains  the  sailor 
in  his  midnight  watch,  inspires  the  soldier  with 
courage  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  imparts 
patient  endurance  to  the  worn-down  sons  of 
toil.  The  thought  of  it  has  proved  a  sevenfold 
shield  to  virtue :  the  very  name  of  it  has  been 
a  spell  to  call  back  the  wanderer  from  the 
paths  of  vice.  And  far  away,  where  myrtles 
bloom  and  palm-trees  wave,  and  the  ocean 
sleeps  upon  coral  strands,  to  the  exile’s  fond 
fancy  it  clothes  the  naked  rock,  or  stormy 
shore,  or  barren  moor,  or  wild  highland  moun¬ 
tain,  with  charms  he  weeps  to  think  of,  and 
longs  once  more  to  see.  Grace  sanctifies 
these  lovely  affections,  and  imparts  a  sacred¬ 
ness  to  the  homes  of  earth  by  making  them 
types  of  heaven.  As  a  home  the  believer  de¬ 
lights  to  think  of  it.  Thus,  when  lately  bend¬ 
ing  over  a  dying  saint,  and  expressing  our 
sorrow  to  see  him  lay  so  low,  with  the  radiant 
countenance  rather  of  one  who  had  just  left 
heaven  than  of’one  about  to  enter  it,  he  raised 
and  clasped  his  hands,  and  exclaimed  in  ec¬ 
stasy,  “  I  am  going  home.”  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2897.  HEAVEN,  Hope  of.  What  has  been 
the  great  and  what  is  now  one  of  the  strongest 
and  most  influential  powers  or  motives  in  the 
human  heart  ?  A  desire  to  find  some  better 
place,  some  lovelier  spot,  than  we  now  have. 
For  what  does  the  tradesman  toil  ?  for  what 
does  the  physician  practise  ?  for  what  does 


ECEA.'VTEN'. 


HEA^N. 


339 


man  hope  at  the  decline  and  the  close  of  life  ? 
Some  sheltered  nook,  some  quiet  spot,  where, 
if  he  cannot  have  a  rest  that  will  never  be 
moved,  he  may  have,  at  least,  a  foretaste  and 
foreshadow  of  it.  What  was  it  that  carried 
Columbus  across  the  western  wave,  amid  in¬ 
subordination  within  his  ship,  and  the  unex¬ 
pectedly  wild  waves  that  roared  and  curled 
around  and  without?  What  sustained  him  on 
the  unsounded  sea,  amid  the  untraversed  waste 
of  waters?  The  hope  of  a  better  country. 
What  was  it  that  sustained  the  hearts  of  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  when,  driven  forth  from  this 
land  by  stern  ecclesiastical  persecution,  they 
went  to  the  far  distance,  and  across  the  western 
wave,  and  feared  not  the  iron-bound  coast,  or 
the  rugged  and  the  unknown  territory  on  which 
they  set  foot?  It  was  the  hope  and  prospect 
of  a  better,  even  a  free  and  peaceful  country. 

Dr.  Gumming. 

2898.  HEAVEN,  Ideas  o£  Heaven  was,  in 
Southey’s  view,  the  home  of  genius,  where  all 
the  gifted  spirits  of  our  race  hold  exalted  fel¬ 
lowship.  He  longed  to  see  and  converse  with 
Shakspeare,  Dante,  and  Chaucer.  John  Fos¬ 
ter,  a  man  whose  character  and  thoughts  were 
cast  in  a  far  different  mould,  felt  in  this  world 
that  he  was  under  restraint ;  that  the  great 
secrets  of  the  spiritual  universe  were  hid  from 
him ;  that  death  would  break  down  the  bar¬ 
rier,  and  would  give  his  spirit  free  scope  to 

E)lunge  into  the  mysteries  of  truth.  His  sub- 
ime  soul  was  like  a  courser  panting  to  leap 
the  barrier ;  like  an  eagle  dragging  at  its  chain, 
and  longing  to  soar  above  the  clouds.  Leigh¬ 
ton’s  desire  was  simply  spiritual :  it  was  a 
longing  for  purity,  love,  perfection,  Christ,  and 
God.  He  felt  this  was  a  dark  world,  because 
a  sinful  one ;  and  he  longed  for  a  holy  heaven 
more  than  they  who  watch  for  the  morning, 
saying,  “  The  utmost  we  poor  mortals  can  at¬ 
tain  to  is  to  lie  awake  in  the  dark,  and  a 
great  piece  of  art  and  patience  is  to  while 
away  tne  hours  of  night.”  He  delighted  in  the 
old  apothegm,  “  The  day  which  you  fear  as  the 
death-day  of  time  is  the  birth-day  of  eternity.” 
His  alacrity  to  depart  resulted  from  his  ear¬ 
nest  desire  to  see  and  enjoy  perfection  in  the 
perfect  sense  of  it,  which  he  could  not  do,  and 
live.  J.  Stoughton. 

2899.  HEAVEN,  Indescribable.  It  would  be  a 
poor  heaven,  which  such  beings  as  ourselves 
could  comprehend  or  anticipate.  Give  me  the 
majestic  cloud,  the  oracular  veil,  the  mighty 
shadows  which  recede  as  we  advance,  filling 
the  mind  with  amazement,  but  forbidding  us 
to  approach,  and  examine  what  they  are.  1 
wish,  when  1  have  climbed  to  the  highest  pin¬ 
nacle  to  which  thought  can  soar,  to  be  com¬ 
pelled  to  confess  that  I  have  not  yet  reached 
the  base  of  the  everlasting  hills.  H.  Melvill. 

2900.  HEAVEN,  Inheriting.  As  a  dead  man 
cannot  inherit  an  estate,  no  more  can  a  dead 
soul  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  Salter. 

2901.  HEAVEN,  Joys  of.  St.  Augustine  tells 
us,  that  one  day  he  was  about  to  write  some¬ 
thing  upon  the  eighth  verse  of  the  thirty-sixth 
Psalm,  “  Thou  shalt  make  them  drink  of 


the  rivers  of  thy  pleasures;  and,  being  al¬ 
most  swallowed  up  with  the  contemplation  of 
heavenly  joys,  one  called  unto  him  very  loudly 
bv  his  name ;  and,  inquiring  who  it  was,  he  an¬ 
swered,  “  I  am  Hierom,  with  whom  in  thy  life¬ 
time  thou  hadst  so  much  conference  concern¬ 
ing  doubts  in  Scripture,  and  am  now  best  ex¬ 
perienced  to  resolve  thee  of  any  doubts  con¬ 
cerning  the  joys  of  heaven.  But  only  let  me 
first  ask  thee  this  question,  ‘  Art  thou  able  to 
put  the  whole  earth,  and  all  the  waters  of  the 
sea,  into  a  little  pot  ?  Canst  thou  measure  the 
waters  in  thy  fist,  and  mete  out  heaven  with 
thy  span  ?  or  weigh  the  mountains  in  scales, 
and  the  hills  in  a  balance?’  If  not,  no  more 
is  it  possible  that  thy  understanding  should 
comprehend  the  least  of  those  joys.”  Spencer. 

2902.  HEAVEN,  Mansions  in.  “  When  St. 
Thomas  was  at  Cmsarma,  our  Lord  appeared  to 
him,  and  said,  *  The  King  of  the  Indies,  Gondo- 
tbrus,  hath  sent  his  provost  Abanes  to  seek  for 
workmen  well  versed  in  the  science  of  archi¬ 
tecture.  who  shall  build  for  him  a  palace  finer 
than  that  of  the  Emperor  of  Home.  Behold  ! 
now,  I  will  send  thee  to  him.’  And  Thomas 
went ;  and  Gondoforus  commanded  him  to 
build  for  him  a  magnificent  palace,  and  gave 
him  much  gold  and  silver  for  the  purpose. 
The  king  went  into  a  distant  country,  and  was 
absent  for  two  years ;  and  St.  Thomas,  mean¬ 
while,  instead  of  building  a  palace,  distributed 
all  the  treasures  intrusted  to  him  among  the 
poor  and  sick.  And,  when  the  king  returned, 
lie  was  full  of  wrath  ;  and  he  commanded  that 
St.  Thomas  should  be  seized,  and  cast  into 
prison,  and  he  meditated  for  him  a  horrible 
death.  Meantime  the  brother  of  the  king  died, 
and  the  king  resolved  to  erect  for  him  a  most 
magnificent  tomb ;  but  the  dead  man,  after 
that  he  had  been  dead  four  days,  suddenly 
arose  and  sat  upright,  and  said  to  the  king, 
‘  The  man  whom  thou  wouldst  torture  is  a  ser¬ 
vant  of  God.  Behold,  I  have  been  in  paradise; 
and  the  angels  showed  to  me  a  wondrous  pal¬ 
ace  of  gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones  ; 
and  they  said,  “  This  is  the  palace  that  Thomas 
the  architect  hath  built  tor  thy  brother  King 
Gondoforus.”  ’  And,  when  the  king  heard  these 
words,  he  ran  to  the  prison,  and  delivered  the 
apostle;  and  Thomas  said  to  him,  ‘  Knowest 
thou  not  that  those  who  would  possess  heaven¬ 
ly  things  have  little  care  for  the  things  of  this 
earth  ?  There  are  in  heaven  rich  palaces 
without  number,  which  were  prepared  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world  for  those  who  purchase 
the  possession  through  faith  and  charity.  Thy 
riches,  O  king  1  may  prepare  the  way  for  thee 
to  such  a  palace,  but  they  cannot  follow  thee 
thither.’  ” 

2993.  HEAVEN,  Mementoes  in.  As  an  illustra¬ 
tion  how  the  spirit  may  cling  to  something  we 
may  have  loved  in  this  life,  permit  me  to  refer 
to  a  beautiful  legend  told  in  Danish  poetry. 
An  angel  has  just  been  down  to  this  world  to 
accompany  the  soul  of  a  little  girl  up  to  heav¬ 
en.  As  they  are  going  back,  the  child  no¬ 
tices  that  the  angel  bears  a  rose-tree  in  one  of 
I  its  hands,  and  asks  the  meaning  of  it.  The 


340 


HEAVEN. 


HEAVEIir. 


angel  tells  lier  that  there  was  lately  a  poor  boy 
in  the  city  they  have  just  left,  who  lay  for  a 
long  time  dying,  and  that  rose  was  very  dear 
to  him  through  all  his  illness.  It  brought  him 
the  first  news  of  spring ;  and  it  filled  the  close 
sick-room  with  its  fresh,  young  fragrance.  He 
loved  it  next  best  to  his  mother.  He  is  now 
taking  this  darling  rose  up  to  heaven  to  plant 
it  there.  The  spirit  of  the  child  looks  up  in 
the  angel’s  face,  and  asks,  — 

“  How  know’st  thou  this,  Bright  Power?” 

Then  splendidly  he  smiled: 

“  Should  I  m)t  know  my  flower? 

I  was  that  sickly  child.” 

Dr.  Macleod. 

2004.  HEAVEN,  Mythological.  On  the  west¬ 
ern  margin  of  the  earth  lay  a  happy  place 
named  the  “  Elysian  Plain,”  whither  mortals 
favored  by  the  gods  were  transported,  without 
tasting  death,  to  enjoy  an  immortality  of  bliss. 
This  happy  region  was  also  called  the  “  For¬ 
tunate  Fields,”  and  the  “  Isles  of  the  Blessed.” 

Buljinch. 

2005.  HEAVEN,  Nearing.  We  read,  that,  in 
certain  climates  of  the  world,  the  gales  that 
spring  from  the  land  carry  a  refreshing  smell 
out  to  sea,  and  assure  the  watchful  pilot  that 
he  is  approaching  a  desirable  and  fruitful 
coast,  when  as  yet  he  cannot  discern  it  with 
his  eyes.  And,  to  take  up  the  comparison  of 
life  to  a  voyage,  in  like  manner  it  tares  with 
those  who  have  steadily  and  religiously  pur¬ 
sued  the  course  which  heaven  pointed:  out,  to 
them.  We  shall  sometimes  find  by  their  con¬ 
versation  towards  the  end  of  their  days,  that 
they  are  filled  with  peace  and  hope  and:  joy  ; 
which,  like  those  refreshing  gales  and' reviving 
odors  to  the  seamen,  are  breathed;  forth  from 
paradise  upon  their  souls,  and  give  them  to 
understand  with  certainty  that  God,  is  bring¬ 
ing  them  into  their  desired  haven.  Townson. 

2906.  HEAVEN,  Nearness  of.  The  nearness 
of  heaven  is  suggested  by  the  epithet  “  veil.” 
Christians,  there  is  only  a  veil  between  us  and 
heaven  1  A  veil  is  the  thinnest  and  frailest  of 
all  conceivable  partitions.  It  is  but  a  fine  tis¬ 
sue,  a  delicate  fabric  of  embroidery.  It  waves 
in  the  wind ;  the  touch  of  a  child  may  stir  it, 
and  accident  may  rend  it ;  the  silent  action  of 
time  will  moulder  it  away.  The  veil  that  con¬ 
ceals  heaven  is  only  our  embodied  existence ; 
and,  though  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,  it 
is  only  wrought  out  of  our  trail  mortality.  So 
slight  is  it,  that  the  puncture  of  a  thorn,  the 
touch  of  an  insect’s  sting,  the  breath  of  an  in¬ 
fected  atmosphere,  may  make  it  shake  and  fall. 
In  a  bound,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  in  the  throb  of  a  pulse,  in  the  flash  of  a 
thought,  we  may  start  into  disembodied  spirits, 
glide  unabashed  into  the  company  of  great  and 
mighty  angels,  pass  into  the  light  and  amaze¬ 
ment  of  eternity,  know  the  great  secret,  gaze 
upon  splendors  which  flesh  and  blood  could 
not  sustain,  and  which  no  words  lawful  for 
man  to  utter  could  describe  1  Brethren  in 
Christ,  there  is  but  a  step  between  you  and 
death ;  between  you  and  heaven  there  is  but  a 
veil !  C.  Stanford. 


2907.  HEAVEN,  Nearness  to.  One  should  gc 
to  sleep  at  night  as  homesick  passengers  do, 
saying,  “  Perhaps  in  the  morning  we  shall  see 
the  shore.”  To  us  who  are  Christians,  it  is 
not  a  solemn,  but  a  delightful  thought,  that 
perhaps  nothing  hut  the  opaque,  bodily  eye 
prevents  us  from  beholding  the  gate  which  is 
open  just  before  us,  and  nothing  but  the  dull 
ear  prevents  us  from  hearing  the  ringing  of 
those  bells  of  joy  which  welcome  us  to  the 
heavenly  land.  That  we  are  so  near  death  is 
too  good  to  be  believed.  Beecher. 

2968.  HEAVEN,  Nobility  of,  When  Cyneas, 
the  ambassador  of  Pyrrhus,  after  his  return 
from  Rome,  was  asked  by  his  master,  “  What 
he  thought  of  the  city  and  state,”  he  an¬ 
swered,  “  that  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  state 
of  none  but  great  statesmen,  and  a  common¬ 
wealth  of  kings.”  Such  is  heaven,  —  no  other 
than  a  parliament  of  emperors,  a  common¬ 
wealth  of  kings  :  every  humble  faithful  soul 
in  that  kingdom  is  co-heir  with  Christ,  hath  a 
robe  of  honor,  and  a  sceptre  of  power,  and  a 
throne  of  majesty,  and  a  crown  of  glory. 

Spencer. 

2969.  HEAVEN,  Outside  of.  A  heathen  girl 

who  had  been  instructed  by  the  missionaries 
was  once  looking  out  on  the  starlit  night,  when 
she  exclaimed  almost  in  ecstasy,  “  How  beau¬ 
tiful  will  heaven  look  when  we  get  there  if  the 
outside  is  so  fair !  ”  When  Sir  William  Her- 
sehel  examined  the  nearest  fixed  star,  Sirius, 
with,  his  great  telescope,  the  whole  heavens 
about  it  were  lit  up  with  the  splendor  of  our 
sky  at  sunrise.  And,  when  the  star  fairly  en¬ 
tered  the  field  of  view,  the  brightness  was  so 
overpowering,  the  astronomer  was  forced  to 
protect  his  eye  by  a  colored  glass.  It  was  cal¬ 
culated  that  this  star  equalled  fourteen  suns 
like  ours ;  and  recent  discoveries  have  proved 
that  even  this  is  underrated.  If  God  has  given 
such  splendor  to  a  created  object,  what  must  be 
the  glory  of  that  uncreated  Presence  before 
which  angels  veil  their  faces  ?  “  Now  we  see 

through  a  glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face.” 
What  must  it  be  to  be  forever  shut  out  from 
that  abode  of  bliss,  and  consigned  to  black¬ 
ness  of  darkness  forever  ?  S.  S.  Times. 

2916.  HEAVEN,  Peoples  in.  Amongst  the 
good  whom  we  hope  to  meet  in  heaven,  there 
will  be  every  variety  of  character,  taste,  and 
disposition.  There  is  not  one  “  mansion  ” 
there ;  but  “  many.”  There  is  not  one  “  gate  ” 
to  heaven ;  but  many.  There  are  not  gates 
only  on  the  north ;  but  “  bn  the  east  three 
gates,  and  on  the  west  three  gates,  and  on  the 
south,  three  gates.”  From  opposite  quarters 
of  the  theological  compass,  from  opposite 
quarters  of  the  religious  world,  from  opposite 
quarters  of  human  life  and  character,  through 
different  expressions  of  their  common  faith 
and  hope,  through  different  modes  of  conver¬ 
sion,  through  different  portions  of  the  Holy 
Scripture,  will  the  weary  travellers  enter 
the  Heavenly  City,  and  meet  each  other  — 
“  not  without  surprise”  —  on  the  shores  of  the 
same  river  of  life.  And  on  those  shores  they 
will  find  a  tree  bearing,  not  the  same  kind  of 


HKA.'V'EN’. 


HKAVEN. 


341 


fruit  always  and  at  all  times,  but  “  twelve  man¬ 
ner  of  fruits,”  for  every  different  turn  of  mind, 

—  for  the  patient  sufferer,  for  the  active  ser¬ 
vant,  for  the  holy  and  humble  philosopher,  for 
the  spirits  of  just  men  now  at  last  made  per¬ 
fect;  and  “the  leaves  of  the  tree  shall  be  for 
the  healing,”  not  of  one  single  church  or  peo¬ 
ple  only,  not  for  the  Scotsman  or  the  English¬ 
man  only,  but  for  the  “healing  of  the  nations,” 

—  the  Frenchman,  the  German,  the  Italian,  the 

Russian,  — for  all  those  from  whom  it  may  be, 
in  this,  its  fruits  have  been  farthest  removed, 
but  who,  nevertheless,  have  “hungered  and 
thirsted  after  righteousness,”  and  who  there¬ 
fore  “  shall  he  filled."  A.  P.  Stanley. 

2911.  HEAVEN,  Pledges  of.  As  soon  as  we 
have  set  out  on  our  journey  to  go  home,  our 
home,  by  foretastes,  comes  to  meet  us ;  the 
peace  of  our  home  embraces  us ;  the  Spirit, 
like  a  dove,  rests  upon  our  hearts ;  the  glory 
of  our  home  allures  us ;  and  angel-servants 
from  our  home  bear  us  company,  and  help  us 
on  our  road.  Oh,  what  a  sweet  home  ours 
must  be  that  can  send  us  such  pledges  of  its 
sweetness,  while  we  are  yet  a  great  way  off  I 

J.  Pulsford. 

2912.  HEAVEN,  Praise  in.  The  worship  there 
shall  be  all  praise.  No  prayer  shall  be  there, 
for  there  shall  be  no  sense  of  want.  All  is  praise, 
for  all  is  manifestation  and  light ;  all  is  praise, 
for  all  is  triumph  ;  all  is  praise,  for  all  is  bless¬ 
edness  and  enjoyment.  Whatever  the  feeling, 
praise,  eternal  praise,  is  the  expression  of  it; 
from  the  breathing  whisper  of  adoring  love 
which  flits  through  the  prostrate  ranks  of  the 
redeemed,  to  the  full  chorus  of  praise,  —  the 
high,  the  universal  shout  of  glory  and  honor 
and  blessing  to  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  forever.  R.  Watson. 

2913.  HEAVEN,  Preparation  for.  We  have 

the  example  of  a  vizier  having  lost  his  life 
through  failing  to  wear  a  garment  of  honor 
sent  to  him  by  the  king.  Chardin  mentions 
the  circumstance.  The  officer  through  whose 
hands  the  royal  robe  was  to  be  forwarded, 
out  of  spite,  sent  in  its  stead  a  plain  habit. 
The  vizier  would  not  appear  in  the  city  ar¬ 
rayed  in  this,  lest  it  should  be  taken  as  an 
evidence  that  he  was  in  disgrace  at  court ; 
and  put  on,  in  its  stead,  a  royal  habit,  the  gift 
of  the  late  king  ;  and  in  that  made  his  public 
entry  into  the  city.  When  this  was  known  at 
court,  they  declared  the  vizier  a  dog,  that  he 
had  disdainfully  thrown  away  the  royal  appar¬ 
el,  saying,  “  I  have  no  need  of  Sha  Sell’s 
habits  I  ”  Their  account  incensed  the  king, 
who  severely  felt  the  affront ;  and  it  cost  the 
vizier  his  life.  Trench. 

2914.  HEAVEN,  Preparing  for.  “  Mamma,” 
said  a  little  child,  “  my  Sunday-school  teacher 
tells  me  that  this  world  is  only  a  place  in  which 
God  lets  us  live  a  while,  that  we  may  prepare 
for  a  better  world.  But,  mother,  I  do  not  see 
anybody  preparing.  I  see  you  preparing  to 
go  into  the  country,  and  Aunt  Eliza  is  prepar¬ 
ing  to  come  here ;  but  I  do  not  see  any  one 
preparing  to  go  there  :  why  don’t  they  try  to  get 
ready  f  ”  When  Ben’s  master  died,  they  told  I 


him  he  had  gone  to  heaven.  Ben  shook  his 
head,  “I  ’fraid  massa  no  gone  there.” — “But 
why,  Ben  ?  ”  —  “  Cos,  when  massa  go  North, 
or  go  a  journey  to  the  Springs,  he  talk  about 
it  a  long  time,  and  get  ready.  I  never  hear 
him  talk  about  going  to  heaven ;  never  see 
him  get  ready  to  go  there.” 

2915.  HEAVEN,  A  Present.  He  whose  mind 
is  here  absorbed  in  the  desire  for  the  distant 
heaven  is  like  a  man  walking  through  scenes 
of  exquisite  loveliness,  and  fields  of  delicious 
fruit,  with  his  eyes  so  fixed  upon  a  mirage- 
scene  in  the  distance,  that  he  sees  no  beauty 
on  his  way,  starves  amid  the  exuberant  provis¬ 
ions  which  lie  about  his  path,  and  reache* 
what  he  sees,  an  exhausted  pilgrim,  to  find  the 
object  of  his  search  vanish  into  air.  Infuse, 
then,  the  spirit  of  heaven  into  thy  present  life. 
Moral  goodness  of  soul,  springing  from  faith 
in  Christ,  is  your  way  into  the  present  and  all 
the  future  heavens  of  your  being. 

Dr.  Thomas. 

2916.  HEAVEN,  Purchased.  Like  as  if  a 

man  were  assured  that  there  were  made  for 
him  a  great  purchase  in  Spain  or  Turkey,  so 
that,  if  he  would  but  come  thither,  he  might 
enjoy  it,  he  would  adventure  the  dangers  of 
the  sea,  and  of  enemies  also,  if  need  were,  that 
he  might  come  to  his  own  ;  even  so,  seeing 
that  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  a  purchase  for 
us  in  heaven,  and  there  is  nothing  required 
of  us  but  that  we  will  come  and  enjoy  it,  we 
ought  to  refuse  no  pains  or  fear  in  the  way, 
but  carefully  strive  to  get  it.  Cawdray. 

2917.  HEAVEN,  Recognition  in.  Heaven  is 
presented  to  us  under  the  idea  of  a  banquet, 
and  much  of  its  comfort  must  flow  from  a 
knowledge  of  the  guests.  Imagine  yourselves 
at  a  feast,  where,  though  you  may  have  known 
many  who  surround  the  table,  you  are,  by 
some  obliviousness  of  mind,  ignorant  of  them 
all :  the  incertitude  in  which  you  are  placed 
robs  you  of  much  of  your  joy  ;  for  you  are 
alone.  But  suppose  that  the  mist  rolls  away, 
and  that  you  recognize  in  the  countenances 
before  you  the  old  familiar  faces  of  beloved 
friends :  at  once  you  become  conscious  of  a 
felicity  of  which  you  otherwise  would  have 
been  deprived.  So  it  will  be  in  eternity.  Sit¬ 
ting  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  you  will  intuitively 
recognize  as  your  companions  those  who  were 
the  excellent  of  the  earth,  and  be  re-united 
to  those  who  divided  your  cares  or  doubled , 
your  joys  in  this  world  of  mingled  sorrows  and 
delights. 

2918.  HEAVEN,  Scaling.  The  poets  fabu¬ 
lously  fancied  that  the  giants  scaled  heaven  by 
heaping  mountain  upon  mountain.  What  was 
their  fancy  is  the  gospel-truth.  If  you  would 
get  to  heaven,  you  must  climb  thither  by  put¬ 
ting  Mount  Zion  upon  Mount  Sinai. 

Bp.  Hopkins. 

2919.  HEAVEN,  Service  of.  Adoration  at  the 
throne,  activity  in  the  temple,  —  the  worship 
of  the  heart,  the  worship  of  the  voice,  the 
worship  of  the  hands,  —  the  whole  being  con¬ 
secrated  and  devoted  to  God,  —  those  are  the 


342 


HEAVEN. 


HEAVEN. 


service  of  the  upper  sanctuary.  Here  the  flesh 
is  often  wearied  with  an  hour  of  worship  : 
there  “they  rest  not  day  and  night,  saying, 
Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  Almighty,  which 
was  and  is,  and  is  to  come.”  Here  a  week 
will  often  see  us  weary  in  well-doing :  there 
they  are  drawn  on  by  its  own  deliciousness  to 
larger  and  larger  fulfilments  of  Jehovah’s  will. 
Here  we  must  lure  ourselves  to  work  by  the 
prospect  of  rest  hereafter :  there  the  toil  is 
luxury,  and  the  labor  recreation  ;  and  nothing 
but  jubilees  of  praise,  and  holidays  of  higher 
service,  are  wanted  to  diversify  the  long  and 
industrious  sabbath  of  the  skies.  And  it  mat¬ 
ters  not  though  sometimes  the  celestial  citizens 
are  represented  as  always  singing,  and  some¬ 
times  as  always  flying ;  sometimes  as  always 
working,  and  sometimes  as  always  resting : 
for  there  the  work  is  rest,  and  every  move¬ 
ment  song  ;  and  the  “  many  mansions  ”  make 
one  temple,  and  the  whole  being  of  its  wor¬ 
shippers  one  tune,  —  one  mighty  anthem,  long 
as  eternity,  and  large  as  its  burden,  the  praise 
of  the  great  Three-One,  —  the  self-renewing 
and  ever-sounding  hymn,  in  which  the  flight 
of  every  seraph,  and  the  harp  of  every  saint, 
and  the  smile  of  every  raptured  spirit,  is  a 
several  note,  and  repeats  ever  over  again, 
“  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God  Almighty,  which 
was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come.” 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

2920.  HEAVEN,  Sinless.  “There  shall  in 

no  wise  enter  into  it  any  thing  that  defileth.” 
Heaven  is  not  like  Noah’s  ark,  that  received 
clean  and  unclean.  A  sinner  is  compared  to 
swine  ;  and  shall  a  swinish  creature  tread  upon 
the  golden  pavement  of  heaven  V  Indeed,  the 
frogs  came  into  King  Pharaoh’s  court,  but  in 
heaven  there  is  no  entertainment  for  such 
vermin.  T.  Walson. 

2921.  HEAVEN,  Society  of.  When  death 

shall  have  disencumbered  and  set  us  free  from 
all  sorts  of  distempers,  and  brought  us  into 
the  state  of  perfect  and  perfected  spirits,  how 
delectable  will  that  society  be  when  all  shall 
be  full  of  divine  light,  life,  love,  and  joy,  and 
freely  communicate  as  they  have  received 
freely !  How  pleasant  it  will  be  to  sit  down 
with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  king¬ 
dom  of  God ;  to  converse  with  angels,  those 
wise,  kind  creatures,  so  lull  of  profound  knowl¬ 
edge  and  benignity,  instructed  by  long  unin¬ 
terrupted  experience  and  observation  of  the 
methods  of  the  divine  government  and  dispen¬ 
sation  ;  highly  pleased  with  our  accession  to 
the  general  assembly ;  that  rejoiced  in  the  con¬ 
version  of  a  sinner,  whereby  but  one  was  here¬ 
after  in  due  time  to  be  added,  much  more  in 
the  glorification  of  so  many  that  are  now  ac¬ 
tually  added  to  them  !  John  Ilowe. 

2922.  HEAVEN,  Sure  of  Yalens  the  emperor 
threatened  St.  Basil,  that  let  him  go  whither 
he  would,  yet  he  should  neither  by  sea  nor 
land  be  safe  from  his  power.  “  Well,”  said 
the  good  man,  “  be  it  so  :  for  all  the  emperor’s 
rage,  I  shall  be  either  in  heaven  or  under 
heaven.”  And,  in  the  like  manner,  there  was 
a  cardinal  threatened  Luther,  that  there  shall 


not  be  a  place  left  for  him  in  all  the  empire 
of  Germany  wherein  he  should  be  free  from 
danger.  “  Oh  !  ”  saith  Luther  smilingly,  “  if 
earth  cannot  keep  me  safe,  heaven  shall.” 

Spencer. 

2923.  HEAVEN,  Steps  to.  A  poor  man  told 
Rowland  Hill,  that  the  way  to  heaven  was 
short,  easy,  and  simple ;  comprising  only  three 
steps,  —  “  out  of  self,  unto  Christ,  into  glory.” 

2924.  HEAVEN,  Tabernacles  in.  Let  us  build 

houses  to  dwell  in,  not  to  make  of  them  a  vain 
display.  That  which  exceedeth  our  necessities 
is  superfluous  and  useless.  Bind  on  a  sandal 
larger  than  thy  foot,  and  thou  wilt  not  be 
able  to  endure  it :  it  will  impede  thy  walk¬ 
ing.  Thus,  also,  a  house  greater  than  is 
necessary  impedeth  thy  passage  to  heaven. 
Wouldst  thou  raise  vast  and  splendid  habitat 
tions  ?  I  forbid  them  not ;  but  let  them  not 
be  on  earth :  build  tabernacles  in  heaven,  — 
tabernacles  imperishable.  Chrysostom. 

2925.  HEAVEN,  Title  to.  A  man  dreamed 
that  he  stood  beside  the  guarded  gate  of 
heaven,  when  the  spirit  of  a  rich  man  came 
and  sought  admittance  on  the  ground  of  his 
wealth  and  local  fame.  He  was  reminded 
that  those  things  belong  to  time  only,  and 
turned  away  in  despair.  Another  sought 
entrance  on  the  ground  of  his  integrity,  but 
was  repulsed  by  the  angel,  saying,  “  By  the 
deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified.”  A 
third  pleaded  his  denominational  zeal,  fervent 
prayers,  and  deep  feeling,  but  was  refused 
with  the  remark,  “  There  is  no  name  given 
under  heaven,  or  among  men,  whereby  we 
must  be  saved,  but  the  name  of  Jesus.”  At 
length,  a  spirit  was  seen  winging  its  way 
through  the  air,  all  the  while  crying,  “  The 
blood  of  Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin.”  To  it 
the  gates  of  heaven  flew  wide  open ;  and  the 
angel  said,  “  An  abundant  entrance  is  minis¬ 
tered  to  you  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.” 

2926.  HEAVEN,  Triumph  of.  Heaven  is  a 
place  of  complete  victory  and  glorious  triumph. 
This  is  the  battle-field  :  there  is  the  triumphal 
procession.  This  is  the  land  of  the  sword  and 
the  spear :  that  is  the  land  of  the  wreath  and 
the  crown.  This  is  the  land  of  the  garment 
rolled  in  blood,  and  of  the  dust  of  the  fight : 
that  is  the  land  of  the  trumpet’s  joyful  sound ; 
that  is  the  place  of  the  white  robe,  and  of 
the  shout  of  conquest.  Oh,  what  a  tlirill  of 
joy  shall  shoot  through  the  hearts  of  all  the 
blessed  when  their  conquests  shall  be  complete 
in  heaven ;  when  death  itself,  the  last  of  foes, 
shall  be  slain ;  when  Satan  shall  be  dragged 
captive  at  the  chariot-wheels  of  Christ ;  when 
he  shall  have  overthrown  sin,  and  trampled 
corruption  as  the  mire  of  the  streets ;  when 
the  great  shout  of  universal  victory  shall  rise 
from  the  hearts  of  all  the  redeemed ! 

Spurgeon. 

2927.  HEAVEN,  Undecaying.  We  ask  for 
Nineveh,  and  only  its  ruins  are  found ;  for 
Babylon,  and  we  only  find  the  literal  accom¬ 
plishment  of  the  prophetic  description,  “  heaps, 
and  a  dwelling-place  for  dragons,  without  an 


IEEAVEN. 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL.  343 


inhabitant ;  ”  for  ancient  Rome,  and  we  see 
the  civilized  world  going  to  wonder  at  its 
ruins,  and  read  the  plain  inscription  of  gran¬ 
deur  and  vanity :  but  this  city  hath  un¬ 
decaying  foundations :  God  is  the  builder  and 
maker ;  and  her  glory  shall  never  fade. 

R.  Watson. 

2928.  HEAVEN,  Views  of.  A  living  divine 
says,  “  When  I  was  a  boy,  I  thought  of  heaven 
as  a  great,  shining  city,  with  vast  walls  and 
domes  and  spires,  and  with  nobody  in  it  ex¬ 
cept  white  tenuous  angels,  who  were  strangers 
to  me.  By  and  by  my  little  brother  died ;  and 
I  thought  of  a  great  city  with  walls  and 
domes  and  spires,  and  a  Hock  of  cold,  un¬ 
known  angels,  and  one  little  fellow  that  I  was 
acquainted  with.  He  was  the  only  one  I 
knew  in  that  time.  Then  another  brother 
died ;  and  there  were  two  that  I  knew.  Then 
my  acquaintances  began  to  die ;  and  the  flock 
continually  grew.  But  it  was  not  till  1  had 
sent  one  of  my  little  children  to  his  Grand¬ 
parent,  —  God,  —  that  I  began  to  think  I  had 
got  a  little  in  myself.  A  second  went,  a  third 
went,  a  fourth  went;  and  by  that  time  I  had 
so  many  acquaintances  in  heaven,  that  I  did 
not  see  any  more  walls  and  domes  and  spires. 
I  began  to  think  of  the  residents  of  the  celes¬ 
tial  city.  And  now  there  have  so  many  of  my 
acquaintances  gone  there,  that  it  sometimes 
seems  to  me  that  I  know  more  in  heaven  than 
I  do  on  earth.” 

2929.  HEAVEN,  Visions  of.  A  remarkable 
mirage  was  lately  witnessed  at  Dover,  Eng¬ 
land,  whereby  the  dome  of  the  cathedral  at 
Boulogne,  France,  was  made  distinctly  visible 
to  the  naked  eye;  and,  by  means  of  a  telescope, 
the  entrance  to  the  port,  its  lighthouse,  ship¬ 
ping,  the  hills  surrounding  the  town,  and 
neighboring  farm-houses  with  their  windows 
illuminated  with  the  setting  sun,  were  plainly 
distinguished.  Even  a  locomotive  and  train 
were  seen  leaving  the  city,  and  travelling  to¬ 
wards  Calais.  The  distance  is  about  thirty 
miles.  So  faith  brings  the  city  above  to  the 
believer’s  vision. 

2930.  HEAVEN,  Voices  from.  I  was  reading 
the  other  day,  that,  on  the  shores  of  the  Adri¬ 
atic  Sea,  the  wives  of  fishermen  whose  hus¬ 
bands  have  gone  far  out  upon  the  deep  are  in 
the  habit,  at  eventide,  of  going  down  to  the 
seashore,  and  singing,  as  female  voices  only 
can,  the  first  stanza  of  a  beautiful  hymn. 
After  they  have  sung  it,  they  listen  till  they 
hear,  borne  by  the  wind  across  the  desert-sea, 
the  second  stanza,  sung  by  their  gallant  hus¬ 
bands  as  they  are  tossed  by  the  gale  upon  the 
waves  ;  and  both  are  happy.  Perhaps,  if  we 
could  listen,  we,  too,  might  hear  on  this  desert- 
world  of  ours  some  sound,  some  whisper, 
borne  from  afar,  to  remind  us  that  there  is  a 
heaven  and  a  home ;  and,  when  we  sing  the 
hymn  upon  the  shores  of  earth,  perhaps  we 
shall  hear  its  sweet  echo  breaking  in  music 
upon  the  sands  of  time,  and  cheering  the 
hearts  of  them  that  are  pilgrims  and  stran¬ 
gers  and  look  lor  a  city  that  hath  foundations. 

Dr.  Cummings. 


2931.  HEAVEN,  Way  to.  “  I  know  the  wav 
to  heaven,”  said  little  Minnie  to  little  Johnny, 
who  stood  by  her  side,  looking  on  a  picture- 
book  that  Minnie  had  in  her  hand.  “  You 
do?  ”  said  little  John.  “  Well,  won’t  you  tell 
me  how  to  get  there  ?  ”  —  “  Oh,  yes  !  I'll  tell 
you.  Just  commence  going  up,  and  keep  on 
going  up  all  the  time,  and  you’ll  get  there. 
But,  Johnny,  you  must  not  turn  back.” 

2932.  HEAVEN,  Welcome  to.  When  a  father 
sends  his  son  abroad,  and  he  meets  with  diffi¬ 
culty  in  the  way,  and  comes  home  in  tempes¬ 
tuous  weather,  how  gladly  does  he  entertain 
him !  The  whole  family  are  ready  to  wait 
upon  him  :  one  makes  a  fire  ;  another  brings 
dry  clothes ;  another  prepares  him  comforts. 
What,  then,  shall  be  the  welcome  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  pilgrim  as  he  comes  up  to  the  Father’s 
house ! 

2933.  HEAVEN,  Won.  Won  by  other  arms 
than  theirs,  it  presents  the  strongest  imagi¬ 
nable  contrast  to  the  spectacle  seen  in  Eng¬ 
land’s  palace  on  that  day  when  the  king  de¬ 
manded  of  his  assembled  nobles  by  what 
title  they  held  their  lands.  “  What  title  ?  ” 
At  the  rash  question,  a  hundred  swords 
leaped  from  their  scabbards.  Advancing  on 
the  alarmed  monarch,  “  By  these,”  they  re¬ 
plied,  “  we  wron,  and  by  these  we  will  keep 
them !  ”  IIow  different  the  scene  which 
heaven  presents  !  All  eyes  are  fixed  on  Je¬ 
sus  :  every  look  is  love ;  gratitude  glows  in 
every  bosom,  and  swells  in  every  song.  Now 
with  golden  harps  they  sound  the  Saviour’s 
praises  ;  and  now,  descending  from  their 
thrones  to  do  him  homage,  they  cast  their 
crowns  in  one  glittering  heap  at  the  feet 
which  were  nailed  on  Calvary.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

2931.  HEAVEN,  Wonders  o£  There  will  be 
three  things  which  will  surprise  us  when  we 
get  to  heaven,  —  one,  to  find  many  there  that 
we  did  not  expect  to  find  there ;  another,  to 
find  some  not  there  whom  we  had  expected ; 
a  third,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  wonder, 
will  be  to  find  ourselves  there.  Bowes. 

2935.  HEAVEN,  Yearning  for.  Beat  on,  O 
heart !  and  yearn  for  dying.  I  have  drunk  at 
many  a  fountain,  but  thirst  came  again;  I 
have  fed  at  many  a  bounteous  table,  but  hun¬ 
ger  returned ;  I  have  seen  many  bright  and 
lovely  things,  but,  while  I  gazed,  their  lustre 
faded.  There  is  nothing  here  that  can  give 
me  rest ;  but  when  I  behold  thee,  O  God  I  I 
shall  be  satisfied !  Beecher. 

293G.  HEAVEN  AND  HELL,  Ways  to.  Heaven 
is  compared  to  a  hill,  and  therefore  is  figured 
by  Olympus  among  the  heathen,  by  Mount 
Sion  in  God’s  book ;  hell,  contrariwise,  to  a 
pit.  The  ascent  of  the  one  is  hard,  therefore; 
and  the  descent  to  the  other  easy  and  head¬ 
long  :  and  so,  as  if  we  once  begin  to  fall,  the  re¬ 
covery  is  most  difficult,  and  not.  one  of  many 
stays  till  he  comes  to  the  bottom.  I  will  be 
content  to  pant  and  blow  and  sweat  in  climb¬ 
ing  up  to  heaven ;  as,  contrarily,  I  will  be 
I  wary  of  setting  the  first  step  downwards 
j  towards  the  pit.  For  as  there  is  a  Jacob’s 
|  ladder  into  heaven,  so  there  are  blind  stairs 


344 


HELL. 


that  go  winding  down  into  death,  whereof 
each  makes  way  for  another.  From  the  ob¬ 
ject  is  raised  an  ill  suggestion,  suggestion 
draws  on  delight,  delight  consent,  consent 
endeavor,  endeavor  practice,  practice  cus¬ 
tom,  custom  excuse,  excuse  defence,  defence 
obstinacy,  obstinacy  boasting  of  sin,  boasting 
a  reprobate  sense.  I  will  watch  over  my 
ways ;  and  do  thou,  Lord,  watch  over  me, 
that  I  may  avoid  the  first  degrees  of  sin. 
And  if  those  overtake  my  frailty,  yet  keep 
me,  that  presumptuous  sins  prevail  not  over 
me.  Beginnings  are  with  more  ease  and  safety 
declined  when  we  are  free,  than  proceedings 
when  we  have  begun.  Bp.  Hall. 

2937.  HELL,  By-Way  to.  Then  I  saw  in  my 

dream  that  the  shepherds  had  them  to  another 
place,  in  a  bottom,  where  was  a  door  in  the  side 
of  a  hill;  and  they  opened  the  door,  and  bid  them 
look  in.  They  looked  in,  therefore,  and  saw 
that  within  it  was  very  dark  and  smoky : 
they  also  thought  that  they  heard  a  rumbling 
noise  as  of  fire,  and  a  cry  of  some  tormented ; 
and  that  they  smelt  the  scent  of  brimstone. 
Then  said  Christian,  “  What  means  this  ?  ” 
The  shepherd  told  them,  “This  is  a  by-way  to 
hell,  a  way  that  hypocrites  go  in  at,  —  namely, 
such  as  sell  their  birthright,  with  Esau ;  such 
as  sell  their  Master,  with  Judas  ;  such  as  blas¬ 
pheme  the  gospel,  with  Alexander  ;  and  such 
as  lie  and  dissemble,  with  Ananias  and  Sap- 
phira  his  wife.”  Bun  pan. 

2938.  HELL,  Company  of.  If  you  were  to 
spend  a  whole  life,  and  never  be  separated 
from  the  vile  and  loathsome  a  single  instant, 
what  a  gloom  would  it  spread  over  your  mini! ! 
Hell  is  the  place  where  there  are  many  such, 
—  where  all  the  inhabitants  are  such  :  “  With¬ 
out  are  dogs  and  sorcerers  and  whoremongers 
and  murderers  and  idolaters,  and  whosoever 
lovetli  and  maketh  a  lie,”  —  whatever  is 
abominable.  Oh !  tell  me  not  of  the  fire  and 
the  worm,  and  the  blackness  and  darkness  of 
hell :  to  my  terrified  conscience,  there  is  hell 
enough  in  this  representation  of  it,  —  that  it  is 
the  common  sewer  of  all  that  is  abominable 
and  abandoned  and  reckless  as  to  principle, 
and  depraved  as  to  morals ;  the  one  common 
eddy,  where  every  thing  that  is  polluted  and 
wretched  and  filthy  is  gathered  together. 

Dr.  Beaumont. 

2939.  HELL,  Demand  for.  An  astronomer 

notices  the  slower  or  quicker  rate  of  motion  in 
a  planet  at  one  part  of  its  orbit ;  and  he  tells 
you  that  there  must  be  a  world  beyond  it,  not 
yet  seen.  He  tells  you  its  size,  its  gravity,  its 
orbit,  its  rate  of  motion;  and  when,  at  last, 
Neptune  is  discovered,  it  proves  to  be  precisely 
that  which  Uranus  dictated  by  his  perturba¬ 
tions.  So  that  the  doctrine  of  endless  retribution 
is  not,  with  us,  a  mere  dogma :  it  belongs  to  a 
great  scheme  of  revealed  truth,  which  we  call 
the  “  plan  of  redemption ;  ”  all  of  which  stands 
or  falls  together.  N.  Adams. 

2940.  HELL,  Derivation  of.  On  one  side  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  was  a  deep  gorge  called  the  V alley  of  Hin- 
nom.  It  was  a  place  where  cruel  and  idolatrous 
rites  were  celebrated.  Human  sacrifices  were 


offered  here.  Drums  were  beaten  to  drerwn  the 
cries  of  immolated  infants :  hence  the  name 
Tophet.  King  Josiah  defiled  the  place.  It 
became  the  receptacle  of  all  the  filth  and  offal 
of  the  city;  and  fires  were  kept  constantly 
burning  to  consume  it.  The  worm  never  failed 
of  its  prey  there.  This  is  the  Jewish  type  of 
the  place  of  the  lost.  There  was  a  similar 
place  in  Calcutta,  called  the  Burning  Ghat, 
where  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  burned. 
There  was  always  the  smouldering  flame,  the 
heavy  black  smoke,  the  noisome  smell  of  burn¬ 
ing,  corrupting  flesh ;  while  crowds  of  lazy, 
bloated  vultures  were  lounging  about,  op¬ 
pressed  with  their  heavy  meal. 

2941.  HELL,  Description  of.  Tartarus,  the 
hell  of  mythology,  is  represented  as  a  deep 
gulf  as  much  below  the  earth  as  the  heavens 
are  above  it.  The  entrance  to  it  is  through  a 
large  cave,  near  Lake  Avernus.  Before  the 
entrance  of  hell  were  groups  of  beings  called 
Cares,  Diseases,  Age,  Fear,  Hunger,  Toil, 
Poverty,  and  Death.  There,  also,  were  the 
Furies,  the  Hydras,  and  Chimeras.  Next 
came  the  dark  waters  of  the  River  Coeytus, 
where  Charon,  the  ferryman,  received  and  fer¬ 
ried  over  disembodied  spirits.  First  on  the 
shore  was  the  space  allotted  to  young  children, 
then  those  who  perished  under  false  charges, 
next  suicides,  then  warriors  and  heroes.  Now 
the  road  divided,  —  one  leading  to  Elysium,  and 
the  other  to  the  regions  of  the  condemned. 
On  one  side  were  the  walls  of  a  mighty  city, 
with  iron  towers,  and  gates  of  adamant,  guard¬ 
ed  by  one  of  the  Furies.  From  the  city  re¬ 
sounded  the  clanking  of  chains,  the  sound  of 
the  scourge,  and  the  groans  of  the  suffering. 
Within  were  those  who  warred  against  the 
gods,  or  wronged  their  fellow-men.  There 
were  tables  loaded  with  dainties,  surrounded 
by  the  victims  of  hunger,  from  whom  the  Furies 
snatched  the  food  as  soon  as  they  tried  to  eat. 
Over  those  who  hated  their  parents  or  broth¬ 
ers,  or  defrauded  their  friends,  or  who  had 
grown  rich  and  covetous,  keeping  their  money 
to  themselves,  were  suspended  huge  rocks, 
threatening  to  fall  upon  and  grind  them  to  pow¬ 
der.  There  also  were  adulterers,  defrauders, 
traitors,  and  unjust  judges.  Ixion  was  stretched 
on  a  ceaselessly-revolving  wheel.  Sisyphus 
pursued  his  endless  task,  —  rolling  a  huge 
stone  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  which  ever  returned 
upon  him,  and  was  as  often  hurled  up  again. 
Tantalus  stood  in  the  water  up  to  his  chin,  but 
could  not  quench  his  thirst ;  for  when  he  bowed 
his  head  to  drink,  the  water  fled  away.  Trees 
laden  with  rich  fruits,  pears,  pomegranates, 
apples,  and  figs,  extended  their  boughs  to  him  ; 
but,  when  he  tried  to  grasp  them,  they  were 
suddenly  whirled  beyond  his  reach.  A  wide 
tract  of  darkness  separated  this  place  from  the 
Elysian  Fields. 

2942.  HELL,  Duration  of.  Tiberius  Csesar, 
being  applied  to  by  an  offender  to  hasten  and 
despatch  his  punishment,  replied,  “  Stay,  sir : 
you  and  I  are  not  friends  yet.”  Thus  it  is 
betwixt  Christ  and  the  damned  sold. 

Spencer, 


TTTT.T.T,. 


HELL. 


345 


2943.  HELL,  Eternity  of.  Our  lost  friends 
are  lost  forever  :  we  recollect  that  there  is  no 
shadow  of  a  hope  for  them.  When  the  iron 
gate  of  hell  is  once  closed  upon  them,  it  shall 
never  be  unbarred  again  to  give  them  free 
exit ;  when  once  shut  up  within  those  walls  of 
sweltering  flame  which  girdle  the  fiery  gulf, 
there  is  no  possibility  of  flight :  we  recollect 
that  they  have  “  forever  ”  stamped  upon  their 
chains,  “forever”  carved  in  deep  lines  of  de¬ 
spair  upon  their  hearts.  It  is  the  hell  of  hell 
that  every  thing  there  lasts  forever.  Here 
time  wears  away  our  griefs,  and  blunts  the 
keen  edge  of  our  sorrow ;  but  there  time  never 
mitigates  the  woe.  Ilell  grows  more  hellish  as 
eternity  marches  on  with  its  mighty  paces ; 
the  abyss  becomes  more  dense  and  fiery, 
the  sufferers  grow  more  ghastly  and  wretched, 
as  years,  if  there  be  such  sad  variety  in  that 
fixed  state,  roll  their  everlasting  rounds.  Here 
the  sympathy  of  loving  kindred  in  the  midst 
of  sickness  or  suffering  can  alleviate  our  pain  ; 
but  there  the  tortured  ghosts  are  sport  for 
fiends,  and  the  mutual  upbraidings  and  re¬ 
proaches  of  fellow-sinners  give  fresh  stings  to 
torment  too  dread  to  be  endured.  Here,  too, 
when  Nature’s  last  palliative  shall  fail,  to  die 
may  be  a  happy  release.  A  man  can  count 
the  weary  hours  till  death  shall  give  him  rest ; 
but,  oh !  remember,  there  is  no  death  in  hell. 
Death,  which  is  a  monster  on  earth,  would  be  an 
angel  in  hell.  If  death  could  go  there,  all  the 
damned  would  fall  down  and  worship  him ; 
every  tongue  would  sing,  and  every  heart 
would  praise ;  each  cavern  then  would  echo 
with  a  shout  of  triumph,  till  all  was  still,  and 
silence  brood  where  terrors  reigned.  But  no, 
the  terrible  reality  is  this,  “  Their  worm  dieth 
not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched.” 

Spurgeon. 

294  ft.  HELL,  Existence  of.  Some  time  ago,  a 
man  brought  forward  his  strong  argument 
against  the  Bible,  declaring,  “  I  am  seventy 
years  of  age,  and  have  never  seen  such  a  place 
as  hell,  after  all  that  has  been  said  about  it.” 
His  little  grandson,  of  about  seven  years  of  age, 
who  was  all  the  while  listening,  asked  him, 

“  Grandaddv,  have  you  ever  been  dead  yet  ?  ” 
Col.  Chartcris,  when  dying,  exclaimed  in  great 
remorse,  “  I  would  gladly  give  thirty  thousand 
pounds  to  have  it  proved  to  my  satisfaction 
that  there  is  no  such  place  as  hell.” 

2945.  HELL,  Fear  of.  During  the  enlist¬ 
ment  of  soldiers  for  the  army,  a  young  man, 
though  strongly  urged  to  join  the  volunteers, 
hesitated,  and  finally  declined.  He  was  able- 
bodied  and  patriotic.  Ho  had  always  been 
regarded  as  brave.  The.  suggestion  that  per¬ 
sonal  cowardice  might  be  the  reason  called 
forth  from  him  this  frank  confession  :  “  No ;  it 
is  not  (lying  that  troubles  me ;  1  could  stand 
up  and  be  shot  for  my  country  :  it  is  the  here¬ 
after.” 

2946.  HELL,  Forever.  In  hell,  there  is  no  ' 
hope.  They  have  not  even  the  hope  of  dying, 
—  the  hope  of  being  annihilated.  They  are 
forever,  forever,  forever  lost  1  On  every  chain 
in  hell  there  is  written  “  forever.”  In  the  fires 


there  blazes  out  the  word  “  forever.”  Up  above 
their  heads  they  read  “  forever.”  Their  eyes 
are  galled,  and  their  hearts  are  pained,  with 
the  thought  that  it  is  “  forever.”  Oh  1  if  I 
could  tell  you  to-night  that  hell  would  one  day 
be  burned  out,  and  that  those  who  were  lost 
might  be  saved,  there  would  be  a  jubilee  in 
hell  at  the  very  thought  of  it.  But  it  cannot 
be  :  it  is  “  forever  ”  they  are  “  cast  into  utter 
darkness.”  Spurgeon. 

2947.  HELL,  Location  of.  “  Where  is  hell  ?  ’ 
asked  a  scoffer.  “Anywhere  outside  of  heav- 
ven,”  was  the  answer. 

2948.  HELL,  Misery  in.  Our  sense  of  touen 

is  at  present  accompanied  with  a  thousand 
modifications  of  feelings  of  pleasure ;  but  there 
every  thing  that  comes  in  contact  with  the 
organs  of  feeling  may  produce  the  most  pain¬ 
ful  sensations.  Here  the  variety  of  colors 
which  adorn  the  face  of  Nature  delights  the 
eye  and  the  imagination ;  there  the  most  gloomy 
and  haggard  objects  may  at  all  times  produce  a 
dismal  and  alarming  aspect  over  every  part  of 
the  surrounding  scene.  Here  the  most  enchant¬ 
ing  music  frequently  cheers  and  enraptures 
the  human  heart ;  there  nothing  is  heard 
but  the  dismal  sound  of  “  weeping  and  wailing, 
and  gnashing  of  teeth.”  Here  they  hated  the 
society  of  the  righteous,  and  loved  to  mingle 
with  evil  doers  in  their  follies  and  their  crimes ; 
there  they  will  be  forever  banished  from  the 
company  of  the  wise  and  the  benevolent,  and 
will  feel  the  bitter  effects  of  being  perpetually 
chained  to  the  society  of  those  malignant  asso¬ 
ciates  who  will  be  their  everlasting  tormentors. 
Here  they  delighted  to  give  full  scope  to  their 
depraved  appetites  and  passions ;  there  they 
will  feel  the  bitter  and  horrible  effects  of  the 
full  operation  of  such  lusts  and  passions.  If  to 
these  be  added  the  consideration,  that,  in  such 
minds,  the  principles  of  malice,  envy,  hatred, 
revenge,  and  every  other  element  of  evil  which 
pervaded  their  souls  while  in  life,  will  rage 
without  control,  we  may  form  such  a  concep¬ 
tion  of  future  misery  as  will  warrant  all  the 
metaphorical  descriptions  of  it  which  are  given 
in  divine  revelation,  without  supposing  any  fur¬ 
ther  interposition  of  the  Deity  in  the  direct 
infliction  of  punishment.  T.  Dick. 

2949.  HELL,  Near  the  Wicked.  A  deacon  of  a 

Christian  church  was  walking,  one  sabbath  day, 
to  the  house  of  God,  when  he  saw  a  young 
man,  with  whom  he  had  some  slight  acquaint¬ 
ance,  come  out  of  an  inn,  and  mount  his  horse. 
“  Can  you  tell  me,  deacon,”  said  he  jocosely, 
“  how  far  it  is  to  hell  V  ”  The  deacon  paused, 
reflected  for  a  moment,  then  replied,  “  It  is  not 
far  off.  You  may  come  to  it  sooner  than  you 
expect.”  The  young  man  laughed,  put  spurs 
to  his  horse,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight.  The 
deacon  walked  gently  on,  and,  as  the  road 
made  a  turn,  saw  a  crowd  before  him.  Coming 
up  to  the  spot,  he  saw  the  young  man  to  whom 
he  had  just  before  spoken  the  words  of  warn¬ 
ing,  lying  a  corpse  upon  the  ground.  His 
horse  had  become  restive  and  unmanageable, 
and  thrown  his  rider,  who,  falling  on  his  head, 
was  killed  upon  the  spot.  Bib.  Treasury. 


346 


ECEXjXj. 


HEEMIT-LIFE. 


2950.  HELL,  Preaching.  The  tone  of  re- 

E reaching  and  upbraiding  is  widely  different 
■ora  the  voice  of  solemn  warning.  It  is  not 
saying  hard  things  that  pierces  the  consciences 
of  our  people:  it  is  the  voice  of  divine  love 
heard  amid  the  thunder.  The  sharpest  point 
of  the  two-edged  sword  is  not  death ,  but  life : 
and,  against  self-righteous  souls,  this  latter 
ought  to  be  more  used  than  the  former ;  for 
such  souls  can  hear  us  tell  of  the  open  gates 
of  hell,  and  the  unquenchable  fire,  far  more 
unconcernedly  than  of  the  gates  of  heaven, 
wide  open  for  their  immediate  return.  When 
■we  preach  that  the  glad  tidings  were  intended 
to  impart  immediate  assurance  of  life  eternal  to 
every  sinner  that  believes  them ,  we  strike  deeper 
upon  the  proud  enmity  of  the  world  to  God 
than  when  we  show  the  eternal  curse  and  the 
second  death.  MlCheyne. 

2951.  HELL,  Power  of.  As  a  city  or  town 
that  is  sacked,  razed  to  the  ground,  ploughed, 
and  sown  with  salt,  is  unable  to  recover  itself, 
or  to  harm  the  enemies  that  have  served  it  so ; 
such  a  conflict  and  overthrow  hath  Christ  given 
to  Satan  by  his  death.  He  hath  gotten  such  a 
victory  over  all  the  powers  of  hell,  that  they 
are  no  more  able  to  hurt  the  children  of  God. 
But  for  them  only  hell  is  overcome,  and  unto 
them  alone  this  victory  is  gotten ;  hell  having 
still  full  power  over  the  unfaithful.  Cawdray. 

2952.  HELL,  Punishment  of.  A  rebel  who 
hath  stabbed  an  earthly  prince  but  once,  and 
deeply  repents  of  his  crime,  is  mercifully  dealt 
with  if  he  be  imprisoned  for  life,  were  he  to 
live  a  thousand  years.  An  impenitent  sinner 
hath  risen  against  the  Majesty  of  heaven  a 
million  of  times,  and  “  crucified  the  Prince  of 
Life  afresh,”  for,  it  may  be,  ten,  twenty,  forty 
years.  What  is  more,  he  goes  on  still  in  his 
rebellion  ;  and  his  talk  of  repenting  to-morrow 
is  only  a  contrivance  to  sin  with  more  cheer¬ 
fulness  to-day.  Now,  if  he  die  in  this  state, 
shall  God  be  unjust  in  condemning  him  for 
life  to  the  prison  of  hell,  and  punishing  with 
infinite  woe  sins  committed  against  an  infinite 
Majesty,  —  sins  from  which  he  should  have 
been  deterred  by  considerations  of  infinite 
force ;  in  short,  sins  in  which  he  would  have 
lived  forever  had  not  death  interposed  ? 

./.  Fletcher. 

2953.  HELL,  Rejecting.  Tostatus  observes, 
that  the  mole  opens  his  eyes  in  dying,  which  he 
always  had  shut  while  he  lived.  So  it  is  with 
wicked  men.  Tell  them  that  the  wicked  shall 
be  turned  into  hell,  it  is  but  a  mere  scarecrow. 
He  fears  not  God  all  his  lifetime,  till  he  ap- 
roachcs  the  judgment ;  and  then  too  soon  he 
egins  to  feel  what  he  could  not  be  brought  to 
believe.  Spencer. 

2954.  HELP,  Divine.  Philip  Henry  thus 
wrote  upon  a  studying  day,  “  I  forgot,  when  I 
began,  explicitly  and  expressly  to  crave  help 
from  God ;  and  the  chariot-wheels  drove  accord¬ 
ingly.  Lord,  forgive  my  omissions,  and  keep 
me  in  the  way  of  duty.” 

2955.  HELP,  Fable  of.  A  fable  says,  that  a 
horse,  being  too  weak  to  contend  with  a  stag, 
called  a  man  to  his  aid,  who,  getting  on  the 


horse’s  back,  quickly  put  the  stag  to  flight ;  but 
the  horse  could  never  get  the  man  off  his  hack 
nor  the  bit  out  of  his  mouth.  So  it  is  with 
obligations  incurred  by  receiving  aid  from 
others. 

2956.  HELP,  Mntnal.  The  cobbler  could  not 

paint  the  picture;  but  he  could  tell  Apelles 
that  the  shoe-latchet  was  not  quite  right;  and 
the  painter  thought  it  well  to  take  his  hint. 
Two  neighbors,  one  blind  and  the  other  lame, 
were  called  to  a  place  at  a  great  distance. 
What  was  to  be  done?  The  blind  man  could 
not  see,  and  the  lame  man  could  not  walk. 
Why,  the  blind  man  carried  the  lame  one :  this 
former  assisted  by  his  legs,  the  other  by  his 
eyes.  Say  to  no  one,  then,  “  I  can  do  without 
you,  ”  but  be  ready  to  help  those  who  ask  your 
aid ;  and  then,  when  it  is  needed,  you  may  ask 
theirs.  Smith. 

2957.  HELP,  Timely.  A  Christian  widow 
was  menaced  with  pecuniary  difficulties  which 
it  seemed  an  utter  impossibility  for  her  to  meet. 
She  was  enabled  to  cast  the  care  on  God.  Two 
bills  were  to  be  met  on  a  certain  day,  which 
amounted  to  fifty  pounds.  The  morning  for 
payment  dawned;  and  the  widow  felt  that 
guidance  or  deliverance  would  come,  and  not 
be  too  late.  The  post  arrived,  and  a  letter  from 
India  was  placed  in  her  hand.  On  opening  it, 
a  note  for  fifty  pounds  fell  out.  It  was  money 
of  her  own,  which  had  been  sent  to  that 
country  on  her  arrival  in  England.  Now  it 
was  returned,  with  the  announcement  that  it 
was  not  needed.  God  sent  the  needful  help 
thousands  of  miles,  to  be  ready  the  very  hour 
and  moment  even  of  the  widow’s  necessity. 

2958.  HERESY,  Trifling.  In  the  Liliputian 
empire,  there  was  a  law  which  required  all  per¬ 
sons  to  break  their  eggs  on  the  smaller  end, 
under  severe  penalties.  In  opposition  to  this 
grew  up  the  heresy  of  the  Big-Endians,  which 
made  it  a  matter  of  duty  and  conscience  to 
break  their  eggs  at  the  large  end. 

2959.  HERMIT-LIFE.  In  373,  St.  Jerome  re¬ 
tired  to  a  desert  in  Clialcis,  on  the  confines  of 
Arabia;  and  there  he  spent  four  years  in  study 
ami  seclusion,  supporting  himself  by  the  labor 
of  his  hands.  He  says  in  one  of  his  epistles, 
“  Oh  1  how  often  in  the  desert,  in  that  vast  soli¬ 
tude,  which,  parched  by  the  sultry  sun,  affords 
a  dwelling  to  the  monks,  did  I  fancy  myself  in 
the  midst  of  the  luxuries  of  Rome  1  I  sat  alone, 
for  I  was  full  of  bitterness.  My  misshapen 
limbs  were  rough  with  sackcloth,  and  my  skin 
so  squalid,  that  I  might  have  been  mistaken  for 
an  Ethiopian.  Tears  and  groans  were  my  oc¬ 
cupation  every  day,  and  all  day  long.  If  sleep 
surprised  me  unawares,  my  naked  bones,  which 
scarcely  held  together,  rattled  on  the  earth.” 
His  companions,  he  says,  “  were  scorpions  and 
wild  beasts ;  ”  his  home,  “  a  recess  among  rocks 
and  precipices.”  Yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  hor¬ 
rible  sell-torture  and  self-abasement,  he  de¬ 
scribes  himself  as  frequently  beset  by  tempta¬ 
tions  to  sin  and  sensual  indulgence,  and  haunted 
by  demons ;  at  other  times,  as  consoled  by  voices 
and  visions  from  heaven.  Besides  these  trials 
of  the  flesh  and  the  spirit,  he  had  others  of  the 


HEROISM. 


HOLINESS. 


347 


intellect.  His  love  of  learning,  his  admiration 
of  the  great  writers  of  classical  antiquity,  —  of 
Plato  and  Cicero,  —  made  him  impatient  of 
the  rude  simplicity  of  the  Christian  histori¬ 
ans.  He  describes  himself  as  fasting  before 
he  opened  Cicero ;  and,  as  a  further  penance,  he 
forced  himself  to  study  Hebrew,  which  at  first 
filled  him  with  disgust;  and  this  disgust  ap¬ 
peared  to  him  a  capital  sin.  In  one  of  his  dis¬ 
tempered  visions,  he  fancied  he  heard  the  last 
trumpet  sounded  in  his  ear  by  an  angel,  and 
summoning  him  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
God.  “  Who  art  thou  ?  ”  demanded  the  awful 
voice.  “  A  Christian,”  replied  the  trembling 
Jerome.  “  ’Tis  false  !  ”  replied  the  voice  : 
“thou  art  no  Christian;  thou  art  a  Ciceronian. 
Where  the  treasure  is,  there  will  the  heart 
be  also.”  He  persevered,  and  conquered  the 
difficulties  of  Hebrew;  and,  after  ten  years’ 
residence  there,  he  returned  to  Rome. 

2960.  HEROISM,  Christian.  When  the  Mar¬ 
quis  of  Montrose  was  sen  ten.  ed  to  death,  the 
judge  ordered  that  his  head  and  limbs  should 
be  severed  from  his  body,  and  hanged  in  the 
Tolbooth  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  other  public 
towns  of  the  kingdom.  The  marquis  heard 
the  sentence  with  a  grim  smile  of  pride ;  and 
in  defiance,  cried,  “  I  wish  I  had  flesh  enough 
to  be  sent  to  every  city  in  Christendom,  as  a 
testimony  to  the  cause  for  which  I  suffer.” 

Dr.  Wise. 

2969.  HEROISM,  Example  of.  The  plague 
was  making  a  desert  of  the  city  of  Marseilles. 
Death  was  everywhere.  The  physicians  could 
do  nothing.  In  one  of  their  counsels,  it  was 
decided  that  a  corpse  must  be  dissected ;  but  it 
would  be  death  to  the  operator.  A  celebrated 
physician  of  the  number  arose  and  said,  “  I 
devote  myself  for  the  safety  of  my  country. 
Before  this  numerous  assembly  I  swear  in  the 
name  of  humanity  and  religion,  that  to-mor¬ 
row,  at  the  break  of  day,  I  will  dissect  a  corpse, 
and  write  down,  as  I  proceed,  what  I  observe.” 
He  immediately  left  the  room,  made  his  will, 
and  spent  the  night  in  religious  exercises. 
During  the  day,  a  man  had  died  in  his  house 
of  the  plague ;  and  at  daybreak  on  the  follow¬ 
ing  morning,  the  physician,  whose  name  was 
Guyon,  entered  the  room,  and  critically  made 
the  necessary  examinations,  writing  down  all 
his  surgical  observations.  He  then  left  the 
room,  threw  the  papers  into  a  vase  of  vinegar, 
that  they  might  not  convey  the  disease  to  an¬ 
other,  and  retired  to  a  convenient  place,  where 
he  died  in  twelve  hours. 

2962.  HEROISM,  Patriotic.  In  a  hospital  at 
Nashville,  a  wounded  hero  was  lying  on  the 
amputatin<r-table,  under  the  influence  of  chlo¬ 
roform.  They  cut  off  his  strong  right  arm, 
and  cast  it  all  bleeding  upon  the  pile  of  human 
limbs.  They  then  laid  him  gently  upon  his 
couch.  He  woke  from  his  stupor,  and  missed 
his  arm.  With  his  left  hand,  he  lifted  the  cloth  ; 
and  there  was  nothing  but  the  gory  stump. 
“  Where’s  my  arm  ?  ”  he  cried.  “  Get  my  arm  : 
I  want  to  see  it  once  more,  —  my  strong  right 
arm.”  They  brought  it  to  him.  He  took  hold 
of  the  cold,  clammy  fingers,  and,  looking  stead¬ 


fastly  at  the  poor  dead  member,  thus  addressed 
it  with  tearful  earnestness  :  “  Good-by,  old  arm  ! 
We  have  been  a  long  time  together.  We  must 
part  now.  Good-by,  old  arm  !  You’ll  never 
fire  another  carabine  or  swing  another  sabre 
lor  the  government ;  ”  and  the  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks.  He  said  to  those  standing 
by,  “  Understand,  I  don’t  regret  its  loss.  It 
has  been  torn  from  my  body  that  not  one  State 
should  be  torn  from  this  glorious  Union.” 

C.  C.  M‘Cabe. 

2963.  HEROISM,  True.  John  Maynard  was 

well  known  as  a  God-fearing  pilot  on  Lake 
Erie.  He  had  charge  of  a  steamer  from  De¬ 
troit  to  Buffalo,  one  summer  afternoon.  Smoke 
was  seen  ascending  from  below ;  and  the  cap¬ 
tain  called  out,  “  Simpson,  go  down  and  see 
what  that  smoke  is  1  ”  lie  came  up  with  his 
face  as  pale  as  ashes,  and  said,  “  Captain,  the 
ship  is  on  fire  !  ”  “  Fire,  fire,  fire,  fire  1  ”  in¬ 

stantly  resounded  in  all  directions.  All  hands 
were  called  up.  Buckets  of  water  were  dashed 
upon  the  flames,  but  in  vain.  There  were 
large  quantities  of  rosin  and  tar  on  board;  and 
it  was  useless  to  try  to  save  the  ship.  The 
passengers  rushed  forward,  and  inquired  of 
the  pilot,  “  How  far  are  we  from  land  ?  ”  — 
“  Seven  miles.”  —  “  How  long  before  we  reach 
it  ?  ” —  “  Three-quarters  of  an  hour,  at  our  pres¬ 
ent  rate  of  steam.” —  “  Is  there  any  danger?” 

—  “  Danger  enough  here  !  See  the  smoke  burst¬ 
ing  out  I  Go  forward,  if  you  would  save  your 
lives  1  ”  Passengers  and  crew,  men,  women, 
and  children,  crowded  to  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship.  John  Maynard  stood  at  his  post. 
The  flames  burst  forth  in  a  sheet  of  fire  ;  clouds 
of  smoke  arose.  The  captain  cried  out  through 
his  trumpet.  “John  Maynard!” — “Ay,  ay, 
sir  !  ”  responded  the  brave  tar.  “  How  does 
she  head  V  ”  —  “  South-east  by  east,  sir.”  — 
“  Head  her  south-east,  and  run  her  on  shore.” 
Nearer,  yet  nearer,  she  approached  the  shore. 
Again  the  captain  cried  out,  “  John  Maynard!  ” 
The  response  came  feebly,  “  Ay,  ay,  sir !  ” 

—  “  Can  you  hold  on  five  minutes  longer, 
John  ?  ”  — “  By  God’s  help  I  will !  ”  The  old 
man’s  hair  was  scorched  from  the  scalp,  one 
hand  was  disabled,  and  his  teeth  were  set ;  yet 
he  stood  firm  as  a  rock.  He  beached  the  ship. 
Every  man,  woman,  and  child  was  saved,  as 
John  Maynard  dropped  overboard,  and  his 
spirit  took  its  flight  to  his  God.”  J.  B.  Gough. 

2964.  HINDERANCES,  Throwing  out  the.  As 
the  mariner  at  sea  casts  out  the  jewels  and 
most  precious  things,  if  they  endanger  the 
ship ;  so  we,  in  this  our  pilgrimage,  must  cast 
from  us  the  most  precious  things,  a  hand  or  an 
eye,  if  they  hinder  us  in  the  race  of  godliness. 

Cawdray. 

2965.  HOLINESS,  Abuso  of.  Christian  holi¬ 
ness  is  no  fabrication  of  man,  and  differs  as 
much  from  ritual  and  conventional  sanctity 
as  the  temple  filled  with  God  differed  from  the 
same  temple  just  as  it  was  left  by  the  builder’s 
hand.  To  be  holy  is  not  to  be  wrapt  in  en¬ 
tranced  and  unearthly  contemplation,  as  was 
Simeon  Stylites,  and  the  so-called  pillar  saint. 
It  is  not  to  retire  into  solitude,  in  leave  the 


348 


HOLESTESS. 


HOLINESS. 


active  duties  of  life  and  the  trying  anxieties 
of  the  Church  unto  others,  with  a  view  to  gain 
that  grace  in  seclusion  which  Christ,  has  chiefly 
promised  to  impart  to  his  people  in  fellowship 
(Epli.  ii.  5,  6).  as  did  Basil.  It  is  not  to  be 
clad  with  a  white  garment  at  Easter,  and  in 
connection  with  others,  a  surpliced  band,  to 
overawe  the  imagination  with  the  shadow  of 
ict.y,  as  did  the  catechumens  of  Chrysostom, 
t  is  not  to  take  monastic  vows,  to  cross  the 
Creator’s  design,  to  forsake  domestic  life,  as 
devout  men  were  advised  to  do  by  Jerome.  It 
is  not  to  interlard  our  common  conversation 
with  religious  phrases,  and  passages  of  Scrip¬ 
ture,  and  to  be  continually  adverting  to  the 
feelings  and  actings  of  the  soul,  as  did  Oliver 
Cromwell  and  the  more  rigid  of  the  Presbyte¬ 
rian  Puritans.  It  is  not  to  bend  and  bow 
before  patterns  of  sacred  things,  as  did  Arch¬ 
bishop  Laud,  and  as  do  the  modern  traetari- 
ans.  It  is  not  to  invest  the  family  circles  to 
which  we  belong  with  the  solemnity  of  a  fu¬ 
neral,  and  to  cast  upon  every  person  and  thing 
the  frown  of  a  rebuking  censorship. 

A.  Barrett. 

2906.  HOLINESS,  Attainable  now.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  we  travel  down  into  the  valley 
to  find  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  and  wait  for  the 
coming  of  the  angel  to  trouble  the  waters,  and 
for  some  strong  man  to  lift  us  and  put  us  in. 
No  :  the  fountain  is  all  around  us,  and  flows 
divinely  clear.  The  Son  of  God  is  waiting  at 
this  very  moment  to  wash  all  our  sins  away. 
Have  you  a  single  stain  upon  your  heart  ?  — 
come  to  the  fountain.  Have  you  trouble  and 
sorrow  ?  —  come  at  once  and  receive  joy  and 
comfort.  Bp.  Simpson. 

2967.  HOLINESS,  a  Cleansing.  Dr.  Living¬ 
stone  once  asked  a  Becliuana  wliat  he  under¬ 
stood  by  the  word  “  holiness.”  He  answered, 
“  When  copious  showers  have  descended  dur¬ 
ing  the  night,  and  all  the  earth  and  leaves 
and  cattle  are  washed  clean,  and  the  sun  ris¬ 
ing  shows  a  drop  of  dew  on  every  blade  of 
grass,  and  the  air  breathes  fresh, — that  is 
holiness.” 

2968.  HOLINESS,  Defined.  At  one  of  the 
ragged-schools  in  Ireland,  a  clergyman  asked 
the  question,  “  What  is  holiness  ?  ”  A  poor 
Irish  convert,  in  dirty,  tattered  rags,  jumped 
up,  and  said,  “  Please  your  Reverence,  it’s  to 
be  clean  inside.” 

2969.  HOLINESS,  Diffusing.  Holiness  is  the 
only  means  by  which  holiness  can  be  diffused. 
It  is  like  salt :  its  usefulness  to  others  must  be¬ 
gin  with  itself.  The  man  who  fails  to  persuade 
himself  to  be  holy  is  sure  to  be  unsuccessful 
with  others.  It  is  the  wise  man  that  can  im¬ 
part  wisdom  to  others ;  it  is  the  good  man  that 
can  diffuse  goodness ;  and  it  is  only  the  holy 
man  that  can  diffuse  holiness.  Everyman  can 
bring  forth  to  others  only  out  of  the  treasures 
deposited  first  in  his  own  heart.  He  who  un¬ 
dertakes  to  restore  mankind  to  clear-sighted¬ 
ness  must  be  of  clear  and  accurate  vision  him¬ 
self  ;  for  he  who  has  a  beam  in  his  own  eye  is 
not  likely  to  remove  either  beam  or  mote  from 
the  eye  of  the  world.  The  physician  who  is 


to  restore  health  to  others  must  not  himself  be 
fretting  with  the  leprosy.  Dr.  T.  W.  Jenkyn. 

2970.  HOLINESS,  Emblem  of.  Lamartine  in 
his  “  Travels  in  the  Holy  Land,”  when  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  great  mountain-blocks  of  while  mar¬ 
ble,  says,  “  In  looking  back  upon  them  from  a 
distant  standpoint,  they  appeared  like  great 
masses  of  gold  as  the  sun  shone  upon  them,  — 
bright  and  dazzling.”  The  children  of  God 
are  blocks  of  spiritual  marble,  and  have  a 
brightness  superior  to  that  of  gold,  when  the 
polish  of  entire  sanctification  is  put  upon  them. 

Rev.  S.  Cates. 

2971.  HOLINESS,  Essential.  Without  holi¬ 
ness,  there  can  be  no  such  heaven  as  the  New 
Testament  reveals.  There  may  be  scenery  of 
surpassing  grandeur,  —  mountains,  woods,  riv¬ 
ers,  and  skies  most  charming ;  but  they  do  not 
make  a  heaven,  else  a  heaven  might  be  found 
in  Wales  or  Cumberland.  There  may  be  a  cap¬ 
ital  full  of  palaces  and  temples ;  but  they  do 
not  make  a  heaven,  else  a  heaven  might  have 
been  found  in  Delhi.  There  may  be  buildings 
of  marbles  and  precious  stones;  but  they  do 
not  make  a  heaven,  else  a  heaven  might  have 
been  in  Rome  or  Venice.  There  may  be 
health  and  ease  and  luxury  and  festivities ; 
but  they  do  not  make  a  heaven,  else  one  would 
have  been  met  with  in  Belshazzar’s  halls. 
There  may  be  education,  philosophy,  poetry, 
literature,  art ;  but  that  will  not  make  a  heaven, 
else  the  Greeks  would  have  had  one  in  Athens, 
in  the  grove  and  in  the  porch.  Holiness  is  that 
without  which  no  heaven  could  exist. 

Rev.  J.  Stoughton. 

2972.  HOLINESS,  Example  of.  Christ  is  the 

pattern,  the  sample,  the  exemplary  cause,  of 
our  sanctification.  Holiness  in  us  is  the  copy 
or  transcript  of  the  holiness  that  is  in  the  Lord 
Jesus.  As  the  wax  hath  line  for  line  from  the 
seal ;  the  child  limb  for  limb,  feature  for  fea¬ 
ture,  from  the  father :  so  is  holiness  in  us  from 
Christ.  P.  Henry. 

2973.  HOLINESS,  Excellency  of.  Alexander 

coming  with  his  army  against  Jerusalem,  Jad- 
dua,  the  high  priest,  went  out  of  the  city  to 
meet  him.  adorned  with  his  priestly  robes,  an 
upper  garment  of  purple  embroidered  with 
gold,  and  a  golden  plate  on  the  foreside,  where¬ 
in  the  name  of  God  was  written.  The  sight 
was  so  grave  and  solemn,  that  the  emperor 
fell  to  the  ground,  as  reverencing  the  name 
that  was  thereon  inscribed,  In  holiness,  there 
is  such  a  sparkling  lustre,  that  whosoever  be¬ 
holds  it  must  needs  be  astonished  at  it ;  nay, 
even  those  that  oppose  it  cannot  but  admire 
it.  Holiness  is  an  excellent  thing,  a  beautiful 
thing  :  it  carries  a  graceful  majesty  along  with 
it,  wheresoever  or  in  whomsoever  it  is  truly 
and  sincerely  possessed.  Spencer. 

2974.  HOLINESS,  Graces  of.  Philosophy 
teaches  us,  that  all  the  primary  colors  in  nature 
coalesce  to  make  pure  white  ;  so  does  religion 
teach  us,  that  all  the  Christian  graces  combine 
to  make  that  “holiness  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord.”  Objects  that  are  purely 
white  perfectly  reflect  all  the  prismatic  colors 
of  the  rainbow  ;  so  does  a  holy  heart,  all  those 


HOLrNnss. 


Hor/nsnEss. 


349 


prime  Christian  graces  which  conspire  to  make 
perfect  Christian  character. 

2975.  HOLINESS,  Inflnenoe  of.  There  is  an 

energy  of’  moral  suasion  in  a  good  man’s  life, 
passing  the  highest  efforts  of  the  orator’s  ge¬ 
nius.  The  seen  but  silent  beauty  of  holiness 
speaks  more  eloquently  of  God  and  duty  than 
the  tongues  of  men  and  angels.  Let  parents 
remember  this.  The  best  inheritance  a  par¬ 
ent  can  bequeath  to  a  child  is  a  virtuous  ex¬ 
ample,  a  legacy  of  hallowed  remembrances  and 
associations.  The  beauty  of  holiness  beaming 
through  the  life  of  a  loved  relative  or  friend 
is  more  effectual  to  strengthen  such  as  do  stand 
in  virtue’s  ways,  and  raise  up  those  that  are 
bowed  down,  than  precept,  command,  entreaty, 
or  warning.  Christianity  itself,  I  believe,  owes 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  its  moral  power,  not 
to  the  precepts  or  parables  of  Christ,  but  to 
his  own  character.  The  beauty  of  that  holi¬ 
ness  which  is  enshrined  in  the  four  brief  biog¬ 
raphies  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth  has  done  more 
and  will  do  more  to  regenerate  the  world,  and 
bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  than  all  the 
other  agencies  put  together.  It  has  done  more 
to  spread  his  religion  in  the  world,  than  all 
that  has  ever  been  preached  or  written  on  the 
evidences  of  Christianity.  Dr.  Chalmers. 

2976.  HOLINESS,  Light  of.  If  a  thing  re¬ 
flects  no  light,  it  is  black ;  if  it  reflects  part  of 
the  rays,  it  is  blue  or  indigo  or  red  ;  but,  if  it 
reflects  them  all,  it  is  white.  If  we  are  like 
Christ,  we  shall  seek,  not  to  absorb,  but  to  re¬ 
flect,  the  light  which  falls  upon  us  from  heaven 
upon  others :  and  thus  we  shall  become  pure 
and  spotless ;  for  this  is  the  meaning  of  the 
“  white  robes,”  which  the  saints  wear  in  glory. 

Beecher. 

2977.  HOLINESS,  Necessity  of.  If  a  physician 
were  called  to  see  a  patient  who  had  a  cancer 
on  his  breast,  the  only  thing  to  be  done  would 
be  to  cut  it  out  from  the  roots.  The  physician 
might  give  palliatives,  so  that  the  patient 
would  have  less  pain  ;  or  he  might  make  his 
patient  believe .  it  was  no  cancer,  or  forget 
that  lie  had  a  cancer  near  his  vitals :  but,  if  the 
physician  were  to  do  this  instead  of  removing 
the  evil,  he  would  be  a  wicked  man,  and  the 
enemy  of  his  patient.  The  man’s  case  was 
such,  that  the  only  favor  which  could  be  con¬ 
ferred  upon  him  would  be  to  cut  out  the  can¬ 
cer.  Now  all  agree  that  sin  is  the  great  evil 
of  the  soul  of  man.  Nothing  can  make  man 
more  spiritually  happy  here,  or  fit  him  for  hap- 

Itiness  hereafter,  but  the  removal  of  sin  from 
lis  nature.  Sin  is  the  plague-spot  on  the  soul, 
which  destroys  its  peace,  and  threatens  its  de¬ 
struction  unless  removed.  It  is,  therefore, 
certain,  that,  if  the  love  of  God  were  manifested 
towards  man,  it  would  be  in  turning  man  from 
sin  which  produces  misery,  to  holiness  which 
produces  happiness.  ./.  B.  Walter. 

2978.  HOLINESS,  Power  of.  There  is  a  mor¬ 
al  omnipotence  in  holiness.  Argument  may 
be  resisted ;  persuasion  and  entreaty  may  be 
scorned  ;  the  thrilling  appeals  and  monitions 
of  the  pulpit,  set  forth  with  all  vigor  and  logic, 
and  all  the  glow  of  eloquence,  may  be  evaded 


or  disregarded  :  but  the  exhibition  of  exalted 
piety  has  a  might  which  nothing  can  with¬ 
stand  ;  it  is  truth  embodied  ;  it  is  the  gospel 
burning  in  the  hearts,  beaming  from  the  eyes, 
breathing  from  the  lips,  and  preaching  in  "the 
lives,  of  its  votaries.  No  sophistry  can  elude 
it,  no  conscience  can  ward  it  off.  No  bosom 
wears  a  mail  that  can  brave  the  energy  of  its 
attack.  It  speaks  in  all  languages,  in  all 
climes,  and  to  all  phases  of  our  nature.  It  is 
universal,  invincible,  and,  clad  in  immortal 
panoply,  goes  on  from  victory  to  victory. 

2979.  HOLINESS,  Practical,  The  shining 
love  of  John,  the  burning  zeal  of  Paul,  were  a 
splendid  comment  on  their  words,  and  have 
made  the  way  of  God  known  better  than  all 
the  arguments  of  the  schoolmen.  The 
shining  holiness  and  far-reaching  fervor  of 
Swartz  and  Eliot  and  Zinzendorff  and  Brai- 
nerd  made  known  to  entire  communities  the 
great  salvation.  The  generosity  of  Henry 
Thornton  led  some  one  to  remark,  “  It  is  not 
more  Boyle  and  Bampton  Lectures  that  are 
wanted  to  convert  the  world  :  it  wants  a  thou¬ 
sand  Henry  Thorntons.” 

2989.  HOLINESS,  Reign  of.  I  have  fancied 
myself  sitting  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  wild, 
furious  horses ;  myself  holding  the  reins.  The 
steeds  are  young  and  full  of  mettle ;  and,  taking 
the  bits  in  their  teeth,  they  bear  me  on,  and  I 
have  not  power  to  control  them.  But  just  as  I 
am  in  my  extremity,  and  about  to  be  run  away 
with,  I  feel  a  sensation  as  though  a  strong  man 
had  come  into  the  chariot  behind  me,  and, 
encircling  me  in  his  strong  arms,  had  stretched 
out  his  hands,  and  taken  the  lines,  and  was 
controlling  my  impetuous  steeds.  lie  does  not 
take  the  fire  out  of  them,  but  guides  them,  and 
makes  them  go;  and  I  am  safe,  though  flying 
like  the  wind,  while  this  mighty  charioteer  is 
with  me.  B/>.  Simpson. 

2981.  HOLINESS,  Robes  of.  When  the 
saintly  John  Chrysostom  came  to  his  dying  day, 
he  asked  the  brethren  to  bring  him  some  clean 
white  robes.  Throwing  aside  his  soiled  gar¬ 
ments,  lie  arrayed  himself  in  white,  and  so 
awaited  his  coming  Lord.  lie  closed  his  re¬ 
markably  pure  life,  exclaiming,  “  Glory  be  to 
God  for  all  things  that  happen  I  ” 

2982.  HOLINESS,  Spirit  of.  You  might  as 

well  attempt  to  check  an  earthquake  as  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  going-forth  of  the  spirit  of  holiness 
from  a  soul  washed  with  blood  or  a  church 
refined  by  fire.  G.  C.  Wells. 

2983.  HOLINESS,  Unction  of.  The  spirit  of 
holiness  gives  to  the  Church  an  aptness  and  a 
grace  in  all  its  movements  and  efforts  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world.  The  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  are,  on  tlitt  account,  as  well  as  for 
the  sweet  odor  with  which  they  perfume  the 
church,  called  “the  unction  of  the  Holy  One.” 
The  Agonistes  in  the  Grecian  games  anointed 
themselves  with  unguents  in  order  to  attain 
quickness,  agility,  and  nimbleness  of  action  ; 
and  this  gave  a  grace  and  beauty  to  their 
various  movements.  Before  they  could  attain 
this,  the  unguent  must  have  pervaded  their 
frame,  and  not  glistened  in  superficial  applica- 


350 


HIOILCMESS. 


HOLY  SPIRIT. 


tion.  In  like  manner,  before  the  Church  can 
acquire  a  grace  in  doing  good,  and  in  acting 
“  after  the  Spirit,”  the  unction  from  the  Holy 
One  must  penetrate  all  the  muscles  of  its 
frame,  and  all  the  members  of  its  body. 

Dr.  Jenhjn. 

2984.  HOLINESS,  Unselfish.  Holiness  ex¬ 
cludes  selfishness.  Its  possessor  loses  himself 
in  his  mission ;  so  that  ease  and  honor  and 
position  and  riches,  and  every  thing  of  earth, 
is  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance. 

G.  C.  Wells. 

2985.  HOLINESS,  Work  of.  In  some  of  the 
great  halls  of  Europe  may  be  seen  pictures  not 
painted  with  the  brush,  but  mosaics,  which  are 
made  up  of  small  pieces  of  stone,  glass,  or  other 
material.  The  artist  takes  these  little  pieces ; 
and,  polishing  and  arranging  them,  he  forms 
them  into  the  grand  and  beautiful  picture. 
Each  individual  part  of  the  picture  may  be  a 
little  worthless  piece  of  glass  or  marble  or 
shell ;  but,  with  each  in  its  place,  the  whole 
constitutes  the  masterpiece  of  art.  So  I  think 
it  will  be  with  humanity  in  the  hands  of  the 
Great  Artist.  God  is  picking  up  the  little 
worthless  pieces  of  stone  and  brass,  that  might 
be  trodden  under  foot  unnoticed,  and  is  making 
of  them  his  great  masterpiece.  Bp.  Simpson. 

2986.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Drawings  of  the.  Dr. 
Payson  once,  in  the  progress  of  a  revival  at 
Portland,  gave  notice  that  he  would  be  glad  to 
see  any  young  person  who  did  not  intend  to  seek 
religion.  About  thirty  or  forty  came.  As 
they  were  about  to  leave,  he  addressed  them 
thus,  “  Suppose  you  should  see  coming  down 
from  heaven  a  very  fine  thread,  so  fine  as  to  be 
almost  invisible;  and  it  should  come,  and  gently 
attach  itself  to  you.  You  knew,  we  suppose, 
it  came  from  God.  Should  you  dare  to  put 
out  your  hand,  and  thrust  it  away  ?  ”  He 
dwelt  for  a  few  moments  on  the  idea ;  and  then 
added,  “  Now,  such  a  thread  has  come  from 
God  to  you  this  afternoon.  You  do  not  feel, 
you  say,  any  interest  in  religion ;  but,  by  your 
coming  here  this  afternoon,  God  has  fastened 
one  little  thread  upon  you  all.  It  is  very  weak 
and  frail,  and  you  can  easily  brush  it  away. 
But  you  will  not  do  so  ?  No  ;  welcome  it ;  and 
it  will  enlarge  and  strengthen  itself,  until  it 
becomes  a  golden  thread  to  bind  you  forever 
to  a  God  of  love.” 

2987.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Earnest  of  the.  As 
with  a  thing  that  is  bought  there  is  sometimes 
given  earnest-money,  as  well  for  the  beginning 
of  payment  as  for  assurance  that  the  bargain 
shall  be  held  firm;  so  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the 
earnest-money,  assuring  us,  by  this  beginning 
of  spiritual  blessings,  that  God  holds  us  for  his 
possession,  and  will  at  length  gather  us  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  the  inheritance  of  heaven. 

Cawdray. 

2988.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Effect  of  the.  “  Tell 
me,”  said  a  father  to  -his  son,  “  what  difference 
you  can  detect  between  two  needles,  —  one  of 
which  has  received  an  electric  shock,  whilst 
the  other  has  not.  And  yet  the  one  has  hid¬ 
den  virtues,  which  occasion  will  show,  of  which 
the  other  has  none.  The  electric  shock  has 


rendered  the  one  needle  a  magnet,  which,  duly 
balanced,  will  enable  man  to  find  his  way 
across  the  trackless  ocean.  As  this  needle,  so 
may  that  soul  be  which  has  received  the  elec¬ 
tric  shock  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  on  the  ocean  of 
a  sinful  world,  it  shall  point  wanderers  to  the 
heaven  of  everlasting  rest.” 

2989.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Emblems  of  the.  Wa¬ 
ter —  cleansing,  fertilizing,  refreshing,  abun¬ 
dant,  freely  given.  Fire  —  purifying,  illumi¬ 
nating,  searching.  Wind  —  independent, 
powerful,  sensible  in  its  effects,  reviving. 
Oil  —  healing,  comforting,  illuminating,  con¬ 
secrating.  Rain  and  Dew  —  fertilizing, 
refreshing,  abundant,  imperceptible,  penetrat¬ 
ing.  A  Dove  —  gentle,  meek,  innocent,  for¬ 
giving.  A  Voice — -speaking,  guiding,  warn¬ 
ing,  teaching.  A  Seal  —  impressing,  secur¬ 
ing,  authenticating. 

2999.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Gift  of  the.  It  was  the 
custom  of  the  Roman  emperors,  at  their  tri¬ 
umphal  entrance  to  cast  new  coins  among  the 
multitudes ;  so  doth  Christ,  in  his  triumphal 
ascension  into  heaven,  throw  the  greatest  gifts 
for  the  good  of  men  that  were  ever  given. 

T.  Goodwin. 

2991.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Impression  of  the,  A  lady 
had  just  sat  down  to  breakfast,  when  she  was 
impressed  that  she  ought  instantly  to  take  a  loaf 
of  bread  to  a  poor  man  half  a  mile  distant.  Her 
husband  desired  her  to  wait,  or  send  it ;  but  she 
carried  it  herself  As  she  approached  the  hovel, 
she  heard  the  poor  man  praying  :  “  O  Lord  1 
help  me  ;  Lord,  thou  wilt  help  me  ;  thy  prom¬ 
ises  cannot  fail.  Although  my  wife,  myself, 
and  children  have  no  bread  to  eat,  and  it  is 
now  a  whole  day  since  we  have  had  any,  I 
know  thou  wilt  supply  me,  though  thou  shouldst 
again  rain  down  manna  from  heaven.”  At  this 
point,  the  lady  entered,  saying,  “  Take  this 
loaf,  which  God  has  sent  you  ;  and  be  encour¬ 
aged  to  cast  your  care  upon  Him  who  careth 
for  you ;  and,  whenever  you  want  a  loaf  of 
bread,  come  to  my  house.” 

2992.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Influence  of  the.  A 
young  man  who  had  been  piously  brought  up, 
but  who  had  given  himself  up  to  every  kind 
of  vice  and  folly,  at  last  joined  himself  to  a 
company  of  pirates.  A  voice,  soft  and  gentle 
as  a  mother’s,  seemed  to  be  always  pleading 
with  him  :  it  was  the  cooing  of  a  dove.  He 
tried  to  shake  off  the  effect ;  but  again  and 
again  the  sound  threw  his  soul  into  a  tur¬ 
moil.  One  night,  when  all  was  still  around 
him,  the  tender,  reproachful  murmur  seemed  to 
pierce  his  very  heart.  He  could  stand  it  no 
longer;  bat,  throwing  himself  on  his  knees  in 
an  agony  of  contrition,  he  vowed  before  God 
to  forsake  his  evil  ways.  By  God’s  help  he 
did  so.  He  went  back  to  his  home,  became 
an  altered  man,  and  lived  henceforward  a 
pious  and  useful  life. 

2993.  HOLY  SPERIT,  Influences  of  the.  The 
same  shower  blesses  various  lands  in  different 
degrees,  according  to  their  respective  suscepti¬ 
bilities.  It  makes  the  grass  to  spring  up  in 
the  mead,  the  grain  to  vegetate  in  the  field, 
the  shrub  to  grow  on  the  plain,  and  the  flow- 


IIOLY  SPIRIT. 


HOLY  SPIRIT. 


35] 


ers  to  blossom  in  the  garden  ;  and  these  are 
garnished  with  every  hue  of  loveliness,  —  the 
lily  and  the  violet,  the  rose  and  the  daisy  : 
all  these  worketh  the  same  Spirit  that  renews 
the  face  of  the  earth.  The  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  descending  on  the  moral  soil,  pro¬ 
duce  “blessing  in  variety," — convictions  in  the 
guilty,  illumination  in  the  ignorant,  holiness 
in  the  defiled,  strength  in  the  feeble,  and  com¬ 
fort  in  the  distressed.  As  the  Spirit  of  holi¬ 
ness,  he  imparts  a  pure  taste  ;  as  the  Spirit  of 
glory,  he  throws  a  radiance  over  the  character ; 
as  the  Spirit  of  life,  he  revives  religion ;  as 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  he  gives  transparency  to  the 
conduct;  as  the  Spirit  of  prayer,  he  melts 
the  soul  into  devotion ;  and,  as  the  Spirit  of 
grace,  he  imbues  with  benevolence,  and  cov¬ 
ers  the  face  of  the  earth  with  the  works  of 
faith  and  labors  of  love.  Dr.  Jenkyn. 

299-1.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Instrument  of  the.  It  is 
not  the  drapery  in  which  divine  truth  may  be 
clothed,  nor  the  force  and  beauty  of  the  illus¬ 
trations  with  which  it  may  be  presented,  but 
it  is  the  truth  itself,  —  the  bare,  naked,  unvar¬ 
nished  truth,  —  that  is  the  instrument  of  the 
Spirit’s  power.  That  is  the  sword  of  the  Spir¬ 
it  ;  and  it  is  the  sword  that  does  the  work,  not 
the  scabbard  in  which  it  is  sheathed.  The 
scabbard  may  be  finely  fitted,  and  beautifully 
embellished,  bound  with  the  finest  gold,  and 
glittering  with  jewels  of  polished  diamonds  ; 
but  it  is  not  the  garnished  scabbard,  it  is  the 
drawn  sword,  which  the  Spirit  wields,  and 
which,  when  wielded  by  him,  is  quick  and 
powerful,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asun¬ 
der  of  the  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints 
and  marrow,  and  discerning  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart.  J.  A.  Wallace. 

2995.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Light  of  the.  A  man 
has  lost  his  way  in  a  dark  and  dreary  mine. 
By  the  light  of  one  candle,  which  he  carries 
in  his  hand,  he  is  groping  for  the  road  to  sun¬ 
shine  and  to  home.  That  light  is  essential  to 
his  safety.  The  mine  has  many  winding  pas¬ 
sages,  in  which  he  may  be  hopelessly  bewil¬ 
dered.  Here  and  there  marks  have  been 
made  on  the  rocks  to  point  out  the  true  path ; 
but  he  cannot  see  them  without  that  light. 
There  are  many  deep  pits  into  which,  if  un¬ 
wary,  he  may  suddenly  fall;  but  he  cannot 
avoid  the  danger  without  that.  Should  it  go 
out,  that  mine  will  be  his  tomb.  How  care¬ 
fully  he  carries  it  1  How  anxiously  he  shields 
it  from  sudden  gusts  of  air,  from  water  drop¬ 
ping  on  it,  from  every  thing  that  might  quench 
it  1  The  case  described  is  our  own. 

Newman  Hall. 

2996.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Manifestation  of  the.  As 
oftentimes,  when  walking  in  a  wood  near  sun¬ 
set,  though  the  sun  himself  be  hid  by  the 
height  and  bushiness  of  the  trees  around,  yet 
we  know  that  he  is  still  above  the  horizon, 
from  seeing  his  beams  in  the  open  glades  be¬ 
fore  us.  illumining  a  thousand  leaves,  the  sev¬ 
eral  brightnesses  of  which  are  so  many  evi¬ 
dences  of  his  presence;  thus  it  is  with  the 
Holy  Spirit.  lie  works  in  secret;  but  his 
work  is  manifest  in  the  lives  of  all  true  Chris¬ 


tians.  Lamps  so  heavenly  must  have  been 
lighted  from  on  high.  Hare. 

2997.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Names  of  the.  “  Breath 
of  the  Almighty;  Comforter;  Eternal  Spirit; 
Free  Spirit;  God;  Good  Spirit;  Holy  Spirit; 
Holy  Spirit  of  God ;  Holy  Spirit  of  Promise  ; 
the  Lord;  Power  of  the  Highest ;  the  Spirit ; ■ 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  God ;  Spirit  of  the  Lord  ; 
Spirit  of  God  ;  Spirit  of  the  Father;  Spirit  of 
Christ;  Spirit  of  the  Son  ;  Spirit  of  life ;  Spirit 
of  grace ;  Spirit  of  prophecy  ;  Spirit  of  adop¬ 
tion  ;  Spirit  of  wisdom ;  Spirit  of  counsel ; 
Spirit  of  might ;  Spirit  of  understanding ; 
Spirit  of  knowledge ;  Spirit  of  the  fear  of  the 
Lord ;  Spirit  of  truth  ;  Spirit  of  holiness ; 
Spirit  of  revelation;  Spirit  of  the  judgment; 
Spirit  of  burning ;  Spirit  of  glory ;  Seven 
Spirits  of  God;  Voice  of  the  Lord.” 

2998.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Necessity  of  the.  What 
are  our  souls  without  his  grace  ?  —  as  dead  as 
the  branch  in  which  the  sap  circulates  not. 
What  is  our  Church  without  him  ?  —  as  parched 
and  barren  as  the  fields  without  heaven’s 
dew  and  rains.  Where  is  the  hope  of  the 
world’s  conversion,  or  of  the  salvation  of  dear 
loved  ones,  out  of  Christ  ?  If  the  Spirit  of 
God  come  not  to  our  aid,  our  eyes  may  fail 
with  looking  for  these  much-valued  blessings. 

•  Lewis. 

2999.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Need  of  the.  Suppose 
we  saw  an  army  setting  down  before  a  granite 
fort,  and  they  told  us  that  they  intended  to 
batter  it  down,  we  might  ask  them,  “  How  ?  ” 
They  point  to  a  cannon-ball.  “  Well,  but 
there  is  no  power  in  that :  it  is  heavy,  —  but  no 
more  than  half  a  hundred  or  perhaps  a  hun¬ 
dred  weight.  If  all  the  men  in  the  army 
hurled  it  against  the  fort,  they  would  make  no 
impression.”  They  say,  “  No ;  but  look  at  the 
cannon.”  —  “Well,  but  there  is  no  power  in 
that :  a  child  may  ride  upon  it,  a  bird  may 
perch  in  its  mouth  :  it  is  a  machine,  and  noth¬ 
ing  more.”  —  “  But  look  at  the  powder.”  — 
“  Well,  there  is  no  power  in  that  :  a  child  may 
spill  it,  a  sparrow  may  peck  it.”  Yet  this 
powerless  powder  and  powerless  ball  are  put 
in  the  powerless  cannon :  one  spark  of  fire 
enters  it;  and  then,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
that  powder  is  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  that 
cannon-ball  is  a  thunderbolt,  which  smites  as 
if  it  had  been  sent  from  heaven.  So  it  is  with 
our  church-machinery  of  this  day  :  we  have  all 
the  instruments  necessary  for  pulling  down 
strongholds  ;  and  oh  for  the  baptism  of  fire  1 

Arthur. 

3000.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Office  of  the.  To  un¬ 

converted  persons,  a  great  part  of  the  Bible 
resembles  a  letter  written  in  cipher.  The 
blessed  Spirit’s  office  is  to  act  as  God’s  deci¬ 
pherer,  by  letting  his  people  into  the  secret  of 
celestial  experience,  as  the  key  and  clew  to 
those  sweet  mysteries  of  grace  which  were 
before  as  a  garden  shut  up,  or  as  a  fountain 
sealed,  or  as  a  book  written  in  an  unknown 
character.  Toplady. 

3001.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Outpouring  of  the.  The 
,  hour  is  coming,  and.  it  may  be,  even  now  is, 

I  when  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  be  poured  out  again 


HOLY  SPIRIT. 


HOLY  SPIRIT. 


in  such  a  wonderful  manner,  that  many  shall 
run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall  be  in¬ 
creased,  —  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall 
cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  surface 
of  the  great  deep;  when  his  kingdom  shall 
come,  and  his  will  shall  be  done  on  earth  even 
as  it  is  in  heaven.  We  are  not  going  to  be 
dragging  on  forever  like  Pharaoh,  with  the 
wheels  olf  his  chariot.  My  hearts  exults  and 
my  eyes  flash  with  the  thought,  that  very  likely 
I  shall  live  to  see  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit; 
when  “  the  sons  and  the  daughters  of  God 
again  shall  prophesy,  and  the  young  men  shall 
see  visions,  and  the  old  men  shall  dream 
dreams.”  Perhaps  there  shall  be  no  miracu¬ 
lous  gifts,  for  they  will  not  be  required ;  but 
yet  there  shall  be  such  a  miraculous  amount 
of  holiness,  such  an  extraordinary  fervor  of 
prayer,  such  a  real  communion  with  God,  and 
so  much  vital  religion,  and  such  a  spread  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  cross,  that  every  one  will 
see  that  verily  the  Spirit  is,  poured  out  like 
water,  and  the  rains  are  descending  from 
above.  Spurgeon. 

3002.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Personality  o£  A  young 
student  preparing  for  Cambridge  was  assailed 
by  a  certain  village  sceptic,  who  sneered  at 
the  idea  of  the  Holy  Ghost  being  a  person. 
“  Personality  of  the  Spirit  1  ”  said  he  :  “  why, 
the  Spirit  is  wind,  breath,  air :  the  very  Greek 
word  shows  you  this ;  for  it  simply  means 
wind.”  —  “  Be  it  so,”  replied  the  youth  :  “  then 
be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  the  meaning  of  this 
passage,  ‘  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and 
of  the  wind,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  wind  is 
wind'  ”  The  sceptic  had  no  answer ;  and  the 
6tudent  concluded,  “  Your  words  are  born  of 
the  wind,  but  not  of  the  Spirit.” 

3003.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Quenching  the.  We  are 
sure,  that,  if  you  could  analyze  the, history 
of  men  who  have  grown  gray  in  iniquity, 
you  would  find  that  they  began  with  just 
quieting  conscience  by  a  promise  or  excuse ; 
with  resisting  the  inward  admonition  in  little 
and  apparently  trifling  things  :  and  thus  they 
gradually  took  off,  as  it  were,  the  edge  of  the 
weapon,  and  then  they  could  resist  in  great 
things  with  as  much  iacility  as  they  had  before 
done  in  little,  tdl  at  last  no  effort  was  required, 
and  they  could  sin  as  a  matter  of  course ;  and 
they  are  gliding  into  eternity  with  a  quenched 
and  crushed  conscience ;  though  even  now 
there  may  be  moments  when  that  rejected 
principle,  breaking  from  sleep  into  delirium, 
shakes  over  the  soul  the  scourge  of  an  aven¬ 
ging  fury.  But,  alas  1  it  is  only  the  spectre  of 
conscience,  —  a  fleeting  thing,  as  it  were  a 
dream  or  a  ghost-story.  It  is  the  men  who 
have  thus  succeeded  in  making  themselves  in¬ 
accessible  to  alarm,  so  that  they  can  go  on 
committing  the  part  of  suicide  without  being 
disquieted,  —  it  is  these,  we  affirm,  who  have 
well-nigh  reached  the  last  stage  of  sin  against 
the  Spirit.  They  have  so  provoked  that  Spirit 
by  continued  and  increasing  opposition,  that  it 
has  ceased  to  strive  with  them ;  and  what  does 


this  amount  to  but  to  having  “  quenched  the 
Spirit  ”  ?  II.  Melvill. 

3001.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Reliability  of  the.  There 
have  been  many,  like  infants,  destroyed  by 
elixirs  given  to  lull  them  to  sleep ;  many 
have  been  ruined  by  the  cry  of  “  Peace, 
peace  1  ”  when  there  is  no  peace  ;  hearing 
gentle  things  when  they  ought  to  he  stirred 
to  the  quick.  Cleopatra’s  asp  was  brought  in 
a  basket  of  flowers ;  and  men’s  ruin  often 
lurks  in  fair  and  sweet  speeches.  But  the 
Holy  Ghost’s  comfort  is  safe ;  and  you  may 
rest  on  it.  Let  him  speak  the  word,  and 
there  is  a  reality  about  it ;  let  him  give  the 
cup  of  consolation,  and  you  may  drink  it  to 
the  bottom ;  for  in  its  depths  there  are  no 
dregs,  nothing  to  intoxicate  or  ruin  :  it  is  all 
safe.  Spurgeon. 

3003.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Silencing  the.  In  times 
when  vile  men  held  the  high  places  of  the 
land,  a  roll  of  drums  was  employed  to  drown 
the  martyr’s  voice,  lest  the  testimony  of  truth 
from  the  scaffold  should  reach  the  ears  of  the 
poople,  —  an  illustration  of  how  men  deal  with 
their  own  consciences,  and  seek  to  put  to 
silence  the  truth-telling  voice  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Arnot. 

3006.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Sin  against-the,  A  sin¬ 
ner  more  than  eighty  years  old  said  that  he 
was  powerfully  convicted  when  twenty-one, 
but  put  off  the  impressions  by  promise  of  fu¬ 
ture  amendment.  The  time  for  action  came, 
but  no  feeling.  Then  he  said,  “  I  believe 
that  I  sinned  against  the  Holy  Ghost  when  I 
was  twenty-one,  and  that  I  have  lived  sixty 
years  since  my  day  of  grace  was  past.  I 
know  that  I  shall  not  be  forgiven.”  When 
asked  if  I  should  pray  for  him,  he  replied, 
“  Yes ;  but  it  will  do  no  good.”  So  fearfully 
certain  was  he  of  destruction  1  He  continued 
in  this  state  for  weeks  and  months.  All  at¬ 
tempts  to  urge  him  to  accept  of  salvation  were 
in  vain ;  this  blighting  sentiment  was  ever 
first  in  his  thoughts :  “  It  will  do  no  good.” 
His  feelings  were  not  contrition  or  repentance 
tor  sin,  but  the  anticipation  of  wrath  to  come. 
And  in  this  state  he  died.  Rev.  II.  Norton. 

3007.  HOLY  SPIRIT,  Want  of  the.  It  is  as 
if  you  saw  a  locomotive  engine  upon  a  rail¬ 
way,  and  it  would  not  go  ;  and  they  put  up  a 
driver,  and  they  said,  “  Now,  that  driver  will 
just  do.”  They  try  another  and  another. 
One  proposes  that  such  and  such  a  wheel 
should  be  altered ;  but  still  it  will  not  go. 
Some  one  then  bursts  in  amongst  those  who 
are  conversing,  and  says,  “  No,  friends ;  but 
the  reason  why  it  will  not  go  is  because  there 
is  no  steam.  You  have  no  fire ;  you  have  no 
water  in  the  boiler :  that’s  why  it  will  not  go. 
There  may  be  some  faults  about  it ;  it  -may 
want  a  bit  of  paint  here  and  there :  but  it 
will  go  well  enough  with  all  those  faults  if 
you  do  but  get  the  steam  up.”  But  now  people 
are  saying,  “  This  must  be  altered,  and  that 
must  be  altered.”  But  it  would  go  no  better 
unless  God  the  Spirit  should  come  to  bless  us. 
That  is  the  Church’s  great  want;  and,  until 
that  want  be  supplied,  we  may  reform  and  re- 


HOLY  SHLRIT. 


HOMS. 


353 


form,  and  still  be  just  the  same.  We  want 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  then,  whatever  faults 
there  may  be  in  our  organization,  they  can 
never  materially  impede  the  progress  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  when  once  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God 
is  in  our  midst.  Spurgeon. 

3008.  HOLT  SPIRIT,  Workings  of  the.  What 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  It  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  interworking  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  upon  the  souls  of  men.  I  have  no  phi¬ 
losophy  about  it.  All  I  say  is  this,  —  that  God 
knows  what  is  the  secret  way  in  which  mind 
reaches  mind  :  I  do  not ;  you  do  nob.  I  do  not 
know  why  words  on  my  tongue  wake  up 
thoughts  corresponding  to  those  words  in 
you.  I  do  not  know  why  the  soul  of  man, 
like  a  complex  instrument  of  wondrous  scope, 
is  played  upon  by  my  words,  so  that  there 
are  waked  up  in  it  notes  along  the  whole 
scale  of  being.  I  do  not  understand  why 
these  things  are  so ;  but,  unquestionably,  they 
are  so.  I  do  not  know  how  the  mother  pours 
her  affection  on  the  child’s  heart ;  but  she 
does.  Two  stars  never  shone  into  each  other 
as  two  loving  souls  shine  into  each  other.  I 
know  it  is  so ;  but  I  do  not  know  why  it  is  so. 
I  do  not  know  how  soul  touches  soul,  how 
thought  touches  thought,  or  how  feeling 
touches  feeling ;  but  I  know  it  does. 

Beecher. 

3009.  HOME,  Attraction  of.  A  child,  speak¬ 
ing  of  his  home  to  a  friend,  was  asked, 
“  Where  is  your  home  ?  ”  Looking  with 
loving  eyes  at  his  mother,  he  replied,  “  Where 
mother  is  I  ” 

3010.  HOME,  Cheerfulness  of.  A  man’s  house 

should  be  on  the  hill-top  of  cheerfulness  anil 
serenity,  so  high,  that  no  shadows  rest  upon  it, 
and  where  the  morning  comes  so  early,  and 
the  evening  tarries  so  late,  that  the  day  has 
twice  as  many  golden  hours  as  those  of  other 
men.  He  is  to  be  pitied  whose  house  is  in 
some  valley  of  grief  between  the  hills,  with 
the  longest  night  and  the  shortest  day. 
Home  should  be  the  centre  of  joy,  equatorial 
and  tropical.  Beecher. 

3011.  HOME,  Definition  of.  Home  is  the  one 
place  in  all  this  world  where  hearts  are  sure 
of  each  other.  It  is  the  place  of  confidence. 
It  is  the  place  where  we  tear  off  that  mask  of 
guarded  and  suspicious  coldness  which  the 
world  forces  us  to  wear  in  self-defence,  and 
where  wc  pour  out  the  unreserved  communi¬ 
cations  of  full  and  confiding  hearts.  It  is  the 
spot  where  expressions  of  tenderness  gush  out 
without  any  sensation,  of  awkwardness,  and 
without  any  dread  of  ridicule. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

3012.  HOME,  Duties  of.  Two  Christians  met 

at  a  crossing  on  a  Monday  morning.  Both 
were  parents.  As  was  natural,  the  conversa¬ 
tion  turned  upon  the  services  of  the  preceding 
day.  The  first  speaker  opened  by  saying, 
“We  had  a  sermon  from  our  minister  last 
night  on  the  religious  instruction  of  children. 
Why  didn’t  you  come  and  hear  it  ?  ”  —  “  Be¬ 
cause,”  said  the  other,  “  I  was  at  home  doing 
it  ■'  ”  Christian  Treasury. 


3013.  HOME,  Happy.  “  She  always  made 
home  happy,”  —  epitaph  in  a  churchyard,  in¬ 
scribed  by  a  husband  after  sixty  years  of 
wedded  life. 

3014.  HOME,  Heaven  our.  A  New-Zealand 
chief  visited  England  a  few  years  ago.  One 
day,  he  was  taken  to  see  a  beautiful  mansion 
near  London.  The  gentleman  who  took  him 
expected  to  find  him  greatly  charmed  with  its 
magnificence;  but  it  seemed  to  excite  little 
admiration  in  his  mind.  He  then  began  to 
point  out  to  him  its  grandeur,  the  beauty  of 
the  furniture,  &c.  Tamahana,  looking  round 
upon  the  walls,  replied,  “  All  1  my  Father’s 
house  finer  than  this.”  The  gentleman  knew 
that  his  father’s  home  was  but  a  poor  mud-cot¬ 
tage.  But  Tamahana  went  on,  —  “  My  Father’s 
house  finer  than  this ;  ”  and  began  to  speak 
of  the  house  above,  —  the  house  of  “  many 
mansions,”  the  eternal  home  of  the  redeemed. 

3015.  HOME,  Iaflnence  of.  It  was  a  source 
of  much  trouble  to  some  fishes  to  see  a  number 
of  lobsters  swimming  backwards  instead  of  for¬ 
wards.  They  therefore  called  a  meeting  ;  and 
it  was  determined  to  open  a  class  for  their 
instruction,  which  was  done,  and  a  number 
of  young  lobsters  came  :  for  the  fishes  gravely 
argued,  that,  if  they  commenced  with  the  young 
ones,  as  they  grew  up  they  would  learn  to 
swim  aright.  At  first,  they  did  very  well ;  but 
afterwards,  when  they  returned  home,  and  saw 
their  fathers  and  mothers  swimming  in  the  old 
way,  they  soon  forgot  their  lessons.  So,  many 
a  child  well  taught  at  school  is  drifted  back¬ 
wards  by  a  bad  home  influence. 

Bible  Class  Magazine. 

3016.  HOME,  Longing  for.  Many  a  Swiss  has 

sunk  a  martyr  to  his  longing  after  home.  The 
malady  is  commonly  brought  on  by  hearing 
the  celebrated  national  air  of  the  “  Ranz  des 
Vaelies,”  sung  at  an  unexpected  moment,  or 
when  under  the  influence  of  dejected  feelings. 
Overcome  with  the  recollections  which  it 
awakens,  he  sheds  tears  ;  and  is  only  to  be  con¬ 
soled  by  the  prospect  of  immediately  return¬ 
ing  to  that  home,  his  exile  from  which  he 
deplores.  If  unable  to  accomplish  this  wish- 
of  his  heart,  he  sinks  into  a  profound  melan¬ 
choly,  which  not  unfrequently  terminates  in 
disease  and  death.  Percy. 

3917.  HOME,  Making  a.  I  might  ask,  “  What 

is  it  makes  home  ?  ”  and  you  would  answer,  “  A 
mother’s  love.”  You  know  what  it  would  be 
to  spend  one  of  your  winter  evenings  in  a 
chamber  without  a  fire  on  the  hearth  or  a 
carpet  on  the  floor  :  even  though  the  furniture 
were  costly,  and  the  friends  congenial,  nothing 
could  impart  the  lacking  comfort,  or  diffuse 
the  wonted  radiance.  And,  in  this  wintry 
world,  a  tender  mother’s  love  and  a  pious 
mother’s  care  are  the  carpet  on  the  floor  and 
the  blaze  on  the  evening  hearth.  They  make 
the  home;  and  to  life’s  latest  moment  they 
mingle  in  every  picture  of  pre-eminent  hap¬ 
piness.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3918.  HOME,  Proverbs.  Home  is  home,  be  it 

ever  so  homely.  An  Englishman’s  house  is  his 
castle.  —  English. - To  every  bird  its  nest 


23 


354 


HOJIK. 


HONESTY. 


is  fair.  —  French. - East  and  west,  at  home 

the  best.  —  German. - The  reek  of  my  own 

house  is  better  than  the  fire  of  another’s.  — 

Spanish. - Home,  my  own  home,  tiny  though 

thou  be,  to  me  thou  seemest  an  abbey.  My 
home,  my  mother’s  breast.  Every  dog  is  a  lion 

at  home.  —  Italian. - To  Adam,  paradise 

was  home.  To  the  good  among  his  descend¬ 
ants,  home  is  paradise.  Hare. 

3019.  HOME,  Yearnings  for.  “  I  long  to  see 
home,”  says  the  sailor  when  the  ship  rocks  to 
and  fro  from  the  violence  of  the  storm.  “  I 
am  going  home,”  thinks  the  shopman  when 
he  bars  his  heavy  doors,  and  closes  his  windows 
at  night,  tired  with  the  labors  of  the  day.  “  I 
must  hurry  home,”  says  the  mother  whose 
heart  is  on  her  baby  in  the  cradle.  “  Oh, 
how  I  long  to  get  home  1  ”  says  the  schoolboy 
disconsolate  over  the  hopeless  task.  “  Don’t 
stop  me ;  I  am  going  home,”  says  the  bright¬ 
eyed  girl  skipping  along  the  footpath.  And 
“  almost  home,”  says  the  dying  Christian.  “  I 
shall  soon  be  home,  and  then  no  more  sorrow 
nor  sighing  forever.  Almost  home.”  Bowes. 

3020.  HONESTY,  Advantage  of.  A  beggar 
asking  Dr.  Smollet  for  alms,  he  gave  him, 
through  mistake,  a  guinea.  The  poor  fellow, 
on  perceiving  it,  hobbled  after  him  to  return  it ; 
upon  which,  Smollet  returned  it  to  him,  with 
another  guinea  as  a  reward  for  his  honesty,  ex¬ 
claiming  at  the  same  time,  “  What  a  lodging 
has  honesty  taken  up  with  !  ” 

3021.  HONESTY,  Best  Policy.  A  nobleman 

travelling  in  Scotland  was  asked  for  alms  in 
the  high  street  of  Edinburgh,  by  a  little  ragged 
boy.  He  said  he  had  no  change ;  upon  which 
the  boy  offered  to  procure  it.  His  lordship,  in 
order  to  get  rid  of  his  importunity,  gave  him 
a  piece  of  silver;  which  the  boy  conceiving  was 
to  be  changed,  ran  off  for  the  purpose.  On  his 
return,  not  finding  his  benefactor,  whom  he  ex¬ 
pected  to  wait,  he  watched  for  several  days  in 
the  place  where  he  had  received  the  money. 
At  length,  the  nobleman  happened  again  to 
pass  that  way.  The  boy  accosted  him,  and  put 
the  change  he  had  procured  into  his  hand, 
counting  it  with  great  exactness.  His  lordship 
was  so  pleased  with  the  boy’s  honesty,  that  he 
placed  him  at  school,  with  the  assurance  of 
providing  for  him.  Percy. 

3022.  HONESTY,  Commercial.  A  gentleman 
of  Boston  was  unfortunate  in  business  thirty 
years  ago,  and  unable  at  that  time  to  meet  his 
engagements  with  his  creditors.  After  more 
than  twenty  years  of  toil,  he  succeeded  in  pay¬ 
ing  the  whole  amount  due  to  every  creditor, 
except  one,  whose  residence  he  could  not  find. 
His  mind  was  not  at  rest  until  he  found  that 
the  party  had  died  several  years  before.  He 
found,  however,  his  administrator,  and  remitted 
the  whole  amount,  principal  and  interest. 

3023.  HONESTY,  Example  of  A  clerk  was 
directed  by  his  employer  to  answer  a  letter 
countermanding  a  previous  order  for  goods,  by 
saying  that  they  had  been  already  shipped.  It 
was  false,  and  the  clerk  refused  to  write  it. 
Instead  of  being  turned  away,  he  was  made 
confidential  clerk. 


3024.  HONESTY, Indian.  “Intheyear  1771,” 
says  Mr.  Heckerwelder,  “  while  I  was  residing 
on  the  Big  Beaver,  I  passed  by  the  door  of  an 
Indian,  who  was  a  trader,  and  had  consequent¬ 
ly  a  quantity  of  goods  in  his  house.  He  was 
going  with  his  wife  to  Pittsburg;  and  they 
were  shutting  up  the  house,  as  no  person  re¬ 
mained  in  it  during  their  absence.  This  shut¬ 
ting-up  was  nothing  else  than  putting  a  large 
hominy  pounding-block,  with  a  few  sticks  of 
wood,  outside  against  the  door,  so  as  to  keep  it 
closed.  As  I  was  looking  at  this  man  with 
attention,  while  he  was  so  employed,  he  ad¬ 
dressed  me  in  these  words, 1  See,  my  friend,  this 
is  an  Indian  lock  that  I  am  putting  to  my  door.’ 
I  answered,  ‘  Well  enough ;  but  I  see  you  leave 
much  property  in  the  house :  are  you  not  afraid 
that  those  articles  will  be  stolen  while  you  are 
gone  ?  ’  —  ‘  Stolen  !  by  whom  ?  ’ —  ‘  Why,  by  the 
Indians,  to  be  sure.’  —  ‘  No,  no,’  replied  he,  ‘  no 
Indians  would  do  such  a  thing;  and,  unless 
a  white  man  or  white  people  should  happen 
to  come  this  way,  I  shall  find  all  safe  at  my 
return.’  ” 

3925.  HONESTY,  Heathen.  Epaminondas, 
being  offered  large  bribes,  replied,  ‘-If  the  thing 
you  desire  be  good,  I  will  do  it  without  anv 
bribe,  because  it  is  good :  if  it  be  not  honest,  1 
will  not  do  it  for  all  the  goods  in  the  world.” 

3026.  HONESTY,  Motive  to.  Honesty  is  the 
best  policy ;  but  he  who  acts  upon  this  principle 
is  not  an  honest  man.  Whately. 

3927.  HONESTY,  Principle  of.  “  Johnnie,” 
said  a  man,  winking  slyly  to  a  dry-goods  clerk 
of  his  acquaintance,  “  you  must  give  me  good 
measure :  your  master  is  not  in.”  Johnnie 
looked  solemnly  into  the  man’s  face,  and  re¬ 
plied,  “  My  Master  is  always  in.”  Johnnie’s 
master  was  the  all-seeing  God. 

3928.  HONESTY,  Profit  of  A  gentleman 
jumping  from  an  omnibus  in  New  York  lost 
his  pocket-book.  In  a  little  while,  he  discovered 
his  loss,  and  hastily  returned,  inquiring  of  every 
one  he  met  if  a  pocket-book  had  been  found. 
Meeting  a  little  girl  of  ten  years  of  age,  he 
made  the  same  inquiry.  She  asked,  “  What 
kind  of  a  pocket-book  ?  ”  He  described  it. 
Then  unfolding  her  apron,  “  Is  this  it  ?  ”  — 
“  Yes,  that  is  mine  :  come  into  this  store  with 
me.”  The  gentleman  examined  the  papers. 
“  That  is  all  right,”  said  he,  —  “  fifteen  notes 
of  a  thousand  dollars  each.  Take  this  note  of  a 
thousand  dollars  as  a  reward  for  your  honesty.” 
—  “  No,”  said  the  little  girl,  “  I  cannot  take  it. 
I  have  been  taught  in  Sunday  school  not  to 
keep  wliat  is  not  mine ;  and  my  parents  would 
think  I  had  stolen  it.”  —  “Take  me  to  your 
parents,  then  7  ”  She  took  him  to  her  humhle 
home.  The  gentleman  not  only  bestowed  the 
gift,  but  provided  einplovment  for  the  father. 

3029.  HONESTY,  Public.  Mr.  Labouehere 
had  made  an  agreement,  previously  to  his  de¬ 
cease,  with  the  Eastern  Counties  Railway,  for 
a  passage  through  his  estate  near  Chelmsford, 
for  which  the  company  were  to  pay  thirty-five 
thousand  pounds..  When  the  money  had  been 
paid,  and  the  passage  made,  the  son  and  suc¬ 
cessor  of  Air.  Labouehere,  finding  that  the 


HONESTY. 


HOTSTOR. 


355 


property  was  much  less  deteriorated  tlian  had 
been  expected,  voluntarily  returned  fifteen 
thousand  pounds  of  the  amount  to  the  com¬ 
pany.  Quarterly  Review. 

3030.  HONESTY,  Reward  of.  The  religious 
tradesman  complains,  that  his  honesty  is  a 
liinderance  to  his  success;  that  the  tide  of  cus¬ 
tom  pours  into  the  doors  of  his  less  scrupulous 
neighbors  in  the  same  street,  while  he  himself 
waits  for  hours  idle.  My  brother,  do  you 
think  that  God  is  going  to  reward  honor,  in¬ 
tegrity,  highmindedness,  with  this  world’s  coin  ? 
Do  you  fancy  that  he  will  pay  spiritual  excel¬ 
lence  with  plenty  of  custom  ?  Now,  consider 
the  price  that  man  has  paid  for  his  success. 
Perhaps  mental  degradation  and  inward  dis¬ 
honor.  His  advertisements  are  all  deceptive ; 
his  treatment  of  his  workmen  tyrannical ;  his 
cheap  prices  made  possible  by  inferior  articles. 
Sow  that  man’s  seed,  and  you  will  reap  that 
man’s  harvest.  Cheat,  lie,  advertise,  be  un¬ 
scrupulous  in  your  assertions,  custom  will  come 
to  you.  But  if  the  price  is  too  dear,  let  him 
have  his  harvest,  and  take  yours.  Yours  is  a 
clear  conscience,  a  pure  mind,  rectitude  within 
and  without.  Will  you  part  with  that  for  his? 
Then,  why  do  you  complain?  He  has  paid 
his  price :  you  do  not  choose  to  pay  it. 

F.  IT.  Robertson. 

3039.  HONESTY,  Scrupulous.  A  Russian  was 
travelling  from  Tobolsk  to  Beresow.  On  the 
road,  he  stopped  over  night  at  the  hut  of  an 
Ostiack.  In  the  morning,  on  continuing  his 
journey,  he  discovered  that  he  had  lost  his 
purse,  containing  about  one  hundred  rubles. 
The  son  of  the  Ostiack,  a  boy  of  fourteen  years 
of  age,  found  the  purse  while  out  hunting ;  but, 
instead  of  taking  it  up,  he  went  and  told  his 
father,  who  was  equally  unwilling  to  touch  it, 
and  ordered  the  boy  to  cover  it  with  some 
bushes.  A  few  months  after,  the  Russian  re¬ 
turned,  and  stopped  at  the  same  hut;  but  the 
Ostiack  did  not  recognize  him.  He  related 
the  loss  he  had  met  with.  The  Ostiack  lis¬ 
tened  very  attentively ;  and,  when  he  had  fin¬ 
ished,  “  You  are  welcome,”  said  he.  “  Here  is 
my  son,  who  will  show  you  the  spot  where  it 
lies.  No  hand  has  touched  it  but  the  one  which 
covered  it,  that  you  might  recover  what  you 
had  lost.”  Percy. 

3032.  HONESTY,  True.  Rev.  Dr.  Sargent 
states,  that  at  a  slave-market  in  one  of  the 
Southern  States,  at  which  he  was  present,  a 
smart,  active  colored  boy  was  put  up  for  sale. 
A  kind  master  who  pitied  his  condition, 
wishing  him  not  to  have  a  cruel  owner,  went 
up  to  him,  and  said,  “  If  I  buy  you,  will  you  be 
honest  ?  ”  The  boy,  with  a  look  that  baffled 
description,  replied,  “  I  will  be  honest  whether 
you  buy  me  or  not.” 

3033.  HONESTY,  Youthful.  In  a  country 
school,  a  large  class  were  standing  to  spell. 
I  put  a  very  hard  word  to  the  scholar  at  the 
head,  and  he  missed  it :  I  passed  it  to  the  next, 
and  the  next,  and  so  on  through  the  whole 
class,  till  it  came  to  the  last  scholar,  —  the 
smallest  of  the  class,  —  and  he  spelled  it  right, 
—  at  least  I  understood  him  so ;  and  he  went  to 


the  head,  above  seventeen  boys  and  girls,  all 
older  than  himself.  I  then  turned  round,  and 
wrote  the  word  on  the  blackboard,  so  that  they 
might  all  see  how  it  was  spelled,  and  learn  it 
better.  But  no  sooner  had  I  written  it  than 
the  little  boy  at  the  head  cried  out,  “  Oh,  I 
didn’t  say  it  so,  Miss  W. ;  I  said  e  instead  of 
i:  ”  and  he  went  back  to  the  fcot,  of  his  own 
accord,  quicker  than  he  had  gone  to  the  head. 
He  was  too  honest  to  take  any  credit  that  did 
not  belong  to  him.  Family  Treasury. 

3031.  HONOR,  Approach  to.  The  Athenians 
erected  a  large  statue  to  iEsop,  and  placed 
him,  though  a  slave,  on  a  lasting  pedestal,  to 
show  that  the  way  to  honor  lies  open  indiffer¬ 
ently  to  all.  P/uedrus. 

3035.  HONOR,  Disputed.  “  How  well  I  whis¬ 

tle  1”  said  the  Wind  to  the  Keyhole.  “  Well, 
if  that  isn’t  rich  1  ”  said  the  Keyhole  to  the 
Wind:  “you  mean,  how  well  I  whistle.”  — 
“  Get  some  paper,”  said  the  old  woman,  “  and 
stuff  up  the  keyhole,  and  stop  the  draught.” 
And  so  neither  Wind  nor  Keyhole  whistled 
any  longer.  Leisure  Hours. 

3036.  HONOR,  Fleeting.  It  was  a  custom  in 
Rome,  that  when  the  emperor  went  out  upon 
some  grand  day  in  all  his  imperial  pomp,  there 
was  an  officer  appointed  to  burn  flax  before 
him,  crying  out,  “  Sic  transit  gloria  mundi ;  ’ 
which  was  done  to  put,  him  in  mind  that  all  his 
honor  and  grandeur  should  soon  vanish  away 
like  the  smoke  from  the  burning  flax. 

3037.  HONOR,  Frailty  of.  As  he  was  walking 
in  a  garden,  Gotthold  saw  a  collection  of  flow¬ 
ers,  planted  in  beautifully  painted  and  orna¬ 
mented  pots,  and  shown  off  upon  a  lofty  stage ; 
and  he  thought  with  himself,  “  Even  these 
flowers  are  daughters  of  the  earth :  by  earth 
they  live,  and  to  earth  they  shall  be  turned. 
Of  earth,  too,  are  formed,  and  with  earth  are 
filled,  the  gaudy  pots  in  which  they  grow. 
Wait  but  a  little,  and,  of  all  the  showy  flow¬ 
ers  which  figure  on  that  lofty  stage,  there  will 
be  no  more  to  say  than  of  the  humble  violet 
that  creeps  upon  the  ground,  and  fades  in  the 
month  of  March.  Paint  such  a  flower-pot,  and 
inscribe  it  with  the  motto,  —  ‘We  fade  like 
other  flowers;  earth,  and  nothing  more,’  — 
and  you  will  have  an  appropriate  emblem  of 
worldly  greatness  and  glory.” 

3638.  HONOR,  Instability  of.  Xerxes  crowned 
his  footman  in  the  morning,  and  beheaded  him 
in  the  evening  of  the  same  day;  and  Androni- 
cus,  the  Greek  emperor,  crowned  his  admiral 
in  the  morning,  and  then  took  off  his  head  in 
the  afternoon.  RofFensis  had  a  cardinal’s  hat 
sent  to  him  ;  but  his  head  was  cut  olf  before 
it  came  to  hand.  Most  say  of  their  crowns,  as 
a  certain  king  said  of  his,  “  O  crown  !  more 
noble  than  happy  !  ”  It  was  a  just  complaint 
which  long  ago  was  made  against  the  heathen 
gods,  “  O  faciles  dare  summa  Deos  eademque 
tueri  difficiles  1  ”  They  could  give  their  favor 
ites  great  gifts ;  but  they  could  not  maintain 
them  in  the  possession  of  them. 

Biblical  Treasury. 

3030.  HONOR,  Regard  for.  An  American 
officer  during  the  War  of  Independence  was 


356 


HOIVOR. 


HOPE. 


ordered  to  a  station  of  extreme  peril,  when 
several  around  him  suggested  various  expedi¬ 
ents  by  which  he  might  evade  the  dangerous 
post  assigned  him.  He  made  them  the  follow¬ 
ing  heroio  reply,  “  I  thank  you,  my  friends,  for 
vour  solicitude.  I  know  I  can  easily  save  my 
life ;  but  who  will  save  my  honor,  should  I 
adopt  your  advice  ?  ” 

3040.  HONOR,  Road  to.  Virtue  derives  her 
name  from  vir,  because  virtue  is  the  most  man¬ 
ly  ornament.  She  was  esteemed  a  goddess, 
and  worshipped  in  the  habit  of  an  elderly  ma¬ 
tron  sitting  upon  a  square  stone.  M.  Marellus 
dedicated  a  temple  to  her;  and,  hard  by, 
placed  another,  that  was  dedicated  to  Honor. 
The  temple  of  Virtue  was  the  passage  to 
Honor ;  by  which  was  signified,  that,  by  virtue 
alone,  true  honor  is  obtained.  Andrew  Tooke. 

3041.  HONOR,  Satiety  of.  Heliogabalus, 
the  Roman  emperor,  being  jealous  of  the  power 
of  the  senate,  invited  the  senators  to  a  great 
feast.  When  they  were  overcome  with  wine, 
Heliogabalus  left  the  hall.  The  doors  were 
fastened  without ;  yet.  the  carousal  continued. 
The  emperor  shouted  to  them  from  a.  glass  door 
in  the  ceiling,  that,  as  they  were  ever  aspiring 
after  fresh  laurels,  they  should  now  be  satis¬ 
fied.  Wreaths  and  flowers  began  to  rain  upon 
them.  The  senators  cried,  “  Enough,  enough  1  ” 
but  the  rain  continued.  Terror  seized  them. 
They  flew  to  the  doors;  but  they  were  im¬ 
movable.  Escape  was  impossible.  The  relent¬ 
less  storm  continued  till  all  were  buried  and 
8ufl’ocated  beneath  the  murderous  sea  of  flow¬ 
ers. 

3042.  HONOR,  Shadowy.  Alexander  the 
Great,  finding;  Diogenes  in  the  charnel-house, 
asked  him  what  he  was  seeking  for.  lie  an¬ 
swered,  “  I  am  seeking  for  your  father’s  bones, 
and  those  of  my  slave ;  but  I  cannot  find  them, 
because  there  is  no  difference  between  their 
dust.”  Rev.  H.  Martyn,  after  gaining  the 
highest  position  the  university  could  bestow, 
writes,  “  I  obtained  my  highest  wishes,  but 
was  surprised  to  find  that  I  had  grasped  a 
shadow.” 

3043.  HONOR,  Tested.  A  criminal  was  con¬ 
demned  to  die.  His  nephew,  accompanied  by 
a  lady  of  distinction,  went  to  the  governor  to 
solicit  his  pardon.  The  nephew,  thinking  the 
lady  was  not  earnest  enough  in  her  entreaties, 
broke  out  with  the  deepest  of  anguish.  “  Sir, 
may  I  beg  the  life  of  my  uncle.  We  will  give 
to  the  State  a  thousand  sequins,  will  give  to 
the  empire  fifty  soldiers,  and  will  agree  that 
he  shall  be  forever  banished.  The  governor, 
knowing  the  nephew  to  be  a  man  of  integrity, 
told  him,  if  he  thought  it  was  for  the  good  of 
the  cause,  and  just,  he  would  do  it.  He  turned 
about,  burst  into  tears,  and  left  the  house,  say¬ 
ing,  “  I  would  not  have  the  honor  of  our  coun¬ 
try  sold  for  a  thousand  sequins.”  His  uncle 
suffered. 

3044.  HONOR,  Transient.  Damocles,  a 
courtier  of  Dionysius  the  tyrant  of  Syracuse, 
having  lauded  in  the  highest  terms  the  happi¬ 
ness  of  royalty,  received  the  following  striking 
reproof  from  his  master.  He  was  placed  upon 


a  kingly  throne,  in  the  midst  of  a  luxurious 
banquet.  The  tables  were  loaded  with  choi¬ 
cest  food :  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones 
gleamed  and  sparkled  in  every  direction.  But, 
as  he  admired  his  exalted  position,  he  looked 
upwards,  and  saw,  exactly  over  his  head,  a 
keen-edged  sword,  suspended  by  a  single  hair. 
His  happiness  was  gone  in  an  instant,  and  with 
it  his  estimate  of  the  felicity  of  kings. 

3045.  HONOR,  Vanity  of.  Gen.  Neil’s  life¬ 
long  dream  had  been  to  obtain  the  little  baton 
and  ribbon  of  Marshal  of  France.  He  could 
not  sleep  after  seeing  it  conferred  on  McMa¬ 
hon  as  a  reward  of  valor  in  the  battle  of 
Magenta.  Before  the  next  engagement,  he 
told  his  friends,  that,  this  time,  he  would  win 
the  prize  he  so  much  coveted.  The  conflict  was 
over;  and  they  sought  him  anxiously  upon  the 
gory  field.  They  found  him  almost  crushed 
beneath  his  war-horse  ;  and  the  practised  eye 
of  the  surgeon  told  him  that  life  would  soon  be 
over.  Word  was  sent  to  the  emperor,  who 
quickly  arrived,  and,  taking  from  his  own 
breast  the  badge  of  Marshal  of  France,  he 
placed  it  above  the  heart  of  his  faithful  fol¬ 
lower.  The  life-long  dream  was  realized,  and, 
with  a  single  throb  of  exultant  joy  and  grati¬ 
tude,  he  threw  his  arms  about  the  neck  of  his 
sovereign  :  the  next  instant  he  fell  back  in 
the  embrace  of  a  stronger  king.  Dr.  Haven. 

3046.  HOPE,  an  Anchor.  As  an  anchor 
thrown  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  holds  the  ship 
fast  amid  storms  and  tempests ;  so  the  Chris¬ 
tian’s  hope  penetrates  the  waves  of  this  trou¬ 
blesome  world,  and  reaches  the  eternal  shore, 
holding  fast  his  soul  amid  the  waves  of  sin. 

304?'.  HOPE,  Benefit  of.  Hope  is  the  most 
beneficial  of  all  the  affections,  and  doth  much 
to  the  prolongation  of  life,  if  it  be  not  too 
often  frustrated,  but  entertaineth  the  fancy 
with  the  expectation  of  good  :  therefore  they 
which  fix  and  propound  to  themselves  some 
end  as  the  mark  and  scope  of  their  life,  and 
continually  and  by  degrees  go  forward  in  the 
same,  are,  for  the  most  part,  long-lived ;  inso¬ 
much  that  when  they  are  come  to  the  top  of 
their  hope,  and  can  go  no  higher  therein,  they 
commonly  droop,  and  live  not  long  after. 

Lord  Bacon. 

304§.  HOPE,  Christian.  A  consumptive  dis¬ 
ease  seized  the  eldest  son  and  heir  of  the  Duke 
of  Hamilton,  which,  ended  in  his  death.  A 
little  before  his  departure  from  the  world,  he 
took  his  Bible  from  under  his  pillow,  and 
opened  it -at  the  passage,  “I  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for 
me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day; 
and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  them  also  that 
love  his  appearing.”  As  death  approached, 
he  called  his  younger  brother  to  his  bedside, 
and,  addressing  him  with  the  greatest  affection 
and  seriousness,  closed  with  those  remarkable 
words :  “  And  now,  Douglas,  in  a  little  time 
you’ll  be  a  duke,  but  I  shall  be  a  king.” 

3049.  HOPE,  Danger  of.  Hope  is  to  a  man 
as  a  bladder  to  a  learning  swimmer :  it  keeps 


HOPE. 


HOPE. 


357 


him  from  sinking  in  the  bosom  of  the  waves, 
and  by  that  help  he  may  attain  the  exercise. 
But  yet  it  many  times  makes  him  venture  be¬ 
yond  bis  height ;  and  then,  if  that  breaks,  or  a 
storm  rises,  he  drowns  without  recovery.  How 
many  would  die,  did  not  hope  sustain  them ! 
How  many  have  died  by  hoping  too  much  ! 
This  wonder  we  find  in  Hope,  —  that  she  is 
both  a  flatterer  and  a  true  friend.  Feltham. 

3050.  HOPE,  in  Danger.  As  a  man  crossing 
a  swift  stream  does  not  gaze  down  at  the 
water,  lest  it  should  make  him  giddy,  and  en¬ 
danger  bis  life,  but  fixes  his  eyes  on  the  farther 
shore,  and  so  crosses  in  safety  ;  so  the  Christian, 
passing  the  troublesome  waves  of  this  life, 

azes  not  on  them,  but  fixes  his  eyes  on  the 
eavenly  banks  beyond,  and  so  makes  a  safe 
crossing. 

3051.  HOPE,  in  Death.  “  Hast  thou  hope  ?  ” 

they  asked  of  John  Knox  when  he  lay  dying. 
He  spoke  nothing,  but  raised  his  finger  and 
pointed  upwards,  and  so  died.  Carlyle. 

3052.  HOPE,  Development  of.  Hope  takes 
fast  hold  of  heaven  itself.  A  Christian’s  hope 
is  not  like  that  of  Pandora,  which  may  fly  out 
of  the  box,  and  bid  the  soul  farewell,  as  the 
hope  of  the  hypocrite  does :  no,  it  is  like 
the  morning  light ;  the  least  beam  of  it  shall 
go  on  into  a  complete  sunshine ;  it  shall  shine 
forth  brighter  and  brighter  till  the  perfect  day. 

T.  Brook. 

3053.  HOPE,  Extent  of.  The  world  dares  say 
no  more  of  its  devices  than  “  dum  spiro  spero” 
(whilst  I  breathe,  I  hope)  ;  but  the  children  of 
God  can  add,  by  virtue  of  this  living  hope, 
“dmu  expiro spero”  (whilst  I  expire,  I  hope). 

Leif/ h!  on. 

3054.  HOPE,  Faith  and.  Faith  and  hope, 

though  distinct,  are  vitally  united.  They  come 
from  the  same  source,  are  sustained  by  the 
same  evidence,  and  are  exercised  on  the  same 
realities.  Faith  is  the  perceiving,  hope  the 
anticipating  faculty.  Faith,  looking  through 
the  glass  of  God’s  word,  says  to  the  spirit, 
“  I  see  heaven  opened,  and  your  Saviour  en¬ 
throned  amidst  its  central  splendor.”  Hope 
says  to  it,  “You  are  on  your  way  to  that  glorious 
world :  you  will  soon  be  there ;  for  where  he  is 
vou  must  be.”  Faith  cometh  by  hearing; 
nope,  by  experience.  Faith  hath  respect  to 
the  truth  of  the  word  ;  hope,  to  its  fulfilment. 
Faith  lays  hold  of  that  end  of  the  promise 
which  is  nearest  to  us,  even  in  the  divine 
book ;  hope,  of  that  end  of  the  promise  which 
is  fastened  to  the  mercy-seat  within  the  veil. 
Faith  fights  for  doctrine;  hope,  for  reward. 
Faith  is  founded  on  what  is  in  the  Bible;  hope, 
on  what  is  in  heaven.  C.  Stanford. 

3055.  HOPE,  without  Faith.  If  in  a  place  of 
danger  you  saw  a  chain  whose  uppermost  link 
was  surely  fixed  in  the  living  rock,  and  whose 
lowest  link,  a  goodly  iron  ring,  was  vibrating 
invitingly  near,  you  might  be  induced,  by  the 
prospect  of  an  easy  deliverance,  to  venture 
your  body’s  weight  upon  its  seeming  strength. 
If  that  lowest  link  were  not  within  the  one 
above  it,  but  only  attached  externally,  by  some 
brittle  twig,  you  would  exchange  the  slippery 


place  of  danger  for  the  plunge  into  inevitable 
death.  It  is  like  the  fall  of  a  sinnei,  who  has 
risked  his  soul  for  the  great  day  on  a  hope  not 
linked  to  faith.  Arnot. 

3056.  HOPE,  False.  A  “  hope  ”  is  to  some 
like  a  passport,  which  one  keeps  quietly  in  his 
pocket  till  the  time  for  the  journey,  and  then 
produces  it.  Or  like  life-preservers,  which  ban" 
useless  around  the  vessel  until  the  hour  of 
danger  comes,  when  the  captain  calls  on  every 
passenger  to  save  himself ;  and  then  they  are 
taken  down  and  blown  up,  and  each  man,  with 
his  hope  under  his  arm,  strikes  out  for  the 
land  :  and  so  such  men  would  keep  their  reli¬ 
gious  hope  hanging  until  death  comes  ;  and  then 
take  it  down  and  inflate  it,  that  it  may  buoy 
them  up,  and  float  them  over  the  dark  river  to 
the  heavenly  shore.  Or  as  the  inhabitants  of 
Block  Island  keep  their  boats  hauled  high  upon 
the  beach,  and  only  use  them  now  and  then, 
when  they  would  cross  to  the  mainland ;  so 
such  men  keep  their  hopes  high  and  dry  upon 
the  shore  of  life,  only  to  be  used  when  they 
have  to  cross  the  flood  that  divides  this  island 
of  time  from  the  mainland  of  eternity. 

Beecher. 

3057.  HOPE,  and  Fear.  St.  Lewis  the  king, 
having  sent  Ivo,  Bishop  of  Chartres,  on  an 
embassy,  the  bishop  met  a  woman  on  the  way, 
sad,  fantastic,  and  melancholic,  with  fire  in  one 
hand,  and  water  in  the  other.  He  asked  what 
those  symbols  meant.  She  answered,  “  My 
purpose  is,  with  fire  to  burn  paradise,  and  with 
my  water  to  quench  the  flames  of  hell,  that 
men  may  serve  God  without  the  incentives  of 
hope  and  fear,  and  purely  for  the  love  of  God.” 
But  this  woman  began  at  the  wrong  end.  The 
love  of  God  is  not  produced  in  us,  after  we 
have  contracted  evil  habits,  till  God  with  his 
fan  in  his  hand  hath  thoroughly  purged  the 
floor,  till  he  hath  cast  out  all  the  devils,  and 
swept  the  house  with  the  instruments  of  hope 
and  fear,  and  with  the  achievements  and 
efficacy  of  mercies  and  judgments. 

Bp.  Taylor. 

3058.  HOPE,  Fruition  of.  In'  1683,  Vienna 
was  besieged  by  the  Turks  ;  the  Emperor  of 
Austria  fled ;  and  the  people  sent  to  the  King 
of  Poland  for  aid.  They  knew  in  which  di¬ 
rection  the  Poles  must  come,  and  watched  the 
way  long  and  anxiously.  At  last,  they  saw 
the  lances  of  their  rescuers  gleaming  on  the 
mountains.  That  very  day,  their  foes  were 
defeated,  and  Vienna  set  free.  The  rescue  of 
the  besieged  Christians  is  more  sure  than  they. 

3059.  HOPE,  Groundless.  A  professor  of 
religion,  who  neglected  all  religious  duties, 
and  was  engaged  in  rumselling,  being  called 
to  account  by  the  church-authorities,  declared 
that  he  still  indulged  a  hope ;  and,  moreover, 
knew  that  he  was  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir 
of  heaven.  He  maintained  his  assurance  in 
his  neglect  and  guilt.  How  much  was  such  a 
hope  worth  ? 

3060.  HOPE,  Inspiration  of.  “  Look  up  !  ” 
thundered  the  captain  of  a  vessel,  as  his  boy 
grew  giddy  while  gazing  from  the  topmast, — 
“  look  up  1  ”  The  boy  looked  up,  and  re- 


358 


HOPE. 


HOSPITALITY. 


turned  in  safety.  Young  man,  look  up,  and 
you  will  succeed.  Never  look  down  and  de¬ 
spair.  Leave  dangers  uncared  for,  and  push 
on.  If  you  falter,  you  lose.  Do  right,  and 
trust  in  God. 

3061.  HOPE,  Light  o£  Hope  is  like  the  sun, 
which,  as  we  journey  towards  it,  casts  the 
shadow  of  our  harden  behind  us.  Smiles. 

3062.  HOPE,  Nature  of.  Hope  is  an  active 

grace :  it  is  called  a  lively  hope.  Hope  is  like 
the  spring  in  the  watch  :  it  sets  all  the  wheels 
of  the  soul  in  motion.  Hope  of  a  crop  makes 
the  husbandman  sow  his  seed  ;  hope  of  a  vic¬ 
tory  makes  the  soldier  fight ;  and  a  true  hope 
of  glory  makes  a  Christian  vigorously  pursue 
glory.  Here  is  a  spiritual  touchstone  to  try 
our  hope  by.  T.  Watson. 

3063.  HOPE,  Ocoasion  of.  A  sailing-vessel 

was  driving  before  the  hurricane.  A  white 
bird  suddenly  descended  on  the  mast :  the 
hearts  of  the  crew  were  cheered, —  hope 
dawned !  Such  consolation  may  be  always 
mine.  One  bright,  holy,  faithful  thought  is 
my  dove  upon  the  mast.  However  sadly  I 
toss  over  the  waves  of  this  troublesome  weary 
world,  that  gentle  bird  of  paradise  revives 
and  strengthens  me.  It  tells  me  that  the 
storm  will  soon  be  over  and  gone,  and  the 
green  land  with  the  singing  of  the  birds  is 
come.  Wilmott. 

3064.  HOPE,  Origin  of  An  account  says 
that  Pandora  was  sent  in  good  faith  to  bless 
man  ;  that  she  was  furnished  with  a  box  into 
which  every  god  had  put  some  blessing.  She 
opened  the  box  incautiously,  and  all  the  bless¬ 
ings  escaped,  hope  only  excepted. 

3065.  HOPE,  Persistent.  Cynegirus,  a  val¬ 
iant  Athenian,  being  in  a  great  sea-fight 
against  the  Medes,  espying  a  ship  of  the  ene¬ 
my’s  well  manned,  and  fitted  for  service,  when 
no  other  means  would  serve,  he  grasped  it  with 
his  hands  to  maintain  the  fiaht;  and,  when  his 
right  hand  was  cut  off,  he  held  close  with  his 
left ;  but,  both  hands  being  taken  off,  he  held 
it  fast  with  his  teeth,  till  he  lost  his  life.  Such 
is  the  holdfast  of  him  that  hopes  in  God  :  as 
long  as  there  is  any  breath,  he  hopes.  Spencer. 

3066.  HOPE,  Powers  of.  The  hope  of  Christ 
is  a  staff  in  the  hands  of  the  weary  before  the 
arm  of  Christ  is  stretched  out,  on  which  he 
may  be  privileged  to  lean.  Hope  is  a  marvel¬ 
ous  inspiration,  which  every  heart  confesses  in 
some  season  of  extremest  peril.  It  can  put 
nerve  into  the  languid,  and  fleetness  into  the 
feet  of  exhaustion.  Let  the  slim  and  feathery 
palm-grove  be  dimly  descried,  though  ever  so 
remotely,  and  the  caravan  will  on,  spite  of  the 
fatigue  of  the  traveller  and  the  simoom’s  blind¬ 
ing,  to  where,  by  the  fringy  rootlets,  the  des¬ 
ert  waters  flow.  Let  there  glimmer  one  star 
through  the  murky  waste  of  night,  and  though 
the  spars  be  shattered,  and  the  sails  be  riven, 
and  the  hurricane  howls  for  its  prey,  the  brave 
saiior  will  be  lashed  to  the  helm,  and  see  al¬ 
ready,  through  the  tempest’s  breaking,  calm 
waters  and  a  spotless  sky.  Oh  !  who  is  there, 
however  hapless  his  lot  or  forlorn  his  sur¬ 
roundings,  who  is  beyond  the  influence  of  this 


choicest  of  earth’s  comforters,  —  this  faithful 
friend  which  survives  the  flight  of  riches,  and 
the  wreck  of  reputation,  and  the  break  of 
health,  and  even  the  loss  of  dear  and  cher¬ 
ished  friends  ?  Punshon. 

3067.  HOPE,  The  Sinner's.  The  spider  weaves 
her  web  with  care,  hanging  it  up,  and  running 
across,  so  persevering,  till  a  fine  canopy  is 
completed  ;  when  along  comes  the  housewife, 
and,  with  a  stroke  of  a  broom,  itself  and  its 
labor  perishes.  The  spider  weaves  his  own 
winding-sheet.  Such  is  an  emblem  of  the 
sinner’s  hope. 

3068.  HOPE,  Treasure  of.  It  is  recorded  of 
Alexander,  that,  when  distributing  the  spoil 
of  one  of  his  victories,  he  gave  all  away, 
keeping  no  portion  as  his  share.  One  of  his 
soldiers  asked  him  what  he  reserved  for  him¬ 
self.  The  monarch  answered,  “  Hope.” 

Bowes. 

3060.  HOPE,  Use  of.  Hope  is  the  daughter 
of  Faith,  but  such  as  is  a  staff"  to  her  aged 
mother,  and  will  produce  a  bold  and  wise 
profession  of  the  truth  before  men,  as  also 
prayer  to  God.  It  is  as  the  cork  upon  the 
net :  though  the  lead  on  the  one  side  sinks  it 
down,  yet  the  cork  on  the  other  keeps  it  up. 

J.  Trapp. 

3070.  HOPE,  Without.  Harlan  Page  once 
went  through  his  sabbath  school  to  get  the 
spiritual  census  of  the  school.  Coming  to 
one  of  the  teachers,  he  said,  “  Shall  I  put 
you  down  as  having  hope  in  Christ  ?  ”  The 
teacher  replied,  “  No.”  —  “  Then,”  said  he 
very  tenderly,  “  I  will  put  you  down  as  having 
no  hope.”  He  closed  his  little  book,  and  left 
him.  That  was  enough.  God  gave  that  young 
man’s  soul  no  rest  till  he  found  hope  through 
the  cross. 

3671.  HOPE,  Wrecked.  A  noble  ship  was 
nearing  home  after  a  long  voyage.  Oil  her 
deck  stood  many  a  weather-beaten  sailor,  who 
thought,  “  I  shall  be  at  home  to-morrow  1  ” 
There  were  old  men  who  had  not  seen  their 
childhood’s  home  for  long  years,  who  said, 
“  We  shall  land  to-morrow !  ”  A  mother,  lift¬ 
ing  up  her  little  one  to  look  at  the  far-off  land, 
whispered,  “  We  shall  be  at  home  to-mor¬ 
row  !  ”  But  their  to-morrow  never  came.  That 
evening,  the  gentle  breeze  became  a  furious 
gale ;  the  sails  were  split  into  ribbons ;  the 
rudder  was  broken ;  the  vessel  became  un¬ 
manageable  :  she  drifted  upon  the  terrible 
quicksands,  became  a  wreck ;  and  all  on  board 
perished. 

3072.  HOSPITALITY,  Legend  of.  St.  Sebald 
dwelt  in  a  cell,  whence  he  made  almost  daily 
journeys  to  the  city  of  Nuremberg  to  instruct 
the  Christian  converts ;  and  he  was  accustomed 
to  rest  in  the  hut  of  a  poor  Cartwright.  One 
day,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  he  found  his  host 
and  all  his  family  ready  to  perish  with  cold ; 
for  there  was  no  wood  to  make  a  fire.  The 
saint  desired  him  to  bring  in  the  icicles  hang¬ 
ing  from  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  to  use  them 
for  fuel.  This  quaint  legend  is  strikingly  rep¬ 
resented  in  a  picture.  The  female  figure,  on 
her  knees,  is  feeding  the  fire  with  icicles,  while 


HOSPITALITY. 


HXnVLAJSr  NATURE. 


359 


the  saint  is  turning  up  the  soles  of  his  feet  to 
the  flame. 

3073.  HOSPITALITY,  Lesson  of.  Dr.  Payson 

once,  when  travelling,  having  occasion  to  call 
on  a  lady,  when  she  and  some  of  her  friends 
were  sitting  down  to  tea :  she  would  have  him 
stay,  and  treated  him  very  hospitably.  When 
he  left,  he  said,  “  Madam,  you  have  treated 
me  with  much  kindness  and  hospitality,  for 
which  I  sincerely  thank  you.  Allow  me  to  ask 
you  one  question  before  we  part,  —  How  do 
you  treat  my  Master  ?  ”  The  visit  was  much 
sanctified,  and  led  eventually  to  the  conversion 
of  the  lady  and  her  household.  Bowes. 

3074.  HOSPITALITY,  Rewarded.  Jupiter  and 
Mercury  once  visited  a  village,  and,  disguised 
in  human  form,  sought  entertainment,  but  in 
vain,  till  they  came  to  the  thatched  cottage  of 
the  aged  Baucis  and  Philemon.  Before  the 
strangers  was  spread  the  best  the  place 
afforded,  with  careful  attention.  The  unwasted 
wine  revealed  to  them  the  gods,  to  whom  they 
would  have  sacrificed.  “  This  inhospitable 
village  shall  pay  the  penalty  of  its  impiety. 
You  shall  be  free.  Come  with  us  to  the  top 
of  yonder  hill,”  said  the  gods.  They  obeyed, 
and  beheld  the  country  around  sink  into  a 
lake,  while  their  own  house  grew  into  a  mag¬ 
nificent  temple,  in  which  they  served  as  priests 
until  transformed  together. 

3075.  HOUSE  OF  GOD,  Food  at  the.  A  little 

girl  said  to  a  gentleman  who  was  never  known 
to  enter  the  house  of  God,  “  Sir,  why  don’t 
you  go  to  church  ?  for  I  am  sure,  such  as  you 
are,  you  need  food  as  well  as  myself.”  The 
gentleman  answered  her,  “  Pray,  who  feeds 
you  ?  and  what  kind  of  food  is  it  that  you  receive 
at  church?  ”  She  replied,  “  Sir,  it  is  God  who 
feeds  me  there,  and  his  word  is  the  food  I  am 
supplied  with ;  and  I  assure  you,  that  though 
my  mother  (being  very  poor)  is  sometimes 
scarcely  able  to  give  me  food  to  eat,  yet,  fed  as 
I  am  every  Sunday  with  the  bread  of  life,  I 
never  know  what  the  pains  of  hunger  are.” 
The  gentleman,  astonished  at  what  he  heard 
from  the  little  girl,  resolved  from  that  time  to 
attend  the  service  of  the  sanctuary ;  and  he 
has  adhered  to  his  determination,  and  now 
feels  and  confesses  the  great  pleasure  and 
profit  that  arise  from  a  constant  attendance 
on  the  means  of  grace.  J.  Whitecross. 

3070.  HOUSE  OF  GOD,  Love  for  the.  Chris¬ 
tians  in  Greenland  very  seldom,  if  ever,  absent 
themselves  from  public  worship  on  account  of 
the  weather.  When  it  is  so  cold  that  their 
breath  freezes,  and  forms  icicles  on  their  faces, 
they  yet  go  long  distances,  —  men,  women,  and 
children,  —  through  snow  and  ice  and  storm,  to 
the  house  of  prayer. 

3077.  HUMANITY,  Example  of.  When 
Catherine  of  Medicis  had  persuaded  Charles 
IX.  to  massacre  all  the  Protestants  in  France, 
orders  were  sent  to  the  governors  of  the  differ¬ 
ent  provinces  to  put  the  Huguenots  to  death  in 
their  respective  districts.  One  Catholic  gov¬ 
ernor,  whose  memory  will  ever  be  dear  to 
humanity,  had  the  courage  to  disobey  the  cruel 
mandate.  “  Sir,”  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  his 


sovereign,  “  I  have  too  much  respect  for  your 
Majesty,  not  to  persuade  myself  that  the  order 
I  have  received  must  be  forged  ;  but  if  (which 
God  forbid !)  it  should  be  really  the  order  of 
your  Majesty,  I  have  too  much  respect  for  the 
personal  character  of  my  sovereign  to  obey  it.” 

Percy. 

3078.  HUMANITY,  Rewarded.  A  poor  Mace¬ 
donian  soldier  was  one  day  leading  before 
Alexander  a  mule  laden  with  gold  for  the 
king’s  use.  The  beast  became  so  tired,  he 
could  not  sustain  the  load ;  when  the  mule- 
driver  took  it  off,  and  carried  it  himself,  with 
great  difficulty,  a  considerable  way.  Alexan¬ 
der  seeing  him  sinking  under  the  burthen,  and 
about  to  throw  it  on  the  ground,  cried  out, 
“Friend,  do  not  be  weary  yet:  try  and  cany 
it  to  thy  tent ;  for  it  is  all  thine.” 

3079.  HUMANITY,  Stream  of.  Doubtless,  if 
we  could  stand  —  as  so  many  brave  hearts 
have  striven  to  do  —  beside  the  fount  of  the 
Nile,  it  would  be  hard  to  think  that  little 
trickling  stream  was  actually  the  same  as  the 
great  river  of  Egypt,  and  that  it  should  grow 
and  swell  deeper  and  stronger,  receivins  the 
floods  of  heaven  and  the  tribute  of  earth,  till 
at  last  it  should  roll  in  resistless  seas  of  water, 
bearing  fertility  and  blessing  over  all  the  land. 
Hardly  could  we  bring  ourselves  to  call  that 
poor  weak  rill  the  Nile.  But  before  one  Eye 
at  least  in  the  universe  the  feeble  spring  and 
the  mighty  river  are  one.  He  sees  it  all  map¬ 
ped  out  from  its  source  in  weakness  to  its  end 
in  power.  And  can  we  never  rise  high  enough 
into  the  upper  air  of  thought  to  see  like  him 
our  human  fellow-rivers,  not  only  in  their  feeble 
struggles  through  the  rocks  and  stones  in  their 
path,  but  as  they  shall  be  hereafter,  far  away, 
perhaps  a  thousand  years  to  come,  down  cata¬ 
racts  of  death,  and  past  long  deserts  of  un¬ 
known  worlds,  —  but  as  they  shall  surely  be 
at  last,  each  flowing  on,  a  majestic  benediction 
through  the  universe,  reflecting  on  his  ever- 
swelling  bosom  the  infinite  glory  of  God  ? 

Miss  Cobbe. 

3089.  HUMANITY,  Unity  o£  Humanity  is 
a  continuous  chain,  —  one  link  fastened  to  an¬ 
other,  and  following  it,  not  as  having  in  itself 
wholly  independent  action,  but  as  being  put 
into  motion  by  the  link  that  preceded  it.  It 
is  the  majestic  march  of  the  locomotive  and 
its  train  along  the  railway  of  time.  Car)  iage 
after  carriage  passes,  one  generation  succeed¬ 
ing  another,  but  each  drawn  on  by  its  last 
predecessor;  the  coupling-chain  binding  one  to 
another  into  a  continuous  whole.  As  is  a  rail¬ 
way  train,  so  is  humanity  throughout  all  its 
generations,  —  one.  It.  Brown. 

3081.  HUMAN  NATURE,  Proverbs.  You  will 
never  make  a  crab  walk  straight  forwards. — 

Greek. - The  wolf  changes  his  coat,  but  not 

his  disposition.  —  Latin. - What  is  sucked 

in  with  the  mother’s  milk  runs  out  in  the 

shroud.  —  Spanish. - Drive  away  nature, 

and  back  it  comes  at  a  gallop.  —  French. - 

The  son  of  an  ass  brays  twice  a  day. —  Spanish. 

- What’s  bred  in  the  bone  will  never  be 

out  of  the  flesh.  English. 


360  irtnVLAJNT  NATURE. 


HXTMXLiITY. 


3082.  HUMAN  NATURE,  Studying.  A  man’s 

nature  is  best  perceived  in  privateness,  for 
there  is  no  affectation ;  in  passion,  for  that 
putteth  a  man  out  of  his  precepts ;  and  in  a 
new  case  or  experiment,  for  there  custom  leav- 
eth  him.  Lord  Bacon. 

3083.  HUMAN  NATURE,  Treachery  of.  There 

is  not  a  beast  of  the  field  but  may  trust  his  na¬ 
ture,  and  follow  it,  certain  that  it  will  lead  him 
to  the  best  of  which  he  is  capable.  But  as  for 
us,  our  only  invincible  enemy  is  our  nature : 
were  it  sound,  we  could  hold  circumstances  as 
lightly  as  Samson’s  withs ;  but  it  is  evermore 
betraying  us.  Often,  when  we  honestly  meant 
to  be  good  and  noble,  our  miserable  nature,  at 
the  first  favorable  juncture  of  circumstances, 
betrayed  us  again,  and  we  found  ourselves  fall¬ 
ing  by  our  own  hands,  and  bitterly  felt  that 
we  were  our  own  enemies.  Heal  us  at  the 
heart,  and  then  let  the  world  come  on  :  we  are 
ready  for  the  conflict.  Make  us  sound  within, 
and  we  will  stand  in  the  evil  day.  We  can 
defy  circumstances,  and  resist  the  Devil,  if  only 
our  own  breast  become  not  a  hold  of  traitors ; 
if  inclinations  silent,  subtle,  and  strong  as  na¬ 
ture,  do  not  arise  to  beguile  us  into  captivity 
to  evil.  W.  Arthur. 

3084.  HUMILIATION,  Traits  of.  Our  humilia¬ 
tions  work  out  our  most  elevated  joys.  The 
way  that  a  drop  of  rain  comes  to  sing  in  the 
leaf  that  rustles  in  the  top  of  the  tree  all  sum¬ 
mer  long  is  by  going  down  to  the  roots  first, 
and  from  thence  ascending  to  the  bough. 

Beecher. 

3085.  HUMILIATION,  Improved.  When  Rob¬ 

ert  Hall  first  appeared  to  address  an  audience 
in  public,  he  discoursed  for  a  few  minutes  with 
great  propriety  and  eloquence;  and  then  his 
ideas  all  seemed  to  desert  him,  and  he  was 
forced  to  cover  his  face  with  his  hands,  and  sit 
down  in  unutterable  confusion.  A  second  at¬ 
tempt  was  equally  unsuccessful  on  the  follow¬ 
ing  week.  “  If  this  does  not  humble  me,”  he 
remarked  on  retiring  to  his  room,  “  the  Devil 
must  have  me.”  Afterwards  it  was  often  re¬ 
marked  that  he  was  as  noted  for  his  humility 
as  for  his  great  eloquence  and  power  in  the 
pulpit.  S.  S.  Times. 

3086.  HUMILIATION,  Valley  of,  Bunyan  lo¬ 
cates  this  between  the  house  Beautiful  and  the 
hill  Difficulty.  The  descent  to  it  is  hard  to 
make ;  but  the  vale  A  self  is  one  of  great  fertili¬ 
ty  and  beauty.  Some  poor  men  dwell  here. 
Here  Christian  had  an  encounter  with  Apol- 
lyon ;  but  angels  also  are  often  met  here. 

3087.  HUMILITY,  Advantage  of.  Those  show¬ 
ers  of  grace  that  slide  off  from  the  lofty  moun¬ 
tains  rest  on  the  valleys,  and  make  them  fruit¬ 
ful.  He  giveth  grace  to  the  lowly ;  he  loves  to 
bestow  it  where  there  is  most  room  to  receive 
it,  and  most  return  of  ingenuous  and  entire 

raises  upon  the  receipt.  Such  is  the  humble 
eart ;  and,  truly,  as  much  humility  gains  much 
grace,  so  it  grows  by  it.  Leighton. 

3088.  HUMILITY,  Apostolic.  It  has  been  re¬ 
marked,  that  in  A.D.  59,  soon  after  Paul  was 
converted,  he  declared  himself  “  unworthy  to 
be  called  an  apostle.”  As  time  rolled  on,  and 


he  grew  in  grace,  in  A.D.  64,  he  cried  out,  “I 
am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints ;  ”  and  just 
before  his  martyrdom,  when  he  had  reached 
the  stature  of  a  perfect  man  in  Clu-ist,  in  A.D. 
65,  his  exclamation  was,  “  I  am  the  chief  of 
sinners.” 

3089.  HUMILITY,  Cause  for.  Could  1  bear 
to  be  the  author  of  a  treatise  which  should  be 
the  means  of  enlightening  and  converting  thou¬ 
sands,  and  be  without  the  credit  of  it,  or  see 
it  given  to  another  V  It  is  cause  enough  for 
humility  to  know  that  we  are  not  humble. 

Rev.  T.  Adam. 

3999.  HUMILITY,  Christian.  Jonathan  Ed¬ 
wards  describes  a  Christian  as  being  likoJ 
“  such  a  little  flower  as  we  see  in  the  spring  of 
the  year,  low  and  humble  on  the  ground;  open¬ 
ing  its  bosom  to  receive  the  pleasant  beams  of 
the  sun’s  glory ;  rejoicing,  as  it  were,  in  a  calm 
rapture;  diffusing  around  a  sweet  fragrance; 
standing  peacefully  and  lowly  in  the  midst  of 
other  flowers.” 

3091.  HUMILITY.  Emblem  of.  A  farmer 
went  with  his  son  into  a  wheat-field  to  see  if 
it  was  ready  for  the  harvest.  “  See,  father,” 
exclaimed  the  boy,  “  how  straight  these  stems 
hold  up  their  heads !  They  must  be  the  best 
ones.  Those  that  hang  their  heads  down  I  am 
sure  cannot  be  good  for  much.”  The  farmer 
plucked  a  stalk  of  each  kind,  and  said,  “  See 
here,  foolish  child  !  This  stalk  that  stood  so 
straight  is  light-headed,  and  almost  good  for 
nothing,  while  this  that  hung  its  head  so  mod¬ 
estly  is  full  of  the  most  beautiful  grain.” 

3992.  HUMILITY,  Enforced.  It  is  said  that 
every  child  found  begging  in  the  streets  of 
Munich  is  arrested,  and  carried  to  a  charitable 
institution.  The  moment  he  enters  the  place, 
before  he  is  washed  and  clothed  anew,  his  por¬ 
trait  is  painted  in  his  ragged  dress,  precisely 
as  he  was  found  begging.  When  his  education 
is  finished  in  the  establishment,  his  portrait  is 
given  to  him  ;  and  he  promises,  by  an  oath, 
to  keep  it  all  his  life,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
reminded  of  the  abject  condition  from  which  he 
has  been  rescued,  and  of  his  obligations  to  the 
institution  which  saved  him  from  misery,  and 
gave  him  the  means  by  which  he  might  avoid 
it  in  future. 

3993.  HUMILITY,  Examples  of.  The  wisest 
of  all  the  philosophers  made  this  profession  : 
“  This  I  know,  that  I  know  nothing.”  Ori- 
gen,  the  most  learned  of  all  the  Greek  fathers, 
made  this  confession  :  “  I  am  not  ignorant  of 
my  own  ignorance.”  And  the  most  judicious 
of  all  the  Latin  fathers  was  the  humblest; 
for,  in  his  heat  of  contention  with  Jerome,  he 
acknowledgeth  him  his  better.  Though  the 
dignity  of  a  bishop  exceed  that  of  a  priest, 
yet  Priest  Jerome  is  greater  than  Bishop  Au¬ 
gustine.  Theodosius  was  the  noblest  of  all  the 
Roman  emperors  :  his  motto  was,  “  Malo  mem- 
brum  esse  ecclesiae  quam  caput  imperii :  ”  it 
was  greater  honor  to  him  to  be  a  member  of  the 
church  than  the  head  of  the  empire.  And 
Paul,  though  nothing  inferior  to  the  chief  of 
the  apostles,  yet  was  least  in  his  own  eyes. 
Thus  it  was,  that,  like  the  sun  in  the  zenith, 


HXnVTTT  ilTY. 


HUMILITY. 


361 


they  showed  least  when  they  were  at  the  high¬ 
est;  like  vessels,  they  made  the  least  sound 
when  they  were  fullest ;  or,  like  the  deepest 
waters,  they  ran  most  silently.  In  the  weighing 
of  gold,  the  lightest  pieces  rise  up ;  but  the 
weighty  bear  down  the  scale  :  and,  surely,  they 
are  but  light  that  are  lifted  up  with  a  self-con¬ 
ceit,  but  shallow  waters  that  make  a  noise,  but 
empty  vessels  that  make  a  sound.  And  such 
are  all  they  that  are  wise  in  their  own  con¬ 
ceits,  —  such  as  think  they  can  dispute  de  omni 
scibili;  that  they  move  in  a  circle  of  knowl¬ 
edge,  when  they  know  little  or  nothing  at  all. 

Spencer. 

309i.  HUMILITY,  Exhortation  to.  I  charge 
you,  be  clothed  with  humility,  or  you  will  yet 
be  a  wandering  star,  for  whom  is  reserved  the 
blackness  of  darkness  forever.  Let  Christ  in¬ 
crease,  let  man  decrease.  Remember,  “  Moses 
wist  not  that  the  skin  of  his  face  shone.” 
Looking  at  our  own  shining  face  is  the  bane  of 
the  spiritual  life,  and  of  the  ministry.  Oh 
for  closest  communion  with  God,  till  soul  and 
body,  head  and  heart,  shine  with  divine  bril¬ 
liancy  !  But  oh  for  a  holy  ignorance  of  their 
shining  1  APCheyne. 

3095.  HUMILITY,  Feigned.  An  instance  of 
this  was  lately  mentioned  to  me  by  the  deacon 
of  a  Christian  church.  One  of  the  members 
was  indulging  freely  in  this  strain  :  “  What  a 
poor,  short-coming  creature  I  am  !  ”  IIis*nin- 
isti»r  sighed,  and  said,  “  Indeed,  you  have  long 
given  me  painful  reason  to  believe  you.” 
Whereupon  the  member,  being  taken  at  his 
wo*d,  replied  in  a  tone  of  anger,  “  Who  told 
you  any  thing  about  me  ?  I  am  as  good  as 

ou.  I  will  not  come  to  hear  you  any  more : 

will  go  somewhere  else.”  And  so  he  did. 

Dr.  R.  Newton. 

3096.  HUMILITY,  Greatness  of.  Generally 
speaking,  those  that  have  the  most  grace  and 
the  greatest  gifts,  and  are  of  the  most  useful¬ 
ness,  are  the  most  humble,  and  think  the  most 
meanly  of  themselves.  So  those  boughs  and 
oranches  of  trees  which  are  most  richly  laden 
with  fruit  bend  downwards,  and  hang  lowest. 

Dr.  Gill. 

3097.  HUMILITY,  Happiness  of.  Some  time 
since,  I  took  up  a  little  work  purporting  to  be 
the  lives  of  sundry  characters,  as  related  by 
themselves.  Two  of  these  characters  agreed 
in  remarking  that  they  were  never  happy 
until  they  ceased  striving  to  be  great  men. 
This  remark  struck  me,  as  you  know  the  most 
simple  remarks  will  strike  us,  when  Heaven 
pleases.  It  occurred  to  me  at  once  that  the  most 
of  my  sufferings  and  sorrows  were  occasioned 
by  my  unwillingness  to  be  nothing,  which  I 
am,  and  by  consequent  struggles  to  be  some¬ 
thing.  I  saw  if  I  could  but  cease  struggling, 
and  consent  to  be  any  thing  or  nothing,  just 
as  God  pleases,  I  might  be  happy.  You  will 
think  it  strange  that  I  mention  this  as  a  new 
discovery.  In  one  sense,  it  is  not  new  :  I  had 
known  it  for  years;  but  I  now  saw  it  in  a 
new  li"ht.  My  heart  saw  it,  and  consented 
to  it:  I  am  comparatively  happy.  My  dear 
brother,  if  you  can  give  up  all  desire  to  be 


great,  and  feel  heartily  willing  to  be  nothing, 
you  will  be  happy  too.  Dr.  Payson. 

3098.  HUMILITY,  Importance  of.  St.  Augus¬ 
tine,  being  asked  “  What  is  the  first  article  in 
the  Christian  religion?  ”  replied,  “  Humility.” 
—  And  what  the  second  ?  ”  —  “Humility.” 
“  And  what  the  third  ?  ”  —  “  Humility.” 

3099.  HUMILITY,  Modesty  of.  A  lady  ap¬ 

plied  to  a  celebrated  philanthropist  on  behalf 
of  an  orphan-child.  When  he  had  bidden  her 
draw  on  him  for  any  amount,  she  said,  “  As 
soon  as  the  child  is  old  enough,  I  will  teach 
him  to  thank  you.”  —  “  Stop,”  said  the  good 
man,  “  you  are  mistaken.  We  do  not  thank  the 
clouds  for  rain.  Teach  the  child  to  look  high¬ 
er,  and  to  thank  Him  who  gives  both  the 
clouds  and  the  rain.”  Bowes. 

3100.  HUMILITY,  Monkish,  A  patriarch  of 
Alexandria,  being  introduced  to  an  old  reli¬ 
gious  person  in  bis  hermitage,  asked  him  what 
he  found  to  do  in  that  desert ;  to  which  he 
answered,  “  To  judge  and  condemn  myself 
perpetually :  that  is  the  employment  of  my 
solitude.” 

3101.  HUMILITY,  in  Prayer.  “  The  London 

Times,”  in  recording  petitions  presented  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  remarked  of  one,  that  it 
was  rejected  on  the  ground  of  an  omission, — 
after  all  but  a  simple  one :  the  word  “  hum¬ 
ble  ”  was  left  out.  Say  how  many  petitions 
to  a  higher  tribunal  are  rejected  for  lack,  not, 
perhaps,  of  humility  in  the  words  employed, 
but  in  the  heart  of  the  individual  employing 
them?  Biblical  Treasury. 

3102.  HUMILITY,  Preaching.  Humility  is  a 
virtue  all  preach,  none  practise,  and  yet  every¬ 
body  is  content  to  hear.  The  master  thinks  it 
good  doctrine  for  the  servant,  the  laity  for  the 
clergy,  and  the  clergy  for  the  laity.  Selden. 

3103.  HUMILITY,  Reason  for.  We  should 
often  have  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  our  most 
brilliant  actions  if  the  world  could  see  the 
motives  from  which  they  spring. 

La  Rochefoucauld. 

3101.  HUMILITY,  True.  True  humility  calls 
no  man  master,  and  seems  to  worldly  men  to 
be  pride ;  but  it  is  only  its  deep  deference 
to  God  that  enables  it  to  set  man  in  his  own 
lowly  place.  True  humility  prefers  mercy  to 
sacrifice ;  does  good,  and  is  silent ;  bears  suf¬ 
fering,  and  is  patient ;  rises  above  schoolmen, 
priest,  and  tradition  ;  looks  to  Christ,  sits  at  his 
feet,  and  learns  only  from  him.  True  humility 
will  bid  the  priest,  the  church,  the  minister, 
and  the  schoolmen  remain,  as  Abraham  his 
servants,  at  the  bottom  of  the  mount,  while 
it  rises  to  the  loftiest  crag  of  that  mount,  and 
deals  alone  with  God,  and  holds  communion 
with  him  only.  True  humility  counts  holiness 
far  more  splendid  than  robes  and  phylacteries, 
prefers  beneficence  to  ceremony,  lives  a  divine 
life,  and  is  not  satisfied  with  merely  talking 
about  it,  and  praising  it.  It  wears  not  a  hair¬ 
cloth  shirt,  nor  whines  when  it  speaks,  nor  puts 
on  a  sour  and  repulsive  countenance,  nor  fan¬ 
cies  that  God  can  only  be  approached,  and 
religion  spoken  of,  in  sepulchral  tones.  But 
it  does  not  seem  to  men  to  fast :  it  fasts  before 


362 


HUNGRY. 


HXTSB^HSTT) 


God.  There  is  nothing  of  display  an  3  parade 
that  would  indicate  it  was  of  earth ;  every  thing 
to  prove  that  it  is  implanted  within  from  its 
Father  in  heaven.  The  kingdom  of  God  is 
not  meat  nor  drink  nor  phylactery  nor  robe 
nor  rite  nor  ceremony,  nor  outward  appear¬ 
ance,  nor  peculiar  tone,  nor  strange  conduct ; 
but  it  is  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Do  not  affect  humility.  The 
moment  humility  is  spoken  of  by  him  that  has 
it,  that  moment  it  is  gone.  It  is  like  those 
delicate  things  which  dissolve  the  instant  they 
are  touched.  You  must  seek  out  the  violet : 
it  does  not,  like  the  poppy,  thrust  itself  upon 
your  notice.  The  moment  humility  tells  you  “  I 
am  here,”  there  is  an  end  to  it.  Dr.  Cumming. 

3105.  HUNGRY,  Feeding  the.  It  was  the  cus¬ 
tom  of  St.  Gregory,  when  he  became  pope,  to 
entertain  every  evening  at  his  own  table  twelve 
poor  men,  in  remembrance  of  the  number  of 
our  Lord’s  apostles.  One  night,  as  he  sat  at 
supper  with  his  guests,  he  saw,  to  his  surprise, 
not  twelve,  but  thirteen,  seated  at  his  table ; 
and  he  called  to  his  steward,  and  said  to  him, 
“Did  I  not  command  thee  to  invite  twelve? 
and,  behold  !  there  are  thirteen.”  And  the 
steward  told  them  over,  and  replied,  “  Holy 
father,  there  are  surely  twelve  only.”  And 
Gregory  held  his  peace ;  and,  after  the  meal, 
he  called  forth  the  unbidden  guest,  and  asked 
him,  “  Who  art  thou  V  ”  And  he  replied,  “  I 
am  the  poor  man  whom  thou  didst  formerly 
relieve;  but  my  name  is  ‘The  Wonderful:’ 
and  through  me  thou  shalt  obtain  whatever 
thou  shalt  ask  of  God.”  Then  Gregory  knew 
that  he  had  entertained  an  angel ;  or,  accord¬ 
ing  to  another  version  of  the  story,  our  Lord 
himself. 

3106.  HUSBAND,  Choice  of  a.  An  Athenian 
who  was  hesitating  whether  to  give  his  daugh¬ 
ter  in  marriage  to  a  man  of  worth  with  a  small 
fortune,  or  to  a  rich  man  who  had  no  other 
recommendation,  went  to  consult  Themistocles 
on  the  subject.  “  1  would  bestow  my  daughter,” 
said  Themistocles,  “  upon  a  man  without  money 
rather  than  upon  money  without  a  man.” 

Percy. 

3107.  HUSBAND,  Devoted.  The  wife  of  a  pious 
man  told  him,  one  day,  that,  if  he  did  not  give 
over  running  after  the  missionaries,  she  would 
certainly  leave  him.  Finding  that  he  continued 
obstinate,  she  one  day  sent  for  him  from  the 
harvest-field,  and  informed  him  that  she  was 
about  to  go ;  and  that,  before  she  left  the  house, 
she  wished  some  articles  to  be  divided.  “No, 
no  !  ”  said  the  husband.  “  You  have  been,  upon 
the  whole,  a  good  wife  to  me.  If  you  will  leave 
me,  though  the  thought  greatly  distresses  me, 
you  must  take  the  whole  with  you :  you  well 
deserve  it  all.”  The  same  answer  was  given 
to  a  similar  proposal  respecting  some  other 
articles.  At  last  the  wife  said,  “  So  you  wish 
me  to  leave  you?”  —  “Far  from  that,”  said 
the  husband.  “  I  will  do  any  thing  but  sin,  to 
make  you  stay;  but,  if  you  will  go,  I  wish 

ou  to  go  in  comfort.”  —  “  Then,”  said  she,  “  you 
ave  overcome  me  by  your  kindness  :  I  will 
never  leave  you.” 


3108.  HUSBAND,  How  to  treat  a.  It  is  related 
in  the  life  of  William  Hutton,  that  a  country¬ 
woman  called  upon  him,  one  day,  and  told  him 
that  her  husband  behaved  unkindly  to  her, 
and  sought  other  company,  often  passing  his 
evenings  from  home,  which  made  her  feel  very 
unhappy ;  and,  knowing  Mr.  Hutton  to  be  a  wise 
man,  she  thought  he  might  be  able  to  tell  her 
how  she  should  manage  to  cure  her  husband. 
“  The  remedy  is  a  simple  one,”  said  he ;  “  but  I 
have  never  known  it  to  fail.  Always  treat  your 
husband  with  a  smile.”  The  woman  expressed 
her  thanks,  dropped  a  courtesy,  and  went  away. 
A  few  months  afterwards,  she  waited  on  Mr. 
Hutton  with  a  couple  of  fine  fowls,  which  she 
begged  him  to  accept.  She  told  him,  while 
a  tear  of  joy  and  gratitude  glistened  in  her 
eye,  that  she  had  followed  his  advice ;  and 
her  husband  was  cured.  He  no  longer  sought 
the  company  of  others,  but  treated  her  with 
constant  love  and  kindness. 

3109.  HUSBAND,  Meaning  of.  It  means  liter¬ 
ally  “  the  band  of  the  house,”  the  support  of 
it,  the  person  who  keeps  it  together,  as  a  band 
keeps  together  a  sheaf  of  corn.  There  are 
many  married  men  who  are  not  husbands,  be¬ 
cause  they  are  not  the  band  of  the  house. 
Truly,  in  many  cases,  the  wife  is  the  husband  ; 
for  oftentimes  it  is  she,  who,  by  her  prudence 
and  thrift  and  economy,  keeps  the  house  to¬ 
gether.  The  married  man  who  by  his  dis¬ 
solute  habits  strips  his  house  of  all  comfort 
is  not  a  husband.  In  a  legal  sense,  he  is,  but 
in  no  other :  for  he  is  not  a  house-band :  in¬ 
stead  of  keeping  them  together,  he  scatters 
them  among  the  pawnbrokers. 

3110.  HUSBAND,  A  Mercenary.  Dr.  Franklin, 
with  a  party  of  his  friends,  was  overtaken  by 
bad  weather  on  one  of  the  West-Indian  is¬ 
lands  (which  they  had  put  into  on  a  voyage  to 
Europe),  and  took  shelter  in  a  public-house 
kept  by  a  foreigner.  Upon  their  requesting 
that  more  wood  might  be  brought  and  put  on 
the  fire,  the  inhuman  brute  of  a  landlord  or¬ 
dered  his  sickly  wife  to  go  out  in  the  storm 
and  bring  it,  while  a  young  sturdy  negro-wench 
stood  by  doing  nothing.  AVhen  asked  why 
he  did  not  send  the  girl  rather  than  his  wife, 
he  replied,  “  That  wench  is  worth  four  hundred 
dollars ;  and,  if  she  should  catch  cold  and  die, 
it  would  be  a  great  loss  to  me  :  but,  if  my  wife 
dies,  I  can  get  another,  and  perhaps  money 
into  the  bargain.” 

3111.  HUSBAND,  Selecting  a.  A  man,  ask¬ 
ing  how  it  happened  that  many  beautiful  ladies 
took  up  with  but  indifferent  husbands  after 
many  fine  offers,  was  thus  answered  by  a 
young  lady.  A  young  friend  of  hers,  during 
a  walk,  requested  her  to  go  into  a  eanebrake, 
and  there  get  him  the  handsomest  reed :  she 
must  get  it  in  once  going  through,  without 
turning.  She  went,  and,  in  coming  out,  brought 
him  quite  a  mean  reed.  When  he  asked  if 
that  was  the  handsomest  one  she  saw,  “  Oh, 
no  !  ”  replied  she  :  “  I  saw  many  finer  as  I  went 
along  ;  but  I  kept  on  in  hopes  of  a  much  better, 
until  I  had  gotten  nearly  through ;  and  then 
was  obliged  to  select  the  best  that  was  left.” 


HYPOCRISY. 


1 1  JEA» 


363 


3112.  HYPOCRISY,  Branded.  An  ill  man  is 

always  ill ;  but  he  is  then  worst  of  all  when 
he  pretends  to  be  a  saint.  Lord  Bacon. 

3113.  HYPOCRISY,  Discovered,  Ottocar, 

King  of  Bohemia,  refused  to  do  homage  to 
Rodolplius  I.,  till  at  last,  chastised  with  war, 
he  was  content  to  do  him  homage  privately 
in  a  tent ;  which  tent  was  so  contrived  by  the 
emperor’s  servants,  that,  by  drawing  a  cord,  all 
was  taken  away,  and  so  Ottocar  presented  on 
his  knees,  doing  his  homage,  to  the  view  of 
three  armies  then  in  the  field.  Tints  God  at 
last  shall  uncase  the  closest  dissembler  to  the 
sight  of  men,  angels,  and  devils ;  having  re¬ 
moved  all  veils  and  pretences  of  religion  and 
piety.  Spencer. 

3114.  HYPOCRISY,  Emblem  of.  A  very  cap¬ 
ital  painter  in  London  exhibited  a  piece 
representing  a  friar  habited  in  his  canonicals. 
View  the  painting  at  a  distance,  and  you 
would  think  the  friar  to  be  in  a  praying  at¬ 
titude.  His  hands  are  clasped  together,  and 
held  horizontally  to  his  breast ;  his  eyes  meekly 
demissed,  like  those  of  the  publican  in  the 
gospel ;  and  the  good  man  appears  to  be  quite 
absorbed  in  humble  adoration  and  devout  rec¬ 
ollection.  But  take  a  nearer  survey,  and 
the  deception  vanishes.  The  book  which 
seemed  to  be  before  him  is  discovered  to  be 
a  punchbowl,  into  which  the  wretch  is  all  the 
while,  in  reality,  only  squeezing  a  lemon.  How 
lively  a  representation  of  a  hypocrite  I  Bowes. 

3115.  HYPOCRISY,  Proverbs.  Where  God 
has  his  church,  the  Devil  will  have  his  chapel. 
The  Devil  can  quote  Scripture  for  his  pur¬ 
pose.  When  the  fox  preaches,  beware  of  the 

geese.  —  English. - The  Devil  lurks  behind 

the  cross.  Many  kiss  the  hands  they  would 

feign  see  chopped  off’.  —  Spanish. - Oh  the 

slyness  of  sin,  that  puts  an  angel  before  every 

Devil  1  —  German. - When  the  Devil  says 

his  paternosters,  he  wants  to  cheat  you. 
Nothing  is  more  like  an  honest  man  than  a 

rogue.  —  French. - All  are  not  saints  who 

go  to  church. 

3116.  HYPOCRISY,  Successful.  A  clergyman 
of  the  Church  of  England  was  left  by  the 
death  of  his  relatives  the  last  of  his  family  ; 
and,  resolving  to  emigrate  to  America,  took 
ship  with  his  worldly  effects,  to  end  his  days 
with  preaching  the  gospel  here.  A  convict, 
leaving  his  country  for  his  country’s  good,  in 
the  same  ship,  concealing  his  true  character, 
became  intimate  with  the  clergyman.  On  the 
passage,  however,  the  latter  took  sick,  was 
nursed  assiduously  by  the  other,  and,  dying, 
left  all  his  effects,  including  his  sermons, 
letters,  and  testimonials,  to  the  unknown 
nurse.  Upon  arriving  safe  in  this  country, 
the  convict  assumed  the  name  of  t  he  deceased, 
and,  presenting  the  letters  and  credentials  of 
the  departed  to  the  bishop,  was  invited  to 

reach ;  which  he  did,  using  one  of  the  sermons 

e  had  inherited,  .and  was  called  to  a  church, 
where  he  officiated  acceptably  for  several  years. 
The  truth  would  not  have  been  discovered, 
had  not  the  ■wretched  impostor  divulged  it  on 
his  death-bed. 


3117.  HYPOCRISY,  Universal.  The  Emper¬ 
or  Frederick  the  Third,  when  one  said  untu 
him  he  would  go  and  find  some  place  where 
no  hypocrites  inhabited,  told  him  he  must 
travel,  then,  far  enough  beyond  the  Sauro- 
matse,  or  the  Frozen  Ocean  ;  for  yet,  when 
he  came  there,  he  should  find  a  hypocrite  if 
he  found  himself  there.  And  it  is  true  that 
every  man  is  a  hypocrite.  Hypocrisy  is  a 
lesson  that  every  man  readily  takes  in.  It 
continues  with  age,  it  appears  with  infancy  : 
the  wise  and  learned  practise  it ;  the  duller 
and  more  rude  attain  unto  it.  All  are  not 
fit  for  the  wars  :  learning  must  have  the 
picked  and  choicest  wits ;  arts  must  have 
leisure  and  pains  :  but  all  sorts  are  apt 
enough,  and  thrive  ir.  the  mystery  of  dissim¬ 
ulation.  The  whole  throng  of  mankind, 
the  whole  world,  is  but  a  shop  of  counter¬ 
feit  wares,  —  a  theatre  of  hypocritical  dis¬ 
guises.  Grace  is  the  only  antidote. 

Spencer. 

311§.  HYPOCRITE,  Goodness  of  the.  Lapi¬ 
daries  tell  us  of  the  Chelydonian  stone,  that  it 
will  retain  its  virtue  and  lustre  no  longer  than 
it  is  enclosed  in  gold.  A  fit  emblem  of  the 
hypocrite,  who  is  only  good  while  he  is  en¬ 
closed  in  golden  prosperity,  safety,  and  fe¬ 
licity.  T.  Brooks. 

3119.  HYPOCRITE,  Simile  of  the.  There  is 

mention  made  of  Parrliasius  and  Zeuxis,  two 
excellent  painters,  that,  being  upon  a  trial  of 
their  skill  how  to  excel  each  other  in  the  mat¬ 
ter  of  their  art,  Zeuxis  drew  out  a  bunch  of 
grapes  so  fair  anil  well  colored,  that  the  birds 
came  and  pecked  at  them,  to  the  great  admi¬ 
ration  of  the  beholders.  Parrhasius  there¬ 
upon  falls  to  his  pencil,  and  makes  upon  his 
table  the  resemblance  of  a  white  sheet,  tacked 
up  with  four  nails,  one  at  each  corner,  so  arti¬ 
ficially,  that,  being  offered  to  view,  Zeuxis 
bade  him  take  away  the  sheet,  that  they 
might  see  the  excellency  of  his'  art  that  lay 
behind  it.  Whereupon  it  was  adjudged  that 
Parrhasius  had  gone  beyond  him  in  so  doing  : 
and  for  good  reason  too ;  for  the  one  had  only 
deceived  silly  birds,  but  the  other  had  put  a 
trick  upon  a  knowing  artist  himself.  And  so 
it  is  with  the  close,  reserved  hypocrite ;  such  is 
his  subtlety,  that  he  doth  not  only  delude  silly 
birds,  poor  ignorant  souls,  but  knowing  men, 
experienced  Christians,  and,  if  it  were  possi¬ 
ble,  the  very  elect  themselves.  Spencer. 

3120.  HYPOCRITE,  Unmasked.  Poor  soul  I 
remember,  though  like  a  sheep  thou  art  laid 
in  thy  grave,  Death  will  find  thee  out.  He 
will  say  to  thee,  “  Off  with  thy  mask,  man  1 
away  with  all  thy  robes  !  Up  with  that 
whitewashed  sepulchre  !  Take  off  that  green 
turf:  let  the  worms  be  seen!  Out  with  the 
body  :  let  us  see  the  reeking  corruption  !  ”  And 
what  wilt  thou  say  when  thine  abominably 
corrupt  and  filthy  heart  shall  be  opened  be¬ 
fore  the  sun,  and  men  and  angels  hear  thy 
lies  and  hypocrisies  laid  bare  before  them? 
Wilt  thou  play  the  hypocrite  then  ?  Spurgeon. 

3121.  IDEA,  One.  It  is  said  that  Luther 
was  a  man  of  one  idea ;  and  that  idea,  Jesus 


364 


1 1  )ICA> 


IDLENESS. 


But  it  does  not  mean,  I  suppose,  that  he  had 
no  other  ideas  in  his  mind.  This  would  be 
false  io  fact.  It  means,  I  conceive,  that  Jesus 
was  the  one  idea  of  his  mind,  from  which  all 
others  emanated  ;  the  same  as  the  trunk  of  a 
tree  is  one,  but  gives  life  and  growth  to  scores 
of  branches,  hundreds  and  thousands  of  buds 
and  leaves;  just  as  a  great  tradesman  has  one 
idea,  his  trade,  but  that  divides  and  works  out 
into  a  thousand  ideas  of  ways  and  means  of 
promoting  his  trade.  In  this  sense,  Paul, 
Wesley,  Howard,  Whitefield,  Wellington,  &c., 
were  men  of  one  idea.  He  who  wishes  to 
fulfil  his  mission  in  this  world  must  be  a  man 
of  one  idea.  Bate. 

3122.  IDEA,  Property  in  an.  I  like  a  man  to 
have  an  idea  :  it  is  a  great  property.  Some 
people  seem  as  if  they  had  no  ideas  at  all ; 
but  I  like  a  man  of  one  idea.  What  is  a  man 
of  one  idea?  Why,  he  is  a  man  in  whom  an 
idea  takes  possession  of  his  skull,  and  of  both 
hemispheres  of  his  brain;  of  the  frontal  re¬ 
gion,  the  back  region,  and  the  lateral  region ; 
and  the  idea  walks  up  and  down  in  his  brain, 
from  hemisphere  to  hemisphere,  from  convo¬ 
lution  to  convolution ;  and  thus  the  man  is  lit¬ 
erally  a  man  of  one  idea.  And  when  the  one 
idea  is,  that  knowledge  shall  be  everywhere 
and  ignorance  nowhere,  order  everywhere  and 
disorder  nowhere,  liberty  everywhere  and  sla¬ 
very  nowhere;  when  that  one  idea  is,  that 
truth  shall  be  everywhere  and  falsehood  no¬ 
where,  love  everywhere  and  hatred  nowhere, 
concord  everywhere  and  discord  nowhere, 
Christ  everywhere  and  Satan  nowhere  on 
the  earth  at  all,  —  that  is  a  grand  idea. 

Dr.  Beaumont. 

3123.  IDEAS,  Association  of.  The  law  of 
association  of  ideas  is  well  known.  Suddenly, 
when  far  away  from  the  scenes  and  events  of 
former  years,  some  secret,  invisible,  and  mys¬ 
terious  suggestion  makes  the  past  again  a  liv¬ 
ing  reality.  We  know  not  how  the  suggestion 
is  made.  No  trace  of  the  connecting  link  can 
be  found  ;  but  it  reveals  a  wonderful  power  in 
our  nature.  Through  it  we  are  hurried  back 
to  some  long-forgotten  thought  or  word  or 
deed,  and  made  to  confront  it,  after  the  lapse 
of  many  years,  in  some  new  form,  or,  till  then, 
unperceived  relation.  Very  simple  indeed  is 
the  process,  but  most  remarkable  and  some¬ 
times  terrific  the  results.  The  means  by 
which  it  is  effected  may  be  exceedingly  in¬ 
significant.  A  change  of  wind,  the  aspect  of 
a  flower,  the  position  of  the  clouds,  a  peculiar 
tone  of  voice,  the  expression  of  a  counte¬ 
nance,  a  single  word,  —  any  one  of  these  may 
be  quite  sufficient  for  the  purpose ;  but  at 
the  merest  suggestive  touch,  as  if  by  en¬ 
chantment,  the  door  of  the  past  will  fly 
open,  and  the  deed  with  its  attendant  cir¬ 
cumstances  stand  revealed  in  solemn  reality. 

Dr.  Thomas. 

3124.  IDEAS,  Striking.  Many  things  may 
descend  from  the  sky  of  truth  without  deeply 
striking  and  interesting  men ;  as,  from  the  sky, 
rain  and  snow  may  descend  without  exciting 
ardent  attention  :  it  must  be  large  hail-stones, 


the  sound  of  thunder,  torrent,  rain,  and  the 
ligntning-flash ;  analogous  to  these  must  be 
the  ideas  and  propositions  which  strike  men’s 
minds.  J.  Foster. 

3125.  IDENTITY,  Conscious.  The  child,  the 

savage,  the  philosopher,  are  alike  certain  of 
the  sameness  of  their  bodies  at  different  periods 
of  their  lives.  We  are  no  more  called  upon  to 
explain  it  before  we  believe  it,  than  we  are  to 
explain  anv  other  of  the  simple  data  of  con¬ 
sciousness.  Hodge. 

3126.  IDLENESS,  Busy.  Examples  of  this 
are  the  Alpine  shepherd  who  spent  fifteen 
years  in  learning  to  balance  a  pole  on  his 
chin ;  the  Russian  who  built  a  magnificent  ice- 
palace,  at  great  cost,  only  to  dissolve  after  a 
night’s  revel ;  the  king  who  employed  himself 
in  hunting  through  his  kingdom  for  a  white 
mouse  with  green  eyes  ;  the  man  who  pursues 
his  business  to  the  neglect  of  the  interests  of  his 
soul. 

3127.  IDLENESS,  Cured.  While  Pisistratus, 
the  Grecian  general,  was  walking  through  his 
fields,  several  beggars  implored  his  charity. 
“  If  you  want  beasts  to  plough  your  land,”  said 
he,  “  I  will  lend  you  some  ;  if  you  want  land, 
I  will  give  you  some ;  if  you  want  seed  to  sow 
your  land,  I  will  give  you  some :  but  I  will  en¬ 
courage  none  in  idleness.”  This  treatment 
freed  his  dominions  of  beggars. 

3128.  IDLENESS,  Danger  of.  Rather  do  what 

is  nothing  to  the  purpose  than  be  idle,  that 
the  Devil  may  find  thee  doing.  The  bird 
that  sits  is  easily  shot,  when  fliers  scape  the 
fowler.  Idleness  is  the  Dead  Sea  that  swallows 
all  the  virtues,  and  the  self-made  sepulchre  of 
a  living  man.  Quarles. 

3129.  IDLENESS,  Degradation  of.  In  such  a 

world  as  ours,  the  idle  man  is  not  so  much 
a  biped  as  a  bivalve ;  and  the  wealth  which 
breeds  idleness,  of  which  the  English  peer¬ 
age  is  an  example,  and  of  which  we  are  begin¬ 
ning  to  abound  in  specimens  in  this  country, 
is  only  a  sort  of  human  oyster-bed,  where 
heirs  and  heiresses  are  planted,  to  spend  a 
contemptible  life  of  slothfulness  in  growing 
plump  and  succulent  for  the  grave-worms’ 
banquet.  II.  Mann. 

3130.  IDLENESS,  Evil  of.  Evil  thoughts 
intrude  in  an  unemployed  mind  as  naturally  as 
worms  are  generated  in  a  stagnant  pool. 

From  the  Latin. 

3131.  IDLENESS,  Extreme.  A  favorite  illus¬ 
tration  among  the  Arabs  of  extreme  idleness 
is  the  man  that  would  not  turn  his  head  over 
on  his  pillow,  though  the  muddy  water  leaking 
through  the  roof  fell  plump  into  his  eye. 

Dr.  Thomson. 

3132.  IDLENESS,  Influence  of.  In  a  town  of 
lazy  men,  I  should  expect  to  find  crazy  houses, 
shingles  and  weather-boards  knocked  off ;  doors 
hingeless,  and  all  a-creak ;  windows  stuffed  with 
rags,  hats,  or  pillows.  Instead  of  flowers'in 
summer,  and  warmth  in  winter,  every  side  of 
the  house  would  swarm  with  vermin  in  the 
hot  weather,  and  with  starveling  pigs  in  cold. 
Fences  would  be  curiosities  of  lazy  con¬ 
trivance  ;  and  gates  hung  with  ropes,  or  lying 


ror/rcrNTESS. 


IDOLATRY. 


365 


flat  in  the  mud.  Lank  cattle  would  follow 
every  loaded  wagon,  supplicating  a  morsel, 
with  famine  in  their  looks.  Children  would 
be  ragged,  dirty,  saucy ;  the  schoolhouse  emp¬ 
ty  ;  the  jail  full ;  the  church  silent ;  the  grog¬ 
shops  noisy ;  and  the  carpenter,  the  saddler, 
and  the  blacksmith  would  do  their  principal 
work  at  the  taverns.  Beecher. 

3133.  IDLENESS,  Lnxnrions.  Idleness  is 

very  dangerous  to  those  that  are  rich,  and  feel 
no  want  in  this  life ;  for,  while  they  give  them¬ 
selves  to  it,  voluptuousness  overcomes  reason, 
and  they  are  snared  in  the  deadly  traps  and 
deceits  of  the  world,  and  are  poisoned  with 
carnal  pleasures  and  fleshly  delights,  which  are 
enjoyable  for  a  little  while,  but  at  length  leave 
them  to  shame  and  confusion.  Cawdray. 

3134.  IDLENESS,  Mental.  Much  bending 
breaks  the  bow  ;  much  unbending,  the  mind. 

Lord  Bacon. 

3133.  IDLENESS,  Parable  of.  Among  the  disci- 

{les  of  Hillel,  the  wise  teacher  of  the  sons  of 
srael,  was  one  named  Sabotli,  who  gave  him¬ 
self  up  to  idleness.  Hillel  was  grieved,  and  re¬ 
solved  to  cure  him  of  his  fault.  He  took  him 
to  the  Valley  of  Iiinnoin,  by  Jerusalem,  where 
was  a  standing  pool  full  of  snakes  and  vermin, 
and  covered  with  muddy  weeds.  “  Here,” 
said  Hillel,  “  let  us  rest.”  —  “  Not  here,”  said 
the  youth.  “  Dost  thou  not  perceive  what 
poisonous  vapors  it  exhales  ?  ”  —  “  Thou  art 
right,  my  son :  this  bog  is  like  the  soul  of  a 
slothful  man.”  Hillel  then  took  the  youth  to 
a  waste  field  producing  thorns  and  thistles. 
“  This,”  he  said,  “  has  good  soil  to  produce  all 
that  is  good  and  pleasant ;  but  it  is  forgotten 
and  neglected.  A  little  while  ago,  thou  didst 
see  the  soul :  now  behold  the  life  of  an  idle 
man.”  Saboth  was  so  impressed,  that  he  began 
to  lead  a  new  life.  Then  Hillel  took  him  into 
a  fertile  valley,  by  the  side  of  a  clear  brook, 
which  flowed  meandering  between  fruitful 
trees,  flowery  meadows,  and  shady  shrubberies, 
and  said,  “  This  is  the  picture  of  thy  new,  in¬ 
dustrious  life.  Nature,  which  warned  thee, 
will  now  reward  thee.  Her  beauty  and  grace 
can  only  give  joy  to  him  who  sees  in  her  lile 
a  picture  of  his  own.”  Krummacher. 

3136.  IDLENESS,  Proverbs.  No  pains,  no 
gains.  No  sweat,  no  sweet.  No  mill,  no  meal. 
An  idle  brain  is  the  Devil’s  workshop.  —  Eng¬ 
lish.  - He  that  would  eat  the  kernel  maun 

crack  the  nut.  —  Scotch. 

313?.  IDLENESS,  Punished.  Idleness  was  a 
criminal  offence  at  Athens  ;  and  should  be  so 
regarded  everywhere,  since  “  drones  suck  not 
eagles’  blood,  but  rob  bee-hives.”  Plutarch, 
in  his  life  of  Lycurgus,  tells  us  of  a  classic 
“loafer”  who  was  one  day  fined  for  this  of¬ 
fence,  and  who  was  greatly  condoled  by  a 
brother-idler  as  having  been  condemned  for 
keeping  up  his  dignity.  E.  L.  Magoon. 

3138.  IDLENESS,  Punishment  oh  In  a  work- 
house  at  Hamburg,  idlers  are  punished  by 
being  suspended  in  a  basket  above  the  tables, 
so  that  they  can  see  and  smell  the  things  pro¬ 
vided  for  the  industrious,  but  are  not  allowed 
to  taste  them. 


3139.  IDLENESS,  Remedy  for.  A  listless 
youth  approached  some  fishermen,  expressing 
a  wish  for  a  basket  of  fish.  An  old  fisherman 
advised  him  to  cast  a  line  for  himself.  He  did 
so,  and  soon  found  his  wish  gratified. 

3140.  IDLENESS,  Sight-Seeing.  Pythagoras, 

being  asked  what  he  was,  answered,  that  if 
Hiero  were  ever  at  the  Olympian  games,  he 
knew  the  manner,  —  that  some  came  to  try  their 
fortune  for  the  prizes,  and  some  came  as  mer¬ 
chants  to  utter  their  commodities,  and  some 
came  to  make  good  cheer  and  meet  their 
friends,  and  some  came  to  look  on ;  and  that 
he  was  one  of  them  that  came  to  look  on. 
But  men  must  know,  that,  in  this  theatre  of 
man’s  life,  it  is  reserved  only  for  God  and 
angels  to  be  lookers-on.  Lord  Bacon. 

3141.  IDLENESS,  Sin  o£  Idleness  is  the 
bane  of  body  and  mind ;  the  nurse  of  naughti¬ 
ness  ;  the  step-mother  of  discipline  ;  one  of  the 
seven  deadly  sins;  the  cushion  upon  which  the 
Devil  chiefly  reposes ;  a  great  cause  not  only  of 
melancholy,  but  of  many  other  diseases  :  for  the 
mind  is  naturally  active  ;  and,  if  it  be  not  occu¬ 
pied  about  some  honest  business,  it  rushes  into 
mischief,  or  sinks  into  melancholy.  Burton. 

3149.  IDLENESS,  Tax  of.  It  would  be  thought 
a  hard  government  that  should  tax  its  people 
one-tentli  part  of  their  time,  to  be  employed 
in  its  service;  but  idleness  taxes  many  of  us 
much  more.  Sloth,  by  bringing  on  disease, 
absolutely  shortens  life.  Sloth,  like  rust,  con¬ 
sumes  faster  than  labor  wears ;  while  the  used 
key  is  always  bright.  How  much  more  time 
than  is  necessary  do  we  spend  in  sleep,  forget¬ 
ting  that  the  sleeping  fox  catches  no  poultry, 
and  there  will  be  sleeping  enough  in  the  grave  1 

Franklin. 

3143.  IDLENESS,  Testimonies  against.  Idle¬ 
ness  is  the  mother  of  many  wanton  children. 
They  that  do  nothing  are  in  the  ready  way  to 

do  worse  than  nothing.  —  Mason. - Prefer 

diligence  before  idleness,  unless  you  esteem 

rust  above  brightness.  — Plato. - He  is  not 

only  idle  who  does  nothing,  but  he  is  idle  who 

might  be  better  employed.  —  Socrates. - 

What  a  folly  is  it  to  dread  the  thought  of 
throwing  away  life  at  once,  and  yet  have  no 
regard  to  throwing  it  away  by  parcels  and 
piecemeal !  Ilowe. 

31144.  IDOLATRY,  Christian.  Idolatry  1  —  you 
cannot  find  any  more  gross,  any  more  cruel,  on 
the  broad  earth,  than  within  the  area  of  a 
mile  around  this  pulpit.  Dark  minds,  from 
which  God  is  obscured  ;  deluded  souls,  whose 
fetish  is  the  dice-box  or  the  bottle ;  apathetic 
spirits,  steeped  in  sensual  abomination,  un¬ 
moved  by  a  moral  ripple,  soaking  in  the  swamp 
of  animal  vitality ;  false  gods,  more  hideous, 
more  awful,  than  Moloch  or  Baal,  worshipped 
with  shrieks,  worshipped  with  curses,  with  the 
hearthstone  for  the  bloody  altar,  and  the 
drunken  husband  for  the  immolating  priest^ 
and  women  and  children  for  the  victims. 

Dr.  Chapin. 

3145.  IDOLATRY,  in  the  Heart.  Travellers 
tell  us  that  there  is  a  tribe  in  Africa  so  given 
to  superstition,  that  they  fill  their  huts  and 


366 


IDOLATRY. 


IGNORANCE. 


hovels  with  so  many  idols,  that  they  do  not 
even  leave  room  for  their  families.  How  many 
men  there  are  who  fill  their  hearts  with  the 
idols  of  sin,  so  that  there  is  no  room  for  the 
living  God,  or  for  any  of  his  holy  principles  1 

Bate. 

3146.  IDOLATRY,  Heathen.  A  singular  phe¬ 
nomenon,  known  as  the  Spectre  of  the  Brocken, 
is  seen  on  a  certain  mountain  in  Germany. 
The  traveller  who  at  dawn  stands  on  the  top¬ 
most  ridge  beholds  a  colossal  shadowy  spectre, 
moving  on  the  summits  of  the  distant  hills. 
But,  in  fact,  it  is  only  his  own  shadow  project¬ 
ed  upon  the  morning  mists  by  the  rising  sun  ; 
and  it  imitates,  of  course,  every  movement  of 
its  creator.  So  heathen  nations  have  mistaken 
their  own  image  for  Deity.  Their  gods  dis¬ 
play  human  frailties  and  passions  and  scanty 
virtues,  projected  and  magnified  upon  the 
heavens,  just  as  the  small  figures  on  the  slide 
of  a  magic-lantern  are  projected,  magnified, 
and  illuminated  upon  a  white  sheet. 

3147.  IDOLATRY,  Prevention  of.  I  have  a 
comely  fruit-tree  in  the  summer  season,  with 
the  branches  of  it  promising  plenteous  fruit. 
The  stock  was  surrounded  with  seven  or  eight 
little  shoots  of  different  sizes,  that  grew  up 
from  the  root  at  a  small  distance,  and  seemed 
to  compose  a  beautiful  defence  and  ornament 
for  the  mother-tree.  But  the  gardener,  who 
espied  their  growth,  knew  the  danger  :  he  cut 
down  these  tender  suckers  one  after  another, 
and  laid  them  in  the  dust.  I  pitied  them  in 
my  heart,  and  said,  “  How  pretty  were  those 

oung  standards  !  how  much  like  their  parent  1 

ow  elegantly  clothed  with  the  raiment  of 
summer  1  And  each  of  them  might  have 
grown  to  a  fruitful  tree.”  But  they  stood  so 
near  as  to  endanger  the  stock  :  they  drew 
away  the  sap,  the  heart  and  strength  of  it,  so 
far  as  to  injure  the  fruit,  and  darken  the  hope¬ 
ful  prospect  of  autumn.  The  pruning-knife 
appeared  unkind  indeed  :  but  the  gardener  was 
wise  ;  for  the  tree  flourished  more  sensibly,  the 
fruit  quickly  grew  fair  and  large,  and  the  in¬ 
gathering  at  last  was  plenteous  and  joyful. 

Dr.  Watts. 

3148.  IDOLATRY,  Snake-Worship.  A  remark¬ 
able  instance  of  reptile  idolatry  is  found  in 
Western  Africa.  Near  a  large  town  stands  a 
big  house  composed  of  stone  walls  and  thatched 
roof,  and  kept  in  repair  for  the  sacred  snakes. 
Across  the  upper  part  of  the  house  is  fixed  a 
number  of  poles  for  the  special  accommodation 
of  the  serpents ;  and  here  are  hundreds  of  them, 
of  various  sorts  and  sizes,  asleep,  looking  like  a 
mass  of  ropes  in  a  sailmaker’s  shop.  Every 
day  they  are  carefully  fed  by  the  natives  with 
live  fowls  and  milk.  They  have  become  per¬ 
fectly  tame.  If  they  choose  to  leave  the  build¬ 
ing,  and  crawl  about,  no  one  must  molest  them  : 
he  would  doit  at  his  peril.  On  walking^long 
the  road,  one  was  seen  in  motion,  making  for 
the  town.  All  the  people  at  once  stopped,  and 
implored  it  in  the  humblest  manner  to  let 
them  go  past.  Sometimes,  when  pressed  by 
hunger,  they  go  into  the  rooms  of  their  wor¬ 
shippers.  Not  long  since,  a  huge  boa  entered 


a  kitchen,  and  seized  an  infant  which  was  play¬ 
ing  on  the  floor.  The  mother  rushed  in  at  its 
cry,  and  beheld  it  wrapped  in  the  fatal  coil. 
But  she  durst  not  interfere  to  get  it  away  :  it 
was  her  god  ;  and  she  could  only  beseech  him 
not  to  eat  her  child  till  it  was  quite  dead. 

3349.  IDOLS,  Best  Use  of.  When  the  Eng¬ 
lish  captured  Rangoon,  Lieut.  Havelock  estab¬ 
lished  a  prayer-meeting  in  a  famous  heathen 
temple,  in  a  room  filled  with  images  of  idol 
gods.  In  the  lap  of  each  idol  was  placed 
a  lamp,  to  give  light  for  a  Christian  meeting. 
Idolatry  shows  man’s  inclination  to  worship 
something. 

3150.  IDOLS,  Broken,  A  man’s  idol  is  not 
necessarily  an  image  of  gold :  it  may  be  a 
child  of  clay,  the  fruit  of  his  own  loins,  or  the 
wife  of  his  bosom ;  it  may  be  wealth,  fame, 
position,  success,  or  business,  any  thing  which 
absorbs  unduly  the  affections  and  attention. 
Against  all  such  the  Almighty  pronounces  the 
decree,  “  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before 
me,”  and  hurls  his  resistless  missiles  of  destruc¬ 
tion.  Either  ourselves  or  our  idols  must  be 
destroyed. 

3151.  IDOLS,  Destruction  of.  Christianity 
allows  no  idols.  As  Dagon  fell  before  the  ark 
of  the  covenant,  so  have  all  the  gods  of  the 
Pantheon  fallen  before  the  power  of  the  cross. 
So  shall  they  continue  to  fall,  till  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  are  reclaimed  to  Christ. 

3152.  IDOLS,  Weakness  of.  A  little  boy,  who 
lived  in  the  house  of  a  heathen,  one  day  took  a 
stick,  and  broke  all  his  images  except  the 
largest,  into  the  hands  of  which  he  put  the 
stick.  When  the  man  discovered  it,  he  was 
furious,  and  exclaimed,  “  Who  has  done  this  ?  ” 
—  “  Perhaps,”  said  the  boy,  “  the  big  idol  has 
been  beating  his  little  brothers.”  —  “Non¬ 
sense  1  ”  said  the  man.  “  Don’t  talk  such  stuff 
as  that !  Do  you  think  I’m  a  fool  ?  You  know 
as  well  as  I  do  that  the  thing  cannot  even  raise 
its  hand.  It  was  you,  you  little  rascal  1  It  was 
you  1  And,  to  pay  you  for  your  labor  of  wick¬ 
edness,  I’ll  beat  you  to  death  with  the  same 
stick.”  And,  seizing  the  stick,  he  approached 
him.  “  But,”  said  the  boy  gently,  “  how  can 
you  trust  to  a  god  so  weak  that  a  child’s  hand 
can  destroy  him  ?  Do  you  suppose,  that,  if  he 
can’t  take  care  of  himself  or  his  companions, 
he  can  of  you  and  the  world,  let  alone  making 
you  ?  ”  The  heathen  stopped  to  think  ;  for  it 
was  a  new  idea.  Then  he  broke  his  great  idol, 
and  went  and  kneeled  down  to  pray  to  the 
true  God,  and  called  him  “  my  Father.” 

3153.  IGNORANCE,  of  the  Bible.  A  minister 
in  New-York  City  says  that  he  asked  an  appar¬ 
ently  intelligent  young  lady  who  Pontius  Pilate 
was  ;  and  she  answered,  “  One  of  the  apostles.” 

3154.  IGNORANCE,  Cause  of.  Modem  dis¬ 
coveries  have  shown  that  the  seeds  of  epidemic 
and  miasmatic  diseases  are  generated  and 
exert  their  activity  during  the  night,  and  in 
plaees  unvisited  by  the  sun’s  beams,  —  a  true 
picture  of  the  cause  of  mental  and  moral  ig¬ 
norance. 

3155.  IGNORANCE,  Dangers  of.  A  person 
once  passing  through  a  park  saw  nailed  to  one 


ig-^nt  oriAJsr  ck. 


ILLEBERALITY. 


3G7 


of  the  trees,  “  All  dogs  found  in  this  park  will 
be  shot.”  A  friend  who  was  with  him  said, 
“  Unless  dogs  can  read,  they  are  pretty  badly 
off  here.”  But  a  man  in  the  present  state  of 
society,  without  knowledge,  is  worse  off  than 
the  dog  in  the  park.  He  has,  indeed,  a  master 
to  read  for  him ;  but  many  of  our  fellow-men 
have  left  the  state  of  nature  in  which  they 
dwelt  near  to  the  first  instincts  of  life,  and  they 
have  not  attained  to  the  intellectual  life  which 
is  beyond  those  provisions.  E.  P.  Hood. 

3156*  IGNORANCE,  Darkness  of.  In  the  night, 
we  cannot  discern  the  spots  on  our  own  faces ; 
but,  when  the  light  appears,  we  take  a  glass, 
and  then  they  show  themselves.  So  it  is  with 
the  vices  hidden  in  us :  though  leprous  and 
deformed,  we  think  ourselves  beautiful  till  il¬ 
luminated  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Cawdray. 

3157.  IGNORANCE,  Foolish.  The  winter  at 
Pekin  is  severe,  and  fuel  scarce.  Large  coal¬ 
beds  exist  in  the  vicinity ;  but  the  Chinese  do 
not  dare  to  work  them  underground,  for  fear 
of  destroying  the  equilibrium  of  the  earth,  and 
turning  the  Celestial  Empire  upside  down. 

3158.  IGNORANCE,  Misconception  of.  When 
the  painter  Rigo  was  in  Cairo,  he  engaged  a 
freshly-arrived  Nubian  to  sit  for  his  picture. 
As  soon  as  the  colors  were  laid  on  the  picture, 
he  uttered  a  loud  cry  of  horror,  and  escaped  to 
his  home,  where  he  related  that  his  head  and 
half  of  his  body  had  been  taken  away  by  the 

ainter.  Some  days  after,  Rigo  led  another  Nu- 

ian  into  his  workshop,  who  was  no  less  struck 
with  horror  at  seeing  the  picture  than  the  man 
whom  it  represented  had  been,  and  told  all 
his  countrymen  that  he  had  seen  a  great  num¬ 
ber  of  lopped-off  heads  and  limbs  in  the 
Frenchman’s  house.  They  laughed  at  him. 
However,  to  satisfy  themselves  about  the  matter, 
six  of  them  went  to  visit  Rigo.  They  were 
seized  with  the  same  panic  at  the  sight  of  his 
paintings ;  and  no  entreaties  could  prevail  upon 
them  to  remain  in  the  house.  Percy. 

3159.  IGNORANCE,  Natural.  We  read  of  an 

ancient  king,  who,  desiring  to  ascertain  what 
was  the  natural  language  of  man,  ordered  two 
infants,  as  soon  as  they  were  born,  to  be 
conveyed  to  a  place  prepared  for  them, 
where  they  were  brought  up  without  any  in¬ 
struction  at  all,  and  without  ever  hearing  a 
human  voice.  And  what  was  the  event  ?  Why, 
that,  when  they  were  at  length  brought  out  of 
their  confinement,  they  spake  no  language  at 
.all :  they  uttered  only  inarticulate  sounds  like 
those  of  other  animals.  Were  two  infants  in 
like  manner  to  be  brought  up  from  the  womb 
without  being  instructed  in  any  religion,  there 
is  little  room  to  doubt  but  (unless  the  grace  of 
God  interposed)  the  event  would  be  just  the 
same.  They  would  have  no  religion  at  all : 
they  would  have  no  more  knowledge  of  God 
than  the  beasts  of  the  field,  than  the  wild  °«s’s 
colt.  Such  is  natural  religion  abstracted  from 
traditional  and  from  the  influences  of  God’s 
Spirit.  J.  Wesley. 

3100.  IGNORANCE,  of  Prayer.  It  is  said 
that  Robert  Hall  once  visited  a  poor  man  in 
bis  sickness;  and,  during  his  conversation  with 


him,  the  man  every  now  and  then  knocked 
with  a  stick  the  board  at  the  head  of  the  bed. 
Mr.  Hall,  rather  annoyed  by  this  interruption, 
asked  his  reason  for  such  strange  conduct. 
The  man  replied,  that  the  Bible  commanded 
him  to  knock,  and  it  should  be  opened  unto 
him. 

3161.  IGNORANCE,  of  Religion.  Ignorance 
of  the  price  of  pearls  makes  the  idiot  slight 
them.  Ignorance  of  the  worth  of  diamonds 
makes  the  fool  choose  a  pebble  before  them. 
Ignorance  of  the  satisfaction  learning  affords 
—  that  makes  the  peasant  despise  and  laugh  at 
it ;  and  we  very  ordinarily  see  how  men  tread 
and  trample  on  those  plants  which  are  the 
greatest  restoratives,  because  they  know  not 
the  virtue  of  them :  and  the  same  may  justly 
be  affirmed  of  religion,  —  the  reason  why  men 
meddle  no  more  with  it  is  because  they  are 
not  acquainted  with  the  pleasantness  of  it. 

Anthony  Horneck. 

3162.  IGNORANCE,  Religious.  The  mother 
of  a  respectable  family  said  to  a  lady  visitor, 
in  a  very  incredulous  manner,  “  They  say 
there  was  a  man  whose  name  was  Jesus,  and 
the  people  murdered  him,  and  he  came  to  life 
again.  Do  you  believe  it  ?  ”  In  further  con¬ 
versation,  it  came  out  that  she  had  been  to 
church  three  times  in  a  life  of  thirty-five  years, 
and  thought  herself  therefore  well  informed  in 
religious  matters. 

3163.  IGNORANCE,  Remarkable.  An  army 
surgeon,  on  duty  in  Western  Virginia  during 
the  late  war,  was  called  to  attend  on  one  of 
the  poor  whites,  —  a  young  woman,  —  whom  he 
found  beyond  hope  of  relief.  Thither  he  sent 
the  chaplain,  who  asked  the  dying  girl,  “  Have 
you  ever  heard  of  Jesus ?  ”  —  “I  reckon  I 
have :  he  lives  in  Boston,  don’t  he  ?  ”  she 
answered. 

3161.  IGNORANCE,  Reproving.  A  number  of 
monkeys  that  lived  in  a  mountain  sought  on 
a  cold,  windy,  and  rainy  night  for  a  fire  to 
warm  themselves.  At  last,  they  saw  a  glow¬ 
worm,  and,  thinking  it  was  a  spark  of  fire, 
they  gathered  some  wood,  and  threw  it  upon 
it.  Not  far  off  there  was  a  bird  upon  a  Iree, 
which,  observing  what  they  were  doing,  cried 
out  to  them,  and  endeavored  to  convince  them 
of  their  error.  This  scene  attracted  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  a  man  who  was  passing  by,  who  told 
the  bird  that  it  was  wasting  both  time  and 
patience;  and  that  no  one  thought  of  proving 
a  sword  upon  a  stubborn,  impenetrable  stone, 
or  of  making  a  bow  out  of  a  piece  of  wood  that 
would  not  bend.  The  bird,  however,  without 
attending  to  him,  flew  down  to  them  to  prove 
to  them  that  the  glow-worm  was  not  fire ;  but, 
in  recompense  for  his  pains,  was  seized  by  one 
of  them,  dashed  upon  the  ground,  and  killed. 

G.  W.  Ileroey. 

3165.  IGNORANCE,  Views  of.  Some  men, 

like  pictures,  are  fitter  for  a  corner  than  a  full 
light.  Seneca. 

3166.  ILLIBERALITY,  Rebuked.  In  a  con¬ 
versation  between  a  church-member  and  an 
infidel,  the  infidel  observed  to  bis  friend, 
that  they  might  as  well  drop  the  subject  of 


368 


nLLUBER^JLITY. 


ILLTISTRAXIOIsrS. 


conversation ;  “for,”  said  lie,  “  I  do  not  believe 
a  single  word  you  say.  And,  more  than  this,  I 
am  satisfied  that  you  do  not  really  believe  it 
yourself ;  for,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  you 
Lave  not  given,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  as 
much  for  the  spread  of  Christianity  —  such  as 
the  building  of  churches,  foreign  and  domestic 
missions  —  as  your  last  Durham  cow  cost. 
Why,  sir,  if  I  believed  the  one-half  of  what 
you  say  you  believe,  I  would  make  the  church 
my  rule  for  giving,  and  uiy  farm  the  excep¬ 
tion.” 

3167.  ILLIBERALITY,  Ungrateful.  A  success¬ 
ful  merchant,  who  grew  coveteous  as  he  grew 
rich,  dreamed  that  a  stranger  came  to  him,  and 
urged  the  claims  of  several  benevolent  societies, 
all  of  which  he  refused.  The  stranger  then 
reminded  him  of  the  healing  of  his  daughter, 
one  year  before ;  of  his  own  recovery  from 
sickness,  five  years  before ;  of  the  removal  of 
his  agony  for  sin,  fifteen  years  before.  The 
stranger  said,  “  Who  iivered  you  then  ?  Has 
he  ever  complained  of  being  called  on  too 
often  ?  Are  you  willing  to  ask  no  more  of  him 
if  he  will  ask  no  more  of  you  ?  ”  The  mer¬ 
chant  discovered  that  the  stranger  was  his 
Saviour,  and,  repentant,  cried,  “  Take  all,  take 
every  thing  I  ” 

3168.  ILLNESS,  Christian  in.  An  able  physi¬ 

cian  once  said,  that,  in  a  dangerous  illness,  a 
Christian  would  have  a  better  chance  of  re¬ 
covery  than  an  unbeliever  ;  that  religious 
resignation  was  a  better  soothing  medicine 
than  poppy,  and  a  better  cordial  than  ether. 
An  habitual  horror  of  death  overshadows  the 
mind,  darkening  the  little  daylight  of  life ; 
and  indulgence  in  a  morbid  excess  of  appre¬ 
hension  not  only  imbitters  a  man’s  existence, 
but  often  shortens  its  duration.  He  hastens 
the  advance  of  death  by  the  fear  with  which 
his  frame  is  seized  at  its  real  or  imaginary 
approach.  His  trembling  hand  involuntarily 
shakes  the  glass  in  which  his  hours  are  num¬ 
bered.  Dr.  Reid. 

3169.  ILLNESS,  Effects  of,  When  a  man  is 
laboring  under  the  pain  of  any  distemper,  it 
is  then  that  he  recollects  there  is  a  God,  and 
that  he  himself  is  but  a  man.  No  mortal  is 
then  the  object  of  his  envy,  his  admiration,  or 
his  contempt;  and,  having  no  malice  to  gratify, 
the  tales  of  slander  excite  not  his  attention. 

Pliny. 

3170.  ILLUMINATION,  Key  to.  Thus  the 

riches  of  divine  grace  may  be  compared  to  a 
richly-furnished  cabinet,  to  which  Christ  is  the 
door.  The  Word  of  God,  likewise,  is  a  cabinet, 
generally  locked  up ;  but  the  key  of  prayer 
will  open  it.  The  Lord  invites  all ;  but  he 
keeps  the  dispensation  in  his  own  hand.  They 
cannot  see  these  things,  except  he  shows  them ; 
but  then  he  refuses  none  that  sincerely  ask 
him.  The  wise  men  of  the  world  can  go  no 
farther  than  the  outside  of  this  cabinet :  they 
may  amuse  themselves,  and  surprise  others, 
with  their  ingenious  guesses  at  what  is  within ; 
but  a  child  that  has  seen  it  opened  can  give 
us  more  satisfaction,  without  studying  or  guess¬ 
ing  at  all.  Newton. 


3171.  ILLUMINATION,  Need  of.  Now,  were 
we  in  a  room  hung  with  the  finest  paintings, 
and  adorned  with  the  most  exquisite  statues, 
we  eould  not  see  one  of  them,  if  all  light  were 
excluded.  The  Spirit’s  light  is  the  same  to  the 
mind  that  outward  light  is  to  the  bodily  eyes. 
The  most  correct  and  lively  description  of  the 
sun  cannot  convey  either  the  light,  the  warmth, 
the  cheerfulness,  or  the  fruitfulness,  which  the 
actual  shining  of  that  luminary  conveys ; 
neither  can  the  most  labored  and  accurate 
dissertation  on  grace  and  spiritual  things  im  ■ 
part  a  true  idea  of  them,  without  an  experience 
of  the  work  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  heart.  The 
Holy  Spirit  must  shine  upon  your  graces,  or 
you  will  not  be  able  to  see  them ;  and  your 
works  must  shine  upon  your  faith,  or  your 
neighbors  will  not  be  able  to  see  it. 

Toplady 

3172.  ILLUSTRATION,  Approval  off  I  have 

generally  found  that  the  most  intellectual 
auditors  prefer  to  hear  a  simple  scriptural  and 
spiritual  preaching.  The  late  Judge  McLean 
of  the  Uniter’  ’tates  Supreme  Court  (a  good 
Methodist  too)  once  said  to  me,  “  I  was  glad 
to  hear  you  give  that  solemn  personal  incident 
in  your  discourse  last  night.  Ministers  now- 
a-days  are  getting  above  telling  a  story  in  a 
sermon  ;  but  I  like  it.”  T.  L.  Cuyler. 

3173.  ILLUSTRATION,  Benefit  off  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  that,  for  the  purpose  of  teaching, 
one  illustration  is  worth  a  thousand  abstrac¬ 
tions.  They  are  the  windows  of  speech : 
through  them  truth  shines;  and  ordinary 
minds  fail  to  perceive  truth  clearly,  unless  it 
is  presented  to  them  through  this  medium. 

E.  P.  Hood. 

3174.  ILLUSTRATION,  Eailnre  of.  A  sab- 
bath-school  teacher  in  England  was  with  her 
class  in  a  room  that  overlooked  the  River 
Avon.  She  was  endeavoring  to  explain  faith. 
A  boat  was  gliding  down  the  stream,  to  which 
she  called  attention.  “  Suppose,”  said  the 
teacher,  “  I  know  there  is  a  mutton-pie  in  that 
boat,  where  you  cannot  see  it,  and  tell  you  it 
certainly  is  there  :  would  you  believe  what  I 
say  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,”  was  the  reply  of  ten  voices. 
“  Well,  that  would  be  faith,”  said  the  teacher. 
“  Now,  children,  remember  what  I  have  told 
you.”  —  “We  will,”  was  the  answer.  The 
next  sabbath,  she  examined  her  class  upon 
the  preceding  lesson,  and  asked,  “  What  is 
faith  V  ”  All  together  responded,  “  Mutton-pie 
in  a  boat !  ” 

3175.  ILLUSTRATIONS,  How  to  Use.  When 
the  eccentric  Lord  Timothy  Dexter  of  New- 
buryport  wrote  his  famous  book,  entitled  “  A 
Pikel  for  the  Knowing  Ones,”  there  happened 
to  be  many  doctrines  abroad  in  the  land  re¬ 
garding  punctuation  ;  and  as  many  diverse 
systems  appeared  for  the  location  of  commas, 
semicolons,  periods,  dashes,  &c.,  as  there  were 
works  published.  To  obviate  this  difficulty, 
and  to  give  every  one  an  opportunity  of  suit¬ 
ing  himself,  his  lordship  left  out  all  marks  of 
punctuation  from  the  body  of  his  work  and,  at 
the  ending  of  the  book,  had  printed  four  or 
five  pages  of  nothing  but  stops  and  pauses, 


ILLUSTRATION'. 


IMITATION. 


369 


with  which  he  said  the  reader  could  pepper  his 
dish  as  he  chose.  American  Anecdo.es. 

3176.  ILLUSTRATION,  Pictorial.  Saints  Cyril 

and  Methodius,  the  earliest  apostles  of  the  Scla¬ 
vonic  tribes,  —  the  Moravians,  Bohemians, 
Hungarians,  and  Bulgarians, — were  two  Greek 
monks  of  the  order  of  St.  Basil,  known  as  St. 
Cyril  and  St.  Methodius,  and  connected  in  a 
very  interesting  manner  with  the  history  of 
religious  art.  Cyril  was  learned  and  eloquent, 
a  philosopher  and  a  poet :  Methodius  was  con¬ 
sidered  an  excellent  painter  of  that  time,  when 
his  country  produced  the  only  painters  known. 
These  two  monks  departed  together,  by  order 
of  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  to  preach 
to  the  savage  nations  along  the  shores  of  the 
Danube.  Bogaris,  the  king  or  chief  of  Bulga¬ 
ria,  having  heard  of  the  art  of  Methodius,  re¬ 
quired  of  him  that  he  should  paint  a  picture  in 
the  hall  of  his  palace ;  and  that  it  should  be 
“  something  terrible,”  to  impress  his  subjects 
and  vassals  with  awe.  Methodius  accordingly 
painted  the  Day  of  Judgment,  representing  at 
the  summit  our  Lord  seated  in  glory,  and  sur¬ 
rounded  with  angels:  on  his  right,  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  the  blessed ;  and,  on  his  left,  the  doom 
of  sinners,  swallowed  up  in  flames,  and  torment¬ 
ed  by  the  most  hideous  demons.  When  the 
king  desired  to  have  the  interpretation  of  this 
“  terrible  ”  picture,  Cyril,  who  was  as  eloquent 
in  words  as  Methodius  was  in  colors  and  forms, 
preached  to  the  barbarian  monarch  and  his 
attendants  such  a  sermon  as  converted  them 
all  on  the  spot.  Their  mission  was  extended 
successfully  through  the  surrounding  nations. 
While  Methodius  painted  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  faith,  Cyril  explained  them  in  the 
language  of  the  people.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

31 77.  ILLUSTRATION,  Power  of.  We  may 
safely  assert  that  Jeremy  Taylor  is  none  the 
less  vigorous  for  illustrating  the  long-suffering 
of  God  by  the  rabbinical  story  that  the  Arch¬ 
angel  Michael,  being  God’s  messenger  of  ven¬ 
geance,  had  but  one  wing,  that  he  might  labor 
in  his  flight,  while  Gabriel  had  tfvo  wings,  that 
he  might  “  fly  swiftly  ”  when  bringing  the  mes¬ 
sage  of  peace.  And  the  nature  of  repentance 
and  faith  is  set  before  us  all  the  more  clearly, 
when  Adams  likens  faith  to  a  great  queen  in 
her  progress,  having  Repentance  as  her  mes¬ 
senger  going  before  her,  and  Works  as  the  at¬ 
tendants  following  in  her  train. 

G.  Pilkinq'on. 

3178.  ILLUSTRATION,  in  Preaching.  “'You 
have  no  ‘  likes  ’  in  your  sermons.  Christ  taught 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  ‘  like  ’  to  leav¬ 
en  hid  in  meal ;  ‘  like  ’  to  a  grain  of  mustard- 
seed,  &e.  You  tell  us  what  things  are,  but 
never  what  they  are  like.”  Such  was  a  criti¬ 
cism  of  Robert  Ilall  on  a  brother  minister. 
In  every  age  of  the  Church’s  history,  the  most 
effective  preachers  have  been  those  who  have 
imitated  the  manner  of  Christ’s  teaching.  Ibid. 

3179.  IMACUNATION,  Benefit  of.  It  is  with 
men  as  with  evening  villages.  The  lights  in 
some  dwellings  are  extinguished  soon  after 
twilight;  in  others,  they  hold  till  nine  o'clock  ; 
one  by  one  they  go  out,  until  midnight :  but  a 

24 


few  houses  there  are  where  the  student’s  lamp 
or  lover’s  watching-torch  holds  bright  till  morn¬ 
ing  pours  their  light  into  the  ocean  of  its  own. 
So  such  men  bring  through  the  flooded  hours 
of  darkness  the  light  of  yesterday  into  to¬ 
day,  and  are  never  dark,  and  never  die. 

Beecher* 

318®.  IMAGINATION,  Death  from.  Vincenti- 
nus  believed  that  he  was  of  such  enormous 
size,  that  he  could  not  go  through  the  door  of 
his  apartment.  His  physician  gave  orders 
that  he  should  be  forcibly  led  through  it ; 
which  was  done.  Vincentinus  cried  out,  as 
he  was  forced  along,  that  the  flesh  was  torn 
from  his  bones,  and  that  his  limbs  were  broken 
oil';  of  which  terrible  impression  he  died  in  a 
lew  days,  accusing  those  who  conducted  him 
of  being  his  murderers. 

3181.  IMAGINATION,  Effect  of.  The  garrison 
of  Bi'ida,  in  1(120.  was  so  affected  with  scurvy, 
that  the  city  was  about  to  bo  given  up.  The 
Prince  of  Orange  sent  them  a  remedy,  with 
the  assurance  that  it  would  give  certain  relief. 
Three  or  four  drops  were  put  in  a  gallon  of 
water.  Its  effect  was  astonishing :  cheerful¬ 
ness  again  appeared ;  and  those  regarded  as 
incurables  were  cured  in  a  few  days  by  the 
prince’s  remedy,  which  was  their  own  imagi¬ 
nation. 

3182.  IMAGINATION,  Power  of  the.  By  the 

aid  of  the  imagination,  you  may  decipher 
God’s  image  in  the  works  of  creation,  and 
syllable  forth  his  name  on  suns  and  systems, 
and  through  Nature  look  to  Nature’s  God. 
By  the  imagination,  you  may  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Great  Father  speaking  to  you  in  the 
melody  of  the  grove,  in  the  roaring  thunder, 
in  the  wild  winds,  and  in  the  booming  sea. 
By  the  imagination,  you  may  see  the  im¬ 
press  of  his  paternal  hand  in  the  vernal  bloom, 
in  the  painted  flower,  and  in  the  lighted  star. 

II.  Roberts. 

3183.  IMITATION,  Danger  of.  The  London 
butchers  have  the  following  custom  :  a  sheep 
is  taken  and  petted  till  it  becomes  wonted  to 
the  place,  and  attached  to  its  owner.  It  is 
then  used  as  a  decoy ;  being  led  to  the  market¬ 
place  where  the  purchase  is  made  of  the  little 
flock  for  the  slaughter,  and  there  placed  at 
their  head.  The  butcher  then  starts  lor  home  ; 
the  decoy  sheep  accompanies  him  ;  the  others 
instinctively  follow,  according  to  sheep-nature, 
and  refuse  to  be  separated,  threading  their 
way  through  streets  and  lanes,  carts  and  car¬ 
riages,  pleased  with  following  their  leader,  till 
they  reach  the  place  of  death. 

3184.  IMITATION,  of  Defects.  Alexander 
had  enough  to  imitate  him  in  his  drunkenness 
and  his  passion,  who  never  intended  to  be  like 
him,  either  in  his  chastity,  or  his  justice  to  his 
enemies  and  his  liberality  to  his  friends.  And 
it  is  reported  of  Plato,  that,  being  crooked 
shouldered,  his  scholars,  who  so  much  admired 
him,  would  endeavor  to  be  like  him,  by  bol¬ 
stering  out  their  garments  on  that  side,  that  so 
they  might  appear  crooked  too.  It  is  proba¬ 
ble  that  many  of  these  found  it  easier  to  imitate 
Plato’s  shoulders  than  liis  philosophy,  and  to 


370 


HMTTA.TION'. 


DBIOETALITY. 


stuff  out  their  gowns  than  to  furnish  their  un¬ 
derstandings  or  improve  their  minds. 

Dr.  South. 

3185.  IMITATION,  Mistake  of.  Titian,  whom 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  valued  so  highly,  that  he 
used  to  say  he  would  be  content  to  ruin  him¬ 
self  to  possess  one  genuine  production  of  his 
pencil,  devoted  no  less  than  eighty  years  of  his 
patriarchal  term  of  life  to  the  prosecution  of 
the  art.  He  was  but  ten  years  of  age  when  he 
became  a  scholar  of  Bellini,  of  whose  style  he 
was  soon  able  to  present  imitations,  which  ex¬ 
cited  universal  astonishment.  Happening 
afterwards  to  see  the  works  of  Bellini’s  pupil, 
Giorgione,  he  found  that  he  had  been  excelling 
in  the  imitation  of  a  very  inferior  model ;  and 
for  some  time  made  it  a  rule  to  copy  after  the 
elegant  but  gaudy  style  of  Giorgione.  At 
length,  abandoning  the  trammels  of  example 
altogether,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  study  of 
Nature  alone,  and  thus  arrived  at  that  pitch  of 
perfection  which  has  procured  him  so  enviable 
an  immortality.  Percy. 

3186.  IMITATION,  Snare  of  Some  Brazilian 
hunters  are  reported  to  have  captured  a  num¬ 
ber  of  monkeys  by  having  small  boots  made  for 
them,  which  they  filled  with  pitch.  The  hunt¬ 
ers  sat  down  in  sight  of  the  monkeys,  and 
pulled  off  and  on  their  own  boots ;  thejj  re¬ 
tired,  leaving  the  small  ones.  As  soon  as 
they  were  out  of  sight,  the  monkeys  descended 
from  the  trees,  and  began  doing  as  they  had 
seen  the  hunters  do.  The  hunters  sprang  upon 
them.  The  boots  stuck  to  their  feet,  they  could 
not  climb,  and  were  easily  caught.  Many 
young  people  are  caught  in  the  same  way. 

3187.  IMMORTALITY,  Attraction  of  '  For 
many  years  previous  to  1845,  it  had  been 
known  that  the  planet  Uranus  was  subject  to 
certain  perturbations  in  its  orbit,  which  could 
not  be  accounted  for  by  the  attraction  of  the 
sun  and  of  the  other  planetary  bodies.  From 
the  nature  and  amount  of  these  perturbations, 
Le  "Verrier,  a  French  mathematician,  demon¬ 
strated  the  existence  of  an  undiscovered  planet; 
and  so  completely  did  he  determine  its  place 
in  the  distant  heavens,  that,  when  Dr.  Galle 
of  the  Berlin  Observatory  pointed  his  tele¬ 
scope  to  the  place  designated  by  Le  Verrier, 
he  not  only  found  the  new  planet,  but  found  it 
within  one  degree  of  its  computed  location. 
Here,  then,  we  have  not  only  an  unknown 
planet  casting  the  spell  of  its  attraction  upon 
those  that  are  known  and  seen,  and  producing 
thereby  its  visible  effects ;  but,  to  the  eye  of 
reason,  these  mysterious  effects  became  the 
infallible  proofs  of  the  existence  and  direction 
of  another  world  hitherto  undiscovered  and 
unknown.  So  with  the  human  soul,  and  its 
continued  love  for  the  dead.  Dr.  Mattison. 

3388.  IMMORTALITY,  Conception  of  Sup¬ 
pose  the  Creator  were  to  commission  some  tiny 
insect  to  remove  the  matter  of  this  great  globe 
to  the  most  distant  star  in  immensity.  It 
can  carry  for  a  load  only  an  atom  so  small  as 
to  be  imperceptible  to  the  eye.  Millions 
of  years  are  required  for  the  performance  of 
a  single  journey.  It  commences  its  task  upon 


the  leaf  of  a  delicate  plant.  With  its  in¬ 
visible  load  it  dep*arts,  deposits  it,  and,  after 
millions  of  years,  returns  for  a  second  atom. 
What  numberless  ages  would  pass  before  that 
single  leaf  would  be  carried  away  1  —  what 
untold  periods  before  the  whole  plant  would 
be  gone  1  What  vast  cycles  would  elapse 
before  a  tree,  a  forest,  a  hill,  a  mountain, 
would  disappear  1  The  strongest  imagination 
staggers  at  the  thought  of  the  ages  which 
would  pass  ere  the  last  particle  of  the  globe 
would  be  removed.  Yet  even  then  your  im¬ 
perishable  spirit  would  be  but  in  the  infancy 
of  its  existence.  Dr.  Wise. 

3189.  IMMORTALITY,  Emblem  of  The  pea¬ 
cock  was  an  ancient  pagan  symbol  signifying 
the  apotheosis  of  an  empress.  The  early  Chris¬ 
tians,  accustomed  to  this  interpretation,  adopted 
it  as  a  general  symbol  of  the  mortal  exchanged 
for  the  immortal  existence.  With  this  signi¬ 
fication,  we  find  the  peacock,  with  outspread 
train,  on  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  the  catar 
combs,  the  tombs  of  martyrs,  and  on  many 
of  the  sarcophagi,  down  to  the  fifth  cen- 
turv. 

319®.  IMMORTALITY,  Inference  of  I  can¬ 
not  believe  that  earth  is  man’s  abiding-place. 
It  can’t  be  that  our  life  is  cast  up  by  the  ocean 
of  eternity  to  float  a  moment  upon  its  waves, 
and  then  sink  into  nothingness  :  else,  why  is 
it  that  the  glorious  aspirations  which  leap  like 
angels  from  the  temple  of  our  heart  are  for¬ 
ever  wandering  about  unsatisfied  ?  Why  is  it 
that  the  rainbow  and  clouds  come  over  with  a 
beauty  that  is  not  of  earth,  and  then  pass  off, 
and  leave  us  to  muse  upon  their  favored  loveli¬ 
ness  ?  Why  is  it  that  the  stars,  who  hold  their 
festival  around  the  midnight  throne,  are  set 
above  the  grasp  of  our  limited  faculties,  forever 
mocking  us  with  their  unapproachable  glory? 
And,  finally,  why  is  it  that  bright  forms  of  hu¬ 
man  beauty  are  presented  to  our  view,  and 
then  taken  from  us,  leaving  the  thousand 
streams  of  our  affection  to  flow  back  in  Alpine 
torrents  upon  our  heart?  We  are  born  for  a 
higher  destiny  than  that  of  earth  :  there  is  a 
realm  where  the  rainbow  never  fades,  where 
the  stars  will  be  spread  before  us  like  islands 
that  slumber  on  the  ocean ;  and  where  the 
beings  that  pass  before  us  like  shadows  will 
stay  in  our  presence  forever.  Bulwer. 

31193.  IMMORTALITY,  Longing  for.  It  is  in 
the  dark  hours  of  life  that  men  long  for  immor¬ 
tality  ;  when  sickness  is  upon  us,  death  around 
us,  and  the  grave  before  us ;  when  disasters 
press  us  down,  and  we  feel  our  impotence,  and 
that  life  is  a  failure  ;  when  the  consciousness  of 
our  sinfulness  is  heavy  upon  us,  —  “  Then  the 
soul  within  us  feels  her  wings,  and  wrestles 
with  the  earthly  worm  that  folds  us  in,  con¬ 
tending  to  be  born,  impatient  for  the  sky.” 

3392.  IMMORTALITY,  Love  of.  It  is  said  of 
Cleombrotus,  a  heathen,  that,  after  reading 
the  discourses  of  Plato  upon  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  he  cast  himself  headlong  from  a 
high  rock,  and  brake  his  neck,  that  he  might 
enter  upon  that  immortality  which  he  loved, 
and  believed  would  follow  after  death. 


EVEytORTAJL-ITY. 


IMMORTALITY. 


371 


3193.  IMMORTALITY,  Measure  of.  Who  shall 
measure  the  existence  of  the  human  soul,  or 
compute  the  years  of  the  eternal  God  ?  It 
will  not  do  to  begin  with  any  unit  with  which 
we  are  familiar.  Take  a  line  of  figures  suf¬ 
ficient  to  encircle  this  vast  globe,  multiply  it 
by  the  number  of  particles  that  compose  its 
bulk,  multiply  their  product  by  the  innumera¬ 
ble  company  of  stars  that  shine  in  the  concave 
of  heaven ;  and  though  their  sum  should 
cover  a  surface  a  million  times  larger  than 
our  globe,  and  be  beyond  any  human  power 
of  enumeration,  they  would  express  only  an 
unrecognizable  fraction  of  the  years  allotted 
to  the  human  soul. 

3194.  IMMORTALITY,  Napoleon  on.  Napoleon, 
once  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Louvre,  turned 
from  a  fine  picture  to  Baron  Denon,  saying, 
“  That  is  a  fine  picture,  Denon  1  ”  —  “  Yes,  im¬ 
mortal,”  was  the  reply.  “  How  long  will  this 
picture  and  a  statue  last?”  said  Napoleon. 
“  The  picture  five  hundred  years,  and  a  statue 
five  thousand,  sire.”  —  “  And  this  you  call 
immortality  ?  ”  said  Napoleon. 

3B95.  IMMORTALITY,  Presage  of.  There  is, 
I  know  not  how,  in  the  minds  of  men',  a  certain 
presage,  as  it  were,  of  a  future  existence  ;  and 
this  takes  the  deepest  root,  and  is  most  dis¬ 
coverable,  in  the  greatest  geniuses  and  most 
exalted  souls.  Cicero. 

3196.  IMMORTALITY,  Proverbs.  A  good  action 
never  perishes,  neither  before  God  nor  before 

men.  —  Asiatic. - Labor  for  the  other  life 

that  awaits  thee,  and  consider  the  time  it  must 
endure.  Lockman. 

3197.  IMMORTALITY,  Symbol  of.  The  phoe¬ 
nix,  a  fabled  bird  of  antiquity,  when  it  felt  the 
advancing  chill  of  age,  built  its  own  funeral- 
urn,  and  fired  its  pyre,  by  means  which  Nature’s 
instinct  taught.  All  its  plumage  and  its  form 
of  beauty  became  ashes  ;  but  then  would  rise 
the  young.  Beautiful  from  the  urn  of  death 
and  chambers  of  decay  would  the  fledgling 
come,  with  its  eyes  turned  towards  the  sun,  and 
essaying  its  dark  velvet  wings,  sprinkled  with 
gold  and  fringed  with  silver,  on  the  balmy  air; 
rising  a  little  higher,  until  at  length,  in  the 
full  confidence  of  flight,  it  gives  a  cry  of  joy, 
and  soon  becomes  a  glittering  speck  on  the 
bosom  of  the  aerial  ocean.  Lovely  voyager  of 
earth,  bound  on  its  heavenward  journey  to  the 
sun  1  So  rises  the  spirit-bird  from  the  ruins 
of  the  body,  —  the  funeral-urn  which  its  Maker 
built,  —  the  death-fires.  So  towers  away  to  its 
home,  to  the  pure  elements  of  spirituality,  in¬ 
tellect  Phoenix  to  dip  its  proud  wings  in  the 
fountain  of  eternal  bliss.  So  shall  dear,  precious 
humanity  survive  from  its  ashes  of  a  burning 
world.  So  beautifully  shall  the  unchanged 
soul  soar  within  the  disk  of  eternity’s  great 
luminary,  with  undazzled  eye  and  unscorched 
wings,  —  the  Phoenix  of  immortality,  —  taken 
to  its  rainbow  home,  and  cradled  on  the  beat¬ 
ing  bosom  of  eternal  love. 

Rev.  John  N.  Maffit. 

3198.  IMMORTALITY,  Testimony  to.  We  are 
told  that  the  doctrine  of  the  soul’s  immortality 
could  only  have  arisen  from  the  speculations 


of  men  of  genius  ;  and  that  it  was  introduced 
by  legislators  to  console  mankind  under  oppres¬ 
sion,  or  deter  them  from  crime  by  motives 
drawn  from  future  retribution.  If  this  be  so, 
how  happens  it  that  it  has  found  its  way  into 
the  deserts,  and  has  been  diffused  alike  over 
the  South-Sea  Islands  and  those  of  the  Pacific; 
over  Lapland  and  Asia,  and  the  nations  of  be¬ 
nighted  Africa  ?  The  nations  of  the  Society 
Islands  entertain  it ;  and  those,  too,  of  the 
Friendly  Islands;  the  New-Zealanders,  also, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pelew  Islands,  with 
the  wild  tribes  of  Ivalmuc  Tartary,  and  all  the 
wandering  tribes  which  have  peopled,  and  do 
still  people,  the  continent  of  America. 

R.  W.  Landis. 

3199.  IMMORTALITY,  Traoes  of.  Our  spirit¬ 
ual,  ethereal  essence  had  its  symbol  in  the 
heaven-ascending  flame  which  the  heathen 
carved  upon  their  tombs;  and  their  hopes  of 
immortality  were  expressed  as  well  by  the 
lamp  they  lighted  amid  the  gloom  of  the  sep¬ 
ulchre,  as  by  the  evergreen  garlands  that 
crowned  the  monuments  of  their  dead.  This 
hope  has  been  a  star  that  shone  in  every  sky, 
a  flower  that  bloomed  in  the  poorest  soil,  a 
flame  that  burned  in  the  coldest  bosom.  Im¬ 
mortality! —  that  made  heroes  of  cowards; 
it  imparted  to  weakness  a  giant’s  strength ;  it 
made  the  courage  of  the  bravest  warrior  burn 
high  in  the  day  of  battle;  it  nerves  yonder 
unbending  savage  to  endure  without  a  groan, 
to  gratify  his  captors  or  disgrace  his  tribe,  the 
tortures  of  fire  and  stake.  Why  do  these 
weeping  Greeks  approach  the  dead  man  as  he 
lies  on  his  bier  for  burial,  and  open  his  mouth 
to  put  in  an  obolus  ?  The  coin  is  passage-money 
for  the  surly  ferryman  who  rows  the  ghosts 
over  Styx’s  stream.  And  why,  in  that  forest- 
grave,  around  which  plumed  and  painted  war¬ 
riors  stand  unmoved  and  immovable  as  statues, 
do  they  bury  with  the  body  of  the  Indian  chief 
his  canoe,  and  bow  and  arrows  ?  lie  goes  to 
follow  the  chase  and  hunt  the  deer  in  the 
spectre-land  where  the  Great  Spirit  lives  and 
the  spirits  of  his  fathers  have  gone  before  him. 
How  easy  it  is  to  trace  in  these  customs  and 
beliefs,  a  sort  of  rude  copy  of  the  words  “life” 
and  “immortality,”  “  I  shall  not  die,  but  live  ”  I 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

3200.  IMMORTALITY,  Types  of.  Even  in  a 
moral  point  of  view,  I  think  the  analogies  de¬ 
rived  from  the  transformation  of  insects  admit 
of  some  beautiful  applications,  which  have  not 
been  neglected  by  pious  entomologists.  The 
three  states  of  the  caterpillar,  larva,  and  but¬ 
terfly,  have,  since  the  time  of  the  Greek  poets, 
been  applied  to  typify  the  human  being,  —  its 
terrestrial  form,  apparent  death,  and  ultimate 
celestial  destination ;  and  it  seems  more  ex¬ 
traordinary  that  a  sordid  and  crawling  worm 
should  become  a  beautiful  and  active  fly, 
that  an  inhabitant  of  the  dark  and  fetid  dung¬ 
hill  should  in  an  instant  entirely  change  its 
form,  rise  into  the  blue  air,  and  enjoy  the  sun¬ 
beams,  than  that  a  being  whose  pursuits  here 
have  been  after  an  undying  name,  and  whose 
purest  happiness  has  been  derived  from  the 


372 


nyn\TO~R,rP  A  T  .TT1^. 


EVLT’IClSri'X'EJNrT. 


acquisition  of  intellectual  power  and  finite 
knowledge,  should  rise  hereafter  into  a  state 
of  being  where  universality  is  no  longer  a 
name,  and  ascend  to  the  source  of  unbounded 
power  and  infinite  wisdom.  Sir  H.  Davy. 

3201.  IMMORTALITY,  Wishing  for.  We  wish 
for  immortality.  The  thought  of  annihilation 
is  horrible;  even  to  conceive  it  is  almost  im¬ 
possible.  The  wish  is  a  kind  of  argument :  it 
is  not  likely  that  God  would  have  given  all 
men  such  a  feeling,  if  he  had  not  meant  to 
gratify  it.  Every  natural  longing  has  its  natu¬ 
ral  satisfaction.  If  we  thirst,  God  has  created 
liquids  to  gratify  thirst.  If  we  are  susceptible 
of  attachment,  there  are  beings  to  gratify  that 
love.  If  we  thirst  for  life  and  love  eternal,  it 
is  likely  that  there  are  an  eternal  life  and  an 
eternal  love  to  satisfy  that  craving. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

3202.  IMPATIENCE,  Folly  of.  A  merchant 
was  riding  home  with  a  knapsack  full  of  money 
behind  him  :  it  rained  heavily,  and  he  was  wet 
through  and  through.  He  complained  bitterly 
that  God  gave  him  such  bad  weather  for  his 
journey.  His  way  led  him  through  a  thick 
wood.  Here,  with  horror,  he  saw  a  robber, 
who  pointed  a  gun  at  him,  and  pulled  the 
trigger.  He  would  have  been  killed  without  a 
chance  of  escape ;  but,  owing  to  the  rain,  the 
powder  had  become  damp,  and  the  gun  did  not 
go  off.  The  merchant  put  spurs  to  his  horse, 
and  escaped  the  danger.  Then  he  reflected  on 
his  folly  in  grumbling  at  the  very  providence 
which  saved  his  life. 

3203.  IMPATIENCE,  Proverbs.  One  seldom 
finds  that  which  he  seeks,  when  he  searches 

for  it  with  impatience.  —  Asiatic. - If  you 

let  them  lay  the  calf  on  your  back,  it  will 
not  be  long  before  they  clap  on  the  cow. 

Italian. 

32©4.  IMPATIENCE,  Reproved.  At  Laleham, 
Dr.  Arnold  once  got  out  of  patience,  and  spoke 
sharply  to  a  dull  pupil ;  when  the  boy  looked 
up  in  his  face,  and  said,  “Why  do  you  speak 
angrily,  sir  ?  Indeed,  I  am  doing  the  best  I 
can.”  Years  after,  he  used  to  tell  the  story  to 
his  children,  and  said,  “  I  never  felt  so  ashamed 
of  myself  in  my  life.  That  look  and  that  speech 
I  have  never  forgotten.” 

3205.  IMPATIENCE,  Suicidal,  Whosoever  is 

out  of  patience  is  out  of  possession  of  his  soul. 
Men  must  not  turn  bees,  and  “  kill  themselves 
in  stinging  others.”  Lord  Bacon. 

3206.  IMPENITENT,  Conscience  of  the.  Have 
you  ever  noticed  the  great  clock  of  St.  Paul’s? 
At  mid-day,  in  the  roar  of  business,  how  few 
hear  it  but  those  who  are  close  to  it  1  But 
when  the  work  of  the  day  is  over,  and  silence 
reigns  in  London,  then  it  may  be  heard  for- 
miles  around.  That  is  just  like  the  conscience 
of  an  impenitent  man.  While  in  health 
and  strength,  he  will  not  hear  it ;  but  the  day 
will  come  when  he  must  retire  from  the  world, 
and  look  death  in  the  face ;  and  then  the  clock 
of  conscience  —  the  solemn  clock — will  sound 
in  his  ears,  and,  if  he  has  not  repented,  will 
bring  wretchedness  and  misery  to  his  soul. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Ryle. 


3207.  IMPENITENT,  Danger  of  the.  That 
man  who  dares  go  to  bed  with  a  conscience 
charged  with  the  guilt  of  one  enormous  sin  is 
much  more  desperate  than  he  that  dares  lie  un¬ 
armed  with  seven  armed  men  that  are  his  dead¬ 
ly  foes ;  for  a  sinner  is  less  sure  of  his  life  than 
the  other.  What  a  sad  thing  is  it  to  sleep  se¬ 
curely  on  the  brink  of  hell;  to  goto  bed  drunk 
overnight,  and  find  himself  awake  in  hell  the 
next  morning.  He  that  inures  not  himself 
daily  to  reconcile  himself  unto  God  makes  a 
comfortless  end  for  the  most  part,  and  is 
snatched  hence  before  he  hath  a  thought  of 
making  his  peace  with  his  Maker.  Spencer. 

3208.  IMPENITENT,  Exposure  of  the,  There 

is  a  story  of  a  certain  king  that  was  never  seen 
to  laugh  or  smile ;  but  in  all  places,  amongst  all 
persons,  at  all  times,  he  was  very  pensive  and 
sad.  His  queen,  being  much  troubled  at  his 
melancholy,  requested  a  brother  of  his  that 
he  would  ask  him  what  was  the  cause  of  his 
continual  sadness.  He  did  so.  The  king  put 
him  off  till  the  next  day  for  an  answer,  and, 
in  the  mean  time,  caused  a  deep  pit  to  be  made, 
commanding  his  servants  to  fill  it  half  full  with 
fiery  coals,  and  then  caused  an  old  rotten  board 
to  be  laid  over  it,  and  over  the  board  to  hang 
a  two-edged  sword  by  a  small  slender  thread, 
with  the  point  downwards,  and  close  by  the 
pit  to  set  a  fable  full  of  all  manner  of  delica¬ 
cies.  His  brother,  coming  next  day  for  an  an¬ 
swer,  was  placed  on  the  board,  and  four  men 
with  drawn  swords  about  him,  and,  withal,  the 
best  music  that  could  be  had,  to  play  before 
him.  Then  the  king  called  to  him,  saying, 
“  Rejoice  and  be  merry,  O  my  brother  1  eat, 
drink,  and  laugh  !  for  here  is  pleasant  being.” 
But  he  replied,  and  said,  “  O  my  lord  and  king  1 
how  can  I  be  merry,  being  in  such  danger  on 
every  side  V  ”  Then  the  king  said,  “  Look  how 
it  is  now  with  thee  :  so  it  is  always  with  me  ; 
for,  if  I  look  about  me,  I  see  the  great  and 
dreadful  Judge,  to  whom  I  must  give  an  ac¬ 
count  of  all  my  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds, 
good  or  evil.  If  I  look  under  me,  I  see  the 
endless  torments  of  hell,  wherein  I  shall  be 
cast  if  I  die  in  my  sins.  If  I  look  behind  me, 
I  see  all  the  sins  that  ever  I  committed,  and 
the  time  which  unprofitably  I  have  spent.  If 
1>  look  before  me,  I  see  my  death  every  day 
approaching  nearer  and  nearer  unto  my  body. 
If  I  look  on  my  right  hand,  I  see  my  conscience 
accusing  me  of  all  that  I  have  done  and  left 
undone  in  this  world.  And,  if  I  look  on  my 
left  hand,  I  see  the  creatures  crying  out  for 
vengeance  against  me,  because  they  groaned 
under  my  iniquities.  Now,  then,  cease  hence¬ 
forward  to  wonder  why  I  cannot  rejoice  at  the 
world,  or  any  thing  in  the  world,  but  continue 
sad  and  heavy.”  Spencer. 

32®©.  IMPENITENT,  Habits  of  the.  The  vic¬ 
tim  of  an  ancient  tyrant  found  himself  within 
a  narrow  cell  with  seven  windows,  one  above 
the  other  in  the  end,  and  the  only  furniture  a 

allet  of  straw.  In  the  night,  there  seemed  tc 

e  a  noise  and  a  movement,  and  all  was  still. 
In  the  morning,  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  mug  of 
water  stood  by  his  side.  He  was  relieved 


ENCPERFECTIOINr. 


IMPRESSIONS. 


373 


from  the  fear  of  starvation ;  but,  when  his  eyes 
sought  the  windows,  there  were  but  six.  The 
next  night  the  same  thing  was  repeated,  and 
the  next,  and  the  next ;  when  the  fearful  truth 
flashed  upon  him,  that,  by  some  infernal  en¬ 
ginery  of  windlass  and  crank,  the  floor  and  wall 
of  his  cell  were  being  pressed  together  to  the 
extent  of  the  loss  of  a  window  every  night ; 
and,  in  thice  days  more,  he  would  be  crushed 
in  that  fearful  tomb.  So  habits  of  impenitence 
are  blotting  out  window  after  window  of  your 
earth-cell;  and,  with  God’s  hand  upon  the 
crank,  the  hour  approaches  when  your  last 
hope  will  lie  crushed  and  mangled  in  the  ever 
narrowing  entombment  that  holds  you. 

S.  II.  Platt. 

3210.  IMPERFECTION,  Excuse  of.  A  sceptic 
rejected  religion  on  account  of  the  imperfec¬ 
tions  of  Christians.  With  a  Christian  i'riend, 
they  visited  the  country,  and  saw  a  group  of 
children  at  their  sports ;  but  there  was  a 
cripple  among  them.  The  landscape  was 
beautiful;  but  the  wind  was  venomous. 
Nature  was  imperfect.  They  visited  an 
art-gallery  where  were  the  master-pieces  of 
Rembrandt,  Titian,  and  Canova,  and  found 
them  more  imperfect  than  Nature.  They 
visited  luxurious  gardens,  but  found  that  their 
owner’s  happiness  was  buried  in  the  grave  of 
his  only  son  and  heir.  At  last,  the  sceptic 
seized  a  flower,  saying,  “  I  have  found  a  per¬ 
fect  thing  at  last.”  Alas !  he  found  a  worm 
in  its  centre.  These  experiences  showed  the 
sceptic  the  untenableness  of  his  excuse,  and 
led  to  his  acceptance  of  Christianity. 

3211.  IMPERFECTION,  Human.  A  drink  was 
brought  to  Gotthold,  which  tasted  of  the  vessel 
in  which  it  had  been  contained ;  and  this  led 
him  to  observe,  “  We  have  here  an  emblem 
of  our  thoughts,  words,  and  works.  Our 
heart  is  defiled  by  sin,  and  hence  a  taint  of 
sinfulness  cleaves  unfortunately  to  every  thing 
we  take  in  hand  ;  and  although,  from  the  force 
of  habit,  this  may  be  imperceptible  to  us,  it 
does  not  escape  the  eye  of  the  omniscient, 
holy,  and  righteous  God.” 

3212.  IMPORTUNITY,  Example  of.  A  trav¬ 
eller  in  Persia  tells  how  he  was  besieged  by 
one  who  solicited  a  gilt  more  costly  than  he 
was  prepared  to  give.  The  hoary  mendicant 
set  himself  down  before  his  gate,  throwing  up 
a  rude  tent  to  shelter  himself  from  the  noon¬ 
day  sun.  There  he  remained  like  a  sentinel, 
nor  left  his  post  but  to  follow  the  traveller  out 
of  doors,  and  return  with  him.  Taking 
snatches  of  sleep  during  the  day,  when  the 
other  rested  in  the  house,  he  kept  up  a  hideous 
howling  and  clamorous  demands  all  the  hours 
of  the  night,  —  an  annoyance,  which,  persisted 
in  for  successive  days  and  nights,  and  even 
weeks,  seldom  fails  to  gain  its  object. 

3213.  IMPORTUNITY,  Need  o£  Easiness  of 
desire  is  a  great  enemy  to  the  success  of  a 
good  man’s  prayers.  It  must  be  an  intent, 
busy,  operative  prayer.  For  consider  what  a 
huge  indecency  it  is  that  a  man  should  speak 
to  God  lor  a  tiling  that  he  values  not !  Our 
prayers  upbraid  our  spirits  when  we  beg  | 


tamely  for  those  things  for  which  we  ought  to 
die,  which  are  more  precious  than  imperial 
sceptres,  richer  than  the  spoils  of  the  sea,  or 
the  treasures  of  Indian  hills.  Jeremy  Taylor. 

3214.  IMPRACTICABLE,  Academy  of  the. 
Gulliver’s  visit  to  the  grand  Academy  of  I.a- 
gado  is  a  plain  sarcasm  on  the  impracticable. 
The  academy  embraced  more  than  five  hun¬ 
dred  rooms,  and  every  madman’s  dream  was 
experimented  upon  there.  One  professor  had 
been  eight  years  trying  to  extract  sunbeams 
from  cucumbers,  which  he  expected  to  bottle 
up  to  equalize  the  temperature  of  the  sum¬ 
mers.  Another  was  trying  to  manufacture 
gunpowder  out  of  ice.  Another  had  invented 
a  new  method  of  architecture,  beginning  at  the 
roof,  and  building  downwards.  A  blind  man 
thought  himself  very  proficient  in  mixing 
colors,  in  which  he  seems  to  have  been  some¬ 
what  mistaken.  A  learned  professor  experi¬ 
mented  upon  the  use  of  hogs  instead  of  ploughs 
in  tilling  the  soil.  “  The  universal  artist  ”  had 
fifty  men  at  work  softening  marble  for  pillows, 
petrifying  the  hoofs  of  living  horses  to  prevent 
foundering  and  the  like.  This  professor  was 
developing  two  new  ideas,  —  the  importance  of 
sowing  the  land  with  chaff  instead  of  wheat; 
and  a  method  of  preventing  wool  growing  on 
the  backs  of  sheep,  of  which  he  had  not  a  doubt 
of  success.  All  the  numerous  chairs  of  the 
academy  were  filled  with  like  enthusiastic 
specialists. 

3215.  IMPRESSIONS,  Abiding.  It  is  said,  that, 

by  a  certain  experiment,  you  may  perceive  on 
the  retina  of  an  ox’s  eye,  some  time  after  death, 
the  pictures  of'  the  objects  upon  which  it  last 
looked.  If  this  is  true  of  the  eye  of  the  ox, 
what,  shall  we  say  of  the  soul  of  man  ?  —  if  on 
the  eye  impressions  are  made  which  abide 
after  death,  what  of  the  impressions  made 
upon  the  conscience,  the  memory,  anti  the 
whole  retina,  of  the  immortal  spirit  ?  Surely, 
these  abide  after  death.  Is  it  possible  ever  to 
erase  one  ?  Do  not  all  impressions,  from  the 
first  to  the  last,  through  life,  made  in  all  ways, 
continue  as  immortal  as  the  soul  itself?  Sure¬ 
ly,  we  undying  ones  ought  to  be  careful  upon 
what  objects  we  look,  from  which  to  get  impres¬ 
sions  upon  our  souls.  The  impressions  made 
on  the  soul  in  time  will  form  its  own  picture- 
gallery,  upon  each  of  which  it  shall  gaze  through 
the  boundless  ages  of  eternity.  Bate. 

3216.  IMPRESSIONS,  Early.  I  think  we  may 
assert,  that,  in  a  hundred  men,  there  are  more 
than  ninety  who  are  what  they  are,  good  or 
bad,  useful  or  pernicious  to  society,  from  the 
instruction  they  have  received.  It  is  on  ed¬ 
ucation  that  depends  the  great  difference 
observable  among  them.  The  least  and  most 
imperceptible  impressions  received  in  our  in¬ 
fancy  have  consequences  very  important,  and 
of  a  long  duration.  It  is  with  these  first  im¬ 
pressions  as  with  a  river,  whose  waters  we  can 
easily  turn  by  different  canals  in  quite  opposite 
courses  ;  so  that,  from  the  insensible  direction 
the  stream  receives  at  its  source,  it  takes  differ¬ 
ent  directions,  and  at  last  arrives  at.  places  far 

I  distant  from  each  other.  And,  wilh  the  same 


374 


IMEPRE  ssiotvs . 


INACTIVITY. 


facility,  we  may,  I  think,  turn  the  minds  of 
children  to  what  direction  we  please.  Locke. 

3217.  IMPRESSIONS,  Erasure  of.  Angelo  Ma¬ 
rio,  a  Jesuit  librarian  at  the  Vatican,  made 
the  discovery  many  years  ago,  that  some  of  the 
ancient  manuscripts  had  more  than  one  layer 
of  writing  upon  them.  By  certain  chemical 
experiments,  he  succeeded  in  making  legible 
the  ancient  writing.  Archbishop  Whately 
has  suggested  the  theory,  now  generally  ad¬ 
mitted,  that  this  was  done  on  account  of  the 
expensiveness  or  scarcity  of  parchment  in 
the  middle  ages.  De  Quincey,  in  his  “  Confes¬ 
sions,”  has  given  us  a  chapter  on  the  subject, 
applying  it  to  signify  different  layers  of  thought 
and  emotion  that  have  at  different  times  passed 
upon  the  heart,  and  become  apparently  cov¬ 
ered  over  completely  with  some  other.  So  is 
it  with  the  hardened  sinner.  How  many  a 
layer  of  conviction  after  conviction,  and  partial 
reformations,  has  he  known  ;  yet  stiil  how  thick 
a  ease  covers  his  hardened  heart !  Bowes. 

3218.  IMPRESSIONS,  First.  What  seasoned 

first  the  vessel  keeps  the  taste.  Horace. 

3219.  IMPRESSIONS,  Fleeting.  A  celebrated 
preacher  of  the  seventeenth  century  described 
the  terrors  of  the  last  judgment  with  such 
eloquence,  that  some  of  his  audience  burst  into 
tears,  and  sent  forth  piercing  cries  as  if  the 
judge  himself  had  been  present,  and  was  about 
to  pass  upon  them  their  final  sentence.  In  the 
height  of  this  excitement,  the  preacher  called 
upon  them  to  dry  their  tears,  and  cease  their 
cries,  as  he  was  about  to  add  something  still 
more  awful  and  astonishing  than  any  thing  he 
had  yet  brought  before  them.  With  solemn 
voice,  he  said,  “  In  one-quarter  of  an  hour 
from  this  time,  the  emotions  which  you  have 
just  now  exhibited  will  be  stilled  ;  the  re¬ 
membrance  of  the  fearful  truths  which  excited 
them  will  vanish  ;  you  will  return  to  your 
carnal  occupations  or  sinful  pleasures  with 
your  usual  avidity;  and  you  will  treat  all  you 
have  heard  as  a  tale  that  is  told  ” 

3220.  IMPRESSIONS,  Transient.  When  Da¬ 

guerre  was  working  at  his  sun-pictures,  his 
great  difficulty  was  to  fix  them.  The  light 
came  and  imprinted  the  image  ;  but,  when  the 
tablet  was  drawn  from  the  camera,  the  image 
had  vanished.  Our  lamentation  is  like  his, 
our  want  the  same,  —  a  fixing  solution  that 
shall  arrest  and  detain  the  fugitive  impres¬ 
sions.  He  discovered  the  chemical  power 
which  turned  the  evanescent  into  the  durable. 
There  is  a  divine  agency  at  hand  that  can  fix 
the  truth  upon  the  heart  of  man,  —  God’s 
Holy  Spirit.  Rev.  J.  Stoughton. 

3221.  IMPUTATION,  Illustration  of.  We  read 
in  the  New  Testament  that  “  the  Church  (that 
is,  the  people  of  God)  is  Christ’s  bride.”  We 
all  know,  that,  according  to  the  law,  the  wife 
may  have  many  debts ;  but  no  sooner  is  she 
married  than  her  debts  cease  to  be  hers,  and 
become  her  husband’s  at  once.  It  is  even  so 
with  the  sinner  and  Christ.  Christ  marrieth 
the  sinner,  and  putteth  forth  his  hand,  and 
taketh  the  Church  to  be  his.  She  is  in  debt  to 
God’s  justice  immeasurably:  she  owes  to  God’s 


vengeance  an  intolerable  weight  of  wrath  and 
punishment.  Christ  says,  “  Thou  art  my  wife : 
I  have  chosen  thee,  and  I  will  pay  thy  debts ;  ” 
and  he  has  paid  them,  and  got  his  full  dis¬ 
charge.  Now,  whosoever  believeth  in  Christ 
Jesus  hath  peace  with  God,  because  “he  hath 
marie  him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin ; 
that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him.”  Spurgeon. 

3222.  INABILITY,  Human.  It  is  reported  of 
a  prince  with  whom  a  mighty  neighbor-king 
used  to  pick  quarrels  by  making  impossible 
demands,  otherwise  threatening  war  and  ruin 
to  him.  Amongst  the  rest,  one  was,  that  he 
charged  him  to  drink  up  the  sea ;  which  a 
counsellor  hearing,  advised  him  to  undertake 
it.  The  prince  replied,  “  How  is  it  possible  to 
be  accomplished  V  ”  The  sage  answered,  “  Let 
him  first  stop  up  all  the  rivers  which  run  into 
the  sea  (which  are  no  part  of  the  bargain),  and 
then  you  shall  perform  it.”  Much  more  im¬ 
possible  is  it  for  ourselves  to  consume  and  dry 
up  all  the  ocean  of  sin  in  us,  so  long  as  lusts 
remain,  like  so  many  rivers,  to  feed  it. 

Spencer. 

3223.  INABILITY,  No  Excuse.  If  the  sinner 

perishes,  it  is  his  own  fault.  I  will  explain 
myself.  You  are  a  master:  you  write  a  letter, 
and,  handing  it  to  your  servant,  you  direct  him 
to  take  it  to  a  person  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  and  bring  you  back  an  answer.  After  a 
while  he  returns;  and  you  ask  him,  “Did  you 
take  the  letter  over  the  river,  as  I  directed 
you  ?  ”  —  “  No,  sir.”  —  “  And  why  ?  ”  —  “  Mas¬ 
ter,  I  could  not.”  —  “  And  why  could  you  not.” 
—  “  Why,  master,  I  went  to  the  river.  It  was 
deej)  and  rapid,  and  there  was  no  bridge,  and  I 
could  not  swim  :  so  I  did  not  go  over.”  —  “  Did 
you  call  for  the  ferryman  ?  ”  —  “  No,  sir.”  — 
“  Then  go  immediately  back,  and  take  the  let¬ 
ter  over,  as  I  commanded  you.”  There  is 
something  about  the  passing  of  that  river 
which  the  servant  cannot  do  any  more  than 
he  can  roll  a  mountain,  or  heave  an  ocean ; 
and  yet  you  do  not  excuse  him.  Even  so  in 
this  matter.  The  sinner  is  utterly  unable  to 
come  to  Christ,  or  change  his  own  heart,  of 
himself.  There  is  a  broad  and  deep  river 
between  him  and  heaven  ;  and  the  sinner  can¬ 
not  swim  :  but,  thank  God  1  there  is  a  heaven¬ 
ly  ferryman  on  the  other  side.  Let  him  call 
upon  that  ferryman.  Dr.  Baker. 

3224.  INABILITY,  View  of.  Suppose  a  poor 
man,  utterly  unable  to  pay  his  debts,  were 
pressed  by  the  sheriff  for  a  claim  of  a  thou¬ 
sand  dollars,  and  the  amount  he  must  pay,  or 
be  imprisoned.  Now  if,  in  these  circumstan¬ 
ces,  one  who  was  able  and  willing  to  relieve 
him  should  kindly  offer  to  pay  the  amount, 
“  O  sir  1  ”  methinks  he  would  say,  “  how  could 
I  expect  such  a  favor  ?  ”  And,  when  assured 
that  it  was  done  with  great  cheerfulness,  how 
thankfully  would  he  accept  the  kind  offer,  and 
say,  “  O  sir  1  I  owe  you  a  thousand  thanks ! 
I  want  words  to  express  my  sense  of  the  great 
Obligations  I  am  under  to  you.”  Dr.  Baker. 

3223.  INACTIVITY,  Record  of.  Ephorus,  an 
ancient  historian,  and  a  scholar  of  Isocrates, 


UTAPPROPRIATENESS. 


nsrcoisrsTAJNrcY. 


375 


had  no  remarkable  thing  to  write  of  his  coun¬ 
try,  and  yet  was  willing  to  insert  the  name  of 
it  in  his  history,  and  therefore  brings  it  in  with 
a  cold  parenthesis :  “  Athens  did  this  famous 
thing,  and  Sparta  did  that ;  and  at  that  time 
my  countrymen,  the  Cumins,  did  nothing.” 

Spencer. 

3226.  IN  APPROPRIATENESS,  Emblem  of. 
There  is  an  ancient  emblem  which  represents 
a  “  thoughtful  thoughtless  man  offering  straw 
to  a  dog,  and  a  bone  to  an  ass.” 

3227.  INCARNATION,  Song  of  Sing,  sing, 

O  Universe  !  till  thou  hast  exhausted  thyself: 
thou  canst  not  afford  a  song  so  sweet  as  the 
song  of  incarnation.  Though  creation  may 
be  a  majestic  organ  of  praise,  it  cannot  reach 
the  compass  of  the  golden  canticle,  incarnation. 
There  is  more  in  that  than  in  creation,  more 
melody  in  Jesus  in  the  manger  than  there  is 
in  worlds  on  worlds,  rolling  in  grandeur  round 
the  throne  of  the  Most  High.  Spurgeon. 

3228.  INCLINATION,  Power  of  The  French 
say,  “  People  make  the  bells  say  whatever  they 
have  a  mind.”  A  widow  consulted  her  priest 
in  regard  to  a  second  marriage.  Whenever 
she  stated  any  thing  in  favor  of  the  marriage, 
the  priest  said,  “  Marry  him.”  Whenever  she 
suggested  an  objection  to  it,  he  said,  “  Don’t 
marry  him.”  Seeing  that  her  mind  was  made  up 
to  marry,  he  advised  her  to  consult  the  church- 
bells.  The  bells  were  rung ;  and  she  heard 
distinctly,  “  Do  take  your  man,  do  take  your 
man.”  She  was  married ;  but,  in  a  little  while, 
her  husband  thrashed  her  soundly ;  when  she 
went  back  to  blame  the  priest  for  his  advice. 
He  said,  “  I  am  afraid  you  did  not  understand 
what  the  bells  said  to  you.”  Again  the  bells 
were  rung;  and,  when  it  was  too  late,  she  heard 
distinctly,  “  Do  not  take  him,  do  not  take 
him.” 

3229.  INCONSISTENCY,  Example  of.  Mr.  C. 
was  a  member  of  a  Christian  church  ;  but  his 
religion  was  of  a  spasmodic  character,  and  his 
harp  often  hung  on  the  willows  down  by  the 
cold  stream  of  worldliness.  But,  when  the 
Lord  saw  fit  to  revive  his  work,  he  was  fore¬ 
most  in  shouting  glory  to  God.  “  I  do  not  like 
to  hear  Mr.  C.  talk  and  pray  in  meetings,” 
said  little  Betsy.  “  Why  not  ?  ”  said  her 
mother.  “  Because,”  she  answered,  “  if  he 
can  talk  so  earnestly  and  pray  so  loud  in  meet¬ 
ings,  I  know  he  can  pray  at  home ;  but  he 
does  not.  lie  is  only  making  believe,  and  try¬ 
ing  to  cheat  God  ;  but  God  can  see  through  it.” 

Christian  Banner. 

3230.  INCONSISTENCY,  Hinderance  of.  When 
Brainerd  was  among  the  American  Indians, 
he  stopped  at  a  place  where  he  offered  to  in¬ 
struct  them  in  Christianity.  lie  was  met  by 
the  retort,  “  Why  should  you  desire  the  Indi¬ 
ans  to  become  Christians,  seeing  that  the 
Christians  are  so  much  worse  than  the  Indi¬ 
ans?  The  Christians  lie,  steal,  and  drink 
worse  than  the  Indians.  They  first  taught  the 
Indians  to  be  drunk.  They  steal  to  so  great 
a  degree,  that  their  rulers  are  obliged  to  hang 
them  for  it ;  and  even  that  is  not  enough  to 
deter  others  from  the  practice.  We  will  not 


consent,  therefore,  to  become  Christians,  lest 
we  should  be  as  bad  as  they.  We  will  live  as 
our  fathers  lived,  and  go  where  our  fathers  are, 
when  we  die.”  By  no  influence  could  he 
change  their  decision. 

3231.  INCONSISTENCY,  Influence  of.  I  date 
my  first  impressions  against  religion  from  hav¬ 
ing  witnessed  how  little  its  votaries  were  actu¬ 
ated  by  true  Christian  charity.  Lord  Bgron. 

3232.  DICONSISTENCY,  Items  of.  The  offi¬ 
cers  of  the  Inquisition  mingled  religious  rites 
and  prayers  with  the  infliction  of  cruel  tor¬ 
tures.  The  Italian  banditti,  or  highway  rob¬ 
bers,  are  said  to  be  very  particular  about  their 
devotions.  John  Newton  nearly  starved  him¬ 
self  in  his  anxiety  to  mortify  the  body  ;  yet 
he  was  captain  of  a  slave-ship,  and  carried  on 
the  detestable  business  of  man-stealing,  until 
his  conscience  became  awakened  to  the  sense 
of  his  sin. 

3233.  INCONSISTENCY,  Knavish.  A  travel¬ 
ler  in  Russia  relates,  that  he  saw  a  votary  of 
the  Greek  Church  devoutly  telling  his  beads 
with  one  hand,  and,  with  the  other,  deliberately 
picking  the  pocket  of  a  fellow-worshipper. 

3231.  INCONSISTENCY,  Practical.  Some 
men  will  not  shave  on  Sunday,  and  yet  they 
spend  all  the  week  in  shaving  their  fellow- 
men  ;  and  many  folks  think  it  very  wicked  to 
black  their  boots  on  Sunday  morning,  yet  they 
do  not  hesitate  to  black  their  neighbor’s  repu¬ 
tation  on  week-days.  Beecher. 

3235.  INCONSISTENCY,  Proverbs.  Those  who 
live  in  glass  houses  should  not  throw  stones. 
Point  not  at  others’  spots  with  a  foul  finger. 

Physician,  heal  thyself.  —  English. - Let  not 

him  that  has  a  glass  skull  take  to  stone-llirow- 
ing.  The  pan  says  to  the  pot,  “  Keep  off,  or 

you’ll  smutch  me.”  —  Italian. - The  shovel 

makes  game  of  the  poker.  —  French. - One 

ass  nicknames  another  Long-Ears.  German. 

3236.  INCONSISTENCY,  Superstitious.  A 
traveller  in  Spain  describes  a  scene  which  he 
witnessed  in  a  gambling-saloon  in  Madrid. 
The  sound  of  a  little  bell  was  heard  in  the 
street,  announcing  the  procession  of  the  host  to 
the  house  of  a  sick  person.  Instantly,  cards 
and  dice  were  thrown  down,  and  every  gambler 
was  on  his  knees,  in  perfect  silence,  till  the 
procession  had  passed  by ;  when  all  resumed 
their  places  and  their  plav. 

3237.  INCONSTANCY,  Pablo  of.  Inconstancy 
once  desired  to  have  her  likeness  taken  ;  but  no 
artist  would  undertake  it,  because  her  features 
were  so  changeable.  Old  Time,  at  length, 
consented  to  do  it.  Being  at  a  loss  for  a  suita¬ 
ble  canvas,  he  selected  the  face  of  man,  upon 
which  lie  drew  the  picture ;  and,  so  says  the 
fable,  ever  since,  man  has  been  constant  in 
nothing  but  his  inconstancy.  This  attaches  to 
every  domain  of  his  nature. 

3238.  INCONSTANCY,  General,  men  one 
sea  floweth,  another  ebbeth.  When  one  star 
riseth,  another  setteth.  When  light  is  in 
Goshen,  darkness  is  in  Egypt.  When  Morde- 
cai  groweth  into  favor,  Hainan  groweth  out  of 
favor.  When  Benjamin  begiuneth,  Rachel 
endeth.  Thus  we  are  rising  or  setting,  getting 


376 


ENTCONTINEZN-CE. 


INDUSTRY. 


or  spending,  winning  or  losing,  growing  or 
fading,  until  we  arive  at  Leaven  or  hell. 

Henry  Smith. 

3239.  INCONTINENCE,  Temptations  to.  In 

his  solitary  life,  St.  Benedict  underwent  many 
temptations ;  and  he  relates,  that,  on  one  oc¬ 
casion,  the  recollection  of  a  beautiful  woman 
whom  he  had  seen  at  Rome  took  such  posses¬ 
sion  of  his  imagination  as  almost  to  overpower 
his  virtue;  so  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  rush¬ 
ing  from  his  solitude  to  seek  that  face  and  form 
which  haunted  his  morbid  fancy,  and  disturbed 
his  dreams.  He  believed  that  this  assault 
upon  his  constancy  could  only  come  from  the 
enemy  of  mankind.  In  a  crisis  of  these  dis¬ 
tracted  desires,  he  rushed  from  his  cave,  and 
flung  himself  into  a  thicket  of  briers  and  net¬ 
tles,  in  which  he  rolled  himself  until  the  blood 
flowed.  Thereupon  the  fiends  left  him  ;  and  he 
was  never  again  assailed  by  the  same  tempta¬ 
tion.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

3240.  INCORRUPTIBILITY,  Example  of.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  American  Revolution,  while  Gen.  Reed 
was  President  of  Congress,  the  British  com¬ 
missioners  offered  him  a  bribe  of  ten  thousand 
guineas,  to  desert  the  cause  of  his  country.  His 
reply  was,  “  Gentlemen ,  I  am  poor,  very  poor ; 
but  your  king  is  not  rich  enour/h  to  buy  me.” 

3241.  INCORRUPTIBILITY,  Noble.  Pyrrhus 
the  Macedonian  endeavored  to  secure  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  Fabricius  in  the  Roman  Senate 
against  his  own  land  by  large  tenders  of  gold. 
Fabricius  replied,  “My  little  field,  poor  and 
unfertile  as  it  is,  supplies  me  with  all  that 
Nat’a'e  requires.  If  riches  had  been  my  ambi¬ 
tion,  I  could  have  amassed  great  sums  from  the 
spoils  of  those  enemies  of  Rome  whom  I  have 
conquered.  Would  it  now  become  me  to 
accept  the  gold  and  silver  you  offer  me  ?  What 
example  should  I  set  the  citizens  of  Rome  ? 
How  could  I  bear  even  their  looks  at  iny  re¬ 
turn?  You  shall,  if  you  please,  keep  your 
riches  to  yourself,  and  I  will  keep  my  poverty 
and  my  reputation.” 

3242.  INCORRUPTIBILITY,  Political,  An¬ 
drew  Marvell,  while  holding  a  position  of 
influence,  was  waited  upon  by  his  old  school¬ 
fellow,  the  Lord  Treasurer  Danby  of  London. 
At  parting,  the  lord-treasurer  slipped  into  his 
hands  an  order  upon  the  treasury  for  a  thousand 
pounds ;  and  then  went  into  his  chariot.  Mar¬ 
vell,  looking  at  the  paper,  called  after  the  treas¬ 
urer,  “  My  lord,  I  request  another  moment.” 
They  went  up  again  to  the  garret ;  and  Jack  the 
servant-boy  was  called.  “  Jack,  what  had  I 
for  dinner  yesterday  ?  ”  —  “  Don’t  you  remem¬ 
ber,  sir  ?  you  had  the  little  shoulder  of  mutton 
[  bought  from  the  woman  in  market.”  — 
“  Very  right.  What  have  I  for  dinner  to-day  ?  ” 
—  “  Don’t  you  know,  sir,  that  you  made  me 
lay  up  the  blade-bone  to  broil  ?  ”  —  “  ’Tis  so  : 
very  right.  Go  away.  My  lord,  do  you  hear 
that?  Andrew  Marvell’s  dinner  is  provided. 
There’s  your  piece  of  paper :  I  want  it  not.  I 
know  the  sort  of  kindness  you  intended.  I  live 
here  to  serve  my  constituents.  The  ministry 
may  seek  men  for  their  purpose  :  I  am  not  one 
of  them.” 


3243.  INDECISION,  Example  of.  “  He  was,” 
i.e.,  Balaam,  as  an  old  writer  remarks,  “  one 
of  those  unstable  men  whom  the  apostle  calls 
‘double-minded,’  an  ambidexter  in  religion, 
like  Redwald,  King  of  the  East  Saxons,  the  first 
that  was  baptized,  who  (as  Camden  relates) 
had  in  the  same  church  one  altar  for  the  Chris¬ 
tian  religion,  and  another  for  sacrificing  to 
devils.  And  a  loaf  of  the  same  leaven  was  our 
resolute  Rufus,  that  painted  God  on  one  side 
of  his  shield,  and  the  Devil  on  the  other,  with 
this  desperate  inscription,  ‘In  utrunque paratus,’ 

‘  I  am  ready  for  either :  catch  that  catch  can.’ 
Or  this  was  such  a  sinful  mixture  as  was  that 
worship  of  those  mongrels  who  ‘  feared  God, 
and  feared  him  not,’  that  is,  rightly ;  for  they 
feared  him  only  for  his  lions  that  he  sent  to 
slay  them  ;  not  truly  nor  totally,  for  God  will 
not  part  stakes  with  the  Devil  at  any  hand.” 

Dr.  Kitto. 

3244.  INDIFFERENCE,  Proverbs,  “Care 

not”  would  have  it.  —  English. - 1  don’t 

want  it ;  I  don’t  want  it :  but  drop  it  into  my 

hood.  —  Spanish  Friar. - He  who  finds  fault 

would  feign  buy.  Under  white  ashes  there  is 

a  glowing  coal.  —  Italian.  - “  Sour  grapes,” 

said  the  fox,  when  he  could  not  reach  them. 

English. 

3245.  INDOLENCE,  Castle  of.  Thomson 
wrote  a  poem  by  this  title.  He  locates  the 
castle  in  a  dreamy  land,  where  every  sense  is 
steeped  in  the  most  luxurious  though  enervat¬ 
ing  delights.  The  lord  of  the  castle  was  a 
powerful  enchanter,  who,  by  his  arts,  enticed 
thoughtless  travellers  within  the  gate,  that  he 
might  destroy  their  strength  and  ruin  their 
hopes  by  a  ceaseless  round  of  voluptuous 
pleasures. 

3246.  INDOLENCE,  Fatal.  “  Pray  of  what 
did  your  brother  die  ?  ”  said  the  Marquis 
Spinola,  one  day,  to  Sir  Horace  Vere.  He  am 
swered,  “  He  died,  sir,  of  having  nothing  to 
do.”  —  “  Alas  1  ”  said  Spinola  :  “  that  is  enough 
to  kill  any  general  of  us  all.” 

3247.  INDOLENCE,  Eero  of.  The  author  of 
“  The  Castle  of  Indolence  ”  paid  homage  in  that 
admirable  poem  to  the  master-passion  of  his 
own  easy  nature.  Thomson  was  so  exces¬ 
sively  lazy,  that  he  is  recorded  to  have  been 
seen  standing  at  a  peach-tree,  with  both  his 
hands  in  his  pockets,  eating  the  fruit  as  it 
grew.  At  another  time,  being  discovered  in 
bed  at  a  very  late  hour  in  the  day,  when  he 
was  asked  why  he  did  not  rise,  his  answer 
was,  “  Troth,  mon,  I  see  nae  motive  for  rising.” 

Percy. 

324§s  INDUSTRY,  Advantage  of.  Industry 
need  not  wish ;  and  he  that  lives  upon  hopes 
will  die  fasting.  There  are  no  gains  without 
pains  ;  then  help  hands,  for  I  have  no  lands  ; 
or,  if  I  have,  they  are  smartly  taxed.  He  that 
hath  a  trade  hath  an  estate ;  and  he  that  hath 
a  calling  hath  an  office  of  profit  and  honor : 
but  then  the  trade  must  be  worked  at,  and 
the  calling  followed,  or  neither  the  estate  nor 
the  office  will  enable  us  to  pay  our  taxes.  If 
we  are  industrious,  we  shall  never  starve ;  for, 
at  the  workingman’s  house,  Hunger  looks  in, 


nSHDTTSTRY. 


INTLAJNT  BAPTISM.  377 


but  dares  not  enter.  Nor  will  tlie  bailiff  or 
the  constable  enter ;  for  industry  pays  debts 
while  despair  incrcaseth  them.  Franklin. 

3249.  INDUSTRY,  Legend  of.  Some  centu¬ 

ries  ago,  a  man  resident  in  Egypt  became  a 
convert  to  the  Christian  faith.  The  spirit  of 
the  times  favored  asceticism  ;  and  he,  being  of 
a  contemplative  mind,  conceived  the  unnatural 
idea,  that  if  he  could  retire  from  society,  and 
spend  his  time  in  contemplation,  he  should 
attain  to  the  perfection  of  human  happiness  on 
earth.  Filled  with  this  thought,  he  bade  adieu 
to  the  abodes  of  men,  wandered  far  into  the 
desert,  selected  a  cave  near  which  flowed  a 
spring,  for  his  home,  and,  subsisting  on  the 
scanty  crops  of  roots  and  herbs  which  sprang 
up  spontaneously  in  the  adjacent  glens  and  val¬ 
leys,  began  his  life  of  meditation  and  prayer. 
He  had  not  spent  many  seasons  in  his  hermit¬ 
age  before  his  heart  grew  miserable  beyond 
endurance.  The  long  and  weary  hours  of  the 
day,  and  the  dreary,  interminable  nights,  op¬ 
pressed  and  crushed  his  listless  soul.  In  the 
extremity  of  his  wretchedness,  he  fell  upon  his 
face,  and  cried,  “  Father,  call  home  thy  child  ! 
Let  me  die  1  I  am  weary  of  life.”  Thus 
stricken  with  grief,  he  fell  asleep ;  and,  in  his 
vision,  an  angel  stood  before  him,  and  spake, 
saying,  “  Cut  down  the  palm-tree  that  grows 
by  t  on  spring,  and  of  its  fibres  construct  a 
rope.”  The  vision  passed  away ;  and  the 
hermit  awoke  with  a  resolution  to  fulfil  his 
mission.  But  he  had  no  axe,  and  therefore 
journeyed  far  to  procure  one.  On  his  return, 
he  felled  the  tree,  and  diligently  labored  till 
its  fibres  lay  at  his  feet,  formed  into  a  coil  of 
rope.  Again  the  angel  stood  before  him,  and 
said,  “  Dominic,  you  are  now  no  longer  weary 
of  life,  but  you  are  happy.  Know,  then,  that 
man  was  made  for  labor,  and  that  prayer  also 
is  his  duty.  Both  are  essential  to  his  hap¬ 
piness.  Go,  therefore,  into  the  world,  with 
the  rope  girded  upon  thy  loins.  Let  it  be  a 
memorial  to  thee  of  what  God  expects  from 
man.”  Dr.  lFf.se. 

3250.  INDUSTRY,  Parable  of.  Geron,  an  old 
man  of  eighty,  was  sitting  at  the  door  of  his 
rural  dwelling,  when  a  youth  from  town  came 
to  him,  and  entered  into  conversation.  When 
he  heard  the  number  of  his  years,  he  marvelled 
at  his  healthy  and  vigorous  appearance,  and 
asked  Geron  what  he  had  done  to  enjoy  such 
strength  and  serenity  in  the  winter  of  his  life. 
Geron  answered,  “  My  son,  this  is  like  every 
good  gift  from  above,  yet  we  must  do  some¬ 
thing  here  below  to  obtain  it.”  Then  the  old 
man  rose,  and  took  the  stranger  to  the  orchard, 
showed  him  the  high,  splendid  trees  laden 
with  delicious  fruit.  Then  the  old  man  said, 
“  Dost  thou  marvel  that  I  now  enjoy  the  fruit 
of  these  trees  ?  Behold,  my  son,  I  planted 
them  in  my  youth.  Here  thou  hast  the  mys¬ 
tery  of  my  quiet,  fruitful  old  age.”  The  youth 
bowed  his  head ;  for  he  understood  the  old 
man’s  words,  and  pondered  them  in  his  heart. 

Krummacher. 

3251.  INDUSTRY,  Power  of.  A  motto  on 
the  walls  of  the  Delphian  temple,  ascribed  to 


Periander,  one  of  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece, 
was,  “  Nothing  is  impossible  to  industry.” 

3252.  INDUSTRY,  Profit  of.  As  the  sons  of 

the  husbandman  in  the  fable,  who  being  told 
by  their  father,  lying  on  his  death-bed,  that 
he  left  much  gold  buried  under  the  ground  in 
his  vineyard,  fell  a  delving  and  digging  all 
about  the  vines ;  and  though  they  found  no 
gold,  yet,  by  stirring  the  mould  about  the  roots 
of  the  trees,  gained  a  great  vintage  that  year : 
even  so  it  falleth  out  in  the  labor  of  our  call¬ 
ing.  Spencer. 

3253.  INDUSTRY,  Royal  Example  of.  Peter  the 
Great  deserves  to  be  made  the  patron-saint  of 
industry.  It  was  his  custom  to  visit  the  differ¬ 
ent  workshops  and  manufactories,  not  only  to 
encourage  them,  but  also  to  judge  what  other 
useful  establishments  might  be  formed  in  his 
dominions.  Among  the  places  he  visited  fre¬ 
quently  were  the  forges  of  Muller  at  Istia, 
ninety  worsts  from  Moscow.  The  czar  once 
passed  a  whole  month  there ;  during  which 
time,  after  giving  due  attention  to  the  affairs  of 
state,  which  he  never  neglected,  he  amused 
himself  with  seeing  and  examining  every 
thing  in  the  most  minute  manner;  and  even 
employed  himself  in  learning  the  business  of 
a  blacksmith.  He  succeeded  so  well,  that,  on 
one  of  the  last  days  of  his  remaining  there, 
he  forged  eighteen  poods  of  iron,  and  put  his 
own  particular  mark  on  each  bar.  A  con¬ 
trast  to  this  is  the  case  of  Dionysius  the 
tyrant,  who,  being  at  an  entertainment  given 
to  him  by  the  Lacedaemonians,  expressed  some 
disgust  at  t  heir  black-broth.  “  No  wonder,” 
said  one  of  them  ;  “  for  it  wants  seasoning.” 
—  “  What  seasoning  ?  ”  asked  the  tyrant.  “  La¬ 
bor,”  replied  the  citizen,  “joined  with  hunger 
and  thirst.” 

3251.  DIEBRIATE,  Degradation  of  the.  Rogues 
have  had  the  initial  letter  of  their  title  burnt 
into  the  palms  of  their  hands;  even  for  mur¬ 
der,  Cain  was  only  branded  on  the  forehead  : 
but,  over  the  whole  person  of  the  debauchee  or 
the  inebriate,  the  signatures  of  infamy  are 
written.  How  Nature  brands  him  with  stigma 
and  opprobrium  1  How  she  hangs  labels  all 
over  him  to  testify  her  disgust  at  his  exist¬ 
ence  and  to  admonish  others  to  beware  of  his 
example !  How  she  loosens  all  his  joints,  and 
sends  tremors  along  his  muscles,  and  bends 
forward  his  frame,  as  if  to  bring  him  upon  all- 
fours,  with  kindred  brutes,  or  to  degrade  him 
to  the  reptiles  crawling !  How  she  disfigures 
his  countenance,  as  if  intent  upon  obliterating 
all  traces  of  her  own  image,  so  that  she  may 
swear  she  never  made  him !  How  she  pours 
rheum  over  his  eyes,  sends  foul  spirits  to  in¬ 
habit  his  breath,  and  shrieks,  as  with  a  trum¬ 
pet,  from  every  pore  of  his  body,  “  Behold  a 
beast  !  ”  II.  Mann. 

3255.  INFANT  BAPTISM,  Improvement  of.  Mr. 
Wesley’s  teaching  on  this  subject  is  instruc¬ 
tive.  He  recommends  to  us  all,  and  enjoins 
upon  us  all,  to  follow  the  example  of  Philip 
Henry.  He  had  a  method  of  improving  in¬ 
fant  baptism,  superior  to  that  of  most  divines, 
and  decidedly  better  than  1  have  at  any  time 


378 


rNTFJCDEL. 


nSTFEDELITY. 


met  with.  He  drew  out  what  he  called  a 
form  of  the  Baptismal  Covenant,  “I  take  God 
the  Father  to  he  my  Father ;  I  take  God  the 
Son  to  be  my  Saviour ;  I  take  God  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  be  my  Comforter,  Teacher,  Guide, 
and  Sanctifier;  I  take  the  Word  of  God  to  be 
the  rule  of  my  actions ;  I  take  the  people  of 
God  to  be  my  people  in  all  conditions :  and 
all  this  I  do  deliberately,  freely,  and  forever.” 
He  taught  all  his  children  to  say  this  to  him 
every  Sunday  night :  when  they  were  able  to 
write,  he  made  every  one  of  them  write  it,  and 
sign  it.  “  Now,”  he  said,  “  I  shall  keep  this 
for  a  testimony  against  you.”  And  he  did 
keep  it.  And  there  is  found  among  his  papers 
one  of  the  most  affecting  documents  in  the 
English  language,  —  a  copy  of  this  covenant, 
signed  by  each  of  his  children  in  succession. 
But  he  never  had  to  produce  it  against  them. 
By  God’s  grace,  they  kept  it;  and  they  verified 
his  own  frequent  adage,  “  Fast  bind,  fast  find.” 

Dr.  Osborn. 

3256.  INFIDEL,  Advice  of  an.  Col.  Ethan 
Allen,  leader  of  the  Green-Mountain  Boys, 
was  a  notorious  infidel.  His  wife  was  a  pious 
woman,  and  taught  her  daughter  the  gospel. 
This  daughter  sickened ;  and  her  father  was 
sent  for  to  hear  her  dying  words.  “Father,” 
said  she,  “  I  am  about  to  die  :  shall  I  believe 
the  principles  which  you  have  taught  me,  or 
shall  I  believe  what  my  mother  has  taught 
me?”  After  waiting  a  few  moments  to  calm 
his  extreme  agitation,  he  answered,  “  Believe 
what  your  mother  has  taught  you.” 

3257.  INFIDEL,  Fidelity  of  an.  An  infidel, 
on  his  death-bed,  felt  himself  adrift  in  the  ter¬ 
rible  surges  of  doubt  and  uncertainty.  Some 
of  his  friends  urged  him  to  hold  on  to  the  end. 
He  replied,  “  I  have  no  objection  to  holding 
on ;  but  will  you  tell  me  what  I  am  to  hold 
on  by  ?  ” 

3258.  INFIDEL,  Work  of  an.  On  the  bed, 

in  his  last  illness,  lay  an  infidel.  The  door 
opened ;  and  a  companion  who  had  first  led 
him  into  the  path  of  vice  entered.  The 
dying  infidel,  recovering  himself  for  a  mo¬ 
ment,  recognized  him  with  a  bitter  smile, 
saying,  “  Behold  thy  work  :  thou  hast  done 
this  !  ”  The  wretch  approached,  and  began  to 
pour  into  his  ear  his  sophistical  arguments. 
Turning  a  face,  pale  with  rage,  he  cried, 
“  Leave  me,  begone  1  you  have  poisoned  my 
existence ;  you  have  directed  my  soul  to  hell : 
and  dare  you,  in  this  hour,  torture  your  vic¬ 
tim  ?  ”  The  man  slunk  away  rebuked,  and 
left  the  room,  perhaps,  in  his  turn,  to  die  the 
same  miserable  death.  The  poor  infidel  raved, 
swore,  and  blasphemed,  till  the  nurse,  unable 
to  bear  the  horrible  scene,  fled,  and  left  him 
to  die  alone.  Cauqliey. 

3259.  INFIDELITY,  Absurdity  of.  A  French¬ 
man  was  crossing  the  Great  Sahara,  in  com¬ 
pany  with  an  Arab  guide.  He  noticed,  with  a 
sneer,  that,  at  certain  times,  his  guide,  whatever 
obstacles  might  arise,  put  them  all  aside,  and, 
kneeling  on  the  burning  sand,  called  on  his  God. 
Day  after  day  passed,  and  the  Arab  never 
failed  ;  till  at  last,  one  evening,  the  philoso¬ 


pher,  when  he  arose  from  his  knees,  asked  him 
with  a  contemptuous  smile,  “  How  do  you 
know  there  is  a  God  ?  ”  The  guide  fixed  his 
burning  eyes  upon  the  scoffer  for  a  moment  in 
wonder,  and  then  said  solemnly,  “  How  do  I 
know  there  is  a  God  ?  How  did  I  know  that 
a  man  and  a  camel  passed  my  hut  last  night  in 
darkness  ?  AVas  it  not  by  the  print  of  his  hoof 
in  the  sand  ?  Even  so.”  And  he  pointed  to 
the  sun,  whose  last  rays  were  fading  over  the 
lonely  desert,  —  “  that  footprint  is  not  of 
man.” 

3260.  INFIDELITY,  Cause  of.  A  gentleman 
eminent  in  the  literary  world  had  his  mind  in 
early  life  deeply  imbued  with  infidel  senti¬ 
ments.  He  and  one  of  his  companions  often 
carried  on  their  conversation  in  the  hearing 
of  a  religious  but  illiterate  countryman.  The 
gentleman,  having  afterwards  become  a  serious 
Christian,  was  concerned  for  the  countryman, 
lest  his  faith  in  the  Christian  religion  should 
have  been  shaken  by  their  remarks.  One  day, 
he  asked  him  whether  what  had  been  so  fre¬ 
quently  advanced  in  his  hearing  had  not  pro¬ 
duced  this  effect  upon  him.  “  By  no  means,” 
answered  the  countryman  :  “  it  never  made  the 
least  impression  upon  me.”  —  “  No  impression 
on  you  !  ”  said  the  gentleman  :  “  why,  you 
must  know  that  we  had  read  and  thought  on 
these  things  much  more  than  you  had  an  op¬ 
portunity  of  doing.”  —  “Oh,  yes!”  said  the 
other  ;  “  but  your  conversation  plainly  showed 
me  that  you  had  never  read  nor  thought  much 
on  your  Bible.  And  besides,  I  knew,  also,  your 
manner  of  living :  I  knew,  that,  to  maintain 
such  a  course  of  conduct,  you  found  it  necessary 
to  renounce  Christianity.” 

3261.  INFIDELITY,  Credulity  of.  It  is  re¬ 
lated  of  Napoleon,  that  when  Marshal  Duroc, 
an  avowed  infidel,  was  once  telling  a  very  im¬ 
probable  story,  giving  his  opinion  that  it  was 
true,  the  emperor  quietly  remarked,  “  There 
are  some  men  who  are  capable  of  believing 
every  thing  but  the  Bible.” 

3262.  INFIDELITY,  Influence  of.  One  day 
when  D’Alembert  and  Condorcet  were  dining 
with  Voltaire,  they  proposed  to  converse  ot 
atheism;  but  Voltaire  stopped  them  at  once. 
“Wait,”  said  he,  “till  my  servants  have  with¬ 
drawn  :  I  do  not  wish  to  have  my  throat  cut 
to-night.” 

3263.  INFIDELITY,  Insincerity  of.  A  scepti¬ 
cal  father  went  to  Annapolis  lor  his  son,  just 
returned  from  the  Libby  Prison  by  exchange. 
He  found  him  at  the  point  of  death;  and  was 
desired  by  the  chaplain  to  break  the  fact  to 
his  son.  He  requested  the  chaplain  to  do  it 
for  him  ;  especially  to  tell  him  to  prepare  for 
the  future,  saying,  “  I  have  been  an  unbeliever, 
a  wicked  man  ;  but  my  son’s  mother  is  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  and  be  had  better  follow  her.” 

3261.  INFIDELITY,  Madness  of.  The  infidel, 
who,  by  his  cavils,  would  undermine  the  foun¬ 
dations  of  Christian  hope,  is  like  the  madman 
who  recklessly  pushes  from  him  the  lifeboat 
which  is  his  only  hope  of  rescue  from  the 
wreck  Christianity  does  hold  out  hope  :  it  is 
a  hope  which  has  proved  substantial  and  con- 


ESnrrDELIXY. 


INI'LTTENCE. 


379 


solatory  to  thousands.  But  what  has  infidelity 
done  ?  Its  highest  achievement  is  to  produce 
t<  mporary  insensibility  to  a  fate  which  cannot 
be  averted,  and  which,  when  it  does  come,  wall 
crush  the  obdurate  unbeliever  into  perdition. 

3265.  INFIDELITY,  Misery  of.  As  the  man 

of  pleasure,  by  a  vain  attempt  to  be  more 
happy  than  any  man  can  be,  is  often  more  mis¬ 
erable  than  most  men  are ;  so  the  sceptic,  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  be  wise  beyond  what  is  per¬ 
mitted  to  man.  plunges  into  a  darkness  more 
deplorable,  and  a  blindness  more  incurable, 
than  the  common  herd  whom  he  despises,  and 
would  fain  instruct.  Colton. 

3266.  INFIDELITY,  Origin  of.  Mr.  Caughey, 
the  revivalist,  finds  a  parallel  case  in  a  mad¬ 
man  who  imagined  that  he  had  devils  in  his 
head.  The  man  was  cured  by  careful  atten¬ 
tion  to  his  mode  of  living,  and  by  constant 
prayer. 

3267.  INFIDELITY,  Shifts  of.  Proteus  was 
a  fabled  sea-god  of  such  wonderful  power, 
that  he  could  change  his  form  at  will.  He 
would  become  a  wild  boar,  a  fierce  tiger,  a 
roaring  lion,  a  scaly  dragon,  a  burning  fire, 
or  a  raging  flood.  lie  was  overcome  by  put¬ 
ting  a  chain  on  his  limbs,  and  holding  it  firmly 
while  he  transformed  himself,  until  he  re¬ 
turned  at  length  to  his  original  shape. 

3268.  INFIDELS,  and  the  Eible.  The  cele¬ 
brated  Gilbert  West  and  his  friend  Lord  Lit¬ 
tleton  determined  to  expose  the  cheat  of  the 
Bible.  Mr.  West  chose  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  and  Lord  Littleton  the  conversion  of 
St.  Paul,  for  hostile  criticism.  They  began 
their  task  full  of  prejudice  aud  contempt  for 
Christianity.  At  the  end,  they  came  together, 
not,  as  they  expected,  to  exult  over  an  impos¬ 
ture  exposed,  but  to  lament  their  own  folly, 
and  to  congratulate  each  other  on  the  won¬ 
derful  result  of  their  separate  investigations. 
The  more  thorough  the  investigation,  the 
stronger  the  conviction  that  the  Bible  is  the 
word  of  God. 

3269.  INFIDELS,  Choice  of.  A  couple  of 

infidels  were  standing  together  on  the  deck  of 
a  vessel  as  she  sailed  past  a  desolate  island 
of  the  sea.  One  said  to  the  other,  “  Suppose 
you  were  condemned  to  live  upon  that  island 
alone,  and  had  the  choice  of  but  one  book  for 
your  companion,  what  book  of  all  books  would 
you  choose  ?  ”  The  other  replied,  “  I  would 
select  Shakspeare,  because  of  the  variety  of  his 
themes.” — “Well,”  rejoined  the  other,  “al¬ 
though  I  do  not  believe  the  Bible,  yet  I  would 
choose  it  for  my  companion  ;  for  the  Bible  is  an 
endless  book."  Caughey. 

3270.  INFIDELS,  Confessions  of.  “  I  seem,” 
says  Hume,  “  affrighted  and  confounded  with 
the  solitude  in  which  I  am  placed  by  my 
philosophy.  When  I  look  abroad,  on  every 
side  I  see  dispute,  contradiction,  and  distrac¬ 
tion.  When  I  turn  my  eye  inward,  I  find 
nothing  but  doubt  and  ignorance.  Where  am 
I  ?  or  what  am  I  ?  F rom  what  cause  do  I  de¬ 
rive  my  existence  ?  To  what  condition  shall 
I  return  ?  I  am  confounded  with  questions. 
I  begin  to  fanej  myself  in  a  very  deplorable 


condition,  environed  with  darkness  on  every 
side.”  Voltaire  says,  “  The  world  abounds 
with  wonders,  also  with  victims.  In  man  is 
more  wretchedness  than  in  all  other  animals 
put  together.  Man  loves  life,  yet  he  knows  he 
must  die ;  spends  his  existence  in  diffusing  the 
miseries  he  has  suffered,  cutting  the  throats 
of  his  fellow-creatures  for  pay,  cheating  and 
being  cheated.  The  bulk  of  mankind  are 
nothing  more  than  a  crowd  of  wretches,  equal¬ 
ly  criminal,  equally  unfortunate.  I  wish  I  had 
never  been  born.” 

3271.  INFIDELS,  Cowardice  o£  Volney,  over¬ 
taken  by  a  heavy  storm  at  sea,  ran  about,  cry¬ 
ing,  “  O  my  God !  O  my  God  !  what  shall  I 
doV  ”  He  was  so  ashamed  of  himself,  that  he  hid 
away  from  his  fellow-passengers,  who  had  pre¬ 
viously  heard  his  boastful  scoffs  against  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Paine,  who  once  said,  “  I  have  gone 
up  and  down  through  the  Christian  Garden  of 
Eden,  and  with  my  simple  axe  I  have  cut  down 
one  after  another  of  its  trees,  till  I  have  scarce 
left  a  sapling  standing,”  lived  to  say,  amid  the 
agonies  of  remorse,  “  I  would  give  worlds,  if  I 
had  them,  that  ‘  The  Age  of  Reason  ’  had 
never  been  published.  Lord  Byron  rallied  his 
failing  courage  thus,  “  Shall  I  sue  for  mercy  7  ” 
At  length  lie  added,  “  Come,  come  ;  no  weak¬ 
ness:  let’s  be  a  man  to  the  last.” 

3272.  INFIDELS,  Dishonesty  o£  Dr.  Johnson 
observed,  “  that  no  honest  man  could  be  an 
atheist ;  for  no  man  could  be  so  after  a  fair  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  proofs  of  Christianity.”  The 
name  of  Hume  being  mentioned  to  him,  “No, 
sir,”  said  he :  “  Hume  owned  to  a  clergyman 
of  the  bishopriek  of  Durham,  that  he  had  never 
read  the  New  Testament  with  attention.” 

3273.  INFIDELS,  Ignorance  of.  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  set  out  in  life  a  clamorous  infidel ;  but, 
on  examination  of  the  evidences  of  Christiani¬ 
ty,  he  found  reason  to  change  his  opinion. 
When  Dr.  Halley  was  talking  infidelity  before 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  he  said,  “  Dr.  Halley,  I  am 
always  glad  to  hear  you  when  you  speak  about 
astronomy  or  other  parts  of  mathematics,  be¬ 
cause  that  is  a  subject  you  have  studied  and 
well  understand  :  but  you  should  not  talk  of 
Christianity ;  for  you  have  not  studied  it.  I 
have,  and  am  certain  you  know  nothing  about 
the  matter.” 

3274.  INFIDELS,  Thwarted.  Gibbon,  Vol¬ 
taire,  and  Chesterfield  labored  earnestly  to 
overthrow  Christianity;  but  God  has  overruled 
their  purposes  in  a  signal  manner.  In  Gib¬ 
bon’s  hotel  at  Lake  Leman  is  a  room  where 
Bibles  are  sold.  The  printing-press  from 
which  Voltaire’s  infidel  works  were  issued  has 
been  appropriated  to  printing  the  Word  of 
God.  Chesterfield’s  parlor,  formerly  an  infidel 
club-room,  echoing  with  profanity,  and  raillery 
at  the  Christian  religion,  is  now  a  vestry,  where 
the  groans  and  prayers  of  the  penitent  go  up 
to  God. 

3275.  INFLUENCE,  Analogy  o£  The  pulsa¬ 
tions  of  the  atmosphere,  once  set  in  motion  by 
the  human  voice,  cease  not  to  exist  with  the 
sounds  to  which  they  gave  rise.  Strong  and 
audible  as  they  may  be  in  the  immediate 


380 


UNTTLiTJEN"  CB. 


es^l.ttkin'CE. 


neighborhood  of  the  speaker,  and  at  the  imme¬ 
diate  moment  of  utterance,  their  attenuated 
force  soon  becomes  inaudible  to  human  ears. 
The  waves  of  the  air  thus  raised  perambulate 
the  earth  and  ocean’s  surface ;  and,  in  less  than 
twenty  hours,  every  atom  of  its  atmosphere 
takes  up  the  altered  movement  due  to  that 
infinite  small  portion  of  the  primitive  motion 
which  has  been  conveyed  to  it  through  count¬ 
less  channels,  and  which  must  continue  to 
inlluence  its  path  throughout  its  future  exist¬ 
ence.  Thus  considered,  what  a  strange  chaos 
is  this  wide  atmosphere  we  breathe  1  Every 
atom,  impressed  with  good  and  with  ill,  retains 
at  once  the  motion  which  sages  and  philoso¬ 
phers  have  imparted  to  it,  mixed  and  com¬ 
bined  in  ten  thousand  ways  with  all  that  is 
worthless  and  base.  The  air  is  dhe  vast  libra¬ 
ry,  on  whose  pages  are  forever  written  all  that 
man  has  ever  said,  or  woman  whispered. 
There,  in  their  mutable  but  unerring  charac¬ 
ters,  mixed  with  the  earliest  as  well  as  with 
the  latest  sighs  of  mortality,  stand  forever  re¬ 
corded  vows  unredeemed,  promises  unfulfilled, 
perpetuating  in  the  united  movements  of 
each  particle  the  testimony  of  man’s  change¬ 
ful  will.  Babbage. 

3276.  INFLUENCE,  Extensive.  A  distin¬ 
guished  writer  says,  “  It  is  as  if  each  man  had 
his  foot  upon  the  point  where  ten  thousand 
telegraphic  wires  meet  from  every  part  of  the 
universe,  and  he  were  able  with  each  volition  to 
send  abroad  an  influence  along  these  wires, 
so  as  to  reach  every  created  being  by  a  golden 
chain,  and  every  pulsation  of  our  heart,  or 
movement  of  our  mind,  modified  the  pulsation 
of  every  other  heart  and  the  movements  of 
every  other  intellect.” 

3277.  INFLUENCE,  Growth  of.  Away  among 
the  Alleghanies  there  is  a  spring,  so  small  that 
a  single  ox  could  drain  it  dry  on  a  summer’s 
day.  It  steals  its  unobtrusive  way  among  the 
hills,  till  it  spreads  out  into  the  beautiful  Ohio ; 
thence  it  stretches  away  a  thousand  miles, 
leaving  on  its  banks  more  than  a  hundred  vil¬ 
lages  and  cities,  and  many  thousand  cultivated 
farms,  and  bearing  on  its  bosom  more  than  half 
a  thousand  steamboats  ;  then,  joining  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  it  stretches  away  some  twelve  hundred 
miles  or  more,  until  it  falls  into  the  great  em¬ 
blem  of  eternity.  It  is  one  of  the  great  tribu¬ 
taries  of  the  ocean,  which,  obedient  only  to 
God,  shall  roll  and  roar  till  the  angel,  with 
one  foot  on  the  sea,  and  the  other  on  the  land, 
shall  lift  up  his  hand  to  heaven,  and  swear  that 
time  shall  be  no  longer.  So  with  moral  in¬ 
fluence.  It  is  a  rivulet,  an  ocean,  boundless 
and  fathomless  as  eternity. 

3278.  INFLUENCE,  Illustration  of.  Aladdin  is 

a  character  in  “  The  Arabian  Nights’  Enter¬ 
tainments,”  who  became  possessed  of  a  wonder¬ 
ful  lamp  and  ring,  on  rubbing  which  two  fright¬ 
ful  genii  appear,  who  are  respectively  the  slave 
of  the  lamp  and  the  ring,  and  who  execute  the 
bidding  of  any  one  who  may  have  them  in  their 
keeping.  Wheeler. 

3279.  INFLUENCE,  Inevitable,  That  which 
a  man  is,  that  sum-total  made  up  of  the  items 


of  his  beliefs,  purposes,  affections,  tastes,  ami 
habits,  manifested  in  all  he  does  and  does  not. 
is  contagious  in  its  tendency,  and  is  ever  photo¬ 
graphing  itself  on  other  spirits.  He  himself 
may  be  as  unconscious  of  this  emanation  of 
good  or  evil  from  his  character,  as  he  is  of  the 
contagion  of  disease  from  his  body,  or,  if  that 
were  equally  possible,  of  the  contagion  of  good 
health ;  but  the  fact,  nevertheless,  is  certain. 
If  the  light  is  in  him,  it  must  shine;  if  dark¬ 
ness  reigns,  it  must  shade ;  if  he  glows  with 
love,  it  will  radiate  its  warmth;  if  he  is  frozen 
with  selfishness,  the  cold  will  chill  the  atmos¬ 
phere  around  him  ;  and,  if  corrupt  and  vile,  he 
will  poison  it.  Nor  is  it  possible  for  any  one 
to  occupy  a  neutral  or  indifferent  position.  In 
some  form  or  other,  he  must  affect  others. 
Were  he  to  banish  himself  to  a  distant  islaud, 
or  even  enter  the  gates  of  death,  he  still  exer¬ 
cises  a  positive  influence,  for  he  is  a  loss  to  his 
brother,  —  the  loss  of  that  most  blessed  gift  of 
God,  even  that  of  a  living  man  to  living  men, 
of  a  being  who  ought  to  have  loved  and  to 
have  been  beloved.  Dr.  Macleod. 

3280.  INFLUENCE,  Irremediable.  When  John 

Newton  was  on  board  “  The  Harwich,”  he  cor¬ 
rupted  a  young  man,  previously  free  from  open 
vice,  who  soon  arrived  at  maturity  in  guilt. 
Years  after,  they  met.  Newton  was  changed, 
and  desired  to  rescue  his  former  companion 
from  the  effects  of  which  he  had  himself  been 
the  guilty  cause.  As  he  no  longer  felt  infidel¬ 
ity  to  be  tenable,  he  strove  to  undeceive  his 
victim.  His  usual  reply,  however,  was,  that 
Newton  was  the  first  to  give  him  an  idea  of 
his  liberty,  which  he  would  not  now  forego. 
His  efforts  were  vain  :  he  got  worse,  spurned 
all  restraints,  gave  loose  to  every  passion.  His 
excesses  threw  him  into  a  malignant  fever,  of 
which  he  died ;  but  not  till  he  had  appalled  ail 
those  about  him,  and  pronounced  his  own  sad 
doom,  without  showing  any  symptom  that  he 
hoped  or  asked  for  mercy.  Tweedie. 

3281.  INFLUENCE,  Personal.  The  greatest- 
works  that  have  been  done  have  been  done 
by  the  ones.  The  hundreds  do  not  often  do 
much,  the  companies  never  do  :  it  is  the  units, 
just  the  single  individuals,  that,  after  all,  are 
the  power  and  the  might.  Take  any  church,  — 
there  are  multitudes  in  it;  but  it  is  some  two 
or  three  that  do  the  work.  Look  on  the  Ref¬ 
ormation  1  —  there  might  be  many  reformers, 
but  there  was  but  one  Luther :  there  might  be 
many  teachers,  but  there  was  but  one  Calvin. 
Look  ye  upon  the  preachers  of  the  last  age,  the 
mighty  preachers  who  stirred  up  the  churches ! 
—  there  were  many  coadjutors  with  them ;  but, 
after  all,  it  was  not  Whitefield’s  friends,  nor 
Wesley’s  friends,  but  the  men  themselves,  that 
did  it.  Individual  effort  is,  after  all,  the  grand 
thing.  A  man  alone  can  do  more  than  a  man 
with  fifty  men  at  his  heels  to  fetter  him.  Look 
back  through  all  history.  Who  delivered  Israel 
from  the  Philistines?  —  it  was  solitary  Sam¬ 
son.  Who  was  it  gathered  the  people  together 
to  rout  the  Midianites  ?  —  it  was  one  Gideon, 
who  cried,  “  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of 
Gideon  1  ”  Who  was  he  that  smote  the  enemy  ? 


ENTFLATEINrOE:. 


nSTG-R^LTITUDEI. 


381 


—  it  was  Shamgar,  witli  his  ox-goad ;  or  it  was 
an  Ehud,  who,  with  his  dagger,  put  an  end  to  his 
country’s  tyrant.  Separate  men  —  Davids 
with  their  slings  and  stones  —  have  done  more 
than  armies  could  accomplish.  Spurgeon. 

3282.  INFLUENCE,  Posthumous.  Da  Vinci’s 
famous  painting  of  “  The  Lord’s  Supper,”  ori- 

inally  adorning  the  dining-room  of  a  convent, 

as  suffered  such  destruction  from  the  ravages 
of  time,  war,  and  abuse,  that  none  of  its  original 
beauty  remains.  Yet  it  has  been  copied  and 
engraved ;  and  impressions  of  the  great  picture 
have  been  multiplied  through  all  civilized 
lands.  Behold  a  parable  of  posthumous  in¬ 
fluence. 

3283.  INFLUENCE,  Power  of.  The  stone 
flung  from  my  careless  hand  into  the  lake 
splashed  down  into  the  depths  of  the  flowing 
water ;  and  that  was  all.  No,  it  was  not  all. 
Look  at  those  concentric  rings,  rolling  their 
tiny  ripples  among  the  sedgy  reeds,  dipping 
the  overhanging  boughs  of  yonder  willow,  and 
producing  an  influence,  slight  but  conscious, 
to  the  very  shore  of  the  lake  itself.  That 
hasty  word,  that  word  of  pride  or  scorn,  flung 
from  my  lips  in  casual  company,  produces  a 
momentary  depression  ;  and  that  is  all.  No,  it 
is  not  all.  It  deepened  that  man’s  disgust  at 
godliness ;  and  it  sharpened  the  edge  of  that 
man’s  sarcasm ;  and  it  shamed  that  halflcon- 
verted  one  out  of  his  penitent  misgivings;  and 
it  produced  an  influence,  slight  but  eternal,  on 
the  destiny  of  an  immortal  life.  Oh !  it  is  a 
terrible  power  that  I  have,  —  this  power  of  in¬ 
fluence  ;  and  it  clings  to  me.  I  cannot  shake 
it  off.  It  is  born  with  me  :  it  has  grown  wLh 
my  growth,  and  strengthened  with  my  strength. 
It  speaks,  it  walks,  it  moves ;  it  is  powerful  in 
every  look  of  my  eye,  in  every  word  of  my  lips, 
in  every  act  of  my  life.  I  cannot  live  to  my¬ 
self.  I  must  either  be  a  light  to  illumine,  or  a 
tempest  to  destroy.  I  must  either  be  an  Abel, 
who  by  his  immortal  righteousness,  being  dead, 
yet  speaketh ;  or  an  Achan,  the  saddest  contin¬ 
uance  of  whose  otherwise  forgotten  name  is 
the  fact  that  man  perishes  not  alone  in  his  in¬ 
iquity.  O  brethren  1  this  necessary  element 
of  power  belongs  to  you  all.  Your  sphere  may 
be  contracted,  your  influence  may  be  small ; 
but  a  sphere  .and  influence  you  have. 

IF.  M.  Punskon. 

3281.  INFLUENCE,  Reflex.  During  the  late 
war.  a  soldier  wrote  to  his  betrothed,  telling  her 
of  his  conversion,  and  exhorting  her  to  seek 
Christ.  Before  it  could  have  reached  her,  he 
received  a  letter  of  like  import  from  her,  to  his 
great  surprise  and  joy.  A  similar  instance  is 
recorded  of  a  husband  and  wife. 

3285.  INFLUENCE,  Spiritual.  When  a  lec¬ 
turer  on  electricity  wants  to  show  an  example 
of  a  human  body  surcharged  with  his  fire,  he 
places  a  person  on  a  stool  with  glass  legs.  The 
glass  serves  to  isolate  him  from  the  earth,  be¬ 
cause  it  will  not  conduct  the  fire,  —  the  electric 
fluid  :  were  it  not  for  this,  however  much  might 
be  poured  into  his  frame,  it  would  Ixj  carried 
away  by  the  earth ;  but,  when  thus  isolated 
from  it,  he  retains  all  that  enters  him.  You 


see  no  fire,  you  hear  no  fire ;  but  you  are  told 
that  it  is  pouring  into  him.  Presently,  you 
are  challenged  to  the  proof ;  asked  to  come 
near,  and  hold  your  hand  close  to  his  person  : 
when  you  do  so,  a  spark  of  fire  shoots  out 
towards  you.  If  thou,  then,  wouldst  have  thy 
soul  surcharged  with  the  fire  of  God,  so  that 
those  who  come  near  thee  shall  feel  some 
mysterious  influence  proceeding  out  from  thee, 
thou  must  draw  nigh  to  the  source  of  that  fire, 
to  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  and 
shut  thyself  out  from  the  world.  —  that  cold 
world  which  so  swiftly  steals  our  fire  away. 
Enter  into  thy  closet,  and  shut  to  thy  door, 
and  there,  isolated  “  before  the  throne,”  await 
the  baptism  :  then  the  fire  shall  fill  thee ;  and, 
when  thou  comest  forth,  holy  power  will  attend 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  labor,  not  in  thine  own 
strength,  but  with  demonstration  of  the  Spirit, 
and  with  power.  Rev.  IF.  Arthur. 

328G.  INFLUENCE,  Unconscious.  A  lieutenant- 
colonel  was  overwhelmed  by  the  fear  of  death 
amid  the  peril  of  battle.  lie  was  impressed 
with  the  steadiness  of  several  Christian  soldiers 
when  under  fire.  Particularly  he  saw  a  corpo¬ 
ral,  who,  after  several  standard-bearers  had 
been  shot  down,  seized  the  flag-staff,  and,  as  he 
bore  it  to  immediate  death,  calmly  said  to  a 
comrade,  “  If  I  fall,  tell  my  dear  wife  that  I 
die  with  a  good  hope  in  Christ,  and  that  I  am 
glad  to  give  my  life  for  the  country.”  ‘‘I  can¬ 
not  forget  that,”  said  the  colonel :  “  and  I  want 
to  become  a  Christian ;  for  I  know  there  is  a 
realitv  in  religion.” 

3287.  INGRATITUDE,  Base.  At  the  battle  . 

of  the  Alma,  in  September,  1854,  a  wounded 
Russian  was  calling  piteously  for  water.  Capt. 
Eddington,  whose  heart  was  kind  and  charita¬ 
ble,  ran  up  to  him,  and,  stooping,  gave  him 
the  much-desired  beverage.  The  wounded  man 
revived.  The  captain  ran  forward  to  join 
his  regiment;  when  the  wretch,  who  had  just 
been  restored  by  his  kindness,  fired,  and  shot 
him  who  had  been  his  friend  in  the  time  of 
need.  Biblical  Treasury. 

3288.  INGRATITUDE,  Common.  The  crop 
once  failed,  and  famine  threatened  the  people. 
This  gave  rise  to  general  complaints,  both  in 
town  and  country  ;  so  that  two  men  rarely  met 
without  manifesting  their  despondency,  and 
expressing  themselves  in  most  unbecoming 
terms.  Gotthold  thereupon  observ  ,d  :  “  I  am 
now  sensible  of  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  which 
says,  that,  if  God  were  to  be  so  complacent  as 
to  carry  us  on  his  back  to  Rome,  we  would  not 
thank  him  tor  his  pains,  if  he  did  not  also  set 
us  down  upon  an  easy-ehair.  blow  comes  it  to 
pass,  that,  in  the  present  dearth,  there  are  so 
few  who  thankfully  reflect  upon  the  rich  and 
plentiful  seasons  of  which  we  have  had  so 
long  a  succession  ?  I  cannot  recollect  of  hav¬ 
ing  then  heard  nearly  so  much  praise  and 
thanksgiving  for  the  abundance  of  the  divine 
blessing,  as  1  now  hear  complaints  on  account 
of  its  deficiency.” 

3289.  INGRATITUDE,  Inconsistent.  We  can 
be  thankful  to  a  friend  for  a  few  acres  or  a 
little  money ;  and  yet  for  the  freedom  and  com- 


ESrG-R^TITTJX>K. 


INJURIES. 


mand  of  tlie  whole  earth,  and  for  the  great 
benefits  of  our  being,  —  our  life,  health,  and 
reason,  —  we  look  upon  ourselves  as  under  no 
obligation.  Seneca. 

3*290.  INGRATITUDE,  Insatiableness  of.  The 
only  voiee  of  ingratitude  is,  “  Give,  give  1  ” 
But  when  the  gift  is  once  received,  then,  like 
the  swine  at  his  trough,  it  is  silent  and  insatia¬ 
ble.  In  a  word,  the  ungrateful  person  is  a 
monster  which  is  all  throat  and  belly,  —  a  kind 
of  thoroughfare  or  common  sewer  for  the  good 
things  of  the  world  to  pass  into  ;  and  of  whom, 
in  respect  of  all  kindnesses  conferred  on  him, 
may  be  verified  that  observation  of  the  lion’s 
den,  before  which  appeared  the  footsteps  of 
many  that  had  gone  in  thither,  but  no  prints 
of  any  that  ever  came  out  thence.  Dr.  South. 

3293..  INGRATITUDE,  Proverbs,  Put  a  snake 
in  your  bosom,  and,  when  it  is  warm,  it  will 
sting  you.  Eaten  bread  is  soon  forgotten.  — 

English. - Bring  up  a  raven,  and  it  will  peck 

out  your  eyes.  —  Spanish. - A  favor  to  come 

is  better  than  a  hundred  received.  —  Italian. 

- Eat  the  present,  and  break  the  dish.  — 

Arabic. - The  ass,  after  having  drunk,  gives 

a  kick  to  the  bucket.  —  Italian. - Nothing 

more  detestable  does  the  earth  produce  than 
an  ungrateful  man.  Ausonius. 

3292.  INGRATITUDE,  Punished,  A  petted 
soldier  of  the  Macedonian  army  was  ship¬ 
wrecked,  and  cast  upon  the  shore,  apparently 
lifeless.  A  hospitable  Macedonian  discovered 
him,  revived  him,  took  him  to  his  home,  and 
treated  him  in  a  princely  manner,  and,  when 
he  departed,  gave  him  money  for  his  journey. 
The  rescued  soldier  expressed  warm  thanks, 
and  promised  royal  bounty  to  his  benefactor. 
Instead,  when  he  came  before  Philip,  he  related 
his  own  misfortunes,  and  asked  to  be  rewarded 
by  the  sift  of  the  house  and  lands  of  his  res¬ 
cuer.  His  request  was  granted ;  and  he  returned 
and  drove  out  his  former  host.  The  latter 
hastened  to  lay  the  true  state  of  the  case  be¬ 
fore  the  king ;  when  he  restored  the  lands,  and 
caused  the  soldier  to  be  branded  in  the  fore¬ 
head,  “  The  Ungrateful  Guest,”  as  the  reward 
of  his  baseness. 

3293.  INGRATITUDE,  Punishment  of.  When 

I  consider  how  the  goodness  of  God  is  abused 
and  perverted  by  the  greatest  part  of  man¬ 
kind,  I  cannot  but  be  of  his  mind,  that  said, 
“  The  greatest  miracle  in  the  world  is  God’s 
patience  and  bounty  to  an  ungrateful  world.” 
Oh  !  what  would  God  not  do  for  his  creature, 
if  thankful,  that  thus  heaps  the  coals  of  his 
mercies  upon  the  heads  of  his  enemies  V  But 
think  not,  sinners,  that  you  shall  escape  thus. 
God’s  mill  goes  slow,  but  it  grinds  small ;  the 
more  admirable  his  patience  and  bounty  now 
is,  the  more  dreadful  and  insupportable  will 
that  fury  be  which  ariseth  out  of  his  abused 
goodness.  Nothing  blunter  than  iron ;  yet, 
when  sharpened,  it  hath  an  edge  that  will  cut 
mortally  :  nothing  smoother  than  the  sea ;  yet, 
when  stirred  into  a  tempest,  nothing  rageth 
more  :  nothing  so  sweet  as  the  patience  and 
goodness  of  God,  and  nothing  so  terrible  as 
hi  a  wrath,  when  it  takes  fire.  Gurnall. 


3294.  INGRATITUDE,  Selfishness  of,  As  the 

Dead  Sea  drinks  in  the  River  Jordan,  and  is 
never  the  sweeter;  and  the  ocean  all  other 
rivers,  and  is  never  the  fresher :  so  we  aro 
apt  to  receive  daily  mercies  from  God,  and 
still  remain  insensible  of  them,  unthankful  for 
them.  God’s  mercies  to  us  are  like  the  dew 
on  the  fleece.  We  are  like  fishermen’s  weels, 
—  wide  at  that  end  which  lets  in  the  fish,  but 
narrow  at  ihe  other  end,  so  that  they  cannot 
get  out  again  ;  greedy  to  get  mercy,  tenacious 
to  hold  it.  The  rain  comes  down  from  heaven 
in  showers  :  it  goes  up  but  in  mists.  We  sow 
in  our  land  one  measure,  and  receive  ten  ;  yea, 
Isaac  received  a  hundred-fold :  but  God  sows 
ten,  it  may  be,  a  hundred  mercies  amongst  us, 
when  we  scarce  return  the  praise  and  the  fruit 
of  one.  Our  hearts,  in  this  case,  are  like  the 
windows  of  the  temple,  —  “  wide  inside  ”  to  let 
in  mercies,  but  “  narrow  outward  ”  to  let  forth 
praises.  Bp.  Reynolds 

3295.  DIHOSPITALITY,  Rebuked.  An  Indi¬ 
an,  when  out  hunting,  followed  the  game  into 
the  American  settlement.  The  weather  was 
cold  and  rainy.  lie  stopped  at  a  planter’s, 
where  he  begged  lor  shelter ;  which  was  re¬ 
fused.  Hungry  and  thirsty,  he  besought  a 
crust  of  bread  and  a  glass  of  water.  But  to 
each  request,  “No!”  was  the  answer;  to 
which  was  added,  “  Get  away,  Indian  dog ! 
there  is  nothing  here  for  thee.”  Several  years 
afterwards,  this  same  planter  lost  his  way  in 
the  woods,  and,  coming  up  !o  the  cabin  of  a 
savage,  in  his  turn  begged  for  hospitality ; 
which  was  immediately  granted.  On  inquir¬ 
ing  the  distance  to  the  settlement,  the  Indian 
replied,  “You  are  too  far  from  home  to  return 
there  to-night.  Remain  here  ;  and  to-morrow 
morning  I  will  myself  guide  you  back  to  your 
house.”  The  American  accepted  this  offer, 
and  spent  the  night  with  the  Indian,  who 
seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  showing  him  every 
attention  ;  and  the  next  day,  according  to  his 
promise,  he  conducted  the  planter  to  his  habi¬ 
tation.  When  about  to  take  leave,  the  Red¬ 
skin  turned  and  faced  liis  guest,  bidding  him 
look  at  him,  and  try  to  remember  where  he  had 
seen  him  before.  The  white  man  instantly 
recognized  the  hunter  he  had  so  barbarously 
treated  a  few  years  before.  He  was  seized 
with  terror  at  the  idea  of  the  fate  that  he  was 
convinced  awaited  him.  He  attempted  to 
speak,  but  could  not  find  words  to  express 
either  his  gratitude  or  shame.  But  die  Indian 
gently  and  simply  said,  “  Another  time,  when 
a  poor  Indian,  cold,  hungry,  and  thirsty,  comes 
to  thy  door  to  ask  a  shelter,  a  crust  of  bread, 
and  a  drop  of  water,  say  not  to  him,  ‘  Begone, 
Indian  dog!  there  is  nothing  here  for  thee,”’ 
and  disappeared  in  the  forest,  leaving  the 
white  man  to  his  conscience. 

3296.  INJURIES,  Forgetting,  A  man  strikes 
me  with  a  sword,  and  inflicts  a  wound.  Sup¬ 
pose,  instead  of  binding  up  the  wound,  I  am 
showing  it  to  everybody ;  and,  after  it  has 
been  bound  up,  I  am  taking  off  the  bandage 
constantly,  and  examining  the  depth  of  the 
wound,  and  making  it  fester:  is  there  a  person 


U'TJ  UJtilidiS* 


nsnsrocEisrcE. 


383 


in  the  world  who  would  not  call  me  a  fool  ? 
However,  such  a  fool  Is  he,  who,  by  dwelling 
upon  little  injuries  or  insults,  causes  them  to 
agitate  and  influence  his  mind.  IIow  much 
better  were  it  to  put  a  bandage  on  the  wound, 
and  never  look  to  it  again  !  Simeon. 

3297.  INJURIES,  Overlooking.  When  some 
of  the  courtiers  of  Philip  the  Good  would 
have  persuaded  him  to  punish  a  prelate  who 
had  used  him  ill,  he  declined,  saying,  “  It  is  a 
fine  thing  to  have  revenge  in  one’s  power ;  but 
it  is  a  finer  tiling  not  to  use  it.” 

3298.  INJURIES,  Proverbs.  Knock  a  man 

down,  and  kick  him  for  falling.  —  English. - 

No  man  is  hurt  but  by  himself.  Latin. 

3299.  INJURIES,  Retaliating.  If  a  bee  stings 
you,  will  you  go  to  the  hive  and  destroy  it? 
Would  not  a  thousand  come  upon  you  ?  If 
you  receive  a  trifling  injury,  do  not  go  about 
the  streets  proclaiming  it,  and  be  anxious  to 
avenge  it.  Let  it  drop.  It  is  wisdom  to  say 
little  respecting  the  injuries  you  may  have 
received. 

3390.  INJUSTICE,  Punished,  Cambyses,  King 
of  Persia,  was  remarkable  for  the  severity 
of  his  government,  and  his  inexorable  regard 
to  justice.  This  prince  had  a  particular  favor¬ 
ite,  whom  he  made  a  judge;  and  this  judge 
reckoned  himself  so  secure  in  the  credit  he 
had  with  his  master,  that,  without  ceremony, 
causes  were  bought  and  sold  in  the  courts  of’ 
judicature  as  openly  as  provisions  in  the  mar¬ 
ket.  But  when  Cambyses  was  informed  of 
these  proceedings,  enraged  to  find  his  friend¬ 
ship 'so  ungratefully  abused,  the  honor  of  his 
government  prostituted,  and  the  liberty  and 
property  of  his  subjects  sacrificed  to  the  ava¬ 
rice  of  this  wretched  minion,  he  ordered  him  to 
be  seized  and  publicly  degraded ;  after  which 
he  commanded  his  skin  to  be  stripped  over  his 
ears,  and  the  seat  of  government  to  be  cov¬ 
ered  with  it,  as  a  warning  to  others.  At  the 
same  time,  to  convince  the  world  that  this  se¬ 
verity  proceeded  only  from  the  love  of  justice, 
he  permitted  the  son  to  succeed  his  father  in 
the  honors  and  office  of  prime  minister. 

Stretch. 

3301.  INJUSTICE,  Worse  than  Poverty.  Arti- 
barzanes,  an  officer  of  Artaxerxes,  King  of 
Persia,  begged  his  Majesty  to  confer  a  favor 
upon  him,  which,  if  complied  with,  would  be 
an  act  of  injustice.  The  king,  being  informed 
that  the  promise  of  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  was  the  only  motive  that  induced  the 
officer  to  so  unreasonable  a  request,  ordered 
his  treasurer  to  give  him  thirty  thousand  dari- 
uses,  being  a  present  of  equal  value  with  that 
which  he  was  to  have  received.  Giving  him 
the  order  for  the  money,  “  Here,  take,”  says 
the  king,  “  this  token  of  my  friendship  for  you. 
A  gift  of  this  nature  cannot  make  me  poor :  but 
complying  with  your  request  would  make  me 
poor  indeed;  for  it  would  make  me  unjust.” 

Stretch. 

3392.  INNOCENCE,  Fable  of.  The  unicorn  is 
described  as  a  ferocious  beast ;  having  the  body 
of  a  horse,  the  head  of  a  deer,  the  tail  of  a 
boar,  the  feet  of  an  elephant,  the  voice  of  a  | 


bull,  and  a  large  black  horn  in  the  middle  of 
its  forehead.  No  hunter  dares  face  it,  ns  it 
would  either  pierce  them  with  its  horn,  or, 
throwing  itself  from  some  precipice,  would  fall 
upon  its  horn,  and  thus  escape  unharmed. 
An  innocent  young  virgin  was  placed  in  the 
monster’s  way.  When  he  saw  her,  he  ap-„ 
proaehed  reverently,  lay  down  beside  her,  put 
his  head  in  her  lap,  fell  asleep,  and  was  thus 
captured.  What  bravery  and  strength  cannot 
do  is  accomplished  bv  weakness  and  purity. 

3393.  INNOCENCE,  and  Guilt.  A  painter 
once  wanted  a  picture  of  innocence,  and  drew 
from  life  the  likeness  of  a  child  at  prayer. 
The  little  supplicant  was  kneeling  beside  his 
mother.  The  palms  of  his  hands  were  rever¬ 
ently  pressed  together;  and  his  mild  blue  eye 
was  upturned  with  the  expression  of  devotion 
and  peace.  The  portrait  of  young  Rupert  was 
much  prized  by  the  painter,  who  hung  it  up 
on  his  study-wall,  and  called  it  “Innocence.” 
Years  passed  away ;  and  the  artist  became  an 
old  man.  Still  the  picture  hung  there.  He 
had  often  thought  of  painting  a  counterpart, 
—  the  picture  of  guilt,  —  but  had  not  found  the 
opportunity.  At  last,  he  effected  his  purpose 
by  paying  a  visit  to  a  neighboring  jail.  On 
the  damp  floor  of  his  cell  lay  a  wretched  cul¬ 
prit,  named  Randall,  heavily  ironed.  Wasted 
was  his  body,  and  hollow  his  eye:  vice  was 
visible  in  his  face.  The  painter  succeeded 
admirably ;  and  the  portraits  were  hung  side 
by  side  for  “  Innocence  ”  and  “  Guilt.”  The 
two  originals  of  the  pictures  were  discovered 
to  be  one  and  the  same  person,  —  first  in  the 
innocence  of  childhood  ;  second  in  the  degra¬ 
dation  of  guilt  and  sin. 

3304.  INNOCENCE,  Instinot  of.  Just  as  the 
dove  trembles  at  the  approach  of  the  hawk,  and 
the  young  calf  shudders  at  the  lion  never  seen 
before,  so  innocence  shrinks  instinctively  from 
what  is  wrong  by  the  same  divine  instinct. 

F.  IV.  Robertson. 

3305.  INNOCENCE,  Legend  of.  Agnes  was 
a  beautiful  Roman  maiden,  and  a  devoted 
Christian.  The  son  of  the  prefect  became 
enamored  of  her,  and  offered  to  make  her  his 
wife  ;  but  she  rejected  his  offer,  and  told  him 
she  had  a  “  lover  fairer  than  any  earthly  suitor.” 
lie  laid  rich  presents  before  her  in  vain. 
Then  he  besought  his  father  to  obtain  her  for 
his  wife.  He  learned  that  she  was  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  and  that  the  lover  of  whom  she  spoke 
was  Christ.  He  resolved  to  compel  her  to 
enter  the  service  of  the  Goddess  Vesta.  She 
rejected  this  proposition  of  Sempronius.  He 
ordered  her  to  be  loaded  with  chains,  and 
dragged  before  the  altars  of  the  gods ;  and 
then  sent  her  to  be  degraded  in  a  place  of 
infamy.  Stripped  of  her  garments  by  the 
soldiers,  she  bowed  her  head  in  shame,  and 
prayed  ;  when  her  hair  became  like  a  veil, 
covering  her  whole  person  ;  and  her  attendants 
were  filled  with  awe.  Shut  up  in  a  chamber, 
she  prayed  that  she  might  not  be  dishonored ; 
when  a  white  robe  was  miraculously  given  her. 
Sempronius,  in  imagined  triumph,  approa  bed 
her,  but  was  struck  with  instant  blindness  and 


384 


ES'ZNTOCEKTCE. 


ESrSTENTCT. 


convulsions.  At  her  prayers,  he  was  restored 
to  health.  He  would  have  saved  her  ;  but 
the  people  cried  for  her  blood.  A  fire  was 
kindled ;  and  she  was  thrown  upon  it.  She 
8tood  unharmed  in  its  midst,  while  her  execu¬ 
tioners  were  slain  by  its  force.  She  was  then 
slain  with  the  sword.  After  her  death,  she 
appeared  to  her  friends,  with  a  lamb  by  her 
side,  whiter  than  snow,  and  said,  “  Weep  not  1 
Dry  your  tears,  and  rejoice  with  exceeding 
great  joy;  for  me  a  throne  is  prepared  by  the 
side  of  Him  whom  on  earth  I  preferred  to  all 
others,  and  to  whom  I  am  united  forever  in 
heaven.” 

3306.  INNOCENCE,  Persecuted.  Then  the 
shepherds  had  the  pilgrims  to  another  place, 
called  Mount  Innocence ;  and  there  they  saw 
a  man  clothed  all  in  white,  and  two  men, 
Prejudice  and  Ill-Will,  continually  casting  dirt 
upon  him.  Now,  behold  1  the  dirt — whatso¬ 
ever  they  cast  at  him  —  would  in  a  little  time 
fall  off  again ;  and  his  garment  would  look  as 
clear  as  if  no  dirt  had  been  cast  thereat.  Then 
said  the  pilgrims,  “  What  means  this?  ”  The 
shepherds  answered,  “  This  man  is  named 
Godly-Man,  and  this  garment  is  to  show  the 
innocency  of  his  life.  Now,  those  that  threw 
dirt  at  him  are  such  as  hate  his  well-doing ; 
but,  as  you  see,  the  dirt  will  not  stick  upon  his 
clothes  :  so  it  shall  be  with  him  that  liveth 
innocently  in  the  world.  Whoever  they  be 
that  would  make  such  men  dirty,  they  labor 
all  in  vain  ;  for  God,  by  that  a  little  time  is 
spent,  will  cause  that  their  innocence  shall 
break  forth  as  the  light,  and  their  righteous¬ 
ness  as  the  noonday.”  Bunyan. 

3367.  INNOCENCE,  Vindicated.  It  is  re¬ 
corded  in  history,  that  a  beautiful  maiden 
named  Blanche,  the  serf  of  an  ancient  noble¬ 
man,  was  wooed  by  her  master’s  son.  Not 
admiring  his  character,  she  scorned  his  suit. 
Upon  this,  his  course  of  love  turned  to  bitter 
hatred.  Just  then,  a  precious  string  of  pearls 
confided  to  the  maiden’s  care  was  lost.  Her 
pseudo-lover  charged  her  with  the  theft ;  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  customs  of  that  rude 
age,  she  was  doomed  to  die.  On  the  day  of  the 
execution,  as  the  innocent  girl  knelt  to  offer 
her  dying  prayer,  a  flash  of  lightning  struck 
a  statue  of  Justice  which  adorned  the  market¬ 
place,  to  the  dust.  From  a  scattered  bird’s- 
nest,  built  in  a  crevice  of  the  image,  dropped 
the  lost  pearls  ;  thus  declaring  her  innocence. 
In  a  moment,  the  exultant  crowd  rushed  to  the 
scaffold,  demanding  her  release.  There  she 
knelt  beside  the  block,  pale  and  beautiful,  and 
with  a  smile  of  peace  upon  her  lips.  They 
spoke  ;  she  answered  not  :  they  touched  her ; 
she  was  dead  1  To  preserve  her  memory, 
they  raised  a  statue  there ;  and  to  this  day, 
when  men  gaze  upon  her  image,  they  condemn 
her  oppressor,  they  praise  her  for  the.  purity 
of  her  character,  they  recognize  the  justice  of 
Him  whose  lightnings  testified  to  her  innocence. 

W.  Smith. 

3308.  INSANITY,  Examples  of,  A  Bour¬ 
bon  prince  thought  himself  dead,  and  refused 
to  eat  unfdliis  friends  invited  him  to  dine  with 


Turenne  and  other  French  heroes  long  since 
departed.  There  was  a  tradesman  who  thought 
he  was  a  seven-shilling  piece  ;  and  advertised 
himself  thus,  —  “  If  my  wife  presents  me  for 
payment,  don’t  change  me.”  Bishop  Warbur- 
ton  tells  of  a  man  who  thought  himself  a  goose- 
pie;  and  Dr.  Farriday  of  Manchester  had  a 
patient  wrho  thought  he  had  swallowed  the 
Devil.  In  Paris,  there  lived  a  man  who  thought 
he  had,  with  others,  been  guillotined,  and, 
■when  Napoleon  was  emperor,  their  heads  were 
all  restored;  but,  in  the  scramble,  he  got  the 
wrong  one.  Dr.  Haven. 

3309.  INSANITY,  Religious.  A  gentleman 
who  was  at  one  time  under  my  observation, 
used  to  depict  the  horrors  of  his  spiritual  con¬ 
dition  in  language  that  was  at  once  graphic 
and  appalling.  He  was  harassed,  as  the  reli¬ 
gious  insane  often  are,  with  fearful  doubts  and 
scepticism  in  regard  to  the  truths  of  inspira¬ 
tion,  the  destiny  of  man,  and  other  dark  prob¬ 
lems  of  existence  ;  and  neither  the  advice  and 
sympathy  of  his  friends,  nor  his  own  honest 
efforts,  seemed  to  afford  him  any  ray  of  hope  or 
joy.  He  would  represent  himself  as  “hanging 
by  one  arm  over  the  verge  of  a  precipice ;  that 
his  strength  was  gradually  failing,  and  that  he 
must  soon  fall,  and  be  dashed  to  pieces ;  that  he 
was  surrounded  on  every  side  by  a  cordon  of 
raging  fires  that  were  rapidly  closing  in  upon 
him,  and  from  which  there  could  be  no  escape.” 
All  this  time,  he  was  pursuing  his  regular 
duties  ;  and  none  of  his  friends  suspected  him 
of  insanity.  By  my  advice,  he  took  an  inter¬ 
val  of  rest ;  but,  before  a  year  elapsed,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  send  him  to  an  asylum. 

G.  M.  Beard,  M.  D. 

3310.  INSINCERITY,  Foolish.  Some  ladies, 
calling  upon  a  neighbor,  said,  “  Dear  Mrs. 
Murray,  what  fine  boys !  Nobody  has  such 
charming  boys  as  yours  1  ”  When  these  ladies 
thought  themselves  out  of  hearing,  they  were 
overheard  to  say,  “  Poor  Mrs.  Murray  1  what 
a  time  she  must  have  sewing,  mending,  and 
patching,  to  keep  all  those  great,  awkward, 
tearing  boys  so  neat  as  she  does  1  ” 

33i  1.  INSTABILITY,  Human,  St.  Augustine 
saith,  “  We  are  all  here  as  David  was  in  the 
Desert  of  Idumea :  our  life  is  a  perpetual  alter¬ 
ation,  which  will  never  be  settled  while  we 
live.  If  we  be  weary,  we  desire  rest;  and,  if  we 
rest  over-long,  our  bed  becomes  troublesome, 
though  it  should  be  all  of  roses.  Then,  again, 
we  thirst  to  be  in  action  and  business,  which, 
also,  in  a  short  time  tires  us,  and  puts  us  into 
another  alteration  ;  and  that  carries  us  again  to 
desire  to  do  nothing.  All  our  life  goeth  like 
Penelope’s  web,  —  what  one  hour  effects  the 
next  destroys.”  N.  Caussin. 

3312.  INSTINCT,  Example  of,  The  land- 
crabs  generally  live  in  holes  among  the  moun¬ 
tains.  When  the  spawning-season  arrives, 
they  set  out  in  a  straight  line  for  the  seacoast, 
for  the  purpose  of  depositing  their  eggs.  This 
accomplished,  they  start  on  the  return  journey, 
travelling  only  by  night.  Thousands  of  these 
die  on  the  route ;  but  millions  of  little  crabs 
which  have  been  hatched  on  the  shore  may  be 


ENTSTENTCT. 


ENTTELlLECT. 


385 


seen  making  their  way  to  the  hills,  to  take  their 
place,  and  find  shelter  from  a  torrid  sun. 

3313.  INSTINCT,  Filial.  A  young  lieutenant 
of  a  Rhode-Island  battery  had  his  right  foot 
shattered  by  a  fragment  of  a  shell,  and  was 
taken  to  the  hospital  in  Washington  to  undergo 
amputation.  Word  was  sent  to  his  mother; 
but  with  no  expectation  of  her  coming.  Un¬ 
known  to  him,  she  hastened  to  Washington, 
found  the  hospital,  and  her  suffering  son  with 
a  nurse  beside  him,  who  fanned  him.  and  held 
his  hand  while  he  slept.  The  mother  was 
allowed  to  take  the  nurse’s  place  in  the  dark¬ 
ness.  She  felt  his  pulse,  as  the  nurse  had 
done.  Not  a  word  had  been  spoken.  The 
soldier  opened  his  eyes,  and  said,  “  That  feels 
like  my  mother's  hand.  Who  is  this  beside 
me  ?  It  is  my  mother !  turn  up  the  gas,  and 
let  me  see  mother.”  The  two  embraced,  and 
wept,  with  such  emotions  as  no  other  relation 
and  circumstances  could  know. 

3314.  INSTINCT,  Power  of.  Who  taught  the 
parrot  his  “Welcome”?  Who  taught  the 
raven,  in  a  drought  to  throw  pebbles  into  a 
hollow  tree  where  she  espied  water,  that  the 
water  might  rise  so  as  she  might  come  to  it  ? 
Who  taught  the  bee  to  sail  through  such  a  vast 
sea  of  air,  and  to  find  the  way  from  a  flower 
in  a  field  to  her  hive  ?  Who  taught  the  ant 
to  bite  every  grain  of  corn  that  she  burieth  in 
her  hill,  lest  it  should  take  root  and  grow  ? 

Lord  Bacon. 

3313.  INSTINCT,  Proverbs.  Set  a  frog  on  a 
golden  stool,  and  off  it  hops  again  into  the 

pool.  —  German. - A  hog  in  armor  is  still 

but  a  hog.  —  English. - To  wash  an  ass’s 

head  is  loss  of  suds.  —  French. - Whatever 

the  bee  sucks  turns  to  honey,  and  whatever  the 

wasp  sucks  turns  to  venom.  —  Portuguese. - 

The  malady  that  is  incurable  is  folly.  Spanish. 

3316.  INSTRUCTION,  Acceptable.  Nathan,  a 

prophet  and  teacher  in  Salem,  sat  among  his 
disciples ;  and  words  of  wisdom  flowed  from 
his  lips.  Then  asked  Gamaliel,  “  Master,  how 
is  it  that  we  love  so  well  to  receive  thy  instruc¬ 
tions  and  to  listen  to  the  words  of  thy  mouth  ?  ” 
The  modest  teacher  smiled,  and  said,  “  Is  not 
my  name,  interpreted,  ‘  to  give  ’  V  Man  receives 
with  pleasure,  if  you  know  how  to  give  ”  — 
“  What  dost  thou  give  ?  ”  asked  Hillel.  And 
Nathan  answered,  “  I  offer  you  a  golden  apple 
in  a  silver  rind  :  you  receive  the  rind ;  but  you 
find  the  apple.”  Krummacher. 

3317.  INSULT,  Bearing.  A  person  having 
behaved  very  rudely  to  Mr.  Boswell,  he  went  to 
Dr.  Johnson,  and  talked  of  it  as  a  serious  dis¬ 
tress.  Dr.  Johnson  laughed,  and  said,  “  Con¬ 
sider,  sir,  how  insignificant  this  icill  appear 
twelve,  months  hence.”  —  “  Were  this  consid¬ 
eration  (says  Mr.  Boswell)  applied  to  most  of 
the  little  vexations  of  life,  by  which  our  quiet 
is  too  often  disturbed,  it  would  prevent  many 
painful  sensations.  I  have  tried  it  frequently, 
and  with  good  effect.” 

3318.  INSULT,  Disregarding.  A  donkey  had 
the  impertinence  to  follow  a  wild  boar,  and  to 
bray  alter  him  in  order  to  insult  him.  The 
coiu-ageous  animal  was  at  first  irritated  at  it ; 


but,  turning  his  head,  he  saw  from  whence  the 
insult  came.  He  quietly  continued  his  way, 
without  honoring  the  scoundrel  with  a  single 
word. 

3319.  INTEGRITY,  Example  of.  A  farmer 
called  on  the  Earl  Fitzwilliam  to  inform  him 
that  his  crop  of  wheat  had  been  destroyed  by 
his  hounds.  The  gentleman  inquired  what  his 
estimated  loss  was.  lie  thought  fifty  pounds 
would  not  more  than  repay  it.  The  earl  im¬ 
mediately  gave  him  the  money.  As  the  harvest 
approached,  the  farmer  found  that  his  trampled 
wheat  was  the  most  luxuriant.  He  went  again 
to  the  earl,  and  wished  to  return  the  money. 
“  Ah  1  ”  exclaimed  the  earl,  “  that  is  what  I 
like  :  this  is  as  it  should  be  between  man  and 
man.”  Then,  writing  a  check  of  one  hundred 
pounds,  presented  it  to  the  farmer,  saying, 
“  Take  care  of  this ;  and,  when  your  eldest  son 
is  of  age,  present  it  to  him,  and  tell  him  the 
occasion  that  promoted  it.” 

33*20.  INTEGRITY.  Official.  In  the  days  of 
Washington,  two  candidates  applied  for  a 
certain  office.  One  was  a  warm  friend  and 
life-long  associate  of  Washington ;  the  other, 
decidedly  hostile  to  the  politics  of  Washing¬ 
ton,  arrayed  himself  in  the  ranks  of  the  op¬ 
position.  It  was  supposed  that  Washington 
would  decide  for  his  friend ;  but,  to  the  surprise 
of  all,  the  enemy  was  appointed  to  office. 
Upon  being  remonstrated  with  upon  the  in¬ 
justice  of  the  appointment,  Washington  re¬ 
plied,  “  My  friend  I  receive  with  a  cordial 
welcome  to  my  house,  and  welcome  to  my 
heart;  but,  with  all  his  good  qualities, he  is  not 
a  man  of  business :  his  opponent  is,  with  all 
his  hostility  to  me,  a  man  of  business.  My 
private  feelings  have  nothing  to  do  in  this 
case :  I  ain  not  George  Washington,  but 
President  of  the  United  States.  As  George 
Washington,  I  would  do  this  man  any  kind¬ 
ness  in  my  power ;  but,  as  President,  I  can  do 
nothing.” 

33*21.  INTEGRITY,  Roman,  men  Curius 
Dentatus,  who  was  thrice  honored  with  the  dig¬ 
nity  of  consul,  had  driven  Pyrrhus  out  of  Italy, 
he  divided  the  land  into  equal  shares  amongst 
all  his  army,  being  about  four  acres  each,  and 
reserved  no  more  tor  himself,  saying,  that  “  no 
person  ought  to  be  a  general  without  being 
contented  with  the  share  of  a  common  soldier.” 
When  the  Samnites,  whohad  been  vanquished 
by  him  during  his  consulship,  offered  to  bribe 
him  by  large  sums  of  money,  he  told  them 
that  he  had  much  rather  rule  over  rich  men 
than  be  rich  himself;  and  that  he  that  could 
not  be  worsted  in  fight  could  not  be  bribed 
with  money.  When  the  Samnites  came  to 
bribe  Dentatus,  they  found  him  at  his  little 
country  farm,  sitting  by  the  fire,  and  roasting 
turnips.  Percy. 

3322.  INTELLECT,  Culture  of  the.  Intellect¬ 
ual  culture  without  Christian  culture  is  a 
painted  harlot,  who  lives  in  moral  night,  and, 
decorated  in  the  tinsel  of  art  and  letters,  al¬ 
lures  the  weak  and  wicked  to  hell.  Were 
there  no  hope  for  mankind  but  that  which  art, 
letters,  and  intellectual  culture  produces,  des- 


386 


1  iNTTKLILF.CT. 


INTENTION'S. 


potism  and  darkness  would  reign  over  the 
earth  ;  and  the  hope  of  moral  progress,  of  hu¬ 
man  freedom,  and  human  happiness,  might  be 
abandoned  forever.  Men  might  be  as  culti¬ 
vated  as  Robespierre,  and  yet  become  as  dark- 
minded  and  as  desperate  as  he.  They  might 
be  as  polished  externally  as  was  Dr.  Webster, 
while  yet,  internally,  they  might  be  as  wicked. 
John  Newton  had  the  same  mind  and  the  same 
intellectual  culture  when  engaged  in  the  slave- 
trade,  that  he  afterwards  possessed  when  his 
Muse  charmed  and  purified  the  hearts  of  all 
who  listened  to  him. 

3323.  INTELLECT,  under  the  Fall.  All  those 
arts,  rarities,  and  inventions  which  vulgar 
minds  gaze  at,  the  ingenious  pursue,  and  all 
admire,  are  but  the  relics  of  an  intellect  de¬ 
faced  with  sin  and  time.  We  admire  it  now, 
only  as  antiquaries  do  a  piece  of  old  coin,  for 
the  stamp  it  once  bore ;  and  not  for  those  van¬ 
ishing  lineaments  and  disappearing  draughts 
that  remain  upon  it  at  present.  And  certainly 
that  must  needs  have  been  very  glorious  the 
decays  of  which  are  so  admirable.  He  that  is 
comely  when  old  and  decrepit,  surely  was 
very  beautiful  when  he  was  young.  An  Aris¬ 
totle  was  but  the  rubbish  of  an  Adam,  and 
Athens  but  the  rudiments  of  paradise. 

Dr.  South. 

3324.  INTELLECT,  Mistake  of  the.  In  the 
early  ministry  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  he  had  been 
given  to  scientific  studies,  and  published  a 
pamphlet  in  which  he  reflected  severely  upon 
such  ministers  as  did  not  do  the  same.  Years 
after,  this  pamphlet  was  cast  up  to  him  in  the 
General  Assembly  to  show  his  inconsistency 
in  then  urging  what  he  now  discarded.  Hav¬ 
ing  acknowledged  himself  the  author  of  the 
pamphlet,  he  added,  “  Alas,  sir !  so  I  thought 
in  my  ignorance  and  pride.  I  have  now  no 
reserve  in  declaring  that  the  sentiment  was 
wrong ;  and,  in  giving  utterance  to  it,  I  penned 
what  was  outrageously  wrong.  Strangely 
blinded  that  I  was  !  Wliat,  sir,  is  the  object  of 
mathematical  science  ?  —  magnitude,  and  the 

roportions  of  magnitude.  But  then,  sir,  I 

ad  forgotten  two  magnitudes.  I  thought  not  of 
the  littleness  of  time :  I  recklessly  thought  not 
of  the  greatness  of  eternity.” 

3323.  INTELLECT, Pleasures  of  the.  Intellect¬ 
ual  pleasure  is  as  much  more  noble  than  that 
of  sense,  as  an  immortal  spirit  is  more  noble 
than  a  clod  of  earth.  The  pleasure  of  sense 
is  drossy,  feculent ;  the  pleasure  of  the  mind, 
refined  and  pure :  that  is  faint  and  languid ; 
this  lively  and  vigorous :  that  scant  and  limit¬ 
ed  ;  this  ample  and  enlarged  :  that  temporary 
and  fading ;  this  durable  and  permanent ;  that 
flashy,  superficial;  this  solid  and  intense  :  that 
raving  and  distracted ;  this  calm  and  composed. 

John  Howe. 

3326.  INTEMPERANCE,  Cost  of.  It  is  esti¬ 
mated  that  four  hundred  and  ninety  million 
gallons  of  spirituous  liquors  were  drank  in  this 
country  in  1868,  which,  if  loaded  upon  thirty- 
foot  teams,  holding  ten  barrels  each,  would 
reach  nearly  seven  thousand  miles.  The  annual 
cost  of  the  five  hundred  thousand  paupers  made 


by  intemperance  amounts  to  thirty-five  million 
dollars  ;  of  the  insanity  resulting  from  it,  twelve 
million  dollars  :  the  expense  to  the  country  of  the 
crimes  committed  by  it  is  forty  million  dollars. 
Add  to  these  amounts  the  cost  of  the  liquor 
(about  a  billion  dollars),  the  value  of  the 
grain,  sugar,  and  property  destroyed,  the  labor 
lost,  and  the  sickness  in  hospitals ;  and  we 
have  the  estimated  enormous  amount  of  one 
billion,  sLx  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars 
annually  expended  in  this  country  for  this 
body-and-soul  destroying  curse. 

3327.  INTEMPERANCE,  Cure  of.  In  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Parliament,  some  years  ago,  a  member 
moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  in¬ 
vestigate  the  cause  of  intemperance  among  the 
people.  Another  member  arose,  and  said  he 
thought  he  could  tell  them  without  a  commit¬ 
tee  :  it  was  drinking.  This  being  a  clear 
statement  of  the  cause,  a  clear  statement  of 
the  cure  will  be,  Stop  drinking. 

332§.  INTEMPERANCE,  Infatuation  of.  An 
old  toper  of  sixty  called  on  a  doctor  to  get  a 
remedy  for  inflamed  eyes.  The  doctor  told 
him  he  thought  he  could  cure  him  ;  but  it 
would  be  necessary  for  him  to  leave  off  drink¬ 
ing  entirely.  “  Then  farewell,  eyes  !  ”  said  the 
infatuated  drunkard. 

3329.  INTEMPERANCE,  Prevention  of.  The 
Lacaedemonians,  in  order  to  disgust  their  sons 
with  this  vice,  took  a  number  of  slaves,  made 
them  drink,  and  took  them  to  the  public  mar¬ 
ket-place,  where  they  acted  foolishly,  and 
raved  like  madmen ;  some  laughing,  others 
fighting,  hallooing,  reeling  to  and  fro,  lying  in 
the  mud,  grunting  like  pigs,  &c.  In  this  situa¬ 
tion  they  exhibited  them  to  their  children, 
that,  being  disgusted  with  the  effects  of  drunk¬ 
enness,  they  might  avoid  every  temptation  to 
it. 

3330.  INTEMPERANCE,  Victims  of.  A  lady, 
who  opposed  the  strict  temperance-principles 
of  Gov.  Briggs  of  Massachusetts  while  at  a 
party,  at  his  suggestion  undertook  to  think 
over  the  families  of  her  acquaintance,  and  note 
the  effects  of  intemperance  among  them. 
After  half  an  hour  she  returned,  her  eyes  filled 
with  tears,  exclaiming,  “  O  Gov.  Briggs !  how 
could  you  ask  me  to  do  such  a  thing  at  a 
party  1  I  am  appalled  :  it  is  so  dreadful  to  find 
that  I  do  not  know  a  family  that  does  not  num¬ 
ber  one  victim ;  and  some  have  had  all  their 
brightest  and  best  fall  by  it,  —  fathers,  hus¬ 
bands,  children.  It  is  too  dreadful  to  think  of  I 
I  would  not  have  believed  it.  You  are  quite 
right ;  and  I  will  never  ask  you  to  drink  wine, 
nor  ever  call  you  fanatical  for  not  taking  it.” 

3331.  INTENTIONS,  Importance  of.  Holy  inten¬ 
tion  is  to  the  actions  of  a  man  that  which  the 
soul  is  to  the  body,  or  form  to  its  matter,  or 
the  root  to  the  tree,  or  the  sun  to  the  world,  or 
the  fountain  to  the  river,  or  the  base  to  a  pil¬ 
lar;  for,  without  these,  the  body  is  a  dead 
trunk,  the  matter  is  sluggish,  the  tree  is  a 
block,  the  world  is  darkness,  the  river  is  quick¬ 
ly  dry,  the  pillar  rushes  into  flatness  and  ruin, 
and  the  action  is  sinful,  or  unprofitable  and 
vain.  The  poor  farmer  that  gave  a  dish  of 


ENTTIE  NATION'S. 


rNTOIiERANCE. 


387 


cold  water  to  Artaxerxes  was  rewarded  with 
a  golden  goblet :  and  he  that  gives  the  same 
to  a  disciple,  in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  shall 
have  a  crown ;  but  if  he  gives  water  in  despite, 
when  the  disciple  needs  wine  or  a  cordial,  his 
reward  shall  be  to  want  that  water  to  cool  his 
tongue.  Bp.  Taylor. 

3332.  INTENTIONS,  Proverbs.  Hell  is  paved 
with  good  intentions.  Hopers  go  to  hell.  — 

English. - The  way  to  perdition  is  paved 

with  good  intentions.  —  German. - Many 

good  purposes  lie  in  the  churchyard.  —  Philip 

Henry. - If  religion  might  be  judged  of 

according  to  men’s  intentions,  there  would 
scarcely  be  any  idolatry  in  the  world. 

Bishop  Hall. 

3333.  INTERCESSION,  Christian.  The  great 
secret  of  the  success  of  Harlan  Page  was,  that 
he  always  aimed  at  the  conversion  of  some 
individual ;  wrestling  in  prayer  with  God,  and 
in  affectionate  entreaty  with  the  sinner,  till  he 
saw  his  wishes  realized.  By  following  this 
plan,  though  he  was  in  humble  life,  active 
work,  and  often  in  deep  poverty,  he  lived  to 
see  more  than  a  hundred  brought  to  God  as 
the  fruit  of  his  zeal  and  intercessions.  Homes. 

3334.  INTERCESSION,  Christ’s.  Suppose  a 

king’s  son  should  get  out  of  a  besieged  prison, 
and  leave  bis  wife  and  children  behind,  whom 
he  loves  as  his  own  soul :  would  the  prince, 
when  arrived  at  his  father’s  palace,  please  and 
delight  himself  with  the  splendor  of  the  court, 
and  forget  his  family  in  distress  ?  No ;  but, 
having  their  cries  and  groans  always  in  his 
ears,  he  should  come  post  to  his  father,  and  en¬ 
treat  him,  as  ever  he  loved  him,  that  he  would 
send  all  the  forces  of  his  kingdom  and  raise  the 
siege,  and  save  his  dear  relations  from  perish¬ 
ing.  Nor  will  Christ,  though  gone  up  from  the 
world  and  ascended  into  his  glory,  forget  his 
children  for  a  moment  that  are  left  behind 
him.  Gurnall. 

3335.  INTERCESSION,  in  Death.  When  Ur. 

Bacchus  (the  President  of  Hamilton  College) 
was  upon  his  death-bed,  the  doctor  called  to 
see  him,  and,  after  examining  the  symptoms, 
left  the  room  without  speaking,  but,  as  he 
opened  the  door  to  go  out,  was  observed  to 
whisper  something  to  the  servant.  “  What  did 
the  physician  say  to  you  ?  ”  asked  Dr.  Bacchus. 
“  He  said,  sir,  that  you  cannot  live  to  exceed 
half  an  hour.”  —  “  Is  it  so  ?  ”  said  the  good 
ruan.  “  Then  take  me  out  of  my  bed,  and  place 
me  upon  my  knees  :  let  me  spend  that  time  in 
calling  upon  God  for  the  salvation  of  the 
world.”  Ilis  request  was  complied  with  ;  and 
his  last  moments  were  spent  in  breathing 
forth  his  prayers  for  the  salvation  of  his  fellow- 
sinners  :  he  died  upon  his  knees.  Howes. 

3336.  INTERCESSION,  Example  of.  iEschylus 
was  condemned  to  death  by  the  Athenians, 
and  about  to  be  led  to  execution.  His  brother 
Amyntas  had  signalized  himself  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  and,  on  the  day  of  an  illustri¬ 
ous  victory  obtained  by  his  means,  lost  his 
hand.  He  came  into  court  just  as  his  brother 
was  condemned,  and,  without  saying  a  word, 
held  up  the  stump  of  his  arm  in  the  sight  of 


all.  The  historian  says,  that,  “  when  the 
judges  saw  this  mark  of  his  sufferings,  they 
remembered  what  he  had  done,  and,  for  hia 
sake,  pardoned  the  guilty  brother  whose  life 
had  been  forfeited.” 

3337.  INTERCESSION,  Meaning  of.  The  ques¬ 
tion,  “  What  is  meant  by  intercession  ?  ”  being 
asked  in  a  Sunday  school,  one  of  the  children 
replied,  “  Speaking  a  word  to  God  for  us,  sir.” 

3338.  INTERCESSION,  Method  of  Christ’s.  It 

was  when  the  high  priest  entered  with  the 
blood  and  incense  within  the  veil  before  the 
mercy-seat  that  he  made  intercession  for 
the  people.  The  very  presenting  of  the  blood 
and  incense  was  an  act  of  intercession,  wheth¬ 
er  words  were  used  or  not.  It  was  done  in 
behalf  of  Israel  for  the  purpose  of  averting 
the  displeasure  and  conciliating  the  favor  of 
Jehovah.  With  reference  to  this,  Jesus  is  rep¬ 
resented  as  fulfilling  in  heaven  this  part  of  the 
priestly  functions.  In  what  precise  manner 
his  intercession  is  carried  on,  it  may  not  be  easy 
for  us  with  certainty  to  determine.  It  is  evi¬ 
dent,  from  the  type  just  alluded  to,  that  there 
may  be  intercession  in  action  as  well  as  in 
words.  If  a  general  who  had  fousrht  the  bat¬ 
tles  of  his  country,  and  had  received  many  a 
wound,  were  presenting  a  petition  to  his  sove¬ 
reign  on  behalf  of  any  of  his  offending  sub¬ 
jects,  what  could  be  a  more  effective  interces¬ 
sion  than  the  silent  baring  of  his  bosom,  and 
pointing  to  his  scars  ?  Dr.  Wardlaw. 

3339.  INTERCESSION,  Office  of.  “  A  child,” 
saith  Ambrose,  “  that  is  willing  to  present  his 
father  with  a  bouquet,  goes  into  the  garden,  and 
there  gathers  some  flowers  and  some  weeds  to¬ 
gether;  but,  coming  to  his  mother,  she  picks 
out  the  weeds,  and  binds  the  flowers,  and  so  it 
is  presented  to  the  father.”  Thus,  when  we 
have  put  up  our  prayers,  Christ  comes,  and 
picks  away  the  weeds,  the  sin  of  our  prayers, 
and  presents  nothing  but  flowers  to  his  Father, 
which  are  a  sweet-smelling  savor. 

T.  Watson. 

3340.  INTERCESSION,  Victorious.  How  little 

most  Christians  know  of  the  power  and  confi¬ 
dence  in  prayer  that  Luther  had  1  “  At  the 

time  the  Diet  of  Nuremberg  was  held,”  says 
Tholuck,  “Luther  was  earnestly  praying  in  his 
own  dwelling ;  and,  at  the  very  hour  when  the 
edict  granting  free  toleration  to  all  Protestants 
was  issued,  he  ran  out  of  his  house,  crying  out 
‘  We  have  gained  the  victory  1  Do  you  under¬ 
stand  that.’  ” 

3341.  INTOLERANCE,  Religious.  vlt  is  too 
often  the  case,  that  the  enemies  of  a  religion 
hate  it  because  they  are  not  acquainted  with 
it.  They  ascribe  to  their  opponents  principles 
which  they  abhor,  and  tenets  which  never  en¬ 
tered  into  their  imaginations.  They  propagate 
the  most  ridiculous  calumnies  against  the  pro¬ 
fessors  of  the  obnoxious  religion.  A  Franco¬ 
nian  Catholic  of  high  rank,  in  the  true  spirit 
of  religious  intolerance,  gave  this  caution  to 
his  son  when  set!  ing  out  on  his  travels.  “  My 
son,”  said  the  illustrious  bigot,  “  avoid  the 
society  of  the  Protestant  ecclesiastics;  for  they 
are  all  addicted  to  abominable  crimes.”  In  the 


388 


INTOXICA-TIOlsr. 


JJESTIS. 


eyes  of  the  Turks,  all  infidels  are  dogs,  whose 
presence  alone  is  suliicient  to  pollute  an  ortho¬ 
dox  Mussulman.  For  this  reason,  no  Christians 
are  permitted  to  reside  in  the  country  of  Ilis- 
iaos,  because  the  cities  of  Mecca  and  Medina 
form  a  part  of  it.  Neither  Jews  nor  Chris¬ 
tians  are  allowed  to  be  present  in  Egypt  at  the 
opening  of  the  canals  of  the  Nile,  lest,  by 
their  impurity,  they  should  prevent  the  over¬ 
flowing  of  its  waters.  The  Mohammedans  are 
unjust  towards  the  Christians,  and  the  Chris¬ 
tians  towards  the  Mohammedans.  No  Turk 
ever  entertained  the  least  doubt  concerning  the 
unity  of  the  Godhead  :  and  yet  they  have  been 
accused  of  worshipping  the  stars;  and,  in  many 
Christian  books,  they  are  termed  pagans.  Thus 
mankind,  more  or  less  shun  and  despise,  ridi¬ 
cule  and  condemn  one  another,  because  each 
professes  the  only  saving  religion. 

3342.  INTOXICATION,  Comfort  of.  Three 

Irishmen,  who  had  drunk  pretty  freely  of 
whiskey  at  a  tavern  in  Dublin,  were  loud  in 
then’  praise  of  its  virtues  as  they  reeled  along 
the  banks  of  the  Lill'ey.  One  of  them  had 
just  declared  that  whiskey  was  meat  and 
drink  to  a  man ;  when  his  foot  slipped,  and  he 
fell  into  the  river.  “  There,  Pat,”  said  one  of 
his  friends,  “  you  are  fully  provided  lor :  you 
had  meat  and  drink,  and  you  now  have  got 
washing  and  lodging.”  Percy. 

3343.  INTOXICATION,  Cured.  An  eccentric 
old  clergyman  said,  that,  the  first  time  he  was 
intoxicated,  he  took  a  hand-sled  and  ascended 
a  high  hill,  to  have  a  good  slide  over  the  snow. 
At  the  bottom,  he  saw  a  cow  lying  down,  and 
thought  to  himself  that  he  could  hit  that  cow 
as  easy  as  not,  and  knock  her  into  a  thousand 
pieces.  He  struck  the  cow,  just  as  he  intend¬ 
ed  ;  but,  instead  of  demolishing  her,  it  came 
near  knocking  him  into  nonentity.  It  sobered 
him  effectually  ;  and  he  has  never  been  drunk 
since. 

3344.  INVITATION,  Accepting  an.  During  a 
religious  awakening  in  a  factory -village  in 
New  England,  a  foreman  was  awakened,  but 
could  not  find  peace.  His  superior  sent  him 
a  letter,  requesting  him  to  call  at  six  o’clock. 
Promptly  he  came.  “  I  see  you  believe  me,” said 
his  master.  The  foreman  assented.  “Well,  see; 
here  is  another  letter  sending  for  you  by  One 
equally  in  earnest,”  said  his  master,  holding  up 
a  slip  of  paper  with  some  texts  of  Scripture 
written  on  it.  He  took  the  paper,  and  began 
to  read  slowly,  “  Come- — unto  — Me  —  all  — 
ye  —  that  —  labor,”  & c.  His  lips  quivered,  his 
eyes  filled  with  tears  ;  then  he  stood  for  a  few 
moments,  not  knowing  what  to  do.  At  length 
he  inquired,  “  Am  I  just  to  believe  that  in  the 
same  way  I  believed  your  letter  ?  ”  —  “  Just  in 
the  same  way,”  rejoined  the  master.  This  ex- 

ftedient  was  owned  of  God  in  setting  him  at 
Lberty. 

3345.  INVITATION,  Heavenly,  A  pleasure- 
party  started  for  an  excursion  off  the  New- 
Hampshire  coast.  A  short  distance  out,  a 
young  lady  and  a  little  boy  of  the  party  de¬ 
sired  to  be  left  on  an  island  till  the  others 
returned;  which  was  done.  Fog  and  darkness 


came  on  before  the  boat  returned ;  and  the 
company  knew  not  which  way  to  go.  After 
some  hours’  search  for  the  island,  the  father 
shouted  out  the  name  of  his  boy.  Shortly  the 
answer  came  through  the  fog,  “  Come  this  way, 
father  1  steer  straight  for  me  I  I’m  waiting  for 
you.”  They  reached  the  shore;  and  in  two 
short  weeks  the  boy  and  the  maiden  were  laid 
in  the  grave.  The  father  says,  “  I  seem  to  hear 
the  voice  of  my  cherub  boy  calling  from  the 
bright  shore,  ‘  Come  this  way,  father  1  steer 
straight  for  me.’  ” 

3346.  JEALOUSY,  not  Love.  It  is  said  that 
jealousy  is  love:  but  I  deny  it;  for  though 
jealousy  be  produced  by  love,  as  ashes  are  by 
fire,  yet  jealousy  extinguishes  love,  as  ashes 
smother  the  flame.  La  lleine  de  Navarre. 

3347.  JEALOUSY,  Proverbs.  Love  expels 

jealousy.  —  French. - Love  demands  faith ; 

and  faith,  steadfastness.  Love  gives  for  guer¬ 
don  jealousy  and  broken  faith.  It  is  better 
to  have  a  husband  without  love  than  with 

jealousy.  —  Italian. - He  that  is  not  jealous 

is  not  in  love.  St.  Aurjustine. 

3348.  JESUS,  Appeaiance  of.  And  what  was 

the  appearance  of  this  greater  than  Solomon  ? 
What  were  his  royal  robes  V  —  the  attire  of  a 
common  Nazarene.  What  were  his  palaces  ? 
—  a  carpenter’s  cottage,  which  he  sometimes 
exchanged  for  a  fisherman’s  hut.  Who  were  his 
ministers  and  his  court  attendants  V  —  twelve 
peasants.  And  what  was  his  state  chariot  V  — 
none  could  he  afford ;  but,  in  one  special  pro¬ 
cession,  he  rode  upon  a  borrowed  ass.  Ah  1 
said  we  so  V  His  royal  robe  was  heaven’s 
splendor  whenever  he  chose  to  let  itr  through  , 
and  Solomon,  in  all  Ills  glory,  was  not  arrayed 
like  Jesus  on  Tabor.  Ilis  palace  was  the 
heaven  of  heavens ;  and,  when  a  voluntary 
exile  from  it,  little  did  it  matter  whethei 
his  occasional  lodgings  were  a  rustic  hovel  ot 
Herod’s  halls.  If  fishermen  were  his  friends, 
.angels  were  his  servants  ;  and,  if  the  borrowed 
colt  was  his  triumphal  charger,  the  sea  was 
proud,  when,  from  crest  to-crest  of  its  foaming 
billows,  it  felt  his  majestic  footsteps  moving: 
and  when  the  time  had  arrived  for  returning 
to  his  father  and  his  God,  the  clouds  lent  the 
chariot,  and  obsequious  airs  upbore  him  in 
their  reverent  hands.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3349.  JESUS,  Attractions  o£  Young  men 
and  maidens,  in  the  flower  of  your  mortality 
acquaint  yourselves  with  Jesus;,  for  thereby 
good  shall  come  to  you.  The  sear  and  the 
withered,  the  cold  and  the  dull,  the  old  and 
the  dead,  are  repulsive  to  you :  we  do  not 
invite  you  to  them  ;  we  invite  you  to  Jesus. 
Look  at  the  sun,  (how  bright  and  young  he  is 
after  these  thousands  of  years!)  and  think 
how  young  and.  glorious  life  must  be  in  Him 
who  giveth.to  all  suns  and  angels  their  beauty 
and  their  youth.  You  have  heard  of  the  great 
love,  stronger  than  death,  wherewith  he  loved 
you,  and  still  loves  you;  of  his  wondrous 
works,  visible  and  invisible,  and  of  his  yet 
more  wondrous  humiliations  on  your  behalf; 
you  have  heard  that  there  is  neither  faith  nor 
hope  for  your  immortal  nature  apart  from 


JESUS. 


JESUS. 


389 


him ;  that,  without  him,  you  can  do  nothing 
but  perish  :  and  these  are  affecting  and  weighty 
considerations;  but,  at  present,  our  subject 
charges  us  to  commend  him  to  your  hearts  on 
the  ground  of  his  own  eternal  beauties.  By  the 
splendor  of  his  holiness,  therefore  ;  by  the  un¬ 
failing  sweetness  of  his  majesty ;  by  the  might 
and  meekness  of  his  humanity ;  by  the  ever¬ 
lasting  spring  which  smiles  in  his  presence ; 
and  by  the  ceaseless  play  of  his  charms,  —  the 
charms  of  eternal  youth,  —  we  press  you  to  for¬ 
sake  death,  to  embrace  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and 
become  the  heirs  of  his  kingdom  and  glory. 

J.  Pulsford. 

3350.  JESUS,  Coming  of.  One  evening,  the 
children  in  Falks  Reformatory  at  Werner 
gat  down  to  supper,  and  one  of  the  boys  said 
the  grace,  “  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  be  our  guest, 
and  bless  what  thou  hast  provided.”  A  little 
fellow  said,  “  Do  tell  me  why  the  Lord  Jesus 
never  comes.  We  ask  him  every  day  to  sit 
with  us,  and  he  never  comes.”  —  “  Dear  child, 
only  believe,  and  you  may  be  sure  he  will 
come  ;  for  ho  does  not  despise  our  invitation.” 
“  I  will  set  him  a  seat,”  said  the  little  fellow ; 
and  just  then  there  was  a  knock  at  the  door. 
A  poor  frozen  apprentice  entered,  begging  a 
night’s  lodging.  He  was  made  welcome ;  the 
chair  stood  ready  for  him ;  every  child  wanted 
him  to  have  his  plate ;  and  one  was  lamenting 
that  his  bed  was  too  small  for  the  stranger,  who 
was  quite  touched  by  such  uncommon  atten¬ 
tions.  The  Little  one  had  been  thinking  hard 
all  tills  time  :  “  Jesus  could  not  come ;  so  he 
sent  this  man  in  his  place,  —  is  that  it?”  — 
“Yes,  dear  child,  that  is  just  it.  Every  piece 
of  bread  and  every  drink  of  water  that  we 
give  the  poor  or  the  sick  or  the  prisoners,  for 
Jesus’  sake,  we  give  to  him.” 

3351.  JESUS,  Company  of.  A  praying  sailor 
being  observed  to  start  for  his  day’s  work,  and 
then  return  again  to  his  room,  and  then  start 
again,  was  asked  the  reason,  and  replied, 
“  After  I  got  out,  I  found  Jesus  was  not  with 
me.  1  could  not  go  without  Jesus ;  so  I  went 
back  to  my  closet  to  find  him.  Now  he  is  with 
me,  and  I  can  go.” 

3352.  JESUS,  Compassion  of  Luther  said, 
“  I  would  run  into  the  arms  of  Christ  if  he 
stood  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hands.” 
John  Butterworth,  reading  this,  resolved  to  do 
likewise;  and  found,  as  every  venturing  sinner 
does,  no  sword  in  the  hands  of  Christ,  but 
open  arms  and  a  hearty  welcome.  Jesus’  proc¬ 
lamation,  forever  sounding  forth  to  every  bur¬ 
dened  heart,  is,  “  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that 
labor,  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest.”  He  demonstrated  his  marvellous 
compassion  by  dying  for  us:  he  will  not  now 
repulse  the  approaching  sinner. 

3353.  JESUS,  Condescension  of  The  most 
delicate  and  sensitive  being  trained  from  in¬ 
fancy  in  a  home  of  purity  and  love,  sheltered 
from  the  very  breath  of  pollution,  and  then 
forced  to  live  in  some  haunt  of  iniquity,  and 
among  the  shameless  and  abandoned  victims 
of  profligacy,  would  not  undergo  the  transi¬ 
tion  with  such  shrinking  abhorrence  as  did 


Jesus  that  transition  which  he  voluntarily 
underwent  for  us.  An  angel  from  the  tin-one 
of  God  submitting  to  dwell  amid  blasphemies 
and  wailings  of  hell  would  not  exhibit  a  spec¬ 
tacle  of  voluntary  humiliation  such  as  His  who 
stooped  from  infinitude  to  such  a  world  as  this. 

Dr.  Caird. 

3354.  JESUS,  Gentleness  of  We  have  seen 
but  one  pictured  representation  which  an¬ 
swered  to  our  ideal  of  the  face  and  figure  of 
Jesus.  It  was  the  work  of  an  Italian  master, 
whose  name  we  have  forgotten,  and  repre¬ 
sented  Christ  talking  to  the  woman  of  Sama¬ 
ria.  It  was  a  picture  which  might  have  con¬ 
verted  a  soul.  There  sat  the  wearied  Saviour 
by  the  well-side,  his  eye  full  of  a  far  look  of 
love  and  sorrow,  as  if  he  saw  the  whole  de¬ 
graded  species  in  the  one  sinner  before  him, 
and  his  hand  half  open,  as  if  it  held  in  it  “the 
living  water ;  ”  the  woman  listening  with 
downcast  looks,  and  tears  trickling  down  her 
cheeks  ;  her  pitcher  resting  on  the  mouth  of 
the  well ;  and  behind  her,  seen  in  the  distance, 
the  sunny  sky  and  glowing  mountains  of  Pal¬ 
estine.  But,  in  the  noble  figure  and  the  ethe¬ 
real  grandeur  of  his  countenance,  you  saw  that 
the  gentleness  was  not  that  of  woman,  nor  even 
that  of  man :  it  was  the  gentleness  of  Him 
whose  “  dwelling  is  with  the  humble  and  the 
contrite  in  spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the 
humble,  and  the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones.” 

Gilfillan. 

3355.  JESUS,  Glory  of  God  seen  in.  The 

moon,  a  softer  but  not  less  beautiful  object 
than  the  sun,  returns,  and  communicates  to 
mankind,  the  light  of  the  sun  in  a  gentle  and 
delightful  manner,  exactly  suited  to  the  strength 
of  the  human  eye  :  an  illustration  and  most 
beautiful  emblem,  in  this  and  other  respects, 
of  the  divine  Redeemer  of  mankind,  who,  soft¬ 
ening  the  splendor  of  the  Godhead,  brings  it 
to  the  eye  of  the  understanding  in  a  manner 
fitted  to  the  strength  of  the  mind,  so  that, 
without  being  overwhelmed  or  distressed,  it 
can  thus  behold  “  the  light  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ.”  Dr.  Dwight. 

3356.  JESUS,  Going  to.  A  Christian  mother 
was  once  showing  her  little  girl,  about  five  years 
old,  a  picture  representing  Jesus  holding  an 
infant  in  his  arms,  while  the  mothers  were 
pushing  their  children  towards  him.  “  There, 
Carrie  !  ”  said  her  mother  :  “  this  is  what  I 
would  have  done  with  you  if  I  had  been 
there.”  —  “I  wouldn’t  be  pushed  to  Jesus,” 
said  little  Carrie :  “  I’d  go  to  him  without 
pushing.” 

3357.  JESUS,  Happiness  by.  Heaven  itself, 

although  it  be  a  fertile  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey,  can  produce  no  fairer  flower  than 
the  rose  of  Sharon ;  its  highest  joys  mount 
no  higher  than  the  head  of  Jesus ;  its  sweetest 
bliss  is  found  in  his  name  alone.  If  we  would 
know  heaven,  let  us  know  Jesus  ;  if  we  would 
be  heavenly,  let  us  love  Jesus.  Spurgeon. 

335$.  JESUS,  in  the  Heart.  A  soldier  of 
Napoleon’s  great  army  was  wounded  one  day 
by  a  bullet,  which  entered  his  breast  above  liis 


390 


J3ESTTS. 


JTUSTJS. 


heart.  He  was  carried  to  the  rear,  and  the  sur¬ 
geon  was  probing  the  wound  with  his  knife ; 
when  at  length  the  guardsman  exclaimed,  “  An 
inch  deeper,  and  you  will  find  the  emperor  I  ” 
And  the  Christian  soldier,  even  when  most 
sorely  pressed  and  pierced  by  his  foes,  is  con¬ 
scious,  that,  were  his  heart  laid  open  by  their 
wounds,  it  would  only  discover  the  name  of 
his  great  Captain  deeply  engraven  there. 

Independent. 

3359.  JESUS,  Humiliation  of.  The  founder  of 
the  Russian  empire  left  his  palace  and  capital, 
the  seductive  pleasures  and  all  the  pomp  and 
royalty,  to  acquire  the  art  of  shipbuilding  in 
the  dockyard  of  a  Dutch  seaport.  He  learned 
it,  that  lie  might  teach  it  to  his  subjects ;  he 
became  a  servant,  that  he  might  be  the  better 
master,  and  lay  in  Russia  the  foundations  of  a 
great  naval  power.  Nor  has  his  country  been 
ungrateful :  her  capital,  which  bears  his  name, 
is  adorned  with  a  monument  to  his  memory, 
massive  as  his  mind ;  and  she  has  embalmed 
his  deathless  name  in  her  heart  and  in  her 
victories.  Yet,  little  as  men  think  of  Jesus, 
lightly  as  they  esteem  him,  a  far  greater  sight 
is  here.  There,  in  a  king  becoming  a  subject 
that  his  subjects  might  find  in  him  a  king, 
there  was  much  for  men  ;  but  here  there  is 
much  both  for  men  and  angels  to  wonder  at, 
and  praise  through  all  eternity.  The  Son  of 
God  stoops  to  toil  1  —  what  an  amazing  scene  ! 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

3360.  JESUS,  Ideas  of.  The  ideas  of  Jesus 

are  sunbeams.  When  they  fall  full  and  free 
upon  the  heart  of  humanity,  they  are  like  the 
solar  rays  of  spring  upon  winter’s  dark  and 
icy  lands,  —  they  cleave  the  clouds,  breathe  a 
genial  thaw,  wake  the  dormant  germs,  loosen 
the  frost-bound  currents,  and  send  them  forth 
in  warm  and  sparkling  streams  to  irrigate  the 
scene.  Dr.  Thomas. 

3361.  JESUS,  Knowing.  An  artist  in  Ger¬ 

many  wished  to  make  a  bust  of  Christ,  so  that 
his  character  should  be  expressed  in  the  coun¬ 
tenance.  He  formed  the  model  in  clay,  but 
could  not  tell  whether  he  had  given  a  correct 
expression  to  the  features.  To  test  the  matter, 
he  called  in  a  Sunday-school  boy,  and,  pointing 
to  the  statue,  asked  him  who  that  was.  The 
boy  said  he  did  not  know,  but  thought  it  must 
be  some  great  king.  The  artist  then  sent  the 
boy  away,  and  changed  the  expression  of  the 
features.  Then,  calling  the  boy  again,  he  asked 
who  it  was  ;  and  he  immediately  replied,  “  That 
is  my  blessed  Saviour!”  A  little  child  may 
know  Jesus.  J.  H.  Vincent. 

3362.  JESUS,  Love  o£  Human  heroism  has 
performed  deeds  of  daring  valor  in  the  heat 
and  excitement  of  the  conflict,  from  which,  had 
they  been  foreseen  in  calmer  hours,  it  would 
have  shrunk  dismayed.  The  voyager  will 
tempt  the  sea  when  its  waves  are  calm  and  its 
aspects  smiling :  could  he  anticipate  the  ter¬ 
rors  of  the  storm  and  the  shipwreck,  nothing 
would  induce  him  to  embark.  But  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  had  before  his  prescient  gaze, 
amidst  the  heights  of  glory,  all  the  darkness 


of  that  sea  of  sorrows  through  which  he  must 
pass,  as  clearly  as  when  the  waters  went  over 
his  soul ;  yet  was  “  his  love  stronger  than 
death :  many  waters  could  not  quench  it.” 

Caird. 

3363.  JESUS,  Loving.  There  was  a  great 

philosopher  who  had  a  child  that  was  dying. 
The  weeping  father  took  the  child  by  the  hand, 
and  asked,  “  Do  you  love  me,  darling  ?  ”  — 
“  Yes,”  replied  the  child ;  “  but  I  love  Jesus 
more.”  J.  H.  Vincent. 

3364.  JESUS,  Musio  of.  To  a  sinner’s  ear 
there  is  no  music  on  earth,  nor  in  the  golden 
harps  of  heaven,  like  the  name  of  Jesus.  Music 
in  its  sound,  there  is  ointment  in  its  meaning; 
fragrant  as  the  spikenard  of  the  alabaster 
box,  “  His  name  is  as  ointment  poured  forth.” 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

3365.  JESUS,  Name  of.  It  is  related  of  San 

Bernardino,  that,  when  preaching,  he  was  ac¬ 
customed  to  hold  in  his  hand  a  tablet,  on  which 
was  carved,  within  a  circle  of  golden  rays,  the 
name  of  Jesus.  A  certain  man,  who  had  gained 
his  living  by  the  manufacture  of  cards  and  dice, 
went  to  him,  and  represented  to  him,  that,  in 
consequence  of  the  reformation  of  manners, 
gambling  had  gone  out  of  fashion,  and  he  was 
reduced  to  beggary.  The  saint  desired  him  to 
exercise  his  ingenuity  in  carving  tablets  of  the 
same  kind  as  that  which  he  held  in  his  hand, 
and  to  sell  them  to  the  people.  A  peculiar 
sanctity  was  soon  attached  to  these  memorials ; 
the  desire  to  possess  them  became  general ;  and 
the  man,  who,  by  the  manufacture  of  gaming- 
cards  could  scarcely  keep  himself  above  want, 
by  the  fabrication  of  these  tablets  realized  a 
fortune.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

3366.  JESUS,  Never  Giving  up.  A  noble 
Christian  soldier,  who  gave  his  life  for  his 
country,  lay  dying  in  hospital.  When  in  his 
delirium,  he  was  heard  to  say,  “  O  my  wife  1 
my  darling  wife,  who  made  my  home  so 
happy,  must  we  separate  V  My  dear  only  son, 
my  joy  and  pride  1  must  I  leave  you?  ”  After 
a  little  silence,  he  continued,  “Yes,  wife,  I 
can  give  you  up,  and  darling  Henry  too, — 
country,  friends,  all,  all ;  but,  Jesus,  I  cannoi 
give  you  up.” 

3367.  JESUS,  Power  of  the  Name  of.  A  brave 
cavalry  officer  was  dying  of  his  wounds.  He 
thought  himself  on  the  field,  at  the  head  of  his 
gallant  men,  and  fancied  that  a  heavy  gun  was 
just  in  front  of  them,  ready  to  be  fired.  His 
distress  was  great.  At  length  he  thought  the 
gun  had  been  fired,  and  his  men,  badly  cut  up, 
were  retreating.  Here  I  interposed,  saying, 
“  There  is  no  gun  there :  you  are  safe  among 
friends.”  —  “  Let  me  alone  1  ”  he  sternly  re¬ 
plied.  “I  must  recover  my  command,  and 
renew  the  attack.”  —  “  No,”  said  I ;  “  let  us 
not  talk  of  battle-scenes.  You  are  soon  to  die. 
Let  us  talk  of  Jesus.”  The  mention  of  that 
name  seemed  to  exert  the  powerful  influence 
I  had  often  heard  ascribed  to  it.  His  agitation 
ceased  at  once ;  his  delirium  passed  away ;  a 
smile  lit  up  his  pallid  features.  After  a  mo¬ 
ment’s  silence,  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  “  Jesus, 
Jesus  1  It  is  he  who  said,  ‘  Come  unto  me  all 


JESUS. 


JEWELS. 


391 


ye  that  that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I 
will  give  you  rest.’  I  want  rest :  I  am  weary.” 
Soon  after,  he  entered  the  glorious  rest  of 
heaven.  II.  C.  Hovey. 

336§.  JESUS,  Preaching.  It  is  said,  that 
after  one  of  the  sermons  of  St.  Bernardino  of 
Sienna,  delivered  in  the  great  square  of  Santa 
Croce  in  Florence,  the  listeners  commemo¬ 
rated  it  by  erecting  a  monument  on  the  spot, 
and  inscribing  on  it  the  single  name  Jesus. 

3369.  JESUS,  Purity  of.  His  life  resembled 

a  polished  mirror,  which  the  foulest  breath 
cannot  stain  nor  dim  beyond  a  passing  mo¬ 
ment.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3370.  JESUS,  Safety  in.  Ah  !  when  we  find 
him,  and  while  we  will  not  let  him  go,  there  is 
safety,  progress,  happiness,  usefulness,  for  us. 
Satan  cannot  lay  hold  on  us.  A  little  child, 
who  was  told  by  her  mother  that  the  Tempter 
could  not  get  her  because  Jesus  would  be  with 
her,  answered,  “  Why,  mother,  I  am  in  Jems.” 

W.  E.  Boardman. 

3371.  JESUS,  Sayings  of.  The  most  eminent 

illustrations  of  the  widest  wealth  laid  up  in 
narrowest  compass  must  naturally  be  found  in 
single  sayings  of  our  Lord’s.  flow  do  they 
shine,  like  finely-polished  diamonds  npon  every 
face  !  how  simple,  and  yet  how  deep  1  — appar¬ 
ent  paradoxes,  and  yet  profoundest  truths. 
Every  one  can  get  something  from  them  ;  and 
no  one  can  get  at  all.  He  that  gathers  little 
has  enough,  and  he  that  gathers  much  has  noth¬ 
ing  over  :  every  one  gathers  them  according  to 
his  eating.  Trench. 

3372.  JESUS,  Sight  of.  To  see  Jesus  clearly 
with  the  eye  of  faith  is  to  see  the  deep  opening 
a  way  from  Egypt  to  freedom’s  shore ;  is  to  see 
the  water  gush  full  and  sparkling  from  the 
desert  rock  ;  is  to  see  the  serpent  gleaming  on 
its  pole  over  a  dying  camp ;  is  to  see  the  life¬ 
boat  coming  when  our  bark  is  thumping  on  the 
bank,  or  ground  on  rocks  by  foaming  breakers  ; 
it  is  to  see  a  pardon  when  the  noose  is  round 
our  neck,  and  our  foot  is  on  the  drop.  No 
sight  in  the  wide  world  like  Jesus  Christ,  with 
forgiveness  on  his  lips,  and  a  crown  in  his 
blessed  hand  1  —  this  is  worth  laboring  for,  pray¬ 
ing  for,  living  for,  suffering  for,  dying  for.  You 
remember  how  the  prophet’s  servantclimbed  the 
steeps  of  Carmel.  Three  years,  and  never  cloud 
had  dappled  the  burning  sky;  three  long  years, 
and  never  a  dew-drop  had  glistened  on  the 
grass,  or  wet  the  lips  of  a  dying  flower :  but  the 
cloud  came  at  last.  No  bigger  than  a  man’s  i 
hand,  it  rose  from  the  sea,  it  spread ;  and  as 
he  saw  the  first  lightning’s  flash,  and  heard  the 
first  thunder’s  roll,  how  did  he  forget  all  his 
toils,  and  would  have  climbed  the  hill  not 
seven,  but  seventy  times  seven,  times,  to  hail 
that  welcome  sight  1  It  is  so  with  sinners 
so  soon  as  their  eyes  are  gladdened  with  a  be¬ 
lieving  sight  of  Christ  ;  when  they  have  got 
Christ,  and  with  him  peace.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3373.  JESUS,  Submission  to.  A  sceptical 
soldier  in  the  hospital  at  Atlanta  sent  for  a 
chaplain,  and,  in  various  ways,  tried  to  get  rid 
of  his  doubts.  Upon  the  wall  was  hung  the 
Scripture,  “  Whoso  someth  unto  me  I  will  in 


no  wise  eas.  out,”  which  caught  his  attention 
one  night.  In  the  morning,  he  asked  to  have  a 
letter  from  his  mother  read  to  him.  It  was  an 
earnest  entreaty  to  accept  Christ.  The  reader 
came  to  the  words,  “  Whoso  cometh  unto  me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.”  —  “  There,”  said 
he,  “  that’s  what  I  want.  I  thought  mother 
said  that.  Read  it  again.”  It  was  read. 
“Mother  says  that,  does  she?”  —  “Yes.”  — 
“And  it’s  in  the  Bible  too?”  —  “Yes.”  — 
“  Then  it  must  be  true.  Jesus  will  receive 
me.  I  will  come  to  him.  Here,  Lord,  I  give 
myself  up.”  It  appeared  to  be  a  genuine 
surrender  and  a  gracious  acceptance. 

3374.  JESUS,  Working  for.  When  Jacob 

worked  for  Rachel,  sweet  smiles  lit  up  his 
shepherding  :  so  life  brightens  when  expended 
for  Jesus.  S.  Coley. 

3375.  JESUS,  World  without.  What  would 
the  world  be  without  Jesus?  We  may,  per¬ 
haps,  have  sometimes  made  pictures  to  ourselves 
of  the  day  of  judgment.  We  may  hive  ima¬ 
gined  the  storms  above  and  the  earthquakes 
underneath,  the  sun  and  the  moon  darkened, 
and  the  stars  falling  from  heaven,  the  fire 
raging  over  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  men  crying 
to  the  mountains  and  rocks  to  fall  upon  them 
and  hide  them,  and,  in  the  masses  of  the  east¬ 
ern  clouds,  Jesus  coming  to  judge  the  world. 
We  think  it  appropriate  to  add  to  the  picture 
every  feature  of  physical  tumult  and  desola¬ 
tion,  every  wildest  unchaining  of  the  elements  ; 
although  doubtless  the  catastrophe  of  that  day 
of  horrors  will  follow  the  grand  uniformity  of 
a  natural  law,  even  amidst  the  impetuosity 
of  its  convulsions.  Yet  the  misery  and  confu¬ 
sion  of  earth  upon  that  day  will  have  less  of 
real  horror  in  it  than  the  earth  without  Jesus 
would  have,  even  though  the  sun  were  shining, 
and  the  flowers  blooming,  and  the  birds  sing¬ 
ing.  An  earth  without  hope  or  happiness, 
without  love  or  peace,  the  past  a  burden,  the 
present  a  weariness,  the  future  a  shapeless 

.terror,  —  such  would  the  earth  be  if  by  impos¬ 
sibility  there  were  no  Jesus. 

Dr.  F.  W.  Faber. 

3376.  JESUS,  A  Wreath  for.  A  teacher  de¬ 
scribed  to  her  Sunday-school  class  the  crown 
of  thorns  that  was  put  on  the  brow  of  Christ 
in  his  mock-trial.  Shortly  after,  one  of  the 
class  was  discovered  twining  a  wreath  of  rare 
flowers.  Being  asked  what  he  was  doing, 
he  replied,  “  Long  ago,  Jesus  wore  a  crown  of 
thorns,  and  even  died,  for  mo;  and  now  I  am 
making  him  a  wreath,  to  show  how  much  I 
love  him.” 

3377.  JEWELS,  Preparation  of.  We  see  in  a 

jeweller’s  shop,  that,  as  there  are  pearls  and 
diamonds  and  other  precious  stones,  there  are 
files,  cutting  instruments,  and  many  sharp 
tools  for  their  polishing ;  and,  while  they  are 
in  the  work-house,  they  are  continual  neigh¬ 
bors  to  them,  and  come  often  under  them. 
The  Church  is  God’s  jewel ;  his  work-house, 
where  his  jewels  are  polishing  for  his  palace 
and  house ;  and  those  he  especially  esteems,  and 
means  to  make  the  most  resplendent,  he  hath 
oftenest  his  tools  upon.  Leighton. 


392 


J  -Hi  \v  iULS* 


JOY. 


3378.  JEWELS,  Saviour's,  The  stories  of 
subterranean  caves,  where  brilliant  diamonds, 
thickly  studding  vaulted  roof  and  fretted  wall, 
supply  the  place  of  lamps,  are  fancies,  —  child¬ 
hood’s  fairy-tales.  Incredible  as  it  may  appear 
to  ignorance,  on  whose  admiring  eyes  it  flashes 
rays  of  light,  science  proves  that  the  diamond 
is  formed  of  the  very  same  matter  as  common, 
dull,  black  coal.  It  boasts  no  native  light; 
and  dark  in  the  darkness,  as  the  mine  or  rock 
where  it  lies  imbedded,  it  shines,  if  with  a 
beautiful,  yet  with  a  borrowed  splendor.  How 
meet  an  emblem  of  the  priceless  jewels  that 
adorn  the  Saviour’s  crown  !  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3379.  JEWELS,  Search  for.  A  jeweller  re¬ 
ceived  a  very  valuable  diamond  to  be  reset. 
He  wrapped  it  carefully,  and  laid  it  away ;  but, 
when  it  was  wanted,  it  could  not  be  found.  Its 
loss  would  ruin  the  jeweller.  He  searched 
everywhere ;  day  after  day,  doing  nothing  else 
till  lie  found  it.  At  last,  he  discovered  a  bit 
of  the  paper,  in  which  the  jewel  had  been 
wrapped,  among  the  ashes  of  a  fireplace.  He 
then  sifted  all  the  ashes  made  after  the  recep¬ 
tion  of  the  jewel,  and  was  overjoyed  to  discover 
the  lost  treasure  perfectly  uninjured.  What 
diligent  search,  then,  should  be  made  for  lost 
but  immortal  soul-jewels! 

3380.  JEWS,  Conversion  of.  A  gentleman  of 
Chicago  says,  “  Some  most  affecting  answers 
to  prayer  arc  continually  occurring  at  the  daily 
prayer-meeting.  A  few  days  since,  a  Jew  of 
good  family  came  into  the  meeting  drunk,  and 
to  scoff.  The  Spirit  of  God  apprehended  him 
before  he  left  the  meeting.  He  returned  in 
three  days  rejoicing,  having  found  ‘  Him  of 
whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the  prophets,  did 
write.’  He  now  stands  up  daily  for  Jesus. 
Three  days  since,  he  said,  ‘  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  father  and  family,  saying,  “  We  have 
buried  you.  We  are  wearing  mourning  for  you 
as  for  one  dead.  We  cast  you  off ;  we  curse 
you.  May  you  die  in  the  street  like  a  dog  !  ”  ’ 
To-day  he  brought  in  another  Jew,  and,  in  a 
most  touching  manner,  asked  prayer  for  him.” 

3381.  JEWS,  Converted.  A  Jewish  convert 
says,  “  It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  men  cele¬ 
brated  as  theologians,  as  lawyers,  as  teachers 
of  the  young,  as  professors  at  the  various  uni¬ 
versities  of  Europe,  have  been  or  arc  converts 
from  Judaism.  The  late  M.  Fould,  the  great 
French  finance-minister,  was  a  Jewish  convert. 
The  late  Dr.  Neander,  the  author  of  one  of  the 
most  erudite  works  on  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  professor  of  theology  at  the  University 
of  Berlin,  was  a  converted  Jew.  Dr.  Crippa- 
dorn  of  Holland,  physician  to  his  Majesty  the 
King  of  Holland,  is  a  converted  Jew.  The 
late  Dr.  Dufosty,  one  of  the  greatest  poets 
which  Holland  has  ever  produced,  and  the  au¬ 
thor  of  ‘  Israel  and  the  Gentiles,’  ‘  A  Harmony 
of  the  Gospels,’  and  several  other  works,  was 
a  Jewish  convert.  Prof.  Leone  Levi  of  King’s 
College  is  a  Jewish  convert.  The  late  Dr. 
Alexander,  the  first  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  was  a 
converted  Jew ;  whilst  not  less  than  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  thirty  clergymen  of  the  Church  of 
England  are  converted  Jews.”  He  states  fur¬ 


ther,  that,  in  London,  there  are  between  two 
and  three  thousand  Jewish  converts,  whose 
conduct,  whether  as  heads  of  families,  as  citi¬ 
zens,  or  as  men,  is  an  honor  and  credit  to  the 
churches  with  which  they  are  connected. 

3382.  JEWS,  Land  of  the.  Palestine  itself,  at 

this  moment,  seems  almost  overspread  by  the 
curse.  Its  cities  are  the  cities  of  the  dead ;  its 
every  acre  is  covered  with  the  tombs  of  de¬ 
parted  ages ;  it  has  a  soil  tit  to  grow  corn  that 
would  positively  crowd  and  overflow  all  the 
granaries  of  the  world  :  but  it  cannot  provide 
corn  enough  to  feed  its  miserable,  its  starved 
and  wretched  peasantry.  At  this  very  moment, 
there  is  no  Mount  Nebo,  or  Mount  Pisgah, 
from  which  a  successor  of  Moses  can  see  a 
goodly  land  overflowing  with  milk  and  honey. 
On  every  part  ofj  that  land,  the  iron  hoof  of  the 
Arab  steed,  and  the  naked  foot  of  the  papal 
monk,  have  trod  in  succession,  and  warred  for 
supremacy.  In  rapid  succession,  the  Roman, 
the  Persian,  the  Arab,  the  Turk,  the  robber, 
have  taken  possession  of  Palestine ;  and  the 
poor  Jew  —  the  fig-tree  blasted  —  has  a  home 
anywhere  and  everywhere,  but  least  a  home  in 
his  own  home;  has  possessions  everywhere, 
but  none  in  that  land  which  is  held  by  title- 
deeds  more  lasting  than  those  of  the  aristocracy 
of  England.  His  title-deeds  are  in  Ezekiel,  in 
Jeremiah,  in  Isaiah,  in  the  Psalms,  and  must 
last  and  live  for  ever  and  ever.  You  have,  then, 
in  the  Jew,  wherever  you  find  him,  a  blasted 
fig-tree,  a  miracle-stricken  nation  ;  a  people 
scathed  by  a  curse  which  cleaves  to  them  and 
consumes  them;  the  people  of  the  weary  foot; 
the  exiles  of  the  earth ;  in  it,  and  not  of  it,  as 
if  their  very  existence  was  a  symbol  of  what 
God’s  people  should  be,  —  in  the  world,  and 
not  of  the  world.  Dr.  Cumming. 

3383.  JOY,  Accessible.  There  are  joys  which 

long  to  be  ours.  God  sends  ten  thousand  truths, 
which  come  about  us  like  birds  seeking  inlet; 
but  we  are  shut  up  to  them,  and  so  they  bring 
us  nothing,  but  sit  and  sing  a  while  upon  the 
roofi  and  then  fly  away.  Beecher. 

3384.  JOY,  Cause  for.  Think  you  it  will  be 
a  small  honor  to  stand  before  the  throne  of 
God  and  the  Lamb,  and  be  clothed  in  white, 
and  be  called  to  the  marriage-supper  of  the 
Lamb,  and  to  be  led  to  the  “  fountain  of  living 
waters,”  and  to  come  to  the  well-head,  even 
God  himself,  and  get  your  fill  of  the  clear,  cold, 
sweet,  refreshing  waters  of  life,  —  the  King’s 
own  well,  —  and  to  put  up  your  own  hand  to 
the  tree  of  life,  and  take  down  and  eat  the 
sweetest  apple  in  all  God’s  heavenly  paradise, 
— Jesus  Christ,  your  life  and  your  Lord?  Up, 
your  heart  1  Shout  for  joy !  Your  King  is 
coming  to  fetch  you  to  his  Father’s  house. 

Rutherford. 

3383.  JOY,  Christian.  The  farthest  that  any 
of  the  philosophers  went  in  the  discovery  of 
blessedness  was  but  to  come  to  that,  —  to  pro¬ 
nounce  that  no  man  could  be  called  blessed 
before  his  death ;  not  that  they  had  found  what 
kind  of  better  blessedness  they  went  to  after 
death,  but  that  still,  till  death,  they  were  sure 
every  man  was  subject  to  new  miseries,  and  in- 


JOY. 


JOY. 


393 


terruptions  of  any  thing  which  they  could  call 
blessedness.  The  Christian  philosophy  goes 
farther:  it  shows  us  a  perfecter  blessedness 
than  any  conceived  for  the  next  life  also.  The 
pure  in  heart  are  blessed  already,  not  only 
comparatively,  that  they  are  in  a  better  way 
of  blessedness  than  others  are,  but  actually,  in 
a  present  possession  of  it ;  for  this  world  and 
the  next  world  are  not,  to  the  pure  in  heart, 
two  houses,  but  two  rooms,  a  gallery  to  pass 
through,  and  a  lodging  to  rest  in,  in  the  same 
house,  which  are  both  under  one  roof,  Christ 
Jesus.  So  the  joy  and  the  sense  of  salvation 
which  the  pure  in  heart  have  here  is  not  a  joy 
severed  from  the  joy  of  heaven,  but  a  joy  that 
begins  in  us  here,  and  continues,  and  accom¬ 
panies  us  thither,  and  there  flows  on,  and  dilates 
itself  to  an  infinite  expansion.  Dr.  Donne. 

3386.  JOY,  of  Doing  Good.  The  joy  resulting 

from  the  diffusion  of  blessings  to  all  around  us 
is  the  purest  and  sublimest  that  can  ever  enter 
the  human  mind,  and  can  be  conceived  only 
by  those  who  have  experienced  it.  Next  to 
the  consolations  of  divine  grace,  it  is  the  most 
sovereign  balm  to  the  miseries  of  life,  both  in 
him  who  is  the  object  of  it,  and  in  him  who 
exercises  it ;  and  it  will  not  only  soothe  and 
tranquillize  a  troubled  spirit,  but  inspire  a 
constant  flow  of  good  humor,  content,  and 
gaycty  of  heart.  Dp.  Porteus. 

3387.  JOY,  Duration  of.  That  of  the  wicked 

is  but  for  a  moment;  that  of  the  righteous  is 
everlasting.  The  wicked  rejoice ;  but  their  joy 
is  simply  like  letting  off  fireworks,  —  they  blaze 
away,  and  seem  to  put  the  modest  little  stars 
to  shame.  But  it  is  all  for  a  little  while :  they 
are  over  in  a  moment,  while  the  quiet  stars  are 
shining  still.  Rev.  T.  Jones. 

3388.  JOY,  Duty  of.  Some  people  think 
black  is  the  color  of  heaven,  and  that,  the  more 
they  can  make  their  faces  look  like  midnight, 
the  more  evidence  they  have  of  grace.  But 
God,  who  made  the  sun  and  the  flowers,  never 
sent  me  to  proclaim  to  you  such  a  lie  as  that. 
We  are  told  to  “rejoice  in  the  Lord  always.” 

Beecher. 

3389.  JOY,  Future.  It  is  not  so  much  by  the 

symmetry  of  what  we  attain  in  this  life  that 
we  are  to  be  made  happy,  as  by  the  enlivening 
hope  of  what  we  shall  reach  in  the  world  to 
come.  While  a  man  is  stringing  a  harp,  he 
tries  the  strings,  not  for  music,  but  for  construc¬ 
tion  :  when  it  is  finished,  it  shall  be  played 
for  melodies.  God  is  fashioning  the  human 
heart  for  future  joy.  lie  only  sounds  a  string 
here  and  there  to  see  how  far  his  work  has 
progressed.  Beecher. 

3390.  JOY,  Hoarding.  He  who  selfishly 
hoards  his  joys,  thinking  thus  to  increase  them, 
is  like  a  man  who  looks  at  his  granary,  and 
says,  “  Not  only  will  I  protect  my  grain  from 
mice  and  birds,  but  neither  the  ground  nor  the 
mill  shall  have  it.”  And  so,  in  the  spring,  he 
walks  around  his  little  pit  of  corn,  and  ex¬ 
claims,  “  How  wasteful  are  my  neighbors, 
throwing  away  whole  handfuls  of  grain  !  ”  But 
autumn  comes ;  and,  while  he  has  only  his  few 
poor  bushels,  their  fields  are  yellow  with  an 


abundant  harvest.  “  There  is  that  scattereth, 
and  yet  increaseth.”  Beecher. 

3391.  JOY,  Influence  of.  Christians,  it  is 
your  duty  not  only  to  be  good,  but  to  shine; 
and,  of  all  the  lights  which  you  kindle  on  the 
face,  joy  will  reach  farthest  out  to  sea,  where 
troubled  mariners  are  seeking  the  shore.  Even 
in  your  deepest  griefs,  rejoice  in  God.  As 
waves  phosphoresce,  let  joys  flash  from  the 
swing  of  the  sorrows  of  your  souls.  Beecher. 

3392.  JOY,  Life  without.  What  is  our  life 

without  joy?  Without  joy,  we  can  do  nothing: 
we  are  like  an  instrument  out  of  tune.  An 
instrument  out  of  tune  —  it  yields  but  harsh 
music.  Without  joy,  we  are  a  member  out  of 
joint.  We  can  do  nothing  well  without  joy 
and  a  good  conscience,  which  is  the  ground  of 
joy.  Sibbes. 

3393.  JOY,  in  Martyrdom,  John  Bradford  in 

Newgate  is  to  be  burned  the  next  morning  in 
Smithfield ;  and  he  swings  himself  on  the  bed¬ 
post  in  very  glee,  and  delights,  for  to-morrow 
is  his  wedding-day.  And  he  says  to  another, 
“  Fine  shining  we  shall  make  to-morrow  when 
the  flame  is  kindled.”  And  he  smiles  and 
laughs,  and  enjoys  the  very  thought  that  he  is 
about  to  wear  the  blood-red  crown  of  martyr¬ 
dom.  Is  Bradford  mad  ?  Ah,  no !  but  he  has 
got  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all  under¬ 
standing.  Spurgeon. 

3394.  JOY,  Measure  of.  We  ought  not  to 
seek  too  high  joys.  We  may  be  bright  with¬ 
out  transfiguration.  The  even  flow  of  constant 
cheerfulness  strengthens ;  while  great  excite¬ 
ments,  driving  us  with  fierce  speed,  both  rack 
the  ship,  and  end  often  in  explosions.  If  we 
were  just  ready  to  break  out  of  the  body  with 
delight,  I  know  not  but  we  should  disdain 
many  things  important  to  be  done.  Low 
measures  of  feeling  are  better  than  ecstasies 
for  ordinary  life.  God  sends  his  rains  in  gentle 
drops,  else  flowers  would  be  beaten  to  pieces. 

Beecher. 

3395.  JOY,  Nature  of.  Joy  is  the  happiness 
of  love ;  it  is  love  exulting ;  it  is  love  aware 
of  its  own  felicity,  and  rioting  in  riches  which 
it  has  no  fear  of  exhausting ;  it  is  love  taking 
a  look  of  its  treasure,  and  surrendering  itself 
to  bliss  without  foreboding.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3396.  JOY,  over  Penitents.  As  a  husband¬ 
man  delights  much  in  that  ground,  that,  after 
long  barrenness,  becomes  fruitful ;  as  a  captain 
loves  that  soldier  that  once  fled  away  coward¬ 
ly,  and  afterwards  returns  valiantly :  even  so 
God  is  wonderfully  enamored  with  a  sinner, 
that,  having  once  made  shipwreck  of  a  good 
conscience,  yet  at  last  returns,  and  swims  to 
heaven  upon  the  plank  of  faith  and  repentance. 

Spencer. 

3397.  JOY,  in  Persecution.  Mr.  Renwick, 
the  last  of  the  Scottish  martyrs,  speaking  of 
his  sufferings  for  conscience’  sake,  says  “  Ene¬ 
mies  think  themselves  satisfied  that  we  are  put 
to  wander  in  mosses  and  upon  mountains  ;  but, 
even  amidst  the  storms  of  these  last  two  nights, 
I  cannot  express  what  sweet  times  I  have  had 
when  I  had  no  covering  but  the  dark  cur¬ 
tains  of  night ;  yea,  in  the  silent  watch,  my 


394 


JOY. 


JTJD.A.S  ISCARIOT. 


mind  was  led  out  to  admire  the  deep  and  in¬ 
expressible  ocean  of  joy  wherein  the  whole 
family  of  heaven  swim.  Each  star  led  me  to 
wonder  what  He  must  be  who  is  the  star  of 
Jacob,  of  whom  all  stars  borrow  their  shining.” 

3398.  JOY,  Rarity  of.  I  sometimes  go  mus¬ 

ing  along  the  street  to  see  how  few  people 
there  are  whose  faces  look  as  though  any  joy 
had  come  down  and  sung  in  their  souls.  I  can 
see  lines  of  thought,  and  of  care,  and  of  fear,  — 
money-lines,  shrewd,  grasping  lines,  —  but  how 
few  happy  lines !  The  rarest  feeling  that  ever 
lights  the  human  face  is  the  contentment  of  a 
loving  soul.  Beecher. 

3399.  JOY,  of  Salvation.  An  artisan,  in  the 
service  of  a  rich  Eastern  master,  by  some  im¬ 
prudence  got  into  an  immense  debt  with  an 
unmerciful  creditor,  who  told  him,  that,  unless 
he  settled  accounts  before  the  close  of  the  year, 
he  and  his  family  should  be  sold  as  slaves.  It 
was  impossible  lor  the  poor  man  to  pay  the 
debt  :  he  might  quite  as  well  have  tried  to 
build  up  a  tower  like  that  of  Babel  in  one 
night.  Meanwhile,  his  master  noticed  that 
his  work  was  falling  off  every  week.  One  day, 
he  spoke  about  this  to  the  steward.  “  Why, 
sir,”  the  steward  replied,  ‘‘that  poor  fellow 
cannot  possibly  make  good  work.  lie  cannot 
manage  his  tools  ;  lor  his  hands  tremble  :  nor 
can  he  see  well  what  he  is  doing ;  for  his  eyes 
are  often  filled  with  tears.  He  often  sits  down 
as  in  despair,  and  sighs  heavily ;  and  sometimes 
he  makes  himself  drunk  to  forget  his  misery. 
A  heavy  debt  is  pressing  upon  him,  sir ;  and, 
until  it  is  paid,  he  will  not  be  able  to  make  one 

ood  piece  of  work.”  —  “  Tell  him,  then,  that 

have  paid  his  debt,”  the  generous  master 
said.  The  steward  went  up  to  the  servant, 
and  delivered  the  message.  Picture  to  your¬ 
selves  the  joy  of  that  poor  man.  From  that 
moment,  fresh  vigor  was  poured  into  his  veins. 
His  hands  trembled  no  more ;  nor  were  his  eyes 
dimmed  with  tears  ;  he  swung  his  hammer 
with  a  will,  so  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  see  him ; 
his  little  dwelling  rang  with  his  merry  songs  : 
and  he  made  his  work  even  quicker  and  better 
than  ever  before.  Sunday  Magazine. 

3400.  JOY,  Shouting  for.  Faith  may  dance 

Decause  Christ  singeth ;  and  we  may  come  into 
the  choir,  and  lift  our  hoarse  and  rough  voices, 
and  chirp  and  sing,  and  shout  for  joy,  with  our 
Lord  Jesus.  We  see  oxen  go  to  the  shambles 
leaping  and  running ;  we  see  God’s  fed  oxen, 
prepared  for  the  day  of  slaughter,  go  dancing 
and  singing  down  to  the  black  chambers  of 
hell :  and  why  should  we  go  to  heaven  weeping 
as  if  we  were  to  fall  down  through  the  earth  for 
sorrow  ?  If  God  were  dead,  —  if  I  may  speak 
so  with  reverence  of  Him  who  liveth  for  ever 
and  ever,  —  and  Christ  buried  and  rotten 
among  the  worms,  we  might  have  cause  to  look 
like  dead  folks ;  but  the  Lord  liveth,  and  bless¬ 
ed  be  the  rock  of  our  salvation  1  None  have 
right  to  joy  but  we,  for  joy  is  sorrow  for  us  ; 
and  an  ill  summer  or  harvest  will  not  spoil  the 
cross.  Rutherford. 

3401.  JOY,  of  the  Sinner.  Like  new  liquor, 
which  works  over  in  foam  and  froth  when 


thick  and  troubled,  the  joy  of  the  sinner  runi 
over  in  empty  laughter  and  effervescent  spirits 
when  the  heart  is  brimful  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

Bp.  Hopkins. 

3402.  JOY,  of  Sinner  and  Saint.  Lightning 
and  light  may  suitably  illustrate  the  difference 
between  the  joy  of  the  sinner  and  the  saint. 
The  one  is  like  lightning,  —  short,  hurried, 
transient,  scorching;  the  other  is  like  light,  — 
lasting,  healthful,  beautiful,  and  healing. 

3403.  JOY,  Sweetness  of.  The  saints  have 

a  sweet  life  between  them  and  Christ.  There 
is  much  sweet  solace  of  love  between  them  and 
him,  when  he  feedeth  among  the  lilies,  and 
cometli  into  his  garden,  and  maketh  a  feast  of 
honeycombs,  and  drinketh  his  wine  and  his 
milk,  and  crieth,  “  Eat,  0  friends  1  drink,  yea, 
drink  abundantly,  O  well-beloved  !  ”  One  hour 
of  this  labor  is  worth  a  shipful  of  the  world’s 
drunken  and  muddy  joy ;  nay,  even  the  gate 
of  heaven  is  the  sunny  side  of  the  brae,  and  the 
very  garden  of  the  world.  Rutherford. 

3404.  JOY,  Worldly.  The  joy  of  the  world 

resembles  a  torrent.  As  upon  a  glut  of  rain, 
you  shall  have  a  torrent  come  rolling  along 
with  noise  and  violence,  overflowing  its  banks, 
and  bearing  all  before  it;  yet  it  is  but  muddy 
and  impure  water,  and  it  is  soon  gone  and 
dried  up :  such  is  all  the  joy  this  world  can 
give.  It  makes  a  great  noise,  it  is  commonly 
immoderate,  and  swells  beyond  its  due  bounds ; 
yet  it  is  but  a  muddy  and  impure  joy  :  it  soon 
rolls  away,  and  leaves  nothing  behind  but  a 
drought  in  the  soul.  Now,  since  the  world’s 
joy  is  but  such  a  poor  empty  thing  as  this,  it  is 
most  gross  folly  for  us  to  lay  out  our  best  love 
upon  that  which  cannot  repay  us  with  the  best 
joy.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

3403.  JOY,  True  Source  of  Little  Annie  had 
for  some  time  been  very  sad ;  but  one  day  she 
was  seen  to  appear  very  bappy.  Her  eyes 
sparkled  with  joy  ;  and  she  seemed  as  though 
she  could  hardly  bear  the  pleasure  she  felt,  it 
was  so  great.  “  Annie,  why  are  you  so  cheer¬ 
ful  ?  ”  —  “  Oh  I  ”  she  said,  “  it  is  because  I  am 
so  happy  1  ”  —  “  But  why  are  you  so  happy  ?  ” 
— “  Oh  !  I  was  wicked,  and  God  was  angry  with 
me  :  but  now  he  has  forgiven  me  ;  and  that  is 
why  I  am  so  happy.” 

3406.  JUDAS  ISCARIOT,  Legend  of.  Legend 
fills  up  the  silence  of  the  Gospels  concerning 
Judas.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  foredoomed 
wretch,  whose  mother  received  warning  of  what 
he  would  be  in  a  dream  before  his  birth.  To 
avoid  this,  his  parents  enclosed  him  in  a  chest, 
and  flung  him  into  the  sea.  The  sea  cast  him 
upon  the  shore  in  the  domain  of  a  king  and 
queen,  who  adopted  him  as  their  own  son. 
Malignant  from  his  birth,  he  killed  a  foster- 
brother,  fled  to  Judaea,  and  became  a  page  to 
Pontius  Pilate.  He  commits  many  monstrous 
crimes,  is  at  length  filled  with  contrition  and 
terror,  and  flies  to  Christ  for  peace.  Thence¬ 
forward,  the  account  agrees  with  the  New- 
Testament  narrative.  After  the  betrayai, 
Despair  comes,  and  offers  him  choice  of  weap¬ 
ons  of  destruction  ;  when  he  chooses  the  rope, 
and  hangs  himself.  At  his  doath,  his  evil 


JTJDGrE. 


JUDGMENT. 


395 


cuius  seizes  the  broken  rope,  and  drags  him 

own  to  the  seething  abyss  below.  At  his 
approach,  hell  sends  up  a  shout  of  joy ;  Lucifer 
smooths  iris  pain-racked  brow,  and  from  his 
burning  throne  welcomes  a  greater  sinner  than 
himself. 

3107.  JUDGE,  Christ  onr.  I  have  seen  Dr. 
Gly  n’s  poem,  entitled  “  The  Day  of  Judg¬ 
ment.”  It  is  not  without  elegance  and  pathos ; 
but  its  chief  deficiency  is,  that  it  neglects  to 
ascribe  proper  honor  to  Christ.  He  is,  indeed, 
slightly  hinted  at  in  one  chosen  line ;  but  he 
should  have  made  the  most  distinguishing  fig¬ 
ure  throughout  the  whole  piece.  All  judgment 
is  committed  to  him.  It  is  Christ  who  will 
come  in  the  clouds  of  heaven :  we  must  all 
appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ. 
This,  to  the  believer,  is  a  most  delightful  con¬ 
sideration, —  my  Redeemer  is  my  Judge!  He 
who  died  for  me  passes  the  final  sentence. 
Look  how  great  is  his  majesty  and  glory  1  so 
great  is  my  atonement  and  propitiation. 

Ilervey. 

340S.  JUDGMENT,  Belshazzar’s.  It  is  worthy 
of  notice,  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  mogul 
to  be  weighed  once  every  year,  in  the  presence 
of  his  grandees  ;  and,  by  his  weight,  the  physi¬ 
cians  determined  the  state  of  his  health.  The 
ceremony  was  performed  within  his  house  or 
tent.  The  scales  in  which  the  king  was  thus 
placed  were  plated  with  gold.  He  was  weighed, 
according  to  report,  first  against  silver  coin, 
which  was  immediately  afterwards  distributed 
among  the  poor ;  then  he  was  weighed  against 
gold  ;  after  that,  against  jewels  :  but  I  observed 
that  silken  bags  were  laid  on  the  the  contrary 
scale.  When  I  saw  him  in  the  balance,  I 
thought  of  Belshazzar  and  the  handwriting 
upon  the  wall.  Sir  Thomas  Roe. 

3409.  JUDGMENT,  Book  of.  It  maybe  there 
is  more  of  truth  than  one  suspects  in  the  as¬ 
sertion  of  De  Quincey’s,  that  absolute  forget¬ 
ting  is  a  thing  not  possible  to  the  human  mind. 
Some  evidence  of  this  may  be  derived  from 
the  fact  of  long-missed  incidents  and  states  of 
feeling  being  suddenly  reproduced  without  any 
perceptible  train  of  association.  It  has  been 
suggested  by  a  great  thinker,  that  merely  per¬ 
fect  memory  of  every  thing  may  constitute  the 
great  book  which  shall  be  opened  in  the  last 
day,  on  which  man  has  been  distinctly  told  the 
secrets  of  all  hearts  shall  be  made  known. 

Timbs. 

3410.  JUDGMENT,  Ignorant.  Ephemeron, 
that  insect  of  a  day,  related  to  its  youthful 
kindred  in  its  expiring  voice  how  that  it  had 
seen  the  coeval  sun  arise  in  early  youth,  climb- 1 
ing  up  the  east,  but,  now  that  that  sun  was 
surely  sinking  in  the  western  sky,  an  awful 
catastrophe  or  a  final  night  might  be  safely 
predicted.  The  ephemeron  expired  ;  but  the 
next  day  the  sun  arose  in  the  east  brilliantly 
as  ever;  before  sundown,  however,  there  were 
other  expiring  ephemerons  predicting,  as  be¬ 
fore,  his  final  extinction. 

3411.  JUDGMENT,  Mercy  in.  It  is  observable, 
that  the  Roman  magistrates,  when  they  gave 
sentence  uj  on  any  one  to  bo  scourged,  had  a 


bundle  of  rods,  tied  hard  with  many  knots, 
laid  before  them.  The  reason  was  this,  — 
that  whilst  the  beadle  was  untying  the  knots, 
which  he  was  to  do  by  order,  and  not  in  any 
other  hasty  or  sudden  way,  the  magistrate 
might  see  the  deportment  and  carriage  of  the 
delinquent, —  whether  he  was  sorry  for  his  fault, 
and  showed  any  hope  of  amendment, — that 
then  he  might  recall  his  sentence,  or  mitigate 
his  punishment :  otherwise,  he  was  corrected 
so  much  the  more  severely.  Thus  God  in  the 
punishment  of  sinners,  —  how  patient  is  he  1 
how  loath  to  strike  !  how  slow  to  anger  1 

Spencer. 

3412.  JUDGMENT,  Painting  of  the  Last.  In  a 

celebrated  Last  Judgment,  attributed  by  some 
authors  to  John  Van  Eyck,  by  others  to  Jus¬ 
tus  of  Ghent,  the  archangel  St.  Michael  is 
grandly  introduced.  High  up  in  the  centre 
sits  the  Saviour,  with  the  severe  expression  of 
the  judge.  Above  hint  hover  four  angels  with 
the  instruments  of  the  Passion,  and  below  him 
three  others  sounding  trumpets  (I  suppose  the 
seven  pre-eminent  angels) ;  the  Virgin  and 
St.  John  the  Baptist  on  each  side ;  and  then 
the  apostles,  ranged  in  the  usual  manner. 
“  In  the  lower  half  of  the  picture  stands  St. 
Michael,  clad  in  golden  armor,  so  bright  as  to 
reflect  in  the  most  complete  manner  all  the 
surrounding  objects.  His  figure  is  slender  and 
elegant,  but  colossal  as  compared  to  the  rest. 
He  seems  to  be  bending  earnestly  forward.  A 
splendid  purple  mantle  falls  from  his  shoulders 
to  the  ground ;  and  his  large  wings  are  com¬ 
posed  of  glittering  peacock’s  feathers.  He 
holds  the  balance.  The  scale  with  the  good 
rests  on  earth  ;  but  that  with  the  souls  which 
are  found  wanting  mounts  into  air.  A  demon 
stands  ready  to  receive  them  ;  and  towards  this 
scale  St.  Michael  points  with  the  end  of  a 
black  staff  which  he  holds  in  his  right  hand.” 
This  picture,  which  is  a  chef-d'oeuvre  of  the 
early  German  school,  is  now  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Mary  at  Dantzig.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

3413.  JUDGMENT,  Prejudice  in,  The  mad 
Athenian  thought  every  ship  that  came  into 
the  harbor  to  be  his  own.  Pythagoras’  schol¬ 
ars  were  so  trained  up  to  think  all  things  were 
constituted  of  numbers,  that  they  thought  they 
saw  numbers  in  every  thihg.  Prejudice  makes 
every  thing  seem  of  the  same  color.  Spencer. 

3414.  JUDGMENT,  of  Solomon.  An  inge¬ 
nious  device  is  attributed  in  the  Talmud  to  King 
Solomon.  The  Queen  of  Sheba,  attracted  by 
the  reputation  of  his  wisdom,  one  day  pre¬ 
sented  herself  before  him,  holding  in  her  hands 

|  two  wreaths,  —  the  one  of  exquisite  natural 
flowers,  the  other  of  artificial.  The  artificial 
wreath  was  arranged  with  so  much  taste  and 
skill,  the  delicate  form  of  the  flowers  so  per¬ 
fectly  imitated,  and  the  minutest  shades  of  col  ¬ 
or  so  wonderfully  blended,  that  the  wise  king, 
at  the  distance  at  which  they  were  held,  was 
unable  to  determine  which  was  really  the  work 
of  the  divine  Artist.  For  a  moment,  he  seemed 
baffled.  The  Jewish  court  looked  on  in  melan¬ 
choly  astonishment.  Then  his  eyes  turned 
towards  a  window  near  which  a  swarm  of 


396 


JT7X>&]ME:]SrT-r)A.Y. 


JUDGMENT-BAY. 


bees  were  hovering.  He  commanded  it  to  be 
opened.  It  was  opened.  The  bees  rushed  into 
the  court,  and  immediately  alighted  on  one 
of  the  wreaths ;  whilst  not  a  single  one  fixed 
on  the  other. 

3415.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Awards  of  the,  There 
is  a  machine  in  the  Bank  of  England  which 
receives  sovereigns,  as  a  mill  receives  grain,  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  wholesale  whether 
they  are  of  full  weight.  As  they  pass  through, 
the  machinery,  by  unerring  laws,  throws  all 
that  are  light  to  one  side,  and  all  that  are  of 
full  weight  to  another.  That  process  is  a 
silent  but  solemn  parable  forme.  Founded  as 
it  is  upon  the  laws  of  Nature,  it  affords  the 
most  vivid  similitude  of  the  certainty  which 
characterizes  the  judgment  of  the  great  day. 
There  are  no  mistakes  or  partialities  to  which 
the  light  may  trust :  the  only  hope  lies  in 
being  of  standard  weight  before  they  go  in. 

Arnot. 

3413.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Certainty  of  the.  Let 
us  suppose,  that  at  the  time  when  Britain  was 
peopled  by  half-savage  tribes,  before  the  period 
of  the  Roman  sway,  some  gifted  seer  among 
the  Druids  had  engraven  upon  a  rock  a  minute 
prediction  of  a  portion  of  the  future  history  of 
the  island.  Suppose  he  had  declared  that  it 
should,  ere  long,  be  conquered  by  a  warrior  peo¬ 
ple  from  the  south ;  that  he  should  name  the 
Caesar  himself,  describe  his  eagle  standard, 
and  all  the  circumstances  of  the  conquest. 
Suppose  he  should  portray  the  Saxon  invasion 
centuries  after,  the  sevenfold  division  of  the 
monarchy,  the  Danish  inroad,  the  arrival  and 
victory  of  the  Normans.  Our  imagined  proph¬ 
et  pauses  here,  -or  at  whatever  other  precise 
period  you  please  to  -suppose ;  and  his  next 
prediction,  overleaping  a  vast  undescribed  in¬ 
terval,  suddenly  represents  the  England  of  the 
present  day.  Now  conceive  the  forefathers  of 
existing  England  to  have  studied  this  won¬ 
drous  record,  and  to  find,  to  their  amazement, 
that  every  one  of  its  predictions  was  accurate¬ 
ly  verified ;  that,  as  their  generations  succeed¬ 
ed,  they  but  walked  in  the  traces  assigned  for 
them  by  the  prophetic  inscription,  and  all  it 
spoke  progressively  became  fact.  Can  we 
suppose,  that  however  far  away  in  futurity  was 
the  one  remaining  event,  and  however  impos¬ 
sible  to  them,  at  their  early  stage,  to  conceive 
the  means  by  which  all  the  present  wonders 
of  this  mighty  empire  could  ever  be  realized, 
they  would  permit  themselves  to  doubt  its  ab¬ 
solute  certainty  after  such  overwhelming  proofs 
of  the  supernatural  powers  of  the  seer  who 
guaranteed  it?  Would  they  not  shape  their 
course  as  confidently  in  view  of  the  unques¬ 
tionable  future  as  in  reference  to  the  unques¬ 
tionable  past  ?  It  should  be  thus  with  regard 
to  the  coming  judgment.  Archer  Butler. 

3447.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Conscience  against  the. 
I  think,  if  there  were  a  general  collection  made 
through  the  whole  world  that  there  might  be 
no  judgment-day,  then  God  would  be  so  rich, 
that  the  world  would  go  a-begging,  and  be  as 
a  waste  wilderness  ;  then  the  covetous  judge 
would  bring  forth  his  bribes  ;  then  the  crafty 


lawyer  would  fetch  out  his  bags ;  the  usurer 
would  give  his  gain,  and  a  double  thereof 
But  all  the  money  in  the  world  will  not  serve 
for  our  sins.  But  the  judge  must  answer  his 
bribes  ;  he  that  hath  money  must  answer  how 
he  came  by  it;  and  just  condemnation  must 
come  upon  every  soul  of  them  ;  then  shall  the 
sinner  be  ever  dying,  and  never  dead,  like  the 
salamander,  that  is  ever  in  the  fire,  and  never 
consumed.  H.  Smith. 

34I§.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Considering  the.  Ur- 
thazanes,  a  Persian  courtier  who  had  aposta¬ 
tized  from  the  Christian  faith,  saw  Simeon,  a 
holy  bishop,  led  past  him  to  martyrdom,  and 
saluted  him  as  he  passed ;  but  the  bishop 
frowned  upon  him.  Urthazanes’  heart  was 
broken ;  and  he  cried,  “  Ah,  how  shall  I  appear 
before  the  great  God  of  heaven,  whom  I  have 
denied,  when  Simeon,  but  a  man,  will  not 
endure  to  look  upon  me  ?  If  he  frown,  how 
God  will  behold  me  when  I  come  before  his 
tribunal?”  This  led  to  his  reclamation;  and 
he  afterwards  died  a  martyr. 

3419.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Dismay  at  the.  Spen¬ 
cer  says,  that  two  soldiers  entered  the  Valley 
of  Jelioshaphat ;  when  one  of  them  said,  “In 
this  place  shall  be  the  general  judgment,  and 
I  will  now  take  my  place  where  I  shall  then 
sit.”  He  then  sat  down  upon  a  stone,  and 
looked  up  to  heaven  as  if  to  receive  his  sen¬ 
tence;  when  such  dismay  overwhelmed  him, 
that  he  fell  to  the  earth  trembling,  and  ever 
after  remembered  the  day  of  judgment  with 
horror. 

3420.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Fear  of  the.  Jerome 

used  to  say,  that  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  the 
trumpet  of  the  last  day  was  always  sounding 
in  his  ear,  saying,  “  Arise,  ye  dead,  and  come 
to  judgment.”  The  generality,  however,  think 
but  little  of  this  awful  and  important  period. 
A  Christian  king  of  Hungary  being  very  sad 
and  pensive,  his  brother,  who  was  a  gay  cour¬ 
tier,  was  desirous  of  knowing  the  cause  of 
his  sadness.  “  0  brother  1  ”  said  the  king,  “  I 
have  been  a  great  sinner  against  God,  and 
know  not  how  to  die,  or  how  to  appear  before 
God  in  judgment.”  His  brother,  making  a 
jest  of  it,  said,  “  These  are  but  melancholy 
thoughts.”  The  king  made  no  reply.  But  it 
was  the  custom  of  the  country,  that,  if  the 
executioner  came  and  sounded  a  trumpet 
before  any  man’s  door,  he  was  presently  led 
to  execution.  The  king,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
sent  the  executioner  to  sound  the  trumpet 
before  his  brother’s  door  ;  who,  hearing  it,  and 
seeing  the  messenger  of  death,  sprang  into  the 
king’s  presence,  beseeching  to  know  in  what 
he  had  offended.  “  Alas,  brother  1  ”  said  the 
king,  “  you  have  never  offended  me.  And  is 
the  sight  of  my  executioner  so  dreadful ;  and 
shall  not  I,  who  have  greatly  offended,  fear 
to  be  brought  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ  ?  ”  Buck. 

3421.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Foreboding  of  the. 
Traverse  the  earth  ;  enter  the  gorgeous  cities 
of  idolatry,  or  accept  the  hospitality  of  its 
wandering  tribes ;  go  where  will-worship  is 
most  fantastic,  and  superstition  most  gross,  — 


JTTDG-IVIEN'T-D-A.Y. 


JTJDGME  1ST  T-DAY. 


397 


and  you  will  find  in  man  “  a  fearful  looking-for 
of  judgment.”  The  mythology  of  their  Nemesis 
may  vary ;  their  Elysium  and  Tartarus  may  be 
differently  depicted  ;  the  Metempsychosis  may 
be  the  passage  of  bliss  and  woe  :  still  the  fact 
is  only  confirmed  by  the  diversity  of  the  forms 
in  which  it  is  presented.  Dr.  R.  W.  Hamilton. 

3422.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Reckoning  at  the. 
What  1  do  you  think  that  God  doth  not  re¬ 
member  our  sins  which  we  do  not  regard  ?  for 
while  we  sin  the  score  runs  on,  and  the  Judge 
setteth  down  all  in  the  table  of  remembrance, 
and  his  scroll  reacheth  up  to  heaven.  Item, 
for  lending  to  usury ;  item,  lor  racking  of 
rents ;  item,  for  starching  thy  ruffs ;  item,  for 
curling  thy  hair;  item,  for  painting  thy  face ; 
item,  ibr  selling  of  benefices ;  item,  for  starv¬ 
ing  of  souls ;  item,  for  playing  at  cards  ;  item, 
for  sleeping  in  the  church ;  item,  for  profan¬ 
ing  the  Sabbath  Day, —  with  a  number  more, 
hath  God  to  call  to  account ;  for  every  one  must 
answer  for  himself.  The  fornicator,  lor  taking 
of  filthy  pleasure ;  the  careless  prelate,  for 
murthering  so  many  thousand  souls  ;  the  land¬ 
lord,  for  getting  money  from  his  poor  tenants 
by  racking  of  his  rents.  See  the  rest :  all  they 
shall  come  like  very  sheep  when  the  trumpet 
shall  sound,  and  the  heaven  and  earth  shall 
come  to  judgment  against  them;  when  the 
heavens  shall  vanish  like  a  scroll ;  and  the  earth 
shall  consume  like  fire,  and  all  the  creatures 
standing  against  them  ;  the  rocks  shall  cleave 
asunder,  and  the  mountains  shake,  and  the 
foundation  of  the  earth  shall  tremble,  and 
they  shall  say  to  the  mountains,  “  Cover  us,  tall 
upon  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  presence  of  Ilis 
anger  and  wrath  whom  we  have  not  cared  to 
offend.”  But  they  shall  nut  be  covered  and 
hid ;  but  then  shall  they  go  the  black  way,  to 
the  snakes  and  serpents,  to  be  tormented  of 
devils  forever.  Henry  Smith. 

3123.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Revelations  of  the. 
A  traveller  crossed  the  frontier,  and  had  to 
ass  the  custom-house.  The  officers  said  to 
im,  “  Have  you  any  contraband  goods  V  ” 
He  replied,  “I  do  not  think  I  have.”  —  “That 
may  be  all  true,”  said  the  officers ;  “  but  we 
cannot  permit  you  to  pass  without  examina¬ 
tion.  Permit  us  to  search.”  —  “  If  you  please,” 
said  the  traveller.  The  examination  over,  the 
traveller  addressed  the  officers,  saying,  “  Gen¬ 
tlemen,  will  you  allow  me  to  tell  you  what 
thoughts  this  examination  has  awakened  in 
my  mind  ?  We  are  all  travellers  to  an  eternal 
kingdom,  into  which  we  cannot  take  any  con¬ 
traband  goods.  By  these  forbidden  things,  I 
mean  deceitfulness,  anger,  pride,  lying,  cove¬ 
tousness,  and  similar  offences ;  which  are  hate¬ 
ful  in  the  sight  of  God.  For  all  these,  every 
man  who  passes  the  boundary  of  the  grave  is 
searched  far  more  strictly  than  you  have 
searched  me.  God  is  the  Great  Searcher  of 
hearts :  from  him  nothing  is  hid ;  and  in  that 
kingdom,  as  in  this,  every  forbidden  article 
subiccts  a  man  to  punishment.” 

3424.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Soene  of  the.  Ima¬ 
gine  you  see  a  sinner  going  to  hell ;  and  his  ac¬ 
quaintances  look  at  him ;  the  angels  shout  at 


him  ;  and  the  saints  laugh  at  him  ;  and  the  devils 
rail  at  him  ;  and  many  look  him  in  the  lace : 
and  they  that  said  they  would  live  and  die 
with  him  forsake  him,  and  leave  him  to  pay 
all  the  scores.  Then  Judas  would  restore  his 
bribes ;  Esau  would  cast  up  his  pottage ; 
Achan  would  cast  down  his  gold  ;  and  Gehazi 
would  refuse  his  gilts;  Nebuchadnezzar  would 
be  humbler ;  Balaam  would  be  faithful ;  and 
the  prodigal  would  be  tame.  Methinks  I  see 
Achan  running  about,  “  Where  shall  I  hide  my 
gold  that  I  have  stolen,  that  it  might  not  be 
seen,  nor  stand  to  appear  for  witness  against 
me  ?  ”  And  Judas  running  to  the  high  priests, 
saying,  “  Hold  1  take  again  your  money  :  I  will 
none  of  it.  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent 
blood.”  And  Esau  crying  for  the  blessing  when 
it  is  too  late,  having  sold  his  birthright  for  a 
mess  of  pottage.  Herod  shall  then  wish  he 
were  John  the  Baptist ;  Pharaoh,  that  he  were 
Moses,  and  Saul  wish  that  he  had  been  David ; 
Nebuchadnezzar,  that  he  had  been  Daniel ; 
Daman  to  have  been  Mordecai ;  Esau  would 
wish  to  be  Jacob ;  and  Balaam  would  wish  he 
might  have  died  the  death  of  the  righteous. 

Henry  Smith. 

3425.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Separation  at  the.  As 

the  husbandman  sends  his  servants  to  purge 
his  floor,  and  with  the  fan  to  separate  the  good 
seed  from  the  chaff ;  even  so  God  shall  send 
his  angels  to  his  floor,  that  is  this  world.  And 
they  shall  carry  the  good  seed,  that  is  the 
faithful,  into  everlasting  barns;  but  the  chaff 
and  dross,  that  is  the  ungodly,  shall  be  thrown 
into  a  furnace  of  fire.  Cawdray. 

3426.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Terrors  of  the.  Laugh 

at  religion  now !  scoff  at  Christ  now,  —  now  that 
the  angels  are  gathering  for  the  judgment  ; 
now  that  the  trumpet  sounds  exceedingly  loud 
and  long ;  now  that  the  heavens  are  red  with 
fire,  that  the  great  furnace  of  hell  o’erleaps  its 
boundary,  and  is  about  to  encircle  thee  in  its 
flame,  —  now  despise  religion  1  Ah,  no  I  I  see 
thee.  Now  thy  stiff  knees  are  bending;  now 
thy  bold  forehead  tor  the  first  time  is  covered 
with  hot  sweat  of  trembling ;  now  thine  eyes, 
that  once  were  full  of  scorn,  are  full  of  tears  ; 
thou  dost  look  on  Him  whom  thou  didst  despise, 
and  thou  art  weeping  for  thy  sin.  O  sinner! 
it  will  be  too  late  then  :  there  is  no  cutting  of 
the  stone  after  it  gets  to  Jerusalem.  Where 
thou  fullest,  there  thou  best.  Where  judgment 
finds  thee,  there  eternity  shall  leave  thee 
Time  shall  be  no  more  when  judgment  comes; 
and,  when  time  is  no  more,  change  is  impossi¬ 
ble  1  In  eternity  there  can  be  no  change,  no 
deliverance,  no  signing  of  actpiittal.  Once 
lost,  lost  forever ;  once  damned,  damned  to  all 
eternity.  Spurgeon. 

3427.  JUDGMENT-DAY,  Universal.  As  some 
go  to  the  assizes  to  receive  their  judgment  and 
condemnation,  and  others  to  give  evidence 
against  them  ;  so  shall  it  be  at  the  last  day. 
As,  at  the  bar  of  an  earthly  judge,  the  male¬ 
factor  is  brought  out  of  prison,  and  set  before 
the  judge  for  examination  ;  so,  in  that  great 
day,  shall  every  man,  without  exception,  be 
brought  before  the  Lord  to  be  tried.  Cawdray. 


398 


JUSTICE. 


JUSTICE. 


3428.  JUSTICE,  Appeal  for.  A  poor  old 

woman  had  often  in  vain  attempted  to  obtain 
the  ear  of  Philip  of  Macedon  to  certain  wrongs 
of  which  she  complained.  The  king  at  last 
abruptly  told  her  he  was  not  at  leisure  to 
hear  her.  “  No  1  ”  exclaimed  she.  “  Then 
you  are  not  at  leisure  to  be  king.”  Philip 
was  confounded.  He  pondered  a  moment  in 
silence  over  her  words,  then  desired  her  to 
proceed  with  her  case  ;  and,  ever  after,  made 
it  a  rule  to  listen  attentively  to  the  applica¬ 
tions  of  all  who  addressed  him.  Percy. 

3129.  JUSTICE,  Benefit  of.  That  which  the 
air  is  in  the  elementary  world,  the  same  in  the 
celestial,  the  soul  in  the  intelligible  justice  is 
in  the  civil.  It  is  the  air  which  all  afflicted 
desire  to  breathe ;  the  sun  which  dispelleth  all 
clouds  ;  the  soul  which  giveth  life  to  all  things. 
The  unhappiness  is,  it  is  more  found  on  the 
paper  of  writers  than  in  the  manners  of  their 
living.  To  be  just  is  to  be  all  that  which  an 
honest  man  may  be :  since  justice  is  to  give 
every  one  what  appertaineth  to  him. 

N.  Caussin. 

3430.  JUSTICE,  Disinterested.  Aristides  judg¬ 
ing  between  two  private  persons,  one  of  them 
declared  that  his  adversary  had  greatly  injured 
Aristides.  “  Relate,  rather,  good  friend,”  said 
he,  “  what  wrong  he  hath  done  thee  ;  for  it  is 
thy  cause,  not  mine,  that  I  now  sit  judge  of.” 
Being  desired  by  Simonides,  a  poet  of  Chios, 
who  had  a  cause  to  try  before  him,  to  stretch 
a  point  in  his  favor,  he  replied,  “  As  you  would 
not  be  a  good  poet  if  your  lines  ran  contrary 
to  the  just  measures  and  rules  of  your  art;  so 
neither  should  I  be  a  good  judge,  or  an  honest 
man,  if  I  decided  aught  in  opposition  to.  law 
and  justice.” 

3431.  JUSTICE,  Divine.  When  God  ap¬ 

pointed  a  surety,  his  Son,  and  charged  our 
debts  upon  him  to  satisfy  his  justice,  in  that 
God  would  not  spare  his  Son  the  least  degree 
of  punishment ;  hereby  the  Lord  shows  a 
stronger  love  to  justice  than  if  he  had  damned 
ten  thousand  thousand  creatures.  Suppose  a 
malefactor  comes  before  a  judge;  he  will  not 
spare  the  malefactor,  but  commands  satisfac¬ 
tion  to  the  law :  this  shows  that  the  judge 
loves  justice.  But  if  the  judge’s  own  sou  be 
a  delinquent,  and  it  appears  before  all  the 
country  that  the  judge  will  not  spare  him ; 
the  judge  now  doth  more  honor  justice  in  this 
than  in  condemning  a  thousand  others.  So, 
when  the  Lord  shall  cast  many  thousands  into 
hell,  there  to  be  tormented  throughout  eternity, 
it  shows  that  God  loves  justice ;  but  when  his 
own  Son  shall  take  our  sins  upon  him,  and  he 
will  not  spare  him,  this  surely  declares  God’s 
love  to  righteousness  more  than  if  all  the  world 
should  be  damned.  Ambrose. 

3432.  JUSTICE,  Eventual.  Said  Anne  of 
Austria,  the  Queen  of  France,  to  her  impla¬ 
cable  enemy,  Cardinal  Richelieu,  “  My  lord- 
cardinal,  there  is  one  fact  which  you  seem  to 
have  entirely  forgotten.  God  is  a  sure  pay¬ 
master.  He  may  not  pay  at  the  end  of  every 
week  or  month  or  year;  but  I  charge  you, 
remember  that  he  pays  in  the  end.” 


3433.  JUSTICE,  Example  of.  Nouschirvan, 

King  of  Persia,  hunting,  one  day,  became 
desirous  of  eating  some  of  the  venison  in  the 
field.  Some  of  his  attendants  went  to  a 
neighboring  village,  and  took  away  a  quantity 
of  salt  to  season  it ;  but  the  king,  suspectin'* 
how  they  had  acted,  ordered  that  they  should 
immediately  go  and  pay  for  it.  Then  turning 
to  his  attendants,  he  said,  “  This  is  a  small  mat¬ 
ter  in  itself,  but  a  great  one  as  it  regards  me ; 
for  a  king  ought  ever  to  be  just,  because  he  is 
an  example  to  his  subjects ;  and,  if  he  swerves 
in  trifles,  they  will  become  dissolute.  If  I  can¬ 
not  make  all  my  people  just  in  the  smallest 
things,  I  can  at  least  show  them  that  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  be  so.”  Percy. 

3434.  JUSTICE,  Impartial.  A  striking  in¬ 
stance  of  the  stern  and  impartial  administra¬ 
tion  of  justice  is  afforded  in  the  history  of  one 
of  the  Kings  of  Acalhuacan,  a  province  of  the 
Mexican  empire.  There  was  a  law  which  for¬ 
bade,  on  pain  of  death,  the  speaking  of  inde¬ 
cent  words  in  the  royal  palace.  One  of  the 
sons  of  this  king,  for  whom  he  had  felt  a  more 
particular  attachment  than  for  any  of  the  rest, 
on  account  of  his  disposition  and  his  virtues, 
violated  this  law.  The  king  was  informed  of 
it;  and,  understanding  that  the  word  had  been 
spoken  by  the  prince  in  the  presence  of  his 
tutors,  he  sent  to  examine  them.  They,  being 
afraid  of  experiencing  some  punishment  if  they 
concealed  the  truth,  confessed  it  openly,  but, 
at  the  same  time,  endeavored  to  exculpate  the 
prince  by  saying  that  he  did  not  know  the 
person  to  whom  he  spoke,  nor  that  the  lan¬ 
guage  was  improper.  Notwithstanding  ad 
this,  he  ordered  the  young  prince  to  be  ar¬ 
rested  immediately ;  and  the  very  same  day 
pronounced  sentence  of  death  upon  him.  The 
whole  court  were  astonished  at  the  rigor  of  the 
king,  and  interfered  with  their  prayers  and  tears 
in  behalf  of  the  prince;  but  no  remonstrances 
could  move  the  inflexible  mind  of  the  king. 
“  My  son,”  said  he,  “  has  violated  the  law.  If 
I  pardon  him,  it  will  be  said  the  laws  are  not 
binding  on  every  one.  I  will  let  my  subjects 
know  that  no  one  will  be  pardoned  a  trans¬ 
gression,  as  I  do  not  even  pardon  the  son 
whom  I  dearly  love.”  The  punishment  was 
accordingly  executed.  The  king  shut  himself 
up  for  forty  days  in  a  hall,  without  letting  him¬ 
self  be  seen  by  any  one.  He  vented  his  grief 
in  secret ;  and,  to  conceal  from  his  sight  every 
thing  that  might  recall  his  sorrow,  he  caused 
the  door  of  his  son’s  apartment  to  be  closed 
up  by  a  wall.  He  showed  his  subjects,  that 
although  he  was  incapable  of  repressing  the 
feelings  of  a  father,  and  sealing  up  the  foun¬ 
tains  of  his  grief,  yet  he  would  never  permit 
them  to  overcome  his  zeal  for  the  laws,  and 
the  most  rigid  impartiality  in  their  execution. 

Dr.  J.  Todd. 

3435.  JUSTICE,  Importance  of.  Justice  is  the 
greatest  interest  of  man  on  earth.  It  is  the 
ligament  which  holds  civilized  beings  and  civ¬ 
ilized  nations  together.  Wherever  her  temple 
stands,  and  so  long  as  it  is  duly  honored,  there 
is  a  foundation  for  social  security,  and  general 


JUST!  E. 


JUSTICE. 


399 


happiness,  and  the  improvement  and  progress 
of  our  race.  And  whoever  labors  on  this 
edifice  with  usefulness  and  distinction,  who¬ 
ever  dears  its  foundations,  strengthens  its 
pillars,  adorns  its  entablatures,  or  contributes 
to  raise  its  august  dome  still  higher  in  the 
skies,  connects  himself  in  name  and  fame 
and  character  with  that  which  is  and  must 
be  as  durable  as  the  frame  of  human  soci¬ 
ety.  Webster. 

3436.  JUSTICE,  Opinions  of.  Carneades, 

whom  Cicero  so  much  dreaded,  maintained 
that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  justice ;  and 
he  supported  his  theory  by  such  sophisms  as 
these  :  That  the  condition  of  men  is  such,  that, 
if  they  had  a  mind  to  be  just,  they  must  act 
imprudently ;  and,  if  they  have  a  mind  to  act 
prudently,  they  must  be  unjust  ;  and  that  it 
follows  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  justice, 
because  a  virtue  inseparable  from  a  folly  can¬ 
not  be  just.  Lactantius  is  correct,  when  he 
affirms  that  the  heathens  could  not  answer  this 
sophism,  and  that  Cicero  dared  not  undertake 
it.  The  error  was  this,  —  the  restricting  the 
value  of  justice  to  temporal  things;  for  to 
those  who  disbelieve  a  future  state,  or  even 
have  doubts  about  it,  “  honesty  is  not  always 
the  best  policy  ;  ”  and  it  is  reserved  for  Chris¬ 
tians,  who  take  into  their  consideration  the 
whole  existence  of  man,  to  argue  clearly  and 
consequentially  on  the  sterling  value  of  jus¬ 
tice.  It  is  well  known  that  Ilume  himself 
was  never  so  much  puzzled  as  when  peremp¬ 
torily  asked  by  a  lady  of  Bath  to  declare 
upon  his  honor,  as  a  gentleman,  whether  he 
would  choose  his  own  confidential  domestics 
from  such  as  held  his  own  principles,  or  from 
those  who  conscientiously  believed  the  eternal 
truths  of  Revelation.  He  frankly  decided  in 
favor  of  the  latter.  Colton. 

3437.  JUSTICE,  Respeot  for.  While  Athens 

was  governed  by  the  thirty  tyrants,  Socrates, 
the  philosopher,  was  summoned  to  the  senate- 
house,  and  ordered  to  go  with  some  other  per¬ 
sons,  whom  they  named,  to  seize  one  Leon,  a 
man  of  rank  and  fortune,  whom  they  deter¬ 
mined  to  put  out  of  the  way,  that  they  might 
enjoy  his  estate.  This  commission  Socrates 
positively  refused.  “  I  will  not  willingly,”  said 
he,  “  assist  in  an  unjust  act.”  Cherieles  sharp¬ 
ly  replied,  “  Dost  thou  think,  Socrates,  to  talk 
in  this  high  tone,  and  not  to  suffer?  ”  —  “  Far 
from  it,”  replied  he :  “I  expect  to  suffer  a 
thousand  ills,  but  none  so  great  as  to  do  un¬ 
justly.”  Percy. 

3138.  JUSTICE,  Reward  of.  It  happened  on 
a  time,  as  Trajan  was  hastening  to  battle  at 
the  head  of  his  legions,  that  a  poor  widow  flung 
herself  in  his  path,  and  cried  aloud  for  justice, 
and  the  emperor  staid  to  listen  to  her;  and 
she  demanded  vengeance  for  the  innocent  blood 
of  her  son,  killed  by  the  son  of  the  emperor. 
Trajan  promised  to  do  her  justice  when  he 
returned  from  his  expedition.  “  But,  sire,”  an¬ 
swered  the  widow,  “  should  you  be  killed  in 
battle,  who  then  will  do  me  justice  ?  ”  —  “  My 
successor,”  replied  Trajan.  And  she  said, 
“  What  will  it  signify  to  you,  great  emperor, 


that  any  other  than  yourself  should  do  me 
justice?  Is  it  not  belter  that  you  should  do  this 
good  action  yourself,  than  leave  another  ro  do 
it?”  And  Trajan  alighted;  and,  having  exam¬ 
ined  into  the  affair,  he  gave  up  his  own  son  to 
her  in  place  of  him  she  had  lost,  and  bestowed 
on  her,  likewise,  a  rich  dowry.  Now  it  came  to , 
pass,  that,  as  Gregory  was  one  day  meditating 
in  his  daily  walk,  this  action  of  the  Emperor 
Trajan  came  into  his  mind,  and  he  wept  bit¬ 
terly  to  think  that  a  man  so  just  should  be  con¬ 
demned  as  a  heathen  to  eternal  punishment; 
and,  entering  into  a  church,  he  prayed  most 
fervently  that  the  soul  of  the  good  emperor 
might  be  released  from  torment.  And  a  voice 
said  to  him,  “  I  have  granted  thy  prayer,  and 
I  have  spared  the  soul  of  Trajan  for  thy  sake; 
but,  because  thou  hast  supplicated  for  one  whom 
the  justice  of  God  had  already  condemned, 
thou  shalt  choose  one  of  two  things, —  either 
thou  shalt  endure  for  two  days  the  fires  of 
purgatory,  or  thou  shalt  be  sick  and  infirm  for 
the  remainder  of  thy  life.”  Gregory  chose  the 
latter;  which  sufficiently  accounts  for  the 
grievous  pains  and  infirmities  to  which  this 
great  man  was  subjected  even  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  Legenda  A  urea. 

3439.  JUSTICE,  Sword  of.  When  the  Son  of 
God  was  made  of  a  woman,  and  made  under 
the  law,  there  was  heard  the  most  awful  voice 
that  ever  was  heard  in  the  universe  yet : 
“  Awake,  O  sword  1  against  the  Man  that  is  my 
fellow,  and  smite  the  shepherd,”  —  smite 
him !  When  there  was  a  man  in  the  world  that 
was  Jehovah’s  fellow,  there  was  some  one  who 
could  magnify  the  law,  in  smiting  whom  justice 
could  obtain  its  demands.  The  sword  of  jus¬ 
tice  smote  him,  struck  him,  cut  him.  The 
sword  of  justice  had  a  commission  to  smite  the 
Man  that  was  Jehovah’s  fellow :  it  smote  him 
in  Bethlehem  ;  it  smote  him  all  along  the  high¬ 
way  of  his  life,  even  to  Calvary.  On  Calvary, 
the  strokes  of  the  sword  fell  heavy ;  the  glances 
of  that  sword  then  darkened  the  sun ;  the 
strokes  of  the  sword  shook  earth,  shook  hell ; 
it  kept  smiting  and  smiting  the  Mau  that  was 
God’s  fellow,  till  at  last  he  cried,  “  It  is 
finished !  ”  Then  the  sword  fell  down  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  hushed,  lulled,  pacified :  and 
it  lay  there  till  the  third  hallowed  morning, 
when  it  was  found  changed  into  a  sceptre  of 
mercy;  and  that  sceptre  of  mercy  has  been 
waving  among  mankind  ever  since. 

o  o 

Dr,  Beaumont, 

3440.  JUSTICE,  Symbol  of.  These  instruc¬ 
tions  were  admirably  embodied  in  the  figure 
which  the  old  Egyptians  gave  to  Justice.  She 
was  symbolized  by  a  human  form  without 
hands,  to  indicate  that  judges  should  accept  no 
bribes ;  and  not  without  hands  only,  but  sight¬ 
less,  to  indicate  that  the  judge  is  to  know 
neither  father  nor  mother,  nor  wife  nor  child, 
nor  brother  nor  sister,  nor  slave  nor  sovereign, 
nor  friend  nor  foe,  when  he  occupies  the  seat 
of  justice.  He  is  not  to  be  the  client,  but  only 
to  hear  the  cause,  and,  uninfluenced  by  fear 
or  favor,  to  decide  the  case  upon  its  merits. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 


400 


JUSTICE. 


JUSTIFICATION'. 


3444.  JUSTICE,  Triumph  of.  I  tell  thee,  there 
is  nothing  else  but  justice :  one  strong  thing  I 
find  here  below,  —  the  just  thing,  the  true 
thing.  My  friend,  if  thou  hadst  all  the  artillery 
of  Woolwich  marching  at  thy  back  in  support 
of  an  unjust  thing,  and  infinite  bonfires  visibly- 
waiting  ahead  of  thee  to  blaze  centuries  to 
come  tor  thy  victory  on  behalf  of  it,  I  would 
advice  thee  to  call  “  Halt !  ”  to  fling  down  thy 
baton,  and  say,  “  In  God’s  name,  no  1  ”  What 
will  thy  success  amount  to?  If  the  thing  is 
unjust,  thou  hast  not  succeeded,  though  bon¬ 
fires  blazed  from  north  to  south,  and  bells  rang, 
and  editors  wrote  leading  articles,  and  the 
just  thing  lay  trampled  out  of  sight  to  all 
mortal  eyes,  an  abolished  and  annihilated 
thing.  Carlyle. 

3442.  JUSTICE,  and  Mercy.  Like  two  streams 
which  unite  their  separate  waters  to  form  a 
common  river,  justice  and  mercy  are  combined 
in  the  work  of  redemption.  Like  the  two 
cherubim  whose  wings  met  above  the  ark ; 
like  the  two  devout  and  holy  men  who  drew 
the,  nails  from  Christ’s  body,  and  bore  it  to  the 
grave;  like  the  two  angels  who  received  it  in 
charge,  and,  seated  like  mourners  within  the 
sepulchre  (the  one  at  the  head,  the  other  at 
the  feet),  kept  silent  watch  over  the  precious 
treasure,  — justice  and  mercy  are  associated  in 
the  work  of  Christ.  They  are  the  supporters 
of  the  shield  on  which  the  cross  is  emblazoned  ; 
they  sustain  the  arms  of  out-  heavenly  Advo¬ 
cate ;  they  form  the  two  solid  and  eternal 
pillars  of  the  Mediator’s  throne.  On  Cal¬ 
vary,  mercy  and  truth  meet  together,  right¬ 
eousness  and  peace  embrace  each  other. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

3443.  JUSTIFICATION,  Allegory  of.  Then 

was  Christian  glad  and  lightsome,  and  said 
with  a  merry  heart,  “  He  has  given  me  rest  by 
sorrow,  and  life  by  His  death.”  Then  he  stood 
a  while  to  look  and  wonder;  for  it  was  very 
surprising  to  him  that  the  sight  of  the  cross 
should  thus  ease  him  of  his  burden.  He 
looked,  therefore,  and  looked  again,  even  till 
the  springs  that  were  in  his  head  sent  the  water 
down  his  cheeks.  Now,  as  he  stood  looking 
and  weeping,  behold  three  shining  ones  came 
to  him,  and  saluted  him  with,  “  Peace  be  to 
thee.”  So  the  first  said  to  him,  “  Thy  sins  be 
forgiven  thee;”  the  second  stripped  him  of 
his  rags,  and  clothed  him  with  change  of  rai¬ 
ment  ;  the  third  also  set  a  mark  on  his  fore¬ 
head,  and  gave  him  a  roll  with  a  seal  on  it, 
which  he  bid  him  look  on  as  he  ran,  and  that 
he  should  give  it  in  at  the  celestial  gate.  So 
they  went  their  way.  Bum/an. 

3444.  JUSTIFICATION,  Change  in.  There 
may  amongst  men  be  a  change  of  state  with¬ 
out  any  change  of  character.  A  prisoner  may 
be  dismissed  from  the  bar,  acquitted  of  the 
charge;  or  he  may  be  convicted,  but  pardoned : 
but  he  may  go  with  all  the  principles  of 
wickedness  as  strong  as  ever  within  him.  His 
condition  is  changed,  but  not  his  character. 
But  it  is  never  so  in  God’s  dealings  with  men. 
In  every  ease  in  which  there  is  justification, 
sanctification  accompanies  it.  Wherever  there 


is  the  change  of  state,  there  is  the  change  of 
character.  Dr.  Wardlaw. 

3445.  JUSTIFICATION,  Concomitants  of.  When 
a  person  is  justified  by  human  laws,  he  goes 
away  from  the  bar  deriving  no  other  benefit 
from  his  acquittal  than  mere  release  from 
punishment.  He  does  not  depart  laden  by  his 
judge  with  favored  great  privileges.  But  the 
sinner  who  has  been  justified  through  the 
righteousness  of  Christ  gains  something  more 
than  simple  deliverance  from  the  present  and 
future  wrath  of  God  :  he  gains  every  spiritual 
mercy  which  lie  needs  for  this  present  life,  and 
everlasting  happiness  in  the  life  to  come.  We 
may  illustrate  this  double  benefit  of  justifica¬ 
tion  thus  :  It  is  as  if  one  should  not  only  pay 
the  debts  of  a  person  who  owed  ten  thousand 
talents,  and  who,  having  nothing  to  pay,  was 
about  to  be  sold,  with  all  that  he  had,  to  make 
the  payment,  but  should  at  the  same  time  give 
him  enough  to  set  him  above  want  forever 

after  Tjp.iDi.fi 

3446.  JUSTIFICATION,  by  Faith.  Luther 

sought  rest  for  Ills  troubled  breast  in  self-denial, 
and  retirement  as  a  monk ;  but  did  not  find  it. 
Jn  1500,  he  started  as  a  delegate  for  Rome, 
hoping  to  find  relief  from  his  burden  there. 
As  he  came  in  sight  of  the  city,  he  fell  on  his 
knees,  exclaiming,  “  Holy  Rome,  I  salute 
thee.”  He  was  disappointed  and  shocked  at 
the  wickedness  which  he  found  there.  The 
people  said  to  him,  “  If  there  is  a  hell,  Rome 
is  built  over  it.”  At  last,  he  turned  to  ascend 
Pilate’s  staircase,  thronged  by  the  superstitious 
crowd,  upon  his  knees.  He  toiled  from  step 
to  step,  repeating  his  prayeis  at  every  one, 
till  a  voice  of  thunder  seemed  to  cry  within 
him,  “  The  just  shall  live  by  faith.”  Instantly 
he  rose,  saw  the  folly  of  bis  hope,  of  relief 
through  works  of  merit.  A  new  life  followed 
his  new  light.  Seven  years  after,  he  nailed  his 
these*  to  the  doors  of  the  Wittenberg  Church, 
and  inaugurated  the  Reformation. 

344?.  JUSTIFICATION,.  Fruits  of.  Richard 
Reynolds,  a  benevolent  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  having  his  portrait  painted  for  a 
friend,  chose  to  be  represented  sitting  with) 
the  Bible  open  before  him,  with  the  following 
legible  inscription.:  “Therefore,  being  justified 
by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.” 

3448.  JUSTIFICATION,  Importance  of.  Justi¬ 

fication  is  the  very  hinge  and  pillar  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  ;  and  an  error  about  justification  is 
dangerous,  like  a  crack  in  the  foundation,  or 
an.  error  in  the  first  concoction.  Justification 
by  Christ  is  a  spring  of  the  water  of  life ;  and 
to  have  the  poison  of  corrupt  doctrine  cast 
into  this  spring  is  damnable.  T.  Watson. 

3449.  JUSTIFICATION,  Nature  o£  When  a 
person  has  been  brought  to  trial,  and  found 
guilty,  if  he  is  able  to  make  a  sufficient  satis¬ 
faction  for  his  offence,  either  through  his  own 
ability  or  that  of  his  friends,  and  the  law 
accepts  such  an  indemnification,  the  criminal 
would  depart  from  the  trial  justified.  The 
accepted  satisfaction  would  not,  indeed,  render 
him  an  innocent  man ;  but  he  would  be  so  re- 


JTJSTrF'ICA.TIOlS'. 


KxrsrxHNTEiss. 


401 


garded  by  the  law:  and,  though  guilty,  he 
would  be  no  more  liable  to  prosecution  and 
unisbment  for  that  offence  than  a  person  who 
ad  never  committed  it.  Now,  this  is  the 
way  in  which  we  are  justified  in  the  sight  of' 
God.  We  are  found  guilty  by  this  just  Judge; 
and  at  any  moment  his  justice  may  inflict  upon 
us  the  deserved  sentence  of  eternal  death.  We 
have  no  ability  of  our  own  to  make  satisfaction : 
but  an  Almighty  Friend  and  Saviour  has  died 
to  make  an  atonement  for  our  sins;  and  he  per¬ 
mits  us  to  offer  the  merits  of  his  most  precious 
blood-shedding  to  God  for  the  remission  of 
those  sins.  God  accepts  this  satisfaction  from 
all  who  have  a  right  to  offer  it,  and,  in  con¬ 
sideration  of  it,  releases  them  from  the  penalty 
of  eternal  death,  to  which  they  stood  exposed. 
A  person  pleading  this  satisfaction  is  not,  in¬ 
deed,  rendered  innocent  through  what  his 
Saviour  has  done  for  him ;  but  he  is  treated 
as  such ;  he  is  no  longer  liable  to  punishment : 
and  we  may  say  that  an  angel  in  heaven  is  in 
as  much  danger  of  eternal  torment  as  is  a 
person  who  is  found  in  Christ,  having  the  in¬ 
finite  merits  of  his  Saviour  to  plead  for  his  own 
justification.  Lewis. 

3150.  JUSTIFICATION,  Need  of.  Some  har¬ 
bors  have  bars  of  sand  which  lie  across  the 
entrance,  and  prohibit  the  access  of  ships  at 
low  water.  There  is  a  bar,  not  of  sand,  but 
of  adamantine  rock,  the  bar  of  divine  justice, 
which  lies  between  a  sinner  and  heaven. 
Christ’s  righteousness  is  the  high  water,  that 
carries  a  believing  sinner  over  this  bar,  and 
transmits  him  safe  to  the  land  of  eternal  rest. 
Our  own  righteousness  is  the  low  water,  which 
will  fail  us  in  our  greatest  need,  and  will  ever 
leave  us  short  of  the  heavenly  Canaan. 

Sailer. 

3451.  JUSTIFICATION,  Self.  Self-justifica¬ 
tion  is  said  to  be  the  attempt  of  one  overtaken 
by  a  storm  to  run  for  shelter  into  an  old  house  j 
without  a  roof. 

3152.  KINDNESS,  and  Confidence.  A  rough¬ 
looking  man  brought  his  son  into  school,  say¬ 
ing,  “  I  have  brought  my  boy  here,  and  would 
like  to  see  if  you  can  do  any  thing  with  him. 

I  confess,  he  is  more  than  I  can  manage.  Of 
all  the  stubborn  boys  I  know  of,  he  is  the  worst.” 
One  day,  as  the  teacher  was  passing  along  by 
the  desks,  lie  laid  his  hand  kindly  on  his  shoul¬ 
der  ;  but  the  boy  shuddered,  and  shrank  from 
him.  “  What  is  the  matter,  Henry  ?  ”  asked 
the  teacher.  “I  thought  you  were  going  to 
strike  me.”  —  “Why  should  I  strike  you  ?  ”  — 

“  Because  I  am  such  a  bad  boy.”  —  “  Who  says 
ou  are  a  bad  boy?  ”  —  “  Father  says  I  am  a 
ad  boy,  and  mother  says  so,  ami  every  one 
says  so.”  — “  But  you  are  not  a  bad  boy ;  at  least, 

I  think  so ;  and  you  can  be  as  good  a  boy  as 
any  one.  Ask  God  to  help  you  to  be  good,  and 
you  will  be  sure  to  succeed.”  The  poor  boy’s 
eyes  filled  with  tears.  He  was  not  used  to 
such  kind  words ;  and,  when  his  teacher  left 
him,  he  thought,  “  Can  I  be  a  good  boy  when 
every  one  says  I’m  so  bad  ?  But  he  did  not 
say  I  was  bad :  he  said  I  could  be  a  good  boy. 

I  will  be  a  good  boy.”  From  that  time,  a 
26 


marked  change  was  observed  in  the  boy.  He 
took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  his  studies,  and 
made  rapid  progress.  His  school-fellows  soon 
learned  to  love  him.  He  grew  up  to  be  a  great 
and  good  man,  and  became  governor  of  one 
of  our  largest  States.  Child’s  Paper. 

3153.  KINDNESS,  Conquering  by.  When  I 
was  a  small  boy,  there  was  a  black  boy  in 
the  neighborhood,  by  the  name  of  Jim  Dick. 
A  number  of  us,  one  evening,  began  tormenting 
the  poor  black  by  calling  him  “  negro,  black¬ 
amoor,”  and  other  degrading  epithets.  The 
poor  fellow  appeared  excessively  grieved  at 
our  conduct,  and  soon  left  us.  We  soon  after¬ 
wards  made  an  appointment  to  go  a-skating: 
and,  on  the  day  of  the  appointment,  I  had  the 
misfortune  to  break  my  skates,  and  I  could 
not  go  without  borrowing  Jim’s  skates.  I  went 
to  him,  and  asked  him  for  them.  “  Oh,  yes, 
Robert !  you  may  have  them,  and  welcome,” 
was  his  answer.  When  I  went  to  return  them, 
I  found  Jim  sitting  by  the  fire  in  the  kitchen, 
reading  the  Bible.  I  told  him  I  had  returned 
the  skates,  and  was  under  great  obligations  to 
him  for  his  kindness.  He  looked  at  me  as  he 
took  Us  skates,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
said  to  me,  “  Robert,  don’t  ever  call  me  black¬ 
amoor  again,”  and  immediately  left  the  room. 
The  words  pierced  my  heart ;  and  I  burst  into 
tears,  and  from  that  time  resolved  never  again 
to  abuse  a  poor  black.  Southey. 

3151.  KINDNESS,  Defective,  The  kindness 
of  some  is  too  much  like  an  echo  :  it  returns 
exactly  the  counterpart  of  what  it  receives, 
and  neither  more  nor  less.  Bowes. 

3155.  KINDNESS,  Effective.  The  Quaker, 
Isaac  T.  Hopper,  encountered  a  profane  colored 
man  named  Cain,  in  Philadelphia,  and  took 
him  before  a  magistrate,  who  fined  him  for 
blasphemy.  Twenty  years  after,  Isaac  met 
Cain,  whose  appearance  was  much  changed 

I  for  the  worse.  This  touched  the  Friend’s 
heart.  He  stepped  up,  spoke  kindly,  and 
shook  hands  with  the  forlorn  being.  “  Dost 
thou  remember  me,”  said  the  Quaker,  “howl 
had  thee  fined  for  swearing  Y  ”  —  “  Yes,  indeed 
I  do  :  I  remember  what  I  paid,  as  well  as  yes¬ 
terday.” —  “  Well,  did  it  do  thee  any  good  ?.” 
—  “  No,  never  a  bit:  it  made  me  mad  to  have 
my  money  taken  from  me.”  Hopper  invited 
Cain  to  reckon  up  the  interest  on.  the  fine,  and 
paid  him  principal  and  interest.  “  I  meant  it 
lor  thy  good,  Cain  ;  and  l  am  sorry  I  did  thee 
any  harm.”  Cain's  countenance  changed  ;  the 
tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks.  He  took  the 
money  with  many  thanks,  became  a  quiet  man, 
and  was  not  heard  to  swear  again. 

3156.  KINDNESS,,  to  an  Enemy.  A  slave, 
who  had  by  the  force  of  his  sterling  worth 
risen  high  in  the  confidence  of  his  master,  saw 
one  day,  trembling  in  the  slave-market,  a  negro, 
whose  gray  head  and  bent  form  showed  him 
to  be  in  the  last  weakness  of  old  age.  He 
implored  his  master  to  purchase  him.  lie 
expressed  his  surprise,  but  gave  his  consent. 
The  old  man  was  bought,  and  conveyed  to 
the  estate.  When  there,  he  who  had  pleaded 
for  him  took  him  to  his  own  cabin,  placed 


402 


liXNXMNTESS. 


KINDNESS. 


him  on  his  own  bed,  fed  him  at  his  own 
board,  gave  him  water  from  his  own  cup ;  when 
he  shivered,  carried  him  into  the  sunshine; 
when  he  drooped  in  the  hut,  bore  him  softly  to 
the  shade.  “  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  ” 
asked  a  witness.  “  Is  he  your  father  ?  ”  — 
“  No.”  —  “  Is  he  your  brother  ?  ”  —  “  No.”  — 
“  Is  he,  then,  your  friend  ?  ”  —  “  No  :  he  is  my 
enemy.  Years  ago,  he  stole  me  from  my  native 
village,  and  sold  me  for  a  slave :  and  the  good 
Lord  has  said,  1  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed 
him ;  if  lie  thirst,  give  him  drink  ;  for  in  so 
doing,  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his 
head.’  ”  C.  Stanford. 

345'?'.  KINDNESS,  Expedient  of.  A  little  girl 
and  her  little  brother  were  on  their  way  to  the 
grocer’s  one  cold  morning.  They  were  both 
poorly  clad;  but  the  little  girl  had  a  coat  over 
her,  which  she  seemed  to  have  outgrown.  As 
they  were  walking  along,  she  drew  her  little 
companion  close  up  to  her,  saying,  “  Come  under 
my  coat,  Johnny.”  —  “  It  isn’t  big  enough  for 
both,”  was  his  reply.  “  I  guess  I  can  stretch 
it  a  little,”  she  said.  And  they  got  as  close 
together,  and  as  warm  as  two  birds  in  the 
nest. 

3458.  KINDNESS,  Instinctive.  President 
Lincoln,  walking  one  day  with  his  secretary, 
stopped  at  a  little  shrub,  and  looked  into  it ; 
then  stooped,  and  put  his  hand  down  through 
the  twigs  and  leaves,  as  if  to  take  something 
out.  His  secretary  said  to  him,  “  What  do 

ou  find  there,  Mr.  Lincoln?  ”  —  “Why,”  said 

e,  “  here  is  a  little  bird  fallen  from  its  nest, 
and  I  am  trying  to  put  it  back  again.” 

3459.  KINDNESS,  Legend  of.  We  read  in 
the  legendary  history  of  St.  Jerome,  that  one 
evening,  as  he  sat  within  the  gates  of  his  mon¬ 
astery  at  Bethlehem,  a  lion  entered,  limping,  as 
in  pain  :  and  all  the  brethren,  when  they  saw 
the  lion,  fled  in  terror ;  but  Jerome  arose,  and 
went  forward  to  meet  him  as  though  he  had 
been  a  guest.  And  the  lion  lifted  up  his  paw ; 
and  St.  Jerome,  on  examining  it.  found  that  it 
was  wounded  by  a  thorn,  which  he  extracted ; 
and  he  tended  the  lion  till  he  was  healed. 
The  grateful  beast  remained  with  his  benefac¬ 
tor,  and  Jerome  confided  to  him  the  task  of 
guarding  an  ass  which  was  employed  in  bring¬ 
ing  firewood  from  the  forest.  On  one  occasion, 
the  lion,  having  gone  to  sleep  while  the  ass 
was  at  pasture,  some  merchants,  passing  by,  car¬ 
ried  away  the  latter ;  and  the  lion,  after  search¬ 
ing  for  him  in  vain,  returned  to  the  monastery 
with  drooping  head,  as  one  ashamed.  St. 
Jerome,  believing  that  he  had  devoured  his 
companion,  commanded  that  the  daily  task  of 
the  ass  should  be  laid  upon  the  lion,  and  that 
the  fagots  should  be  bound  on  his  back,  to 
which  he  magnanimously  submitted,  until  the 
ass  was  recovered ;  which  was  in  this  wise  : 
One  day  the  lion,  having  finished  his  task,  ran 
hiiher  and  thither,  still  seeking  his  companion  ; 
and  he  saw  a  caravan  of  merchants  approach¬ 
ing.  and  a  string  of  camels,  which,  according 
to  the  Arabian  custom,  were  led  by  an  ass. 
And,  when  the  lion  recognized  his  friend,  he 
drove  the  camels  into  the  convent,  and  so  ter¬ 


rified  the  merchants,  that  they  confessed  the 
theft,  and  received  pardon  from  St.  Jerome. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

3460.  KINDNESS,  Memory  of.  Among  the 
Alps,  when  the  day  is  done,  and  twilight  and 
darkness  are  creeping  over  fold  and  hamlet 
in  the  valleys  below,  Mont  Rosa  and  Mont 
Blanc  rise  up  above  the  darkness,  catching 
from  the  retreating  sun  something  of  his  light, 
flushed  with  rose-color,  exquisite  beyond  all 
words  or  pencil  or  paint,  glowing  like  the  gate 
of  heaven.  And  so  past  favors  and  kindnesses 
lift  themselves  up  in  the  memory  of  noble 
natures ;  and,  long  after  the  lower  parts  of  life 
are  darkened  by  neglect  or  selfishness  or 
anger,  former  loves,  high  up  above  all  clouds, 
glow  with  divine  radiance,  and  seem  to  forbid 
the  advance  of  night  any  farther.  Beecher. 

3461.  KINDNESS,  Neighborly.  A  fire  having 

broken  out  in  a  village  of  Denmark,  one  of 
the  inhabitants,  a  poor  man,  was  very  active 
in  affording  assistance ;  but  every  endeavor 
to  extinguish  the  flames  was  in  vain.  At 
length,  he  was  told  that  his  own  house  was  in 
danger,  and  that,  if  he  wished  to  save  his  fur¬ 
niture,  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost.  “  There 
is  something  more  precious,”  replied  he,  “  that 
I  must  first  save.  My  poor,  sick  neighbor  is 
not  able  to  help  himself:  he  will  be  lost  if  I 
do  not  assist  him  :  I  am  sure  he  relies  upon 
me.”  He  flew  to  his  neighbor’s  house,  rushed, 
at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  through  the  flames, 
and  conveyed  the  sick  man  in  his  arms  to  a 
place  of  safety.  A  society  at  Copenhagen 
showed  their  approbation  of  his  conduct  by 
presenting  him  with  a  silver  cup  filled  with 
Danish  crowns.  Biblical  Treasury. 

3462.  KINDNESS,  to  the  Poor.  One  day, 
Lulu,  who  was  a  child  of  poor  parents,  saw 
a  lame  old  man  going  by,  wretchedly  clad, 
with  a  pack  on  his  back.  Lulu  thought  he 
must  be  cold  or  hungry ;  so  out  she  ran,  with¬ 
out  saying  any  thing  to  her  mother,  and  soon 
overtook  the  stranger.  “  Man  1  ”  said  she, 
“  my  father  always  gives  poor  folks  something 
to  eat :  won’t  you  come  back  and  get  some 
bread  ?  ”  He  turned  about ;  and  Lulu  took 
his  hand,  and  led  him  back  to  the  house. 
“  Here,  mother,”  said  Lulu,  “  is  a  poor  lame 
man,  who  is  hungry :  won’t  you  give  him 
some  bread  ?  ”  Her  mother  looked  pleased, 
and  hastened  to  feed  the  stranger;  while  Lulu 
set  him  a  chair  close  by  the  fire,  and  treated 
him  as  if  she  thought  he  were  as  poor  and 
good  as  Lazarus. 

3463.  KINDNESS,  Power  o£  A  wicked  boy 
once  stole  all  the  grapes  he  could  find  on  the 
vine  of  a  lady  who  lived  near  his  mother. 
The  lady’s  daughter  suspected  the  thief,  and 
was  very  angry.  Her  mother  said,  “  Don’t 
indulge  your  anger,  my  dear,  but  carry  the 
few  bunches  the  little  thief  left,  with  some 
other  needful  articles  of  food,  to  his  sick 
mother.”  This  advice  was  followed.  When 
the  boy  witnessed  the  kindness  to  his  mother, 
his  heart  smote  him.  He  was  overwhelmed 
with  shame,  he  confessed  his  theft,  he  offered 
her  the  money  for  which  he  had  sold  the  fruit, 


KUSTDISTESS. 


KING. 


403 


and  declared  he  would  never  steal  again.  The 
young  lady  declined  taking  the  money,  but 
advised  him  to  go  to  the  Sunday  school,  and 
put  it  in  the  missionary  box.  The  boy  became 
a  member  of  the  Sunday  school,  was  converted, 
and  grew  up  to  be  an  active  Christian  man. 

Teacher's  Journal. 

3464.  KINDNESS,  Reason  for.  M.  Labat,  a 

merchant  of  Bayonne,  ill  in  health,  had  retired 
in  the  beginning  of  the  winter,  1803,  to  a 
country-house  on  the  banks  of  the  Adour. 
One  morning,  when  promenading  in  his  robe- 
de-chamber ■,  on  a  terrace  elevated  a  little 
above  the  river,  he  saw  a  traveller  thrown  by 
a  furious  horse,  from  the  opposite  bank  into 
the  midst  of  the  torrent.  M.  Labat  was  a  good 
swimmer.  He  did  not  stop  a  moment  to  reflect 
on  the  danger  of  the  attempt,  but  threw  oft'  his 
robe-de-chamber,  leaped  into  the  flood,  and 
caught  the  drowning  stranger  at  the  moment, 
when,  having  lost  all  sensation,  he  must  have 
otherwise  inevitably  perished.  “  O  God  1  ”  ex¬ 
claimed  M.  Labat,  clasping  him  in  his  arms, 
and  recognizing,  with  a  transport  of  joy,  the 
individual  he  had  saved,  —  “  sacred  humanity  1 
what  do  I  not  owe  thee  ?  I  have  saved  my 
son  !  ”  Percy. 

3465.  KINDNESS,  Repaid.  When  the  coun¬ 
try  was  newly  settled,  an  Indian  came  to  the 
inn  at  Litchfield,  and  asked  for  a  night’s  shel¬ 
ter,  saying  he  had  nothing  to  pay.  The  hostess 
drove  him  away ;  but,  as  the  Indian  was  retir¬ 
ing  sorrowfully,  a  man  who  was  sitting  by 
directed  the  hostess  to  supply  his  wants,  and 
promised  to  pay  her.  As  soon  as  his  supper 
was  ended,  the  Indian  thanked  his  benefactor, 
and  said  he  would  some  day  repay  him. 
Several  years,  after  the  settler  was  taken  pris¬ 
oner  by  a  hostile  tribe,  and  carried  oft’  to  Cana¬ 
da.  One  day,  an  Indian  came  to  the  white 
man,  and,  giving  him  a  musket,  bade  him  fol¬ 
low  him.  The  Indian  never  'told  where  they 
were  going,  nor  what  was  his  object ;  but,  day 
after  day,  the  captive  followed  his  mysterious 
guide,  till  one  afternoon  they  came  suddenly 
on  a  beautiful  expanse  of  cultivated  fields,  with 
many  houses  rising  among  them.  “  Do  you 
know  that  place?”  asked  the  Indian.  “Ah, 
yes  1  it  is  Litchfield.”  —  “  And  I,”  the  Indian 
exclaimed,  “  am  the  starving  Indian  on  whom, 
at  tills  very  place,  you  took  pity.  And.  now  I 
have  paid  for  my  supper,  I  pray  you  go  home.” 

3466.  KINDNESS,  Result  of.  '  A  little  sailor- 
boy  left  the  port  of  Boston,  taking  with  him  a 
pet  kitten.  His  ship  was  wrecked  off  the 
Azore  Islands.  He  was  about  to  jump  into  one 
of  the  boats,  which  was  just  ready  to  push 
off,  when  he  thought  of  his  kitten,  and  ran 
after  him.  Returning  with  it,  the  first  boat 
had  gone  ;  but  another  was  ready,  into  which 
he  jumped.  The  storm  raged,  and  the  dark¬ 
ness  was  intense ;  but  their  little  boat  survived. 
Of  all  that  started  from  the  wreck,  this  only 
was  saved.  Had  the  boy  forsaken  his  kitten, 
he  must  have  perished  with  the  boat’s  com¬ 
pany  with  which  he  was  about  to  embark. 

3467.  KINDNESS,  Scarce,  A  lawyer  visited 
a  hospital,  and  conversed  with  one  of  the  most 


degraded  and  ignorant  specimens  of  mankind 
to  be  found  anywhere.  As  he  spoke;  kindly  to 
the  man,  he  drew  the  bed-clothes  over  his  head, 
and  sobbed  convulsively.  As  soon  as  he  could 
speak,  he  said  to  the  lawyer,  “  Sir,  you  are  the 
first  man  that  ever  spoke  a  kind  word  to  me 
since  I  was  born ;  and  I  can’t  stand  it.” 

3468.  KINDNESS,  Sermon  on.  “  Eddie,”  said 
Harry,  “  I’ll  be  a  minister,  and  preach  you  a 
sermon.”  —  “  Well,”  said  Eddie  ;  “  and  I’ll  be 
the  peoples.”  Harry  began  :  “  My  text  is  a 
short  and  easy  one :  *  Be  kind.’  There  are 
some  little  texts  in  the  Bible  on  purpose  for 
little  children  ;  and  this  is  one  of  them.  These 
are  the  heads  of  my  sermon.  First,  Be 
kind  to  papa,  and  don’t  make  a  noise  when  he 
has  a  headache.  I  don’t  believe  you  know 
what  a  headache  is ;  but  I  do.  I  had  one  once, 
and  didn’t  want  to  hear  any  one  speak  a 
word.  Second,  Be  kind  to  mamma,  and 
don’t  make  her  tell  you  to  do  a  thing  more 
than  once.  It  is  very  tiresome  to  say,  ‘  It  is 
time  for  you  to  go  to  bed,’  half  a  dozen  times 
over.  Third,  Be  kind  to  baby.”  —  “  You  have 
leaved  out  be  kind  to  Harry,”  interrupted 
Eddie.  “  Yes,”  said  Harry  :  “  I  didn’t 
mean  to  mention  my  own  name  in  my  ser¬ 
mon.  I  was  saying,  Be  kind  to  little  Min¬ 
nie,  and  let  her  have  your  red  soldier  to 
play  with,  when  she  wants  it.  Fourth,  Be 
kind  to  Jane,  and  don’t  scream  and  kick 
when  she  washes  and  dresses  you.”  Here 
Eddie  looked  a  little  ashamed,  and  said,  “  But 
she  pulled  my  hair  with  the  comb.”  —  “  People 
mustn’t  talk  in  meeting,”  said  Harry.  “  Fifth, 
Be  kind  to  kitty.  Do  what  will  make  her 
purr,  and  don’t  do  what  will  make  her  cry.” — 
“  Isn’t  the  sermon  most  done  ?  ”  asked  Eddie : 
“  I  want  to  sing.”  And  without  waiting  for 
Harry  to  finish  his  discourse,  or  to  give  out  a 
hymn,  he  began  to  sing  ;  and  so  Harry  had  to 
stop. 

3469.  KINDNESS,  in  Trifles.  Life  affords 

but  few  opportunities  of  doing  great  services 
for  others ;  but  there  is  scarcely  an  hour  of  the 
day  that  does  not  afford  us  an  opportunity  of 
performing  some  little,  it  may  be  unnoticed 
kindness.  Bowes. 

3470.  KINDNESS,  Universal.  Use  every  man 

after  his  desert,  and  who  shall  ’scape  whip¬ 
ping  ?  —  Shakspeare. - I  would  give  noth¬ 

ing  for  that  man’s  religion  whose  very  dog 
and  cat  are  not  the  better  for  it. 

Rowland  Hill. 

3471.  KINDNESS,  Words  of.  Good  words  do 

more  than  hard  speeches,  as  the  sunbeams, 
without  any  noise,  will  make  the  traveller  cast 
off’  his  cloak;  which  all  the  blustering  winds 
could  not  do,  but  only  make  him  bind  it  closer 
to  him.  Leiqhton. 

3472.  KING,  A  Bountiful.  The  Lord,  like  a 
most  bountiful  king,  will  be  angry  if  any  man 
will  ask  a  small  thing  at  his  hands ;  because  he 
had  rather  give  things  of  great  worth  than  of 
small  value.  His  goodness  is  infinite.  Powell. 

3473.  KING,  A  Condescending.  Edward,  the 
Black  Prince,  having  conquered  and  taken 
prisoner  King  John  of  France,  noblv  cond**- 


404 


rcrNra-. 


KIUST GDOM  OF  GOD. 


seen ded  to  wait  on  his  royal  captive  the  same 
night  at  supper.  Christ,  having  first  subdued 
his  people  by  his  grace,  waits  on  them  after¬ 
wards  to  the  end  of  their  lives.  Whitecross. 

3474.  KING,  A  Conquering.  It  has  been 

said  of  Edward,  the  Black  Prince,  that  he 
never  fought  a  battle  which  he  did  not  win ; 
and  of  the  great  Duke  of  Marlborough,  that  he 
never  besieged  a  city  that  he  did  not  take. 
Shall  that  be  said  of  men  which  we  deny  con¬ 
cerning  the  Most  High  God  Y  Is  lie  less  suc¬ 
cessful  than  some  human  generals  ?  Shall 
these  invincibly  prevail,  and  grace  be  liable  to 
defeat  ?  Impossible  !  Bowes. 

3475.  KING,  Crowning  the.  When  Mr.  Daw¬ 
son  was  preaching  in  South  Lambeth  on  the 
offices  of  Christ,  he  presented  him  as  Teacher 
and  Priest,  and  then  as  the  King  of  saints. 
He  marshalled  patriarchs  and  kings,  prophets 
and  apostles,  martyrs  and  confessors  of  every 
age  and  clime,  to  place  the  insignia  of  royalty 
upon  the  head  of  the  King  of  the  universe. 
The  audience  was  wrought  up  to  the  highest 

itch  of  excitement ;  and,  as  if  waiting  to 

ear  the  anthem  peal  out  for  the  vast  assem¬ 
blage,  the  preacher  commenced  singing,  “  Ali 
hail  the  power  of  Jesus’  name.”  The  audi¬ 
ence  started  to  their  feet,  and  sang  the  hymn 
as  perhaps  it  was  never  sung  before. 

3476.  KING,  Despising  the.  It  is  far  worse  to 
despise  a  Saviour  in  his  robes  than  to  crucify 
him  in  his  rags.  An  affront  is  more  criminal 
to  a  prince  upon  his  throne  than  when  he  is 
disguised  as  a  subject,  and  masked  in  the 
clothes  of  his  servant.  Christ  is  entered  into 
glory  after  his  sufferings:  all  who  are  his  ene¬ 
mies  must  enter  into  misery  after  their  prosper¬ 
ity  ;  and  whosoever  will  not  be  ruled  by  his 
golden  sceptre  shall  be  crushed  by  his  rod. 

Charnock. 

3477.  KING,  Throne  for  our.  Now  who  is 

like  to  that  royal  King  crowned  in  ZionV 
When  shall  I  get  a  seat  for  royal  Majesty  Y 
If  I  could  set  him  as  far  above  the  heavens  as 
thousand  thousands  of  heights  devised  by  men 
and  angels,  I  should  think  him  too  low.  His 
love  hath  neither  brim  nor  bottom  ;  his  love  is 
like  himself :  it  passethall  natural  understand¬ 
ing.  I  go  to  embrace  it  with  my  arms  ;  but  it 
is  as  if  a  child  would  take  the  globe  of  sea 
and  land  in  his  two  short  arms.  Blessed  and 
holy  is  his  name  1  Rutherford. 

3478.  KINGDOM  OF  CHRIST,  Duration  of. 
I  shall  soon  be  in  my  grave.  Such  is  the  fate 
of  great  men.  So  it  was  with  the  Caesars 
and  Alexander.  And  I,  too,  am  forgotten ; 
and  the  Marengo  conqueror  and  emperor  is  a 
college  theme.  My  exploits  are  tasks  given  to 
pupils  by  their  tutor,  who  sits  in  judgment  over 
me.  I  die  before  my  time ;  and  my  dead  body, 
too,  must  return  to  the  earth,  and  become  food 
for  worms.  Behold  the  destiny  now  at  hand 
of  him  who  has  been  called  the  great  Napo¬ 
leon  1  What  an  abyss  between  my  great  misery 
and  the  eternal  reign  of  Christ,  who  is  pro¬ 
claimed,  loved,  and  adored,  and  whose  king¬ 
dom  is  extending  over  all  the  earth  1 

Napoleon. 


3479.  KINGDOM  OF  CHRIST,  Peaceable.  One 

of  Caesar’s  captains  solicited  for  him  of  the 
senators  of  Koine,  an  extension  of  his  govern¬ 
ment,  but  was  denied.  Grasping  his  sword, 
Caesar  said,  “  Since  you  will  not  grant  it  to  me, 
this  shall  give  it  me.”  Pompey’s  answer 
to  the  citizens  of  Messana  was,  “  What  1  do 
you  prattle  to  us  of  your  law  that  have  swords 
by  our  sides  ?  ”  Mahomet  dissolved  all  argu¬ 
ments  by  the  sword ;  but  the  sceptre  of  Christ’s 
kingdom  is  not  a  sword  of  steel,  but  of  the 
Spirit.  Spencer. 

3480.  KINGDOM  OF  GOD,  Seeking  First  the. 
A  recruiting-officer  in  Massachusetts  heard 
that  a  young  man  was  ready  to  enlist,  and 
hastened  to  call  upon  him.  He  was  put  off 
with  the  statement,  that  he  was  not  ready  yet. 
The  call  was  several  times  repeated,  with  like 
results.  This  vacillation  seemed  strange  to 
those  who  knew  the  young  man’s  straightfor¬ 
ward  character.  Afterwards,  he  confessed  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  enlist  till  he  felt  himself 
ready  to  die.  He  was  profane  and  wicked, 
as  were  ail  his  friends  and  associates,  save  one 
sister.  He  did  not  have  confidence  enough 
to  communicate  his  feelings  to  any  one,  but 
purloined  his  sister’s  Bible,  and  began  to  read 
at  the  beginning,  to  learn  how  to  become  a 
Christian.  He  came  to  the  Commandments 
in  course,  and  in  them  thought  he  had  found 
that  which  would  prepare  him  to  enlist.  He 
learned  them  by  heart,  and  then  tried  to  keep 
them.  He  was  conscious  of  breaking  only  one, 
that  against  profanity.  Against  this,  he  strug¬ 
gled  ;  but  the  more  he  struggled,  the  more  he 
swore.  He  then  thought  he  would  try  prayer. 
He  could  not  put  off  the  recruiting-officer 
much  longer.  He  knelt,  and  cried  out  in 
much  abasement  and  excitement,  “  Lord,  help, 
help  !  ”  His  prayer  was  answered.  He  passed 
the  provocations  of  the  next  day  without  an 
oath.  When  the  recruiting-officer  next  came, 
he  put  down  his  name,  and  said,  “  Now,  I  am 
ready  to  face  any  thing  ;  rebels  or  death.”  He 
went  before  the  church,  and  told  his  experi¬ 
ence,  and  was  reminded  that  he  had  said 
nothing  about  Jesus.  His  explanation  was, 
that  he  had  not  got  to  him  yet  in  his  Bible. 
He  had  read  to  the  Psalms,  but  thought  he 
must  begin  at  the  other  end  to  find  Jesus. 
He  went  to  the  army,  as  every  one  should 
enter  the  battle  of  life,  a  happy  Christian, 
ready  to  do,  suffer,  or  die. 

3481.  KINGDOM  OF  GOD,  Threefold,  Provi¬ 

dence  :  He  exerciseth  the  kingdom  of  his  prov¬ 
idence  in  the  world  ;  “  He  putteth  down  one, 
and  settetli  up  another.”  Nothing  stirs  in  the 
world  but  God  hath  a  hand  in  it.  He  sets 
every  wheel  a-working  :  he  humbles  the  proud, 
and  raiseth  the  poor  out  of  the  dust  to  set 
them  among  princes.  The  kingdom  of  God’s 
providence  ruleth  over  all :  kings  do  nothing 
but  what  his  providence  permits  and  orders. 
The  kingdom  of  grace,  which  kingdom  God 
exerciseth  in  the  consciences  of  his  people : 
this  is  regnum  Dei  Mikron.  The  kingdom  of 
glory  [which  is  the  future  life  of  the  righteous 
in  heaven].  T.  Watson. 


KINGDOM  OF  GRACE. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


405 


3482.  KINGDOM  OF  GRACE,  and  Glory. 

These  two  kingdoms  of  grace  and  glory  differ 
not  specifically,  but  gradually  :  they  differ  not 
in  nature,  but  only  in  degree.  The  kingdom 
of  grace  is  nothing  but  the  inchoation  or  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  kingdom  of  glory  :  the  kingdom 
of  grace  is  glory  in  the  seed,  and  the  kingdom 
of  glory  is  grace  in  the  flower :  the  kingdom  of 
grace  is  glory  in  the  daybreak,  and  the  king¬ 
dom  of  glory  is  grace  in  the  full  meridian  :  the 
kingdom ofgrace  is  glory  militant,  and  the  king¬ 
dom  of  glory  is  grace  triumphant.  There  is 
such  an  inseparable  connection  between  these 
two  kingdoms,  grace  and  glory,  that  there  is 
no  passing  into  the  one  kingdom  but  by  the 
other.  At  Athens,  there  were  two  temples, — 
a  temple  of  virtue  and  a  temple  of  honor;  and 
there  was  no  going  into  the  temple  of  honor 
but  through  the  temple  of  virtue.  So  the  king¬ 
doms  of  grace  and  glory  are  so  joined  together, 
that  we  cannot  go  into  the  kingdom  of  glory 
but  through  the  kingdom  of  grace.  Many 
people  aspire  after  the  kingdom  of  glory,  but 
never  look  after  grace ;  but  these  two,  which 
God  hath  joined  together,  may  not  be  put 
asunder.  The  kingdom  of  grace  leads  to  the 
kingdom  of  glory.  T.  Watson. 

3483.  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN,  Duration  of. 

Mortal  kingdoms  are  not  lasting,  and,  while 
they  last,  are  not  uniform.  They  have  their 
climacteric  years,  and  terminate  within  cer¬ 
tain  periods.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  shall 
have  no  end.  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre¬ 
vail  against  it.  Spencer. 

3484.  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN,  Giving  all  for 
the.  As  merchants  are  glad  to  pay  all  their 
wealth  and  substance  for  pearls  of  great  price, 
hoping  to  be  great  gainers  thereby ;  so  we 
ought  not  to  spare  any  earthly  treasure,  or  for¬ 
bear  any  cost,  for  the  attainment  of  that  most 
precious  pearl,  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Cawdratj. 

3485.  KINGDOM  OF  SATAN,  Character  of  the.  It 

is  a  kingdom  of  impiety  :  nothing  but  sin  goes 
on  in  his  kingdom.  Murder  and  heresy,  lust 
and  treachery,  oppression  and  division,  are  the 
constant  trades  driven  in  Satan’s  kingdom. 
It  is  a  kingdom  of  slavery :  Satan  makes  all 
his  subjects  slaves.  He  is  a  usurper  and  ty¬ 
rant, —  worse  than  any  tyrant.  Other  tyrants 
do  but  rule  over  the  body ;  but  Satan  rides 
over  the  soul  :  he  rides  some  men  as  we  do 
horses.  Other  tyrants  have  some  pity  on  their 
slaves :  though  they  make  them  work  in  the 
galleys,  yet  they  give  them  meat,  and  let  them 
have  their  hours  tor  rest.  But  Satan  is  a  mer¬ 
ciless  tyrant ;  he  gives  them  poison  instead  of 
meat,  feeds  them  on  lust;  he  gives  them  no 
rest,  but  ever  drives  them  on  in  his  drudgery. 
When  he  entered  Judas,  he  gave  him  no  rest 
until  he  had  betrayed  Christ,  and  hanged  him¬ 
self.  When  men  have  served  him  to  the  utmost, 
he  will  welcome  them  to  hell  with  fire  and  brim¬ 
stone.  T.  Watson. 

3486.  KNOWLEDGE,  Adaptation  of.  A  greater 
degree  of  hearing  would  incommode  us,  and  a 
nicer  degree  of  seeing  would  terrify  us.  If 
our  eyes  could  see  things  microscopically,  we 


should  be  afraid  to  move.  Thus  our  knowledge 
is  suited  to  our  situation  and  our  circumstances. 
Were  we  informed  more  fully,  beforehand,  of 
the  good  things  prepared  for  us  by  Providence, 
from  that  moment  we  should  cease  to  enjoy  the 
good  things  we  possess,  become  indifferent  to 
present  duties,  and  be  filled  with  restless  im¬ 
patience.  Or,  suppose  the  things  foreknown 
were  gloomy  and  adverse,  what  dismay  and 
despondency  would  be  the  consequence  of  the 
discovery  1  and  how  many  times  should  we 
suffer  in  imagination  what  we  now  only  endure 
once  in  reality !  Who  would  wish  to  draw 
back  a  veil  which  saves  them  from  so  many 
disquietudes  ?  If  some  of  you  had  formerly 
known  the  troubles  through  which  you  have 
since  waded,  you  would  have  fainted  under  the 
prospect.  But  what  we  know  not  now  we 
shall  know  hereafter.  Jacob  Abbott. 

3487.  KNOWLEDGE,  Application  of.  In  a  dark 
night,  I  once  saw  a  feeble  lamp  struggling  to 
pierce  the  dense  darkness;  but  the  mighty 
genius  of  night  defied  its  impotent  rays.  Near 
by,  I  saw  another  lamp,  of  the  same  general 
pattern,  whose  light  streamed  out  dazzlingly 
into  the  distant  darkness.  I  asked,  “  Why  does 
this  lamp  give  more  light  than  the  other?  —  is 
the  oil  better  ?  ”  —  “No.”  —  “  Does  it  burn  more 
oil  ?”  —  “No.”  —  “Is  the  burner  better?”  — 
“  No.” —  “  But,  surely,  it  generates  more  light  ?  ” 
Unexpectedly,  the  answer  was,  “  No.”  — 
“  Why,  then,  does  it  emit  a  light  so  much  more 
dazzling  than  the  other?”  This  was  the 
answer,  “  Do  you  see  behind  that  bright  lamp 
the  polished  reflector,  which  the  other  has  not  ? 
That  reflector  gathers  all  the  divergent  rays, 
and  converges  and  flings  them  out  in  one 
glittering  flood  of  light.”  Prof.  Jaques  thus 
illustrates  two  men  equally  learned ;  one  hav¬ 
ing  the  power  of  reducing  his  knowledge  to 
practice,  and  the  other  destitute  of  it. 

3488.  KNOWLEDGE,  Appreciation  of.  The  pro¬ 

foundly  wise  do  not  declaim  against  superficial 
knowledge  in  others  so  much  as  the  profoundly 
ignorant :  on  the  contrary  they  would  rather 
assist  it  with  their  advice  than  overwhelm  it 
with  their  contempt ;  for  they  know  that  there 
was  a  period  when  even  a  Bacon  or  a  Newton 
were  superficial,  and  that  he  who  has  a  little 
knowledge  is  far  more  likely  to  get  more  than 
he  who  has  none.  Colton. 

3489.  KNOWLEDGE,  The  Best.  He  is  the 

best  grammarian  who  has  learned  to  speak  the 
truth  from  his  heart ;  the  best  astronomer  who 
has  conversation  in  heaven  ;  the  best  musician 
who  has  learned  to  sing  the  praise  of  his  God  ; 
the  best  arithmetician  who  so  numbers  his  days 
as  to  apply  his  heart  to  wisdom.  He  is  know¬ 
ing  in  ethics  who  trains  up  his  family  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  ;  he  is  the  best  economist  who 
is  wise  to  salvation,  prudent  in  giving  and 
taking  good  counsel ;  he  is  the  best  politician 
and  he  is  a  good  linguist,  that  speaks  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  Cana&n.  Spencer. 

3490.  KNOWLEDGE,  of  Christ.  A  well-known 
minister  asked  Bishop  Beveridge,  on  his  death¬ 
bed,  if  he  knew  him.  “  Who  are  you  ?  ”  said 
the  bishop.  He  had  forgotten  both  the  face 


406 


IOTOWLEDGE. 


KNOWLEDGE. 


and  the  name.  His  wife  came  to  his  bed-side, 
but  was  not  recognized.  Some  one  then  said, 
“  Bishop  Beveridge,  do  you  know  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  ?  ”  At  the  mention  of  that 
wonderful  name,  he  said,  “Jesus  Christ;  oh, 
yes !  I  have  known  him  these  forty  years. 
JPreeious  Saviour,  he  is  my  only  hope  1  ” 

3491.  KNOWLEDGE,  Desire  for.  The  more 

we  know,  the  greater  our  thirst  for  knowledge. 
The  water-lily,  in  the  midst  of  waters,  opens 
its  leaves  and  expands  its  petals  at  the  first 
pattering  of  showers,  and  rejoices  in  the  rain¬ 
drops  with  a  quicker  sympathy  than  the  parched 
shrub  in  the  sandy  desert.  Coleridge. 

3492.  KNOWLEDGE,  Direction  of.  Being  now 

to  open  a  fountain  such  as  it  is  not  easy  to  dis¬ 
cern  where  the  issues  and  streams  will  take 
and  fall,  I  thought  it  good  and  necessary,  in 
the  first  place,  to  make  a  strong  and  sound 
head  or  bank  to  rule  and  guide  the  course  of 
the  waters,  by  setting  down  this  position ; 
namely,  “that  all  knowledge  is  to  be  limited 
by  religion,  and  to  be  referred  to  use  and 
action.”  Lord  Bacon. 

3493.  KNOWLEDGE,  Extent  of.  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  after  his  sublime  discoveries  in  sci¬ 
ence,  said,  “  I  do  not  know  what  I  may  ap- 

ear  to  the  world  ;  but  to  myself  I  seem  only 

ke  a  boy  playing  upon  the  seashore,  and 
diverting  myself  by  now  and  then  finding  a 
pebble,  or  a  prettier  shell  than  ordinary,  while 
the  great  ocean  of  truth  lies  all  undiscovered 
before  me.”  Akin  to  this  is  a  true  Christian 
experience. 

3494.  KNOWLEDGE,  Experimental.  The  writ¬ 
er  asked  an  aged  negress  if  she  had  known 
Washington.  She  answered  by  asking,  “  Do 
you  know  God  ?  ”  —  “I  hope  I  know  some¬ 
thing  of  him,  ma’am.”  —  “  How,  then,  may 
one  know  God,  sir  ?  ”  —  “We  may  learn 
something  about  his  goodness  and  handiwork 
from  what  we  see  in  yonder  garden,  and  in 
these  beautiful  trees.”  —  “  You  are  right, 
massa;  but  is  there  no  other  way  of  knowing 
him?” — “Yes,  ma’am,  we  may  also  learn 
something  of  him  from  his  dealings  with  the 
sons  of  men,  the  history  of  nations,  and  the 
lives  of  individuals.”  —  “  Can  we  ?  But  in 
no  other  way  ?  ”  —  “  From  the  Bible  we  gain 
more  knowledge  of  God  than  from  all  the  other 
sources  put  together.”  —  “  Yes,  indeed  !  and 
is  there  no  other  way  ?  ”  —  “  By  experience.” 
Laying  her  hand  upon  her  heart,  and  lifting 
her  bleared  eyes  to  heaven,  she  exclaimed, 
“  Ah,  now  you  have  it,  massa  1  ” 

G.  W.  Hervey. 

349.5.  KNOWLEDGE,  Imperfection  of.  Among 
the  Romans,  Nasica  was  called  Corculum  for 
his  pregnancy  of  wit ;  among  the  Grecians, 
Democritus  Abderitawas  called  wisdom  itself; 
among  the  Britons,  Gildas  was  called  the  sage ; 
among  the  Jews,  Aben  Ezra  was  called  Hecha- 
chan.  They  said  of  him,  that,  if  Knowledge  had 
put  out  her  candle,  at  his  brain  she  might  light 
it  again ;  and  that  his  head  was  the  throne  of 
wisdom.  Among  the  Israelites  was  Ahitho- 
phel,  whose  counsel  was  an  oracle.  Here,  now, 
was  a  pack  of  wise  men :  but  why  the  Nile 


should  overflow  in  the  summer,  when  waters 
are  at  the  lowest;  or  why  the  loadstone  should 
draw  iron  to  it,  or  incline  to  the  pole-star,  — 
which  of  them,  with  all  their  knowledge,  can 
give  a  reason  of  either?  And  as  in  human,  so 
in  divine  knowledge  :  the  most  acute  and  judi¬ 
cious  have  and  must  acknowledge  their  igno¬ 
rance,  and  deplore  their  errors  in  divers  points. 
We  know  but  in  part.  If  he  that  learned  his 
divinity  among  the  angels,  to  whom  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  an  immediate  tutor,  knew  but  in 
part,  it  is  well  with  us  if  we  know  but  part 
of  that  part.  Spencer. 

3496.  KNOWLEDGE,  Mercenary.  Virtue  is 

an  angel ;  but  she  is  a  blind  one,  and  must  ask 
of  Knowledge  to  show  her  the  pathway  that 
leads  to  her  goal.  Mere  knowledge,  on  the 
other  hand,  like  a  Swiss  mercenary,  is  ready  to 
combat  either  in  the  ranks  of  sin  or  under  the 
banners  of  righteousness  ;  ready  to  forge  can¬ 
non-balls,  or  to  print  New  Testaments ;  to 
navigate  a  corsair’s  vessel  or  a  missionary 
ship.  Horace  Mann. 

349 7.  KNOWLEDGE,  Offices  of.  In  the  per¬ 

formance  of  its  sacred  offices,  it  fears  no  dan¬ 
ger,  spares  no  expense,  looks  in  the  volcano, 
ilives  into  the  ocean,  perforates  the  earth, 
wings  its  flight  into  the  skies,  enriches  the 
globe,  explores  sea  and  land,  contemplates 
the  distant,  examines  the  minute,  comprehends 
the  great,  ascends  to  the  sublime  ;  no  place  too 
remote  for  its  grasp,  no  heavens  too  exalted  for 
its  reach.  De  Witt  Clinton. 

3498.  KNOWLEDGE,  Partial.  A  traveller, 

as  he  passed  through  a  large  and  thick  wood, 
saw  a  part  of  a  huge  oak,  which  appeared  mis¬ 
shapen,  and  almost  seemed  to  spoil  the  scenery. 
“  If,”  said  he,  “  I  was  the  owner  of  this  forest, 
I  would  cut  down  that  tree.”  But  when  he 
had  ascended  the  bill,  and  taken  a  full  view 
of  the  forest,  this  same  tree  appeared  the  most 
beautiful  part  of  the  landscape.  “  How  erro¬ 
neously,”  said  he,  “  I  have  judged  while  I  saw 
only  a  part  1  ”  The  full  view,  the  harmony 
and  proportion  of  things,  are  all  necessary  to 
clear  up  our  judgment.  Dr.  Olin. 

3499.  KNOWLEDGE,  Pleasure  o£  The  mind 

is  the  man,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  man. 
A  man  is  hut  what  he  knoweth.  The  mind 
itself  is  but  an  accident  to  knowledge ;  for 
knowledge  is  a  double  of  that  which  is.  The 
truth  of  being  and  the  truth  of  knowing  is  all 
one,  and  the  pleasures  of  the  affections  great¬ 
er  than  the  pleasures  of  the  senses.  And  are 
not  the  pleasures  of  the  intellect  greater  than 
the  pleasures  of  the  affections  ?  Is  it  not  a 
true  and  only  natural  pleasure  whereof  there 
is  no  satiety  ?  Lord  Bacon. 

3500.  KNOWLEDGE,  Besponsibility  o£  Knowl¬ 
edge  is  power  for  good  or  bad,  as  it  is  applied. 
A  horse  under  restraint  is  of  use  in  carrying 
loads,  and  bearing  burdens,  &c. ;  but,  if  not 
restrained,  he  breaks  his  bridle,  throws  his 
rider,  and  dashes  the  carriage  in  pieces.  The 
water  of  a  large  pond,  conducted  by  trenches, 
or  directed  by  a  mill,  is  of  use;  but,  if  it 
breaks  its  banks,  it  sweeps  every  thing  before 
it,  and  destroys,  where,  otherwise,  it  would  be 


KNOWLEDGE. 


LABOR. 


407 


a  blessing.  When  tlie  ship  is  steered  right, 
the  sails  help  forward  her  onward  coarse  ;  but, 
if  steered  wrong,  the  more  sail  she  carries,  the 
worse. 

3501.  KNOWLEDGE,  Self.  There  was  an 
inscription  on  the  walls  of  the  Delphian  tem¬ 
ple,  ascribed  to  Solon  :  “  Know  thyself.” 

3502.  KNOWLEDGE,  Thorough.  I  once  ven¬ 
tured  to  ask  Sir  Edward  Sugden  what  was 
the  secret  of  his  success.  His  answer  was, 
“*1  resolved,  when  beginning  to  read  law,  to 
make  every  thing  I  acquired  perfectly  my 
own,  and  never  to  go  to  a  second  thing  till  I 
had  entirely  accomplished  the  first.  Many  of 
my  coir.pot  tors  read  as  much  in  a  day  as  I  read 
in  a  week ;  but,  at  the  end  of  twelve  months, 
my  knowledge  was  as  fresh  as  on  the  day  it 
was  acquired,  while  theirs  had  glided  away 
from  their  recollection.”  Sir  T.  F.  Buxton. 

3503.  KNOWLEDGE,  Unappreoiatad.  A  sci¬ 
entific  man  travelling  in  South  America,  who 
had  provided  himself  with  gold,  found,  that,  in 
one  part  of  his  journey,  he  was  very  much  puz¬ 
zled  to  pay  his  bills,  as  the  people  had  never 
seen  gold,  and  did  not  know  its  value. 

3504.  KNOWLEDGE,  Unused,  Hell-fire  burns 

with  rage,  and  meets  with  fuel  fully  prepared 
for  it,  when  God  dooms  unto  it  a  head  full  of 
light  and  a  heart  full  of  lusts.  Those  who 
know  God’s  will,  but  do  it  not,  do  but  carry  a 
torch  with  them  to  hell,  to  pile  that  fire  which 
must  forever  burn  them.  Bp.  Hopkins. 

3505.  KNOWLEDGE,  Usa  of.  Knowledge  is 
a  jewel,  and  adorns  him  that  wears  it.  It  is 
the  enriching  and  bespangling  of  the  mind. 
Knowledge  is  the  eye  of  the  soul,  to  guide  it 
in  the  right  way ;  but  this  knowledge  must  be 
joined  with  holy  practice.  Many  illuminated 
heads  can  discourse  fluently  in  matters  of  re¬ 
ligion  ;  but  they  do  not  live  up  to  their  knowl¬ 
edge  :  this  is  to  have  good  eyes,  but  to  have 
the  feet  cut  off.  How  vain  is  knowledge  with¬ 
out  practice !  as  if  one  should  know  a  sover¬ 
eign  medicine,  and  not  apply  it.  Satan  is  a 
knowing  spirit ;  but  he  hath  no  holy  practice. 

T.  Watson. 

3506.  LABOR,  Above.  During  the  Revolu¬ 
tion,  a  commander  of  a  little  squad  was  giving 
orders  relative  to  a  stick  of  timber  they  were 
endeavoring  to  raise  to  the  top  of  some  mili¬ 
tary  works.  The  timber  went  up  hard ;  and, 
on  this  account,  the  voice  of  the  commander 
was  often  heard  in  regular  vociferations  of 
“  Heave  away !  ”  “  There  she  goes  !  ”  “  Heave 
ho  1  ”  An  officer,  not  in  military  costume,  was 
passing,  and  asked  the  commander  why  he 
did  not  take  hold  and  help,  a  little.  The 
latter,  astonished,  said,  “  Sir,  I  am  a  cor¬ 
poral!  ” —  “You  are,  are  you?”  replied  the 
officer :  “  I  was  not  aware  of  that.”  Upon  this, 
he  dismounted,  and  lifted  till  the  sweat  stood 
in  drops  on  his  forehead ;  and  when  finished, 
turning  to  the  commander,  he  said,  “  Mr.  Cor- 

oral,  when  you  have  another  such  job,  and 

ave  not  men  enough,  send  for  your  com¬ 
mander-in-chief,  and  I  will  come  and  help  you 
a  second  time.”  The  corporal  was  thunder¬ 
struck.  It  was  Gen.  Washington. 


3507.  LABOR,  Ashamed  of  Men  seem  ashamed 

of  labor ;  and  often  you  will  find  men  who  have 
made  themselves  respected  by  labor,  have 
built  up  a  business  and  amassed  a  fortune, 
who  turn  to  their  sons,  and  say,  “  You  shall 
never  do  as  I  did ;  you  shall  lead  a  dilferent 
life  ;  you  shall  be  spared  all  this.”  Oh  the 
rich  men’s  sons  !  They  aim  to  lead  a  life  of 
emasculated  idleness  and  laziness.  Like  the 
polyp  that  floats  useless  and  nasty  upon  the  sea, 
—  all  jelly  and  flabby,  no  muscle,  no  bone ;  it 
shuts  and  opens,  and  opens  and  shuts,  and 
sucks  in  and  squirts  out  again,  of  no  earthly  ac¬ 
count,  influence,  or  use,  —  such  are  these  poor 
fools.  Their  parents  toiled,  and  grew  strong, 
built  up  their  forms  of  iron  and  bone ;  but, 
denying  all  this  to  their  sons,  they  turn  them 
upon  the  world  boneless,  muscleless,  simple 
gristle,  and  soft  at  that.  Beecher. 

3508.  LABOR,  Dignity  of.  An  American 
President,  when  asked  what  was  his  coat  of 
arms,  replied,  “  A  pair  of  shirt-sleeves.”  Lord 
Tenderden  was  proud  to  point  out  to  his  son 
the  shop  in  which  his  father  had  shaved  for  a 
penny.  A  French  doctor  once  taunted  Fle- 
chier,  Bishop  of  Nismes,  who  had  been  a  tallow- 
chandler  in  his  youth,  with  the  meanness  of 
his  origin ;  to  which  he  replied,  “  If  you  had 
been  born  in  the  same  condition  that  I  was, 
you  would  still  have  been  but  a  maker  of 
candles.” 

356D.  LABOR,  Neoessity  of.  Passing  a  mill 
one  day,  Gotthold  recollected  the  wise  obser¬ 
vation  of  a  certain  prince :  “  Man’s  heart  is 
like  a  millstone.  Pour  in  corn,  and  round  it 
goes,  bruising  and  grinding,  and  converting 
it  into  flour ;  whereas,  give  it  no  corn,  and  the 
stone  indeed  turns  round,  but  only  grinds  itself 
away,  and  becomes  ever  thinner  and  smaller 
and  narrower.  Even  so  the  heart  of  man  re¬ 
quires  to  have  always  something  to  do;  and 
happy  he  who  continually  occupies  it  with 
good  and  holy  thoughts :  otherwise  it  may 
soon  consume,  and  waste  itself  by  useless  anx¬ 
ieties,  or  wicked  and  carnal  suggestions.” 

3510.  LABOR,  Opportune.  All  1  when  the 
apples  are  ripe,  a  child’s  foot  against  the  tree 
will  bring  scores  and  scores  of  them  to  the 
ground.  He  might  take  his  little  stick,  and 
throw  it  twenty  times,  and  not  hit  more  than  a 
single  apple ;  for  he  would  be  working  accord¬ 
ing  to  his  own  skill,  and  would  accomplish  but 
little :  but,  when  he  strikes  the  trunk  of  the 
tree,  dozens  of  apples  have  been  waiting  for 
just  that  thing;  and  they  drop  at  his  feet;  and 
lie  gets  twenty  times,  forty  times,  as  many  as 
he  would  do  by  plying  his  stick  merely. 

Beecher. 

3511.  LABOR,  for  Others.  One  extremely 
cold  day,  two  travellers,  wrapped  in  furs,  were 
hurrying  over  the  snows  of  Lapland.  Thev 
came  upon  a  poor,  benumbed  man,  overcome 
with  the  cold.  “  We  must  stop  and  help  him,” 
said  one.  The  other  refused,  for  fear  of  freez¬ 
ing.  The  sledge  stopped  ;  and  the  first  has¬ 
tened  to  the  relief  of  the  perishing  man.  Suc¬ 
cess  attended  his  efforts ;  and  a  life  was  saved. 
He  even  grew  warmer  in  his  work,  besides 


408 


TjA-ROE,. 


IxAJVEB. 


having  the  approval  of  conscience ;  while  his 
friend,  afraid  of  exposing  himself,  was  nearly 
frozen. 

3512.  LABOR,  and  Prayer.  Adam  had  tilled 
the  ground,  and  made  himself  a  garden  full 
of  plants  and  trees.  He  rested  himself,  with 
his  wife  and  children,  upon  the  brow  of  a 
hill.  The  watcher  of  Eden  came  to  them  ;  but 
he  was  without  his  flaming  sword,  and  his 
countenance  was  kind.  He  saluted  them,  and 
said,  “  Behold !  no  more  do  fruits  grow  of 
themselves  for  you :  you  must  labor  to  eat 
bread  in  the  sweat  of  your  brow  ;  but,  after 
your  toil,  you  rejoice  in  the  fruit  acquired.” 
—  “  His  goodness  is  great,  even  when  he  chas- 
teneth,”  said  Adam.  “  But  formerly  Jehovah 
was  nearer  to  us,  and  blessed  us.  What  have 
we  to  atone  for  this  ?  ”  —  “  Prayer,”  answered 
the  watcher.  “  Toil  is  the  earthly,  prayer  the 
heavenly  gift  of  Jehovah.”  Then  Adam  lifted 
up  his  face,  and  gave  thanks,  and  prayed. 

Krummacher. 

3513.  LABOR,  Proverb.  He  that  labors  is 

tempted  by  one  devil ;  he  that  is  idle,  by  a 
thousand.  Italian. 

3514.  LABOR,  Result  of.  When  a  lady  once 
asked  Turner,  the  celebrated  English  painter, 
what  his  secret  was,  he  replied,  “  I  have  no 
secret,  madam,  but  hard  work.” 

3515.  LABOR,  Seasonable.  Dr.  Chalmers 
was  once  in  company  at  a  nobleman’s  place 
with  a  Highland  chief.  The  chief  was  much 
interested  in  the  doctor’s  brilliant  conversa¬ 
tion.  The  two  were  shown  into  adjoining 
rooms  to  sleep.  While  preparing  for  bed,  the 
chief  was  prostrated  by  apoplexy,  and  soon 
died.  This  event  called  forth  the  following 
to  those  who  had  gathered  about  the  corpse : 
“  Never,  in  my  life,  did  I  see,  or  did  I  feel,  be¬ 
fore  this  moment,  the  meaning  of  that  text, 
‘  Preach  the  word ;  be  instant  in  season,  and 
out  of  season.’  Had  I  known  that  my  venera¬ 
ble  old  friend  was  within  a  few  minutes  of 
eternity,  I  would  have  addressed  myself  ear¬ 
nestly  to  him ;  I  would  have  preached  unto 
him  and  you  Christ  Jesus,  and  him  crucified ; 
I  would  have  urged  him  and  you,  with  all  the 
earnestness  befitting  the  subject,  to  prepare 
for  eternity.  You  would  have  thought  it,  and 
you  would  have  pronounced  it,  out  of  season; 
but,  ah  !  it  would  have  been  in  season,  both  as 
it  respected  him,  and  as  it  respects  you.” 

3516.  LABOR,  Time  for.  Two  Port-Royal 
divines  visiting,  Arnauld  desired  Nicole  to 
assist  him  in  a  new  work  ;  when  the  latter  ob¬ 
served,  “We  are  now  old:  is  it  not  time  to 
rest  ?  ”  —  “  Rest  1  ”  returned  Arnauld  :  “  have 
we  not  all  eternity  to  rest  in  ?  ” 

3517.  LABOR,  Useless.  Samuel  Drew,  the 
celebrated  metaphysician,  giving  an  account 
of  his  sinful  life  when  a  youth,  in  connection 
with  his  shoemaking  life,  observes,  “  When  I 
was  a  young  man,  I  was  expert  at  follies,  acute 
in  trifles,  and  ingenious  about  nonsense.” 

3518.  LADY,  Accomplished.  A  lady  accom¬ 
plished  is  like  a  star  with  five  rays,  which  are 
the  five  virtues,  —  devotion,  modesty,  chastity, 
discretion,  and  charity.  Devotion  formeth 


the  interior ;  modesty  makes  it  appear  in  the 
exterior  with  a  requisite  comeliness ;  chastity 
perfecteth  both  the  one  and  the  other ;  discre¬ 
tion  applieth  it  to  the  direction  of  others  ;  and 
charity  crowneth  all  her  actions.  N.  Caussin. 

3519.  LADY,  A  True.  I  was  once  walking 
behind  a  very  handsomely-dressed  young  girl, 
and  thought,  “  I  wonder  if  she  takes  half  as 
much  pains  with  her  heart  as  she  does  with 
her  person  !  ”  A  poor  old  man  was  coming  up 
the  walk  with  a  loaded  wheelbarrow :  and,  just 
before  he  reached  us,  he  made  two  attempts  to 
go  into  the  yard  of  a  small  house ;  but  the  gate 
was  heavy,  and  would  swing  back  before  he 
could  get  through.  “  Wait,”  said  the  young 
girl,  springing  lightly  forward :  “  I’ll  hold  the 
gate  open.”  She  did,  and  received  his  thanks 
with  a  pleasant  smile.  “  She  deserves  to  have 
beautiful  clothes,”  I  thought ;  “  for  a  beautiful 
spirit  dwells  in  her  breast.”  Little  Corporal. 

3520.  LAMB,  Cared  for.  When  taking  my 

morning-walk  along  the  base  of  one  of  our 
loftiest  Highland  mountains,  I  met  a  shepherd. 
He  had  his  plaid  closely  wrapped  about  him, 
and  had  evidently  something  in  it,  that  he  was 
carrying  with  unusual  care.  I  said,  “  What 
is  this,  Malcolm,  that  you  have  got  in  your 
plaid  ?  ”  He  answered,  “  It  is  a  poor  forsaken 
lamb.  When  I  was  going  my  rounds,  this 
morning,  I  found  it  lying  on  the  cold  ground  : 
its  mother  had  left  it,  and  it  would  soon  have 
died.  I  took  it  up,  wrapped  it  in  my  warm 
plaid,  and  am  now  carrying  it  home  to  my 
bothy.”  —  “  And  what  do  you  intend  to  do 
with  it?  ”  —  “I  will  feed  it;  and  it  will  soon  be 
one  of  the  flock.”  The  poor  forsaken  lamb  re¬ 
vived,  grew,  and  became  one  of  the  liveliest 
and  strongest  sheep  of  the  flock  ;  while  it  must 
have  pined  and  died  if  my  kind  friend  had  not 
had  compassion  on  it.  Union  Magazine. 

3521.  LAMB,  Carrying.  A  child  of  three 
years  old,  alter  some  days  of  convulsions,  lay 
quiet  several  hours  before  she  died.  The  nurse 
asked  her  if  she  was  tired.  “  Oh,  no  1  ”  she 
said,  looking  brightly  up,  alluding  to  the  text 
which  had  been  taught  her  on  the  previous 
Sabbath,  “I  shall  not  be  tired:  the  gentleman 
told  me  Jesus  carries  little  children  in  his  arms 
to  heaven.” 

3522.  LAMB,  as  an  Emblem.  It  was  at  first 
used  in  art,  to  represent  the  spotless  sacrifice 
of  Christ,  also  as  a  general  emblem  of  inno¬ 
cence,  meekness,  and  modesty. 

3523.  LAMB,  Legend  of  St.  Francis  and  the. 
One  day,  St.  Francis,  celebrated  for  his  kind¬ 
ness  to  animals,  passing  through  a  meadow, 
saluted  the  flocks  which  were  grazing  there, 
and  perceived  a  poor  little  lamb  which  was 
feeding  all  alone  in  the  midst  of  a  flock  of 
goats.  He  was  moved  with  pity,  and  said, 
“  Thus  did  our  mild  Saviour  stand  alone  in  the 
midst  of  the  Jews  and  Pharisees.”  He  was 
too  poor  to  buy  the  lamb ;  but  a  charitable  man, 
passing,  saw  his  grief,  bought  the  lamb,  and 
gave  it  to  him.  It  usually  accompanied  him 
everywhere;  and  in  his  pictures  he  is  repre¬ 
sented  with  his  lamb,  “  which  lay  in  his  bosom, 
and  was  to  him  as  a  daughter.” 


ISAACS. 


HlA/W. 


409 


3 521.  LAMB,  The  Shorn.  A  mother  took 
her  little  daughter  Ida  to  see  the  shearing  of 
the  sheep.  The  little  girl  said,  “  Ah,  how 
cruel  men  are  to  torment  the  poor  animals  1  ” 

—  “  Oh,  no !  ”  answered  the  mother :  “  God 
has  ordered  it  so,  that  men  might  clothe  them¬ 
selves;  tor  they  are  born  naked.”  —  “But,” 
said  Ida,  “  now  the  poor  sheep  will  be  so  cold  !  ” 

—  “  Oh,  no  I  ”  answered  the  mother :  “  He  gives 

the  warm  raiment  to  man,  and  tempers  the 
wind  to  the  shorn  lamb.”  Krummacher. 

3525.  LAUGHTER,  Use  of.  I  live  in  a  con¬ 
stant  endeavor  to  fence  against  the  infirmities 
of  ill  health,  and  other  evils  of  life,  by  mirth. 
I  am  persuaded,  that  every  time  a  man  smiles 

—  but  much  more  so  when  he  laughs  —  it  adds 
something  to  this  fragment  of  life.  Sterne. 

3526.  LAW,  First.  You  never  saw  a  woman 

sewing  without  a  needle.  She  would  come 
but  poor  speed  if  she  only  sewed  wi’  the 
thread.  So,  1  think,  when  we’re  dealing  with 
sinners,  we  maun  aye  put  in  the  needle  of  the 
law  first ;  for  the  fact  is,  they  are  slecpin’ 
sound,  and  they  need  to  be  awakened  up  wi’ 
something  sharp.  But,  when  we’ve  got  the 
needle  o’  the  law  fairly  in,  we  may  draw  as 
lang  a  thread  as  you  like  o’  gospel  consolation 
after  it.  Flockhart. 

3527.  LAW,  Going  to.  A  sheep,  separated 
from  the  (lock,  was  overtaken  by  a  storm.  To 
shelter  itself  from  the  rain,  it  crept  into  a 
thorny  bush,  and  remained  there  until  the  rain 
had  ceased.  It  had  much  trouble  in  getting 
rid  of  the  thorns.  It,  however,  brought  it 
about  after  many  efforts,  and  got  out  from  the 
bush  without  being  wet ;  but  the  poor  creature 
lost  almost  all  its  wool.  A  like  fate  is  his 
who  seeks  redress  in  law. 

3528.  LAW,  and  Gospel.  In  the  husbandry  of 
the  farm,  the  drill,  and  not  the  plough,  gives 
the  crop.  If  the  land  were  left  as  the  plough 
leaves  it,  there  would  be  no  crop  but  of  this¬ 
tles  and  weeds.  The  plough  destroys  every 
living  thing,  tearing  all  up,  root  and  branch, 
and  burying  all  under  the  ground  ;  while  the 
drill  plants  the  seed,  and,  under  the  blessing 
of  God,  insures  a  golden  harvest  and  a  full 
garner.  The  farmer  might  plough  his  ground 
ten  times  or  a  hundred  times  over,  and  yet 
never  have  a  harvest  if  that  were  all  he  should 
do.  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  antagonism  be¬ 
tween  the  plough  and  the  drill.  It  takes  both 
to  make  the  land  yield  to  the  diligent  hand  its 
reward.  In  the  husbandry  of  the  kingdom,  the 
law  is  the  plough,  and  the  gospel  is  the  drill ; 
and,  the  deeper  the  plough  is  put  in,  the  bet¬ 
ter  the  crop,  provided  only  that  the  drill  tol- 
la\re  in  due  time,  casting  in  seed  in  abundance. 

W.  E.  Boardman. 

3529.  LAW,  a  Looking-Glass.  One  of  the  per¬ 
secutors  in  Queen  Mary’s  days,  pursuing  a 
poor  Protestant,  and  searching  the  house  for 
him,  charged  an  old  woman  to  show  him  the 
heretic.  She  points  to  a  great  chest  of  linen, 
on  the  top  whereof  lay  a  fair  looking-glass.  He 
opens  the  chest,  and  asks  where  the  heretic 
was.  She  suddenly  replies,  “  Do  you  not  see 
one  ?  ”  meaning  that  he  was  the  heretic,  and 


that  he  mi<ght  easily  see  himself  in  the  glass. 
And  thus  God’s  law  is  the  glass  that  shows  us 
all  our  spots.  Let  us  hold  it  right  to  our  intel¬ 
lectual  eye ;  not  behind  us,  as  the  wicked  do 
(they  cast  God’s  word  behind  them) ;  not  beside 
us,  like  the  rich  worldling  that  called  to  Christ; 
not  to  turn  the  back  of  the  glass  towards  us, 
which  is  the  very  trick  of  all  hypocrites ;  nor, 
lastly,  to  look  upon  ourselves  in  this  glass 
when  we  are  muffled,  masked,  or  cased,  for 
under  those  veils  we  cannot  discern  our  own 
complexions.  But  let  us  see  the  clear  glass 
before  our  face,  and  our  open  face  to  the  glass, 
and  then  we  shall  soon  perceive  that  the  sight 
of  our  filthiness  is  the  first  step  towards  clean¬ 
liness.  Spencer. 

3530.  LAW,  Preaching  the.  It  was  admirable 
advice  which  Air.  Wesley  records  as  having 
been  given  to  a  preacher  by  an  old  woman. 
“  Preach,”  said  she,  “  the  law  first,  then  the 
gospel,  then  the  law  again.” 

3531.  LAW,  One  Transgression  of,  One  wheel 

broken  in  the  machinery  will  render  the  whole 
inefficient ;  one  breakage  of  a  stave  in  the  lad¬ 
der  may  make  it  unfit  for  safe  and  full  use ; 
one  piece  of  rail  displaced  on  the  railway  may 
result  in  fearful  disaster ;  one  inch  of  wire  cut 
out  of  the  telegraph  would  prevent  the  use  of 
all  the  rest,  whatever  its  extent ;  one  failure  in 
any  law  of  Nature  may  go  on  producing  other 
failures  ad  infnilum.  So  the  transgression  of 
but  one  law  of  God  :  it  is  ruinous  to  the  soul ; 
it  leads  on  to  innumerable  transgressions ;  it 
violates  the  whole  code.  Bate. 

3532.  LAW,  Power  of.  There  are  stronger 
things  in  the  world  than  force.  There  are 
powers  more  difficult  to  overcome  than  strong 
or  brazen  gates.  Suppose  we  found  a  prisoner 
condemned  to  die,  and  locked  up  in  his  cell, 
and  we  were  to  ask  ourselves  how  he  could  be 
saved  from  execution.  There  would  appear 
great  difficulty  in  getting  him  out  of  prison. 
That  iron  door,  with  its  great  bolt ;  that  high 
window,  with  its  guard  of  strong  bars ;  those 
thick,  strong  walls  ;  those  heavy  gates  outside ; 
that  watchful  jailer,  —  how  impossible  it  seems 
to  overcome  them  all  I  Yet  these  are  not  the 
only  difficulties,  nor  the  greatest.  There  is 
another  thing,  stronger  than  all  these,  holding 
the  poor  prisoner  to  death  :  there  is  the  sen¬ 
tence  of  the  law.  For,  unless  he  would  him¬ 
self  become  a  criminal,  no  man  dares  to  help 
the  condemned  one  out.  Get  the  sentence  re¬ 
pealed,  and  the  other  difficulties  are  removed. 
1  will  take  you  in  thought  to  two  houses :  one 
is  your  own  ;  but  the  doors  and  windows  are 
all  fast,  and  you  have  no  key  :  it  will  be  hard 
to  get  in.  Beside  it  is  another,  belonging  to 
your  neighbor,  —  a  house  you  know  you  have 
no  right  to  enter,  and  have  been  forbidden  to 
approach.  The  door  is  open,  and  nothing 
withstands  your  entrance,  that  you  can  see. 
Yet  it  will  be  harder  to  go  in  there  than  into 
your  own  house ;  for  it  would  make  you  a  tres¬ 
passer  on  rights.  An  armed  fortress  belonging 
to  an  enemy  might  be  destroyed  by  force  if  a 
general  were  sent  to  capture  it;  but,  without  a 
warrant,  would  that  general  go  into  the  palace 


410 


IAAW. 


LKAHNIN  Gr. 


of  the  king  ?  When  Eve  stood  beside  the  tree 
of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  there  was  no 
fence  around  it,  keeping  her  steps  aloof ;  no 
shield  to  prevent  her  hand  touching  the  fruit : 
yet  there  was  a  guard  more  powerful  than  walls 
to  keep  her  from  plucking  it,  till  she  resolved 
to  sin.  The  words,  “  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it,” 
so  long  as  her  heart  was  right  with  God, 
were  like  a  rampart  of  fire  around  that  forbid¬ 
den  tree.  If  a  father  has  said  to  a  dutiful 
child,  “  There  is  an  object  you  must  not 
handle,”  it  is  more  truly  out  of  the  child’s 
reach  than  if  he  had  merely  placed  it  high 
up  where  the  little  hand  could  not  get  hold 
of  it.  Dr.  Edmond. 

3533.  LAW,  Restraints  of  God's.  No  doubt 

the  law  restrains  us ;  but  all  chains  are  not 
fetters,  nor  are  all  walls  the  gloomy  precincts 
of  a  jail.  It  is  a  blessed  chain  by  which  the 
ship,  now  buried  in  the  trough,  and  now  rising 
on  the  top  of  the  sea,  rides  at  anchor,  and 
outlives  the  storm.  The  condemned  would 
give  worlds  to  break  his  chain  :  but  the  sailor 
trembles  lest  his  should  snap;  and  when  the 
gray  morning  breaks  on  the  wild  lee-shore,  all 
strewn  with  wrecks  and  corpses,  he  blesses 
God  for  the  good  iron  that  stood  the  strain. 
The  pale  captive  eyes  his  high  prison-walls 
to  curse  the  man  that  built  it,  and  envy  the 
little  bird,  that,  perched  upon  its  summit,  sings 
merrily,  and  flies  away  on  wings  of  freedom ; 
but  were  you  travelling  some  Alpine  pass, 
where  the  narrow  road,  cut  out  of  the  face 
of  the  rock,  hung  over  a  frightful  gorge,  it  is 
with  other  eyes  you  would  look  on  the  wall 
that  restrains  your  restive  steed  from  backing 
into  the  gulf  below.  Such  are  the  restraints 
God’s  law  imposes,  —  no  other.  It  is  a  fence 
from  evil,  —  nothing  else.  I  challenge  the 
world  to  put  its  finger  on  any  one  of  these 
Ten  Commandments,  which  is  not  meant  and 
calculated  to  keep  us  from  harming  ourselves 
or  hurting  others.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3534.  LAZINESS,  Disease  of.  As  I  was  sit¬ 
ting  with  some  senators  of  Bruges,  before  the 
gate  of  the  senate-house,  a  certain  beggar  pre¬ 
sented  himself  to  us,  who,  with  sighs  and  tears, 
and  lamentable  gestures,  expressed  to  us  his 
miserable  poverty ;  saying,  withal,  that  he  had 
about  him  a  private  disoruer,  which  shame 
prevented  him  from  discovering  to  the  eyes 
of  men.  We  all,  pitying  the  case  of  the  poor 
man,  gave  him,  each  of  us  something ;  and  he 
departed.  One  amongst  us,  sent  his  servant 
after  him,  with  command  to  inquire  of  him 
what  his  private  infirmity  might  be,  which  he 
was  so  loath  to  discover.  The  servant  over¬ 
took  him,  and  desired  of  him  that  satisfaction  ; 
and  having  diligently  viewed  his  face,  breast, 
arms,  &c.,  and  finding  all  his  limbs  in  good 
plight,  “  I  see  nothing,”  said  he,  “  whereof 
you  have  any  such  reason  to  complain.”  — 
“  Alas  1  ”  said  the  beggar,  “  the  disease  that 
afflicts  me  is  far  different  from  what  you  con¬ 
ceive  of  and  is  such  as  you  cannot  see :  it  is 
an  evil  that  hath  crept  over  my  whole  body ; 
it  is  passed  through  the  very  veins  and  mar¬ 
row  of  me  in  such  a  manner,  that  there  is  no 


one  member  of  my  body  that  is  able  to  do  any 
work ;  this  is  by  some  called  idleness,  or 
sloth.”  Camerarius. 

3535.  LAZINESS,  Example  of.  The  lobster, 

when  left  high  and  dry  among  the  rocks,  has 
not  sense  and  energy  enough  to  work  his  way 
back  to  the  sea,  but  waits  for  the  sea  to  come 
to  him.  If  it  does  not  come,  he  remains  where 
he  is,  and  dies,  although  the  slightest  exertior 
would  enable  him  to  reach  the  waves,  which 
are  perhaps  tossing  and  tumbling  within  a 
yard  of  him.  There  is  a  tide  in  human  affairs 
that  casts  men  into  “  tight  places,”  and  leaves 
them  there,  like  stranded  lobsters.  If  they 
choose  to  lie  where  the  breakers  have  flung 
them,  expecting  some  grand  billow  to  take 
them  on  its  big  shoulders,  and  carry  them  to 
smooth  wate1-,  the  chances  are,  that  their  hopes 
will  never  be  realized.  Beecher. 

3536.  LEARNING,  Difficult.  As  the  date-tree 

is  hard  to  climb,  though  having  at  its  top  deli¬ 
cious  fruit;  so  the  way  to  learning  is  often 
difficult,  yet  its  rewards  are  pleasing  and  prof¬ 
itable.  Cawdray. 

3537.  LEARNING,  Dislike  of.  He  who  has 

no  inclination  to  learn  more  will  be  very  apt 
to  think  he  knows  enough.  Powell. 

3538.  LEARNING,  and  Godliness.  As  a  dia¬ 

mond  set  in  gold  is  far  more  brilliant  than  if 
incased  in  base  metal ;  so  godliness  planted 
in  learned  men’s  breasts  brings  forth  more  ex¬ 
cellent  fruit  than  the  same  grace  in  unlearned 
men.  Cawdray. 

3539.  LEARNING,  Modesty  of.  A  rabbi  of 
little  learning,  and  less  modesty,  usurped  all 
the  discourse  at  table ;  which  led  one  present 
to  ask  another  if  he  did  not  take  him  for  a 
great  scholar.  The  answer  was, ,l  For  aught 
I  know,  he  may  be  learned  ;  but  I  have  never 
heard  learning  make  so  great  a  noise.” 

3549.  LEARNING,  Object  of.  The  end  of 
learning  is  to  know  God,  and,  out  of  that 
knowledge,  to  love  him,  and  to  imitate  him,  as 
we  may  the  nearest  by  possessing  our  souls  of 
true  virtue.  Milton. 

3541.  LEARNING,  Proverbs.  As  the  twig  is 

bent,  the  tree’s  inclined.  —  English. - It  is 

not  easy  to  straighten  in  the  oak  the  crook  that 

grew  in  the  sapling.  —  Gaelic. - What  the 

colt  learns  in  youth,  he  continues  in  old  age.  — 

French. - What  youth  learns,  age  does  not 

forget.  Danish. 

3542.  LEARNING,  Sanction  of.  Meander, 

who  lived  three  hundred  years  before  St.  Paul, 
said,  “  Evil  words  corrupt  good  manners ; 
Aratus  said,  “  We  are  the  workmanship  of 
God  ;  ”  Epimenides  said,  “  The  Cretans  are 
always  liars,  evil  beasts,  slow  bellies,”  —  all 
three  of  them  heathen  men  famous  in  their 
time ;  yet  the  great  Doctor  of  the  Gentiles 
scorns  not  their  sayings,  but  plants  them  as 
so  many  flowers  in  the  garden  of  God.  Christ 
himself  owns  Socrates  and  Plato,  — the  one  for 
the  golden  rule,  “  Whatsoever  ye  would,”  &c. ; 
and  the  other  for  the  excellent  caution,  “  Phy¬ 
sician,  heal  thyself.”  Spencer. 

3543.  LEARNING,  Unsatisfactory.  Grotius, 
on  his  de-th-bed,  exclaimed,  “  Ah  I  I  have  con- 


LEARNIN  Gr. 


LIBERALITY. 


41] 


pumed  my  life  in  a  laborious  doing  of  nothing. 
I  would  give  all  my  learning  and  honor  for 
the  plain  integrity  of  John  Urick  1  ”  This 
John  Urick  was  a  religious  poor  man,  who 
spent  eight  hours  of  the  day  in  reading  and 
prayer,  eight  in  labor,  and  only  eight  in  sleep 
and  meals. 

3541.  LEARNING,  Way  to.  When  Giardini 
was  asked  how  long  it  would  take  to  play  on 
the  violin,  he  replied,  “  Twelve  hours  a  day 
for  twenty  years  together.”  The  author  of 
“  Telemachus  ”  was  right,  when  he  sought  to 
impress  upon  his  pupil,  that  there  was  no  royal 
road  to  learning,  and  that  even  the  grace 
of  God  would  not  make  a  man  a  scholar.  A 
man  may  be  “  superficially  omniscient,”  as 
Charles  Lamb  expressed  it,  without  much  hard 
effort ;  but  there  is  but  one  pathway  to  thor¬ 
ough  knowledge,  —  “the  republican  one  of 
labor  and  toil.” 

3545.  LIBERALISM,  Personified.  It  was  an¬ 
nounced,  some  years  ago,  that  old  Bigotry  was 
dead  and  fairly  buried.  I  am  sorry  to  be  un¬ 
der  the  necessity  of  informing  this  audience, 
that  it  has  been  discovered,  of  late,  that  he  left 
behind  him  an  only  child,  a  prodigal  son, 
who  is  arrived  at  man’s  estate.  This  son  is 
known  by  the  name  of  Liberalism.  Young 
Liberalism  is  the  very  antipodes  of  his  old 
father.  He  is  handsome,  polite,  insinuating, 
and,  although  somewhat  superficial,  possesses 
that  polish  and  tact  which  impose  upon  gen¬ 
eral  observers.  He  speaks  all  languages,  sub¬ 
scribes  to  all  creeds,  holds  a  levee  with  all 
sects  and  parties,' is  friendly  with  everybody, 
but  stands  identified  with  nobody.  lie  pro¬ 
fesses  to  abhor  religious  controversy,  and  dis¬ 
poses  of  all  doctrinal  questions  by  a  motion 
of  indefinite  postponement.  He  can  swallow 
the  wafer  with  the  Papist,  receive  the  cup 
with  the  Protestant,  and  thrust  the  Westmin¬ 
ster  Confession  and  the  Methodist  Discipline 
into  the  same  pocket.  You  can  never  find 
Liberalism  at  home,  or,  rather,  “  he  is  never 
at  home  but  when  from  home.”  He  sails 
all  waters  under  all  colors ;  he  exhibits  the 
papers  of  all  nations ;  but  he  hails  from  no  port ; 
ne  charters  to  no  country ;  and  therefore  we 
strongly  suspect  that  he  is,  in  reality,  a  pirate. 

G.  C.  Coohtnan. 

3546.  LIBERALITY,  Benefits  of.  I  never 
prospered  more  in  my  small  estate  than  when 
I  gave  most,  and  needed  least.  My  own  rule 
hath  been,  first,  to  contrive  to  need  my¬ 
self  as  little  as  may  be,  and  lay  out  none  on 
need-nots,  but  to  live  frugally  on  a  little;  sec¬ 
ond,  to  serve  God  in  my  place,  upon  that  com¬ 
petency  which  he  allowed  me  to  myself,  that 
what  I  had  myself  might  be  as  good  a  work 
for  common  good  as  that  which  I  gave  to  oth¬ 
ers  ;  and,  third,  to  do  all  the  good  I  could  with 
all  the  rest,  preferring  the  most  public  and 
the  most  durable  object,  and  the  nearest.  Anil, 
the  more  I  have  practised  this,  the  more 
I  have  had  to  do  it  with ;  and,  when  I  gavo 
almost  all,  more  came  in  (without  any’s  gift),  I 
scarce  knew  how,  at  least  unexpected :  but 
when  by  improvidence  I  have  cast  mvself  into 


necessities  of  using  more  upon  myself,  or  upon 
things  in  themselves  of  less  importance,  I  have 
prospered  much  less  than  when  I  did  other¬ 
wise.  And  when  I  had  contented  myself  tc 
devote  that  stock  which  I  had  gotten  to  char¬ 
itable  uses  after  my  death,  instead  of  laying 
out  at  present,  that  so  I  might  secure  some¬ 
what  for  myself  while  I  lived,  in  probability 
all  that  is  like  to  be  lost ;  whereas,  when  I 
took  that  present  opportunity,  and  trusted 
God  for  the  time  to  come,  I  wanted  nothing, 
and  lost  nothing.  Richard  Baxter. 

3517.  LIBERALITY,  Opinions  of.  Giving  to 
the  Lord  is  but  transporting  our  goods  to  a 

higher  floor.  —  Bowes. - It  is  another’s  fault 

if  he  be  ungrateful ;  but  it  is  mine  if  I  do  not 
give.  To  find  one  thankful,  I  will  oblige  a 

great  many  that  are  not  so.  —  Seneca. - In 

defiance  of  all  the  torture,  of  all  the  might,  of 
all  the  malice,  of  the  world,  the  liberal  man 
will  ever  be  rich ;  for  God’s  providence  is  his 
estate,  God’s  wisdom  and  power  are  his  de¬ 
fence,  God’s  love  aiid  favor  are  his  reward, 
and  God’s  word  is  his  security. 

Dr.  Barrow. 

3548.  LIBERALITY,  Benefit  of.  I  had  three 
brothers,  who  had  been  brought  up  to  the  duty 
of  giving  even  of  tlieir  little  store  for  the  spread¬ 
ing  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.  It  hap¬ 
pened  that  each  of  these  brothers  possessed  a 
box,  in  which  he  dropped  any  money  that  might 
be  given  to  him.  In  the  confusion  of  moving 
our  residence,  these  boxes  were  mislaid,  and 
were  long  looked  for  in  vain.  Some  time  after¬ 
wards,  the  boxes  were  unexpectedly  found. 
The  boys  determined  at  once  to  open  them. 
The  three  boxes  contained  almost  the  same 
sum  of  money,  —  about  ten  pounds.  My  eldest 
brother  had  long  wished  to  possess  a  watch ; 
and,  without  hesitation,  he  appropriated  the 
whole  of  the  contents  ofliis  box  to  the  purchase 
of  one.  My  second  brother  was  of  a  divided 
mind.  He  accordingly  separated  his  money 
into  two  portions :  one  he  spent  for  his  own 
gratification ;  the  other  portion  he  gave  to 
some  religious  society.  My  youngest  brother 
gave  up  all :  he  reserved  no  portion  tor  his 
own  self-indulgence,  but  freely  and  joyfully 
gave  the  whole  to  the  Lord.  The  dispositions 
which  were  then  shown  proved  indicative  of 
the  future  course  of  each  of  these  young  men. 
The  eldest  has  been  engaged  in  many  under¬ 
takings  which  seemed  to  promise  wealth,  and 
he  has  expended  large  sums  of  money  :  but  he 
has  failed  in  every  thing  ;  and,  at  the  close  of 
a  long  life,  he  is  a  poor  man,  and  has  been 
for  some  considerable  time  dependent  on  the 
bounty  of  his  youngest  brother.  My  second 
brother  is  not  poor ;  but  he  has  never  beeD 
rich,  nor  st  tisfied  with  his  very  moderate  cir¬ 
cumstances.  I  am  now  in  mourning  for  my 
youngest  brother.  He  died  lately,  leaving  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds,  after  having  freely 
given  away  at  least  as  much  to  missions 
among  the  heathen  and  to  other  works  of  love. 
God  prospered  him  in  every  thing  that  he  un¬ 
dertook  ;  and  he  ceased  not,  throughout  the 
whole  course  of  his  life,  to  give  freely  of  all 


412 


LIBERTY. 


LICENTIOUSNESS. 


that  God  gave  to  his  hand.  Freely  he  had  re¬ 
ceived,  and  freely  and  cheerfully  did  he  give. 

The  Kingdom  and  the  People. 

3540.  LIBERTY,  Appreciating.  A  traveller 
stood  one  day  beside  the  cages  of  some  birds, 
that,  exposed  for  sale,  ruffled  their  sunny 
plumage  on  the  wires,  and  struggled  to  be  free. 
A  way-worn  and  sun-browned  man,  like  one 
returned  from  foreign  lands,  looked  wistfully 
and  sadly  on  these  captives,  till  tears  started  in 
his  eyes;  and,  turning  round  on  their  owner,  he 
asked  the  price  of  one,  paid  it  in  strange  gold, 
and  opened  the  door  and  set  the  prisoner  free  : 
and  thus  he  did  with  captive  after  captive,  till 
every  bird  was  away,  soaring  to  the  skies,  and 
singing  on  the  wings  of  liberty.  The  crowd 
stared  and  stood  amazed.  They  thought  him 
mad,  till,  to  the  question  of  their  curiosity,  he 
answered,  “  I  was  once  myself  a  captive :  I 
know  the  sweets  of  liberty.” 

3550.  LIBERTY,  Approved  by  God.  Three 
hundred  years  ago,  in  Holland,  about  one  mil¬ 
lion  of  people  stood  for  Protestantism  and  free¬ 
dom  in  opposition  to  the  mightiest  empire  of 
that  age,  whose  banners  the  pope  had  blessed. 
William,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  a  man  who 
feared  God,  was  the  champion  of  the  righteous, 
cause.  In  the  heat  of  the  struggle,  when  the 
young  republic  seemed  about  to  be  over¬ 
whelmed,  William  received  a  missive  from  one 
of  his  generals,  then  in  command  of  an  im¬ 
portant  post,  inquiring,  among  other  things,  if 
he  had  succeeded  in  effecting  a  treaty  with 
any  foreign  power,  as  France  or  England,  such 
as  would  secure  aid.  His  reply  was,  “  You 
ask  me  if  I  have  made  a  treaty  for  aid  with 
any  great  foreign  power ;  and  I  answer,  that, 
before  I  undertook  the  cause  of  the  oppressed 
Christians  in  these  provinces,  I  made  a  close 
alliance  with  the  King  of  kings ;  and  I  doubt  not 
that  he  will  give  us  the  victory.”  And  so  it 
proved. 

3559.  LIBERTY,  Christian.  Jesus  Christ  not 
only  called  Lazarus  into  life,  but  he  com¬ 
manded  the  grave-clothes  to  be  taken  off  him, 
that  he  might  have  liberty  in  life.  Life,  with¬ 
out  liberty  from  the  grave-clothes,  would 
scarcely  have  been  a  blessing.  So  Jesus  Christ 
not  only  gives  life  to  the  soul  which  believes 
in  him ;  he  also  commands  the  Spirit  to  de¬ 
scend  upon  him,  to  set  him  free  from  all  en¬ 
slaving  habits.  “  If  the  Son  make  you  free, 
ye  shall  be  free  indeed.”  Bate. 

3552.  LIBERTY,  Instruments  of.  The  abettors 
of  slavery  are  weaving  the  thread  in  the  loom ; 
but  God  is  adjusting  the  pattern.  They  are 
asses,  harnessed  to  the  chariot  of  liberty,  and, 
whether  they  will  or  no,  must  draw  it  on. 

Beecher. 

3553.  LIBERTY,  Love  of.  John  Milton,  the 
chief  of  poets,  held  the  post  of  Latin  secretary 
under  Cromwell.  At  the  Restoration,  he  was 
dismissed  from  his  office.  He  was  now  poor 
and  blind ;  and,  to  these  afflictions,  Charles  II. 
added  political  persecutions :  he  fined  him,  and 
doomed  his  writings  on  liberty  to  be  publicly 
burned.  Nothing  daunted  by  these  fierce  and 
multiplied  trials,  the  great  poet  retired  into 


private  life,  evoked  his  mighty  genius,  and 
produced  “  Paradise  Lost.”  But,  after  he  had 
endured  the  ills  of  poverty  several  years, 
Charles,  feeling  the  need  of  his  matchless 
talents,  invited  him  to  resume  his  former  post 
with  all  its  great  advantages.  Milton  loved 
liberty  so  well,  that  he  spurned  the  splendid 
bribe,  chosing  rather  neglect,  poverty,  and  a 
good  conscience. 

3554.  LIBERTY,  Prophecy  of.  God  has  given 
to  men  the  great  truths  of  liberty  and  equality, 
which  are  like  mothers’  breasts,  carrying  food 
for  ages.  Let  us  not  fear,  that,  in  our  land,  they 
shall  be  overthrown  or  destroyed.  Though  we 
may  go  through  dark  times,  —  rocking  times, 
when  we  are  seasick,  —  yet  the  day  shall  come 
when  there  shall  be  no  more  oppression,  but 
when,  all  over  the  world,  there  shall  be  a  com¬ 
mon  people,  sitting  in  a  commonwealth,  having 
a  common  Bible,  a  common  God,  and  common 
peace  and  joy  in  a  common  brotherhood. 

Beecher. 

3555.  LIBERTY,  Right  to.  In  time  past,  a 
slave,  starting  in  the  darkness  and  stillness  of 
the  midnight  hour,  and  taking  the  north  star 
for  his  guide,  toiled  on  his  weary  way,  resting 
by  day  and  travelling  by  night,  until  he  reached 
Vermont.  He  was  pursued  by  his  alleged  own¬ 
er,  and  seized,  with  the  intention  of  returning 
him  to  slavery.  The  case  was  brought  before 
Judge  Harrington :  and  the  slave-owner,  in 
proof  of  his  claim,  called  the  attention  of  the 
judge  to  a  bill  of  sale;  but  it  was  returned, 
with  an  intimation  that  it  was  not  satisfactory. 
The  indignant  Southerner  asked  what  would 
be  satisfactory  to  his  Honor.  The  judge  re¬ 
plied,  “A  bill  of  sale  from  God  Almighty.” 

Dr.  A.  Webster. 

3556.  LIBERTY,  Sacrifice  for.  In  Switzerland, 
they  tell  you  the  story  of  Arnold  von  Winkel- 
ried,  wbo  opened  the  way  for  freedom,  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Sempach,  in  1386.  Their 
Austrian  oppressors,  in  strong  force,  tried  to 
subdue  them.  The  fierce  assaults  of  the  in¬ 
trepid  Swiss  on  the  serried  Austrian  lines  failed 
to  break  them.  A  fence  of  interlocked  spear¬ 
heads  prevented  success.  Seeing  this,  Winkel- 
ried  threw  down  his  spear  and  rushed  forward, 
crying,  “  Make  way  for  liberty !  ”  He  gathered 
an  armful  of  spears  into  his  own  breast ;  while 
his  companions  pushed  through  the  broken 
ranks  to  victory. 

3557.  LIBERTY,  Spiritual.  Spiritual  liberty 
consists  in  freedom  from  the  curse  of  the  moral 
law ;  from  the  servitude  of  the  ritual ;  from  the 
love,  power,  and  guilt  of  sin ;  from  the  dominion 
of  Satan ;  from  the  corruption  of  the  world ; 
from  the  fear  of  death  and  the  wrath  to  come. 

C.  Buck. 

3558.  LICENTIOUSNESS,  Misery  o£  The  life, 
opportunities,  and  seeming  enjoyments  of  Col. 
Gardner  were  such  as  to  secure  him  the  name 
of  “  The  Happy  Rake.”  While  being  con¬ 
gratulated  by  his  companions,  one  day,  he  could 
not  forbear  groaning,  and  saying,  as  a  dog  en¬ 
tered  the  room,  “  Oh  that  I  were  that  dog  I  ” 

3559.  LICENTIOUSNESS,  Prevention  of.  “  Why 
did  you  not  take  the  arm  of  my  brother,  last 


LIES. 


LUTE. 


413 


night  ?  ”  said  one  young  lady  to  another.  “  Be¬ 
cause  I  know  him  to  be  a  licentious  young 
man,”  was  the  answer.  “  Nonsense  1  ”  said  the 
sister :  “  if  you  refuse  the  attentions  of  all  li¬ 
centious  men,  you  will  have  none,  I  can  as¬ 
sure  you.”  —  “  Very  well,”  was  the  reply, 
“  then  I  can  dispense  with  them  all  together : 
my  resolution  on  this  point  is  unalterably 
fixed.” 

3560.  LIES,  Great,  A  great  lie  is  like  a  great 

fish  on  dry  land :  it  may  fret  and  fling,  and 
make  a  frightful  bother ;  but  it  cannot  hurt 
you.  You  have  only  to  keep  still,  and  it  will 
die  of  itself.  Crabbe. 

3561.  LIES,  Love  of,  It  is  not  only  the  diffi¬ 
culty  and  labor  which  men  take  in  finding  out 
truth,  nor  again,  that,  when  it  is  found,  it  im- 

[loseth  upon  men’s  thoughts,  that  doth  bring 
ies  in  favor,  but  a  natural  and  corrupt  love  of 
the  lie  itself.  One  of  the  later  schools  of  the 
Grecians  examineth  the  matter,  and  is  at  a 
stand  to  think  what  should  be  in  it,  that  men 
should  love  lies  when  neither  they  make  for 
pleasure,  as  with  poets,  nor  for  advantage,  as 
with  the  merchant,  but  for  the  lie’s  sake. 

Lord  Bacon. 

3562.  LIFE,  an  Apologue.  A  man,  going  out 
of  his  beaten  and  directed  way  to  gather  fruits, 
fell  into  a  deep  pit.  In  his  fall,  he  caught  hold 
on  the  arm  of  a  tree  growing  in  it.  Thus  he 
hung,  midway  betwixt  the  upper  light  from 
which  he  fell,  and  the  lower  darkness  to  which 
he  was  falling.  lie  looked  downward,  and 
6aw  two  worms  gnawing  at  the  root  of  this 
tree.  He  looked  upward,  and  spied  on  a 
branch  a  hive  of  honey  ;  he  climbed  up  to  it, 
and  fed  on  it.  But,  in  the  mean  time,  the 
worms  bit  in  sunder  the  root,  and  down  fell 
man,  tree,  and  all  into  the  bottom  of  the  dark 

Eit.  Man  himself  is  this  wretch,  who,  straying 
■om  the  way  of  God’s  commandments,  eating 
of  the  forbidden  fruit,  instantly  fell.  The  pit 
over  which  he  hangs  is  the  grave;  the  tree 
whereby  he  holds  is  this  mortal  life ;  the  two 
worms  are  day  and  night :  the  hive  of  honey  is 
the  pleasures  and  lusts  of  this  world.  There¬ 
upon  he  greedily  feeds,  until  the  two  consum¬ 
ers,  day  and  night,  in  their  vicissitudes,  have 
eaten  asunder  the  root  of  life.  Then  down 
drops  earth  to  earth :  there  it  must  lodge  in 
the  silent  grave,  neither  seeing  nor  seen, 
blended  in  the  forgotten  dust  and  undistin¬ 
guished  mould,  till  it  be  awakened  by  the 
archangel’s  trump  in  the  great  day  of  Christ. 

3  Old  Writer. 

3563.  LIFE,  a  Book.  Man  is  like  a  book : 
his  birth  is  the  titlepage ;  his  baptism,  the  epis¬ 
tle  dedicatory ;  his  groans  and  crying,  the 
epistle  to  the  reader ;  his  infancy  and  child¬ 
hood,  the  argument  or  contents  of  the  whole 
ensuing  treatises;  his  life  and  actions  are  the 
subject;  his  sins  and  errors,  the  faults  escaped  ; 
his  repentance,  the  correction.  As  for  the 
volumes,  some  are  in  folio,  some  in  quarto, 
some  in  octavo,  some  much  smaller  ;  some  are 
fairer  bound,  some  plainer ;  some  have 
piety  and  godliness  lor  their  subjects ;  others 
(and  they  too  many)  are  mere  romances, 


pamphlets  of  wantonness  and  folly  :  but  in  th« 
last  page  of  every  one  there  stands  a  word, 
which  is  Finis ;  and  this  is  the  last  word  in 
every  book.  Such  is  the  life  of  man  :  some 
longer,  some  shorter;  some  stronger,  some 
weaker ;  some  fairer,  some  coarser ;  some  holy, 
some  profane.  But  death  comes  in,  like  Jinis, 
at  the  last,  and  closes  up  all ;  for  that  is  the 
end  of  all.  Spencer. 

3564.  LIFE,  Building  up.  Tiniest  insects 
build  up  loftiest  mountains.  Broad  bands  of 
solid  rock,  which  undergird  the  earth,  have 
been  welded  by  the  patient,  constant  toil  of 
invisible  creatures,  working  on  through  the 
ages,  unhasting,  unresting,  fulfilling  their 
Maker’s  will.  On  the  shores  of  primeval 
oceans,  watched  only  by  the  patient  stars, 
these  silent  workmen  have  been  building  for 
us  the  structure  of  the  world.  And  thus  the 
obscure  wopk  of  unknown  nameless  ages  ap¬ 
pears  at  last  in  the  sunlight,  the  adorned  and 
noble  theatre  of  that  life  of  man,  which,  of  all 
that  is  done  in  this  universe,  is  fullest  before 
God  of  interest  and  hope.  It  is  thus,  too,  in 
life.  The  quiet  moments  build  the  years. 
The  labors  ot  the  obscure  and  unremembered 
hours  edify  that  palace  of  the  soul  in  which  it 
is  to  abide,  and  fabricate  that  organ  whereby 
it  is  to  work  and  express  itself  through  eternity. 

J.  B.  Brown. 

3565.  LIFE,  A  Careful.  Capt.  Burke  of 
Indiana,  being  mortally  wounded,  was  asked, 
“  How  does  it  seem  to  you  to  be  thus  stricken 
down,  with  all  your  prospects  and  hopes  cut 
short?  Isn’t  it  hard  for  you  to  give  up  life, 
and  leave  your  family,  at  your  age  ?  ”  —  “It  has 
come  suddenly  upon  me,”  was  his  reply ;  “  but 
I  feel  prepared  for  it.  I  have  lived  dose  to 
my  Saviour  in  the  army,  and  tried  to  keep  my 
accounts  square  every  night.”  His  wife  went 
to  nurse  him.  His  mind  sometimes  wandered ; 
but  his  wife  could  calm  him  by  saying,  “  My 
dear,  Jesus  is  here;  and  that  is  all  you  want.” 
Ilis  assured  reply  was,  “  You  are  right,  wife: 
that  is  all  I  want,  —  all  I  want.” 

3566.  LIFE,  Changeless.  There  have  been 

human  hearts,  constituted  just  like  ours,  for 
six  thousand  years.  The  same  stars  rise  and 
set  upon  this  globe  that  rose  upon  the  plains 
of  Shinar  or  along  the  Egyptian  Nile ;  and 
the  same  sorrows  rise  and  set  in  every  age. 
All  that  sickness  can  do,  all  that  disappoint¬ 
ment  can  effect,  all  that  blighted  love,  disap¬ 
pointed  ambition,  thwarted  hope,  ever  did, 
they  do  still.  Not  a  tear  is  wrung  from  eyes 
now,  that,  for  the  same  reason,  has  not  been 
wept  over  and  over  again  in  long  succession 
since  the  hour  that  the  fated  pair  stepped  from 
paradise,  and  gave  their  posterity  to  a  world 
of  sorrow  and  suffering.  The  head  learns 
new  things  ;  but  the  heart  forevermore  prac¬ 
tises  old  experiences.  Therefore  our  life  is 
but  a  new  form  of  the  way  men  have  lived 
from  the  beginning.  Beecher. 

3567.  LIFE,  Checkered.  Let  my  Lord  Jesus 
—  since  lie  willcth  to  do  so — weave  my  bit* 
and-span  length  of  time  with  white  and  black, 
weal  and  woe,  with  the  Bridegroom’s  coming 


414 


TjI  H'Hi. 


Ti  1  H  'TH . 


and  liis  sad  departure,  as  warp  and  woof  in 
one  web  ;  and  let  the  rose  be  neighbored  with 
the  thorn  :  yet  hope,  that  maketh  not  ashamed, 
hath  written  a  letter  to  the  mourners  in  Zion, 
that  it  shall  not  be  long  so.  When  we  are  over 
the  water,  Christ  shall  cry,  “  Down  crosses, 
and  up  heaven  forevermore.”  Rutherford. 

356§.  LIFE,  a  Clook.  Our  brains  are  seven¬ 
ty-year  clocks.  The  angel  of  life  winds  them 
up  at  once  for  all,  then  closes  the  cases,  and 
gives  the  key  into  the  hand  of  the  angel  of 
resurrection.  “  Tic-tac,  tic-tac  !  ”  go  the  wheels 
of  thought :  our  will  cannot  stop  them  :  mad¬ 
ness  only  makes  them  go  faster.  Death  alone 
can  break  into  the  case,  and,  seizing  the  ever- 
swinging  pendulum  which  we  call  the  heart, 
silence  at  last  the  clicking  of  the  terrible 
escapement  we  have  carried  so  long  beneath 
our  aching  foreheads.  If  we  could  only  get  at 
them  as  we  lie  on  our  pillows,  and  count  the 
dead-beats  of  thought  after  thought,  and  image 
after  image,  jarring  through  the  over-tired  or¬ 
gan  !  Will  nobody  block  those  wheels,  un¬ 
couple  their  pinion,  cut  the  string  which  holds 
those  weights  ?  What  a  passion  comes  over  us 
sometimes  for  silence  and  rest,  that  this  dread¬ 
ful  mechanism,  unwinding  the  endless  tapestry 
of  time,  embroidered  with  spectral  figures  of 
life  and  death,  might  have  but  one  brief  holi¬ 
day  !  0.  W.  Holmes. 

3569.  LIFE,  Contraction  of.  One  of  the  tor¬ 
tures  of  the  Hohenslaufen  family  was  that  of 
a  cell,  which,  at  the  prisoner’s  first  entrance, 
presented  an  air  of  comfort  and  ease ;  so  that 
it  was  not  till  he  had  been  a  few  days  confined, 
that  he  observed  the  dimensions  of  his  cham¬ 
ber  beginning  to  contract.  The  fact  became 
more  appalling  every  day.  Slowly  the  sides 
drew  closer ;  and  the  unhappy  victim  at  last 
was  crushed  to  death. 

3570-3572.  LIFE,  Crises  in.  A  young  man 
was  once  under  a  state  of  deep  inquiry  about 
his  eternal  interests.  Two  or  three  of  his  com¬ 
panions  learned  that  he  was  going  to  prayer¬ 
meeting  ;  and  they  determined  to  change  his 
purpose.  They  persuaded  him,  only  this  once, 
to  go  to  the  accustomed  place  of  resort.  He 
finally  yielded.  They  plied  their  arts  of 
amusements,  gayety,  and  pleasure,  and  bound 
him  at  last  in  the  snares  of  a  female  compan¬ 
ion.  It  was  his  fatal  moment.  In  a  few  weeks 
from  that  time,  he  had  committed  murder,  and 
followed  the  deed  with  instantaneous  self- 
destruction.  Haven. 

3571.  A  young  man  who  had  been  prayer¬ 

fully  trained  came  to  the  city  to  enter  a  place 
of  business.  His  fellow-clerks  invited  him  to 
join  in  their  pleasures  and  pastimes.  For  a 
time,  he  resisted  ;  but  at  length  he  thought  he 
would  go  to  the  theatre,  only  once,  just  to 
please  his  friends,  and  see  what  a  theatre  was. 
The  Devil  was  the  switch-tender  that  night ; 
and  the  course  of  that  young  man  subsequent 
ly  lay  through  the  paths  of  extravagance, 
gambling,  shame,  and  the  grave.  Haven. 

3572.  Two  young  men  were  walking  along 
one  evening,  towards  a  prayer-meeting,  when 
they  were  accosted  by  several  acquaintances, 


who  were  on  their  way  to  a  place  of  usual 
resort.  They  entreated  them  to  join  them; 
but  they  refused.  Finally,  one  of  them  con¬ 
sented,  and  turned  aside,  only  once  more,  for 
an  evening  of  worldly  pleasure,  and  let  his 
friend  go  to  the  prayer-meeting  alone.  One 
found  peace  with  God :  but  his  companion  be¬ 
came  hardened;  and  in  three  months,  while 
his  associate  on  that  eventful  night  was  honor¬ 
ing  his  Master  by  his  faithful  and  consistent 
life,  lie  was  the  inmate  of  a  prison,  awaiting 
the  penalty  of  the  law.  Our  life  is  full  of 
these  turning-points  of  fortune  and  of  ill,  of 
peace  and  of  woe,  of  life  eternal,  or  of  despair 
and  death.  The  track  we  travel  has  a  switch 
at  almost  every  step.  Dr.  Haven. 

3573.  LIFE,  Dangers  in.  I  think  we  ought 
to  buoy  for  ourselves  in  our  course,  as  we  buoy 
a  harbor.  Off  this  shoal  a  black  buoy  floats, 
and  says  to  those  who  sail  by,  as  plainly  as  if 
it  spoke  in  all  languages,  “  Keep  to  the  right 
here ;  ”  and  over  against  it  floats  another,  and 
says,  “  Keep  to  the  left  here.”  Now,  in  life’s 
ocean,  wherever  we  know  the  quicksands  are, 
wherever  we  have  once  been  stranded,  let  us 
sink  the  buoy  and  anchor  of  memory,  and  keep 
to  the  right  or  the  left,  as  the  shoal  may  be. 

Beecher. 

3574.  LIFE,  and  Death.  I  have  seen  Univer- 
salists  and  Infidels  die,  and,  during  a  ministry 
of  fifty-five  years,  I  have  not  found  a  single 
instance  of  peace  and  joy  in  their  views  of 
eternity.  No,  nothing  but  an  accusing  con¬ 
science  and  the  terrors  of  apprehension.  I 
have  seen  men  die  who  were  men  of  mercurial 
temperament,  men  of  pleasure  and  fun,  men 
of  taste  and  literature,  lovers  of  the  opera 
and  the  theatre  rather  than  the  house  of  God ; 
and  I  never  saw  an  instance  in  which  such 
persons  died  in  peace.  They  died  as  they 
lived.  Life  was  a  blank,  and  death  the  king 
of  terrors ;  a  wasted  life,  an  undone  eternity  1 

Dr.  Spring. 

3575.  LIFE,  A  Delusion  of.  It  is  a  sad  thing  to 
look  at  some  of  the  receiving-hulks  at  the 
navy-yard;  to  think  that  that  was  the  ship 
which  once  went  so  fearlessly  across  the  ocean  1 
It  has  come  back  to  be  anchored  in  some  quiet 
bay,  and  so  roll  this  way  and  that  with  the 
tide.  Yet  this  is  what  many  men  set  before 
them  as  the  end  of  life,  —  that  they  may  reach 
some  haven,  where  they  will  be  able  to  cast 
out  an  anchor  at  the  bow  and  an  anchor  at  the 
stern,  and  never  move  again,  but  rock  lazily, 
without  a  sail,  without  a  voyage,  waiting 
simply  for  decay  to  take  apart  their  timbers. 

Beecher. 

3576.  LIFE,  Divisions  of.  The  Chinese  ap¬ 

ply  to  different  ages  certain  terms.  The  age 
ten  is  called  the  opening  degree ;  twenty, 
youth  expired ;  thirty,  strength  and  marriage  ; 
forty,  officially  apt;  fifty,  error-knowing;  sixty, 
cycle-closing;  seventy,  rare  bird  of  age;  eighty, 
rusty-visaged  ;  ninety,  delayed ;  one  hundred, 
age’s  extremity.  Sir  J .  Bowring. 

3577.  LIFE,  Earnest.  “  Live  to-day !  ”  was  the 
morning-salutation  of  John  Wesley  to  Sophia 
Cook,  a  young  lady  who  lived  in  his  house 


T.TTPTT.. 


LIFEl. 


415 


The  words  made  her  more  earnest,  and  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  founding  of  Sunday  schools.  Miss 
Cook  first  suggested  them  to  Mr.  Raikes,  say¬ 
ing  of  the  children,  “  Let  us  teach  them  to 
read,  and  take  them  to  church ;  ”  and  was  asso¬ 
ciated  with  him  in  the  carrying-out  of  the 
plan. 

3578.  LIFE,  Emblem  of.  A  rough  jewel  lay 
in  the  sand  among  many  common  stones.  A 
boy  picked  up  some  of  these  to  use  them  for 
playthings,  and  took  them  home  together  with 
the  jewel ;  but  he  did  not  know  this.  The 
boy’s  father,  looking  on  when  he  was  playing, 
perceived  the  rough  jewel,  and  said  to  his  son, 
“  Give  me  that  stone.”  The  boy  did  so,  and 
smiled ;  for  he  thought,  “  What  is  my  father 
going  to  do  with  this  stone?  ”  The  father  took 
the  stone,  and  polished  it  skilfully  into  regular 
planes  and  angles  ;  and,  behold  1  a  diamond  glit¬ 
tered  brilliantly.  “  See  1  ”  said  the  father,  “  here 
is  the  stone  you  gave  me.”  The  boy  wondered 
at  the  splendor  and  brilliancy  of  the  stone,  and 
exclaimed,  “  My  father,  how  could  you  accom¬ 
plish  this  ?  ”  The  father  said,  “  I  knew  the 
hidden  virtue  and  the  value  of  the  stone ; 
therefore  I  freed  it  from  its  coating  of  dross  : 
now  it  sparkles  with  its  natural  radiance.” 
When  the  boy  had  increased  in  years,  the 
father  gave  him  the  precious  stone  as  an  em¬ 
blem  of  the  worth  and  dignity  of  life. 

Krummacher. 

3579.  LIFE,  Emblems  of.  A  dream ;  an  eagle 

hasting  to  the  prey ;  a  flower ;  grass ;  hand- 
breadth  ;  a  pilgrimage ;  a  shadow ;  a  shep¬ 
herd’s  tent ;  sleep ;  a  swift  ship ;  a  swift  post ; 
a  tale  told ;  a  thread  cut  by  the  weaver ;  a 
vapor;  water  spilt  on  the  ground;  a  weaver’s 
shuttle ;  wind.  Bowes. 

3589.  LIFE,  End  of.  Happiness  is  not  the 
end  of  life  ;  character  is.  This  world  is  not  a 
platform  where  you  will  hear  Thalberg-piano- 
playing.  It  is  a  piano  manufactory,  where  are 
dust  and  shavings"  and  hoards,  and  saws  and 
files  and  rasps  and  sand-papers.  The  perfect 
instrument  and  the  music  will  be  hereafter. 

Beecher. 

3581.  LIFE,  Enjoyment  of.  Being  with  a 
friend  in  a  garden,  we  gathered  each  of  us  a 
rose.  He  handled  his  tenderly  ;  smelt  it  but 
seldom  and  sparingly.  I  always  kept  mine  to 
my  nose,  or  squeezed  it  in  my  hand  ;  whereby, 
in  a  very  short  time,  it  lost  both  its  color  and 
its  sweetness :  but  his  still  remained  as  sweet 
and  fragrant  as  if  it  had  been  growing  upon 
its  own  root.  “  These  roses,”  said  1,  “  are  the 
true  emblems  of  the  best  and  sweetest  creature- 
enjoyment  in  the  world ;  which,  being  moder¬ 
ately  and  cautiously  used  arid  enjoyed,  may 
for  a  long  time  yield  sweetness  to  the  possessor 
of  them  :  but  if  once  the  affections  seize  greed¬ 
ily  upon  them,  and  squeeze  them  too  hard, 
they  quickly  wither  in  our  hands,  and  we  lose 
the  comfort  of  them ;  and  that  either  through  the 
soul  surfeiting  upon  them,  or  the  Lord’s  right¬ 
eous  and  just  removal  of  them,  because  of 
the  excess  of  our  affections  to  them.”  Flavel. 

3582.  LIFE,  Exposure  of.  One  day,  a  friend 
mentioned  to  Dr  Gill  the  remark  of  Dr.  Hal¬ 


ley,  that  close  study  preserves  a  man’s  life  by 
keeping  him  out  of  harm’s  way.  Shortly  after, 
just  as  Dr.  Gill  left  his  study  to  preach,  a 
chimney  was  blown  down,  crushing  the  writ¬ 
ing-table  where  he  had  been  sitting  a  few 
moments  before.  The  doctor  remarked,  “  A 
man  may  come  to  danger  and  harm  in  the  closet 
as  well  as  on  the  highway,  if  he  be  not  pro¬ 
tected  by  the  special  care  of  Divine  Provi¬ 
dence.” 

3583.  LIFE,  Extremes  of.  When  Peter  of  Cor¬ 
tona  was  engaged  on  a  picture  for  the  royal  pal¬ 
ace  of  Petti,  Ferdinand  II.  particularly  admired 
the  representation  of  a  weeping  child.  “  Has 
your  Majesty,”  said  the  painter,  “  a  mind  to 
see  how  easy  it  is  to  make  this  very  child 
laugh  ?  ”  The  artist  merely  depressed  the  cor¬ 
ners  of  the  lips,  and  the  inner  extremities  of 
the  eyebrows,  when  the  little  urchin  seemed 
in  danger  of  bursting  his  sides  with  laughter, 
who,  a  moment  before,  seemed  breaking  his 
heart  with  weeping.  If  this  be  true  in  the 
world  of  living  men,  slight,  very  slight,  are  the 
causes  that  make  or  break  the  happiness  of 
life.  The  touch  of  a  brush  can  dim  heaven 
with  a  cloud,  or  brighten  the  prospect  in  the 
far  horizon. 

358 1.  LIFE,  Evidences  of.  Those  who  travel 
through  deserts  would  often  be  at  a  loss  for 
water,  if  certain  indications,  which  the  hand  of 
Providence  has  marked  out,  did  .  not  serve  to 
guide  them  to  a  supply.  The  secret  wells  are, 
lor  the  most  part,  discoverable  from  the  ver¬ 
dure  which  is  nourished  by  their  presence.  So 
the  fruitfulness  of  good  works  of  the  believer, 
amidst  the  deadness  and  sterility  around  him, 
proclaim  the  Christian's  life.  Salter. 

3585.  LIFE,  Everywhere.  The  air  is  crowded 
with  birds, —  beautiful,  tender,  intelligent  birds, 
—  to  whom  life  is  a  song  and  a  thrilling  anxiety, 
— the  anxiety  of  love.  The  air  is  swarming  with 
insects, —  those  little  animated  miracles.  The 
waters  are  peopled  with  innumerable  forms, — 
from  the  animalcule,  so  small  that  a  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  them  would  not  weigh  agrain,  to 
the  whale,  so  large  that  it  seems  an  island  as  it 
sleeps  upon  the  waves.  The  bed  of  the  sea  is 
alive  with  polyps,  crabs,  star-fishes,  and  with 
sand-numerous  shell-animaleulcs.  The  rugged 
face  of  rocks  is  scarred  by  the  silent  boring  of 
soft  creatures,  and  blackened  with  countless 
mussels,  barnacles,  and  limpets.  Life  every¬ 
where  1 — on  the  earth,  in  the  earth,  crawling, 
creeping,  burrowing,  boring,  leaping,  running. 
If  the  sequestered  coolness  of  the  wood  tempt 
us  to  saunter  into  its  checkered  shade,  we  are 
saluted  by  the  murmurous  din  of  insects,  the 
twitter  of  birds,  the  scrambling  of  squirrels, 
the  startled  rush  of  unseen  beasts ;  all  telling 
how  populous  is  this  seeming  solitude.  If  we 
pause  before  a  tree  or  shrub  or  plant,  our 
cursory  and  half-abstracted  glance  detects  a 
colony  of  various  inhabitants.  We  pluck  a 
flower,  and  in  its  bosom  we  see  many  a  charm¬ 
ing  insect  busy  at  its  appointed  labor.  We 
pick  up  a  fallen  leaf ;  and,  if  nothing  is  visible 
on  it,  there  is  probably  the  trace  of  an  insect 
larva  hidden  in  its  tissue,  and  awaiting 


416 


LZBTE. 


LIFE. 


development.  The  drop  of  dew  upon  this  leaf 
will  probably  contain  its  animals,  visible  under 
the  microscope.  The  same  microscope  reveals 
that  the  blood-rain,  suddenly  appearing  on 
bread,  and  awakening  superstitious  terrors,  is 
nothing  but  a  collection  of  minute  animals, 
( Monas  prodigiosa )  ;  and  that  the  vast  tracts 
of  snow  which  are  reddened  in  a  single  night 
owe  their  color  to  the  marvellous  rapidity  in 
reproduction  of  a  minute  plant  ( Protococus 
nivalis).  The  very  mould  which  covers  our 
cheese,  our  bread,  our  jam,  our  ink,  and  dis¬ 
figures  our  damp  walls,  is  nothing  but  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  plants.  The  many-colored  fire  which 
sparkles  on  the  surface  of  a  summer  sea  at 
night,  as  the  vessel  ploughs  her  way,  or  which 
drips  from  the  oars  in  lines  of  jewelled  light, 
is  produced  by  millions  of  minute  animals. 

Sala. 

3586.  LITE,  Flight  of.  This  world  is  turn¬ 
ing  round  on  its  axis  once  in  four  and  twenty 
hours ;  and,  besides  that,  it  is  moving  round  the 
sun  in  the  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days 
of  the  year.  So  that  we  are  all  moving :  we 
are  all  flitting  along  through  space.  And  as 
we  are  travelling  through  space,  so  we  are  mov¬ 
ing  through  time  at  an  incalculable  rate.  Oh ! 
what  an  idea  it  is  could  we  grasp  it  I  We  are 
all  being  carried  along  as  if  by  a  giant  angel, 
with  broad  outstretched  wings,  which  he  flaps 
to  the  blast,  and,  flying  before  the  lightning, 
makes  us  ride  on  the  winds.  The  whole  mul¬ 
titude  of  us  are  hurrying  along,  —  whither,  re¬ 
mains  to  be  decided  by  the  test  of  our  faith  and 
the  grace  of  God ;  but  certain  it  is,  we  are  all 
travelling.  Your  pulses  each  moment  beat 
the  funeral-marches  to  the  tomb.  You  are 
chained  to  the  chariot  of  rolling  time.  There 
is  no  bridling  the  steeds,  or  leaping  from  the 
chariot :  you  must  be  constantly  in  motion. 

Spurgeon. 

3587.  LIFE,  Flow  of  Life  bears  us  on  like 

a  stream  of  a  mighty  river.  Our  boat  at  first 
glides  down  the  narrow  channel,  through  the 
playful  murmuring  of  the  little  brook  and  the 
winding  of  its  grassy  borders.  The  trees  shed 
their  blossoms  over  young  heads:  the  flowers 
on  the  brink  seem  to  offer  themselves  to  the 
young  hands.  We  are  happy  in  hope,  and  we 
grasp  eagerly  at  the  beauties  around  us ;  but 
the  stream  hurries  on,  and  still  our  hands 
are  empty.  Our  course  in  youth  and  manhood 
is  along  a  wilder  and  deeper  flood,  amid  objects 
more  striking  and  magnificent.  We  are  ani¬ 
mated  at  the  moving  pictures,  and  enjoyments 
and  industry  passing  us ;  we  are  excited  at 
some  short-lived  disappointment.  The  stream 
bears  us  on ;  and  our  joys  and  griefs  are  alike 
left  behind  us.  We  may  be  shipwrecked ;  but 
we  cannot  be  delayed.  Whether  rough  or 
smooth,  the  river  hastens  to  its  home,  till  the 
roar  of  the  ocean  is  in  our  ears,  and  the  tossing 
of  the  waves  is  beneath  our  feet,  and  the  land 
lessens  from  our  eyes,  and  the  floods  are  lifted 
up  around  us ;  and  we  take  our  leave  of  earth 
and  its  inhabitants,  until,  of  our  future  voyage, 
there  is  no  witness  save  the  Infinite  and  Eter¬ 
nal.  Bp.  Heber. 


3588.  LIFE,  Forced  Review  of  A  crazy  man 
was  found  at  a  grindstone  sharpening  a  large 
butcher-knife,  and  every  now  and  then  exam¬ 
ining  the  edge  to  see  if  it  was  keen.  “  What 
are  you  doing  here?”  —  “Don’t  you  see? 
Sharpening  this  big  knife.”  —  “  Yes ;  but  what 
are  you  going  to  do  with  it  when  sharpened  ?  ” 

—  “  Cut  old  Ben.  Brown’s  head  off,  to  be  sure.” 

—  “  What  1  you  won’t  kill  him,  will  you  ?  ”  — 
“  Oh,  no !  I'll  only  cut  his  head  off,  and  stick  it 
right  on  again  hind-side  before,  just  to  let  the 
old  fellow  look  back  upon  his  past  life.  It 
would  take  him  all  the  rest  of  hi?  life  to  re¬ 
view.” 

3589.  LIFE,  Gams  of  Blind-man’s-buff  is 
played  everywhere,  —  not  merely  by  children 
and  youths,  but  likewise,  although  unconscious¬ 
ly,  by  the  old  and  wise.  I  here  recollect  the 
pleasing  fancy  of  an  ingenious  author,  who 
figures  the  human  soul  as  a  shepherdess  at 
play  with  'Worldly- Wisdom,  Wealth,  Fame, 
and  Pleasure,  and  suffering  these  her  play¬ 
mates  to  bind  her  eyes  in  sport,  ignorant  that 
they  are  all  the  time  in  secret  league  with 
Satan,  who  slips  from  a  wood,  and  catches  the 
soul  rushing  blindfold  into  his  arms.  This 
beautiful  allegory  portrays  the  manner  in 
which  man,  blinded  by  the  world  and  his  own 
fleshly  desires,  departs  from  God,  and  uncon¬ 
sciously  falls  into  the  snares  of  the  Devil. 

Spencer. 

3590.  LIFE,  the  Gift  of  God.  Man’s  power 
is  very  mighty,  I  know  ;  but  it  stops  short  of 
this.  He  can  put  a  bone  before  him  ;  and  from 
a  bone,  a  fossil  bone,  he  can  construct  a  mas¬ 
sive  elephant ;  and,  with  Promethean  ambition, 
he  can  shape  its  features  faultlessly;  and,  by 
clock-work  or  by  galvanism,  he  can  simulate  a 
strange  hypocrisy  of  life ;  but  he  cannot  draw 
down  the  vital  breath  ;  he  cannot  breathe  the 
living  fire.  His  province  is  combination  and 
embellishment.  By  divine  authority,  plainly 
conferred,  he  may  now  and  then  be  permitted 
to  resuscitate  :  to  breathe  is  beyond  his  power. 
That  belongs  only  to  God.  “  Am  I  God,”  said 
the  frightened  king  of  Israel,  “  to  kill  and 
to  make  alive,  that  this  man  doth  send  to  me 
to  recover  a  man  of  his  leprosy  ?  ” 

W.  M.  Punshon. 

3591.  LIFE,  Growth  in.  Ordinarily,  rivers 
run  small  at  the  beginning,  grow  broader 
and  broader  as  they  proceed,  and  become 
widest  and  deepest  at  the  point  where  they 
enter  the  sea.  It  is  such  rivers  that  the 
Christian’s  life  is  like.  But  the  life  of  the 
mere  worldly  man  is  like  those  rivers  in  South¬ 
ern  Africa,  which,  proceeding  from  mountain 
freshets,  are  broad  and  deep  at  the  beginning, 
and  grow  narrower  and  more  shallow  as  they 
advance.  They  waste  themselves  by  soaking 
into  the  sands ;  and  at  last  they  die  out  entirely. 
The  farther  they  run,  the  less  there  is  of  them. 

Beecher. 

3592.  LIFE,  Incompleteness  of.  To  be  weighed 
down  with  a  sense  of  our  own  incompleteness  ; 
to  long  for  that  which  we  have  not,  and  cannot 
gain  ;  to  descry  noble  attainments,  as  islands 
in  the  sea,  eagerly  sought,  but  which  change  to 


T.TTPTr.- 


T.rTPTr,- 


417 


clouds  as  we  draw  near ;  to  spend  our  life  in 
searching  for  the  hidden  land  (as  Columbus  tor 
the  new  continent),  and  to  find  only  weeds 
floating,  or  a  broken  branch,  or,  at  best,  a  bird 
that  comes  to  us  from  the  unknown  shore,  — 
this  it  is  to  be  on  earlh,  to  live.  And  yet  are 
not  these  very  yearnings  the  winds  which  God 
sends  to  fill  our  sails,  and  give  us  good  voyage 
homeward  ?  Bencher. 

3593.  LIFE.  Lng  ndcfaUseful.  SantaFina 
is  scarcely  known  beyond  the  walls  of  the  lit- 1 
tie  town  of  San  Gemignano.  She  was  not  prop¬ 
erly  a  martyr,  not  having  died  a  violent  death; 
but  long  and  cruel  sufferings  from  disease, 
endured  not  only  with  patience,  but  cheerful¬ 
ness,  during  which  she  worked  with  her  hands 
as  long  as  it  was  possible, and  ministered  to  the 
poor,  procured  her  the  honor  of  canonization. 
The  people  regarded  her,  while  living,  with 
enthusiastic  veneration;  and  it  is  related, 
that,  at  the  moment  of  her  death,  all  the  bells 
in  San  Gemignano  tolled  spontaneously,  un¬ 
touched  by  human  hands.  Mrs.  Jamesua 

3504.  LIFE,  Length  of.  Ten  thousand  hu¬ 
man  beings  set  forth  together  on  their  journey. 
After  ten  years,  one-third,  at  least,  have  dis¬ 
appeared.  At  the  middle  point  of  the  common 
measures  of  life,  but  half  are  still  upon  the 
road.  Faster  and  faster,  as  the  ranks  grow 
thinner,  they  that  remain  till  now  become 
weary,  and  lie  down,  and  rise  no  more.  At 
three-score  and  ten,  a  band  of  some  four  hun¬ 
dred  yet  struggle  on.  At  ninety,  these  have 
been  reduced  to  a  handful  of  thirty  trembling 
patriarchs.  Year  after  year, they  fall  in  dimin¬ 
ishing  numbers.  One  lingers, perhaps, a  lonely 
marvel,  till  the  century  is  over.  \Vre  look 
again,  and  the  work  of  death  is  finished. 

Bp.  Barg esx. 

3595.  LIFE,  Long.  lie  lives  long  who 
lives  well;  and  time  misspent  is  not  lived,  but 
lost.  Besides,  God  is  bettdr  than  his  promises, 
if  he  takes  from  him  a  long  lease,  and  gives  a 
freehold  of  a  better  value.  Fuller. 

359G.  LIFE,  a  Loom.  We  sleep:  but  the 
loom  of  life  never  stops;  and  the  pattern  which 
was  weaving  when  the  sun  went  down  is  weav¬ 
ing  when  it  comes  up  to-morrow.  Beecher. 

3597.  LIFE,  A  Lost.  A  young  man  was 
converted  during  an  illness  which  proved 
fatal,  though  this  was  not  apprehended  when 
he  seemed  to  give  his  heart  to  Christ.  When 
his  physician  announced  an  unfavorable 
change  in  his  condition,  he  expressed  entire 
resignation,  and  requested  his  friends  to  sing  a 
hymn  expressive  of  that  feeling.  An  hour  or 
two  after,  in  the  silence  of  the  room,  he  was 
heard  to  say,  “Lost,  lost,  lust!"  This  sur¬ 
prised  his  mother,  and  caused  the  immediate 
inquiry,  “My  son,  are  your  hopes  feeble  V  ’’ — 
“  No,  mother;  but,  oh,  my  lost  lifetime!  I’m 
twenty-four;  and,untilafew  weeks  since, noth¬ 
ing  has  been  done  for  Christ,  and  every  thing 
for  myself  and  my  pleasures.  My  companions 
will  think  I’ve  made  a  profession  in  view  of 
death.  Oh  that  I  could  live  to  meet  this  re¬ 
mark,  and  do  something  to  show  my  sincerity, 
and  to  redeem  my  lost,  lost,  lust  li.e!’’ 


3598.  LIFE,  Love  of.  We  ought  to  love 

life ;  we  ought  to  desire  to  live  here  so  long  as 
God  ordains  it ;  but  let  us  not  so  incase  our¬ 
selves  in  time,  that  we  cannot  break  the  crust, 
and  begin  to  throw  out  shoots  for  the  other 
life.  Beecher. 

3599.  LIFE,  Mistake  of.  A  runagate  son, 
leaving  his  father,  and  living  in  foreign  coun¬ 
tries,  was  brought  to  want,  and  driven  to  work 
for  his  living.  Soon  he  grew  rich,  became  a 
merchant,  and  dealt  in  traffic  with  divers  na¬ 
tions,  and,  among  the  rest,  with  some  of  that 
nation  where  his  father  lived.  Hearing  how 
opulent  his  father  had  grown,  he  resolves  to 
steer  his  course  thitherward.  Four  businesses 
he  put  into  his  head  ;  one  was  to  congratulate 
with  his  friends  and  allies;  another,  to  be  merry 
with  his  old  companions;  the  third,  to  gather 
up  his  debts  ;  the  last,  ami  principal,  to  be 
reconciled  to  his  father.  Being  arrived  there, 
he  follows  his  three  former  employments  close; 
he  fails  in  none  of  them :  but  these  did  so 
wholly  take  up  his  time,  that  he  quite  forgot 
the  main,  —  the  reconciliation  to  his  father. 
The  mariners,  on  a  sudden,  call  all  aboard, 
the  tide  tarries  for  no  man ;  presently  he  musti 
be  shipped,  and  so  leaves  that  business  utterly 
undone.  This  is  a  parable  common  in  life. 

Spencer. 

3G00.  LIFE,  Mysteries  of.  Intellectual  diffi- 
euky,  like  the  fablel  monster  that  of  old 
haunted  the  neighborhood  of  classic  Thebes, 
besets  the  path  of  life,  meets  us  at  every  turn, 
and  presses  on  us  its  enigmas  with  terrible 
severity.  When  we  solve  its  dark  riddles,  we 
kill  it ;  when  we  fail,  we  become  its  victims. 
Godliness  is  the  only  true  GEJipus  of  the  soul. 
In  the  beams  of  a  God-loving  heart,  all  mental 
mysteries  melt  away  as  the  mountain-mists  in 
the  summer’s  sun.  “  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom  :  ”  piety  is  an  “  unc¬ 
tion  from  the  Holy  One,  by  which  we  know  all 
things.” 

3091.  LIFE,  Object  of.  Lady  Huntingdon, 
one  evening,  was  on  her  way  to  a  brilliant 
assembly;  when  suddenly  there  darted  into  her 
soul  these  words,  “  Man’s  chief  end  is  to  glorify 
God  and  to  enjoy  him  forever,”  which  she  had 
committed  to  memory  years  before  in  learning 
the  Westminster  Shorter  Catechism.  From 
that  hour,  her  whole  life  revolved  round  a  new 
centre.  The  guilty,  trembling  sinner,  hitherto 
occupied  with  her  poor  self,  gazed  on  the  face 
of  Him  who  died  for  her;  and,  as  she  gazed, 
her  conscience  found  peace,  and  her  heart  a 
satisfying  rest.  Her  whole  life  became  one 
“  living  sacrifice.”  Baillie. 

3G02.  LIFE,  Perfect.  As  when  Moses  had 
conversed  with  God  forty  days  upon  the  mount, 
coining  down,  his  face  shone  with  heavenly 
glory ;  so  will  it  be  with  us.  When  we  have 
been  in  heaven  twenty  or  thirty  years,  we  shall 
become  heavenly  and  spiritual,  both  in  word 
and  deed.  Caicdray. 

3G03.  LIFE,  Plan  of.  That  you  may  find 
success,  let  me  tell  you  ho.v  to  proceed.  To¬ 
ni  ght  begin  your  great  plan  of  lile.  You  have 
but  one  life  to  live;  and  it  is  most  important 


418 


T  .TTTTr,. 


LIFE. 


that  you  do  not  make  a  mistake.  To-night  1 
begin  carefully.  Fix  your  eye  on  the  fortieth 
year  of  your  age,  and  then  say  to  yourself, 
“  At  the  age  of  forty,  I  will  be  an  industrious 
man,  a  benevolent  man,  a  well-read  man,  a  re¬ 
ligious  man,  and  a  useful  man.  I  resolve ;  and 
I  will  stand  to  it.”  My  young  friends,  pray  to 
God  that  this  resolution  may  stand  like  the  oak, 
which  cannot  be  wind-shaken.  C.  Brooks. 

3604.  LIFE,  Portion  in.  A  philosopher  ask¬ 
ing  one,  which  of  these  two  he  had  rather  be, 

—  Croesus,  one  of  the  richest,  but  most  vicious 
in  the  world ;  or  Socrates,  one  of  the  poorest, 
but  one  of  the  most  virtuous  men  in  the  world, 

-  —  his  answer  was,  that,  in  his  life,  he  would  be 

a  Croesus,  but  in  his  death  a  Socrates.  So,  if 
many  in  these  days  were  put  to  their  choice, 
they  would  be  Dives  in  their  life,  but  Lazarus 
in  their  death :  they  would,  with  Balaam,  die 
the  death  of  the  righteous,  but  live  the  life 
of  the  wicked.  Spencer. 

3665.  LIFE,  Preservation  of.  “And  what  think- 
est  thou,”  said  Socrates  to  Aristodemus,  “  of  this 
continual  love  of  life,  this  dread  of  dissolution, 
which  takes  possession  of  us  the  moment  we 
are  conscious  of  existence  V  ”  —  “I  think  of 
it,”  was  the  reply,  “  as  the  means  employed  by 
the  same  great  and  wise  Artist,  deliberately 
determined  to  preserve  what  he  has  made.” 

3666.  LEFE,  Projection  of.  A  cannon  is  but 
a  short  tube ;  but  its  direction  at  the  moment 
of  its  discharge  governs  the  whole  flight  of  the 
ball.  A  clay  mould  is  a  fragile  thing  ;  but 
the  molten  metal  poured  into  it  may  retain 
the  shape  so  given  ages  after  the  mould  has 
crumbled  into  dust.  The  plate  prepared  by 
a  photographer  may  be  exposed  to  the  light 
only  a  few  seconds;  but  the  impression  then 
caught  may  be  retained  for  many  years. 
Flowers  are  frail,  and  soon  drop  into  the 
ground  ;  but  they  leave  behind  a  ripening 
seed  that  may  perpetuate  the  species  forever. 
Such  is  the  influence  of  the  present  upon  the 
future  life. 

3607.  LIFE,  Quality  of.  It  is  the  bounty  of 
Nature  that  we  live,  but  of  philosophy  that  we 
live  well ;  which  is,  in  truth,  a  greater  benefit 
than  life  itself.  Seneca. 

3668.  LIFE,  Heady  for.  Before  the  battle  of 
Hatcher’s  Run,  a  Christian  soldier  said  to  his 
comrade,  “  You  are  detailed  to  go  to  the  front, 
while  I  am  to  remain  with  the  baggage.  Let 
us  change  places.  I’ll  go  front :  you  remain 
in  camp.”  —  “  What  for?”  said  the  comrade. 
“  Because  I  am  prepared  to  die,  I  think ;  but 
you  are  not.”  The  exchange  was  made.  The 
thought  of  the  self-sacrifice  of  his  friend,  and 
his  readiness  for  the  exposures  of  life  or  the 
realities  of  death,  led  the  unsaved  soldier  to 
repentance  and  a  like  preparation  for  life. 

3606.  LIFE,  Reviewed,  Dr.  Doddridge 
dreamed  that  he  died,  and,  clad  in  a  se¬ 
raphic  form,  was  borne  by  an  ancrelic  attendant 
to  a  glorious  palace,  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
which  he  left  him,  saying,  “  Rest  here.  The 
lord  of  the  mansion  will  soon  lie  with  you  : 
meanwhile,  study  the  apartment.”  The  next 
moment,  he  was  alone ;  and,  upon  casting  his 


eyes  round  the  room,  he  saw  that  the  walls 
were  adorned  with  a  series  of  pictures.  To 
his  great  astonishment,  he  found  that  it  was 
his  past  life  delineated  there.  From  the  mo¬ 
ment  when  he  had  come  into  the  world  a 
helpless  infant,  and  God  had  breathed  into 
him  the  breath  of  life,  unto  the  recent  hour, 
when  he  had  seemed  to  die,  his  whole  exist¬ 
ence  was  there  marked  down  :  every  event 
which  had  happened  to  him  shone  out  con¬ 
spicuously  on  its  walls.  Some  he  remembered 
as  perfectly  as  though  they  had  occurred  but 
yesterday  :  others  had  passed  from  his  memory 
into  oblivion,  until  thus  recalled.  Things  ob¬ 
scure  in  life,  which  had  caused  him  doubt, 
perplexity,  even  uneasiness,  were  rendered 
clear  now.  The  perils  of  his  life  were  there, 
—  the  accidents  which  had  overtaken  him  in 
his  mortal  state,  all  of  which  he  had  escaped 
from  untouched  or  but  slightly  hurt.  One  in 
particular  caught  his  attention,  —  a  fall  from  his 
horse,  —  for  he  recollected  the  circumstance 
well :  it  had  been  a  perilous  fall,  and  his  es¬ 
cape  was  marvellous.  But  scattered  in  every 
picture,  all  along  the  whole  career,  he  saw 
merciful,  guiding,  shielding  angels,  who  had 
been  with  him  unsuspected  throughout  his  life, 
never  quitting  him,  always  watching  over  him 
to  guard  him  from  danger.  He  continued  to 
gaze  on  these  wonderful  pictures ;  and,  the  more 
he  gazed,  the  greater  grew  his  awe,  his  rever¬ 
ence,  his  admiration  of  the  unbounded  goodness 
of  God.  Not  a  turn  did  his  life  take,  but  it 
rested  on  some  merciful  act  of  interposition  for 
him.  Love,  gratitude,  joy,  filled  his  heart  to 
overflowing. 

3616.  LIFE,  A  River,  Pliny  compares  life 
to  a  river.  The  river,  small  and  clear  in  its 
origin,  gushes  forth  from  rocks,  falls  into  deep 
glens,  and  wantons  and  meanders  through  a 
wild  and  picturesque  country  ;  nourishing  only 
the  uncultivated  tree  or  flower  by  its  dew  or 
spray.  In  this,  in  its  state  of  infancy  and 
youth,  it  may  be  compared  to  the  human  mind, 
in  which  fancy,  and  strength  of  imagination, 
are  predominant:  it  is  more  beautiful  than 
useful.  When  the  different  rills  or  torrents 
join,  and  descend  into  the  plain,  it  becomes 
slow  and  stately  in  its  motions,  and  able  to  bear 
upon  its  bosom  the  stately  barge.  In  this  ma¬ 
ture  state,  it  is  deep,  strong,  and  useful.  As 
it  flows  on  towards  the  sea,  it  loses  its  force 
and  its  motion,  and  at  last,  as  it  were,  be¬ 
comes  lost  and  mingled  with  the  mighty 
abyss  of  waters.  Sir  H.  Davy. 

3611.  LIFE,  Seasons  of.  At  a  festival  party 
of  old  and  young,  the  question  was  asked, 
Which  season  of  life  was  the  most  happy  ? 
After  being  freely  discussed  by  the  guests,  it 
was  referred  for  answer  to  the  host ;  upon 
whom  was  the  burden  of  fourscore  years.  He 
asked  if  they  had  noticed  a  grove  of  trees  be¬ 
fore  the  dwelling,  and  said.  “  When  the  spring 
comes,  and  in  the  soft  air  the  buds  are  break¬ 
ing  on  the  trees,  and  they  are  covered  with 
blossoms,  I  think,  ‘  How  beautiful  is  spring  !  ’ 
And  when  the  summer  comes,  and  covers  the 
trees  with  its  heavy  foliage,  and  singing  birds 


LIFE. 


LIFE. 


419 


arc  all  among  the  branches,  I  think,  *  How 
beautiful  is  summer  !  ’  Wien  autumn  loads 
them  with  golden  fruit,  and  their  leaves  bear 
the  gorgeous  tint  of  frost,  I  think,  1  How  beau¬ 
tiful  is  autumn  !  ’  And  when  it  is  sear  winter, 
and  there  is  neither  toliagc  nor  fruit,  then  I 
look  up,  and  through  the  leafless  branches,  as 
I  could  never  until  now,  I  see  the  stars  shine 
through.”  Dr.  Adams. 

3012.  LIFE,  Shortness  of  A  little  girl  was 
asked  why  she  was  working  so  very  hard. 
She  replied,  “  My  candle  is  almost  burned 
out ;  and  I  have  not  got  another.”  Life  is  as 
a  candle  burning  out.  Sometimes  there  is  a 
thief  in  it,  a  disease  consuming  it  more  quick¬ 
ly;  or  it  may  be  blown  out,  suddenly  extin¬ 
guished  :  and  we  have  not  got  another. 

Dr.  Wise. 

3013.  LIFE,  Solemnity  of.  In  a  sabbath  gath¬ 

ering  of  Quakers,  some  years  ago,  an  aged  and 
venerable-looking  man  arose,  and  with  prophet¬ 
like  authority  said,  “  Many  say  it  is  a  solemn 
thing  to  die;  but  bethink  you  all,  and  bethink 
you  well,  it  is  a  solemn  thing  to  live.”  That 
witness  was  true.  S.  Coley. 

3011.  LIFE,  Tenacity  of.  Dip  the  sea-anem¬ 
one  into  water  warm  enough  to  raise  blisters  on 
the  skin,  or  expose  it  to  the  frost  of  winter,  or 
place  it  under  the  exhausted  bell  of  an  air- 
pump,  and  its  powerful  vital  principle  will  tri¬ 
umph  over  all  these  ordeals  ;  cut  olf  the  tenta¬ 
cles,  and  new  ones  sprout  forth  ;  nay,  cut  the 
animal  in  two,  and,  like  the  lernaeau  or  hydra, 
it  will  produce  a  reduplication  of  itself:  it 
may  be  cruelly  maimed  by  tooth  or  claw,  and 
yet  repair  its  losses,  and  survive.  Hurtwiy. 

3615.  LIFE,  Traoes  of.  The  leaves  of  some 
trees,  when  the)'  tall,  leave  no  trace  whatever 
behind :  the  scar  left  by  their  removal  heals 
immediately;  and  on  the  smooth  naked  bark 
of  the  bough,  in  winter,  there  is  no  mark  to 
indicate  that  it  was  once  covered  with  foli¬ 
age.  There  are  other  trees,  however,  on  which 
the  scars  are  permanent.  The  leaf  drops  olf; 
but  it  leaves  a  seal-like  impression  behind  on 
the  stem :  and  no  succeeding  growth  can  oblit¬ 
erate  it.  Through  summer's  luxuriance  and 
winter’s  desolation,  the  memory  of  the  van¬ 
ished  leaf  remains  indelibly  fixed  on  the  tree, 
engraved,  as  if  with  a  pen  of  iron  upon  the 
bough  which  it  once  adorned.  The  tree  may 
increase  in  size  until  it  forms  a  grove  by  itself; 
but  the  signet-mark  left  by  the  leaf,  which  fell 
from  it  when  it  was  a  mere  sapling,  still  cleaves 
to  it  in  the  grandeur  of  old  age.  Many  of  the 
characteristic  marks  on  the  stems  of  palm-trees 
and  tree-ferns  are  due  to  the  permanence  of 
these  scars,  when  their  leaves  are  decayed 
and  dropped  off.  And  is  not  the  lesson  of 
analogy  here  very  clear  and  impressive  ? 
How  many  there  are  who  fade,  and  drop  off 
the  tree  of  humanity,  and  leave  no  trace  of 
their  existence  behind  1  while  others,  when 
they  fade,  and  drop  off  the  tree  of  life,  leave 
behind  them  an  impression  which  time  will 
only  make  deeper,  —  an  empty  space,  whose 
perpetual  vacancy  reminds  the  survivors  of  an 
UTeparable  loss.  Reo.  Hugh  Macmillan. 


3616.  LIFE,  Transitions  in.  The  lobster  and 
the  crab,  after  having  once  attained  their  per¬ 
fect  form,  would  have  been  obliged  ever  after 
to  endure  a  narrow  garb,  had  not  Providence 
endowed  them  with  the  faculty  of  casting 
their  shell  from  time  to  time,  and  thus  provid¬ 
ing  themselves  with  a  new  and  more  conve¬ 
nient  tegument.  A  few  days  of  fasting  and 
sickness  precede  the  operation,  during  which 
the  carapace  becomes  loosened  from  the  skin 
to  which  it  adhered,  and  immediately  begins  to 
secrete  a  new  one,  —  soft  and  membranous  at 
first,  but  soon  becoming  harder  and  harder,  and 
finally  completely  calcareous.  In  this  way,  the 
animal,  before  long,  finds  itself  free  from  its  old 
envelope,  and  has  only  to  make  its  escape.  This 
last  operation  is  announced  by  symptoms  of  in¬ 
quietude.  The  creature  rubs  its  legs  one  against 
the  other,  and  then,  throwing  itself  upon  its 
back,  begins  to  shake  itself,  and  puffs  itself  out 
so  as  to  tear  the  membrane  which  connects  the 
carapace  with  the  abdomen,  and  to  raise  the 
carapace  itself.  After  sundry  intervals  of  rest 
and  agitation,  the  animal  extricates  its  eyes, 
its  head,  and  its  antennae.  The  operation  of 
freeing  its  extremities  appears  to  be  the  most 
difficult,  and  would  be  impossible,  did  not  the 
covering  of  the  parts  split  longitudinally. 
The  abdomen  is  the  last  division  of  the 
body  which  clears  itself  of  the  old  envelope. 
It  may  be  easily  supposed,  that,  after  such  a 
violent  struggle  lor  freedom,  the  lobster  is  not 
a  little  exhausted.  Feeling  his  weakness,  and 
aware  of  the  very  insufficient  protection  afford¬ 
ed  him  by  his  soft  covering,  which  requires  a 
day  or  two  to  convert  itself  into  a  firm  shell, 
he  retires  from  all  society  until  he  feels  him¬ 
self  able  to  meet  his  old  friends  again  on  terms 
of  equality ;  for  he  well  knows  how  inclined 
they  are  to  bite  and  devour  a  defenceless  com¬ 
rade.  Hartwig. 

3817.  LIFE,  Uncertainty  of.  At  AVest  Bend, 
Wis.,  recently,  a  clergyman  started  for  a  small 
country-place,  a  few  miles  away,  f6r  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  reading  the  burial-prayers  over  a  lady 
who  was  that  day  to  be  interred.  On  the  way, 
the  horse,  a  high-spirited  animal,  ran  away, 
throwing  the  gentleman  from  the  cutter,  and 
killing  him  instantly.  The  funeral  was  in  con¬ 
sequence  delayed  ;  and  a  while  after  the  time 
when  it  would,  but  for  the  accident,  have  taken 
place,  the  lady  rose  from  the  coffin,  having  been 
in  a  trance  for  two  days.  The  unfortunate  min¬ 
ister  was  buried  in  the  grave  which  had  been 
made  to  receive  the  lady’s  supposed  dead  body. 

361§.  LIFE,  Use  of.  Life  is  the  jailer  of  the 
soul  in  this  filthy  prison,  and  its  only  delivery 
is  death.  What  we  call  life  is  a  journey  to 
death ;  and  what  we  call  death  is  a  passport 
to  life.  True  wisdom  thanks  Death  for  what 
he  takes,  and,  still  more,  for  what  be  brings. 
Let  us  then,  like  sentinels,  be  ready  because 
we  are  uncertain,  and  calm  because  we  are 
prepared.  There  is  nothing  formidable  about 
death  but  the  consequences  of  it ;  and  these  we 
ourselves  can  regulate  and  control.  The  short¬ 
est  life  is  long  enou gh  if  it  lead  to  a  better :  ami 
the  longest  lite  is  too  short  if  it  do  not.  t'olton 


420 


LIFE. 


LIGHT. 


3619.  LIFE,  Varieties  of.  We  talk  of  human 
life  as  a  journey ;  but  how  variously  is  that 
journey  performed  1  There  are  those  who 
come  forth  girt  and  shod  and  mantled  to  walk 
on  velvet  lawns  and  smooth  terraces,  where 
every  gale  is  arrested  and  every  beam  is  tem¬ 
pered.  There  are  others  who  walk  on  the 
alpine  paths  of  life,  against  driving  misery, 
and  through  stormy  sorrows,  over  sharp  afflic¬ 
tions;  walk  with  bare,  feet  and  naked  breast, 
jaded,  mangled,  and  chilled.  Sydney  Smith. 

3639.  LIFE,  Vicissitudes  of.  Consider  the 
state  of  this  present  life,  —  a  true  dream,  which 
hath  only  the  disturbances,  but  never  the  rest, 
of  sleep ;  a  childish  sport ;  a  toil  of  burtbensome 
and  ever-relapsing  actions,  where,  for  some 
one  rose,  we- meet  with  a  thousand  .horns  ;  tor 
one  ounce  of  honey,  a  ton  of  gall ;  for  apparent 
good,  real  evil.  The  happiest  here  may  num¬ 
ber  their  years,  but  not  their  cares  :  the  paths 
here  to  the  highest  honors  are  all  ice,  and  often 
bordered  only  by  precipices.  Its  felicities  are 
floating  islands,  which  always  retire  when  we 
but  oiler  to  touch  them  :  they  are  the  feast  of 
Heliogabalus,  where  are  many  invitations, 
many  ceremonies,  many  compliments,  many 
services ;  and,  at  the  end  of  all  this,  we  find  a 
table  and  banquet  of  wax,  which  melts  at  the 
fire,  whence  we  return  more  hungry  than  we 
came.  It  is  the  enchanted  egg  of  Oromares, 
in  which  that  impostor  boasted  that  he  had 
enclosed  all  the  happiness  of  the  world ;  but, 
broken,  there  was  found  nothing  but  wind. 

iV.  Caussin. 

3631.  LIFE,  Voyage  of.  The  voyage  of  life 
should  be  right  across  the  ocean,  whose  waters 
never  shrink,  and  where  the  keel  never  rubs 
the  bottom.  But  men  are  afraid  to  venture, 
and  hang  upon  the  coast,  and  explore  lagoons, 
or  swing  at  anchor  in  wind-sheltered  bays. 
Some  men  put  their  keel  into  riches,  some  into 
sensuous  pleasure,  some  into  friendship;  and 
all  these  are  shallow  for  any  thing  that  draws 
as  deep  as  the  human  soul  does.  God’s  work 
in  each  age,  indicated  by  the  great  movements 
of  his  providence,  is  the  only  thing  deep  enough 
for  the  heart.  We  ought  to  begin  life  as  at 
the  source  of  a  river,  growing  deeper  every 
league  to  the  sea  :  whereas,  in  fact,  thousands 
are  like  men  who  enter  the  mouths  of  rivers, 
and  sail  upwards,  finding  less  and  less  water 
every  day ;  and  in  old  age  they  lie  shrunk  and 
gaping  upon  the  dry  gravel.  Beecher. 

3633.  LIFE,  Waymarks  of,  We  rode  through 
quite  a  plain  of  the  desert,  —  no  stream,  no 
verdure,  at  first  soft,  and  then  hard  gravel, 
then  stones.  No  trace  of  a  road  appeared ; 
for  though  the  camels  form  a  track,  yet  the 
drifting  sand  obliterates  them,  or  the  rain 
washes  them  out.  Still  the  waymarks  are  pre¬ 
served  everywhere,  consisting  of  small  heaps 
of  stones  set  up  on  each  side,  which  are  care¬ 
fully  preserved  by  the  Bedaween ;  for  even 
they  might  at  times  be  at  a  loss  as  to  the  way, 
so  great  is  the  sameness  of  the  region  for  miles 
on  every  hand.  The  sand  does  not  seem  to 
obliterate  these,  or,  if  it  does,  they  are  renewed 
from  time  to  time.  They  were  always  a  wel¬ 


come  sight  to  us,  assuring  us  that  we  were  in 
the  right  track ;  for  at  times  we  almost  began  to 
ask  whether  even  our  Arabs  were  sure  of  their 
way,  so  waste  did  the  desert  appear  without  a 
mark  or  foot-trace  of  any  kind  whatsoever. 

H.  Bonar. 

3633.  LIFE,  a  Web.  A  Christian  man’s 

life  is  laid  in  the  loom  of  time  to  a  pattern 
which  he  does  not  see.  but  God  does ;  and  his 
heart  is  a  shuttle.  On  one  side  of  the  loom  is 
sorrow,  and  on  the  other  is  joy;  and  the 
shuttle,  struck  alternately  by  each,  flies  back 
and  forth,  carrying  the  thread,  which  is  white 
or  black  as  the  pattern  needs.  And  in  the  end, 
when  God  shall  lift  up  the  finished  garment, 
and  all  its  changing  hues  shall  glance  out,  it 
will  then  appear  that  the  deep  and  dark  colors 
were  as  needful  to  beauty  as  the  bright  and 
high  colors.  Beecher. 

3634.  LIFE,  Wonderful.  It  is  a  wonderful 

thing,  —  life,  ever  growing  old,  yet  ever  young ; 
ever  dying,  ever  being  born ;  cut  down  and 
destroyed  by  accident,  by  violence,  by  pesti¬ 
lence,  by  famine ;  preying  remorselessly  and 
insatiably  upon  itself,  yet  multiplying  and  ex¬ 
tending  still,  and  filling  every  spot  of  earth  on 
which  it  once  obtains  a  footing ;  so  delicate, 
so  feeble,  so  dependent  upon  fostering  circum¬ 
stances  and  the  kindly  care  of  Nature,  yet  so 
invincible ;  endowed  as  if  with  supernatural 
powers,  like  spirits  of  the  air,  which  yield  to 
every  touch,  and  seem  to  elude  our  force ;  sub¬ 
sisting  by  means  impalpable  to  our  grosser 
sense,  yet  wielding  powers  which  the  mightiest 
agencies  obey.  Weakest  and  strongest  of  the 
things  that  God  has  made,  life  is  the  heir  of 
Death,  and  yet  his  conqueror,  —  victim  and 
victor.  All  living  things  succumb  to  Death’s 
assault :  Life  smiles  at  his  impotence,  and  makes 
the  grave  her  cradle.  J ■  Hinton. 

3635.  LIGHT,  Borrowed.  “  I  was  walking 
one  day,”  says  one,  “  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
As  I  paused  to  survey  the  monuments  of  the 
illustrious  departed  that  are  gathered  there, 
my  attention  was  arrested  by  the  appearance 
of  the  pavement  near  to  where  I  stood.  A 
beautiful  many-colored  light  rested  upon  it, 
and  gave  it  an  aspect  that  I  could  not  but 
linger  to  behold.  The  cause  was  apparent. 
A  painted  window  above  me  explained  the 
reason.  And  the  pavement,  beautiful  as  it 
appeared,  had  no  color  in  itself :  it  was  the  win¬ 
dow  above  that  gave  it  the  beauteous  hue. 
How  many  are  like  that  pavement  I  they 
appear  beautiful,  and  we  are  apt  to  mistake  it 
for  ‘  the  beauty  of  holiness  ;  ’  but  it  is  in  a  bor¬ 
rowed  light,  —  contact  with  the  wise  and  good 
it  may  be :  remove  that,  and  their  true  color 
appears.” 

3636.  LIGHT,  Christian.  “Among  whom  ye 

shine  as  lights  in  the  world  ”  (Phil.  ii.  15).  The 
image  here  is,  not  improbably,  taken  from  light¬ 
houses  on  a  seacoast.  As  those  lighthouses 
are  placed  on  a  dangerous  coast  to  apprise 
vessels  of  their  peril,  and  to  save  them  from 
shipwreck,  so  the  light  of  Christian  piety  shines 
on  a  dark  world,  and  on  the  dangers  of  the 
voyage  which  we  are  making.  Barnes. 


IHG-HT. 


LIGHT. 


421 


3627.  LIGHT,  of  the  Chnrch.  Do  you  ask, 

«  Whv  not  do  away  with  the  church,  if  its 
members  make  so  many  mistakes  ?  ”  Would 
you  take  away  the  lighthouse,  because  careless 
mariners,  through  wrong  observations,  run 
their  ships  high  and  dry  upon  the  shore? 
Would  you  put  out  the  lamp  in  your  house, 
because  moths  and  millers  burn  their  wings  in 
it?  Beecher. 

3628.  LIGHT,  in  Darkness.  Travelling  in  the  i 
cars,  you  will  often  see  the  lamps  lighted  in 
broad  day,  preparatory  to  a  passage  through 
a  dark  tunnel,  or  for  the  coming  night.  A 
wise  precaution  requires  that  the  lamp  of  grace 
be  lit  up  in  the  heart,  that  we  may  be  in  readi¬ 
ness  for  the  dark  passages  in  life,  or  the  darker 
hereafter. 

3629.  LIGHT,  A  Farthing.  A  man  once  said, 
“  I  have  no  more  influence  than  a  farthing 
rushlight.”  —  “Well,”  was  the  reply,  “a  far¬ 
thing  rushlight  can  do  a  good  deal :  it  can  set 
a  haystack  on  fire  ;  it  can  burn  down  a  house : 
yea,  more,  it  will  enable  a  poor  creature  to  read 
a  chapter  in  God’s  book.  Go  your  way,  friend  : 
let  your  farthing  rushlight  so  shine  before  men, 
that  others,  seeing  your  good  works,  may  glo¬ 
rify  your  Father  which  is  heaven.” 

3630.  LIGHT,  Intellectual.  Going  into  a 

village  at  night,  wilh  the  lights  gleaming  on 
each  side  of  the  street,  in  some  houses  they 
will  be  in  the  basement,  and  nowhere  else ; 
and  in  others  in  the  attic,  and  nowhere  else ; 
and  in  others  in  some  middle  chamber:  but  in 
no  house  will  every  window  gleam  from  top  to 
bottom.  So  is  it  with  men’s  faculties.  Most  of 
them  are  in  darkness.  One  shines  here,  and 
another  there ;  but  there  is  no  man  whose  soul 
is  luminous  throughout.  Beecher. 

3631.  LIGHT,  Latent.  On  one  occasion, 
when  Dr.  Buckland,  George  Stephenson,  and 
Sir  William  Foliett  were  on  a  visit  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  they  observed  in  the  distance  a 
railway-train  flashing  along,  throwing  behind 
it  a  long  line  of  white  steam.  “  Now,  Buck- 
land,”  said  Mr.  Stephenson,  “  I  have  a  poser  for 
you.  Can  you  tell  me  what  is  the  power  that 
is  driving  that  train  ?  ”  —  Well,”  said  the  doc¬ 
tor,  “  I  suppose  it  is  one  of  your  big  engines.” 

—  “  But  what  drives  the  engines  ?  ”  —  “  Oh  ! 
very  likely  a  canny  Newcastle  driver.”  — 
“  What  do  you  say  to  the  light  of  the  sun  ?  ” 

—  “  How  can  that  be  ?  ”  asked  the  doctor. 
“  It  is  nothing  else,”  said  the  engineer.  “  It 
is  light  bottled  up  in  the  earth  for  tens  of 
thousands  of  years,  light  absorbed  by  plants 
and  vegetables  being  necessary  for  the  con¬ 
densation  of  carbon  during  the  process  of  their 
growth,  if  it  be  not  carbon  in  another  form ; 
and  now,  after  being  buried  in  the  earth  for  long 
ages  in  fields  of  coal,  that  latent  light  is  again 
brought  forth,  and  liberated,  —  made  to  work, 
as  in  that  locomotive,  for  great  human  pur¬ 
poses.” 

3632.  LIGHT,  Mistaking  the.  A  splendid 
new  ship,  with  a  rich  cargo  and  large  com¬ 
pany  of  passengers,  was  wrecked  on  the  Irish 
coast.  Every  precaution  was  taken  ;  but  a 
light  appeared  which  was  not  noted  on  the 


chart,  which  the  captain  mistook  for  one  that 
was  there.  Instead  of  running  out  to  sea,  as 
he  supposed,  they  were  rushing  upon  the 
rocks. 

3633.  LIGHT,  Motto  of.  The  ancient  insignia 
of  the  Waldensian  Church  was  a  candlestick, 
with  a  light  shedding  its  rays  across  the  sur¬ 
rounding  darkness,  and  encircled  with  seven 
stars,  and  the  motto,  “  Lux  lucet  in  tenebris.” 

3631.  LIGHT,  Obstructed.  When  Alexander 
the  Great  visited  the  Greek  philosopher,  Di¬ 
ogenes,  he  asked  him  if  there  was  any  thing 
that  he  could  give  him.  He  got  this  short 
answer,  “  I  want  nothing  but  that  you  should 
stand  from  between  me  and  the  sun.”  One 
thing  there  is  which  should  never  satisfy  and 
content  us;  and  that  is,  “any  thing  that  stands 
between  our  souls  and  Christ.”  J.  C.  Ryle. 

3635.  LIGHT,  Rejected.  I  once  happened  to 

be  on  a  visit  to  a  great  castle  situate  on  the 
top  of  a  hill.  There  was  a  steep  cliff,  at  the 
bottom  of  which  was  a  rapid  river.  Late  one 
night,  there  was  a  person  anxious  to  get  home 
from  that  castle,  in  the  midst  of  a  thunder¬ 
storm.  The  night  was  blackness  itself.  The 
woman  was  asked  to  stop  till  the  storm  was 
over ;  but  she  declined  :  next  they  begged  her 
to  take  a  lantern,  that  she  might  be  able  to 
keep  upon  the  road  from  the  castle  to  her 
home.  She  said  she  did  not  require  a  lantern, 
but  could  do  very  well  without  one.  She  went. 
Perhaps  she  was  frightened  by  the  storm  (I 
know  not  the  cause) ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the 
darkness  she  wandered  from  the  path,  and  fell 
over  the  cliff :  the  next  day  that  swollen  river 
washed  to  the  shore  the  poor  lifeless  body  of 
this  foolish  woman.  Bp.  Villiers. 

3636.  LIGHT,  Responsibility  of.  The  light  in 
a  lighthouse,  through  some  derangement  of  the 
machinery,  ceased  to  revolve  as  usual.  When 
the  keeper  discovered  it,  he  ran  to  the  proper 
position,  and,  by  manual  labor,  kept  steadily 
revolving  the  light,  until  weariness  compelled 
him  to  call  another  to  his  relief.  Then  another 
took  his  turn ;  and  so  all  night  long  the  light 
was  kept  in  motion.  A  stranger  afterwards 
commenting  on  his  solicitude,  the  man  re¬ 
plied,  “  Why,  sir,  there  may  be  a  hundred  sea¬ 
men  looking  out  from  the  darkness  and  storm 
to  catch  a  glimpse  at  this  light.  If  it  do  not 
move,  it  will  be  mistaken  for  another;  and,  in 
their  uncertainty  and  danger,  they  may  lose 
the  channel,  and  be  shipwrecked.” 

3637.  LIGHT,  A  Shining.  I  would  not  give 
much  for  your  religion  unless  it  can  be  seen. 
Lamps  do  not  talk ;  but  they  do  shine.  A 
lighthouse  sounds  no  drum,  it  beats  no  gong; 
and  yet  far  over  the  waters  its  friendly  spark 
is  seen  by  the  mariner.  So  let  your  actions 
shine  out  your  religion.  Let  the  main  sermon 
of  your  life  be  illustrated  by  all  your  conduct, 
and  it  shall  not  fail  to  be  illustrious. 

Spurgeon. 

3638.  LIGHT,  Spread  of  You  have  noticed 
the  liuhtinf;  of  the  streets  or  of  a  public  build¬ 
ing, —  how,  when  the  first  lamp  is  lit.  it  is 
plainly  seen,  and  disperses,  in  part,  the  sur¬ 
rounding  darkness ;  but  when  the  second, 


422 


IJGHT. 


LITTIjE  SEN'S. 


third,  fourth,  and  all  the  lamps  are  lit,  the 
lights  meets  light,  ray  blends  with  ray,  until 
the  whole  place  is  illuminated.  Thus  it  is 
with  the  spread  of  Christian  light.  The  light 
of  life  shining  from  one  believer  joins  and 
blends  with  that  of  another  ;  the  light  of  one 
neighborhood,  with  an  adjoining  one ;  the 
light  of  nation  with  nation,  until  the  whole 
world  becomes  filled  with  the  light  of  the 
glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  Bate. 

3639.  LIGHT,  Walking  in  the.  When  a  man 
walketh  in  the  sun,  if  his  face  be  towards  it, 
he  hath  nothing  before  him  but  bright  sbining 
light  and  comfortable  heat ;  but,  let  him  once 
turn  his  back  to  the  sun,  what  hath  he  before 
him  but  a  shadow  ?  And  what  is  a  shadow 
but  the  privation  of  light  and  heat  of  the 
sun  ?  yea,  it  is  but  to  behold  his  own  shadow, 
defrauding  himself  of  the  other.  Spencer. 

3616.  LIGHT,  Warning.  The  keeper  of  the 
lighthouse  at  Calais  was  boasting  of  the  bright¬ 
ness  of  his  lantern,  which  can  be  seen  ten 
leagues  at  sea;  when  a  visitor  said  to  him, 
“  What  if  one  of  the  lights  would  chance  to 
go  out  ?  ”  —  “  Never,  —  impossible  1  ”  he  cried, 
horrified  at  the  bare  thought.  “  Sir,”  said  he, 
pointing  to  the  ocean,  “  yonder,  where  nothing 
can  be  seen,  there  are  ships  going  by  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  If  to-night  one  of  my 
burners  went  out,  within  six  months  would 
come  a  letter,  perhaps  from  India,  perhaps 
from  America,  perhaps  from  some  place  I 
never  heard  of,  saying,  such  a  night,  at  such 
an  hour,  the  light  of  Calais  burned  dim,  the 
watchman  neglected  his  post,  and  vessels  were 
in  danger.  Ah,  sir!  sometimes  in  the  dark 
nights  in  stormy  weather,  I  look  out  to  sea. 
and  feel  as  if  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world 
were  looking  at  my  light.  Go  out?  —  burn 
dim  ?  —  never  1  ” 

3641.  LITTLE  SINS,  Damage  of.  Once  a 

famous  ruby  was  offered  to  England.  The 
report  of  the  crown-jeweller  was,  that  it  was  the 
finest  that  he  had  ever  seen  or  heard  of ;  but  that 
one  of  its  facets  - —  one  of  the  “  little  ”  cuttings 
of  the  face  —  was  slightly  fractured.  The  re¬ 
sult  was,  that  almost  invisible  flaw  reduced  its 
value  by  thousands  of  pounds;  and  it  was  re¬ 
jected  from  the  regalia  of  England.  Again  : 
when  Canova  was  about  to  commence  his  great 
statue  of  the  great  Napoleon,  his  keenly  ob¬ 
servant  eye  detected  a  tiny  red  line  running 
through  the  upper  portion  of  the  splendid 
block,  that,  at  infinite  cost,  had  been  fetched 
from  Paros ;  and  he  refused  to  lay  a  chisel  on 
it.  Once  more :  in  the  story  of  the  early 
struggles  of  the  elder  Hersehel  while  he  was 
working  out  the  problem  of  gigantic  specula,  or 
telescope  lenses,  you  will  find  that  he  made 
scores  upon  scores,  ere  he  got  one  to  satisfy 
him.  A  scratch  like  the  slenderest  spider-line 
sufficed  to  vitiate  what  had  cost  him  long  weeks 
of  toil  and  anxiety.  Grosart. 

3642.  LITTLE  SINS,  Danger  of.  In  certain 
harbors,  if  you  plant  the  largest  timbers  as 
foundations  for  your  wharves,  you  will  find, 
after  a  time,  that  a  little  insect  has  been  at 
work,  piercing,  like  a  tiny  thread  of  fire,  the 


oaken  pile ;  so  that,  if  a  hand  touch  it,  it  will 
crumble  like  wood  burned  in  the  flame.  Per¬ 
haps  you  have  seen  sections  of  piles,  or  ship’s 
timbers,  which  were  thus  riddled  through  and 
through  by  these  madrepores.  Did  the  sight 
not  awaken  a  thought  in  your  mind  with  re¬ 
gard  to  your  own  danger  in  cherishing  those 
little  sins  which  eat  away  and  destroy  the 
fibre  and  strength  of  a  good  character  ?  Be¬ 
ware  of  little  sins  1  As  an  old  writer  expresses 
it,  “  A  ship  may  be  sunk  by  a  cargo  of  sand, 
as  well  as  by  a  cargo  of  mill-stones.”  Beecher. 

3643.  LITTLE  SINS,  Effect  of.  A  company 
was  walking  in  Sudbrook  Park,  when  Dr.  Ellis 
drew  attention  to  a  large  sycamore-tree,  de¬ 
cayed  to  the  core.  “  That  fine  tree,”  said  he, 
“  was  killed  by  a  single  worm.”  Two  years 
previously,  the  tree  was  as  healthy  as  any  in 
the  park,  when  a  woodworm,  about  three  inches 
long,  was  observed  to  be  forcing  its  way  under 
the  bark  of  the  trunk.  It  then  caught  the  eye 
of  a  naturalist  who  was  staying  there ;  and  lie 
remarked,  “  Let  that  worm  alone,  and  it  will 
kill  the  tree.”  This  seemed  very  improbable ; 
but  it  was  agreed,  that  the  black-headed  worm 
should  not  be  disturbed.  After  a  time,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  worm  had  tunnelled  its  way 
a  considerable  distance  under  the  bark.  The 
next  summer,  the  leaves  of  the  tree  dropped  off 
very  early;  and,  in  the  succeeding  year,  it  was 
a  dead,  rotten  thing,  and  the  hole  made  by  the 
worm  might  be  seen  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
once  noble  trunk.  “Ah  1  ”  said  one  who  was 
present,  “  let  us  learn  a  lesson  from  that  single 
tree.  IIow  many  who  once  promised  fair  for 
usefulness  in  the  world  and  the  church  have 
been  ruined  bi /  a  single  sin  !  ” 

3644.  LITTLE  SINS,  Emblem  of.  Gen.  Norris, 
having,  as  he  thought,  received  a  slight  wound 
in  the  wars  of  Ireland,  neglected  the  same, 
presuming  that  the  balsam  of  his  own  body, 
without  calling  in  those  other  auxiliaries  of  art, 
would  work  a  cure ;  but  his  arm  gangrened, 
and  both  arm  and  life  were  lost  together. 

Spencer. 

3645.  LITTLE  SINS,  Fatality  o£  In  the  late 
civil  war,  one  of  the  Federal  war-ships  had  what 
seemed  a  merely  superficial  “  leakage ;  ”  and, 
though  noticed,  it  was  not  thought  necessary 
to  countermand  the  order  that  she  should  take 
part  in  an  approaching  conflict.  At  the  crisis 
of  the  encounter,  it  was  found  that  the  sea¬ 
water  had  got  oozing  into  the  gunpowder-maga¬ 
zine,  and  rendered  nearly  the  whom  useless. 
On  that  powder  hung  victory  or  defeat.  The 
“  little  leak  ”  went  uncared  for;  and  an  inferior 
force  won.  Nothing  in  or  about  sin  can  be  — 
except  in  the  relation  of  words  —  “  little :  ” 
that  sin  is  and  ever  must  be  sin,  and  ;in  inly, 
and  sin  absolutely,  and  sin  eternally.  The 
smallest  neglected  spark  of  fire  has  flashed  out 
into  a  conflagration ;  the  smallest  neglected 
leak  has  sunk  the  proudest  ship ;  the  smallest 
neglected  sickness  has  “  brought  down  ”  to  the 
grave  ;  and  the  smallest  consciously  neglected, 
unconfessed,  and  therefore  unpardoned  sin  will 
lose  you,  Oman!  O  woman!  thy  soul.  Only 
when  our  sin  has  been  carried  to  the  Lord,  in 


HiITTHiE  SIN'S. 


LOlSrG-SIJI1  FERING.  423 


penitent  confession  been  placed  beneath  the 
“  sprinkling  blood,”  is  there  deliverance. 

Grosart. 

3640.  LITTLE  SINS,  Progress  of.  There  are 
two  ways  of  coming  down  from  the  top  of  a 
church-steeple :  one  is  to  jump  down,  and  the 
other  is  to  come  down  by  the  steps ;  but  both 
will  lead  you  to  the  bottom.  So,  also,  there  are 
two  ways  of  going  to  hell :  one  is  to  walk  into 
it  with  your  eyes  open  (few  people  do  that), 
the  other  is  to  go  down  by  the  steps  of  little 
sins;  and  that  way,  I  fear,  is  only  too  common. 
Put  up  with  a  few  little  sins,  and  you  will  soon 
want  a  few  more,  (even  a  heathen  could 
say,  “  Who  ever  was  content  with  only  one 
sin  ?  ”)  and  then  your  course  will  be  regularly 
worse  and  worse  every  year.  Reader,  the 
Devil  only  wants  to  get  the  wedge  of  a  little 
allowed  sin  into  your  hearts,  and  you  will  soon 
be  all  his  own.  Never  play  with  fire ;  never 
trifle  with  little  sins  1  R>/le. 

3647.  LITTLE  THINGS,  Discoveries  of  The 
art  of  printing,  probably  the  parent  of  more 
good  than  all  others,  owes  its  origin  to  rude 
impressions  taken  (for  the  amusement  of  chil¬ 
dren)  from  letters  carved  on  the  bark  of  a 
beech-tree.  This  was  a  slight  matter,  which 
thousands  would  have  passed  over  with  neg¬ 
lect.  Gunpowder  was  discovered  from  the 
falling  of  a  spark  on  some  materials  mixed 
in  a  mortar ;  or,  perhaps,  we  should  rather  say 
that  artillery  was  the  consequence  of  this 
spark  and  the  due  observation  of  the  circum¬ 
stance.  The  stupendous  results  of  the  steam- 
engine  may  all  be  traced  to  an  individual 
observing  steam  issuing  from  a  bottle  just 
emptied,  and  placed  casually  close  to  a  fire. 
He  plunged  the  bottle-neck  into  cold  water, 
and  was  intelligent  enough  to  notice  the  in¬ 
stantaneous  rush  which  ensued  from  this  sim¬ 
ple  condensing  apparatus.  Electricity  was 
discovered  by  a  person  observing  that  a 
piece  of  rubbed  glass  or  some  similar  sub¬ 
stance  attracted  small  bits  of  paper,  &c. 
Galvanism,  again,  owes  its  origin  to  Madame 
Galvani’s  noticing  the  contraction  of  the  mus¬ 
cle  of  a  skinned  frog,  which  was  accidentally 
touched  by  a  person  at  the  moment  of  the  pro¬ 
fessor,  her  husband,  taking  an  electric  spark 
from  a  machine.  lie  followed  up  the  hint  by 
experiments.  Pendulum-clocks  were  invented 
from  Gahleo’s  observing  the  lamp  in  a  church 
swinging  to  and  fro.  The  telescope  we  owe  to 
some  children  of  a  spectacle-maker  placing 
i wo  or  more  pairs  of  spectacles  before  each 
other,  and  looking  through  them  at  a  distant 
object.  The  glimpse  thus  afforded  was  fol¬ 
lowed  up  by  older  heads.  The  barometer 
originated  in  the  circumstance  of  a  pump, 
which  had  been  fixed  higher  than  usual  above 
the  surface  of  a  well,  being  found  not  to  draw 
water :  a  sagacious  observer  hence  deduced 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  and  tried 
quicksilver.  The  Argand  lamp  was  invented 
by  one  of  the  brothers  of  that  name  having 
remarked  that  a  tube  held  by  chance  over  a 
candle  caused  it  to  burn  with  a  bright  flame, — 
an  effect  before  unattainable,  though  earnestly 


I  sought  after.  Without  the  Argand  lamp, 
lighthouses  (to  pass  over  minor  objects)  could 
not  be  made  efficient;  and  on  the  importance 
of  these  it  is  needless  to  dwell.  C.  Knight. 

3648.  LITTLE  THINGS,  Importance  of.  Minute 

events  are  the  hinges  on  which  magnificent  re¬ 
sults  turn.  In  a  watch,  the  smallest,  link-chain 
or  ratchet,  cog  or  crank,  is  as  essential  as  the 
mainspring  itself.  If  one  fall  out,  the  whole 
will  stand  still.  Dr.  Gumming. 

3649.  LITTLE  THINGS,  Influence  of.  Chem¬ 
ists  tell  us,  that  a  single  grain  of  the  substance 
called  iodine  will  impart  color  to  seven  thou¬ 
sand  times  its  weight  of  water.  It  is  so  in 
higher  things :  one  companion,  one  book,  one 
habit,  may  affect  the  whole  of  life  and  char¬ 
acter. 

3650.  LITTLE  THINGS,  Power  of.  In  an  Eng¬ 
lish  dock-yard,  a  great  ship  was  to  be  launched. 
An  immense  multitude  assembled  to  see  it  glide 
down  the  slides  that  were  to  carry  it  into  the 
water.  The  blocks  and  wedges  were  knocked 
away ;  but  the  massive  hull  did  not  stir,  and 
there  was  disappointment.  Just  then,  a  little 
boy  ran  forward,  and  began  to  push  the  ship 
with  all  his  might.  The  crowd  broke  out  into 
a  laugh  of  ridicule  :  but  it  so  happened  that  the 
vessel  was  almost  ready  to  move;  the  few 
pounds  pushed  by  the  lad  were  only  needed  to 
start  it,  and  away  it  went  into  the  water. 

3654.  LONG-SUFFERING,  Abused.  In  an  age 
of  despotism,  an  Italian  prince  became  cele¬ 
brated  for  his  forbearance,  also  for  his  severe 
punishment  when  aroused  to  do  vengeance. 
He  had  an  offending  servant,  who  was  repeat¬ 
edly  admonished.  With  every  pardon,  he 
became  more  reckless  and  impudent,  and 
thought  he  could  do  any  thing  with  impunity. 
One  day,  he  entered  the  presence  of  the  prince 
with  his  hat  on,  and,  when  rebuked,  said  he 
had  a  cold.  His  much-enduring  master  said,  “  I 
will  take  care  that  you  never  catch  a  cold 
again.”  He  immediately  ordered  the  man  to 
prison,  and  that  the  executioner  should  nail 
his  hat  to  his  head.  One  of  the  prince’s 
friends  expressed  surprise  at  this  severe  sen¬ 
tence,  because  the  servant  had  been  pardoned 
for  more  serious  crimes.  The  prince  took  a 
goblet,  and,  having  half  filled  it  with  water, 
requested  his  friend  to  put  an  apple  into  it. 
This  made  the  water  rise  to  the  brim.  The 
prince  then  told  his  friend  to  drop  in  a  coin. 
This  made  the  water  to  run  over.  “  How  is 
it  ?  ”  the  prince  asked,  “  that  the  small  coin 
caused  the  water  to  run  over,  whereas  the 
large  apple  raised  it  only  to  the  brim  ?  ”  The 
overflowing  of  the  cup  of  God’s  mercy  is 
wrath  and  destruction  to  the  impenitent. 

3652.  LONG-SUFFERING,  Improved.  Some 
years  ago,  I  had  in  my  garden  a  tree  that  never 
bore.  One  day  I  was  going  down,  with  my  axe 
in  my  hand,  to  fell  it.  My  wife  met  me  in  the 
pathway,  and  pleaded  for  it,  saying,  “  Why, 
the  spring  is  now  very  near :  stay,  and  see 
whether  there  may  not  be  some  change ;  and, 
if  not,  you  can  deal  with  it  accordingly.”  As  I 
never  repented  following  her  advice,  I  yielded 
to  it  now ;  and  what  was  the  consequence  ?  In 


424  LOOKIN' <3-  TO  JESUS. 


LORD’S  PEAYEB. 


a  few  weeks,  the  tree  was  covered  with  blos¬ 
soms  ;  and,  in  a  few  weeks  more,  it  was  bending 
with  fruit.  “  Ah  I  ”  said  I,  “  this  should  teach 
me.  I  will  learn  a  lesson  from  hence,  not  to  cut 
down  too  soon  ;  that  is,  not  to  consider  persons 
incorrigible  or  abandoned  too  soon,  so  as  to 
give  up  hope,  and  the  use  of  the  means  of 
prayer  in  their  behalf.”  W.  Jay. 

3653.  LOOKING  TO  JESUS,  Deliveranoe  by.  A 
lady  had  a  dream,  in  which  she  fancied  her¬ 
self  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  pit.  She  looked 
round  to  see  if  there  were  any  way  of  getting 
out ;  but  in  vain.  Presently,  looking  upward, 
she  saw  in  that  part  of  the  heavens  immedi¬ 
ately  above  the  mouth  of  the  pit  a  beautiful 
bright  star.  Steadily  gazing  at  it,  she  felt  her¬ 
self  to  be  gradually  lifted  upward.  She  looked 
down  to  ascertain  how  it  was,  and  immediately 
found  herself  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit.  Again 
her  eye  caught  sight  of  the  star,  and  again  site 
felt  herself  ascending.  She  had  reached  a 
considerable  height.  Still  desirous  of  an  ex¬ 
planation  of  so  strange  a  phenomenon,  she 
turned  her  eye  downward,  and  fell  to  the  bot¬ 
tom  with  fearful  violence.  On  recovering  from 
the  effect  of  the  shock,  she  bethought  herself 
as  to  the  meaning  of  it  all,  and  once  again 
turned  her  eye  to  the  star,  still  shining  so 
brightly  above,  and  yet  once  again  felt  her¬ 
self  borne  upward.  Steadily  did  she  keep 
her  eye  upon  its  light,  till,  at  length,  she 
found  herself  out  of  the  horrible  pit,  and  her 
feet  safely  planted  on  the  solid  ground  above. 
It  taught  her  the  lesson,  that,  in  the  hour  of 
danger  and  trouble,  deliverance  is  to  be  found 
and  found  only,  by  looking  unto  Jesus. 

Rev.  J.  Guthrie. 

3654.  LOOKING  TO  JESUS,  Illustration  of. 
The  painter  who  undertakes  to  copy  some 
masterpiece  of  art,  sits  down  before  it,  sketches 
the  outline  upon  his  own  canvas,  reproduces 
the  coloring  of  the  model,  adds  item  by  item 
to  his  picture,  constantly  looking  upon  the 
original,  noting  its  qualities  and  the  deficien¬ 
cies  of  his  work,  till,  by  scrupulous  care  and 
untiring  endeavor,  he  has  produced  a  fac  simile 
of  the  original.  The  Christian’s  work  is 
kindred.  He  has  a  better  model,  even  Christ ; 
but  a  harder  task,  for  his  canvas  is  treacherous 
and  his  work  is  life  long. 

3655.  LOOKING  TO ‘  JESUS,  Influence  of.  It  is 
related  of  Mr.  Astor,  that,  when  once  fording 
the  Susquehannah  on  horseback,  he  found  him¬ 
self  becoming  so  dizzy  as  to  be  about  to  lose 
his  seat.  Suddenly  he  received  a  blow  on  his 
chin  from  a  hunter,  who  was  his  companion, 
with  the  words,  “  Look  up  1  ”  He  did  so,  and 
recovered  his  balance.  It  was  looking  on  the 
turbulent  water  that  endangered  his  life ;  and 
looking  up  saved  it. 

3656.  LOQUACITY,  Danger  of.  A  prating  bar¬ 
ber  asked  King  Archelaus  how  he  would  be 
trimmed?  The  king  replied,  “  Silently.”  In 
much  talk  there  can  but  be  much  vanity. 
Loquacity  is  the  fistula  of  the  mind,  —  ever 
running,  and  almost  incurable  :  let  every  man, 
therefore,  be  a  Phocion  or  Pythagorean,  to 
speak  briefly  to  the  point,  or  not  at  all ;  let 


him  labor,  like  them  of  Crete,  to  show  more 
wit  in  his  discourse  than  words,  and  not  to 
pour  out  of  his  mouth  a  flood  of  the  one, 
when  he  can  hardly  wring  out  of  his  brains  a 
drop  of  the  other.  Spencer. 

3657.  LOQUACITY,  Evils  of  Learn  to  hold 
thy  tongue.  Five  words  cost  Zacharias  forty 
weeks’  silence.  Thou  mayst  esteem  a  man  of 
many  words  and  many  lies  much  alike.  Fuller. 

3658.  LORD'S  DAY,  Types  of  the.  Stations  on 

the  line  of  your  journey  are  not  your  journey’s 
end ;  but  each  one  brings  you  nearer.  A  haven 
is  not  home  ;  but  it  is  a  place  of  quiet  and  rest 
where  the  rough  waves  are  stayed  A  garden 
is  a  piece  of  common  land,  .jA  yet  it  has 
ceased  to  be  common  land  .  it  is  an  effort  to 
regain  paradise.  A  bud  ro.  a  flower;  but  it 
is  the  promise  of  a  flowo”.  .■  ueh  are  the  Lord’s 
Days.  The  world’s  weei>  tempts  you  to  sell 
your  soul  to  the  flesh  > j /.  the  world.  “The 
Lord’s  Day  ”  calls  yo  i  to  remembrance,  and 
begs  you  rather  to  vfc/ifice  earth  to  heaven 
and  time  to  etetnity  chan  heaven  to  earth  and 
eternity  to  time.  The  six  days  not  only  chain 
you  as  captives  of  the  earth,  but  do  their  best 
to  keep  the  prison-doors  shut,  that  you  may 
forget  the  v,iy  out.  “The  Lord’s  Day”  sets 
before  you  an  open  door.  Samson  has  carried 
the  gates  away.  “  The  Lord’s  Day  ”  summons 
yon  to  tt.e  threshold  of  your  house  of  bondage 
to  Iock  forth  into  immortality,- — your  immor¬ 
tality.  The  true  Lord’s  Day  is  the  eternal  life  ; 
buc  a  type  of  it  is  given  to  you  on  earth,  that 
j  cu  may  be  refreshed  in  the  body  with  the  an¬ 
ticipation  of  the  great  freedom  wherewith  the 
Lord  will  make  you  free.  J.  Pulsford. 

3659.  LORD'S  PRAYER,  Fulness  of  the.  I  used 

to  think  the  Lord’s  prayer  was  a  short  prayer ; 
but  as  I  live  longer,  and  see  more  of'  life,  I 
begin,  to  believe  there  is  no  such  thing  as  get¬ 
ting  through  it.  If  a  man,  in  praying  that 
prayer,  were  to  be  stopped  by  every  word  until 
he  had  thoroughly  prayed  it,  it  would  take  him 
a  lifetime.  “  Our  Father,” —  there  would  be  a 
wall  a  hundred  feet  high  in  just  those  two 
words  to  most  men.  If  they  might  say,  “  Our 
Tyrant,”  or  “  Our  Monarch,”  or  even  “  Our  Cre¬ 
ator,”  they  could  get  along  with  it, ;  but  “  Our 
Father ,”  —  why,  a  man  is  almost  a  saint  who 
can  pray  that.  You  read,  “  Thy  will  be  done ;  ” 
and  you  say  to  yourself,  “  Oh  1  I  can  pray 
that ;  ”  and  all  the  time  your  mind  goes  round 
and  round  in  immense  circuits  and  far-off  dis¬ 
tances  :  but  God  is  continually  bringing  the 
circuits  nearer  to  you,  till  he  says,  “  How  is  it 
about  your  temper  and  your  pride?  how  is 
it  about  your  business  and  your  daily  life  ?  ” 
This  is  a  revolutionary  petition.  It  would 
make  many  a  man’s  shop  and  store  tumble  to 
the  ground  to  utter  it.  Who  can  stand  at  the 
end  of  the  avenue,  along  which  all  his  pleasant 
thoughts  and  wishes  are  blossoming  like  flow¬ 
ers,  and  send  these  terrible  words,  “  Thy  will 
be  done,”  crashing  down  through  it?  I  think 
it  is  the  most  fearful  prayer  to  pray  in  the 
world.  Beecher. 

3660.  LORD'S  PRAYER,  Influence  of  the.  An 
Eastern  traveller  says,  “  I  remember,  on  one 


LORD’S  PRAYER. 


LORD’S  SUPPER.  425 


occasion,  travelling  in  Arabia  with  a  companion 
who  possessed  some  knowledge  of  medicine. 
We  arrived  at  a  door  near  which  we  were  about 
to  pitch  our  tent :  when  a  crowd  of  Arabs  sur¬ 
rounded  us,  cursing  and  swearing  at  the  rebel- 
lers  against  God.  My  friend,  who  spoke  a 
little  Arabic,  turning  to  an  elderly  person 
whose  garb  bespoke  him  a  priest,  said,  *  Who 
taught  you  that  we  were  disbelievers  ?  Hear 
my  daily  prayer,  and  judge  for  yourselves.’ 
He  then  repeated  the  Lord’s  prayer.  All 
stood  amazed  and  silent,  till  the  priest  ex¬ 
claimed,  ‘  May  God  curse  me  if  ever  I  curse 
again  those  who  hold  such  a  belief  1  nay,  more, 
that  prayer  shall  be  my  prayer  till  my  hour 
be  come.  I  pray  thee,  O  Nazarene  1  to  repeat 
that  prayer,  that  it  may  be  remembered  and 
written  among  us  in  letters  of  gold.’  ” 

3661.  LORD'S  PRAYER,  Spirit  of  the.  The 
spirit  of  the  Lord’s  prayer  is  beautiful.  The 
form  of  petition  breathes  a  filial  spirit, — 
‘  Father ;  ”  a  catholic  spirit,  —  “Our  Father  ;  ” 
a  reverential  spirit,  —  “  Hallowed  be  thy 
name  ;  ”  a  missionary  spirit,  —  “  Thy  kingdom 
come;”  an  obedient  spirit,  —  “Thy  will  be 
done  on  earth;  ”  a  dependent  spirit,  — “  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread ;  ”  a  forgiving 
spirit,  —  “  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as 
we  forgive  them  that  trespass  against  us  ;  ”  a 
cautious  spirit,  —  “  Lead  us  not  into  temptation, 
but  deliver  us  from  evil ;  ”  a  confidential  and 
adoring  spirit,  —  “For  thine  is  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.” 

3662.  LORD'S  SUPPER,  Admission  to  the. 
While  the  American  army,  under  the  com¬ 
mand  of  Washington,  lay  encamped  in  the 
environs  of  Morristown,  N.J.,  the  service  of 
the  communion  was  to  be  administered  in  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  that  village.  Ii\  the 
previous  week,  the  general  visited  the  house 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jones,  then  pastor  of  that 
church,  and  thus  accosted  him :  “  Doctor,  I 
understand  that  the  Lord’s  Supper  is  to  be 
celebrated  with  you  next  Sunday :  I  would 
learn  if  it  accords  with  the  canons  of  your 
church  to  admit  communicants  of  another 
denomination  ?  ”  The  doctor  rejoined,  “  Most 
certainly  :  ours  is  not  the  Presbyterian  table, 
general,  but  the  Lord’s  table;  and  we  hence 
give  the  Lord’s  invitation  to  all  his  followers 
of  whatever  name.”  The  general  replied, 
“  I  am  glad  of  it :  that  is  as  it  ought  to  be ; 
but,  as  I  was  not  quite  sure  of  the  fact,  I 
thought  I  would  ascertain  it  from  yourself,  as 
I  propose  to  join  with  you  on  that  occasion. 
Though  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England, 
I  have  no  exclusive  partialities.”  The  general 
was  found  seated  with  the  communicants  the 
next  sabbath. 

3663.  LORD’S  SUPPER,  Emblem  of  the.  A 
father  once  kept  a  cancelled  bond  for  his  family 
to  look  upon,  and  see  how  he  had  paid  a  heavy 
debt,  through  much  self-sacrifice,  to  make 
them  happy.  Christ  cancelled  the  claim  of 
justice  against  us,  “  nailing  it  to  his  cross.” 
In  the  Lord’s  Supper,  his  family  look  upon  this 
bond. 


3664.  LORD’S  SUPPER,  Equality  at  the.  It 
is  related  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  that 
once,  when  he  remained  to  take  the  sacrament 
at  his  parish  church,  a  very  poor  old  man  went 
up  the  opposite  aisle,  and,  reaching  the  com¬ 
munion-table,  knelt  down  close  by  the  side  of 
the  duke.  Some  one  (probably  a  pew-opener) 
came  and  touched  the  poor  man  on  the  shcul- 
der,  and  whispered  to  him  to  move  farther 
away,  or  to  rise,  and  wait  until  the  duke  had 
received  the  bread  and  wine.  But  the  eagle 
eye  and  the  quick  ear  of  the  great  commander 
caught  the  meaning  of  that  touch  and  that 
whisper.  He  clasped  the  old  man’s  hand, 
and  held  him,  to  prevent  his  rising ;  and  in  a 
reverential  undertone,  but  most  distinctly, 
said,  “  Do  not  move :  we  are  all  equal  here.” 

3665.  LORD'S  SUPPER,  Names  of  the.  It  is 

called  a  sacrament ;  that  is,  a  sign  and  an  oath, 
—  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and 
spiritual  grace;  an  oath,  by  which  we  bind 
our  souls  with  a  bond  unto  the  Lord.  It  is 
called  the  Lord’s  Supper,  because  it  was  first 
instituted  in  the  evening,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  Passover  supper  ;  and  because  we  therein 
feed  upon  Christ,  the  Bread  of  life.  (Rev.  iii. 
“0 ;  1  Cor.  xi.)  It  is  called  the  communion, 
as  herein  we  commune  with  Christ,  and  with 
his  people  (1  Cor.  xii.  13,  x.  17).  It  is  called 
the  euckarist,  a  thanksgiving,  because  Christ, 
in  the  institution  of  it,  gave  thanks  (1  Cor. 
xi.  24)  ;  and  because  we,  in  the  participation 
of  it,  must  give  thanks  likewise.  It  is  called 
a  feast,  and  by  some  a  feast  upon  sacrifice 
(though  not  a  sacrifice  itself),  in  allusion  to 
the  custom  of  the  Jews  feasting  upon  their 
sacrifices  (1  Cor.  x.  18).  C.  Buck. 

3666.  LORD'S  SUPPER,  Neglect  of  the.  At  a 
late  communion,  one  of  the  seats  was  occupied 
by  a  lady  with  Willie  her  son,  a  boy  about  six 
years  of  age.  She  was  not  a  member  of  the 
church ;  and  the  deacon,  in  distributing  the 
bread,  passed  her,  when  the  little  boy  called 
out,  “  You  did  not  give  mamma  any.”  This 
remark  was  made  an  arrow  of  conviction  in 
the  lady’s  heart,  from  which  she  found  no 
relief  till  she  fled  into  the  arms  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer. 

3667.  LORD’S  SUPPER,  Observance  of  the.  I 

have  observed  that  children,  when  they  first 
put  on  new  shoes,  are  very  curious  to  keep 
them  clean.  Scarce  will  they  set  their  feet  on 
the  ground  for  fear  to  soil  the  soles  of  their 
shoes :  yea,  rather  they  will  wipe  the  leather 
clean  with  their  coats  :  and  yet,  perchance,  the 
next  day  they  will  trample  with  the  same 
shoes  in  the  mire  up  to  the  ankles.  Alas  I 
children’s  play  is  our  earnest.  On  that  day 
wherein  we  receive  the  sacrament,  we  are  often 
over-precise ;  but  are  not  so  much  as  careful 
the  next,  and  too  often  (what  shall  I  say?) 
go  on  in  sin  up  to  the  ankles  :  yea,  our  sins  go 
over  our  heads.  Thos.  Fuller. 

3668.  LORD'S  SUPPER,  Reconciliation  at. 
Warburton  and  Tucker  were  contemporary 
bishop  and  dean  of  the  same  cathedral.  For 
many  years,  they  were  not  even  on  speaking- 
terms.  It  was  on  a  Good-Friday,  not  long  be- 


426 


LOSSES. 


LOVE. 


fore.Warburton’s  death,  they  were  at  the  holy 
table  together.  Before  he  gave  the  cup  to  the 
deau,  he  stooped  down,  and  said  in  tremulous 
emotion,  “Dear  Tucker,  let  this  cup  be  the 
cup  of  reconciliation  between  us.”  It  had  the 
intended  effect:  they  were  friends  again  to 
their  mutual  satisfaction.  W hilecross. 

3669.  LOSSES,  Bearing.  Heine,  the  well- 
known  physician  of  Berlin,  lost  once  very 
heavily  by  the  bankruptcy  of  a  mercantile 
house.  Hufeland  met  him  a  few  days  after, 
and  expressed  his  sympathy.  “  I  had  rather 
you  had  not  reminded  me  of  it,”  he  replied. 
“  Thank  God !  I  have  got  over  it.”  —  “  How 
have  you  managed'  that?”  —  “Well,  I  was 
unable  to  forget  it,  thought  upon  it  night  and 
day,  my  mind  was  wandering,  my  family  were 
sad  and  timid  with  fear.  I  felt  that  this  must 
not  continue  ;  so  I,  a  poor  worm  of  earth,  unable 
to  come  out  of  this  distress,  took  refuge  in  the 
Almighty.  I  hurried  to  my  bed-room,  closed 
the  door  behind,  and  fell  on  my  knees  to  pray 
with  my  whole  heart.  Then  I  felt  as  if  God 
appeared  to  me,  saying,  ‘  Have  I  not  the  key 
of  all  treasuries  ?  and  can  I  not  far  more  than 
replace  thy  loss  ?  Be  of  good  courage  1  ’  And 
now  I  have  got  over  it,  am  once  more  happy 
in  God  ;  and  prayer  has  done  all  this.” 

3679.  LOSSES,  Consolation  in.  Hugolin,  King 
Edward’s  chamberlain,  one  day  took  some 
money  out  of  a  coffer  in  the  king’s  bed-cham¬ 
ber,  leaving  it  open ;  the  king  being  then-on 
his  couch.  A  young  man  who  waited  on  the 
king,  believing  him  to  be  asleep,  put  his  hand 
into  the  coffer,  took  out  a  handful  of  gold, 
went  away,  and  hid  it ;  he  then  returned  a  sec¬ 
ond  time,  took  another  handful ;  and  again  a 
third  time  :  on  which  the  king  cried  out,  “  Nay  1 
thou  art  too  covetous !  Take  what  thou  hast, 
and  be  content ;  for,  if  Hugolin  come,  he  will 
not  leave  thee  one  penny.”  Whereupon  the 
young  man  ran  out  of  the  room,  and  escaped. 
When  Hugolin  returned,  he  began  to  lament 
himself  because  of  the  robbery.  “  Hold  thy 
peace  1  ”  replied  the  king :  “  perhaps  he  who 
hath  taken  it  hath  more  need  of  it  than  we 
have.  What  is  left  is  sufficient  for  us.” 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

3671.  LOSSES,  Parable  of.  “  Look,  papa !  ” 
cried  a  child,  “  at  the  berries  I  have  found.” 
As  his  little  girl  said  it,  she  showed  her  father 
her  basket  -half  full  of  them.  He  asked, 
“  Have  you  eaten  any  of  them,  my  child  ?  ” 
—  “  No,  papa.”  —  “  Not  one  ?  ”  —  “  No,  papa ; 
not  one.”  —  “  Thank  God  1  ”  he  murmured. 
“  Give  them  to  me,”  he  said  :  “  I  must  fling  them 
all  away  l”  —  “  Fling  away  my  pretty  black 
berries,  that  I  took  so  long  to  find  ?  ”  —  “  Yes, 
dear  child:  they  are  poison.”  There  were  tears 
in  her  eyes ;  but  she  gave  them  up :  and  he 
dug  a  deep  hole  in  the  garden,  and  buried 
them.  “  Why,  what  are  they  ?  ”  she  asked. 
When  he  answered,  he  said,  “  They  are  the 
berries  of  the  deadly  nightshade.” 

3672.  LOSSES,  Retrieving.  During  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  Shiloh,  an  officer  furiously  rode  up  to 
Gen.  Grant,  and,  touching  his  cap,  thus 
addressed  him,  “  Sheneral,  I  vants  to  make 


one  report:  Schwartz’s  Battery  is  took;”  — 

“  Ah  !  ”  says  the  general :  “  how  was  that  ?  ” 

—  “Veil,  you  see,  sheneral,  de  sheshenists 
come  up  in  front  of  us,  and  de  sheshenistf 
flanked  us,  and  de  sheshenists  come  in  de 
rear  of  us ;  and  Schwartz’s  Battery  was  took.” 

—  “  Well,  sir,”  says  the  general,  “  you,  of 
course,  spiked  the  guns  ?  ” — “  Vat  1  ”  exclaimed 
the  Dutchman,  in  astonishment,  —  “  schpike 
dem  guns,  schpike  dem  new  guns !  No  1  it  would 
schspoil  hem!”  —  “Well,”  said  the  general 
sharply,  “  what  did  you  do  ?  ”  —  “  Do  ?  vy, 
we  took  dem  back  again  1  ” 

3673.  LOST,  Hope  for  the.  Lady  Hunting¬ 
don  was  trying  to  lead  the  despondent  brother 
of  White  field  to  Christ.  To  her  urgent  entrea¬ 
ties  he  answered,  “  Oh,  it  is  of  no  use  1  I  am 
lost,  I  am  lost !  ”  —  “  Thank  God  for  that  1  ” 
said  she.  “  Why !  ”  exclaimed  the  man  in 
astonishment.  “  Because,”  said  Lady  Hun¬ 
tingdon,  “  Christ  came  to  save  the  lost;  and,  if 
you  are  lost,  he  is  just  the  one  that  can  save 
you.” 

3674.  LOST,  Knell  of  the.  In  a  few  more 
months,  some  of  you  will  hear  the  great  bell  of 
eternity  tolling  forth  that  awful  word,  “  Lost, 
lost !  ”  the  great  sepulchres  of  hell  will  echo 
your  doom,  “  Lost,  lost,  lost !  ”  and  through  the 
shades  of  eternal  misery  this  shall  ever  assail 
your  ear,  that  you  are  lost  forever.  Spurgeon. 

3675.  LOST,  Peril  of  the.  Years  ago,  a  man 
was  benighted  in  a  mining  region.  He  lost 
his  way  :  the  darkness  was  dense,  and  dangers 
were  thick.  The  next  step  might  precipitate 
him  down  some  awful  shaft,  some  gloomy  pit, 
and  dash  him,  bruised  and  shapeless,  upon  its 
floor.  He  knew  his  peril ;  and  he  stopped, 
stood  still,  and  began  to  cry,  “  Lost !  lost, 
lost  1  ”  A  cottager  heard  the  sound,  and, 
grasping  a  lantern,  hurried  forth  to  answer  to 
the  voice.  Guided  by  the  cry,  “  Lost,  lost, 
lost !  ”  he  hastened  over  the  moor.  The  lost 
man  saw  in  the  distance  the  glimmering  of 
his  light:  it  came  nearer  and  nearer,  until, 
as  its  rays  flashed  through  the  surrounding 
mist,  he  found  that  he  stood  upon  the  very 
verge  of  death.  Another  step  would  have  car¬ 
ried  him  down  the  shaft,  a  crushed  and  man¬ 
gled  corpse!  One  step,  one  more  effort  to 
save  himself,  and  he  would  have  been  lost 
beyond  hope ;  anotner  effort  even  to  find  his 
way  would  have  proved  his  ruin. 

3676.  LOVE,  Abiding.  “Now  abideth  faith, 
hope,  love,  —  these  three;  but  the  greatest  of 
these  is  love  :  ”  for  love  is  the  seraph,  and  faith 
and  hope  are  but  the  wings  by  which  it  flies. 

Beecher. 

3677.  LOVE,  Activity  of.  Love  is  like  the 

spirit  in  Ezekiel’s  wheels,  that  made  them 
move  so  swiftly ;  so  that  dulness,  sluggishness, 
and  wearisomeness  are  quickly  dispelled  by 
heavenly  love,  as  the  ice  is  presently  dissolved 
by  the  sunbeams.  Burgess. 

367§.  LOVE,  Blindness  of.  “  Love  covers  a 
multitude  of  sins.”  When  a  scar  cannot  be 
taken  away,  the  next  kind  office  is  to  hide  it. 
Love  is  never  so  blind  as  when  it  is  to  spy 
faults.  South. 


LOVE. 


LOVE. 


427 


3679.  LOVE,  Brevities.  That  you  may  be 

beloved,  be  amiable.  —  Ovid. - Love  will 

often  make  a  wise  man  act  like  a  fool.  —  Gre- 
ville. - No  cord  or  cable  can  draw  so  forci¬ 

bly.  or  bind  so  fast,  as  love  can  do  with  only 

a  single  thread.  —  Burton. - Love  sees  what 

no  eye  sees ;  love  bears  what  no  ear  hears ; 
and  what  never  rose  in  the  heart  of  man,  love 

prepares  for  its  object.  —  Lavater. - The 

pleasure  of  love  is  in  loving.  —  La  Roche¬ 
foucauld. - They  do  not  love  that  do  not 

show  their  love.  —  Shakspeare. - Love  is  an 

alchemist,  that  can  transmute  poison  into  food. 

—  Bolton. - The  classic  poets  represent  love 

as  blind. 

3680.  LOVE,  Brotherly.  As  the  spokes  of 
a  carriage-wheel  approach  their  centre,  they 
approach  each  other:  so  also,  when  men  are 
brought  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  centre  of  life  and 
hope,  they  are  drawn  towards  each  other  in 
brotherly  relationship,  and  stand  side  by  side 
journeying  to  their  heavenly  home. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Serjeant. 

3681.  LOVE,  Brotherly.  Thomas  Samson 

was  a  working  miner,  and  working  hard  for  his 
bread.  The  captain  of  the  mine  said  to  him 
on  one  occasion,  “  Thomas,  I’ve  got  an  easier 
berth  for  you,  where  there  is  comparatively 
little  to  do,  and  where  you  can  earn  more 
money :  will  you  accept  it  ?  ”  What  do  you 
think  he  said  ?  “  Captain,  there’s  our  poor 

brother  Tregony.  He  has  a  sick  body,  and 
he  is  not  able  to  work  as  hard  as  I  am.  I  fear 
his  toil  will  shorten  his  useful  life.  Will  you 
let  him  have  the  berth  ?  ”  The  captain, 
pleased  with  his  generosity,  sent  for  Tregony, 
and  gave  him  the  berth,  which  he  is  now  en¬ 
joying.  Thomas  was  gratified,  and  added,  “  I 
can  work  a  little  longer  yet.” 

Sunday  Magazine. 

3682.  LOVE,  A  Child’s.  A  poor  drunkard 
had  an  only  daughter,  whom  he  abused  shame¬ 
fully;  but  she  clung  to  him  with  undying  affec¬ 
tion.  One  day,  when  he  awoke  from  a  slumber 
after  a  debauch,  and  found  her  preparing 
breakfast  for  him  and  singing  a  childish  song, 
he  turned  to  her,  and,  with  a  tone  almost  ten¬ 
der,  said,  “  Millie,  what  makes  you  stay  with 
me?”  —  “ Because  you  are  my  father,  and  I 
love  you.”  —  “  You  love  me  1  ”  repeated  the 
wretched  man ;  “  you  love  me  !  ”  He  looked  at 
his  bloated  limbs,  his  soiled  and  ragged  clothes. 
“  Love  me  1  ”  he  still  murmured.  “  Millie, 
what  makes  you,  love  me  ?  I  am  a  poor  drunk¬ 
ard  :  everybody  else  despises  me  ;  why  don’t 
you?”  —  “  Dear  father,”  said  the  girl  with 
swimming  eyes,  “  my  mother  taught  me  to  love 
you ;  and  every  night  she  comes  from  heaven, 
and  stands  by  my  little  bed,  and  says,  4  Mil¬ 
lie,  don’t  leave  your  father:  he  will  get  away 
from  that  rum-fiend  some  of  these  days  1  and 
then  how  happy  you  will  be  !  ’  ” 

3683.  LOVE,  Christian.  When  a  rosebud  is 
formed,  if  the  soil  is  soft,  and  the  sky  is  genial, 
it  is  not  long  before  it  bursts ;  for  the  life 
within  is  so  abundant,  that  it  can  no  lon¬ 
ger  contain  it  all,  but  in  blossomed  brightness 
and  swimming  fragrance  it  must  needs  let  I 


forth  its  joy,  and  gladden  all  the  air.  And  if, 
when  thus  ripe,  it  refused  to  expand,  it  would 
quickly  rot  at  heart,  and  die.  And  Christian 
love  is  just  piety  with  its  petals  fully  spread, 
developing  itself,  and  making  it  a  happier 
world.  The  religion  which  fancies  that  it 
loves  God,  when  it  never  evinces  love  to  its 
brother,  is  not  piety,  but  a  poor  mildewed  the¬ 
ology,  a  dogma  with  a  worm  in  the  heart. 

Dr.  J.  Hamil  on. 

3684.  LOVE,  like  Christ's.  He  asks,  not  that 

our  love  should  equal  his,  but  resemble  his ; 
not  that  it  should  be  of  the  same  strength,  but 
of  the  same  kind.  A  pearl  of  dew  will  not 
hold  the  sun  ;  but  it  may  hold  a  spark  of  its 
light.  A  child  by  the  sea,  trying  to  catch  the 
waves  as  they  dash  in  clouds  of  crystal  spray 
upon  the  sand,  cannot  hold  the  ocean  in  a  tiny 
shell ;  but  he  can  hold  a  drop  of  the  ocean- 
water.  C.  Stanford. 

3685.  LOVE,  Conjugal.  Edward  I.  of 
England  having  received  a  wound  from  a 
poisoned  dagger,  his  wife  Eleanor  sucked  out 
the  poison,  venturing  her  own  life  to  save  her 
husband’s. 

3686.  LOVE,  Constancy  of.  A  short  time 

previous  to  the  death  of  the  Marchioness  of 
Tavistock,  and  when  she  was  preparing  to  go 
to  Lisbon  for  the  recovery  of  her  health,  a  con¬ 
sultation  of  physicians  was  held  at  Bedford 
House ;  and  one  of  the  gentlemen  present 
requested,  while  he  felt  her  pulse,  that  she 
would  open  her  hand.  Her  frequent  refusals 
occasioned  him  to  take  the  liberty  of  gently 
forcing  the  fingers  asunder ;  when  he  per¬ 
ceived  that  she  had  kept  her  hand  closed  to 
conceal  the  miniature-picture  of  the  marquis. 
“  O  madam  !  ”  observed  the  physician,  “  my 
prescriptions  must  be  useless,  if  your  ladyship 
is  determined  to  keep  before  your  eyes  an 
object,  which,  although  deservedly  dear  to  you, 
serves  only  to  confirm  the  violence  of  your 
illness.”  The  marchioness  replied,  “  I  have 
kept  the  picture,  either  in  my  bosom  or  my 
hand,  ever  since  the  death  of  my  lamented 
lord ;  and  thus  I  am  determined  to  preserve 
it  till  I  fortunately  drop  after  him  into  the 
grave.”  Percy. 

3687.  LOVE,  Demand  for.  Like  as  if  a  king 
should  make  a  poor  beggar-born  his  loving  son 
and  heir  by  adoption,  he  were  greatly  bound  to 
love  him,  and  to  be  thankful  to  him  forever; 
even  so  much  more  we  ought  to  love  the  Son 
of  God,  who  has  made  us  sons  and  heirs  to  his 
Father  by  his  death  and  redemption. 

Cawdray. 

3688.  LOVE,  Description  of.  Love  to  Christ 
smooths  the  path  of  duty,  and  wings  the  feet 
to  travel  it :  it  is  the  bow  which  impels  the 
arrow  of  obedience ;  it  is  the  mainspring  mov¬ 
ing  the  wheels  of  duty ;  it  is  the  strong  arm 
tugging  the  oar  of  diligence.  Love  is  the 
marrow  of  the  bones  of  fidelity,  the  blood  in  the 
veins  of  piety,  the  sinew  of  spiritual  strength; 
yea,  the  life  of  sincere  devotion.  He  that 
hath  love  can  no  more  be  motionless  than  the 
aspen  in  the  gale,  the  sear  leaf  in  the  hurri¬ 
cane,  or  the  spray  in  the  tempest.  As  well 


428 


LOVE. 


LOVE. 


may  hearts  cease  to  beat,  as  love  to  labor. 
Love  is  instinct  with  activity,  it  cannot  be  idle  ; 
it  is  full  of  energy,  it  cannot  content  itself  with 
littles ;  it  is  the  well-spring  of  heroism,  and 
great  deeds  are  the  gushings  of  its  fountain ; 
it  is  a  giant,  —  it  beapeth  mountains  upon 
mountains,  and  thinks  the  pile  but  little;  it 
is  a  mighty  mystery,  for  it  changes  bitter  into 
sweet  ;  it  calls  death  life,  and  life  death ;  and  it 
makes  pain  less  painful  than  enjoyment. 

Spurgeon. 

3689.  LOVE,  Example  o£  Dr.  Halbeck,  a 
missionary  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the 
South  of  Africa,  from  the  top  of  a  neighboring 
hill  saw  lepers  at  work.  He  noticed  two  par¬ 
ticularly,  sowing  peas  in  the  field.  One  had 
no  hands ;  the  other  had  no  feet,  —  these  mem¬ 
bers  being  wasted  away  by  disease.  The  one 
who  wanted  the  hands  was  carrying  the  other, 
who  wanted  the  feet,  upon  his  back ;  and  he 
again  carried  the  bag  of  seed,  and  dropped 
a  pea  every  now  and  then,  which  the  other 
pressed  into  the  ground  with  his  feet :  and  so 
they  managed  the  work  of  one  man  between 
the  two.  Such  should  be  the  true  union  of  the 
members  of  Christ’s  body,  in  which  all  the 
members  should  have  the  same  care  one  for 
another. 

369®.  LOVE,  Exhortation  to.  A  little  boy, 
who  had  become  much  in  earnest  about  his 
father’s  salvation,  asked  him,  “  Pa,  won’t  you 
love  Jesus  V  ”  The  father  said  he  would  soon. 
The  boy  pressed  his  suit,  saying,  “  Pa,  will  you 
love  Jesus  to-day?”  This  led  the  father  to 
seek  the  salvation  of  his  soul  that  day. 

3691.  LOVE,  Fable  o£  The  Wind,  seeking  to 
remove  the  traveller’s  cloak,  blew  its  fiercest 
blast;  but  the  traveller  only  drew  it  closer 
about  him.  “  I  will  show  you  a  better  way,” 
said  the  Sun ;  and  be  shone  upon  the  traveller 
so  bright  and  warm,  that  the  cloak  was  gladly 
laid  aside.  Every  natural  heart  wraps  about 
itself  a  cloak  of  cold  indifference  to  the  claims 
of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  All  religious  teach¬ 
ings  are  vain,  which  fail  to  penetrate  or  melt 
this  icy  covering. 

3692.  LOVE,  Filial.  The  three  sons  of  an 
Eastern  lady  were  invited  to  furnish  her  with 
an  expression  of  their  love  before  she  went  away 
for  a  long  journey.  One  brought  a  marble 
tablet,  with  the  inscription  of  her  name ;  an¬ 
other  presented  her  with  a  rich  garland  of 
fragrant  flowers.  The  third  entered  her  pres¬ 
ence,  and  thus  addressed  her :  “  Mother,  I  have 
neither  marble  tablet  nor  fragrant  nosegay ; 
but  I  have  a  heart :  here  your  name  is  en¬ 
graven  ;  here  your  memory  is  precious.  And 
this  heart,  full  of  affection,  will  follow  you 
wherever  you  travel,  and  remain  with  you 
wherever  you  repose.” 

3693.  LOVE,  Generosity  of.  A  man  may  be 

a  miser  of  his  wealth ;  he  may  tie  up  his  talent 
in  a  napkin ;  he  may  hug  himself  in  his  repu¬ 
tation  :  but  he  is  always  generous  in  his  love. 
Love  cannot  stay  at  home  :  a  man  cannot  keep 
it  to  himself.  Like  light,  it  is  constantly  trav¬ 
elling.  A  man  must  spend  it,  must  give  it 
away.  Dr.  Macleod. 


3694.  LOVE,  Instinct  of.  Lander,  during  his 
journey  in  Africa,  frequently  met  with  moth¬ 
ers  who  carried  about  their  persons  little 
wooden  images  of  their  deceased  infants,  to 
whose  lips  they  presented  a  portion  of  food 
whenever  they  partook  of  it  themselves;  and 
nothing  could  iuduce  them  to  part  with  these 
inanimate  memorials. 

3695.  LOVE,  Light  of.  When  there  is  love 

in  the  heart,  there  are  rainbows  in  the  eyes, 
which  cover  every  black  cloud  with  gorgeous 
hues.  Beecher. 

3696.  LOVE,  Maternal.  The  love  of  a  moth¬ 
er  is  never  exhausted;  it  never  changes;  it 
never  tires.  A  father  may  turn  his  back  on 
his  child ;  brothers  and  sisters  may  become  in¬ 
veterate  enemies ;  husbands  may  desert  their 
wives ;  wives,  their  husbands.  But  a  mother’s 
love  endures  through  all :  in  good  repute,  in 
bad  repute,  in  the  face  of  the  world’s  condem¬ 
nation,  a  mother  still  loves  on,  and  still  hopes 
that  her  child  may  turn  from  his  evil  ways,  and 
repent.  Still  she  remembers  the  infant  smiles 
that  once  filled  her  bosom  with  rapture,  the 
merry  laugh,  the  joyful  shout  of  childhood,  the 
opening  promise  of  his  youth;  and  she  can 
never  be  brought  to  think  him  unworthy. 

W.  Irving. 

369'S'.  LOVE,  Message  of.  A  father  in  good 
circumstances,  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States, 
had  a  reckless  son,  who  disgraced  himself,  and 
brought  shame  upon  his  family  by  his  miscon¬ 
duct.  From  home  the  prodigal  went  to  Cali¬ 
fornia  to  become  even  more  reckless.  For 
years,  the  father  heard  nothing  from  Min.  A 
chance  offering,  he  sent  this  message  to  him: 
“  Your  father  still  loves  you.”  The  bearer 
sought  him  long,  ia  vain.  At  last,  he  visited  a 
brothel,  on  his  search;  and  there  recognized 
the  erring  son.  He  called  him  out,  and  at  the 
hour  of  midnight,  delivered  his  message.  The 
gambler’s  heart  was  touched.  The  thought 
of  a  father  that  loved  him  still,  and  wanted  to 
forgive  him,  broke  the  ,spell  of  Satan.  He 
abandoned  the  game,  his  companions,  and.  his 
cups,  to  return  to  his  father.  The  heavenly 
Father  sends  a  like  message  to  every  prodigal. 

3698.  LOVE,  A  Mother’s.  The  intensity  m 
maternal  affection  was  illustrated  in  the  obser¬ 
vation  of  a  little  boy,  who,  after  reading  Bun- 
yan’s  “  Pilgrim’s  Progress,”  asked  his  mother 
which  of  the  characters  she  liked  best.  She 
replied,  “  Christian,  of  course :  he  is  the  hero 
of  the  story.”  The  dear  child  responded, 
“  Mother,  1  like  Christiana  best,  because,  when 
Christian  set  out  on  his  pilgrimage,  he  went 
alone ;  but,  when  Christiana  started,  she  took  the 
children  with  her.” 

3699.  LOVE,  Omnipotanca  of.  A  young  woman 
in  Scotland  left  her  home,  and  became  a  com¬ 
panion  of  the  street-girls  of  Glasgow.  Her 
mother  sought  her  far  and  wide,  but  in  vain. 
At  last,  she  caused  her  picture  to  be  huug 
upon  the  walls  of  the  Midnight-Mission  rooms, 
where  abandoned  women  resorted.  Many  gave 
the  picture  a  passing  glance.  One  lingered  by 
the  picture.  It  is  the  same  dear  face  tha! 
looked  down  upon  her  in  her  childhood 


LOVE. 


LOVE. 


42^ 


She  has  not  forgotten  her,  nor  cast  off  her 
sinning  child,  or  her  picture  would  never  have 
been  hung  upon  those  walls.  The  lips  seemed 
to  open,  and  whisper,  “  Come  home  :  I  forgive 
you,  and  love  you  still.”  The  poor  girl  sank 
down  overwhelmed  with  her  feelings.  She 
was  the  prodigal  daughter.  The  sight  of  her 
mother’s  face  had  broken  her  heart.  She  be¬ 
came  truly  penitent  for  her  sins,  and,  with  a 
heart  full  of  sorrow  and  shame,  returned  to 
her  forsaken  home ;  and  mother  and  daughter 
were  once  more  united. 

3700.  LOVE,  Origin  of.  As  the  rays  come 

from  the  sun,  and  yet  are  not  the  sun ;  even  so 
our  love  and  pity,  though  they  are  not  God, 
but  merely  a  poor,  weak  image  and  reflection 
of  him,  yet  from  him  alone  they  come.  If 
there  is  mercy  in  our  hearts,  it  comes  from  the 
fountain  of  mercy.  If  there  is  the  light  of 
love  in  us,  it  is  a  ray  from  the  full  sun  of  His 
love.  '  C.  Kingsley. 

3701.  LOVE,  Patriotic.  Patriotism,  or  the 
love  of  country,  is  so  general,  that  even  a  des¬ 
ert  is  remembered  with  pleasure,  provided  it  is 
our  own.  The  Cretans  called  it  by  a  name 
which  indicated  a  mother’s  love  for  her  chil¬ 
dren.  The  Ethiopian  imagines  that  God 
made  his  sands  and  deserts,  while  angels  only 
were  employed  in  forming  the  rest  of  the  globe. 
The  Arabian  tribe  of  Ouadelin  conceive  that 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  rise  only  for  them. 
The  Maltese,  insulated  on  a  rock,  distinguish 
their  island  by  the  appellation  of  “  The 
Flower  of  the  World;”  and  the  Caribbees 
esteem  their  country  a  paradise,  and  themselves 
alone  entitled  to  the  name  of  men.  Percy. 

3702.  LOVE,  Persevering.  Euclid,  a  disciple 
of  Socrates,  having  ofl'ended  his  brother,  the 
brother  cried  out  in  a  rage,  “  Let  me  die  if  I 
am  not  revenged  on  you  one  time  or  other  !  ” 
To  whom  Euclid  replied,  “  And  let  me  die  if 
I  do  not  soften  you  by  my  kindnesses,  and 
make  you  love  me  as  well  as  ever !  ” 

3703.  LOVE,  Pleasure  in.  All  love  hath  com¬ 

placency  or  pleasure  in  the  nature  and  most 
formal  notion  of  it.  To  search  for  pleasure  in 
love  is  the  same  thing  as  if  a  man  should  be 
solicitous  to  find  water  in  the  sea,  or  light  in 
the  body  of  the  sun.  J.  Howe. 

3704.  LOVE,  Power  of.  Gilbert  Becket,  who 
was  afterwards  a  flourishing  citizen,  was,  in  his 
youth,  a  soldier  in  the  crusades,  and,  being 
taken  prisoner,  became  slave  to  an  emir,  or 
Saracen  prince.  He  obtained  the  confidence 
of  his  master,  and  met  and  was  loved  by  the 
emir’s  daughter.  After  some  time,  he  effected 
his  escape.  The  lady  with  her  loving  heart 
followed  him.  She  knew  but  two  words  of 
the  English  language,  —  London  and  Gilbert ; 
and,  by  repeating  the  first,  she  obtained  a  pas¬ 
sage  in  a  vessel,  arrived  in  England,  and 
found  her  trusting  way  to  the  metropolis. 
She  then  took  to  her  other  talisman,  and  went 
from  street  to  street,  pronouncing  “  Gilbert.” 
A  crowd  collected  about  her  wherever  she 
went,  asking  a  thousand  questions ;  and  to  all 
ehe  had  but  one  answer,  “  Gilbert,  Gilbert  1  ” 
She  found  her  faith  in  it  sufficient.  Chance, 


or  the  determination  to  go  through  every 
street,  brought  her  at  last  to  the  one  in  which 
he  who  had  won  her  heart  in  slavery  was  liv¬ 
ing  in  a  prosperous  condition.  The  crowd 
drew  the  family  to  the  window  :  his  servant 
recognized  her ;  and  Gilbert  Becket  took  to  his 
arms  and  his  bridal-bed  his  far-come  princess, 
with  her  solitary  fond  word.  Percy. 

3705.  LOVE,  Preserving.  In  ancient  Rome, 
there  was  a  temple  dedicated  to  the  heathen 
goddess  Vesta.  At  its  altar,  virgins  minis¬ 
tered  as  female  priests;  and  their  duty  was  to 
keep  the  sacred  flame  ever  burning.  If  it 
went  out  through  their  neglect,  they  were  se¬ 
verely  punished.  How  carefully  they  watched 
it  by  day  and  by  night  1  Imitate,  O  Christian  1 
their  example.  Keep  the  fire  of  divine  love 
burning  on  the  altar  of  your  heart.  Suffer  it 
not  to  grow  dim ;  let  it  never  go  out  in  dark¬ 
ness.  J.  1.  Boswell. 

370®.  LOVE,  Proof  of.  Cyrus  entered  the 
country  of  the  King  of  Armenia,  and,  having 
taken  him  and  all  his  family  prisoners,  or¬ 
dered  them  before  him.  “  Armenius,”  said 
he,  “  you  are  free ;  for  you  are  sensible  of 
your  error.  And  what  will  you  give  me  if 
I  restore  your  wife  to  you?”  —  “All  that  I 
am  able-”  —  “What  if  I  restore  your  chil¬ 
dren  ?  ”  —  “All  that  I  am  able.”  —  “And 
you,  Tigranes,”  said  he,  turning  to  the  son : 
“  what  would  you  do  to  save  your  wife  from 
servitude  ?  ”  Now  Tigranes  was  but  lately 
married,  and  had  great  love  for  his  wife. 
“  Cyrus,”  he  replied,  “  to  save  her  from  servi¬ 
tude,  I  would  willingly  lay  down  my  own  life.” 
—  “  Let  each  have  his  own  again,”  said  Cyrus  ; 
and,  when  he  departed,  one  spoke  of  his  clem¬ 
ency,  anoiher  of  his  valor,  another  of  his 
beauty  and  the  grace  of  his  person ;  upon 
which  Tigranes  asked  his  wife  if  she  thought 
him  handsome.  “  Really,”  said  she,  “  I  did 
not  look  at  him.”  —  “At  whom,  then,  did  you 
look  ?  ”  —  “  At  him  who  offered  to  lay  down 
his  life  for  me.” 

37®7.  LOVE,  Proverbs.  Nobody’s  sweetheart 

is  ugly.  —  Dutch. - People  in  love  think 

other  people’s  eyes  are  out.  —  Spanish. - 

Love  is  blind.  —  English. - Faults  are  thick 

where  love  is  thin.  —  Welsh.  — —  To  love  and 

to  be  wise  is  impossible.  —  Spanish. - True 

love  never  grows  heavy.  Who  would  be  loved 
must  love.  Love  warms  more  than  a  thousand 
fires.  Love  rules  without  law.  Love  is  mas¬ 
ter  of  all  arts.  —  Italian. - Love  subdues  all 

but  the  ruffian’s  heart.  —  French. 

3708.  LOVE,  Rescue  of.  Once  I,  like  Mazep- 
pa,  bound  on  the  wild  horse  of  my  lust, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  incapable  of  resist¬ 
ance,  was  galloping  on,  with  hell’s  wolves  be¬ 
hind  me  howling  for  my  body  and  my  soul  as 
their  just  and  lawful  prey.  There  came  a 
mighty  hand  which  stopped  that  wild  horse, 
cut  my  bands,  set  me  down,  and  brought  me 
into  liberty.  Is  there  power  ?  Ay,  there  is 
power ;  and  he  who  has  felt  it  must  acknowl¬ 
edge  it.  There  was  a  time  when  I  lived  in 
the  strong  old  castle  of  my  sins,  and  rested  on 
my  works.  There  came  a  trumpeter  to  the 


430 


LOVE. 


LOVE. 


door,  and  bade  me  open  it.  I  with  anger 
chid  him  from  the  porch,  and  said  he  ne’er 
should  enter.  There  came  a  goodly  personage, 
with  loving  countenance.  His  hands  were 
marked  with  scars  where  nails  were  driven, 
and  his  feet  had  nail-prints  too.  lie  lifted  up 
his  cross,  using  it  as  a  hammer.  At  the. first 
blow,  the  gate  of  my  prejudice  shook  ;  at  the 
second,  it  trembled  more  ;  at  the  third,  down  it 
fell,  and  in  he  came  ;  and  lie  said,  “  Arise,  and 
stand  upon  thy  feet ;  for  I  have  loved  thee  with 
an  everlasting  love.”  Spurgeon. 

3709.  LOVE,  Tested.  “  I  do  love  God,”  said 
a  little  girl  to  her  papa  one  day  when  he  had 
been  talking  to  her  about  loving  God.  “  Per¬ 
haps  you  think  so,  Maria.”  —  “  Oh,  I  do,  indeed 
I  do,  papa  1  ”  —  “  Suppose,  my  child,  you  should 
come  to  me,  and  say,  ‘  Dear  papa,  I  do  love 

ou,’  and  then  go  away  and  disobey  me  :  could 

believe  you  ?  ”  —  “  No,  papa.”  —  “  Well, 
dear,  how  can  I  believe  you  love  God  when  I 
see  you  every  day  doing  those  things  which  he 
forbids  ?  You  know,  the  Bible  says,  ‘  If  ye 
love  me,  keep  my  commandments.’  ” 

3710.  LOVE,  Test  of.  He  that  is  not  afraid 

of  sinning  has  good  need  to  be  afraid  of  damn¬ 
ing.  Truth  hates  error,  holiness  abhorrcth 
guilt,  and  grace  cannot  but  detest  sin.  If  we 
do  not  desire  to  be  cautious  to  avoid  offending 
our  Lord,  we  may  rest  confident  that  we  have 
no  part  in  him ;  for  true  love  to  Christ  will 
rather  die  than  wound  him.  Spurgeon. 

3711.  L0VE|  True  Christian.  A  convert  in 
India,  entreated  to  give  up  the  Christian  reli¬ 
gion,  said,  “  I  love  Jesus  Christ  because  he  lov- 
eth  me,  and  I  must  obey  him.  Even  if  I  knew 
that  heaven  were  full,  and  there  was  no  room 
for  me,  I  should  still  love  him,  and  live  for  his 
honor  and  glory.”  Efforts  were  made  to  con¬ 
vince  him  by  argument.  He  said,  “  Should 
they  even  be  able  to  bring  sophistical  argu¬ 
ments  which  I  could  not  answer,  I  should  not 
be  troubled :  I  have  an  inward  experience  of 
the  love  of  Christ  which  can  never  be  shaken 
or  removed.”  His  relatives  wept  over  him 
as  going  to  perdition.  He  said  to  the  mission¬ 
ary,  “  Threats  I  can  bear ;  arguments  do  not 
shake  me  :  but  the  hardest  thing  to  bear  is  the 

ersecution  of  tears.  It  almost  breaks  my 

eart  to  hear  them ;  but  not  even  for  this  can  I 
leave  Christ.”  Other  converts  and  inquirers 
in  his  native  village  were  told  that  he  was 
about  to  return  to  his  old  faith.  He  said, 
“  Should  I  go  back,  they  would  all  be  discour¬ 
aged.  I  thank  God  that  he  has  helped  me  to 
stand  firm  for  their  sakes.  No :  if  my  own  soul 
were  not  worth  saying,  I  would  cling  to  Christ 
in  order  to  bring  them  to  him  also.” 

37 12.  LOVE,  Secret  of.  Dr.  Doddridge  one 
day  asked  his  little  daughter  how  it  was  that 
everybody  loved  her.  “  I  know  not,”  said  she ; 
“  unless  it  be  that  I  love  everybody.” 

3713.  LOVE,  Sordid.  When  the  Californian 
steamer,  “  The  Central  American,”  caught  fire, 
and  was  sinking,  the  stewardess  ran  into  the 
cabins  of  the  passengers,  collecting  all  the  gold 
she  could  find,  and  tied  it  in  an  apron  round 
her  waist.  A  boat  was  ready  to  start.  In  her 


eagerness  to  be  saved,  she  sprang  from  the 
deck,  missed  her  aim,  and  shot  head  first  into 
the  water  like  a  cannon-ball ;  the  weight  of  her 
ill-gotten  booty  dragging  her  down  as  effective¬ 
ly  as  a  millstone.  Bib.  Treasury. 

3714.  LOVE,  Strength  of.  A  man’s  strength, 

in  this  life,  is  often  greater  from  some  single 
word  remembered  and  cherished,  than  in  arms 
or  armor.  Looking  over  the  dead  on  a  field  of 
battle,  it  was  easy  to  see  why  that  young  man, 
and  he  a  recruit,  fought  so  valiantly.  Hidden 
under  his  vest  was  a  sweet  face,  done  up  in 
gold ;  and  so,  through  love’s  heroism,  he  fought 
with  double  strokes,  and  danger  mounting 
higher,  till  he  found  honor  in  death.  So,  if 
you  carry  the  talisman  of  Christ  in  your  heart, 
it  will  give  you  strength  and  courage  in  every 
conflict,  and,  at  death,  open  to  you  the  gates 
of  glory.  Beecher. 

3715.  LOVE,  Supremacy  of.  Love,  amid  the 

other  graces  in  this  world,  is  like  a  cathedral- 
tower,  which  begins  on  the  earth,  and  at  first 
is  surrounded  by  the  other  parts  of  the  struc¬ 
ture.  But  at  length,  rising  above  buttressed 
wall  and  arch,  and  parapet  and  pinnacle,  it 
shoots,  spire-like,  many  a  foot  right  into  the 
air,  so  high  that  the  huge  cross  on  its  summit 
glows  like  a  spark  in  the  morning  light,  and 
shines  like  a  star  in  the  evening  sky,  when  the 
rest  of  the  pile  is  enveloped  in  darkness.  So 
love  here  is  surrounded  by  the  other  graces, 
and  divides  the  honors  with  them;  but  they 
will  have  felt  the  wrap  of  night  and  of  dark¬ 
ness,  when  it  will  shine,  luminous,  against  the 
sky  of  eternity.  Beecher. 

3716.  LOVE,  Surprise  of.  A  certain  man  had 
a  wayward  son.  His  conduct  brought  down  his 
father  to  a  premature  grave.  On  the  day  of  his 
funeral,  the  son  was  present ;  saw  unmoved 
the  pale  face  of  his  father  in  the  coffin ;  stood 
unmoved  on  the  brink  of  the  grave.  The  fam¬ 
ily  retraced  their  steps.  Their  father’s  will 
and  testament  was  read:  in  that  testament  was 
the  name  of  the  undutiful  son.  As  his  name 
was  read,  his  heart  heaved  with  emotion,  his 
eyes  were  bedewed  with  tears,  and  he  was 
heard  to  say,  “  I  did  not  think  that  my  father 
would,  have  so  kindly  thought  of  me  in  his 
will.”  In  the  family  of  Christ,  some  of  us,  in 
reading  his  testament,  and  thinking  upon  Iris 
great  love  and  marvellous  gifts,  are  filled  with 
contrition  and  gratitude,  with  love  and  wonder 

Rev.  John  Davies. 

3717.  LOVE,  Unending.  Love  is  the  abridg¬ 
ment  of  the  law,  the  new  precept  of  the  gos¬ 
pel.  Luther  calls  it  the  shortest  and  the 
longest  divinity :  short  for  the  form  of  words; 
long,  yea,  everlasting,  for  the  use  and  practice1 
for  “  charity  shall  never  cease.”  T.  Adams. 

3718.  LOVE,  Union  of.  As,  in  the  building 
of  a  house,  brick  and  stone  are  held  together 
by  mortar ;  so  the  Church,  Christ’s  spiritual 
building,  is  joined  together  by  love. 

3719.  LOVE,  Universal.  Love  one  human 
being  purely  and  warmly,  and  you  will  love  all. 
The  "heart  in  this  heaven,  like  the  wandering 
sun,  sees  nothing,  from  the  dewdrop  to  the 
ocean,  but  a  mirror  which  it  warms  and  fills. 


jL.o'vm. 


LOVE  OF  CHRIST. 


431 


3720.  LOVE,  Unstable.  He  loved  Amye,  till 

he  saw  Floriat ;  and,  when  he  saw  Cynthia,  for¬ 
got  them  both.  But  fair  Phillis  was  incompar¬ 
ably  beyond  them  all.  Clorris  surpassed  her ; 
and  yet,  when  he  espied  Amaryllis,  she  was  his 
sole  mistress.  O  divine  Amaryllis  I  how  lovely, 
how  tall,  how  comely,  she  was,  till  he  saw  an¬ 
other  1  and  then  she  was  the  sole  subject  of  his 
thoughts.  In  fine,  her  he  loves  best  he  saw 
last.  R-  Burton. 

3721.  LOVE,  Voice  of.  Oh  1  there  is  a  voice 

in  love;  it  speaks  a  language  which  is  its  own; 
it  has  an  idiom  and  a  brogue  which  none  can 
mimic;  wisdom  cannot  imitate  it;  oratory  can¬ 
not  attain  unto  it;  it  is  love  alone  which  can 
reach  the  mourning  heart;  love  is  the  only 
handkerchief  which  can  wipe  the  mourner’s 
tears  away.  And  is  not  the  Holy  Ghost  a  lov¬ 
ing  comforter?  Dost  thou  know,  O  saint!  how 
much  the  Holy  Spirit  loves  thee  ?  Canst  thou 
measure  the  love  of  the  Spirit?  Dost  thou 
know  how  great  is  the  aifection  of  his  soul  to¬ 
wards  thee?  Go  measure  heaven  with  thy 
span ;  go  weigh  the  mountains  in  the  scales ; 
go  take  the  ocean’s  water,  and  tell  each  drop ; 
go  count  the  sand  upon  the  sea’s  wide  shore ; 
and,  when  thou  hast  accomplished  this,  thou 
canst  tell  how  much  he  lovetli  thee.  He  has 
loved  thee  long,  he  has  loved  thee  well,  he 
loved  thee  ever,  and  he  still  shall  love  thee : 
surely  he  is  the  person  to  comfort  thee,  because 
he  loves.  Spurgeon. 

3722.  LOVE  OF  CHRIST,  Experience  of.  Surely 
running-over  love  —  that  vast,  large,  boundless 
love  of  Christ  —  is  the  only  thing  I  most  fain 
would  be  in  bonds  with.  He  knoweth  that  I 
have  but  little  but  the  love  of  that  love ;  and 
thus  I  shall  be  happy,  suppose  I  never  get 
another  heaven,  but  only  an  eternal  toasting 
of  that  love.  But  suppose  my  wishes  were 
poor:  he  is  not  poor;  Christ,  all  the  seasons 
of  the  year,  is  dropping  sweetness.  If  I  had 
vessels,  I  might  fill  them ;  but  my  old,  riven, 
and  running-out  dish,  even  when  I  am  at  the 
well,  can  bring  little  away.  Nothing  but  glory 
will  make  tight  and  fast  our  leaking  and  rifty 
vessels.  Alas  1  I  have  spilled  more  of  Christ’s 
love,  grace,  faith,  humility,  and  godly  sorrow, 
than  I  have  brought  with  me.  How  little  of  a 
sea  can  a  child  carry  in  his  hand  1  As  little 
am  I  able  to  take  away  of  my  great  sea,  —  my 
boundless  and  running-over  Christ  Jesus. 

Rutherford. 

3723.  LOVE  OF  CHRIST,  Fulness  of  the.  It  is 
the  observation  of  Sir  W alter  Raleigh,  that,  if 
all  the  pictures  and  patterns  of  a  merciless 
prince  were  lost  in  this  world,  they  might  all 
again  be  painted  to  the  life  out  of  the  story  of 
King  Henry  VIII.  But,  on  the  other  side,  the 
Jews  had  such  a  high  esteem  of  Esdras,  that  if 
mercy,  love,  and  knowledge  had  put  out  their 
candle,  at  his  brain  they  might  light  it  again. 
Behold  yet  a  greater  than  Esdras  1  —  Christ  Je¬ 
sus  himself.  If  all  our  love  were  extinguished, 
at  his  love  we  might  easily  rekindle  it.  Not  a 
word  that  he  spoke,  not  a  work  that  he  did, 
not  a  passion  that  he  suffered,  but  was  an  ar¬ 
gument,  a  character  of  his  love.  He  brought 


love,  he  bought  love,  he.  exercised  love,  he  be¬ 
queathed  love,  he  died  in  love,  he  is  all  love. 

Spencer. 

3724.  LOVE  OF  CHRIST,  Greatness  of  the.  It  is 
an  axiom  of  biblical  truth,  “  Greater  love  hath 
no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friend ;  ”  and  we  have  here  and 
there  a  beautiful  though  dim  legend  of  some 
heroic  husband,  some  heroic  wife,  who,  for  the 
love  which  they  bore  to  each  other,  did  literally 
die  for  each  other.  There  are  in  the  facts  of 
profane  history  a  few  dim,  shadowy  outlines,  — 
a  few  scanty,  dishevelled  notices  of  such  occur¬ 
rences  as  these  ;  that,  when  the  oracle  gave 
any  individual  the  alternative  of  dying  for 
another,  some  such  individuals  have  counted 
it  a  sweet  and  sacred  thing  to  die,  and  have 
died  for  their  love  of  another,  —  for  their  wife, 
for  their  husband.  Such  are  the  tales  of  pro¬ 
fane  history  (and  there  are  not  half  a  dozen  of 
them  in  the  six  thousand  years  of  this  world’s 
history)  ;  such  are  the  stories  that  have  come 
down  to  us  of  the  triumphs  of  human  love,  of 
the  achievements  of  human  affection.  But 
there  is  not  one  recorded  of  a  person  dying 
for  his  enemy.  But  the  love  of  Christ  was  not  for 
his  friends,  but  for  his  adversaries ;  not  for  his 
lovers,  but  for  his  enemies.  Dr.  Beaumont. 

3725.  LOVE  OF  CHRIST,  Inheritance  of.  Ar¬ 
gosies  of  wealth,  rocks  of  diamond,  mines  of 
gold,  all  the  treasures  that  interlace  the  solid 
globe,  all  the  glories  that  glow  in  the  solemn 
armies  of  the  stars,  are  not  to  be  compared  with 
the  things  God  has  prepared  for  you.  Think 
of  the  promises ;  they  are  all  yours.  Think  of  all 
the  agencies  of  human  instruction,  —  “  whether 
Paul  or  Apollos  or  Cephas ;  ”  they  are  yours. 
Think  of  the  world  ;  it  is  yours.  Think  of  life ; 
it  is  yours.  Think  of  death  —  “I  find  death 
named  in  this  inventory,”  said  the  dying  James 
Ilervey;  death  is  yours.  Think  of  afflictions  ; 
they  can  only  bless  you :  you  are  not  theirs ;  they 
are  yours.  Think  of  things  present,  or  things 
to  come  ;  in  magnificent  over-measure,  all  are 
yours.  Tbink  of  all  that  is  represented  by 
that  great  word,  “  God  ;  ”  who  can  fathom  it  ? 
“  Nothing  is  easier,”  says  Pulsford,  “  than  to 
say  the  word  ‘  universe ;  ’  and  yet  it  would  take 
us  millions  of  millions  of  years  to  bestow  one 
hasty  glance  upon  the  surface  of  that  small 
portion  of  it  which  lies  within  the  range  of 
our  glasses.  But  what  are  all  suns,  comets, 
earths,  moons,  atmospheres,  seas,  rivers,  moun¬ 
tains,  valleys,  plains,  woods,  cattle,  wild  beasts, 
fish,  fowl,  grasses,  plants,  shrubs,  minerals,  and 
metals,  compared  with  the  meaning  of  the  one 
name,  ‘  God  ’  ?  ”  Yet  God  is  yours.  And  all 
this  is  the  gift  of  a  Saviour’s  love.  Stanford. 

3720.  LOVE  OF  CHRIST,  Wonder  of.  I  can  but 
wonder  at  three  things  in  the  love  of  Christ. 
First,  freedom.  Oh  that  lumps  of  sin  should 
get  such  love  for  nothing  1  Secondly,  the  sweet¬ 
ness  of  his  love.  I  give  over  either  to  speak 
or  write  of  it ;  but  those  that  feel  it  may  better 
witness  what  it  is :  but  it  is  so  sweet,  that,  next 
to  Christ  himself,  nothing  can  match  it.  Nay, 
1  think  that  a  soul  could  live  eternally  blessed 
on  Christ’s  love,  and  feed  upon  no  other  thing. 


432 


LO\HE  OF  GOD. 


LUKKWABMKKSS. 


Thirdly,  what  power  and  strength  are  in  his 
love  !  I  am  persuaded  it  can  climb  a  steep  hill 
with  hell  upon  its  back  ;  and  swim  through 
water,  and  not  drown  ;  and  sing  in  the  fire,  and 
find  no  pain ;  and  triumph  in  losses,  prisons, 
sorrow,  exile,  disgrace,  and  laugh  and  rejoice 
in  death.  When  I  have  worn  my  tongue  to 
the  stump  in  praising  Christ,  I  have  done 
nothing  to  him  ;  for  my  withered  arms  will  not 
go  about  his  high,  wide,  long,  and  broad  love. 

11  utherford. 

3727.  LOVE  OF  GOD,  Simile  of  the.  It  has 
been  said  by  some  one,  “  Suppose  the  sun  in 
the  heavens,  which  enlightens  and  warms  and 
fructifies  every  thing,  were  a  rational  being, 
which  could  see  every  thing  which  it  effects  : 
it  would  then  behold  its  own  image  in  every 
sea,  in  every  river,  in  every  lake,  in  every 
brook ;  nay,  it  would  even  see  itself  reflected 
in  the  loftiest  mountains  of  ice;  and  would  it 
not  in  the  abundance  of  its  joy,  forgetting  it¬ 
self,  embrace  all  the  oceans,  seas,  and  rivers, 
nay,  the  very  glaciers  in  its  arms,  and  delight 
over  them  ?  ”  Tlius  Jesus  Christ,  the  Sun  of 
righteousness,  beholds  his  image  and  divine 
work  in  every  renewed  soul  as  in  a  polished 
mirror.  Thus  our  eternal  Father  beholds  in 
his  children  the  beauty  of  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  with  a  complacency  which  is  more  than 
we  are  able  to  express.  He  embraces  them 
with  the  arms  of  his  love,  and  he  loves  the 
image  of  himself  in  which  he  has  renewed 
them.  Dowling. 

372§.  LOVE  OF  GOD,  Universal.  The  sun 
does  not  shine  for  a  few  trees  and  ilowers,  but 
for  the  wide  world’s  joy.  The  lonely  pine  on 
the  mountain-top  waves  its  sombre  boughs,  and 
cries,  “  Thou  art  my  sun  1  ”  And  the  little 
meadow  violet  lifts  its  cup  of  blue,  and  whis¬ 
pers  with  its  perfumed  breath,  “  Thou  art  my 
sun  1  ”  And  the  grain  in  a  thousand  fields 
rustles  in  the  wind,  and  makes  answer,  “  Thou 
art  my  sun  1  ”  So  God  sits,  effulgent,  in  heav¬ 
en,  not  for  a  favored  few,  but  for  the  universe 
of  life ;  and  there  is  no  creature  so  poor  or  so 
low  that  he  may  not  look  up  with  childlike 
confidence,  and  say,  “My  Father,  thou  art 
mine  1  ”  Beecher. 

3729.  LUCK,  Proverbs.  Luck  is  all.  It  is 
better  to  be  born  lucky  than  wise.  —  English. 

- The  worst  pig  gets  the  best  acorn.  — 

Spanish. - A  good  bone  never  falls  to  a 

good  dog.  The  Devil’s  meal  runs  half  to  bran. 

—  French. - The  horses  eat  oats  that  don’t 

earn  them. —  German.  - Pitch  the  lucky 

man  into  the  Nile,  and  he  will  come  up  with  a 
fish  in  his  mouth.  —  Arabic. 

3730.  LUKEW ARMNESS,  in  a  Church.  For¬ 

mality  in  religion  is  the  name  of  being  alive  ; 
and  lukewarmness  in  a  church  is  like  the  heat 
of  a  corpse  exposed  to  the  sun,  —  it  is  never 
enlivened,  it  is  never  animated,  —  even  its 
warmth  is  offensive.  Dr.  F.  W.  Jenkt/n. 

3731.  LUKEWARMNESS,  Cured.  A  gentle¬ 
man,  who  for  many  years  has  been  ingulfed 
in  the  cares  of  trade,  and  in  a  measure  yielded 
to  its  temptations,  remarked,  “  I  have  tried  for 
twenty  years  to  be  a  half-way  Christian,  and 


find  it  is  impossible :  we  must  be  at  one  or  the 
other  extreme.  And  as  for  myself,  I  am  deter¬ 
mined  hereafter  to  do  my  whole  duty,  and  be  a 
complete  Christian.”  Christian  Treasury. 

3732.  LUKEWARMNESS,  Danger  of.  It  is 

recorded  of  the  King  of  Navarre,  then  a  Prot¬ 
estant,  being  pressed  by  Beza  to  appear  more 
in  the  cause  of  God,  and  to  own  religion  to 
the  purpose,  he  makes  answer  to  this  effect, 
—  that  he  was  their  friend  ;  but  he  resolved  to 
put  no  farther  to  sea  than  he  might  get  to 
shore  if  a  storm  should  arise  :  he  resolved  not 
to  hazard  his  hopes  of  the  crown  of  France; 
and  it  is  well  known  what  became  of  him.  So 
when  men  will  make  religion  as  twelve,  and 
the  world  as  thirteen,  it  is  no  marvel,  if,  with 
Demas,  they  forsake  the  cause  of  God,  and 
embrace  the  world.  Spencer. 

3733.  LUKEWARMNESS,  Guilt  of.  In  respect 

to  religion,  hardly  any  thing  can  be  more  cul¬ 
pable  than  this  spirit.  If  there  be  a  God, 
possessed  of  unspeakable  rectitude  in  his  own 
nature,  and  unbounded  goodness  towards  his 
creatures,  what  can  be  more  inconsistent  and 
unbecoming  than  to  be  frigid  and  indifferent 
in  our  devotions  to  him?  Atheism,  in  some 
respects,  cannot  be  worse  than  lukewarmness. 
The  atheist  disbelieves  the  existence  of  God, 
and  therefore  cannot  worship  him  at  all ;  the 
lukewarm  owns  the  existence,  sovereignty, 
and  goodness  of  the  Supreme  Being,  but  denies 
him  that  fervor  of  affection,  that  devotedness 
of  heart,  and  activity  of  service,  which  the 
excellency  of  his  nature  demands,  and  the 
authority  of  his  word  requires.  Such  a  char¬ 
acter  is  therefore  represented  as  absolutely 
loathsome  to  God,  and  obnoxious  to  his  wrath 
(Rev.  iii.  15,  1G).  C.  Buck. 

3734.  LUKEWARMNESS,  Provocation  of.  The 

more  rusty  the  iron  is,  the  oftener  we  put  it 
into  the  fire  to  purify  it ;  and  the  more  crooked 
it  is,  the  more  blows,  and  the  harder  the  blows, 
we  give  to  straighten  it.  Therefore,  Chris¬ 
tian,  if  thou  hast  long  been  gathering  rust, 
thou  hast  no  cause  to  complain  if  God  deal 
thus  with  thee.  Brooks. 

3735.  LUKEWARMNESS,  Remedy  for.  I  have 
found,  and  think,  that  the  best  remedy  against 
lukewarmness  is  an  obstinate  persisting  in 
prayer  until  our  affections  be  moved,  and  a 
regular  habit  of  going  to  religious  duties 
with  a  prepared  and  meek  heart,  thinking 
more  of  obtaining  communion  with  God  than 
of  spending  so  many  minutes  in  seeking  it. 
Thus,  when  we  pray,  we  must  not  kneel  down 
with  the  idea  that  we  are  to  spend  so  many 
minutes  in  supplication,  and,  after  the  usual 
time  has  elapsed,  go  about  our  regular  busi¬ 
ness  :  we  must  remind  ourselves  that  we  have 
an  object  in  prayer ;  and  that,  until  that  object 
be  attained,  that  is,  until  we  are  satisfied  that 
our  Father  hears  us,  we  are  not  to  conceive 
that  our  duty  is  performed,  although  we  may 
be  in  the  posture  of  prayer  for  an  hour. 

H.  K.  White. 

3736.  LUKEWARMNESS,  Testimonies  of  A 
Christian  never  falls  asleep  in  the  fire  or  in 
the  water,  but  grows  drowsy  in  the  sun- 


IYC7ST. 


LYING-. 


433 


shine.  —  Berridge. - A  Christian  need  not 

row  liimself  down  the  stream  :  if  lie  but  rest 
upon  his  oars,  the  ebbing  tide  and  rapid  current 

will  be  enough.  —  Bowes. - God  is  a  living 

God,  and  loves  not  dull  and  drowsy  saints : 
we  must  not  only  serve  him  in  this  life,  but 
we  must  have  life  in  the  service. —  Calami/. 

- The  cold  water  of  persecution  is  often 

thrown  into  the  Church’s  face  to  fetch  her 
back  again  when  she  is  in  a  swoon. 

Arrowsmith. 

3737.  LUST,  Bitterness  of.  As  pills  that  are 

outwardly  fair,  gilt,  and  rolled  in  sugar,  but 
within  are  full  of  bitterness;  even  so  lustful 
pleasure  is  no  sooner  hatched  but  repentance 
is  at  hand,  ready  to  supplant  her ;  for  pleasure 
and  sorrow  are  twins.  Cawdrag. 

3738.  LUST,  Fascination  of.  I  have  some  here 

who  have  had  warnings  so  terrible,  that  they 
might  have  known  better  :  they  have  gone  into 
lusts  which  have  brought  their  bodies  into  sick¬ 
ness  ;  and  perhaps  this  day  they  have  crept  up 
to  tliis  house,  and  they  dare  not  tell  to  their 
neighbor  who  stands  by  their  side  what  is  the 
loathsomeness  that  even  now  doth  breed  upon 
their  frame.  And  yet  they  will  go  back  to  the 
same  lusts  :  the  fool  will  go  again  to  the  stocks, 
the  sheep  will  lick  the  knife  that  is  to  slay  him. 
You  will  go  on  in  your  lust  and  in  your  sins, 
despite  warnings,  despite  advice,  until  you  per¬ 
ish  in  your  guilt.  How  worse  than  children 
are  grown-up  men  !  The  child  who  goes  for  a 
merry  slide  upon  a  pond,  if  he  be  told  that  the 
ice  will  not  bear  him,  starteth  back  affrighted ; 
or,  if  he  daringly  creepeth  upon  it,  how  soon  he 
leaves  it  if  he  hears  but  a  crack  upon  the  slen¬ 
der  covering  of  the  water  1  But  you  men  have 
conscience,  which  tells  you  that  your  sins  are 
vile,  and  that  they  will  be  your  ruin  :  you  hear 
the  crack  of  sin  as  its  thin  sheet  of  pleasure 
gives  way  beneath  your  feet ;  ay,  and  some  of 
you  have  seen  your  comrades  sink  in  the  flood, 
and  lost;  and  yet  ye  go  sliding  on.  Worse  than 
childish,  worse  than  mad,  are  you,  thus  pre¬ 
sumptuously  to  play  with  your  own  everlasting 
state.  Spurgeon. 

3739.  LUXURY,  Consistent.  The  wealthy  and 

the  noble,  when  they  expend  large  sums  in  dec¬ 
orating  their  houses  with  the  rare  and  costly 
efforts  of  genius,  with  busts  from  the  chisel  of 
a  Canova,  and  with  cartoons  from  the  pencil 
of  a  Raphael,  are  to  be  commended  if  they  do 
not  si  and  still  here,  but  go  on  to  bestow  some 
pains  and  cost,  that  the  master  himself  be  not 
inferior  to  the  mansion,  and  that  the  owner  be 
not  the  only  thing  that  is  little  amidst  every 
thing  else  that  is  great.  Colton. 

3740.  LUXURY,  Corrupting.  The  luxury  of 
Capua  destroyed  the  bravest  army  which  Italy 
ever  saw,  flushed  with  conquest,  and  command¬ 
ed  by  Hannibal.  The  moment  Capua  was  ta¬ 
ken,  that  moment  the  walls  of  Carthage  trem¬ 
bled.  They  caught  the  infection,  and  grew 
fond  of  pleasure,  which  rendered  them  effem¬ 
inate,  and  of  course  an  easy  prey  to  their  ene¬ 
mies.  It  is  to  the  victory  over  Antiochus,  and 
the  conquest  of  Asia,  that  Pliny  dates  the  cor- 
i  uption  of  the  manners'  of  the  Roman  common- 

28 


wealth,  and  of  the  fatal  change  that  happened 
in  it  by  introducing  at  Rome,  with  the  riches  it 
brought  thither,  a  taste  for  luxury  and  voluptu¬ 
ousness.  Asia  conquered  by  the  arms  of 
Rome,  in  its  turn  conquered  Rome  by  its  vices. 
Foreign  riches  put  an  end  to  the  love  of  industry 
and  the  ancient  simplicity  which  had  been  the 
stamina  of  its  honor  and  strength.  Luxury, 
which  entered  Rome  as  in  triumph,  with  the 
superb  spoils  of  Asia,  brought  with  it  in  its 
train  all  kinds  of  disorders  and  crimes,  made 
more  havoc  than  the  most  numerous  armies 
could  have  done,  and  in  that  manner  avenged 
the  conquered  globe.  Thus  the  face  of  the 
state  was  changed  ;  virtue,  valor,  and  disinter¬ 
estedness  were  no  longer  esteemed  ;  the  oppo¬ 
site  vices  prevailed ;  and  the  government,  from 
just  and  wise,  became  tyrannical  and  insup¬ 
portable.  Stretch. 

3741.  LUXURY,  Effects  o£  When  Cyrus  had 

received  an  account  that  the  Lydians  had  re¬ 
volted  from  him,  he  told  Croesus,  with  a  good 
deal  of  emotion,  that  he  had  almost  determined 
to  make  them  all  slaves.  Croesus  begged  him 
to  pardon  them  :  “  But,”  says  he,  “  that  they 
may  no  more  rebel  or  be  troublesome  to  you, 
command  them  to  lay  aside  their  arms,  to  wear 
long  vests  and  buskins,  i.e.  to  vie  with  each 
other  in  the  elegance  and  richness  of  their  dress. 
Order  them  to  sing  and  play  on  the  harp  ;  let 
them  drink  and  debauch  ;  and  you  will  soon  see 
their  spirits  broken,  and  themselves  changed 
from  men  to  women,  so  that  they  will  no  more 
rebel,  or  give  you  any  uneasiness.”  And  the 
event  answered  the  advice.  Stretch. 

3742.  LUXURY,  Influence  o£  Garrick  showed 
Dr.  Johnson  his  fine  house,  gardens,  statues 
pictures,  &c.,  at  Hampton  Court.  “  Ah  !  Da¬ 
vid,  David,”  said  the  doctor,  “these  are  the 
things  which  make  a  death-bed  terrible  t  ’ 

3743.  LUXURY,.  Living  for.  I  know  it  is 

more  agreeable  to  walk  upon  carpets  than  to 
lie  upon  dungeon-floors ;  I  know  it  is  pleasant 
to-  have  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  civili¬ 
zation  ;  but  he  who  cares  only  for  these  thing3 
is  worth  no  more  than  a  butterfly,  contented 
and  thoughtless  upon  a  morning  flower ;  and 
who  ever  thought  of  rearing  a  tombstone  to  a 
last  summer’s  butterfly.  Beecher. 

3744.  LYING,  Crime  of.  Lying  is  a  hateful 

and  accursed  vice.  If  we  did  but  discover 
the  horror  and  consequences  of  it,  we  should 
pursue  it  with  fire  and  sword,  and  more  justly 
than  other  crimes.  Montaigne. 

3745.  LYING,  Disgrace  o£  Clear  and  round 
dealing  is  the  honor  of  man’s  nature ;  and  that 
mixture  of  falsehood  is  like  alloy  in  coin  or 
gold  or  silver,  which  may  make  the  metal  work 
the  better,  but  it  embaseth  it.  For  these  wind¬ 
ing  and  crooked  courses  are  the  goings  of  the 
serpent,  which  goeth  basely  upon  the  belly, 
and  not  upon  the  feet.  There  is  no  vice  that 
doth  so  cover  a  man  with  shame  as  to  be  found 
false  and  perfidious ;  and  therefore  Montaigne 
saith  prettily,  when  he  inquired  the  reason 
why  the  word  of  the  lie  should  be  such  a  dis¬ 
grace  and  such  an  odious  charge,  saith  lie, 
“  If  it  be  well  weighed,  to  say  that  a  man  lietb, 


434 


lyustgl 


HVLAJVEVYOTff. 


is  as  much  as  to  say  that  he  is  brave  towards 
God,  and  a  coward  towards  men.  For  a  lie 
faces  God,  and  shrinks  from  man.” 

Lord  Bacon. 

3746.  LYING,  Fatal.  Two  scoundrels  sought 
to  obtain  money  from  Archbishop  Leighton ;  one 
feigning  death,  and  the  other  soliciting  charity 
on  this  account.  When  the  solicitor  returned 
to  his  accomplice,  he  found  him  dead  indeed, 
killed  by  lightning,  as  he  feigned  to  be. 

3747.  LYING,  Habit  of.  After  a  tongue  has 

once  got  the  knack  of  lying,  ’tis  not  to  be  im¬ 
agined  how  impossible  almost  it  is  to  reclaim 
it.  Whence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  we  see  some 
men,  who  are  otherwise  very  honest,  so  subject 
to  this  vice.  Montaigne. 

3748.  LYING,  Hatred  of.  Jerome  writes  of  a 
woman,  who,  being  upon  the  rack,  bade  her 
persecutors  do  their  worst ;  for  she  was  resolved 
to  die  rather  than  lie. 

3749.  LYING,  Proverbs,  A  liar  is  sooner 

eaught  than  a  cripple.  —  Italian. - Liars 

should  have  good  memories.  A  lie  has  no 
legs.  —  English. 

3750.  LYING,  Punishment  of.  When  Aris¬ 
totle,  who  was  a  Grecian  philosopher,  and  the 
tutor  of  Alexander  the  Great,  was  once  asked 
what  a  man  could  gain  by  uttering  falsehoods, 
he  replied,  “  Not  to  be  credited  when  he  shall 
tell  the  truth.”  On  the  contrary,  it  is  related 
that  when  Petrarch,  -an  Italian  poet,  a  man  of 
strict  integrity,  was  summoned  as  a  witness, 
and  offered  in  the  usual  manner  to  take  an 
oath  before  a  court  of  justice,  the  judge  closed 
the  book,  saying,  “  As  to  you,  Petrarch,  your 
word  is  sufficient.”  From  the  story  of  Pe¬ 
trarch  we  may  learn  how  great  respect  is  paid 
to  those  whose  character  for  truth  is  estab¬ 
lished  ;  and  from  the  reply  of  Aristotle,  the 
folly  as  well  as  wickedness  of  lying.  In  the 
country  of  Siam,  a  kingdom  of  Asia,  he  who 
tells  a  lie  is  punished,  according  to  law,  by 
having  his  mouth  sewed  up. 

3751.  LYING,  Reputation  for.  Denades,  ad¬ 
dressing  the  Athenians,  said,  “  I  call  all  the 

ods  and  goddesses  to  witness  the  truth  of  what 

shall  say.”  The  Athenians  replied,  “  And 
we  call  all  the  gods  and  goddesses  to  witness 
that  we  will  not  believe  you.” 

3752.  LYING,  Resistance  to.  The  minister 
of  the  seminary  at  Clermont,  France,  having 
been  seized  at  Autun  by  the  populace,  the 
mayor,  who  wished  to  save  him,  advised  him 
not  to  take  the  oath,  but  to  allow  him  to  tell 
the  people  that  he  had  taken  it.  “  I  would 
myself  make  known  your  falsehood  to  the  peo¬ 
ple,”  replied  the  clergyman  :  “  it  is  not  per¬ 
mitted  me  to  ransom  my  life  by  a  lie.  The 
God  who  prohibits  my  taking  this  oath  will 
not  allow  me  to  make  it  believed  that  I  have 
taken  it.”  The  mayor  was  silent,  and  the 
minister  was  martyred. 

3753.  LYING,  Unsafe.  It  is  difficult  to  main¬ 

tain  falsehood.  When  the  materials  of  a  build¬ 
ing  are  solid  blocks  of  stone,  very  rude  archi¬ 
tecture  will  suffice ;  but  a  structure  of  rotten 
materials  needs  the  most  careful  adjustment 
in  order  to  make  it  stand.  Whalely. 


3754.  LYING,  Useless.  Truth  is  always 

consistent  with  itself,  and  needs  nothing  to 
help  it  out :  it  is  always  near  at  hand,  sits  upon 
our  lips,  and  is  ready  to  drop  out  before  we  are 
aware.  A  lie  is  troublesome,  and  sets  a  man’s 
invention  upon  the  rack ;  and  one  trick  needs 
a  great  many  more  to  make  it  good.  It  is  like 
building  upon  a  false  foundation,  which  con¬ 
tinually  stands  in  need  of  props  to  shore  it  up ; 
and  proves,  at  last,  more  chargeable  than  to 
have  raised  a  substantial  building  at  first  upon 
a  true  and  solid  foundation.  Addison. 

3755.  MAGNANIMITY,  Example  of.  The 

leader  of  a  gang  of  banditti  in  Corsica  was 
taken,  and  committed  to  the  care  of  a  soldier, 
from  whom  he  contrived  to  escape.  The  sol¬ 
dier  was  condemned  to  death.  At  the  place 
of  execution,  a  man,  coming  up  to  the  com¬ 
manding  officer,  said,  “  Sir,  I  am  a  stranger  to 
you ;  but  you  shall  soon  know  who  I  am. 
I  have  heard  that  one  of  your  soldiers  is  to  die 
for  having  suffered  a  prisoner  to  escape.  He 
was  not  at  all  to  blame.  Besides,  the  prisoner 
shall  be  restored  to  you.  Behold  him  here  1  I 
am  the  man.  I  cannot  bear  that  an  innocent 
man  should  be  punished  for  me ;  and  have  come 
to  die  myself :  lead  me  to  execution.”  —  “  No  1  ” 
exclaimed  the  F rench  officer,  who  felt  the  sub¬ 
limity  of  the  action  as  he  ought ;  “  thou  shah 
not  die ;  and  the  soldier  shall  be  set  at  liberty. 
Endeavor  to  reap  the  fruits  of  thy  generosity. 
Thou  deservest  to  be  henceforth  an  honest 
man.”  Percy. 

3756.  MALEVOLENCE,  Misery  of.  Malevo¬ 
lence  is  misery.  It  is  the  mind  of  Satan.  He 
is  the  great  enemy,  an  outcast  from  all  joy, 
and  opponent  of  all  goodness  and  all  blessed¬ 
ness.  His  mind  is  enmity  against  God  ;  enmi¬ 
ty  against  angels,  fallen  and  unfallen  ;  enmity 
against  man,  both  redeemed  and  reprobate; 
and,  because  thus  hateful  and  hating,  utterly 
unhappy.  And  the  carnal  mind  is  so  far  Sa¬ 
tanic  because  it  is  enmity  against  God ;  just 
as  the  misanthrope  is  so  far  satanic  because 
he  is  enmity  against  his  fellows. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3757.  MALICE, *a  Fire.  As  we  account  him 
a  mad  and  foolish  man  that  would  set  his  own 
house  on  fire  ;  so  may  we  think  of  him  that  sets 
his  own  heart  on  fire,  and  burns  himself 
through  anger,  malice,  and  revenge.  Cawdray. 

5758.  MALICE,  Murder  of.  Malice  is  the 
Devil’s  picture.  Lust  makes  men  brutish ; 
and  malice  makes  them  devilish.  Malice  is 
mental  murder :  you  may  kill  a  man,  and  never 
touch  him.  “  Whosoever  hateth  his  brother  i» 
a  murderer.”  T.  Watson. 

3759.  MALICE,  Reproof  of  St.  Augustine  is 
said  to  have  had  these  two  lines  inscribed 
upon  his  table  to  remind  his  guests  of  his 
wishes :  — 

“  Whoever  loves  an  absent  friend  to  jeer 
May  hence  depart:  no  room  is  for  him  here.” 

3760.  MAMMON,  Anxiety  of.  A  king  of  Cy¬ 
prus  made  himself  so  rich,  that  he  became  a 
tempting  spoil ;  and,  rather  than  lose  his  treas¬ 
ures,  he  embarked  them  in  perforated  ships, 


M  AJVUVXO  3ST. 


majst. 


435 


but,  wanting  courage  to  draw  the  plugs,  ven¬ 
tured  back  to  land,  and  lost  both  his  money 
and  his  life.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3761.  MAMMON,  a  Friend.  If,  instead  of 

serving  mammon,  a  man  compels  it  to  serve 
him ;  if,  instead  of  making  it  his  master,  he 
uses  it  as  his  slave ;  if,  instead  of  looking  up  to 
it,  he  places  it  beneath  him,  makes  it  look  up 
towards  himself,  to  know  his  will  and  do  his 
bidding  ;  if  he  thus  regards  it  as  an  instrument, 
and  employs  it,  as  it  may  be  employed,  for  the 
promotion  of  great  and  good  objects, —  why, 
then,  its  very  nature  will  change :  it  will  be 
faithful  and  devoted,  pure  and  upright,  tender 
and  true ;  for  it  will  partake  the  character  and 
be  filled  with  the  spirit  of  its  Master  and  Lord. 
The  great  brazen  idol,  when  deposed  from  its 
unrighteous  pre-eminence,  broken  to  fragments, 
and  stamped  to  dust  under  the  foot  of  the 
man  who  stands  over  it,  will  be  found  to  have 
become  most  precious.  Its  dust  then  turns 
into  living  seed,  which  can  be  scattered  abroad 
by  the  strong  hand,  and  sown  beside  all  wa¬ 
ters,  and  which  will  spring  up,  and  be  abun¬ 
dantly  productive,  —  productive  of  that  golden 
grain  which  is  worthy  of  being  gathered  into 
the  garner  of  God.  Binney. 

3762.  MAMMON,  Influence  of.  A  young  man 
once  picked  up  a  sovereign  lying  in  the  road. 
Ever  afterwards,  as  he  walked  along,  he  kept 
his  eye  steadfastly  on  the  ground,  in  hopes  of 
finding  another.  And,  in  the  course  of  his 
long  life,  he  did  pick  up,  at  different  times,  a 
good  amount  of  gold  and  silver.  But  all  these 
days,  as  he  was  looking  for  them,  he  saw  not 
that  heaven  was  bright  above  him,  and  nature 
was  beautiful  around.  lie  never  once  allowed 
his  eye  to  look  up  from  the  mud  and  filth  in 
which  he  sought  the  treasure ;  and,  when  ho 
died  a  rich  old  man,  he  only  knew  this  fair 
earth  of  ours  as  a  dirty  road  to  pick  up  money 
as  we  walk  along. 

3763.  MAMMON,  Insatiable.  Could  you 
change  all  the  pebbles  on  the  beach  into 
minted  money,  or  conjure  into  bank-notes  all 
the  leaves  of  the  forest ;  nay,  could  you  trans¬ 
mute  the  solid  earth  into  a  single  lump  of  gold, 
and  drop  it  into  the  gaping  mouth  of  avarice, — 
it  would  only  be  a  crumb  of  transient  comfort, 
a  cordial-drop,  enabling  it  to  cry  a  little  louder, 

“  Give,  give !  ”  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3764.  MAMMON,  Making  Friends  of.  He  that 
goeth  a  far  journey  returneth  his  money  usu¬ 
ally  by1  a  bill  of  exchange,  and  carrieth  not  his 
money  along  with  him,  only  so  much  as  will 
defray  the  charges  of  his  journey  ;  and  all  this 
for  fear  of  being  robbed.  So  the  children  of 
God  :  they  lay  out  their  money  to  the  poor ; 
they  take  God’s  bill  of  exchange  for  it ;  and 
then  it  meets  them  in  the  world  to  come ;  and 
there  they  do  not  only  receive  it,  but  it  receives 
them  into  everlasting  habitations.  Spencer. 

3765.  MAN,  An  Agreeable.  A  lively  and 

agreeable  man  has  not  only  the  merit  of  live¬ 
liness  and  agreeableness  himself,  but  that  also 
of  awakening  them  in  others.  Grevi/le. 

3766.  MAN,  Ambitions.  The  serpent,  though 
creeping  in  the  dust,  hath,  a  lofty  spirit,  reach¬ 


ing  not  only  to  men,  but  even  at  the  birds  of 
the  air.  And  here  is  the  ambitious  man’s  em¬ 
blem.  He  was  bred  out  of  the  dust ;  yet  he 
catcheth  at  lordships  and  honors,  ransacks  the 
city,  forages  the  country,  scours  it  through  the 
Church  :  but  his  errand  is  to  the  court.  He  is 
the  maggot  of  pride,  begot  out  of  corruption ; 
and  looks  in  an  office  as  the  ape  did  when  he 
had  got  on  the  robes  of  a  senator.  T.  Adams. 

3767.  MAN,  Assumption  of.  When  the  force 
of  the  current  had  carried  away  the  temporary 
bridge  which  Xerxes  had  caused  to  be  thrown 
over  the  Hellespont,  on  his  grand  expedition 
into  Greece,  he  was  so  enraged,  that  he  not 
only  ordered  the  heads  of  the  workmen  to  be 
struck  off,  but,  like  a  madman,  inflicted  lashes 
upon  the  sea,  to  punish  it  for  its  insolence  :  he, 
moreover,  affected  to  hold  it  in  future  under 
his  control  by  throwing  fetters  into  it. 

3768.  MAN,  Brotherhood  of.  Look  not  alone 
for  your  relations  in  your  own  house  or  in  your 
own  sphere.  The  blood  of  Christ  is  stronger 
for  relationship  than  blood  of  father  or  mother. 
Look  above  you.  All  there  are  yours.  Go 
down  even  to  the  bottom  of  society.  All  be¬ 
low  you  are  judgment-day  brothers ;  and  God’s 
eternity  is  on  them  and  you  alike.  Beecher. 

376i>.  MAN,  the  Child  of  Mercy.  When  God, 
in  his  eternal  counsel,  conceived  the  thought 
of  man’s  creation,  he  called  to  him  the  three 
ministers  who  wait  constantly  upon  his  throne, 
—  Justice,  Truth,  and  Mercy,  —  and  thus  ad¬ 
dressed  them  :  “  Shall  we  make  man  ?  ”  Then 
said  Justice,  “O  God!  make  him  not;  for  he 
will  trample  upon  thy  laws.”  Truth  made 
answer  also,  “  O  God !  make  him  not ;  for  he 
will  pollute  thy  sanctuaries.”  But  Mercy, 
dropping  upon  her  knees,  and  looking  up 
through  her  tears,  exclaimed,  “  O  God  !  make 
him  :  I  will  watch  over  him  with  my  care 
through  all  the  dark  paths  which  lie  may 
have  to  tread.”  Then  God  made  man,  and 
said  to  him,  “  O  man  !  thou  art  the  child  of 
Mercy :  go  and  deal  with  thy  brother.” 

Crittenden. 

3770.  MAN,  Contending  with  God.  Men  who 

have  always  thrust  obstacles  aside  come  to 
think  their  power  invincible,  and  to  make 
themselves  a  battering-ram  against  fate  and 
circumstances.  And,  when  God  comes  down 
to  oppose  them,  at  first  they  try  to  wrestle 
with  him :  but  they  limp  all  their  life  after, 
like  Jacob  of  old  ;  for  God  never  wrestles  with 
a  man  without  throwing  him.  Beecher. 

3771.  MAN,  Contradictions  in.  What  a  chi¬ 

mera  is  man  !  what  a  contused  chaos  !  a  pro¬ 
fessed  judge  of  all  things,  and  yet  a  feeble 
worm  of  the  earth  !  the  great  depositary  and 
guardian  of  the  truth,  and  yet  a  mere  huddle 
of  uncertainty !  the  glory  and  the  scandal  of 
the  universe.  Pascal 

3772.  MAN,  Creation  and  Fall  of.  According 
to  fable,  Prometheus  took  earth,  and,  kneading 
it  up  with  water,  made  man  in  the  image  of 
the  gods.  He  gave  him  an  upright  stature  ;  so 
that,  while  all  other  animals  turn  their  faces 
downward,  and  look  to  the  earth,  he  raises  his 
upward,  and  gazes  upon  the  heavens.  To  make 


436 


3VLAJST. 


UMAJST. 


man  superior  to  all  other  animals,  Prometheus 
ascended  to  the  heavens,  stole  fire  from  the 
sun,  and  brought  it  to  man,  enabling  him  to 
make  implements  of  war  and  of  husbandry. 
Woman  was  made  in  heaven,  each  of  the  gods 
contributing  something  to  perfect  her.  The 
name  of  the  first  woman  was  Pandora.  She 
was  conveyed  to  earth,  and  presented  to  Epi- 
metheus,  the  first  man,  who  received  her  gladly. 
He  had  in  Ids  house  a  jar  filled  with  various 
articles.  Pandora  was  seized  with  an  irresist¬ 
ible  desire  to  know  what  the  jar  contained. 
One  day  she  lifted  the  lid,  when  there  escaped 
a  multitude  of  plagues  for  man,  —  fever,  gout, 
rheumatism,  and  the  like,  for  the  body ;  and 
envy,  enmity,  and  hatred  for  the  mind.  She 
hastened  to  replace  the  lid ;  but  all  had 
escaped  save  hope,  which  lay  in  the  bottom. 

3773.  MAN,  Credulity  of.  Mankind  in  the 
gross  is  a  gaping  monster,  that  loves  to  be  de¬ 
ceived,  and  has  seldom  been  disappointed. 

Mackenzie. 

3774.  MAN,  Decided,  Behold  the  decided 
man  1  He  may  be  a  most  evil  man  ;  he  may 
be  grasping,  avaricious,  covetous,  unprincipled  : 
still,  look  how  the  difficulties  of  life  know  the 
strong  man,  and  give  up  the  contest  with  him. 
A  universal  homage  is  paid  to  the  decided 
man  as  soon  as  he  appears  among  men.  He 
walks  by  the  light  of  his  own  judgment :  he  has 
made  up  Ids  mind ;  and,  having  done  so,  hence¬ 
forth  action,  action,  is  before  him.  He  cannot 
bear  to  sit  amidst  unrealized  speculations  :  to 
him  speculation  is  only  valuable  that  it  may 
be  resolved  into  living  and  doing.  There  is 
no  indifference,  no  delay.  The  spirit  is  in 
arms  :  all  is  in  earnest.  Thus  Pompey,  when 
hazarding  his  life  on  a  tempestuous  sea  in 
order  to  be  at  Rome  on  an  important  occasion, 
said,  “  It  is  necessary  for  me  to  go :  it  is  not 
necessary  for  me  to  live.”  Thus  Caesar,  when 
he  crossed  the  Rubicon,  burned  the  ships  upon 
the  shore  which  brought  his  soldiers  to  land, 
that  there  might  be  no  return.  E.  P.  Hood. 

3775.  MAN,  Definitions  of,  Man  is  a  two- 

legged  animal  without  feathers.  —  Plato. - 

It  is  said  Socrates  brought  a  cock  despoiled  of 
his  feathers  into  Plato’s  school,  exclaiming, 
“  Behold  the  man  of  Plato  !  ”  Again  :  he  has 
been  called  “  a  laughing  animal,”  “  a  cook¬ 
ing  animal,”  “  an  animal  with  thumbs,”  “  a 
lazy  animal.”  A  travelled  Frenchman,  being 
asked  to  name  one  characteristic  of  all  the 

races  he  had  visited,  replied,  “Lazy.” - A 

tool-making  animal.  —  Dr.  Franklin. - A 

cultivating  animal.  —  Walker. - A  poetical 

animal.  —  Hazlitt. - Man  is  a  dupable  ani¬ 

mal.  Quacks  in  medicine,  quacks  in  religion, 
and  quacks  in  politics,  know  this,  and  act  upon 
that  knowledge.  There  is  scarcely  any  one 
who  may  not,  like  a  trout,  be  “  taken  by  tick¬ 
ling.”  —  Southey. - Man  is  an  animal  that 

makes  bargains.  No  other  animal  does  this : 
no  dog  exchanges  bones  with  another.  —  Adam 
Smith. 

3776.  MAN,  Development  of.  If  a  man  is  not 
rising  upward  to  be  an  angel,  depend  upon  it, 
he  is  sinking  downward  to  be  a  devil.  He 


cannot  stop  at  the  beast.  The  most  savage  of 
men  are  not  beasts :  they  are  worse,  —  a  great 
deal  worse.  Coleridge. 

3777.  MAN,  Dignity  of.  M.  Boudon,  an  era 
inent  surgeon,  was  one  day  sent  for  by  the 
Cardinal  du  Bois,  prime-minister  of  France, 
to  perform  a  very  serious  operation  upon  him. 
The  cardinal,  on  seeing  him  enter  the  room, 
said  to  him,  “  You  must  not  expect  to  treat  me 
in  the  same  rough  manner  as  you  treat  your 
poor  miserable  wretches  at  your  hospital  of  the 
Hotel  Diem” —  “  My  lord,”  replied  M.  Boudon 
with  great  dignity,  “  every  one  of  those  misera¬ 
ble  wretches,  as  your  Eminence  is  pleased  to 
call  them,  is  a  prime-minister  in  my  eyes.” 

Percy. 

3778.  MAN,  A  Dull.  A  dull  man  is  so  near 
a  dead  man,  that  he  is  hardly  to  be  ranked  in 
the  list  of  the  living:  and  as  he  is  not  to  be 
buried  whilst  he  is  half  alive,  so  he  is  as  little 
to  be  employed  whilst  he  is  half  dead.  Saville. 

3779.  MAN,  Fallen.  Man  is  a  jewel  robbed 

of  its  precious  stone,  with  only  the  costly  set¬ 
ting  left;  and  even  of  that  we  must  exclaim, 
“  How  is  the  gold  become  dim,  and  the  most 
fine  gold  changed  1  ”  Rev.  H.  Gill. 

3780.  MAN,  First  Duty  o£  Sir  Thomas 
More,  while  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  would 
not  suffer  himself  to  be  trimmed,  saying,  “  There 
was  a  controversy  between  the  king  and  him 
for  his  head ;  and,  till  that  was  at  a  happy  end, 
he  would  be  at  no  cost  about  it.”  The  first 
work  of  man  should  be  to  settle  the  controversy 
between  himself  and  God  concerning  his  soul. 

3781.  MAN,  A  Good.  A  man  ought  to  carry 

himself  in  the  world  as  an  orange-tree  would 
if  it  could  walk  up  and  down  in  the  garden, — 
swinging  perfume  from  every  little  censer  it 
holds  up  to  the  air.  Beecher. 

3782.  MAN,  Good  and  Evil  in.  As  there  is 

much  beast  and  some  devil  in  man,  so  is  there 
some  angel  and  some  God  in  him.  The  beast 
and  the  devil  may  be  conquered,  but  in  this 
life  never  destroyed.  Coleridge. 

3783.  MAN,  Life  of.  Men’s  lives  should  be 
like  the  day,  more  beautiful  in  the  evening ; 
or  like  the  summer,  aglow  with  promise  ;  and 
the  autumn,  rich  with  the  golden  sheaves,  where 
good  works  and  deeds  have  ripened  on  the 
field. 

3784.  MAN,  Lordship  of.  Scripture  is  no 

story  of  the  material  universe.  A  single  chap¬ 
ter  is  sufficient  to  tell  us  that  “  God  made  the 
heavens  and  the  earth.”  Man  is  the  central 
figure  there ;  or,  to  speak  more  truly,  the  only 
figure  :  all  which  is  there  besides  serves  but 
as  a  background  for  him.  He  is  not  one  part 
of  the  furniture  of  this  planet,  not  the  highest 
merely  in  the  scale  of  its  creatures,  but  the 
lord  of  all ;  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  all  the 
visible  creation,  borrowing  all  their  worth  and 
their  significance  from  the  relations  where  they 
stand  to  him.  Such  he  appears  there  in  the 
ideal  worth  and  dignity  of  his  unfallen  condi¬ 
tion  ;  and  even  now,  when  only  a  broken  frag¬ 
ment  of  the  sceptre  with  which  once  he  ruled 
the  world  remains  in  his  hand,  such  he  is  com¬ 
manded  to  regard  himself  still.  Trench. 


MAJsr. 


HVLAJST. 


437 


3785.  MAH,  lost.  We  are  lost  as  the  way¬ 

farer  is  lost,  because  we  have  gone  away  from 
our  Father’s  house,  and  we  are  wandering  in 
the  wilderness,  —  in  a  wilderness  where  there 
is  no  supply  for  our  soul’s  greatest  needs,  where 
we  are  surrounded  with  perils,  and  whence  we 
can  of  ourselves  find  no  way  to  return.  We 
are  lost,  as  the  great  ship  is  lost ;  for  we  have 
made  shipwreck  of  our  best  interest,  and  we 
drive  without  helm  over  the  trackless  sea  of 
life  ;  and,  away  from  Jesus,  we  know  no  haven 
for  which  to  steer.  We  are  lost,  like  the  guilty 
child  that  by  reckless  sin  has  broken  his 
father’s  heart ;  for  evil  by  nature,  and  worse 
by  daily  temptation  and  transgressions,  we 
are  left  to  ourselves,  lost  to  holiness,  to  happi¬ 
ness,  to  heaven,  to  God.  We  have  lost  our 
birthright,  lost  our  F ather,  lost  our  home,  lost 
our  way,  lost  our  hope,  lost  our  time,  our  souls  ! 
And  what  loss  there  is  in  our  unimproved  and 
unsanctified  powers  and  faculties !  How  these 
souls  are  lost,  in  the  sense  that  so  little  is  made 
of  what  was  meant  for  so  much !  —  lost  as 
the  untilled  field  is  lost ;  as  the  flower  which 
no  man  sees  is  lost;  as  the  house  built,  and 
then  left  empty,  is  lost ;  as  the  ship  which  rots 
in  harbor  is  lost.  Boyd. 

3786.  MAH,  Manufacture  of  Many  pray  to 

be  made  “  men  in  Christ  Jesus,”  and  think  in 
some  miraculous  way  it  will  be  given  to  them  : 
but  God  says,  “  I  will  try  my  child,  and  see  if 
he  is  sincere ;  ”  and  so  he  lays  a  burden  upon 
him,  and  says,  “  Now  stand  up  under  it ;  for 
thus  you  are  to  grow  strong.”  He  sends  a 
provocation,  and  says  to  him,  “  Be  patient.” 
He  throws  him  into  perplexities,  and  says, 
“  Where  now  are  thy  resources  V  ”  If  the  am¬ 
bitious  ore  dreads  the  furnace,  the  forge,  the 
anvil,  the  rasp,  ar.d  the  file,  it  should  never 
desire  to  be  made  a  sword.  Man  is  the  iron, 
and  God  is  the  smith ;  and  we  are  always 
either  in  the  forge  or  on  the  anvil.  God  is 
shaping  us  for  higher  things.  Beecher. 

3787.  MAH,  Measuring.  Measure  every  man 
with  his  own  measure ;  i.e.,  do  not  expect  or 
require  from  him  more  than  is  in  him. 

Asiatic  Proverb. 

3788.  MAH,  a  Missionary.  Every  man  is  a  mis¬ 

sionary  now  and  forever,  for  good  or  for  evil, 
whether  he  intends  or  designs  it  or  not.  He  may 
be  a  blot,  radiating  his  dark  influence  outward 
to  the  very  circumference  of  society  ;  or  he  may 
be  a  blessing,  spreading  benediction  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  world :  but  a  blank 
he  cannot  be.  There  are  no  moral  blanks; 
there  are  no  neutral  characters.  We  are 
either  the  sower  that  sows  and  corrupts,  or 
the  light  that  splendidly  illuminates,  and  the 
salt  that  silently  operates  ;  but,  being  dead  or 
alive,  every  man  speaks.  Dr.  Chalmers. 

3789.  MAH,  Hatnre  of  Hath  not  a  Jew 
eyes?  Hath  not  a  Jew  hands,  organs,  dimen¬ 
sions,  senses,  affections,  passions  ?  fed  with 
the  same  food,  hurt  with  the  same  weapons, 
subject  to  the  same  diseases,  healed  by  the 
same  means,  warmed  and  cooled  by  the  same 
winter  and  summer  as  a  Christian  is  ?  If  you 
prick  us,  do  we  not  bleed  ?  If  you  tickle  us, 


do  we  not  laugh  ?  If  you  poison  us,  do  we  not 
die  ?  Shakspeare. 

3790.  MAH,  The  Perfect.  If  an  angel  were 
sent  to  find  the  most  perfect  man,  he  would 
probably  not  find  him  composing  a  body  of  di¬ 
vinity  ;  but  perhaps  a  cripple  in  a  poorhouse, 
whom  the  parish  wish  dead,  but  humbled 
before  God,  with  far  lower  thoughts  of  himself 
than  others  think  of  him. 

3791.  MAN,  Preparation  for.  How  in  the 

household  are  garments  quilted  and  wrought, 
and  curiously  embroidered,  and  the  softest 
things  laid  aside,  and  the  cradle  prepared  to 
greet  the  little  pilgrim  of  love  when  it  comes 
from  distant  regions  we  know  not  whence  1 
Now,  no  cradle  for  an  emperor’s  child  was  ever 
prepared  with  such  magnificence  as  this  world 
has  been  for  man.  It  is  God’s  cradle  for  the 
race,  curiously  carved  and  decorated,  flower- 
strewn  and  star-curtained.  Beecher. 

3792.  MAN,  Progress  of.  The  sun  does  not 

shine  brighter  than  it  did  on  Adam  ;  the  ocean 
is  not  more  grand  now  than  when  the  old 
Phoenicians  plied  it  with  their  oars  ;  the  birds 
do  not  sing  more  sweetly  now  than  they  did 
in  the  bowers  of  Eden.  But  how  man  pro¬ 
gresses  1  Compare  England  now  with  what  it 
was  when  Caesar  landed  on  its  shore ;  compare 
the  boy  Newton  with  Sir  Isaac  Newton  the 
astronomer ;  compare  Saul  of  Tarsus  with 
Paul  at  Athens.  Dr.  Thomas. 

3793.  MAH,  a  Rebel.  There  is  no  creature 

on  earth  that  does  not  fulfil  its  mission  except 
man ;  none  but  what  promotes  God’s  glory 
except  the  one  that  boasts  his  image.  All 
God’s  works  praise  him.  The  song  of  birds, 
the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  chime  of  the  sea- 
waves,  the  sighing  of  the  wind,  —  all  creatures, 
all  sights,  all  sounds,  —  are  full  of  worship. 
Man,  once  the  high  priest  of  creation,  the 
mysterious  yel  glorious  link  between  the  ma¬ 
terial  and  the  spiritual,  has  put  off  his  Eden 
robes,  and  no  longer  ministers  a  holy  Levite 
before  the  Lord.  Rev.  H.  Gill. 

3794.  MAH,  Relation  of.  Man  is  that  com¬ 
pound  being,  created  to  fill  that  wide  hiatus 
that  must  otherwise  have  remained  unoccupied 
between  the  natural  world  and  the  spiritual; 
and  he  sympathizes  with  the  one  in  his  death, 
and  will  be  associated  with  the  other  in  his 
resurrection.  Without  another  state,  it  would 
be  utterly  impossible  for  him  to  explain  the 
difficulties  of  this.  Possessing  earth,  but  des¬ 
tined  for  heaven,  he  forms  the  link  between 
the  two  orders  of  beings,  and  partakes  much 
of  the  grossness  of  the  one,  anti  somewhat  of 
the  refinement  of  the  other.  Reason,  like  the 
magnetic  influence  imparted  to  iron,  gives  to 
matter  properties  and  powers  which  it  pos¬ 
sessed  not  before,  but  without  extending  its 
bulk,  augmenting  its  weight,  or  altering  its  or¬ 
ganization  :  it  is  visible  only  by  its  effects, 
and  perceptible  only  by  its  operations.  Rea¬ 
son,  supperadded  to  man,  gives  him  peculiar 
and  characteristic  views,  responsibilities,  and 
destinations,  exalting  him  above  all  existences 
that  are  visible  but  which  perish,  and  associ¬ 
ating  him  with  those  that  are  invisible  but 


438 


MAJST. 


M^JSHSTERS. 


which  remain.  Reason  is  that  Homeric  and 
golden  chain  descending  from  the  throne  of 
God  even  unto  man,  uniting  heaven  with 
earth,  and  earth  with  heaven.  For  all  is  con¬ 
nected,  and  without  a  chasm  :  from  an  angel 
to  an  atom,  all  is  proportion,  harmony,  and 
strength.  Colton. 

3795.  MAN,  Restoration  of.  A  researcher  of 
art  in  Italy,  who,  reading  in  some  book  that 
there  was  a  portrait  of  Dante  painted  by 
Giotto,  was  led  to  suspect  where  it  had  been 
placed.  There  was  an  apartment  used  as  an 
outhouse  for  the  storing  of  wood,  hay,  and  the 
like.  He  besought  and  obtained  permission  to 
examine  it.  Clearing  out  the  rubbish,  and  ex¬ 
perimenting  upon  the  whitewashed  wall,  he 
soon  detected  the  signs  of  the  long-hidden  por¬ 
trait.  Little  by  little,  with  loving  skill,  he 
opened  up  the  sad,  thoughtful,  stern  face  of 
the  old  Tuscan  poet.  Sin  has  done  for  man 
what  the  whitewash  did  for  the  painting.  It 
has  covered  over  the  likeness  of  God  upon  the 
soul ;  and  it  is  only  by  the  Spirit  of  God  him¬ 
self  that  the  long-hidden  likeness  can  be  mani¬ 
fested  again. 

3796.  MAN,  in  Ruins.  That  God  hath  with¬ 

drawn  himself,  and  left  this  his  temple  deso¬ 
late,  we  have  many  sad  and  plain  proofs  before 
us.  The  stately  ruins  are  visible  to  every  eye, 
that  bear  in  their  front,  yet  extant,  their  doleful 
inscription,  “  Here  God  once  dwelt.”  Enough 
appears  of  the  admirable  frame  and  structure 
of  the  soul  of  man  to  show  the  Divine  Pres¬ 
ence  did  some  time  reside  in  it ;  more  than 
enough  of  vicious  deformity  to  complain  he  is 
now  retired  and  gone.  The  lamps  are  extinct, 
the  altar  overturned,  the  light  and  love  are 
now  vanished,  which  did  the  one  shine  with  so 
heavenly  brightness,  the  other  burn  with  so 
pious  fervor ;  the  golden  candlestick  is  dis¬ 
placed,  and  thrown  away  as  a  useless  thing,  to 
make  room  for  the  throne  of  the  Prince  of 
Darkness  ;  the  sacred  incense,  which  sent  roll¬ 
ing  up  in  clouds  its  rich  perfume,  is  exchanged 
for  a  poisonous,  hellish  vapor,  and  here  is, 
“instead  of  a  sweet  savor,  a  stench.”  The 
comely  order  of  this  house  is  turned  all  into 
confusion  ;  the  “  beauties  of  holiness,”  into 
noisome  impurities  ;  the  house  of  prayer,  into  a 
den  of  thieves :  for  every  lust  is  a  thief ;  and 
every  theft,  sacrilege.  He  that  invites  you  to 
take  a  view  of  the  soul  of  man,  gives  you  but 
such  another  prospect,  and  doth  but  say  to 
you,  “  Behold  the  desolation  1  ”  all  things  rude 
and  waste.  So  that,  should  there  be  any  pre¬ 
tence  to  the  Divine  Presence,  it  might  be  said, 
“  If  God  be  here,  why  is  it  thus  ?  ”  The  faded 
glory,  the  darkness,  the  disorder,  the  impurity, 
the  decayed  state,  in  all  respects,  of  this  tem¬ 
ple,  too  plainly  show  the  great  inhabitant  is 
gone.  John  Howe. 

3797.  MAN,  The  Sabbath  o£  It  is  a  favorite 
speculation  of  mine,  that,  if  spared  to  sixty,  we 
then  enter  on  the  seventh  decade  of  human 
life ;  and  that  this,  if  possible,  should  be 
turned  into  the  sabbath  of  our  earthly  pil¬ 
grimage,  and  spent  sabbatically,  as  if  on  the 
shores  of  an  eternal  world,  or  in  the  outer 


courts,  as  it  were,  of  the  temple  that  is  above, 
the  tabernacle  in  heaven.  Dr.  Chalmers. 

3798.  MAN,  Seraph  within.  Krummacher 
gives  the  legend  of  Adam  reposing  under  a 
tree,  looking  up  into  heaven,  and  longing  for 
wings  that  he  might  soar  to  the  stars.  Then 
a  seraph  touched  him,  and  a  deep  sleep  fell 
upon  him,  and  he  dreamed ;  and  it  seemed 
to  him  he  flew  up  into  heaven.  But,  when 
he  awoke,  he  found  he  was  still  reclining 
under  the  tree.  Then  he  said  to  the  seraph, 
“  Behold  1  I  flew  up  to  the  vault  of  the  sky : 
radiant  worlds  like  the  sun  rushed  past  me, 
and  still  worlds  on  worlds  were  beyond. 
Didst  thou  indeed  guide  me  yonder  ?  ”  But 
the  seraph  answered,  “  This  tree  has  over¬ 
shadowed  thee,  and  thy  body  has  rested  on 
this  hill.  But,  behold,  Adam  1  within  thee 
dwells  a  seraph,  who  is  able  to  rise  to  these 
glorious  worlds,  and  who,  the  higher  he  soar- 
eth,  bendeth  the  knee  in  deeper  humility  be¬ 
fore  Jehovah.  Son  of  earth  1  prize  and  guard 
this  seraph,  that  worldly  lusts  paralyze  not  his 
flight,  to  chain  him  to  the  earth.”  The  seraph 
spake  thus,  and  disappeared. 

3799.  MAN,  Sovereignty  of.  It  is  evident  that 

there  is  a  manifest  progress  in  the  succession 
of  beings  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.  This 
progress  consists  in  an  increasing  similarity  to 
the  living  fauna,  and  among  the  vertebrates, 
especially  in  their  increasing  resemblance  to 
man.  But  this  connection  is  not  the  con¬ 
sequence  of  a  direct  lineage  between  the 
faunas  of  different  ages.  There  is  nothing 
like  parental  descent  connecting  them.  The 
fishes  of  the  Palaeozoic  age  are  in  no  respect 
the  ancestors  of  the  reptiles  of  the  Secondary 
age ;  nor  does  man  descend  from  the  mam¬ 
mals  which  preceded  him  in  the  Tertiary  age. 
The  link  by  which  they  are  connected  is  of  a 
higher  and  immaterial  nature ;  and  their  con¬ 
nection  is  to  be  sought  in  the  view  of  the 
Creator  himself,  whose  aim  in  forming  the 
earth,  in  allowing  it  to  undergo  the  successive 
changes  which  geology  has  pointed  out,  and  in 
creating  successively  all  the  different  types  of 
animals  which  have  passed  away,  was  to  intro¬ 
duce  man  upon  the  surface  of  our  globe.  Man 
is  the  end  towards  which  all  the  animal  crea¬ 
tion  has  tended  from  the  first  appearance  of 
the  first  Palaeozoic  fishes.  Agassiz. 

3800.  MAN,  Worldly.  Luther  tells  of  a 
nobleman  at  Vienna  who  made  a  great  supper, 
and,  in  the  midst  of  his  mirth,  exclaimed,  “  If 
God  will  leave  me  this  world  to  live  and  enjoy 
my  pleasure  therein  for  a  thousand  years,  then 
let  him  take  his  heaven  to  himself  1  ”  This 
man  spoke  what  most  men  think. 

3801.  MANHOOD,  Scarcity  of.  Once,  at  mid¬ 
day,  Diogenes  went  through  the  streets,  lan¬ 
tern  in  hand,  as  if  searching  for  something.  A 
citizen  asked  him  for  what  he  was  seeking; 
and  he  replied,  “  A  man  1  ”  He  said  he  had 
found  children  in  Sparta,  and  women  in  Ath¬ 
ens  ;  but  a  man  he  had  never  seen. 

3802.  MANNERS,  Agreeable.  The  true  art 
of  being  agreeable  is  to  appear  well  pleased 
with  all  the  company,  and  rather  to  seem  well 


MLAJSnsrE:E.S. 


MABKS. 


439 


entertained  with  them  than  to  bring  entertain¬ 
ment  to  them.  A  man  thus  disposed  may  have 
not  much  learning,  nor  any  wit ;  but  if  he  has 
common  sense,  and  something  friendly  in  his 
behavior,  it  conciliates  men’s  minds  more  than 
the  brightest  parts  without  this  disposition.  It 
is  true,  indeed,  that  a  man  should  not  dis¬ 
semble  and  flatter  in  company ;  but  a  man 
may  be  very  agreeable,  strictly  consistent 
with  truth  and  sincerity,  by  a  prudent  silence 
where  l.e  cannot  concur,  and  a  pleasing  as¬ 
sent  when  he  can.  Now  and  then,  you  meet 
with  a  person  so  exactly  formed  to  please, 
that  he  will  gain  upon  every  one  that  be¬ 
holds  him.  This  disposition  is  not  merely 
the  gift  of  Nature,  but  frequently  the  efl'ect 
of  much  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  a  com¬ 
mand  over  the  passions.  Addison. 

3803.  MANNERS,  Boorish.  Did  you  ever  see 
a  well-dressed  boy  or  girl  compel  a  woman 
carrying  a  big  basket  or  bundle  to  step  off  the 
6ide-walk.  I  have :  and  I  have  also  seen 
a  glossy-coated  boy  or  a  silk-clad  miss  give 
such  poor  persons  a  look  of  scorn,  which  seemed 
to  say,  “  I  am  china ;  you  are  delf.  Get  out 
of  my  way  1  How  dare  you  presume  to  stand 
in  my  path  ?  ”  —  “  You  civilized  little  boor,” 
I  have  said  to  myself  at  such  a  sight,  “  you 
haven’t  a  particle  of  politeness  in  you.  If 
you  had,  you  would  pity  that  burdened  wo¬ 
man,  and  get  out  of  her  way.”  If  I  have  such 
an  impolite  boy  or  girl  among  my  readers,  I 
wish  he  would  take  a  lesson  from  the  life  of 
Napoleon.  When  he  was  on  the  Island  of 
St.  Helena,  he  walked  out  with  a  lady  one 
day.  A  poor  man  with  a  heavy  pack  met 
them.  The  lady  kept  straight  on ;  but  the 
ex-emperor  gently  waved  her  on  one  side, 
saying,  “  Respect  the  burden,  madam.” 

Dr.  Wise. 

3804.  MANNERS,  Brevities.  A  man’s  worth 
is  estimated  in  this  world  according  to  his 

conduct.  —  La  Bruyere. - Good  manners  is 

the  art  of  making  those  people  easy  with 

whom  we  converse.  —  Swift. -  A  man’s 

own  good  breeding  is  the  best  security  against 

other  people’s  ill  manners.  —  Chesterfield. - 

Virtue  itself  offends  when  coupled  with  for¬ 
bidding  manners.  —  Bp.  Middleton. 

38©,».  MANNERS,  Corruption  of.  The  Span¬ 
iards  carried  with  them  the  seed  of  the  thistle 
to  the  plains  of  South  America.  In  this  con¬ 
genial  soil  it  spread,  and  covered  many  square 
miles  with  its  prickly  vegetation.  These  thistle 
forests  grow  so  tall  and  dense,  that  a  mounted 
horseman  may  be  lost  in  them.  They  furnish 
a  safe  retreat  to  the  jaguar  and  robber.  A 
single  seed,  perhaps,  has  multiplied,  covering 
and  rendering  worse  than  useless  sections  of 
fertile  land  as  large  as  some  of  our  smaller 
States.  Not  unlike  this  is  the  spread  of  cor¬ 
rupt  manners. 

3806.  MANNERS,  I1L  Pride,  ill  nature,  and 
want  of  sense,  are  the  three  great  sources 
of  ill  manners :  without  some  one  of  these 
defects,  no  man  will  behave  himself  ill  for 
want  of  experience,  or  what,  in  the  language 
of  fools,  is  called  knowing  the  world.  Swift. 


3807.  MANNERS,  Proverbs.  At  Rome,  do  as 

Rome  does.  —  English. - After  the  land’s 

manner  is  mannerly.  —  German. - In  the 

land  of  the  naked,  people  are  ashamed  of 

clothes.  —  Livonian. - So  many  countries, 

so  many  customs.  —  French. - A  custom 

more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  obser¬ 
vance. —  Shakspeare. 

3808.  MANNERS,  Study  of.  Prepare  your¬ 

self  for  the  world  as  the  atliletaj  used  to  do  for 
their  exercises ;  oil  your  mind  and  your  man¬ 
ners  to  give  them  the  necessary  suppleness 
and  flexibility.  Chesterfield. 

3809.  MANNERS,  Trifles  in.  Hail,  ye  small, 

sweet  courtesies  of  life  I  for  smooth  do  ye 
make  the  road  of  it,  like  grace  and  beauty, 
which  beget  inclinations  to  love  at  first  sight : 
’tis  ye  who  open  the  door,  and  let  the  stranger 
in.  Sterne. 

3840.  MARKS,  of  Christ.  George  Moir,  a 
humble  Christian,  was  told  by  his  wife  that 
his  countenance  indicated  the  speedy  approach 
of  death.  “  Does  it  ?  ”  he  replied.  “  Bring 
me  a  glass.”  Struck  with  the  marks  of  death 
which  he  saw,  he  said,  “  Ah  1  Death  has  set 
his  mark  on  my  body  ;  but  Christ  has  set  his 
mark  on  my  soul.” 

3811.  MARKS,  of  Christians.  A  slave  once 
carried  a  message  written  in  punctures  on  the 
skin  of  his  head,  which  had  been  previously 
shaved  bare  to  receive  the  writing.  When 
his  hair  was  grown  so  as  to  hide  the  letter, 
he  went  unsuspected  ;  and  the  person  to  whom 
the  message  was  sent,  having  shaved  the  letter- 
carrier’s  head,  read  the  message.  The  slave 
in  old  times  often  carried  in  his  body  (as  the 
poor  slave  does  still  where  slavery  is  rampant) 
the  marks  of  his  master,  just  as  the  sailor  in 
our  own  times  loves  to  have  printed  on  his 
arm  the  initials  of  his  own  name  and  ship,  the 
figure  of  his  crucified  Redeemer,  or  the  anchor 
and  cable.  St.  Paul  carried  in  his  body  the 
marks  of  the  Master  to  whom  he  belonged. 
The  weals  made  by  the  Roman  lictor’s  rods, 
with  which  he  was  “  thrice  beaten  ;  ”  the  red 
lines  of  those  two  hundred  stripes  which  had 
been  laid  on  him  in  the  Jewish  synagogues ; 
the  scars  left  by  the  stones  which  had  bruised 
and  beaten  him  down,  and  “  left  him  for  dead, — 
these  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus  he  carried  with 
him,  the  proofs  as  to  “  whose  he  was,  and 
whom  he  served.”  Rev.  W.  W.  Champneys. 

3812.  MARKS,  Legend  of.  The  biographer 
of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  says,  “After  having 
fasted  for  forty  days  in  his  solitary  cell  on 
Mount  Alverna,  and  passed  the  time  in  all  the 
fervor  of  prayer  and  ecstatic  contemplation, 
transported  almost  to  heaven  by  the  ardor  of 
his  desires,  —  then  he  beheld,  as  it  were,  a 
seraph,  with  six  shining  wings,  bearing  down 
upon  him  from  above,  and  between  his  wings 
was  the  form  of  a  man  crucified.  By  this  he 
understood  to  be  figured  a  heavenly  and  im¬ 
mortal  intelligence,  subject  to  death  and  hu 
miliation.  And  it  was  manifested  to  him  tha* 
he  was  to  be  transformed  into  a  resemblance 
to  Christ,  not  by  the  martyrdom  of  the  flesh, 
but  by  the  might  and  fire  of  divine  Love.  When 


440 


IV£AuRIiS. 


MAREIAGK. 


the  vision  had  disappeared,  and  he  had  re¬ 
covered  a  little  from  its  effect,  it  was  seen  that 
in  his  hands,  his  feet,  and  side,  he  carried  the 
wounds  of  our  Saviour.” 

3813.  MARKS,  of  Sin.  “  Tom,”  said  a  father 
to  liis  son,  one  Monday  morning,  “fetch  me  a 

iece  of  board  and  a  handful  of  nails.”  The 

oy  did  as  his  father  requested.  His  father 
said,  “  Take  this  piece  of  wood  and  these  nails 
to  your  own  room.  Every  evening,  before  going 
to  bed,  always  say  to  yourself,  ‘  YVhat  are  the 
bad  habits  of  which  I  am  guilty  ?  ’  For  every 
bad  habit  of  which  you  can  accuse  yourself, 
you  will  drive  a  nail  into  this  board.  On  Sat¬ 
urday  night,  bring  the  board  to  me.”  Tom 
promised  obedience.  When  Saturday  night 
came,  he  presented  the  board  to  his  father. 
Five  nails  had  been  driven  into  it.  “  What 
bad  habits  do  these  five  nails  represent  ?  ” 
asked  the  father.  “  One  of  them,”  replied 
Tom,  “  is  laziness  in  the  morning ;  another, 
idleness  in  school;  another,  not  coming 
straight  home  from  school ;  and  another,  inat¬ 
tention  in  church.”  —  “  Take  the  board  back  to 
your  room  ;  try  to  reform,  asking  God  to  assist 
you ;  and,  for  every  one  of  these  bad  habits  that 
you  get  quit  of.  draw  a  nail  from  the  board. 
When  all  the  nails  have  been  drawn  from  the 
board,  bring  it  to  me.”  Many  weeks  passed 
away :  but,  at  last,  Tom  brought  the  board  to 
his  father,  and  said,  “  Look,  father !  the  nails 
are  all  out  I  ”  —  “  Yes,  Tom ;  the  nails  are  out : 
but  the  lio'es  they  made  are  left.  Let  this 
board  teach  you  this  lesson,  my  dear  boy : 
the  bad  habits  that  we  acquire  in  youth,  al¬ 
though  we  may  shake  them  oil'  as  we  grow  up, 
always  leave  their  marks  behind.” 

3814.  MARRIAGE,  Advantage  of.  If  you  are 
for  pleasure,  marry ;  if  you  prize  rosy  health, 
marry.  A  good  wife  is  heaven’s  last  best  gift 
to  a  man ;  his  angel  of  mercy ;  minister  of 
graces  innumerable  ;  his  gem  of  many  virtues; 
his  casket  of  jewels ;  her  voice,  his  sweetest 
music ;  her  smiles,  his  brightest  day  ;  her  kiss, 
the  guardian  of  innocence ;  her  arms,  the  pale 
of  his  safety,  the  balm  of  his  health,  the  bal¬ 
sam  of  his  life;  her  industry,  his  surest  wealth ; 
her  economy,  his  safest  steward  ;  her  lips,  his 
faithful  counsellors ;  her  bosom,  the  softest 
pillow  of  his  cares ;  and  her  prayers,  the  ablest 
advocates  of  Heaven’s  blessing  on  his  head. 

Bp.  Taylor. 

3815.  MARRIAGE,  Benefit  of.  Marriage  is 

the  best  state  for  man  in  general ;  and  every 
man  is  a  worse  man  in  proportion  as  he  is  un¬ 
fit  for  the  married  state.  Johnson. 

3816.  MARRIAGE,  Breach  of  It  is  a  less 
breach  of  wedlock  to  part,  with  wise  and 
quiet  consent,  betimes,  than  still  to  profane 
that  mystery  of  joy  and  union  with  a  pollut¬ 
ing  sadness  and  perpetual  distemper.  Milton. 

3817.  MARRIAGE,  Brevities.  Take  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  a  good  mother.  —  Fuller. - Never 

marry  but  for  love;  but  see  that  thou  lovest 

what  is  lovely.  —  William  Penn. - If  you 

wish  to  marry  suitably,  marry  your  equal. — 

Ooid. - Hasty  marriage  seldom  proveth 

well.  —  Shakspeare. - The  reason  why  so 


few  marriages  are  happy  is  because  young  la¬ 
dies  spend  their  time  in  making  nets,  not  in 
making  cages.  —  Swift. 

3818.  MARRIAGE,  Danger  of.  Marriage  is  a 
desperate  thing.  The  frogs  in  iEsop  were  ex¬ 
tremely  wise :  they  had  a  great  inind  to  some 
water;  but  they  would  not  leap  into  the  well, 
because  they  could  not  get  out  again.  Selden. 

3819.  MARRIAGE,  Eastern  Ceremonies  of  At 
a  marriage,  the  procession  of  which  1  saw 
some  years  ago,  the  bridegroom  came  from  a 
distance ;  and  the  bride  lived  at  Serampore,  to 
which  place  the  bridegroom  was  to  come  oy 
water.  After  waiting  for  two  or  three  hours, 
at  length,  near  midnight  it  was  announced,  as 
if  in  the  very  words  of  Scripture,  “  Behold,  the 
bridegroom  cometh !  go  ye  out  to  meet  him.” 
All  the  persons  employed  now  lighted  their 
lamps,  and  ran  with  them  in  their  hands  to  fill 
up  their  stations  in  the  procession.  Some  of 
them  had  lost  their  lights,  and  were  unpre¬ 
pared  ;  but  it  was  then  too  late  to  seek  them  : 
and  the  cavalcade  moved  on  to  the  house  of 
the  bride,  at  which  place  the  company  entered 
a  large  and  splendidly-illuminated  area  before 
the  house,  covered  with  an  awning,  where  a 
great  multitude  of  friends,  dressed  in  their 
best  apparel,  were  seated  upon  mats.  The 
bridegroom  was  carried  in  the  arms  of  a 
friend,  and  placed  in  a  superb  seat  in  the 
midst  of  the  company,  where  he  sat  a  short 
time,  and  then  went  into  the  house,  the  door 
of  which  was  immediately  closed,  and  guarded 
by  Sepoys.  I  and  others  expostulated  with 
the  doorkeepers,  but  in  vain.  Never  was  I  so 
struck  with  our  Lord’s  beautiful  parable  as  at 
this  moment.  “  And  the  door  was  shut."  Ward. 

3820.  MARRIAGE,  Fate  in.  Venus,  the  god¬ 
dess  of  love  and  beauty,  is  reported  to  have 
sprung  from  the  foam  of  the  sea.  When  she 
appeared  among  the  gods,  all  were  charmed 
with  her  beauty,  and  each  demanded  her  for 
his  wife.  Jupiter,  the  father  of  gods  and  men, 
gave  her  to  Vulcan,  in  gratitude  for  the  thun¬ 
derbolts  he  had  forged  for  him.  Thus  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  goddesses  became  the 
wife  of  the  most  ill-favored  of  the  gods ;  an 
illustration  of  the  usual  fate  of  beauty. 

3821.  MARRIAGE,  Fortitude  in.  The  Admiral 
of  Castile  said,  that  he  who  marries  a  wife, 
and  he  who  goes  to  war,  must  necessarily  sub¬ 
mit  to  every  thing  that  may  happen. 

3822.  MARRIAGE,  A  Happy.  Rev.  Robert 
Newton,  the  Wesleyan  pulpit  orator,  and  his 
bride,  began  their  married  life  by  retiring  twice 
each  day  to  pray  with  and  for  each  other.  This 
practice  they  kept  up,  when  opportunity  served, 
to  the  end  of  life.  When  an  old  man,  Mr.  New¬ 
ton  remarked,  “  In  the  course  of  a  short  time, 
my  wife  and  I  shall  celebrate  the  jubilee  of 
our  marriage  ;  and  I  know  not,  that,  during  the 
fifty  years  of  our  union,  an  unkind  look  or  an 
unkind  word  has  ever  passed  between  us.” 

3823.  MARRIAGE,  Improving.  Some  years 
ago,  a  Kentish  heiress  eloped  with  a  young 
marine ;  and,  accompanied  by  a  confidential 
friend  to  London,  the  parties  were  married. 
The  next  day,  the  happy  pair  were  surprised 


MAJRR.IA.GrE . 


MARTYRS. 


441 


at  perceiving  the  carriage  of  the  lady’s  father 
drive  up  to  the  house.  The  old  gentleman 
6oon  entered  their  apartment.  “  My  children,” 
said  he,  “  I  come  not  to  upbraid  you.  I  op¬ 
posed  your  union  for  no  selfish  motives.  My 
daughter’s  happiness  was  all  that  I  had  in 
view ;  and  as  I  once  thought  (erroneously  I 
hope)  that  I  could  no  better  promote  it  than 
by  refusing  my  consent  to  your  marriage,  so  I 
am  now  convinced  that  I  could  not  more  effect¬ 
ually  destroy  it  than  by  continuing  my  resent¬ 
ment.”  Percy. 

3824.  MARRIAGE,  Jars  in.  Jars  concealed 

are  half  reconciled ;  which  if  generally  known, 
’tis  a  double  task  to  stop  the  breach  at  home, 
and  men’s  mouths  abroad.  Fuller. 

3825.  MARRIAGE,  Mercenary.  Mothers  who 

force  thei’-  daughters  into  interested  marriage 
are  worse  than  the  Ammonites,  who  sacrificed 
their  children  to  Moloch,  —  the  latter  under¬ 
going  a  speedy  death ;  the  former  suffering 
years  of  torture,  but  too  frequently  leading  to 
the  same  result.  Lord  Rochester. 

3826.  MARRIAGE,  Proverbs.  You  have  tied 
a  knot  with  your  tongue  you  cannot  undo  with 
your  teeth.  A  man’s  best  fortune  or  his  worst 

is  his  wife.  —  English. - He  that  goes  far  to 

marry  goes  to  be  deceived  or  to  deceive.  The 
day  you  marry  you  kill  or  cure  yourself.  — 

Spanish. - Before  you  marry,  have  where 

to  tarry.  —  Italian. - It  is  easier  to  build 

two  hearths  than  always  to  have  a  fire  on 
one.  —  German. 

3827.  MARRIAGE,  Religion  in.  Dr.  Payson, 
meeting  an  irreligious  lady  whose  husband  was 
trying  to  serve  God,  addressed  her  thus : 
“Madam,  I  lliink  your  husband  is  looking  up¬ 
wards, —  making  some  effort  to  rise  above  the 
world  towards  God  and  heaven.  You  must 
not  let  him  try  alone.  Whenever  I  see  the 
husband  struggling  alone  in  such  efforts,  it 
makes  me  think  of  a  dove  endeavoring  to  fly 
upwards  while  it  has  one  broken  wing.  It 
leaps  and  flutters,  and  perhaps  rises  a  little 
way ;  and  then  it  becomes  wearied,  and  drops 
back  again  to  the  ground.  If  both  wings  co¬ 
operate.  then  it  mounts  easily.” 

3828.  MARRIAGE,  Responsibility  of.  It  is  a 

solemn  thing  to  be  married  ;  to  have  to  preach 
to  a  congregation  from  your  own  loins ;  to 
have  God  put  the  hand  of  ordination  on  you 
in  the  birth  of  your  children,  and  say  to  you. 
“  Now  art  thou  a  priest  unto  those  whom  I 
have  given  thee.”  If  ever  the  stream  of  life 
should  flow  like  crystal  water  over  shining 
stones,  it  should  be  the  stream  of  daily  life  in 
the  family.  Beecher. 

3829.  MARRIAGE,  Trial  for.  Major  C.  says, 

that,  in  certain  Amazonian  tribes,  the  bride¬ 
groom  is  subjected  to  a  singular  test.  On  the 
day  of  the  marriage,  while  the  wedding  festivi¬ 
ties  are  going  on,  his  hand  is  tied  up  in  a  paper 
bag  filled  with  fire-ants.  If  he  bears  this  tor¬ 
ture  smiling  and  unmoved,  he  is  deemed  fit  for 
the  trials  of  matrimony.  Agassiz. 

3830.  MARRIAGE,  'Unequal.  As  the  Lord 
commanded  that  an  ox  and  an  ass  should  not 
be  yoked  together,  because  the  match  is  un¬ 


equal  ;  even  so  it  is  an  unlawful  thing  for  the 
faithful  to  marry  with  infidels,  or  to  have  any 
thing  else  to  do  with  them.  Cawdray. 

3831.  MARRIAGE,  Unfortunate.  A  consistent 
Christian  young  man  became  attached  to  a 
pleasure-loving  and  gay  young  lady,  and  mar¬ 
ried  her  against  the  advice  of  his  brethren. 
Her  influence  silenced  his  prayers,  estranged 
him  from  the  house  of  God,  and  led  him  to  her 
ways  of  pleasure.  Sickness  called  his  atention 
back  to  religion.  Twice  his  wife  had  driven 
him  from  duty.  Now,  in  agony  and  remorse, 
with  a  fearful  eternity  before  him,  he  gazed 
upon  her,  and  cried,  “  Rebecca,  Rebecca,  you 
are  the  cause  of  my  eternal  damnation  1  ”  and 
died. 

3832.  MARRIAGE,  Unity  in.  The  Cherokee 
marriage-ceremony  is  very  expressive.  The 
man  and  woman  join  hands  over  running 
water,  to  indicate  that  their  lives  are  thence¬ 
forth  to  flow  on  in  one  stream. 

3833.  MARTYRDOM,  Accepting.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  third  century,  a  holy  man  named 
Phocas  dwelt  outside  the  gate  of  the  city  of 
Sinope,  in  Pontus,  and  lived  by  cultivating  a 
little  garden,  the  produce  of  which,  after  sup¬ 
plying  his  own  necessities,  he  distributed  to  the 
poor.  Uniting  prayer  and  contemplation  with 
labor  and  charity,  his  garden  was  to  him  an  in¬ 
structive  book,  his  flowers  supplied  him  with  a 
fund  of  holy  meditation,  and  his  little  cottage 
was  open  to  all  strangers  and  travellers  who 
were  in  want  of  a  lodging.  One  night,  as  he 
sat  at  his  frugal  supper  of  herbs,  some  stran¬ 
gers  knocked  at  his  door ;  and  he  invited  them 
to  enter,  and  repose  themselves.  He  set  food 
before  them,  and  gave  them  water  for  their 
feet ;  and  when  they  had  eaten,  and  were  re¬ 
freshed,  he  asked  them  concerning  their  busi¬ 
ness.  They  told  him  they  were  sent  there  in 
search  of  a  certain  Phocas,  who  had  been  de¬ 
nounced  as  a  Christian ;  and  that  they  were 
commissioned  to  kill  him  wherever  they  should 
find  him.  The  servant  of  God,  without  be¬ 
traying  any  surprise,  conducted  them  to  a 
chamber  of  repose ;  and,  when  they  were  at 
rest,  he  went  into  his  garden,  and  dug  a  grave 
amid  the  flowers.  The  next  morning  he  went 
to  his  guests,  and  told  them  that  Phocas  was 
found ;  and  they,  rejoicing,  asked,  “  Where 
is  the  man  ?  ”  He  replied,  “  I  myself  am  he.” 
They  started  back,  unwilling  to  imbrue  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  their  host ;  but  he  en¬ 
couraged  them,  saying,  “  Since  it  is  the  will  of 
God,  I  am  willing  to  die  in  his  cause.”  Then 
they  led  him  to  the  brink  of  the  grave,  struck 
off  his  head,  and  buried  him  therein. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

3834.  MARTYRS,  Death  of  the.  They  died 
in  torments ;  and  their  torments  were  imbit- 
tered  by  insult  and  derision.  Some  were  nailed 
on  crosses ;  others  sewn  up  in  the  skins  of 
wild  beasts,  and  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  dogs ; 
others,  again,  smeared  over  with  combustible 
material,  were  used  as  torches  to  illuminate 
the  darkness  of  the  night.  The  gardens  of 
Nero  were  destined  for  the  melancholy  specta¬ 
cle,  which  was  accompanied  with  a  horse-race. 


442 


dVUA-TTTItlTY. 


3VLEDIA.TION-. 


anil  honored  with  the  presence  of  the  emperor, 
who  mingled  with  the  populace  in  the  dress 
and  attitude  of  a  charioteer.  Giblon. 

3835.  MATURITY,  Christian.  “  Some  years 
ago,”  says  a  lady,  “  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
an  old  peasant  in  a  little  German  village.  He 
was  called  Gottlieb,  signifying  ‘  the  love  of 
God.’  If  ever  heart  was  tilled  with  love  to 
God  and  to  all  God’s  creatures,  it  was  his.  He 
possessed  one  or  two  apple  and  pear  trees ;  and 
used  to  amuse  himself  in  the  summer  by  pick¬ 
ing  up  the  fallen  fruit,  and  heaping  it  up  in  a 
corner  of  the  shed.  Once  I  came  upon  him  as 
he  was  stooping  to  pick  up  a  fallen  apple. 
‘  Don’t  you  weary,  Gottlieb,’  I  asked,  ‘  stoop¬ 
ing  so  often,  and  then  lying  all  alone  by  the 
roadside  ?  ’  —  “  No,  no,  miss,’  he  answered, 
smiling,  and  offering  me  a  handful  of  ripe  pears ; 
‘  I  don't  weary  :  I’m  just  waiting,  —  waiting.  I 
think  I’m  about  ripe  now,  and  1  must  soon  fall 
to  the  ground  ;  and  then,  just  think,  the  Lord 
will  pick  me  up  1  0  miss  1  you  are  young  yet, 
and  perhaps  just  in  blossom  :  turn  well  round 
to  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  that  you  may 
ripen  sweet  lor  his  service.’  ” 

3836.  MEANNESS,  Example  of.  When  the 

body  of  Lord  Mohun,  who  was  killed  in  a  duel, 
was  carried  home  bleeding  to  his  house,  Lady 
Mohun  was  very  angry  because  it  was  “  flung 
upon  the  best  bed.”  Hawthorne. 

3837.  MEANS,  Apothegms  of.  Providence 
provides  for  the  provident.  God  helps  those 
who  help  themselves.  We  cannot  command 
the  wind  ;  but  we  can  spread  the  sails. 

3838.  MEANS,  Character  of.  The  history  of 

the  world  tells  us  that  immoral  means  will  ever 
intercept  good  ends.  Coleridge. 

3839.  MEANS,  Without  God.  Asa  was  sick 

but  of  his  feet,  —  far  from  the  heart ;  yet  be¬ 
cause  he  sought  to  the  physicians,  not  to  God, 
he  escaped  not.  Hezekiah  was  sick  to  die ; 
yet  because  he  trusted  to  God,  not  to  physi¬ 
cians,  he  was  restored.  Means,  without  God, 
cannot  help :  God,  without  means,  can,  and 
often  doth.  I  will  use  good  means,  not  rest  in 
them.  Bp.  Hall. 

3840.  MEANS,  Ineffectual.  Then  the  shep¬ 

herds  led  the  pilgrims  to  a  place  where  they  saw 
one  fool  and  one  want-wit  washing  an  Ethiopi¬ 
an,  with  an  intention  to  make  him  white ;  but 
the  more  they  washed  him,  the  blacker  he  was. 
Then  they  asked  the  shepherds  what  this 
should  mean.  So  they  told  them,  saying, 
“  Thus  it  is  with  the  vile  person  :  all  means 
used  to  get  such  a  one  a  good  name  shall,  in 
conclusion,  tend  but  to  make  him  more  abomi¬ 
nable.  Thus  it  was  with  the  Pharisees ;  and  so 
it  shall  be  with  all  hypocrites.  Bunyan. 

3841.  MEANS,  Using  the.  Faith  will  teach 
thee  to  use  means  as  God’s  ordinance ;  but  rely 
on  God  to  bless  it.  While  Faith’s  hand  is  on 
the  plough,  her  eye  is  in  heaven.  Annus,  non 
ager,facit  fruclum,  —  “  The  influences  of  heav¬ 
en,  not  the  tillage  of  the  husbandman,  make  it  a 
fruitful  year.”  Sometimes  the  physicians  ap¬ 
point  a  powder  to  be  taken  in  wine  or  beer. 
Now,  ’tis  not  the  beer  or  wine  that  does  the 
cure,  but  the  powder ;  they  being  only  used  to 


convey  it  into  the  stomach.  Tlius  mercy  Is 
handed  over  to  us  by  the  blessing  of  God  in 
the  use  of  means ;  yet  think  not  the  means  do 
it,  but  the  blessing  of  God  mingled  with  it 
and  infused  into  it.  Gurnall. 

3842.  MEANS  OF  GRACE,  Benefit  of.  We  are 
bound  to  use  every  scriptural  means  to  obtain 
the  good  we  need.  The  sanctuary,  the  meet¬ 
ing  for  prayer,  the  Bible,  the  company  of  the 
saints,  private  prayer  and  meditation,  —  these 
revive  the  soul.  We  must  dig  the  wells.  If 
there  be  rocky  granite,  we  must  bore  it.  We 
must  not  be  disturbed  from  perseverance  by 
the  labor  of  our  duties,  but  continue  to  dig 
still ;  and,  (what  a  mercy !)  if  the  well  has 
ever  so  small  a  bore,  the  water  will  flow. 

Spurgeon. 

3843.  MEANS  OF  GRACE,  Holy  Spirit  in,  In 

none  of  these  is  there  any  benefit,  unless  God 
the  Holy  Spirit  shall  own  and  crown  them. 
These  are  like  the  conduit-pipes  of  the  market¬ 
place  :  when  the  fountain-head  floweth  with  wa¬ 
ter,  then  they  are  full,  and  we  derive  a  blessing 
from  them ;  but  if  the  stream  be  stayed,  if  the 
fountain-head  doth  cease  to  give  forth  its  cur¬ 
rent,  then  these  are  wells  without  water,  clouds 
without  rain ;  and  ye  may  go  to  ordinances,  as 
an  Arab  turns  to  his  skin-bottle  when  it  is  dry, 
and  with  your  parched  lips  you  may  suck  the 
wind  and  drink  the  whirlwind,  but  receive 
neither  comfort  nor  blessing  nor  instruction 
from  the  means  of  grace.  Spurgeon. 

3844.  MEANS  OF  GRACE,  Using  tie.  “My 
bredren,”  said  a  colored  preacher,  “  ’ligion  is 
like  de  Alabama  River.  In  spring  come  fresh, 
an’  bring  in  all  the  ole  logs,  slabs,  an’  sticks 
dat  hab  been  lyin’  on  de  bank,  and  carry  dem 
down  in  the  current.  Bymeby,  de  water  go 
down  :  den  a  log  cotch  here  on  dis  island, 
den  a  slab  gets  cotched  on  de  shore,  an’  de 
sticks  on  de  bushes ;  an’  dere  dey  lie,  withrin’ 
and  dryin’  till  come  ’noder  fresh.  Jus’  so  dere 
come  ’vival  of  ’ligion  :  dis  ole  sinner  brought 
in,  dat  ole  backslider  brought  back ;  an’  de  old 
folk  seem  cornin’,  an’  mighty  good  times.  But, 
bredren,  bymeby  ’vival’s  gone  :  den  dis  ole  sin¬ 
ner  is  stuck  on  his  own  sin ;  den  dat  ole  back¬ 
slider  is  cotched  where  he  was  afore,  on  jus’ 
such  a  rock ;  den  one  after  ’noder  dat  had  got 
’ligion  lies  all  along  de  shore,  an’  dere  de  lie 
till  ’noder  ’vival.  Belubed  bredren,  keep  in  de 
current .” 

3845.  MEDIATION,  Acknowledged.  “  For 

Christ’s  sake,”  then,  is  only  another  expression 
for  the  great  truth,  that  all  our  holy  motions 
and  emotions  are  dependent  on  him.  “  In 
Christ’s  name”  is  a  recognition  that  God  is 
manifest  in  his  sacrifice  for  sin,  and  that  it  is 
in  his  mercy  alone  that  we  have  hope.  In  all 
systems,  there  are  two  motions  of  subordinate 
bodies,  one  on  their  own  axis,  the  other  around 
the  central  orbit.  So  in  the  spiritual  world : 
the  soul  is  self-moved,  and  the  regenerated  soul 
moves  likewise  in  its  orbit  of  dependence  upon 
God.  To  feel  reliance  on  the  merit  of  Christ, 
to  trust  in  his  name,  is  the  expression  of  this 
actual  relation.  The  man  who  does  not  feel  it 
is  dead.  J.  B.  Walker. 


MEDIA-TIOISr. 


MEDITATION. 


443 


3846#  MEDIATION,  Christ's.  As,  when  a  king 
Is  angry  with  a  subject,  the  king’s  son  marries 
the  daughter  of  the  subject,  and  brings  him 
into  favor  with  the  king  again  :  so,  when  God 
the  Father  was  angry  with  us,  Christ  married 
himself  to  our  nature,  and  now  mediates  for  us 
with  his  Father,  and  brings  us  to  be  friends 
again  ;  and  now  God  looks  upon  us  with  a  favor¬ 
able  aspect.  As  Joab  pleaded  for  Absalom, 
and  brought  him  to  King  David,  and  David 
kissed  him;  so  doth  Jesus  Christ  ingratiate  us 
into  the  love  and  favor  of  God.  Therefore 
he  may  well  be  called  a  peacemaker,  having 
taken  our  flesh  upon  him,  and  so  made  peace 
between  us  and  his  angry  Father. 

T.  Watson. 

3847#  MEDIATION,  Illustration  of.  During  one 
of  the  journeys  of  Queen  Victoria,  a  little  boy 
was  desirous  of  seeing  her.  He  determined  to 
go  direct  to  the  castle  where  she  was  residing, 
and  ask  to  see  her.  He  was  stopped  at  the 
gate  by  the  sentry,  who  demanded  what  he 
wanted.  “  I  want  to  see  the  queen,”  he  replied. 
The  soldier  laughed  at  the  boy,  and  with  the 
but-end  of  his  musket  pushed  him  away,  and 
told  him  to  be  off  immediately,  or  he  would  shoot 
him.  The  boy  turned  to  go  away,  and  gave  vent 
to  his  grief  in  tears.  He  had  not  gone  far  when 
he  was  met  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  inquired 
why  he  was  ci  ving.  “  I  want  to  see  the  queen,” 
replied  the  boy,  “and  that  soldier  won’t  let 
me.”  —  “Won’t  he? ’’said  the  prince:  “then 
come  along  with  me,  and  I’ll  take  you  to  the 
queen.”  He  accordingly  took  him  by  the  hand, 
and  led  him  towards  the  castle.  On  passing 
the  sentinel,  he,  as  usual,  presented  arms  to 
the  prince ;  and  the  boy  became  terrified,  and 
ran  away,  fearing  that  the  soldier  was  going 
to  shoot  him.  The  prince  soon  quieted  his 
fears,  and  led  him  past  the  gates  into  the  pre¬ 
sence  of  her  Majesty.  The  queen  with  sur¬ 
prise,  inquired  of  her  son  whom  he  had  there ; 
and,  upon  being  informed  of  what  had  taken 
place,  she  laughed  heartily,  spoke  kindly  to  her 
little  visitor,  and  to  his  great  delight  dismissed 
him  with  a  piece  of  money.  As  the  prince 
presented  the  boy  to  the  queen,  so  Christ  pre¬ 
sents  us  to  his  F ather. 

3848.  MEDIATION,  ia  Physical  Evils.  Physical 
evils  are  constantly  alleviated  or  eradicated 
by  some  mediatorial  process.  The  bruised  or 
wounded  flesh  calls  into  play  a  latent  power  of 
healing  in  the  dispersion  of  unhealthy  hu¬ 
mors,  the  formation  of  lymph,  and  the  filling- 
up  of  the  orifice  or  the  closing  of  the  wound. 
A  broken  bone  will  divert  from  the  ordinary 
currents  of  animal  life  the  phosphate  of  lime 
which  may  be  necessary  lor  its  reparation. 
An  exhalation  of  noxious  gases  meets  with  its 
mediatorial  corrective  in  the  principle  of 
gaseous  diffusion,  which  dilutes  the  subtle 
poison,  and  spreads  it  over  so  wide  an  area  as 
to  render  it  comparatively  baneless.  When 
vegetation  is  parched  and  withered,  the  air 
becomes  the  mediating  agent  which  conveys 
to  it  the  refreshing  showers.  When  opposing 
forces  and  the  “  negative  ”  and  the  “  positive  ” 
hold  apart  in  their  isolation,  conduction  be¬ 


comes  the  mediatorial,  the  combining  power, 
that  mingles  them  into  one ;  and,  when  a 
satellite  or  a  planet  has  deviated  widely  from 
its  mean  orbital  path,  a  counter  attraction  be¬ 
comes  the  mediator,  that  preserves  it  under 
the  influence  of  its  primary.  Ro-gg- 

3849.  MEDITATION,  on ‘Death.  There  is  a 
story  of  one  that  gave  a  young  gallant  a 
curious  ring,  with  a  death’s  head  in  it,  upon 
this  condition,  —  that,  for  a  certain  time,  he 
should  spend  one  hour  every  day  in  looking  at 
and  thinking  of  it.  He  took  the  ring  in  wan¬ 
tonness,  but  performed  the  condition  with 
diligence  :  it  wrought  a  wonder  on  him,  and 
of  a  desperate  ruffian  he  became  a  conscien¬ 
tious  Christian.  Spencer. 

385®.  MEDITATION,  Enforced.  In  the  Royal 
Gallery  at  Dresden  may  be  often  seen  a  group 
of  connoisseurs,  who  sit  for  hours  before  a 
single  painting.  They  walk  around  those 
halls  and  corridors,  whose  walls  are  so  eloquent 
with  the  triumphs  of  art ;  and  they  come  back, 
and  pause  again  before  that  one  masterpiece. 
They  go  away,  and  return  the  next  day  ;  and 
again  the  first  and  the  last  object  which  charms 
their  eye  is  that  canvas  on  which  genius  has 
pictured  more  of  beauty  than  on  any  other  in 
the  world.  Weeks  are  spent  every  year  in 
the  study  of  that  one  work  of  Raphael’s. 
Lovers  of  art  cannot  enjoy  it  to  the  full  till 
they  have  made  it  their  own  by  prolonged 
communion  with  its  matchless  forms.  Says 
one  of  its  admirers,  “I  could  spend  an  hour 
every  day,  for  years,  upon  that  assemblage  of 
human  and  angelic  and  divine  ideals,  and,  on 
the  last  day  of  the  last  year,  discover  some  new 
beauty  and  a  new  joy.”  I  have  seen  men 
standing  in  the  street  before  an  engraving  of 
that  gem  of  the  Dresden  Gallery  a  longer  time 
than  a  good  man  will  sometimes  devote  to  his 
evening  prayer.  Phelps. 

3851.  MEDITATION,  on  Heaven.  “  Rather  a 
dull  day,  auntie,”  said  a  preacher  to  an  old 
black  saint  of  his  flock  at  the  close  of  a  rainy, 
dreary,  nobody-out  sort  of  a  sabbath.  “  Why, 
no !  Bless  do  Lord,  massa  minister,  de  old 
’oman’s  been  all  over  the  New  Jerusalem  to¬ 
day  !  ”  was  the  reply  that  the  disheartened 
preacher  obtained. 

3852.  MEDITATION,  Office  of.  Meditation  is 
prayer’s  handmaid,  to  wait  on  it  both  before 
and  after  the  performance.  It  is  as  the  plough 
before  the  sower  to  prepare  the  heart  for  the 
duty  of  prayer,  and  the  harrow  to  cover  the 
seed  when  ’tis  sown.  As  the  hopper  feeds 
the  mill  with  grist,  so  does  meditation  supply 
the  heart  with  matter  for  prayer.  Gurnall. 

3853.  MEDITATION,  Result  of.  By  medita¬ 
tion,  one  of  the  greatest  of  English  engineers, 
a  man  uncouth,  and  unaccustomed  to  regular 
discipline  of  mind,  is  said  to  have  accomplished 
his  most  marvellous  triumphs.  He  threw 
bridges  over  almost  impracticable  torrents, 
and  pierced  the  eternal  mountains  for  his  via¬ 
duct.  Sometimes  a  difficulty  brought  all  the 
work  to  a  pause :  then  he  would  shut  himself 
up  in  his  room,  eat  nothing,  speak  to  no  one, 
abandon  himself  intensely  to  the  contemplar 


444 


jveeek:. 


MEEKNESS. 


tion  of  that  on  which  his  heart  was  set,  and, 
at  the  end  of  two  or  three  days,  would  come 
tortb  serene  and  calm,  walk  to  the  spot,  and 
quietly  give  orders  which  seemed  the  result 
.of  superhuman  intuition.  This  was  medita¬ 
tion.  Rev.  F.  W.  Robertson. 

3854.  MEEK,  Blessing  of  the.  It  is  in  the 

lowly  valley  that  the  sun's  warmth  is  truly 
genial ;  unless,  indeed,  there  are  mountains  so 
close  and  abrupt  as  to  overshadow  it.  Then 
noisome  vapors  may  be  bred  there ;  but  other¬ 
wise  in  the  valley  may  we  behold  the  meaning 
of  the  wonderful  blessing  bestowed  upon  the 
meek,  that  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.  It  is 
theirs  for  this  very  reason,  because  they  do  not 
seek  it.  They  do  not  exalt  their  heads  like 
icebergs,  which,  by  the  by,  are  driven  away 
from  earth,  and  cluster,  or  rather  jostle,  around 
the  pole ;  but  they  flow  along  the  earth  hum¬ 
bly  and  silently :  and,  wherever  they  flow,  they 
bless  it ;  and  so  all  its  beauty  and  all  its  rich¬ 
ness  are  reflected  in  their  pure,  calm,  peaceful 
bosoms.  Hare. 

3855.  MEEK,  Defined.  A  missionary  in  Ja¬ 
maica  once  asked  the  question  of  a  black  boy 
when  examining  the  school  upon  this  verse, 
“  Who  are  the  meek  ?  ” _  The  boy  answered, 
“  Those  who  give  soft  answers  to  rough  ques¬ 
tions.” 

385G.  MEEK,  Eature  Glory  of  the.  The  meek 
need  not  envy  the  lofty  who  sweep  the  earth 
with  their  gay  robes,  any  more  than  real 
royalty  is  jealous  of  the  kingly  hero  who  struts 
his  hour  upon  the  stage.  They  shall  be 
princes  and  rulers  long  after  these  actors  have 
laid  aside  their  tinselled  crowns. 

Evangelical  Magazine. 

3857.  MEEK,  Happiness  of  the.  A  meek 

man  enjoys  almost  a  perpetual  sabbath.  The 
anger  of  a  meek  man  is  like  fire  struck  out  of 
steel,  —  hard  to  be  got  out,  and,  when  got  out, 
soon  gone.  Meekness  not  only  gives  great 
peace  of  mind,  but  often  adds  a  lustre  to  the 
countenance.  We  only  read  of  three  in 
Scripture  whose  faces  shone  remarkably,  — 
viz.,  Christ,  Moses,  and  Stephen,  —  and  they 
were  eminent  for  meekness.  Henry. 

3858.  MEEK,  Inheritance  of  the.  How  won¬ 
derful  shall  be  the  reversal  when  God  shall 

lace  the  last  first,  and  the  first  last !  Moralists 
ave  often  pointed  us  to  the  ruler  of  a  hundred 
broad  kingdoms,  lying  down  at  last  in  six  feet 
of  imprisoning  clay;  but  God  shall  show  us 
the  wayside  cottagers  lifted  into  the  inherit¬ 
ance  of  the  universe.  Evan.  Mag. 

3859.  MEEKNESS,  Advantage  of.  There  is 
nothing  lost  by  meekness  and  yielding.  Abra¬ 
ham  yields  over  his  right  of  choice  :  Lot  taketh 
it.  And,  behold  !  Lot  is  crossed  in  that  which 
he  chose ;  Abraham  blessed  in  that  which  was 
left  him.  As  heaven  is  taken  by  violence,  so 
is  earth  with  meekness.  And  God  (the  true 
proprietary)  loves  no  tenants  better,  nor  grants 
larger  leases  to  any,  than  the  meek.  Trapp. 

38GO.  MEEKNESS,  Attainment  of.  A  very 
passionate  woman  experienced  religion,  and 
attended  the  means  of  grace,  though  greatly 
persecuted  by  her  husband.  On  her  return 


from  service,  he  felled  her  to  the  floor  with  a 
violent  blow.  She  rose  up,  and  said,  “  My 
dear,  if  you  serve  this  side  the  same,  I  hope 
I  shall  -bear  it  with  patience.”  He  saw  the 
change  in  her,  gave  her  full  permission  to 
attend  service,  and  was  soon  found  accom¬ 
panying  her. 

3861.  MEEKNESS,  Description  o£  Meekness 
is  love  at  school,  —  love  at  the  Saviour’s  school. 
It  is  Christian  lowlihood.  It  is  the  disciple 
learning  to  know  himself ;  learning  to  fear 
and  distrust  and  abhor  himself.  It  is  the  dis¬ 
ciple  practising  the  sweet  but  self-emptying 
lesson  of  putting  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  find¬ 
ing  all  his  righteousness  in  that  righteous 
other.  It  is  the  disciple  learning  the  defects 
of  his  own  character,  and  taking  hints  from 
hostile  as  well  as  friendly  monitors.  It  is  the 
disciple  praying  and  watching  for  the  im¬ 
provement  of  his  talents,  the  mellowing  of  his 
temper,  and  the  amelioration  of  his  character. 
It  is  the  loving  Christian  at  the  Saviour’s  feet, 
learning  of  Him  who  is  meek  and  lowly,  and 
finding  rest  for  his  own  soul.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3862.  MEEKNESS,  Example  of.  When  Sir 

Matthew  Hale  dismissed  a  jury  because  he 
was  convinced  that  it  had  been  illegally  chosen 
to  favor  the  Protector,  the  latter  was  highly 
displeased  with  him  ;  and,  when  Sir  Matthew 
returned  from  the  circuit,  Cromwell  told  him 
in  anger  that  he  was  not  fit  to  be  a  judge ;  to 
which  all  the  answer  that  he  made  was,  that 
it  was  very  true.  Christian  Treasury. 

3863.  MEEKNESS,  Imperfect.  Meekness  is 
imperfect  if  it  be  not  active  and  passive ;  if 
it  will  not  enable  us  to  subdue  our  own  pas¬ 
sions  and  resentments,  as  well  as  qualify  us 
to  bear  patiently  the  passions  and  resentments 
of  others. 

3864.  MEEKNESS,  Influence  of.  Dr.  Dwight 
mentions  a  friend  of  his  who  had  a  dispute 
with  a  professor  of  religion.  The  Christian 
bore  himself  with  such  kindness,  humility,  and 
consistency,  as  to  produce  the  impression  on 
his  opponent  that  he  had  that  of  which  the 
other  was  ignorant.  This  led  to  reflection, 
repentance,  and  faith  in  Christ. 

3865.  MEEKNESS,  Power  o£  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh,  a  man  of  courage  and  honor,  was 
once  insulted  by  a  hot-headed  youth,  who  chal¬ 
lenged  him,  and,  on  his  refusal,  spat  upon  him 
in  public.  The  knight,  taking  out  his  hand¬ 
kerchief,  made  him  this  reply  :  “  Young  man, 
if  I  could  as  easily  wipe  your  blood  from  my 
conscience  as  I  can  this  injury  from  my  face, 
I  would  this  moment  take  away  your  life.” 
The  youth  was  so  struck  with  a  strong  sense 
of  his  misbehavior,  that  he  fell  upon  his  knees, 
and  begged  forgiveness. 

3866.  MEEKNESS,  Secret  o£  Rev.  Mr.  Dodd, 
a  Puritan  divine,  being  assaulted,  said,  “  See 
here :  you  have  knocked  out  two  of  my  teeth 
without  any  just  provocation ;  but,  if  I  could 
do  your  soul  good,  I  would  give  you  leave  to 
dash  out  all  the  rest.” 

3867.  MEEKNESS,  Test  o£  As  we  do  not 
keep  tinder  in  every  box  in  the  house,  so  we 
do  not  keep  the  sense  of  anger  in  every  faculty 


MEETIN  G-S . 


MELANCHOLY. 


445 


When  one  comes  against  the  door  of  some 
faculties  with  an  injury,  we  look  over  the  rail¬ 
ing,  and  say,  “  I’ll  forgive  you  for  that ;  for 
you  did  not  get  in.”  But  by  and  by,  when  the 
faculty  where  we  are  sensitive  is  entered,  then 
we  grind  our  teeth,  and  say,  “  I  could  have 
forgiven  him  for  any  thing  but  that  1  ”  We 
must  not  arrogate  to  ourselves  a  spirit  of  for¬ 
giveness  until  we  have  been  touched  to  the 
quick  where  we  are  sensitive,  and  borne  it 
meekly  :  and  meekness  is  not  mere  white-faced- 
ness,  a  mere  contemplative  virtue  ;  it  is  main¬ 
taining  peace  and  patience  in  the  midst  of 
pelting  provocations.  Beecher. 

386S.  MEETINGS,  Advantage  of  Religious. 
Fire  will  not  tarry  in  a  single  coal ;  but.  if 
many  be  laid  together,  it  will  be  long  before 
it  is  clean  gone.  A  single  tree  may  not  afford 
much  shelter  for  a  traveller ;  but  he  will  rest 
beneath  the  thick  boughs  of  the  grove :  so 
will  Jesus  often  sit  longer  where  many  of 
“  the  trees  of  the  Lord  ”  are  planted.  Go 
to  the  assemblies  of  the  saints,  if  you  would 
keep  the  arm  of  the  King  of  saints.  Those 
who  dwell  most  with  the  daughters  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  are  most  likely  to  have  a  goodly  share 
of  Emanuel’s  company.  Spurgeon. 

3869.  MEETINGS,  Family  Prayer.  Bishop 
Pierce  tells  of  an  old  brother  who  was  greatly 
devoted  to  prayer-meetings,  thought  them  an 
instrument  of  incalculable  good,  and  always 
kept  them  up.  If  he  could  not  get  the  mem¬ 
bers  to  meet  him  at  the  church  for  the  purpose, 
he  held  family  prayer-meetings.  The  way  he 
conducted  his  family  prayer-meetings  was,  he 
prayed,  and  wife  prayed,  and  daughter  prayed, 
and  son  prayed ;  and,  by  the  time  they  all 
prayed,  the  season  of  rejoicing  came  on.  He 
closed  his  remarks  by  recommending  the  prac¬ 
tice  to  his  brethren  if  they  would  keep  up  a 
perpetual  prayer-meeting,  —  one  that  would 
never  fail. 

3870.  MEETNESS  FOR  HEAVEN,  Advantage  of. 
It  is  worth  something  to  be  in  a  readiness  for 
mercy,  for  afflictions,  for  death,  or  for  judg¬ 
ment,  as  those  who  are  meet  for  heaven.  The 
speech  of  Basil  was  noble,  when  Modestus,  the 

refect,  threatened  confiscation,  torment,  and 

anishment.  He  answered,  “  He  need  not  fear 
confiscation  that  hath  nothing  to  lose;  nor 
banishment,  to  whom  heaven  only  is  a  country ; 
nor  torment,  when  his  body  would  be  crushed 
with  one  blow  ;  nor  death,  which  is  the  only 
way  to  set  him  at  liberty.”  O.  Ileywooil. 

3871.  MEETNESS  FOR  HEAVEN,  Nature  of  In 
one  respect,  there  is  some  resemblance  betwixt 
the  custom  of  the  court  of  princes  and  of 
heaven.  No  admittance  into  the  latter,  as  well 
as  the  former,  unless  in  full  dress.  Every  soul 
who  enters  perfect  bliss  must  have  on  the 
resplendent  robe  of  Christ’s  righteousness,  by 
imputation :  this  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
have  a  seat  in  the  court  of  heaven.  Topladg. 

3872.  MEETNESS  FOR  HEAVEN,  Needed.  It 
was  the  barbarous  practice  of  a  cruel  king  to 
torture  his  unhappy  prisoners  by  confining 
them  sometimes  in  a  dark  dungeon,  and  then, 
the  eyelids  being  cut  off,  bringing  them  sud¬ 


denly  into  the  full  blaze  of  the  sun,  when  shin¬ 
ing  in  its  full  power.  The  result  was  the 
most  excruciating  pain  and  instant  blindness. 
The  organ  of  vision  was  wholly  unfitted  for  the 
change.  Such  result  may  form  some  illustra¬ 
tion  of  what  would  be  the  torture  of  a  sinner, 
could  he  be  admitted  unprepared  into  the  daz¬ 
zling  splendor  of  that  world  whose  glory  is 
above  the  sun.  Bowes. 

3873.  MEETNESS  FOR  HEAVEN,  Tested.  At 

heaven’s  gate,  there  sits  an  angel,  who  admits 
no  one  who  has  not  the  same  features  as  our 
adorable  Lord.  There  comes  a  man  with  a 
crown  upon  his  head.  The  angel  says,  “  Thou 
hast  a  crown,  it  is  true ;  but  crowns  are  not  the 
medium  of  access  here.”  Another  approaches, 
dressed  in  robes  of  state  and  the  gown  of 
learning.  The  angel  says,  “  Gowns  and  learn¬ 
ing  are  not  the  marks  that  shall  admit  you 
here.”  Another  advances,  fair  and  beautiful. 
The  angel  says,  “  That  might  please  on  earth ; 
but  beauty  is  not  wanted  here.”  There  cometh 
another,  who  is  heralded  by  fame ;  but  the 
angel  says,  “  Thou  hast  no  right  to  enter  here.” 
Then  there  appears  another,  —  poor  and  illit¬ 
erate  he  may  have  been,  —  but  the  angel,  as  he 
looks  at  him,  smiles  and  says,  “  It  is  Christ 
again :  a  second  edition  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
there.  Come  in,  come  in  !  ”  Oh  !  to  be  like 
Christ,  is  to  enter  heaven ;  but  to  be  unlike 
Christ  is  to  descend  to  hell.  Spurgeon. 

3874.  MELANCHOLY,  Distortion  of.  This 

goodly  frame,  the  earth,  seems  to  me  a  sterile 
promontory ;  this  most  excellent  canopy,  the 
air,  look  you ;  this  brave  o’erhanging  firma¬ 
ment;  this  majestical  roof,  fretted  with  golden 
fire,  —  why  1  it  appears  no  other  thing  to  me 
than  a  foul  and  pestilent  congregation  of  va¬ 
pors.  Sliakspeare. 

3875.  MELANCHOLY,  Examples  of.  I  recollect 
two  cases  of  overwhelming  melancholy  in  per¬ 
sons,  who,  in  their  former,  life  appeared  as  re¬ 
mote  from  it  as  any  I  ever  knew.  The  first 
was  a  man  of  extraordinary  talents  and  elo¬ 
quence,  bold  and  decisive  in  his  temper,  and 
ibnd  of  company  and  good  cheer.  When 
about  fifty-five  or  fifty-six  years  of  age,  with¬ 
out  any  external  cause,  his  spirits  began  to 
sink,  and  feelings  of  melancholy  to  seize  upon 
him.  He  avoided  company :  but  I  had  fre¬ 
quent  occasions  to  see  him ;  and  sometimes  he 
could  be  engaged  in  conversation,  when  he 
would  speak  as  judiciously  as  before,  but  soon 
reverted  to  his  dark  melancholy  mood.  On 
one  occasion,  he  mentioned  his  case  to  me,  and 
observed  with  emphasis,  that  he  had  no  power 
to  resist  the  disease  ;  and  said  he,  with  despair 
in  his  countenance,  “  I  shall  soon  be  utterly 
overwhelmed.”  So  it  turned  out ;  for  the  dis¬ 
ease  terminated  in  the  worst  form  of  mania, 
an  1  soon  terminated  his  life.  The  other  was 
the  case  of  a  gentleman  who  had  held  office  in 
the  American  army,  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
About  the  same  age,  or  a  little  later,  he  lost  his 
cheerfulness,  which  had  never  been  interrupted 
before,  and,  by  degrees,  fell  into  a  most  deplor¬ 
able  state  of  melancholy,  which,  as  in  the  for¬ 
mer  case,  soon  ended  in  death.  In  this  case, 


446 


JIELAN  CHOLY. 


MEMORY. 


the  first  thing  which  I  noticed  was  a  morbid 
sensibility  of  the  moral  sense,  which  filled  him 
with  remorse  for  acts  which  had  little  or  no 
moral  turpitude  attached  to  them. 

Archibald  Alexander ,  D.D. 

3876.  MELANCHOLY,  Incurable,  One  day,  a 
physician  of  great  eminence  in  Paris  beheld  a 
man  entering  his  study,  who  came,  as  he  said, 
to  seek  the  assistance  of  his  skill  against  a  dis¬ 
ease  which  nothing  could  cure.  Having  made 
some  inquiries  into  the  causes  of  his  sufferings, 
the  unknown  patient  replied,  that  he  was 
afflicted  with  a  deep  melancholy,  which  ren¬ 
dered  life  an  insupportable  burden.  “  You 
must  drink  good  wine,”  said  the  physician  to 
his  patient.  “  I  have  in  my  cellar  the  best 
wine  in  the  world,”  replied  the  unknown ;  “  but 
it  cannot  make  me  forget  my  sadness.”  — 
“  You  must  travel,  then.” —  “  I  have  made  the 
tour  of  Europe ;  and  still  my  wretchedness  has 
travelled  with  me.”  —  “  Oh,  oh  1  the  case  is  sad 
indeed  ;  but  still  there  is  a  remedy  :  go  every 
evening  to  the  Italian  comedy ;  you  will  see 
the  celebrated  harlequin  Biancolelli  play;  his 
gayety  is  catching  ;  that  will  make  you  cheer¬ 
ful.”  —  “  Alas,  sir  1  ”  said  the  poor  patient,  “  I 
see  mv  malady  is  incurable :  I  am  Biancolelli.” 

3877.  MELANCHOLY,  Groundless,  A  lady, 

observing  her  husband  deeply  dejected  on  ac¬ 
count  of  some  misfortune,  pretended  to  be  still 
more  disconsolate  than  he,  and  gave  way  to 
lamentations  and  tears.  As  she  had  before 
exhorted  him  to  dismiss  his  sorrow,  he  was 
astonished,  and  asked  the  cause  of  her  sudden 
grief.  She  replied,  that  she  had  been  dream¬ 
ing;  and  that  it  seemed  to  her  that  a  messen¬ 
ger  had  come  from  heaven,  and  brought  the 
news  that  God  was  dead,  and  that  all  the 
angels  were  weeping.  “  Foolish  woman  !  ” 
said  the  husband :  “you  know  right  well  that 
God  cannot  die!”  —  “  Indeed,”  replied  the 
wife,  “  and,  if  that  be  so  certain,  how  comes 
it  that  you  are  now  indulging  your  sorrow  as 
immoderately  as  if  he  really  did  no  longer 
exist  ?  ”  Gotthold. 

3878.  MELANCHOLY,  Receipts  against.  Never 

give  way  to  melancholy,  resist  it  steadily  ;  for 
the  habit  will  encroach.  I  once  gave  a  lady 
two  and  twenty  receipts  against  melancholy  : 
one  was  a  bright  fire ;  another,  to  remember 
all  the  pleasant  things  said  to  her;  another, 
to  keep  a  box  of  sugar-plums  on  the  chimney- 
piece,  and  a  kettle  simmering  on  the  hob.  I 
thought  this  mere  trifling  at  the  moment,  but 
have,  in  after-life,  discovered  how  true  it  is  that 
these  little  pleasures  often  banish  melancholy 
better  than  higher  and  more  exalted  objects ; 
and  that  no  means  ought  to  be  thought  too 
trifling  which  can  oppose  it,  either  in  ourselves 
or  in  others.  Sydney  Smith. 

3879.  MEMORY,  Christian.  It  was  the  re¬ 
mark  of  John  Newton,  when  his  memory  had 
almost  completely  gone,  that  he  could  never 
forget  two  things:  1.  That  he  was  a  great 
sinner ;  2.  That  Jesus  Christ  was  a  great  and 
mighty  Saviour. 

3880.  MEMORY,  Cleansing  the,  I  have  some¬ 
where  read  a  story  of  one  who  complained  to 


an  aged  holy  man,  that  he  was  much  discour* 
aged  from  reading  the  Scriptures,  because  he 
could  fasten  nothing  on  his  memory  that  he 
had  read.  The  old  man  bade  him  take  an 
earthen  pitcher,  and  fill  it  with  water :  when 
he  had  done  it,  he  bade  him  empty  it  again, 
and  wipe  it  clean,  that  nothing  should  remain 
in  it;  which  when  the  other  had  done,  and 
wondered  to  what  this  tended,  “  Now,”  said 
he,  “  though  there  be  nothing  of  the  water 
remaining  in  it,  yet  the  pitcher  is  cleaner  than 
it  was  before.  So  though  thy  memory  retain 
nothing  of  the  Word  thou  readest,  yet  thy  heart 
is  the  cleaner  for  its  very  passage  through.” 

Hopkins. 

3881.  MEMORY,  Conversion  through  the.  There 

was  a  man  wounded  in  the  first  day’s  fight  at 
Pittsburg  Landing.  lie  lay  all  Sunday  night, 
in  a  tent  held  by  the  rebels,  on  the  ground,  in 
the  mud,  uncared  for.  During  the  long  and 
terrible  night,  amid  the  rain,  and  roar  of 
artillery,  there  came  vividly  back  to  him  the 
text  and  all  the  argument  of  a  sermon  he  had 
heard  twenty  years  before.  The  next  day, 
when  our  troops  succeeded,  he  was  rescued, 
ami  taken  to  St.  Louis.  The  Holy  Spirit  sent 
home  the  impression  of  that  night ;  and  the 
seed,  twenty  years  buried,  sprang  up,  and 
brought  forth  fruit  in  his  conversion.  He 
lived  six  weeks  to  give  testimony  to  God’s 
goodness,  and  died  in  joy  and  hope ;  his  last 
words  being,  “  My  God,  my  country,  my 
mother !  ”  Demand. 

3882.  MEMORY,  Definitions  of.  Aristotle  calls 
it  the  scribe  of  the  soul ;  and  Bernard  calls  the 
memory  the  stomach  of  the  soul,  because  it 
hath  a  retentive  faculty,  and  turns  heavenly 

food  into  blood  and  spirits.  —  T.  Watson. - 

Memory  is  the  golden  thread  linking  all  the 
mental  gifts  and  excellences  together.  Mem¬ 
ory,  when  treated  well,  is  like  an  angel  even 
within  the  soul ;  but,  treated  ill,  is  like  a  black 
weird  shadow,  casting  a  baneful  and  remorse¬ 
ful  eye  on  all  within  its  reach.  —  E.  P.  Hood. 

3883.  MEMORY,  Examples  of.  Thomas  Vin¬ 
cent  had  the  New  Testament  and  Psalms  by 
heart.  Henry  de  Mesmes  could  repeat  the 
whole  of  Homer.  Anthony  Magliabecehi,  hav¬ 
ing  once  read  a  manuscript,  afterwards  wrote 
it  down  verbatim  from  memory.  Bishop  Jewel, 
after  writing  a  sermon,  could  l'epeat  it  after  once 
reading.  Dr.  Kidston  affirms,  that,  if  the  whole 
Bible  had  been  lost,  Prof.  Lawson  could  have 
restore4  it  from  memory.  Miss  Logan,  when 
only  four  years  old,  could  recite  the  whole  of 
“  Pope’s  Essay  on  Man.”  Greffer  Fagel  is  said 
to  have  recited  the  whole  of  a  newspaper  after 
one  reading,  from  beginning  to  end,  and  then 
to  have  recited  it  backward,  from  the  end  to 
the  beginning,  without  a  mistake. 

3884.  MEMORY,  Imperishable,  I  knew  a 
man  who  said,  that  in  faliingtwentyfeet,  when 
he  expected  to  die,  the  thoughts  of  a  lifetime 
seemed  to  pass  through  his  mind.  He  thought 
ofhis  business,  of  his  wife,  of  his  children,  and 
of  that  eternity  to  which  he  was  going.  A 
life  seemed  to  pass  through  his  mind,  and 
nothing  was  lost.  So  it  will  be  when  memory 


MEMORY. 


MEN. 


447 


(mmmons  the  acts  of  a  life  at  the  last  tribunal. 
Nothing  is  lost.  Thoughts  once  impressed, 
but  apparently  lost,  will  come  out  again.  A 
life  is  written  on  our  memory,  as  with  invisi¬ 
ble  ink.  It  is  apparently  lost  to  our  frail  sight 
while  here  ;  but,  in  the  judgment-light,  it  will 
be  seen  enveloped  around  us,  and  will  be  un¬ 
rolled  till  every  line  and  letter  is  made  visi¬ 
ble.  I  knew  a  sailor  once,  who  said,  that 
when  once  in  a  storm,  on  the  giddy  mast, 
while  trying  to  furl  a  sail,  and  could  not,  he 
cursed  God.  It  passed  out  of  his  mind  for 
twenty  years;  but  then,  in  a  season  of  excite¬ 
ment,  he  said,  “  Now  I  remember  it :  I  am  lost !  ” 

Dr.  Beecher. 

3885.  MEMORY,  Power  o£  Dr.  Johnson,  it 

is  said,  never  forgot  any  thing  that  he  had 
seen,  heard,  or  read.  Burke,  Clarendon, 
Gibbon,  Locke,  Tillotson,  were  all  distin¬ 
guished  for  strength  of  memory.  Sir  William 
Hamilton  observes,  “For  intellectual  power 
of  the  highest  order,  none  were  distinguished 
above  Grotius  and  Pascal ;  and  Grotius  and 
Pascal  forgot  nothing  they  had  ever  read  or 
thought.  Leibnitz  and  Euler  were  not  less 
celebrated  for  their  intelligence  than  for  their 
memory  ;  and  both  could  repeat  the  whole  of 
the  ‘iEneid. ’”  Ben  Jonson  tells  us,  that  he 
could  repeat  all  that  he  had  ever  written,  and 
whole  books  that  he  had  read.  Themistocles 
could  call  by  their  names  the  twenty  thousand 
citizens  of  Athens.  Cyrus  is  reported  to  have 
known  the  name  of  every  soldier  in  his  army. 
Hortensius  (after  Cicero,  the  greatest  orator 
of  Rome),  alter  sitting  a  whole  day  at  a  pub¬ 
lic  sale,  correctly  enunciated,  from  memory,  all 
the  things  sold,  their  prices,  and  the  names  of 
their  purchasers.  Niebuhr,  the  liistorian,  was 
not  less  distinguished  for  his  memory  than  for 
his  acuteness.  In  his  youth,  he  was  employed 
in  one  of  the  public  offices  of  Denmark. 
Part  of  a  book  of  accounts  having  been 
destroyed,  he  restored  it  by  an  effort  of  mem¬ 
ory.  Dr.  Winslow. 

3886.  MEMORY,  Sacred.  Thus  a  house  be¬ 

comes  sacred.  Every  room  has  a  thousand 
memories.  Every  door  and  window  is  clus¬ 
tered  with  associations ;  and  when,  after  long 
years,  we  go  back  to  the  house  of  our  infancy, 
faces  look  out  upon  us,  and  an  invisible  multi¬ 
tude  stand  in  gate  and  portal  to  welcome  us, 
and  we  hear  airy  voices  speaking  again  the 
old  words  of  our  childhood.  Every  man  has 
a  silent  and  solitary  literature  written  by  his 
heart  upon  the  tables  of  stone  in  Nature  ;  and, 
next  to  God’s  finger,  a  man’s  heart  writes  the 
most  memorable  things.  Beecher. 

3887.  MEMORY,  of  Scripture.  It  is  said  of 
Tertullian,  that  he  devoted  his  nights  and 
days  to  the  Scriptures,  and  got  much  of  them 
by  heart  so  exactly,  that  he  knew  the  very 
punctuation  of  them.  St.  Austin  tells  us,  that, 
after  his  conversion,  the  Scriptures  were  the 
matter  of  his  chief  joy.  Theodosius  the  young¬ 
er  could  repeat  any  part  of  the  Scriptures 
exactly,  and  could  discourse  with  the  bishops 
at  court,  as  if  he  himself  had  been  a  bishop. 
It  is  said  of  Origen,  that  he  never  went  to 


meals  but  he  had  some  portion  of  Scripture 
read,  nor  to  sleep  without  observance  of  the 
same  practice.  Eusebi  is  says,  that  he  heard 
one  who  had  his  eyes  burnt  out  during  the 
Dioclesian  persecution  repeat  from  memory 
the  Scriptures  in  a  large  assembly.  It  is  said 
of  another,  that  he  had  read  the  Scriptures 
until  he  had  made  his  soul  a  library  for  Christ. 
Beza  could  repeat  them  in  Greek  at  fourscore 
years  of  age.  Cranmer  and  Ridley  learnt  the 
!New  Testament  by  heart,  —  the  one  in  his 
journey  to  Rome,  and  the  other  in  the  walks 
of  Pembroke  Hall  in  Cambridge.  Bennett. 

3888.  MEMORY,  Thoughts  on.  It  is  the  bane 
of  the  wicked,  the  home  of  the  past,  the  mind’s 

magnetic  telegraph.  —  Family  Friend. - Our 

memories,  corrupted  by  the  fall,  are  often  like 
those  ponds  where  frogs  live  and  the  fish  die. 

—  L ripple  gate  Lectures. - Grace  makes  a 

good  heart  memory  even  where  there  is  a  bad 
head  memory.  —  Boston. 

3889.  MEMORY,  Traces  o£  A  number  of 
white  children  had  been  recaptured,  who  had 
been  so  long  with  the  Indians,  that  they  could 
give  no  account  of  themselves.  A  mother  who 
had  lost  two  children  years  before  went  to 
seek  her  lost  ones  among  them.  The  children 
were  drawn  up  in  line  for  inspection ;  but  she 
could  not  recognize  any  of  them  as  hers.  She 
turned  away,  weeping,  but  soon  began  to  sing 
the  hymn  that  had  been  her  children’s  lullaby- 
song.  Scarce  a  line  had  been  sung,  when  her 
two  lost  children  rushed  from  the  line,  exclaim¬ 
ing,  “  Mamma,  mamma  !  ” 

3890.  MEN,  Development  of.  Troubles  are 

often  the  tools  by  which  God  fashions  us  for 
better  things.  Far  up  the  mountain-side  lies 
a  block  of  granite,  and  says  to  itself,  “  How 
happy  am  I  in  my  serenity,  —  above  the  winds, 
above  the  trees,  almost  above  the  flight  of  the 
birds  1  Here  I  rest,  age  after  age,  and  nothing 
disturbs  me.”  Yet  what  is  it It  is  only  a 
bare  block  of  granite  jutting  out  of  the  cliff; 
and  its  happiness  is  the  happiness  of  death. 
By  and  by  comes  the  miner,  and,  with  strong 
and  repeated  strokes,  he  drills  a  hole  in  its 
top ;  and  the  rock  says,  “  What  does  this  mean  ?  ” 
Then  the  black  powder  is  poured  in  ;  and,  with 
a  blast  that  makes  the  mountain  echo,  the 
block  is  blown  asunder,  and  goes  crashing  down 
into  the  valley.  “  Ah  1  ”  it  exclaims  as  it  falls, 
“  why  this  rending  ?  ”  Then  come  saws  to  cut 
and  fashion  it ;  and  humbled  now,  and  willing 
to  be  nothing,  it  is  borne  away  from  the  moun¬ 
tain,  and  conveyed  to  the  city.  Now  it  is 
chiselled  and  polished,  till  at  length,  finished 
in  beauty,  by  block  and  tackle  it  is  raised, 
with  mighty  hoistings,  high  in  air,  to  be  the 
top-stone  on  some  monument  of  the  country's 
glory.  So  God  Almighty  casts  a  man  down 
when  he  wants  to  chisel  him  ;  and  the  chiselling 
is  always  to  make  him  something  finer  and 
better  than  he  was  before.  Beecher. 

3891.  MEN,  Iron.  There’s  your  iron  man; 
firm,  determined,  harder  than  the  granite, 
unless  you  get  him  heated.  Right  or  wrong, 
you  may  hammer  at.  him  as  long  as  you  please: 
it  is  of  no  use,  if  he  only  keep  cool.  Yet  stern, 


448 


MAUN". 


MERCY. 


frigid,  unattractive,  as  he  may  appear,  he  is 
your  generally  and  most  permanently  useful 
man.  The  world  might  as  well  expect  to  get 
on  without  the  use  of  iron  as  without  this  har¬ 
dy,  industrious,  weighty  class  of  men.  Only 
engage  their  tenacity  and  hardness  on  the 
right  side,  and  they  are  the  best  men  in  the 
world.  Read. 

3892.  MEN,  Lead.  We  meet  a  class  that 

we  can  only  liken  to  lead ,  — heavy,  dull ;  body, 
brains,  arms,  and  legs  made  about  of  the  same 
material ;  mind,  heart,  pluck,  made  of  the  same 
dead,  dull,  dark,  crocky,  muddy  substance ;  no 
more  life  or  elasticity  than  a  dead  lump  of 
lead.  Read. 

3893.  MEN,  Perfnmed.  There  are  many  peo¬ 
ple  in  this  world  who  are  like  perfumed  vases 
from  which  the  perfume  has  fled,  all  the  sur¬ 
rounding  objects  attracting  it ;  and  so  their 
life  is  not  in  themselves ,  but  in  their  things. 

Beecher. 

3894.  MEN,  Steel.  Then  there’s  your  men 
of  steel ,  possessing  all  the  intrinsically  excel¬ 
lent  qualities  of  hardness  and  tenacity,  and 
durability  and  genera!  usefulness,  of  the  iron 
man ;  and,  over  and  above  these,  they  are  fitted 
to  serve  some  purposes  which  he  does  not. 
They  are  more  elastic ,  more  delicate  and  flexi¬ 
ble,  yet  abate  not  an  iota  of  the  tenacity  and 
hardness  of  the  man  of  iron  ( which  they  in¬ 
herit  as  a  birthright).  The  truth  is,  they  are  the 
same  in  stamina  and  material,  only  tempered 
and  refined,  and  made  more  pliable  and  useful 
in  certain  departments  of  life’s  business.  They 
take  a  higher  polish ;  and  like  steel,  that  can 
be  worked  up  into  a  great  variety  of  utensils, 
vessels,  tools,  weapons  of  defence,  and  be  used 
extensively  for  mechanical  and  for  ornamental 
purposes  where  iron  would  not  do,  this  class 
of  men  fill  a  place,  and  exert  an  influence  in 
human  enterprise  and  progress,  where  the 
rougher  virtues  of  the  other  class  do  not  reach. 

Read. 

3895.  MEN,  Types  of.  Some  men  are  rough, 
uncouth,  growling,  grumbling,  like  the  bear ; 
.others  are  lion-like,  or  tiger-like,  or  wolfish,  or 
fox-like  some  are  timid  as  the  deer,  or  gentle 
as  the  lamb,  or  possessed  of  the  strength,  beau¬ 
ty,  and  alertness  of  the  leopard ;  others  are 
morose  and  surly  like  the  mastiff,  or  arrogant 
and  overbearing  like  the  bull-dog,  or  snarling 
and  snapping  like  the  cur,  forever  barking, 
but  never  having  the  courage  to  bite.  Read. 

3896.  MERCIES,  Appreciating.  A  man  aged 

fifty  years  lived  forty-eight  of  that  time,  and 
never  knew  what  sickness  was ;  but  the  last 
two  years  of  his  life  he  was  sickly,  and  impa¬ 
tient  under  it ;  yet  at  last  he  reasoned  the  case 
thus  with  himself :  “  The  Lord  might  have 

given  me  forty-eight  years  of  sickness,  and  but 
two  years  of  health,  yet  he  hath  done  the  con¬ 
trary  :  I  will  therefore  rather  admire  the  mercy 
of  God  in  giving  me  so  long  a  time  of  health, 
than  repine  and  murmur  at  him  for  giving  me 
so  short  a  time  of  sickness.”  Spencer. 

3897.  MERCIES,  Daily.  Gotthold  saw  a  boy 
standing  upon  the  bank  of  a  lake,  casting  peb¬ 
bles  into  the  water.  Each,  as  it  fell,  produced 


a  number  of  circles  upon  the  surface,  which 
were  small  at  first,  but  became  gradually  wider 
and  wider,  until  at  last  they  disappeared 
from  the  view.  He  said,  “  If  I  begin  to  pon¬ 
der  the  wondrous  dealings  and  holy  purposes 
of  my  God,  I  always  see  one  divine  benefit  and 
proof  of  wisdom  appearing  behind  another;  or 
if  1  have  searched,  in  some  measure,  one  little 
circle  of  his  ways,  I  perceive  a  thousand  others, 
all  widening  as  they  recede,  which  at  last  fill 
me  with  awe,  so  that  I  stop,  and  exclaim,  ‘  Oh 
the  depths  of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  God  !  ’  ” 

3898.  MERCIES,  Forgetting.  We  write  our 

blessings  on  the  water,  but  our  afflictions  on 
the  rock.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3899.  MERCIES,  Gratitude  for,  It  is  said  of 
Socrates,  that  he  prized  the  king’s  counte¬ 
nance  more  than  his  coin.  This  should  be 
realized  by  every  Christian  heart. 

399®.  MERCIES,  Right  Use  of.  We  may  pos¬ 
sess  earthly  comforts ;  but  we  must  not  be  pos¬ 
sessed  by  them  :  we  may  use  them  as  flowers 
to  smell,  but  not  as  garlands  to  crown  ourselves 
with  :  we  may  as  pilgrims  walk  with  them,  as 
staves  in  our  hands,  seeking  the  country  which 
is  above ;  but  we  may  not  load  ourselves  with 
them,  or  bear  them  as  burdens  upon  our  backs  : 
we  may  make  them  our  encouragement,  but 
not  our  confidence  :  we  may  use  them  as  ac¬ 
cessories  ;  but  we  may  not  love  them  as  our 
principal  happiness.  Spurstowe. 

3901.  MERCIES,  Sum  of  Small.  Many  little 

items  make  together  a  great  sum.  What  less 
than  a  grain  of  sand,  yet  what  heavier  than 
the  sand  on  the  seashore  Y  As  little  sins,  be¬ 
cause  of  their  multitude,  arise  to  a  great  guilt, 
and  will  bring  in  a  long  bill,  a  heavy  reckon¬ 
ing,  at  last ;  so  ordinary  mercies,  —  what  they 
want  in  their  size  they  have  it  compensated  in 
their  number.  Who  will  not  say  that  a  man 
shows  as  great,  yea,  greater  kindness  to  main¬ 
tain  one  at  his  table  with  ordinary  fare  all  the 
year,  as  in  entertaining  him  at  a  great  feast 
twice  or  thrice  in  the  same  time.  Gum  all. 

3902.  MERCIES,  Thanksgiving  for.  We  should 

echo  in  our  thankfulness  the  first  intimation 
that  God  gives  in  his  providence  of  an  ap¬ 
proaching  mercy.  If  you  do  but  hear  when 
the  king  is  on  his  road  towards  your  town,  you 
raise  your  bells  to  ring  him  in,  and  stay  not 
till  he  be  entered  the  gates.  The  birds  they 
rise  betimes  in  the  morning,  and  are  saluting 
the  rising  sun  with  their  sweet  notes  in  the 
air.  Thus  should  we  strike  up  our  harps  iu 
praising  God  at  the  first  appearance  of  a 
mercy.  Gurnall. 

3903.  MERCY,  Abased.  To  sin  because 
mercy  abounds  is  the  Devil’s  logic.  He  that 
sins  because  of  mercy  is  like  one  that  wounds 
his  head  because  he  hath  a  plaster  :  he  that 
sins  because  of  God’s  mercy  shall  have  judg¬ 
ment  without  mercy.  Mercy  abused  turns  to 
fury.  Nothing  sweeter  than  mercy  when  it  is 
improved,  nothing  fiercer  when  it  is  abused : 
nothing  colder  than  lead  when  it  is  taken  out 
of  the  mine,  nothing  more  scalding  than  lead 
when  it  is  heated ;  nothing  blunter  than  iron, 


MERCY. 


MERCY. 


449 


nothing  sharper  -when  it  is  whetted.  “  The 
mercy  of  the  Lord  is  upon  them  that  fear 
him.”  Mercy  is  not  for  them  that  sin,  and 
fear  not ;  but  for  them  that  fear,  and  sin  not. 

T.  Watson. 

3904.  MERCY,  Accessible.  The  daughter  of 
a  poor  widow  had  left  her  mother’s  cottage. 
Led  astray  by  others,  she  had  forsaken  the 
guide  of  her  youth.  Prayer  was  the  mother’s 
only  resource ;  nor  was  it  in  vain.  Late  one 
night,  the  daughter  returned  home.  It  was 
near  midnight ;  and  she  was  surprised  to  find 
the  door  unlatched.  But  she  was  soon  told  in 
the  fulness  of  the  mother’s  heart,  “  Never,  my 
child,  by  night  or  by  day,  has  that  door  been 
fastened  since  you  left.  I  knew  that  you 
would  come  back  some  day ;  and  I  was  unwill¬ 
ing  to  keep  you  waiting  for  a  single  moment.” 

3905.  MERCY,  Alternative  of.  When  the  old 
Romans  attacked  a  city,  it  was  sometimes  their 
custom  to  set  up  a  white  flag  at  the  city  gate. 
If  the  garrison  surrendered  '  while  the  white 
flag  was  up,  their  lives  were  spared :  after 
that,  the  black  flag  was  run  up,  and  every  man 
was  put  to  the  sword.  Sinner,  to-day  the 
white  flag  of  mercy  is  out.  Surrender  to 
Christ,  and  live,  before  the  black  flag  of  death 
and  doom  takes  its  place. 

3906.  MERCY,  Appeal  for.  A  woman  ar¬ 

raigned  before  Alexander  the  Great,  and  con¬ 
demned,  said,  “  I  appeal  from  thee,  O  king  !  ” 
Alexander  said,  “  Thou  art  a  mad  woman ! 
Dost  thou  not  know  that  every  appeal  is  from 
a  lower  judge  to  a  higher?  But  who  is  above 
me  ?  ”  She  answered,  “  I  know  thee  to  be 
above  thy  laws,  and  that  thou  mayest  give 
pardon;  and  therefore  I  appeal  from  justice  to 
mercy,  and  for  my  faults  crave  pardon.”  So 
must  sinners  do.  Cawdray. 

3907.  MERCY,  Divine.  As  a  spark  of  fire 

to  all  the  water  in  the  sea,  so  no  more  is  all 
the  wickedness  of  man  to  the  mercies  and  mer¬ 
cifulness  of  God.  Cawdray. 

3908.  MERCY,  Effect  of.  A  soldier  in  our 
army  heard  of  the  severe  sickness  of  his  wife. 
He  applied  for  leave  of  absence,  but  was  re¬ 
fused.  He  left  the  army ;  but,  before  he  got 
away,  was  retaken,  and  brought  in  as  a  desert¬ 
er.  He  was  tried,  found  guilty,  and  summoned 
before  the  commanding  oilicer  to  receive  his 
sentence.  He  entered  the  tent,  saluted,  and  | 
stood  perfectly  unmoved  while  the  officer  read 
his  fearful  doom,  — 14  To  be  shot  to  death  with 
musketry  on  the  next  F riday.”  •  Not  a  muscle 
of  his  face  twitched,  not  a  limb  quivered.  “  I 
deserve  it,  sir,”  he  replied  respectfully  :  “  I  de¬ 
serted  from  my  flag.  Is  that  all,  sir  ?  ”  —  “  No,” 
replied  the  officer :  “  I  have  something  else  for 
you  ;  ”  and,  taking  another  paper,  he  read  aloud 
the  doomed  man’s  pardon.  The  undaunted 
spirit  which  severity  had  failed  to  move  was 
completely  broken  down  by  clemency.  He 
dropped  to  the  ground,  shaking,  sobbing,  and 
overcome  ;  and,  being  restored  to  his  regiment, 

Eiroved  himself  grateful  for  the  mercy  shown 
lim,  and  was  soon  promoted  for  good  conduct. 

3909.  MERCY,  Example  of.  Augustus  Caesar, 
having  promised  by  proclamation  a  great  sum 
29 


of  money  to  any  one  that  should  bring  him  the 
head  of  a  famous  pirate,  yet  when  the  pirate, 
who  had  heard  of  this,  brought  it  himself  to 
him,  he  not  only  pardoned  him  for  his  former 
offences,  but  rewarded  him  for  the  great  con¬ 
fidence  that  he  had  in  his  mercy.  Spencer. 

3910.  MERCY,  Free.  Let  me  tell  thee  that 

the  mercy  of  God  flows  freely.  It  wants  no 
money  and  no  price  from  thee,  no  fitness  of 
frames  and  feelings,  no  preparation  of  good 
works  or  penitence.  Free  as  the  brook  which 
leaps  from  the  mountain-side,  at  wThich  every 
weary  traveller  may  drink,  so  free  is  the  mercy 
of  God.  Free  as  the  sun  that  shineth,  and 
gilds  the  mountain’s  brow  and  makes  glad  the 
valleys,  without  fee  or  reward,  so  free  is 
the  mercy  of  God  to  every  needy  sinner. 
Free  as  the  air  which  belts  the  earth,  and  pen¬ 
etrates  the  peasant’s  cottage  as  well  as  the 
royal  palace,  without  purchase  or  premium,  so 
free  is  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ.  Ittarrieth 
not  for  thee :  it  cometh  to  thee  as  thou  art. 
It  waylayeth  thee  in  love  :  it  meeteth  thee  in 
tenderness.  Spurgeon. 

3911.  MERCY,  Great.  God’s  mercy  is  so 
great,  that  it  forgives  great  sins  to  great  sim 
ners,  after  great  lengths  of  time,  and  then 
gives  great  favors  and  great  privileges,  and 
raises  us  up  to  great  enjoyments  in  the  great 
heaven  of  the  great  God.  As  John  Bunyan 
well  says,  “  It  must  be  great  mercy,  or  no  mer¬ 
cy;  for  little  mercy  will  never  serve  my  turn.” 

Spurgeon. 

3912.  MERCY,  Ideas  of.  Mercy  hath  but  its 
name  from  misery,  and  is  no  other  thing  than 
to  lay  another’s  misery  to  heart.  —  Binney. 

- The  depths  of  our  misery  can  never  fall 

below  the  depths  of  mercy.  —  Silbes. - The 

plaster  is  as  wide  as  the  wound.  —  Henry.  - 

The  mercies  of  God  will  be  loadstones  to  draw 
us  to  heaven,  or  millstones  to  sink  us  to  perdi¬ 
tion.  When  Thomas  Hooker  was  dying,  one 
said  to  him,  “  You  are  going  to  receive  the  re¬ 
ward  of  your  labors.”  He  replied,  “  I  am 
going  to  receive  mercy." 

3913.  MERCY,  Importance  of.  Mercy  is  in 
the  air  which  we  breathe,  the  daily  light  which 
shines  upon  us,  the  gracious  rain  of  God’s  in¬ 
heritance.  It  is  the  public  spring  for  all  the 
thirsty,  the  common  hospital  for  all  the  needy. 

|  All  the  streets  of  the  church  are  paved  with 
these  stones.  What  would  become  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  if  there  were  not  these  breasts  of  consola¬ 
tion  ?  It  is  mercy  that  takes  us  out  of  the 
womb,  feeds  us  in  the  days  of  our  pilgrimage, 
furnishes  us  with  spiritual  provision,  closes  cur 
eyes  in  peace,  and  translates  us  to  a  secure 
resting-place.  It  is  the  first  petitioner’s  suit, 
and  the  first  believer’s  article,  the  contempla¬ 
tion  of  Enoch,  the  confidence  of  Abraham, 
the  burden  of  the  prophetic  songs,  and  the 
glory  of  all  the  apostles,  the  plea  of  the  peni¬ 
tent,  the  ecstasies  of  the  reconciled,  the  be¬ 
liever’s  hosanna,  the  angel’s  hallelujah.  Or¬ 
dinances,  oracles,  altars,  pulpits,  the  gates  of 
the  grave,  and  the  gates  of  heaven,  do  all 
depend  upon  mercy.  It  is  the  load-star  of 
the  wandering,  the  ransom  of  the  captive,  the 


450 


MERCY. 


MERCY. 


antidote  of  the  tempted,  the  prophet  of  the 
living,  and  the  effectual  comfort  of  the  dying  : 
there  would  not  be  one  regenerate  saint  upon 
earth,  nor  one  glorified  saint  in  heaven,  if  it 
were  not  for  mercy. 

3914.  MERCY,  Love  of.  It  is  related,  that 
during  the  first  few  days  of  the  reign  of  Queen 
Victoria,  then  between  nineteen  and  twenty 
years  of  age,  some  sentences  of  a  court-martial 
were  presented  for  her  signature.  One  was 
death  for  desertion.  A  soldier  was  condemned 
to  be  shot;  and  his  death-warrant  was  pre¬ 
sented  to  the  queen  for  her  signature.  She 
read  it,  paused,  and  looked  up  to  the  officer 
who  had  laid  it  before  her,  and  said,  “  Have 
you  nothing  to  say  in  behalf  of  this  man  ?  ”  — 
“Nothing:  he  has  deserted  three  times,”  said 
the  officer.  “  Think  again,  my  lord,”  was  her 
reply.  “  And,”  said  the  gallant  veteran  as  he 
related  the  circumstance  to  his  friends  (for  it 
was  none  other  than  the  Duke  of  Wellington), 
“  seeing  her  Majesty  so  earnest  about  it,  I 
said,  ‘  He  is  certainly  a  bad  soldier ;  but  there 
was  somebody  who  spoke  to  his  good  charac¬ 
ter  ;  and  he  may  be  a  good  man  for  aught  I 
know  to  the  contrary.’  ”  —  “  Oh,  thank  you  a 
thousand  times  !  ”  exclaimed  the  youthful 
queen ;  and,  hastily  writing  “  Pardoned  ”  in 
large  letters  on  the  fatal  page,  she  sent  it  across 
the  table  with  a  hand  trembling  with  eager¬ 
ness  and  emotion. 

3915.  MERCY,  Manifold.  As  John  Bunyan 

says,  all  the  flowers  in  God’s  garden  are  dou¬ 
ble  ;  there  is  no  single  mercy :  nay,  they  are 
not  only  double  flowers,  but  they  are  manifold 
flowers.  There  are  many  flowers  upon  one 
stalk,  and  many  flowers  in  one  flower.  You 
shall  think  you  have  but  one  mercy ;  but  you 
shall  find  it  to  be  a  whole  flock  of  mercies. 
Our  beloved  is  unto  us  a  bundle  of  myrrh,  a 
cluster  of  camphor.  When  you  lay  hold  upon 
one  golden  link  of  the  chain  of  grace,  you  pull, 
pull,  pull ;  but,  lo  1  as  long  as  your  hand  can 
draw  there  are  fresh  “  linked  sweetnesses  ”  of 
love  still  to  come.  Manifold  mercies  1  Like 
the  drops  of  a  lustre,  which  reflect  a  rainbow 
of  colors  when  the  sun  is  glittering  upon  them, 
and  each  one,  when  turned  in  different  ways, 
from  its  prismatic  form  shows  all  the  varieties 
of  color :  so  the  mercy  of  God  is  one  and  yet 
many  ;  the  same,  yet  ever  changing ;  a  combi¬ 
nation  of  all  the  beauties  of  love  blended  har¬ 
moniously  together.  Spurgeon. 

3916.  MERCY,  Offered.  When  Alexander 
encamped  before  a  city,  he  used  to  set  up  a 
light,  to  give  notice  to  those  within,  that,  if 
they  came  forth  to  him  while  that  light  lasted, 
they  should  have  quarter :  if  otherwise,  no 
mercy  was  to  be  expected.  God  sets  up  light 
after  light,  and  waits  year  after  year,  and  even 
invites  men  to  come  unto  him,  that  they  may 
have  life. 

3912'.  MERCY,  Plea  for.  A  man  called  at 
my  bouse,  some  time  ago.  tor  charity.  Think¬ 
ing  that  the  man’s  rags  and  poverty  were  real, 
I  gave  him  a  little  money,  some  of  my  clothes, 
and  a  pair  of  shoes.  After  he  had  put  them 
on,  and  gone  out,  I  thought,  “  Well,  after  all, 


I  have  done  you  a  bad  turn  very  likely ;  for 
you  will  not  get  so  much  money  now  as  before, 
because  you  will  not  look  so  wretched  an  ob¬ 
ject.”  Happening  to  go  out  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  afterwards,  I  saw  my  friend  ;  but  he  was 
not  wearing  the  clothes  I  had  given  him,  —  not 
he  1  Why,  I  should  have  ruined  his  business 
if  I  could  have  compelled  him  to  look  respect 
able.  He  had  been  wise  enough  to  slip  down 
an  archway,  take  all  the  good  clothes  off,  and 
put  his  rags  on  again.  He  only  wore  his  prop, 
er  livery ;  for  rags  are  the  livery  of  a  beggar. 
The  more  ragged  he  looked,  the  more  he  would 
get.  Just  so  is  it  with  you.  If  you  are  to  go 
to  Christ,  do  not  put  on  your  good  doings  and 
feelings,  or  you  will  get  nothing :  go  in  your 
sins,  they  are  your  livery.  Your  ruin  is  your 
argument  for  mercy  ;  your  poverty  is  your  plea 
for  heavenly  alms ;  and  your  need  is  the  motive 
for  heavenly  good.  Spurgeon. 

3918.  MERCY,  Plenitude  of.  It  is  his  free 

compassion  to  cast  all  our  sins  into  the  depth 
of  the  sea  (Micah  vii.  19).  Now,  the  sea,  by 
reason  of  its  vastness,  can  drown  as  well  moun¬ 
tains  as  mole-hills  :  the  boundless  ocean  of 
God’s  mercy  can  swallow  up  our  mightiest 
sins  much  more.  It  is  his  merciful  power  to 
blot  out  our  sins  as  a  cloud.  Now,  the  strength 
of  the  summer’s  sun  is  able  to  scatter  the  thick¬ 
est  fog  as  well  as  the  thinnest  mist ;  nay,  to 
drive  away  the  darkest  midnight :  the  irresisti¬ 
ble  heat  of  God’s  free  love,  shining  through  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  upon  a  penitent  soul,  to 
dissolve  to  nothing  the  most  desperate  work  of 
darkness,  and  most  horrible  sin,  far  more 
easily.  Bolton. 

3919.  MERCY,  Refage  of.  There  is  a  story 
of  one,  that,  falling  asleep,  dreamed  that  he 
was  in  a  large  field  hedged  in  on  all  sides  with 
thunder,  lightning,  hail-storms,  and  the  like 
tempestuous  weather ;  and  that  he  saw  certain 
houses  afar  off,  and,  making  towards  one  of 
them,  craved  admittance  till  the  storm  were 
over.  “  What  art  thou  ?  ”  said  the  master  of 
the  house.  “  I  am  such  a  one,”  says  he,  telling 
his  name.  “  And  I,”  says  the  master,  “  am 
called  Justice :  thou  must  not  look  for  any  com¬ 
fort  from  me,  but  rather  the  contrary.”  At 
another  house,  he  was  answered,  that  there 
dwelt  Truth,  —  one  that  he  never  loved,  and 
must  therefore  expect  no  shelter  there.  Well, 
he  goes  to  the  third,  the  house  of  Peace  ;  and 
there  he  finds  the  like  entertainment.  In  the 
midst  of  this  distraction,  he  lights  upon  the 
house  of  Mercy ;  and  there  humbly  desiring 
entrance,  was  made  welcome,  and  refreshed. 

Spencer. 

3920.  MERCY,  Reciprocated,  The  Marshal 
D’ Armont,  having  taken  Crodon,  ordered  every 
Spaniard  found  in  the  garrison  to  be  put  to 
death.  Though  it  was  death  to  disobey  orders, 
an  English  soldier  ventured  to  save  a  Span¬ 
iard.  He  was  arraigned  for  the  offence,  con¬ 
fessed  the  fact,  and  declared  himself  ready  to 
suffer  death  if  they  would  save  the  life  of  the 
Spaniard.  Surprised  at  the  request,  they  in¬ 
quired  why  he  was  so  much  interested.  “  Be 
cause,”  replied  he,  “  in  a  similar  situation,  he 


JIBRCY. 


MXLX,ENNTrnvr. 


451 


once  saved  my  life.”  The  marshal  was  so 
greatly  pleased,  that  he  granted  him  pardon, 
and  saved  the  Spaniard’s  life. 

3921.  MERCY,  Reward  of.  A  drover  in  the 
West,  on  leaving  home,  promised  to  bring,  on 
his  return,  a  doll  to  his  youngest  child.  Hav¬ 
ing  finished  his  business,  his  usual  way  was  to 
start  early  in  the  morning  for  home  ;  but  this 
time  he  was  impressed  to  return,  though  the 
night  had  set  in  dark  and  stormy.  When 
aliout  six  miles  from  home,  he  was  startled  by 
a  cry  like  that  of  a  child.  He  stopped  and 
listened.  He  called,  and  it  answered  him. 
Cowardly  feelings  rose  in  his  breast ;  for  he 
thought  that  it  was  known  that  he  carried  a 
large  sum  of  money  about  with  him,  and  per¬ 
haps  this  was  a  plan  to  rob  him.  But  the 
pitiful  cry  aroused  his  manly  feelings;  and, 
alighting  from  his  horse,  he  followed  in  the 
darkness  the  sound  of  the  voice.  Soon  he  found 
a  little  dripping  thing,  that  moaned  and  sobbed 
as  he  took  it  in  his  arms.  He  carried  it  to  his 
home,  where  he  found,  to  his  surprise,  that  he 
had  rescued  his  own  child,  who  had  wandered 
out  on  the  prairie  to  meet  her  father. 

3923.  MERIT,  Assumption  of.  A  Romanist 
epitaph  in  Cork  contains  the  following :  “  Ed¬ 
ward  Molloy,  the  friend  of  humanity,  the 
father  of  the  poor.  He  employed  the  wealth 
of  this  world  only  to  procure  the  riches  of  the 
next ;  and,  leaving  a  balance  of  credit  on  the 
book  of  life,  he  made  heaven  debtor  to  mercy." 

3923.  MERIT,  of  Beneficence.  Mr.  Latrobe, 
visiting  an  Irish  nobleman,  was  shown  an  ele¬ 
gant  church  which  he  had  buiit,  and  was  asked, 
“Do  you  not  think  that  that  will  merit  heav¬ 
en  ?  ”  Said  Air.  Latrobe.  “  Pray,  my  lord,  what 
may  your  estate  be  worth  a  year  ?  ”  —  “  About 
thirteen  or  fourteen  thousand  pounds,”  was  the 
answer.  “  And  do  you  think  God  would  sell 
heaven  even  lor  thirteen  or  fourteen  thousand 
pounds?”  said  the  minister. 

3924.  MERIT,  Human.  An  ignorant  man, 
being  asked  how  he  hoped  to  be  saved,  re¬ 
plied.  “  Don’t  you  think,  that,  if  I  was  to  spend 
a  cold  frosty  night  under  a  hawthorn-bush,  it 
would  go  a  good  way  towards  it  ?  ” 

3925.  MERIT,  Pre-eminence  of.  A  rich  man 
of  Tarcntum  once  took  it  into  his  head  to  dis¬ 
tinguish  himself  at  the  Pythian  games.  Not 
having  strength  enough  to  shine  as  a  wrestler, 
nor  agility  enough  for  running,  he  chose  to  be 
considered  as  a  musical  candidate.  He  made 
his  appearance  at  Delplios,  dressed  in  cloth- 
of-gold,  with  a  crown  in  the  shape  of  a  laurel, 
the  leaves  of  which  were  of  gold  adorned  with 
the  finest  emeralds.  His  harp  exhibited  a 
proportionable  grandeur :  it  was  loaded  with 
jewels,  and  decorated  with  figures  of  Orpheus, 
Apollo,  and  the  Muses.  The  splendor  of  his 
appearance  drew  all  eyes  upon  him ;  and  every 
one  expected  something  wonderful  from  one 
who  had  taken  such  pains  to  attract  their 
notice.  How  great  was  their  disappointment, 
when,  on  the  magnificent  harper’s  attempting 
to  exert  his  powers,  his  voice  and  instrument 
both  equally  failed  him,  and  all  his  efforts  pro¬ 
duced  only  the  most  jarring  discords  !  Shouts 


of  laughter  rent  the  assembly;  and  the  judges 
of  the  game  whipped  him  out  of  the  theatre, 
covered  with  confusion.  The  next  candidate 
was  one  Eupolus  of  Elis.  Although  he  was 
meanly  dressed,  and  his  harp  was  but  of  homely 
fabric,  he  drew  forth  sounds  from  it  which 
charmed  and  delighted  the  whole  assembly ; 
anti  he  was  universally  pronounced  worthy  of 
the  prize.  After  receiving  the  laurel,  Eupolus 
is  said  to  have  thus  addressed  his  Tarcntine 
competitor :  “  You  came  crowned  with  gold 
and  jewels,  because  you  were  rich :  I,  because 
I  am  poor,  am  only  rewarded  with  laurel. 
But  I  am  well  satisfied.  With  that  laurel,  I 
have  the  applause  of  all  Greece ;  while  your 
crown  serves  only  to  make  you  ridiculed  and 
despised.”  Percy. 

3926.  MERIT,  Useless.  A  person,  who  had 

long  practised  many  austerities  without  find¬ 
ing  any  comfort  of  heart,  was  complaining  to 
the  Bishop  of  Alst  of  his  state.  “  Alas!  ”  said 
he,  “  self-will  and  self-righteousness  follow  me 
everywhere.  Only  tell  me  when  you  think 
I  shall  learn  to  leave  self.  Will  it  be  by  study 
or  prayer  or  good  works ?  ”  —  “I  think,”  re¬ 
plied  the  bishop,  “  that  the  place  where  you 
lose  self  will  be  that  where  you  find  your  Sa¬ 
viour.”  Arvine. 

3927.  MILLENNIUM,  Coming  of  the.  The 

world  is  preparing  day  by  day  for  the  millen¬ 
nium  ;  but  you  do  not  see  it.  Every  season 
forms  itself  a  year  in  advance.  The  coming 
summer  lays  out  her  work  during  the  autumn, 
and  buds  and  roots  arc  forespoken.  Ten  mil¬ 
lion  roots  are  pumping  in  the  streets :  do  you 
hear  them  ?  Ten  million  buds  are  forming  in 
the  axils  of  the  leaves :  do  you  hear  the  sound 
of  the  saw  or  the  hammer?  All  next  summer 
is  at  work  in  the  world  ;  but  it  is  unseen  by  us. 
And  so  “  the  kingdom  of  God  corneth  not  with 
observation.”  Beecher. 

3928.  MILLENNIUM,  Prophecy  of.  It  is  win¬ 
ter  now.  The  earth  is  frost-bound,  and  in- 
crusted  with  ice  and  snow.  But  soon  the  sun 
will  come  wheeling  from  the  tropics  ;  anti  the 
voice  of  Spring  will  call,  and  the  violets  and 
daisies  shall  hear  it,  as  well  as  the  pines  in 
Oregon ;  and  everywhere  there  shall  be  life 
and  growth  and  beauty.  So  it  is  with  man.' 
His  winter  has  been  long  and  dark;  but  the 
sun  of  God’s  love  shall  shine,  and  the  crusts 
of  tyranny  and  the  frosts  of  oppression  shall 
melt  away  beneath  its  rays ;  and  the  humblest 
as  well  as  the  loftiest  creature  shall  yet  stand 
in  the  light  and  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 

Beecher. 

3929.  MILLENNIUM,  Triumph  of  the.  The  le¬ 
gend  of  St.  Blaise  is  of  Greek  origin.  He 
was  bishop  over  the  Christian  Church  at  Se- 
baste  in  Cappadocia,  and  governed  his  flock 
for  many  years  with  great  vigilance,  till 
the  persecution  under  Diocletian.  A.D.  289, 
obliged  him  to  fly ;  and  he  took  refuge  in  a 
mountain-cave  at  some  distance  from  the  city. 
This  mountain  was  the  haunt  of  wild  beasts 
(bears,  lions,  and  tigers)  ;  but  these  animals 
were  so  completely  subdued  by  the  gentleness 
and  piety  of  the  good  old  man,  that,  far  from 


452 


JVLrrj.ilO^fJJAJRTr!. 


MIND. 


doing  liim  any  harm,  they  came  every  morning 
to  ask  Lis  blessing.  If  they  found  him  kneel¬ 
ing  at  Lis  devotions,  they  waited  duteousiy  till 
he  had  finished,  and,  having  received  the  ac¬ 
customed  benediction,  they  retired.  Now,  in 
the  city  of  Sebaste,  and  in  the  whole  province, 
so  many  Christians  were  put  to  death,  that 
there  began  to  be  a  scarcity  of  wild  beasts  tor 
the  amphitheatres.  And  Agricolaus,  the  gov¬ 
ernor,  sent  his  hunters  into  the  mountains  to 
collect  as  many  lions,  tigers,  and  bears  as  pos¬ 
sible  ;  and  it  happened  that  these  hunters, 
arriving  one  day  before  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  in  which  St.  Blaise  had  taken  refuge, 
found  him  seated  in  front  of  it,  and  surrounded 
bv  a  variety  of  animals  of  different  species. 
The  lion  and  the  lamb,  the  hind  and  the  leopard, 
seemed  to  have  put  off  their  nature,  and  were 
standing  amicably  together,  as  though  there 
had  been  everlasting  peace  between  them ; 
and  some  he  blessed  with  holy  words,  know¬ 
ing  that  God  careth  for  all  things  that  he  has 
made ;  and  to  others  (hat  were  sick  or  wound¬ 
ed  he  ministered  gently ;  and  others  lie  repre¬ 
hended  because  of  tlicir  rapacity  and  gluttony. 
And,  when  the  hunters  beheld  this,  they  were 
like  men  in  a  dream :  they  stood  astonished, 
thinking  they  hadfound  some  enchanter.  And 
they  seized  him,  and  carried  him  before  the 
governor  ;  and,  as  they  went,  the  good  bishop 
returned  thanks  to  God,  and  rejoiced  greatly, 
that,  at  length,  he  had  been  found  worthy  to 
die  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

393®.  MILLIONNAIEE,  How  to  Become  a.  You 
must  be  a  very  able  man,  as  nearly  all  mil- 
lionnaires  are.  You  must  devote  your  life  to 
the  getting  and  keeping  of  other  men’s  earn¬ 
ings.  You  must  cat  the  bread  of  carefulness  ; 
and  you  must  rise  early,  and  lie  down  late. 
You  must  care  little  or  nothing  about  other 
men’s  wants  or  sufferings  or  disappointments. 
You  must  not  mind  it  that  your  great  wealth 
involves  many  others’  poverty.  You  must 
not  give  away  money  except  for  a  material 
equivalent.  You  must  not  go  meandering 
about  Nature,  nor  spend  your  time  enjoying 
air,  earth,  sky,  and  water ;  for  there  is  no  mo¬ 
ney  in  it.  You  must  not  distract  your  thoughts 
from  the  great  purpose  of  your  life  with  the 
charms  of  art  and  literature.  You  must  not 
let  philosophy  or  religion  engross  you  during 
the  secular  time.  You  must  not  allow  your 
wife  or  children  to  occupy  much  of  your  valua¬ 
ble  time  or  thoughts.  You  must  never  per¬ 
mit  the  fascinations  of  friendship  to  inveigle 
you  into  making  loans,  however  small.  You 
must  abandon  ail  other  ambitions  or  purpose ; 
and,  finally,  you  must  be  prepared  to  sacrifice 
ease,  and  all  fanciful  notions  you  may  have 
about  tastes  and  luxuries  and  enjoyments  dur¬ 
ing  most  if  not  all  of  your  natural  life.  If  you 
think  the  game  is  worth  the  candle,  you  can 
die  rich  —  some  of  you  can.  Galaxy. 

3931.  MIND,  Cultivation  of,  Your  minds  are 
endowed  with  a  vast  number  of  gifts  of  totally 
different  uses,  —  limbs  of  mind,  which,  if  you 
don’t  exercise  you  cripple.  One  is  curiosity,  — 
that  is  a  gift,  a  capacity  of  pleasure  in  know¬ 


ing,  which  if  you  destroy,  you  make  yourselves 
cold  and  dull.  Another  is  sympathy,  —  the 
power  of  sharing  the  feelings  of  living  crea¬ 
tures  ;  which  if  you  destroy,  you  make  your¬ 
selves  hard  and  cruel.  Another  of  your  limbs 
of  mind  is  admiration,  —  the  power  of  enjoying 
beauty  or  ingenuity  ;  which  if  you  destroy,  you 
make  yourselves  base  and  irreverent.  Another 
is  wit,  —  the  power  of  playing  with  the  lights  of 
the  many  sides  of  truth ;  which  if  you  destroy, 
you  make  yourselves  gioomy,  and  less  useful 
and  cheering  to  others  than  you  might  be.  In 
choosing  your  way  of  work,  it  should  be  your 
aim,  as  far  as  possible,  to  bring  out  all  these 
faculties ;  not  one  merely,  but  all  of  them. 
The  way  to  bring  them  out  is  to  concern  your¬ 
selves  attentively  with  the  subjects  of  each 
faculty.  To  cultivate  sympathy,  you  must  be 
with  living  creatures,  and  thinking  about  them  ; 
and,  to  cultivate  admiration,  you  must  be  among 
beautiful  things,  and  looking  at  them. 

J.  Ruskin. 

3932.  MIND,  Dark.  There  never  was  a  ray 

of  starlight  in  the  Mammoth  Cave  of  Ken¬ 
tucky  :  only  the  red  glare  of  torches  ever 
lights  its  walls.  So  there  are  many  men 
whose  minds  are  mammoth  caves,  all  under¬ 
ground,  and  unlighted  save  by  the  torches  of 
selfishness  and  passion.  Beecher. 

3933.  MIND,  Disciplined.  Unrefieetive  minds 

possess  thoughts  only  as  a  jug  does  water,  by 
containing  them.  In  a  disciplined  mind,  knowl¬ 
edge  exists  like  vital  force  in  the  physical 
frame,  —  ready  to  be  directed  to  tongue  or 
hand  or  foot,  hither,  thither,  anywhere,  and 
for  any  use  desired.  S.  Coley. 

3934.  MEND,  Fruitful.  As  the  soil,  however 

rich  it  may  be,  cannot  be  productive  without 
culture,  so  the  mind  without  cultivation  can 
never  produce  good  fruit.  Seneca. 

3935.  MIND,  Impressing.  Raphael  did  well, 
and  Phidias  did  well :  but  it  is  not  painter  or 
sculptor  who  is  making  himself  most  nobly 
immortal ;  it  is  he  who  is  making  true  im¬ 
pressions  upon  the  mind  of  man,  — frescoes  for 
eternity,  that  will  not  shine  out  till  the  light 
of  heaven  reveals  them ;  sculptures,  not 
wrought  in  outward  things,  but  in  the  inward 
nature  and  character  of  the  soul.  Beecher. 

393®.  MIND,  Index  of.  Cardinal  de  Retz 
very  sagaciously  marked  out  Cardinal  Clugi 
lor  a  little  mind,  from  the  moment  he  told 
liim  that  he  had  written  three  years  with  the 
same  pen,  and  that  it  was  an  excellent  good 
one  still.  Chesterfield. 

3933k  MIND,  Intrepidity  of.  Intrepidity  is  an 
extraordinary  strength  of  mind,  which  raises  it 
above  the  troubles  and  disorders,  and  the  emo¬ 
tions,  which  the  sight  of  great  perils  is  calcu¬ 
lated  to  excite.  It  is  by  this  that  heroes  main¬ 
tain  themselves  in  a  tranquil  state  of  mind,  and 
preserve  the  free  use  of  their  reason  under  the 
most  surprising  and  terrible  circumstances. 

La  Rochefoucauld. 

3938.  MIND,  Poverty  of.  He  who  has  no 
resources  of  mind  is  more  to  be  pitied  than  he 
who  is  in  want  of  necessaries  for  the  b  >dy ;  and 
to  be  obliged  to  beg  our  daily  happiness  from 


MIND. 


MIN  ISTER. 


453 


others  bespeaks  a  more  lamentable  poverty 
than  that  of  him  who  begs  his  daily  bread. 

Colton. 

3939.  MIND,  Spiritual.  A  spiritual  mind  is 
one  to  which  the  Bible  is  something  better  than 
a  dictionary,  and  to  which  the  sabbath,  with 
its  exercises,  does  not  bring  the  sense  of  drudg¬ 
ery.  It  is  a  mind  clear-seeing  and  keen-hear¬ 
ing  ;  a  mind  of  quick  perceptions  and  prompt 
emotions ;  a  mind  to  which  the  Saviour  stands 
out  a  living  person,  and  for  which  heaven  is 
waiting,  an  expected  home ;  a  mind  so  sensi¬ 
tive,  that  sin  makes  it  writhe  with  agony,  whilst 
it  finds  holiness  a  true  deliciousness,  and  in 
God's  conscious  favor  an  elevating  joy. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

3940.  MEND,  Test  of.  A  weak  mind  sinks 

under  prosperity  as  well  as  under  adversity. 
A  strong  mind  has  two  highest  tides,  —  when 
the  moon  is  at  the  full,  and  when  there  is  no 
moon.  Hare. 

3941.  MINDS,  Great.  As  islands  stand  in 

grand  solitude  in  the  midst  of  swelling  seas,  so 
great  minds  dwell  alone  amid  the  crowds  of 
little  souls  which  fill  the  circles  of  life.  A 
great  mind,  like  a  great  ship,  cannot  move  in 
shallow  water.  Give  it  sea-depth  and  sea- 
room,  and  it  shall  bear  cargoes  to  serve  the 
nations.  Dr.  Thomas. 

3942.  MINDS,  Ignorant.  On  a  voyage  home¬ 
ward  from  India,  a  child  was  found  playing  in 
the  cabin  with  what  appeared  to  be  pebbles. 
On  being  asked  where  she  got  them,  she  re¬ 
plied,  “  From  father’s  little  box.”  A  closer 
examination  proved  that  the  supposed  pebbles 
were  uncut  diamonds  of  great  value.  Diamonds 
in  the  rough  do  not  make  a  very  attractive  ap- 

earance  :  they  do  not  sparkle ;  and  yet  they 
ave  great  value.  These  uncut  diamonds  are 
lying  all  around  us, waiting  for  the  mental  lap¬ 
idary,  in  whose  crown  they  may  shine. 

3943.  MINDS,  Scarce.  Few  minds  are  sun¬ 
like, —  sources  of  light  to  themselves  and  to 
others.  Many  more  are  moons,  that  shine  with 
a  derivative  and  reflected  light.  Among  the 
tests  to  distinguish  them  is  this :  the  former 
are  always  full,  the  latter  only  now  and  then, 
when  them  suns  are  shining  full  upon  them. 

Hare. 

3944.  MINISTER,  Character  of  a.  A  minis¬ 

ter’s  character  is  the  lock  of  his  strength ;  and, 
if  once  this  is  sacrificed,  he  is,  like  Samson 
shorn  of  his  hair,  a  poor,  feeble,  faltering  crea¬ 
ture,  the  pity  of  his  friends,  and  the  derision 
of  his  enemies.  J.  A.  James. 

39 15.  MINISTER,  Encouraged.  At  one  point 
in  Dr.  Bangs’s  ministry,  he  became  greatly  dis¬ 
couraged,  and  attempted  to  leave  his  work. 
A  significant  dream  relieved  him.  He  thought 
he  was  working  with  a  pick-axe  on  the  top  of 
a  basaltic  rock.  His  muscular  arm  brought 
down  stroke  after  stroke  for  hours;  but  the 
rock  was  hardly  indented.  He  said  to  himself, 
at  last,  “  It  is  useless  :  I  will  pick  no  more.” 
Suddenly,  a  stranger  of  dignified  mien  stood 
by  his  side,  and  thus  spoke  to  him  :  “  You  will 
pick  no  more  ?  ”  —  “  No.”  —  “  Were  you  not 
set  to  this  task  ?  ”  —  “  Yes.”  —  “  And  why 


abandon  it  ?  ”  —  “  My  work  is  vain  :  I  make 
no  impression  on  the  rock.”  Solemnly  the 
stranger  replied,  “  What  is  that  to  you  ?  Your 
duty  is  to  pick,  whether  the  rock  yields  or  not. 
Your  work  is  in  your  own  hands :  the  result  is 
not.  Work  on  !  ”  He  resumed  his  task.  The 
first  blow  was  given  with  almost  superhuman 
force,  and  the  rock  flew  into  a  thousand  pieces. 
He  awoke,  returned  to  his  work,  and  a  great 
revival  followed.  From  that  day,  he  never  had 
a  temptation  to  give  up  his  commission. 

Dr.  Stevens. 

3946.  MINISTER,  Humility  of  a.  Dr.  Dur¬ 
ham  of  the  Scottish  Church,  and  a  popular 
young  minister,  were  walking  together  to  their 
several  churches,  situated  near  each  other,  into 
one  of  which  multitudes  crowded,  while  but 
few  entered  the  other.  “  Brother,”  said  the 
doctor  to  his  young  friend,  “  you  will  have  a 
crowded  church  to-day.”  The  other  replied, 

“  They  are  to  blame  who  leave  you,  and  come 
to  me.”  —  “Not  so,”  replied  the  doctor;  “fora 
minister  can  receive  no  such  honor  and  success 
in  his  ministry,  except  it  be  given  him  from 
Heaven.  I  rejoice  that  Christ  is  preached,  and 
that  his  kingdom  is  gaining  ground,  though  my 
estimation  in  people’s  hearts  should  decrease ; 
for  I  am  content  to  be  any  thing,  so  that  Christ 
may  be  all  in  all.” 

3947.  MINISTER,  Praying  for  the.  A  once  . 
popular  minister  gradually  lost  his  influence 
and  congregation.  The  blame  was  laid  entirely 
upon  him.  Some  of  his  church-officials  went 
to  talk  with  him  on  the  subject.  He  replied, 

“  I  am  quite  sensible  of  all  you  say ;  for  I  feel  it 
to  be  true  :  and  the  reason  of  it  is,  I  have  lost 
my  prayer-book.”  He  explained  :  “  Once  my 
preaching  was  acceptable ;  many  were  edified 
by  it ;  and  numbers  were  added  to  the  church, 
which  was  then  in  a  prosperous  state.  But  we 
were  then  a  praying  people.  Many  joined  in 
prayer  that  my  preaching  might  be  blessed  to 
the  conversion  of  sinners  and  to  the  edification 
of  saints.  This,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  made 
us  prosper.  Prayer  was  restrained,  and  the 
present  condition  of  things  followed.  Let  us 
return  to  the  same  means,  and  the  same  results 
may  be  expected.”  They  followed  the  sugges¬ 
tion  ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  the  minister  was  as 
popular  as  he  had  ever  been,  and  the  church 
was  in  a  flourishing  state. 

3948.  MINISTER,  Professional.  The  man 

who  has  adopted  the  church  as  a  profession, 
as  other  men  adopt  the  law,  the  army,  or  the 
navy,  and  goes  through  the  routine  of  its  duties 
with  the  coldness  of  a  mere  official,  —  filled  by 
him,  the  pulpit  seems  tilled  by  the  ghastly  form 
of  a  skeleton,  that,  in  its  cold  and  bony  fingers, 
holds  a  burning  lamp.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

3949.  MINISTER,  A  Remarkable.  Mr.  Fletch¬ 
er  was  once  offered  the  parish  of  Durham ; 
but  he  rejected  it.  saying,  “  There  is  too  much 
money,  and  too  little  labor.”  He  was  then 
offered  Madely,  with  but  half  the  salary ;  its 
vicar  being  glad  to  vacate  it  for  Durham.  Here 
Mr.  Fletcher  lived  happily,  and  died  blessed. 

3950.  MINISTER,  Responsibility  of  a.  When 
a  pupil  of  .John  Brown  of  Haddington  spoke 


454 


MINISTER. 


MINISTRY. 


disparagingly  of  the  smallness  of  his  pastoral 
charge,  his  revered  instructor  replied,  “  It  is 
as  large  a  congregation,  perhaps,  as  you  will 
want  to  give  account  for  at  the  day  of  judg¬ 
ment.” 

3951.  MINISTER,  A  Zealous.  A  prominent 
minister,  suffering  with  chronic  disease,  was 
advised  by  his  physicians  to  give  up  his  work  to 
prolong  his  life.  He  was  told,  that,  if  he  did 
so,  he  would  live  six  years ;  if  not,  not  more 
than  three.  He  replied,  “  I  prefer  to  live  two 
or  three  years  in  doing  some  good,  to  living  six 
in  idleness.” 

3952.  MINISTERS,  Children  of.  The  salaries 
of  the  clergy  of  the  United  States  do  not  aver¬ 
age  five  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  yet,  as  a 
class,  they  are  the  best  educated,  the  most  in¬ 
fluential,  the  most  active,  refined,  and  elevated 
of  the  nation.  With  less  culture,  with  less 
character,  with  less  mental  power,  there  are 
men,  all  over  the  land,  who  earn  from  one  to 
five  thousand  dollars  a  year.  But  look  at  the 
results.  Taking  them  as  they  come,  the  biog¬ 
raphies  of  a  hundred  clergymen  who  have 
families  show,  that,  of  their  sons,  one  hundred 
and  ten  became  ministers ;  and,  of  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  the  sons,  by  far  the  larger  number 
rose  to  eminence  as  professional  men,  mer¬ 
chants,  and  scholars.  As  to  fhe  daughters, 
then  names  are  merged  into  others;  but  there 
is  a  significant  fact,  which  we  do  not  remem¬ 
ber  to  have  seen  noticed  in  that  connection, 
that  not  only  here,  but  in  England,  where  titles 
are  so  highly  prized,  and  the  possession  of 
“  gentle  blood  ”  is  a  passport  to  high  places,  it 
is  very  often  referred  to  as  a  matter  of  note, 
as  indicating  safety  and  respectability,  “  His 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  a  clergyman.”  We 
will  venture  the  opinion,  that  three-fourths  of 
the  great  men  of  this  nation  are  not  over  two 
degrees  removed  from  clergymen’s  families,  or 
from  families  strictly  religious.  When  it  can 
be  said  of  a  man  or  woman,  that  their  father 
or  grandfather  was  a  clergyman,  there  is  a 
feeling  within  us  of  a  certain  elevation  of  char¬ 
acter,  a  kind  of  guaranty  of  respectability  of 
blood,  of  purity,  and  integrity.  Dr.  Haven. 

3953.  MINISTERS,  Examples  for.  At  the 
battle  of  Lake  Erie,  when,  in  the  sweeping 
havoc  which  was  sometimes  made,  a  number  of 
men  were  shot  away  from  around  a  gun,  the 
survivors  looked  silently  around  to  Perry ,  and 
then  stepped  into  their  places.  When  he 
looked  at  the  poor  fellows  who  lay  wounded 
and  weltering  on  the  deck,  he  always  found 
their  faces  turned  towards  him,  and  their  eyes 
fixed  on  his  countenance.  In  the  midst  of 
trials  and  labors,  the  minister  should  keep  his 
eyes  on  the  great  Leader,  Christ. 

3954.  MINISTERS,  false.  To  a  saint  who 
was  praying,  the  evil  spirit  showed  himself  ra¬ 
diant  with  royal  robes,  and  crowned  with  a 
jewelled  diadem,  and  said,  “  I  am  Christ ;  I  am 
descending  on  the  earth ;  and  I  desired  first  to 
manifest  myself  to  thee.”  The  saint  kept 
silence,  and  looked,  and  then  said,  “  I  will  not 
believe  that  Christ  is  come,  save  in  that  state 
and  form  in  which  he  suffered,  —  save  with  the 


marks  of  the  wounds  of  the  cross.”  And  tins 
false  apparition  vanished.  The  application  is 
this  :  Christ  comes  not  in  pride  of  intellect,  or 
reputation  for  ability.  These  are  the  glittering 
robes  in  which  Satan  is  now  arraying.  Many 
spirits  are  abroad,  more  are  issuing  from  the 
pit .  the  credentials  which  they  display  are  the 
precious  gifts  of  mind,  beauty,  richness,  depth, 
originality.  Christian,  look  hard  at  them,  with 
the  saint  in  silence,  and  ask  them  for  the 
print  of  the  nails.  Dr.  Howson. 

3955.  MINISTERS,  Hireling.  As  hired  ser¬ 
vants  will  tend  men’s  sheep  no  longer  than  it 
is  profitable  to  them,  so  is  it  with  promotion¬ 
seeking  ministers.  Cawdray. 

3950.  MINISTERS,  Holiness  in.  There  are 
men  so  holy,  that  their  very  character  is  suf¬ 
ficient  to  persuade.  They  appear;  and  the 
whole  assembly  which  is  to  hear  them  is,  as  it 
were,  already  impressed  and  convinced  by  their 
presence.  The  discourse  which  they  deliver, 
does  the  rest.  La  Bruyere. 

3957.  MINISTERS,  Love  in.  As  one  candle 

cannot  light  another  unless  itself  be  lighted, 
no  more  can  a  minister  inflame  others  with  the 
love  of  God  if  he  be  void  of  it.  Cawdray. 

3958.  MINISTERS,  Murderers.  As  a  nurse 

who  takes  a  child  to  bring  up,  yet  feeds  it  not, 
but  lets  it  die  of  hunger,  is  a  murderer  ;  so  is 
he  a  murderer  of  souls  who  allows  them  to 
starve  under  his  ministry.  Cawdray. 

3959.  MINISTERS,  Proverbs.  One  must 
either  not  meddle  with  priests,  or  else  smite 
them  dead.  “  Oh,  what  we  must  suffer  for 
the  church  of  God !  ”  cried  the  abbot  when  the 

roast  fowl  burnt  his  fingers.  —  German. - 

A  priest’s  pocket  is  hard  to  fill.  — Danish. 

3990.  MINISTERS,  Weakness  of.  Philip  Me- 
lanethon,  the  beloved  companion  of  Luther, 
speaking  of  his  own  ministerial  experience, 
says  that  he  went  forth  full  of  high  expecta¬ 
tion,  but  returned  sadly  convinced  that  old 
Satan  was  stronger  than  young  Philip;  and 
his  experience  foreshadowed  that  of  many 
another  preacher  of  righteousness  in  each  suc¬ 
ceeding  generation. 

3991.  MINISTERS,  Unfaithfulness  of.  A  dying 
nobleman  sent  for  the  clergyman  whose  minis¬ 
try  he  bad  attended,  and  said  to  him,  “  Do  you 
know  that  my  life  has  been  licentious  ?  Yet 
you  have  never  warned  me  of  my  danger.” 
With  some  hesitation,  the  clergyman  replied, 
“  Yes,  my  lord  :  your  manner  of  living  was  not 
unknown  to  me ;  but  your  kindness  and  my 
fear  of  offending  you  deterred  me  from  reprov¬ 
ing  you.”  —  “  How  cruel  1  how  wicked  1  ”  said 
the  dying  man.  “  The  provision  I  made  for  you 
and  your  family  ought  to  have  induced  care 
and  fidelity.  You  have  neglected  to  warn  and 
instruct  me ;  and  now  my  soul  is  lost.”  These 
were  the  last  words  of  one  whose  case  is  too 
often  paralleled. 

3992.  MINISTRY,  Brevities.  Luther  used  to 

say,  the  three  requisites  to  make  a  minister  are 
prayer,  meditation,  and  temptation.  Truth 
and  sympathy  are  the  soul  of  an  effective  min¬ 
ister.  Faith  is  the  mainspring  of  a  minister. 
—  Cecil. - The  great  secret  lies  in  these 


ivcnsrrsTRY. 


MINISTEY. 


455 


three  things,  —  Christ,  immortal  souls,  self-hu¬ 
miliation.  —  Bp.  Wilson. - They  who  begin 

by  effect  without  labor  will  end  by  labor  with¬ 
out  effect.  —  Lord  Jeffrey. - A  divine  ought 

to  calculate  his  sermon,  as  an  astronomer  does 
his  almanac,  to  the  meridian  of  the  place  and 
people  where  he  lives. — Palmer. 

3963.  MINISTRY,  Call  to  the.  Dr.  Nathan 
Bangs  of  the  Methodist  Church  dreamed  that 
John  Wesley  called  him  to  the  invincible  ranks 
of  the  gospel  ministry.  He  seemed  to  see  that 
great  leader,  passing  with  great  velocity  in  a 
chariot  of  light,  throwing  out  to  him  a  shining 
sword,  and  crying,  “  Take  this,  and  conquer !  ” 
A  minister  contending  against  this  doctrine 
averred,  that  he  never  believed  himself  called 
to  preach.  An  acquaintance  replied,  “No 
other  person  ever  believed  it  either.” 

3961.  MINISTRY,  Earnestness  in  the.  Gospel 
ministers  should  not  only  be  like  dials  on 
watches,  or  mile-stones  upon  the  road,  but  like 
clocks  and  larums,  to  sound  the  alarm  to  sin¬ 
ners.  Aaron  wore  bells  as  well  as  pomegra¬ 
nates  ;  and  the  prophets  were  commanded  to 
lift  up  their  voice  like  a  trumpet.  A  sleep¬ 
ing  sentinel  may  be  the  loss  of  the  city. 

Bp.  Hall. 

3965.  MINISTRY,  Gifts  in  the.  The  discus¬ 
sion  about  gifts,  amounts  very  much  to  a  dis¬ 
cussion  whether  the  rifle,  the  carabine,  the 
pistol,  or  the  cannon  is  the  best  weapon.  Each 
is  best  in  its  place.  The  great  point  is,  that 
every  one  shall  use  the  weapon  best  suited  to 
him  ;  that  he  charge  it  well,  and  see  that  it  is 
in  a  condition  to  strike  fire.  Rev.  W.  Arthur. 

3966.  MINISTRY,  Paying  the.  In  1G62,  the 

town  of  Eastham  agreed  that  a  part  of  every 
whale  cast  on  shore  be  appropriated  for 
the  support  of  the  ministry.  The  ministers 
must  have  sat  on  the  cliffs  in  every  storm,  and 
watched  the  shore  with  anxiety.  And,  for  my 
part,  if  I  were  a  minister,  I  would  rather  trust 
to  the  bowels  of  the  billows  to  cast  up  a  whale 
for  me  than  to  the  generosity  of  many  a  coun¬ 
try  parish  that  I  know.  Thoreau. 

3967.  MINISTRY,  Preparation  for.  Once  on  a 

time,  when  St.  Ildefonso  was  entering  his  ca¬ 
thedral  at  the  head  of  a  midnight  procession, 
he  perceived  the  high  altar  surrounded  by  a 
blaze  of  light.  He  alone  of  all  the  clergy 
ventured  to  approach,  and  found  the  Virgin 
herself  seated  on  his  ivory  episcopal  throne, 
and  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  angels 
chanting  a  solemn  service  from  the  psaiter. 
He  bowed  to  the  ground  before  the  heavenly 
vision ;  and  the  Virgin  thus  addressed  him  : 
“  Come  hither,  most  faithful  servant  of  God, 
and  receive  this  robe,  which  I  have  brought 
thee  from  the  treasury  of  my  Son.”  Then  he 
knelt  before  her;  and  she  threw  over  him  a 
chasuble,  or  cassock,  of  heavenly  tissue,  which 
was  adjusted  on  liis  shoulders  by  the  attendant 
angels.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

3968.  MINISTRY,  Qualification  for  the.  St. 
Francis,  founder  of  the  order  of  Franciscans, 
hesitated  long  between  the  contemplative  and 
the  active  religious  life.  He  and  his  disciples 
were  men  quite  unlearned.  He  wished  to  per¬ 


suade  others  to  follow,  like  himself,  the  way  of 
salvation ;  but  he  knew  not  how  to  set  about 
it.  He  consulted  his  brethren  what  he  should 
do.  “  God,”  said  he,  “  has  given  me  the  gift 
of  prayers,  but  not  the  gift  of  words  ;  yet  as 
the  Son  of  man,  when  he  was  upon  earth,  not 
only  redeemed  men  by  his  blood,  but  instruct¬ 
ed  them  by  his  words,  ought  we  not  to  follow 
his  divine  example  ?  ”  And,  in  his  great  hu¬ 
mility,  he  requested  not  only  of  his  brethren, 
but  also  of  Clara  and  her  sisterhood,  that  they 
would  pray  for  him  that  a  sign  might  be  given 
what  he  should  do.  The  answer  was  to  all 
the  same,  “  Go  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.”  And,  when  he  preached,  such  elo¬ 
quence  was  given  to  him  from  above,  that  none 
could  resist  his  words ;  and  the  most  learned 
theologians  remained  silent  and  astonished  in 
his  presence.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

3969.  MINISTRY,  Self-elected.  Like  as  if  a 
stranger  should  violently  thrust  himself  in  to 
be  the  shepherd  of  thy  sheep,  thou  wouldst 
ask  him  who  sent  for  him,  what  he  had  to  do 
there,  and  thou  wouldst  rather  think  him  to 
be  a  thief,  and  a  murderer  of  thy  sheep,  than 
to  he  a  faithful  and  trusty  servant;  so  surely, 
if  thou  come  to  take  charge  of  God’s  people 
before  he  inwardly  move  thy  conscience  to 
pity  his  people,  and  outwardly,  by  order, 
call  and  place  thee  where  he  thinks  good,  he 
will  judge  thee  a  thief,  a  wolf,  a  devourer,  and 
not  a  feeder.  Cawdray. 

3979.  MINISTRY,  Serious  Work  of  the.  A  sol¬ 
dier  had  his  limb  amputated  near  his  body. 
The  veins  had  been  taken  up,  and  he  seemed 
to  be  doing  well.  Suddenly,  in  dressing  his 
wounds,  blood  began  to  flow  The  nurse  placed 
his  thumb  on  the  vein,  ana  sent  for  a  physi¬ 
cian,  who,  on  entering  his  room,  said,  “It  is 
well,  my  brave  fellow,  that  this  is  not  a  large 
artery.  I  can  take  this  up.”  Soon,  however, 
the  blood  flowed  more  freely  than  before :  the 
nurse  placed  his  thumb  upon  the  large  artery, 
and  sent  for  the  physician.  Examination 
showed  that  to  remove  the  thumb  was  death ; 
and  so  the  brave  soldier  began  to  make  prepa¬ 
rations  for  death.  Three  hours  were  spent  in 
sending  messages  to  loved  ones,  and  arranging 
his  effects.  Then  he  said,  “  Now,  kind  nurse, 
you  can  take  off  your  thumb.  I  must  go. 
Farewell.”  Here  came  the  severe  trial  of  the 
nurse.  How  could  he  lift  his  finger  under  such 
circumstances  ?  The  accumulated  blood,  how¬ 
ever,  rendered  it  difficult  to  hold  the  artery ; 
so,  turning  his  eyes  from  the  soldier,  he  lifted  liis 
thumb,  and  in  three  minutes  death  had  done 
its  work.  Such  the  responsibility  ‘lie  Chris¬ 
tian  minister  feels  when  he  thinks  that  upon 
his  words  may  rest  the  issues  of  life. 

3971.  MINISTRY,  Sucoess  of  the.  It  is  not 
great  talents  that  God  blesses,  so  much  as 
great  likeness  to  Jesus.  A  holy  minister  is 
an  awful  weapon  in  the  hand  of  God  — 

M'Cheyne. - Naturalists  tell  us,  that,  if  the 

loadstone  be  rubbed  with  garlic,  it  ioseth  its 
virtue.  When  the  name  of  the  minister  is 
contemptible,  his  doctrine  will  be  the  less  ac- 
I  ceptable.  —  SwinnocL - Ministers  are  sel- 


456 


MINISTRY. 


MIRTH. 


dom  liouored  with  success,  unless  they  are 
continually  aiming  at  the  conversion  of  sin¬ 
ners.  —  Owen. - It  is  a  remark  of  Baxter’s, 

that  he  never  knew  any  minister  much  honored, 
even  though  a  pious  man,  unless  he  expected 
success,  and  had  strong  faith. 

3972.  MINISTRY,  Support  of  the.  A  clergy¬ 
man  in  Wales  was  appointed  by  an  ordaining 
council  to  address  the  people,  who  had  im¬ 
poverished  their  former  pastor,  and  were  now 
to  receive  a  new  one.  He  recommended, 
in  his  address,  that  Jacob’s  ladder  be  let  down 
from  the  skies  to  that  Welsh  parish,  in  order 
that  the  new  minister  might  “  go  into  heaven 
on  the  sabbath  evening,  after  preaching,  and 
remain  there  all  the  week :  then  he  would 
come  down  so  spiritually  minded  and  so  full 
of  heaven,  that  he  would  preach  almost  like 
an  angel.”  Now,  the  people  insisted  on  having 
their  pastor  with  them  on  other  days  than  the 
sabbath.  “  That  may  be,”  replied  the  speaker  ; 
“  but  then,  if  he  remain  among  you,  he  must 
have  something  to  eat.”  The  dignity  of  the 
angels  was  not  inconsistent  with  their  ascend¬ 
ing  and  descending  on  a  wooden  ladder ;  and 
one  ladder  on  which  our  ministering  angels 
may  go  up  to  their  heavenly  studies  is,  such 
a  material  sustenance  as  will  make  it  un¬ 
necessary  for  them  to  grovel  in  the  earth. 

Prof.  Park. 

3973.  MIRACLES,  why  Ceased.  A  gardener, 

when  he  transplanted  a  tree  out  of  one  ground 
into  another,  before  the  tree  takes  root,  he  sets 
stays  to  it,  and  poureth  water  at  the  root  of  it 
daily ;  but  when  it  once  taketh  root,  he  ceaseth 
to  water  it  any  more,  and  pulletli  away  the 
stays  that  he  set  to  uphold  it,  and  suffered  it 
to  grow  with  the  ordinary  influence  of  the 
heavens.  So  the  Lord,  in  planting  religion  : 
he  put  to  the  help  of  miracles,  as  helps  to  stay 
it;  but  when  it  was  once  confirmed  and  fast¬ 
ened,  and  had  taken  deep  root,  he  took  away 
such  helps.  Spencer. 

3974.  MIRACLES,  Christian.  “  Miracles,” 

says  Fuller,  “are  the  swaddling-clothes  of  the 
infant  churches ;  ”  and,  we  may  add,  not  the 
garments  of  the  full-grown.  They  were  as 
the  proclamation  that  the  kiug  was  mounting 
his  drone ;  who,  however,  is  not  proclaimed 
every  day,  but  only  at  his  accession.  When 
he  sits  acknowledged  on  his  throne,  the  procla¬ 
mation  ceases.  They  were  as  the  bright  clouds 
which  gather  round  and  announce  the  sun  at 
his  first  appearing  :  his  midday  splendor, 
though  as  full,  and  fuller  indeed,  of  light  and 
heat,  knows  not  those  bright  heralds  and  har¬ 
bingers  of  his  rising.  Or  they  may  be  likened 
to  the  framework  on  which  the  arch  is  round¬ 
ed,  which  framework  is  taken  down  as  soon  as 
that  is  completed.  Trench. 

3975.  MIRACLES,  Use  of.  Miracles  are  like 
eauuies  lit  up  until  the  sun  rises,  and  then 
blown  out.  Therefore,  I  am  amused  when  I 
hear  sects  and  churches  talk  about  having 
evidence  of  divine  authority,  because  they 
have  miracles.  Miracles  in  our  time  are  like 
candles  in  the  street  at  midday.  We  do  not 
want  miracles.  They  are  to  teach  men  how 


to  find  out  truths  themselves ;  and,  after  they 
have  learned  this,  they  no  more  need  them 
than  a  well  man  needs  a  staff,  or  than  a 
grown-up  child  needs  a  walking-stool.  They 
are  the  educating  expedients  of  the  early 
periods  of  the  world.  As  such,  they  are  di¬ 
vinely  wise.  After  they  have  served  their  pur¬ 
pose  as  such,  it  is  humanly  foolish  for  persons 
to  pretend  to  have  them.  There  is  no  teach¬ 
ing  in  Scripture  of  a  stated  providence  of 
miracles.  They  are  not  daily  helps.  They  do 
not  even  belong  to  the  mere  economic  rela¬ 
tions  of  men.  In  secular  things,  God  helps  the 
men  that  help  themselves.  Beecher. 

3976.  MIRACLES,  Vindicated.  “  I  regard  a 
miracle,”  said  uncle.  “  to  be  merely  such  an 
interference  wi’  the  established  coorse  o’ 
things  as  infallibly  shows  us  the  presence  and 
the  action  o’  a  supernatural  pooer.  What 
o’clock  is  it  wi’  you,  sir,  if  you  please  ?  ”  — “  It 
is  half-past  twelve,  exactly,  Greenwich  time,” 
replied  Smith.  “  Well,  sir,”  said  uncle,  pull¬ 
ing  a  huge  old  timepiece  from  his  pocket, 
“  it’s  ane  o’clock  wi’  me :  I  generally  keep 
my  watch  a  bitte  forrit.  But  I  may  hae  a  spe¬ 
cial  reason  noo  for  setting  my  watch  by  the 
railway ;  and  so,  see  ye,  I’m  turnin’  the  hauns 
o’t  around.  Noo,  wad  ye  say  that  I  have  vio¬ 
lated  the  laws  o’  a  watch  ?  True,  I  hae  dune 
what  watchdom,  wi’  a’  its  laws,  cooldna  hae 
dune  for  itself;  but  I  hae  dune  violence  to  nane 
o’  its  laws.  My  action  is  only  the  interference 
o’ a  superior  intelligence  for  a  suitable  end; 
but  I  hae  suspended  nae  law,  violated  nae  law. 
Weel,  then,  instead  o’  the  watch,  say  the 
universe;  instead  o’  moving  the  hands,  say 
God  acting  worthily  of  hitnsel’ :  and  we  hae  a’ 
that  I  contend  for  in  a  miracle ;  that  is,  the 
unquestionable  presence  of  an  Almighty  hand 
working  the  divine  will.  And  if  he  sees  fit 
to  work  miracles,  what  can  hinder  him  ?  He 
has  dune  it  aftener  than  once  or  twice  al¬ 
ready  ;  and  wha  daur  say  that  he’ll  not  get 
leave  to  do’t  again  ?  ” 

3977.  MIRTH,  Reckless.  A  well-dressed  and 
handsome  youth  entered  an  inn,  called  for 
breakfast,  then  for  beer  and  wine,  and,  at  last, 
for  gamesters  and  musicians.  He  spent  the 
whole  day  in  mirth  and  jollity  of  every  con¬ 
ceivable  sort;  and,  when  evening  came,  paid 
the  bill,  and  bade  the  musicians  follow  him, 
playing  their  very  best.  He  then  took  the 
way  to  the  navigable  river  which  flows  in  the 
vicinity,  —  dancing,  singing,  and  laughing  as 
he  went,  —  and  walked  into  the  water,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  musicians,  who,  fancying 
it  was  a  diversion,  looked  on  and  continued  to 
play.  At  last,  calling  for  a  right  merry  tune, 
and  throwing  them  a  dollar  from  the  stream, 
he  laughed  aloud,  cried,  “  Good-night,  gentle¬ 
men,”  plunged  into  the  deep,  and  was  drowned. 
It  was  generally  supposed  that  he  was  a  clerk 

|  from  some  distant  place,  who  had  squandered 
the  money  of  his  principal,  and  did  not  dare 
to  face  the  day  of  reckoning.  Fear  of  punish¬ 
ment  on  earth  plunged  him  into  everlasting 
wailing.  Such  is  the  mirth,  the  pleasure,  and 
the  laughter  of  the  world.  Gotthold. 


MISERS. 


MISSION’S. 


457 


3978.  MISERS,  Misery  o£  Mr.  Ostervald,  a 
well-known  banker,  died  at  Paris,  literally  of 
want.  This  man  felt  the  violence  of  the  dis¬ 
ease  of  avarice  so  strongly,  that,  within  a  few 
davs  of  his  death,  no  importunities  could  in¬ 
duce  him  to  buy  a  few  pounds  of  meat  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  little  soup  for  him.  “  ’Tis 
true,  ”  said  he,  “  I  should  not  dislike  the  soup ; 
but  I  have  no  appetite  for  the  meat :  what,  then, 
is  to  become  of  that  ?  ”  At  the  time  that  he 
refused  this  nourishment,  for  fear  of  being 
obliged  to  give  away  two  or  three  pounds  of 
meat,  there  was  tied  round  his  neck  a  silken 
bag,  which  contained  eight  hundred  bank¬ 
notes  of  a  thousand  francs  each. 

3979.  MISERS,  Spiritual.  The  poor  profess¬ 
or  may  be  content  with  a  few  of  Christ’s  pence 
now  and  then ;  but  he  who  is  rich  in  grace 
thinks  so  small  an  income  beneath  his  station, 
and  cannot  live  unless  he  has  golden  gifts  from 
the  hand  of  his  Lord.  lie  will  covet  earn¬ 
estly  this  best  of  gifts,  and  be  a  very  miser 
after  the  precious  things  of  the  cross. 

Spurgeon. 

3980.  MISERS,  Treatment  of.  There  is  a 

perpetual  frost  in  the  pockets  of  some  wealthy 
people :  as  soon  as  they  put  their  hands  into 
them,  they  are  frozen,  and  unable  to  draw  out 
their  purses.  Had  I  my  way,  I  would  hang  all 
misers ;  but  the  reverse  of  the  common  mode  :  I 
would  hang  them  up  by  the  heels,  that  their 
money  might  run  out  of  their  pockets,  and 
make  a  famous  scramble  for  you  to  pick  up 
and  put  in  the  plate.  Rowland  Hill. 

3981.  MISERY,  Confession  of.  What  a  situa¬ 
tion  is  that  of  the  great  1  They  only  live  in  the 
future,  and  are  only  happy  in  hope.  There  is  no 
peace  in  ambition  :  it  is  always  gloomy,  and 
often  unreasonably  so.  The  kindness  of  the 
king,  the  regards  of  the  courtiers,  the  attach¬ 
ment  of  my  domestics,  and  the  fidelity  of  a 
large  number  of  friends,  make  me  happy  no 
longer.  I  have  caused  my  house  at  Paris  to 
be  magnificently  furnished :  well,  that  pleased 
me  for  two  days.  My  residence  at  Bellevue  is 
charming ;  and  I  alone  cannot  endure  it.  Be¬ 
nevolent  people  relate  to  me  all  the  news  and 
adventures  of  Paris  :  they  think  I  listen  ;  but 
when  they  have  done,  I  ask  them  what  they 
said.  In  a  word,  I  do  not  live :  I  am  dead  be¬ 
fore  my  time.  I  have  no  interest  in  the  world. 
Every  thing  conspires  to  iinbitter  my  life. 

Madame  De  Pompadour. 

3982.  MISERY,  Lesson  from.  As  some  school¬ 
masters  have  used  that  discipline,  to  correct 
the  children  of  great  persons  by  correcting 
other  children  in  their  names  and  in  their 
sight,  and  have  by  this  means  so  wrought  upon 
good  natures  that  they  have  amended  what 
was  amiss  at  present,  and  taken  more  care  for 
the  future,  —  thus  the  Jews  were  by  God  cor¬ 
rected  in  the  punishment  of  the  Egyptians ; 
for  the  ten  plagues  of  Egypt  were  as  Moses’ 
ten  commandments  to  Israel.  And  so  it  is  that 
other  men’s  harms  ought  to  be  our  arms :  every 
judgment  that  falls  upon  another  should  be  as 
a  catechism  to  us,  by  way  of  instruction. 

Spencer. 


3983.  MISERY,  Personal.  Nothing  more  is 
wanting  to  render  a  man  miserable,  than  that 
he  should  fancy  he  is  so.  From  the  Latin. 

3984.  MISERY,  Use  of.  As  a  mother  that 

weans  her  child  layeth  wormwood,  or  some 
other  bitter  thing,  on  her  breast,  to  make  the 
child  loathe  the  milk,  so  God  makes  us  often 
feel  the  miseries  and  crosses  of  this  life,  that 
our  love  and  liking  might  be  turned  from  this 
world,  and  fixed  in  heaven.  Cawdray. 

3985.  MISFORTUNE,  Brevities,  We  have  all 

of  us  sufficient  fortitude  to  bear  the  misfor¬ 
tunes  of  others.  —  La  Rochefoucauld. - It  is 

much  better  to  endeavor  to  forget  one’s  mis¬ 
fortunes  than  to  rehearse  them. 

3986.  MISFORTUNE,  Compensation  of.  An 
unfortunate  New-York  merchant  gathered  the 
remnant  of  his  property,  and  went  to  Califor¬ 
nia  to  begin  again.  There  he  purchased  land, 
and  built  mills  upon  it.  He  dug  a  canal  to 
convey  the  water  from  a  river  to  his  water¬ 
wheels.  Just  as  all  was  completed,  and  he 
saw  success  within  his  grasp,  a  terrific  freshet 
swept  away  his  mills  and  his  hopes  at  once. 
He  was  a  Christian,  and  felt  that,  somehow,  it 
was  for  the  best.  After  the  flood,  he  went  to 
look  at  the  sad  wreck.  The  water  had 
ploughed  the  canal  down  to  the  rock,  and  un¬ 
covered  a  rich  vein  of  gold.  What  all  thought 
to  be  a  great  calamity  became  his  salvation. 

3987.  MISFORTUNE,  Proverbs.  If  my  father 
had  made  me  a  hatter,  men  would  have  been 
born  without  heads.  It  is  an  ill  wind  that 
blows  nobody  good.  Our  worst  misfortunes 

are  those  that  never  befall  us.  —  English. - 

Misfortunes  come  by  forties.  —  Welsh. - 

If  I  were  to  trade  in  winding-sheets,  no  one 

would  die.  —  Arabic. - Whither  goest  thou, 

Misfortune?  To  where  there  is  more. 
Whither  goest  thou,  Sorrow?  Whither  I  am 

wont.  —  Spanish. - Misfortune  is  good  for 

something.  —  French. 

3988.  MISSIONS,  Aathority  for.  The  Duke 
of  Wellington  once  met  a  young  clergyman, 
who,  being  aware  of  his  Grace’s  former  resi¬ 
dence  in  the  East,  and  of  his  familiarity  with 
the  ignorance  and  obstinacy  of  the  Hindoos 
in  support  of  their  false  religion,  proposed  the 
following  question :  “  Does  not  your  Grace 
think  it  almost  useless  and  extravagant  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  Hindoos  ?  ”  The 
duke  immediately  rejoined,  “  Look,  sir,  to 
your  marching  orders :  ‘  Preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.’  ” 

3989.  MISSIONS,  Influence  of.  A  New  Eng¬ 
land  whale-ship  foundered  in  a  gale  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean  a  few  years  ago.  The  crew 
took  to  the  boats,  and,  after  several  days,  came 
in  sight  of  an  island.  One  of  the  boats  ran 
through  the  surf:  its  crew  landed  only  to  be 
beaten  down  by  the  war-clubs  of  the  cannibals. 
Seeing  their  fate,  the  other  boat  pushed  off; 
and,  after  much  suffering,  its  crew  were  rescued. 
Years  passed  away,  and  another  ship  was 
wrecked  in  the  same  sea,  and  near  the  same 
island.  Her  captain  was  one  of  the  crew  of 
the  former  ship.  Exhausted  and  reduced  by 
long  exposure,  he  and  his  companions  were 


45S 


MISSION'S. 


MODERATION . 


forced  1,o  land.  He  recognized  the  fatal  coast. 
Filled  with  fear,  they  tried  to  conceal  them¬ 
selves.  Seeking  for  a  cave,  the  foremost  of 
them  reached  the  top  of  a  hill.  He  saw  a  vil¬ 
lage  and  a  church  in  the  vale  beyond,  and 
cried,  “  Safe  1  safe  !  safe  !  ”  As  the  rescued 
sailors  gazed  upon  the  evidences  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  they  leaped,  embraced,  and  wept ;  and, 
descending,  found,  instead  of  cruel  death, 
generous  hospitality. 

3990.  MISSIONS,  Legend  of.  St.  Philip  was 
born  at  Bethsaida;  and  he  was  one  of  the  first 
of  those  whom  our  Lord  summoned  to  follow 
him.  After  the  ascension,  he  travelled  into 
Scythia,  and  remained  there  preaching  the 
gospel  for  twenty  years ;  he  then  preached  at 
Hieropolis  in  Phrygia,  where  he  found  the 
people  addicted  to  the  worship  of  a  monstrous 
serpent,  or  dragon,  or  of  the  god  Mars  under 
that  form.  Taking  compassion  on  their  blind¬ 
ness,  the  apostle  commanded  the  serpent,  in 
the  name  of  the  cross  be  held  in  his  hand,  to 
disappear :  and  immediately  the  reptile  glided 
out  from  beneath  the  altar,  at  the  same  time 
emitting  such  a  hideous  stench  that  many 
people  died  ;  and  among  them  the  king’s  son 
fell  dead  in  the  arms  of  his  attendants,  but 
the  apostle  by  divine  power,  restored  him  to 
life.  Then  the  priests  of  the  dragon  were  in¬ 
censed  against  him  ;  and  they  took  him,  and 
crucified  him ;  and,  being  bound  on  the  cross, 
they  stoned  him.  Thus  he  yielded  up  his 
spirit  to  God,  praying,  like  his  Divine  Mas¬ 
ter,  for  his  enemies  and  tormentors. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

3991.  MISSIONS,  Orders  for.  During  the 
recent  war,  a  regiment  received  orders  to  plant 
some  heavy  guns  on  the  top  of  a  steep  hill. 
The  soldiers  dragged  them  to  the  base  of 
the  hill,  but  were  unable  to  get  them  farther. 
An  officer,  learning  the  state  of  affairs,  cried, 
“  Men  !  it  must  be  done  !  I  have  the  orders  in 
my  pocket.”  So  the  church  has  orders  to 
disciple  the  world. 

3992.  MISSIONS,  Principle  of.  As  radii  in  a 

circle  are  closest  near  the  centre,  and  towards 
the  circumference  lie  more  widely  apart,  the 
affections  of  a  human  heart  do  and  should  fall 
thickest  on  those  who  are  nearest.  Expressly 
on  this  principle  the  Christian  mission  was 
instituted  at  first.  Love  in  the  heart  of  the 
first  disciples  was  recognized,  by  Him  who 
kindled  it,  to  be  of  the  nature  of  fire,  or  light. 
He  did  not  expect  it  to  fall  on  distant  places 
without  first  passing  through  intermediate 
space.  From  Jerusalem,  at  his  command  and 
under  the  Spirit’s  ministry,  it  radiated  through 
Judaea,  and  from  Judrna  to  Samaria,  and 
thence  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Arnot. 

3993.  MISSIONS,  Progress  of.  We  sometimes 
complain  of  the  slow  progress  of  missions,  as 
though  nothing  had  been  done.  Is  it  nothing 
that  the  church  has  been  aroused  to  her  duty  ? 
that  every  large  branch  of  Zion  has  her  mis¬ 
sionary  organization?  that  these  amount  to 
eighty  ?  that  four  thousand  missionaries  are  in 
the  field  ?  that  the  word  of  God  is  preached 
in  fifteen  thousand  localities  of  the  heathen 


world?  that  ten  million  dollars  are  collected 
annually  to  sustain  these  missions?  that  six 
hundred  and  eiglity-seven  thousand  converts 
are  enrolled  in  Africa,  and  seven  hundred  and 
thirteen  thousand  in  Asia?  and  that,  if  we 
add  to  these  the  fruits  of  the  Catholic  missions, 
we  shall  number  Christians  by  the  million  in 
the  heathen  world  ?  Bp.  Thompson. 

3991.  MISSIONS,  Promoters  of.  There  was 
a  race  of  parents  that  could  raise  a  race  of 
missionaries.  Let  me  give  you  an  instance  of 
an  old  Moravian  woman.  A  friend  called  upon 
her  with  sadness  in  his  looks.  “  Your  son,”  said 
he  to  the  mother,  “  is  gone.”  —  “  Is  Thomas 
gone  to  heaven  through  the  missionary  life  ? 
Would  to  God  that  lie  would  call  my  son 
John  1  ”  Well,  John  did  become  a  missionary; 
and  he  fell.  And  this  time  the  committee 
were  very  sad  ;  but,  before  opening  their  lips, 
the  old  woman  anticipated  the  story,  and  ex¬ 
claimed,  “Thank  God!  Would  that  he  would 
call  my  last  son,  William  !  ”  And  William,  too, 
went,  and  fell ;  when  the  noble  woman  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  Would  that  1  had  a  thousand  sons 
to  give  to  God  I  ”  Oh !  would  that  I  had  a 
thousand  such  mothers  1  Then  would  our 
ranks  be  full.  Dr.  Durbin. 

3995.  MISSIONS,  Success  of.  Carey  and  his 
compeers,  the  first  English  Baptist  missionaries, 
labored  seven  years  beiore  the  first  Hindoo 
convert  was  baptized.  Judson  toiled  on  for 
years  without  any  fruit  of  his  labor,  until  the 
few  churches  in  this  land  who  sustained  him 
began  to  be  disheartened.  He  wrote,  “  Beg 
the  churches  to  have  patience.  If  a  ship  were 
here  to  carry  me  to  any  part  of  the  world,  I 
would  not  leave  my  field.  Tell  the  brethren 
success  is  as  certain  as  the  promise  of  a  faith¬ 
ful  God  can  make  it.”  The  mission  was  com¬ 
menced  in  1814.  In  1870,  we  may  count  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  converts. 

3996.  MISSIONS,  Support  of.  A  woman  of 
Wakefield,  well  known  to  be  in  very  needy 
circumstances,  offered  to  subscribe  a  penny  a 
week  to  the  missionary-fund.  “  Surely,”  said 
one,  “  you  are  too  poor  to  afford  this.”  She 
replied,  “  I  spin  so  many  hanks  of  yarn  for  a 
maintenance  :  I  will  spin  one  more ;  and  that; 
will  be  a  penny  for  the  society.” 

3997.  MISTAKES,  Rectifying.  An  upright 
farmer,  giving  a  reason  tor  his  liberal  measure, 
said,  “  God  has  permitted  me  but  one  journey 
through  the  world ;  and,  when  I  am  gone,  I 
cannot  return  to  rectify  mistakes.” 

3998.  MITE,  Influence  of  a.  It  is  said  that  a 
lady  was  filling  a  box  for  India,  when  a  child 
brought  her  a  cent,  with  which  she  bought  a 
tract,  and  put  it  in  the  box.  It  was,  at  length, 
given  to  a  Burman  chief,  and  led  him  to  Christ. 
The  chief  told  the  story  of  his  new  God  and 
great  happiness  to  his  friends.  They  also  be¬ 
lieved,  and  cast  away  their  idols.  A  church 
was  built  there,  a  missionary  was  sent;  and 
fifteen  hundred  converted  from  heathenism 
was  the  result  of  the  little  seed. 

3999.  MODERATION,  Advised.  An  inscrip¬ 
tion  on  the  walls  of  the  temple  at  Delphos  was, 
“  Avoid  excess.” 


MODERATION. 


MODESTY. 


459 


4000.  MODERATION,  Impossible.  You  can¬ 
not,  though  you  may  think  you  can,  preserve 
a  moderation  in  sin.  If  you  commit  one  sin,  it 
is  like  the  melting  of  the  lower  glacier  upon 
the  Alps  :  the  others  must  follow  in  time.  As 
certainly  as  you  heap  one  stone  upon  the  cairn 
to-day,  the  next  day  you  will  cast  another ; 
until  the  heap,  reared  stone  by  stone,  shall  be¬ 
come  a  very  pyramid.  Set  the  coral  insect  at 
work  :  you  cannot  decree  where  it  shall  stay 
its  work.  It  will  not  build  its  rock  just  as  high 
as  you  please  :  it  will  not  stay,  until  it  shall  he 
covered  with  weeds,  until  the  weeds  shall  de¬ 
cay,  and  there  shall  be  soil  upon  it,  and  an 
island  shall  be  created  by  tiny  creatures.  Sin 
cannot  be  held  in  with  bit  and  bridle. 

Spurgeon. 

4001.  MODERATION,  Neglect  of  This  is  an 
affliction  attending  moderate  men  :  that  they 
have  not  an  active  party  to  side  with  them  and 
favor  them.  Men  of  great  stature  will  quickly 
be  made  porters  to  a  king,  and  those  diminu¬ 
tively  little  dwarfs,  to  a  queen ;  whilst  such 
who  are  of  a  middle  height  may  get  them¬ 
selves  masters  where  they  can.  The  moderate 
man.  eminent  for  no  excess  or  extravagance  in 
his  judgment,  will  have  few  patrons  to  pro¬ 
tect,  or  persons  to  adhere  to  him.  T.  Fuller. 

4002.  MODERATION,  Proverbs.  Who  goes 

softly,  goes  safely ;  and  who  goes  safely,  goes  far. 
He  is  rich  enough  who  does  not  want.  —  Ital¬ 
ian.  - A  bird  can  roost  on  but  one  branch : 

a  mouse  can  drink  no  more  than  its  fill  from  a 

river.  —  Chinese. - There  is  not  enough  if 

there  is  not  too  much.  —  French. - Take-it- 

easy  and  Live-long  are  brothers. —  German. 

- The  more  haste,  the  worse  speed.  — 

English. 

4003.  MODERATION,  Wisdom  of.  Hamet  and 
Raschid,  two  neighboring  shepherds  of  India, 
in  a  time  of  great  drought,  made  a  request 
each  of  the  Genius  of  Distribution  :  Hamet 
for  a  little  brook  which  would  never  dry  in 
summer,  and  in  winter  never  overflow.  Im¬ 
mediately  the  genius  caused  the  fountain  to 
bubble  at  his  feet,  and  scatter  its  rills  over 
the  meadows :  the  flowers  renewed  their  fra¬ 
grance,  the  trees  spread  a  greener  foliage,  and 
the  flocks  and  herds  quenched  their  thirst. 
Raschid,  not  satisfied  with  Hamet’s  moderate 
request,  desired  the  genius  to  turn  the  Ganges 
through  his  grounds,  with  all  its  waters  and 
all  their  inhabitants.  As  Raschid  was  look¬ 
ing  with  contempt  upon  Hamet  and  his  small 
request,  he  heard,  on  a  sudden,  the  roar  of 
torrents,  and  saw  a  mighty  stream  come  roll¬ 
ing  on,  which  was  the  Ganges  broken  loose 
from  its  bounds.  The  flood  rolled  forward  into 
the  lands  of  Raschid  :  his  plantations  were 
torn  up,  his  flocks  overwhelmed,  he  was  swept 
away  before  it,  and  a  crocodile  devoured  him. 

Dr.  Johnson. 

4004.  MODESTY,  Analogy  of.  Desirous  of 
plucking  one  of  the  elegant  sea-anemones,  you 
extend  your  hand ;  but,  at  the  slightest  touch, 
its  beautiful  coronet  begins  to  curl,  and  in¬ 
curve  in  the  form  of  a  cup.  If  further  annoyed, 
the  rim  of  this  cup  contracts  more  and  more, 


|  until  the  animated  blossom,  now  transformed 
I  into  a  shrivelled,  shapeless  mass,  and  receding 
all  the  time  from  the  rude  assault,  retires  un¬ 
der  the  cover  of  its  rocky  fortress,  or  clings 
with  such  tenacity  to  the  stone  to  which  it  is 
attached,  that  you  will  sooner  tear  it  to  pieces 
than  make  it  forego  its  grasp.  Hartwig. 

4005.  MODESTY,  Example  of.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  like  many  other  distinguished  per¬ 
sons,  was  never  satisfied  with  his  own  efforts, 
however  well  they  might  satisfy  others.  When 
the  ingenious  M.  Mosnier,  a  French  painter, 
was  one  day  praising  to  him  the  excellence  of 
one  of  his  pictures,  he  replied,  “  Ah  1  Monsieur, 
je  ne  fais  que  des  ebauehes,  des  ebauches.” 
(Alas,  sir  1  I  can  only  make  sketches,  sketches.) 

Percy. 

4000.  MODESTY,  Importance  of.  A  just  and 
reasonable  modesty  does  not  only  recommend 
eloquence,  but  sets  off  every  great  talent  which 
a  man  can  be  possessed  of.  It  heightens  all  the 
virtues  which  it  accompanies.  Like  the  shades 
in  paintings,  it  raises  and  rounds  every  figure, 
and  makes  the  colors  more  beautiful,  though 
not  so  glaring  as  they  would  be  without. 

Addison. 

4007.  MODESTY,  Reward  of.  Gen.  Washing¬ 
ton,  having  won  the  gratitude  of  his  country 
by  his  conduct  in  the  French  and  Indian  war, 
was  presented  with  a  vote  of  thanks  by  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  in  an  earnest  speech  by 
Speaker  Robinson.  Washington  rose  to  reply, 
blushed,  stammered,  but  could  not  speak  a 
word.  Mr.  Robinson  said,  “  Sit  down,  Mr. 
Washington :  your  modesty  is  equal  to  your 
valor ;  and  that  surpasses  the  power  of  any 
language  that  I  possess.” 

4008.  MODESTY,  and  Silence.  Long  ago 
there  flourished  in  Persia  an  academy  called 
that  of  Silence,  whose  tenets  inculcated  a  vast 
amount  of  thought,  a  very  little  writing,  and 
no  talking  at  all.  The  number  of  academi¬ 
cians  was  strictly  limited  to  a  hundred.  One 
of  the  members  died ;  and,  at  that  very  time, 
there  was  living  at  the  other  extremity  of 
Persia  a  most  learned  man,  Zeeb  by  name. 
No  sooner  had  he  heard  of  the  vacancy  in  the 
Academy  of  Silence,  than,  seized  with  a  laud¬ 
able  desire  of  filling  it,  he  posted  up  as  fast  as 
horses  could  carry  him.  Meanwhile,  a  court 
favorite,  renowned  for  his  talking  propensi¬ 
ties,  had  been  installed  in  the  vacant  place. 
The  consternation  of  the  fellows  may,  there¬ 
fore,  be  imagined,  when  the  learned  Zeeb  sent 
in  his  name  as  craving  admittance.  The  presi¬ 
dent  determined  to  give  him  an  audience  in 
full  council,  to  show  their  regret.  Zeeb,  there¬ 
fore,  was  ushered  in  ;  and  the  president,  taking 
a  glass,  filled  it  as  full  of  water  as  it  could 
possibly  hold,  so  that  another  drop  would  cause 
it  to  overflow.  Zeeb  understood  the  allegory ; 
but,  seeing  a  rose-leaf  lying  on  the  floor,  he 
picked  it  up,  and  placed  it  gently  on  the 
water,  which  did  not  run  over.  The  fellows 
were  so  charmed  at  this,  that  they  instantly 
admitted  him  a  member,  regardless  of  all  rules 
to  the  contrary.  The  book  was  brought  to 
him  to  sign  his  name  in ;  which  he  did,  adding 


460 


MOISTEY. 


MONEY. 


the  numerals  100,  and  then  prefixing  a  nought, 
thus,  —  0100;  showing  that  the  number  and 
worth  of  the  academy  were  not  increased  by  his 
admittance.  However,  the  president,  charmed 
with  so  much  modesty  in  so  learned  a  man, 
scratched  out  the  nought,  and  added  a  one  in 
its  place,  —  1100;  thus  implying  that  the  aca¬ 
demical  worth  was  increased  tenfold  by  his 
presence. 

4009.  MONEY,  Abuse  of.  To  hoard  money 
is  to  abuse  it.  To  make  the  possession  of 
money  the  chief  basis  of  social  preference  is  to 
abuse  money.  Money  cannot  make  a  lady  nor 
a  gentleman.  A  leper  may  put  on  jewels ; 
but  a  jewelled  leper  is  a  leper  still.  Money  is 
abused  when  lifted  above  its  sphere.  To  stake 
our  happiness  on  the  possession  of  a  certain 
amount  of  money,  or  on  the  incessancy  of  ac¬ 
cumulation,  is  unduly  to  exalt  money.  Money 
is  abused  when  pursued  by  means  that  are 
evil  in  themselves  or  injurious  in  their  effects, 
and  when  it  is  so  employed  as  inevitably  to 
inflict  personal  and  social  mischief. 

S.  Martin. 

4010.  MONEY,  Corrupting.  Alexander  was 
asked  why  he  did  not  gather  money,  and  lay  it 
up  in  a  public  treasury ;  and  replied,  “  For 
fear,  lest,  being  the  keeper  thereof,  I  should  be 
infected  and  corrupted.” 

400.  MONEY,  in  Death,  Down  to  the  grave 
comes  the  millionnaire.  “  How  much  are  you 
worth  ?  ”  says  Death.  “  Men  call  me  worth 
thirty  millions.”  It  is  not  enough  to  pay  his 
ferriage  1  But  he  goes  through  ;  and  when  he 
has  got  through,  his  wealth  having  been  taken 
from  him,  he  is  no  bigger  than  a  mosquito ! 
There  is  hardly  enough  left  of  him  for  a  nu¬ 
cleus  to  start  on  in  the  next  life.  Beecher. 

4019.  MONEY,  Devices  on.  On  some  of  the 
reverses  of  the  Roman  large  brass  may  be  de¬ 
ciphered,  Valor,  standing  full  armed;  Honor, 
robed  and  chapleted ;  Happiness,  crowned 
with  obliviscent  poppies ;  Concord,  with  ex¬ 
tended  hand,  and  the  horn  of  plenty  in  her 
bosom ;  Hope,  tripping  lightly,  and  smiling  on 
a  flower-bud ;  Peace,  offering  the  olive-branch  ; 
Fortune,  resting  on  a  rudder;  Military  Faith, 
stretching  forth  his  consecrated  standard ; 
Abundance,  emptying  her  cornucopia;  Secu¬ 
rity,  leaning  on  a  column  ;  Modesty,  veiled 
and  sitting ;  Piety,  taking  her  gift  to  the  altar ; 
Fruitfulness,  in  the  midst  of  her  nurselings; 
Equity,  adjusting  her  scales;  Victory,  with 
wings  and  coronal  and  trumpet ;  Eternity,  hold¬ 
ing  the  globe  and  risen  phoenix,  or,  better,  seat¬ 
ed  on  a  starry  sphere ;  Liberty,  with  cap  and 
staff';  National  Prosperity,  sailing  as  a  good 
ship  before  the  favoring  gale ;  and  Public 
Faith,  with  joined  hands,  clasping  between 
them  the  palms  of  success  and  the  caduceus 
of  health.  Religion  would  also  at  an  early 
period  claim  to  be  distinguished ;  and,  accord¬ 
ingly,  the  effigies  of  Juno,  Diana,  Ceres,  Jove, 
Hercules,  Apollo,  Bacchus,  Pluto,  Neptune, 
and  many  other  of  the  heathen  deities,  are 
found  impressed  upon  the  early  coins.  The 
Jews,  however,  were  the  worshippers  of  the  only 
one  true  God  :  idolatry  was  strictly  forbidden 


in  their  law;  and,  therefore,  their  shekel  never 
bore  a  head,  but  was  impressed  simply  with 
the  almond  rod  and  the  pot  of  manna. 

G.  M.  Bell. 

4013.  MONEY,  Increase  of.  Money  can  beget 
money,  and  its  offspring  can  beget  more ;  and  so 
on.  Five  shillings  turned  is  six ;  turned  again, 
it  is  seven  and  threepence ;  and  so  on  till  it  be¬ 
comes  a  hundred  pounds.  The  more  there  is 
of  it,  the  more  it  produces  every  turning ;  so 
that  the  profits  rise  quicker  and  quicker.  He 
that  destroys  a  breeding  sow  kills  all  her  off¬ 
spring  to  the  thousandth  generation.  He 
that  murders  a  crown  destroys  all  that  it 
might  have  produced,  —  soon  scores  of  pounds. 

Franklin. 

4914.  MONEY,  Keeping.  It  is  foolish  to  allow 
our  hearts  to  lean  upon  any  earthly  good,  which 
must  soon  perish.  It  is  like  putting  all  one’s 
money  into  the  coat-pocket,  which  a  clever 
thief  may  cut  off  and  steal.  A  great  man 
once  told  a  youth  to  empty  his  purse  into  his 
head,  if  lie  wished  to  keep  his  money  safely; 
meaning  that  a  good  education  would  be  the 
best  and  surest  investment  for  his  little  capi¬ 
tal. 

4915.  MONEY,  Love  of.  “  The  love  of  money 

is  the  root  of  all  evil.”  It  groweth  up  a  little 
plant  of  coveting:  presently  the  leaves  get 
rank,  the  branches  spread,  and  feed  on  petty 
thefts ;  then,  in  their  early  season,  come  the 
blossoms,  —  black  designs  ;  plots,  involved  and 
undeveloped  yet,  of  foul  conspiracies;  extor¬ 
tions  on  the  weak ;  rich  robbings  of  the  wealthy ; 
the  threatened  slander ;  the  rewarded  lie ;  mal¬ 
ice,  perjury,  sacrilege  :  then  speedily  cometh 
on  the  climax,  the  consummate  flower,  —  dark- 
red  murder  :  and  the  fruit,  bearing  in  itself  the 
seeds  that  never  die,  is  righteous,  wrathful, 
condemnation.  T  upper. 

4916.  MONEY,  Origin  of.  A  long  period  of 

time  must  have  intervened  between  the  first 
introduction  of  the  precious  metals  into  com¬ 
merce  and  their  becoming  generally  used  as 
money.  The  peculiar  qualities  which  so  emi¬ 
nently  fit  them  for  this  purpose  would  only  be 
gradually  discovered.  They  would  probably 
be  first  introduced  in  their  gross  and  unpuri¬ 
fied  state.  A  sheep,  an  ox,  a  certain  quantity 
of  corn,  or  any  other  article,  would  afterwards 
be  bartered  or  exchanged  for  pieces  of  gold  or 
silver  in  bars  or  ingots,  in  the  same  way  as 
they  would  formerly  have  been  exchanged  for 
iron,  copper,  cloth,  or  any  thing  else.  The 
merchants  would  soon  begin  to  estimate  their 
proper  value,  and,  in  effecting  exchanges, 
would  first  agree  upon  the  quality  of  the  metal 
to  be  given ;  and  then  the  quantity  which  its 
possessor  had  become  bound  to  pay  would  be 
ascertained  by  weight.  This  is  the  manner, 
according  to  Aristotle  and  Pliny,  in  which  the 
precious  metals  were  originally  exchanged  in 
Greece  and  Rome.  The  same  practice  is  still 
observed  in  some  countries.  In  many  parts  of 
China  and  Abyssinia,  the  value  of  gold  and 
silver  is  ascertained  by  weight.  Iron  was  the 
first  money  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  copper 
of  the  Romans.  Bell. 


MORAJLITY. 


MONEY. 

4017.  MONEY,  Rules  for.  Get  all  you  can 

without  hurting  your  soul,  your  body,  or  your 
neighbor.  Save  all  you  can,  cutting  off  every 
needless  expense.  Give  all  you  can.  Be  glad 
to  give,  and  ready  to  distribute;  laying  up  in 
store  for  yourselves  a  good  foundation  against 
the  time  to  come,  that  ye  may  attain  eternal 
life.  ./.  Wesley. 

4018.  MONEY,  Utility  of.  Money  is  an  in¬ 

strument  for  facilitating  exchanges ;  it  is  the 
wheel  of  circulation  and  distribution.  To  the 
individual,  money  is  an  instrument  for  supply¬ 
ing  some  of  his  wants,  and  for  gratifying  some 
of  his  desires.  By  the  legitimate  use  of  money, 
the  individual  faculties  are  developed,  and  at 
the  same  time  mutual  dependence  is  promoted. 
It  is  an  instrument  in  the  enterprises  and  min¬ 
istries  of  benevolence :  feeds  the  hungry, 
clothes  the  naked,  shelters  the  houseless,  builds 
hospitals  for  the  sick,  wipes  the  tears  of  widows, 
hushes  the  cries  of  the  fatherless,  diffuses  edu¬ 
cation  and  knowledge,  circulates  the  Bible, 
builds  places  of  religious  worship,  sends  the 
missionary  to  the  heathen,  and  supports  the 
ministry  at  home,  &c.  S.  Martin. 

4019.  MONUMENT,  An  Enduring.  The  skele¬ 

ton  which  the  corals  secreted  during  life  re¬ 
mains  an  indestructible  record  of  their  exist¬ 
ence  ;  for  while,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  bones 
of  the  higher  animals  vanish  after  a  few  years 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  stone-polyp, 
firmly  rooted  to  the  spot  which  it  occupied 
while  alive,  marks  the  lapse  of  centuries,  and 
seems  to  bid  defiance  to  all  time.  The  coral- 
reefs  of  the  primitive  world  form  a  conspicu¬ 
ous  portion  of  the  earth-rind ;  and,  as  they  are 
frequently  situated  in  the  depths  of  continents, 
or  beyond  the  limits  of  the  polar  circle,  lead 
us  back  to  times  when  tides  broke  against  the 
mountains  of  Switzerland,  or  the  shores  of 
Spitsbergen  were  washed  by  a  tepid  sea.  The 
most  ancient  monuments  erected  by  man  to 
mark  his  transient  passage  on  earth — the 
Pyramids  of  Egypt,  or  the  temples  of  Meroe  — 
do  not  reach,  perhaps,  beyond  fifty  or  sixty 
centuries ;  but  here  we  have  ramparts  to  which 
the  great  wall  of  China  is  a  pigmy,  erected  at 
periods  separated  from  the  present  time  by  an 
incalculable  series  of  ages.  Har/wig. 

4029.  MORALIST,  Conversion  of  a.  There 
lived  in  a  Connecticut  village  a  man  of  great 
natural  innocence  of  character,  whose  life  was 
so  beautiful,  that  his  mother  thought  he  must 
know  what  religion  was.  In  his  family,  among 
his  neighbors,  he  was  all  that  could  be  desired. 
During  the  progress  of  a  revival,  he  became 
deeply  impressed  of  his  great  want.  A  natur¬ 
ally  quiet  man,  he  came  to  church  one  evening 
deeply  agitated.  The  burden  of  sin  was  heavy 
upon  him.  He  went  to  the  altar-rail  with  his 
wife,  who  was  a  Christian,  and  there,  in  tears 
and  agony,  wrestled  for  deliverance.  He  felt 
that  nothing  could  help  him  so  much  as  his 
wife’s  prayers,  and  constantly  urged  her  to 
pray.  She  said  she  had  never  prayed  in  pub¬ 
lic,  and  could  not.  He  said  she  must.  She 
did  ;  and  their  broken  petitions  were  soon 
answered  by  pardon  and  peace.  Moralists  are 


461 

|  sometimes  powerfully  convicted  and  clearly 
converted. 

4021.  MORALIST,  Danger  of  the.  George 
Whitefield  stopped  for  several  days  at 
the  house  of  a  general,  at  Providence,  R.I. 
The  general,  his  wife,  his  son,  and  three 
daughters,  were  serious,  but  not  decided¬ 
ly  religious.  Whitefield  depai  ;ed  from  his 
usual  custom,  which  was  to  add.  ess  the  resi¬ 
dents  in  the  house  where  he  staid,  individu¬ 
ally,  concerning  the  welfare  of  their  souls. 
The  last  evening  came,  and  the  last  night  he 
was  to  spend  there.  He  retired  to  rest ;  but 
the  spirit  of  God  came  to  him  in  the  night, 
saying,  “  O  man  of  God  1  if  these  people  per¬ 
ish,  their  blood  be  on  thy  head.”  He  listened; 
but  the  flesh  said,  “  Do  not  speak  to  these  peo¬ 
ple  :  they  are  so  good  and  so  kind,  that  you 
could  not  say  a  harsh  thing  to  them.”  He 
rose  and  prayed.  The  sweat  ran  down  his 
brow.  He  was  in  fear  and  anxiety.  At  last 
a  happy  thought  struck  him.  He  took  his 
diamond  ring  from  his  finger,  went  up  to  the 
window,  and  wrote  these  words  upon  the  glass : 
“  One  thing  thou  lackest.”  He  could  not 
summon  courage  to  say  a  word  to  the  inmates, 
but  went  his  way.  No  sooner  was  he  gone, 
than  the  general,  who  had  a  great  veneration 
for  him,  went  into  the  room  he  had  occupied; 
and  the  first  thing  that  struck  his  attention 
was  the  sentence  upon  the  window  :  “  One 
thing  thou  lackest.”  That  was  exactly  his 
case.  The  Spirit  of  God  blessed  it  to  his 
heart. 

4922.  MORALIST,  Fable  for  the.  A  barren 
and  a  fruitful  vine  are  growing  side  by  side  in 
the  garden ;  and  the  barren  vine  says  to  the 
fruitful  one,  “  Is  not  my  root  as  good  as  yours  ?  ” 
“Yes,”  replies  the  vine,  “as  good  as  mine.” 
“  And  are  not  my  lower  leaves  as  broad  and 
spreading  V  and  is  not  my  stem  as  large,  and 
my  bark  as  shaggy  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,”  says  the  vine. 
“  And  are  not  my  leaves  as  green  ?  and  have  I 
not  as  many  bugs  creeping  up  and  down  ?  and 
am  I  not  taller  than  you  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,”  meekly 
replies  the  vine,  “  but  I  have  blossoms.”  —  “  Oh  I 
blossoms  are  of  no  use.”  —  “  But  I  bear  fruit.” 
“  What,  those  clusters  ?  Those  are  only  a 
trouble  to  a  vine.”  But  what  thinks  the  vint¬ 
ner?  He  passes  by  the  barren  vine  ;  but  the 
other,  filling  the  air  with  its  odor  in  spring, 
and  drooping  with  purple  clusters  in  autumn, 
is  his  pride  and  joy  ;  and  he  lingers  near  it, 
and  prunes  it,  that  it  may  become  yet  more 
luxuriant  and  fruitful.  So  the  moralist  and 
the  Christian.  Beecher. 

4023.  MORALIST,  Fate  of  the.  Moralists  have 
been  compared  to  the  carpenters  who  helped 
Noah  in  the  building  of  the  ark,  yet,  after  all 
this,  were  drowned  themselves. 

4024.  MORALITY,  Allegory  of.  Bunvan  rep¬ 
resents  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman,  who  dwelt  in 
the  town  of  Carnal  Policy,  near  to  the  city  of 
Destruction,  persuading  Christian  to  take  a 
shorter  path,  to  get  clear  of  his  burden.  Mr. 
Legality  lived  in  the  village  of  Morality,  and 
was  famous  tor  his  skill  in  relieving  pilgrims 
of  their  burdens.  Should  he  be  absent  from 


462 


MORALITY. 


MOTHER. 


home,  his  son  Civility  could  do  the  business  as 
well  as  his  father.  Christian  was  misled  by 
the  fair  speech  of  Worldly  Wiseman.  The 
terrors  of  Sinai  overwhelmed  him.  At  last, 
Evangelist  came  to  his  relief,  and  led  him  back 
to  the  right  path. 

4025.  MORALITY,  Defioient.  The  man  who 

tries  to  cut  himself  and  square  his  conduct 
merely  by  the  outward  pattern  of  morality  is 
as  the  artist,  who,  instead  of  studying  his  art 
from  the  boundless  and  glorious  pictures  God 
has  painted  on  the  earth  and  in  the  sky,  goes 
into  some  dim  gallery,  and  pores  over  what 
hangs  there,  until  he  can  badly  imitate  the  stiff 
drapery,  uncouth  figures,  inhuman  adults,  and 
monstrous  pumpkin-headed  children,  that  the 
canvas  before  him  exhibits.  Ha  1  you  love  to 
laugh  at  the  artists :  but  what  do  you  think 
the  angels  do  at  you,  who  prostitute  not  mere¬ 
ly  your  fingers  and  imaginations,  but  your 
whole  spiritual  nature,  to  the  work  of  making, 
not  bad  pictures,  but  bad,  incomplete,  poverty- 
stricken  men  ?  “  Is  not  morality  "ood,  as  far 

as  it  goes  ?  ”  say  you.  “  Yes,  certainly,  as  far 
as  it  goes.”  —  “  Isn’t  my  cable  as  good  as  yours, 
as  far  as  it  goes  ?  ”  says  the  sailor  who  has  a 
short  cable  to  him  who  has  one  very  long. 
“  Yes,”  says  the  other,  “  as  far  as  it  goes  ;  but 
what  of  that,  when  it  won’t  go  within  fifty  fath¬ 
oms  of  bottom  ?  ”  And  of  what  use,  O  moral¬ 
ist  1  is  your  cable,  when  it  will  not  go  within 
fifty  fathoms  of  the  place  where  it  can  take 
hold  upon  the  soul’s  anchorage  ?  Beecher. 

4026.  MORALITY,  Insufficiency  of.  A  mere 

moral  character  is  like  the  old  palace  of  ice, 
in  Russia :  it  will  do  very  well  while  winter 
lasts ;  but  it  will  never  do  when  eternity  comes 
on.  Beautiful  as  it  is,  it  will  all  melt  away 
then.  Rev.  T.  Jones. 

4027.  MORALITY,  HecessaTy.  Morality  does 

not  make  a  Christian ;  yet  no  man  can  be  a 
Christian  without  it.  Bishop  Wilson. 

4©2§.  MORALITY,  Only,  Morality  without 
religion  is  only  a  kind  of  dead-reckoning,  — 
an  endeavor  to  find  our  place  on  a  cloudy  sea 
by  measuring  the  distance  we  have  to  run,  but 
without  any  observation  of  the  heavenly  bod¬ 
ies.  Longfellow. 

4029.  MORALITY,  Quality  of.  The  morality 

of  an  action  depends  upon  the  motive  from 
which  it  is  done.  If  I  fling  a  half-crown  at  a 
beggar,  with  the  intention  to  hurt  his  head, 
and  he  picks  it  up  and  buys  victuals  with  it, 
the  practical  effect  is  good  to  him,  but,  with 
respect  to  me,  it  is  very  bad.  Locke. 

4030.  MORALS,  Code  of.  My  son,  I  wish 

thee  to  observe  these  six  maxims,  which  com¬ 
prehend  all  the  morality  of  the  ancients  and 
moderns :  1.  Have  no  attachment  to  the 

world  but  in  proportion  to  the  short  duration 
of  thy  life.  2.  Serve  God  with  all  that  fervor 
which  the  need  thou  hast  of  him  demands. 
3.  Labor  for  the  other  life  that  awaits  thee, 
and  consider  the  time  it  must  endure.  4. 
Strive  to  escape  that  fire  out  of  which  those 
who  are  once  cast  in  can  never  escape.  5.  If 
thou  hast  temerity  enough  ro  sin,  measure  be¬ 
forehand  the  strength  thou  shall  require  to  en¬ 


dure  the  fire  of  hell  and  the  chastisements  of 
God.  6.  When  thou  wishest  to  transgress,  seek 
for  a  place  where  God  cannot  see  thee. 

Lockman. 

4031.  MORTALITY,  Reminder  of.  One  of  Gott¬ 
hold’s  friends  had  a  little  scent-box,  made  in 
the  shape  of  a  death’s-head,  with  a  screw  at 
the  skull  for  opening  and  taking  it  asunder. 
It  then  showed  various  cells  filled  with  fra¬ 
grant  balm.  Being  asked  why  he  had  made 
the  box  in  this  particular  shape,  he  replied, 
“  In  order  to  have  something  continually  re¬ 
minding  me  of  my  mortality.”  On  this,  Gott¬ 
hold  rejoined,  “  You  have  done  well  if  such 
was  indeed  your  object,  and  not,  rather,  to  pos¬ 
sess  a  curiosity  for  people  to  gaze  and  wonder 
at.  The  thought  of  the  mortality  to  which, 
like  all  your  race,  you  are  subjected,  may  be 
infinitely  more  profitable  to  you  than  all  kinds 
of  balm.  If  seized  with  the  delirium  of  pride, 
reflect  that  death  will  one  day  reduce  you  to 
dust  and  ashes,  and  wither  your  pomp  like  a 
flower.  If  overcome  by  angry  passion,  take 
to  heart  that  death  stands  behind  you  with  his 
axe,  and  only  waits  the  signal  from  God  to  re¬ 
duce  you  in  an  instant  to  the  impotency  of  a 
dead  gnat.  If  your  heart  ache,  and  your  head 
be  distracted  with  cares,  recollect  that  all  your 
trouble  and  anxiety  will  one  day  come  to  a 
blessed  end.” 

4032.  MORTALITY,  Universal.  O  eloquent, 
just,  and  mighty  death  !  whom  none  could  ad¬ 
vise,  thou  only  hast  persuaded ;  what  none  hath 
dared,  thou  hast  done  ;  and  whom  all  the  world 
hath  flattered,  thou  only  hast  cast  out  and  de¬ 
spised.  Thou  hast  drawn  together  all  the  far- 
stretched  greatness,  all  the  pride,  cruelty,  and 
ambition  of  man,  and  covered  it  over  with 
those  two  narrow  words,  “  Hie  jacet.” 

Raleigh, 

4033.  MOTHER,  Anchor  of  a.  A  babe  is  a 

mother’s  anchor.  She  cannot  swing  far  from 
her  moorings.  And  yet  a  true  mother  never 
lives  so  little  in  the  present  as  when  by  the 
side  of  the  cradle.  Her  thoughts  follow  the 
imagined  future  of  her  child.  That  babe  is 
the  boldest  of  pilots,  and  guides  her  fearless 
thoughts  down  through  scenes  of  coming  years. 
The  old  ark  never  made  such  voyages  as  the 
cradle  daily  makes.  Beecher. 

4034.  MOTHER,  Associations  of.  The  music 
of  that  silver-toned  voice  we  again  hear  from 
the  spirit-land,  singing  some  soothing  melody, 
or  telling  in  simple  language  “  that  sweet  sto¬ 
ry  of  old,”  till  forgotten  were  all  our  childish 
sorrows.  And  now,  in  the  strife  and  tumult 
of  life,  when  the  cold  world  frowns  darkly 
upon  us,  her  gentle  words  come  back,  bidding 
us  “  look  above.”  Who  can  fathom  the  depth 
of  a  mother’s  love  ?  No  friendship  so  pure,  so 
devoted.  The  wild  storm  of  adversity  and  the 
bright  sunshine  of  prosperity  are  all  alike  to 
her:  however  unworthy  we  may  be  of  that 
affection,  a  mother  never  ceases  to  love  her 
erring  child.  Often,  when  alone,  as  we  gaze 
up  to  the  starry  heaven,  can  we  in  imagina¬ 
tion  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  angels  around  the 
“  great  white  throne  ;  ”  and  among  the  bright- 


MOTHER. 


MOTHER. 


463 


est  and  fairest  of  them  all  is  our  sweet  mother, 
ever  beckoning  us  onward  and  upward  to  her 
celestial  home.  R.  Smith. 

4035.  MOTHER,  Brevities.  The  mother’s  heart 

is  the  child’s  schoolroom.  —  Beecher. - Na¬ 

poleon  being  asked,  “  What  is  the  great  want 
of  the  French  nation  ?  ”  replied,  “  Mothers  1  ” 
Some  children  being  asked  if  they  knew  any 
one  who  was  always  good,  one  replied,  “  Yes, 
sir,  I  know  one,  —  my  mother.” 

4036.  MOTHER,  and  Child.  Sir  Walter 
Scott’s  mother  was  a  superior  woman,  well 
educated,  and  a  great  lover  of  poetry  and 
painting.  Byron’s  mother  was  proud,  ill-tem¬ 
pered,  and  violent  The  mother  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  was  noted  for  her  beauty  and  en¬ 
ergy.  Lord  Bacon’s  mother  was  a  woman  of 
superior  mind  and  deep  piety.  The  mother 
of  Nero  was  a  murderess.  The  mother  of 
Washington  was  pious,  pure,  and  true.  The 
mother  of  Patrick  Henry  was  marked  by  her 
superior  conversational  powers.  The  mother 
of  John  Wesley  was  remarkable  for  her  intel¬ 
ligence,  piety,  and  executive  ability,  so  that 
she  has  been  called  “  the  mother  of  Method¬ 
ism.”  It  will  be  observed,  that,  in  each  of 
these  examples,  the  sons  inherited  the  promi¬ 
nent  traits  of  the  mother. 

4037.  MOTHER,  Duty  of  a.  The  heathen 

mother  takes  her  babe  to  the  idol  temple,  and 
teaches  it  to  clasp  its  little  hands  before  its 
forehead,  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  long  before 
it  can  utter  a  word.  As  soon  as  it  can  walk,  it 
is  taught  to  gather  a  few  flowers  or  fruits,  or 
put  a  little  rice  upon  a  banana-leaf,  and  lay 
them  upon  the  altar  before  the  idol  god.  As 
soon  as  it  can  utter  the  names  of  its  parents, 
so  soon  it  is  taught  to  offer  up  its  petitions 
before  the  images.  Who  ever  saw  a  heathen 
child  that  could  speak,  and  not  pray  ?  Chris¬ 
tian  mothers,  why  is  it  that  so  many  children 
grow  up  in  this  enlightened  land  without  learn¬ 
ing  to  pray?  Vt.  Chronicle. 

4038.  MOTHER,  God  of  my,  An  infidel  of 
talent,  under  the  power  of  the  truth,  bowed 
his  knees  at  a  religious  meeting,  and  cried  in 
agony,  “  God  of  my  mother ,  have  mercy  on 
me  1  ” 

4039.  MOTHER,  Kiss  of  a.  Benjamin  West, 
in  his  boyhood,  sketched  roughly  the  outline 
of  his  infant  sister’s  face  as  she  lay  in  the 
cradle.  The  mother  saw  genius,  if  not  skill,  in 
the  sketch,  and,  with  a  natural  pride,  kissed 
her  boy.  “  That  kiss,”  said  the  renowned  artist, 

“  made  me  a  painter.” 

4040.  MOTHER,  Letter  of  a.  A  young  sol¬ 
dier  suddenly  embraced  religion,  much  to  the 
surprise  of  his  comrades.  One  day,  he  was 
asked  what  had  wrought  the  sudden  change. 
He  took  his  mother’s  letter  from  his  pocket,  in 
which  she  enumerated  the  comforts  and  luxu¬ 
ries  which  she  had  sent  him,  and,  at  the  close, 
said,  “  We  are  all  praying  for  you,  Charlie, 
that  you  may  be  a  Christian.”  —  “  That’s  the 
sentence,”  said  he.  The  thought  that  his 
mother  was  praying  for  him  became  omnipres- 
mt,  and  led  him  to  pray  for  himself,  which  was 
soon  followed  by  a  happy  Christian  experience.  I 


4041.  MOTHER,  Mistake  of  a.  A  mother  who 
had  laughed  at  religion  was  lying  restless  and 
miserable  on  her  bed  of  death.  She  desired 
that  her  children  should  be  called.  They 
came.  In  broken  accents  she  addressed  them  : 
“  My  children,  I  have  been  leading  you  in  the 
wrong  road  all  your  life  :  I  now  find  the  broad 
road  ends  in  destruction  ;  I  did  not  believe  it 
before.  Oh !  seek  to  serve  God,  and  try  to 
find  the  gate  to  heaven,  though  you  may  never 
meet  your  mother  there.”  Her  lips  were 
closed  forever,  and  her  spirit  departed  to  its 
account,  while  the  household  looked  on  terror- 
struck. 

4042.  MOTHER,  A  Model.  Of  the  mother  of 

St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  we  have  the  follow¬ 
ing  :  Alice  was  an  admirable  woman ;  all  the 
biographies  of  Bernard  unite  in  giving  her 
the  credit  of  his  early  education.  He  was 
one  of  a  large  family  of  children,  all  of  whom 
were  fed  from  the  bosom  of  their  mother ;  for 
she  entertained  the  idea,  that  the  infant,  with 
the  milk  it  drew  from  a  stranger’s  bosom,  im¬ 
bibed  also  some  portion  of  the  quality  and 
temperament  of  the  nurse  :  therefore,  while 
her  children  were  young,  they  had  no  attend¬ 
ant  but  herself.  They  all  became  remarkable 
men  and  women  ;  but  the  fame  of  the  rest  is 
merged  in  that  of  Bernard,  who  appears,  in¬ 
deed,  to  have  moulded  them  all  to  his  own 
bent.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

4043.  MOTHER,  Prayers  of  a.  Samuel  Budg- 
ett  was  about  nine  years  of  age,  when,  one  day 
passing  his  mother’s  door,  he  heard  her  en¬ 
gaged  in  earnest  prayer  for  her  family,  and  for 
himself  by  name.  He  thought,  “  My  mother 
is  more  earnest  that  I  should  be  saved  than  I 
am  for  my  own  salvation.”  In  that  hour,  he 
became  decided  to  serve  God  ;  and  the  impres¬ 
sion  thus  made  was  never  effaced.  Arthur. 

4044.  MOTHER,  A  Promise  to.  A  soldier  re¬ 
ceived  a  furlough  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
home.  When  it  was  given  to  him,  he  asked 
that  it  might  be  postponed.  At  the  end  of 
two  weeks,  he  came  to  say  he  was  ready  for  his 
furlough.  Being  pressed  for  a  reason  for  his 
delay,  he  said,  “  I  promised  my  mother  that  I 
would  be  a  Christian  in  the  army.  I  have 
neglected  it  up  to  this  time  ;  and  I  could  not 
go  home  until  I  could  answer  my  mother’s  first 
question.” 

4015.  MOTHER,  Proverbs.  Little  children 
and  headaches,  —  great  children  and  heart¬ 
aches.  —  Italian. - One  is  always  some¬ 

body’s  child,  and  that  is  a  comfort.  —  French. 

- Mother’s  truth  keeps  constant  youth. 

Every  mother’s  child  is  handsome.  —  German. 

- Tli ere  is  no  mother  like  the  mother  that 

bore  us.  —  Spanish. - A  child  may  have 

too  much  of  its  mother’s  blessing.  —  English. 

4046.  MOTHER,  Reminisoencos  of.  If  I  seat 
myself  upon  my  cushion,  it  is  at  her  side ;  if  I 
sing,  it  is  to  her  ear;  if  I  walk  the  walls  or  the 
meadows,  my  little  hand  is  in  my  mother’s,  and 
my  little  feet  keep  company  with  hers;  if  I 
stand  and  listen  to  the  piano,  it  is  because  my 
mother’s  fingers  touch  the  keys;  if  I  survey 
the  wonders  of  creation,  it  is  my  mother  who 


464 


MOTIVES. 


MURMURIN'  <3-. 


points  out  the  object  of  my  admiring  atten¬ 
tion  ;  if  a  hundred  cannon  pronounce  a  nation¬ 
al  salute,  I  find  myself  clinging  to  her  knees  ; 
when  my  heart  bounds  with  its  best  joy,  it  is 
because,  at  the  performance  of  some  task  or  the 
recitation  of  some  verses,  I  receive  a  present 
from  her  hand.  There  is  no  velvet  so  soft  as 
a  mother’s  lap,  no  rose  so  lovely  as  her  smile, 
no  path  so  flowery  as  that  imprinted  with  her 
footsteps.  Bp.  Thomson. 

4011.  MOTIVES,  Importance  of.  The  attend¬ 
ant  on  King  William  Rufus,  who  discharged 
at  a  deer  an  arrow  which  glanced  against  a 
tree,  anil  killed  the  king,  was  no  murderer,  be¬ 
cause  he  had  no  such  design  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  man  who  should  lay  in  wait  to 
assassinate  another,  and  pull  the  trigger  of  a 
un  with  that  intent,  would  be  morally  a  mur- 
erer,  not  the  less  though  the  gun  should 
chance  to  miss  fire.  Wliately. 

4048.  MOTIVES,  Mercenary.  A  father  and 
son  once  lived  near  each  other  in  a  new  settle¬ 
ment.  The  old  gentleman  invited  preachers 
to  the  neighborhood,  and  entertained  them 
freely  ;  opening  his  doors  tor  religious  meetings. 
The  son  took  alarm,  and  advised  his  lather  to 
discontinue  the  practice,  or  he  would  surely 
ruin  himself,  and  come  to  want.  The  lather 
took  no  notice  of  the  son’s  worldly-minded 
caution;  and,  instead  of  coming  to  poverty,  he 
grew  wealthy  last.  The  son,  seeing  how 
things  went,  concluded  he  would  try  the  same 
method  to  obtain  property.  So,  when  the 

reachers  came  again,  he  invited  them  to  his 
ouse ;  supposing  it  would  add  to  his  property 
as  he  concluded  it  had  to  his  father’s. 

4049.  MOTIVES,  Reward  of.  A  poor  Arab 
travelling  in  the  desert  met  with  a  spring  of 
sweet  water.  Accustomed  as  he  was  to  brack¬ 
ish  wells,  to  his  simple  mind  it  appeared  that 
such  water  as  this  was  worthy  of  a  monarch ; 
and,  filling  his  leathern  bottle  from  the  spring, 
he  determined  to  go  and  present  it  to  the  caliph 
himself.  lie  travelled  a  considerable  distance 
before  he  reached  the  presence  of  his  sover¬ 
eign,  and  laid  his  humble  offering  at  his  feet. 
The  caliph  did  not  despise  the  little  gift  brought 
to  him  with  so  much  trouble.  He  ordered 
some  of  the  water  to  be  poured  into  a  cup, 
drank  it,  and,  thanking  the  Arab  with  a  smile, 
ordered  him  to  be  presented  with  a  reward. 
The  courtiers  around  pressed  forward,  eager  to 
taste  of  the  wonderful  water ;  but,  to  the  sur¬ 
prise  of  all,  tlie  caliph  forbade  them  to  touch  a 
single  drop.  After  the  poor  Arab  had  depart¬ 
ed,  the  caliph  thus  explained  the  motives  of  his 
conduct :  “  During  the  travels  of  the  Arab,  the 
water  in  this  leathern  bottle  had  become  im¬ 
pure  and  distasteful ;  but  it  was  an  offering 
of  love,  and,  as  such,  I  have  received  it  with 
pleasure.  But  I  well  knew,  that,  had  I  suffered 
another  to  partake  of  it,  he  would  not  have 
concealed  his  disgust ;  and  therefore  I  forbade 
you  to  touch  the  draught,  lest  the  heart  of  the 
poor  man  should  have  been  wounded.” 

4050.  MOURNING,  Lesson  of.  A  pale  mourn¬ 
er  stood  bending  over  the  tomb,  and  his  tears 
fell  fast  and  often.  As  he  raised  his  humid  I 


eyes  to  heaven,  he  cried,  “  My  brother  !  oh,  my 
brother  1  ”  A  sage  passed  that  way,  and  said, 
“  For  whom  dost  thou  mourn  V  ”  —  “  One,”  re¬ 
plied  he,  “  whom  I  did  not  sufficiently  love 
while  living,  but  whose  inestimable  worth  I 
now  feel.”  —  “What  wouldst  thou  do  if  he 
were  restored  to  thee  ?  ”  The  mourner  re¬ 
plied  that  he  would  never  offend  him  by  an 
unkind  word,  but  would  take  every  occasion  to 
show  his  friendship,  if  he  could  but  come  back 
to  his  fond  embrace.  “  Then  waste  not  thy 
time  in  useless  grief,”  said  the  sage,  “  but,  if 
thou  hast  friends,  go  and  cherish  the  living,  re¬ 
membering  that  they  will  one  day  be  dead  also.” 

4®51.  MURDER,  Penalty  of,  Thales  Milesius, 
one  of  the  wise  men  of  Greece,  being  asked 
what  was  the  most  difficult  thing  in  life,  an¬ 
swered,  “For  a  tyrant  to  live  to  old  age.” 
The  application  may  be  extended  to  the  cruel, 
bloodthirsty,  and  murderers. 

4052.  MURMURING,  Brevities.  Murmuring 
persons  think  every  thing  done  by  them¬ 
selves  too  much,  and  every  thing  done  for  them 

too  little.  —  Dyer. - In  the  worst  of  times, 

there  is  more  cause  to  complain  of  an  evil  heart 

than  of  an  evil  world.  —  Fleming. - Many 

are  like  the  farmer,  who  wanted  sunshine  for 
his  wheat,  and  rain  for  his  grass,  all  at  the  same 

time.  —  Bowes. - “  I  mourn,  but  do  not 

murmur,”  said  a  deeply-afflicted  Christian. 

4053.  MURMURING,  Cured.  At  the  time 

of  the  captivity,  Uri,  a  man  of  Israel,  became 
discontented,  and  murmured  against  God. 
AVhen  Uri  had  lamented,  one  day,  the  cause  of 
his  tribulations  in  the  strange  country,  the 
Lord  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  him. 
He  dreamed  that  he  had  left  Babylon,  with 
his  wife  and  children,  and  was  again  reposing 
in  the  mountains  of  Bethlehem.  And  his 
heart  was  full  of  joy  ;  and  he  exclaimed,  “  Let 
us  be  glad,  and  of  good  cheer  ;  for  all  our 
troubles  are  at  an  end.”  Suddenly,  the  sun  was 
darkened,  the  thunder  rolled  in  the  heavens, 
the  earth  quaked ;  and  the  beams  of  their 
dwelling  trembled.  Hastily,  Uri  took  his 
family,  and  fled  into  the  field.  Scarcely  had 
they  left,  when  the  house  fell,  and  the  earth 
where  they  stood  seemed  yawning  to  receive 
them.  Trembling,  he  sought  amid  the  light¬ 
ning  glare  for  a  safe  retreat ;  but,  amid  the 
hurry  of  change,  his  child,  the  youngest,  was 
missing.  The  father  was  about  to  descend  for 
the  child,  when  the  earthquake  began  again  ; 
the  rock  under  their  feet  reeled.  In  anguish 
he  cried,  “  Who  can  help  us,  and  save  us  from 
this  death  Y  ”  He  awoke  :  he  was  still  in  the 
land  of  Babylon.  “  The  Lord  be  praised  1  ” 
said  he :  “  it  was  but  a  dream.”  But  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and 
said,  “  This  dream  came  from  God.  I  touched 
thy  forehead  ;  and,  when  thou  didst  awake,  thy 
troubles  ended.  Uri,  fear  not,  but  believe.” 
And  Uri  humbled  himself  before  God,  and 
said,  “  I  have  looked  for  grapes  on  thorns.” 
And  he  believed,  and  comforted  his  people. 
And,  after  these  days,  Cyrus  proclaimed  a  de¬ 
cree  that  the  Israelites  should  return  to  their 
own  land.  Krummacher. 


MURMURIN'  Gr. 


MUSIC. 


465 


4054.  MURMURING,  Danger  of.  I  have  read 

of  Caesar,  that,  having  prepared  a  great  feast 
for  his  nobles  and  friends,  it  so  fell  out,  that 
the  day  appointed  was  so  extremely  foul,  that 
nothing  could  be  done  to  the  honor  of  the 
meeting :  whereupon  he  was  so  displeased 
and  enraged,  that  he  commanded  all  them  that 
had  bows  to  shoot  up  their  arrows  at  Jupiter, 
their  chief  god,  as  in  defiance  of  him  for  that 
rainy  weather;  which  when  they  did,  their 
arrows  fell  short  of  heaven,  and  fell  upon  their 
own  heads,  so  that  many  of  them  were  very 
sorely  wounded.  So  all  our  inurmurings, 
which  are  as  so  many  arrows  shot  at  God  him¬ 
self,  —  they  will  return  upon  our  own  pates’ 
hearts  :  they  reach  not  hint ;  but  they  will  hit 
ns:  they  hurt  not  him  ;  but  they  will  wound  us. 
Therefore  it  is  better  to  be  mute  than  to  mur¬ 
mur  :  it  is  dangerous  to  provoke  a  “  consum¬ 
ing  fire.”  T.  Brooks. 

4055.  MURMURING,  Evil  of  Seneca  hath 

his  similitude  to  set  out  the  great  evil  of  mur¬ 
muring  under  small  afflictions.  Suppose,  saith 
he,  a  man  to  have  a  very  fair  house  to  dwell  in, 
with  very  fair  orchards  and  gardens  set  about 
with  brave  tall  trees  for  ornament :  what  a 
most  unreasonable  thing  were  it  in  this  man  to 
murmur  because  the  wind  blows  a  few  leaves 
off  the  trees,  though  they  hang  full  of  fruit  1 
If  God  takes  a  little,  and  gives  us  much,  shall 
we  be  discontent?  —  if  he  takes  our  son,  and 
gives  us  his  own  ;  if  he  cause  the  trees  to  bring 
forth  the  fruit,  shall  we  be  angry  if  the  wind 
blow  away  the  leaves  ?  Venning. 

4056.  MURMURING,  a  Mother-Sin.  As  the 
River  Nile  bringeth  forth  many  crocodiles,  and 
the  scorpion  many  serpents,  at  one  birth,  so 
murmuring  is  a  sin  that  breeds  and  brings 
forth  many  sins  at  once.  It  is  like  the  mon¬ 
ster  hydra,  —  cut  off’  one  head,  and  many  will 
rise  up  in  its  room.  It  is  the  mother  of  har¬ 
lots,  the  mother  of  all  abominations,  a  sin 
that  breeds  many  other  sins  ;  viz.,  disobedience, 
contempt,  ingratitude,  impatience,  distrust, 
rebellion,  cursing,  carnality  :  yea,  it  charges 
God  with  folly ;  yea,  with  blasphemy.  The  lan¬ 
guage  of  a  murmuring  soul  is  this :  “  Surely 
"God  might  have  done  this  sooner,  and  that 
wiser,  and  the  other  thing  better.”  T.  Brooks. 

4057.  MURMURING  Punishment  of  It  is 

calculated  that  not  less  than  one  million  of  the 
children  of  Israel  died  in  the  wilderness  by 
God’s  judgment  for  their  inurmurings  in  forty 
years.  Bowes. 

4058.  MURMURING,  Satan-like.  Murmur¬ 

ing  is  the  first-born  of  the  Devil :  and  nothing 
renders  a  man  more  like  to  him  than  murmur¬ 
ing.  Constantine’s  sons  did  not  more  resem¬ 
ble  their  father,  nor  Aristotle’s  scholars  their 
master,  nor  Alexander’s  soldiers  their  general, 
than  murmurers  do  resemble  Satan.  And  as 
murmuring  is  Satan’s  sin,  so  it  is  his  punish¬ 
ment.  What  a  dreadful  thing  it  is  to  bear 
Satan’s  image,  and  to  be  given  up  to  his  pun¬ 
ishment  1  Brooks. 

4050.  MURMURING,  Sin  of  Consider  that 
murmuring  is  a  mercy-imbittering  sin,  a 
mercy-souring  sin.  As  the  sweetest  things 
so 


put  into  a  sour  vessel  become  sour,  or  put 
into  a  bitter  vessel  bitter ;  so  murmuring  puts 
gall  and  wormwood  into  every  cup  of  mercy 
that  God  gives  into  our  hands.  The  mur- 
murer  writes  “  Marali,”  that  is,  bitterness,  upon 
all  his  mercies;  and  he  reads  and  tastes 
bitterness  in  them  all.  As  “  to  the  hungry 
soul  every  bitter  thing  is  sweet,”  so  to  the 
murmuring  soul  every  sweet  thing  is  bitter. 

4060.  MURMURING,  Uselessness  of  As  the 

fluttering  of  the  snared  bird  holdeth  her 
faster  than  before,  so  our  struggling  and  mur¬ 
muring  against  God  in  our  afflictions  availeth 
us  nothing.  Cawdray. 

4061.  MUSIC,  in  Battle.  At  a  critical  mo¬ 
ment  during  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  Wellington 
discovered  that  the  Forty-second  Highlanders 
began  to  waver.  On  inquiry  as  to  the  cause 
of  an  occurence  so  unusual,  he  was  informed 
that  the  band  had  ceased  to  play.  He  instantly 
gave  the  command  that  the  pipes  be  played  in 
full  force.  The  effect  was  magical.  The 
wavering  Highlanders  rallied;  and  solid  and 
impregnable  as  the  fort  of  Gibraltar,  with, 
tattered  colors  and  blood-drenched  swords, 
they  went  forth  to  win  the  hard-contested  field. 

Donkersly. 

4063.  MUSIC,  Custom  of  In  the  mountains 
of  Tyrol,  it  is  the  custom  of  the  women  and 
the  children  to  come  out,  when  it  is  bedtime, 
and  sing  their  national  songs  until  they  hear 
their  husbands,  fathers,  or  brothers  answer 
them  from  the  hills,  or  on  their  return  home. 

4063.  MUSIC,  Effect  of  Sultan  Amurath 
laid  siege  to  Bagdad,  and,  on  taking  it,  gave 
orders  for  putting  thirty  thousand  Persians  to 
death,  notwithstanding  they  had  submitted, 
and  laid  down  their  arms.  Among  the  vic¬ 
tims  was  a  musician,  who  entreated  the  exe¬ 
cutioner  to  spare  him  for  a  moment,  that  he 
might  speak  to  the  author  of  the  decree.  He 
was  brought  before  Amurath,  who  permitted 
him  to  exhibit  a  specimen  of  his  art.  Like  the 
musician  in  Homer,  he  took  up  a  kind  of 
psaltery,  and  accompanied  it  with  his  voice. 
He  sang  the  capture  of  Bagdad  and  the  tri¬ 
umph  of  Amurath.  The  tones  which  he  drew 
from  the  instrument,  joined  to  his  strains,  ren¬ 
dered  the  prince  unable  to  restrain  the  softer 
emotions  of  his  soul.  He  suffered  him  to  pro¬ 
ceed,  until,  overpowered  with  harmony,  he 
melted  into  tears  of  pity,  and  repented  of  his 
cruelty.  He  directed  his  people  to  spare  the 
prisoners  who  yet  remained  alive,  and  to  give 
them  instant  liberty. 

4064.  MUSIC,  Incidents  of  Napoleon’s 

army  came  to  a  pass  in  the  Alps  where  the 
rocks  could  not  be  surmounted  by  the  ammu¬ 
nition-wagons.  He  went  to  the  leader  of  the 
band,  and  asked  for  his  portfolio.  Then,  turn¬ 
ing  over  until  he  came  to  an  inspiring  march, 
he  said,  “  Play  that.”  The  whole  band  struck 
the  air  with  their  instruments;  and  over  the 
rocks  went  the  ammunition-wagons.  While 
Dr.  Kane  was  in  the  arctic  regions,  ice-bound, 
his  men  were  kept  from  despair,  and  probably 
mutiny,  by  one  of  their  number  playing  on  an 
old  violin.  R.  West. 


466 


HVTTTSIC. 


NAME. 


4065.  MUSIC,  Love  o£  Music  is  univer¬ 

sally  appreciated  and  practised.  The  English 
plougliboy  sings  as  he  drives  his  team ;  the 
Scotch  Highlander  makes  the  glens  and  gray 
moors  resound  with  his  beautiful  song;  the 
Swiss,  Tyrolese,  and  Carpathians  lighten  their 
labor  by  music ;  the  muleteer  of  Spain  cares 
little  who  is  on  the  throne  or  behind  it,  if  he 
can  only  have  his  early  carol ;  the  vintager  of 
Sicily  has  his  evening  hymn,  even  beside  the 
fire  of  the  burning  mount;  the  fisherman  of 
Naples  has  his  boat-song,  to  which  his  rocking 
boat  beats  time  on  that  beautiful  sea ;  and  the 
gondolier  of  Venice  still  keeps  up  his  midnight 
serenade.  Dr.  Cumming. 

4066.  MUSIC,  Power  of.  According  to  fable, 
Orpheus  was  presented  with  a  lyre  by  his 
father,  Apollo,  who  taught  him  to  play  it.  He 
attained  such  skill,  that  nothing  could  with¬ 
stand  the  charm  of  his  music.  Men  and  wild 
animals  thronged  around  him  entranced  ;  the 
trees  crowded  about  him  ;  and  the  rocks  soft¬ 
ened  under  the  charm  of  his  notes.  His  wife 
dying,  he  followed  her  into  the  realm  of 
Pluto,  and  there  sang  his  woes  so  pathetically, 
that  the  ghosts  wept.  Tantalus  forgot  his 
thirst,  the  Furies  shed  tears,  and  Pluto  con¬ 
sented  to  restore  the  lost  wife.  One  condition 
was  imposed,  which  Orpheus  failed  to  keep. 
Then  he  went  forth,  and  sang  his  complaints, 
accompanied  by  his  lyre,  to  the  rocks  and 
mountains,  melting  the  hearts  of  tigers,  and 
charming  the  oaks  from  their  stations.  The 
worshippers  of  Bacchus  determined  to  destroy 
him.  Every  weapon  used  became  harmless  as 
soon  as  it  came  within  the  sound  of  his  lyre. 
Then  the  drunken  women  screamed  so  loud  as 
to  drown  the  voice  of  the  music ;  when  their 
missiles  reached  and  slew  him. 

4067.  MUSIC,  The  Sweetest.  All  good  music 

is  sacred  if  it  is  heard  sacredly ;  and  all  poor 
music  is  execrably  unsacred.  The  sweetest 
music  is  not  the  peel  of  marriage-bells,  nor 
tender  descants  in  moonlight  woods,  nor 
trumpet-notes  of  victory :  it  is  the  soul’s  wel¬ 
come  to  victory.  God  grant,  that,  when  we 
die,  there  may  not  come  booming  to  our  ear 
the  dreadful  sound,  “  Depart  1  ”  but  may  we 
hear  stealing  upon  the  air  the  mellow  chime 
of  all  the  celestial  bells,  saying,  “  Come,  come, 
come,  ye  blessed  :  enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your 
Lord.”  Beecher. 

4068.  MYSTERY,  Brevities.  Each  particle 

of  matter  is  an  immensity,  each  leaf  a  world, 
each  insect  an  inexplicable  compendium.  — 
Lavater. - Sinful  man  saved  in  Christ  al¬ 

ways  was,  always  will  be,  a  mystery,  a  wonder. 
—  T.  Adams. - Happy  is  the  man  who  is  con¬ 

tent  to  traverse  this  ocean  to  the  haven  of  rest 
without  going  into  the  wretched  diving-bells 
of  his  own  fancies  1  There  are  depths  ;  but 

depths  are  for  God.  —  Evans. - I  would  fain 

know  all  that  I  need,  and  all  that  I  may.  I 
leave  God’s  secrets  to  himself.  It  is  happy  for 
me  that  God  makes  me  of  his  court,  and  not  of 
his  council.  —  Bp.  Hall. 

4069.  NAME,  The  Divine.  Early  English 
history  informs  us,  that  some  bloodthirsty  per¬ 


secutors  were  marching  on  a  band  of  Chris 
tians.  The  Christians,  seeing  them  approach¬ 
ing,  marched  out  towards  them,  and,  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  shouted,  “  Hallelujah,  halle¬ 
lujah  !  ”  (Praise  Jehovah.)  The  name  of  the 
Lord  being  presented,  the  rage  of  the  perse¬ 
cutors  abated.  Josephus  says,  that  the  Great 
Alexander,  when  on  his  triumphal  march,  being 
met  near  Jerusalem  by  the  Jewish  high  priest, 
on  whose  mitre  was  engraved  the  name  Je¬ 
hovah,  “  approached  by  himself,  and  adored 
that  name,”  and  was  disarmed  of  his  hostile 
intent.  There  was  significance  and  power  in 
the  glorious  old  name  as  written  by  the  Jews. 
But  the  name  of  Jesus  is  now  far  more  mighty 
in  the  world  than  was  the  name  Jehovah  in 
these  earlier  ages. 

4070.  NAME,  A  Good.  A  name  truly  good 

is  the  aroma  from  virtuous  character.  It  is  a 
spontaneous  emanation  from  genuine  excel¬ 
lence.  It  is  a  reputation  for  whatsoever  things 
are  honest  and  lovely,  and  of  good  report.  It 
is  such  a  name  as  is  not  only  remembered  on 
earth,  but  written  in  heaven.  Just  as  a  box 
of  spikenard  is  not  only  valuable  to  its  possess¬ 
or,  but  pre-eminently  precious  in  its  diffusion; 
so,  when  a  name  is  really  good,  it  is  of  unspeak¬ 
able  service  to  all  who  are  capable  of  feeling 
its  inspiration.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4071.  NAME,  Heritage  of  a.  There  is  no  bet¬ 
ter  heritage  than  a  good  name  that  a  father 
can  bequeath  to  his  children,  and  there  are  few 
influences  on  society  more  wholesome  than  the 
fame  of  its  worthies.  The  names  of  Luther, 
and  Knox,  of  Hampden  and  Washington,  of 
Schwartz  and  Eliot,  are  still  doing  good  in  the 
world.  Nor  is  there  in  a  family  any  richer 
heir-loom  than  the  memory  of  a  noble  ancestor. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4072.  NAME,  The  Incomprehensible.  What  a 
thought  it  is,  that  One  Name  should  cover 
all  names;  that  One  Name  should  signify  more 
than  all  names !  As  all  things  which  are  named 
came  from  one  God,  there  must  be  a  far  greater 
fulness  of  meaning  in  his  single  name  than  in 
all  the  names  put  together  of  all  the  creatures 
and  things  in  heaven  and  earth.  The  earth, 
and  all  that  is  in  it;  the  firmament,  with  all 
the  stars ;  the  heavens,  with  all  the  angels, —  are 
contained  in  God ;  but  they  do  not  contain  God. 
Nothing  is  easier  than  to  say  the  word  “  uni¬ 
verse  ;  ”  and  yet  it  would  take  us  millions  and 
millions  of  years  to  bestow  one  hasty  glance  upon 
the  surface  of  that  small  portion  of  it  which  lies 
within  the  range  of  our  glasses.  But  what  are 
all  suns,  comets,  earths,  moons,  atmospheres, 
seas,  rivers,  mountains,  valleys,  plains,  woods, 
cattle,  with  beasts,  fish,  fowl,  grasses,  plants, 
shrubs,  trees,  minerals,  and  metals,  compared 
with  the  meaning  of  the  one  name  God  1 
We  are  learning  here  under  these  heavens, 
from  the  heavens  and  from  the  earth,  what  that 
Name  is,  from  whom  all  things,  named  and  un¬ 
named,  came.  After  death,  —  our  emancipated 
souls,  our  new  eyes,  our  new  friends,  and  the 
new  scenery,  helping  us,  —  we  shall  commence 
anew  the  study  of  that  Name.  And  to  all 
eternity,  all  that  we  shall  ever  see  and  hear 


NAJVXE. 


will  only  help  us  to  a  more  humbling,  worship¬ 
ful  appreciation  of  the  incomprehensibility  of 
that  Name.  Pulsford. 

4073.  NAME,  Loss  of.  Reputation,  Love,  and 
Death  once  started  forth  to  travel  the  world 
over  in  different  ways.  At  parting,  each  told 
where  he  might  be  found.  Death  said  they 
would  hear  of  him  in  battles,  hospitals,  and 
where  famine  or  disease  raged.  Love  said  they 
might  look  for  him  among  the  children  of  the 
poor,  at  marriages  and  feasts,  and  among  the 
virtuous.  Reputation  said  reluctantly,  that,  if 
he  once  left  a  man,  he  need  not  be  looked  for 
there  again.  A  good  name  lost  is  seldom  re¬ 
gained. 

4074.  NATIONS,  Christian.  All  the  might  of 

the  world  is  now  on  the  side  of  Christianity. 
Those  barbarous,  inchoate  powers  which  still 
cling  to  heathenism  are  already  trembling  be¬ 
fore  the  advancing  strides  of  the  Christian  na¬ 
tions,  —  Christian  just  enough  to  rouse  all  their 
energies,  and  to  make  them  intensely  ambitious, 
and  on  the  alert  to  increase  their  own  domin¬ 
ion,  without  having  learned  Christianity’s  high¬ 
est  lesson,  the  lesson  of  love.  Beecher. 

4075.  NATIONS,  Governing.  A  statesman,  we 
are  told,  should  follow  public  opinion.  Doubt¬ 
less  ...  as  a  coachman  follows  his  horses ;  hav¬ 
ing  firm  hold  on  the  reins,  and  guiding  them. 

Hare. 

4076.  NATIONS,  Individual  Responsibility  in. 

Men  come  to  think  that  the  guilt  of  sins  com¬ 
mitted  in  concert  is  distributed;  and  that,  if 
there  be  a  thousand  men  banded  and  handed 
together  in  wickedness,  each  shall  have  but 
the  one-thousandth  part  of  guilt.  If  a  firm  suc¬ 
ceeds,  the  gain  is  distributed  to  each  partner; 
but,  if  it  fails,  each  one  may  be  held  for  the 
whole  loss.  Whoever  commits  a  sin  will  bear 
the  sins,  whether  alone  or  with  a  thousand  : 
whoever  commits  or  connives  at  public  sin 
will  bear  the  blame.  Public  guilt  always  has 
private  indorsement;  and  each  man  is  liable 
for  the  whole  note.  Beecher. 

4077.  NATIONS.  Insanity  of.  Bishop  Butler, 
conversing  about  insanity  with  Dean  Tucker, 
asked,  “  Why  may  not  whole  communities  and 
public  bodies  be  seized  with  fits  of  insanity  as 
well  as  individuals  ?  ”  The  bishop’s  question 
suggests  a  charitable  solution  of  many  inscru¬ 
table  national  acts. 

4078.  NATIONS,  Peculiarities  of.  It  has  been 
said  that  an  Irishman  is  at  peace  only  when  he 
is  in  a  quarrel ;  a  Scotchman  is  at  home  only 
when  he  is  abroad  ;  an  Englishman  is  content¬ 
ed  only  while  finding  fault  with  something  or 
somebody ;  and  let  us  add,  that  a  captious, 
busy,  blustering  American  is  at  the  height  of 
felicity  only  while  he  is  in  all  these  tumultu¬ 
ous  conditions  at  the  same  time. 

E.  L.  Magoon. 

4079.  NATIONS,  Prayer  for.  In  1672,  the 
Hollanders  expected  an  attack  from  their  ene¬ 
mies  by  sea  ;  and  public  prayers  were  offered 
for  deliverance.  Their  enemies  waited  for  the 
tide,  in  order  to  land ;  but  it  was  retarded,  con¬ 
trary  to  its  usual  course,  for  twelve  hours,  so 
that  they  were  obliged  to  defer  the  attempt. 


NATIONS.  467 

A  storm  soon  arose,  and  drove  them  from  the 
coast. 

4080.  NATIONS,  Providence  among.  “  A  few 
drops  of  water,  more  or  less,”  says  Victor 
Hugo,  “  prostrated  Napoleon.”  He  meant 
that  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was  begun  at 
eleven  o’clock  in  the  morning,  because  there 
was  rain  on  the  previous  night,  and  Napoleon 
could  not  move  his  artillery  over  the  heavy 
mud-plain  until  near  noon,  and  that  five  hours’ 
delay  turned  the  fate  of  Europe ;  for  Blucher 
did  not  arrive  with  his  allies  till  the  forces  of 
the  Iron  Duke  were  all  but  defeated.  In  the 
same  spirit,  we  believed,  in  the  midst  of  our 
struggle,  that  nothing  but  Providence,  imme¬ 
diately  interfering  in  the  crisis-hours  of  our 
destiny,  could  have  saved  us.  You  can  never 
forget,  how,  just  at  the  nick  of  time,  the  littl* 
“Monitor”  came  down  against  that  terrible 
mouster  which  might  have  destroyed  Wash¬ 
ington,  and  raised  the  blockade.  In  Hampton 
Roads,  was  fought,  that  day,  a  battle  which 
revolutionized  the  navies  of  the  world,  while 
one  great  nation  wept  for  joy,  and  all  the 
nations  wondered.  C.  D.  Foss. 

40811.  NATIONS,  Punishment  of.  It  was  a 
sound  reply  of  an  English  captain  at  the  loss 
of  Calais,  when  a  proud  Frenchman  scornfully 
demanded,  “  When  will  you  fetch  Calais 
again  ?  ”  —  “  When  your  sins  shall  weigh  down 
ours.”  Brooks. 

4082.  NATIONS,  Safeguard  of.  France  tried 
to  get  on  without  a  God  in  the  time  of  her  first 
Revolution  ;  but  Napoleon,  for  reasons  of  State, 
restored  the  Catholic  religion.  M.  Thiers 
gives  this  singular  passage  in  his  history.  Na¬ 
poleon  said,  “  For  my  part,  I  never  hear  the 
sound  of  the  church-bell  in  the  neighboring 
village  without  emotion.”  He  knew  that  the 
hearts  of  the  people  were  stirred  by  the  same 
deep  yearnings  after  God  which  filled  his  own  ; 
and  so  he  proposed  to  restore  the  worship  of 
God  to  infidel  France.  The  savans  of  Paris 
ridiculed  the  proposal,  laughed  it  to  scorn, 
declared  it  was  weakness  in  him  to  yield  to  a 
superstition  that  had  forever  passed  away; 
that  he  needed  no  such  aid  to  government; 
and  that  he  could  do  what  he  pleased.  “  Yes,” 
said  he ;  “  but  I  act  only  with  regard  to  the 
real  and  sensibly  felt  wants  of  France.”  Ne¬ 
gotiations  were  opened  with  the  pope;  and  the 
Romish  worship  was  set  up,  amid  the  enthusi¬ 
asm  of  the  nation.  The  historian  utters  this 
reflection  :  “  Whether  true  or  false,  sublime  or 
ridiculous,  men  must  have  a  religion.”  Later, 
ami  with  deeper  meaning,  Perrier,  succe'sor  to 
Lafayette  as  prime-minister  to  Louis  Philippe, 
said  on  his  death-bed,  “France  must  have 
religion.”  So  I  say  to-day,  concerning  that 
better  faith,  which  overthrows  what  Romanism 
sets  up,  which  breaks  the  shackles  Romanism 
binds  on,  which  is  the  only  security  of  nation¬ 
al  permanence,' —  America  must  have  religion. 

C.  1).  Foss. 

4083.  NATIONS,  Traits  of.  An  Englishman 
would  live  twenty  years  in  a  house  without 
knowing  his  neighbors:  a  Frenchman  would 
know  all  of  them  in  twcntv-lbur  hours.  Let 


468 


ISTAJvEID. 


IN^KTTJRH:. 


the  sociable  Frenchman  be  planted  among  the 
tattooed  islanders  of  the  South  Seas,  and  in 
two  years  he  would  be  found  tattooed :  put  an 
Englishman  in  the  same  position,  and  he 
would  be  king  of  the  island  in  the  time. 

Kossuth. 

4084.  NAKED,  Clothing  the.  It  happened 
one  day,  says  the  legend,  that  St.  Martin  of 
Tours,  on  going  out  of  the  gate  of  the  city,  was 
met  by  a  poor  naked  beggar  shivering  with 
cold :  and  he  felt  compassion  for  him ;  and, 
having  nothing  but  his  cloak  and  his  arms,  he, 
with  his  sword,  divided  his  cloak  in  twain,  and 

ave  one  half  of  it  to  the  beggar,  covering 

imself  as  well  as  he  might  with  the  other  half. 
And  that  same  night,  being  asleep,  he  beheld 
in  a  dream  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  stood  before 
him,  having  on  his  shoulders  the  half  of  the 
cloak  which  he  had  bestowed  on  the  beggar ; 
and  Jesus  said  to  the  angels  who  were  around 
him,  “Know  ye  who  hath  thus  arrayed  me? 
My  servant  Martin,  though  yet  unbaptized, 
hath  done  this  !  ” 

4085.  NATURAL  MAN,  Blindness  of  the.  The 
ways  of  religion  are  not  and  cannot,  be  pleas¬ 
ant  to  irreligious  men.  It  is  to  renewed  and 
holy  persons  that  the  assertion  refers,  and  to 
them  only  ;  for  our  pleasures  must  be  suitable 
to  our  prevailing  disposition  and  predominant 
temper.  Light  itself  affords  no  pleasure  to 
the  blind;  nor  can  the  most  exquisite  music 
yield  any  gratification  to  the  deaf.  An  idle 
man  has  no  enjoyment  in  labor;  nor  a  glutton 
or  a  drunkard  in  temperance  and  sobriety. 
Those  very  things  which  the  spiritual  mind 
most  relishes  and  desires  are  to  the  carnal 
mind  distasteful  and  offensive.  Dr.  Bunting. 

4086.  NATURAL  MAN,  Conscience  of  the.  Con¬ 
science  often  slumbers  in  the  natural  man,  and 
he  thinks  himself  secure.  The  criminal  at  the 
bar  is  never  judged  by  his  own  conscience,  but 
by  the  full  record  of  his  case.  This  uncon¬ 
sciousness  of  guilt  is  but  the  calm  before  the 
storm  of  remorse  that  shall  wreck  the  deluded 
soul. 

4087.  NATURAL  MAN,  Danger  of  the.  If  you 
can  drive  a  man  from  outward  vice,  how  far 
have  you  improved  him  if  he  lives  in  inward 
sin  ?  You  have  benefited  him  so  far  as  the 
sight  of  man  is  concerned,  but  not  before  God. 
There  was  a  man  killed  on  Holborn  Hill  not 
long  since,  and  I  have  heard  that  there  was 
little  or  no  external  appearance  of  injury  upon 
his  body.  He  had  been  crushed  between  an 
omnibus  and  a  cart  ;  and  all  the  wounds  were 
internal :  but  he  died  just  as  surely  as  if  he  had 
been  beaten  black  and  blue,  or  cut  in  a  thou¬ 
sand  gashes.  So  a  man  may  die  of  internal 
sin  :  it  does  not  appear  outwardly  for  certain 
reasons  ;  but  he  will  die  of  it  just  the  same  if 
it  be  within.  Many  a  man  has  died  from  in¬ 
ternal  bleeding,  and  yet  there  has  been,  no 
wound  whatever  to  be  seen  by  the  eye. 

Spurgeon. 

4088.  NATURAL  MAN,  Ignorance  of  the,  As 
the  sun  cannot  show  distinctly  what  it  is  in  the 
bottom  of  a  muddy  pool,  so  God  can  never  be 
distinctly  revealed  in  the  depths  of  a  foul  and 


earthly  mind.  To  understand  a  pbilosophei 
requires,  they  tell  us,  a  philosopher ;  to  under¬ 
stand  patriotism  requires  a  patriot ;  to  un¬ 
derstand  purity,  one  that  is  pure  ;  so  to  under¬ 
stand  God  requires  a  god-like  spirit.  Having 
this,  God  will  as  certainly  be  revealed  in  the 
soul  as  light  through  a  transparent  window. 

Dr.  Bushnell, 

4089.  NATURE,  Glory  of  God  in.  There  are 
many  sources  whence  we  may  derive  some 
faint  glimpse  of  the  divine  glory.  We  may 
see  it  in  the  towering  hill,  and  the  sloping  val¬ 
ley  studded  with  majestic  trees,  and  beautified 
with  gem-like  flowers  ;  in  the  blushing  fruitage 
of  the  smiling  orchard,  and  in  the  golden  crops 
of  the  waving  corn  ;  for  “  the  earth  is  full  of 
the  goodness  of  the  Lord.”  We  may  see  it 
streaming  forth,  like  the  eyeflash  of  Deity,  in 
the  outburstings  of  noontide  splendor  ;  we  may 
see  it  in  the  silent  pomp  of  the  noiseless  night; 
in  the  moon  walking  in  her  brightness  like 
some  fair  spirit  wading  through  the  opposing 
clouds  of  adversity  ;  in  the  starry  garden  of 
the  firmament;  in  those  flowers  of  the  skies 
budding  with  hopes  of  immortality  ;  for  “  the 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  fir¬ 
mament  showeth  his  handiwork.” 

W.  J.  Brock. 

4699.  NATURE,  God  in.  A  human  mechan¬ 
ist  may  leave  the  machine  he  has  constructed 
to  work  without  his  further  personal  super¬ 
intendence,  because,  when  he  leaves  it,  God’s 
laws  take  it  up  ;  and,  by  their  aid,  the  materials 
of  which  the  machine  is  made  retain  their  so¬ 
lidity,  the  steel  continues  elastic,  the  vapor 
keeps  its  expansive  power.  But,  when  God 
has  constructed  his  machine  of  the  universe, 
he  cannot  so  leave  it,  or  any  the  minutest  part 
of  it,  in  its  immensity  and  intricacy  of  move¬ 
ment,  to  itself;  for,  if  he  retire,  there  is  no 
second  God  to  take  care  of  this  machine.  Not 
from  a  single  atom  of  matter  can  He  who 
made  it  for  a  moment  withdraw  his  superin¬ 
tendence  and  support.  Each  successive  mo¬ 
ment,  all  over  the  world,  the  act  of  creation 
must  be  repeated.  The  existence  of  the  world 
witnesses  to  a  perpetuity  of  creating  influence. 
Active  omnipotence  must  flood  the  universe, 
or  its  machinery  stops,  and  its  very  existence 
terminates.  The  signs  of  an  all-pervading 
supernatural  energy  meet  us  wherever  we  turn. 
Every  leaf  waves  in  it,  every  plant  in  all  its 
organie  processes  lives  in  it ;  it  rolls  round  the 
clouds,  else  they  would  not  move ;  it  fires  the 
sunbeam,  else  it  would  not  shine;  and  there  is 
not  a  wave  that  restlessly  rises  and  sinks,  nor 
a  whisper  of  the  wanton  wind  that  “  blowetb 
where  it  listeth,”  but  bespeaks  the  immediate 
intervention  of  God.  Caird. 

4091.  NATURE,  God’s  Thoughts  in,  The  book 
of  Nature  is  an  expression  of  the  thoughts  of 
God.  We  have  God's  terrible  thoughts  in  the 
thunder  and  lightning;  God’s  loving  thoughts 
in  the  sunshine  and  the  breeze;  God’s  boun¬ 
teous,  prudent,  careful  thoughts  in  the  waving 
harvest.  We  have  God’s  brilliant  thoughts, 
which  are  beheld  from  mountain-top  and  val¬ 
ley;  and  we  have  God’s  most  sweet  and 


N'A.TTJTtK. 


3STATXTRH. 


469 


pleasant  thoughts  of  beauty  in  the  little  flow¬ 
ers  that  blossom  at  our  feet.  Spurgeon. 

4092.  NATURE,  Lessons  of.  A  little  bird 
alighted  at  sunset  on  the  bough  of  a  pear-tree 
that  grew  in  Luther’s  garden.  Luther  looked 
upon  it,  and  said,  “  That  little  bird  covers  its 
head  with  wings,  and  will  sleep  there,  so  still 
and  fearless,  though  over  it  are  the  infinite 
starry  spaces,  and  the  great  blue  depths  of 
immensity..  Yet  it  fears  not :  it  is  at  home. 
The  God  that  made  it,  too,  is  there.”  Coming 
home  from  Lcipsic  in  the  autumn  season,  he 
broke  forth  into  living  wonder  at  the  fields  of 
corn.  “  How  it  stands  there !  ”  he  said,  “  erect 
on  its  beautiful  taper  stem,  and  bending  its  beau¬ 
tiful  golden  head  with  bread  in  it,  —  the  bread 
of  man  sent  to  him  another  year.”  Carlyle. 

4093.  NATURE,  Light  of.  Take  the  ques¬ 
tion,  “  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  ”  —  take 
it  to  Nature  in  all  her  kingdoms,  in  all  her 
realms,  in  all  her  laboratories,  in  all  her  cham¬ 
bers  of  mystery  ;  take  it  here  and  there,  and 
knock  at  every  door,  and  put  the  question  : 
but  there  is  no  response,  no  answer  at  all.  Na¬ 
ture,  philosophy,  science,  all  are  dumb  to  that 
great  question,  “  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  ” 
As  to  the  happiness  of  the  soul  in  the  separate 
state  hereafter,  Nature  can  tell  us  nothing  cer¬ 
tain  about  that :  it  is  fallible  conjecture,  not 
certain  knowledge  ;  ardent  wish,  not  positive 
assurance ;  a  feeble  flickering,  not  undoubted, 
substantive,  absolute  revelation.  And  as  to 
the  resurrection  of  the  body  after  it  has  slept 
the  sleep  of  a  thousand  generations,  —  its  res¬ 
urrection  in  beauty,  immortality,  and  glory,  — 
that  is  a  doctrine  so  peculiar  to  revelation,  that 
it  never  was  once  so  much  as  dreamed  of  by 
any  of  the  sages  of  antiquity  as  being  con¬ 
tained  within  the  whole  circle  of  divine  truth. 

Dr.  Beaumont. 

4094.  NATURE,  Music  in.  All  creation, 

providence,  and  redemption  are,  to  my  ear, 
rich  in  grand  harmonies.  All  human  life  has 
seemed  to  me,  as  to  Longfellow,  a  vast  and 
mysterious  cathedral,  amid  whose  solitary 
aisles,  and  under  whose  sublime  roof,  mystic 
tones  and  melodies  perpetually  roll.  The 
mood  we  are  in,  as  every  one  knows,  gives 
meaning  to  every  sound.  I  hear  at  times,  from 
its  chantry,  a  funeral  psalm  or  psalm  of  life, 
that  has  called  up  the  pale  faces  of  the  dead  ; 
at  other  times,  I  hear  mystic  sounds  from  the 
past  and  future,  as  from  belfries  outside  the 
cathedral ;  and  again,  at  other  times  and  in 
other  circumstances,  a  mournful,  melancholy, 
watery  peal  of  bells,  as  is  heard  sometimes  at 
sea  from  cities  far  off  below  the  horizon.  Walk 
out  on  some  wild  common,  on  a  still,  frosty 
night :  the  deep  and  overwhelming  silence  is 
almost  audible.  From  the  measureless  heights 
and  depths  of  air,  there  comes  to  us  a  rich  un¬ 
dertone,  —  half  sound,  half  whisper,  —  as  if 
we  could  hear  the  crumbling  and  falling-away 
of  earth  and  all  created  things  in  Nature’s  pro¬ 
cess  of  interruption  and  decay ;  the  very 
sounds,  as  it  were,  of  the  lapse  and  rushing  of 
the  sands  of  life  in  the  great  hour-glass  of 
time.  Dr.  Camming,  i 


4095.  NATURE,  Order  of.  A  clergyman 
asked  an  old  negro  his  reasons  for  believing  in 
the  existence  of  a  God.  “  Sir,”  said  he,  “  I 
have-  been  here  going  hard  upon  fifty  years. 
Every  day  since  I  have  been  in  this  world,  I 
see  the  sun  rise  in  the  east  and  set  in  the  west. 
The  north  star  stands  where  it  did  the  first 
time  I  ever  saw  it ;  the  seven  stars  and  Job’s 
coffin  keep  on  the  same  path  in  the  sky,  and 
never  turn  out.  It  ain’t  so  with  man’s  works. 
He  makes  clocks  and  watches  :  they  may  run 
well  for  a  while  ;  but  they  get  out  of  fix,  and 
stand  stock  still.  But  the  sun  and  moon  and 
stars  keep  on  the  same  way  all  the  while. 
There  is  a  power  which  makes  one  man  die, 
and  another  get  well;  that  sends  the  rain, 
and  keeps  every  thing  in  motion.” 

4096.  NATURE,  Physical.  Our  life  on  earth 

begins  in  the  body,  and  depends  for  vigor  upon 
the  fulness  and  power  of  our  physical  nature. 
An  acorn  at  first  sprouts  from  the  soil,  and 
spreads  its  young  leaves  upon  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  Every  year,  its  top  grows  away 
from  it  towards  heaven ;  yet  the  top  neither 
forgets  nor  scorns  the  earth-buried  root.  The 
brightest  leaf  which  the  sun  loves,  or  the  wind 
waves  on  the  topmost  bough,  has  leave  to  be 
beautiful  by  what  the  root  gives  it,  and  carries 
in  its  veins  the  blood  which  the  cold  root 
sucked  up  from  the  moist  earth.  The  top  will 
famish  when  the  root  is  hungry.  Beecher. 

4097.  NATURE,  Pictures  of.  AVlien  I  was  in 

the  galleries  of  Oxford,  I  saw  many  of  the 
designs  of  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo.  I 
looked  upon  them  with  reverence,  and  took  up 
such  of  them  as  I  was  permitted  to  touch  as 
one  would  take  up  a  love-token.  It  seemed  to 
me  these  sketches  brought  me  nearer  the  great 
masters  than  their  finished  pictures  could  have 
done,  because  therein  I  saw  the  mind’s  pro¬ 
cesses  as  they  were  first  born.  They  were  the 
first  salient  points  of  the  inspiration.  Could 
I  have  brought  them  home  with  me,  how  rich 
I  should  have  been  1  how  envied  for  their 
possession  1  Now,  there  are  open  and  free  to 
us,  every  day  of  our  lives,  the  designs  of  a 
greater  than  Raphael  or  Michael  Angelo. 
God,  of  whom  the  noblest  master  is  but  a 
feeble  imitator,  is  sketching  and  painting  every 
hour  the  most  wondrous  pictures  ;  not  hoarded 
in  any  gallery,  but  spread  in  light  and  shadow 
round  the  whole  earth,  and  glowing  for  us  in 
the  overhanging  skies.  Beecher. 

4098.  NATURE,  Power  of.  Let  not  a  man 
trust  his  victory  over  his  nature  too  far ;  for 
nature  will  lie  buried  a  great  time,  and  yet 
revive  upon  the  occasion  or  temptation,  —  like 
as  it  was  with  iEsop’s  damsel,  turned  from  a 
cat  to  a  woman,  who  sat  very  demurely  at  tho 
board’s  end  till  a  mouse  ran  before  her. 

Lord.  Bacon. 

4099.  NATURE,  Religion  o£  There  is  a 
religion  in  every  thing  around  us,  —  a  calm  and 
holy  religion  in  the  unbreathing  things  of 
Nature,  which  men  would  do  well  to  imitate. 
It  is  a  meek  and  blessed  influence,  stealing  in 
as  it  were  unawares  upon  the  heart ;  it  comes 
quickly,  and  without  excitement;  it  has  no 


470 


KTA.TTTRIC. 


NATURE. 


terror,  no  gloom,  in  its  approaches  ;  it  does  not 
rouse  up  the  passions;  it  is  untrammelled  by 
the  creeds,  aud  unshadowed  by  the  supersti¬ 
tions,  of  man ;  it  is  fresh  from  the  hands  of  its 
Author,  glowing  from  the  immediate  presence 
of  the  Great  Spirit  which  pervades  and  quick¬ 
ens  it ;  it  is  written  on  the  arched  sky  ;  it  looks 
out  from  every  star ;  it  is  on  the  sailing  cloud 
and  in  the  invisible  wind ;  it  is  among  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  the  earth  where  the  shrubless 
mountain-top  pierces  the  thin  atmosphere  of 
eternal  winter,  or  where  the  mighty  forest 
fluctuates  before  the  strong  wind,  with  its  dark 
waves  of  green  foliage ;  it  is  spread  out  like  a 
legible  language  upon  the  broad  face  of  the 
unsleeping  ocean ;  it  is  the  poetry  of  Nature ; 
it  is  that  which  uplifts  the  spirit  within  us, 
until  it  is  strong  enough  to  outlook  the  shadows 
of  our  place  of  probation  ;  which  breaks,  link 
after  link,  the  chain  which  binds  us  to  materi¬ 
ality,  and  which  opens  to  our  imagination  a 
world  of  spiritual  beauty  and  holiness.  Ruskin. 

4100.  NATURE,  The  Religions.  The  heart 

yearns  and  calls  for  God  ;  not  because  of  out¬ 
ward  solicitation,  but  because  of  the  want  it 
feels  within.  No  difference  of  teachers  or 
systems  can  change  this  nature  of  the  soul. 
The  ocean  is  the  same,  whatever  craft  sail  up 
and  down  upon  it,  whether  they  be  pleasure- 
boats,  brigs,  merchant-ships,  pirates,  or  men- 
of-war :  so,  whatever  religious  navigators  may 
be  going  up  and  down  the  sea  of  life,  its 
depths  and  shores  and  distant  haven  remain 
the  same.  The  stars  never  change  for  astrol¬ 
ogers  or  astronomers.  They  roll  calmly  above 
storms  and  above  opinions.  So  man’s  nature 
does  not  vary  for  circumstances,  or  conflicting 
views,  but  still  wants  God  above,  and  fellow- 
man  below.  Beecher. 

4101.  NATURE,  Report  of.  Nature  will  be 

reported.  All  things  are  engaged  in  writing 
their  history.  The  planet,  the  pebble,  goes 
attended  by  its  shadow.  The  rolling  rock 
leaves  its  scratches  on  the  mountain ;  the 
river,  its  channel  in  the  soil ;  the  animal,  its 
bones  in  the  stratum ;  the  fern  and  leaf,  their 
modest  epitaph  in  the  coal.  The  falling  drop 
makes  its  sculpture  in  the  sand  or  the  stone. 
Not  a  foot  steps  into  the  snow  or  along  the 
ground,  but  prints,  in  characters  more  or  less 
lasting,  a  map  of  its  march.  Every  act  of  the 
man  inscribes  itself  in  the  memories  of  its 
fellows,  and  in  his  own  manners  and  face. 
The  air  is  full  of  sounds,  the  sky  of  tokens,  the 
ground  is  all  memoranda  and  signatures,  and 
every  object  covered  over  with  hints,  which 
speak  to  the  intelligent.  Emerson. 

4102.  NATURE,  above  Science.  There  is  an 
older  and  nobler  astronomy  than  that  which 
names  and  numbers  the  stars,  and  maps  them 
down  into  nautical  charts.  Night,  star- 
tongued,  has  other  and  wiser  lessons  for  us  than 
come  through  our  modern  optic-glasses.  The 
heavens  made  their  best  revelations  before 
telescopes  were  invented.  Botany  has  its  val¬ 
ue  ;  but  the  flowers  knew  how  to  preach  divin¬ 
ity  before  men  knew  how  to  dissect  and  bota¬ 
nize  them.  Our  modern  safety-lamps,  after 


all,  are  good  for  nothing  but  to  guide  our  foot 
steps  downwards :  if  we  wish  to  walk  on  the 
earth,  not  into  it,  we  had  better  let  the  same 
old  sun,  which  has  always  been  shining,  shine 
upon  us  still ;  for  we  may  be  assured  that  he 
is  as  much  better  as  he  is  older  than  any  lamps 
or  torches  we  can  devise.  II.  N.  Hudson. 

4103.  NATURE,  Studying.  Standing  within 
a  cathedral,  and  looking  through  its  stained  and 
figured  windows  towards  the  light,  we  behold 
the  forms  and  colors  by  the  light.  Standing 
outside,  anil  gazing  at  the  same  windows,  we 
see  nothing  but  blurred  and  indistinct  enamel¬ 
ling.  Thus,  the  soul,  standing  within  the  great 
cathedral  of  God’s  material  world,  and  looking 
through  it  upward  to  the  light,  beholds  the 
meaning  of  its  forms  and  colors  ;  but  standing 
without,  and  studying  Nature  in  detail,  not  with 
reference  to  light  pouring  through  it  from 
God,  but  for  itself  alone,  there  is  nothing  better 
seen  than  the  mere  material  enamelling. 

Dr.  Cheever. 

4 .5® 4.  NATURE,  Types  of.  What  wonderful 
provision  God  has  made  for  us,  spreading  out 
the  Bible  into  types  of  nature  1  What  if  every 
part  of  your  house  should  begin  to  repeat  the 
truths  which  have  been  committed  to  its  sym¬ 
bolism  !  —  the  lowest  stone  would  say,  in 
silence  of  night,  “Other  foundation- can  no 
man  lay.”  The  corner-stone  would  catch  the 
word,  “  Christ  is  the  corner-stone.”  The  door 
would  add,  “  I  am  the  door.”  The  taper  burn¬ 
ing  by  your  bedside  would  stream  up  a  moment 
to  tell  you  “  Christ  is  the  lisrht  of  the  world.” 
If  you  gaze  upon  your  children,  they  reflect 
from  their  sweetly  sleeping  faces  the  words  of 
Christ,  “  Except  ye  become  like  little  children.” 
If,  waking,  you  look  towards  your  parents’ 
couch,  from  that  sacred  place  God  calls  him¬ 
self  your  father  and  your  mother.  Disturbed 
by  the  crying  of  your  children,  who  are  af¬ 
frighted  in  a  dream,  you  rise  to  soothe  them, 
and  hear  God  saying,  “  So  will  I  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  your  eyes  in  heaven.”  Return¬ 
ing  to  your  bed,  you  look  from  the  window. 
Every  star  hails  you,  but,  chiefest,  “  the  bright 
and  morning  Star.”  By  and  by,  flaming  from 
the  east,  the  flood  of  morning  bathes  your 
dwelling,  and  calls  you  forth  to  the  cares  of 
the  day ;  and  then  you  remember  that  God  is 
the  Sun,  and  that  heaven  is  bright  with  his 
presence.  Drawn  by  hunger,  you  approach 
the  table.  The  loaf  whispers,  as  you  break  it, 
“  Broken  for  you  ;  ”  and  the  wheat  of  the  loaf 
sighs,  “  Bruised  and  ground  for  you.”  The 
water  that  quenches  your  thirst  says,  “  I  am 
the  water  of  life.”  If  you  wash  your  hands, 
you  can  but  remember  the  teachings  of  spiritual 
purity.  If  you  wash  your  feet,  that  hath  been 
done  sacredly  by  Christ  as  a  memorial.  The 
very  roof  of  your  dwelling  hath  its  utterance, 
and  bids  you  look  for  the  day  when  God's 
house  shall  receive  its  top-stone.  Go  forth  to 
your  labor,  and  what  thing  can  you  see  that 
hath  not  its  message  V  The  ground  is  full  of 
sympathy.  The  flowers  have  been  printed 
with  teachings.  The  trees,  that  only  seem  to 
shake  their  leaves  in  sport,  are  framing  divine 


N’A.TTTTl-AJL.  IVLAJST. 


NEGLECT. 


471 


sentences.  The  birds  tell  of  heaven,  with  their 
love-warblings  in  the  green  twilight.  The 
sparrow  is  a  preacher  of  truth.  The  hen  clucks, 
and  broods  her  chickens,  unconscious,  that,  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  she  is  part  and  parcel  of 
a  revelation  of  God  to  man.  The  sheep  that 
bleat  from  the  pastures,  the  hungry  wolves  that 
blink  in  the  forest,  the  serpent  that  glides 
noiselessly  in  the  grass,  the  raven  that  flies 
heavily  across  the  field,  the  lily  over  which  his 
shadow  passes,  the  plough,  the  sickle,  the 
wain,  the  barn,  the  flail,  the  threshing-floor,  — 
all  of  them  are  consecrated  priests,  unrobed 
teachers,  revelators  that  see  no  vision  them¬ 
selves,  but  that  bring  to  us  thoughts  of  truth, 
contentment,  hope,  and  love.  All  are  ministers 
of  God.  The  whole  earth  doth  praise  him,  and 
show  forth  his  glory.  Beecher. 

4105.  NATURAL  MAN,  Victory  over  the.  An 
illiberal  Christian  was  listening  to  a  charity- 
sermon.  He  was  nearly  deaf,  and  was  accus¬ 
tomed  to  sit  facing  the  congregation,  right 
under  the  pulpit,  with  his  ear-trumpet  directed 
upward,  towards  the  preacher.  The  sermon 
moved  him  considerably.  At  one  time,  he 
said  to  himself,  “  I’ll  give  ten  dollars :  ”  again, 
he  said,  “  I’ll  give  fifteen.”  At  the  close  of 
the  appeal,  he  was  very  much  moved,  and 
thought  he  would  give  fiity  dollars.  Now  the 
boxes  were  passed.  As  they  moved  along,  his 
charity  began  to  ooze  out.  lie  came  down 
from  fifty  to  twenty,  to  ten,  to  five,  to  zero. 
He  concluded  that  lie  would  not  give  any  thing. 
“  Yet,”  said  he,  “  this  won’t  do  :  I  am  in  a  bad 
fix.  My  hopes  of  heaven  may  be  in  this  question. 
This  covetousness  will  be  my  ruin.”  The  boxes 
were  getting  nearer  and  nearer.  The  crisis  was 
upon  him.  What  should  he  do?  The  box 
was  now  under  his  chin  :  all  the  congregation 
were  looking.  He  had  been  holding  his  pock¬ 
et-book  in  his  hand  during  tills  soliloquy,  which 
was  half  audible,  though,  in  his  deafness,  he  did 
not  know  that  he  was  heard.  In  the  agony 
of  the  final  moment,  he  took  his  pocket-book, 
and  laid  it  in  the  box,  saying  to  himself  as  he 
did  it,  “  Now  squirm,  old  natur’  1  ” 

Presbyterian. 

4106.  NECESSITY,  Brevities.  Even  God  is 
said  to  be  unable  to  use  force  against  necessity. 

—  Plato. - Necessity  is  stronger  far  than 

art.  — rEschylus. - Necessity  is  stronger  than 

human  nature.  —  Dionysius. - Necessity  im- 

pose>  law,  does  not  herself  relieve  it.  — Ramage. 

4107.  NEED,  Proverbs.  The  lion  had  need 

of  the  mouse.  —  English. - Soon  or  late,  the 

strong  needs  the  help  of  the  weak.  —  French. 

- Every  ten  years,  one  man  has  need  of 

another.  —  Italian. 

4108.  NEED,  The  Sinner’s.  A  Hottentot  in 
Africa,  named  Cupido,  was  remarkable  for 
swearing,  lying,  fighting,  and  drunkenness. 
When  he  became  convinced  of  the  evil  of  his 
wicked  course,  he  begged  all  he  met  to  point 
out  some  mode  of  deliverance.  Some  pre¬ 
scribed  various  medicines;  others  sent  him  to 
witches  and  wizards  and  cunning  men :  but 
he  could  gain  no  comfort  from  any  source,  until 
he  was  providentially  led  to  a  place  where  he 


heard  a  missionary  preach  that  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  could  save  sinners  from  their 
sins.  He  said  to  himself,  “  This  is  what  I  want  1 
this  is  what  I  want  1  ”  He  went  to  the  mis¬ 
sionaries,  and  said  he  wished  to  be  acquainted 
with  Jesus.  They  gave  him  further  instruc¬ 
tion  ;  and  he  experienced  Christ’s  power  to 
save.  After  this,  he  told  all  that  he  met  that 
he  had  at  last  found  One  who  could  save  sinners 
from  their  sins.  Dr.  Wise. 

4169.  NEED,  Special.  “In  the  first  year  of 
my  marriage,”  relates  a  pious  German,  “  I  had, 
one  day,  not  a  farthing  in  the  house,  when  my 
wife  came,  and  asked  me  for  a  thaler  to  pay  the 
weaver,  who  was  to.bring  her  some  cloth  home 
in  the  evening.  There  was  not  a  person  in  the 
village  of  whom  we  could  borrow  money ;  and 
my  wife  burst  into  tears.  I  tried  to  comfort 
her  by  telling  her  that  our  heavenly  Father 
knew  what  we  needed,  and  that  perhaps  the 
bad  weather  might  prevent  the  weaver  from 
coming  that  day.  I  commended  the  matter  to 
the  Lord  ;  for  I  saw  no  means  of  human  help.  In 
the  evening,  my  wife  hastily  entered  the  room, 
and  said,  “  The  weaver  is  here  1  ”  I  was  just  tak¬ 
ing  down  a  book  from  the  shelf  above  me,  when, 
at  the  very  moment,  a  piece  of  money  rolled  out 
of  it,  and  fell  rattling  on  the  table.  My  wife 
and  I  stood  motionless :  we  felt  distinctly  the 
presence  of  God,  who  so  exactly  knew  what 
we  needed,  and  bestowed  it  upon  us  at  the 
very  moment  when  we  required  it.”  The 
money  had  been  put  in  the  book  some  time 
before,  been  forgotten,  and  was  thus  providen¬ 
tially  discovered  in  the  time  of  need. 

4110.  NEED,  Supplied.  Dr.  Harris,  while  a 

junior  in  college,  being  in  great  want  of  money, 
set  out  on  a  walk  from  Cambridge  to  Boston. 
On  the  way,  he  cut  a  walking-stick,  and,  after 
going  a  short  distance,  perceived  that  some¬ 
thing  had  become  attached  to  the  end  of  it. 
It  proved  to  be  a  gold  ring  with  the  motto 
“  God  speed  thee,  friend.”  Hawthorne. 

4111.  NEED,  and  Supply.  It  was  a  good  say¬ 
ing  of  that  poor  woman  in  the  “  Book  of  Mar¬ 
tyrs,”  who,  being  threatened  to  have  but  a  little 
bread  one  day,  and  a  little  water  on  the  next, 
replied,  “If  you  take  away  my  meat,  God,  I 
hope,  will  take  away  my  hunger.”  If  God 
give  but  a  little,  he  can  make  that  little  serve 
the  turn  ;  and  then  enough  is  as  good  as  a  feast. 

Spencer. 

4112.  NEGLECT,  Avaricious.  A  prince  in 
Germany  being  invaded  by  a  more  potent 
prince  than  himself,  yet,  from  his  friends  und 
allies  who  flocked  in  to  his  help,  he  soon  had 
a  goodly  army,  but  had  no  money,  as  he  said, 
to  pay  them  :  but  the  truth  is,  he  was  loath  to 
part  with  it ;  for  which  cause  some  went  away 
in  discontent,  others  did  not  vigorously  mind 
his  business,  and  so  he  was  soon  beaten  out  of 
his  kingdom  ;  and  his  coffers,  when  his  palace 
was  rifled,  were  found  to  be  filled  with  treasure ; 
and  thus  was  he  ruined,  as  some  sick  men  die, 
because  unwilling  to  be  at  the  cost  of  paying 
a  physician.  Now,  so  it  is  that  few  or  none 
are  to  be  found  but  would  be  glad  their  souls 
might  be  saved  at  last ;  but  where  is  the  man 


472 


ISnffiGi/ECT. 


JSncXJTRAXOTY. 


or  woman  that  makes  it  appear  by  their  vigor-  1 
ous  endeavor  that  they  are  in  earnest  ?  i 

Spencer. 

4113.  NEGLECT,  Contrast  of.  A  traveller  ' 
always  provided  himself  with  a  life-preserver,  : 
which  he  kept  in  constant  readiness  for  use. 
On  the  Mississippi,  an  accident  occurred  which 
led  him  to  dream  of  the  advantages  of  precau¬ 
tion.  He  dreamed  that  the  vessel  was  dis¬ 
abled,  and  rushing  upon  a  lee-shore.  The  pas¬ 
sengers,  in  different  moods,  awaited  the  result. 
Those  who  had  life-preservers  were  composed ; 
while  those  who  had  none  rushed  to  and  fro, 
in  terror  and  dismay.  Some  cursed  themselves 
because  they  did  not  buy  them  before  they 
started;  others  did  not  apprehend  danger; 
others  had  them  laid  away  in  their  trunks, 
but  found  them  useless  through  long  neglect; 
others  found  themselves  cheated  with  a  coun¬ 
terfeit  article ;  others  were  uselessly  trying  to 
escape  by  resting  on  the  life-preservers  of  others, 
which  could  barely  support  their  owners.  The 
6cene  is  one  only  too  common  in  life.  When 
the  storms  come,  and  the  trail  vessel  is  a  wreck, 
how  many  have  secured  the  true  life-preserver, 
and  wait  the  result  in  good  confidence?  How 
many  are  dismayed  because  unready  ?  Sin¬ 
ner,  beware  of  neglect ! 

4114.  NEGLECT,  Danger  of.  A  man  entered 
a  dark  and  winding  cave,  carrying  with  him 
a  lamp,  and  ball  of  twine.  That  he  might  find 
his  way  out  of  the  cave,  in  case  his  light  went 
out,  he  fastened  one  end  of  the  twine  outside, 
and  unwound  it  as  he  walked  into  the  cave. 
In  this  manner,  he  had  gone  a  long  distance 
into  those  dark  recesses.  At  length,  he  entered 

*  a  large  apartment,  and  for  a  moment  set  down 
his  lamp  and  ball,  to  break  off  a  stalactite  of 
peculiar  beauty.  Suddenly  his  lamp  went  out. 
He  immediately  endeavored  to  find  his  ball ; 
but  all  his  efforts  were  vain.  Ilis  lifeless  body 
was  found  long  afterwards  in  the  dark  cav¬ 
ern. 

4115.  NEGLECT,  Fatal.  A  pauper  lay  dy¬ 
ing  in  the  poor-house,  and  was  urged  repeat¬ 
edly  to  ask  God  for  mercy.  To  the  sugges¬ 
tion  of  the  possibility  of  salvation,  he  replied, 

“  It  was  true  once  of  me ;  but  now  it  is  too 
late.”  To  every  promise  and  invitation,  to 
every  encouragement  and  hope,  the  dying  man 
opposed  these  two  dreadful  syllables,  “  Too 
late!”  He  was  heard  in  a  faint  whisper,  just 
before  he  died,  saying,  “  Too  late  !  ” 

41 16.  NEGLECT,  Fraternal.  Charles  Simeon 
was  summoned  to  the  bedside  of  a  dying 
brother,  who  reproved  him  thus,  “  I  am  dying ; 
and  you  never  warned  me  of  the  state  in  which 
I  was,  and  of  the  great  danger  I  was  in  of 
neglecting  the  salvation  of  my  soul.”  —  “  Nay, 
my  brother,”  said  Simeon ;  “  but  I  took  every 
reasonable  opportunity  of  bringing  the  subject 
of  religion  before  you,  and  frequently  alluded  to 
it  in  my  letters.” — “  Yes,”  said  the  dying  man ; 
“  but  you  never  came  to  me,  closed  the  door, 
and  took  me  by  the  collar  of  my  coat,  and  told 
me  I  was  unconverted,  and  that,  if  I  died  in 
that  state,  I  should  be  lost ;  and  now  I  am 
dying,  and,  but  for  God’s  grace,  I  might  have 


been  forever  undone.”  Simeon  never  forgo! 
the  scene. 

4117.  NEGLECT,  Peril  o£  A  pastor  relates, 
that  he  once  visited  an  interesting  family,  the 
father  of  which  advised  him  to  leave  the  old 
alone,  and  devote  his  labors  to  the  young ;  say¬ 
ing,  that,  forty  years  ago,  he  was  anxious  about 
his  soul,  but  now  felt  that  he  was  a  lost  sinner, 
and  beyond  hope :  he  had  no  more  feeling 
than  a  block  of  marble,  and  should  die  as  he 
had  lived.  He  was  a  true  prophet  of  his  own 
fate,  and,  though  orthodox  in  faith,  vras  laid  in 
a  hopeless  grave. 

411S.  NEGLECT,  Enin  of.  Neglect  is  enough 
to  ruin  a  man.  A  man  who  is  in  business  need 
not  commit  forgery  or  robbery  to  ruin  himself : 
he  has  only  to  neglect  his  business,  and  his 
ruin  is  certain.  A  man  who  is  lying  on  a  bed 
of  sickness  need  not  cut  his  throat  to  destroy 
himself :  he  has  only  to  neglect  the  means  of 
restoration,  and  he  will  be  ruined.  A  man 
floating  in  a  skiff  above  Niagara  need  not  move 
an  oar,  or  make  an  effort,  to  destroy  himself : 
he  has  only  to  neglect  using  the  oar  at  the 
proper  time,  and  he  will  certainly  be  carried 
over  the  cataract.  Most  of  the  calamities  of 
life  are  caused  by  simple  neglect.  Let  no  one 
infer,  that,  because  he  is  not  a  drunkard  or 
an  adulterer  or  a  murderer,  therefore  he  will 
be  saved.  Such  an  inference  would  be  as 
irrational  as  it  would  be  for  a  man  to  infer, 
that,  because  he  is  not  a  murderer,  his  farm 
will  produce  a  harvest ;  or  that,  because  he  is 
not  an  adulterer,  therefore  his  merchandise 
will  take  care  of  itself.  Barnes. 

411i>.  NEUTRALITY,  Brevities.  He  that  has 
no  friend  and  no  enemy  is  one  of  the  vulgar, 
and  without  talent,  power,  or  energy.  —  Lava- 

ter. - What  numbers  live  to  the  age  of  fifty 

or  sixty  years,  yet,  if  estimated  by  their  merit, 
are  not  worth  the  price  of  a  chick  the  moment 
it  is  hatched  1  —  Shenstone. 

4120.  NEUTRALITY,  Curse  of.  Tell  me  not 
of  neutrality  :  it  is  out  of  the  question.  Ah  ! 
here  is  a  case  of  neutrality  upon  record  in  this 
book,  “  Curse  ye,  Meroz  !  ”  Why  ?  —  what  had 
they  done  to  expose  themselves  to  this  bitter 
malediction  ?  Had  they  taken  up  arms  against 
Jehovah?  —  No!  Had  they  gone  over  to  the 
enemy,  and  fought  against  the  chosen  people  ? 
— No  1  What,  then,  had  they  done  ?— Nothing ! 
Their  neutrality  was  their  crime.  “  Because 
they  came  not  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty.” 

Dr.  R.  Newton. 

4121.  NEUTRALITY,  Nature  o£  Neutrality 
in  things  good  or  evil  is  both  odious  and  preju¬ 
dicial,  but,  in  matters  of  an  indifferent  nature, 
is  safe  and  commendable.  Herein  taking  of 
parts  maketh  sides,  and  breaketh  unity.  In  an 
unjust  cause  of  separation,  he  that  favoreth 
both  parts  may,  perhaps,  have  least  love  of 
either  side,  but  hath  most  charity  in  himself. 

Bp.  Hall. 

I  4122.  NEUTRALITY,  not  Trusted.  The  griffin 
j  in  the  fable,  when  the  battle  was  to  be  fought 
1 1  betwixt  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls 
s  |  of  the  air,  would  partake  of  neither  side,  but 


NEW  BIRTH. 


NEWS. 


473 


stood  neutral,  until  he  could  perceive  which 
side  did  get  the  best  of  the  day ;  and  therefore 
showed  his  fore  part,  like  a  fowl,  unto  the  birds, 
and  his  back,  like  a  four-footed  beast,  unto  the 
beasts,  thereby  to  gull  them  both:  but,  his 
deceit  being  pei-ceived  by  both,  he  was  hated 
and  rejected  of  both  as  unworthy  to  be  trusted 
on  either  side.  Spencer. 

4123.  NEW  BIRTH,  Author  of  the.  If  not  the 

slightest  movement  of  matter  can  take  place 
without  the  immediate  agency  of  God,  shall 
we  wonder  that  his  agency  is  needed  in  the 
higher  and  more  subtle  processes  of  mind  ?  If 
every  echoing  wind  bespeak  a  present  Deity, 
shall  it  seem  strange  to  appeal  to  his  power  in 
the  regeneration  of  a  soul  V  Each  time  the 
furrow  opens  to  the  ploughshare,  or  the  sail  of 
the  vessel  expands  to  the  breeze,  we  call  in 
the  aid  of  a  mysterious  agency,  without  which 
human  efforts  were  vain.  Can  it  be  matter  of 
surprise  that  the  same  mysterious  agency  must 
be  invoked  in  every  effort  to  break  up  the 
hardened  soil  of  the  human  heart,  or  to  com¬ 
municate  to  the  dull  and  moveless  spirit  of 
man  an  impulse  towards  a  nobler  than  earthly 
destiny  ?  Dr.  Caird. 

4124.  NEW  BIRTH,  Necessity  of  the.  As  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  insect  in  its  chrys¬ 
alis  state  to  observe  the  laws  which  are  made 
for  its  transformed  state  ;  for  the  worm  to 
know  the  laws  which  make  the  summer  fly 
seek  the  sunshine,  and  live  upon  the  flower; 
as  it  must  be  “  born  again,”  and  enter  upon  a 
new  existence,  before  it  can  keep  the  Laws  of 
that  new  existence :  so  only  the  new  creature 
can  keep  the  new  commandment,  —  love. 

C.  Stanford. 

4123.  NEW  BERTH,  no  Earthly  Change.  A  man 
may  pass  from  the  lowest  ignorance  into  the 
highest  intelligence ;  he  may  exchange  the  most 
degraded  poverty  for  the  most  exalted  riches  ; 
he  may  come  out  of  the  greatest  obscurity  into 
the  largest  publicity ;  he  may  rise  from  the 
narrowest  circle  of  influence  into  the  widest 
sphere  of  power ;  in  a  word,  he  may  pass  from 
one  extreme  to  another  in  all  things,  moral,  in¬ 
tellectual,  political,  social,  civil,  and  through 
them  and  in  them  all  he  may  still  retain  his 
innate  bias  to  evil  and  aversion  to  good,  and 
continue  a  stranger  to  the  new  birth  as  it 
exists  in  the  saving  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  No  earthly  change  whatever  can  be  a 
substitute  for  the  change  which  comes  from 
above ;  any  more  than  the  lights  of  earth  will 
suffice  for  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars ;  any  more 
than  all  the  possible  changes  through  which  a 
potter  may  pass  a  piece  of  clay  can  convert  it 
into  the  bright,  round,  pure,  stamped,  golden 
coin  of  the  realm.  Bate. 

4126.  NEW  BIRTH,  Reformation  is  not  the,  A 
sculptor  may  take  a  piece  of  rough  marble, 
and  work  from  it  the  figure  of  a  Madonna;  but 
't  is  still  nothing  but  marble,  and  lifeless.  A 
carver  may  take  a  piece  of  wood,  and  work 
out  of  it  a  scene  of  conviviality ;  but  it  is  still 
wood,  and  insensible.  A  watch-cleaner  may 
take  a  watch,  the  main-spring  of  which  is 
broken :  he  may  clean  every  wheel,  cog,  pin, , 


hand,  the  face,  and  the  cases ;  but,  the  main¬ 
spring  not  rectified,  it  will  be  as  useless  for 
going  and  time-telling  as  before.  A  painter 
may  decorate  the  outside  of  a  pest-house  with 
the  most  beautiful  colors ;  but,  if  he  produce 
no  change  within,  it  is  still  a  pest-house.  A 
poor  man  may  clothe  himself  in  the  garb  of  a 
monarch ;  but  he  is  still  a  poor  man.  A  leper 
may  cover  all  his  spots  with  his  garment ;  but 
he  is  still  a  leper.  So  the  sinner  may  reform 
in  all  the  externals  of  his  life,  so  that  he  shall 
attain  to  the  moral  finery  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  or 
Nicodemus,  a  master  in  Israel,  but,  except  he 
be  born  again  from  above,  he  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Bate. 

4127.  NEW  CREATURE,  Formation  of  the.  The 
first  formation  of  this  spiritual  as  well  as  of 
the  natural  man  was  hidden  and  secret :  it 
was  curiously  wrought,  and  in  a  way  no  more 
liable  to  observation  than  that  of  framing  the 
child  in  the  womb,  as  that  is  as  hidden  as  the 
concoction  of  minerals  or  precious  stones  in 
the  lower  parts  of  the  earth.  No  secrets  of 
nature  can  outvie  the  mysteries  of  godliness. 
Its  growth  is  also  by  very  insensible  degrees, 
as  it  is  with  the  products  of  Nature ;  but  its 
arrival  to  perfection  is  infinitely  more  strange 
than  any  thing  in  Nature  ever  was.  How  sud¬ 
den  and  wonderful  is  the  change,  when,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  blessed  soul  instantly 
awakes  out  of  drowsy  languishings  and  miser¬ 
able  weakness,  into  perfect  strength  and  vigor  I 

John  Howe. 

4128.  NEW  CREATURE,  Immortality  of  the. 
When  Xerxes  destroyed  all  the  temples  in 
Greece,  he  caused  the  temple  of  Diana  to  be 
preserved  for  its  beautiful  structure.  The  new 
creature  is  God’s  temple  adorned  with  all  the 
graces,  which  he  will  not  suffer  to  be  de¬ 
molished.  Iliehes  take  wings ;  kings’  crown* 
tumble  in  the  dust ;  nay,  some  of  the  graces 
may  cease ;  faith  and  hope  shall  be  no  more : 
but  the  new  creature  abideth  ever.  T.  Watson. 

4129.  NEW  CREATURE,  Triumphs  of  the. 

This  man  “  born  of  God,”  “  begotten  of  God 
after  his  own  likeness ;  ”  this  hero ;  this  son 
of  God.  —  was  born  to  conflicts,  to  victories,  to 
triumphs.  While  he  is  yet  but  in  his  growing 
age,  “  he  overcomes  the  world,”  as  Hercules 
the  serpents  in  his  cradle ;  “  overcomes  the 
Wicked  One ;  ”  and  is,  at  last,  “  more  than  con¬ 
queror.”  John  Howe. 

4130.  NEW  HEART,  Legend  of  a,  St.  Cathe¬ 

rine  of  Sienna  would  often  pray  in  the  words 
of  Scripture  for  a  new  heart :  whereupon,  as 
it  is  related,  our  Saviour  appeared  to  her  in 
a  vision,  took  her  heart  from  her  bosom  and 
replaced  it  with  his  own  ;  and  there  remained 
a  wound  or  scar  on  her  left  side  from  that 
time.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

4131.  NEWS,  Telling.  For  the  messen¬ 
ger  of  painful  tidings,  the  shortest  and  sim¬ 
plest  way  of  communicating  the  facts  is  the 
best.  When  the  tidings  was  brought  to 
Achilles,  of  Patroclus’  death,  it  is  simply, 
“•  Patroclus  is  down :  they  are  fighting  around 
his  naked  corpse;  and  his  armor  is  held  by 
the  plume-waving  Hector.”  When  Gen.  Bur- 


474 


NKW  TESTAMENT. 


NON-RESISTANCE. 


gob'll e  surrendered  at  Saratoga,  the  rumor  one 
morning  had  reached  the  House  of  Commons. 
Every  one  was  alert  to  hear  ;  when  Lord  North 
arose  slowly  in  his  place,  and  with  a  solemn 
voice  said,  “  Gen.  Burgoyne  and  his  whole 
army  are  prisoners  to  the  Americans.”  A  dead 
silence  of  several  minutes  followed. 

4132.  NEW  TESTAMENT,  Contents  of  the.  The 
New  Testament  opens  with  “  Peace  on  earth, 
good  will  to  men  ;  ”  and  these  were  the  last 
■words  that  rang  through  the  air  before  the 
vision  faded.  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride 
say,  Come ;  and  let  him  that  heareth  say, 
Come  ;  and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come  :  and 
whosoever  will,  let  him  take  of  the  water  of 
life  freely.”  And  all  between  these  two  mag¬ 
nificent  notes  rolls  the  anthem  of  God’s  mercy. 
“  Whosoever  will !  ”  That  is  the  beginning 
and  the  ending.  Let  every  Christian  heart 
respond  in  those  final  and  sublimest  words  of 
revelation,  “  Even  so,  come  Lord  Jesus  !  ” 

Beecher. 

4133.  NEW  TESTAMENT,  Preservation  of.  A 
gentleman  dining  with  a  literary  party,  among 
whom  were  Lord  Hales  and  Mr.  Buchanan, 
put  the  question,  “  Supposing  all  the  New  Tes¬ 
taments  in  the  world  had  been  destroyed  at 
the  end  of  the  third  century,  could  their  con¬ 
tents  have  been  recovered  from  the  writings 
of  the  first  three  centuries  ?  ”  No  one  even 
hazarded  a  guess  in  answer  to  the  inquiry. 
About  two  months  after  this  meeting,  Lord 
Hales  told  Air.  Buchanan,  “  That  question 
quite  accorded  with  the  turn  of  my  mind.  On 
returning  home,  as  I  knew  I  had  all  the 
writers  of  those  centuries,  I  began  imme¬ 
diately  to  collect  them,  that  I  might  set  to 
work  on  the  arduous  task  as  soon  as  possible.” 
Pointing  to  a  table  covered  with  papers,  he 
said,  “  There  have  I  been  busy  for  these  two 
months,  searching  for  chapters,  half-chapters, 
and  sentences,  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
have  marked  down  what  I  have  found,  and 
where  I  have  found  it ;  so  that  any  person  may 
examine  and  see  for  themselves.  I  have  ac¬ 
tually  discovered  the  whole  New  Testament 
from  these  writings,  except  seven  or  eleven 
verses  (I  forget  which),  which  satisfies  me  that 
I  could  discover  them  also.  Now,  here  was  a 
way  in  which  God  concealed  or  hid  the  treasure 
of  his  word,  that  Julian  the  apostate  em¬ 
peror,  and  other  enemies  of  Christ  who  wished 
to  extirpate  the  gospel  from  the  world,  never 
would  have  thought  of;  and,  though  they  had, 
they  never  could  have  effected  their  destruc¬ 
tion.” 

4134.  NEW  YEAR,  Beginning  the.  Mr.  Hard- 
castle,  when  dying,  said,  “  My  last  act  of  faith 
I  wish  to  be  to  take  the  blood  of  Jesus,  as  the 
hudr  priest  did  when  he  entered  behind  the 
veil ;  and,  when  1  have  passed  the  veil,  I  would 
appear  with  it  before  the  throne.”  So,  in  mak¬ 
ing  the  transit  from  one  year  to  another,  this  is 
our  most  appropriate  exercise.  We  see  much 
sin  in  the  retrospect;  we  see  many  a  broken 
purpose,  many  a  misspent  hour,  many  a  rash 
and  unadvised  word ;  we  see  much  pride  and 
anger  and  worldliness  and  unbelief;  we  see 


a  long  track  of  inconsistency.  There  is  noth 
ing  lor  us  but  the  great  atonement.  Will 
that  atonement,  let  us,  like  believing  Israel, 
end,  and  begin  anew.  Bearing  its  precious 
blood,  let  us  pass  within  the  veil  of  a  solemn 
and  eventful  future.  Let  a  visit  to  the  Foun¬ 
tain  be  the  last  act  of  the  closing  year ;  and 
let  a  new  year  still  find  us  there. 

Dr.  James  Hamilton. 

4135.  NEW  YEAR,  Brevities.  Lord  Dundas, 
being  wished  a  happy  new  year,  replied,  “  It 
had  need  be  happier  than  the  last ;  for  I  never 
knew  one  happy  day  in  it.”  Wilberforce  said, 
“  The  last  year  has  been  the  happiest  of  my 
life.”  Romainie’s  new-year’s  wish  for  his 
people  was,  “  God  grant  that  this  may  be  a 
year  famous  for  believing  1  ” 

4136.  NOBILITY,  Christian.  There  is  men¬ 
tion  made  of  an  ancient  king,  who  made  a 
great  feast,  and  invited  a  company  of  poor 
people  who  were  Christians  ;  and  he  bade  his 
nobles  also.  Now,  when  the  poor  Christians 
were  come,  he  had  them  up  into  the  presence- 
chamber  ;  but,  when  the  nobles  came,  he  set 
them  in  the  hall.  Being  thereupon  demanded 
the  reason,  he  answered,  “  I  do  not  this  as  I 
am  their  king  here ;  for  I  respect  you  more 
than  them.  But,  as  I  am  king  of  another  world, 
I  must  needs  honor  these  as  God’s  dear  chil¬ 
dren  :  and  such  shall  be  kings  and  princes  with 
me  hereafter;  and  I  would  have  you  esteem 
them  according  to  their  worth,  and  show  it.” 

Spencer. 

411 37.  NOBILITY,  End  of  all.  A  sultan,  amus¬ 
ing  himself  with  walking,  observed  a  dervise 
sitting  with  a  human  skull  in  his  lap,  and  ap¬ 
pearing  to  be  in  a  profound  revery.  His  atti¬ 
tude  and  manner  surprised  the  sultan,  who 
demanded  the  cause  of  his  being  so  deeply  en¬ 
gaged  in  reflection.  “  Sire,”  said  the  dervise, 
“  this  skull  was  presented  to  me  this  morning ; 
and  I  have  from  that  moment  been  endeavor¬ 
ing,  in  vain,  to  discover  whether  it  is  the  skull 
of  a  powerful  monarch  like  your  Majesty,  or 
of  a  poor  dervise  like  myself.”  Whitecross. 

4138.  NOBILITY,  and  Promotion.  A  German 
lieutenant  gained  admittance  to  the  late  Pres. 
Lincoln,  and,  by  reason  of  his  winning  deport¬ 
ment  and  intelligent  appearance,  was  prom¬ 
ised  a  lieutenant’s  commission  in  a  cavalry 
regiment.  He  was  so  enraptured  with  his 
success,  that  he  deemed  it  a  duty  to  inform  the 
President  that  he  belonged  to  one  of  the  oldest 
noble  houses  in  Germany.  “  Oh  1  never  mind 
that,”  said  Air.  Lincoln:  “you  will  not  find 
that  to  be  an  obstacle  to  your  advancement.” 

4139.  NOBILITY,  Untitled.  Schiller,  the  Ger¬ 
man  poet,  had  a  patent  of  nobility  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  emperor ;  but  he  was  too 
noble  to  use  it. 

4140.  NON  -RESISTANCE,  Safety  o£  A  blood¬ 
thirsty  soldier-found  a  child  upon  the  battle¬ 
field  at  the  close  of  an  engagement,  and  lifted 
his  sword  to  slay  him.  The  child  cried  out, 
“  0  sir  !  don’t  kill  me,  I’m  so  little  1  ”  The 
plea  of  weakness  saved  him. 

4141.  NON-EESISTANCE,  Security  in.  In 
early  times,  when  the  Indians  were  on  the 


NOJSr-R.ESIST^JSrCK. 


NOW. 


475 


war-patli  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  they 
came  upon  a  Quaker  family,  with  the  intention 
of  scalping  them,  but  were  received  with  such 
confidence  and  kindness,  that  they  became 
friends  instead.  On  leaving,  the  Indians  stuck 
a  white  feather  over  the  door  of  the  cabin  to 
show  that  it  was  not  to  be  harmed.  Though 
the  war-whoop  rang  all  about  it,  the  Quaker 
family  was  never  disturbed. 

4142.  NON-RESISTANCE,  Successful.  It  is 
said  that  a  regiment  was  once  sent  to  capture 
a  town  in  the  Tyrol.  They  reached  it,  marched 
through  the  streets,  but  found  no  enemy  to 
oppose  them.  The  children  were  attracted  by 
the  novel  uniforms  and  music;  but  the  peo¬ 
ple  employed  themselves  peaceably,  as  usual. 
Finding  no  enemy,  the  soldiers  marched  away. 
The  secret  of  it  was,  the  people  were  all 
Christians. 

4143.  NOVELS,  Caution  against.  Dante,  in 

his  imaginary  journey  through  perdition,  de¬ 
scribes  his  interview  with  Paoli  and  Frances¬ 
ca,  an  Italian  lord  and  lady  who  were  put  to 
death  for  the  crime  of  adultery.  lie  ques¬ 
tioned  the  lady  concerning  her  sin.  She  said, 
“The  book  and  writer  both  were  Guilt’s  pur¬ 
veyors.”  The  bad  book  became  the  instru¬ 
ment  of  evil,  which  cost  the  lives  of  the  par¬ 
ties.  Wine. 

4144.  NOVELS,  Curse  of.  The  ten  plagues 

have  visited  our  literature ;  water  is  turned 
into  blood  ;  frogs  and  lice  creep  and  hop  over 
our  most  familiar  things,  —  the  couch,  the  cra¬ 
dle,  and  the  bread-trough ;  locusts,  murrain, 
and  fire  are  smiting  every  green  thing.  I  am 
ashamed  and  outraged  when  I  think  that 
wretches  could  be  found  to  open  these  foreign 
seals,  and  let  out  their  plagues  upon  us  ;  that 
any  satanic  pilgrim  should  voyage  to  France 
to  dip  from  the  Dead  Sea  of  her  abominations  a 
baptism  for  our  sons.  It  were  a  mercy  to  this, 
to  import  serpents  from  Africa,  and  pour  them 
out  on  our  prairies ;  and  lions  from  Asia,  and 
free  them  in  our  forests ;  lizards  and  scorpi¬ 
ons,  and  black  tarantulas  from  the  Indies,  and 
put  them  in  our  gardens.  Beecher. 

4145.  NOVELS,  Enervating.  The  habit  of 
novel-reading  must  inevitably  enervate  your 
manhood,  and  dwarf  the  mind,  and  give  you  a 
disrelish  for  the  great  and  grand  and  true  in 
the  world  of  thought.  If  our  youth  would  be 
men,  and  not  sink  into  effeminacy,  they  must 
leave  the  region  of  sickly  sentimentalism,  rise 
above  the  childish  pursuits  of  butterflies,  and 
live  in  regions  of  lofty  thought,  and  associate 
with  the  master-minds  of  creation,  by  ponder¬ 
ing  over  the  productions  of  their  splendid  and 
affluent  genius.  This  will  enlarge  the  sphere 
of  the  thinking  faculty,  give  it  quickening  im¬ 
pulses,  and  lead  the  mind  upward  to  all  that 
is  glorious  and  divine  in  the  world  of  intellect. 

R.  Roberts. 

414C.  NOVELS,  Fascination  of.  A  Christian 
lady,  who,  unfortunately,  formed  the  habit  of 
novel-reading  at  an  early  age,  says,  “  I  could 
make  any  earthly  sacrifice  could  I  thirst  after 
the  Bible  as  I  have  after  novels.  The  greatest 
daily  cross  1  am  called  to  take  up  is  to  pass  by 


a  novel  without  reading  it.  I  would  say  as  a 
warning  to  all  my  sex,  Beware  of  this  fatal 
rock;  beware  of  wasting  not  only  days  but 
nights  to  make  yourselves  fools  all  the  rest  of 
your  days,  if  not  absolutely.” 

4147.  NOVELS,  Influence  of.  Goldsmith,  him¬ 
self  a  novel-writer,  says,  “  Above  all,  never  let 
your  son  touch  a  novel  or  romance.  How  de¬ 
lusive,  how  destructive,  are  these  features  of 
consummate  bliss  I  They  teach  the  youthful 
mind  to  sigh  after  beauty  and  happiness  that 
never  existed,  to  despise  the  little  good  that 
Fortune  has  mixed  in  our  cup,  by  expecting 
more  than  she  ever  gave.” 

4148.  NOVELS,  Mischief  of.  I  have  often 

maintained  that  fiction  may  be  much  more  in¬ 
structive  than  real  history.  I  think  so  still ; 
but,  viewing  the  vast  rout  of  novels  as  they  are, 
I  do  think  they  do  incalculable  mischief.  I 
wish  we  could  collect  them  all  together, 
and  make  one  vast  fire  of  them.  I  should  ex¬ 
ult  to  see  the  smoke  of  them  ascend  like  that 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah:  the  judgment  would 
be  as  just.  J.  Foster. 

4140.  NOVELS,  Modern.  They  are  tales  of 
adventures  which  did  not  occur  in  God’s  crea¬ 
tion,  but  only  in  the  waste  chambers  (to  be  let 
unfurnished)  of  certain  human  heads,  and 
which  are  part  and  parcel  only  of  the  sum  of 
nothings ;  which,  nevertheless,  obtain  some 
temporary  remembrance,  and  lodge  extensive¬ 
ly,  at  this  epoch  of  the  world,  in  similar  still 
more  unfurnished  chambers.  Carlyle. 

4150.  NOVELS,  Poison  of.  A  young  man 
who  recently  committed  suicide  in  Indiana 
ascribed  his  downfall  to  the  influence  of  “  the 
vilest  kind  of  novels,”  which  he  was  allowed 
to  read  when  eight  or  nine  years  old.  “If 
good  books  had  been  furnished  me,”  he  says, 
“  and  no  bad  ones,  I  should  have  read  the 
good  books  with  as  great  zest  as  I  did  the  bad 
ones.  Persuade  all  persons  over  whom  you 
have  any  influence  not  to  read  novels,”  was 
his  parting  message  to  his  brother.  The  chap¬ 
lain  of  Newgate  Prison  in  London,  in  his  an¬ 
nual  report  to  the  lord-mayor,  referring  to 
many  fine-looking  lads  of  respectable  parent¬ 
age  in  the  city  prison,  says  that  he  discovered 
“  that  all  these  boys,  without  one  exception, 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  reading  those  cheap 
periodicals  which  are  now  published  for  the 
alleged  instruction  and  amusement  of  the 
youth  of  both  sexes.” 

4151.  NOVELS,  Reading.  Many  works  of 

fiction  may  be  read  with  safety,  some  even 
with  profit ;  but  the  constant  familiarity  even 
with  such  as  are  not  exceptionable  in  them¬ 
selves  relaxes  the  mind  that  wants  hardening, 
dissolves  the  heart  that  wants  fortifying,  stirs 
the  imagination  which  wants  quieting,  irritates 
the  passions  which  want  calming,  and,  above 
all,  disinclines  and  disqualifies  for  active  vir¬ 
tues  and  for  spiritual  exercises.  The  habitual 
indulgence  in  such  reading  is  a  silent,  mining 
mischief.  Hannah  More. 

4152.  NOW,  Accepted  Time.  A  mother 
said,  “  Dr.  Nettleton,  I  do  wish  you  would 
talk  to  Caroline.  She  don’t  caro  any  thing 


476 


NOW. 


OBKDIENCE. 


about  going  to  meeting,  nor  about  the  salva¬ 
tion  of  her  soul ;  ”  saying  which,  she  soon 
went  out  of  the  room.  Dr.  Nettleton  turned 
round  to  the  young  girl,  and  said,  “  Now,  just 
tell  me,  Miss  Caroline,  don’t  they  bother  you 
amazingly  about  this  thing  ?  ”  IShe,  taken  by 
surprise  at  an  address  so  unexpected,  answered 
at  once,  “  Yes,  sir,  they  do  :  they  keep  talking 
to  me  all  the  time,  till  I  am  sick  of  it.”  —  “  So 
I  thought,”  said  Dr.  Nettleton.  “  Let’s  see  :  how 
old  arc  you  ?  ”  —  “  Eighteen,  sir.”  —  “  Good 
health  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  sir.”  —  “  The  fact  is,”  said 
Dr.  Nettleton,  “religion  is  a  good  thing  in 
itself;  but  the  idea  of  all  the  time  troubling 
a  young  creature  like  you  with  it  1  I  wonder 
how  long  it  would  do  for  you  to  wait  ?  ”  — 
“  That’s  just  what  I ’ve  been  thinking  my¬ 
self,”  said  Caroline.  “  Well,”  said  Dr.  Nettle¬ 
ton,  “suppose  you  say  till  you  are  fifty?  No, 
that  won’t  do  :  I  attended  the  funeral,  the  oth¬ 
er  day,  of  a  lady  fifteen  years  younger  than 
that.  Thirty,  —  how  will  that  do  ?  ”  —  “  I’m 
not  sure  it  would  do  to  wait  quite  so  long,”  said 
Caroline.  “  No ;  I  do  not  think  so  either : 
something  might  happen.  See,  now,  twenty- 
five,  or  even  twenty,  if  we  could  be  sure  you 
would  live  so  long.  A  year  from  now,  —  how 
would  that  do?”  —  “I  don’t  know,  sir.” — 
“  Neither  do  I.  The  fact  is,  my  dear  young 
lady,  the  more  I  think  of  it,  I  am  afraid  to 
have  you  put  it  off  a  moment  longer.  Besides, 
the  Bible  says,  ‘  Now  is  the  accepted  time.’  We 
must  take  this  time.  Had  we  not  better  kneel 
right  down  here,  and  ask  God  for  mercy  ?  ” 
The  young  lady,  perfectly  overcome  by  her 
feelings,  kneeled  on  the  spot.  In  a  day  or  two, 
6he  was  rejoicing  in  hope. 

4153.  NOW,  Importance  of.  “Behold,  now 

is  the  accepted  time ;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation.”  “  To-morrow  ”  is  the  Devil’s  great 
ally,  —  the  very  Goliath  in  whom  he  trusts  for 
victory.  “  Now  ”  is  the  stripling  whom  God 
sends  forth  against  him.  A  great  significance 
lies  in  that  little  word.  It  marks  the  point  on 
which  life’s  battle  turns.  That  spot  is  the 
Hougomont  of  Waterloo.  There  the  victory  is 
lost  or  won.  Men  do  not  often  join  issue 
against  God  on  the  person  of  Christ  or  the  min¬ 
istry  of  the  Spirit,  on  the  ground  of  accept¬ 
ance  or  the  necessity  of  faith :  on  all  these 
points,  and  many  others,  the  carnal  mind  readi¬ 
ly  acquiesces  in  the  doctrine  of  Scripture,  like 
willows  bending  to  the  breeze,  but  resists 
Christ’s  claim  to  be  admitted  now,  as  a  rocky 
shore  resists  the  onset  of  the  waves.  The 
worldly  will  freely  agree  to  be  Christian  to¬ 
morrow  if  Christ  will  permit  them  to  be  worldly 
to-day.  Arnot. 

4154.  NOW,  Repent,  Rabbi  Eliezer  said, 
“  Turn  to  God  one  day  before  your  death.” 
His  disciples  said,  “  How  can  a  man  know  the 
day  of  his  death  ?  ”  He  answered  them, 
“  Therefore,  you  should  turn  to  God  to-day. 
Perhaps  you  may  die  to-morrow :  thus  every 
day  will  be  employed  in  returning.” 

4155.  NOW,  Use  o£  Now  is  the  time  of 
fight  to  obtain  our  crown ;  now  is  the  day  of 
Bpoil  to  seize  our  booty ;  now  is  the  market  to 


buy  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  now  is  the  time 
of  running  to  gain  the  goal  and  prize  ;  now  is 
the  day  of  sowing  to  provide  us  corn.  Cawdray. 

4156.  OATHS,  Ancient.  Other  beings  bo 
sides  God  are  sometimes  added  in  the  form  of 
an  oath.  Elijah  said  to  Elisha,  “  As  the  Lord 
liveth,  and  as  thy  soul  liveth.”  The  party  ad¬ 
dressed  is  frequently  sworn  by,  especially  if  a 
prince :  “  As  thy  soul  liveth,  my  lord,  I  am  the 
woman,”  &c.  (1  Sam.  i.  26,  xvii.  55).  The  He¬ 
brews  as  well  as  the  Egyptians  swore  also  by 
the  head  or  the  life  of  an  absent  as  well  as  a 
present  prince :  “  By  the  life  of  Pharaoh  ”  (Gen. 
xlii.  15).  Han  way  says,  that  the  most  sacred 
oath  among  the  Persians  is,  “  By  the  king’s 
head.  Aben  Ezra  asserts,  that,  in  his  time 
(A.D.  1170),  this  oath  was  common  in  Egypt 
under  the  caliphs.  Death  was  the  penalty  of 
perjury.  The  oath-taker  swore  sometimes  by 
his  own  head  (Matt.  v.  36),  or  by  some  precious 
part  of  his  body,  as  the  eyes  ;  sometimes,  but 
only  in  the  case  of  the  latter  Jews,  by  the 
earth,  the  heaven,  and  the  sun,  as  well  as  by 
angels;  by  the  temple  (Matt,  xxiii.  16),  and 
even  by  parts  of  the  temple.  They  also  swore 
by  Jerusalem,  as  the  holy  city  (Matt.  v.  35). 

Dr.  J.  R.  Beard. 

4157.  OBEDIENCE,  Affectionate.  Several 
boys  were  playing  marbles.  In  the  midst  of 
their  sport,  the  rain  began  to  fall.  Freddie  S 
stopped,  and  said,  “  Boys,  I  must  go  home ' 
mother  said  I  must  not  go  out  in  the  rain.”  — 
“  Your  mother,  —  fudge  1  The  rain  won’t 
hurt  you  any  more  than  it  will  us,”  said  two 
or  three  voices  at  once.  Freddie  turned  upon 
them  with  a  look  of  pity,  and  the  courage  of  a 
hero,  and  replied,  “  I'll  not  disobey  my  mother 
for  any  of  you  !  ” 

4158.  OBEDIENCE,  Brevities.  In  evil  times, 

it  fares  best  with  them  that  are  most  careful 
about  duty,  and  least  about  safety.  —  Ham¬ 
mond.  - All  God’s  biddings  are  enablings. 

A  cripple  might  as  well  lean  upon  his  shadow 
for  support,  as  your  heart  depend  upon  sincere 
obedience  for  salvation.  —  Bcrridge. 

4159.  OBEDIENCE,  Cheerful.  As  when  a 

general  commands  his  army  to  march,  if,  then, 
the  soldiers  should  stand  upon  terms,  and  re¬ 
fuse  to  go  except  they  have  better  clothes,  their 
pay  in  hand,  or  the  like,  and  then  they  will 
march, —  this  would  not  show  them  an  obedient, 
disciplined  army  :  but  if,  at  the  reading  of  their 
orders,  they  presently  break  up  their  quarters, 
and  set  forth,  though  it  be  midnight  when  the 
command  come,  and  they  without  money,  or 
clothes  on  their  backs,  leaving  the  whole  care 
of  themselves  for  these  things  to  their  general, 
and  they  only  attend  how  they  may  best  fulfil 
his  commands,  —  these  may  be  said  to  march  in 
obedience.  Salter. 

4160.  OBEDIENCE,  Complete.  It  ought  to  be 
the  great  care  of  every  one  of  us  to  follow  the 
Lord  fully.  We  must,  in  a  course  of  obedi¬ 
ence  to  God’s  will,  and  service  to  his  honor,  fol¬ 
low  him  universally,  without  dividing  ;  upright¬ 
ly,  without  dissembling;  cheerfully,  without 
disputing ;  and  constantly,  without  declining : 
and  this  is  following  him  fully.  Matthew  Henry. 


OBEDIENCE. 


OBTCDEEN  CE, 


477 


4161.  OBEDIENCE,  Duty  of.  If  a  boy  at 

school  is  bidden  to  cipher,  and  chooses  to  write 
a  copy  instead,  the  goodness  of  the  writing  will 
not  save  him  from  censure.  We  must  obey, 
whether  we  see  the  reason  or  not ;  for  God 
knows  best.  A  guide  through  an  unknown 
country  must  be  followed  without  demur.  A 
captain  yields  complete  authority  to  the  pilot. 
A  6ol<lier  in  battle  must  fight  when  and  where 
he  is  ordered  :  when  the  conflict  is  over,  he 
may  reflect  upon  and  perceive  the  wisdom  of 
his  commander  in  movements,  that,  at  the  time 
of  their  execution,  were  perplexing.  The  far¬ 
mer  must  obey  God’s  natural  laws  of  the  sea¬ 
sons  if  he  would  win  a  harvest ;  and  we  must 
all  obey  God’s  spiritual  laws  if  we  would  reap 
happiness  here  and  hereafter. 

4162.  OBEDIENCE,  Example  of.  The  com¬ 
mander  of  the  ship-of-war  “  Orient,”  before  the 
battle  of  the  Nile,  placed  his  son  Cassabianca, 
thirteen  years  of  age,  on  certain  duty,  to  stay 
at  his  post  till  relieved  by  his  father’s  order. 
Soon  after,  the  father  was  slain.  The  boy 
held  his  post  in  the  midst  of  fearful  carnage, 
ignorant  of  his  father’s  fate ;  and,  while  tbe 
sailors  were  deserting  the  burning  and  sinking 
ship,  he  cried,  “  Father,  may  I  go  ?  ”  The 

[>ermission  did  not  come  from  his  dead  father’s 
ips ;  and  there  he  stood  alone,  firm  at  his 
post,  and  perished  in  the  flames. 

4163.  OBEDIENCE,  Explicit.  There  was  a 
cry  of  fire  near  a  large  schoolhouse.  The 
children  in  the  school  were  very  much  affright¬ 
ed,  and  began  to  rush  to  the  doors  and  stairs, 
thus  perilling  their  limbs  and  lives.  But  there 
was  one  little  girl  who  remained  quietly  in  her 
seat.  Iler  teacher  asked  her  why  she  did  not 
do  as  the  other  girls  did.  “  My  father  is  a 
fireman,”  she  said  :  “  and  he  told  me,  whenever 
there  was  a  cry  of  fire  while  I  was  in  school, 
to  remain  quiet  in  my  seat ;  for  that  was  the 
safest  way.  I  was  dreadfully  frightened  ;  but 
I  knew  that  father  had  told  me  what  was 
best :  so  I  sat  still  when  they  ran  to  the 
doors.” 

4164.  OBEDIENCE,  Filial.  During  Have¬ 
lock’s  stay  in  England,  a  gentleman  went  one 
evening  to  the  house  of  the  colonel,  in  com¬ 
pliance  with  an  invitation.  In  the  course  of 
conversation,  Mrs.  Havelock  turned  suddenly 
round  to  her  husband,  and  said,  “  My  dear, 
where  is  Henry  ?  ”  referring  to  her  son,  whom 
she  had  not  seen  during  the  whole  afternoon. 
The  colonel  started  to  his  feet.  “  Well,  poor 
fellow  1  he’s  standing  on  London  Bridge,  and  in 
this  cold  too !  I  told  him  to  wait  tor  me  there 
at  twelve  o’clock  to-day ;  and,  in  the  pressure 
t)f  business,  I  quite  forgot  the  appointment.” 
It  was  now  about  seven  o’clock  in  the  even¬ 
ing.  The  colonel  at  once  rose,  ordered  a  cab 
to  be  called ;  and,  as  he  went  forth  to  deliver 
his  son  from  his  watch  on  London  Bridge,  he 
turned  to  excuse  himself  from  his  visitor,  say¬ 
ing,  “You  see,  sir,  that  is  the  discipline  of  a 
soldier’s  family.”  In  the  course  of  an  hour, 
he  returned  with  poor  Harry,  who  seemed  to 
have  passed  through  the  afternoon's  experi¬ 
ence  with  the  ""eatest  good  humor. 


4165.  OBEDIENCE,  Importance  of.  When  De¬ 
mosthenes  was  asked  what  was  the  first  part  of 
an  orator,  what  the  second,  and  what  the 
third,  he  answered,  “  Action.”  The  same  may 
I  say.  If  any  should  ask  me  what  is  the  first, 
the  second,  the  third  part  of  a  Christian,  I 
must  answer,  “  Action.”  Luther  says,  that  he 
had  rather  obey  than  work  miracles.  Obedi¬ 
ence  is  better  than  sacrifice.  T.  Brooks. 

4966.  OBEDIENCE,  Motive  in.  Nothing  can 
be  love  to  God  which  does  not  shape  itself 
into  obedience.  We  remember  the  anecdote 
of  the  Roman  commander  who  forbade  an  en¬ 
gagement  witli  the  enemy,  and  the  first  trans¬ 
gressor  against  whose  prohibition  was  his  son. 
He  accepted  the  challenge  of  the  leader  of  the 
other  host,  met,  slew,  spoiled  him  ;  and  then,  in 
triumphant  feeling,  carried  the  spoils  to  his 
father’s  tent.  But  the  Roman  father  refused 
to  recognize  the  instinct  which  prompted  this, 
as  deserving  of  the  name  of  love.  Disobedi¬ 
ence  contradicted  it,  and  deserved  death. 

F.  IF.  Robertson. 

4167.  OBEDIENCE,  Our  Duty.  A  negro 
preacher  once  said,  “  Brethren,  what  eber  de 
good  God  tell  me  to  do  in  dis  blessed  book, 
dat  I’m  gwine  to  do.  If  I  see  in  it  that  I  must 
jump  troo  a  stone  wall,  I’m  gwine  to  jump  at 
it.  Goin’  troo  it  belongs  to  God — jumpin’  at 
it  ’longs  to  me.” 

4168.  OBEDIENCE,  Prompt.  A  story  is  told 
of  a  great  captain,  who,  after  a  battle,  was 
talking  over  the  events  of  the  day  with  hie 
officers.  He  asked  them  who  had  done  the 
best  that  day.  Some  spoke  of  one  man  who 
had  fought  very  bravely,  and  some  of  another. 
“  No,”  lie  said  :  “  you  are  all  mistaken.  The 
best  man  in  the  field  to-day  was  a  soldier  who 
was  just  lifting  up  his  arm  to  strike  an  enemy, 
but,  when  he  heard  the  trumpet  sound  a  retreat, 
checked  himself,  and  dropped  his  arm  without 
striking  the  blow.  That  perfect  and  ready 
obedience  to  the  will  of  his  general  is  the 
noblest  thing  that  has  been  done  to-day.” 

Oxendon. 

4169.  OBEDIENCE,  Rare.  A  tradesman  ad¬ 

vertised  for  a  boy  to  assist  in  his  shop,  and  go 
on  errands.  A  few  hours  after  the  morning 
papers  were  circulated,  he  had  his  shop 
thronged  with  all  kinds  of  boys ;  and,  not 
knowing  which  to  choose,  he  advertised  again, 
as  follows  :  “  Wanted,  to  assist  in  a  shop,  a  boy 
who  obeys  his  mother .”  In  reply  to  this,  there 
were  only  two  boys  who  ventured  to  apply  for 
the  situation.  Bate. 

4170.  OBEDIENCE,  Safety  of.  A  pointsman 
in  Prussia  was  at  the  junction  of  two  lines  of 
railway,  his  lever  in  hand  for  a  train  that  was 
signalled.  The  engine  was  within  a  few  sec¬ 
onds  of  reaching  the  embankment,  when  the 
man,  on  turning  his  head,  perceived  his  little 
boy  playing  on  the  rails  of  the  line  the  train 
was  to  pass  over.  “  Lie  down  !  ”  he  shouted 
to  the  child  ;  but,  as  to  himself,  he  remained  at 
his  post.  The  train  passed  safely  on  its  way. 
The  father  rushed  forward,  expecting  to  take 
up  a  corpse ;  but  what  was  his  joy  on  finding 
that  the  boy  had  at  once  obeyed  his  order  1  He 


478 


OBETDrElSrCIC. 


OBSERVATION. 


had  lain  di  iwn,  and  the  whole  train  passed  over 
him  without  injury.  The  next  day  the  king 
sent  for  the  man,  and  attached  to  his  breast  the 
medal  for  civil  courage. 

4171.  OBEDIENCE,  Seouring.  The  first  rule 
of  the  order  which  St.  Francis  founded  was 
implicit  submission  to  the  superior.  The  legend 
says,  that  one  day  a  monk  proved  refractory, 
and  must  be  subdued.  By  order  of  St.  Fran¬ 
cis,  a  grave  was  dug  deep  enough  to  hold  a 
man  :  the  monk  was  put  into  it ;  and  his  asso¬ 
ciates  began  to  shovel  in  the  earth,  while  the 
superior  iooked  on,  stern  as  death.  When  the 
mould  reached  the  knees  of  the  stubborn  monk, 
St.  Francis,  stooping  down,  asked  him,  “Are 
you  dead  yet  ?  is  your  self-will  dead  ?  do  you 
yield  ?  ”  There  was  no  answer.  In  the  grave, 
there  seemed  to  stand  a  man  with  a  will  as 
iron  as  his  own.  The  burial  continued,  to  the 
middle,  to  the  shoulders,  to  the  lips.  Once 
more  St.  Francis  bent  down  to  repeat  his 
question,  “  Are  you  dead  yet  ?  ”  The  suffo¬ 
cating  monk  saw  no  relenting  in  the  stern  coun¬ 
tenance  of  his  superior.  Resistance  was  useless. 
A  few  moments  more,  and  the  earth  would 
cover  him.  Then  the  iron  will  was  broken : 
the  funeral  was  stayed,  and  the  submissive 
monk  replied,  “  I  am  dead.”  The  monk  is  the 
type  of  many,  some  of  whom  yield  in  the  last 
extremity,  and  others  go  into  eternity  still 
raging  against  the  Supreme. 

4172.  OBEDIENCE,  True.  A  man  sincerely 

obedient  will  not  pick  and  choose  what  com¬ 
mands  to  obey,  and  what  to  reject.  He  will 
lay  such  a  charge  upon  his  whole  man  as 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Christ,  did  upon  all  the 
servants  at  the  feast,  —  “  Whatsoever  he  saitli 
unto  you,  do  it.”  Eyes,  ears,  hands,  heart, 
lips,  body  and  soul,  do  you  all  seriously  and 
affectionately  observe  whatever  Jesus  Christ 
says  unto  you,  and  do  it.  T.  Brooks. 

4173.  OBLIGATION,  Absolute.  Sink  the  Bible 

to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  man’s  obliga¬ 
tions  to  God  would  be  unchanged.  He  would 
have  the  same  path  to  tread,  only  his  lamp  and 
his  guide  would  be  gone ;  he  would  have  the 
same  voyage  to  make,  only  his  compass  and 
chart  would  be  overboard.  Beecher. 

4174.  OBLIGATION,  Effect  of.  We  arc  always 
much  better  pleased  to  see  those  whom  we 
have  obliged  than  those  who  have  obliged  us. 

La  Rochefoucauld. 

4175.  OBLIGATION,  Ground  of.  If  a  great 
otentate  did  make  subject  unto  thee  his  whole 
ingdom,  and  all  his  dominions,  nobles,  and 

strong  powerful  men,  nay,  all  his  subjects ;  and 
did  command  them  to  guard,  defend,  preserve, 
to  clothe,  cure,  and  feed  thee,  and  to  take  care 
that  thou  shouldest  want  nothing  at  all, — 
wouldst  thou  not  love  him,  and  account  him  to 
be  a  loving,  bountiful  lord  ?  How,  then,  oughtest 
thou  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  who  hath  kept 
nothing  back  for  himself,  but  appointed  to  thy 
service  all  that  is  in  heaven,  and  from  heaven, 
and  all  that  is  upon  earth  or  anywhere  ?  For 
he  wants  no  creature  for  himself,  and  hath 
excepted  nothing  from  thy  service,  neither  in 
all  the  hosts  of  holy  angels,  nor  in  any  of  his 


creatures  under  the  stars.  If  we  will,  they  are 
ready  to  serve  us ;  nay,  hell  itself  must  serve 
us,  by  bringing  upon  us  fear  and  terror,  that 
we  may  not  sin.  John  Arndt. 

4176.  OBLIGATION,  Personal.  It  is  by  each 

soldier  feeling  his  obligation  in  doing  his  part, 
that  the  army  conquers  ;  it  is  by  each  bee 
doing  its  work,  that  the  hive  is  stored  with 
honey;  it  is  by  each  insect  putting  forth  all 
its  might,  that  the  coral  reef  becomes  an  is¬ 
land,  and  cities  rise  upon  the  bosom  of  the 
main.  Dr.  Camming. 

4177.  OBLIGATION,  Universal.  All  the  great 
duties  of  a  Christian  life  are  no  more  incumbent 
upon  Christians  than  upon  other  men  ;  for 
men  are  bound  to  be  and  do  right  on  the  reli¬ 
gious  scale  of  rectitude,  not  because  they  are 
Christians,  but  because  they  are  men.  Religious 
obligations  took  hold  of  us  when  we  were  born. 
They  waited  for  us  as  the  air  did.  They  have 
their  sources  back  of  volition,  back  of  conscious¬ 
ness,  just  as  attraction  has.  Though  a  man 
declares  himself  an  atheist,  it  in  no  way  alters 
his  obligations.  Right  and  wrong  do  not  spring 
from  the  nature  of  the  church.  Obligation  lies 
deeper  than  that.  The  church  is  a  mere  or¬ 
ganization  to  help  a  man  fulfil  his  duties  :  it  is 
not  the  source  from  whence  those  duties  sprang. 
It  is  as  much  the  worldling’s  duty  to  love  God 
and  obey  his  laws  as  the  Christian’s.  Beecher. 

4178.  OBSERVATION,  Advantage  of.  Boys, 

you  have  heard  of  blacksmiths  who  became 
mayors  and  magistrates  of  towns  and  cities, 
and  men  of  great  wealth  and  influence.  What 
was  the  secret  of  their  success  ?  Why,  they 
picked  up  nails  and  pins  in  the  street,  and  car¬ 
ried  them  home  in  the  pockets  of  their  waist¬ 
coats.  Now,  you  must  pick  up  thoughts  in  the 
same  way,  and  fill  your  mind  with  them ;  and 
they  will  grow  into  other  thoughts,  almost 
while  you  are  asleep.  The  world  is  full  of 
thoughts,  and  you  will  find  them  strewed  every¬ 
where  in  your  path.  Elihu  Burritt 

4179.  OBSERVATION,  Brevities,  Fools  learn 

nothing  from  wise  men,  but  wise  men  learn 
much  from  fools.  He  alone  is  an  acute  observer 
who  can  observe  minutely  without  being  ob¬ 
served.  Lavater. 

4180.  OBSERVATION,  Conceited.  Many  talk 
of  Robin  Hood  that  never  shot  his  bow.  In  a 
calm  sea,  every  man  is  a  pilot.  Proverbs. 

4181.  OBSERVATION,  Faculty  of.  Perhaps 
there  is  no  property  in  which  men  are  more 
strikingly  distinguished  from  each  other  than 
this.  The  great  herd  of  mankind,  the  “  fruges 
consumere  nati,”  pass  their  lives  in  listless  inat¬ 
tention  and  indifference  as  to  what  is  going 
on  around  them,  being  perfectly  content  to 
satisfy  the  mere  cravings  of  nature,  while  those 
who  are  destined  to  distinction  have  a  lynx- 
eyed  vigilance  that  nothing  can  escape.  Wirt. 

4182.  OBSERVATION,  Habit  of.  The  Russian 
proverb  says  of  the  non-observant  man,  “  He 
(joes  through  the  forest  and  sees  no  firewood.” 
Dr.  Johnson  once  said,  “  Some  men  will  learn 
more  in  the  Hampstead  stage  than  others  in 
the  tour  of  Europe.”  Sir  Isambard  Brunei 
took  his  first  lessons  in  forming  the  Thame* 


OBSTCRV-A.MMON". 


OFFENCES. 


479 


tunnel  from  the  tiny  ship-worm.  He  saw  how 
the  little  creature  perforated  the  wood  with  its 
well-armed  head,  first  in  one  direction  and 
then  in  another,  till  the  archway  was  complete, 
and  then  daubing  over  the  roof  and  sides  with 
a  kind  of  varnish ;  and,  by  copying  this  work 
exactly  on  a  large  scale,  Brunei  was  at  length  ' 
enabled  to  accomplish  the  work. 

Samuel  Smiles. 

4183.  OBSERVATION,  Value  of.  A  great 

statesman,  being  asked  by  a  young  gentleman 
what  treatise  on  the  art  of  government  he  could 
recommend  as  the  best,  replied,  “  A  book  of 
white  paper.  Take  such  a  book,  journey  with 
it  through  the  world,  carefully  attend  to  every 
matter,  whether  political  or  not,  which  appears 
to  you  remarkable,  note  it  for  the  information 
of  yourself  and  others  ;  and  in  this  way  you  will 
make  an  excellent  work,  from  which  you  may 
learn  much.”  Gotthold. 

4184.  OBSTINACY,  General.  There  are  few, 

very  few,  that  will  own  themselves  in  a  mis¬ 
take.  Swift. 

4185.  OBSTINACY,  Conquered.  It  is  said  that 
Robert  Raikes,  the  founder  of  Sunday  schools, 
one  day  visited  a  family  in  which  was  a  bad- 
tempered  child,  who  made  her  mother  very 
unhappy  by  her  obstinacy  and  sulkiness.  Every 
effort  for  her  improvement  was  fruitless.  Air. 
Raikes  talked  seriously  with  her,  and  told  her 
that  her  first  step  must  be  to  kneel  down  and 
ask  her  mother’s  pardon.  She  resisted  all  en¬ 
treaty,  and  he  proposed  to  humble  himself  for 
her.  Kneeling  before  the  mother,  he  asked  her 
forgiveness.  The  stubborn  girl,  seeing  Air. 
Raikes  on  his  knees  on  her  account,  burst  into 
tears,  fell  upon  her  knees,  and  asked  her 
mother’s  forgiveness  for  herself.  From  that 
hour,  she  became  an  obedient  and  gentle  child. 

4186.  OCEAN,  Benefits  of  the.  How  number¬ 

less  are  the  blessings  we  owe  to  the  ocean,  the 
father  and  sustainer  of  all  organic  life  1  He  it 
is  that  feeds  the  stream,  that  fills  the  lake,  that 
bubbles  in  the  spring,  that  foams  in  the  cata¬ 
ract,  or  rushes  along  in  the  mountain  torrent. 
Should  his  eternal  fountains  be  dried  up,  the 
blooming  surface  of  the  earth  would  be  con¬ 
verted  into  a  naked  waste.  To  him  we  owe 
the  magnificence  of  our  forests,  the  verdure  of 
our  meadows,  the  beauty  of  our  fields.  It  is 
his  waters  we  enjoy  in  the  luscious  fruits  of  our 
orchards,  or  quaff  in  the  juice  of  the  exhila¬ 
rating  "rape.  They  circulate  in  the  veins  of 
numberless  animals,  —  of  the  bee,  which  offers 
us  the  sweet  tribute  of  its  honey ;  of  the  bird, 
that  charms  us  with  its  melodious  song;  of  the 
domestic  quadruped,  on  whose  flesh  we  feed, 
and  whose  services  are  indispensable  to  our 
welfare.  Nay,  our  own  blood  is  originally 
drawn  from  the  wells  of  the  ocean,  and  is  con¬ 
stantly  refreshed  and  replenished  from  its  ex¬ 
haustless  sources.  Hartwig. 

4187.  OCEAN,  Benevolence  of  the.  The  great 
ocean  is  iu  a  constant  state  of  evaporation.  It 
gives  back  what  it  receives,  and  sends  up  its 
waters  in  mists  to  gather  into  clouds;  aud  so 
there  is  rain  on  the  fields,  and  storm  on  the 
mountains,  and  greenness  and  beauty  every¬ 


where.  But  there  are  many  who  do  not  believe 
in  evaporation.  They  get  all  they  can,  and 
keep  all  they  get.  Beecher. 

4188.  OCCUPATION,  Abandoning.  “  Sell  all 

thou  hast,  and  give  it  to  the  poor,  and  follow 
me :  ”  but  sell  not  all  thou  hast,  except  thou 
come  and  follow  me,  —  that  is,  except  thou  have  i 
a  vocation  wherein  thou  mayest  do  as  much 
good  with  little  means  as  with  great ;  for  other¬ 
wise,  in  feeding  the  streams,  thou  driest  the 
fountain.  Lord  Bacon. 

4189.  OCCUPATION,  Importance  of.  A  lovely 
girl  was  wooed  and  won  by  a  young  man  of 
considerable  fortune.  He  was  a  man  of  educa¬ 
tion  and  refinement ;  but  he  had  no  occupation, 
no  trade.  He  lived  on  his  money,  the  interest 
of  which  alone  would  have  supported  a  family 
handsomely.  But  fortune  departed,  and  with 
it  visible  means  of  support.  He  could  get  no 
employment,  because  he  did  not  know  how  to 
do  any  thing.  He  lived  in  a  log-cabin  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  River  with  his  whole  family 
in  a  single  room,  subsisting  on  water,  fat  ba¬ 
con,  and  corn-bread.  He  finally  obtained  a 
situation  :  the  labor  was  great ;  compensation 
small,  but  it  kept  them  from  starvation.  In 
his  efforts  to  discharge  his  duties,  he  over¬ 
worked  himself,  and,  after  seventeen  short 
years,  died,  leaving  his  widow  and  six  girls 
iu  utter  destitution. 

4190.  OCCUPATION,  Test  of.  Every  base 
occupation  makes  one  sharp  in  its  practice 
and  dull  in  every  other.  Sir  Philip  Sidney. 

4191.  OCCUPATION,  Useless.  The  Emperor 

Caligula  provided  a  mighty  navy ;  aud  every 
one  expected  that  the  whole  country  of  Greece 
would  be  invaded.  So  it  might  have  been ;  but 
the  emperor  employed  his  soldiers  to  gather  a 
quantity  of  cockle-shells  and  pebble-stones  in¬ 
stead.  Just  such  a  voyage  does  almost  every 
man  make  in  this  world,  were  the  particulars 
truly  cast  up.  Spencer. 

4192.  OFFENCE,  One.  Suppose  a  boat  on 
the  Ganges,  full  of  people :  the  wind  roars, 
the  thunder  peals,  the  waters  are  swollen, 
and  the  current  rapid.  You  hear  shrieks  from 
the  boat,  between  the  thunder-peals.  They 
fear  the  rocks  before  them ;  and  the  question 
is,  How  can  they  be  saved  ?  Suppose  the 
people  on  shore  throw  out  to  them  a  chain. 
They  catch  it,  and  already  rejoice  in  the  pros¬ 
pect  of  deliverance  ;  when,  alas  !  suddenly,  as 
both  they  and  the  people  on  shore  begin  to 
pull,  one  link  of  the  chain  breaks,  —  not  ten 
links,  but  one.  What  can  they  then  do  ? 
“  Overboard  with  the  chain,  or  it  will  sink  us 
sooner,”  cries  one  man  from  the  boat.  What 
shall  they  do  then  ?  “  Cast  themselves  on  the 
mercy  of  God,”  says  another.  Yes :  and  so  say 
I  to  the  sinner;  for  if  one  commandment  be 
broken,  — one  link  of  the  chain, —  all  is  broken. 

Leupolt. 

4193.  OFFENCES,  Forgetting.  A  person  came 
to  Air.  Longdon  of  Sheffield,  Eng.,  one  day, 
and  said,  “  I  have  something  against  you,  and 
I  am  come  to  tell  you  of  it.”  —  “  Do  walk  in, 
sir,”  he  replied  :  “  you  are  my  best  friend.  If 
I  could  but  engage  my  friends  to  be  faithful 


480 


OITFElSrCES. 


OLD  A.GKE. 


with  me,  I  should  be  sure  to  prosper.  But,  if 
you  please,  we  will  both  pray  in  the  first  place, 
and  ask  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our  inter¬ 
view.”  After  they  rose  from  their  knees,  and 
had  been  much  blessed  together,  he  said, 

“  Now  I  will  thank  you,  my  brother,  to  tell 
me  what  it  is  that  you  have  against  me.”  — 
“  Oh !  ”  said  the  man,  “  I  really  don’t  know 
what  it  is :  it  is  all  gone,  and  1  believe  I  was 
in  the  wrong.” 

4104.  OFFENCES,  Reproving  Private.  Private 
offences,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  are  always 
to  be  corrected  in  private.  Whoever  checks 
a  private  misdeed  in  public  will  be  thought 
more  desirous  of  dragging  it  to  light  than  of 
preventing  its  repetition,  —  of  deepening  the 
offender’s  mortification,  than  of  effecting  his 
amendment.  Nor  is  this  all :  the  reprover  be¬ 
comes  himself  a  public  offender,  meriting  a 
public  rebuke.  When  Socrates  once  reproved 
Plato  at  a  feast,  for  some  private  offence, 
Plato  replied,  that  it  had  been  better  to  tell 
him  of  his  fault  in  private ;  for  to  mention  it 
in  public  was  an  impropriety.  Ilervey. 

4195.  OFFENCES,  Treatment  of.  Socrates, 
when  he  was  abused  in  a  comedy,  laughed  at 
it,  when  Folyargus,  not  able  to  bear  such  an 
indignity,  went  and  hanged  himself.  Augustus 
slighted  the  satires  and  bitter  invectives  which 
the  Pasquins  of  that  time  invented  against 
him  ;  and,  when  the  senate  would  have  further 
informed  him  of  them,  he  would  not  hear  them. 
Thus,  the  manlier  any  man  is,  the  milder  and 
readier  he  is  to  pass  by  an  offence,  as  not 
knowing  of  it,  or  not  troubled  at  it.  Spencer. 

4196.  OFFERINGS,  Guilty.  Many  of  the 
mosques  at  Cairo  are  doubtless  monuments  of 
sincere  piety ;  but  not  a  few  have  certainly 
originated  in  ways  far  from  creditable  to  their 
founders.  I  passed  by  one,  a  handsome  build¬ 
ing,  respecting  which  I  was  told  the  following 
anecdote.  The  founder,  on  the  first  occasion 
of  opening  his  mosque  for  the  ceremonials  of 
the  Friday  prayers,  invited  the  chief  ’Ulama 
to  attend  the  service;  and  each  of  these  con¬ 
gratulated  him  before  the  congregation,  by 
reciting  some  tradition  of  the  prophet,  or  by 
some  other  words  of  an  apposite  nature, 
excepting  one.  This  man  the  founder  ad¬ 
dressed,  asking  wherefore  he  was  silent. 
“  Hast  thou  nothing  to  say,”  he  asked,  “  befit¬ 
ting  this  occasion?  ”  The  man  thus  invited, 
readily  answered,  “Yes.  If  thou  hast  built 
this  mosque  with  money  lawfully  acquired, 
and  with  a  good  intention,  know  that  God 
hath  built  for  thee  a  mansion  in  paradise,  and 
great  will  be  thy  felicity.  But  it'  thou  raised 
this  temple  by  means  of  wealth  unlawfully 
obtained,  by  money  exacted  from  the  poor  by 
oppression  and  tyranny,  know  that  there  is 
prepared  for  thee  a  place  in  hell,  and  evil  will 
be  the  transit  thither.”  The  latter  was  the 
case ;  and,  within  a  few  hours  after  he  had 
thus  spoken,  the  only  one  among  the  company 
of  ’Ulama  who  had  dared  to  utter  the  language 
of  truth  on  this  occasion  —  to  do  which,  indeed, 
required  no  little  courage — suddenly  died,  a  vic¬ 
tim,  as  was  well  known,  of  poison.  Mrs.  Poole. 


419'S'.  OLD  AGE,  Alleviated.  A  Persian 
emperor  once  asked  a  gray-haired  old  man, 
“How  old  art  thou?”  —  “Just  about  four 
years,”  was  his  reply.  He  counted  only  the 
years  of  his  regenerated  life. 

4198.  OLD  AGE,  Approach  of.  Old  age,  savs 

the  provert),  is  a  courtier :  he  knocks  again 
and  again  at  the  window  and  at  the  door,  and 
makes  us  everywhere  conscious  of  his  presence 
Woe  to  the  man  who  becomes  old  without 
becoming  wise ;  woe  to  him  if  this  world  shuts 
the  door  without  the  future  having  opened  its 
portals  to  him.  TholucL 

4199.  OLD  AGE,  Change  in.  When  men 

grow  virtuous  in  their  old  age,  they  arc  merely 
making  a  sacrifice  to  God  of  the  Devil’s  leav¬ 
ings.  Swift. 

4900.  OLD  AGE,  Conversion  in.  Luke  Short, 
a  sinner  a  hundred  years  of  age,  was  led  to 
think  of  a  sermon  he  had  heard  Mr.  Flavel 
preach  eiglity-five  years  before,  at  the  close  of 
which  service  he  said,  “  How  shall  I  bless 
this  whole  assembly,  when  every  person  in  it 
who  loveth  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is, 
“  Anathema  Maranatha  ”  ?  This  led  his  to 
conviction,  repentance,  and  conversion. 

4901.  OLD  AGE,  Coveteous.  As  wayfaring 

men,  the  less  way  they  have  to  go,  the  less 
careful  need  they  be,  either  of  spending  their 
money  or  victuals ;  even  so  for  old  men,  who 
have  one  foot  in  the  grave.  Cawdray. 

4909.  OLD  AGE,  Faithfulness  in.  “  Eighty- 
and-six  years,”  was  Polycarp’s  answer  when 
required  to  deny  the  truth,  “  have  I  served  my 
Saviour,  and  he  hath  never  done  me  any 
harm ;  and  shall  I  deny  him  now  ?  ” 

4903.  OLD  AGE,  Happiness  in.  Wilberforce 
remarked,  “  I  can  scarcely  understand  why 
my  life  is  spared  so  long,  except  it  be  to  show 
that  a  man  can  be  as  happy  without  a  fortune 
as  with  one.”  And  soon  after,  when  his  only 
surviving  daughter  died,  he  writes,  “I  have 
often  heard  that  sailors  on  a  voyage  will  drink, 
‘  Friends  astern  1  ’  till  they  are  half  way  over; 
then,  ‘  Friends  ahead  1  ’  With  me  it  has  been 
‘  Friends  ahead !  ’  this  long  time.” 

4904.  OLD  AGE,  Honoring.  The  Germans 
have  a  story  about  a  little  girl  named  Jean¬ 
nette,  who  once  went  out  to  see  a  grand  re¬ 
view.  She  found  a  capital  place  from  which 
to  see  the  soldiers  pass,  when  she  noticed  a 
poor  old  woman  in  the  crowd,  trying  very  hard 
to  get  where  she  could  see.  Jeannette  said  to 
herself,  “I  should  like  to  see  the  soldiers 
march ;  but  it  isn’t  kind  in  me  to  stay  in  this 
nice  seat,  and  let  that  old  woman  stay  where 
she  can’t  see  any  thing.  I  ought  to  honor  old 
age,  and  I  will.”  So  she  called  the  old  woman, 
and,  placing  her  in  the  nice  seat,  fell  back 
among  the  crowd.  There  she  had  to  tiptoe, 
and  peep,  and  dodge  about,  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  splendid  scene,  which  she  might  have 
seen  fully  and  easily  if  she  had  kept  her  place. 
Some  of  the  people  said  she  was  a  silly  girl, 
and  laughed  at  her.  Jeannette  was  rewarded 
in  her  heart  for  her  kindness  to  old  age.  A 
few  minutes  later,  a  man,  covered  with  lace, 
elbowed  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and  said 


OLD  AGE. 


OMNIPOTENCE.  481 


to  her,  “  Little  girl,  will  you  come  to  her  lady¬ 
ship  ?  ”  She  could  not  imagine  who  her 
ladyship  was,  but  she  followed  the  man  to  a 
scatFold  within  the  crowd.  A  lady  met  her  at 
the  top  of  the  stairs,  and  said,  “  My  dear  child, 
I  saw  you  yield  your  seat  to  the  old  woman. 
You  acted  nobly.  Now  sit  down  here  by  me. 
You  can  see  every  thing  here.”  Thus  Jean¬ 
nette  was  rewarded  a  second  time  for  honoring 
old  age. 

4205.  OLD  AGE,  Hopeful.  Mr.  Venn,  con¬ 
versing  with  a  stranger,  was  thus  addressed : 
“  Sir,  I  think  you  are  on  the  wrong  side  of 
fiftv  ?  ”  —  “  On  the  wrong  side  of  fifty !  ”  ans¬ 
wered  Mr.  Venn.  “No,  sir:  I  am  on  the  right 
side  of  fifty.”  —  “  Surely,”  the  other  replied, 
“you  must  be  turned  fifty?”  —  “Yes,  sir,” 
added  Mr.  Venn  ;  “  but  I  am  on  the  right  side 
of  fifty ;  for,  every  year  I  live,  I  am  nearer  my 
crown  of  glory.” 

4200.  OLD  AGE,  Hopeless.  There  is  not  a 
more  repulsive  spectacle  than  an  old  man  who 
will  not  forsake  the  world,  which  lias  already 
forsaken  him.  Tlioluck. 

4207.  OLD  AGE,  Learning  in.  Socrates,  at 
an  extreme  old  age,  learned  to  play  on  musical 
instruments.  Cato,  at  eighty  years  of  age, 
began  to  learn  the  Greek  language.  Petrarch, 
when  between  seventy  and  eighty,  commenced 
the  study  of  Latin.  Ludovico,  at  the  great 
age  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen,  wrote  the 
memoirs  of  his  own  time.  Aceareo,  a  great 
lawyer,  being  asked  why  he  began  the  study 
of  law  so  late,  replied,  that  indeed  he  began  it 
late,  but  he  should  therefore  master  it  sooner. 
Franklin  did  not  commence  his  philosophical 
pursuits  until  he  had  reached  his  fiftieth  year. 
Ogilvie,  the  translator  of  llomcr  and  Virgil, 
was  unacquainted  with  Latin  and  Greek  till 
he  was  past  fifty.  Colbert,  the  famous  French 
minister,  at  sixty  years  of  age  returned  to  his 
Latin  and  law  studies. 

4208.  OLD  AGE,  Sinful.  O  Man!  of  all 

fools,  a  fool  with  a  gray  head  is  the  worst  fool 
anywhere.  With  one  foot  in  the  grave,  and 
another  foot  on  a  sandy  foundation,  how  shall 
I  depict  you,  but  by  saying  to  you,  as  God  said 
to  the  rich  man,  “  Thou  fool  I  a  few  more  nights 
and  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee ;  ”  and 
then  where  art  thou  ?  Spurgeon. 

4201).  OLD  AGE,  Veneration  for.  The  eye  of 
a  e  looks  meek  into  my  heart!  The  voice  of 
age  echoes  mournfully  through  it !  The  hoary 
head  and  palsied  hand  of  age  plead  irresistibly 
for  its  sympathies  !  I  venerate  old  age  ;  and  I 
love  not  the  man  who  can  look  without  emo¬ 
tion  upon  the  sunset  of  life,  when  the  dusk  of 
evening  begins  to  gather  over  the  watery  eyes, 
and  the  shadows  of  twilight  grow  broader  and 
deeper  upon  the  understanding.  Longfellow. 

4210.  OLD  AGE,  Vigorous.  John  Wesley 
preached,  on  an  average,  Jiflccn  sermons  a  week. 
Instead  of  breaking  down  under  it,  when  sev¬ 
enty-three  years  old  he  writes  that  he  is  far 
abler  to  preach  than  when  three  and  twenty. 
His  brow  was  then  smooth,  his  complexion 
ruddy,  and  his  voice  strong  and  clear,  so  that 
an  audience  of  thirty  thousand  could  hear  him 
31 


without  difficulty.  This  vigor  he  ascribes  to 
continual  travel,  early  rising,  good  sleep,  and 
an  even  temper.  “  I  feel  and  grieve  ;  but,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  I  fret  at  nothing.” 

Dr.  Stevens. 

4211.  OLD  TESTAMENT,  Message  of  the.  Its 

message  has  always  been  that  of  the  messenger 
who  came  to  David  after  the  battle  of  Maha- 
naim, —  “  All  is  well.”  But  it  wanted  Cushi  to 
follow  Ahimaaz,  to  tell  that  the  victory  arose 
from  the  leader  being  slain.  So  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New.  Bonar. 

4212.  OLD  TESTAMENT,  and  New.  The 
two  Testaments,  Old  and  New,  like  the  two 
breasts  of  the  same  person,  give  the  same 
milk.  As  if  one  draw  water  out  of  a  deep 
well  with  vessels  of  different  metal,  —  one  of 
brass,  another  of  tin,  a  third  of  earth,  —  the 
water  may  seem  at  first  to  be  of  a  different 
color;  but,,  when  the  vessels  are  brought  near 
the  eye,  the  diversity  of  colors  vanisheth,  and 
the  waters  tasted  have  the  same  relish  :  so  here 
the  different  style  of  the  historiographers  from 
prophets,  of  the  prophets  from  evangelists,  of 
the  evangelists  from  apostles,  may  make  the 
truths  of  Scripture  seem  of  different  complex¬ 
ions,  till  one  look  narrowly  into  them,  and 
taste  them  advisedly;  then  will  the  identity 
both  of  color  and  relish  manifest  itself. 

Arrowsmith. 

4213.  OLD  TESTAMENT,  Obscurity  of  the.  Be¬ 

fore  Christ,  the  gospel  ran  as  a  river  under 
ground  ;  but,  in  the  gospel,  it  bursts  forth  and 
shows  itself,  refreshing  us  with'  its  healing 
streams.  Swinnork. 

4214.  OLD  TESTAMENT,  Eelation  of  the.  The 
Old  Testament  is  the  watershed  of  the  New. 
These  deep  springs,  which  irrigate  and  fructify 
the  New-Testament  Church,  took  their  rise 
from  the  mountains  of  Judea,  and  descended, 
like  the  volume  of  the  Nile,  to  fertilize  and 
fructify  the  landscape  around  it. 

Captain  Gordon. 

4215.  OMISSION,  Brevities.  Sins  of  commis¬ 
sion  are  usual  punishments  for  sins  of  omission, 
lie  that  leaves  a  duty  may  fear  to  be  left  to 

commit  a  crime. —  Gurnall. - We  may  lose 

heaven  by  neutralitg  as  well  as  by  hostility, 
by  wanting  oil  as  well  as  by  drinking  poison. 
An  unprofitable  servant  shall  as  much  be  pun¬ 
ished  as  a  prodigal  son.  Undone  duty  will 

undo  our  souls.  —  Bowes. - The  last  words 

of  the  industrious  Archbishop  Usher  were, 
“  Lord,  in  special,  forgive  me  my  sins  of 
omission.” 

42 1G.  OMISSION,  Forgiveness  of.  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  in  writing  to  his  mother,  says,  “  You 
have  been  the  best  mother,  and  I  believe  the 
best  woman,  in  the  world.  I  thank  you  for 
your  indulgence  to  me;  and  I  beg  forgiveness 
of  all  I  have  done  ill,  and  all  I  have  omitted  to 
do  well.”  So  in  the  prayer  he  composed  at  the 
same  time :  “  Forgive  me  whatever  I  have 
done  unkindly  to  my  mother,  and  whatever  I 
have  omitted  to  do  kindly.” 

4297.  OMNIPOTENCE,  Help  of  It  certainly  is 
not  possible  for  us  to  be  in  a  position  where 
omnipotence  cannot  assist  us.  God  hath  scr- 


482  oiNcsnnpri'ESEisrcE:. 


OM^SnSCIETsTCE. 


vants  everywhere ;  and,  where  we  think  he  has 
none,- his  word  can  create  a  multitude.  There 
are  “  treasures  hi  1  in  the  sand,”  and  the  Lord's 
chosen  shall  eat  thereof.  Spurgeon. 

4  218.  OMNIPRESENCE,  Comfort  from.  A  com¬ 
pany  of  poor  Christians  were  banished  into 
some  remote  parts  ;  and  one  standing  by,  see¬ 
ing  them  pass  along,  said,  “  That  it  was  a  very 
sad  condition  those  poor  people  were  in,  to  be 
thus  hurried  from  the  society  of  men,  and  to 
be  made  companions  with  the  beasts  of  the 
field.”  —  “  True,”  said  another.  “  It  were  a  sad 
condition  indeed,  if  they  were  carried  to  a 
lace  where  they  should  not  find  their  God  : 
ut  let  them  bo  of  good  cheer  ;  God  goes  along 
with  them,  and  will  exhibit  the  comforts  of 
his  presence  wheresoever  they  go.  He  is  an 
infinite  God  and  filleth  all  places.”  Spencer. 

4219.  OMNIPRESENCE,  Faith  in,  During  the 

American  war,  a  British  officer,  walking  out  at 
sunrising,  observed  at  some  distance  an  old 
man,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  taking  aim  at 
some  game.  When  come  up  to  him,  the  officer 
took  him  by  the  arm,  and  said,  “  What  are  you 
about?”  The  old  man  made  no  reply,  but 
waved  his  hand  expressive  of  his  desire  for 
him  to  stand  at  a  distance.  This  not  satisfy¬ 
ing  the  inquirer,  !he  repeated  the  question, 
when  the  native  again  waved  his  hand.  At 
length,  somewhat  astonished,  the  officer  said, 
“  You  old  fool,  what  are  you  about  V  ”  To 
which  he  answered,  “  I  am  worshipping  the 
Great  Spirit.”  The  question  was  then  asked, 
•“  Where  is  he  to  be  found  ?  ”  To  which  the 
sold  man  replied,  “  Soldier  1  where  is  he  not  ?  ” 
and  with  such  energy  of  expression  as  made 
the  officer  confess  he  should  never  forget  it  to 
his  dying  day.  S.  S.  Scrap  Book. 

4220.  OMNIPRESENCE,  Token  of.  A  mother 
one  morning  gave  her  two  little  ones  books  and 
toys  to  amuse  them,  while  she  went  to  attend 
to  some  work  in  an  upper  room.  A  half  hour 
passed  quietly  ;  and  then  a  timid  voice  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs  called  out,  “  Mamma,  are 
you  there?  ”  —  “  Yes,  darling.”  —  “  All  right, 
then  ;  ”  and  the  child  went  back  to  its  play. 
By  and  by  the  question  was  repeated,  “  Mam¬ 
ma,  are  you  there  ?  ”  —  “  Yes.”  —  “  All  right, 
then ;  ”  and  the  little  ones,  reassured  of  their 
mother’s  presence,  again  returned  to  their 
toys.  Thus  we,  God’s  little  ones,  in  doubt  and 
loneliness,  look  up  and  ask,  “My  Father,  art 
thou  there  ?  ”  and  when  there  comes,  in  answer, 
the  assurance  of  his  presence,  our  hearts  are 
quieted. 

4221.  OMNISCIENCE,  Discoveries  of.  Before 

men  we  stand  as  opaque  bee-hives.  They  can 
see  the  thoughts  go  in  and  out  of  us ;  but  what 
work  they  do  inside  of  a  man,  they  cannot  tell. 
Before  God  we  arc  as  glass  bee-hives,  and  all 
that  our  thoughts  are  doing  within  us  he  per¬ 
fectly  sees  and  understands.  Beecher. 

4222.  OMNISCIENCE,  Divine.  In  a  sheet-al¬ 
manac  a  man  may  at  one  view  see  all  the 
mouths  in  the  year,  both  past  and  to  come ; 
but  in  a  book-almanac,  as  he  turneth  to  one 
month,  so  he  turneth  from  another,  and  can  but 
look  only  at  the  present.  This  is  the  true  dif- 


I  ference  hetwixt.  the  knowledge  of  God  and 
man.  He  looketh  in  an  instant  of  time  to 
things  past,  present,  and  future :  but  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  man  reachcth  only  to  a  few  things 
past  and  present,  but  knoweth  nothing  at  all 
of  things  that  arc  to  come;  that  is  God’s 
prerogative,  and  a  piece  of  learning  too  high 
for  any  mortal  man  to  attain  unto.  Spencer. 

4223.  OMNISCIENCE,  Fear  of.  Spencer  tells 
of  a  village  in  England,  called  Wotton,  to 
which  it  was  said  God  never  came.  Could 
such  a  place  be  found  now,  it  would  be  more 
thronged  than  Saratoga.  To  obtain  a  resi¬ 
dence  in  some  land  where  God’s  eye  never 
penetrated,  what  would  not  men  give  ?  What 
labors,  what  journeys  perform  ?  Hopeless 
task  1  The  omniscient  eye  reads  all  secrets, 
and  the  omnipotent  hand  will  one  day  rend 
all  masks. 

4224.  OMNISCIENCE,  Forgotten.  I  remem¬ 
ber  hearing  of  a  girl  who  went  into  her  mas¬ 
ter’s  room,  a  room  not  much  frequented,  to 
steal.  There  was  a  portrait  in  the  room ;  and 
the  eyes  of  the  portrait  seemed  to  follow  her 
wherever  she  went ;  and,  in  order  that  she  might 
steal  without  this  rebuke,  she  took  down  the 
portrait,  and  cut  the  eyes  out.  If  she  could 
have  plucked  out  God’s  eye,  she  might  have 
sinned  without  remorse.  But,  so  long  as  God’s 
eye  was  upon  her,  it  was  a  vain  thing  that  the 
eye  of  the  portrait  could  follow  her  no  more. 

Wilson. 

4225.  OMNISCIENCE,  Illustration  of,  It  is  said 
of  Gen.  O.  M.  Mitchel,  the  Christian  astron¬ 
omer,  that  on  one  occasion,  while  a  guest  at 
the  house  of  a  friend,  the  host  took  him  upon 
the  house-top  to  show  him  the  surrounding 
country.  The  general,  placing  a  small  teles¬ 
cope  in  position,  asked  his  friend  to  look 
through  it.  At  a  distance  of  eight  miles, 
through  the  woods  and  underbrush,  he  observed 
a  man  with  his  dog  and  gun  ;  and  he  saw  him 
distinctly  elevate  his  piece,  and  shoot  down  a 
beautiful  bird.  The  man  was  not  aware  that 
he  was  seen,  yet  he  seemed  to  be  but  a  few 
rods  from  the  general  and  his  friend. 

4226.  OMNISCIENCE,  Influence  of.  The  cel¬ 
ebrated  Tinmens  acknowledged  the  omnis¬ 
cience  of  God  by  placing  over  the  door  of  the 
hall  in  which  he  gave  his  lectures,  the  inscrip¬ 
tion,  “  Innocui  vivite !  Numen  adest.”  Live 
guiltless  I  God  observes  you. 

4227.  OMNISCIENCE,"  Lesson  of.  A  certain 
farm-house  is  situated  on  the  slope  of  a  hill ; 
and  its  windows  are  so  disposed  that  it  com¬ 
mands  a  complete  view  of  every  nook  of  the 
extensive  farm  of  its  master.  No  laborer  knows 
but  that  at  any  given  moment  the  master’s 
eye  may  be  upon  him.  So  it  is  with  us.  Our 
great  Master  commands  a  view,  not  only  of 
our  outward  actions,  but  of  the  very  thoughts 
of  our  hearts.  And  not  only  so  :  we  know  that 
our  Master  is  constantly  watching  us,  not  to 
blame  merely,  but  to  prompt,  to  help,  to  en¬ 
courage  us.  What  an  incentive  to  diligence  I 

J.  II.  Vincent. 

4228.  OMNISCIENCE,  Perfection  of  Is  this 
universe  an  unsurveyed  and  solitary  waste? 


OIVCNTISCIENTCH:. 


OPINIONS. 


483 


Do  you  fancy  there  is  no  presence  to  cheer  it, 
nor  eye  to  look  upon  it  forever?  There  is  an 
eye  whose  vision  is  spread  all  over  this  amaz¬ 
ing  scene.  There  is  a  mind  present  unto  it 
in  all  its  illimitable  extent.  The  eternal  One, 
at  the  same  moment  converses  with  its  immea¬ 
surably  remote  extremes.  There  is  a  mind  to 
whose  intelligence  all  this  amazing  vast  of 
worlds  on  worlds,  and  suns  on  suns,  and  sys¬ 
tems  on  systems,  is  distinctly  apparent.  Every 
atom  in  this  magnificent  immensity,  whether 
sinking  in  its  depths  or  aspiring  in  its  heights; 
whether  resting  on  its  axis,  or  whirling  on  its 
verge,  is  watched  by  the  intense  and  eternal 
scrutiny  of  the  omnipresent  and  omniscient 
God.  Bishop  Hamline. 

4229.  OMNISCIENCE,  Rejected.  The  Indians 
of  South  America  told  the  Catholic  mission¬ 
aries,  “  You  say  the  God  of  the  Christians 
knows  every  thing,  that  nothing  is  hidden 
from  him,  that  he  is  everywhere,  and  sees  all 
that  is  done.  Now,  we  do  not  desire  a  God  so 
sharp-sighted  :  we  choose  to  live  with  freedom 
in  our  woods,  without  having  a  perpetual  ob¬ 
server  of  our  actions  over  our  heads.” 

4239.  OMNISCIENCE,  Report  of.  A  young 
man  started  for  a  ball,  saying,  “  We  shall  have 
a  reporter  there.”  Did  he  think  that  God 
would  have  his  reporter  there  also;  that  his 
report  would  embrace  something  more  than 
the  dresses  of  the  belles  or  the  particulars  of 
the  most  attraction  ?  that  every  thought,  word, 
and  act  of  every  one  would  be  reported  faith¬ 
fully  and  impartially  to  the  Great  Judge?  This 
report  will  be  opened  at  the  bar  of  God,  where 
all  must  soon  stand. 

42tM.  OMNISCIENCE,  Restraints  of.  However 
the  sinner  may  imagine  himself  concealed  by 
the  shades  of  solitude,  or  the  curtains  of  mid¬ 
night,  from  the  view  of  every  eye,  God  is 
present,  secs,  hears,  and  takes  an  account  of, 
all  his  thoughts,  words,  and  actions.  Then  his 
eye,  as  a  flame  of  fire,  lights  up  a  clear  and 
searching  day  in  his  soul  and  around  his  steps, 
and  shows  in  sunbeams  the  iniquities  which 
he  devises,  utters,  and  perpetrates. 

Dr.  Dwight. 

4232.  OMNISCIENCE,  Testing.  An  English 
gentleman  and  his  friends  travelling  through 
a  piece  of  woods  in  one  of  the  Western  States, 
took  with  him  an  Indian  lad  as  a  guide.  In 
the  course  of  the  day,  they  separated;  and  one 
of  them,  finding  some  curious  berries,  sent  them 
to  his  companion  by  the  lad,  with  a  note 
specifying  the  number.  The  one  who  re¬ 
ceived  the  present  found  some  of  the  berries 
missing,  and,  having  reprimanded  the  boy  for 
eating  or  losing  them,  sent  him  back  for  more. 
The  gentleman  forwarded  a  second  parcel, 
with  the  number  again  marked  on  the  note. 
The  boy  played  the  same  trick  with  these, 
delivering  only  part  of  what  he  had  received. 
This  procured  a  second  scolding.  Whereupon 
the  Indian  fell  down  upon  his  knees,  and  kissed 
the  paper,  saying,  “  I  found  out,  the  first  time, 
this  paper  was  a  witch  or  conjurer ;  but  now 
he  has  proved  his  power  to  he  supernatural 
indeed;  because  he  tells  that  which  he  did  not 


see;  for  when  I  flung  away  these  last  berries, 
for  the  sake  of  experiment,  I  took  cave  to  slip 
the  note  under  a  stone ,  that  it  might  not  know 
what  was  passing.”  American  Anecdotes. 

4233.  OMNISCIENCE,  Thought  of.  A  man 
went  to  steal  corn  from  his  neighbor’s  field, 
lie  took  his  little  boy  with  him  to  keep  a  look¬ 
out,  so  as  to  give  warning  in  case  any  one 
should  come  along.  Before  commencing,  he 
looked  all  around,  first  one  way  and  then  the 
other  :  and,  not  seeing  any  person,  he  was  just 
about  to  fill  his  bag,  when  liis  son  cried  out, 
“Father,  there  is  one  way  you  haven’t 
looked  yet  1  ”  The  father  supposed  that  some 
one  was  coming,  and  asked  his  son  which  way 
he  meant.  He  answered,  “  You  forgot  to 
look  up  1  ”  The  father,  conscience-stricken, 
took  his  boy  by  the  hand,  and  hurried  home 
without  the  corn  which  he  had  designed  to 
take. 

4234.  OPINIONS,  Brevities.  Opinion  is  a 
medium  between  knowledge  and  ignorance. — 

Plato. - To  maintain  an  opinion  because  it 

is  thine,  and  not  because  it  is  true,  is  to  prefer 
thyself  above  the  truth.  Venning. 

4233.  OPINIONS,  Change  of.  No  liberal  man 
would  impute  a  charge  of  unsteadiness  to 
another  for  having  changed  his  opinions. 

Cicero. 

4236.  OPINIONS,  Diffusion  of.  It  will  be 

possible  to  have  one  set  of  opinions  for  the 
high,  and  another  lor  the  low,  only  when  they 
cease  to  see  by  the  same  sun,  to  respire  by  the 
same  air,  and  to  feel  by  the  same  sensorium. 
For  opinions,  like  showers,  are  generated  in 
high  places;  but  they  invariably  descend  into 
low  ones,  and  ultimately  flow  down  to  the 
people  as  the  rains  unto  the  sea.  Colton. 

4237.  OPINIONS,  Self-Interest  in.  Nothing 

more  hinders  men  from  going  to,  or  going  from 
an  opinion,  than  the  interest  they  have  by 
holding  it.  Men  do  not  care  so  much  for  the 
opinions  they  hold,  as  for  what  they  hold  by 
their  opinions.  Many  a  man  thinks  what 
Demetrius  stud :  “  This  craft,  by  which  we 
have  all  our  wealth,  is  like  to  be  set  at 
nouglil.”  Hence  they  begin  to  fly  in  the  face 
of  truth,  and  oppose  it  with  outrageous  rage, 
so  dearly  sweet,  and  sweetly  dear,  is  then1 
darling  gain.  They  see  they  cannot  have  the 
honey  unless  they  burn  the  bees,  and  therefore 
fire  them  forthwith :  they  cannot  possess  the 
vineyard,  unless  Naboth  be  put  to  death,  and 
therefore  he  must  be  despatched.  When  once 
the  copyhold  of  gain  and  honor  is  touched, 
men  begin  to  look  about  them,  and  will  never 
call  godliness  gain,  because  gain  is  their  godli- 
ness.  I  enmng. 

4238.  OPINIONS,  Social.  Social  opinion  is 
like  a  sharp  knife.  There  are  foolish  people 
who  regard  it  only  with  terror,  and  dare  not 
touch  or  meddle  with  it;  there  are  more  fool¬ 
ish  people,  who,  in  rashness  or  defiance,  seize 
it  by  the  blade,  and  get  cut  and  mangled  for 
their  pains ;  and  there  are  wise  people,  who 
grasp  it  discreetly  and  boldly  by  the  handle, 
and  use  it  to  carve  out  their  own  purposes. 

Airs.  Jameson 


484 


opinion's. 


OPPORTUNITY. 


4239.  OPINIONS,  VaooiUating.  Those  who 
“halt  between  two  opinions,”  in  the  matter  of 
religion,  are  like  travellers  who  halt  in  inde¬ 
cision  at  cross-roads,  with  tempest  and  the 
night  hurrying  up  behind  them  ;  like  a  railway 
pointsman,  who  hesitates  which  way  to  move 
the  points  whilst  a  train  is  rapidly  approaching ; 
like  a  pilot,  who  doubts  what  to  do  with  the 
helm  when  the  ship  is  driving  before  the  wind 
through  a  dangerous  channel. 

Union  Magazine. 

4240.  OPPORTUNITY,  Demand  for.  No  man 

possesses  a  genius  so  commanding  that  he  can 
attain  eminence,  unless  a  subject  suited  to  his 
talents  should  present  itself,  and  an  opportu¬ 
nity  occurs  for  this  development.  Pliny. 

4241.  OPPORTUNITY,  Table  of.  Once  upon 
a  time,  a  wild  boar  of  the  jungle  was  whetting 
his  tusks  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree.  A  fox 
passing  by  asked  him  why  he  did  this,  seeing 
that  neither  hunter  nor  hound  was  near. 
“True,”  said  the  boar;  “  but,  when  that  dan¬ 
ger  does  arise,  I  shall  have  something  else  to 
do  than  to  sharpen  my  weapons  !  ” 

4242.  OPPORTUNITY,  Improved.  A  little 
girl,  after  a  Bible-class,  said  to  her  governess, 
“  I  want  to  say  something  to  you,”  and  seemed 
anxiously  to  watch  her  companions  out  of  the 
room.  The  teacher  felt  wearied,  and  knew 
that  she  was  wanted  elsewhere.  Nature  said, 
“  I  have  not  a  minute  to  spare :  come  to  me, 
my  dear,  another  time.”  Grace  said,  “  Take 
up  thy  cross  ;  work  while  it  is  called  to-day : 
listen  to  this  little  child.”  Grace  prevailed. 
The  Spirit  of  God  had  convinced  that  child  of 
sin.  No  sooner  were  they  alone  than  she 
burst  into  a  Hood  of  tears.  “  What  shall  I  do? 
I  am  so  wicked !  I  cannot  bear  to  think  of 
death.  I  often  wish  I  had  died  before  I  had 
ever  sinned  :  do  come  and  pray  with  me,  do !  ” 
Good  results  followed  the  prayer;  and  the 
teacher  was  glad  she  did  not  say,  “  Wait  till 
some  other  time.” 

4243.  OPPORTUNITY,  Last.  On  a  wild 
coast  of  Britain,  there  are  tall  and*  craggy 
cliffs,  which  overhang  the  ocean.  The  people 
residing  near  make  their  livelihood  by  gather¬ 
ing  the  eggs  of  the  rock-birds.  An  iron  is  fixed, 
in  the  cliff  above :  a  rope  is  attached,  and  the 
adventurer  lowers  himself  until  he  arrives  at 
the  ledge  of  the  rock.  Once  a  man  found:  the 
rock  to  overhang  so  much, that  he  was  obliged  to 
swing  himself  to  and  fro,  so  as  to  gain  his  foot¬ 
hold  on  the  rock.  He  succeeded  ;  but,  in  doing 
so,  he  lost  the  rope  from  his  grasp.  The  rope 
swung  to  and  fro,  its  vibrations  becoming  less 
and  less,  and  each  time  more  and  more  distant. 
The  man  stood,  and,  quick  as  thought,  reasoned 
thus  with  himself:  “  That  rope  is  my  only 
chance  of  life.  In  a  little  while,  it  will  be  for¬ 
ever  beyond  my  reach.  It  is  nearer  now  than 
it  ever  will  be  again.  I  must  lay  hold  of  it  or 
die!”  So  saying,  he  sprang  from  the  cliff  as 
the  rope  was  next  approaching,  caught  it,  and 
was  safe ! 

4244.  OPPORTUNITY,  Lost.  “It  was  my 
lot,”  said  a  shipmaster,  “  to  fall  in  with  that  ill- 
fated  steamer,  “  The  Central  America.”  The 


night  was  closing  in,  the  sea  rolling  high  ;  but  I 
hailed  the  crippled  steamer,  and  asked  if  they 
needed  help.  ‘  I  am  in  a  sinking  condition,’ 
cried  Capt.  Herndon.  ‘  Had  you  not  better 
send  your  passengers  on  board  directly,’  I  said. 
‘Will  you  not  lay  by  me  till  morning?’ 
answered  Capt.  Herndon.  ‘  I  will  try,’  I 
replied ;  ‘  but  had  you  not  better  send  your  pas¬ 
sengers  on  board  now?’ — ‘  Lay  by  me  till  morn¬ 
ing,’  again  said  Capt.  Herndon.  I  tried  to 
lay  by  him ;  but  at  night,  such  was  the  heavy 
roll  of  the  sea,  I  could  not  keep  my  position, 
and  I  never  saw  the  steamer  more.  In  an  hour 
and  a  half  after  the  captain  said,  ‘  Lay  by  me 
till  morning,’  the  vessel,  with  its  living  freight, 
went  down ;  and  the  captain  and  crew,  and  a 
great  majority  of  his  passengers,  found  a  grave 
in  the  great  deep.  But  for  this  delay,  all 
might  have  been  saved.” 

4245.  OPPORTUNITY,  Misused.  Many  do 

with  opportunities  as  children  do  at  the  sea¬ 
shore  :  they  fill  their  little  hands  with  sand, 
and  then  let  the  grains  fall  through,  one  by  one, 
till  all  are  gone.  Rev.  T.  Jones. 

4246.  OPPORTUNITY,  Narrowing.  Oppor¬ 
tunity  is  like  a  narrow  passage  in  the  Arctic 
Seas.  Sometimes,  in  these  northern  regions, 
ships  get  enclosed  in  a  narrow  space  between 
ice-islands.  The  floating  rocks  glide  nearer 
the  ship  on  every  side,  and  the  dismayed  sea¬ 
men  behold  their  only  chance  of  escape  from 
the  fatal  crash  lies  in  a  narrow  channel,  that 
every  moment  grows  still  narrower.  How  hur¬ 
riedly  they  press  their  vessel  through  that  strip 
to  reach  the  safety  of  the  open  ocean  1  Even 
so  must  we  press  along  the  narrow  way  that 
leads  to  eternal  life;  for  who  knows  how  soon 
that  narrow  way  may  be  closed  against  him. 

Union  Magazine. 

4247.  OPPORTUNITY,  Passing,  Opportunity 
is  like  a  string  of  stepping-stones  across  a  ford. 
The  traveller,  coming  up  to  them,  may  find  the 
river  so  swollen  with  the  rains  that  the  stones 
are  all  but  covered.  If  he  delay,  though  his 
home  be  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  full  in  sight, 
it  may  be  too  late  to  cross,  and  he  may  have  a 
journey  of  several  miles  to  reach  his  home. 

Union  Magazine. 

4248.  OPPORTUNITY,  Proverbs.  What  may 
be  done  at  any  time  will  be  done  at  no  time. 
Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot.  Take  time  while 

time  is,  for  time  will  away.  — English. - God 

keep  you  from  “  It  is  too  late.”  When  the  fool 
has  made  up  his  mind,  the  market  has  gone  by. 

—  Spanish. - A  little  too  late,  much  too 

late.  —  Dutch. - Some  refuse  roast  meat, 

and  afterwards  long  for  the  smoke  of  it.  — 
Italian. 

4249.  OPPORTUNITY,  Seized.  Coming  once 
down  the  Ohio  River  when  the  water  was  low, 
we  saw  just  before  us  several  small  boats 
aground  on  a  sandbar.  We  knew  the  channel 
was  where  they  were  not,  and,  shaping  our 
course  accordingly,  we  went  safely  by.  They 
saw  our  intention ;  and,  taking  advantage  of 
the  light  swell  we  created  as  we  passed  them, 
the  nearest  ones  crowded  on  all  steam,  and 
were  lifted  off  the  bar.  Now,  when  in  life’s 


OPPORTTTNTTY. 


ORDER# 


485 


stream  you  are  stranded  on  some  bar  of  temp¬ 
tation,  no  matter  what  it  is  that  makes  a 
swell,  if  it  is  only  an  inch  under  your  keel, 
put  on  all  steam,  and  swing  off  into  the  cur¬ 
rent.  Beecher. 

4250.  OPPORTUNITY,  Seizing  the.  Oppor¬ 
tunity  has  hair  in  front ;  behind  she  is  bald  :  if 
you  seize  her  by  the  forelock,  you  may  hold 
her;  but,  if  suffered  to  escape,  not  Jupiter 
himself  can  catch  her  again.  From  the  Latin. 

4251.  OPPORTUNITY,  Transient.  Oppor¬ 
tunity  is  like  a  favoring  breeze  springing  up 
around  a  sailing-vessel.  If  the  sails  be  all 
6et,  the  ship  is  wafted  onward  to  its  port ;  if 
the  sailors  are  asleep  or  ashore,  the  breeze 
may  die  again,  and  when  they  would  go  on 
they  cannot :  their  vessel  stands  as  idle  as  a 
painted  ship  upon  a  painted  ocean.  U.  Mag. 

4252.  OPPORTUNITY,  Unused.  Opportunity 

is  like  a  strip  of  sand  which  stretches  around 
a  seaside  cove.  The  greedy  tide  is  lapping 
up  the  sand.  The  narrow  strip  will  quickly 
become  impassable ;  and  then  how  sad  the 
(ate  of  the  thoughtless  children  who  are  now 
placin'*  and  gathering  shells  and  seaweed  in- 
side  the  cove  1  Union  Magazine. 

4253.  OPPORTUNITY,  Using  the.  One  of  the 
mottoes  or.  the  walls  of  the  temple  at  Delplios 
was,  “  Know  thy  opportunity.” 

4254.  OPPOSITION,  Help  of.  A  certain 
amount  of  opposition  is  a  great  help  to  a  man. 
Kites  rise  against,  and  not  with,  the  wind.  Even 
a  head-wind  is  better  than  none.  No  man 
ever  worked  his  passage  anywhere  in  a  dead 
calm.  Let  no  man  wax  pale,  therefore,  be¬ 
cause  of  opposition.  Opposition  is  what  he 
wants  and  must  have,  to  be  good  for  any  thing. 
Hardship  is  the  native  soil  of  manhood  and 
self-reliance.  lie  that  cannot  abide  the  storm 
without  flinching  or  quailing  strips  himself  in 
the  sunshine,  and  lies  down  by  the  wayside 
to  be  overlooked  and  forgotten.  lie  who  but 
braces  himself  to  the  struggle  when  the  winds 
blow  gives  up  when  they  have  done,  and  falls 
asleep  in  the  stillness  that  follows.  J.  Neal. 

4255.  OPPOSITION,  Satanic.  When  St. 
Benedict  lounded  the  Monastery  of  Monte 
Cassino,  a  demon  endeavored  to  retard  the 
the  work,  and  seated  himself  on  the  top  of  a 
large  stone  required  for  the  building,  so  that 
no  human  power  availed  to  move  it  from  its 
place.  St.  Benedict  knelt;  and  at  his  prayer 
the  demon  took  to  flight. 

4256.  ORDER,  Brevities.  Order  is  heaven’s 

first  law.  —  Pope. - Order  is  the  sanity  of 

the  mind,  the  health  of  the  body,  the  peace 
of  the  city,  the  security  of  the  state.  As  the 
beams  to  a  house,  as  the  bones  to  the  micro¬ 
cosm  of  man,  so  is  order  to  all  things.  — 
Southey. 

4257.  ORDER,  Contrast  of.  In  human  do¬ 
ings  and  human  productions,  we  see  every¬ 
where  manifestations  of  order.  Well-ordered 
stones  make  architecture  ;  well-ordered  social 
regulations  make  a  constitution  and  a  police ; 
well-ordered  ideas  make  good  logic ;  well-or¬ 
dered  words  make  good  writing  ;  well-ordered 
imaginations  and  emotions  make  good  poetry  ; 


well-ordered  facts  make  science.  Disorder, 
on  the  other  hand,  makes  nothing  at  all,  but 
unmakes  every  thing.  Stones  in  disorder  pro¬ 
duce  ruins  ;  an  ill-ordered  social  ( ondition  is 
decline,  revolution,  or  anarchy ;  ill-ordered 
ideas  are  absurdity ;  ill-ordered  words  are 
neither  sense  nor  grammar ;  ill-ordered  imagi¬ 
nations  and  emotions  are  madness ;  ill-ordered 
facts  are  chaos.  Blackie. 

4258.  ORDER,  in  Creation.  Creation  is  the 
production  of  order.  What  a  simple,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  comprehensive  and  pregnant 
principle  is  here  1  Plato  could  tell  his  disciples 
no  ultimate  truth  of  more  pervading  signi¬ 
ficance.  Order  is  the  law  of  all  intelligible 
existence.  Every  thing  that  exists  in  the  world, 
every  thing  that  has  either  been  made  by 
God,  or  has  been  produced  by  man,  of  any  per¬ 
manent  value,  is  only  some  manifestation  of 
order  in  its  thousand-fold  possibilities.  Every 
thing  that  has  a  shape  is  a  manifestation  of 
order.  Shape  is  only  a  consistent  arrangement 
of  parts :  shapelessness  is  only  found  in  the 
whirling  columns  that  sweep  aeross  African 
Saharas;  but  even  these  columns  have  their 
curious  balance,  which  calculators  of  forces 
might  foretell,  and  the  individual  grains  of  sand 
of  which  they  are  composed  reveal  mathemat¬ 
ical  miracles  to  the  microscope.  Every  blade 
of  grace  in  the  field  is  measured ;  the  green 
cups  and  the  colored  crowns  of  every  flower 
are  curiously  counted ;  the  stars  of  the  firma¬ 
ment  wheel  in  cunningly  calculated  orbits; 
even  the  storms  have  their  laws.  Blackie. 

4259.  ORDER,  Importance  of.  What  a  mon¬ 

ster  in  nature  were  that  body  which  should 
have  its  organs  and  members  so  misplaced, 
that  the  hands  occupied  the  place  of  the  feet, 
and  the  heart  palpitated  in  the  cavity  of  the 
brain  !  And  who,  besides,  does  not  know  that 
the  fruitfulness,  the  beauty,  the  very  life,  of  a 
tree,  depends  not  only  on  its  having  both  roots 
and  branches,  but  on  these  members  being 
placed  in  their  natural  order  Y  Let  a  tree  be 
planted  upside  down,  —  set  the  root  in  the 
air,  and  the  boughs  in  the  earth,  —  and  I  need 
not  ask  how  much  fruit  it  would  yield,  nor 
how  many  seasons  the  unhappy  plant  would 
survive  such  barbarous  and  blundering  treat¬ 
ment.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4260.  ORDER,  Nature  of.  Order  consists 
in  dividing  a  confused  multitude  of  individual 
elements  into  groups  that  bear  a  natural  resem¬ 
blance  to  one  another  in  kind,  in  number,  and 
in  measure.  A  squad  of  full-grown  soldiers, 
five  in  front,  and  three  in  depth,  like  the  band 
of  the  old  Greek  chorus,  is  perfect  order ;  each 
unit  being  like  the  other,  and  the  whole  being 
composed  of  parts  that  bear  a  definite  relation 
of  equality  of  proportion  to  the  whole.  The 
many,  under  the  controlling  power  of  order, 
have  become  one,  and  with  that  unity  have 
acquired  a  distinct  character,  and  are  capable 
of  answering  a  definite  purpose.  Blackie. 

4261.  ORDER,  Personified.  Order  is  a  lovely 
nymph,  the  child  of  beauty  and  wisdom  :  her 
attendants  are  comfort,  neatness,  and  activity  ; 
I  her  abode  is  the  valley  of  happiness ;  she  is 


48G 


OliE)  ENHANCES. 


ORNAMENTS. 


always  to  be  found  when  sought  for,  and  never 
appears  so  lovely  as  when  contrasted  with  her 
opponent,  Disorder.  Dr.  Johnson. 

4262.  ORDINANCES,  Brevities.  They  that 
have  not  wings  to  mount  must  use  ladders  to 

climb. —  Calvin. - It  was  necessary  for  the 

patriarchs  to  fix  their  residence  near  a  well ; 
and  it  is  necessary  ior  believers  to  fix  their 
residence  near  ordinances.  —  Fuller. - Be¬ 

ware  of  Cain’s  spirit,  going  to  the  altar  with¬ 
out  blood.  —  Bowes. - Live  not  so  much 

upon  the  ordinances  of  God  as  upon  the  God 
of  ordinances. 

4263.  ORDINANCES,  Emblem  of,  The  trav¬ 

eller’s  tree  grows  in  Madagascar,  and  is  so  called 
from  its  always  containing  a  large  quantity  of 
pure  fresh  water,  supplying  to  the  traveller 
the  place  of  wells  in  the  desert.  Being  some¬ 
what  sceptical  as  to  the  truth  of  this,  Mr. 
Ellis  determined  to  see  for  himself.  Coming 
to  a  clump  of  trees,  one  of  his  bearers  struck 
one  of  them  with  his  spear,  four  or  five  inches 
deep,  into  the  thick,  firm  end  of  the  stalk  of 
the  leaf;  and,  on  drawing  it  back,  a  stream  of 
pure  clear  water  gushed  out,  about  a  quarter 
of  which  was  caught ;  and  all  drank  of  it  on  the 
spot.  It  was  cool,  clear,  and  perfectly  sweet. 
It  is  an  emblem  of  the  ordinances  of  grace, 
prepared  for  the  Lord’s  people  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness  of  this  world.  Bowes. 

4264.  ORDINANCES,  Jesus  in.  When  a  man 
goes  thirsty  to  the  well,  his  thirst  is  not  allayed 
merely  by  going  there :  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
increased  by  every  step  he  goes.  It  is  by 
what  he  draws  out  of  the  well,  that  his  thirst  is 
satisfied.  And,  just  so,  it  is  not  by  the  mere 
bodily  exercise  of  waiting  upon  ordinances 
that  you  will  ever  come  to  peace,  but  by  tast¬ 
ing  of  Jesus  in  the  ordinances,  whose  flesh  is 
meat  indeed,  and  his  blood  drink  indeed. 

M‘  Cheyne. 

4265.  ORDINANCES,  Observing,  As  ships 
ride  a  long  time  in  the  roadstead  (when  they 
might  be  in  the  haven)  ibr  the  end  that  they 
may  be  in  the  wind’s  way,  and  take  the  first 
opportunity  that  shall  be  offered  ibr  their  in¬ 
tended  voyage ;  so  do  thou  ride  in  the  road  of 
God’s  ordinances,  waiting  for  the  gales  of  the 
Spirit.  Thou  knowest  not  how  soon  that  wind 
may  blow  on  the  waters  of  the  sanctuary,  and 
drive  the  vessel  of  thy  soul  swiftly,  and  land 
it  safely  at  the  haven  of  happiness  in  heaven. 

Swinnock. 

4266.  ORDINANCES,  Using.  A  traveller  and 
a  merchant  differ  thus :  a  traveller  goes  from 
place  to  place  to  see  and  be  amused ;  but  a 
merchant  goes  from  port  to  port,  that  he  may 
take  in  his  lading,  and  grow  rich  by  trade.  So 
a  formal  person  goes  from  ordinance  to  ordi¬ 
nance,  and  is  satisfied  with  the  work ;  but  a 
godly  man  looks  to  take  in  rich  lading,  that  he 
may  go  away,  and  take  with  him  some  of  the 
spiritual  wealth  of  the  sanctuary.  Spencer. 

4267.  ORIGINAL  SIN,  Brevities.  Sin  is  born 
in  a  child  as  surely  as  fire  is  in  the  flint :  it 
only  waits  to  be  brought  out  and  manifested. 

—  Dr.  Hook. - Original  sin  acted  as  an 

extinguisher;  and  therefore  the  soul  is  born 


in  darkness,  and  cannot  see  until  enlightened 

by  the  Spirit  of  God.  —  Toplady. - Though 

goodness  may  be  repaired  in  ourselves,  yet  it 
cannot  be  propagated  to  ours :  even  the  clean¬ 
est  grain  sends  forth  that  chaff  from  which  it 
was  fanned  ere  the  sowing.  —  Bishop  Hall. 
- Our  striving  against  Nature  is  like  hold¬ 
ing  a  weathercock  with  one’s  hand :  as  soon  as 
the  force  is  taken  off,  it  veers  again  with  the 
wind.  —  Adam. 

4268.  ORIGINAL  SIN,  Denial  of.  Now  he 
who  would  deny  original  sin  must  contradict 
all  experience  in  the  transmission  of  qualities. 
The  very  hound  transmits  his  peculiarities, 
learnt  by  education,  and  the  Spanish  horse  his 
paces,  taught  by  art,  to  his  offspring,  as  a  part 
of  their  nature.  If  it  were  not  so  in  man,  there 
could  be  no  history  of  man  as  a  species ;  no 
tracing  out  the  tendencies  of  a  race  or  nation ; 
nothing  but  the  unconnected  repetitions  of 
isolated  individuals,  and  their  lives.  It  is 
plain  that  the  first  man  must  have  exerted  on 
his  race  an  influence  quite  peculiar;  that  his 
acts  must  have  biassed  their  acts.  And  this 
bias  or  tendency  is  what  we  call  original  sin. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

4269.  ORIGINAL  SIN,  in  the  Infant.  Could 

we  view  things  in  sernine,  and  look  through 
principles,  what  a  nest  of  impurities  might  we 
see  in  the  heart  of  the  least  infant,  like  a 
knot  of  little  snakes  wrapped  up  in  a  dunghill  1 
what  a  radical,  productive  force  of  sin  might 
we  behold  in  all  his  faculties,  ready,  upon  occa¬ 
sion  and  the  maturities  of  age,  to  display  itself 
with  a  cursed  fertility  !  Dr.  South. 

427®.  ORIGINAL  SIN,  A  Root.  A  pious  min¬ 
ister,  having  preached  on  the  doctrine  of  ori¬ 
ginal  sin,  was  afterwards  waited  on  by  some 
persons,  who  stated  their  objections  to  what  he 
had  advanced.  After  hearing  them,  he  said, 
“  I  hope  you  do  not  deny  actual  sin  too  ?  ”  — 
“  No,”  they  replied.  The  good  man  expressed 
his  satisfaction  at  their  acknowledgment ;  but, 
to  show  the  folly  of  their  opinions  in  denying 
a  doctrine  so  plainly  taught  in  Scripture,  he 
asked  them,  “  Did  you  ever  see  a  tree  growing 
without  a  root  ?  ”  J.  G.  Wilson. 

4274.  ORIGINAL  SIN,  Unseen.  The  leprosy, 
in  the  beginning,  was  unseen ;  and  many  a  one 
might  have  looked  upon  the  man,  and  have 
said  he  was  not  a  leper.  The  seed  of  the  this¬ 
tle,  at  first,  is  hid  in  the  ground ;  and  many  a 
traveller  might  pass  that  way,  and  never  observe 
it.  Many  diseases  of  the  body  commence  in¬ 
ternally,  away  from  the  gaze  of  men.  So  with 
sin.  In  its  original,  it  exists  in  the  infant,  al¬ 
though  parents  and  friends  may  not  perceive 
it.  And  as  the  leprosy,  unseen,  will  in  time 
develop  itself,  and  the  thistle-seed  spring  up, 
and  the  disease  break  out.  so  will  the  original 
sin  of  the  infant  grow  with  his  growth,  and 
strengthen  with  his  strength,  until  no  one 
shall  doubt  whether  he  is  a  sinner  or  no. 

Bale. 

4272.  ORNAMENTS,  Folly  o£  What  would 
you  think  of  a  man  who  paints  and  decorates 
his  dwelling  with  all  that  is  beautiful,  and 
starves  himself,  his  wife,  and  his  children  V 


ORNAMENTS. 


PAIN. 


487 


Do  all  you  will  in  adorning  the  body,  you  are 
but  .adorning  dust.  T.  Jones. 

4273.  ORNAMENTS,  Given  up.  A  Karen 
woman  offered  herself  for  baptism.  After  the 
usual  examination,  I  inquired  whether  she 
could  give  up  her  ornaments  for  Christ.  It 
was  an  unexpected  blow.  I  explained  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel ;  I  appealed  to  her  own 
consciousness  of  vanity ;  I  read  to  her  the  apos¬ 
tle's  prohibition  (I  Tim.  ii.  9).  She  looked 
again  and  again  at  her  handsome  necklace ; 
and  then,  with  an  air  of  modest  decision  that 
would  adorn  beyond  all  ornaments,  she  took  it 
off,  saying,  “  I  love  Christ  more  than  this.” 

Dr.  Judson. 

4274.  ORNAMENTS,  of  Nature,  Surely  He 
who  created  the  fragrance  and  flowers  and 
music  of  paradise ;  He  who  has  commanded  a 
thousand  sleepless  attendants,  each  with  a  horn 
of  plenty  in  its  hand,  to  stand  around  even  the 
disobedient  children  of  men,  and  minister  to 
their  luxury  and  their  adornment,  —  was  no  an¬ 
chorite.  Surely  He  who  created  all  colors,  and 
has  mingled  them  together  in  the  petals  of 
flowers,  in  the  armature  of  insects,  and  the  plu¬ 
mage  of  birds,  and  lias  blended  lily  and  rose 
in  the  cheek  of  youth  ;  He  who  has  strewed  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  with  pearls,  and  sowed 
jasper  and  amethyst  and  chrysolite  among  the 
rocks,  —  was  no  contemner  of  adornment. 

II.  Mann. 

4275.  ORPHANS,  Adoption  of.  A  sergeant 
and  his  wife  in  India,  having  no  children, 
adopted  first  an  orphan  babe,  then  a  little 
native  child  left  uncared  for.  Afterwards,  two 
orphans  more  were  added  to  their  family,  mak¬ 
ing  four  in  all.  The  regiment  was  ordered  to 
march  about  two  hundred  miles.  “  What  will 
you  do  now  with  your  adopted  family  V  ”  asked 
a  lady  of  the  sergeant’s  wife.  “  You  will 
have  to  leave  them  behind.”  —  “  Leave  my 
children  1  ”  said  this  noble-hearted  woman. 
“  No,  never  1  They  shall  all  go  with  us  :  we 
could  not  part  with  one  of  them.” 

4276.  ORPHANS,  Kindness  to.  Joseph  II.  of 
Germany,  hearing  of  a  poor  but  worthy  super¬ 
annuated  oflicer,  went  personally  to  see  him, and 
found  him,  surrounded  by  eleven  children,  din¬ 
ing  on  a  few  vegetables.  The  king,  knowing 
that  tLe  officer  had  but  ten  children  of  his 
own,  asked  about  the  eleventh,  and  found  that 
it  was  a  poor  orphan  whom  no  one  cared  for ; 
and  so  the  poor  man  brought  him  up  as  his 
own.  The  king  gave  a  pension  to  each  of 
the  children,  and  largely  increased  that  of  the 
poor  but  humane  soldier. 

4277.  OIPHANS,  Provided  for.  Rev.  J.  Brown 
of  Haddington,  England,  said  that  his  epitaph 
might  appropriately  be,  “  Here  lies  one  of  the 
cares  of  Providence,  who  early  wanted  both 
father  and  mother,  and  yet  never  missed 
them.” 

4278.  OTHERS,  Deferring  to.  St.  Augustine, 
preaching  to  the  Roman  colonies  in  Africa, 
spake  broken,  barbarous  Latin,  to  the  end 
they  might  understand  him.  “  When  I  come 
to  Rome,”  saith  St.  Ambrose  tc  Monica,  the 
mother  of  St.  Augustine,  “  I  fast  on  the  Satur¬ 


day  :  when  I  am  at  Milan,  I  fast  not.”  Calvin 
was  cast  out  of  Geneva  for  refusing  to  ad¬ 
minister  the  Lord’s  Supper  with  wafer-cakes 
or  unleavened  bread  :  but,  being  afterwards 
restored,  he  thought  best  to  make  no  more 
words,  but  to  yield ;  though  he  let  them  know 
that  he  had  rather  it  were  otherwise.  Spencer. 

4279.  OTHERS,  Proverbs.  To  every  one  his 

own  cross  seems  heaviest.  —  Italian. - The 

burden  is  light  on  the  shoulders  of  another.  — • 

Russian. - One  does  not  feel  three  hundred 

blows  on  another's  back.  —  Servian. - An¬ 

other’s  care  hangs  by  a  hair.  —  Spanish.  — 
Another’s  woe  is  a  dream.  —  French. 

4289.  OTHERS,  Treatment  of.  Severus  the 
emperor  had  that  sentence  of  our  Saviour 
often  in  his  mouth,  “  Whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them  ;  ”  and  commanded  it  be  proclaimed  by 
the  crier  whensoever  he  punished  such  of  his 
soldiers  as  had  offered  injury  to  others. 

Spencer. 

4281.  OVER-DOING,  Effect  of.  Apelles  found 
fault  with  a  certain  painter,  saying  that  he 
never  knew  when  he  had  done  enough,  and 
so  spoiled  all  by  overdoing.  Lysippus  dis¬ 
armed  criticism  by  writing  over  his  best 
pieces  of  carved  work,  “  Lysippus  hath 
something  more  to  do  at  this  work.” 

4282.  PAIN,  Necessity  of,  By  pleasure  and 
pain,  for  the  most  part,  we  regulate  our  ac¬ 
tions.  A  man  that  felt  no  pain  would  not  be 
able  to  tell  whether  he  sat  upon  a  chair  or  a 
red-hot  iron  plate,  and  would  thus  run  the 
chance  of  being  destroyed.  If  he  felt  no  pain, 
a  man  might  walk  upon  nails,  or  other  sharp 
instruments,  and  thus  inflict  serious  injuries 
upon  himself,  almost  unconsciously.  Little 
children,  when  they  fracture  a  bone,  could  never 
be  kept  sufficiently  still  for  the  separated  parts 
to  be  kept  in  apposition  but  for  the  pain  which 
is  caused  by  the  movement  of  the  injured  limb. 
In  the  present  state  of  things,  indeed,  it  would 
almost  seem  impossible  for  Infinite  Power  and 
Wisdom  so  to  construct  an  animal  as  to  can^e 
that  he  neither  be  liable  to  pain,  nor  suffer  in¬ 
convenience  from  the  absence  of  that  liability. 
To  ask  it  is  to  ask  that  he  may  walk,  unhurt, 
through  fire,  or  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean ; 
that  he  may  be  crushed  by  weights,  or  torn  by 
machinery,  and  yet  remain  uninjured.  Pain, 
again,  especially  the  pain  of  hunger,  is  our 
chief  incentive  to  action  ;  and  in  activity  con¬ 
sists  our  chief  animal  enjoyment.  Yea,  did 
we  not  suffer  from  some  necessity  or  other,  it 
is  probable  that  we  might  sink  into  inertion, 
since  the  impulse  to  exertion  must  necessarily 
consist  in  the  necessity  of  supplying  some 
want,  of  gratifying  some  desire,  or  of  remov¬ 
ing  or  allaying  some  pain  or  uneasiness. 

Ragg. 

4283.  PAIN,  Useless.  The  experience  of 
the  medical  profession  will  always  testify  that 
useless  pain  is  seldom  inflicted  ;  for  that  which 
destroys  usually  causes  absence  of  pain.  Thus 
a  limb  which  is  so  severely  injured  as  to  be 
destroyed,  even  by  crushing  or  burning,  ceases 
to  be  painful.  The  man  who  is  frozen  tc 


488 


P-ajsttheism:. 


p^jRrooiNr. 


death  feels  as  though  he  were  going  quietly 
to  sleep.  Rogg. 

4284.  PANTHEISM,  Applied.  A  pantheist 
minister  met  Mr.  Emmons  one  day,  and  abrupt¬ 
ly  asked,  “  Mr.  Emmons,  how  old  are  you  ?  ”  — 
“Sixty,  sir;  and  how  old  are  you?”  —  “As 
old  as  the  creation,”  was  the  answer  in  a  tri¬ 
umphant  tone.  “  Then  you  are  of  the  same 
age  with  Adam  and  Eve  ?  ”  —  “  Certainly :  I 
was  in  the  garden  when  they  were.”  —  “I 
have  always  heard  that  there  was  a  third  per¬ 
son  in  the  garden  with  them,”  replied  the  doc¬ 
tor  with  great  coolness ;  “  but  I  never  knew 
before  that  it  was  you.” 

4285.  PANTHEISM,  Deduction  from.  In  speak¬ 
ing  of  pantheism,  Bishop  Thomson  says,  “  If 
God  is  matter,  and  matter  is  God,  then,  surely, 
we  may  add  with  Pascal,  ‘It  is  no  matter 
whether  there  he  any  God  at  all.’  ” 

4286.  PANTHEISM,  Delusion  of.  No  doubt 
the  imagination  is  often  deceived  by  the  gay 
drapery  in  which  the  objects  set  forth  to  our 
contemplation  by  pantheism  is  decked ;  and 
the  intellect,  dizzied  by  the  many  turnings  of 
sophistry  through  which  it  has  been  carried 
before  the  vision  is  disclosed,  is  the  less  capa¬ 
ble  of  detecting  the  deception  :  yet  the  heart, 
more  faithful  than  the  head,  will  feel  at  times 
that  it  is  but  a  phantom  which  it  is  required 
to  love  and  worship ;  and  that  truly  within 
there  is  neither  heart  nor  life,  though  there 
may  be  grace  and  motion  in  the  outward  form. 
The  worshipper  carried  through  the  long  ave¬ 
nues  of  columns  and  statues,  and  the  splendid 
halls,  of  the  ancient  temple  of  the  Egyptian 
Thebes,  was  not  conducted  at  last  to  a  more 
miserable  termination,  when,  in  the  inner  shrine 
he  found  one  of  the  lower  animals,  than  the  fol¬ 
lower  of  a  modern  philosopher  when  conducted 
through  processes,  laws,  and  developments  to 
a  divinity  who  has  less  of  separate  sensation 
and  consciousness  and  life  than  the  very  brutes 
which  Egypt  declared  to  be  gods.  Me  Cosh. 

4287.  PAPIST,  in  Peril.  After  a  battle  in 

Virginia,  a  New-England  chaplain  found  him¬ 
self  separated  from  his  regiment,  with  an  Irish 
Roman-Catholic  soldier  tor  his  sole  compan¬ 
ion.  The  rebel  scouts  were  abroad  through 
the  country  ;  and  a  sense  of  peril  roused  the 
religious  feelings  of  the  son  of  Erin.  “  Chap¬ 
lain,”  said  he,  “hadn’t  you  better  pray?”  — 
“  Why,  yes,  Joe,  if  you  would  like  it,”  an¬ 
swered  the  chaplain.  And  so,  on  their  hands 
and  knees,  the  Protestant  and  the  Romanist 
bowed  like  brethren ;  and,  when  the  chaplain’s 
earnest  prayer  was  ended,  an  earnest  “Amen” 
from  Joe’s  lips  signified  his  hearty  acquies¬ 
cence.  Congregalionalist. 

4288.  PARABLES,  Ancient.  Parables  are 
more  ancient  than  arguments.  Lord  Bacon. 

4289.  PARABLES,  Benefit  of.  Krummacher 
tells  how  the  wise  Nathan  learned  the  benefit 
of  parables.  He  sought  to  instruct  men  by 
putting  on  coarse  garments,  and  using  harsh 
words ;  but  men  ran  from  him,  and  left  him 
vexed  and  alone.  After  a  miserable  night,  he 
was  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  a  pomegranate- 
tree,  bearing  flowers  and  fruit  at  the  same  time. 


He  contemplated  it,  and  saw  the  fruit  concealed 
among  the  leaves.  Then  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  from  the  pomegranate-tree,  saying,  “  Be¬ 
hold,  Nathan  !  thus  Nature  promises  the  deli¬ 
cious  fruit  by  the  simple  flower,  and  offers  it 
from  the  shade  of  the  leaves  concealing  her 
hand.”  Nathan  was  cheered,  and  henceforth 
taught  by  parables,  winning  many  to  the  ways 
of  truth. 

4290.  PARABLES,  Use  of.  A  parable  is  not, 
like  a  looking-glass,  to  represent  all  forms  and 
faces,  but  a  well-drawn  picture,  to  remonstrate 
that  person  whereof  it  is  a  counterfeit.  It  is 
like  a  knite :  with  the  haft  it  cuts  not ;  with  the 
back  it  cuts  not ;  it  cuts  with  the  edge.  A 
candle  is  made  to  light  us,  not  to  heat  us :  a 
stove  is  made  to  heat  us,  not  to  light  us. 

T.  Adams. 

4291.  PARADOXES,  Religions.  Paradoxes  lie 

all  through  the  New  Testament;  and  one  may 
walk  on  them,  like  stepping-stones,  from  side 
to  side.  Sorrow  is  joy.  Death  is  life.  Down 
is  up.  Weakness  is  strength.  Loss  is  gain. 
Defeat  is  victory.  The  world’s  mightiest  men, 
the  very  monarehs  of  its  joy,  were  they  who 
died  deaths  daily.  Beecher. 

4292.  PARDON,  Brevities.  I  ask  not  a  legal 

pardon,  but  a  father’s  pardon.  —  Evans. - 

It  would  tire  the  hands  of  an  angel  to  write 
down  all  the  pardons  God  bestows  upon  true, 

penitent  believers.  —  Bates. - Christ  comes 

with  a  blessing  in  each  hand,  —  forgiveness  in 
one,  and  holiness  in  the  other ;  and  never  gives 
either  to  any  who  will  not  take  both. — Adam. 

4293.  PARDON,  Complete.  I  want  forgive¬ 
ness  of  one  sin,  and  strength  against  it ;  but 
God  wants  to  do  more  for  me,  and  will  forgive 
and  deliver  me  from  none,  till  I  make  further 
search  into  myself,  and  bring  my  sins  before 
him  altogether.  God  never  pardons  one  sin 
but  he  pardons  all ;  and  we  dishonor  him  more 
by  not  trusting  in  him  for  complete  forgive¬ 
ness  than  we  did  by  sinning  against  him. 

Adam. 

4294.  PARDON,  Condition  of.  A  German 
prince  visited  the  Arsenal  at  Toulon  where 
the  galleys  were  kept.  The  commandant,  as  a 
compliment  to  his  rank,  offered  to  set  at  liber¬ 
ty  any  slave  whom  he  selected.  The  prince 
went  the  round  of  the  prison,  and  conversed 
with  the  prisoners.  He  inquired  into  the  rear 
son  of  their  confinement,  and  met  only  with 
universal  complaints  of  injustice,  oppression, 
and  false  accusation.  At  last,  he  came  to  one 
man  who  admitted  his  imprisonment  to  be 
just.  “My  lord,”  said  he,  “ I  have  no  reason 
to  complain.  I  have  been  a  wicked,  desperate 
wretch ;  I  have  often  deserved  to  be  brokeD 
upon  the  wheel ;  and  it  is  a  mercy  that  I  am 
here.”  The  prince  selected  him,  saying,  “  This 
is  the  man  whom  I  wish  released.” 

4295.  PARDON,  Consolation  o£  One  day 
when  Luther  was  crying  out,  almost  in  despair, 
“  Oh,  my  sins,  my  sins  1  ”  an  old  monk  entered 
his  cell.  He  told  Luther  that  he  had  found 
great  comfort  in  repeating  the  article,  “  I  be¬ 
lieve  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins.”  These  words 
filled  his  mind  with  consolation  and  joy. 


PARDON. 


PARENTS. 


489 


4296.  PARDON,  Influence  of.  A  private  was 

court-martialed  for  sleeping  at  his  post.  He 
was  convicted,  sentenced  to  death,  and  the  day 
fixed  for  his  execution.  But,  the  case  reaching 
the  ears  of  the  President,  he  resolved  to  save 
him :  he  signed  a  pardon,  and  sent  it  to  the 
camp.  The  day  came.  “  Suppose,”  thought 
the  President,  “  my  pardon  has  not  reached 
him.”  The  telegraph  was  called  into  requisi¬ 
tion  ;  but  no  answer  came.  Then,  ordering  his 
carriage,  he  rode  ten  miles,  and  saw  that  the 
soldier  was  saved.  When  the  Third  Vermont 
charged  upon  the  rifle-pits,  the  enemy  poured 
a  volley  upon  them.  The  first  man  who  fell, 
with  six  bullets  in  his  body,  was  William 
Scott  of  Company  K.  His  comrades  caught 
him  up ;  and,  as  his  life-blood  ebbed  away,  he 
raised  to  heaven,  amid  the  din  of  war,  the  cries 
of  the  dying,  and  the  shouts  of  the  enemy,  a 
prayer  for  the  President.  Moore. 

4297.  PARDON,  Greatness  of.  A  felon  was 
executed  in  Scotland,  who,  during  his  impris¬ 
onment,  experienced  pardoning  mercy.  At 
his  execution,  he  cried  out,  under  a  sense  of 
pardon,  “  Oh  I  he  is  a  great  forgiver,  he  is  a 
great  forgiver !  ” 

429S.  PARDON,  Gratitude  for.  A  little  girl, 
deeply  awakened,  asked  a  minister  what  to  do 
with  her  sin ;  and  was  advised  to  lay  it  upon 
Christ.  Meeting  her  afterwards,  he  said, 
“  Well,  have  you  laid  your  sin  upon  the  spot¬ 
less  lamb  of  God?”  —  “  Oh,  yes!  and  I’ll  never 
lay  any  more  there,”  she  answered. 

4299.  PARDON,  Not  Justice,  Wanted.  A 
French  girl  of  fourteen  once  appeared  before 
Napoleon,  and,  casting  herself  at  his  feet,  cried, 
“  Pardon,  sire  !  pardon  for  my  father !  ”  — 
“  And  who  is  your  father  ?  ”  asked  Napoleon  ; 
“  and  who  are  you  ?  ”  —  “  My  name  is  Lajo- 
lia,”  she  said ;  and  with  flowing  tears  added, 
“but,  sire,  my  father  is  doomed  to  die.”  — 
“  Ah  1  young  lady,”  replied  Napoleon,  “  I  can 
do  nothing  for  you.  It  is  the  second  time  your 
father  has  been  found  guilty  of  treason  against 
the  state.”  —  “  Alas  !  ”  exclaimed  the  poor 
girl,  “  I  know  it,  sire  ;  but  /  do  not  ask  for  jus¬ 
tice:  I  implore  pardon.  I  beseech  you,  forgive, 
oh,  forgive,  my  father !  ”  After  a  momentary 
struggle  of  feefling,  Napoleon  gently  took  the 
hand  of  the  young  maiden,  and  said,  “  Well, 
my  child,  for  your  sake,  I  will  pardon  your 
father.  That  is  enough.  Now  leave  me.” 

4300.  PARDON,  Reception  of.  A  thrilling 
scene  was  lately  witnessed  in  a  revival-service ; 
the  occasion  being  the  conversion  of  a  deaf 
and  dumb  lady  at  the  altar.  With  evident 
astonishment  she  stood  up,  and,  by  signs  which 
were  interpreted  to  the  audience,  declared  her 
surprise  that  Christ  should  receive  her  so  soon. 

4301.  PARENTS,  Consolation  for  Bereaved.  High 
up  the  mountain-slopes  of  Chamouni,  there  is 
a  plain  covered  with  verdure  and  flowers. 
Thither  the  shepherds  of  the  Alps  drive  their 
flocks.  At  one  point  of  the  ascent,  the  rocks 
rise  almost  perpendicular.  When  the  flock  ar¬ 
rives  at  this  point,  none  is  bold  enough  to  ven¬ 
ture  ;  but  the  shepherds  gather  the  lambs  in 
their  arms,  and  toss  them  up  on  the  plain :  the 


whole  flock  clambers  after  them,  and  soon  is 
feeding  upon  the  rich  herbage,  or  ruminating 
beneath  the  “  rose-trees  of  the  Alps.”  Be¬ 
reaved  parents,  the  lamb  of  your  love  has  been 
carried  up,  and  beckons  you  to  follow  where 
are  flowers  sweeter  than  those  of  the  Alps,  and 
air  and  sunshine  purer  and  brighter  than  is 
found  up  in  Chamouni. 

4302.  PARENTS,  Faithful.  An  aged  minister 
of  Christ  had  several  sons,  all  of  whom  became 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  but  one.  This  one 
lived  a  life  of  dissipation  for  many  years. 
But  the  good  father’s  faith  failed  not.  He 
trusted  God,  that  this  wicked  son,  trained  up 
in  the  way  he  should  go,  in  old  age  would  not 
depart  from  it.  In  this  sublime  faith,  the  aged 
father  passed  away.  Five  years  after,  tills  son 
of  many  prayers  sat  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

4303.  PARENTS,  First  Duty  of.  A  house  took 
fire.  The  mother  was  busiest  of  all  saving  her 
trinkets.  The  fire  spread  rapidly.  The  mother, 
trying  to  enter  the  house  a  second  time,  was 
stopped.  She  shrieked  in  anguish ;  for  her  babe 
lay  in  its  cradle  in  the  burning  building.  At 
what  a  cost  had  she  saved  her  trifles  1  Should 
she  not  have  rescued  the  child  first?  Is  not 
this  true  of  our  children’s  souls  now  in  danger 
of  eternal  fire  ? 

4304.  PARENTS,  Honor  thy.  An  amiable 
youth  was  lamenting  the  death  of  a  most  affec¬ 
tionate  parent.  His  companions  endeavored 
to  console  him  by  the  reflection  that  he  had 
always  behaved  to  the  deceased  with  duty ,  ten¬ 
derness,  and  respect.  “  So  I  thought,”  replied 
the  youth,  “whilst  my  parent  was  living;  but 
now  I  recollect,  with  pain  and  sorrow,  many 
instances  of  disobedience  and  neglect ;  for 
which,  alas  1  it  is  too  late  to  make  atonement.” 

4305.  PARENTS,  Ingratitude  to.  There  was 
once  a  man  who  had  an  only  son,  to  whom  he 
bequeathed  every  thing.  When  his  son  grew 
up,  he  was  unkind  to  his  father,  refused  to 
support  him,  and  turned  him  out  of  his  house. 
The  old  man  said  to  his  grandson,  “  Go  and 
fetch  the  covering  from  my  bed,  that  I  may  go 
and  sit  by  the  wayside  and  beg.”  The  child 
burst  into  tears,  ran  for  the  covering,  took  it  to 
his  father,  and  said  to  him,  “  Pray,  father,  cut 
it  in  two :  the  half  of  it  will  be  large  enough  for 
grandfather ;  and  perhaps  you  will  want  the 
other  half  when  I  grow  a  man  and  turn  you 
out  of  doors.”  The  words  of  the  child  struck 
him  so  forcibly,  that  he  ran  to  his  father,  asked 
his  forgiveness,  and  took  care  of  him  until  his 
death. 

4306.  PARENTS,  Murder  of.  Parricide  was 
by  the  Roman  law  punished  in  a  much  severer 
manner  than  any  other  kind  of  homicide. 
After  being  scourged,  the  delinquents  were 
sewed  up  in  a  leathern  sack  with  a  live  dog,  a 
cock,  a  viper,  and  an  ape,  and  so  cast  into  the 
sea.  Solon,  in  his  laws,  made  none  against 
parricide,  conceiving  it  impossible  that  any 
one  should  be  guilty  of  so  unnatural  a 
barbarity. 

4307.  PARENTS,  Neglectful.  Come  with  me 
and  see  poor  Clara;  hear  her  shriek,  “  Father, 
mother,  why  didn’t  you  tell  me  ?  ”  —  “  Tell  you 


490 


IV^RIE^TS. 


PASSION-. 


■what,  daughter  ?  ”  asked  the  agonized  father. 
“  Tell  me  there  was  a  hell  1  ”  —  “  There  is 
none,  Clara  ;  none  for  you.  God  is  merciful : 
there  is  no  hell !  ”  —  “  There  is,  there  is  1  I  feel 
it ;  I  know  it ;  my  feet  are  stepping  into  it.  I 
am  lost,  lost,  and  you  never  told  me !  ”  So 
died  a  beautiful  girl  of  eighteen  summers. 

4308.  PARENTS,  Prayerless.  During  the 
first  year  of  my  ministry,  a  mechanic,  whom  I 
had  visited,  and  urged  to  the  great  duty  of 
family  prayer,  entered  my  study,  and  burst 
into  tears.  “  You  remember  that  girl,  sir  ?  ” 
said  he.  “  She  was  my  only  child.  She  died 
suddenly  this  morning.  I  hope  she  has  gone 
to  God;  but,  if  so,  she  can  tell  him,  what  now 
breaks  my  heart,  that  she  never  heard  a  prayer 
from  her  father’s  lips.  Oh  that  she  were  with 
me  but  for  one  day  again  !  ”  N.  McLeod. 

4309.  PARENTS,  Prayers  of.  Says  the  ven¬ 
erable  Dr.  Spring,  “  The  first  affecting  thought 
to  me  on  the  death  of  my  parents  was,  that  I 
had  lost  their  prayers.” 

4310.  PARENTS,  Rebuke  of.  A  young  man 
convicted  of  murder  was  visited  in  his  cell  by 
his  mother ;  when  he  said  to  her,  “  If  it  had 
not  been  for  you ,  I  should  never  have  been 
here  !  ”  She  replied,  “  1  ’rn  sure  I  never  told  you 
to  do  any  harm.”  He  rejoined,  “  I’m  sure  you 
never  told  me  to  do  any  good.” 

4311.  PARENTS,  Respect  for.  George  Wash¬ 
ington,  when  quite  young,  was  about  to  go  to 
sea  as  a  midshipman.  Every  thing  was  in 
readiness.  His  trunk  had  been  taken  on  board 
the  boat ;  and  he  went  to  bid  his  mother  fare¬ 
well,  when  he  saw  tears  filling  her  eyes.  See¬ 
ing  her  distress,  he  turned  to  the  servant,  and 
said,  “  Go  and  tell  them  to  fetch  my  trunk 
back.  I  will  not  go  away  to  break  my  moth¬ 
er’s  heart.”  His  mother,  struck  with  his  decis¬ 
ion,  said  to  him,  “  George,  God  has  promised  to 
bless  the  children  that  honor  their  parents; 
and  I  believe  he  will  bless  you.” 

4312.  PARENTS,  Responsibility  of.  Plato,  see¬ 
ing  a  child  do  mischief,  went  and  corrected  the 
father  for  it. 

4313.  PARENTS,  Work  of.  What  if  God 

should  place  in  your  hand  a  diamond,  and  tell 
you  to  inscribe  on  it  a  sentence,  which  should 
be  read  at  the  last  day,  and  shown  there  as  an 
index  of  your  own  thoughts  and  feelings ! 
What  care,  what  caution,  would  you  exercise 
in  the  selection  !  Now,  this  is  what  God  has 
done.  He  has  placed  before  you  the  immortal 
minds  of  your  children,  more  imperishable 
than  the  diamond,  on  which  you  are  about  to 
inscribe  every  day  and  every  hour,  by  your 
instructions,  by  your  spirit,  or  by  your  exam¬ 
ple,  something  which  will  remain,  and  be 
exhibited  for  or  against  you  at  the  judgment- 
day.  Dr.  Pay  son. 

4314.  PARSIMONY,  Rebuked.  Go  out'  and 
look  towards  heaven,  and  say,  O  God !  a 
new  year  is  beginning :  we  want  rain  and 
wind  and  sunshine,  the  regular  order  of  the 
seasons,  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  germinating 
quality  of  the  seed,  and  all  these  in  that  har¬ 
monious  adjustment  of  times  and  relations 
that  will  insure  us  a  rich  harvest  and  multi¬ 


plied  bags  of  cotton.  O  God  1  send  these, 
and  health  and  friends;  for  we  intend  to  revel 
upon  the  good  things  of  thy  providence :  but 
let  it  be  distinctly  understood  that  we  do  not 
intend  to  yield  a  dollar  to  the  support  of  thy 
cause  in  the  earth,  until  we  have  feathered 
our  nests  to  our  own  liking.  Attempt  this  if 
you  dare;  and  you  will  feel  that  lightning 
ought  to  strike  you  before  you  get  through 
with  your  petition.  And  yet  this  is  the  plain 
English  of  what  you  are  doing. 

Dr.  L.  Pierce. 

4315.  PARSIMONY,  Ruinous.  When  Con¬ 
stantinople  was  besieged  by  Mahomet,  the 
emperor  sold  his  jewels  and  even  the  church- 
plate  to  pay  the  soldiers  for  the  defence  of  the 
city.  Then  he  besought  his  rich  yet  penuri¬ 
ous  subjects  to  lend  him  more.  They  refused, 
and  the  city  was  captured,  rich  spoils  were 
taken,  and  all  was  lost.  So  great  was  the 
plunder,  that  the  Turks  now  say  of  any  one 
grown  suddenly  rich,  “  He  has  been  at  the 
sacking  of  Constantinople.” 

4316.  PARTIES,  Use  of.  Not  parties,  but 

principles.  Let  us  be  of  no  party  but  God’s 
party,  and  use  all  other  agencies  as  we  use 
railroad  cars,  travelling  upon  one  train  as 
far  as  it  will  take  us  in  the  right  direction,  and 
then  leaving  it  for  another.  Beecher. 

4314.  PARTING,  Christian.  The  son  of  a 
widow,  when  all  ready  to  leave  home,  lingered 
till  he  could  have  one  more  prayer  with  his 
mother. 

4318.  PASSION,  Awakened.  A  gentleman 
in  India  domesticated  a  young  tiger,  which 
became  as  playful  and  harmless  as  a  kitten. 
One  day,  the  animal  began  to  lick  his  master’s 
hand,  and  drew  forth  and  tasted  blood.  At 
once,  his  tiger  nature  was  aroused.  His  eyes 
glared ;  and  he  prepared  to  spring  upon  his 
master.  The  gentleman  seized  a  revolver,  and 
shot  the  tiger  dead.  Man  and  the  tiger  have 
much  in  common. 

4319.  PASSION,  Controlling.  My  lads,  when 

a  dog  makes  too  free  with  you,  jumps,  and 
bounds  over  you,  you  say,  “  Down,  Nero  !  down, 
sir !  ”  That  is  what  you  must  say  when  passion 
rises,  “  Down,  sir  I  ”  I  once  took  a  very  pas¬ 
sionate  man  very  much  aback  by  asking  him 
to  hold  his  tongue  while  he  felt  my  pulse,  or 
else  while  I  felt  Ins.  It  is  astonishing  how 
efficacious  a  moment  or  two  of  quiet  is  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  storm.  When  the  fit  is  very 
strong  on  you,  think  how  you  would  appear 
before  the  glass,  or,  rather,  think  how  you  do 
really  appear  before  God.  The  greatest  of 
all  heroes  is  he  who  can  rule  his  spirit  in  a 
great  storm.  E.  P.  Hood. 

4320.  PASSION,  Danger  of.  An  Indian  once 

brought  up  a  young  lion,  and,  finding  him  weak 
and  harmless,  never  attempted  to  control  him. 
Every  day,  the  lion  gained  in  strength,  and  be¬ 
came  more  unmanageable,  until  at  last,  when 
excited  by  rage,  he  fell  upon  the  Indian,  and 
tore  him  to  pieces.  Passion  resembles  that 
lion.  Bib.  Treasury. 

4321.  PASSION,  Emblem  of.  A  little  boy  cried 
out  in  the  meadow,  “  Hurrah,  hurrah  1  ”  From 


3?.A.SSION\ 


PATH. 


491 


the  nearest  woods,  he  heard  a  voice,  “  Hurrah, 
hurrah  !  ”  —  “  Where  are  you  Y  ”  he  shouted. 
The  voice  cried,  “  Where  are  you  ?  ”  He  an¬ 
swered  back,  “  You  are  a  foolish  boy  !  ” — “  Fool¬ 
ish  boy  I  ”  echoed  back  the  woods.  He  became 
very  angry,  and  shouted  nicknames ;  but  they  all 
came  back  again.  lie  searched  the  woods  to 
find  the  boy  that  had  treated  him  so,  and  then 
ran  to  tell  his  mother  of  the  bad  boy.  She 
told  him  he  had  heard  nothing  but  his  own 
words.  Had  you  spoken  friendly  words,  they 
would  have  echoed  back  to  you  again.  You 
have  betrayed  and  accused  yourself. 

4322.  PASSION,  Overcoming.  The  Thebans 

thought  at  the  first  that  the  Lacmdeinonians 
were  invincible,  and  therefore  durst  not  meddle 
with  them  ;  but  after  they  had  overcome  them 
once  or  twice,  then  they  thought  they  were  able 
to  conquer  them,  and  that  in  set  battles.  So,  if 
we  once  take  heart,  and  think  that  we  are  able 
to  meet  anger  in  the  field,  and  overcome  it,  we 
shall  not  need  to  encounter  this  enemy  twice; 
for  he  will  not  be  so  hardy  as  to  appear  the 
second  time,  or,  if  he  do,  it  will  be  to  his  utter 
overthrow  and  confusion.  Cawdray. 

4323.  PASSION,  Ruinous,  A  bear  once  en¬ 
tered  a  saw-mill,  sat  down  on  the  log  which  was 
moving  close  under  the  saw,  and  began  to  eat 
the  sawyer’s  dinner.  Soon  he  felt  a  nip  at  his 
tail,  and  gave  a  growl ;  then  another,  which  so 
aroused  his  bear-nature,  that  he  turned  and 
hugged  the  great  saw  till  he  was  sawed  in 
two. 

4324.  PASSIONS,  Conquest  of  the,  Consider 
daily  the  passions  which  are  bred  in  your  heart, 
as  a  fisherman  beholds  the  fishes  swimming  in 
the  water,  on  purpose  to  catch  them.  Look 
on  that  which  is  most  predominant  within  you, 
from  what  root  it  springeth,  when  it  began, 
what  progress  it  hath  made,  what  rule  it  usurp- 
eth  ordinarily  over  your  soul,  what  effects  it 
produceth,  whether  it  be  more  spiritual  or 
temporal,  what  things  you  use  to  foment  it ; 
provide  counsels  and  means  to  root  it  out ;  pro¬ 
ceed  to  this  with  courage  and  fervor,  as  to 
the  requisition  of  an  incomparable  good. 

N.  Caussin. 

4325.  PASSIONS,  Discipline  of  the.  The  pas¬ 

sions  may  be  humored  till  they  become  our 
master,  as  a  horse  may  be  pampered  till  he 
gets  the  better  of  his  rider ;  but  early  discipline 
will  prevent  mutiny,  and  keep  the  helm  in  the 
hands  of  reason.  Cumberland. 

4326.  PASSIONS,  Ineradicable,  Our  passions 

never  wholly  die,  but,  in  the  last  cantos  of  life’s 
romantic  epos,  they  rise  up  again,  and  do  battle, 
like  some  of  Ariosto’s  heroes,  who  have  already 
been  quietly  interred,  and  ought  to  be  turned 
to  dust.  Lonq fellow. 

4327.  PASSIONS,  Power  of  the.  Napoleon, 
beneath  whose  leaden  foot-tread  whole  conti¬ 
nents  trembled,  was  conquered  by  his  passions. 
Wellington,  England’s  Iron  Duke,  was  not  his 
only  master.  Alexander  the  Great,  with  his 
march  of  triumphs  over  the  nations,  was  often 
almost  martyred  by  fits  of  demon  passion. 
Samson,  the  great  victor  of  the  Philistines,  be¬ 
came  the  helpless  victim  of  his  own  base  lust.  1 


Hercules,  boasting  of  his  strength,  is  said  to 
have  sought  highway  robbers  to  combat  with, 
and  to  have  challenged  monsters  to  battle,  that 
he  might  show  how  easily  he  could  vanquish 
them  ;  but  impurity  thoroughly  mastered  him. 

R.  Roberts. 

4328.  PASSIONS,  Record  of  A  rich  landlord 
once  cruelly  oppressed  a  poor  widow.  Her  son, 
a  little  boy  of  eight  years,  saw  it.  He  after¬ 
wards  became  a  painter,  and  painted  a  life¬ 
likeness  of  the  dark  scene.  Years  afterwards, 
he  placed  it  where  the  man  saw  it.  He  turned 
pale,  trembled  in  every  joint,  and  offered  any 
sum  to  purchase  it,  that  he  might  put  it  out  of 
sight.  Thus  there  is  an  invisible  painter  draw¬ 
ing  on  the  canvas  of  the  soul  a  life-likeness, 
reflecting  correctly  all  the  passions  and  actions 
of  our  spiritual  history  on  earth. 

The  Happy  Home. 

4329.  PASTOR,  Example  of  the.  As  in  a  dark 

night  one  goes  before  with  a  lantern  for  others 
to  follow,  even  so  the  life  and  conversation  of 
the  pastor  ought  to  be  a  burning  torch  to  guide 
others  in  the  way  of  salvation.  Cawdray. 

4330.  PASTOR,  a  Good.  A  spiritual  pastor, 

like  a  real  shepherd,  should  carry  bread  and 
salt  in  a  bag ;  that  is,  the  bread  of  a  good 
life  and  discretion  :  he  should  use  water  for 
drink :  that  is,  living  water :  he  should  eat 
green  herbs ;  that  is,  have  provision  of  good 
examples  :  he  should  keep  a  dog  to  guard  the 
sheep ;  that  is,  a  learned  tongue :  he  should 
wear  coarse  raiment  and  a  leathern  girdle; 
indicating  that  he  despises  earthly  pleasures, 
and  subdues  the  flesh  :  he  should  sleep  under 
a  low  roof ;  implying  that  he  has  no  remain¬ 
ing  city,  but  sighs  after  heaven  :  he  should  have 
straw  tor  his  bed  (significative  of  living  an 
austere  life),  and  trees  and  leaves  for  sheets 
in  heat ;  representing  the  words  of  Scripture, 
which  are  his  covering  and  defence  :  he  should 
have  a  crook  for  a  staff’,  implying  his  depend¬ 
ence  on  the  cross ;  a  pipe  to  play  on  to  collect 
the  flock,  denoting  the  voice  of  praise  and 
prayer ;  and  a  sling  for  the  wolf,  to  signify 
the  justice  with  which  he  may  put  to  flight  the 
Devil.  Bucchius. 

4331.  PASTOR,  Persevering.  As  the  physician, 
having  tried  many  remedies  in  vain,  does  not 
abandon  his  patient  so  long  as  he  lives  ;  no 
more  should  the  pastor  the  incorrigible  sinner. 

Cawdray. 

4332.  PATH,  The  Christian's.  In  approaching 
the  Notch  of  the  White  Mountains  from  one 
direction,  the  traveller  finds  himself  in  the  midst 
of  conical  hills,  which  seem  to  forbid  further 
progress.  lie  can  see  his  way  but  a  short 
distance,  and  begins  to  think  of  turning  back 
his  horse.  As  he  advances,  he  finds  that  the 
road  curves  around  the  frowning  hill  before 
him,  and  leads  him  into  other  and  still  other 
straits,  from  which  he  finds  escape  simply  by 
advancing. 

4333.  PATH,  Diverging  from  the.  A  young 
lady  lost  her  life  near  the  summit  of  Mt. 
Washington,  only  a  few  feet  from  the  path, 
and  only  a  few  rods  from  the  “  Tip-Top 

1  House.”  In  the  fog,  she  missed  her  way, 


492 


PATEEOSrCK. 


PATIENCE. 


and  perished  when  almost  at  the  place  of  rest 
she  sought. 

433-1.  PATIENCE,  Analogy  of.  O  impatient 
ones  !  Did  the  leaves  say  nothing  to  you  as 
they  murmured  when  you  came  hither  to-day  ? 
They  were  not  created  this  spring,  but  months 
ago  ;  and  the  summer,  just  begun,  will  fashion 
others  lor  another  year.  At  the  bottom  of 
every  leaf-stem  is  a  cradle,  and  in  it  is  an  in¬ 
fant  germ ;  and  the  winds  will  rock  it,  and  the 
airds  will  sing  to  it  all  summer  long ;  and  next 
season  it  will  unfold.  So  God  is  working  for 
you,  and  carrying  forward  to  the  perfect  de¬ 
velopment  all  the  processes  of  your  lives. 

Beecher. 

4335.  PATIENCE,  Brevities.  Patience  is  but 

lying  to,  and  riding  out  the  gale.  —  Beecher. 
- Pray  and  stay  are  two  blessed  monsylla¬ 
bles.  —  Donne. - Never  think  that  God’s 

delays  arc  God’s  denials.  Hold  on  ;  hold 
fast;  hold  out.  Patience  is  genius.  —  Buffon. 
- Patience  is  power.  With  time  and  pa¬ 
tience,  the  mulberry-leaf  becomes  satin.  — 
Eastern  Proverb. 

4336.  PATIENCE,  Description  of.  Patience 

is  the  guardian  of  faith,  the  preserver  of  peace, 
the  cherisher  of  love,  the  teacher  of  humility. 
Patienge  governs  the  flesh,  strengthens  the 
spirit,  sweetens  the  temper,  stifles  anger,  ex¬ 
tinguishes  envy,  subdues  pride :  she  bridles 
the  tongue,  restrains  the  hand,  tramples  upon 
temptations,  endures  persecutions,  consum¬ 
mates  martyrdom.  Patience  produces  unity 
in  the  church,  loyalty  in  the  state,  harmony  in 
families  and  societies :  she  comforts  the  poor, 
and  moderates  the  rich ;  she  makes  us  humble 
in  prosperity,  cheerful  in  adversity,  unmoved 
by  calumny  and  reproach  ;  she  teaches  us  to 
forgive  those  who  have  injured  us,  and  to  be 
the  first  in  asking  forgiveness  of  those  whom 
we  have  injured ;  she  delights  the  faithful,  and 
invites  the  unbelieving ;  she  adorns  the  woman, 
and  approves  the  man ;  she  is  beautiful  in 
either  sex  and  every  age.  Behold  her  ap¬ 
pearance  and  her  attire  !  Her  countenance  is 
calm  and  serene  as  the  face  of  heaven  un¬ 
spotted  by  the  shadow  of  a  cloud ;  and  no 
wrinkle  of  grief  or  anger  is  seen  in  her  fore¬ 
head.  Her  eyes  ace  as  the  eyes  of  doves  for 
meekness,  and  on  her  eyebrows  sit  cheerfulness 
and  joy.  Her  mouth  is  lovely  in  silence  ;  her 
complexion  and  color  that  of  innocence  and 
security ;  while,  like  the  virgin,  the  daughter 
of  Sion,  she  shakes  her  head  at  the  adversary, 
despising,  and  laughing  him  to  scorn.  She  is 
clothed  in  the  robes  of  the  martyrs,  and  in  her 
hand  she  holds  a  sceptre  in  the  form  of  a  cross. 
She  rides  not  in  the  whirlwind  and  stormy 
tempest  of  passion,  but  her  throne  is  the 
humble  and  contrite  heart,  and  her  kingdom 
is  the  kingdom  of  peace.  Bp.  Horne. 

4337.  PATIENCE,  Divine.  Suppose  a  man 
should  come  into  a  curious  artificer’s  shop,  and 
there,  with  one  blow,  dash  in  pieces  such  a 
niece  of  art  as  had  cost  many  years’  study  and 
ains  in  the  contriving  thereof,  how  could  he 
ear  with  it,  how  would  he  take  on  to  see  the 
workmanship  of  his  hands  so  rashly,  so  wil¬ 


fully  destroyed  1  He  could  not  but  take  it  ill, 
and  be  much  troubled  thereat.  Thus  it  is,  that, 
as  soon  as  God  had  set  up  and  perfected  the 
frame  of  the  world,  sin  gave  a  subtle  shake  to 
all,  it  unpinned  the  frame,  and  had  like  to 
have  pulled  all  in  pieces  again :  nay,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  promise  of  Christ,  all  this 
goodly  frame  had  been  reduced  to  its  primitive 
nothing  again.  Oh  the  omnipotent  patience 
of  Gocl  1  Spencer. 

4338.  PATIENCE,  Enduring.  One  of  the 
nobles  of  Guatimozin  being  laid  upon  a  bed  of 
burning  coals,  with  his  sovereign,  complained 
greatly  of  his  suffering ;  when  Guatimozin  said, 

“  Do  you  think  that  J  lie  upon  roses  V  ” 

4339.  PATIENCE,  Habit  of.  To  things  which 

you  bear  with  impatience  you  should  accustom 
yourself ;  and  by  habit  you  will  bear  them 
well.  Seneca. 

4340.  PATIENCE,  Importance  of.  Patience  is 

the  ballast  of  the  soul,  that  will  keep  it  from 
rolling  and  tumbling  in  the  greatest  storms; 
and  he  that  will  venture  out  without  this  to 
make  him  sail  even  and  steady  will  certainly 
make  shipwreck  and  drown  himself,  first  in  the 
cares  and  sorrows  of  this  world,  and  then  in 
perdition.  Hopkins. 

4341.  PATIENCE,  Proverbs.  Patience  is  a 
plaster  for  all  sores.  The  longest  day  will 
have  an  end.  When  one  door  shuts,  another 
opens.  It  is  a  sore  battle  from  which  none 

escape.  —  English. - Patience,  time,  and 

money  overcome  every  thing.  The  world  is 

his  who  has  patience.  —  Italiun. - He  who 

does  not  tire  tires  adversity.  All  comes  right 

to  him  who  can  wait.  —  French. - A  stout 

heart  breaks  ill  luck.  If  I  have  lost  the  rings, 

here  are  the  fingers  still.  —  Spanish. - The 

remedy  for  hard  times  is  to  have  patience. 

4342.  PATIENCE,  Struggle  for.  I  have  not 

so  great  a  struggle  with  my  vices,  great  and 
numerous  as  they  are,  as  I  have  with  my  im¬ 
patience.  My  efforts  are  not  absolutely  use¬ 
less  ;  yet  I  have  never  been  able  to  conquer 
this  ferocious  wild  beast.  Calvin. 

4343.  PATIENCE,  in  Trouble.  As  the  tree 

which  Moses  cast  into  the  spring  seasoned  the 
bitterness  of  the  waters,  so  patience,  cast  into 
our  troubles,  seasoneth  the  bitterness  of  the 
cross,  and  is  as  it  were,  instead  of  an  assistant 
unto  every  man,  to  overthrow  and  overcome 
his  troubles,  like  the  armor-bearer  which 
helped  Jonathan  to  vanquish  his  enemies. 
She  hath  a  desire  to  draw  such  a  skin  over 
our  sores  that  shall  make  our  poverty  seem 
riches,  our  reproaches  seem  honors,  our  bond¬ 
age  seem  liberty,  our  labor  seem  rest,  our 
sorrow  seem  joy,  our  pain  seem  ease,  our  sick¬ 
ness  seem  health,  and  all  that  hurt  us  rejoice 
us,  until  we  say  with  David,  “  Thy  judgments 
are  pleasant ;  ”  showing  that  God’s  justice  is 
as  pleasant  to  the  patient  as  his  mercies  to 
others.  //■  Smith. 

4344.  PATIENCE,  Value  of.  “I  compare 
patience  to  the  most  precious  thing  that  the 
earth  produces, — a  jewel.  Pressed  by  sand  and 
rocks,  it  reposes  in  the  dark  lap  of  the  earth. 
Though  no  ray  of  light  comes  near  it,  it  is 


patietcce:. 


F^YTMETSTT’. 


493 


radiant  with  imperishable  beauty.  Its  bright¬ 
ness  remains  even  in  the  deep  night ;  but,  when 
liberated  from  the  dark  prison,  it  forms,  united 
to  gold,  the  distinguishing  mark  and  ornament 
of  glory,  the  ring,  the  sceptre,  and  the  crown,” 
said  the  wise  Hillel.  “  tier  end  and  reward  is 
the  crown  of  life.”  Krummacher. 

4345.  PATIENCE,  Want  of.  He  who  wanteth 
patience  in  this  world  is  like  a  man  who  stand- 
eth  trembling  in  the  field  without  his  armor, 
because  every  one  can  strike  him,  and  he  can 
strike  none :  so  the  least  push  of  pain,  or  loss 
or  disgrace,  doth  trouble  that  man  more  which 
hath  not  the  skill  to  suffer  than  twenty  trials 
can  move  him  which  is  armed  with  patience, 
like  a  golden  shield  in  his  hand,  to  break  the 
stroke  of  every  cross,  and  save  the  heart 
though  the  body  suffer ;  for,  while  the  heart 
is  whole,  all  is  well.  II.  Smith. 

4340.  PATRIOTISM,  American.  A  poor  sol¬ 
dier  came  down  from  Indiana  to  West  Vir¬ 
ginia  in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  and,  alas  1 
too  soon  lay  bleeding  at  the  root  of  a  tree  in 
the  midst  of  the  battle.  His  comrade  bowed 
over  him  to  give  him  a  drink  from  his  canteen. 
He  pronounced  the  name  of  mother  and  of  Je¬ 
sus  with  fast-failing  breath,  ami  when  a  squad¬ 
ron  of  cavalry  (lashed  past,  bearing  the  dear 
old  banner,  pushed  his  comrade  away,  faintly 
screaming,  “  Follow  that  flag  1  ”  choosing  to  die 
alone  that  it  might  not  fall.  Heroic  boy  1  well 
did  he  illustrate  the  spirit  which  animated  that 
host,  a  million  strong,  which  saved  the  nation. 

C.  D.  Foss. 

4347.  PATRIOTISM,  Examples  of.  An  old 
man  visited  the  army  to  see  his  two  sons,  and 
found  them  both  wounded.  Sitting  between 
the  maimed  soldiers,  he  was  asked  if  he  regret¬ 
ted  the  sacrifice.  “No!”  exclaimed  he  ear¬ 
nestly:  “if  I  had  twenty  sons,  I  would  give 
them  all  to  save  this  Union.”  A  minister, 
dressing  the  wounds  of  a  soldier,  found  that 
he  had  been  shot  through  the  eyes  and  the 
bridge  of  his  nose,  and  that  his  sight  was  en¬ 
tirely  gone.  “  Poor  lellow  1  ”  said  he,  “  this  is 
hard.”  —  “  Yes,  it  is  hard ;  but  I  would  go 
through  it  again  for  my  country,”  replied  the 
sightless  hero.  Mrs.  Ellet  of  Philadelphia, 
who  had  given  two  sons  (Com.  Ellet  of  the 
Ram  Fleet,  and  Brig.-Gen.  Ellet  of  the  Ma¬ 
rine  Brigade)  and  four  grandsons  for  the 
country,  said,  when  the  body  of  one  of  her 
grandsons  was  brought  home,  “  I  do  not  regret 
the  gift  to  my  country.  If  1  had  twenty  sons, 
I  would  give  them  all,  for  the  country  must 
be  preserved :  and,  if  I  was  twenty  years 
younger,  I  would  go  myself,  and  fight  to  the 
last.” 

43 18.  PATRIOTISM,  Roman.  A  great  chasm 
opened  in  the  Roman  Forum,  which  the  sooth¬ 
sayers  said  could  not  be  filled  but  by  that 
which  was  most  valuable  to  the  State.  Mar¬ 
cus  Curtius,  an  eminent  soldier,  mounted  his 
war-horse,  and,  full-armed,  rode  into  the  gulf,  a 
noble  sacrifice  for  his  country. 

4349.  PATRIOTISM,  Sacrifices  of.  As  Farra- 
ut  swept  up  the  Mississippi,  past  the  Vicks- 
urg  batteries,  Lieut.  Cummings  had  a  leg 


shot  away  by  a  rebel  ball.  Refusing  to  go  be¬ 
low,  he  shouted  to  his  brave  tars,  “  Get  the 
ship  by  the  batteries,  get  the  ship  by,  boys, 
and  they  may  have  the  other  leg.”  A  com¬ 
pany  of  soldiers  defending  Rodman’s  Point, 
were  overpowered  by  the  enemy,  and  took 
possession  of  a  scow,  in  which  to  cross  Tar 
River.  When  loaded,  it  stuck  fast  in  the  mud. 
Exposure  was  certain  death.  Several  soldier? 
were  about  to  spring  out  from  the  sheltering 
sides  to  push  it  off,  when  a  large  negro  said, 
“  You  keep  still,  and  save  your  life.  I  can’t 
fight. :  I  can  push  off  the  boat.  If  they  kill 
me,  it  is  nothing.  You  are  soldiers,  and  they 
need  you  to  fight.”  He  leaped  overboard, 
pushed  the  boat  into  the  stream,  and  sprang 
back  pierced  by  seven  bullets,  a  sacrifice  to 
patriotism. 

4350.  PATRIOTISM,  Spartan.  A  Lacsede- 

monian  mother  had  five  sons  in  a  battle  that 
was  fought  near  Sparta,  and,  seeing  a  soldier 
that  had  left  the  scene  of  action,  eagerly  in¬ 
quired  of  him  how  affairs  went  on.  “  All 
your  five  sons  arc  slain,”  said  he.  “  Unhappy 
wretch  1  ”  replied  the  woman  :  “  I  ask  thee  not 
of  what  concerns  my  children,  but  of  what  con¬ 
cerns  my  country.”  —  “  As  to  that,  all  is  well,” 
said  the  soldier.  “  Thm,”  said  she,  “  let  them 
mourn  that  are  miserable.  My  country  is 
prosperous,  and  I  am  happy.”  Percy. 

4351.  PATRIOTISM,  Universality  of.  A  French 

writer  informs  us,  that  a  native  of  one  of  the 
Asiatic  Isles,  amid  the  splendors  of  Paris, 
beholding  a  banana-tree  in  the  Garden  of 
Plants,  bathed  it  with  tears,  and  seemed  for  a 
moment  to  be  transported  to  his  own  land. 
The  Ethiopian  imagines  that  God  made  his 
sands  and  deserts,  while  angels  only  were 
employed  in  forming  the  rest  of  the  world. 
The  Maltese,  insulated  on  a  rock,  distinguish 
their  island  by  the  appellation  of  “The  Flower 
of  the  World.”  The  Javanese  have  such  an 
affection  for  the  place  of  their  nativity,  that 
no  advantages  can  induce  them,  particularly 
the  agricultural  tribes,  to  quit  the  tombs  of  their 
fathers.  The  Norwegians,  proud  of  their  bar¬ 
ren  summits,  inscribe  upon  their  rix-dollars, 
“  Spirit,  loyalty,  valor,  and  whatever  is  hon¬ 
orable,  let  the  world  learn  among  the  rocks 
of  Norway.”  The  Esquimaux  are  no  less 
attached  to  their  frigid  zone,  esteeming  the 
luxuries  of  blubber-oil  for  food,  and  an  ice- 
cabin  for  habitation,  above  all  the  refinements 
of  other  countries.  Goodrich. 

4359.  PAUPER,  Obituary  of  a.  Exchanged 
his  poverty  for  eternal  riches,  and  his  rags  for 
a  crown  which  fadeth  not  away.  At  the  Win¬ 
chester  poor-house,  Nov.  5,  James  C.  Siniih, 
aged  07.  The  pall-bearers  were  few  on  this 
side,  —  not  so  many,  perhaps,  as  they  that 
waited  on  the  “  Shining  Shore,”  and  went  up 
with  the  old  man  to  his  “  Father’s  house.” 

Connecticut  Paper. 

4353.  PAYMENT,  Heavenly.  As  there  is  no 
comparison  of  one  little  water-drop  with  the 
whole  huge  sea,  or  of  one  small  grain  of  dust 
to  the  Mountain  Imaus;  even  the  light  and 
short  afflictions  of  this  short  life  are  not  wor- 


494 


p^lYTmehstt. 


thy  to  be  compared  with  the  great  and  eternal 
glory  of  the  world  to  come.  Cawdray. 

4354.  PAYMENT,  Sure.  The  law  of  com¬ 
pensation  holds  nature  and  man  under  its 
sway.  Planets  and  systems  exert  a  mutual 
influence.  In  life,  payment  is  required  for  all 
benefits  of  every  kind  conferred  upon  us ;  and 
we,  in  turn,  receive  according  as  we  give. 
There  are  no  gratuities.  What,  then,  is  our 
hope  ? 

4355.  PEACE,  Amor  of.  He  that  has  peace 

with  God  is  armed  cap-a-pie :  he  is  covered 
from  head  to  foot  in  a  panoply.  The  arrow 
may  fly  against  it,  but  it  cannot  pierce  it ;  for 
peace  with  God  is  a  mail  so  strong,  that  the 
broadsword  of  Satan  itself  may  be  broken  in 
twain  ere  it  can  pierce  the  flesh.  Oh  1  take 
care  that  you  are  at  peace  with  God :  for,  if 
you  are  not,  you  ride  forth  to  to-morrow’s  fight 
unarmed,  naked ;  and  God  help  the  man  that 
is  unarmed  when  he  has  to  fight  with  hell  and 
earth !  Spurgeon. 

4356.  PEACE,  in  Death,  Joseph  Addison, 
the  renowned  author  and  linguist,  after  endur¬ 
ing  much  physical  suffering  with  fortitude, 
sent  for  the  young  but  dissipated  Lord  War¬ 
wick.  lie  came,  and  said,  “  Dear  sir,  you  sent 
for  me.  I  believe  and  hope  you  have  some 
commands.  I  shall  hold  them  most  dear.”  — 
“  See,”  said  the  dying  saint,  “  in  what  peace  a 
Christian  can  die  1  ”  and  breathed  his  life  out 
like  a  sleeping  infant. 

4357.  PEACE,  on  Earth.  Happy  the  day 
when  every  war-horse  shall  be  houghed,  when 
every  spear  shall  become  a  pruning-hook,  and 
every  sword  shall  be  made  to  till  the  soil 
which  once  it  stained  with  blood  1  This  will 
be  the  last  triumph  of  Christ.  Before  death 
itself  shall  be  dead,  death’s  great  jackal,  war, 
must  die  also ;  and  then  shall  there  be  peace 
on  earth,  and  the  angel  shall  say,  “  I  have 
gone  up  and  down  through  the  earth,  and 
the  earth  sitteth  still,  and  is  at  rest :  I  lieai'd 
no  tumult  of  war  nor  noise  of  battle.” 

Spurgeon. 

4358.  PEACE,  Emblem  of.  I  have  been  re¬ 

minded  in  the  South  Seas  of  the  olive-branches, 
which,  ever  since  the  days  of  Noah,  have  been 
emblematical  of  peace.  One  day  in  1848, 
when  Capt.  Morgan,  Mr.  Nisbet,  and  I  were 
backing  out  into  deep  water  to  get  clear  of 
some  shallow  coral-patches,  and  to  look  lor  a 
better  passage  for  our  boat,  the  natives  on  the 
shore,  thinking  we  were  afraid  of  them,  ran 
and  broke  off  branches  from  the  trees,  and 
waved,  or  held  them  erect  in  their  raised 
hands.  I  afterwards  learned  that  our  conjec¬ 
ture  at  the  time  was  right  :  it  was  a  sign  of 
peace  and  friendship.  A  party,  for  instance, 
who  had  been  lighting,  and  wished  to  sue  for 
peace,  would  approach  the  enemy  with  green 
boughs,  as  the  signal  of  their  pacific  and 
friendly  intentions.  Turner. 

4359.  PEACE,  Enemies  to.  Five  great  ene¬ 

mies  to  peace  inhabit  with  us,  viz.,  avarice, 
ambition,  envy,  anger,  and  pride;  and,  if  these 
enemies  were  to  be  banished,  we  should  infal¬ 
libly  enjoy  perpetual  peace.  Petrarch. 


4360.  PEACE,  God’s.  The  child  frightened 

in  his  play  runs  to  seek  his  mother.  She 
takes  him  upon  her  lap,  and  presses  his  head 
to  her  bosom  ;  and,  with  tenderest  words  of 
love,  she  looks  down  upon  him,  and  smooths 
his  hair,  and  kisses  his  cheek,  and  wipes  away 
his  tears.  And  then,  in  a  low  and  gentle  voice, 
she  sings  some  sweet  descant,  some  lullaby  of 
love ;  and  the  fear  fades  out  from  his  face,  and 
a  smile  of  satisfaction  plays  over  it,  and  at 
length  his  eyes  close,  and  he  sleeps  in  the 
deep  depths  and  delights  of  peace.  God 
Almighty  is  the  mother,  and  the  soul  is  tho 
tired  child ;  and  he  folds  it  in  his  arms, 
and  dispels  its  fear,  and  lulls  it  to  repose, 
saying,  “  Sleep,  my  darling,  sleep  I  It  is  I 
who  watch  thee.”  “  He  giveth  his  beloved 
sleep.”  The  mother’s  arms  encircle  but  one ; 
but  God  clasps  every  yearning  soul  to  his  bosom, 
and  gives  to  it  the  peace  which  passeth 
understanding,  beyond  the  reach  of  care  or 
storm.  Beecher. 

4361.  PEACE,  Legend  of.  An  old  legend 
says,  that,  as  the  holy  family  entered  a  thick 
forest  in  their  flight  into  Egypt,  all  the  trees 
bowed  themselves  down  in  reverence  to  the 
infant  Jesus:  only  the  aspen  in  her  exceeding 
pride  refused  to  acknowledge  him,  and  stood 
upright.  Then  the  infant  Christ  pronounced 
a  curse  against  her,  as  he  afterwards  cursed 
the  barren  fig-tree ;  and,  at  the  sound  of  his 
words,  the  aspen  began  to  tremble  through  all 
her  leaves,  and  has  not  ceased  to  tremble  to 
this  day. 

4363.  PEACE,  Making,  Aristippus  and 
zEscliines  having  quarrelled,  Aristippus  came 
to  his  opponent,  and  said,  “iEsehines,  shall 
we  be  friends  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,”  he  replied  :  “  with 
all  my  heart.”  —  “  But  remember,”  said  Aris¬ 
tippus,  “  that  I,  being  older  than  you,  do  make 
the  first  motion.”  —  “  Yes,”  replied  fEschines: 
“  and  therefore  I  conclude  that  you  are  the 
worthiest  man;  for  I  began  the  strife,  and 
you  began  the  peace.” 

4363.  PEACE,  Nature  of.  Peace  is  love  re¬ 

posing.  It  is  love  on  the  green  pastures;  it  is 
love  beside  the  still  waters.  It  is  that  great 
calm  which  comes  over  the  conscience  when 
it  sees  the  atonement  sufficient,  and  the  Saviour 
willing.  It  is  unclouded  azure  in  a  lake 
of  glass.  It  is  the  soul  which  Christ  has  paci¬ 
fied,  spread  out  in  serenity  and  simple  faith, 
and  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious, 
smiling  over  it.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4364.  PEACE,  Perfect.  “I  thank  God” 
said  Dr.  Watts  in  his  old  age,  “that  I  can  lie 
down  with  comfort  at  night,  not  being  solici¬ 
tous  whether  I  wake  in  this  world  or  in 
another.”  “  I  am  as  happy  as  I  can  be  out  of 
paradise,”  said  a  poor  Methodist  soldier  whose 
limbs  had  been  shot  off  on  tne  battle-field  of 
Fontenoy. 

4365.  PEACE,  in  Poverty.  I  have  seen  the 
Christian  man  in  the  depths  of  poverty,  when 
he  lived  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  scarcely 
knew  where  he  should  find  the  next  meal,  still 
with  his  mind  unruffled,  calm,  and  quiet.  If 
he  had  been  as  -rich  as  an  Indian  prince,  yet 


PEACE. 


PEisrxjRioTJSisrEss.  495 


could  he  not  have  had  less  care.  If  he  had 
been  told  that  his  bread  should  always  come 
to  his  door,  and  the  stream  which  ran  hard  by 
should  never  dry ;  if  he  had  been  quite  sure 
that  ravens  would  bring  him  bread  and  meat 
in  the  morning,  and  again  in  the  evening, —  he 
would  not  have  been  one  whit  more  calm. 
There  is  his  neighbor  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street  not  half  so  poor,  but  wearied  from  morn¬ 
ing  till  night,  working  his  fingers  to  the  bone, 
bringing  himself  to  the  grave  with  anxiety. 

Spurgeon. 

4366.  PEACE,  Roots  and  Fruits  of.  The  tree 
of  peace  strikes  its  roots  into  the  crevices  of 
the  everlasting  rock.  It  grows  securely  from 
that  rock,  and  casts  out  its  cool  shadow  in 
the  sunshine,  and  makes  sweet  music  in  the 
storm  ;  and  is  to  the  believer  as  the  shadow 
of  a  great  rock  and  fruit  of  refreshment  in 
a  weary  and  parched  land.  Dr.  Cumming. 

4367.  PEACE,  Satisfactory.  A  soldier,  dying 
in  the  Crimea,  requested  to  have  the  passage 
read  to  him,  “  Peace  I  leave  with  you,”  &c. 
When  it  was  done,  he  said,  “  I  have  that  peace. 

J  am  going  to  that  Saviour.  God  is  with  me : 

1  want  no  more,”  and  expired. 

4368.  PEACE,  Seeking.  Peace  may  be 
sought  two  ways.  One  way  is  as  Gideon 
sought  it  when  lie  built  his  altar  in  Ophrah, 
Darning  it  “  God  send  peace,”  yet  sought  this 
peace  that  he  loved  as  he  was  ordered  to  seek 
it,  and  the  peace  was  sent,  in  God’s  way  : 
“  The  country  was  in  quietness  forty  years  in 
the  days  of  Gideon.”  And  the  other  way  of 
seeking  peace  is  as  Menahein  sought  it  when 
he  gave  the  king  of  Assyria  a  thousand  talents 
of  silver,  that  “  his  hand  might  be  with  him.” 
That  is,  you  may  either  win  your  peace  or  buy 
it,  —  win  it  by  resistance  to  evil;  buy  it  by 
compromise  with  evil.  You  may  buy  your 

eace  with  silenced  consciences ;  you  may 

uy  it  with  broken  vows ;  buy  it  with  lying 
words;  buy  it  with  base  connivances;  buy  it 
with  the  blood  of  the  slain,  and  the  cry  of  the 
captive,  and  the  silence  of  lost  souls.  Ruskin. 

4369.  PEACE,  by  Victory.  No  peace  was 
ever  won  from  fate  by  subterfuge  or  agree¬ 
ment.  No  peace  is  ever  in  store  for  any  of  us, 
but  that  which  we  shall  win  by  victory  over 
shame  or  sin,  —  victory  over  the  sin  that  op¬ 
presses,  as  well  as  over  that  which  corrupts. 

R  uskin. 

4370.  PEDANTRY,  Dangers  of.  A  Caribbee 
chief  paid  a  visit  of  state  on  board  a  man-of- 
war,  in  a  state  of  sable  nudity,  except  a  mid¬ 
shipman’s  jacket,  whose  gold  braiding  had  at¬ 
tracted  the  savage,  but  illustrated  his  naked¬ 
ness  more  strikingly  than  if  he  had  simply 
appeared  in  his  Indian  mat  and  native  cos¬ 
tume.  In  the  same  way  the,  illiterate  expose 
themselves  by  the  inaccurate  use  of  fine  phrases 
beyond  their  understanding,  and  aggravate 
the  ignorance  which  they  attempt  to  conceal. 
Thus  the  distinguished  geographer,  who  tells 
us  “he  is  jist  returned  from  the  antiporfays,” 
being  asked  from  where,  repeats,  with  some 

ity  for  your  ignorance,  but  a  slight  doubt  of 

is  pronunciation,  “  from  the  antipodes,”  would 


have  passed  for  a  better  scholar  if  he  had  let 
alone  the  antipodes,  and  named  Australia. 
The  portly  widow  who  describes  her  sensations 
of  lethargy  as  “  suffering  from  the  liturgy”  or 
the  pert  charity-boy,  who  confounds  St.  Bar- 
nabus  of  Pimlico  with  St.  Bar  abba*  of  Jericho , 
are  examples  of  the  dangers  of  unknown  phra¬ 
seology.  J.  B.  Owen. 

4371.  PEEVISHNESS,  Effect  of.  A  continual 
dropping  was  one  of  the  engines  which  the 
wit  of  man  contrived  when  it  was  put  upon 
the  stretch  for  the  means  of  torturing  his  fel¬ 
low.  The  victim  was  so  placed,  that  a  drop  of 
water  continued  to  fall  at  regular  intervals, 
till,  with  length  of  time  and  no  hope  of  relief, 
the  agony  became  excruciating,  and  either  the 
patient’s  reason  or  his  life  gave  way. 

Biblical  Treasury. 

4372.  PEN,  Power  of  the.  “  Do  you  know, 
Fontanes,”  said  Napoleon,  “  what  I  admire 
most  in  the  world  ?  It  is  the  powerlessness  of 
force  to  found  any  thing.  There  are  only  two 
powers  in  the  world,  —  the  sabre  and  the  pen ; 
and,  in  the  end,  the  former  is  always  conquered 
by  the  latter.” 

4373.  PENITENCE,  Affected.  “I  am  the 
chief  of  sinners,”  said  the  cardinal  to  his  con¬ 
fessor.  “  It  is  too  true,”  said  the  monk.  “  I 
have  been  guilty  of  every  kind  of  sin,”  sighed 
the  cardinal.  “  It  is  a  solemn  fact,  my  son,” 
said  the  monk.  “  I  have  indulged  in  pride, 
ambition,  malice,  and  revenge,”  pursued  his 
Eminence.  The  provoking  confessor  assented 
without  one  pitying  word  of  doubt  or  protest. 
“  Why,  you  fool !  ”  at  last  said  the  exasperated 
cardinal :  “  you  don’t  imagine  I  mean  all  this 
to  the  letter  V  ”  —  “  IIo,  ho  1  ”  said  the  monk  : 
“  so  you  have  been  a  liar,  too,  have  you  V  ” 

Rogers. 

4374.  PENITENCE,  Analyzed.  A  woman 
professing  great  penitence  went  to  a  minister, 
who  examined  her  as  to  what  particular  sin 
she  had  been  guilty  of.  He  explained  each  of 
the  ten  commandments  to  her;  but  she  denied 
that  she  had  broken  any  of  them. 

4375.  PENITENCE,  Power  of.  “  Let  him  take 

hold  of  my  strength,  that  he  may  make  peace 
with  me;  and  he  shall  make  peace  with  me.” 
I  think  I  can  convey  the  meaning  of  this  pas¬ 
sage,  so  that  every  one  may  understand  it,  by 
what  took  place  in  my  own  family  within  these 
few  days.  One  of  my  little  children  had  com¬ 
mitted  a  fault,  for  which  I  thought  it  my  duty 
to  chastise  him.  I  called  him  to  me,  explained 
to  him  the  evil  of  what  he  had  done,  and  told 
him  how  grieved  I  was  that  I  must  punish  him 
for  it.  He  heard  me  in  silence,  and  then 
rushed  into  my  arms,  and  burst  into  tears.  I 
could  sooner  have  cut  off  my  arm  than  have 
then  struck  him  for  his  fault :  he  had  taken 
hold  of  my  strength,  and  he  had  made  peace 
with  me.  Rev.  R.  Tolls. 

4376.  PENURIOUSNESS,  Example  of.  A  very 
mean  man  joined  the  church  ;  and  people 
thought  it  might  make  him  liberal :  so  one  of 
the  ciders  called  on  him  for  a  small  contribu¬ 
tion.  He  heard  him  through,  and  then  re¬ 
sponded,  “  I’ll  tell  you  what  it  is,  Brother  A-, 


496  FENTjrilOXJSNT-SS. 


PERFECTION'. 


if  I  find  my  religion  genuine,  I  will  pay  Brother 
D.  a  dollar  the  next  time  he  comes ;  but  I 
don’t  like  to  pay  money  tor  an  article  betore  1 
I  know  it’s  all  right.” 

4377.  PENURIOUSNESS,  Penalty  of.  A  chari¬ 
ty  was  solicited  of  a  prosperous  merchant;  but 
he  said.  “  1  shall  not  give  you  a  dollar.  I  am 
done  giving.”  Soon  after,  his  great  ware¬ 
house,  the  product  of  years  of  labor,  was  burned 
down.  This  was  followed  by  news  of  the  loss 
of  his  only  ship  at  sea,  and  this  by  the  break¬ 
ing  of  the  bank,  by  which  all  his  means  were 
swept  away,  anti  his  family  beggared.  Then 
he  learned  that  he  was  but  a  steward  of  God, 
and  never  again  said  that  he  was  “  done  giving.” 

4378.  PENURY,  Fighting  against.  If  penury 

assail,  fight  against  him  stoutly,  the  gaunt,  grim 
foe.  The  curse  of  Cain  is  on  his  brow,  toiling 
vainly  :  he  creepeth  with  the  worm  by  day,  to 
raven  with  the  wolf  by  night ;  diseases  battle 
by  his  side  ;  and  crime  followeth  his  footsteps. 
Theretore  fight  against  him  boldly,  and  be  of  a 
good  courage,  for  there  are  many  with  thee.  Not 
alone  the  doled  arms,  the  casual  aids  dropped 
from  compassion,  or  wrung  out  by  importunity, 
—  these  be  only  temporary  helps,  and  indul¬ 
gence  in  them  pampers  the  improvident ;  but 
look  thou  to  a  better  host  of  strong  allies,  of 
resolute  defenders;  turn  again  to  meet  thy 
duties,  needy  one :  no  one  ever  starved  who 
even  faintly  tried  do  them.  Tapper. 

4379.  PERFECTION,  Aim  at.  Aim  at  perfec¬ 

tion  in  everything,  though  in  most  things  it  is 
unattainable.  They  who  aim  at  it,  and  perse¬ 
vere,  will  come  much  nearer  to  it  than  those 
whose  laziness  and  despondency  make  them 
give  it  up  as  unattainable.  Cliesler field. 

438®.  PERFECTION,  among  the  Ancients.  The 
last  and  most  excellent  of  the  old  lawgivers 
and  philosophers  among  the  Greeks  had  an 
alloy  of  viciousness,  and  could  not  be  exem¬ 
plary  all  over.  Some  were  noted  for  flatterers, 
as  Plato  and  Aristippus  ;  some  for  incontinen- 
cy,  as  Aristotle,  Epicurus,  Zeno,  Theognis, 
Plato,  and  Aristippus  again;  and  Socrates, 
whom  their  oracle  affirmed  to  be  the  wisest 
and  most  perfect  man,  yet  was  noted  for  ex¬ 
treme  intemperance,  both  in  words  and  actions. 
And  those  Romans  who  were  offered  to  them 
for  examples,  although  they  were  in  reputa¬ 
tion,  yet  they  had  also  great  vices.  Brutus 
dipped  his  hand  in  the  blood  of  Caesar  his 
prince,  and  father  by  love,  endearments,  and 
adoption.  And  Cato  was  but  a  wise  man  all 
day ;  for  at  night  he  was  used  to  drink  too 
liberally ;  and  both  he  and  Socrates  did  give 
their  wives  unto  their  friends.  The  philoso¬ 
pher  and  the  censor  were  procurers  of  their 
wives’  unchastity  ;  and  yet  these  were  the  best 
among  the  Gentiles.  Bp.  Taylor. 

4381.  PERFECTION,  Attaining,  At  present, 
the  believer  is  like  the  marble  in  the  hands 
of  the  sculptor ;  but  though,  day  by  day,  he  may 
give  fresh  touches,  and  work  the  marble  into 
reater  emulation  of  the  original,  the  resem- 
lance  will  be  far  from  complete  until  death. 
Each  fresh  degree  of  likeness  is  a  fresh  ad¬ 
vance  towards  perfection.  It  must  then  be,  that 


when  every  feature  is  moulded  into  similitude; 
when  all  traces  of  feebleness  and  depravity 
are  swept  away  forever,  the  statute  breathes, 
and  the  picture  burns  with  Deity,  —  it  must  be 
that  then  we  “shall  be  filled.”  We  shall  look 
on  the  descending  Mediator,  and,  as  though 
the  ardent  gaze  drew  down  celestial  fire,  we 
shall  seem  instantly  to  pass  through  the  re¬ 
finer’s  furnace,  and  leaving  behind  all  the 
dishonor  of  the  grave,  and  all  the  dross  of 
corruptible  humanity,  spring  upward,  an  ethe¬ 
real,  rapid,  glowing  thing,  Christ’s  image, 
extracted  by  Christ’s  lustre.  Melvill. 

4382.  PERFECTION,  Attainment  of.  A  friend 

called  on  Michael  Angelo,  who  was  finishing  a 
statue.  Some  time  afterwards  he  called  again : 
the  sculptor  was  still  at  his  work.  His  friend, 
looking  at  the  figure,  exclaimed,  “  Have  you 
been  idle  since  I  saw  you  last  ?  ”  —  “  By  no 
means,”  replied  the  sculptor.  “  I  have  re¬ 
touched  this  part,  and  polished  that ;  I  have 
softened  this  feature,  and  brought  out  this  mus¬ 
cle.;  I  have  given  more  expression  to  this 
lip,  and  more  energy  to  this  limb.”  —  “Well, 
well  1  ”  said  his  friend  :  “  dill  these  are  trifles.” 
—  “  It  may  be  so,”  replied  Angelo ;  “  but  recol¬ 
lect  that  trifles  make  perfection ,  and  that 
perfection  is  no  trifle.”  Colton. 

4383.  PERFECTION,  Christian.  In  other  words, 

Christian  perfection  is  a  spiritual  constellation, 
made  up  of  these  gracious  stars,  —  perfect  re¬ 
pentance,  perfect  faith,  perfect  humility,  perfect 
meekness,  perfect  selfidenial,  perfect  resigna¬ 
tion,  perfect  hope,  perfect  charity  for  our 
visible  enemies  as  well  as  for  our  earthly  re¬ 
lations,  and,  above  all,  perfect  love  for  our 
invisible  God  through  the  explicit  knowledge 
of  our  Mediator  Jesus  Christ.  And  as  this 
last  star  is  always  accompanied  by  all  the 
others,  as  Jupiter  is  by  his  satellites,  we  fre¬ 
quently  use,  as  St.  John,  the  phrase  “  perfect 
love,”  instead  of  the  word  “  perfection  ;  ”  un¬ 
derstanding  by  it  the  pure  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  the  hearts  of  established  believers 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  abundantly  given 
them  under  the  fulness  of  the  Christian  dis¬ 
pensation.  J-  Fletcher. 

4384.  PERFECTION,  of  Christian  Character. 
There  are  things  precious,  not  from  the  mar 
terials  of  which  they  are  made,  but  from  the 
risk  and  difficulty  of  bringing  them  to  perfec¬ 
tion.  The  speculum  of  the  largest  telescope 
foils  the  optician’s  skill  in  casting.  Too  much 
or  too  little  heat,  the  interposition  of  a  grain 
of  sand,  a  slight  alteration  in  the  temperature  of 
the  weather,  and  all  goes  to  pieces :  it  must  be 
recast.  Therefore,  when  successfully  finished, 
it  is  a  matter  for  almost  the  congratulation  of 
a  country.  Rarer,  and  more  difficult  still,  than 
the  costliest  part  of  the  most  delicate  of  instru¬ 
ments,  is  the  completion  of  Christian  character. 
Only  let  there  come  the  heat  of  persecution,  or 
the  cold  of  human  desertion,  a  little  of  the 
world’s  dust ;  and  the  rare  and  costly  thing 
is  liable  to  be  cracked,  and  become  a  failure. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

4385.  PERFECTION,  Dogmatic.  The  per- 
,  fection  of  the  schools  is  a  kind  of  mandarin 


PERFECTION . 


PEES  ECTJTION.  497 


perfection,  like  that  of  a  Chinese  garden  filled 
with  dwarf  plants  and  trees,  with  oaks  two  feet 
high.  Scriptural  perfection  is  like  the  oak  of 
the  forest,  gigantic  and  unstunted  in  its  growth, 
filling  up  its  native  and  noble  proportions,  not 
stunted  and  dwarfed  by  the  rules  of  art.  Bowes. 

4386.  PERFECTION,  Growth  in.  And  we  may 
not  only  say,  in  general  terms,  that  there  may  be 
a  growth  in  perfection,  but  may  assert,  further, 
that  the  thing  which  is  most  perfect,  if  it  be 
susceptible  of  growth  at  all,  will  have  the  most 
1  ire  and  rapid  growth.  Which  grows  most  and 
i  the  best  manner,  the  flower  which  is  whole 
a  /d  perfect  in  its  incipient  state,  or  that  which 
has  a  canker  in  it,  or  is  otherwise  injured  or 
defective  in  some  of  its  parts  ?  Which  will 
grow  the  most  rapidly  and  symmetrically,  the 
child  which  is  perfect  in  its  infancy,  or  one 
which  is  afflicted  with  some  malformation  V 
Illustrations  and  facts  of  this  kind  seem  to 
make  it  clear,  that,  although  it  is  possible  ibr 
a  person  who  is  partially  holy  to  grow  in  holi¬ 
ness,  a  person  who  is  entirely  holy,  al, hough 
he  may  be  assailed  by  unfavorable  influences 
outwardly,  will  grow  much  more.  Upham. 

4387.  PERFECTION,  Going  on  to.  The  acorn 
does  not  become  an  oak  in  a  day  ;  the  ripened 
scholar  was  not  made  such  by  a  single  lesson ; 
the  well-trained  soldier  was  not  a  raw  recruit 
yesterday;  it  is  not  one  touch  of  the  artist’s 
pencil  that  produces  a  finished  painting; 

,  there  are  always  months  between  seed-time 
and  harvest :  even  so  the  path  of  the  just  is 
like  the  shining  light,  which  shineth  more  and 
more  unto  the  perfect  day.  Nichol 

4388.  PERFECTION,  Labor  for.  And  why 
should  you  object  to  agonize  and  strive,  when 
the  prize  is  eternal  life  V  It  is  said  of  Tasso 
the  poet,  that  the  manuscripts  of  his  “Jerusa¬ 
lem  Delivered  ”  were  so  blotted  with  innumer¬ 
able  corrections  as  to  be  scarcely  legible. 
Another  poet,  Pope,  kept  his  works  in  his 
study  from  one  to  two  years  before  he  allowed 
them  to  be  printed.  Now  if,  to  secure  all  the 
perfection  possible  to  their  writings,  these  poets 
strove  so  painfully,  how  much  more  ought  you 
to  strive  for  the  purity  of  your  heart  and  the 
sanctification  of  your  soul  V 

4389.  PERFECTION,  in  Love.  Perfection  is 

the  denying  of  our  own  will,  the  acknowledg¬ 
ment  of  our  own  vileness,  constant  resignation 
to  the  will  of  God,  and  unwearied  love  for 
our  neighbor.  In  a  word,  it  is  that  love  which 
thinks  of  nothing,  seeks  nothing,  desires  noth¬ 
ing,  but  God.  John  Arndt. 

4399.  PERFECTION,  Process  of.  The  process 
of  Christian  perfection  is  like  that  which  a 
portrait  goes  through  under  the  hand  of  an 
artist.  When  a  man  is  converted,  he  is  but  an 
outline-sketch  of  a  character  which  he  is  to  fill 
up.  lie  first  lays  in  the  dead  coloring;  then 
comes  the  work  of  laying  in  the  colors ;  and  he 
goes  on  day  after  day,  week  after  week,  month 
after  month,  and  year  after  year,  blending  them, 
and  heightening  the  effect.  It  is  a  life’s  work; 
and,  when  he  dies,  he  is  still  laying  in  and 
blending  the  colors  and  heightening  the  effect. 

Beecher. 


4391.  PERFECTION,  Pursuing.  As  the  eagle 
pursues  his  upward  flight  until  he  reach  the 
highest  point  of  possible  ascent,  so  the  Chris¬ 
tian  should  go  on  rising  in  the  life  of  God  until 
he  come  to  perfection. 

4392.  PERFECTION,  Source  of.  All  earthly 

things  to  the  soul  are  but  as  the  air  to  the  stone, 
—  can  give  it  no  stay  till  it  come  to  God  the 
centre.  As  the  circle  is  the  perfect  figure,  be¬ 
cause  the  last  point  meets  in  the  first,  from 
whence  it  came,  so  shall  we  never  come  to 
perfection  or  satisfaction  till  the  circle  of  our 
souls  meets  in  God.  The  wicked  walk  the 
round  from  one  creature  to  another;  but  they 
come  not  at  God  :  and  hence  they  are  so  dis¬ 
satisfied.  J.  Trapp. 

4393.  PERIL,  Benefit  of.  One  of  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  the  rock-bound  and  sea-girt  isle  of  St. 
Kilda,  visiting  the  outside  world,  was  asked  if 
he  had  ever  heard  of  God  in  St.  Kilda.  “  Ah  !  ” 
was  his  reply  :  “you  in  your  fertile  home  may 
forget  God  ;  but  a  St.  Kilda  man  never  can. 
Elevated  on  his  rock,  suspended  over  a  preci¬ 
pice,  tossed  on  the  wild  ocean,  he  never  can 
forget  his  God :  he  hangs  continually  on  his- 
arm.” 

4394.  PERIL,  Escape  from.  Dr.  Sandwith, 
in  his  account  of  the  siege  of  Kars,  relates, 
that  one  evening,  in  company  with  a  small-de¬ 
tachment  of  the  garrison,  he  went  outside  the 
city  to  reconnoitre,  with  a  view  to  gain-  infor¬ 
mation  of  the  enemy’s  position.  While  thus 
engaged,  they  heard  a  distant  rumbling  sound, 
which  the  practised  ear  of  some  of  the  party- 
recognized  as  the  approach  of  a  squadron  of 
the  enemy’s  horse.  The  little  band  hastily  re¬ 
treated  into  the  city ;  and  the  gates  had 
scarcely  closed  on  them  when  the  Russian  cav¬ 
alry  swept  past  like  a  whirlwind,  the  echoes  of 
their  steps  soon  dying  in  the  distance.  Woe 
to  that  little  company  had  they  been  unable  to 
reach  the  city  in  time  1  Biblical  Treasury. 

4395.  PERIL,  Unseen.  A  party  of  young 
people,  principally  officers  and  daughters  of 
officers  in  the  East-India  Company,  were 
spending  a  day  in  amusement  and  recreation 
amid  the  tjimalayah  Mountains  in  India. 
One  of  the  officers  proposed  a  race  to  a  young 
lady,  which  she  accepted. .  Suddenly  both  dis¬ 
appeared.  Others  ran  to  the  spot,  and  found 
the  officer  clinging  to  a  shrub ;  but  the  lady 
had  fallen  into  the  dark  abyss.  The  officer 
related,  that  they  were  in  the  chasm  before 
they  knew  their  danger. 

4396.  PERSECUTION,  Benefit  of  As  frank¬ 
incense,  when  it  is  put  into  the  fire,  giveth  the 
greater  perfume ;  as  spiee,  if  it  be  pounded 
and  beaten,  smelleth  the  sweeter;  as  the 
earth,  when  it  is  torn  up  by  the  plough,  be- 
cometh  more  fruitful ;  the  seed  in  the  ground, 
after  frost  and  snow  and  winter-storms,  spring- 
etli  the  ranker ;  the  nigher  the  vine  is  pruned 
to  the  stock,  the  greater  grape  it  yieldeth  ;  the 
grape,  when  it  is  most  pressed  and  beaten, 
maketh  the  sweetest  wine ;  linen,  when  it  is 
bucked  and  washed,  wrung  and  beaten,  is  sc 
made  fairer  and  whiter  :  even  so  the  children 
of  God  receive  great  benefit  by  persecution ; 


83 


498 


PERSECl'TION. 


PERSEVERANCE. 


for  by  it  God  washeth  and  scoureth,  schooleth 
and  nurtureth  them,  that  so,  through  many 
tribulations,  they  may  enter  into  their  rest. 

Cawdray. 

4397.  PERSECUTION,  of  Christianity.  “Oh  I” 
6aid  Ctesar,  “  we  will  soon  root  up  tliis  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Off  with  their  heads  1  ”  The  different 
governors  hastened  one  after  another  of  the 
disciples  to  death ;  but,  the  more  they  per¬ 
secuted  them,  the  more  they  multiplied.  The 
pro-consuls  had  orders  to  destroy  Christians : 
the  more  they  hunted  them,  the  more  Chris¬ 
tians  there  were,  until,  at  last,  men  pressed  to 
the  judgment-seat,  and  asked  to  be  permitted 
to  die  lor  Christ.  They  invented  torments ; 
they  dragged  saints  at  the  heels  of  wild  horses  ; 
they  laid  them  upon  red-hot  gridirons ;  they 
pulled  off  the  skin  from  their  flesh  piece  by 
piece ;  they  were  sawn  asunder ;  they  were 
wrapped  up  in  skins,  and  daubed  with  pitch, 
and  set  in  Nero’s  gardens  at  night  to  burn  ; 
they  were  left  to  rot  in  dungeons  ;  they  were 
made  a  spectacle  to  all  men  in  the  am¬ 
phitheatre  ;  the  bears  hugged  them  to  death ; 
the  lions  tore  them  to  pieces ;  the  wild  bulls 
tossed  them  upon  their  horns  :  and  yet  Chris¬ 
tianity  spread.  All  the  swords  of  the  legion¬ 
aries  which  had  put  to  rout  the  armies  of  all 
nations,  and  had  overcome  the  invincible 
Gaul  and  the  savage  Briton,  could  not  with¬ 
stand  the  feebleness  of  Christianity ;  for  the 
weakness  of  God  is  mightier  than  men. 

Spurgeon. 

4398.  PERSECUTION,  Consolation  in.  Do  they 

Cast  us  out  of  the  city  ?  They  cannot  cast  us 
out  of  that  which  is  in  the  heavens.  If  they 
who  hate  us  could  do  this,  they  would  be  do¬ 
ing  something  real  against  us.  So  long,  how¬ 
ever,  as  they  cannot  do  this,  they  are  but  pelt¬ 
ing  us  with  drops  of  water  or  striking  ns  with 
the  wind.  Gregory  Nazianzen. 

4399.  PERSECUTION,  Effect  of.  A  colored 
man  applied  to  a  New-York  merchant  for  a 
subscription,  who  at  once  knocked  him  into 
the  street.  The  colored  man  started  on  tell¬ 
ing  the  story  of  his  abuse,  won  sympathy  by  it, 
and,  before  night,  collected  fifty  dollars.  The 
persecutor,  hearing  the  story,  desired  to  silence 
the  man,  sent  lor  him,  and  gave  him  a  liberal 
subscription. 

4400.  PERSECUTION,  Enduring.  A  soldier 
in  the  East  Indies  —  a  stout,  lion-hearted 
man  — had  been  a  noted  prize-fighter,  and  a 
terror  to  those  ■who  knew  him.  That  man 
sauntered  into  the  mission  chapel,  heard  the 
gospel,  and  was  converted.  The  change  in 
nis  character  was  most  marked  and  decided. 
The  lion  was  changed  into  a  lamb.  Two 
months  afterwards,  in  the  mess-room,  some  of 
those  who  had  been  afraid  of  him  before  began 
to  ridicule  him.  One  of  them  said,  “  I’ll  put 
it  to  the  test  whether  he  is  a  Christian  or  not ;  ” 
and,  taking  a  basin  of  hot  soup,  he  threw  it 
into  his  bosom.  The  whole  company  gazed 
in  breathless  silence,  expecting  that  the  lion 
would  start  up,  and  murder  him  on  the  spot. 
But  after  he  had  torn  open  his  waistcoat,  and 
wiped  his  scalded  breast,  he  calmly  turned 


round,  and  said,  “  This  is  what  I  must  expect 
if  I  become  a  Christian.  I  must  suffer  per¬ 
secution.”  His  comrades  were  filled  with 
astonishment.  Biblical  Treasury. 

4401.  PERSECUTION,  Faithfulness  under.  A 
young  Christian  soldier  in  the  army  was  often 
assaulted  by  his  tent-mates  while  at  prayer  at 
night.  He  sought  advice  of  his  chaplain,  and, 
by  his  counsel,  omitted  his  usual  habit.  His 
ardent  heart  could  not  endure  this.  He  chose 
rather  to  have  prayer  with  persecution  than 
peace  without  it,  and  resumed  his  old  way. 
The  result  was,  that,  after  a  time,  all  his  ten 
or  twelve  tent-companions  knelt  in  prayer  with 
him.  In  reporting  to  his  chaplain,  he  said, 
“  Isn’t  it  better  to  keep  the  colors  flying  ?  ” 

4402.  PERSECUTION,  Honor  of.  One  who 
was  persecuted  in  Queen  Mary’s  time  wrote 
thus :  “  A  prisoner  for  Christ !  What  is  this 
lor  a  poor  worm !  Such  honor  have  not  all 
his  saints.  Both  the  degrees  which  I  took  in 
the  university  have  not  set  me  so  high  as  the 
honor  of  becoming;  a  prisoner  of  the  Lord.” 

4493.  PERSECUTION,  Ravages  of.  It  has 
been  said  that  not  less  than  fifty  millions  of 
Protestants  at  different  times  have  been  put 
to  death  by  papists.  What  an  army  1  What 
seas  of  blood  have  been  shed  1  If  their  bodies 
were  piled  in  one  heap,  they  would  be  bigger 
than  any  mountain  in  this  world. 

Dr.  Beaumont. 

4494.  PERSECUTION,  Riches  of.  As  if  a  man 
should  throw  precious  stones  and  rich  jewels 
at  another,  with  intent  to  kill  him,  and  the 
other  should  gather  them  up,  and  enrich  him¬ 
self  with  them ;  even  so  do  persecutors  enrich 
the  children  of  God,  that  they  rejoice  being 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  tor  Christ’s  sake. 

Cawdray. 

4495.  PERSECUTION,  Secret  of.  A  wolf  flies 
not  upon  a  painted  sheep,  and  men  can  look 
upon  a  painted  toad  with  delight.  It  is  not 
the  soft  pace,  but  the  furious  march  of  the 
soldier,  that  sets  men  a-gazing  and  dogs  a-bark- 
ing.  Let  but  a  man  glide  along  with  the 
stream  of  the  world,  do  as  others  do,  he  may 
sit  down,  and  take  his  ease ;  but  if  he  once 
strive  against  the  stream,  stand  up  in  the  cause 
of  God,  and  act  for  Christ,  then  he  shall  be 
sure  to  meet  with  as  much  malice  as  men  and 
devils  can  possibly  throw  upon  him.  Spencer. 

4496.  PERSEVERANCE,  Achievement  of.  Sir 
Charles  Napier,  when  in  India,  encountered 
an  army  of  thirty-five  thousand  Belooches 
with  two  thousand  men,  of  whom  only  four 
hundred  were  Europeans.  He  charged  them 
in  the  centre  up  a  high  bank ;  and  for  three 
hours  the  battle  was  undecided.  At  last,  they 
turned  and  fled.  It  is  this  sort  of  pluck,  te¬ 
nacity,  and  determined  perseverance,  which 
wins  soldiers’  battles,  and,  indeed,  every  battle. 
It  is  the  one  neck  nearer  that  wins  the  race, 
and  shows  the  blood  ;  the  one  pull  more  of  the 
oar  that  proves  the  “  beefiness  of  the  fellow,” 
as  Oxford  men  say ;  it  is  the  one  march  more 
that  wins  the  campaign  ;  the  five  minutes’  more 
persistent  courage  that  wins  the  fight.  Though 
your  force  be  less  than  another’s,  you  equal 


PERSEVTCR^VlsrCE. 


PERSE  VERANCE.  499 


and  outmaster  your  opponent  if  you  continue 
it  longer,  and  concentrate  it  more.  The  reply 
of  the  Spartan  father  who  said  to  his  son, 
when  complaining  that  his  sword  was  too  short, 
“  Add  a  step  to  it,”  is  applicable  to  every 
thing  in  life.  Smiles. 

4407.  PERSEVERANCE,  of  an  Ant.  Tamer¬ 

lane  used  to  relate  to  his  friends  an  anecdote  of 
his  early  life.  “  I  once,”  he  said,  “  was  forced 
to  take  shelter  from  my  enemies  in  a  ruined 
building,  where  I  sat  alone  many  hours.  Desir¬ 
ing  to  divert  my  mind  from  my  hopeless  con¬ 
dition,  I  fixed  my  eyes  on  an  ant,  that  was 
carrying  a  grain  of  corn  larger  than  itself  up  a 
high  wall.  I  numbered  the  efforts  it  made  to 
accomplish  this  object.  The  grain  fell  sixty- 
nine  times  to  the  ground  ;  but  the  insect  per¬ 
severed,  and  the  seventieth  time  it  reached  the 
top.  This  sight  gave  me  courage  at  the  moment, 
and  I  never  forgot  the  lesson.”  Malcolm. 

4408.  PERSEVERANCE,  Christian.  No  grace, 

no,  not  the  most  sparkling  and  shining  grace, 
can  bring  a  man  to  heaven  of  itself  without 
perseverance ;  not  faith  (which  is  the  champion 
of  grace),  if  it  be  faint,  and  fail ;  nor  love  (which 
is  the  nurse  of  grace),  if  it  decline  and  wax  cold  ; 
nor  humility  (which  is  the  adorner  and  beauti- 
fier  of  grace),  if  it  continue  not  to  the  end ;  not 
obedience,  not  repentance,  not  patience,  no, 
nor  any  other  grace,  except  they  have  their 
perfect  work.  It  is  not  enough  to  begin  well, 
except  we  end  well.  Manasseh  and  Paul  began 
ill,  but  ended  well;  Judas  and  Demas  began 
well,  but  ended  ill.  Brooks. 

4409.  PERSEVERANCE,  Effectual.  A  personal 
friend  said  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  “Mr.  President, 
do  you  really  expect  to  end  this  war  during 
your  administration  ?  ” — “  Can’t  say,  can’t  say, 
sir.”  —  “  But,  Mr.  Lincoln,  what  do  you  mearn 
to  do  ?  ”  —  “  Peg  away,  sir  ;  peg  away  ;  keep 
pegging  away  !  ”  And  “  pegging  away  ”  did  it. 

44110.  PERSEVERANCE,  not  Enthusiasm.  At 
the  battle  of  Meeanee,  an  officer  who  had  been 
doing  good  service  came  up  to  Gen.  Sir 
Charles  Napier,  and  said,  “  Sir  Charles,  we 
have  taken  a  standard  1  ”  The  general  looked 
at  him,  but  made  no  reply,  and,  turning  round, 
began  to  speak  to  some  one  else ;  upon  which 
the  officer  repeated,  “  Sir  Charles,  we  have 
taken  a  standard  1  ”  The  general  turned  sharp 
round  upon  him,  and  said,  “  Then  take  another .” 

4411.  PERSEVERANCE,  Example  of.  Cyrus 
Field,  in  giving  his  account  of  the  Atlantic 
telegraph,  says,  “  It  has  been  a  long  and  hard 
struggle.  Nearly  thirteen  years  of  anxious 
watching  and  ceaseless  toil.  Often  has  my 
heart  been  ready  to  sink.  Many  times,  when 
wandering  in  the  forests  of  Newfoundland  in 
the  pelting  rain,  or  on  the  deck  of  ships  on 
dark,  stormy  nights,  alone,  far  from  home,  I 
have  almost  accused  myself  of  madness  and 
folly  to  sacrifice  the  peace  of  my  family,  and 
all  the  hopes  of  life,  for  what  might  prove, 
after  all,  but  a  dream.  I  have  seen  my  com¬ 
panions  one  after  another  fall  by  my  side,  and 
feared  I,  too,  might  not  live  to  see  the  end.  And 
yet  one  hope  has  led  me  on  ;  and  I  have 
prayed  that  I  might  not  taste  of  death  till  this 


work  was  accomplished.  That  prayer  is  an¬ 
swered  ;  and  now,  beyond  all  acknowledgments 
to  men  is  the  feeling  of  gratitude  to  Almighty 
God.” 

4412.  PERSEVERANCE,  Final.  All  the  voy¬ 

age  is  lost  through  the  perilous  sea  of  this 
world  if  we  suffer  shipwreck  in  the  haven,  and 
lose  our  reward  there,  where  we  should  have 
received  it.  What  get  we  if  we  keep  Satan 
short  of  ruling  us  with  his  force  many  hours, 
when  at  our  last  hour  he  shall  snatch  our  bliss 
from  us?  The  runner  speeds  all  the  way:  but 
he  comes  at  the  race’s  end  to  the  goal ;  he 
stretcheth  forth  his  hand  to  catch  the  prize. 
Be  sure  of  thy  last  step,  —  to  put  forth  the  hand 
of  faith  then  most  strongly,  lest  the  reward  be 
lost  which  thou,  with  much  labor,  hast  aimed 
at.  T.  Adams. 

4413.  PERSEVERANCE,  Foroe  of.  It  gives 
power  to  weakness,  and  opens  to  poverty  the 
world’s  wealth ;  it  spreads  fertility  over  the 
barren  landscape,  and  bids  the  choicest  fruits 
and  flowers  spring  up  and  flourish  in  the  desert 
abode  of  thorns  and  briers.  .S’.  G.  Goodrich. 

4414.  PERSEVERANCE,  Influence  of.  The 
secret  of  every  successful  life  —  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  Columbus,  Washington,  Wellington, 
Wilberforce,  Stephenson,  Morse,  Grant,  and 
Stewart  —  is  Perseverance. 

4415.  PERSEVERANCE,  Lesson  of.  Robert 
Bruce  was  driven  one  night  to  take  shelter  in 
a  barn.  When  he  awoke  in  the  morning,  he 
saw  a  spider  climbing  a  beam  of  the  roof.  It 
fell  to  the  ground  twelve  times  in  succession : 
the  thirteenth  time,  it  succeeded,  and  gained  the 
top  of  the  beam.  He  arose,  and  said,  “  This 
spider  has  taught  me  perseverance.  I  will 
follow  its  example.  Twelve  times  have  I  been 
beaten  ;  the  thirteenth  I  may  succeed.”  He 
rallied  his  followers,  met  and  defeated  Edward, 
and  was  crowned  king. 

44 16.  PERSEVERANCE,  Manner  of.  One  told 

Socrates,  that  he  would  fain  go  to  Olympus ; 
but  he  distrusted  his  sufficiency  for  the  length 
of  the  journey.  Socrates  told  him,  “  Thou 
walkest  every  day,  little  or  much,  continue 
this  walk,  forward  thy  way,  and  a  few  days 
shall  bring  you  to  Olympus.”  Every  day 
every  man  takes  some  pains.  Let  him  bestow 
that  measure  of  pains  in  travelling  to  heaven  ; 
and  the  farther  he  goes  the  more  heart  he  gets, 
till  at  last  he  enter  through  the  gates  into  the 
citv.  T.  A  dams. 

4417.  PERSEVERANCE,  Missionary.  In  West¬ 

ern  Africa,  it  was  fourteen  years  before  one 
convert  was  received  into  the  church  ;  in  East 
Africa  ten,  in  New  Zealand  nine  years  before 
there  was  one  baptism,  two  more  before  a 
second,  and  five  years  more  before  one  com¬ 
municant.  In  Burmah,  Dr.  Judson  labored 
seven  years  before  he  had  one  ;  and,  in  Tahiti, 
it  was  sixteen.  Yet  it  is  remarkable,  that,  in 
most  of  those  missions  where  the  faith  of  the 
Church  was  peculiarly  tried  at  the  commence¬ 
ment,  the  success  has  been  most  rich  and 
abundant  afterward.  Bowes. 

4418.  PERSEVERANCE,  Motive  to.  A  travel¬ 
ler  after  a  long  journey,  when  he  is  weary  and 


500  PERSEVERANCE. 


PHARISAISM. 


faint,  and  sits  down,  if  he  see  the  town  before 
him,  it  puts  life  into  him,  and  lie  plucks  up  his 
feet,  and  resolves  not  to  be  weary  till  he  be  at 
his  journey’s  end.  Oh  !  look  at  the  crown  and 
white  robe  set  before  you,  and  faint  if  you  ean  ; 
get  on  the  top  of  Mount  Nebo ;  look  on  the 
land  of  promise,  —  those  good  things  set  before 
you  ! 

4419.  PERSEVERANCE,  a  Necessity.  He  will 
never  enjoy  the  sweets  of  the  spring,  nor  will 
he  obtain  the  honeycombs  of  Mount  Hybla,  if 
he  dreads  his  face  being  stung,  or  is  annoyed 
by  briers.  The  rose  is  guarded  by  its  thorn, 
the  honey  is  defended  by  the  bee. 

From  the  Lathi. 

4420.  PERSEVERANCE,  Patient,  Audubon, 
by  years  of  labor,  completed  a  set  of  drawings 
of  birds  made  in  their  native  haunts.  These 
he  intrusted  to  a  friend  for  safe-keeping ;  but, 
when  he  called  for  them,  it  was  discovered,  to 
his  dismay,  that  they  had  been  destroyed  by 
rats.  Again  he  plunged  into  the  forest,  and, 
after  three  years’  incessant  labor,  repaired 
the  loss,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  lasting 
fame. 

4421.  PERSEVERANCE,  Poem  on.  I  have 
heard  of  an  Indian,  who  one  day  came  to  a 
missionary,  and  told  him  he  had  been 
making  some  poetry,  which  he  wished  to  show 
him.  It  was  found  to  be  several  verses  in 
very  “  common  metre,”  and  all  exactly  like  the 
first  verse,  which  ran  as  follows  :  — 

“  Go  on,  go  on,  go  on,  go  on, 

Go  on,  go  on,  go  on, 

Go  on,  go  on,  go  on,  go  on, 

Go  on,  go  on,  go  on.” 

The  Indian’s  poem  is  a  grand  motto  for  all 
Christian  workers.  C.  D.  Foss. 

4422.  PERSEVERANCE,  Power  of.  After  a 
great  snow-storm,  a  little  fellow  began  to 
shovel  a  path  through  a  large  snow-bank  be¬ 
fore  his  grandmother’s  door.  He  had  nothing 
but  a  small  shovel  to  work  with.  “  How  do 
you  expect  to  get  through  that  drift  ?  ” 
asked  a  man  passing  by.  “  By  keeping  at  it,” 
said  the  boy  cheerfully. 

4423.  PERSEVERANCE,  Proverbs.  One  may  go 

far  after  he  is  tired. —  French. - With  time 

a  mulberry-leaf  becomes  satin.  —  Chinese. - 

Perseverance  kills  the  game.  —  Spanish. - 

Hard  pounding,  gentlemen ;  but  we  will  see 
who  can  pound  the  longest.  —  Wellington  at 
Waterloo. 

4424.  PERSEVERANCE,  Success  of.  A  hare 
and  tortoise  engaged  to  run  a  race ;  but  the 
hare,  depending  on  the  swiftness  of  his  foot, 
delayed  so  long  that  the  tortoise  reached  the 
goal,  and  won  the  prize. 

4425.  PERSON,  Mission  of  Each.  There  is 
not  a  spider  hanging  on  the  king’s  wall  but 
hath  its  errand ;  there  is  not  a  nettle  that 
growetli  in  the  corner  of  the  churchyard  but 
hath  its  purpose;  there  is  not  a  single  insect 
fluttering  in  the  breeze  but  accomplisheth  some 
divine  decree ;  and  I  will  never  have  it  that 
God  created  any  man,  especially  any  Christian 
man,  to  be  a  blank,  and  to  be  a  nothing.  He 
made  you  for  an  end.  Find  out  what  that  end 


is ;  find  out  your  niche,  and  fill  it.  If  it  bt 
ever  so  little,  if  it  is  Only  to  be  a  hewer  of 
wood  and  drawer  of  water,  do  something  in 
this  great  battle  for  God  and  truth.  Spurgeon. 

4426.  PERSONAL  EFPORT,  Result  of.  The 
following  was  related  by  the  leader  of  the 
noon  prayer-meeting  in  Chicago.  “  A  few 
months  ago,  a  poor  woman  brought  with 
her  to  meeting  one  sabbath  a  Swede  wo¬ 
man,  who  found  Christ  precious  to  her  soul. 
Her  husband  was  cook  on  board  a  vessel  which 
runs  upon  our  lakes ;  and,  as  often  as  she  could, 
she  would  have  him  attend  church  with  her. 
It  was  not  long  before  he,  too,  found  peace 
in  believing.  Being  a  man  of  strong  mind,  of 
an  earnest  and  zealous  disposition,  he  went  to 
work  at  once  in  his  Master’s  vineyard  ;  and,  ere 
long,  every  man  on  board  the  vessel,  except  the 
first  mate,  was  hopefully  converted,  and  all  of 
them  members  of  the  church.  Of  course,  the 
case  of  the  first  mate  excited  no  little  interest 
among  his  shipmates.  Prayer  was  made  for 
him  continually  in  the  church  and  in  the  noon- 
meeting.  Every  time  the  vessel  came  into 
port,  he  was  brought  to  the  house  of  God  by 
his  companions.  And  now,”  says  the  speaker, 
“  I  have  just  learned  that  this  man  has 
found  Christ,  and  is  rejoicing  in  the  hope 
of  the  glory  of  God.  Every  man  on  board  the 
vessel  is  now  converted,  and  all  through  the 
humble  instrumentality  of  the  poor  woman 
who  brought  her  Swede  neighbor  with  her  to 
the  church.” 

4427.  PERSONS,  Noisy.  It  is  with  narrow- 

souled  people  as  with  narrow-necked  bottles,  — 
the  less  they  have  in  them,  the  more  noise 
tliev  make  in  pouring  out.  Pope. 

4428.  PERVERSION,  Example  of.  M.  Guil- 
lotin,  the  inventor  of  the  instrument  of  death 
which  bears  his  name,  was  a  physician  of  Paris 
well  known  for  his  mildness  of  disposition  and 
his  philanthropy.  He  devised  the  guillotine 
with  the  sole  intention  of  mitigating  the  se¬ 
verity  of  capital  punishment;  but  it  turned  out 
a  voracious  monster,  always  clamoring  for  blood. 

4429.  PETS,  Strange.  In  the  torrid  zone, 

snakes  are  sometimes  domesticated  to  destroy 
vermin.  The  rat-snake  of  Ceydon  is  often  kept 
as  a  household  pet  by  the  natives  ;  and,  what 
is  still  more  remarkable,  even  the  dreaded  co¬ 
bras  are  domesticated  in  the  place  of  dogs. 
They  glide  about  the  house,  going  in  and  out  at 
pleasure,  a  terror  to  thieves,  but  never  attempt¬ 
ing  to  harm  the  inmates.  Hartwig. 

4430.  PHARISAISM,  Contrast  to.  A  poor 
Hottentot  in  Southern  Africa  lived  with  a 
good  Dutchman,  who  kept  up  family  prayer 
daily.  One  day  lie  read,  “  Two.  men  went  up 
into  the  temple  to  pray.”  The  poor  savage, 
whose  heart  was  already  awakened,  looked 
earnestly  at  the  reader,  and  whispered,  “  Now 
I’ll  learn  how  to  pray.”  The  Dutchman  read 
on,  “  God,  I  thank  thee  I  am  not  as  other 
men.”  —  “  No,  I  am  not ;  but  I  am  worse,” 
whispered  the  Hottentot.  Again  the  Dutch¬ 
man  read,  “  I  fast  twice  in  the  week  ;  I  give 
tithes  of  all  that  I  possess.”  —  “I  don’t  do 
that.  I  don’t  pray  in  that  manner.  What 


PHARISAISM. 


PHILOSOPHY. 


501 


shah  I  do?”  said  the  distressed  savage.  The 
good  man  read  on  until  he  came  to  the  publi¬ 
can,  who  “  would  not  lift  so  much  as  his  eyes 
to  heaven.”  —  “  That’s  me  1  ”  cried  his  hear¬ 
er.  “  Stood  afar  off,”  read  the  other.  “  That’s 
wtiere  I  am,”  said  the  Hottentot.  “  But  smote 
upon  his  breast,  saying,  God  be  merciful  to  me 
a  sinner.”  —  “  That’s  me :  that’s  my  prayer !  ” 
cried  the  poor  creature,  and,  smiting  on  his 
dark  breast,  he  prayed,  “  God  be  merciful  to 
me  a  sinner,”  until,  like  the  poor  publican,  he 
went  down  to  his  house  a  saved  and  happy 
man. 

4438.  PHARISAISM,  Legend  of.  Jesus,  while 
on  earth,  was  once  entertained  in  the  cell  of  a 
monk  of  eminent  reputation  for  sanctity.  In 
the  same  city  dwelt  a  youth  sunk  in  every 
sin,  “  whose  heart  was  so  black,  that  Satan 
himself  shrunk  back  from  it  in  horror.”  This 
last  presently  appeared  before  the  cell  of  the 
monk,  and,  as  if  smitten  by  the  very  presence 
of  the  divine  prophet,  began  to  lament  deeply 
the  sin  and  misery  of  his  life  past,  and,  shed¬ 
ding  abundant  tears,  to  implore  pardon  and 
grace.  The  monk  indignantly  interrupted 
him,  demanding  how  he  dared  to  appear  in 
his  presence  and  in  that  of  God’s  holy  proph¬ 
et;  assured  him  that  for  him  it  was  in  vain  to 
seek  forgiveness ;  and,  to  prove  how  inexora¬ 
bly  he  considered  his  lot  was  fixed  for  hell, 
exclaimed,  “  My  God,  grant  me  but  one  thing  : 
that  I  may  stand  far  from  this  man  in  tbejudg- 
ment-day  1  ”  On  this,  Jesus  spoke,  “  It  shall  be 
even  so  :  the  prayer  of  both  is  granted.  This 
sinner  has  sought  mercy  and  grace,  and  has  not 
sought  them  in  vain.  Ilis  sins  are  forgiven  : 
his  place  shall  be  in  paradise  at  the  last  day. 
But  this  monk  has  prayed  that  he  may  never 
stand  near  this  sinner.  Ilis  prayer,  too,  is 
granted  :  hell  shall  be  his  place;  for  there  this 
sinner  shall  never  come.” 

4432  PHARISAISM,  Rebuked.  “  It  was  my 
custom  in  my  youth,”  says  a  celebrated  Per¬ 
sian  writer,  “  to  rise  from  my  sleep  to  watch, 
pray,  and  read  the  Koran.  One  night,  as  I 
was  thus  engaged,  my  father,  a  man  of  prac¬ 
tised  virtue,  awoke.  ‘  Behold  1  ’  said  I  to  him, 

‘  thy  other  children  are  lost  in  irreligious  slum¬ 
bers,  while  I  alone  am  awake  to  praise  God.’ 
—  ‘  Son  of  my  soul,’  said  he,  ‘  it  is  better  to 
sleep  than  to  wake  to  remark  the  faults  of  thy 
brethren.’  ” 

4433.  PHILANTHROPY,  Example  of  Inl8G2, 
tnere  lay  in  the  hospital  a  poor  emaciated 
soldier,  whose  bones  had  worn  through  so  that 
great  sores  covered  his  back.  One  day,  an  old 
colored  woman  saw  and  pitied  the  dying  sol¬ 
dier.  She  went  to  the  doctor,  and  said,  “  Let 
me  bring  this  man  to  my  bed.”  The  doctor 
said,  “The  man  is  dying:  he  will  be  dead  to¬ 
morrow.”  On  the  morrow,  old  Hannah  came 
again,  and  the  soldier  was  still  alive.  She  got 
help,  took  her  bed,  and,  laying  the  man  on  it, 
carried  him  to  her  shanty.  Then  she  washed 
bim  as  she  would  a  baby,  fed  him  with  a  spoon, 
and  fought  death  hand  to  hand  day  and  night, 
and  beat  him  back,  and  saved  the  soldier’s 
life.  The  soldier  obtained  a  furlough  to  visit  I 


his  friends  in  Indiana,  and  wanted  his  colored 
rescuer  to  go  with  him  ;  but  old  Hannah  could 
not  spare  time  from  her  washing.  She  went 
with  him  to  the  steamboat,  fixed  him  to  her 
mind,  and  then  kissed  him.  As  she  left,  the 
man  wept  like  a  child. 

4434.  PHILANTHROPY,  Famous.  At  Pilau 
in  Prussia  now  lives  a  woman  who  has  for 
some  years  consecrated  her  life  to  the  noble 
and  dangerous  task  of  rescuing  persons  from 
drowning.  Whenever  a  tempest  comes  on, 
day  or  night,  Catharine  Kleinfeldt,  who  is  the 
widow  of  a  sailor,  is  ready  with  a  boat,  in 
which  she  puts  out  to  sea,  and  frequently  goes 
farther  than  any  other  in  order  to  give  help 
to  those  who  may  be  shipwrecked.  More  than 
three  hundred  individuals  have  been  saved  by 
her  efforts.  When  she  is  seen,  the  greatest 
respect  is  paid  to  her ;  and  the  sailors  regard 
her  as  their  guardian  angel.  The  very  children 
of  the  fishermen  go  upon  their  knees  to  her, 
and  kiss  the  skirts  of  her  dress.  The  Prus¬ 
sian  and  other  governments  have  decreed  her 
medals ;  and  the  Principality  of  Pilau  has 
made  her  an  honorary  citizen  for  life. 

4435.  PHILANTHROPY,  Instinctive.  A  wreck 
was  discovered  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  to  which 
a  boat  was  sent ;  when  an  emaciated  and  uncon¬ 
scious  object  was  discovered  and  taken  on 
board.  After  a  time,  he  tried  to  move,  and 
then  muttered  in  a  guttural  voice,  “  There  is 
another  man !  ”  The  boat  again  visited  the 
wreck;  but  only  shrivelled  skeletons  were  dis¬ 
covered.  All  had  perished  of  starvation. 

4436.  PHILANTHROPY,  Scope  of.  It  is  an 
old  saying,  charity  begins  at  home ;  but  this  is 
no  reason  it  should  not  go  abroad.  A  man 
should  live  with  the  world  as  a  citizen  of  the 
world  :  he  may  have  a  preference  for  the  par¬ 
ticular  quarter  or  square,  or  even  alley,  in 
which  he  lives ;  but  he  should  have  a  generous 
feeling  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole. 

Cumberland. 

4437.  PHILOSOPHY,  Brevities.  Philosophy  is 
the  art  and  law  of  life ;  and  it  teaches  us  what 
to  do  in  all  cases,  and,  like  good  marksmen,  to 

hit  the  white  at  any  distance.  —  Seneca. - 

Philosophy  hath  given  us  several  plausible 
rules  for  attaining  peace  and  tranquillity  of 
mind ;  but  they  fall  very  much  short  of  bring¬ 
ing  men  to  it.  —  Tillolson. 

4438.  PHILOSOPHY,  Christianity  above.  Every 
system  of  philosophy  is  little  in  comparison  to 
Christianity.  Philosophy  may  expand  our 
ideas  of  creation ;  but  it  neither  inspires  a  love 
to  the  moral  character  of  the  Creator,  nor  a 
well-grounded  hope  of  eternal  life.  Philoso¬ 
phy,  at  most,  can  only  place  us  at  the  top  of 
Pisgah ;  there,  like  Moses,  we  must  die :  it 
gives  us  no  possession  of  the  good  land.  It  is 
the  province  of  Christianity  to  add,  “  All  is 
yours  !  ”  When  you  have  ascended  to  the  heights 
of  human  discovery,  there  are  things  of  infinite 
moment  that  are  utterly  beyond  its  reach. 
Revelation  is  the  medium,  and  the  only  medi¬ 
um,  by  which,  standing,  as  it  were,  “  on  Na¬ 
ture’s  Alps,”  we  discover  things  which  eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  and  of  which  it 


502 


PHxr^osonTY. 


pru.GriiMLA.Gi-E:. 


hath  ne\  or  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to 
conceive. 

4439.  PHILOSOPHY,  and  Creation.  Plato 

recognizes  none  but  an  arranger  of  the  eternal 
H>  -le  :  he  dreamed  not  of  a  Creator  of  heaven 
and  earth.  Aristotle,  who  strove  still  more 
zealously  to  break  through  by  the  reason  all 
the  limits  of  sensuous  thought  which  had  been 
formed  in  the  popular  mind  with  reference  to 
the  sublimest  and  most  spiritual  objects,  when 
he  proceeds  to  state  the  relation  of  the  God¬ 
head  to  the  world,  abstains,  it  is  true,  from 
every  expression  and  conception  which  were 
contained  in  the  mode  of  thinking  and  the 
phraseology  of  the  people;  but,  in  place  of 
them,  what  does  he  himself  attain  to  ?  —  an  in¬ 
ability  to  establish  any  true  distinction  between 
God  and  the  world ;  consequently  the  idea  of 
the  creation  must  have  remained  perfectly 
s trance  to  him  also.  Baumc/arten. 

4440.  PHILOSOPHY,  Search  of.  Fuller  re¬ 
lates,  that  “  one  Thomas  Charnock,  in  pursu¬ 
ance  of  the  philosopher’s  stone,  which  so  many 
do  touch,  few  catch,  and  none  keep,  met  a  very 
sad  disaster.  Once,  when  he  was  on  the  point 
of  completing  the  grand  operation,  his  work 
unhappily  fell  into  the  fire.”  “  This,”  says  M. 
Disraeli,  “  is  a  misfortune  which  I  observe  has 
happened  to  all  alchemists.” 

4441.  PHYSICIANS,  Proverbs.  The  doctor  is 

often  more  to  be  feared  than  the  disease.  — 
French. - It  is  God  that  cures;  and  the  doc¬ 
tor  gets  the  money.  —  Spanish. - The  best 

physicians  are  Dr.  Diet,  Dr.  Quiet,  and  Dr. 
Merryman.  —  English. 

4442.  PHYSICIANS,  Qualification  of.  A  sur¬ 
geon  of  the  army  said,  “  I  never  felt  the  need 
of  being  a  Christian  so  much  as  at  the  battle 
of  Chickamauga.  A  number  of  men  were 
brought  into  a  tent  where  we  were  amputating 
limbs,  and  probing  wounds.  Examining  the 
hurts  of  one  poor  fellow,  I  was  obliged  to  tell 
him  he  could  live  but  a  few  minutes.  He 
turned  and  looked  to  me  :  ‘  Surgeon,  are  you  a 
Christian  ?  ’  I  had  to  confess  I  was  not.  ‘  Is 
there  no  Christian  here?  ’  No  one  responded. 

‘  I  want  some  Christian  to  pray  with  me  before 
I  die.’  —  ‘Are  you  a  Christian  ?  ’  I  inquired. 

‘  Oh,  yes,  sir  I  I  am  a  Christian;  but  I  should 
so  love  to  have  some  one  pray  with  me  before 
1  go  away  to  be  with  Jesus !  O  surgeon  !  won’t 
you  pray  ?  ’  Hie  pleading  of  the  dying  man 
was  more  than  I  could  resist.  I  knelt  down 
beside  him,  and  offered  up  a  heartfelt  prayer 
to  God.  I  don't  know  much  about  such  things  ; 
but  that  prayer  has  had  a  most  marked  influ¬ 
ence  on  my  life  ever  since.  The  soldier  died 
in  a  few  minutes  after  its  close.” 

4443.  PIETY,  Advantage  of.  When  the  Gre¬ 
cians  had  won  Troy,  before  they  fell  to  plun¬ 
der  it,  they  gave  every  man  leave  to  bear  his 
burden  out  of  what  he  would.  And,  first  of 
all,  iEneas  marched  out,  carrying  his  house¬ 
hold  gods  ;  which  when  they  saw,  and  that  he 
did  them  no  great  damage  thereby,  they  bade 
him  take  another  burthen ;  which  he  did,  and 
returned  with  his  old  father,  Anehises,  on  his 
back,  and  his  young  son  Ascanius  in  hand.  | 


Which  the  Grecians  seeing, passed  by  his  house 
as  Joshua  did  by  the  house  of  Rahab,  saying, 
that  no  man  should  hurt  him  that  was  so  re¬ 
ligious.  And  thus  that  man  that  hath  his 
mind  set  on  his  God  shall  receive  no  hurt  by 
his  enemy ;  for,  when  a  man’s  ways  please  the 
Lord,  he  maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at 
peace  with  him.  Nay,  he  shall  be  “  in  league 
with  the  stones  of  the  field,  and  the  beasts  of 
the  field  shall  be  at  peace  with  him.”  And, 
which  is  yet  more,  God  will  break  the  bow  and 
the  sword,  and  snap  the  spear  asunder :  he 
will  make  all  those  terrible  instruments  of  war 
so  unserviceable,  that  they  shall  lie  down 
quietly  by  him,  not  offering  the  least  hurt  that 
may  be.  Spencer. 

4444.  PIETY,  a  Chain.  Piety  is  a  silver  chain 
hanged  up  aloft,  which  ties  heaven  and  earth, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  God  and  man  together. 

Caussin. 

4445.  PIETY,  First.  First  a  cure  for  your 
sin-sick  soul,  and  then  theologies.  Suppose  a 
man  were  taken  with  the  cholera,  and,  instead 
of  sending  for  a  physician,  he  should  send  to 
a  bookstore,  and  buy  all  the  books  which  have 
been  written  on  the  human  system,  and,  while 
the  disease  was  working  in  his  vitals,  he  should 
say,  “  I’ll  not  put  myself  in  the  hands  of  any 
of  these  doctors.  I  shall  probe  this  thing  to 
the  bottom.”  Would  it  not  be  better  for  him 
first  to  be  cured  of  the  cholera  ?  Beecher. 

444G.  PIETY,  Pleasures  of.  The  pleasures  of 
piety  are  infinitely  more  exquisite  than  those 
of  fashion  and  of  sensual  pursuits.  They 
consist  in  one  even  tenor  of  mind,  a  lightness 
of  heart  and  sober  cheerfulness  which  none  but 
those  who  have  experienced  can  conceive ;  but 
they  leave  no  sting  behind  them :  they  give 
pleasure  on  reflection,  and  will  soothe  the  mind 
in  the  distant  prospect.  And  who  can  sav  this 
of  the  world  or  its  enjoyments  ?  II.  K.  Whit:. 

444 7.  PIETY,  Reliability  of.  A  teacher  was 
once  telling  her  scholars  about  Cornelius  send¬ 
ing  a  devout  soldier  with  a  message  to  Peter. 
She  asked  them,  “  What  is  a  devout  man  ?  ” 
—  “  One  who  has  family  prayer,”  was  the  an¬ 
swer.  “  Why  did  Cornelius  send  a  devout 
soldier  ?  ”  she  inquired.  “  Coz  he  could  trust 
him,”  replied  the  pupils. 

4448.  PILGRIMAGE,  End  of  the.  To-day  it 
is  fair,  the  next  day  there  may  be  the  thunder¬ 
ing  storm  :  to-day  I  may  want  for  nothing ;  to¬ 
morrow  I  may  be  like  Jacob,  with  nothing  but 
a  stone  for  my  pillow  and  the  heavens  for  my 
curtains.  But  what  a  happy  thought  it  is  !  — 
though  we  know  not  where  the  road  winds,  we 
know  where  it  ends.  It  is  the  straightest  way 
to  heaven  to  go  round  about.  Israel’s  forty 
years’  wanderings  were,  after  all,  the  nearest 
path  to  Canaan.  We  may  have  to  go  through 
trial  and  affliction ;  the  pilgrimage  may  be  a 
tiresome  one,  but  it  is  safe.  We  cannot  trace 
the  river  upon  which  we  are  sailing ;  but  we 
know  it  ends  in  floods  of  bliss  at  last.  We  can¬ 
not  track  the  roads  ;  but  we  know  that  they  all 
meet  in  the  great  metropolis  of  heaven,  in  the 
centre  of  God’s  universe.  God  help  us  to  pursue 

|  the  true  pilgrimage  of  a  pious  life  1  Spurgeon. 


PrL.GrtIMLA.GK. 


plkasuef;. 


503 


4449.  PILGRIMAGE,  Family.  When  the 

crusades  were  preached  in  the  middle  ages, 
and  all  were  moved  to  enter  the  holy  war, 
some  of  the  farmers  yoked  their  oxen  to  their 
carts,  placed  their  goods,  wives,  and  children 
in  them,  and  started  on  a  pilgrimage  for  the 
Holy  City.  As  the  walls  of  town  or  castle 
came  in  view,  the  children  would  ask,  “  Is  that 
the  Jerusalem  we  are  going  to  ?  ” 

4450.  PILGRIMAGE,  Reminders  of  the.  A 

father  with  his  little  son  is  journeying  over¬ 
land  to  California ;  and  when,  at  night,  he 
pitches  his  tent  in  some  pleasant  valley,  the 
child  is  charmed  with  the  spot,  and  begs  his 
father  to  rear  a  house  and  remain  there ;  and 
he  begins  to  make  a  little  fence  about  the  tent, 
and  digs  up  the  wild-flowers,  and  plants  them 
within  the  enclosure.  But  the  father  says, 
“No,  my  son.  Our  home  is  far  distant.  Let 
these  things  go ;  for  to-morrow  we  must  de¬ 
part.”  Now,  God  is  taking  us  his  children,  as 
pilgrims  and  strangers,  homeward  ;  but  we  de¬ 
sire  to  build  here,  and  must  be  often  over¬ 
thrown  before  we  can  learn  to  seek  “  the  city 
that  hath  foundations,  whose  Builder  and 
Maker  is  God.”  Beecher. 

4451.  PILOT,  The  Safe.  While  a  tremen¬ 
dous  storm  was  rising  on  our  eastern  coast, 
a  ship  was  seen,  for  which  there  was  no  hope 
unless  she  could  reach  the  harbor.  A  few 
resolute  men  put  off  through  a  raging  sea  for 
her  relief,  and  were  soon  alongside.  She  had 
on  board  an  incompetent  pilot,  to  whose  igno¬ 
rance  the  ship  was  nearly  sacrificed.  The 
captain  took  the  wheel ;  and  the  new  pilot 
ordered  the  men  to  their  posts.  The  ship, 
under  all  sail,  was  put  on  the  port-tack,  direct¬ 
ly  towards  the  breakers.  As  they  neared  them, 
the  captain  cried,  “  Shall  I  put  her  about?  ”  — 
“  Steady  !  ”  was  the  pilot’s  calm  reply,  and,  in  a 
moment  more,  “  About  ship  1  ”  The  ship  neared 
two  sunken  rocks,  where  the  sea  boiled  threat¬ 
eningly  ;  passed  safely  between  them ;  then 
tacked  again,  and  was  soon  anchored  in  the 
harbor.  Then  the  captain  sprang  from  the 
wheel,  and  caught  the  pilot  in  his  arms.  The 
sailors  and  passengers  crowded  round :  some 
hung  upon  his  neck,  others  embraced  his  knees ; 
and  tears  streamed  down  the  faces  of  the  sea¬ 
men,  who  had  weathered  many  a  storm,  and 
braved  untold  dangers,  but  none  greater  than 
this.  All  were  pressing  forward,  if  only  to 
grasp  the  hand  of  their  deliverer  in  token 
of  gratitude.  Lite  is  a  sea ;  the  soul  the 
threatened  ship;  sin,  Satan,  and  hell  the 
dangers  to  be  met ;  and  Christ  the  great  pilot 
who  will  bring  the  soul  into  the  heavenly 
harbor. 

4459.  PITY,  Divine.  The  noblest  heart  on 
earth  is  but  a  trickling  stream  from  a  faint  and 
shallow  fountain,  compared  with  the  ineffable 
soul  and  heart  of  God  the  Everlasting  Father. 
The  pity  of  God  is  like  a  father’s  in  all  that  is 
tender,  strong,  and  full,  but  not  in  scope  and 
power.  For  every  one  of  God’s  feelings  moves 
in  the  sphere  of  the  infinite.  Beecher. 

4453.  PITY,  Vastnes3  of  God's.  God’s  pity  is 
not  as  some  sweet  cordial  poured  in  dainty 


drops  from  some  golden  phial.  It  is  not  like 
the  musical  water-drops  of  some  slender  rill, 
murmuring  down  the  dark  sides  of  Mount 
Sinai.  It  is  wide  as  the  whole  scope  of  heaven. 
It  is  abundant  as  all  the  air.  If  one  had  art 
to  gather  up  all  the  golden  sunlight  that  to-day 
falls  wide  over  all  this  continent,  falling 
through  every  silent  hour ;  and  all  that  is  dis¬ 
persed  over  the  whole  ocean,  Hashing  from 
every  wave ;  and  all  that  is  poured  refulgent 
over  the  northern  wastes  of  ice,  and  along  the 
whole  continent  of  Europe,  and  the  vast  out¬ 
lying  Asia,  and  torrid  Africa ;  if  one  could  in 
any  wise  gather  up  this  immense  and  incalcu¬ 
lable  outflow  and  treasure  of  sunlight  that  falls 
down  through  the  bright  hours,  and  runs  in 
liquid  ether  about  the  mountains,  and  fills  all 
the  plains,  and  sends  innumerable  rays  through 
every  secret  place,  pouring  over  and  filling 
every  flower,  shining  down  the  sides  of  every 
blade  of  grass,  resting  in  glorious  humility 
upon  the  humblest  things,  —  on  stick  and 
stone  and  pebble,  on  the  spider’s  web,  the 
spaiTow’s  nest,  the  threshold  of  the  young 
fox’s  hole,  where  they  play  and  warm  them¬ 
selves  ;  that  rests  on  the  prisoner’s  window, 
that  strikes  radiant  beams  through  the  slave’s 
tear,  that  puts  gold  upon  the  widow’s  weeds, 
that  plates  and  roofs  the  city  with  burnished 
gold,  and  goes  on  in  its  wild  abundance  up 
and  down  the  earth,  shining  everywhere  and 
always  since  the  day  of  primal  creation,  with¬ 
out  faltering,  without  stint,  without  waste  or 
diminution,  as  full,  as  fresh,  as  overflowing,  to¬ 
day,  as  if  it  were  the  first  day  of  its  outplay ;  — 
if  one  might  gather  up  this  boundless,  endless, 
infinite  treasure,  to  measure  it,  then  might  he 
tell  the  height  and  depth,  and  unending  glory 
of  the  pity  of  God.  In  light,  —  in  the  sun 
its  source,  —  you  have  God’s  own  figure  of  the 
immensity  and  copiousness  of  his  mercy  and 
compassion.  Beecher. 

4454.  PLANO,  Holding  to.  When  the  fruit  is 
yet  green,  the  stem  holds  tightly  to  the  bough ; 
but,  when  it  is  ripe,  it  falls  with  the  first  wind. 
So  hold  on  tightly  to  your  plans  in  life  until 
Cod  shows  you  that  they  are  ripe,  that  they 
have  accomplished  their  purpose ;  and  then 
let  them  go,  —  let  them  go  without  a  murmur. 

Beecher. 

4455.  PLANS,  Weighing.  Before  proceeding 

to  any  work,  we  should  weigh  it.  Letters  are 
charged  in  the  post-office  according  to  weight. 
I  have  written  and  sealed  a  letter  containing 
several  sheets.  I  desire  that  it  should  pass  ;  I 
think  it  will ;  but  I  know  well  that  it  will  not  be 
allowed  to  pass  because  I  desire  that  it  should  or 
think  that  it  will.  I  know  well  it  will  be  tested 
by  imperial  weights  and  measures.  Before  I 
plunge  it  beyond  my  reach,  I  place  it  on  a 
balance  before  me,  not  constructed  to  please 
my  desire,  but  honestly  adjusted  to  the  legal 
standard.  I  weigh  it  there,  and  check  it 
myself  by  the  very  rules  which  government 
will  apply.  So  should  we  weigh  our  purposes 
in  the  balance,  before  we  launch  them  forth  in 
action.  Rev.  W.  Arnot. 

4456.  PLEASURE,  Bought.  All  pleasure  must 


504 


PLEASURE. 


PLEASURES, 


be  bought  at  the  price  of  pain.  The  difference 
between  false  and  true  is  just  this,  —  for  the 
true,  the  price  is  paid  before  you  enjoy  it ;  for 
the  false,  afier  you  enjoy  it.  ./.  Foster. 

4457.  PLEASURE,  Brevities.  Think  not  that 

a  pleasure  which  God  hath  threatened,  nor 
that  a  blessing  which  God  hath  cursed. — 
Quarles. - The  pleasures  of  sense  will  sur¬ 

feit,  and  not  satisfy ;  the  pleasures  of  religion 

will  satisfy,  but  not  surfeit.  —  Henry. - He 

buys  honey  too  dear  who  licks  it  from  thorns. 
Xerxes  offered  a  reward  to  the  man  who  would 
invent  a  new  pleasure. 

4458.  PLEASURE,  Cloying.  A  philosopher, 
in  an  epistle  which  he  writes  to  a  friend  from 
the  court  of  Dionysius,  where  he  was  forcibly 
detained,  thus  bemoans  himself:  “We  are  un¬ 
happy,  O  Antisthenes  !  beyond  measure  ;  and 
how  can  we  but  be  unhappy,  that  are  burdened 
by  the  tyrant  every  day  with  sumptuous  feasts, 
plentiful  compotations,  precious  ointments,  gor¬ 
geous  apparel  V  and  I  knew,  as  soon  as  I  came 
into  this  island  and  eily,  how  unhappy  my  life 
would  be.”  This  is  the  nature  and  common 
condition  of  even  the  most  pleasing  sensible 
objects:  they  first  tempt,  then  please  a  little, 
then  disappoint,  and  lastly  vex.  The  eye  that 
beholds  them  blasts  them,  quickly  rifles  and 
deflowers  their  glory,  and  views  them  with  no 
more  delight  at  first  than  disdain  afterwards. 
Creature  enjoyments  have  a  bottom,  are  soon 
drained,  and  drawn  dr)'.  Hence  there  must 
be  frequent,  diversions  :  other  pleasures  must  be 
sought  out,  and  are  chosen,  not  because  they 
are  better,  but  because  they  are  new. 

John  Howe. 

4459.  PLEASURE,  Culling,  The  world  may 
have  many  pleasures ;  but  it  is  culling  flowers 
from  the  enemy’s  land,  and  we  Christians  must 
take  care  that  no  nightshade  and  henbane  mix 
unwittingly  with  our  garland. 

4469.  PLEASURE,  Delusion.  The  mirage  has 
lured  many  to  ruin  by  presenting  false  pictures 
of  trees  and  streams  in  the  desert ;  but  the 
pleasures  of  the  world  have  lured  and  cheated 
many  more  by  visions  of  false  happiness,  whose 
cheat  has  often  been  confessed. 

4461.  PLEASURE,  Emblem  of.  It  was  a  re¬ 
markably  hot  and  sultry  day.  We  were 
scrambling  up  the  mountain  which  rises  above 
the  east  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  when  I  saw 
before  me  a  fine  plum-tree  loaded  with  fresh¬ 
blooming  plums.  I  cried  to  my  fellow-traveller, 
“  Now,  then,  who  will  arrive  first  at  that  plum- 
tree  V  ”  and,  as  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  so 
refreshing  an  object,  we  both  pressed  our  horses 
into  a  gallop  to  see  which  should  get  the  first 
plum  from  the  branches.  We  both  arrived  at 
the  same  time,  and  each,  snatching  a  fine  ripe 

lum,  put  it  at  once  into  our  mouths ;  when,  on 

iting  it,  instead  of  the  cool,  delicious,  juicy 
fruit  which  we  expected,  our  mouths  were  filled 
with  a  dry,  bitter  dust;  and  we  sat  under  the 
tree  upon  our  horses,  sputtering  and  hemming, 
and  doing  all  we  could  to  be  relieved  of  the 
nauseous  taste  of  this  strange  fruit.  We  then 
perceived,  to  my  great  delight,  that  we  had 
-discovered  the  famous  apple  of  the  Dead  Sea, 


the  existence  of  which  has  been  doubted  and 
canvassed  since  the  days  of  Strabo  and  Pliny, 
who  first  described  it.  R.  Curzon. 

4462.  PLEASURE,  End  of,  Pleasure  is  but 

like  a  wooden  frame  set  under  an  arch  till  it 
be  strong  enough  of  its  own  weight  to  stand 
alone ;  so  when,  by  any  means,  the  Devil  hati 
a  man  sure,  he  takes  no  longer  care  to  cozen 
him  with  pleasures,  but  is  content  that  he 
should  begin  an  early  hell,  and  be  tormented 
before  the  time.  Jeremy  Taylor. 

4463.  PLEASURE,  Love  of.  A  dervise  once 
went  into  a  confectioner’s  shop.  The  confec¬ 
tioner,  to  honor  him,  poured  some  honey  into 
a  dish  before  him.  Immediately  a  swarm  of 
flies  settled,  as  was  their  wont,  upon  the 
honey ;  some  upon  the  edge  of  the  dish,  but 
the  greater  number  in  the  middle.  The  con¬ 
fectioner  then  took  up  a  whisk  to  drive  them 
off,  when  those  upon  the  side  flew  away  with 
case ;  but  the  others  were  prevented  from  rising 
by  the  honey  clinging  to  their  wings,  and 
were  involved  in  ruin.  The  dervise  noticed 
this,  and  remarked,  “  That  honey-dish  is  like 
the  world,  and  the  honey  like  its  pleasures. 
Those  who  enjoy  them  with  moderation  and 
contentment,  when  the  whisk  of  death  ap¬ 
proaches,  not  having  their  hearts  filled  with 
the  love  of  them,  can  with  ease  escape  its 
snare ;  while  all,  who,  like  the  foolish  flies, 
have  given  themselves  wholly  to  their  sweet¬ 
ness,  will  meet  with  destruction.” 

4461.  PLEASURE,  Mockery  of.  Alas  for 
thee,  that  thy  pulse  should  beat  a  march  to 
hell !  Alas  that  yonder  clock,  like  the  muf¬ 
fled  drum,  should  be  the  music  of  the  funeral- 
march  of  thy  soul  1  Alas,  alas,  that  thou 
sliouldst  fold  thine  arms  in  pleasure,  when  the 
knife  is  at  thy  heart  1  Alas,  alas,  for  thee,  that 
thou  sliouldst  sing  and  make  merriment  when 
the  rope  is  about  thy  neck,  and  the  drop  is 
tottering  under  thee  1  Alas  for  thee,  that 
thou  shouldst  go  thy  way,  and  live  merrily  and 
happily,  and  yet  be  lost  1  Thou  remindest  me 
of  the  silly  moth  that  dances  round  about  the 
flame,  singeing  itself  for  a  while,  and  then  at 
last  plunging  to  its  death.  Spurgeon. 

4465.  PLEASURE,  Penalty  of.  Lysimachus 

having  his  city  besieged,  and  himself,  with  his 
whole  army,  being  in  great  danger  of  perish¬ 
ing  by  thirst,  in  exchange  for  a  cup  of  cold 
water,  he  delivered  up  the  keys  of  the  city  to 
his  enemy,  which  cold  comfort  he  had  no 
sooner  tasted  but  his  tongue  bewrayed  the 
grief  of  his  heart,  saying,  “  Oh  that,  in  lieu  of  so 
momentary  a  pleasure,  I  should  be  made,  of 
a  sovereign,  a  servant ;  of  a  king,  a  captive  1  ” 
It  were  to  be  wished  that  every  one  would 
apply  this,  and  meditate  with  Hierom,  what 
shall  the  fornicator  get,  enduring  an  ocean  of 
torture  for  a  drop  of  pleasure  ?  “  Sweet  meat 

must  have  sour  sauce,”  says  another.  Spencer. 

4466.  PLEASURES,  Poison  in.  It  is  said  to 
have  been  a  plan  sometimes  practised  in  the 
middle  ages,  to  send  poisoned  flowers  to 
princes  or  great  persons,  when  a  plot  was  laid 
against  their  life.  Whether  the  fact  be  true 
or  not,  the  moral  it  may  suggest  is  true. 


PLEASURE. 


POLITENESS. 


505 


Pleasure’s  poisoned  flowers  have  killed  their 
thousands,  and  not  only  rich,  but  poor ;  and 
that  in  the  most  insidious  and  imperceptible 
way.  Bowes. 

4467.  PLEASURE,  Price  of.  Goethe,  in  his 
“  Faust,”  introduces  for  his  hero  a  student 
longing  for  the  pleasures  of  knowledge.  The 
Devil  appears  to  seduce  him  from  his  pursuit. 
Faust  is  to  have  all  possible  sensual  enjoyment 
in  life,  but  is  to  pay  for  it  by  yielding  his  soul 
to  the  Devil  at  last.  At  the  end,  Mephistoph- 
eles,  jealous  of  his  claim,  appears  and  carries 
off  his  victim,  the  student’s  lost  soul. 

4468.  PLEASURE,  Satiety  of.  I  have  run  the 

silly  rounds  of  pleasure,  and  have  done  with 
them  all.  I  have  enjoyed  all  the  pleasures  of 
the  world  :  I  appraise  them  at  their  real  worth, 
which  is,  in  truth,  very  low.  Those  who  have 
only  seen  their  outsides  always  overrate  them; 
but  I  have  been  behind  the  scenes :  1  have 
seen  all  the  coarse  pulleys  and  dirty  ropes 
which  move  their  gaudy  machines ;  and  I 
have  also  seen  and  smelled  the  tallow-candles 
which  illuminate  the  whole  decoration,  to  the 
astonishment  and  admiration  of  the  ignorant 
audience.  When  I  reflect  on  what  I  have 
seen,  what  I  have  heard,  and  what  I  have 
done,  I  can  hardly  persuade  myself  that  all 
that  frivolous  hurry  and  bustle  of  pleasure  in 
the  world  had  any  reality ;  but  I  look  upon 
all  that  is  past  as  one  of  those  romantic  dreams 
which  opium  commonly  occasions ;  and  I  do 
by  no  means  desire  to  repeat  the  nauseous 
dose.  Chesterjield. 

4469.  PLEASURE,  Sin  in.  It  is  said  that 

where  the  most  beautiful  cacti  grow,  there  the 
venomous  serpents  are  to  be  found  at  the  root 
of  every  plant.  And  it  is  so  with  sin.  Your 
fairest  pleasures  will  harbor  your  grossest 
sins.  Take  care,  take  care,  of  your  pleasures. 
Cleopatra’s  asp  was  introduced  in  a  basket  of 
flowers :  so  are  our  sins  often  brought  to  us  in 
the  flowers  of  our  pleasure.  Spurgeon. 

4470.  PLEASURE,  Undiscovered.  The  Ro¬ 
man  soldiers  at  the  sacking  of  Jerusalem  en¬ 
tered  the  temple,  and  went  into  the  sanctum 
sanctorum ;  but  seeing  no  images  there,  as 
they  used  to  have  in  their  own  idolatrous  tem¬ 
ples,  gave  out,  in  a  jeer,  that  the  Jews  wor¬ 
shipped  the  clouds.  So  the  worldling  can  see 
no  pleasure  in  religion. 

4471.  PLEASURE,  Vanity  of.  Cervantes  was 
overwhelmed  with  melancholy  when  all  Spain 
was  laughing  at  the  humorous  flights  of  his 
pen.  Moliere,  the  first  of  French  comic 
writers,  was  always  so  sad,  that  the  greatest 
of  prosperity  could  not  dispel  his  gloom. 
Samuel  Foote,  a  noted  wit,  died  of  a  broken 
heart. 

4472.  POLITENESS,  Acquirement  of.  To  the 
acquisition  of  the  rare  quality  of  politeness,  so 
much  of  the  enlightened  understanding  is 
necessary,  that  I  cannot  but  consider  every 
book  in  every  science,  which  tends  to  make 
us  wiser,  and,  of  course,  better  men,  as  a  treat¬ 
ise  on  a  more  enlarged  system  of  politeness ; 
not  excluding  the  “Experiments  of  Archi¬ 
medes  ”  or  the  “  Elements  of  Euclid.”  Monro. 


4473.  POLITENESS,  Example  of.  When 
Pope  Clement  XIV.  ascended  the  papal  chair, 
the  ambassadors  of  the  several  states  repre¬ 
sented  at  his  court  waited  on  him  with  their 
congratulations.  When  they  were  introduced 
and  bowed,  he  returned  the  compliment  by 
bowing  also ;  on  which  the  master  of  the  cere¬ 
monies  told  his  Highness  that  he  should  not 
have  returned  their  salute.  “  Oh  !  I  beg  your 
pardon,”  said  the  pontiff:  “I  have  nqt  been 
pope  long  enough  to  forget  good  manners.” 

Percy. 

4474.  POLITENESS,  Home.  Should  an  ac¬ 
quaintance  tread  on  your  best  dress,  and  tear  it, 
how  profuse  you  are  with-your  “  Never  minds,” 
“  Don’t  think  of  it,”  “  I  don’t  care  at  all  ”  I  If 
a  husband  does  it,  he  gets  a  frown  ;  if  a  child, 
he  is  chastised.  A  gentleman  stops  at  a 
friend’s  house,  and  finds  it  in  confusion. 
“  He  don’t  see  any  thing  to  apologize  for, 
never  thinks  of  such  matters ;  every  thing  is 
all  right  ”  (cold  supper,  cold  room,  cry¬ 
ing  children),  “  perfectly  comfortable.”  Goes 
home ;  his  wife  has  been  taking  care  of  the 
sick  ones,  and  worked  her  life  almost  out. 
“  Don’t  see  why  things  can’t  be  kept  in  better 
order :  there  never  were  such  cross  children 
before  1  ”  No  apologies  except  away  from 
home. 

4475.  POLITENESS,  Power  of.  A  little  girl 
told  her  aunt  that  she  had  found  a  new  key  to 
unlock  people’s  hearts.  It  was  the  little  word 
“  Please.”  It  is  a  key  that  fits  the  lock  of 
everybody’s  heart. 

4476.  POLITENESS,  Profit  of.  While  an 
officer  was  bowing,  a  cannon-ball  passed  over 
his  head,  and  decapitated  a  soldier  who  stood 
behind  him.  “  You  see,”  said  the  officer  to 
those  near  him,  “  that  a  man  never  loses  by 
politeness.” 

4477.  POLITENESS,  Rewarded.  Two  boys, 
the  one  a  gentleman’s  son,  and  the  other  the 
son  of  a  poor  widow,  applied  to  a  merchant  for 
a  situation  ;  when  the  latter  was  chosen.  A  tri¬ 
fling  incident  decided  the  choice.  Just  as  the 
two  boys  came  together  to  the  merchant’s  door, 
a  poor  ragged  girl  fell  on  the  icy  sidewalk,  and 
lost  her  pennies,  and  cried  bitterly.  The  first 
boy  laughed  rudely  ;  but  the  other  went  to  the 
girl’s  aid,  and,  fishing  in  the  gutter  for  the 
pennies,  found  one,  and  replaced  the  other  from 
his  own  little  purse.  The  merchant  observed 
all ;  and  though  the  first  had  strong  recom¬ 
mendations,  and  the  other  none,  the  poor  boy’s 
politeness  secured  him  the  place. 

4478.  POLITENESS,  True.  True  politeness 
is  not  wholly  made  up  of  graceful  manners,  and 
courtly  conversation,  and  a  strict  adherence  to 
the  rules  of  fashion,  however  agreeable  these 
may  be.  It  is  something  less  superficial  than 
these  accomplishments.  Genuine  courtesy 
grows  out  of  an  assiduous  self-denial,  and  a 
constant  consideration  of  the  happiness  of 
others.  The  forms  and  usages  of  etiquette 
derive  all  their  beauty  and  significance  from 
the  fact  that  each  of  them  requires  the  sacrifice 
of  one’s  own  ease  and  convenience  to  another’s 
comfort.  St.  Paul,  who  before  Felix  and 


506 


POOK. 


POVERTY. 


Agrippa,  and  even  when  the  object  of  the  abuse 
and  insult  of  the  Jewish  mob,  showed  what 
should  be  the  conduct  of  a  true  gentleman,  has 
included  all  of  refinement  in  these  few  words, 

“  In  honor  preferring  one  another.”  How 
noble  does  the  same  principle  appear  in  the 
words  of  the  chivalrous  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
who,  when  he  lay  wounded  on  the  battle-field, 
and  was  offered  a  cup  of  cold  water,  motioned 
it  to  a  suffering  soldier  at  his  side,  and  said, 
“  This  man’s  necessity  is  greater  than  mine!” 

4479.  POOR,  Exaltation  of  the,  Moses  was  the 
eon  of  a  poor  Levite ;  Gideon  was  a  thresher ; 
David  was  a  shepherd-boy ;  Amos  was  a 
herdsman ;  the  apostles  were  “  ignorant  and 
unlearned  ;  ”  Zwingle  emerged  from  a  shep¬ 
herd’s  hut  amongst  the  Alps  ;  Melanctlion  was 
a  workman  in  an  armorer’s  shop ;  Martin 
Luther  was  the  child  of  a  poor  miner ;  Carey, 
who  originated  the  plan  of  translating  the 
Bible  into  the  language  of  the  millions  of  Ilin- 
dostan,  was  a  shoemaker  in  Northampton ; 
Dr.  Morrison,  who  translated  the  Bible  into 
the  Chinese  language,  was  a  last-maker  in 
Newcastle ;  Dr.  Milner  was  a  herd-boy  in  Ab¬ 
erdeenshire  ;  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  was  the  child 
of  Irish  cotters;  John  Foster  was  a  weaver ; 
Andrew  Fuller  was  a  farm-servant;  William 
Jay  of  Bath  was  a  herdsman.  Bowes. 

448®.  POOR,  God's  Care  for  the.  A  poor 
French  family  were  in  great  distress  for  food; 
when  one  of  the  children,  who  had  heard  of  the 
bountiful  Father,  in  a  Sunday  school,  wrote  a 
letter,  telling  God  how  poor,  sick,  and  hungry 
they  were.  He  directed  his  letter  to  the 
“  Good  God  in  Heaven,”  and  dropped  it  into 
the  charity-box  in  a  church.  A  lady  saw  the 
boy’s  wan  looks,  took  the  letter  from  the  box, 
was  startled  by  its  address,  and  moved  by  its 
contents.  Giving  the  boy  such  a  sum  of  money 
as  he  had  never  seen  before,  she  told  him  that 
it  was  the  answer  of  the  good  God  to  his 
letter. 

4481.  POOR,  Legacy  of  the.  I  have  no  legacy 
to  leave  my  children  but  pious  poverty,  God’s 
blessing,  and  a  father’s  prayers.  Prideaux. 

4482.  POOR,  Relieve  the.  One  stormy  night, 
a  gentleman  was  passing  along  the  streets  of  a 
city,  when  suddenly  a  voice  at  his  elbow  said, 
“  I  am  not  fit  for  work  ;  and  I  have  eaten  noth¬ 
ing  to-day.”  It  was  a  soldier,  pale  as  if  from 
recent  sickness  or  too  scanty  food.  He  had 
lost  both  arms  by  amputation.  The  gentle¬ 
man’s  first  impulse  was  to  give  him  something ; 
but  the  trouble  of  unbuttoning  his  coat  was  too 
much  :  and  he  passed  on.  The  thought  of  the 

oor  man  starving,  perhaps,  made  him  misera- 

le ;  and,  if  it  had  been  possible  to  have  found 
him,  he  would  gladly  have  done  so.  Three  or 
four  days  after  the  occurrence,  the  papers  told 
the  sad  story  of  a  discharged  soldier,  his  wife, 
and  two  children,  dying  of  starvation.  They 
had  had  nothing  to  eat  for  four  days.  The 
gentleman  immediately  hastened  down  town, 
and  found  the  poor  sufferers.  There  was  the 
same  wan  face  that  he  had  repelled  at  the 
comer  of  the  street.  His  wife  and  child  had 
died ;  and  he,  with  one  little  girl,  was  sob¬ 


bing  beside  their  dead  bodies.  Better  give  to 
a  thousand  unworthy  than  refuse  one  that  ia 
really  in  need.  * 

4483.  POOR,  Remembering  the.  James  Bundy 
of  Bristol,  England,  was  in  the  habit,  on  Sat¬ 
urday  evenings,  of  visiting  the  markets,  to  do 
good  to  the  poor.  If  he  beheld  a  poor  person 
at  a  butcher’s  stall  inquiring  the  price  of  a 
piece  of  meat,  and  then  turning  away  for  want 
of  more  money,  he  would  call  him  back,  saying, 

“  What  can  you  afford  to  give  V  ”  On  beinor 
told  how  much,  he  would  produce  the  additional 
sum,  and  enable  the  poor  man  to  make  the 
purchase.  Besides  this,  he  regularly  distrib¬ 
uted  large  quantities  of  provisions  to  the  poor 
of  his  acquaintance. 

4484.  POOR,  a  Treasure.  The  satellites  of 
the  emperor,  hearing  that  the  treasures  of  the 
church  had  been  confided  to  Laurence,  carried 
him  before  the  tribunal ;  and  he  was  required 
to  say  where  the  treasures  were  concealed.  He 
answered,  that,  in  three  days,  he  would  show 
them.  On  the  third  day,  St.  Laurence  gathered 
together  the  sick  and  the  poor  to  whom  he  had 
dispensed  alms,  and,  placing  them  before  the 
prefect,  said,  “  Behold  1  here  are  the  treasures 
of  Christ’s  Church.” 

4485.  POSSIBLE,  Doing  the.  Napoleon  was 
passing  along  the  ancient  horrible  road  along 
theEchellesde  Savoie,  with  his  engineer,  when 
he  stopped,  and,  pointing  to  the  mountain,  said, 
“  Is  it  not  possible  to  cut  a  tunnel  through  the 
entrails  of  yonder  rock,  and  to  form  a  more 
safe  and  commodious  route  beneath  it  ?  ”  —  “It 
is  possible,  certainly,  sire,”  replied  his  scientific 
companion.  “  Then  let  it  be  done  immedi¬ 
ately,”  replied  the  emperor. 

448®.  POVERTY,  Cause  of.  Poverty  is  very 
frequently  the  direct  effect  and  consequent  of 
sin  and  vice.  The  drunkard  drinks  off  his 
estate,  like  his  cups,  to  the  very  bottom,  and 
leaves  nothing  behind.  The  vain-glorious  man 
wears  his  fortunes  upon  his  back,  till  at  length 
he  has  worn  them  out.  The  contentious  man 
follows  the  law  against  his  neighbor,  for  the 
gratification  of  his  revengeful  humor,  so  long, 
that,  in  the  end,  the  very  obtaining  of  the  cause 
does  not  defray  the  charges,  or  remove  the 
poverty  contracted  by  its  prosecution. 

Dr.  South. 

4487.  POVERTY,  Compensation  of.  O  ye  chil¬ 
dren  of  poverty  and  toil,  of  misfortune  and 
sorrow  1  God  is  better  to  you  than  ye  know. 
Ye  see  but  one  side  of  the  veil  now  ;  and  that 
is  fretted  with  troubles,  and  dark  with  adversity. 
But  it  has  another  side.  On  that  side  are 
angel  faces  and  the  smile  of  God.  Your  worldly 
plans  are  thwarted,  and  you  are  tempted  to 
think  the  Lord  unkind.  Your  business  becomes 
entangled  in  events,  which  shift,  ye  see  not 
how.  A  sudden  blast  sweeps  all  your  goods 
away :  ye  think  it  hard,  and  ye  sigh.  O  weep¬ 
ing  followers  of  Jesus,  look  !  Faithful  amid 
misfortune,  gaze  !  Your  crowns  are  gathering 
lustre.  Your  harps  are  being  attuned  to  sweeter 
notes  and  deeper  melodies  of  joy.  Your  trials 
project  their  shadows  upon  the  walls  of  your 
heavenly  mansion ;  and,  lo  1  they  are  trans- 


POVERTY. 


POWER. 


507 


formed  into  images  of  seraphic  loveliness  that 
shall  gleam  in  beauty  there  forever. 

Rev.  J.  Atkinson. 

4488.  POVERTY,  Consolation  in.  A  young 
lady  who  complained  because  she  could  not 
have  a  piano  says,  “  Never  shall  I  forget  my 
mother’s  gentle  tone  as  she  simply  replied, 
‘  Never  mind  :  if  you  cannot  have  a  piano  on 
earth,  you  may  have  a  harp  in  heaven. 
Instantly  the  whole  current  of  my  feelings 
was  changed.  Earthly  things  dwindled  into 
insignificance;  and  the ‘harp  in  heaven,’ with 
its  golden  strings,  became  the  object  of  iny 
desire.  I  felt  reproved  for  my  murmurings 
against  Providence  that  had  placed  me  in  a 
humble  home ;  and,  from  that  moment,  the 
enjoyments  of  heaven  seemed  far  to  outweigh 
all  the  pleasures  of  earth.” 

4489.  POVERTY,  Contrast  of.  There  is  no 

such  odds  in  poverty  and  riches.  To  quote 
Hierom’s  words,  “  I  will  ask  our  magnificoes 
that  build  with  marble,  and  bestow  a  whole 
manor  on  a  thread,  what  difference  between 
them  and  Paul  the  Eremite,  that  bare  old  man  ? 
They  drink  in  jewels  ;  he,  in  his  hand  :  he  is 
poor,  and  goes  to  heaven  ;  they  are  rich,  and  go 
to  hell.”  Burton. 

4490.  POVERTY,  Coveting.  Luther  said 
once,  “  I  thank  thee,  O  God  1  that  thou  hast 
made  me  a  poor  man  on  the  earth.”  When 
the  elector  sent  him  a  valuable  present,  he 
wrote  b^ack  that  he  could  not  refuse  what  had 
been  given  by  his  prince,  but  begged  his 
Highness  to  send  no  more,  and  not  to  give  ear 
to  those  who  said  he  was  in  need  of  any  thing, 
for  he  was  not ;  that  somebody  else  had  sent 
him  sixty  florins  (about  thirty  dollars)  ;  and  he 
began  to  be  afraid  that  he  should  be  numbered 
among  those  whose  portion  is  in  this  world. 

4491.  POVERTY,  Human.  “  Have  you  any¬ 
thing  you  did  not  receive  from  God  ?  ” 
inquired  a  teacher  of  his  pupils.  “  No,”  said 
all  the  scholars  but  one.  lie  replied,  “  Yes.” 
—  “  What  is  that  ?  ”  asked  the  teacher.  “  Sin,” 
replied  the  boy. 

4492.  POVERTY,  Influence  of.  Alone  in 
the  garret  of  a  dilapidated  house,  within  a 
wretched  room,  stretched  on  a  pallet  of  straw, 
covered  only  by  some  scanty  filthy  rags,  with 
no  fire  in  the  empty  chimney,  and  the  winter 
wind  blowing  in  cold  and  fitful  gusts  through 
the  broken,  battered  window,  an  old  woman 
lay,  feeble,  wasted,  gray.  She  had  passed  the 
eleventh  hour :  the  hand  was  creeping  on  to 
the  twelth.  It  was  important  to  turn  to  the 
best  account  the  few  remaining  sands  of  life; 
so  1  spoke  to  her  of  her  soul,  and  told  her  of  a 
Saviour,  urging  her  to  prepare  for  that  other 
world  on  whose  awful  border  her  spirit  was 
hovering.  She  looked ;  she  stared  ;  and,  rais¬ 
ing  herself  on  her  elbow,  with  chattering  teeth 
and  ravenous  look  exclaimed,  “  I  am  cold  and 
hungry  1  ”  Promising  help,  1  at  the  same  time 
w-arned  her  that  there  was  something  worse 
than  cold  or  hunger;  whereupon,  stretching 
out  a  naked  and  skinny  arm,  with  an  answer, 
which,  if  it  did  not  satisfy  the  reason,  touched 
the  feelings,  she  said,  “  If  you  were  as  cold  and 


as  hungry  as  I  am,  you  could  think  of  nothing 
else.”  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4493.  POWER,  Baptism  of.  One  has  asked, 
“  Suppose  I  do  receive  the  baptism  of  power, 
and  no  good  results  follow,  what  must  I  think  ?  ” 
A  few  years  ago,  a  young  engineer  was  being 
examined  for  graduation,  when  his  examiner 
proposed  the  following  question :  “  Suppose 
you  have  a  steam-pump  constructed  for  a  ship, 
under  your  own  supervision,  and  know  that 
every  tiling  is  in  perfect  working-order,  yet, 
when  you  throw  out  the  hose,  it  will  not  draw. 
What  would  you  think  ?  ”  —  “I  should  think, 
sir,  there  must  be  a  defect  somewhere.”  —  “  But 
such  a  conclusion  is  not  admissible ;  for  the 
supposition  is,  that  every  thing  is  perfect,  and 
yet,  it  will  not  work.”  —  “  Then,  sir,  I  should 
look  over  the  side  to  see  if  the  river  had  run 
dry.”  So  I  should  look  to  see  if  God  had 
vanished  from  the  universe.  S.  H.  Platt. 

4494.  POWER,  cf  Character.  In  1848,  La¬ 
martine  introduced  De  la  Eure  to  the  riotous 
populace,  saying,  “  Listen,  citizens  1  It  is  six¬ 
ty  years  of  a  pure  life  that  is  about  to  address 
you.”  The  multitude  all  became  attentive  to 
his  words.  It  was  the  power  of  integrity  and 
purity. 

4  495.  POWER,  Christian.  “  The  evil  men  do 
lives  after  them ;  ”  but  we  do  not  believe  that 
“  the  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones.” 
No  :  it  is  as  immortal  as  the  divine  Being  in 
whom  it  originates.  The  good  must  ever  live, 
and  “  walk  up  and  down  the  earth,”  like  a  liv¬ 
ing  spirit  guided  by  the  living  God,  to  convey 
blessings  to  the  children  of  men.  It  lives  in 
humanity,  in  some  form  or  other,  like  the 
subtle  substance  of  material  things,  which, 
though  ever  changing,  never  perishes,  but  adds 
to  the  stability,  the  beauty,  and  the  grandeur 
of  the  universe.  The  influence  of  the  holy 
character  passes  also  beyond  the  stars,  giving 
joy  to  our  angel  brothers,  and  to  our  elder 
brother  Jesus  Christ,  who  in  seeing  his  own 
love  to  his  God  and  our  God,  to  his  neighbor 
and  ours,  reflected  in  his  people,  beholds  the 
grand  result  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  is 
“  satisfied.”  Dr.  Macleod. 

4496.  POWER,  of  the  Church.  If,  as  a  recent 
writer  says,  “  A  powerless  Christian  ought  to 
be  felt  to  be  as  great  a  misnomer  as  a  forceless 
thunderbolt,”  what  a  resistless  army  ought 
the  Church,  enrolled  under  the  banner  of  the 
Lord  of  Hosts,  to  be?  Strong  in  faith,  in 
purity,  in  prayer,  in  unity,  in  hope,  in  effort, 
in  trial,  in  weakness,  in  wealth,  in  culture,  in 
numbers,  but  strongest  of  all  in  God,  why 
shall  it  not  conquer  the  world  for  Christ? 

4497.  POWER,  Divine.  Pompey  boasted, 
that,  with  one  stamp  of  his  foot,  he  could  rouse 
all  Italy  to  arms;  but  God,  by  one  word  of  his 
mouth,  can  summon  the  inhabitants  of  heaven, 
earth,  and  the  undiscovered  worlds,  to  his  aid, 
or  bring  new  creatures  into  being  to  do  his 
will. 

4498.  POWER,  Emblem  of.  Power  is  ex¬ 
pressed  in  art  by  the  luminous  nebula  sup¬ 
posed  to  emanate  from  and  surround  the  divine 
essence.  It  was  derived  from  the  heathen,  who 


508 


POWER. 


PRACTICE . 


decorated  the  images  of  their  gods  with  a 
crown  of  rays.  The  glory  is  sometimes  cruci¬ 
form,  airain  triangular,  and,  at  other  times,  cir- 
cular. 

4490.  POWER,  Human,  Man  conquers  the 
sea  and  its  storms.  He  climbs  the  heavens, 
and  searches  out  the  mysteries  of  the  stars. 
He  harnesses  the  lightning.  He  bids  the  rocks 
dissolve,  and  summons  the  secret  atoms  to 
give  up  their  names  and  laws.  He  subdues 
the  face  of  the  world,  and  compels  the  forces 
of  the  waters,  and  the  fires,  to  be  his  servants. 
He  makes  laws,  hurls  empires  down  upon  em¬ 
pires  in  the  fields  of  war,  speaks  words  that 
cannot  die,  sings  to  distant  realms  and  peoples 
across  vast  ages  of  time ;  in  a  word,  he  exe¬ 
cutes  all  that  is  included  in  history,  showing 
his  tremendous  energy  in  almost  every  thing 
that  stirs  the  silence,  and  changes  the  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  world.  Every  thing  is  transformed 
by  him,  even  up  to  the  stars.  Not  all  the 
winds  and  storms  and  earthquakes  and  seas 
and  seasons  of  the  world  have  done  so  much 
to  revolutionize  the  world  as  he  has  done  since 
the  day  he  came  forth  upon  it,  and  received,  as 
he  is  most  truly  declared  to  have  done,  domin¬ 
ion  over  it.  Dr.  Bushnell. 

4500.  POWER,  Latent.  It  is  impossible  to 
overestimate,  or,  rather,  to  estimate,  the  power 
that  lies  latent  in  our  churches.  We  talk  of 
the  power  that  was  latent  in  steam,  —  latent 
till  Watt  evoked  its  spirit  from  the  waters,  and 
set  the  giant  to  turn  the  iron  arms  of  machin¬ 
ery.  We  talk  of  the  power  that  was  latent 
in  the  skies  till  science  climbed  their  heights, 
and,  seizing  the  spirit  of  the  thunder,  chained 
it  to  our  surface,  abolishing  distance,  out¬ 
stripping  the  wings  of  time,  and  flashing  our 
thoughts  across  rolling  seas  to  distant  conti¬ 
nents.  Yet  what  are  these  to  the  moral  power 
that  lies  asleep  in  the  congregations  of  our 
country  and  of  the  Christian  world  1 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

4501.  POWER,  Moral,  Moral  power,  —  by 
this  we  mean  the  power  of  a  life  and  a  char¬ 
acter  ;  the  power  of  good  and  great  purposes ; 
that  power  which  comes  at  length  to  reside  in  a 
man  distinguished  in  some  course  of  estimable 
or  great  conduct.  It  is  often  this  which  digni¬ 
fies  the  great  senator,  so  as  to  make  even  his 
common  words  words  of  grave  wisdom,  or, 
perchance,  of  high  eloquence.  It  is  this  which 
gives  a  power  so  mysterious,  often,  to  the 
preacher  of  Christ,  —  such  a  power  that  even 
Lis  presence  in  any  place  will  begin  to  disturb 
the  conscience  of  many  even  before  they  have 
heard  him.  No  other  power  of  man  compares 
with  this ;  and  there  is  no  individual  who  may 
not  be  measurably  invested  with  it.  Bushnell. 

4592.  POWER,  Reception  of.  When  a  lecturer 
on  electricity  wants  to  show  an  example  of 
a  human  body  surcharged  with  fire,  he  places 
a  person  on  a  stool  with  glass  legs.  The  glass 
serves  to  isolate  him  from  the  earth,  because 
it  will  not  conduct  fire,  the  electric  fluid.  Were 
it  not  for  this,  however  much  might  be  poured 
into  his  frame,  it  would  be  carried  away  by 
the  earth;  but,  when  thus  isolated  from  it,  he 


retains  all  that  enters  him.  You  see  no  fire 
you  hear  no  fire ;  but  you  are  told  that  it  is 
Douring  into  him.  Presently  you  are  chal- 
enged  to  the  proof ;  asked  to  come  near,  and 
hold  your  hand  close  to  his  person  :  when  you 
do  so,  a  spark  of  fire  shoots  out  towards  you. 
If  thou,  then,  wouldst  have  thy  soul  surcharged 
with  the  fire  of  God,  so  that  those  who  come 
nigh  to  thee  shall  feel  some  mysterious  in¬ 
fluence  proceeding  out  from  thee,  thou  must 
draw  nigh  to  the  source  of  that  fire,  to  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  and  shut  thy¬ 
self  out  from  the  world,  —  that  cold  world 
which  so  swiftly  steals  our  fire  away.  Enter 
into  tliy  closet,  and  shut  to  thy  door,  and 
there,  isolated  before  the  throne,  await  the 
baptism;  then  the  fire  shall  fill  thee;  and, 
when  thou  comest  forth,  holy  power  will  attend 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  labor,  not  in  thine  own 
strength,  but  with  demonstration  of  the  Spirit, 
and  with  power.  W.  Arthur. 

4593.  POWER,  Recovery  of.  In  some  of  our 
houses  is  constructed  a  telegraphic  alarm. 
Every  door  and  every  window,  by  a  tele¬ 
graphic  wire,  is  connected  with  a  little  gal¬ 
vanic  battery  in  a  closet,  and  also  with  a  bell 
at  the  head  of  the  sleeper’s  bed.  When  a 
door  or  window  opens,  the  bell  gives  a  sudden 
peal.  After  five  or  six  months,  if  no  precau¬ 
tion  is  taken,  a  serious  difficulty  may  occur. 
The  lever  may  be  turned  to  connect  the  bat- 
tery  with  the  bell,  and  a  door  may  be  opened ; 
but  no  sound  will  be  heard.  AVhat  has  hap¬ 
pened  ?  Every  wire  in  the  house  can  be  traced 
uninjured  back  to  the  battery ;  the  platform 
on  which  stands  the  bell,  and  the  lever  con¬ 
necting  and  disconnecting  the  wires,  are  all  in 
place :  but  there  is  no  response.  The  power  is 
gone.  AVhat  shall  we  do?  Polish  the  bell? 
increase  the  number  of  or  renew  the  wires? 
Still  there  would  be  no  sound.  Shall  we  smite 
upon  the  bell,  imitating  the  ringing  peal  our¬ 
selves  ?  But  then  its  legitimate  office,  to  give 
us  warning,  and  to  save  us  in  the  hour  of 
danger,  is  gone.  There  is  only  one  course  to 
be  pursued.  The  trouble  is  with  the  battery. 
It  has  only  to  be  charged  again  as  it  was  at 
first ;  and  then  the  fire  will  run  through  all  the 
lines  of  wire,  and  the  response  will  be  given  at 
the  point  of  contact.  So  also  the  heart  must 
be  again  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  every 
point  of  contact  with  our  fellow-men  will 
illustrate  our  moral  power.  Dr.  Curry. 

4504.  POWER,  Volitional.  The  sea  cannot 

roll  up  the  mountain,  however  furious  its  rage 
may  become :  it  must  lie  in  its  own  bed. 
Neither  suns,  stars,  nor  comets  have  power  in 
themselves  to  sweep  an  inch  out  of  their  or¬ 
bits.  The  mightiest  animal  of  sea  or  land  has 
no  power  to  act  contrary  to  the  strong  law  of 
instinct.  But  man  has  the  power  to  overstep 
the  moral  boundary  of  his  being,  to  fly  fiom 
his  appointed  orbit :  he  can  deviate  from  tr  uth, 
justice,  benevolence,  and  piety.  The  great 
sun  cannot  say  No  to  its  Maker :  a  child  may 
and  does.  Dr.  Thomas. 

4505.  PRACTICE,  Power  o£  An  emir  bought 
a  left  eye  of  a  glass-maker,  and  was  vexed  that 


PRA-CTICIC. 


PRAISE. 


500 


he  could  not  see  with  it.  The  man  begged 
him  to  give  it  a  little  time :  he  could  not  ex¬ 
pect  that  it  would  see,  all  at  once,  as  well  as 
the  right  eye,  which  had  been  so  many  years 
in  the  habit  of  it.  IV.  K.  Kelley. 

4506.  PRACTICE,  Result  of.  The  Romans 
distributed  slingers  in  their  armies,  who,  in 
besieging  a  town,  wounded  and  drove  the 
garrison  from  their  walls ;  throwing  with  such 
exactness  as  rarely  to  miss  their  mark.  This 
dexterity  they  acquired  by  constant  exercise, 
being  trained  to  it  from  their  infancy.  Their 
mothers  placed  their  daily  food  upon  the  top  of 
a  pole,  and  gave  them  no  more  than  they  beat 
down  with  stones  from  their  slings. 

4507.  PRACTICE,  Superiority  of.  Two  archi¬ 
tects  were  candidates  for  the  erection  of  a 
temple  at  Athens.  One  of  them  discoursed 
largely  on  different  orders  of  architecture,  and 
how  the  temple  should  be  built.  The  other 
said,  that,  “  what  his  brother  had  spoken,  he 
could  do,”  and  was  awarded  the  position. 

4508.  PRACTICE,  Test  of.  Suppose  a  man 

should  sail  all  the  boiling  and  blazing  day 
round  and  round  an  old  Dutch  ship  in  the 
harbor,  and  the  next  day  you  should  see  him, 
like  a  magnified  fly,  creeping  up  and  down 
the  masts  and  spars,  and  examining  the  rig¬ 
ging,  and  you  should  ask  him  what  he  was 
doing,  and  he  should  answer,  “  I  have  heard 
that  this  ship  is  a  dull  sailer,  and  I  want  to 
look  at  it  and  see.”  Could  he  ever  find  out 
in  this  way  V  No.  Let  him  weigh  anchor,  and 
spread  the  canvas,  and  take  the  wind,  and  bear 
away,  if  he  would  know  how  she  sails.  So,  if 
a  Christian  would  learn  his  true  state,  let  him 
not  row  round  and  round  the  hull  of  his  self- 
consciousness,  and  creep  up  and  down  the 
masts  and  spars  of  his  feelings  and  affections ; 
but  let  him  spread  the  sails  of  resolution,  and 
bear  away  on  the  ocean  of  duty)  Then  he 
shall  know  whether  he  be  a  dull  or  a  fast 
sailer.  Beecher. 

4509.  PRAISE,  Anthem  of.  It  is  said,  that, 
when  the  sun  is  going  out  of  sight,  the  pious 
Swiss  herdsman  of  the  Alps  takes  his  alpine 
horn,  and  shouts  loudly  through  it,  “  Praise  ye 
the  Lord  1  ”  Then  a  brother  herdsman  on  some 
distant  slope  takes  up  the  echo,  “  Praise  the 
Lord  1  ”  Soon  another  answers,  still  higher  up 
the  mountains,  till  hill  shouts  to  hill,  and  peak 
echoes  to  peak,  the  sublime  anthem  of  praise 
to  the  Lord  of  all. 

4510.  PRAISE,  Benefit  of.  All  the  benefit 
which  ariseth  out  of  this  duty  redounds  to  us, 
and  none  to  God.  Ilis  glory  is  infinite,  and 
eternally  the  same  :  there  is  and  can  be  no 
accession  unto  that  by  all  our  praises.  When- 
a  glass  reflecteth  the  brightness  of  the  sun, 
there  is  but  an  acknowledgment  of  what  was, 
not  any  addition  of  what  was  not.  When  an 
excellent  orator  makes  a  panegyrical  oration 
in  praise  of  some  honorable  person,  he  does 
not  infuse  any  dram  of  worth  into  the  person, 
but  only  settetli  forth  and  declareth  that  which 
is  unto  others.  A  curious  picture  praiseth  a 
beautiful  face,  not  by  adding  beauty  to  it,  but 
by  representing  that  which  was  in  it  before. 


The  window,  which  lets  in  light  into  a  house, 
docs  not  benefit  the  light,  but  the  lioum  into 
which  the  light  sliincth :  so  our  praising  of 
God  doth  serve  to  quicken,  comfort,  and  refresh 
ourselves,  who  have  interest  in  so  good  a  God ; 
or  to  edify  and  encourage  our  brethren,  that 
they  may  be  ambitious  to  serve  so  honorable 
a  Master :  but  they  add  no  glory  or  lustre  to 
God  at  all.  Bp.  Reynolds. 

4511.  PRAISE,  Brevities.  Praise  is  the  rent 
we  owe  to  God ;  and,  the  larger  the  farm,  the 

greater  the  rent.  —  Bowes. - The  Lord  has 

many  fine  farms  from  which  he  receives  but 
little  rent.  Thanksgiving  is  a  good  thing : 

thanksliving  is  better.  —  P.  Henry. -  A  line 

of  praises  is  worth  a  leaf  of  prayer;  and  an 
hour  of  praises  is  worth  a  day  of  fasting  and 

mourning.  — ./.  Livingston. - Thy  love  has 

been  as  a  shower;  the  returns  but  a  dew-drop, 
and  that  dew-drop  stained  with  sin.  —  Evans. 

4512.  PRAISE,  Ceaseless.  It  was  the  law,  in 
some  of  the  old  monasteries,  that  the  chanting 
of  praise  should  never  be  interrupted,  and 
that  one  choir  of  monks  should  relieve  another 
in  the  holy  service. 

4513.  PRAISE,  Constant.  Let  not  thy  praises 

be  transient,  —  a  fit  of  music,  and  then  the  in¬ 
strument  hung  by  the  wall  till  another  gaudy 
day  of  some  remarkable  providence  makes  thee 
take  it  down.  God  conies  not  guest-wise  to 
his  saints’  house,  but  to  dwell  with  them. 
David  took  this  up  for  a  lifework :  “  As  long 
as  I  live,  I  will  praise  thee.”  Gurnall. 

4514.  PRAISE,  Coveting.  Three  clergymen 
conversing,  one  said,  “  Give  me  praise  for  my 
preaching,  because  I  like  it.”  The  second 
Said,  Give  me  praise  that  I  may  give  it  to 
my  Master.”  The  third  said,  “  Give  my  Mas¬ 
ter  all  the  praise,  and  let  me  not  have  any.” 

4515.  PRAISE,  Duration  of.  Praise  is  the  only 
part  of  duty  in  which  we  at  present  engage, 
which  is  lasting.  We  pray;  but  there  shall  be 
a  time  when  prayer  shall  offer  its  last  litany: 
we  believe ;  but  there  shall  be  a  time  when 
faith  shall  be  lost  in  sight :  we  hope,  and  hope 
maketli  not  ashamed ;  but  there  shall  be  a 
time  when  hope  lies  down  and  dies,  lost  in  the 
splendor  of  the  fruition  that  God  shall  reveal. 
But  praise  goes  singing  into  heaven,  and  is 
ready,  without  a  teacher,  to  strike  the  harp 
that  is  waiting  for  it,  to  transmit  along  the 
echoes  of  eternity  the  song  of  the  Lamb.  In  the 
party-colored  world  in  which  we  live,  there  are 
days  of  various  sorts  and  experiences,  making 
uj)  the  aggregate  of  the  Christian’s  life.  There 
are  waiting-days,  in  which,  because  Providence 
fences  us  round,  and  it  seems  as  if  we  cannot 
march,  we  cannot  move,  as  though  we  must  just 
wait  to  see  what  the  Lord  is  about  *o  do  in  us 
and  for  us;  and  there  are watching-davs, when 
it  behooves  us  never  to  slumber,  but  to  be  al¬ 
ways  ready  for  the  attacks  of  our  spiritual 
enemy ;  and  there  are  warring-days,  when, 
with  nodding  plume  anil  with  ample  armor,  we 
must  go  forth  to  do  battle  for  the  truth  ;  and 
there  are  weeping-days,  when  it  seems  as  if 
the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  within  us  were 
broken  up,  and  as  though,  through  much 


510 


PRAISE. 


PRAYER. 


tribulation,  we  had  to  pass  to  heaven  in  tears  : 
but  these  days  shall  all  pass  away  by  and  by, 
—  waiting  days  all  be  passed,  warring-days 
all  be  passed,  watching-days  all  be  passed ;  but 
“  Our  days  of  praise  shall  ne’er  be  past 
While  life  and  thought  and  being  last, 

And  immortality  endures.” 

W.  M.  Pun  short. 

4516.  PRAISE,  Effeotnal,  A  person,  being 

once  cast  upon  a  desolate  island,  spent  a  day  in 
fasting  and  prayer  for  his  deliverance;  but  no 
help  came.  It  occurred  to  him  then  to  keep 
a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  praise ;  and  he  had 
no  sooner  done  it  than  relief  was  brought  to 
him.  You  see,  as  soon  as  he  began  to  sing  of 
mercy  exercised,  the  exercise  of  mercy  was 
renewed  to  him.  The  Lord  heard  the  voice  of 
his  praise.  Nevins. 

4517.  PRAISE,  Eternal.  Suppose  some  one 

entering  heaven  were  to  say  to  the  redeemed, 
“  Suspend  your  songs  for  a  moment  1  Ye  have 
been  praising  Christ,  lo  !  these  six  thousand 
years  :  many  of  you  have,  without  cessation, 
praised  him  now  these  many  centuries  1  Stop 
your  song  a  moment ;  pause,  and  give  your 
songs  to  some  one  else  for  an  instant.”  Oh  ! 
can  you  conceive  the  scorn  with  which  the 
myriad  eyes  of  the  redeemed  would  smite  the 
tempter  ?  “  Stop  from  praising  him  !  No, 

never.  Time  may  stop ;  for  it  shall  be  no 
more  :  the  world  may  stop  ;  for  its  revolutions 
must  cease :  the  universe  may  stop  its  cycles 
and  the  movings  of  its  world  ;  but  for  us  to  stop 
our  songs,  —  never,  never  !  ”  Spurgeon. 

4518.  PRAISE,  Examples  of.  Jeremy  Taylor, 
being  stripped  of  all  his  earthly  goods,  rejoiced 
that  he  had  left  a  good  conscience,  social 
pleasures,  and,  the  best  of  all,  God  himself. 
Rev.  J.  II.  Stuart  was  accustomed  on  Satur¬ 
day  niglil  to  count  up  the  mercies  of  the  week 
with  his  wife. 

4519.  PRAISE,  Influence  of.  It  shall  often 

happen,  that  when  thy  heart  is  torpid,  and 
yields  not  to  the  action  of  prayer,  it  shall  be¬ 
gin  to  thaw,  and  at  last  burst,  like  streams 
under  the  breath  of  spring,  from  its  icy  prison, 
with  the  warm  and  genial  exercise  of  praise. 
The  deadness,  the  distractions,  thou  deplorest, 
shall  flee  away  as  the  harp  is  taken  down  from 
the  willow,  and  strung  to  celebrate  the  divine 
perfections.  Dr.  Goulhurn. 

4526.  PRAISE,  Learning  to.  Two  children 
were  very  ill  in  the  same  room  :  the  older  of 
the  two  was  heard  attempting  to  teach  the 
younger  one  tto  pronounce  the  word  “  Halle¬ 
lujah  1  ”  but  without  success.  The  little  one 
died  before  he  could  repeat  it.  When  his 
brother  was  told  of  his  death,  he  was  silent 
for  a  moment,  and  then,  looking  up  at  his 
mother,  said,  “  Johnny  can  say  ‘  Hallelujah  ’ 
now,  mother  1  ”  In  a  few  hours,  the  two 
brothers  were  united  in  heaven,  singing  ‘  Hal¬ 
lelujah  ’  together.  Mothers,  many  of  your 
little  ones  could  not  sing  the  praises  of  their 
Redeemer  while  resting  in  your  arms ;  but  they 
have  been  taught  the  music  of  the  upper  temple 
now,  and  they  sing  among  the  celestial  chor¬ 
isters.  Christian  Treasury. 


4521.  PRAISE,  Legend  of.  It  is  said,  that 
on  the  return  of  St.  Francis  from  Syria,  in 
passing  through  the  Venetian  Lagoon,  vast 
numbers  of  birds  were  singing;  and  he  said  to 
his  companion,  “  Our  sisters,  the  birds,  are 
praising  their  Creator ;  let  us  sing  with  them : 
and  he  began  the  sacred  service.  But  the 
warbling  of  the  birds  interrupted  them  :  there¬ 
fore  St.  Francis  said  to  them,  “Be  silent  till 
we  also  have  praised  God ;  ”  and  they  ceased 
their  song,  and  did  not  resume  it  till  he  had 
given  them  permission.  On  another  occasion, 
as  he  was  sitting  with  his  disciple  Leo,  he  felt 
himself  penetrated  with  joy  and  consolation 
by  the  song  of  the  nightingale  ;  and  he  desired 
his  friend  Leo  to  raise  his  voice,  and  sing  the 
praises  of  God  in  company  with  the  bird.  But 
Leo  excused  himself  by  reason  of  his  bad 
voice;  upon  which  Francis  himself  began  to 
sing ;  and,  when  he  stopped,  the  nightingale 
took  up  the  strain,  and  thus  they  sang  alter¬ 
nately,  until  the  night  was  far  advanced,  and 
Francis  was  obliged  to  stop,  for  his  voice 
failed.  Then  he  confessed  that  the  little 
bird  had  vanquished  him.  He  called  it  to 
him,  thanked  it  for  its  song,  and  gave  it 
the  remainder  of  his  bread ;  and,  having 
bestowed  his  blessing  upon  it,  the  creature 
flew  away. 

4522.  PRAISE,  and  Prayer.  In  mining  opera¬ 

tions,  the  full  and  empty  carriages,  or  vessels, 
being  connected  together,  those  which  have 
been  emptied  are  from  time  to  time  raised  up 
an  ascent  by  the  descending  of  those  that 
have  been  filled.  In  this  way  let  the  descent 
of  God’s  mercies,  and  the  gifts  bestowed  out 
of  his  fulness,  raise  your  empty  vessels  to 
receive  again  and  again  from  his  inexhaustible 
treasury  all  that  you  need.  Bickersteth. 

4523.  PRAISE,  Signification  of.  The  word 

rendered  praise  primarily  signifies  the  irradia¬ 
tion  of  a  luminous  body.  The  high  ambition 
of  a  penitent  soul  is  that  of  becoming  a  re¬ 
flector,  from  which  the  glories  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  may  be  more  widely  diffused  on 
the  world  of  men  and  angels.  Salter. 

4524.  PRAISE,  Universality  of.  Praise  is  the 

religious  exercise,  the  one  religious  exercise, 
of  heaven.  Angels  are  offering  it  ceaselessly, 
resting  not  night  nor  day ;  saints  are  offering 
it  ceaselessly  in  paradise ;  Nature  in  her 
every  district  is  offering  it  ceaselessly.  From 
the  heavens,  which  declare  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  firmament  which  showeth  his  handi¬ 
work,  down  to  the  dewdrop  which  sparkles 
with  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  the  lark, 
who  tunes  her  cheerful  carol  as  she  salutes 
the  rising  sun,  the  whole  creation  sends  up 
one  grand  chorus  of  praise  to  the  throne  of 
God.  Dr.  Goulhurn. 

4525.  PRAYER,  Access  in.  In  the  Kensing¬ 
ton  Museum,  there  is  a  picture  of  Ur.  John¬ 
son,  waiting  outside  in  the  anteroom  of  nobil¬ 
ity  or  royalty  to  take  his  turn  for  an  audience. 
The  Lord  our  God,  the  King  of  kings,  will 
give  us  an  audience  at  any  moment  of  the  day, 
and,  meeting  with  us,  will  bless  us  there. 

Rev.  W.  M.  Strathan 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER . 


511 


4526.  PRAYER,  Aooidents  In.  Mr.  Spurgeon 
visited  a  dying  woman,  who  desired  that  he 
should  pray  especially  for  the  conversion  of  her 
only  child,  a  daughter.  Mr.  Spurgeon,  by  some 
means,  mistook  the  term  daughter,  and  prayed 
as  for  a  son.  As  he  was  leaving,  he  was  told 
of  his  mistake.  “  Oh  1  ”  said  he,  “  that  makes  no 
difference.  Our  mistakes  will  not  keep  the 
Lord  from  giving  us  the  blessing.”  So  it 

roved.  The  girl  was  converted  shortly  after 

er  mother’s  death. 

4527.  PRAYER,  Always  in.  A  number  of 
ministers  were  assembled  for  the  discussion  of 
difficult  questions ;  and,  among  others,  it  was 
asked,  how  the  command  to  “pray  without 
ceasing”  could  be  complied  with.  Various 
suppositions  were  started ;  and  at  length  one  of 
the  number  was  appointed  to  write  an  essay 
upon  it,  to  be  read  at  the  next  meeting ;  which 
being  overheard  by  a  female  servant,  she  ex¬ 
claimed,  “What!  a  whole  month  waiting  to 
tell  the  meaning  of  that  text  ?  It  is  one  of  the 
easiest  and  best  texts  in  the  Bible.”  —  “  Well, 
well  1  ”  said  an  old  minister.  “  Mary,  what  can 
you  say  about  it  ?  Let  us  know  how  you  under¬ 
stand  it.  Can  you  pray  all  the  time  ?  ”  —  "•  Oh, 
yes,  sir  !  ”  —  “  What  1  when  you  have  so  many 
things  to  do  ?  ”  —  “  Why,  sir,  the  more  I  have 
to  do,  the  more  I  can  pray.”  —  “  Indeed  !  Well, 
Mary,  do  let  us  know  how  it  is  ;  for  most  peo¬ 
ple  think  otherwise.” — “Well,  sir,”  said  the 
girl,  “when  I  first  open  my  eyes  in  the  morn 
mg,  I  pray,  ‘Lord,  open  the  eyes  of  my  under¬ 
standing  ;  ’  and,  while  I  am  dressing,  I  pray  that 
I  may  be  clothed  with  the  robe  of  righteous¬ 
ness  ;  and,  when  I  have  washed  me,  I  ask  for 
the  washing  of  regeneration  ;  and,  as  I  begin 
to  work,  I  pray  that  I  may  have  strength 
equal  to  my  day ;  when  I  begin  to  kindle  up 
the  fire,  I  pray  that  God’s  work  may  revive  in 
my  soul;  and,  as  I  sweep  out  the  house,  I  pray 
that  my  heart  may  be  cleansed  from  all  its 
impurities  ;  and,  while  preparing  and  partak¬ 
ing  of  breakfast,  I  desire  to  be  fed  with  the 
hidden  manna  and  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word ;  and,  as  I  am  busy  with  the  little  chil¬ 
dren,  I  look  up  to  God  as  my  Father,  and  pray 
for  the  spirit  of  adoption,  that  I  may  be  his 
child  :  and  so  on  all  day.  Every  thing  I  do 
furnishes  me  with  a  thought  for  prayer.”  — 
“  Enough,  enough  !  ”  cried  the  old  divine  : 
“  these  things  are  revealed  to  babes,  and  often 
hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent.  Go  on, 
Mary,”  said  he,  “  pray  without  ceasing  ;  and  as 
for  us,  my  brethren,  let  us  bless  the  Lord  for 
this  exposition,  and  remember  that  he  has  said, 

‘  The  meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment.’  ”  After 
this  little  event,  the  essay  was  not  considered 
necessary. 

4528.  PRAYER,  Answering  our  Own.  A  son, 
hearing  his  father  pray  that  the  wants  of  the 

oor  might  be  supplied,  said  to  him,  “  Father, 

wish  I  had  your  corn.”  —  “Why,  my  son? 
what  would  you  do  with  it  V  ”  asked  the’father. 
The  child  replied,  “  I  would  answer  your 
prayers.  ” 

4529.  PRAYER,  Asking  for.  A  chaplain  in 
un  army  hospital  told  the  inmates  that  he  was 


going  to  a  prayer-meeting,  and  asked  any  of 
them  that  desired  prayers  for  their  salvation  to 
raise  their  right  hands.  Hands  were  raised  all 
around  :  here  and  there  a  stump  was  extended ; 
one  raised  two  stumps ;  another  had  not  even 
these,  but,  rolling  his  head  as  he  lay,  said, 
“  Me,  me  !  ”  At  the  Commission  Chapel  in  Chat¬ 
tanooga,  the  same  sign  was  requested  for  the 
same  object ;  when  a  hand  was  thrust  through 
the  window.  One  standing  without  desired  to 
find  Jesus. 

4530.  PRAYER,  Brevities.  Prayer  is  the  rope 
up  in  the  belfry  :  we  pull  it,  and  it  rings  the  bell 

up  in  heaven.  —  Christmas  Evans. - 1  fear 

John  Knox’s  prayers  more  than  an  army  often 
thousand  men.  —  Mary ,  Queen  of  Scotland. 
- Want  felt,  help  desired,  with  faith  to  ob¬ 
tain  it,  is  prayer.  —  Adam. - Prayer  is  our 

speech  to  God  :  when  we  read,  God  speaks  to 
us ;  when  we  pray,  we  speak  to  God.  — 

A  uyustine. - Prayer  and  pains  dan  do  any 

thing.  —  Eliot. 

4531.  PRAYER,  Claim  in.  All  the  promises 

in  the  Bible  are  so  many  bills  of  exchange 
drawn  by  God  the  Father  in  heaven  upon  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  payable  to  every  pious 
bearer,  —  to  every  one  that  comes  to  the  mercy- 
seat,  and  offers  the  promise  or  bill  for  accept¬ 
ance,  and  pleads  in  the  way  of  obedient  faith 
and  prayer.  Jesus,  the  High  Treasurer  of 
heaven,  knows  every  letter  of  his  Father’s  hand¬ 
writing,  and  can  never  be  imposed  upon  by 
any  forged  note.  He  will  ever  honor  his 
F athcr’s  bills :  he  accepts  them  all.  It  is  for 
his  Father’s  honor  that  his  bills  never  fail  of 
acceptance  and  payment.  J.  Beaumont. 

4532.  PRAYER,  Co-operation  with.  Of  two 
school-girls,  one  always  said  her  lessons  well, 
but  the  other  always  failed.  The  last  asked 
the  first  how  she  succeeded,  and  was  told  that 
it  was  by  praying  over  her  lessons.  She  tried 
it  also ;  but,  the  next  day,  failed  worse  than 
ever.  In  tears,  she  complained  of  being  de¬ 
ceived.  The  other  asked  her  if  she  had  tried 
to  learn  her  lesson.  She  confessed  that  all 
she  did  was  to  pray,  and  supposed  that  that 
was  enough.  The  next  day  she  prayed  and 
studied  too,  and  succeeded.  That  is  a  useless 
prayer  that  does  not  answer  itself  as  far  as 
possible. 

4533.  PRAYER,  Daily.  As  those  who  keep 
clocks  wind  them  up  daily,  lest  the  weights 
should  run  down,  and  the  clock  stop ;  so  we 
must  set  apart  some  portion  of  every  day  for 
meditation  and  prayer,  lest  our  hearts  should 
so  far  descend,  through  the  weight  of  the 
cares  of  this  world,  that  our  course  in  godli¬ 
ness  should  be  hindered  and  stopped. 

Can- dray. 

4534.  PRAYER,  Deeds  of.  Prayer  has  divided 
seas,  rolled  up  flowing  rivers,  made  flinty  rocks 
gush  into  fountains,  quenched  ilames  of  fire, 
muzzled  lions,  disarmed  vipers  and  poisons, 
marshalled  the  stars  against  the  wicked, 
stopped  the  course  of  the  moon,  arrested  the 
sun  in  its  rapid  race,  burst  open  iron  gates, 
recalled  souls  from  eternity,  conquered  the 
strongest  devils,  commanded  legions  of  an- 


512 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER. 


gels  down  from  heaven.  Prayer  has  bridled 
and  chained  the  raging  passions  of  man,  and 
routed  and  destroyed  vast  armies  of  proud, 
daring,  blustering  atheists.  Prayer  has  brought 
one  man  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  car¬ 
ried  another  in  a  chariot  of  fire  to  heaven. 
What  has  not  prayer  done  ?  Dr.  Hyland. 

4535.  PRAYER,  a  Defence.  As  robbers,  see¬ 
ing  a  man  flourishing  his  sword,  will  not  then 
set  upon  him  ;  even  so  the  wicked  spirits,  see¬ 
ing  us  fenced  about  by  prayer,  leave  us  unas- 
eaulted.  Cawdray. 

4530.  PRAYER,  Description  of.  It  is  helpless¬ 
ness  casting  itself  upon  power.  It  is  infirmity 
leaning  on  strength,  and  misery  wooing  bliss. 
It  is  unholiness  embracing  purity,  and  hatred 
desiring  love.  It  is  corruption  panting  for  im¬ 
mortality,  and  earth-borns  claiming  kindred  in 
the  skies.  It  is  the  flight  of  the  soul  to  the 
bosom  of  God,  and  the  spirit  soaring  upward, 
and  claiming  nativity  beyond  the  stars.  It  is 
the  restless  dove  on  drooping  wing  turned  to 
its  loved  repose.  It  is  the  soaring  eagle  mount¬ 
ing  upward  in  its  flight,  and  with  steady  gaze 
pursuing  the  track  till  lost  to  all  below.  It  is 
the  roving  wanderer  looking  towards  his  abid¬ 
ing-place,  where  are  all  his  treasures  and  his 

fold.  It  is  the  prisoner  pleading  for  release, 
t  is  the  mariner  of  a  dangerous  sea,  upon  the 
reeling  topmast,  descrying  the  broad  and  quiet 
haven  of  repose.  It  is  the  soul,  oppressed  by 
earthly  soarings,  escaping  to  a  broader  and 
purer  sphere,  and  bathing  its  plumes  in  the 
ethereal  and  eternal.  Mrs.  E.  R.  Wells. 

4537.  PRAYER,  Directness  in.  A  plain  man 
once  said,  “  Before  my  conversion,  when  I 
prayed  in  the  presence  of  others,  I  prayed  to 
them ;  when  I  prayed  in  secret,  I  prayed  to 
myself:  but  now  I  pray  to  God.” 

4538.  PRAYER,  Effective.  During  a  great 
drought  in  the  Plymouth  Colony,  the  people 
met  to  pray  for  rain.  An  Indian  present  won¬ 
dered  at  the  folly  of  prayer  for  rain  in  such  a 
clear  day.  Soon  clouds  arose,  and  rain  fell  in 
copious  showers.  Then  the  Indian  marvelled 
at  the  power  the  whites  had  with  their  God.  He 
had  before  scorned  both ;  but  he  now  became 
a  Christian,  and  remained  faithful  till  death. 

4533.  PRAYER,  Ejaculatory.  A  young  lady 
heard  a  voice  as  of  one  engaged  in  conversa¬ 
tion,  and  distinguished  the  words,  “  O  Lord, 
have  mercy  upon  the  dear  youth  of  this 
place  1  ”  She  was  struck  with  the  thought, 
“  Is  this  the  way  Christians  go  about  the 
town,  and  mingle  with  the  world  ?  Do  they 
pray  thus  for  our  souls  ?  I  have  hardly  ever 
prayed  for  my  own.”  From  that  day,  she  be¬ 
gan  to  pray,  and  became  the  first-fruits  of  a 
glorious  revival. 

4540.  PRAYER,  Elevation  by.  Constantine  the 
Great  was  one  day  looking  at  some  statues  of 
noted  persons,  who  were  represented  standing. 
“  I  shall  have  mine  taken  kneeling ,”  said  he  ; 
“  for  that  is  how  I  have  risen  to  eminence.” 
Thus  it  is  with  the  Christian :  if  he  would  ob¬ 
tain  any  real  eminence  in  the  Christian  life,  he 
must  be  often  kneeling  in  prayer  to  God. 

Bib.  Treasury. 


4541.  PRAYER,  Emblems  of.  Incense ;  a 
bow  drawn  by  the  hand  of  faith ;  the  air  by 
which  we  live  ;  the  little  pitcher  which  fetches 
the  water  from  the  brook ;  the  barometer  of 
the  soul;  the  tuning  of  an  instrument;  the 
link  that  connects  earth  with  heaven ;  the 
“gift  of  the  knees,”  —  the  Yoruba  Christian's 
phrase  for  prayer;  the  letter  sent  from  the 
child  on  earth  to  his  “  Father  in  heaven.” 

Bowes. 

4542.  PRAYER,  Extemporaneous.  When  Arch¬ 
bishop  Seeker  was  laid  on  his  dying-bed,  his 
friend  Mr.  Talbot  came  to  see  him.  He  fell 
it  was  their  last  meeting  together;  so  he  said, 
“  You  will  pray  with  me,  Talbot,  before  you 
go  away  ?  ”  Mr.  Talbot  rose,  and  went  to  look 
for  a  prayer-book.  “  That  is  not  what  I  want 
now,”  said  the  dying  prelate  :  “kneel  downby 
me,  and  pray  for  me  in  the  way  I  know  you 
are  used  to  do.”  So  the  good  man  knelt  by 
his  friend’s  bedside,  and  poured  out  his  soul  for 
him  before  bis  heavenly  Father  in  such  words 
as  his  heart  dictated. 

4543.  PRAYER,  Faith  in.  Prayer  is  the 

bow,  the  promise  is  the  arrow  :  faith  is  the  hand 
which  draws  the  bow,  and  sends  the  arrow 
with  the  heart’s  message  to  heaven.  The 
bow  without  the  arrow  is  of  no  use ;  and 
the  arrow  without  the  bow  is  of  little  worth ; 
and  both,  without  the  strength  of  the  hand, 
to  no  purpose.  Neither  the  promise  without 
prayer,  nor  prayer  without  the  promise,  nor 
both  without  faith,  avail  the  Christian  anything. 
What  was  said  of  the  Israelites,  “  They  could 
not  enter  in,  because  of  unbelief,”  the  same 
may  be  said  of  many  of  our  prayers :  they  can¬ 
not  enter  heaven,  because  they  are  not  put  up 
in  faith.  Salter. 

4544.  PRAYER,  A  Father’s.  The  father  of 
a  perverse  son  prayed  the  Lord  to  save  him 
in  any  way.  The  son  fell  seriously  sick,  and, 
when  nearly  past  the  power  of  speech,  sprang 
up,  exclaiming  in  agony  of  spirit,  “My  father’s 
prayers,  like  mountains,  surround  me.”  He 
was  healed  and  converted,  and  thereafter  led 
a  new  life. 

4545.  PRAYER,  Fervent.  An  arrow,  if  it  be 
drawn  up  but  a  little  way,  goes  not  far,  but,  if 
it  be  pulled  up  to  the  head,  flies  swiftly,  and 
pierces  deep.  Thus  prayer,  if  it  be  only  drib¬ 
bled  forth  from  careless  lips,  falls  at  our  feet. 
It  is  the  strength  of  ejaculation  and  strong 
desire,  which  sends  it  to  heaven,  and  makes  it 
pierce  the  clouds.  It  is  not  the  arithmetic  of 
our  prayers,  how  many  they  are;  nor  the 
rhetoric  of  our  prayers,  how  eloquent  they  be ; 
nor  the  geometry  of  our  prayers,  how  long  they 
be ;  nor  the  music  of  our  prayers,  how  sweet 
our  voice  may  be ;  nor  the  logic  of  our  prayers, 
how  argumentative  they  may  be ;  nor  the  method 
of  our  prayers,  how  orderly  they  may  be ;  nor 
even  the  divinity  of  our  prayers,  how  good  the 
doctrine  may  be,  —  which  God  cares  lor.  He 
looks  not  lor  the  horny  knees  which  James  is 
said  to  have  had  through  the  assiduity  of 
prayer :  we  might  be  like  Bartholomew,  who 
is  said  to  have  had  a  hundred  prayers  for  the 
morning,  and  as  many  for  the  evening,  and  all 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER. 


might  be  of  no  avail.  Fervency  of  spirit  is 
that  which  availeth  much.  Bp.  Hall. 

4510.  PRATER,  Foreshadowing.  Prayer  is  the 
rustling  of  the  wings  of  the  angels  that  are  on 
their  way  bringing  us  the  boons  of  heaven. 
Have  you  heard  prayer  in  your  heart  ?  You 
shall  see  the  angel  in  your  house.  When  the 
chariots  that  bring  us  blessings  rumble,  their 
wheels  sound  with  prayer.  We  hear  the 
rayer  in  our  own  spirits ;  and  that  prayer 
ecomes  the  token  of  the  coming  blessings. 
Even  as  the  cloud  foreshadoweth  rain,  so  prayer 
foreshadoweth  the  blessing  ;  even  as  the  green 
blade  is  the  beginning  of  the  harvest,  so  is 
prayer  the  prophecy  of  the  blessing  that  is 
about  to  come.  Spurgeon. 

454 7.  PRATER,  Formal.  A  man  who  learned 
to  pray  when  three  years  old  was  converted' 
in  his  old  age,  and  used  to  say,  “  I  am  the  old 
man  who  said  his  prayers  for  seventy  years, 
and  yet  all  that  time  had  never  prayed  at 
all.” 

4548.  PRATER,  Going  Forward-  fbr.  A  sol¬ 
dier  said  in  a  revival-meeting,  “  My  fellow- 
soldiers,  I  am  not  excited  :  I  am.  convinced ; 
that’s  all.  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  be  a  Christian, 
that  I  ought  to  say  so,  to  tell  you  so,  and  to 
ask  you  to  come  with  me  ;  and  now,  if  there  is 
a  call  fbr  sinners  seeking  Christ  to  come  for¬ 
ward,  I  fbr  one  shall  go,  —  not  to  make  a  show, 
for  I  have  nothing  but  sin  to  show.  I  do  not 
go  because  I  want  to>(I  would  rather  keep 
my  seat)  ;  but  going  will  be  telling  the  truth. 
I  ought  to  be  a  Christian,  I  want  to  be  a 
Christian ;  and  going  forward  for  prayers  is 
just  telling  the  truth  about  it.”  More  than  a 
score  went  with  him. 

4549.  PRATER,  Heart  in.  It  is  not  the  gilded 
paper  and  good  writing  of  a  petition,  that  pre¬ 
vails  with  a  king,  but  the  moving  sense  of  it. 
And  to  that  King  who  discerns  the  heart,  heart- 
sense  is  the  sense  of  all,  and  that  which  he  only 
regards.  He  listens  to  hear  what  that  speaks, 
and  takes  all  as  nothing  where  that  is  silent. 
All  other  excellenee  in  prayer  is  but  the  out¬ 
side  and  fashion  of  it :  this  is  the  life  of  it. 

Leighton. 

4550.  PRATER,  Heathen.  Pericles,  the  great 

Athenian  statesman,  never  began  to  address  an 
audience  without  first  praying  to  the  gods.  Cor¬ 
nelius  Scipio,  the  great  Homan  general,  when 
once  he  had  assumed  the  toga,  never  undertook 
any  affair  of  importance  without  having  passed 
some  time  alone  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Capi- 
tolinus.  “  The  best  and  noblest  action,”  says 
Plato,  “  which  a  virtuous  man  can  perform,  and, 
ihat  which  will  most  promote  his  success  hi 
die,  is  to  live,  by  vows  and  prayers,  in  contin¬ 
ual  intercourse  with  the  gods  ;  nay,  all  who 
would  act  with  due  consideration  oirjht,  be¬ 
fore  beginning  any  undertaking,  whether  great 
or  small,  to  invoke  God.”  Luthardt. 

4551.  PRATER,  Holy  Spirit  in.  When  thou 
art  wrestling,  like  Jacob  with  the  angel,  and  art 
nearly  thrown  down,  ask  the  Iloly  Spirit  to 
nerve  thine  arm.  Consider  how  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  chariot-wlieel  of  prayer.  Prayer 
may  be  the  chariot,  the  desire  may  draw  it 

83 


513 

forth ;  but  the  Spirit  is  the  very  wheel  whereby 
it  moveth.  Spurgeon. 

4552.  PRATER,  Importance  of.  As  every  sac¬ 

rifice  was  to  be  seasoned  with  salt,  so  every 
undertaking  and  every  affliction  of  the  crea¬ 
ture  must  be  sanctified  with  prayer ;  nay,  as  it 
slioweth  the  excellency  of  gold  that  it  is  laid; 
upon  silver  itself,  so  it  speaketh  the  excellency 
of  prayer,  that  not  only  natural  and  civil,  but 
even  religious  and  spiritual,  actions  are  over¬ 
laid  with  prayer.  We  pray  not  only  before 
we  eat  or  drink,  our  bodily  nourishment,  but 
also  before  we  feed  on  the  bread  of  the  word 
and  the  breadl  in  the  sacrament.  Prayer  is 
requisite  to  make  every  providence  and  every 
ordinance  blessed  to  us  ;  prayer  is  needful  to, 
make  our  particular  callings  successful.  Prayer 
is  the  guard  to  secure  the  fort-royal  of  the 
heart ;  prayer  is  the  porter  to  keep  the  door- 
of  the  lips ;  prayer  is  the  strong  hilt  which, 
defendeth  the  hands ;  prayer  perfumes  every 
relation  ;  prayer  helps  us  to  profit  by  every  con¬ 
dition  ;  prayer  is  the  chemist  that  turns  all  into, 
gold  ;  prayer  is  the  master-workman  :  if’  that 
be  out  of  the  way,  the  whole  trade  stands  still,, 
or  goeth  backward.  What  the  key  is  to  the 
watch,  that  prayer  is  to  religion :  it  winds  it 
up,  and  sets  it  going.  Swinnock. 

4553.  PRATER,  Inconsistent.  If  many  pro¬ 

fessing  Christians  should  speak  out  the  things 
which  they  really  feel,  instead  of  the  smooth 
prayers  which  they  do  pray,  they  would  say 
when  they  go  home  at  night,  “  O  Lord  1  I  met 
a  poor  wretch  of  yours  to-day,  a  miserable,  un¬ 
washed  brat,  and  I  gave  him- sixpence,  and  I 
have  been  sorry  for  it  ever  since ;  ”  or,  “  O 
Lord  1  if  I  had  not  signed  those  articles  of 
faith,  I  might  have  gone  to  the  theatre  this 
evening.  Your  religion  deprives  me  of  a  great 
deal  of  enjoyment ;  but  I  mean  to  stick  to  it. 
There’s  no  other  way  of  getting  into  heaven,  I 
suppose.”  Beecher. 

4554.  PRATER,  Iniquity  in.  As  a  plaster  can¬ 
not  heal  a  wound  if  there  be  any  iron  sticking 
in  the  same  ;  so  prayer  will  not  profit  him  any. 
thing  who  regards  iniquity  in  his  heart. 

Cawdray. 

4555.  PRATER,  Instant  in.  When  a  pump  is 

frequently  used,  the  water  pours  out  at  the 
first  stroke,  because  it  is  high  ;  but,  if  the  pump 
has  not  been  used  for  a  long  time,  the  water 
gets  low,  and  when  you  want  it  you  must  pump 
a  long  while  ;  and  the  water  comes  only  af  ter 
great  efforts.  It  is  so  with,  prayer.  If  we  are 
instant  in  prayer,  every  little  circumstance 
awakens  the  disposition  to  pray,  and  desire 
and  words  are  always  ready:  but,  if  we  neg¬ 
lect  prayer,  it  is  difficult  fbr  us  to  pray ;  fbr  the 
water  in  the  well  gets  low.  Felix  Neff. 

4550.  PRATER,  Large.  A  poem  represents 
a  man  venturing  timidly  into  the  presence  of 
God  with  a  little  draft,  of  whom  God  inquires 
why  he  did  not  ask  a  larger  sum.  He  loves  to 
give,  lie  says,  “  Ask  of  me  and  I  will  show 
thee  great  and  mighty  things.” 

4557.  PRATER,  Legend  of.  The  prayers  of  St. 
Basil  were  supposed  by  the  Armeuian  Chris¬ 
tians,  partly  from  his  sanctity  and  partly  from 


514 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER. 


his  intellectual  endowments,  to  have  a  peculiar, 
almost  resistless  power;  so  that  he  not  only 
redeemed  souls  from  purgatory,  but  even  lost 
angels  from  the  abyss  of  hell.  “  On  the  sixth 
day  of  the  creation,  when  the  rebellious  angels 
fell  from  heaven  through  that  opening  in  the 
firmament  which  the  Armenians  call  Arocea,  - 
and  we  the  Galaxy,  one  unlucky  angel,  who 
had  no  participation  in  their  sin,  but  seems  to 
have  been  entangled  in  the  crowd,  fell  with 
them  ;  and  this  unfortunate  angel  was  not  re¬ 
stored  till  he  had  obtained,  it  is  not  said  how, 
the  prayers  of  St.  Basil.  His  condition  mean¬ 
time,  from  the  sixth  day  of  the  creation  to  the 
fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  must  have 
been  even  more  uncomfortable  than  that  of 
Klopstock’s  repentant  demon  in  The  Mes¬ 
siah.” 

4558.  PRAYER,  Long.  “  Pa,”  asked  a  little 
boy,  “  does  the  Lord  know  every  thing  Y  ”  — 

“  Yes,  my  son,”  replied  the  father  ;  “  but  why 
do  you  ask  that  question  ?  ”  —  “  Because,” 
replied  the  boy,  “  our  preacher,  when  he  prays, 
is  so  long  telling  him  every  thing,  I  thought  he 
wasn’t  posted.” 

4559.  PRAYER,  Love  of.  A  poor  woman  was 
offered  half  a  sovereign  if  she  would  not  pray 
all  day.  She  rejected  it,  saying,  “  No,  sir  1  not 
for  all  the  worlds  this  side  heaven  :  but  I’ll 
just  go  ask  the  Lord  to  help  you  to  believe 
on  him  ;  and  then  you’ll  love  prayer  as  much 
as  I  do.” 

4560.  PRAYER,  Might  of.  Archimedes,  hav¬ 

ing  discovered  the  lever,  said,  that,  if  he  could 
but  have  a  fulcrum,  it  would  raise  the  very 
foundations  of  the  whole  earth.  Such  an  in¬ 
strument  is  prayer,  which,  if  it  be  set  upon 
God,  and  fixed  in  heaven,  it  will  fetch  earth 
up  to  heaven,  change  earthly  thoughts  into 
heavenly  conceptions,  turn  flesh  into  spirit, 
metamorphose  nature  into  grace,  and  earth 
into  heaven.  Spencer. 

4561.  PRAYER,  Mohammedan.  Just  as  the 
first  ray  of  sunshine  breaks  forth,  the  muez¬ 
zin’s  cry  is  heard,  “  To  prayer,  to  prayer,  O 
ye  believers  I  ”  It  is  but  a  form,  alas  I  with 
most  of  the  hearers ;  yet  the  very  form  re¬ 
minds  a  servant  of  God  of  the  privilege  and 
duty  of  beginning  the  day  with  prayer.  Then, 
when  the  echoing  voices  from  minaret  to 
minaret  have  died  away,  the  “  working  day  ” 
begins,  and  the  wants  and  pleasures  of  man 
make  themselves  known  one  after  another. 

Ragged  Life  in  Egypt. 

4562.  PRAYER,  Morning.  Let  the  day  have 
a  blessed  baptism  by  giving  your  first  waking 
thoughts  into  the  bosom  of  God.  The  first 
hour  of  the  morning  is  the  rudder  of  the  day. 

Beecher. 

4563.  PRAYER,  Necessity  of.  When  Maimon 
went  one  day  to  Hillel,  he  was  sitting  in  his 
garden,  under  the  shade  of  a  palm-tree,  medi¬ 
tating.  Maimon  said,  ‘  Master,  about  what 
are  you  meditating  Y  ”  Then  Ilillel  said,  “  I 
have  a  friend  who  lives  upon  the  produce  of 
his  estate.  Till  now,  he  has  carefully  culti¬ 
vated  it,  and  it  has  well  repaid  his  toil ;  but 
now  he  has  thrown  away  the  plough  and  hoe 


and  is  determined  to  leave  the  field  to  itself :  so 
that  he  is  sure  to  come  to  want  and  misery.” 
—  “  Has  he  gone  mad  Y  ”  said  the  young  man, 

“  or  fallen  into  despondency  Y  ” —  “  Neither,” 
said  Hillel.  “  He  is  of  a  pious  disposition, 
and  well  grounded  in  learning,  both  human 
mid  divine.  But  he  says, 1  The  Lord  is  omnipo¬ 
tent,  and  can  easily  give  us  nourishment  with¬ 
out  our  bending  our  head  to  the  ground  ;  and, 
as  he  is  gracious,  he  will  bless  my  table,  and 
open  his  hand.’  And  who  can  contradict 
him  Y  ”  —  “Why,”  said  the  young  man,  “is 
not  that  tempting  God  Y  Have  not  you  told 
him  so  Y  ”  Then  Hillel  smiled,  and  said,  “  I 
will  tell  him  so.  You,  dear  Maimon,  are  the 
friend  I  am  speaking  of  Y  ”  —  “  I Y  ”  said  Mai¬ 
mon,  and  started  back.  But  the  old  man  re¬ 
plied,  “  Are  you  not  tempting  the  Lord  Y  Is 
prayer  less  than  work  Y  and  are  spiritual  bless¬ 
ings  inferior  to  the  fruit  of  the  field  Y  And 
he  who  tells  you  to  stoop  your  head  to  the 
earth  for  the  sake  of  earthly  fruit,  —  is  he  not 
the  same  as  he  who  tells  you  to  lift  your  head 
towards  heaven  to  receive  his  heavenly  bless¬ 
ing  Y  ”  Thus  spake  Hillel,  and  looked  up  to 
heaven ;  and  Maimon  went  away  and  pi  ayed, 
and  his  life  became  a  very  godly  one. 

4564.  PRAYER,  Neglect  of.  Origen,  being 
seized  by  persecutors,  and  allowed  his  choice 
between  punishment  and  bowing  to  idols,  in 
an  hour  of  weakness  chose  the  latter.  He 
afterwards  repented,  and  said  that  he  found  the 
cause  of  his  fall  in  his  neglect  of  morning 
prayer  on  that  fatal  day. 

4565.  PRAYER,  Nightly.  It  is  said  of  that 
good  old  man,  John  Quincy  Adams,  that  he 
never  went  to  his  rest  at  night  until  he  had 
repeated  the  simple  prayer  learned  in  child¬ 
hood,  —  the  familiar  “  Now,  I  lay  me  down  to 
sleep.” 

4566.  PRAYER,  Patience  in.  How  many 

courtiers  go  a  hundred  times  a  year  into  the 
prince’s  chamber  without  hope  of  once  speak¬ 
ing  with  him,  but  only  to  be  seen  of  him  1  So 
must  we  come  to  the  exercise  of  prayer,  pure¬ 
ly  and  merely  to  do  our  duty,  and  to  testify 
our  fidelity.  Sales. 

4567.  PRAYER,  Persevering.  Two  Christian 
ladies,  whose  husbands  were  unconverted,  feel¬ 
ing  their  great  danger,  agreed  to  spend  one 
hour  each  day  in  united  prayer  for  their  salva¬ 
tion.  This  was  continued  for  seven  years  ;  when 
they  debated  whether  they  should  pray  longer, 
so  useless  did  their  prayers  appear,  and  de¬ 
cided  to  persevere  till  death,  and,  if  their  hus¬ 
bands  went  to  destruction,  it  should  be  loaded 
with  prayers.  In  renewed  strength,  they  prayed 
three  years  longer ;  when  one  of  them  was 
awakened  in  the  night  by  her  husband,  who 
was  in  great  distress  for  sin.  As  soon  as  the 
day  dawned,  she  hastened,  with  joy,  to  tell  her 
praying  companion  that  God  was  about  to 
answer  their  prayers.  What  was  her  surprise 
to  meet  her  friend  coming  to  her  on  the 
same  errand  1  Thus  ten  years  of  united  and 
persevering  prayer  was  crowned  with  the 
conversion  of  both  husbands  on  the  same 
■Gy. 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER. 


515 


4568.  PRAYER,  Place  of.  The  praying  men 
of  the  Fourteenth  Massachusetts  Regiment  in 
the  late  war,  while  stationed  in  Fort  Albany, 
rook  an  agent  of  the  Christian  Commission  to 
see  their  praying-place.  They  showed  him 
the  bomb-proof  of  the  fort,  which  afforded 
them  an  undisturbed  and  safe  retreat.  Every 
place  of  prayer  is  a  bomb-proof  to  its  occupants. 

4569.  PRAYER,  Plea  in.  Rev.  Philip  Henry, 
after  praying  for  two  of  his  children  who  were 
dangerously  ill,  said,  “  If  the  Lord  will  be 
pleased  to  grant  me  this  my  request  concern¬ 
ing  my  children,  I  will  not  say  as  the  beggars 
at  our  door  used  to  do,  ‘I’ll  never  ask  any 
thing  of  him  again;  ’  but,  on  the  contrary,  he 
shall  hear  oftener  from  me  than  ever ;  and  I 
will  love  God  the  better  as  long  as  I  live.” 

4570.  PRAYER,  Pleasure  in.  As  parents  take 

more  pleasure  in  their  children’s  stammering 
than  in  the  eloquence  of  others,  even  so  the 
Lord  takes  pleasure  in-  the  prayers  of  his 
children.  Cawdray. 

4571.  PRAYER,  Power  of.  A  lawyer  of  influ¬ 
ence  had  been  attending  meetings  under  the 
labors  of  Mr.  Earle.  One  evening  after  a 
sermon,  an  opportunity  was  given  for  remarks. 
This  lawyer  arose,  and  said,  “  I  have  often 
heard  of  the  power  of  prayer,  and  I  don’t  be¬ 
lieve  one  word  of  it ;  but,  if  you  want  to  take  a 
hard  case,  take  me.”  Mr.  Earle  asked  him  to 
come  to  the  front  seat,  when  they  would  pray 
for  him.  lie  replied,  “  I  will  do  nothing  of 
the  kind  ;  but,  if  you  have  ‘  power  in  prayer,’ 
try  it  on  me.”  Before  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
Mr.  Earle  requested  all  to  go  to  their  closets 
at  a  special  time,  and  pray  for  Mr.  O.;  and 
wished  him  to  remember  that  they  were  praying 
for  him.  On  the  third  evening  after,  Mr.  O. 
was  present,  seeking  for  mercy.  Soon  he  was 
rejoicing  in  Christ.  His  law-books  were  sold; 
and  he  is  now  an  eminent  minister  of  Christ. 

4572.  PRAYER,  for  the  Preacher.  John  Liv¬ 
ingston  of  Scotland  once  spent  a  whole  night 
with  a  company  of  his  brethren  in  prayer  for 
God’s  blessing,  all  of  them  together  besieging 
the  throne ;  and  the  next  day,  under  his  ser¬ 
mon,  five  hundred  souls  were  converted.  All 
the  world  has  heard  how  the  audience  of  the 
elder  l'res.  Edwards  was  moved  by  his  ter¬ 
rible  sermon  on  “  Sinners  in  the  hands  of  an 
Angry  God ;  ”  some  of  them  even  grasping 
hold  of  the  pillars  of  the  sanctuary,  from  feel¬ 
ing  that  their  feet  were  actually  sliding  into 
the  pit.  But  the  secret  of  that  sermon’s  power 
is  known  to  but  very  few.  Some  Christians  in 
that  vicinity  (Enfield,  Mass.)  had  become 
alarmed,  lest,  while  God  was  blessing  other 
places,  he  should  in  anger  pass  them  by ;  and 
so  they  met  on  the  evening  preceding  the 
pleaching  of  that  sermon,  and  spent  the  whole 
of  the  night  in  agonizing  prayer. 

Dr.  H.  C.  Fish. 

4573.  PRAYER,  Privilege  of.  The  zEdiles 
among  the  Romans  had  their  doors  always 
standing  open,  that  all  who  had  petitions  might 
have  free  access  to  them.  The  door  of  heaven 
is  always  open  for  the  prayers  of  God’s  people. 

T.  Watson. 


]  4574.  PRAYER,  Protection  of  Among  the 

elegant  forms  of  insect-life,  the'.e  is  a  little 
creature  known  to  naturalists  which  can  gather 
round  it  a  sufficiency  of  atmospheric  air ; 
and,  so  clothed  upon,  it  descends  into  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  pool,  and  you  may  see  the  little 
diver  moving  about  dry  and  at  his  ease,  pro¬ 
tected  by  his  crystal  vesture,  though  the  water 
all  around  and  above  be  stagnant  and  bitter. 
Prayer  is  such  a  protector,  a  transparent 
vesture.  The  world  sees  it  not ;  but,  a  real  de¬ 
fence,  it  keeps  out  the  world.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4575.  PRAYER,  Repetitions  in.  The  Budd¬ 
hists  have  a  jangle  of  meaningless  words,  upon 
the  mere  repetition  of  which  they  expect  to 
merit  life  in  the  pure  land.  They  have  plates 
with  a  great  number  of  dots  to  be  marked  over 
at  each  repetition  of  the  name  of  Buddha. 
When  these  are  all  filled,  the  plates  are  burned 
to  ashes,  that  they  may  pass  iuto  the  other 
world  as  a  testimony  in  favor  of  him  who  used 
them. 

4576.  PRAYER,  Safety  of.  By  the  omnipo¬ 

tent  help  which  it  at  once  secures,  prayer  is 
strength  in  weakness,  and  courage  in  dismay. 
It  is  the  buoy  which  rides  the  roaring  flood, 
the  asbestos-robe  which  defies  the  devouring 
flame.  It  is  the  tent  in  which  frailty  sleeps 
secure,  and  anguish  forgets  to  moan.  It  is  the 
shield  on  which  the  world  and  the  wicked  one 
expend  their  darts  in  vain.  And  when  panic 
and  temptation  and  agony  are  all  over,  — 
whether  wafted  by  sabbath  zephyrs,  or  winged 
by  scorching  flame  ;  whether  guided  by  hymn¬ 
ing  angels,  or  dragged  by  raging  lions; 
whether  the  Starting-point  be  Patinos  or  Jeru¬ 
salem  or  Smithfield  or  Babylon,  —  it  is  the 
chariot  which  conveys  the  departing  spirit 
into  a  Saviour’s  arms.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4577.  PRAYER,  Secret.  “  Since  I  began,” 
said  Dr.  Payson  when  a  student,  “  to  beg  God’s 
blessing  on  my  studies,  I  have  done  more 
in  one  week  than  in  the  whole  year  before.” 
Luther,  when  most  pressed  with  his  gigan¬ 
tic  toils,  said,  “  I  have  so  much  to  do,  that  I 
cannot  get  on  without  three  hours  a  day  of 
praying.”  Gen.  Havelock  rose  at  four,  if  the 
liour  for  inarching  was  six,  rather  than  lose  the 
precious  privilege  of  communion  with  God 
before  setting  out.  Sir  Matthew  Hale  says, 
“  If  I  omit  praying,  and  reading  God’s  word,  in 
the  morning,  nothing  goes  well  all  day.” 

4578.  PRAYER,  Selfish.  A  man  complained 
to  his  pastor,  that  he  had  prayed  a  whole  year 
for  the  comforts  of  religion,  but  had  received  no 
answer.  Ilis  minister  replied,  “  Go  home  and 
pray,  ‘  Father,  glorify  thyself.’  ” 

4579.  PRAYER,  Selfishness  in.  A  little  boy, 
whose  conduct  made  his  mother  say  that  she 
feared  he  did  not  pray,  replied,  “  Yes,  I  do :  I 
pray  every  night,  that  God  will  make  you  and 
pa  like  my  ways  better.” 

4580.  PRAYER,  Self-Sacrificing.  According 
to  Grecian  fable,  a  fearful  and  fatal  plague 
swept  the  dominions  of  zEacus,  King  of  zEgi- 
na.  The  air  became  poisonous ;  the  foun¬ 
tains  were  corrupted ;  animals  and  men  per 
ished  alike ;  physiciai  s  could  give  no  help, 


516 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER. 


and  all  hope  vanished :  finally,  there  was 
none  left  to  mourn.  Sons  and  husbands,  old 
men  and  youths,  perished  unlamented.  Then 
JEaeus,  standing  before  the  altar  of  Jupiter, 
and  raising  liis  eyes  to  heaven,  cried,  “  O  Ju¬ 
piter  !  if  thou  art  indeed  my  father,  and  art  not 
ashamed  of  thy  offspring,  give  me  back  my 
people,  or  take  me  also  away !  ”  Jupiter 
showed  his  acceptance  of  the  prayer.  ITe 
gave  the  king  also  a  vision,  showing  the  mode 
of  answering  the  prayer.  He  saw  a  vast  num¬ 
ber  of  black  ants,  which  grew  larger  and  lar¬ 
ger,  dropped  off  their  superfluous  legs,  changed 
color,  and  finally  assumed  the  human  form. 
The  vision  passed  from  the  king  with  regret 
and  fear,  lest  it  should  be  unrealized.  The 
king’s  son  called  his  father  to  behold  a  won¬ 
derful  thing.  There  was  a  myriad  of  newly- 
created  men,  even  as  he  had  seen  in  his 
vision,  who  proved  a  diligent,  industrious,  and 
devoted  race. 

4581.  PRAYER,  for  the  Sick.  A  message 
was  sent  to  Luther,  that  Melancthon  was  dy¬ 
ing.  He  found  him  presenting  the  usual  pre¬ 
monitory  symptoms  of  death.  Melancthon 
roused,  looked  in  the  face  of  Luther,  and  said, 
“  O  Luther  1  is  this  you  ?  Why  don’t  you  let 
me  depart  in  peace  V  ”  —  “  We  can’t  spare  you 
yet,  Philip,”  was  the  reply.  And,  turning 
round,  he  threw  himself  upon  his  knees,  and 
wrestled  with  God  for  his  recovery  for  up¬ 
wards  of  an  hour.  He  went  from  his  knees  to 
the  bed,  and  took  his  friend  by  the  hand. 
Again  he  said,  “  Dear  Luther,  why  don’t  you 
let  me  depart  in  peace  V  ” —  “  No,  no,  Philip  ! 
we  cannot  spare  you  yet,”  was  the  reply.  He 
then  ordered  some  soup  ;  and,  when  pressed  to 
take  it,  Melancthon  declined,  again  saying, 
“  Dear  Luther,  why  will  you  not  let  me  go 
home  and  be  at  rest  ?  ” —  “  We  cannot  spare 
you  yet,  Philip,  was  the  reply.  He  then  add¬ 
ed,  “  Philip,  take  this  soup,  or  I  will  excommu¬ 
nicate  you.”  He  took  the  soup;  soon  regained 
his  wonted  health,  and  labored  for  years 
afterwards  in  the  cause  of  the  Reformation ; 
and,  when  Luther  returned  home,  he  said 
to  his  wife  with  joy,  “  God  gave  me  my 
brother  Melancthon  back  in  direct  answer  to 
prayer.” 

4582.  PRAYER,  Sincere.  Harry,  a  little  boy 
who  had  had  some  trouble  with  Lizzie  the  do¬ 
mestic,  at  night  offered  his  usual  prayer,  “  God 
bless  papa  and  mamma  and  Lizzie,  lor  Christ’s 
sake.  Amen.”  He  arose,  but  soon  fell  on  his 
knees  again,  and  said,  “  O  Lord,  never  mind 
Lizzie.  Amen.” 

4583.  PRAYER,  Sincere  Desire.  Little  Ed¬ 
die’s  mother  sickened  with  the  small-pox,  and 
was  removed  for  the  safety  of  her  family.  He 
thought  she  would  not  have  left  him  if  she 
loved  him.  He  decided  to  write  her  a  letter 
to  find  out.  So  he  took  a  sheet  of  paper,  and 
scrawled  it  all  over  ;  then  folded  it,  and  put  it 
in  an  envelope,  and  scrawled  upon  that,  and 
gave  it  to  his  father,  saying,  “  Send  that  to 
mamma,  and  I’ll  see  if  she  loves  me.”  His  fa¬ 
ther  told  him  a  Philadelphia  lawyer  could  not 
read  it.  His  mother  received  it  that  night. 


and  laughed  and  wept  to  see  it.  “  It  is  from 
my  dear  little  Eddie,”  said  she  ;  “  and  I  can 
read  every  word  of  it.”  She  answered  the  let¬ 
ter,  to  Eddie’s  great  delight ;  telling  him  just 
what  he  wmnted  to  know.  She  knew  his  de¬ 
sire,  if  she  could  not  read  his  scrawl,  and  so 
fully  satisfied  him.  Even  so  it  is  with  our 
heavenly  Father. 

45§4.  PRAYER,  Specific.  There  was  once 
a  colored  woman  who  used  to  sit  in  one  corner 
of  the  gallery  on  the  sabbath,  and  single  out 
some  young  man  as  he  came  in  at  the  door, 
and  pray  for  him  till  she  saw  him  come  for¬ 
ward  to  join  the  church;  then  she  dropped 
him,  and  singled  out  another,  and  prayed  for 
him  in  like  manner,  till,  she  witnessed  a  simi¬ 
lar  result ;  then  she  dropped  him,  and  took  a 
third ;  and  so  on  :  till,  at  the  end  of  twenty 
years,  she  had  seen  twenty  young  men  join 
themselves  to  the  Lord  in  a  perpetual  cove¬ 
nant,  —  young  men  with  whom  she  had  no 
personal  acquaintance  whatever.  This  fact 
was  disclosed  to  her  pastor  on  her  death-bed. 

Smith. 

4585.  PRAYER,  Successful.  A  negro-boy 
who  had  been  captured  from  a  slave-ship  was 
landed  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  placed  under  the 
care  of  a  teacher  named  Thompson.  He  asked 
the  Lord  Jesus  to  do  the  same  for  his  parents ; 
and  would  go-  every  day,  and  watch  by  the 
shore  for  them.  At  last,  one  day,  little  Tom 
dragged  the  teacher  to  the  beach,  saying  in 
exclamations  of  delight,  “Prayer  answered: 
father  and  mother  come.” 

4586.  PRAYER,  Symbol  of.  An  eminent 
electrician,  as  the  result  of  his  experiments 
with  the  Atlantic  cable,  relates  the  following : 
“  With  a  single  galvanic  cell,  composed  of  a 
few  drops  of  acid  in  a  silver  thimble,  and  a 
fragment  of  zinc  weighing  a  grain  or  two,  con¬ 
versation  may  readily,  though  slowly,  be  car¬ 
ried  on  either  through  one  of  the  cables,  or 
through  the  two  joined  together  at  Newfound¬ 
land  so  as  to  form  a  loop.” 

458'7.  PRAYER,  Thoughtlessness  in.  There  is 
a  story  how  that  one  offered  to  give  his  horse 
to  his  fellow  upon  condition  that  he  would  say 
the  Lord’s  Prayer,  and  think  upon  nothing  but 
God.  The  proffer  was  accepted  ;  and  he  began, 
“‘Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,  hal¬ 
lowed  be  thy  name.’  —  But  I  must  have  the 
bridle  too,”  said  he.  “  No ;  nor  the  horse 
either,”  said  the  other ;  “  for  thou  hast  lost  both 
already.”  And  thus  it  is,  that  too  many,  in 
their  private  and  public  addresses  to  God  by 
prayer,  are,  by  the  suggestions  of  Satan,  walk¬ 
ing  with  St.  Hierom  in  the  galleries  of  Rome, 
having  their  hearts  roving  after  the  pleasures 
of  sin,  their  thoughts  taken  up  with  the  things 
of  this  world,  and  their  whole  man  set  upon 
vanity.  Spencer. 

4588.  PRAYER,  Transformation  in.  The  priests 
of  Buddha  say,  “  Think  of  Buddha,  and  you 
will  be  transformed  into  Buddha.  If  men  pray 
to  Buddha,  and  do  not  become  Buddha,  it  is 
because  the  mouth  prays,  and  not  the  mind.” 
How  much  greater  the  power  of  prayer  offered 
to  the  Christian’s  God  1 


PRAYER. 


PRAYER-MEETmGS.  517 


4589.  PRAYER,  True.  A  devoted  Papist 
in  Spain  felt  the  need  of  something  more  than 
Paternosters  and  Ave-Marias,  but  did  not  know 
how  to  pray  in  any  other  way.  He  went  every 
morning  reverently  before  the  Lord,  and  re¬ 
peated  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  adding, 
“  And  now,  O  good  God  !  put  these  letters  to¬ 
gether  to  spell  syllables,  to  spell  words,  to  make 
such  sense  as  may  be  most  to  thy  glory  and  to 
my  good.” 

4590.  PRAYER,  Uninterrupted.  Doves  have 

been  trained  to  fly  from  place  to  place,  carry¬ 
ing  letters  in  a  casket,  fastened  to  their  neck 
or  foot.  They  are  swift  of  flight ;  but  our 
prayers  and  sighs  are  swifter,  for  they  take 
but  a  moment  to  pass  from  earth  to  heaven, 
and  bear  the  troubles  of  our  heart  to  the  heart 
of  God.  These  messengers  no  hostile  force 
can  detain  :  they  penetrate  the  clouds,  never 
linger  on  the  way,  and  never  desist  until  the 
Most  High  attends.  A  tyrant  may  shut  up  a 
godly  man  in  the  deepest  dungeon,  immure  him 
between  massive  wails,  and  forbid  him  all  in¬ 
tercourse  with  his  fellow-men;  but  these  mes¬ 
sengers  he  cannot  restrain  :  in  defiance  of  all 
obstacles,  they  report  to  the  Omniscient  the 
affliction  of  the  victim,  and  bring  back  to  him 
the  divine  consolation.  Gotthold. 

4591..  PRAYER,  United.  Three  Christians 
in  Philadelphia  fixed  upon  an  hour  of  each  day 
in  which  they  would  unite  in  prayer  for  the 
conversion  of  a  merchant.  One  went  to  speak 
to  him  about  religion,  and  found  him  ready  to 
seek  Christ.  Their  united  prayer  and  effort 
resulted  in  his  conversion. 

4592.  PRAYER,  and  Usefulness.  Look  at 
Baxter  1  he  stained  his  study-walls  with  pray¬ 
ing  breath,  and,  after  he  got  anointed  with 
the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  sent  a  river  of 
living  water  over  Kidderminster,  and  converted 
hundreds.  Luther  and  his  coadjutors  were 
men  of  such  mighty  pleading  with  God,  that 
they  broke  the  spell  of  ages,  and  laid  nations 
subdued  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  John  Knox 
grasped  in  his  strong  arms  of  faith  all  Scot¬ 
land  :  his  prayers  terrified  tyrants.  AVhite- 
field,  after  much  holy,  faithful  closet-pleading, 
went  to  the  Devil’s  fair,  and  took  more  than 
a  thousand  souls  out  of  the  paw  of  the  lion  in 
one  day.  See  a  praying  Wesley  turn  more  than 
ten  thousand  souls  to  the  Lord !  Look  at  the 
praying  Finney,  whose  prayers,  faith,  sermons, 
and  writings  have  shaken  the  half  of  America, 
and  sent  a  wave  through  the  British  churches  1 

C.  D.  Foss. 

4593.  PRAYER,  Watching  unto.  When  an 
archer  shoots  his  ai-row  at  a  mark,  he  likes  to 
go  and  see  whether  he  has  hit  it,  or  how  near 
he  has  come  to  it.  When  you  have  written 
and  sent  off  a  letter  to  a  friend,  you  expect 
some  day  that  the  postman  will  be  knocking  at 
the  door  with  an  answer.  When  a  child  asks 
his  father  for  something,  he  looks  in  his  face, 
even  before  he  speaks,  to  see  if  he  is  pleased, 
and  reads  acceptance  in  his  eyes.  But  it  is  to 
be  greatly  feared  that  many  people  feel,  when 
their  prayers  are  over,  as  if  they  had  quite  done 
with  them.  Their  onlv  concern  was  to  get 


them  said.  An  old  heathen  poet  speaks  of 
Jupiter  throwing  certain  prayers  to  the  winds, 
—  dispersing  them  “  in  empty  air.”  It  is  sad  to 
think  that  we  so  often  do  that  for  ourselves. 
What  would  you  think  of  a  man  who  had 
written  and  folded  and  sealed  and  ad¬ 
dressed  a  letter,  flinging  it  out  into  the  street, 
and  thinking  no  more  ?ibout  it?  Sailors  in 
foundering  ships  sometimes  commit  notes  in 
sealed  bottles  to  the  waves,  for  the  chance  of 
their  being  some  day  washed  on  some  shore. 
Sir  John  Franklin’s  companions  among  the 
snows,  and  Capt.  Allen  Gardiner,  dying  of 
hunger  in  his  cave,  wrote  words  they  could  not 
be  sure  any  one  would  ever  read.  But  we 
do  not  need  to  think  of  our  prayers  as  random 
messages.  We  should  therefore  look  for  reply 
to  them,  and  watch  to  get  it.  Dr.  Edmond. 

4594.  PRAYER-MEETINGS,  Conducting.  Spur¬ 
geon,  insisting  on  brief  and  varied  exercises 
in  meetings  for  prayer  and  conference,  said, 
“  I  never  like  to  have  one  of  my  deacons  pray 
for  half  an  hour,  and  conclude  with  asking  the 
Lord  to  forgive  our  shortcomings.” 

4595.  PRAYER-MEETINGS,  Mock.  There  were 
in  New  Hampshire  about  twenty  families  living 
isolated,  shut  out  from  all  means  of  grace,  who 
had  become  reckless  and  hardened.  The  peo¬ 
ple,  in  derision,  determined  to  hold  a  prayer¬ 
meeting.  The  time  and  place  of  meeting  were 
appointed ;  and  a  notorious  backslider  was  in¬ 
vited  to  conduct  the  meeting.  The  backslider 
undertook  to  lead  the  meeting,  but  broke  down 
in  his  prayer.  They  tried  to  sing,  but  could  not. 
A  prayer-meeting  was  then  appointed  for  the 
next  sabbath,  and  a  deacon  in  a  church  three 
miles  distant  invited  to  preside.  The  good 
man  was  astonished  to  receive  such  a  summons, 
and  feared  to  comply,  supposing  that  mischief 
was  intended.  He  consulted  a  neighbor,  who 
offered  to  accompany  him ;  and  both  went 
down.  God  was  there ;  and  four  or  five  of 
those  hardened  men  during  that  first  meeting 
asked  anxiously  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved. 
The  meetings  were  continued;  and  God’s  Spirit 
was  present  with  convicting  and  converting 
power. 

4596.  PRAYER -MEETINGS,  Profitable.  A 
morning  prayer-meeting  was  established  in  a 
New-England  village  with  special  reference  to 
a  revival  of  religion,  which  at  first  was  well 
attended ;  but  soon  the  interest  declined,  till 
only  one  man  attended.  One  morning,  he  was 
met  by  one  of  the  brethren  of  the  church,  who 
said,  “  Where  now,  brother,  so  early  in  the 
morning?”  —  “From  the  prayer-meeting,” 
was  the  reply.  “  I  thought  that  was  given  up 
long  ago.  Why,  who  was  there,  do  tell  me, 
friend  ?  ”  —  “  Well,  I’ll  tell  you,  brother :  the 
Lord  and  l  were  there,  and  are  there  every 
morning;  and  most  precious  seasons  we  are  en- 
joying.”  The  next  morning  found  this  brother 
at  his  post ;  and  from  that  time  other  members 
of  the  church  followed  his  example,  and,  in  a 
few  weeks,  that  room  was  filled  to  overflowing; 
and  a  powerful  revival  followed. 

4597.  PRAYER-MEETINGS,  Sunday  Morning.  1 
have  been  endeavoring  to  establish  among  us 


518 


PREACHER. 


PREACHING. 


what  are  called  Aaron  and  llur  Societies;  i.e., 
little  collections  of  four  or  five  or  more  persons, 
who  meet  before  service  on  sabbath  morning, 
to  spend  an  hour  in  prayer  for  a  blessing  on 
the  minister  and  the  ordinances.  They  began 
on  New-Year’s  Day,  and  we  seemed  to  have 
an  immediate  answer,  for  the  meeting  was  un¬ 
usually  solemn  ;  and  we  have  reason  to  hope 
that  the  word  was  not  preached  in  vain. 

Dr.  Payson. 

4598.  PREACHER,  Assisting  the.  The  legend 
says,  that  an  obstinate  heretic,  who  went  to 
hear  St.  Ambrose  preach  only  to  confute  and 
mock  him,  beheld  an  angel  visible  at  his  side, 
and  prompting  the  words  he  uttered  ;  on  seeing 
which,  the  scoifer  was  of  course  converted. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

4599.  PREACHER,  Paul  a.  Paul  was  the  kind 

of  a  preacher  whom  you  would  expect  to  see 
walk  down  the  pulpit-stairs  straight  into  his 
coffin,  and  then  stand  before  his  God  ready  for 
his  last  account.  Spurgeon. 

4699.  PREACHER,  Zealous.  A  godly  person, 
greatly  desiring  to  see  a  certain  preacher,  saw 
in  a  dream  a  pillar  of  fire  with  this  inscription, 
“  Such  is - ” 

4691.  PREACHING,  Aim  in.  A  Quaker  once 
discovered  a  thief  in  his  house ;  and,  taking 
down  his  grandfather’s  old  fowling-piece,  he 
quietly  said,  “  Friend,  thee  had  better  get  out 
of  the  way ;  for  I  intend  to  fire  this  gun  right 
where  thee  stands." 

4692.  PREACHING,  Christ.  “  Don’t  you 
know,  young  man,”  said  an  aged  minister,  in 
giving  advice  to  a  younger  brother,  “  that  from 
every  town,  and  every  village,  and  every  little 
hamlet  in  England,  there  is  a  road  to  London  V  ” 
—  “  Yes,”  was  the  reply.  “  So,”  continued 
the  venerable  man,  “  from  every  text  in  Scrip¬ 
ture  there  is  a  road  to  the  metropolis  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  ;  that  is,  Christ.  And  your  business  is, 
when  you  get  a  text,  to  say,  ‘  Now  what  is  the 
road  to  Christ  V  ’  and  then  preach  a  sermon 
running  along  the  road  towards  the  great 
metropolis,  Christ.” 

4693.  PREACHING,  Christ’s.  Our  Lord 
found  many  a  topic  of  discourse  in  the  scenes 
around  him.  Even  the  humblest  objects  shine  in 
his  hands,  as  I  have  seen  a  fragment  of  broken 
glass  or  earthenware,  as  it  caught  the  sunbeam, 
light  up,  flashing  like  a  diamond.  With  the 
stone  of  Jacob’s  well  fora  pulpit,  and  its  water 
for  a  text,  he  preached  salvation  to  the  Samari¬ 
tan  woman.  A  little  child  which  he  takes  from 
its  mother’s  side,  and  holds  up  blushing  in  his 
arms  before  the  astonished  audience,  is  the 
text  for  a  sermon  on  humility.  A  husbandman 
on  a  neighboring  height  between  him  and  the 
sky,  who  strides  with  long  and  measured  steps 
over  the  field  he  sows,  supplies  a. text  from 
which  he  discourses  on  the  gospel,  and  its 
effects  on  different  classes  of  hearers.  In  a 
woman  baking;  in  two  women  who  sit  by 
some  cottage-door  grinding  at  the  mill ;  in 
an  old,  strong  fortalice,  perched  on  a  rock, 
whence  it  looks  across  the  brawling  torrent  to 
the  ruined  and  roofless  gable  of  a  house  swept 
away  by  mountain-floods,  —  Jesus  found  texts. 


From  the  birds  that  sung  above  his  head,  and 
the  lilies  that  blossomed  at  his  feet,  he  dis¬ 
coursed  on  the  care  of  God;  these  his  text, 
and  providence  his  theme.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4694.  PREACHING,  Close.  Dr.  Hickington, 
chaplain  to  Charles  II.,  used  to  preach  at  the 
king’s  vices.  This  the  king  took  to  himself; 
and  so,  one  day,  he  said,  “  Doctor,  you  and  I 
ought  to  be  better  friends ;  give  up  being  so 
sharp  on  me,  and  see  if  I  don't  mend  on  your 
hand.” —  “  Well,  well,”  quoth  the  doctor,  “  I'll 
make  it  up  with  your  Majesty  on  these  terms : 
as  you  mend ,  I'll  mend." 

4695.  PREACHING,  Dead.  Absence  of  power 

is  sometimes  so  clear,  that  the  soul  that  has 
come  to  the  house  of  God  seeking  bread,  pain¬ 
fully  feels  that  it  is  getting  but  a  stone  ;  and 
never  is  that  feeling  so  painful  as  when  all 
that  ought  to  attend  upon  spiritual  power  is 
there,  —  the  truth  well  understood  and  well 
stated,  all  the  lineaments  and  outward  forms 
that  would  lead  us  to  expect  life,  — but,  when 
we  draw  near,  there  is  no  breath  in  it.  Some¬ 
times  one  may  see  that  this  soulless  thing  it 
not  a  wax  figure  which  never  breathed,  but  a 
corpse  from  which  the  life  is  gone.  The  truths 
now  uttered  with  such  impotence  once  thrilled 
through  men  as  they  fell  from  those  lips  ;  the 
appeals  which  now  grate  like  a  chime  of 
cracked  bells  once  carried  multitudes  before 
them.  In  days  gone  by,  many  rose  up  to  bless 
this  man  as  a  messenger  of  God ;  to-day,  his 
words  are  as  a  tale  twice  told.  Perhaps,  con¬ 
scious  of  the  loss  of  the  real  power,  he  endeav¬ 
ors  to  compensate  for  it  by  a  greater  force  of 
physical  oratory,  spurring  himself  to  impetu¬ 
osity,  or  swelling  to  lofty  and  solemn  impres¬ 
siveness  ;  but  it  is  only  as  when  a  ship  in  a 
calm  makes  her  sails  bulge  by  rolling :  they 
flap  and  rustle;  but  there  is  no  strength  in 
them,  as  when,  filled  by  the  silent  wind,  they 
bore  the  vessel  onward.  W.  Arthur. 

4696.  PREACHING,  Dread  of.  Luther,  of 
whom  Richter  has  said  his  words  are  half¬ 
battles,  when  he  first  began  to  preach,  suffered 
unheard  agony.  “  O  Dr.  Staupitz,  Dr.  Stau- 
pitz  1  ”  said  he  to  the  vicar-general  of  his 
order,  “  I  cannot  do  it :  I  shall  die  in  three 
months.  Indeed,  I  cannot  do  it.”  Dr.  Stau¬ 
pitz  said  upon  this,  “  Well,  Sir  Martin,  if  you 
must  die,  you  must ;  but  remember  that  they 
need  good  heads  up  yonder  too.  So  preach, 
man,  preach,  and  then  live  or  die,  as  it  hap¬ 
pens.”  So  Luther  preached  and  lived ;  and 
he  became,  indeed,  one  great  whirlwind  of 
energy  to  work  without  resting  in  this  world. 

4697.  PREACHING,  Earnest.  Richard  Sheri¬ 
dan  used  to  say,  “  I  often  go  to  hear  Rowland 
Hill,  because  his  ideas  come  red-hot  from  the 
heart.”  Dr.  John  M.  Mason  was  asked  what 
he  thought  was  the  forte  of  Dr.  Chalmers. 
After  a  moment’s  consideration,  Dr.  Mason 
replied,  “  His  blood-earnestness.”  A  Chinese 
convert  once  remarked,  in  a  conversation  with 
a  missionary,  “  We  want  men  with  hot  hearts 
to  tell  us  of  the  love  of  Christ.” 

4698.  PREACHING,  Effect  of.  Fra  Rocco, 
a  Dominican,  preached  a  celebrated  peniten- 


PREACHIN  Gr. 


PREACHING. 


519 


tial  sermon  on  one  occasion  ;  when  all  the  audi¬ 
ence  were  in  terror,  and  fell  on  their  knees, 
showing  every  sign  of  contrition.  Then  he 
cried,  “  All  who  are  truly  pentinent,  hold  up 
our  hands !  ”  Every  man  in  the  vast  multitude 
eld  up  his  hand.  Then  he  said,  “  Iloly  Arch¬ 
angel  Michael,  thou  who  standest  with  adaman¬ 
tine  sword  at  the  judgment-seat  of  God,  cut 
me  off  every  hand  which  has  been  held  up  hy¬ 
pocritically.”  Every  hand  dropped. 

E.  P.  Hood. 

464)9.  PREACHING,  Experimental.  There  is 
no  such  preaching  as  the  experience  which  a 
man  gives  who  has  just  realized  the  sinfulness 
of  his  soul.  I  often  hear  myself  out-preached 
by  some  new  convert  who  can  hardly  put  words 
together.  Some  say  experimental  preaching 
is  shallow.  Shallow  1  —  it  is  deep  as  the 
soul  of  God.  Beecher. 

4610.  PREACHING,  Extempore.  Dr.  Alexan¬ 
der  took  up  four  or  five  huge  packages  of 
sermons,  tied  up  in  brown  paper  with  whip¬ 
cord  ;  and,  kicking  them  all  playfully  over  into 
a  corner,  he  said  to  me,  “  There,  Mr.  Cuyler, 
goes  the  labor  of  my  life.  And  now,  after 
twenty  years  of  experience,  I  declare  to  you  can¬ 
didly,  that,  if  I  could  live  my  life  over  again,  I 
never  would  take  one  of  those  manuscripts 
with  me  into  my  pulpit.  I  would  take  them 
in  my  head  and  heart,  and  not  on  paper.” 

4611.  PREACHING,  failure  in.  A  Spanish 
artist  was  employed  to  paint  the  Last  Sup- 

fier.  It  was  his  object  to  throw  all  the  sub- 
imity  of  his  art  into  the  figure  and  counte¬ 
nance  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  but  he  put  on  the 
table  in  the  foreground  some  ornamental  cups, 
the  workmanship  of  which  was  exceedingly 
beautiful.  When  his  friends  came  to  see  the 
picture  on  the  easel,  every  one  said,  “  What 
beautiful  cups  1  ” —  “  Ah  1  ”  said  he,  “  I  have 
made  a  mistake :  these  cups  divert  the  eyes 
of  the  spectator  from  the  Lord,  to  whom 
I  wished  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  observ¬ 
er.”  And  he  took  up  his  brush,  and  blotted 
them  from  the  canvas,  that  the  figure  of  Christ 
might  be  the  chief  object  of  attraction. 

4612.  PREACHING,  Failures  in.  I  am  like 
a  child,  who,  walking  forth  some  sunny  sum¬ 
mer’s  morning,  sees  grass  and  flowers  all  shin¬ 
ing  with  drops  of  dew.  “  Oh  1  ”  he  cries,  “  I’ll 
carry  these  beautiful  things  to  my  mother.” 
And,  eagerly  plucking  them,  the  dew  drops 
into  his  liitle  palm,  and  all  the  charm  is  gone. 
There  is  but  grass  in  his  hand,  and  no  longer 
pearls.  Beecher. 

4613.  PREACHING,  Final.  Dr.  Peekwell, 
a  London  clergyman,  received  infection  from  a 
dead  body,  and  knew  that  he  must  soon  die. 
He  preached  on  the  following  Friday  evening 
a  touching  a'.d  powerful  sermon,  told  the  peo¬ 
ple  it  was  his  last,  and  bade  them  farewell. 
So  it  proved ;  and  on  the  Sunday  a  stranger 
filled  his  place. 

4614.  PREACHING,  Flowery.  To  my  ear,  it 
should  be  any  thing  but  commendation,  should 
it  be  said  to  me,  “  You  have  given  us  a  pretty 
sermon.”  If  I  were  put  upon  trial  for  my  life, 
and  my  advocate  should  amuse  the  jury  with 


tropes  and  figures,  or  bury  his  arguments  be* 
neath  a  profusion  of  flowers  of  his  rhetoric,  I 
would  say  to  him,  “Tut,  man  1  you  care  more 
for  your  vanity  than  for  my  hanging.  Tut 
yourself  in  my  place,  speak  in  view  of  the 
gallows  ;  and  you  will  tell  your  story  plainly 
and  earnestly.”  I  have  no  objections  to  a  lady 
winding  a  sword  with  ribbons,  and  studding  it 
with  roses  as  she  presents  it  to  her  hero-lover; 
but,  in  the  day  of  battle,  he  will  tear  away  the 
ornaments,  and  use  the  naked  edge  on  the 
enemy.  R.  Hall. 

4615.  PREACHING,  Humble.  Paint  Jesus 
Christ  upon  your  canvas,  and  then  hold  him 
up  to  the  people  ;  but  st>  hold  him  up,  that  not 
even  your  little  finger  can  be  seen.  Dr.  Payson. 

4616.  PREACHING,  Incentive  to.  The  seraphic 
Sumerfield,  just  before  his  death,  speaking  of 
his  recovery,  said,  “  Oh,  if  I  might  be  raised 
again  1  How  I  could  preach  !  I  could  preach 
as  I  never  preached  before.  I  have  taken  a 
look  into  eternity!” 

46fl'5'.  PREACHING,  Intelligible.  “  The  very 
essence  of  truth,”  says  Milton,  “  is  plainness 
and  brightness  :  the  darkness  and  crookedness 
are  our  own.”  “  Better  the  grammarian  should 
reprehend,”  says  Jenkyn,  “than  the  people 
not  understand.  Pithy  plainness  is  the  beauty 
of  preaching.  What  good  doth  a  golden  key 
that  opens  not  ?  ”  An  old  lady  once  walked  a 
great  way  to  hear  the  celebrated  Adam  Clarke 
preach.  She  had  heard  he  was  “  such  a  schol¬ 
ar  1  ”  as  indeed  he  was.  But  she  was  bitterly 
disappointed,  “  because,”  she  said,  “  I  under¬ 
stood  every  thing  he  said.”  Dr.  Hoge. 

4618.  PREACHING,  Learned.  Bernard  preach¬ 
ing  one  day  very  scholastically,  the  learned 
thanked  him,  but  not  the  godly.  But  the  next 
day  he  preached  plainly :  the  good  people  came 
blessing  God  for  him,  and  gave  him  many 
thanks;  which  some  scholars  wondered  at. 
“  Ah  1  ”  said  he  :  “  yesterday  I  preached  Ber¬ 
nard  ;  but  to-day  I  preached  Christ.” 

4619.  PREACHING,  Legend  of.  St.  Francis, 
drawing  nigh  to  Bevagno,  came  to  a  certain 
place  where  birds  of  different  kinds  were  gath¬ 
ered  together ;  whom  seeing,  the  man  of  God 
ran  hastily  to  the  spot,  and,  saluting  them  as 
if  they  had  been  his  fellows  in  reason  (while 
they  all  turned  and  bent  their  heads  in  atten¬ 
tive  expectation),  he  admonished  them,  saying, 
“  Brother  birds,  greatly  are  ye  bound  to  praise 
the  Creator,  who  clotheth  you  with  feathers, 
and  giveth  you  wings  to  fly  with,  and  a  purer 
air  to  breathe,  and  who  careth  for  you  who 
have  so  little  care  for  yourselves.”  Whilst  he 
thus  spake,  the  little  birds,  marvellously  corn- 
moved,  began  to  spread  their  wings,  stretch 
forth  their  necks,  and  open  their  beaks,  atten¬ 
tively  gazing  upon  him  :  and  he,  glowing  in 
the  spirit,  passed  through  the  midst  of  them, 
and  even  touched  them  with  his  robe  ;  yet  not 
one  stirred  from  his  place  until  the  man  of  God 
gave  them  leave  ;  when,  with  his  blessing  and 
at  the  sign  of  the  cross,  they  all  flew  away. 
These  things  saw  his  companions,  who  waited 
for  him  on  the  road  ;  to  whom  returning,  the 
simple  and  pure-minded  man  began  greatly 


520 


PREACHIN  Gr. 


PREACHING. 


to  blame  liimself  for  having  never  hitherto 
preached  to  the  birds. 

4620.  PREACHING,  Pay  for.  An  Indian,  be¬ 
ing  asked  what  he  did  for  a  living,  replied, 
“  Oh  1  me  preach.”  —  “  Preach  1  ”  said  a  by¬ 
stander  :  “  what  do  yon  get  paid  for  preach¬ 
ing  V  ”  —  “  Sometimes  me  get  shillin’,  some¬ 
times  two  shillin’.”  —  “  And  isn’t  that  mighty 
poor  pay  ?  ”  —  “  Oh,  yes  1  but  it’s  mighty  poor 
preach.” 

4621.  PREACHING,  Plain.  In  addressing 
the  multitude,  we  must  remember  to  follow  the 
advice  that  Cromwell  gave  his  soldiers,  “  Fire 
low.”  If  our  eloquence  be  directed  above  the 
heads  of  our  hearers,-  we  shall  do  no  execu¬ 
tion.  By  pointing  our  arguments  low,  we  can 
stand  a.  chance  of  hitting  their  hearts  as  well 
as  their  heads.  In  addressing  angels,  we  could 
hardly  raise  our  eloquence  too  high ;  but  we 
must  remember  that  men  are  not  angels. 
Would  we  warn  them  by  our  eloquence,  unlike 
Mahomet’s  mountain,  it  must  come  down  to 
them,  since  they  cannot  raise  themselves  to  it. 
It  must  come  home  to  their  wants  and  their 
wishes,  to  their  hopes  and  their  fears.  Lacnn. 

4622.  PREACHING,  Powerless.  The  Arch¬ 
bishop  of  Canterbury  said  one  day  to  Garrick, 
“  Pray  inform  me  how  it  is  that  you  gentlemen 
of  the  stage  can  atfect  your  auditory  with 
things  imaginary  as  if  they  were  real,  while 
we  of  the  church  speak  of  things  real,  which 
many  of  our  congregation  receive  as  things 
imaginary.”  —  “  Why,”  replied  Garrick,  “  the 
reason  is  plain.  We  actors  speak  of  things 
imaginary  as  if  they  were  real ;  while  too 
many  in  the  pulpit  speak  of  things  real  as  if 
they  were  imaginary.” 

4623.  PREACHING,  Practical.  An  old  writer 
says,  “  If  we  would  preach  to  purpose,  we  must 
bring  our  hearts  as  well  as  our  heads  into  the 
pulpit,  and  our  lives  must  be  consistent  with 
our  doctrines.  It  is  said  of  Aneas  Sylvius, 
afterwards  pope  Pius  Secundus,  that  what 
Sylvius  did,  Pius  undid.” 

4624.  PREACHING,  Practice  in,  When  a 

young  painter  inquired  of  the  celebrated 
Gilbert  Stuart,  how  young  persons  should  be 
taught  to  paint,  he  replied,  “Just  as  puppies 
are  taught  to  swim,  —  chuck  them  in  1  ”  “  No 

one  can  learn  to  swim  in  the  sea  of  extempore 
speech  without  going  into  the  waters.” 

Bishop  Mcllvaine. 

4625.  PREACHING,  Preparation  for.  When  I 

compose  a  sermon,  I  imagine  myself  consulted 
upon  some  doubtful  piece  of  business.  I  give 
my  whole  application  to  determine  the  person 
who  has  recourse  to  me  to  act  the  good  and 
proper  part.  I  exhort  him,  I  urge  him,  and 
I  quit  him  not  till  he  has  yielded  to  my  persua¬ 
sions.  Massillon. 

4626.  PREACHING,  Prayer  before.  When 

Pericles  went  into  the  pulpit  to  make  orations 
to  the  people,  he  would  make  his  prayer  to  the 
gods,  that  nothing  might  go  out  of  his  mouth 
but  what  might  be  to  the  purpose :  a  good  ex¬ 
ample  for  preachers.  Venning. 

4627.  PREACHING,  Prayer  with,  A  clergy¬ 
man,  observing  a  poor  man  by  the  road  break¬ 


ing  stones  with  a  pickaxe,  and  kneeling  to  get 
at  his  work  better,  made  the  remark,  “  Ah, 
John  !  I  wish  1  could  break  the  stony  hearts  of 
my  hearers  as  easily  as  you  are  breaking  those 
stones.”  The  man  replied,  “  Perhaps,  master, 
you  do  not  work  on  your  knees.” 

4628.  PREACHING,  Reward  of.  The  Rev.  H. 
Davies,  sometimes  called  “  the  Welsh  Apostle,” 
was  walking,  one  sabbath  morning,  to  a  place 
where  he  was  to  preach.  He  was  overtaken 
by  a  clergyman  on  horseback,  who  complained 
that  he  could  not  get  above  half  a  guinea  for 
a  discourse.  “  Oh,  sir  1  ”  said  Mr.  Davies,  “  I 
preach  for  a  crown  1  ” — “Do  you?”  replied 
the  stranger :  “  then  you  are  a  disgrace  to  the 
cloth.”  To  this  rude  observation,  he  returned 
this  meek  answer,  “  Perhaps  I  shall  be  held  in 
still  greater  disgrace  in  your  estimation  when 
I  inform  you,  that  I  am  now  going  nine  miles 
to  preach,  and  have  but  sevenpence  in  my 
pocket  to  bear  my  expenses  out  and  in ;  but 
I  look  forward  to  that  crown  of  glory  my  Lord 
and  Saviour  will  bestow  upon  me  when  he 
makes  his  appearance  before  an  assembled 
world.” 

4629.  PREACHING,  Similes  of.  There  was  a 

shield  in  which  the  maker  wrought  his  name, 
so  that  it  could  be  effaced  only  by  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  his  work  ;  anil  so  should  the  name  of 
our  glorious  Immanuel  be  inwrought  through 
the  texture  of  our  instructions,  that  their  very 
consistency  shall  be  dependent  on  the  diffusion 
of  that  one  blessed  name  throughout  their 
length  and  breadth.  On  entering  the  cathedral- 
towns  of  England,  the  towers,  or  the  spire,  of 
the  mother-church,  or  minster,  are  seen  shoot¬ 
ing  up  into  the  sky,  far  above  all  the  other 
buildings,  public  or  private,  secular  or  sacred; 
and  so  let  Jesus,  the  church’s  Lord,  King,  and 
Saviour,  have  the  pre-eminence  above  the 
whole  city  of  topics  and  themes,  divine  and 
human,  which  may  be  meetly  grouped  around 
his  name  ;  he  casting  his  sanctifying  shadow 
over  all.  Evangelical  Magazine. 

4636.  PREACHING,  for  Souls.  Myconius,  the 
friend  of  Luther,  after  his  call  to  the  ministry, 
dreamed  that  he  entered  a  field  of  grain,  and 
was  ordered  by  the  proprietor  to  commence 
reaping.  lie  did  so,  but  found  himself  greatly 
attracted  by  the  straw  of  the  wheat,  and 
wasted  much  of  his  time  and  strength  in  level¬ 
ling  his  sickle  close  to  the  ground,  so  as,  if 
possible,  to  leave  little  or  no  straw  behind. 
He  was  ambitious  to  gather  the  straw  as  well 
as  the  ears.  While  thus  engaged,  a  voice 
spoke  to  him  in  the  Latin  tongue  :  “  Domino 
meo  non  opus  est  stramine  modo  aristae  in  horrea 
colligantur,”  —  “  My  Master  needeth  not  straw : 
gather  but  the  ears,  and  it  shall  suffice.” 

Caughey. 

4631.  PREACHING,  Technical.  A  woman 
went  one  day  to  hear  a  famous  doctor  of  divin¬ 
ity  preach,  and,  as  usual,  carried  a  pocket 
Bible  with  her,  that  she  might  turn  to  any  of 
the  passages  the  preacher  might  happen  to 
refer  to.  But  she  found  that  she  had  no  use 
for  her  Bible  there  ;  and,  coming  away,  said  to 
a  friend,  “  I  should  have  left  my  Bible  at  home 


FREACHIN  Gr. 


PREJUDICE. 


521 


to-day,  and  have  brought  my  dictionary.  The 
doctor  does  not  deal  in  Scripture,  but  in  such 
learned  words  and  phrases  as  require  the  help 
of  an  interpreter  to  render  them  intelligible.” 

4632.  PREACHING,  Test  of.  When  Mas¬ 
sillon  preached  at  Versailles,  Louis  XIV.  paid 
the  following  most  expressive  tribute  to  the 

ower  of  his  eloquence.  “  Father,  when  I 

ear  others  preach,  I  am  very  well  pleased 
with  them :  when  I  hear  you,  I  am  dissatisfied 
with  myself.”  The  first  time  he  preached  his 
sermon  on  the  small  number  of  the  elect,  the 
whole  audience  were,  at  a  certain  part  of  it, 
seized  with  such  violent  emotion,  that  almost 
every  person  half  rose  from  his  seat,  as  if  to 
shake  off  the  horror  of  being  one  of  the  cast- 
out  into  everlasting  darkness.  Percy. 

4633.  PREACHING,  Truth  in.  When  Dr. 

Kane  was  in  the  arctic  regions,  he  cut  a  piece 
of  ice,  clear  as  crystal,  in  the  form  of  a  con¬ 
vex  lens,  held  it  up  to  the  sun’s  rays,  and,  to 
the  surprise  of  the  natives,  set  in  a  blaze  some 
dry  wood  which  had  been  gathered.  So  an 
unconverted  preacher  may  be  the  medium  by 
which  the  truth  may  be  brought  toother  hearts, 
and  kindle  them  with  the  holy  flame  of  divine 
love.  “My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me 
void.”  Dr.  J.  D.  II ay  any. 

4634.  PREACHING,  Uncomfortable.  I  remem¬ 

ber  one  of  my  parishioners  at  Ilales worth  tell¬ 
ing  me,  that  he  thought  “  a  person  should  not 
go  to  church  to  be  made  uncomfortable.”  I 
replied  that  I  thought  so  too ;  but  whether  it 
should  be  the  sermon  or  the  man’s  life  that 
should  be  altered  so  as  to  avoid  the  discomfort, 
must  depend  on  whether  the  doctrine  was  right 
or  wrong.  Abp.  Whately. 

4635.  PREACHING,  Universalist.  A  Univer- 
salist  preached  to  a  chance  audience,  and,  at  its 
close,  offered  to  preach  again  at  a  future  day; 
when  an  old  Friend  arose,  and  said,  “  If  thou 
hast  told  the  truth  this  time,  we  do  not  need 
thee  any  more  ;  and,  if  thou  hast  told  us  a  lie, 
we  do  not  want  thee  any  more.” 

4636.  PREACHING,  Varieties  in.  An  English 
merchant,  visiting  Scotland  in  1G50,  and  being 
asked,  on  his  return,  what  he  had  heard,  an¬ 
swered,  “  Rare  things.  I  went  to  St.  An¬ 
drew’s,  where  I  heard  a  majestic-looking  man 
(Blair)  ;  and  he  showed  me  the  majesty  of  God. 
After  him,  I  heard  a  little  fair  man  (Ruther¬ 
ford)  ;  and  he  showed  me  the  loveliness  of 
Christ.  I  then  went  to  Irvine,  where  I  heard 
an  old  man  (Dickson)  ;  and  that  man  showed 
me  my  own  heart.” 

4637.  PREACHING, Verbose.  A  Scotch  preach¬ 
er  had  preached  his  audience  out  of  the  church ; 
when  one  of  the  weary  ones  asked  another  if 
the  sermon  was  done  yet.  The  reply  was, 
“  His  tow's  dune  lang  syne  ;  but  he’s  spinnin’ 
awa’  yet.” 

4638.  PRECAUTION,  Proverbs.  Look  before 
you  leap.  Beware  of  had  I  wist.  —  English. 

- Who  sees  not  the  bottom,  let  him  not  pass 

the  water.  —  Italian. - Asses  sing  badly,  be¬ 

cause  they  pitch  their  voices  too  high.  — 

German. - When  the  head  is  broken,  the 

helmet  is  put  on.  —  Italian. - Dig  a  well 


before  you  are  thirsty.  —  Chinese. - Who 

ties  well  unties  well.  Better  is  a  turn  of  the 
key  than  a  friar’s  conscience.  —  Spanish. 

4639.  PRECEDENCE,  Proverbs.  When  two 
ride  the  same  horse,  one  must  ride  behind.  He 
that  hires  the  horse  must  ride  before.  —  Eng¬ 
lish.  - He  who  rides  behind  does  not  saddle 

when  he  will. —  Spanish. 

4610.  PRECEPT,  Brevities.  One  of  the  sad¬ 
dest  things  about  human  nature  is,  that  a  man 
may  guide  others  in  the  path  of  life,  without 
walking  in  it  himself;  that  he  may  be  a  pilot, 

and  yet  a  castaway.  —  Anon. - If  to  do 

were  as  easy  as  to  know  what  were  good  to  do, 
chapels  had  been  churches,  and  poor  men’s 
cottages  princes’  palaces.  It  is  a  good  divine 
that  follows  his  own  instructions  :  I  can  easier 
teach  twenty  what  were  good  to  be  done,  than 
to  be  one  of  the  twenty  to  follow  mine  own 
teaching.  —  Shalcspeare. 

4641.  PRECEPT,  Jesuitical.  It  was  observed 
of  the  Jesuits,  that  they  constantly  inculcated  a 
thorough  contempt  of  worldly  things  in  their 
doctrines,  but  eagerly  grasped  at  them  in  their 
lives.  They  were  wise  in  their  generation  ;  for 
they  cried  down  worldly  things,  because  they 
wanted  to  obtain  them,  and  cried  up  spiritual 
things,  because  they  wanted  to  dispose  of  them. 

Colton. 

4612.  PRECOCITY,  Proverbs.  A  man  at  five 
may  be  a  fool  at  fifteen.  It  is  better  to  knit 
than  to  blossom. — English.  —  Late  fruit 
keeps  well.  —  German. 

4643.  PREDESTINATION,  Example  of.  It  is 
said,  that,  on  the  eve  of  Napoleon’s  departure 
on  his  Russian  campaign,  he  detailed  his 
schemes  to  a  noble  lady  with  such  arrogant 
positiveness,  that  she  tried  to  check  him,  say¬ 
ing,  “  Sir,  man  proposes ;  but  God  disposes.” 
“  Madam,  I  propose  and  dispose  too,”  the  em¬ 
peror  haughtily  replied.  A  few  months  after, 
the  disastrous  retreat  from  Moscow,- and  the 
loss  of  his  crown,  army,  and  liberty,  vindicated 
the  power  of  God. 

4644.  PREJUDICE,  Brevities.  Human  na¬ 
ture  is  so  constituted,  that  all  see  and  judge 
better  in  the  affairs  of  other  men  than  in 
their  own.  —  Terence. We  seldom  find  per¬ 
sons  whom  we  acknowledge  to  be  possessed 
of  good  sense,  except  those  who  agree  with  us 
in  opinion.  —  La  Rochefoucauld. 

4645.  PREJUDICE,  Influence  of.  A  gentle¬ 
man  was  one  day  stoutly  asserting  that  there 
were  no  gold-fields  except  in  Mexico  and 
Peru.  A  nugget  dug  up  in  California  was 
presented  to  him  as  evidence  against  his  posi¬ 
tive  assertion.  He  was  not  in  the  least  discon¬ 
certed.  “  This  metal,  sir,  is,  I  own,  extremely 
like  gold ;  and  you  tell  me  that  it  passes  as 
such  in  the  market,  having  been  declared  by 
the  assayers  to  be  indistinguishable  from  the 
precious  metal.  All  this  I  will  not  dispute. 
Nevertheless,  the  metal  is  not  gold,  but  auru 
minium :  it  cannot  be  gold,  because  gold  comes 
only  from  Mexico  and  Peru.”  In  vain  was  he 
informed  that  the  geological  formation  was 
similar  in  California  and  Peru,  and  the  metals 
similar.  He  had  fixed  in  his  mind  the  couelu- 


522 


PK-KJXJDICE. 


PRESENTIMENT. 


sion  that  gold  existed  only  in  Mexico  and 
Peru  :  this  was  a  law  of  Nature.  He  had  no 
reasons  to  give  why  it  should  he  so ;  but  such 
had  been  the  admitted  fact  for  many  years, 
and  from  it  he  could  not  swerve.  Lewes. 

4646.  PREJUDICE,  Power  of.  Dr.  Taylor 
of  Norwich  once  said  to  me,  “  Sir,  1  have  col¬ 
lated  every  word  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
seventeen  times ;  and  it  is  very  strange  if  the 
doctrine  of  the  atonement  you  hold  should  not 
have  been  found  by  me.”  I  am  not  surprised 
at  this.  I  once  went  to  light  my  candle  with 
the  extinguisher  on  it.  Now,  prejudice  from 
education,  learning,  &c.,  often  proves  an  extin¬ 
guisher.  It  is  not  enough  that  you  bring  the 
candle  :  you  must  remove  the  extinguisher. 

John  Newton. 

4647.  PREJUDICE,  Unconscious.  Persons 
often,  from  some  cause  or  other,  are  under  the 
influence  of  prejudice  without  even  knowing  it. 
“  Men,”  said  a  late  writer,  “  in  general,  and 
particularly  professional  men,  view  objects 
through  the  media  of  their  own  pursuits,  and 
express  themselves  accordingly.  A  gentleman 
was  thrown  from  a  very  restive  horse  in  Hyde 
Park,  and  had  the  misfortune  to  break  one  of 
his  legs.  A  crowd  instantly  collected  around 
him,  in  which  were  a  riding-master,  a  painter, 
a  mathematician,  a  lawyer,  and  a  clergyman. 
‘If  this  unfortunate  man,’  said  the  riding-mas¬ 
ter,  ‘  had  taken  a  few  lessons  in  my  school, 
that  accident  would  not  have  happened.  “  How 
finely  the  figure  was  fore-shortened  in  falling  1  ’ 
said  the  painter.  ‘  He  made  a  parabolic  curve,’ 
said  the  mathematician.  ‘  It  is  a  hundred  to 
one,’  said  the  lawyer,  1  if  he  has  made  his  will.’ 

1  Run  for  a  surgeon,’  said  the  clergyman,’ 

‘  and  let  us  assist  the  poor  man  in  getting 
home.’  ”  T.  Hughes. 

4648.  PREJUDICE,  Works  of.  What  will  not 

rejudice  do?  It  was  that  which  made  the 

ews  call  Christ  a  Samaritan,  a  devil,  a  wine- 

bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  It 
was  that  which  made  them  hale  the  apostles  to 
their  governors,  and  cry  out,  “  Away  with  them  ! 
it  is  not  fit  that  they  should  live.”  It  was  this 
made  Ahab  hate  the  upright  Micaiah,  and  the 
Athenian  condemn  the  just  Aristides,  though 
he  had  never  seen  him.  It  was  this  made  the 
poor  man,  who  knew  not  what  John  IIuss’s 
doctrine  was,  so  busy  and  industrious  to  carry 
wood  for  his  funeral-pile,  and  as  zealous  to  kin¬ 
dle  it,  inasmuch  that  the  martyr  could  not  but 
cry  out,  “  O  holy  simplicity  !  ”  It  is  this  sets 
men  against  consideration  of  their  ways,  and 
makes  them  give  out  that  it  will  crack  their 
brains  and  disorder  their  understanding. 

Anthony  Ilorneck. 

4649.  PREPARATION,  Importance  of.  You 
have  read  in  history  of  that  hero,  who,  when 
an  overwhelming  force  was  in  full  pursuit,  and 
all  his  followers  were  urging  him  to  a  more 
rapid  flight,  coolly  dismounted  to  repair  a  flaw 
in  his  horse’s  harness.  While  busied  with  the 
broken  buckle,  the  distant  cloud  swept  down 
in  nearer  thunder;  but,  just  as  the  prancing 
hoofs  and  eager  spears  were  ready  to  dash 
upon  him,  the  flaw  was  mended,  and,  like  a 


swooping  falcon,  he  had  vanished  from  thtir 
view.  The  broken  buckle  would  have  lull 
him  on  the  field  a  dismounted  and  inglorious 
prisoner :  the  timely  delay  sent  him  in  safety 
back  to  his  comrades.  There  is  in  daily  file 
the  same  luckless  precipitancy,  and  the  same 
profitable  delay.  The  man,  who,  from  his 
prayerless  awakening,  bounces  into  the  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  day,  however  good  his  talents  and 
great  his  diligence,  is  only  galloping  upon  a 
steed  harnessed  with  a  broken  buckle,  and 
must  not  marvel,  if,  in  his  hottest  haste  or  most 
hazardous  leap,  he  be  left  ingloriously  in  the 
dust;  and,  though  it  may  occasion  some  little 
delay  beforehand,  his  neighbor  is  wiser  who 
sets  out  all  in  order  before  the  march  begins. 

Rev.  J.  Hamilton. 

4659.  PREPARATION,  Neglecting.  Neglecting 
preparation  for  eternity  is  like  the  traveller 
across  the  desert,  or  through  a  hostile  wilder¬ 
ness,  who  provides  nothing  for  his  journey ;  like 
the  ambassador  to  afar  country,  who  forgets  his 
message  ;  like  the  invited  guest  who  puts  not 
on  the  wedding-garment ;  like  the  fool  who 
counselled  his  soul  to  take  its  ease,  while 
Hod’s  voice  called  him  to  judgment. 

4651.  PREPARATION,  Reason  for.  A  mother 
explained  to  her  little  daughter,  who  could  not 
comprehend  her  father’s  death,  that  God  had 
sent  for  him,  and  would  by  and  by  send  for 
them  all,  how  soon  they  could  not  tell.  “  Well, 
then,  mother,”  said  the  child,  “  if  God  is  going 
to  send  for  us  soon,  and  we  don’t  know  just 
when,  hadn’t  we  better  begin  to  pack  up  and 
get  ready  to  go  ?  ”  This  incident,  related  to 
the  wounded  and  dying  inmates  of  an  army 
hospital,  was  the  means  of  much  good. 

4652.  PRESENT,  Employment  of  the.  Men 

spend  their  lives  in  anticipations,  in  determin¬ 
ing  to  be  vastly  happy  at  some  period  or  other, 
when  they  have  time.  But  the  present  time 
has  one  advantage  over  every  other,  —  it  is  our 
own.  Past  opportunities  are  gone,  the  future 
has  not  come.  We  may  lay  in  a  stock  of 
pleasures,  as  we  would  lay  in  a  stock  of  wine ; 
but,  if  we  defer  tasting  them  too  long,  we  shall 
find  that  both  are  soured  by  age.  Colton. 

4653.  PRESENT,  Heathen  View  of.  Abridge 
your  hopes  in  proportion  to  the  shortness  of  the 
span  of  human  life  ;  for,  while  we  converse,  the 
hours,  as  if  envious  of  our  pleasure,  fly  away  : 
enjoy  therefore  the  present  time,  and  trust  not 
too  much  what  to-morrow  may  produce. 

Horace. 

4654.  PRESENTIMENT,  of  Death.  While  Col. 
Osterhaus  was  gallantly  attacking  the  centre 
of  the  enemy,  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  a  sergeant 
of  the  Twelfth  Missouri  requested  the  cap¬ 
tain  of  his  company  to  send  his  wife’s  por¬ 
trait,  which  he  had  taken  from  his  bosom,  to 
her  address  in  St.  Louis,  with  his  dying  dec¬ 
laration,  that  he  thought  of  her  in  his  last 
moments.  “  What  is  that  for  ?  ”  asked  the 
captain.  “  You  are  not  wounded,  are  you  ?  ” 
—  “  No,”  answered  the  sergeant ;  “  but  I 
know  I  shall  be  killed  to-day.  I  have  been  in 
battle  before  ;  but  I  never  felt  as  I  do  now.  A 
moment  ago,  I  became  convinced  my  time  had 


PRESEjSTTLMEN'T. 


PRIDE. 


523 


come ;  but  how  I  cannot  tell.  Will  you  gratify 
my  request  ?  Remember  I  speak  to  you  as  a 
dying  man.”  —  “  Certainly,  my  brave  fellow  ; 
but  you  will  live  to  a  good  old  age  with  your 
wife.  Do  not  grow  melancholy  over  a  fancy  or 
a  dream.”  —  “  You  will  see,”  was  the  response. 
The  picture  changed  hands.  The  sergeant 
stepped  forward  to  the  front  of  the  column,  aud 
the  captain  saw  him  no  more.  At  the  camp¬ 
fire  that  evening,  the  officer  inquired  for  the 
sergeant.  He  was  not  present.  lie  had  been 
killed  three  hours  before  by  a  grape-shot  from 
one  of  the  enemy’s  batteries. 

4655.  PESENTIMENT,  Strange.  The  Rev. 
Sir.  Perkins  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Effing¬ 
ham,  N.IL,  left  his  home  a  short  time  ago, 
on  a  journey,  and,  while  riding  along  in  per¬ 
fect  health,  had  a  presentiment  that  he  was 
shortly  to  die.  He  stopped  at  a  house  by 
the  roadside,  asked  for  permission  to  enter, 
saying  he  had  come  to  die.  Ilis  friends  were 
summoned ;  and  in  two  days  he  was  a  corpse. 

4656.  PRESUMPTION,  Danger  of.  The  over- 

secure  and  sell-confident  person  placeth  his 
fond  presumption  on  the  rock  of  God’s  promise, 
and  thereby  draws  as  certain  a  ruin  upon  him¬ 
self  as  he  who  ventures  to  go  over  a  deep 
river  without  any  other  bridge  than  his  own 
shadow.  Spurslowe. 

4657.  PRESUMPTION,  Dread  of.  “God  is 
merciful !  ”  shouted  a  few  young  converts  in 
the  ears  of  a  distressed  and  despairing  young 
man.  “Yes,”  said  he,  “God  is  merciful;  but 
he  is  also  just,  and  his  justice  will  cut  me 
down.”  In  his  despair,  ho  came  near  self-de¬ 
struction  ;  but  God  revealed  his  favor,  and  he 
afterwards  preached  the  gospel  with  great 
power. 

4658.  PRESUMPTION,  Folly  of,  Presump¬ 

tion  is  a  fire-work  made  up  of  pride  and  fool¬ 
hardiness.  It  is  indeed  like  a  heavy  house 
built  upon  slender  crutches.  Like  dust,  which 
men  throw  against  the  wind,  it  Hies  back  in 
their  face,  and  makes  them  blind.  Wise  men 
presume  nothing,  but  hope  the  best :  presump¬ 
tion  is  hope  out  of  her  wits.  T.  Adams. 

4659.  PRESUMPTION,  Growth  of.  This  is 
the  nature  and  quality  of  presumption,  —  much 
like  what  our  Saviour  says  of  the  mustard- 
seed,  which,  at  first,  is  the  least  of  all  seeds, 
but,  being  grown  up,  is  greater  than  all  herbs, 
so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  lodge  in  the 
branches  of  it.  In  like  manner,  presumption 
first  sows  itself  in  a  thought,  the  least  of  all 
sins  lor  the  matter  of  it;  but.  from  thence 
shooting  up  into  a  custom  and  an  habitual 
practice,  it  grows  mighty  and  wide,  opens  its 
arms,  and  spreads  out  its  branches  for  every 
unclean  bird,  every  sinful  action  and  abomina¬ 
tion,  to  come  and  lodge  and  rest  upon. 

Dr.  South. 

4660.  PRESUMPTION,  Perilous.  Like  as  if 
an  arrant  thief  should  reason  thus  with  himself, 
“  I  will  spend  my  days  in  robbing  and  steal¬ 
ing  ;  I  lear  neither  arraignment  nor  execution : 
for  at  the  very  time  when  I  am  to  be  hung,  it' 
I  do  but  call  upon  the  judge,  I  know  I  shall 
have  my  pardon.”  Such  is  the  practice  of 


careless  men  in  the  matter  of  their  salvatic  l ; 
for  a  man  may  die  with  a  “  Lord  have  mercy” 
in  his  mouth,  and  yet  perish  eternally. 

Cawdray. 

4681.  PRESUMPTION,  Punished.  A  young 
man  who  had  inherited  an  estate  from  an 
uncle  was  exhorted  to  seek  Christ,  and  said, 
that  he  would  do  so  as  soon  as  he  had  paid  off 
the  debts  that  encumbered  the  estate.  The 
pastor  said,  “  Young  man,  beware  1  ”  you  may 
never  see  that  day  :  while  you  are  gaining  the 
world,  you  may  lose  your  soul.”  The  young 
heir  said,  “  I'll  run  the  risk.”  He  went  into 
the  woods,  and  was  engaged  felling  a  tree ; 
when  a  falling  limb  caused  his  instant  death, 
within  a  few  hours  of  his  bold  presumption. 

4682.  PRESUMPTION,  Reckless.  A  noble 
ship  was  bearing  in  to  port.  It  was  the  evening 
hour,  and  too  late  to  enter  without  a  pilot. 
There  were  two  passages  into  the  harbor;  one 
a  dangerous  narrow  channel,  the  other  a  wide 
and  safer  one.  The  captain  determined  to 
pilot  himself  by  the  narrow  passage.  A  storm 
was  coming  up  ;  and  the  passengers,  with  fear 
and  consternation,  begged  him  to  take  the 
wider  channel.  He  laughed  at.  their  cowardice, 
and  swore  he  would  do  as  he  pleased.  As 
the  night  advanced,  the  gale  increased.  Soon 
arose  a  cry,  “  Breakers  ahead,  breakers  ahead !  ” 
The  captain  flew  to  the  wheel ;  the  sails  were 
struck ;  the  wind  had  the  mastery ;  and  the 
captain  found  a  will  that  could  defy  his  own. 
The  vessel  made  a  fearful  plunge,  struck  the 
foreship  deep  into  the  sand,  to  be  shattered  by 
the  wild  waves’  pleasure.  Few  survived  the 
terrors  of  that  fearful  night ;  but  among  the 
dead  thrown  up  by  the  rising  tide  was  the  body 
of  the  wilful  and  presumptuous  captain. 

4683.  PRETENSION,  Brevities.  He  who  gives 

himself  airs  of  importance  exhibits  the  creden¬ 
tials  of  impotence.  —  Lavater. - The  desire 

of  our  appearing  clever  often  prevents  our 

becoming  so.  —  La  Rochefoucauld. - It  is 

no  disgrace  not  to  be  able  to  do  every  thing ; 
but  to  undertake,  or  pretend  to  do,  what  you 
are  not  made  for,  is  not  only  shameful,  but 
extremely  troublesome  and  vexatious.  —  Plu¬ 
tarch. 

4664.  PRIDE,  Baseless.  Philip,  having  made 

himself  master  of  Potidoea,  received  three 
messengers  in  one  day :  the  first  brought  him 
an  account  of  a  great  victory  gained  over  the 
Illyrians  by  his  general,  Parmenio ;  the  second 
told  him  he  was  proclaimed  victor  at  the 
Olympic  Games ;  and  the  third  informed  him 
of  the  birth  of  Alexander.  But  there  was 
nothing  in  all  these  events  that  ought  to  have 
fed  the  vanity,  or  that  would  have  justified 
the  pride,  of  Philip ;  since,  as  an  elegant  writer 
remarks,  “  lor  the  first,  he  was  indebted  to  his 
general ;  for  the  second  to  his  horse ;  and  his 
wife  is  shrewdly  suspected  of  having  helped 
him  to  the  third.”  Colton. 

4665.  PRIDE,  Benefit  o£  There  are  persons 
who  would  lie  prostrate  on  the  ground,  if  their 
pride  did  not  hold  them  up. 

4666.  PRIDE,  Brevities.  Great  gifts  are 
beautiful  as  Rachel ;  but  pride  makes  them  also 


524 


Pr'JbtELlJtlj. 


■KKl  l  ) 


barren  like  her.  Either  we  must  lay  self  aside, 

or  God  will  lay  us  aside.  —  Gurnall. - God. 

crowns  with  mercy ;  but  a  swollen  head  is  not 
fit  to  have  that  crown  put  upon  it.  —  Jenkyn. 

- Satan  is  subtle  :  he  will  make  a  man 

proud  that  he  is  not  proud.  —  Brooks. 

4687.  PRIDE,  Checks  to.  Remember  what 
thou  wert  before  thy  birth,  —  nothing ;  what 
thou  wert  for  many  years  after,  —  weakness ; 
what  in  all  thy  life,  —  a  great  sinner ;  what 
in  all  thy  excellences,  —  a  mere  debtor  to  God, 
to  thy  parents,  to  the  earth,  to  all  the  crea¬ 
tures.  Upon  these  or  the  like  meditations,  if 
we  dwell,  and  frequently  retire  to  them,  we 
shall  see  nothing  more  reasonable  than  to  be 
humble,  and  nothing  more  foolish  than  to  be 
proud.  Bp.  Taylor. 

4668.  PRIDE,  Consequences  of.  It  thrust 
proud  Nebuchadnezzar  out  of  men’s  society, 
proud  Saul  out  of  his  kingdom,  proud  Adam 
out  of  paradise,  proud  Hainan  out  of  court, 
proud  Lucifer  out  of  heaven.  Henry  Smith. 

4683.  PRIDE,  Deceitfulness  of.  Antisthenes, 
on  a  time,  walked  in  the  common  place  at 
Athens,  with  a  cloak  all  torn  and  tattered,  that 
every  one  beholding  it  might  judge  that  he  did 
it  through  humility  ;  but  Socx-ates,  having  dis¬ 
covered  the  hypocrisy,  said  that  he  saw  his 
ambition  through  the  holes  of  his  cloak.  Di¬ 
ogenes,  once  entering  Plato’s  chamber,  discov¬ 
ered  his  bed  neatly  made,  and,  jumping  upon 
it,  trampled  it  down,  saying  that  he  trampled 
down  Plato’s  pride.  Plato  answered,  that  it 
was  done  with  greater  pride. 

4870.  PRIDE,  Display  of.  Goldsmith  tells 
of  a  mandarin  who  appeared  with  jewels  on 
every  part  of  his  robe.  He  was  once  accosted 
by  a  sly  old  fellow,  who,  following  him  through 
sevei’al  streets,  bowed  often  to  the  ground,  and 
thanked  him  for  his  jewels.  “  What  does  the 
man  mean  ?  ”  cried  the  mandarin  :  “  I  never 
gave  you  any  of  my  jewels.”  —  “  No,”  replied 
the  other ;  “  but  you  have  let  me  look  at  them, 
and  that  is  all  the  use  you  can  make  of  them 
youi'self:  so  the  only  difference  between  us  is, 
that  you  have  the  trouble  of  watching  them ; 
and  that  is  an  employment  I  don’t  much 
desire.” 

4671.  PREDE,  of  Dress.  A  lady  once  asked 
a  minister  whether  a  person  might  not  be  fond 
of  dress  and  ornaments  without  being  proud. 
The  minister  replied,  “  When  you  see  the 
fox’s  tail  peeping  out  of  the  hole,  you  may  be 
6ure  the  fox  is  within.” 

4672.  PREDE,  Examples  of.  Diogenes,  being 
at  Olympia,  saw  at  that  celebrated  festival 
some  young  men  of  Rhodes  arrayed  most  mag¬ 
nificently.  He  exclaimed,  “  This  is  pride !  ” 
Afterwards,  meeting  with  some  Lacaxdemonians 
in  a  mean  and  sordid  dress,  he  said,  “  And  this 
is  also  pride.” 

4673.  PREDE,  Expressions  of.  As  the  most 
contagious  diseases  do  use  to  break  out  in  sev¬ 
eral  parts  of  man,  so  pride  will  not  be  stinted 
to  any  particular  place  :  but  now  it  expresses 
itself  in  our  eyes ;  now  it  takes  possession  of 
our  tongues  ;  it  appropriates  this  man’s  hands 
unto  its  use ;  in  another’s  garments  it  useth  to 


cloak  itself;  and  sits  with  so  much  settled  grav¬ 
ity  in  another’s  carriage,  as  a  hundred  preach¬ 
ers  could  not  remove  it  thence.  Some  again 
there  are  who  affect  such  a  kind  of  careless  be¬ 
havior,  as,  if  you  did  not  know  the  secret  arts 
they  have  to  profess  their  pride  and  sumptu- 
osities  in  banquets,  edifices,  their  children’s 
breeding,  the  splendor  of  their  retinue  and 
their  furniture,  you  would  imagine  them  sworn 
enemies  of  so  much  vanity.  Drexelius. 

4674.  PREDE,  Fall  of,  As  we  see  a  child, 
who,  whilst  he  runs  up  and  down  to  show  his 
new  clothes,  stumbles  and  falls,  and,  seeing  his 
clothes  soiled  in  the  dust,  he  cries  louder  at 
his  fall  than  he  crowed  at  his  new  coat ;  so  God 
has  put  many  graces  upon  thee.  Thou  crow- 
eet  at  the  sight  of  them,  as  Nebuchadnezzar 
did  at  the  sight  of  his  palace ;  and,  like  a  fool, 
thou  art  in  .  admiration  of  thyself,  till  thou 
stumblest  over  thine  own  gifts.  When  thou 
art  down,  thou  who  didst  crow  like  a  fool  dost 
cry  like  a  child,  because  thou  seest  thy  coat  of 
many  colors  stained  and  soiled  by  thy  fall. 

Cawdray. 

4675.  PREDE,  Illustration  of.  The  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  the  sides  of  the  Alps,  where  the  goitre 
prevails,  come  to  regard  it  with  veneration. 
The  repulsive  wallet-like  excrescences  swing 
from  their  necks  only  to  increase  their  pride. 
Those  who  are  not  thus  deformed  they  call, 
tauntingly,  “  goose-necked.” 

4676.  PRIDE,  Indestructibility  of.  The  demon 

of  pride  was  born  with  us ;  and  it  will  not  die 
one  hour  before  us.  It  is  so  woven  into  the 
very  warp  and  woof  of  our  nature,  that,  till  we 
are  wrapped  in  our  winding-sheets,  we  shall 
never  hear  the  last  of  it.  Spurgeon. 

4677.  PREDE,  Ingratitude  of.  Pride  slays 

thanksgiving;  but  a  humble  mind  is  the  soil  out 
of  which  thanks  naturally  grow.  A  proud 
man  is  seldom  a  grateful  man  ;  for  he  never 
thinks  he  gets  as  much  as  he  deserves.  When 
any  mercy  falls,  he  says,  “  Yes  ;  but  it  ought 
to  be  more.  It  is  only  manna  as  lai’ge  as  a 
coriander-seed,  whereas  it  ought  to  be  like  a 
baker’s  loaf.”  Beecher. 

4678.  PREDE,  Legend  o£  It  is  related,  that, 
when  St.  Bernard  was  abbot  of  Clairvaux,  his 
sister  Iluinbeline,  who  had  married  a  noble¬ 
man,  came  to  pay  him  a  visit,  borne  in  a  litter, 
and  attended  by  a  numerous  retinue  of  ser¬ 
vants.  He,  scandalized  by  so  much  pi-ide 
and  pomp,  refused  to  see  her.  She  then  de¬ 
sired  to  see  another  brother,  who  was  also  in 
the  convent;  who  in  like  manner  rejected  her. 
She  burst  into  tears,  and,  entreating  on  her 
knees  that  her  saintly  brother  would  instruct 
her  what  she  ought  to  do,  he  condescended  to 
appear  at  the  gate,  desired  her  to  go  home,  and 
imitate  her  mother.  Humbeline  afterwards 
became  a  model  of  humility  and  piety. 

4679.  PRIDE,  Madness  of.  Alexander’s  great 
success  so  inflated  his  pride,  that  he  despised 
his  father,  put  on  the  costly  Persian  garb,  and 
finally  declared  himself  to  be  the  son  of 
Jupiter. 

4680.  PREDE,  Natural.  Naturalists  find  it 
much  less  easy  to  teach  a  mountain-flower  to 


PRIDE. 


PRIN  CIPLE  S . 


525 


accommodate  itself  to  a  low  locality  than 
to  get  one  which  by  birth  belongs  to  the  val¬ 
leys  to  live  and  thrive  at  a  lofty  elevation.  So 
there  seems  nothing  more  difficult  to  men  than 
to  descend  gracefully.  IIow  few  -who  have 
been  accustomed  to  a  high  position  in  society 
are  able  to  reconcile  themselves  to  a  humble 
one  1  ...  So  it  is  with  us  in  our  low  and 
lost  estate.  Spiritually  poor,  we  are  spiritually 
proud,  saying,  “  I  am  rich,  and  increased  in 
goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing  ;  ”  while  we 
are  “  wretched  and  miserable  and  poor  and 
blind  and  naked.”  Even  when  we  are  in  some 
degree  sensible  of  our  poverty,  and  know  we 
cannot  pay,  like  the  unjust  steward,  we  are 
ashamed  to  beg.  Indulging  a  pride  out  of  all 
keeping  “  with  filthy  rags,”  we  will  not  stoop 
to  stand  at  God’s  door,  poor  mendicants,  who 
ask  for  mercy.  Guthrie 

4681.  PRIDE,  Noisy,  Spencer  says,  that 
only  a  little  wind  is  required  to  expand  a 
bladder  to  great  size,  when,  if  a  few  beans  be 
put  into  it,  and  shaken,  the  noise  will  frighten 
an  army ;  but  only  a  pin  is  required  to  reduce 
it  to  insignificance  again. 

4682.  PRIDE,  Offset  to.  The  peacock,  be¬ 
holding  only  its  gay  feathers,  may  be  inflamed 
with  pride  ;  but  a  look  at  its  ugly  feet  will  soon 
abate  this.  So  with  men.  If  there  is  beauty, 
wealth,  fame,  success,  or  any  other  thing  that 
will  engender  pride,  there  is  also  some  counter¬ 
part  to  it  to  keep  us  humble. 

4683.  PRIDE,  Penalty  of,  A  rich  South- 
American  farmer  called  the  attention  of  a 
guest  to  his  vast  droves  of  horses,  saying, 
“  Think  you,  general,  that  I  shall  ever  be  in 
want  of  horses  V  —  not  even  if  God  Almighty 
wished  it.”  Soon  after,  an  epidemic  swept 
off  every  horse  the  blasphemer  had.  Paez. 

4684.  PRIDE,  Self!  Self-pride  is  the  com¬ 

mon  friend  of  our  humanity,  and,  like  the  bell 
of  our  church,  is  resorted  to  on  all  occasions  : 
it  ministers  alike  to  our  festivals  or  our  fasts, 
our  merriment  or  our  mourning,  our  weal  or 
our  woe.  Colton. 

4685.  PRIDE,  Spiritual.  There  never  was  a 

saint  yet  that  grew  proud  of  his  fine  leathers, 
but  what  the  Lord  plucked  them  out  by  and 
by;  there  never  yet  was  an  angel  that  had 
pride  in  his  heart,  but  he  lost  his  wings,  and 
fell  into  Gehenna,  as  Satan  and  those  fallen 
angels  did;  and  there  shall  never  be  a  saint 
who  indulges  self-conceit  and  pride  and  self- 
confidence,  but  the  Lord  will  spoil  his  glories, 
and  trample  his  honors  in  the  mire,  and  make 
him  cry  out  yet  again,  “  Lord,  have  mercy 
upon  me,”  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  and 
the  “  very  chief  of  sinners.”  .  Spurgeon. 

4686.  PRIDE,  Vanity  of.  When  Severus, 
Emperor  of  Rome,  found  his  end  approaching, 
he  cried  out,  “  I  have  been  every  thing ;  and 
every  thing  is  nothing.”  Then,  ordering  the 
urn  to  be  brought  to  him  in  which  his  ashes 
were  to  be  enclosed  on  his  body  being  burned, 
he  said,  ‘  ‘  Little  urn,  thou  shalt  contain  one 
for  whom  the  world  was  too  little.” 

4687.  PRIDE,  of  Wealth.  Alcibiades  was 
one  day  boasting  of  his  wealth  and  great  es¬ 


tates  ;  when  Socrates  placed  a  map  before  him, 
and  asked  him  to  find  Attica.  It  was  insignifi¬ 
cant  on  the  map ;  but  he  found  it.  “  Now,” 
said  the  philosopher,  “  point  out  your  own 
estate.”  —  “  It  is  too  small  to  be  distinguished 
in  so  little  a  space,”  was  the  answer.  “  See, 
then  I  ”  said  Socrates  “  how  much  you  are  af¬ 
fected  about  an  imperceptible  point  of  land.” 

4688.  PRINCIPLE,  Absence  of.  A  celebrated 
English  statesman,  who  contrived  to  hold 
office  both  under  the  government  of  Queen 
Mary  the  Papist,  and  Queen  Elizabeth  the 
Protestant,  was  asked  how  he  was  able  to  keep 
place  under  the  reigns  of  two  such  opposite 
sovereigns.  “  By  always  imitating  the  willow 
instead  of  the  oak,”  was  the  reply. 

4681).  PRINCIPLE,  Illustrated.  It  was  once 
a  problem  in  mechanics  to  find  a  pendulum 
which  should  be  equally  long  in  all  weathers ; 
which  should  make  the  same  number  of  vibra¬ 
tions  in  the  summer’s  heat  and  in  the  winter’s 
cold.  They  have  now  found  it  out.  By  a 
process  of  compensation,  they  make  the  rod 
lengthen  one  way  as  much  as  it  contracts  the 
other ;  so  that  the  centre  of  motion  is  always 
the  same.  The  pendulum  swings  the  same  num¬ 
ber  of  beats  in  a  day  of  January  as  in  a  day 
of  June;  and  the  index  travels  over  the  dial- 
plate  with  the  same  uniformity, whether  the  heat 
try  to  lengthen,  or  the  cold  to  shorten,  the  regu¬ 
lating  power.  Now,  the  moving  power  in  some 
men’s  minds  is  easily  susceptible  of  surround¬ 
ing  influences.  It  is  not  principle,  but  feeling, 
which  forms  their  pendulum-rod ;  and,  accord¬ 
ing  as  this  very  variable  material  is  affected, 
their  index  creeps  or  gallops,  they  are  swift 
or  slow  in  the  work  given  them  to  do.  But 
principle  is  like  the  compensation-rod,  which 
neither  lengthens  in  the  languid  heat,  nor 
shortens  in  the  brisker  cold,  but  does  the  same 
work  day  by  day,  whether  the  ice-winds  whis- 
tle  or  the  simoom  glow ;  and  of  all  principles  a 
high-principled  affection  to  the  Saviour  is  the 
strongest  and  most  secure.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

469©.  PRINCIPLES,  Dishonored.  A  young 
African  prince,  educated  in  France,  received 
heartily  the  principles  of  religion,  and,  being 
urged  to  avenge  an  insult,  said,  “  Is  there, 
then,  one  revelation  for  soldiers,  and  another  for 
merchants  and  gownmen  V  The  good  father 
to  whom  I  owe  all  my  knowledge  has  earnest 
ly  inculcated  forgiveness  of  injuries  done  me, 
assuring  me  that  a  Christian  was  by  no  means 
to  retaliate  abuses  of  any  kind.”  It  was  urged 
upon  him  as  am  affair  of  honbr ;  and  lie  bravely 
met  and  disarmed  his  adversary,  but  refused 
to  stay  longer  in  a  country  where  principles 
were  one  thing,  and  practice  so  entirely  differ¬ 
ent. 

4691.  PRINCIPLES,  Durability  of.  The  things 
which  most  concerned  men  in  past  ages  —  food, 
raiment,  wealth,  place,  personal  honor — are 
all  forgotten  now ;  but  those  things  which 
seemed  to  them  the  most  shadowy  and  unsub¬ 
stantial,  —  their  faith,  their  ideals,  their  prin¬ 
ciples, —  these  tire  now  the  only  abiding  re¬ 
membrancers.  Thus  men  are  kept  alive  on 
earth  by  that  which  is  invisible,  and  sunk  to 


526 


3PREST  CI3PJL.E  s  . 


PROCRASTIN'ATION. 


the  bottom  by  that  which  is  material.  Time 
is  made  up  of  waters  so  thin,  that  nothing  may 
float  thereon  which  is  heavier  than  unseen 
truths  and  heart-treasures.  Beecher. 

4692.  PRINCIPLES,  Importance  of.  The  prin¬ 
ciples  that  are  now  implanted  in  thy  bosom 
will  grow,  and  one  day  reach  maturity ;  and  in 
that  maturity  thou  wilt  find  thy  heaven  or  thy 
hell.  Nothing  so  momentous  as  principles. 
As  sure  as  August  shows  the  work  of  the  farm¬ 
er,  so  sure  thy  futurity  will  show  the  princi¬ 
ples  thou  art  cultivating  now.  “  Buy,”  then, 
“  the  truth  ;  ”  buy  it  at  any  cost,  —  for  any 
amount  of  labor,  sacrifice,  or  talent,  —  buy  it, 
and,  when  thou  hast  it,  sell  it  not !  Sell  it  not  for 
pleasure,  for  prosperity,  for  fame,  or  for  life. 
Get  holy  principles,  and  thou  shaft  get  the 
pinions  of  an  angel,  which  shall  bear  thee  above 
all  the  clouds  and  storms  of  earth,  into  the 
sunshine  and  the  calm  of  eternity.  Dr.  Thomas. 

4693.  PRISON,  Happiness  in,  Samuel  Ruth¬ 
erford,  in  prison,  used  to  date  his  letters 
Christ’s  Palace,  Aberdeen.  lie  wrote  to  a 
friend,  “  The  Lord  is  with  me  :  I  care  not 
what  man  can  do.  I  burden  no  man.  I  want 
nothing.  No  king  is  better  provided  than  I 
am.  Sweet,  sweet,  and  easy  is  the  cross  of  my 
Lord.  All  men  I  look  in  the  face,  of  whatso¬ 
ever  rank,  nobles  and  poor.  Acquaintance 
and  strangers  are  friendly  to  me.  My  Well- 
beloved  is  kinder  and  more  warm  than  ordina¬ 
ry,  and  cometli  and  visiteth  my  soul  My 
chains  are  overgilded  with  gold.  No  pen,  no 
words,  no  engine,  can  express  to  you  the  loveli¬ 
ness  of  my  only  Lord  Jesus.  Thus  in  haste  I 
make  for  my  palace  at  Aberdeen.” 

4694.  PRISON,  Joy  in.  When  Madame 
Guyon  was  imprisoned  in  the  Castle  of  Vin¬ 
cennes,  in  1695,  she  not  only  sang,  but  wrote, 
songs  of  praise  to  her  God.  “  It  sometimes 
seemed  to  me,”  she  said,  “  as  if  I  were  a  little 
bird  whom  the  Lord  had  placed  in  a  cage ;  and 
that  I  had  nothing  now  to  do  but  sing.  The 
joy  of  my  heart  gave  a  brightness  to  the  ob¬ 
jects  around  me.  The  stones  of  my  prison 
looked  in  my  eyes  like  rubies.  I  esteemed 
them  more  than  all  the  gaudy  brilliancies  of  a 
vain  world.  My  heart  was  full  of  that  joy 
which  thou  givest  to  them  that  love  thee  in 
the  midst  of  their  greatest  crosses.” 

4695.  PRIVILEGES,  Mbimproved.  It  is  re¬ 
lated  of  Jeine,  the  chief  of  one  of  the  South- 
Sea  I  lands,  who  had  offered  no  small  amount 
of  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  Christian¬ 
ity.  that,  during  a  sickness  which  terminated 
in  his  death,  he  manifested  more  mental  dis¬ 
tress  than  is  usually  seen  in  a  heathen.  lie 
often  expressed  a  wish  that  he  had  died  ten 
years  before.  And  why  ?  The  light  of  life 
and  love  had  been  shining  around  him ;  but 
he  had  opposed  its  entrance  into  his  heart,  and 
its  power  over  his  people.  And  now,  having 
loved  darkness,  in  darkness  of  soul,  stung  by 
an  upbraiding  conscience,  he  must  die.  GUI. 

4696.  PRIVILEGES,  Presenting  the.  A  good 
man  observed,  that  some  ministers  speak  so 
sparingly  and  coldly  of  the  gospel  privileges 
of  the  saints,  that  one  would  imagine  they 


thought  themselves  no  more  than  scarecrow^ 
set  up  on  purpose  to  frighten  God’s  people 
from  the  corn. 

4697.  PRIVILEGES,  Realizing.  As  a  spirit¬ 
ual  man,  the  company  of  Ilewitson  was  very 
refreshing.  lie  realizes  much  the  privileges 
of  the  believer.  Love  is  his  favorite  theme. 
“  Rejoice  evermore  ”  is  one  of  his  mottoes.  He 
realizes  much  the  Kingship  of  Christ.  He  is 
full  of  love  to  Christ,  love  to  souls,  and  zeal, 
carrying  him  out  in  abundant  labors. 

Sandman. 

4698.  PRIVILEGES,  Responsibilty  of.  The 

Christian’s  privileges  lie  in  pronouns;  but  his 
duty  in  adverbs :  it  must  not  be  only  bonum 
(good),  but  it  must  be  bene  (well)  :  that  good 
must  be  rightly  done.  Mead. 

4699.  PRIZE,  Aiming  for  the.  A  color-ser¬ 
geant  of  the  brigade  which  captured  Mission 
Ridge  pressed  the  standard  to  his  blouse,  and 
pushed  for  the  top ;  hoping  to  be  the  first  to 
plant  his  colors  there.  Near  the  top,  he  was 
fatally  wounded  ;  but  he  could  think  of  nothing 
but  the  accomplishment  of  his  noble  purpose. 
He  was  asked,  “  Sergeant,  where  did  they  hit 
you?”  —  “Most  up  the  ridge,”  he  replied. 
“  I  mean,  where  did  the  ball  strike  you  ?  ”  — 
“  Within  twenty  yards  of  the  top ;  almost  up.” 
His  arm  and  shoulder  were  fearfully  mangled 
by  a  shell.  The  shades  of  death  were  falling 
upon  him,  but  his  eye  was  still  upon  the  prize; 
and,  to  the  last,  he  murmured,  “Almost  up,  al¬ 
most  up !  ” 

47©®.  PROBATION,  a  Drill.  At  the  Military 
Academy,  the  soldiers  are  taken  separately  to 
the  drill-room;  and  there  the  martinet  puts 
them  through  all  the  steps  and  passes  and 
gestures  which  they  are  required  to  learn ; 
and,  when  they  have  been  trained  and  disci¬ 
plined,  they  come  to  the  parade-ground ;  and 
then,  at  the  word  of  command,  platoons  march, 
and  squadrons  wheel,  and  the  great  army,  as 
one  man,  moves  to  the  voice  of  its  leader. 
Now,  God’s  formative  influences  in  this  world 
are  his  military  academies,  his  drill-rooms, 
where  for  centuries  the  soldiers  of  the  cross 
have  been  trained  ;  but  the  day  is  coming  when 
he  shall  put  to  his  lips  the  trumpet  of  an¬ 
nouncement,  and  when,  with  uplifted  standard 
and  triumphal  music,  he  shall  lead  forth  his 
vast  army  to  go  round  and  round  the  world 
with  victory.  Beecher. 

47©!.  PROCRASTINATION,  Alternative  of.  Upon 
the  present  hour  may  depend  eternity.  At  the 
critical  moment  of  that  night,  in  the  year  1741, 
when  Count  Lessoeh  went  to  conduct  the  Prin¬ 
cess  Elizabeth  of  Russia  to  the  palace,  to  assert 
her  right  to  the  vacant  throne,  he  found  her 
irresolute,  and  refusing  to  go;  upon  which  he 
drew  forth  two  pictures  which  he  had  caused 
to  be  prepared,  and  placed  them  before  her. 
In  the  one,  she  saw  herself  under  the  torture, 
and  the  count  on  a  scaffold  ;  in  the  other,  she 
beheld  herself  ascending  the  throne  amidst  the 
applause  of  the  people.  He  bade  her  choose 
her  situation.  She  chose  the  throne,  and  on 
the  morrow  was  Empress  of  all  the  Russias. 

Dr.  Leifchild. 


PRO  CEASTIXATION . 


PROCRASTINATION-.  527 


4702.  PROCRASTINATION,  Brevities.  Faith 
in  to-morrow  instead  of  Christ  is  Satan’s  nurse 

for  man’s  perdition.  —  Dr.  Cheever. - The 

road  of  by  and  by  leads  to  the  town  of  never. 

—  Spanish  Proverb. - This  day  is  a  day  of 

mercy :  to-morrow  may  be  a  day  of  doom.  — 

Edward  Irving. - To  be  always  intending 

a  new  life,  but  never  to  find  time  to  set  about  it, 

—  this  is  as  if  a  man  should  put  off  eating  and 

drinking  and  sleeping,  from  one  day  and  night 
to  another,  till  he  is  starved  and  destroyed.  — 
Tillotson. - It  will  not  always  be  summer. 

—  Hesiod. 

4703.  PROCRASTINATION,  Childish.  A  girl 
of  nine  years  was  asked  by  her  pastor  if  she 
was  not  ready  to  join  the  church.  “  I  have  put 
it  off  long  enouch,”  was  her  reply. 

4701.  PROCRASTINATION,  Common.  A  chap¬ 
lain  in  one  of  the  regiments  on  the  Potomac 
narrates  the  case  of  a  sick  soldier.  Some  one 
had  mentioned  to  him  the  case  of  the  Ver¬ 
monter  who  was  sentenced  to  be  shot  for  sleep¬ 
ing  at  his  post.  During  the  evening  following, 
fever  set  in  violently  :  the  sick  man  imagined 
he  was  the  one  sentenced.  The  surgeon  being 
called,  the  following  conversation  ensued. 
“  Doctor,  I  am  to  be  shot  in  the  morning ;  and 
I  wish  you  to  send  for  the  chaplain.  I  desire 
to  make  all  necessary  preparations  for  the  end.” 

—  “  They  shall  not  shoot  you  :  I’ll  take  care  of 
you.  Whoever  comes  to  take  you  from  here 
I  shall  have  them  arrested,  and  put  under 
guard.”  —  “Will  you,  dear  doctor?  Thank 
you,  thank  you  I  Well,  then,  you  need  not 
send  for  the  chaplain  just  yet.” 

4705.  PROCRASTINATION,  Danger  of.  A  re¬ 
cent  discovery  at  Pompeii  has  brought  to  light 
the  fact  of  a  priest  fleeing  from  the  temple 
when  the  warning  came  of  the  city’s  approach¬ 
ing  doom.  But  the  treasures  of  the  temple,  — 
why  should  he  leave  them?  lie  is  supposed  to 
have  returned  to  obtain  them.  Again  he  sets 
out,  but  had  not  proceeded  far  before  the  de¬ 
struction  came,  and  he  was  lost.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  treasures,  his  life  might  have  been 
spared.  Bib.  Treasury. 

470G.  PROCRASTINATION,  Fatal.  A  ship  was 
on  its  homeward  voyage,  when  it  was  disabled 
by  a  storm,  and  had  to  be  abandoned.  All 
hands  had  entered  the  boats,  save  the  captain, 
who  went  into  the  cabin  for  his  cash-box. 
While  there,  the  storm  swt-pt  the  boats  away 
from  the  ship ;  and  they  were  unable  to  re¬ 
turn  for  the  captain,  who  went  down  with  his 
treasure. 

4707.  PROCRASTINATION,  Folly  of.  Mer¬ 
chants  take  care  to  insure  their  goods  before 
the  ship  clears  the  dock.  It  would  be  useless, 
when  the  news  of  a  terrible  sea-storm  came,  to 
run  to  the  office,  and  then  expect  to  make  all 
safe  and  right.  0  living  but  dying  man,  at 
once ,  to-day ,  prepare  for  the  coming  storm  1 

4708.  PROCRASTINATION,  Hardening  of.  A 
sponge  is,  in  one  period  of  its  history,  a  soft 
thing;  but  sponges  become  fints  by  a  peculiar 
process.  There  are  in  sponges  particles  of 
flint  or  silex  :  these  are  ever  attracting  parti¬ 
cles  to  themselves,  until,  in  process  of  time,  the 


whole  mass  is  an  aggregate  of  silicious  matter 
and  the  once  soft  sponge  has  become  perfectly 
hard.  So  it  is  with  the  hardening  of  the  ten¬ 
der  conscience ;  every  sin,  every  delay  to  repent, 
takes  away  the  softness,  and  brings  a  fresh 
secretion  to  the  gathering  hardness  which  un 
resisted  sin  cannot  fail  to  make.  Bowes 

4709.  PROCRASTINATION,  Origin  of.  A  min¬ 
ister  of  the  gospel  determined  on  one  occasion 
to  preach  on  the  text,  “  Now  is  the  accepted 
time ;  now  is  the  day  of  salvation.”  Whilst  in 
his  study,  thinking,  he  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed 
that  he  was  carried  into  hell,  and  set  down  in  the 
midst  of  a  conclave  of  lost  spirits.  They  were 
assembled  to  devise  means  whereby  they  might 
get  at  the  souls  of  men.  One  rose,  and  said, 
“  I  will  go  to  the  earth,  and  tell  men  that  the 
Bible  is  all  a  fable,  that  it  is  not  divinely 
appointed  of  God.”  No,  that  would  not  do. 
Another  said,  “  Let  me  go  :  I  will  tell  men  that 
there  is  no  God,  no  Saviour,  no  heaven,  no 
hell ;  ”  and  at  the  last  words  a  fiendish  smile 
lighted  upon  all  their  countenances.  “No,  that 
will  not  do  :  we  cannot  make  men  believe 
that."  Suddenly  one  arose,  and  with  a  wise 
mien,  like  the  serpent  of  old,  suggested,  “  No : 
I  will  journey  to  the  world  of  men,  and  tell 
them  that  there  is  a  God,  that  there  is  a  Sa¬ 
viour,  that  there  is  a  heaven,  —  yres,  and  a  hell 
too,  —  but  I’ll  tell  them  there  is  no  hurry; 
tomorrow  will  do,  it  will  be ‘even  as  to¬ 
day.’  ”  And  they  sent  him.  Biblical  Treasury. 

4710.  PROCRASTINATION,  Proud.  William 
III.,  in  order  to  quell  a  rebellion  in  the  north 
of  Scotland,  issued  a  proclamation  to  all  the 
rebel  chiefs  to  appear  at  a  given  place  on  or 
before  the  31st  of  December,  1691,  and  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  king.  Those  that 
did  not  appear  were  to  be  treated  as  outlaws, 
and  liable  to  be  put  to  death  as  traitors  to  the 
crown.  With  their  few  followers,  it  was  use¬ 
less  to  rebel,  though  humiliating  to  their  pride. 
One  by  one  gave  way;  and  all  had  affixed  their 
names  to  the  paper,  except  one.  Mac  Ian  was 
the  leader  of  the  smallest  yet  haughtiest  tribe  : 
he  did  not  intend  to  finally  resist ;  but  he  hoped 
to  be  the  last  of  the  Scottish  chiefs  to  submit. 
A  day  or  two  before  the  31st,  he  started.  A 
severe  snow-storm  impeded  his  way;  and  he 
did  not  arrive  till  nearly  a  week  after  the 
king’s  messenger  had  returned  to  London.  A 
band  of  soldiers  immediately  sought  the  Valley 
of  Glencoe ;  and  Mac  Ian  and  his  followers 
became  victims  to  his  proud  obstinacy.  How 
many  in  our  day  hazard  their  souls,  as  Mac 
Ian  hazarded  his  life,  by  refusing  to  obey  the 
commands  of  the  King  of  kings  ! 

4711.  PROCRASTINATION,  Result  of.  Archias, 
a  Grecian  chief-magistrate,  was  so  unpopular, 
that  his  people  conspired  against  his  life.  I'he 
day  arrived  for  the  execution  of  the  plot. 
Archias  was  crazed  with  wine,  when  a  courier 
arrived  from  Athens,  and  hastened  to  put  into 
his  hands  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  a  cir¬ 
cumstantial  account  of  the  whole  conspiracy, 
saying,  “  My  lord,  the  person  who  writes  you 
these  letters  conjures  you  to  read  them  imme¬ 
diately  :  they  contain  serious  affairs.”  Archias 


528  PRocR^STnsr^TioN’. 


PROFANITY 


replied,  “  Serious  affairs  to-morrow  ;  ”  and  con¬ 
tinued  his  revel.  That  night,  in  the  midst  of 
his  mirth,  the  conspirators  rushed  into  his 
palace,  and  murdered  him  and  his  associates. 

4H2.  PROCRASTINATION,  Sin  of.  It  is  an 
exorbitant  course,  while  the  ship  is  sound,  the 
tackling  sure,  the  pilot  well,  the  sailors  strong, 
the  gale  favorable,  and  the  sea  calm,  to  lie  idle 
at  Rhodes,  carding,  dicing,  drinking,  losing 
seasonable  weather ;  and  when  the  ship  leaks, 
the  pilot  is  sick,  the  mariner  faint,  the  storm 
boisterous,  and  the  sea  tumultuous,  then  to 
launch  forth,  and  hoist  up  sail  for  a  voyage 
into  far  countries.  And  yet  such  is  even  the 
skill  of  evening  repenters,  who,  though  in 
the  morning  of  youth  and  soundness  of  health, 
and  perfect  use  of  reason,  cannot  resolve  to 
weigh  the  anchor,  and  cut  the  cable  that  with¬ 
draws  them  from  seeking  Christ ;  nevertheless, 
they  feed  themselves  with  a  strong  persua¬ 
sion,  that  when  their  wits  are  distracted,  their 
senses  astonished,  all  the  powers  of  the  mind 
and  parts  of  the  body  distempered,  then,  for¬ 
sooth,  they  think  to  leap  into  heaven  with  a 
“  Lord !  have  mercy  upon  me  ”  in  their  mouths, 
to  become  saints  at  their  death,  however  they 
have  demeaned  themselves  like  devils  all  their 
life  before.  Spencer. 

4713.  PROCRASTINATION,  Unreasonable.  John 
Foster  compares  the  uncertainty  of  life  to  a 
man  shut  up  in  a  fortress,  with  only  a  con¬ 
cealed  reservoir  of  water  to  draw  from,  whose 
waters  are  daily  diminishing,  and  can  never 
be  replenished.  When  they  will  be  exhausted 
he  knows  not. 

4714.  PROCRASTINATION,  Unfitness  of  In 

Nebuchadnezzar’s  image,  the  lower  the  mem¬ 
bers,  the  coarser  the  metal;  the  farther  off 
the  time,  the  more  unfit.  To-day  is  the  golden 
opportunity ;  to-morrow  will  be  the  silver  sea¬ 
son  ;  next  day  but  the  brazen  one ;  and  so  on, 
till  at  last  I  shall  come  but  to  the  toes  of  clay, 
and  be  turned  to  dust.  T.  Fuller. 

4715.  PRODIGALITY,  Course  of  We  never 
find  the  Scripture  commending  any  prodigal 
but  one,  and  him,  too,  only  for  his  ceasing  to 
be  so  ;  whose  courses,  if  we  reflect  upon,  we 
shall  see  his  prodigality  bringing  him  from  his 
revelling  companions  and  his  riotous  meats  to 
the  swine  and  to  the  trough,  and  from  imitat¬ 
ing  their  sensuality,  by  a  natural  consequence, 
to  take  up  with  their  diet  too.  Dr.  South. 

4716.  PRODIGALITY,  Evils  of  Prodigality 
is  the  Devil’s  steward  and  purse-bearer,  minis¬ 
tering  to  all  sorts  of  vice  :  and  it  is  hard,  if 
not  impossible,  for  a  prodigal  person  to  be 
guilty  of  no  other  vice  but  prodigality ;  for 
men  generally  are  prodigal  because  they  are 
first  intemperate,  luxurious,  or  ambitious. 
And  these,  wc  know,  are  vices  too  brave  and 
costly  to  be  kept  and  maintained  at  an  easy 
rate :  they  must  have  large  pensions,  and  be 
fed  with  both  hands,  though  the  man  that 
feeds  them  starves  for  his  pains.  Dr.  South. 

4717.  PRODUCTIVENESS,  Nature’s.  Nature 
abhors  sterility.  From  the  humid  climate 
and  fertile  soil  of  the  tropics,  to  the  ragged 
lavarfields  and  frigid  atmosphere  of  higher  lat¬ 


itudes,  we  find  the  garment  of  vegetation  cov¬ 
ering  all.  First  we  have  lichens  and  mosses 
that  grow  without  soil,  also  herbs  that  feed 
upon  nothing ;  then  stinted  shrubs ;  then 
dwarf  trees ;  then  stately  forests.  Every  class 
of  vegetation  prepares  the  way  for  a  highei 
class.  This  teaches  the  lesson  of  fruitfulness 
and  progress. 

47!§.  PROFANITY,  American.  A  traveller  in 
Russia  was  judged  to  be  a  clergyman,  because 
he  was  not  heard  to  swear ;  all  other  Ameri¬ 
cans  being  supposed  to  be  addicted  to  this 
wicked  practice. 

4719.  PROFANITY,  Crime  of  After  Dr. 
Seudder’s  return  from  India,  he  was  upon  a 
steamboat  with  his  son,  when  lie  heard  a  person 
using  profane  language.  Accosting  him,  he 
said,  “  This  boy  was  born  and  brought  up  in  a 
heathen  country  and  a  land  of  idolatry ;  but, 
in  all  his  life,  he  never  heard  a  man  blas¬ 
pheme  his  Maker  until  now.”  The  man  apolo¬ 
gized,  and  moved  away  ashamed. 

472®.  PROFANITY,  Care  of  A  merchant,  on 
fitting  out  a  ship  for  India,  told  the  captain,  at 
the  time  of  making  the  contract  for  the  voy¬ 
age,  that  he  must  engage  not  to  swear,  nor 
have  any  swearing  among  the  crew.  This 
must  be  the  law  of  the  ship.  The  captain 
said  he  was  willing  to  reform.  “  But  how  can  I 
suddenly  break  off  an  inveterate  habit  ?  ”  he 
inquired.  “  I  will  take  care  you  are  reminded 
of  your  duty,”  replied  the  owner.  “  Wear  the 
ring  that  I  will  give  you,  and  let  the  law 
of  the  vessel  be  explicitly  known.”  The  ring 
was  provided,  bearing  this  motto,  “  Swear  not 
at  all.”  The  vessel  performed  the  voyage,  and 
returned  to  port.  On  inquiry,  it  was  found 
that  there  had  been  no  profaneness  on  board, 
excepting  a  little  within  the  first  twenty  days 
after  sailing ;  and  the  old  habit  was  entirely 
destroyed. 

4721.  PROFANITY,  Inexcusable.  The  profane 
swearer  is  compared  to  a  fish  who  bites  at  the 
naked  hook. 

4722.  PROFANITY,  Known  to  God.  A  coach¬ 
man,  pointing  to  one  of  his  horses,  said  to  a 
traveller,  “  That  horse,  sir,  knows  when  I  swear 
at  him.”  —  “  Yes,”  replied  the  traveller ;  “  and 
so  does  your  Maker.” 

4723.  PROFANITY,  Penalty  of.  A  lady  and 
gentleman  on  an  excursion  from  Margate  to 
Ramsgate  were  overtaken  by  a  tremendous 
storm,  and  compelled  to  take  shelter.  Two 
lads  by  whom  they  were  attended  sought  pro¬ 
tection  at  a  little  distance.  The  younger,  about 
thirteen  years  of  age,  was  greatly  alarmed ; 
but  his  companion,  about  seventeen,  treated 
the  matter  with  assumed  carelessness,  and,  to 
show  his  bravery,  even  uttered  fearful  blasphe¬ 
mies  against  the  storm  ;  and  at  last,  with  a 
dreadful  oath,  declared  he  would  push  forward 
to  Ramsgate  in  spite  of  it.  The  oath  had 
scarcely  passed  his  lips,  when  a  terrible  flash 
of  lightning  struck  him  dead  upon  the  spot, 
burning  up  his  clothes,  and  fracturing  his 
skull.  An  inscription  still  marks  the  spot,  and 
utters  its  warning  voice  to  every  passer-by,  — 
“Reader,  prepare  for  eternity.  A  boy  was 


PEOIfATJ'ITY. 


PItOGRESS. 


529 


struck  dead  here  when  in  the  act  of  swear- 
ing.” 

4724.  PROFANITY,  Shocking,  John  Bunyan 
was  so  profane  as  to  bring  down  upon  himself 
the  rebuke  of  a  vile  woman  of  the  town.  The 
thought  that  he  was  so  wicked  as  to  incur  the 
reproof  of  one  so  vile  as  she  cut  him  to  the 
heart,  and  led  to  his  conversion. 

4725.  PROFANITY,  Significance  of.  Profanity 
is  said  to  be  a  tribute  which  the  servants  of 
the  Devil  pay  to  their  master  in  token  of  al¬ 
legiance  ;  as  the  tenants  of  a  Scotch  landholder 
pay  him  a  pepper-corn  annually  in  token  of 
submission. 

4726.  PROFESSION,  Christian.  Each  office 
and  class  has  its  peculiar  sign.  The  crown  is 
the  sign  of  the  king ;  and  the  sword,  of  the  sol¬ 
dier.  The  followers  of  the  several  Jewish 
teachers  were  known  by  some  peculiarity  of 
creed  or  life.  Christ  made  love  the  badge 
of  his  disciples. 

4727.  PROFESSION,  False.  A  mere  profes¬ 

sion  is  but  painted  pageantry  to  go  to  hell  in : 
it  is  like  the  plumes  upon  the  hearse  and  the 
trappings  upon  the  black  horses  which  drag 
men  to  their  graves,  —  the  funeral  array  of  dead 
souls.  Take  heed,  above  every  thing,  of  a 
waxen  profession,  that  will  not  stand  the  sun ; 
beware  of  a  life  that  needs  to  have  two  faces 
to  carry  it  out.  Spurgeon. 

4728.  PROFESSION,  Fruitless,  When  the  In¬ 

terpreter  had  done,  he  takes  them  out  into  his 
garden  again,  and  led  them  to  a  tree  whose 
inside  was  all  rotten  and  gone ;  and  yet  it  grew 
and  had  leaves.  Then  said  Mercy,  “  What 
means  this  ?  ”  —  “  This  tree,”  said  he,  “  whose 
outside  is  fair,  and  whose  inside  is  rotten,  is  it 
to  which  many  may  be  compared  that  are  in 
the  garden  of  God ;  who  with  their  mouths 
speak  high  in  behalf  of  God,  but  in.  deed  will 
do  nothing  for  him;  whose  leaves  are- fair,  but 
their  heart  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  tinder 
for  the  Devil’s  tinder-box.”  Bunyan. 

4729.  PROFESSION,  Import  of.  Pliarnaces 

sent  a  crown  to  Caesar  at  the  same  time  he 
rebelled  against  him  ;  but  Caesar  returned  the 
crown  and  this  message  back,  “  Let  him  re¬ 
turn  to  his  obedience  first,  and  then  I  will 
accept  the  crown  by  the  way  of  recognizance.” 
Thus  God  will  not  be  crowned  with  our  bare 
profession,  except  we  crown  that  with  a  suita¬ 
ble  conversation.  Spencer. 

4730.  PROFESSION,  Legend.  Raymond  was 
a  learned  doctor  and  teacher  of  theology  in 
Paris,  much  venerated  for  his  austere  piety. 
Of  his  death,  we  have  the  following  startling 
legend  :  “  Now  Raymond,  being  greatly  ven¬ 
erated  for  his  apparent  sanctity,  was  carried  to 
the  grave,  attended  by  a  great  concourse  of  the 
people ;  and  as  they  were  chanting  the  service 
for  the  dead,  just  as  they  came  to  the  words, 

‘  Responds  mild  quantas  hales  iniquitates,’  the 
dead  man  half  raised  himself  from  his  bier, 
and  cried  with  a  lamentable  voice,  ‘  By  the 
justice,  of  God ,  I  am  accused!’  Thereupon, 
the  priest*  laid  down  the  bier,  and  put  ofF  the 
interment  till  the  following  day.  Next  day, 
they  again  formed  in  procession ;  and  as  they 

34 


chanted  the  same  words,  ‘Responde  mild,’  the 
dead  man  again  rose  up,  and  cried  out  with  a 
more  dreadful  voice,  ‘  By  the  justice  of  God,  1 
am  judged!’  and  then  sank  down  on  his  bier 
as  before.  Great  was  the  consternation  of  the 
people :  and  they  put  off  the  conclusion  of  the 
obsequies  till  the  third  day  ;  when,  just  as  they 
had  begun  to  chant  the  same  verse,  trembling 
for  the  result,  the  dead  man  again  rose  up, 
crying  with  a  terrible  voice  and  look,  ‘  By  the 
justice  of  God,  I  am  condemned  !  ’  Upon  this, 
priests  and  attendants,  half  dead  with  fear  and 
horror,  flung  the  body  out  into  a  field  as  un¬ 
worthy  of  Christian  burial.” 

4731.  PROFESSION,  Neglect  of.  A  lieutenant 
who  had  gone  through  many  battles,  during 
three  years  of  war,  without  a  scar,  was  mortally 
wounded  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  mus¬ 
ket.  He  had  been  a  Christian  before  he 
joined  the  army,  but  there  did  not  display  his 
colors.  When  dying,  lie  sent  for  his  fellow- 
officers,  told  them  his  mistake,  and  asked  their 
forgiveness.  While  dying,  he  said,  “Those 
three  lost  years  keep'  coming  back  upon  me. 
I  would  like  to  forget  them.” 

4732.  PROFESSION,  Ornamental,  The  crusad¬ 
ers  of  old  used  to  bear  a  painted  cross  upon 
their  shoulders.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  many 
amongst  ourselves  take  up  crosses  that  sit  just 
as  lightly, — things  of  ornament,  passports  to 
respectability,  a  cheap  substitute  for  a  struggle 
never  made  and  a  crown  never  striven  for. 

D.  Moore. 

4733.  PROFESSION,  Religious.  The  religious 

profession  of  some  people  is  like  the  ashes  on 
a  rusty  altar,  which  show  that  there  once  were 
warmth  and  light  and  flame,  but  which  also 
show  that  it  is  long  since  they  worshipped 
there.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4731.  PROFESSION,  True.  It  is  a  worthy 
observation  that  Faulinus  made  to  Sulpitius 
Severus  when  he  wrote  to  him  to  send  him  his 
picture,  modestly  dispraising  his  own  feature. 
“  I  must  blush,”  said  he,  “  to  picture  myself  as 
I  am ;  and  I  scorn  to  picture  myself  as  I  am 
not.”  Spencer. 

4735.  PROFESSION,  Unreliable.  Shakspeare 
represents  King  Lear  as  a  fond  father,  de¬ 
ceived  by  the  false  profession  of  affection  by 
his  two  daughters  Goneril  and  Regan,  and  in¬ 
duced  to  divide  his  kingdom  between  them, 
and  to  disinherit  a  third  daughter,  Cordelia. 
When  the  inhuman  daughters  had  possession 
of  the  kingdom,  they  so  abused  the  old  king, 
their  father,  as  to  drive  him  mad.  In  the 
height  of  his  misery,  the  affection  of  his  injured 
daughter  Cordelia  shone  out.  She  sought  him 
out,  nursed  him;  and,  under  her  care,  his  mind 
returned.  She  did  every  thing  in  her  power 
for  him ;  and,  in  an  effort  to  reinstate  him  in 
his  kingdom,  lost  her  own  life.  King  Lear  died 
lamenting  her. 

4736.  PROGRESS,  Alternative  o£  The  more 
thorough  a  man’s  education  is,  *hc  more  he 
yearns  for  and  is  pushed  forward  to  new 
achievement.  The  better  a  man  is  in  this 
world,  the  better  lie  is  compelled  to  be.  That 
bold  youth  who  climbed  up  the  Natural  Bridge 


500 


PROGRESS. 


PROMISES. 


in  Virginia,  and  carved  his  name  higher  than 
any  other,  found,  when  he  had  done  so,  that  it 
was  impossible  tor  him  to  descend,  and  that 
his  onlj  alternative  was  to  go  on  and  scale  the 
height,  and  find  safety  at  the  top.  Thus  it  is 
with  all  climbing  in  this  life.  There  is  no 
going  down.  It  is  climbing  or  falling.  Every 
upward  step  makes  another  needful ;  and  so  we 
must  go  on  until  we  reach  heaven,  the  summit 
of  the  aspirations  of  time.  Beecher. 

4737.  PROGRESS,  Conservative,  Spain  once 

held  both  sides  of  the  Mediterranean  at  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar.  So  highly  did  she  value 
her  possessions,  that  she  stamped  on  her  coin 
the  two  Pillars  of  Hercules  (as  the  promon¬ 
tories  of  rock  were  called) ;  and  on  a  scroll 
thrown  over  these  were  the  words,  ne  plus 
ultra , —  “  no  more  beyond.”  But  one  day  a  bold 
spirit  sailed  far  beyond  these  pillars,  and  found 
a  new  world  of  beauty.  Then  Spain,  wisely 
convinced  of  ignorance,  struck  the  word  ne 
from  the  coin,  and  left  plus  ultra,  —  “  more  be¬ 
yond.”  IIow  many  a  man,  whose  conceit  is 
great,  thinks  he  has  reached  the  limits  of 
knowledge,  when  further  investigation  would 
open  to  him  a  continent  of  truth  before  un¬ 
known  1  Bp.  Simpson. 

4738.  PROGRESS,  Laws  of,  Gradual  ascent 

is  as  necessary  to  the  mind  in  order  to  its 
reaching  a  great  idea,  as  it  is  to  the  body  in 
order  to  its  reaching  a  great  height.  We 
cannot  ascend  to  the  pinnacle  of  a  cathedral, 
which  towers  aloft  in  air,  without  either  steps 
or  an  inclined  plane.  We  cannot  reach  the 
summit  of  a  mountain  without  first  toiling  up 
its  base,  then  traversing  its  breast,  and  then 
successively  crossing  the  limits  where  verdure 
passes  into  crag,  and  crag  into  a  wilderness 
Of  snow.  Even  when  we  have  gained  the 
highest  point,  we  are  still,  it  is  true,  at  an  in¬ 
finite  distance  from  the  blue  vault  of  the  firma¬ 
ment  which  stretches  above  our  heads.  Still 
we  have  a  better  and  more  exalted  view  of 
what  that  firmament  is  :  we  have  at  least  risen 
above  the  fogs  and  mists  which  obscure  its 
glory ;  and  the  air  which  encompasses  us  is 
transparent  to  the  eye,  and  invigorating  to  the 
frame.  Now,  the  law  of  man’s  bodily  progress 
is  also  the  law  of  his  mental  progress.  Both 
must  be  gradual.  No  grand  idea  can  be 
realized  except  by  successive  steps  and  stages, 
which  the  mind  must  use  as  landing-places  in 
its  ascent.  Dr.  Goulburn. 

4  739.  PROGRESS,  Power  of.  Who,  for  the 
most  part,  are  they  that  would  have  all  man¬ 
kind  look  backward  instead  of  forward,  and 
regulate  their  conduct  by  things  that  have 
been  done  ?  —  those  who  are  most  ignorant  as 
to  all  things  that  are  doing.  Lord  Bacon  said, 
time  is  the  greatest  of  innovators :  he  might 
also  have  said  the  greatest  of  improvers.  And 
I  like  Madame  de  Stael’s  observation  on  this 
subject,  quite  as  well  as  Lord  Bacon’s :  it  is 
this,  “  I  hat  past  which  is  so  presumptuously 
brougl)  I  forward  as  a  precedent  for  the  present 
was  itself  founded  on  an  alteration  of  some 
past  that  went  before  it.”  Colton. 

4740.  PROMISES,  Casket  of.  Where  is  thy 


casket  of  promises  ?  Bring  it  out.  Open  the  jai 
of  jewels.  Pour  out  the  golden  ingot,  stamped 
with  the  image  and  superscription  of  heaven’s 
King.  Count  over  the  diamonds  that  flash  in 
thy  iiand  like  stars.  Compute  the  worth  of 
that  single  jewel,  “  Ask  and  ye  shall  receive ;  ” 
or  that  other  ruby,  “  All  things  shall  work  to¬ 
gether  for  pood  to  them  that  love  God.”  Bring 
forth  that  royal  Koliinoor,  “  He  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved.”  Then  remember  who  it  is 
that  gave  them,  and  to  what  an  unworthy  sin¬ 
ner,  and  tell  me  if  they  are  not  “  exceeding 
great  and  precious.”  When  Cmsar  once  gave 
a  man  a  great  reward,  he  exclaimed,  “  This  is 
too  great  a  gift  for  me  to  receive.”  —  “  But,” 
said  Cffisar,  “  it  is  not  too  great  a  gift  for  me 
to  give.”  So  the  smallest  promise  in  thy  casket 
is  too  much  for  thee  to  deserve  ;  yet  the  most 
magnificent  promise  is  not  too  great  for  the 
King  of  kings  to  bestow.  God  scorns  to  act 
meanly  and  stingily  by  his  children  ;  and  how 
must  he  scorn  us  often  when  we  put  him  off 
with  such  contemptible  stinginess  of  deeds  or 
donations  1  Spurgeon. 

4741.  PROMISES,  Claiming.  Queen  Eliza¬ 
beth  promised  a  sea-captain,  who  had  distin¬ 
guished  himself  in  battle,  that  he  should  have 
the  first  vacancy  that  offered.  The  see  of 
Cork  becoming  vacant,  the  captain  went  up 
to  London,  and  claimed  the  literal  fulfilment 
of  the  royal  promise,  and,  although  destitute 
of  qualifications  for  the  office,  was  made  a 
bishop  in  honor  of  the  queen’s  word. 

4742.  PROMISES,  Clinging  to  the.  A  drum¬ 
mer-boy  lay  dying  in  the  City-Point  Hospital. 
The  Twenty-third  Psalm  was  being  read  to  him. 
When  the  words,  “  Yea,  though  I  walk  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear 
no  evil ;  for  thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy 
staff  they  comfort  me,”  were  read,  he  desired 
them  repeated  again  and  again.  Blindness 
was  upon  him  ;  and  he  desired  to  have  his 
hand  placed  so  that  he  could  feel  the  words 
which  he  could  not  see.  Then  he  wished  to 
have  the  promise  laid  on  his  breast,  so  that 
he  could  press  it  to  his  heart.  Thus  clinging 
with  both  arms  to  the  promise,  he  went  down 
into  the  valley,  and  passed  to  his  rest. 

4743.  PR0MISE3,  Highway  of.  God  builds 

for  every  sinner,  if  he  will  but  come  back,  a 
highway  of  golden  promises  from  the  depths 
of  degradation  and  sin  clear  up  to  the  Father’s 
house.  Beecher. 

4744.  PROMISES,  Keeping,  Sir  William 
Napier  one  day  met  a  poor  child  who  was  cry¬ 
ing  bitterly  because  she  had  broken  her  bowl. 
Having' no  money  with  him,  he  promised  to 
meet  her  in  the  same  place  at  the  same  hour 
next  day,  and  give  her  money  to  buy  another. 
Reaching  home,  he  found  an  invitation  to  dine 
out  with  a  gentleman  whom  he  particularly 
wished  to  see  ;  but  he  declined  it  on  account 
of  his  pre-engagement  with  the  child.  “I 
could  not  disappoint  her,  she  trusted  me  so 
implicitly,”  he  said. 

4745.  PROMISES,  Precious.  If  we  had  the 
tongue  of  the  mightiest  of  orators,  and  if  that 
tongue  could  be  touched  with  a  live  coal  from 


PROMISES. 


PROPHECY. 


531 


off  the  altar,  yet  still  it  could  not  utter  a  tenth 
of  the  praises  of  the  exceeding  great  and 
precious  promises  of  God.  Nay,  they  who 
have  entered  into  rest,  whose  tongues  are  at¬ 
tuned  to  the  lofty  and  rapturous  eloquence  of 
cherubim  and  seraphim,  —  even  they  can  never 
tell  the  height  and  depth,  the  length  and 
breadth,  of  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ 
which  are  stored  up  in  the  treasure-house  of 
God,  —  the  promises  of  the  covenant  of  his 
grace.  Spurgeon. 

4748.  PROMISES,  Proved.  A  clergyman,  vis¬ 
iting  a  poor  Christian  woman,  found  her  Bible 
marked  here  and  there  with  the  letters  T  and 
P.  Wondering  what  the  letters  stood  for,  he 
inquired  of  her  their  meaning.  “  Oh  1  ”  said 
she,  “  those  are  the  promises  in  my  precious 
Bible.  There  are  many  of  them,  you  see,  I 
have  tried ;  so  I  marked  them  T :  and  many 
I’ve  proved,  and  I  know  that  they  are  true ;  so 
I  marked  them  P.”  Bowes. 

4747.  PROMISES,  Reliable.  In  commercial 

crises,  manhood  is  at  a  greater  discount  than 
funds  are.  Supposing  a  man  had  said  to  me 
last  spring,  “  If  there  comes  a  pinch  in  your 
aflairs,  draw  on  me  for  ten  thousand  dollars.” 
The  man  said  so  last  spring ;  but  I  should  not 
dare  to  draw  on  him  this  fall.  I  should  say, 
“  Times  have  changed  :  he  would  not  abide  by 
it.”  But  God’s  promises  “are  from  everlast¬ 
ing  to  everlasting;”  and  he  always  stands  up 
to  them.  There  never  was  a  run  on  heaven 
which  was  not  promptly  met.  No  creature  in 
all  the  world,  or  in  lying,  audacious  hell,  shall 
ever  say  that  he  drew  a  draft  upon  heaven,  and 
that  God  dishonored  it.  Beecher. 

4748.  PROMISES,  Riches  of  the.  The  promises 
of  God  are  to  the  believer  an  inexhaustible 
mine  of  wealth.  Happy  is  it  for  him  if  he 
knows  how  to  search  out  their  secret  veins, 
and  enrich  himself  with  their  hid  treasures  1 
They  are  an  armory,  containing  all  manner  of 
offensive  and  defensive  weapons.  Blessed  is 
lie  who  has  learned  to  enter  into  the  sacred 
arsenal,  to  put  on  the  breast-plate  and  the 
helmet,  and  to  lay  his  hand  to  the  spear  and 
to  the  sword  1  They  are  a  surgery  in  which 
the  believer  will  find  all  manner  of  restoratives 
and  blessed  elixirs;  nor  lacks  there  an  oint¬ 
ment  for  every  wound,  a  cordial  for  every 
fai.itness,  a  remedy  for  every  disease.  Blessed 
is  he  who  is  well  skilled  in  heavenly  pharmacy, 
and  knoweth  how  to  lay  hold  on  the  healing 
virtues  or  the  promises  of  God  !  The  promises 
are  to  the  Christian  a  storehouse  of  food. 
They  are  as  the  granaries  which  Joseph  built 
in  Egypt,  or  as  the  golden  pot  wherein  the 
manna  was  preserved.  Blessed  is  he  who  can 
take  the  five  barley-loaves  and  fishes  of  prom¬ 
ise,  and  break  them  till  his  five  thousand 
necessities  shall  all  be  supplied,  and  he  is  able 
to  gather  up  basketsful  of  fragments ! 

Spurgeon. 

4749.  PROMISES,  Support  of  the.  Who  is 
there  that  is  not  tired  of  climbing  up  the  black 
face  of  the  cliff  of  Resolution  to  fall  back 


nests  along  dangerous  heights  search  with 
their  waists  girdled  with  a  cord  let  down  from 
above,  that,  if  they  slip,  they  shall  not  fall  and 
be  lost.  We  need  God’s  golden  cords  and 
bands  of  promises,  reaching  from  heaven,  to 
enable  us  to  defy  stumbling  or  downfall. 

Beecher. 

4759.  PROMISES,  Surety  of  the.  Promises 
are  like  bonds,  which  depend  altogether  upon 
the  sufficiency  of  the  surety.  If  a  beggar  seal 
an  instrument  for  the  payment  of  ten  thousand 
pounds,  who  esteems  it  to  be  any  better  than  a 
blank  ?  But,  if  a  man  of  estate  and  ability  do 
bind  himself  to  pay  such  a  sum,  it  is  looked 
upon  as  so  much  real  estate ;  and  men  value 
themselves  by  such  bills  and  bonds  as  well  as 
by  what  is  in  their  own  possession.  God,  who 
hath  made  rich  promises  to  believers,  is  able 
to  perform  what  he  hath  spoken.  Spurstowe. 

4751.  PROMISES,  Trusting  the.  When  a  pious 

old  slave  on  a  Virginia  plantation  was  asked 
why  he  was  always  so  sunny-hearted  and 
cheerful  under  his  hard  lot,  he  replied,  “  Ah, 
massa  !  I  always  lays  flat  down  on  dc promises, 
and  den  I  pray  straight  up  to  my  hebenly 
Father.”  Humble,  happy  soul !  he  was  not 
the  first  man  who  has  eased  an  aching  head 
by  laying  it  upon  God’s  pillows,  or  the  first 
man  who  has  risen  up  the  stronger  from  a  re¬ 
pose  on  the  unchangeable  word  of  God’s  love. 
Spiritually  that  man  was  a  Croesus;  for  all  his 
soul’s  wealth  was  in  the  currency  of  heaven. 
If  you  take  a  Bank-ol-England  note  to  the 
counter  of  the  bank,  in  an  instant  that  bit  of 
paper  turns  to  gold.  If  we  take  a  promise 
of  God  to  the  mercy-seat,  it  turns  to  what  is 
better  than  gold,  —  to  our  own  good  and  the 
glory  of  our  Father.  T.  L.  Cuyler ,  I).  D. 

4752.  PROMISES,  Use  of.  God's  promises 
were  never  meant  to  ferry  our  laziness.  Like  a 
boat,  they  are  to  be  rowed  by  our  oars ;  but  many 
men,  entering,  forget  the  oar,  and  drift  down 
more  helpless  in  the  boat  than  if  they  had 
staid  on  shore.  There  is  not  an  experience  in 
life  by  whose  side  God  has  not  fixed  a  promise. 
There  is  not  a  trouble  so  deep  and  swift-run¬ 
ning,  that  we  may  not  cross  safely  over,  if  we 
have  courage  to  steer  and  strength  to  pull. 

Bc.cclicv • 

4753.  PROMOTION,  Ground  of.  Moses  Stuart 
was  pastor  in  New  Haven  when  he  was  nom¬ 
inated  for  the  Professorship  of  Sacred  Litera¬ 
ture  in  Andover  Theological  Seminary.  Rev. 
Ur.  Samuel  Spring  of  Newburyport  visited 
New  Haven  to  make  inquiries  touching  the 
candidate.  Among  others  whom  he  interro¬ 
gated  relative  to  the  qualifications  of  Mr.  Stuart 
wras  Pres.  Dwight.  “  lie  is  the  very  man  for 
the  place,”  said  Pres.  Dwight ;  “  but  we  cannot 
spare  him.”  —  “Sir,”  responded  Dr.  Spring, 
“  we  do  not  want  a  man  that  can  he  spared.” 

Life  of  Dr.  Spring. 

4754.  PROPHECY,  Fulfilment  of.  Two  rab¬ 
bis,  approaching  Jerusalem,  observed  a  fox  run¬ 
ning  upon  the  Ilill  Zion.  And  Rabbi  Joshua 
wept ;  but  Rabbi  Eliezer  laughed.  “  Where¬ 
fore  dost  thou  laugh  ?  ”  said  he  who  wept. 
“  Nay,  wherelbre  dost  thou  weep  ?  ”  demand- 


532 


PROPHECY. 


PROSPERITY. 


ed  Eliezer.  “  I  weep,”  replied  the  Rabbi 
Joshua,  “  because  I  see  what  is  written  in 
the  Lamentations  fulfilled :  ‘  Because  of  the 
Mount  Zion,  which  is  desolate,  the  foxes  walk 
upon  it.’  ”  —  “  And  therefore,”  said  Rabbi 
Eliezer,  “  do  I  laugh ;  tor,  when  I  see  with 
mine  own  eyes  that  God  has  fulfilled  his 
threatenings  to  the  very  letter,  I  have  thereby 
a  pledge  that  not  one  of  his  promises  shall  fail ; 
for  he  is  ever  more  ready  to  show  mercy  than 
judgment.” 

47-33.  PROPHECY,  Interpretation  of  I  am  pro¬ 
foundly  affected  by  the  grandeur  of  prophecy. 
God  unveils  the  frescoed  wall  of  the  future, 
nof  so  much  that  we  may  count  the  figures,  and 
me  tsure  the  robes,  and  analyze  the  pigments, 
but  that,  gazing  upon  it,  our  imaginations  may 
be  enkindled,  and  hope  be  inspired,  to  bear  us 
through  the  dismal  barrenness  of  the  pres¬ 
ent.  Prophecy  was  not  addressed  to  the 
reason,  nor  to  the  statistical  faculty,  but  to  the 
imagination ;  and  I  should  as  soon  think  of 
measuring  love  by  the  scales  of  commerce,  or 
of  admiring  flowers  by  the  rule  of  feet  and 
inches,  or  of  applying  arithmetic  to  taste  and 
enthusiasm,  as  calculations  and  figures  to  these 
grand  evanishing  signals  which  God  waves  in 
the  future  only  to  tell  the  world  which  way  it 
is  to  march.  Beecher. 

4756.  PROPHECY,  Revelations  of.  Fulfilled 

and  unfulfilled,  the  prophecies  are  mountains 
and  valleys,  —  mountains,  from  whose  gilded 
summits  you  may  look  on  vistas  through  the 
fog  ;  straths  of  sunshine  in  the  vapor-flood, 
where  glorious  things  and  gladsome  stand  re¬ 
vealed,  whilst  from  the  echoing  sides  of  ra¬ 
vines  still  dark  and  misty  comes  up  the  heavy 
footfall  or  terrific  cry  of  sorrows  not  seen  as 
yet.  Dr. ./.  Hamilton. 

4757.  PROSPERITY,  Change  by.  It  is  said  to 

be  the  saying  of  Frederick  the  Emperor,  con¬ 
cerning  Siginbird  Flisk,  afterwards  called  In¬ 
nocent  the  Fourth,  advanced  by  him  to  the 
Popedom,  “  I  have  lost  a  cardinal  a  friend, 
and  have  gotten  a  pope  a  foe.”  Spencer. 

4758.  PROSPERITY,  Danger  of.  Strolling 
along  the  banks  of  a  pond,  Gotthold  observed 
a  pike  basking  in  the  sun,  and  so  pleased  with 
the  sweet  soothing  rays  as  to  forget  itself  and 
the  danger  to  which  it  was  exposed.  There¬ 
upon  a  boy  approached,  and  with  a  snare 
formed  of  a  horsehair,  and  fastened  to  the  end 
of  a  rod,  which  he  skilfully  cast  over  his  head, 
pulled  it  in  an  instant  out  of  the  water.  “  Ah 
me !  ”  said  Gotthold  with  a  deep  sigh,  “  how 
evidently  do  I  here  behold  shadowed  forth  the 
danger  of  my  poor  soul !  When  the  beams 
of  temporal  prosperity  play  upon  us  to  our 
heart’s  content,  so  grateful  are  they  to  corrupt 
flesh  and  blood,  that,  immersed  in  sordid  pleas¬ 
ure,  luxury,  and  security,  we  lose  all  sense  of 
spiritual  danger,  and  all  thought  of  eternity. 
In  this  state,  many  are,  in  fact,  suddenly 
snatched  away  to  the  eternal  ruin  of  their 
souls.” 

4759.  PROSPERITY,  Degeneracy  of.  A  curious 
instance  of  a  change  of  instinct  is  mentioned 
by  Darwin.  The  bees  earned  to  Barbadoes 


and  the  Western  Islands  ceased  to  lay  up 
honey  after  the  first  year.  They  found  the 
weather  so  fine,  and  the  materials  for  honey 
so  plentiful,  that  they  became  exceedingly 
profligate,  and  ate  up  their  capital,  worked  no 
more,  and  amused  themselves  by  flying  about 
the  sugar-houses,  and  stinging  the  negroes. 

Biblical.  Treasury. 

476®.  PROSPERITY,  Envying.  When  a  sol¬ 
dier  was  to  die  ior  taking  a  bunch  of  grapes 
against  the  general’s  command,  he  went  to 
execution  eating  his  grapes.  One  of  his 
fellows  rebuked  him,  saying,  “What!  are 
you  eating  your  grapes  now  ?  ”  The  poor  man 
answers,  “  1  prithee,  friend  I  do  not  envy  me 
these  grapes  !  for  they  do  cost  me  dear.”  So 
they  did  indeed ;  for  they  cost  him  his  life. 
Thus  let  no-  man  envy  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked.  Spencer. 

4761.  PROSPERITY,  End  of.  “  What  shall  I 
come  to,  father,”  said  a  young  man,  “  if  I  go 
on  prospering  in  this  way  V  ”  —  “  To  the 
grave,”  the  father  replied. 

4762.  PROSPERITY,  Legend  of.  On  one  oc¬ 
casion,  St.  Ambrose,  coming  to  the  house  of  a 
nobleman  of  Tuscany,  was  hospitably  received ; 
and  he  inquired  concerning  the  state  of  his 
host.  The  nobleman  replied,  “  I  have  never 
known  adversity:  every  day  hath  seen  me  in¬ 
creasing  in  fortune,  in  honors,  in  possessions. 

1  have  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and  daugh¬ 
ters,  who  have  never  cost  me  a  pang  of  sor¬ 
row  ;  I  have  a  multitude  of  slaves,  to  whom 
my  word  is  law ;  and  1  have  never  suffered 
either  sickness  or  pain.”  Then  Ambrose  rose 
hastily  from  table,  and  said  to  his  companions, 
“  Arise  I  fly  from  this  roof  ere  it  fall  upon  us; 
for  the  Lord  is  not  here.”  And  scarcely  had 
he  left  the  house,  when  an  earthquake  shook 
the  ground,  and  swallowed  up  the  palace  with 
all  its  inhabitants.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

4763.  PROSPERITY,  Revelations  of.  It  is 

said  of  Pius  Quintus,  so  called,  because  that, 
when  he  was  a  mean  man,  he  was  looked  on 
as  a  good  man,  that,  when  he  came  to  be  a 
cardinal,  he  doubted  of  his  salvation,  and, 
when  a  pope,  he  despaired  of  it.  So  hard  a 
thing  is  it  for  a  good  man  to  use  a  prosperous 
estate  well.  Prosperity  is  that  which  will  tell 
you  what  a  man  is,  it  will  soon  find  him  out  : 
give  him  power,  and  he  will  soon  show  what 
grace  is  in  him  ;  put  him  into  an  office,  and  he 
will  presently  be  seen  in  it.  Spencer. 

4764.  PROSPERITY,  Valuing.  A  king  was 
sitting  in  a  vessel  with  a  Persian  slave.  The 
boy  began  to  cry,  and  would  not  be  pacified. 
The  king’s  diversion  was  interrupted.  A 
philosopher,  who  was  in  the  ship,  said,  “If  you 
will  command  me,  I  will  silence  him.”  The 
king  replied,  •“  It  will  be  an  act  of  great  kind¬ 
ness.”  The  philosopher  ordered  them  to 
throw  the  lad  into  the  sea;  and,  after  several 
plunges,  they  laid  hold  oflhe  hair  of  his  head, 
and  dragged  him  into  the  ship.  When  he  got 
out  of  the  water,  he  sat  down  quietly  in  a  cor¬ 
ner  of  the  vessel.  The  king  was  pleased,  and 
asked  how  this  was  brought  about.  The  phil¬ 
osopher  replied,  “  At  first,  he  had  never  expe- 


PROSPERITY. 


PROTESTANTISM.  533 


rienced  the  danger  of  being  drowned  ;  neither 
knew  he  the  safety  of  a  ship.”  In  like  man¬ 
ner,  he  knoweth  the  value  of  prosperity  who 
hath  encountered  adversity.  Othoul  who  hast 
satisfied  thine  hunger,  to  thee  a  barley-loaf  is 
beneath  notice ;  that  seems  loveliness  to  me 
which  in  thy  sight  appears  deformity.  To  the 
nymphs  of  paradise,  purgatory  would  be  hell  ; 
but  ask  the  inhabitants  of  hell  whether  purga¬ 
tory  is  not  paradise.  Knight. 

4765.  PROSPERITY,  of  the  Wicked.  “  I  have 
seen  the  wicked,”  saith  David,  “  in  great  power, 
and  spreading  himself  like  a  green  bay-tree.” 
And  why  like  a  green  bay-tree  ?  Because  in 
the  winter,  when  all  other  trees,  as  the  vine- 
tree,  fD-tree,  apple-tree,  &c.,  which  are  more 
profitable  trees,  are  withered  and  naked,  yet 
the  bay  continueth  as  green  in  the  winter 
as  the  summer.  So  farcth  it  with  wicked  men. 
When  the  children  of  God,  in  the  storms  of 
persecutions  and  afflictions  and  miseries,  seem 
withered,  and,  as  it  were,  dead,  yet  the  wicked 
all  that  time  flourish,  and  do  appear  green  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world  :  they  wallow  in  worldly 
wealth ;  but  it  is  for  their  destruction :  they 
wax  fat ;  but  it  is  for  the  day  of  slaughter. 

Spencer. 

4766.  PROTECTION,  Always  Needed.  An  old 
lady,  taking  a  long  journey  by  rail-car,  prayed 
almost  all  the  time  that  God  would  protect  her 
from  all  harm.  When  she  reached  the  last 
platform,  and  was  but  a  few  minutes’  walk 
from  her  home,  she  felt  that  now  she  could 
take  care  of  herself;  but  just  here  she  fell, 
and  received  an  injury  from  which  she  was  a 
long  time  in  recovering. 

4767.  PROTECTION,  Canons.  The  pea-crab 
seeks  safety  in  large  bivalve  shells,  where 
it  lives  upon  the  minute  animals  which  its 
involuntary  protector  ingulfs  by  closing  his 
folding-doors.  From  this  habit  arose  the  fable 
of  the  friendship  between  them,  —  that  the  mus¬ 
sel  is  warned  of  the  approach  of  danger  by  the 
pinch  of  his  little  lodger ;  and  that  the  latter, 
returning  from  an  excursion,  and  finding  the 
door  closed,  had  only  to  knock  to  be  again 
admitted.  The  hermit-crabs  seek  shelter  in 
abandoned  shells,  which  they  adjust  themselves 
to  surprisingly.  They  will  run  about  with  these 
shells  on  their  backs.  It  is  to  this  animal  that 
“  Cannibal  Jack  ”  owed  his  fright  as  he  passed 
his  night  in  a  grave-yard,  and  saw  the  skulls 
moving  about.  The  crabs  had  taken  up  their 
residence  in  the  skulls,  and  were  crawling 
about  with  them  on  their  backs.  When  they 
grow  too  large  for  the  shell,  they  abandon  it, 
and  seek  another. 

4768.  PROTECTION,  Divine.  An  English 
tradesman  started  to  attend  a  fair  in  Bristol. 
On  the  way,  he  was  taken  ill,  and  detained  so 
long,  it  was  useless  for  him  to  go;  and  he 
returned  home.  Some  years  after,  he  happened 
to  be  present  at  the  execution  of  a  criminal, 
who  beckoned  him  to  approach.  The  crimi¬ 
nal  then  asked  him,  “  Do  you  recollect  once 
starting  for  Bristol  Fair  ?”  —  “Yes,  perfectly 
well.”  —  “It  is  well  that  you  did  not  go;  for  I 
and  several  others  who  knew  that  you  had  a 


considerable  sum  of  money  about  you  had 
resolved  to  waylay  and  rob,  and  then  murder 
you  to  prevent  detection  ” 

4769.  PROTECTION,  Insufficient.  Some  parts 
of  the  coast  of  the  Isle  of  Wight  abound  with 
caves.  In  one  of  these,  a  short  time  ago,  was 
found  the  body  of  a  poor  Frenchman.  He  had 
been  a  prisoner,  and  had  escaped  from  prison, 
and  for  a  long  time  concealed  himself  there, 
probably  in  the  hope  of  escaping  by  some  ves¬ 
sel  which  might  pass.  Many  a  weary  day 
passed,  however,  and  he  still  remained  a  pris¬ 
oner  ;  till  at  last,  not  venturing  to  leave  his 
retreat,  he  perished  from  want.  So  is  it  with 
those  who  seek  refuge  in  insufficient  hiding- 
places.  “  They  make  lies  their  refuge,  and 
under  falsehood  hide  themselves.”  Bowes. 

4770.  PROTECTION,  Legend  of.  St.  Benedict 
of  Subiaco  was  requested  by  a  neighboring 
society  of  hermits  to  place  himself  at  their 
head.  He  only  yielded  upon  great  persuasion, 
and  in  the  hope  that  he  might  be  able  to  re¬ 
form  the  abuses  which  had  been  introduced 
into  this  monastery.  But,  when  there,  the 
strictness  of  his  life  filled  these  perverted 
men  with  envy  and  alarm ;  and  one  of  them 
attempted  to  poison  him  in  a  cup  of  wine. 
Benedict,  on  the  cup  being  presented  to  him, 
blessed  it  as  usual,  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  The  cup  instantly  fell  from  the  hands 
of  the  traitor,  was  broken,  and  its  contents 
spilt  on  the  ground. 

4771.  PROTECTION,  Prayer  for.  The  mission¬ 
aries  to  the  Fiji  Islands  were  threatened  with 
destruction  by  the  enraged  natives,  and  had 
no  means  of  defence  except  prayer.  Their 
enemies  heard  them  praying,  and  became  fear¬ 
ful,  and  fled.  The  reason  was  given  by  one  of 
themselves  :  “  They  found  you  were  praying 
to  your  God,  and  they  know  your  God  is  a 
strong  God  ;  and  they  are  gone.” 

47"7Si.  PROTECTION,  Providential.  St.  Augus¬ 
tine  was  saved  from  death  by  a  mistake  of  his 
guide,  who  lost  the  usual  road,  in  which  the 
Donatists  laid  in  wait  to  murder  him. 

4773.  PROTESTANTISM,  and  Romanism.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  last  three  centuries,  to  stunt  the  growth 
of  the  human  mind  has  been  her  (the  Church  of 
Rome’s)  chief  object.  Throughout  Christen¬ 
dom,  whatever  advance  has  been  made  in 
knowledge,  in  freedom,  in  wealth,  and  ir.  the 
arts  of  life,  has  been  made  in  spite  of  her,  and 
has  everywhere  been  in  inverse  proportion  to 
her  power.  The  loveliest  and  most  fertile 
provinces  of  Europe  have,  under  her  rule,  been 
sunk  in  poverty,  in  political  servitude,  and  in 
intellectual  torpor;  while  Protestant  countries, 
once  proverbial  for  sterility  and  barbarism,  have 
been  turned  by  skill  and  industry  into  gar¬ 
dens,  and  can  boast  of  a  long  list  of  heroes  and 
statesmen,  philosophers  and  poets.  Whoever, 
knowing  what  Italy  and  Scotland  naturally 
are,  and  what,  four  hundred  years  ago,  they 
actually  were,  shall  now  compare  the  country 
round  Rome  with  the  country  round  Edin¬ 
burgh  will  be  able  to  form  some  judgment  as 
to  the  tendency  of  Papal  domination.  The 
descent  of  Spain,  once  the  first  among  mon- 


534 


PEOV  EEBS. 


PEOVIDENCB. 


archies,  to  the  lowest  depths  of  degradation, 
the  elevation  of  Holland,  in  spite  of  many  natu- 
ural  disadvantages,  to  a  position  such  as  no 
commonwealth  so  small  has  ever  reached,  teach 
the  same  lesson.  Whoever  passes,  in  Germany, 
from  a  Roman-Catholic  to  a  Protestant  princi¬ 
pality  ;  in  Switzerland,  from  a  Roman-Catholic 
to  a  Protestant  canton  ;  in  Ireland,  from  a  Ro¬ 
man-Catholic  to  a  Protestant  county,  —  finds  that 
he  has  passed  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  grade 
of  civilization.  On  the  other  side  of  the  Atlan¬ 
tic,  the  same  law  prevails.  The  Protestants  of 
the  United  States  have  left  far  behind  them  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Brazil. 
The  Roman  Catholics  of  Lower  Canada  re¬ 
main  inert ;  while  the  whole  continent  around 
them  is  in  a  ferment  with  Protestant  activity 
and  enterprise.  The  French  have  doubtless 
shown  an  energy  and  an  intelligence  which, 
even  when  misdirected,  have  justly  entitled 
them  to  be  called  a  great  people.  But  this 
apparent  exception,  when  examined,  will  be 
found  to  confirm  the  rule ;  for  in  no  country 
that  is  called  Roman  Catholic  has  the  Roman- 
Catholic  Church,  during  several  generations, 
possessed  so  little  authority  as  in  France. 

Lord  Macaulay. 

4774.  PROVERBS,  Definitions  of,  The  wisdom 

of  many  and  the  wit  of  one.  Earl  Russell. 

Jewels  five  words  long, 

That  on  the  stretched  forefinger  ot  all  time 
Sparkle  forever.  Tennyson. 

4775.  PROVIDENCE,  Adaptation  in.  The  stu¬ 

dent  of  Nature  recognizes  with  add  ing  won¬ 
der  the  harmony  which  God  has  established 
between  his  creatures  and  their  circumstances. 
Those  creatures  that  burrow  in  the  soil  have 
bodies  shaped  like  a  wedge,  and  lore  feet  so 
formed  as  to  do  the  work  of  a  spade.  The  ani¬ 
mals  that  inhabit  arctic  climates  are  wrapped 
in  furs,  which  man,  for  the  sake  of  their 
warmth,  is  glad  to  borrow,  and  to  which  God, 
for  the  protection  of  their  lives,  has  given  the 
color  of  the  snow.  Birds  are  furnished  with 
hollow  bones  and  downy  feathers,  adapted  to 
float  in  an  atmosphere  of  thin  transparent  air. 
Other  creatures,  slow  of  motion,  and  unarmed 
for  battle,  and  thus  helplessly  exposed  to  their 
enemies,  carry  a  strong  castle  on  their  back,  — 
retiring  into  their  shell,  as  men  into  a  fortalice, 
safe  from  all  attack.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4776.  PROVIDENCE,  Anticipation  of.  The 
agent  of  the  Christian  Commission  at  Cincin¬ 
nati  received  an  order  from  the  field  for  a 
supply  of  krout  and  cabbage  for  immediate 
distribution  to  men  who  were  dying  of  scurvy. 
There  was  no  money  in  the  treasury  with 
which  to  do  it,  and  the  agent  was  in  a  quan¬ 
dary  what  to  do;  when  he  saw  thirty-four 
barrels  unloading  in  front  of  his  office ;  and  a 
letter  with  them  showed  them  to  contain  the 
desired  article  from  Lebanon,  O.  Providence 
anticipated  the  demand,  and  put  it  into  the 
minds  of  the  people  of  Lebanon  to  furnish  an 
opportune  supply. 

4777.  PROVIDENCE,  Brevities.  Every  bullet 

has  its  billet. — Bowes. - All  providences  to 

a  gracious  heart  are  but  so  many  fulfilments 


of  promises.  —  Beadle. - All  God’s  pro\  i- 

dences  are  but  his  touch  of  the  strings  of  tlia 
great  instrument  of  the  world.  —  Charnock. 

- A  crust  of  God’s  carving  is  better  than 

a  banquet  of  our  own  providing.  —  Beadle. 

- The  chariot  of  God’s  providence  runneth 

not  upon  broken  wheels.  —  Ruiheiford. 

4778.  PROVIDENCE,  towards  the  Church.  It 

is  not  the  nations,  but  tbe  Church,  that  God 
has  cherished  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  The 
three  great  nationalities,  Jewish,  Greek,  and 
Roman,  that  stood  together  over  the  cradle  of 
our  religion,  perished  not  till  they  had  ceased 
to  be  of  service  to  Christ.  Charlemagne,  Char¬ 
les  V.,  Cromwell,  and  Napoleon  were  all  sol¬ 
diers  of  the  Church,  whether  conscious  of  it 
or  not,  whether  willingly  or  not.  Here  we 
find  a  key  of  the  history  of  other  ages  and 
nations ;  a  thread  that  will  lead  us  out  of  ever) 
labyrinth  of  the  present  and  the  future.  To¬ 
wards  Calvary,  for  thousands  of  years,  all  the 
lines  of  history  converged.  And  now  for  other 
thousands  of  years,  to  the  end  of  time,  from 
Calvary  will  the  lines  diverge,  till  “  the  king¬ 
doms  of  this  world  have  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever.”  Dr.  Hi'chcock. 

4779.  PROVIDENCE,  Continuous.  Providence 

has  no  sabbath.  No  night  suspends  it ;  and 
from  its  labors  God  never  rests.  If  I  may 
compare  small  things  with  great,  it  is  like  the 
motion  of  the  heart.  Beating  our  march  to 
the  grave,  since  the  day  we  began  to  live,  the 
heart  has  never  ceased  to  beat.  Our  limbs 
may  grow  weary;  not  it.  We  sleep;  it  never 
sleeps.  Needing  no  period  of  repose  to  recruit 
its  strength,  by  night  and  day  it  throbs  in 
every  pulse ;  and  constantly  supplying  nourish¬ 
ment  to  the  meanest  as  well  as  the  noblest 
organs  of  our  frame,  with  measured,  steady, 
untired  stroke,  it  drives  the  blood  along  the 
bounding  arteries,  without  any  exercise  of 
will  on  our  part,  and  even  when  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  our  own  existence  is  lost  in  dreamless 
slumbers.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4780.  PROVIDENCE,  Faith  in.  All  the  events 

of  life  are  precious  to  one  that  has  this  simple 
connection  with  Christ  of  faith  and  love.  No 
wind  can  blow  wrong,  no  event  be  mistimed, 
no  result  disastrous.  If  God  but  cares  for  our 
inward  and  eternal  life,  if,  by  all  the  experi¬ 
ences  of  this  life,  he  is  reducing  it,  and  prepar¬ 
ing  for  its  disclosure,  nothing  can  befall  us 
but  prosperity.  Every  sorrow  shall  be  but 
the  setting  of  some  luminous  jewel  of  joy. 
Our  very  mourning  shall  be  but  the  enamel 
around  the  diamond;  our  very  hardships  but 
the  metallic  rim  that  holds  the  opal,  glancing 
with  strange  interior  fires.  Beecher. 

4781.  PROVIDENCE,  Illustrated.  Franz,  a 
city  boy,  had  been  picking  raspberries  in  a 
forest.  A  severe  storm  arose  as  he  was  return¬ 
ing  home ;  and  he  sought  shelter  in  a  hollow 
oak  beside  the  road.  All  at  once,  he  heard  a 
voice  calling,  “  Franz,  Franz  !  come,  come,  be 
quick  !  ”  He  started,  and  in  an  instant  the  tree 
was  struck  by  lightning.  “  Ah  !  ”  he  said, 
“  that  voice  came  from  heaven.  Thou,  0  lov- 


PROVIDENCE. 


PROVIDENCE. 


535 


Ing  God !  hast  saved  me.”  J ust  then,  he  heard 
the  voice  again  calling.  It  was  a  country¬ 
woman  calling  for  her  son,  whose  name  was 
Franz.  The  little  boy  told  her  how  he  had 
been  saved,  and  how  lie  thought  it  was  a  voice 
from  heaven.  “  Thank  God,  my  child  ;  for  he 
appointed  that  I  should  call  you  by  your 
name,  without  knowing  any  thing  about  you,” 
she  answered. 

4782.  PROVIDENCE,  Incomprehensible.  A  her¬ 

mit,  having  seen  an  innocent  shepherd  pun¬ 
ished  with  death,  began  to  distrust  Providence. 
Leaving  his  cave,  and  going  forth  into  the  world, 
an  angel  met  and  journeyed  with  him.  The 
first  night,  they  were  entertained  by  a  knight, 
whose  infant  child  the  angel  strangled.  From 
their  next  kind  host,  the  angel  stole  a  priceless 
golden  cup,  which  he  gave  to  their  next  host, 
a  churlish  man,  who  would  only  allow  them  to 
sleep  in  a  shed.  Passing  a  poor  man  on  a 
bridge,  the  angel  pushed  him  into  the  stream ; 
and  he  was  drowned.  The  hermit  now  thought 
his  companion  a  devil  instead  of  an  angel. 
The  angel  explained,  that,  if  the  shepherd  had 
not  been  slain,  he  would  have  committed  great 
crimes ;  that  the  man  whose  child  he  strangled 
would  have  wasted  his  life  in  heaping  up 
treasures  for  the  child ;  that  the  golden  cup 
would  have  led  its  possessor  to  a  drunkard’s 
grave ;  that  the  man  whom  he  drowned  would 
himself  have  committed  murder,  had  he  gone 
a  half-mile  farther;  that  he  gave  the  cup  to 
the  inhospitable  rich  man,  who  received  his 
reward  in  this  life.  Parnell. 

4783.  PROVIDENCE,  Instruments  of  Suppose 

you  were  in  a  smith’s  shop,  and  there  should 
see  several  sorts  of  tools,  —  some  crooked,  some 
bowed,  others  hooked :  would  you  condemn  all 
these  things  for  nought,  because  they  do  not 
look  handsome  ?  The  smith  makes  use  of 
them  all  for  the  doing  of  his  work.  Thus  it  is 
with  the  providences  of  God :  they  seem  to  us 
to  be  very  crooked  and  strange ;  yet  they  all 
carry  on  God’s  work.  Spencer. 

4784.  PROVIDENCE,  Leadings  of  A  Swiss 
chamois-hunter,  crossing  the  Mer  de  Glace, 
fell  into  one  of  the  enormous  crevasses  that 
rend  the  ice  in  many  places.  He  fell  a  hundred 
yards  without  serious  injury ;  but  his  situation 
seemed  hopeless.  lie  could  not  climb  out;  and 
the  cold  would  soon  freeze  him  to  death.  A 
stream  of  water  ran  down  the  crevasse ;  and 
he  followed  it,  wading,  stooping,  crawling,  or 
floating  as  best  he  could.  At  length  he  reached 
a  vaulted  chamber  from  which  there  was  no 
visible  outlet.  The  water  heaved  threateningly. 
Retreat  was  impossible,  delay  was  death.  Com¬ 
mending  himself  to  God,  the  hunter  plunged 
into  the  whirling  flood.  Then  followed  a  mo¬ 
ment  of  darkness  and  terror;  then  he  was 
thrown  up  amid  the  flowers  and  hay-fields  of 
the  Vale  of  Chainouni.  Newman  Hall  uses 
this  story  to  illustrate  deliverance  in  the  dark 
hours  of  human  experience. 

4785.  PROVIDENCE,  Legend  of  “It  hap¬ 
pened,  that,  when  St.  Dominick  was  residing 
with  forty  of  his  friars  in  the  Convent  of  St. 
Sabina  at  Rome,  the  brothers  who  had  been 


sent  to  beg  for  provisions  had  returned  with  a 
very  small  quantity  of  bread,  and  they  knew 
not  what  they  should  do;  for  night  was  at 
hand,  and  they  had  not  eaten  all  day.  Then 
St.  Dominick  ordered  that  they  should  seat 
themselves  in  the  refectory;  and,  taking  his 
place  at  the  head  of  the  table,  he  pronounced 
the  usual  blessing.  And,  behold  1  two  beautiful 
youths,  clad  in  white  and  shining  garments, 
appeared  amongst  them  ;  one  carried  a  basket 
of  bread,  and  the  other  a  pitcher  of  wine, 
which  they  distributed  to  the  brethren  :  then 
they  disappeared ;  and  no  one  knew  how  they 
had  come  in,  nor  how  they  had  gone  out. 
And  the  brethren  sat  in  amazement ;  but  St. 
Dominick  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  said 
calmly,  ‘  My  children,  eat  what  God  hath  sent 
you ;  ’  and  it  was  truly  celestial  food,  such  as 
they  had  never  tasted  before  nor  since.” 

4786.  PROVIDENCE,  Miracles  of  On  the 

5th  of  August,  1530,  an  awful  crisis  for  the 
Reformation, when  the  firmest  seemed  to  swerve, 
and  the  boldest  to  tremble,  Luther  thus  wrote 
to  Chancellor  Bench :  “  1  have  recently  wit¬ 
nessed  two  miracles.  This  is  the  first :  As  I 
was  at  my  window,  I  saw  the  stars  and  the 
sky,  and  that  vast  and  glorious  firmament  in 
which  the  Lord  has  placed  them.  I  could  no¬ 
where  discover  the  columns  on  which  the  Mas¬ 
ter  has  supported  his  immense  vault;  and  yet 
the  heavens  did  not  fill.  And  here  is  the  sec¬ 
ond  :  I  beheld  thick  clouds  hanging  above  us 
like  a  vast  sea.  I  could  neither  perceive 
the  ground  on  which  they  reposed,  nor  cords 
by  which  they  were  suspended  ;  and  yet  they 
did  not  fall  upon  us,  but  saluted  us  rapidly, 
and  fled  away.”  Bowes. 

4787.  PROVIDENCE,  Mystery  of  I  looked 

upon  the  wrong  or  back  side  of  a  piece  of  ar¬ 
ras  (or  tapestry)  :  it  seemed  to  me  as  a  contin¬ 
ued  nonsense.  There  was  neither  head  nor  foot 
therein,  confusion  itself  had  as  much  method 
in  it,  —  a  company  of  thrums  and  threads,  with 
many  pieces  and  patches  of  several  sorts,  sizes, 
and  colors  ;  all  which  signified  nothing  to  my 
understanding.  But  then,  looking  on  the  re¬ 
verse,  or  right  side  thereof,  all  put  together 
did  spell  excellent  proportions,  and  figures  of 
men  and  cities ;  so  that,  indeed,  it  was  a  his¬ 
tory,  not  wrote  with  a  pen,  but  wrought  with 
a  needle.  If  men  look  upon  some  of  God’s 
providential  dealings  with  a  mere  eye  of  rea¬ 
son,  they  will  hardly  find  any  sense  therein, 
such  their  muddle  and  disorder.  But,  alas ! 
the  wrong  side  is  objected  to  our  eyes,  while 
the  right  side  is  presented  to  the  high  God  of 
heaven,  who  knoweth  that  an  admirable  order 
doth  result  out  of  this  confusion :  and  what  is 
presented  to  him  at  present  may,  hereafter,  be 
so  showed  to  us  as  to  convince  our  judgments 
in  the  truth  thereof.  T.  Fuller. 

4788.  PROVIDENCE,  Reliefs  of  Rochelle 
was  relieved  by  a  shoal  of  fish,  that  came  into 
the  harbor  when  they  were  ready  to  perish  with 
hunger,  —  a  thing  unknown  before  or  after. 
Mr.  Dodd,  one  night,  was  strongly  impressed  to 
visit  a  neighbor,  whom  he  met  with  a  halter  in 
his  pocket,  just  going  to  hang  himself.  Dr. 


536 


PROVIDENCE. 


PRUDENCE. 


Tate  and  his  wife  flying  with  a  sucking  child, 
which  was  just  ready  to  expire,  the  mother, 
going  tc  rest  it  upon  a  rock,  put  her  hand 
upon  a  bottle  of  warm  milk,  by  which  it  was 
preserved.  A  good  woman,  being  driven  to  a 
great  extremity,  all  supplies  failing,  turning 
some  things  in  a  chest,  unexpectedly  lighted 
upon  a  piece  of  gold,  which  supplied  her 
present  wants,  till  God  opened  another  door  of 
supply. 

4789.  PROVIDENCE,  Retributive.  When  Na¬ 
poleon  became  Emperor  of  the  French,  and 
thought  himself  the  founder  of  a  dynasty,  it 
became  a  matter  of  importance  to  him  how  it 
should  be  perpetuated.  By  Josephine  he  had 
no  offspring ;  and  he  must  therefore  choose  an 
heir.  Ilis  first  will  was,  that  the  imperial 
crown  should  be  settled  on  Napoleon  Bona¬ 
parte  and  his  direct  issue  in  the  male  line ; 
his  second,  on  Joseph  Bonaparte  and  the 
heirs  male  of  his  body  ;  and,  third,  on  Louis 
Bonaparte  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body. 
But.,  in  an  evil  hour,  he  determined  to  put 
away  his  wife,  and  make  an  alliance  with  the 
house  of  Austria,  for  the  direct  object  of  hav¬ 
ing  an  heir  to  the  throne  descended  from  him¬ 
self.  His  alliance  with  Austria  betrayed  and 
ruined  him  ;  his  heir  died  in  early  life ;  while 
his  wife  disgraced  her  imperial  marriage  by  the 
most  shameless  licentiousness.  His  original 
will  is  now  literally  carried  out.  The  present 
Emperor  of  the  French  (Louis  Napoleon)  is 
the  son  of  Louis  Bonaparte  and  Josephine’s 
daughter  Hortense,  and  grandson  of  Jose¬ 
phine.  Providence  punished  the  crime  of  Napo¬ 
leon-  by  depriving  him  of  direct  succession, 
and  giving  it  to  the  wronged  empress. 

4790.  PROVIDENCE,  Sphere  of.  You  may 

say,  “I  wish  to  send  this  ball  so  as  to  kill  the 
lion  crouching  yonder,  ready  to  spring  upon 
me.  My  wishes  are  all  right ;  and  I  hope  Prov¬ 
idence  will  direct  the  ball.”  Providence 
won’t.  You  must  do  it ;  and,  if  you  do  not, 
you  are  a  dead  man.  Beecher. 

4791.  PROVIDENCE,  Trusting.  Melancthon, 
when  he  used  sometimes  to  be  too  anxious  and 
troubled,  would  chide  away  his  fears  by  say¬ 
ing,  “  Let  Philip  cease  to  rule  the  world.” 

Bowes. 

4792.  PROVIDENCE,  Truth  of.  Look  above 
you,  and,  in  the  overarching  firmament,  read 
the  truth  of  an  all-pervading  Providence. 
Your  sky  is  God’s  outspread  hand,  and  the 
glittering  stars  the  jewels  on  the  fingers  of 
the  Almighty.  Do  you  not  see  that  his  hand 
closes  round  you  on  all  sides  ?  and  that  you 
cannot  go  where  universal  love  shines  not  ? 

Rev.  II.  Gill. 

4793.  PROVIDENCE,  Universal.  By  Him  ail 
things  consist.  Every  object  in  Nature  is 
impressed  with  his  footprints;  and  each  new 
day  repeats  the  wonders  of  creation.  Yes : 
there  is  not  a  morning  we  open  our  eyes,  but 
they  meet  a  scene  as  wonderful  as  that  which 
fixed  the  gaze  of  Adam  when  lie  awoke  into 
existence.  Nor  is  there  an  object,  be  it  peb¬ 
ble  or  pearl,  weed  or  rose,  the  flower-spangled 
sward  beneath,  or  the  star-spangled  sky  above, 


a  worm  or  an  angel,  a  drop  of  water  or  a 
boundless  ocean,  in  which  intelligence  may  not 
discern,  and  piety  may  not  adore,  the  provi¬ 
dence  of  Him  who  assumed  our  nature  that 
he  might  save  our  souls.  If  God  is  not  in  all 
the  thoughts  of  the  wicked,  he  is  in  every 
thing  else.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4794.  PROVIDENCE,  in  the  Wind.  The 

wind  has  called  at  yon  city,  fetid  with 
miasma,  and  groaning  with  pestilence ;  and, 
with  its  besom  of  swift  pinions,  it  has  swept  the 
plague  away.  It  has  looked  into  yon  haven, 
and  found  a  forest  of  laden  ships  sleeping  over 
their  freights ;  and  it  has  chased  them  all  to 
sea.  And  finding  the  harvest  arrested  in  a 
broad  and  fertile  realm,  the  earth  chapped, 
and  the  crops  withering,  it  is  now  hurrying 
with  that  black  armament  of  clquds  to  drench 
it  in  lifesome  irrigation.  To  narrow  observa¬ 
tion  or  to  selfishness,  that  wind  is  an  annoy¬ 
ance  ;  to  faith,  it  is  God’s  angel  forwarding 
the  mighty  plan.  ’Tis  a  boisterous  night,  and 
Pictish  savages  curse  the  noisy  blast  which 
shakes  their  peat-hovel  round  their  ears ;  but 
that  noisy  blast  has  landed  the  gospel  on  St. 
Andrew’s  shore.  It  blows  a  fearful  tempest, 
and  it  sets  some  rheumatic  joints  on  aching  ; 
but  the  morrow  shows,  dashed  in  pieces,  the 
awful  Armada  which  was  fetching  the  Span¬ 
ish  Inquisition  to  our  British  Isle.  The  wind 
blows  east,  and  detains  James’s  ships  at  Har- 
wich;  but  it  guides  King  William  to  Torbay. 
Yes,  “the  wind  blows  south,  and  the  wind 
blows  north ;  it  whirleth  about  continually, 
and  returneth  again  according  to  its  circuits :  ” 
but,  in  the  course  of  these  circuits,  the  wind 
has  blown  to  our  little  speck  of  seagirt  happi¬ 
ness  the  gospel  and  Protestantism,  and  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4795.  PROVOCATION,  Avoid  Giving.  They 
that  govern  elephants  never  appear  before 
them  in  white  ;  and  the  masters  of  bulls  keep 
from  them  all  garments  of  blood  and  scarlet, 
as  knowing  that  they  will  be  impatient  of 
civil  usages  and  discipline  when  their  natures 
are  provoked  by  their  proper  antipathies. 

Bp.  Taylor. 

4796.  PROVOCATION,  Resisting.  As  the  ship 

that  is  well  made,  and  sufficiently  trimmed, 
neither  the  mighty  winds,  raging  waves,  nor 
stormy  tempests  do  make  it  leak ;  or  as  the 
palm-tree,  which,  though  mightily  laden  never 
bendeth ;  or  as  our  Saviour  Christ  was  whipped, 
mocked,  and  crowned  with  thorns,  yea,  and 
crucified  too,  and  yet  prayed  for  his  enemies  : 
even  so,  if  we  are  once  armed  with  this  corslet 
of  proof  (I  mean  patience),  not  only  words  and 
injuries,  which  are  lent  the  points  of  the  thorns, 
should  not  pierce  us  to  be  angry,  but  also  the 
sharp  arrows  of  Satan,  his  lances  and  pikes, 
should  never  be  able  to  touch  or  move  us  to 
the  quick.  Cawdray. 

4797.  PRUDENCE,  Brevities.  Let  every  fox 
take  care  of  his  own  tail.  —  Italian  Proverb. 

- Every  one  for  himself,  and  God  for  ns 

all.  —  English  Proverb. - No  other  protec¬ 

tion  is  wanting,  provided  you  are  under  the 
guidance  of  prudence. — Juvenal. 


PRUDENCE. 


PULPIT. 


537 


4798.  PRUDENCE,  Fable  of.  A  dog,  holding 
a  piece  of  meat  in  his  mouth,  was  crossing  a 
river :  he  saw  his  image  in  the  water,  and 
thought  at  first  it  was  another  dog  carrying  an¬ 
other  prey.  He  approached ;  the  image  went 
away.  “  I  shall  not  pursue  you,”  said  he,  “  nor 
shall  I  quit  what  I  hold  :  my  instinct  tells  me 
you  are  but  my  shadow.” 

4799.  PRUDENCE,  Need  of.  It  behooveth 
him  that  walketh  upon  cords  strained  and 
fastened  on  high,  diligently  to  look  to  his  foot¬ 
ing,  that  he  may  not  fall  this  way  or  that :  so  it 
standeth  us  to  be  wary,  and  careful  to  look 
about  us,  to  take  good  heed  where  we  set  our 
feet  (that  is  our  affections  and  the  delights  of 
our  hearts),  lest  we  fall  down  headlong  into 
the  bottomless  gulf  of  God’s  displeasure. 

Cawdray. 

4800.  PRUDENCE,  Precedence  of  Aristotle 

is  praised  for  naming  fortitude  the  first  of  the 
cardinal  virtues,  —  as  that  without  which  no 
other  virtue  can  steadily  be  practised  :  but  he 
might,  with  equal  propriety,  have  placed  pru¬ 
dence  before  it ;  since  without  prudence  forti¬ 
tude  is  madness.  Goodrich. 

4801.  PRUDENCE,  Superior.  Those  char¬ 

acters,  who,  like  Ventidius,  spring  from  the 
very  dregs  of  society,  and,  going  through  every 
gradation  of  life,  continue,  like  him,  to  rise 
with  every  change,  and  who  never  quit  a  single 
step  in  the  ladder  except  it  be  to  gain  a  higher 
one,  —  these  are  superior  to  Fortune,  and  know 
how  to  enjoy  her  caresses  without  being  the 
slaves  of  caprice.  Colton. 

4802.  PRUDENCE,  Value  of.  “  As  the  hermits 
were  communing  together,  there  arose  a  ques¬ 
tion  as  to  which  of  all  the  virtues  was  most 
necessary  to  perfection.  One  said,  chastity ; 
another,  humility;  a  third,  justice.  St.  An¬ 
thony  remained  silent  until  all  had  given  their 
opinion;  and  then  he  spoke.  ‘Ye  have  all 
said  well ;  but  none  of  you  have  said  aright. 
The  virtue  most  necessary  to  perfection  is 
prudence ;  for  the  most  virtuous  actions  of  men, 
unless  governed  and  directed  by  prudence,  are 
neither  pleasing  to  God,  nor  serviceable  to 
others,  nor  profitable  to  ourselves.’  ” 

4803.  PSALM,  Twenty-Third.  The  Twenty- 
third  Psalm  is  the  nightingale  of  the  psalms.  It 
is  small,  of  a  homely  feather,  singing  shyly 
out  of  obscurity ;  but,  oh  1  it  has  filled  the  air  of 
the  whole  world  with  melodious  joy,  greater 
than  the  heart  can  conceive.  Blessed  be  the 
day  on  which  that  psalm  was  born  1  What 
would  you  say  of  a  pilgrim  commissioned  of 
God  to  travel  up  and  down  the  earth,  singing  a 
strange  melody,  which,  when  one  heard, 
caused  him  to  forget  whatever  sorrow  he  hadV 
And  so  the  singing  angel  goes  on  his  way 
through  all  lands,  singing  in  the  language  of 
every  nation,  driving  away  trouble  by  the 
pulses  of  the  air  which  his  tongue  moves  with 
divine  power.  Behold  just  such  a  one ! 
This  pilgrim  God  has  sent  to  speak  in  every 
language  on  the  globe.  It  has  charmed  more 
griefs  to  rest  than  all  the  philosophy  of  the 
world.  It  has  remanded  to  their  dungeon 
more  felon-thoughts,  more  black  doubts,  more 


thieving  sorrows,  than  there  are  sands  on  the 
seashore.  It  has  comforted  the  noble  host  of 
the  poor.  It  has  sung  courage  to  the  army  of 
the  disappointed.  It  has  poured  balm  and 
consolation  into  the  heart  of  the  sick,  of  captives 
in  their  dungeons,  of  widows  in  their  pinching 
griefs,  of  orphans  in  their  loneliness.  Dying 
soldiers  have  died  easier  as  it  was  read  to 
them  ;  ghastly  hospitals  have  been  illumined. 
It  has  visited  the  prisoner,  and  broken  his 
chains,  and,  like  Peter’s  angel,  led  him  forth  in 
imagination,  and  sung  him  back  to  his  home 
again.  It  has  made  the  dying  Christian  slave 
freer  than  his  master,  and  consoled  those 
whom,  dying,  he  left  behind  mourning,  not  so 
much  that  he  was  gone  as  because  they  were 
left  behind,  and  could  not  go  too.  Nor  is  its 
work  done.  It  will  go  singing  to  your  chil¬ 
dren  and  my  children,  and  to  their  children, 
through  all  the  generations  of  time  ;  nor  will  it 
fold  its  wings  till  the  last  pilgrim  is  safe,  and 
time  ended  :  and  then  it  shall  fly  back  to  the 
bosom  of  God,  whence  it  issued,  and  sound  on, 
mingled  with  all  those  sounds  of  celestial  joy 
which  make  heaven  musical  forever.  Beecher. 

4804.  PSALMS,  Book  o£  The  Greeks  call 

this  book  the  Psalter ;  and  deservedly  give  it 
many  high  commendations,  as  that  it  is  the 
Soul’s  Anatomy ;  the  Law’s  Epitome ;  the 
Gospel’s  Index ;  the  Garden  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures;  a  Sweet  Field  and  Rosary  of  Prom¬ 
ises,  Precepts,  Predictions,  Praises,  Solilo¬ 
quies,  &c. ;  the  very  Heart  and  Soul  of  God  ; 
the  Tongue  and  Pen  of  David,  a  man  after 
God’s  own  heart,  —  one  murmur  of  whose 
Micktam,  or  Maschil,  one  touch  of  whose 
heavenly  harp,  is  far  above  all  the  buskined 
raptures,  garish  phantasms,  splendid  vanities, 
pageants,  and  landscapes  of  profane  wits  ;  far 
better  worthy  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold 
than  Pindar’s  seventh  “  Ode  ”  in  the  temple  at 
Rhodes,  and  far  more  fit  to  have  been  laid  up 
as  a  rare  and  precious  jewel  in  that  Persian 
casket,  embroidered  with  gold  and  pearl,  than 
“  Homer’s  Iliads,”  for  which  it  was  reserved  by 
great  Alexander.  ./.  Trapp. 

4805.  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT,  Power  o£  Public 

sentiment  is  like  a  battery,  which  protects  the 
city  that  is  behind  it,  but  sweeps  with  destruc¬ 
tion  all  the  plain  that  is  before  it.  It  power¬ 
fully  restrains  men  from  doing  wrong ;  but, 
when  they  have  done  wron<x,  it  sets  itself  as 
powerfully  against  them.  The  height  of  Do¬ 
ver  Cliffs  would  prevent  a  man  from  jumping 
into  the  sea ;  but  once  amid  the  thunder  of  the 
waves,  and  what  chance  would  there  be  for 
him  to  climb  the  steep  ?  Beecher. 

4806.  PULPIT,  Manner  in  the.  Dr.  Stonehouse 
used  to  tell  two  lessons  of  elocution  which  he 
had  one  day  received  from  Garrick  at  the 
close  of  the  service.  “  What  particular  busi¬ 
ness  had  you  to  do  to-day  when  the  duty  was 
over  V  ”  asked  the  actor.  “  None.”  —  “  Why,” 
said  Garrick,  “  I  thought  you  must,  from  the 
hurry  in  which  you  entered  the  desk.  Noth¬ 
ing  can  be  more  indecent  than  to  see  a  clergy¬ 
man  set  about  sacred  service  as  if  he  were  a 
tradesman,  and  wanted  to  get  through  it  as 


538 


IPTJIAPIT. 


PUNISHMENT. 


booh  as  possible.  But  what  might  those  books 
be  which  you  had  on  the  desk  before  you  ?  ” 
—  “  Only  the  Bible  and  Prayer-Book,”  replied 
the  preacher.  “  Only  the  Bible  and  Prayer- 
Book,”  rejoined  the  player.  “  Why,  you  tossed 
them  about,  and  turned  the  leaves  as  carelessly 
as  if.  they  were  a  day-book  and  ledger.”  And 
by  the  reproof  of  the  British  Roscius  the  doc¬ 
tor  greatly  profited ;  for,  even  among  the  pump- 
room  exquisites,  he  was  admired  for  the  perfect 
grace  and  propriety  of  his  pulpit-manner. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4807.  PULPIT,  Unction  in  the.  Thomas  Aqui¬ 
nas  asked  St.  Bonaventura  whence  he  derived 
the  power  and  unction  which  always  attended 
him.  Pointing  to  a  crucifix,  he  replied,  “  It  is 
that  which  dictates  all  my  words  to  me.” 

4808.  PUNCTUALITY,  Advantage  of.  A  poor 

Sunday-school  boy  was  an  apprentice,  and,  for 
several  years,  passed  a  certain  store  every  morn¬ 
ing  as  the  neighboring  church-clock  struck  six ; 
at  which  time  a  very  precise  old  merchant 
always  took  down  the  shutters  of  his  store. 
Each  bowed  as  Joseph  passed,  each  giving 
the  salutation,  “  Good-morning,  sir  ;  ”  beyond 
which  they  never  spoke  to  each  other.  What, 
think  you,  was  Joseph’s  surprise,  when  he 
learned  that  the  old  gentleman  had  suddenly- 
died,  and  left  him  his  whole  business  and 
stock  !  By  this  punctuality  and  diligence,  our 
young  friend  came  into  possession  of  property- 
which  ultimately  grew  to  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
million,  with  which,  it  is  pleasant  to  add,  he  did 
a  vast  amount  of  good.  Bib.  Treasury. 

4809.  PUNCTUALITY,  Habit  of,  Punctual¬ 
ity  and  exactness  are  always  taken  in  a  good 
sense :  they  designate  an  attention  to  that 
which  cannot  be  dispensed  with ;  they  form  a 
part  of  one’s  duty.  Early  habits  of  method 
and  regularity  will  make  a  man  very  exact  in 
the  performance  of  all  his  duties,  and  particu¬ 
larly  punctual  in  his  payments.  Exactness  has 
respect  to  our  conduct  or  what  we  do  ;  punctu¬ 
ality,  to  the  time  and  season  of  doing  it.  In  our 
accounts,  we  should  have  exactness ;  in  observ¬ 
ing  the  hour  or  the  day  fixed  upon,  or  the  prom¬ 
ise  given,  we  should  show  punctuality.  G.  Grubb. 

4810.  PUNCTUALITY,  Importance  of.  Eight 
ladies  were  to  meet  in  the  neighborhood  of 
London,  on  a  certain  day  at  twelve  o’clock. 
Seven  were  punctual ;  the  eighth  came  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  after  the  time  with  many 
apologies.  She  had  no  idea  of  its  being  so 
late.  A  Quaker  lady  present  said,  “  Friend, 
I  am  not  clear  that  we  should  admit  thine 
apology.  It  were  matter  of  regret  that  thou 
shouldst  have  wasted  thine  own  quarter  of  an 
hour ;  but  here  are  seven  beside  thyself  whose 
time  thou  hast  consumed,  amounting  in  all  to 
two  hours  and  seven-eighths,  which  was  not 
tliine  own.” 

4811.  PUNCTUALITY,  Religious,  A  woman 
who  was  punctual  and  early  at  public  worship 
was  asked  how  she  could  always  come  so  early. 
She  answered,  “  It  is  a  part  of  my  religion  not 
to  disturb  the  religion  of  others.” 

4812.  PUNCTUALITY,  Want  of.  A  singular 
mischance  has  occurred  to  some  of  our  friends. 


At  the  instant  when  God  ushered  them  on 
existence,  he  gave  them  a  work  to  do,  and  ha 
also  gave  them  a  competency  of  time ;  so 
much  time,  that  if  they  began  at  the  right 
moment,  and  wrought  with  sufficient  vigor, 
their  time  and  their  work  would  end  together. 
But,  a  good  many  years  ago,  a  strange  misfor¬ 
tune  befell  them.  A  fragment  of  their  allotted 
time  was  lost.  They  cannot  tell  what  became 
of  it ;  but  sure  enough  it  has  dropped  out  of 
existence :  for  just  like  two  measuring  lines 
laid  alongside,  the  one  an  inch  shorter  than 
the  other,  their  work  and  their  time  run  paral¬ 
lel;  but  the  work  is  always  ten  minutes  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  the  time.  They  are  not  irregular. 
They  are  never  too  soon.  Their  letters  are 
posted  the  very  minute  after  the  mail  is  shut. 
They  arrive  at  the  wharf  just  in  time  to  see  the 
steamboat  off.  They  come  in  sight  of  the  ter¬ 
minus  precisely  as  the  station-gates  are  closing. 
They  do  not  break  any  engagement  nor  neglect 
any  duty  ;  but  they  systematically  go  about  it 
too  late,  and  usually  too  late  by  about  the  same 
fatal  interval.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

4813.  PUNISHMENT,  Brevities.  Punishment 
.is  the  recoil  of  crime ;  and  the  strength  of  the 
back-stroke  is  in  proportion  to  the  original 

blow.  —  French. - It  is  an  ancient  proverb, 

“  The  feet  of  the  avenging  deities  are  shod 
with  wool.” 

4814.  PUNISHMENT,  Certainty  of.  As  you 

stood  some  stormy  day  upon  a  sea-cliff,  and 
marked  the  giant  billow  rise  from  the  deep  to 
rush  on  with  foaming  crest,  and  throw  itself 
thundering  on  the  trembling  shore,  did  you 
ever  fancy  that  you  could  stay  its  course,  and 
hurl  it  back  to  the  depths  of  ocean  ?  Did  you 
ever  stand  beneath  the  leaden  lowering  cloud, 
and  mark  the  lightning’s  leap,  as  it  shot  and 
flashed,  dazzling  athwart  the  gloom,  and  think 
that  you  could  grasp  the  bolt,  and  change  its 
path  V  Still  more  foolish  and  vain  his  thought, 
who  fancies  that  he  can  arrest  or  turn  aside 
the  purpose  of  God,  saying,  “  What  is  the  Al¬ 
mighty  that  we  should  serve  him  ?  Let  us 
break  his  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  his 
cords  from  us !  ”  Break  his  bands  asunder  1 
—  How  he  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall 
laugh !  Guthrie. 

4815.  PUNISHMENT,  Degrees  of.  The  legend 
of  St.  Macarius  of  Alexandria  runs  thus : 
“  One  day,  as  Macarius  wandered  among  those 
ancient  Egyptian  tombs  wherein  he  had  made 
himself  a  dwelling-place,  he  found  the  skull  of 
a  mummy,  and,  turning  it  over  with  his  crutch, 
he  inquired  to  whom  it  belonged ;  and  it  re¬ 
plied,  ‘  To  a  pagan.’  And  Macarius,  looking 
into  the  empty  eyes,  said,  ‘  Where,  then,  is  thy 
soul  ?  ’  And  the  head  replied,  ‘  In  hell.’  Ma¬ 
carius  asked,  ‘  How  deep  ?  ’  And  the  head 
replied,  ‘  The  depth  is  greater  than  the  dis¬ 
tance  from  heaven  to  earth.’  Then  Macarius 
asked,  ‘  Are  there  any  deeper  than  thou  art  ?  ’ 
The  skull  replied,  ‘  Yes  :  the  Jews  are  deeper 
still.’  And  Macarius  asked,  ‘  Are  there  any 
deeper  than  the  Jews  ?  ’  To  which  the  head 
replied,  ‘Yes,  in  sooth  1  for  the  Christians 
whom  Jesus  Christ  hath  redeemed,  and  who 


PUTSTISHiMEHSTT. 


PTXTtITY. 


539 


i 


show  in  their  actions  that  they  despise  his  doc¬ 
trine,  are  deeper  still.’  ” 

4816.  PUNISHMENT,  Endless.  Virgil  rep¬ 
resents  Tityus  the  giant  lying  prone,  and  cov¬ 
ering  nine  acres  in  the  bottom  of  Tartarus, 
while  a  vulture  preys  upon  his  liver,  which 
grows  again  as  fast  as  it  is  devoured ;  so  that 
his  punishment  is  endless. 

4817.  PUNISHMENT,  Fact  of.  The  thought  of 

the  future  punishment  tor  the  wicked  which  the 
Bible  reveals  is  enough  to  make  an  earthquake 
of  terror  in  every  man’s  soul.  I  do  not  accept 
the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment  because  I 
delight  in  it.  I  would  cast  in  doubts,  if  I  could, 
till  I  had  filled  hell  up  to  the  brim  ;  I  would 
destroy  all  faith  in  it :  but  that  would  do  me 
no  good :  I  could  not  destroy  the  thing.  Nor 
does  it  help  me  to  take  the  word  “  everlasting,” 
and  put  it  into  a  rack  like  an  inquisitor,  until 
I  make  it  shriek  out  some  other  meaning :  I 
cannot  alter  the  stern  fact.  Beecher. 

4818.  PUNISHMENT,  Future.  Let  the  fairest 
star  be  selected,  like  a  beauteous  island  in  the 
vast  and  shoreless  sea  of  the  azure  heavens,  as 
the  future  home  of  the  criminals  from  the 
earth,  and  let  these  possess  whatever  they  most 
love,  and  all  that  it  is  possible  for  God  to  be¬ 
stow  ;  let  them  be  endowed  with  undying 
bodies,  and  with  minds  which  shall  forever 
retain  their  intellectual  powers;  let  no  Saviour 
ever  press  his  claims  upon  them,  no  Holy 
Spirit  visit  them,  no  God  reveal  himself  to 

them,  no  sabbath  ever  dawn  upon  them,  no 
saint  ever  live  among  them,  no  prayer  ever  be 
heard  within  their  borders;  but  let  society 
exist  there  forever,  smitten  only  by  the  lep¬ 
rosy  of  hatred  to  God,  and  with  utter  selfish¬ 
ness  as  its  all-prevailing  and  eternal  purpose  : 

then,  as  sure  as  the  law  of  righteousness  exists, 
on  which  rests  the  throne  of  God  and  the  gov¬ 


ernment  of  the  universe,  a  society  so  consti¬ 
tuted  must  work  out  lor  itself  a  hell  of  solitary 
and  bitter  suffering,  to  which  there  is  no  limit 
except  the  capacity  of  a  finite  nature.  Alas  1 
the  spirit  that  is  without  love  to  its  God  or  to 
its  neighbor  is  already  possessed  by  a  power 
which  must  at  least  create  for  its  own  self¬ 
torment  a  worm  that  will  never  die,  and  a 
flame  that  can  never  more  be  quenched. 

Dr.  Mcicleod. 

4819.  PUNISHMENT,  Inevitable.  The  pea 

contains  the  vine  and  the  flower  and  the  pod 
in  embryo ;  and  I  am  sure,  when  I  plant  it, 
that  it  will  produce  them,  and  nothing  else. 
Now,  every  action  of  our  lives  is  embryonic, 
and,  according  as  it  is  right  or  wrong,  it  will 
surely  bring  forth  the  sweet  flowers  of  joy,  or 
the  poison  fruits  of  sorrow.  Such  is  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  this  world  ;  and  the  Bible  assures 
us  that  the  next  world  only  carries  it  forward. 
Here  and  hereafter,  “  whatsoever  a  man  sow- 
eth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.”  Beecher. 

4820.  PUNISHMENT,  Postponed.  As  an  old 
thief  who  has  a  long  time  escaped  detection 
and  punishment  is  emboldened  to  proceed  to 
greater  crime,  thinking  that  he  shall  always 
escape ;  so  many  impenitent  go  on  in  sin, 
thinking,  that,  because  God  does  not  at  once 


punish  them,  therefore  they  shall  escape  alto¬ 
gether.  Cawdray. 

4821.  PUNISHMENT,  Vicarious.  I  wif  tell 

you  what  once  happened  in  our  ragged-s  hool 
in  Edinburgh.  On  one  occasion,  a  very  serious 
crime  was  committed  by  one  of  the  boys.  He 
had  broken  a  rule  sacred  in  the  school,  and 
must  be  punished.  Mr.  Gibb,  the  governor, 
assembled  the  school ;  and  the  boy  was  told  to 
strip.  Strip  he  did  to  the  skin;  and  there 
stood  before  them  a  spectacle  that  wrung  the 
teacher’s  heart,  —  so  thin,  so  worn,  so  starved- 
like,  so  wretched,  that  Mr.  Gibb  had  not  the 
heart  to  bid  the  janitor  lay  on  the  whip.  But 
he  must  be  punished ;  so  Mr.  Gibb  turned 
round  to  the  other  boys,  and  said,  “  You  see 
that  child  :  will  any  one  bear  the  punishment 
in  his  room  ?  will  any  one  bear  the  strokes 
for  him  ?  ”  Then  a  little  fellow  pulled  off  his 
jacket,  and  took  his  place,  and  bared  his  back 
for  the  blows.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

4822.  PURITY,  Christian.  Purity  of  heart 
is  a  trait  of  character  which  God’s  Spirit  can 
alone  produce.  This  is  sanctification.  It  may 
exist  in  different  degrees:  it  may  be  partial ; 
it  may  be  complete.  Even  when  complete,  it 
may,  in  this  world,  co-exist  with  many  an  error 
of  judgment,  and  many  a  defect  of  tempera¬ 
ment.  Yet  it  enables  us  to  live  without  offend¬ 
ing  God,  so  as  to  maintain  for  us  the  perma¬ 
nent  undiminislied  fulness  of  the  divine  ap¬ 
probation.  And  when  the  heart  is  clean,  the 
eye  is  clear.  When  purity  makes  us  like  God, 
then  can  we  realize  and  see  his  countenance. 
The  eye  of  the  pure  spirit  beholds  the  pure 
Spirit.  Through  the  beams  he  sheds  down 
upon  us,  we  can  look  up  and  see  the  face  that 
shines.  In  the  light  of  his  smile,  we  behold  his 
smile.  So  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God. 

Dr.  Whedon. 

4823.  PURITY,  Heart.  “  The  pure  in  heart  ” 

are  they  whose  hearts  God  hath  “purified  even 
as  he  is  pure ;  ”  who  are  purified,  through  faith 
in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  from  every  unholy  affec¬ 
tion  ;  who,  being  “  cleansed  from  all  filthiness 
of  flesh  and  spirit,  perfect  holiness  in  the  love 
and  fear  of  God.”  They  are,  through  the  power 
of  his  grace,  purified  from  pride  by  the  deepest 
poverty  of  spirit;  from  anger,  from  every  un¬ 
kind  or  turbulent  passion,  by  meekness  and 
gentleness;  from  every  desire  but  to  please 
and  enjoy  God,  to  know  and  love  him  more  and 
more,  by  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous¬ 
ness  which  now  engrosses  their  whole  soul : 
so  that  now  they  love  the  Lord  their  God  with 
all  their  heart  and  with  all  their  soul  and  mind 
and  strength.  ./.  Wesley. 

4824.  PURITY,  ImportaDce  of.  By  the  an¬ 
cients,  courage  was  regarded  as  practically  the 
main  part  of  virtue :  by  us,  though  1  hope  we 
are  none  the  less  brave,  purity  is  so  regarded 
now.  The  former  is  evidently  an  animal  ex¬ 
cellence,  a  thing  not  to  be  left  out  when  we 
are  balancing  the  one  against  the  other.  Still 
the  following  considerations  weigh  more  with 
me.  Courage  when  not  an  instinct,  is  the 
creation  of  society,  depending  for  occasions  of 
action  (which  is  essential  to  it)  on  outward 


540 


PURITY. 


QTJ-AJRPiPRL.S. 


circumstances,  and  deriving  mucli  both  of  its 
character  and  its  motives  from  popular  opinion 
and  esteem.  But  purity  is  inward,  secret,  self- 
sufficing.  harmless,  and,  to  crown  all,  thorough¬ 
ly  and  intimately  personal.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
nature  rather  than  a  virtue ;  and,  like  other 
natures,  when  most  perfect  is  least  conscious 
of  itself  and  its  perfection.  In  a  word,  courage, 
however  kindled,  is  fanned  by  the  breath  of 
man  :  purity  lives  and  derives  its  life  solely 
from  the  Spirit  of  God.  Hare. 

4825.  PURITY,  Nature  of.  I  would  have  you 

attend  to  the  full  significance  and  extent  of  the 
term  “  holy.”  It  is  not  abstinence  from  out¬ 
ward  deeds  of  profligacy  alone;  it  is  not  a 
mere  recoil  from  impurity  in  thought.  It  is 
that  quick  and  sensitive  delicacy  to  which 
even  the  very  conception  of  evil  is  offensive ; 
it  is  a  virtue  which  has  its  residence  within, 
which  takes  guardianship  of  the  heart,  as  of  a 
citadel  or  inviolated  sanctuary,  in  which  no 
wrong  or  worthless  imagination  is  permitted  to 
dwell.  It  is  not  purity  of  action  that  we  con¬ 
tend  for :  it  is  exalted  purity  of  heart,  the 
ethereal  purity  of  the  third  heaven ;  and,  if  it 
is  at  once  settled  in  the  heart,  it  brings  the 
peace,  the  triumph,  and  the  untroubled  serenity 
of  heaven  along  with  it,  I  had  almost  said, 
the  pride  of  a  great  moral  victory  over  the  in¬ 
firmities  of  an  earthly  and  accursed  nature. 
There  is  a  health  and  harmony  in  the  soul ;  a 
beauty,  which,  though  it  effloresces  in  the 
countenance  and  the  outward  path,  is  itself  so 
thoroughly  internal  as  to  make  purity  of  heart 
the  most  distinctive  evidence  of  a  work  of 
grace  in  time,  the  most  distinctive  guidance 
of  a  character  that  is  ripening  and  expanding 
for  the  glories  of  eternity.  Chalmers. 

4826.  PURITY,  Process  of.  As  the  precious 
stone  called  Amiantus,  being  cast  into  the  fire, 
is  made  clearer  and  purer;  so  the  children 
of  God,  being  cast  into  the  fire  of  troubles  and 
afflictions,  do  shine  more  clear  and  beautiful. 

Cawdray. 

4827.  PURPOSE,  Emblem  of.  A  man’s  pur¬ 

pose  of  life  should  be  like  a  river,  which  was 
born  of  a  thousand  little  rills  in  the  mountains; 
and  when,  at  last,  it  has  reached  its  manhood 
in  the  plain,  though,  if  you  watch  it,  you  shall 
see  little  eddies  that  seem  as  if  they  had 
changed  their  minds,  and  were  going  back 
again  to  the  mountains,  yet  all  its  mighty  cur¬ 
rent  flows,  changeless,  to  the  sea.  If  you  build 
a  darn  across  it,  in  a  few  hours  it  will  go  over 
it  with  a  voice  of  victory.  If  tides  check  it  at 
its  mouth,  it  is  only,  that,  when  they  ebb,  it  can 
sweep  on  again  to  the  ocean.  So  goes  the 
Amazon  or  the  Orinoco  across  a  continent,  — 
never  losing  its  way,  or  changing  its  direction, 
for  the  thousand  streams  that  fall  into  it  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left,  but  only  using  them 
to  increase  its  force,  and  bearing  them  onward 
in  its  resistless  channel.  Beecher. 

4828.  PURPOSE,  Execution  of.  Keep  your 
eye  fixed  upon  the  mark,  and  don’t  flinch 
when  you  pull  the  trigger.  The  steady  nerve 
is  necessary  to  carry  out  the  bold  plan.  Could 
the  multitude  of  failures  which  are  recorded 


\ 

every  day  be  thoroughly  examined  into  as  to 
their  cause,  it  would  be  found  that  a  great 
proportion  of  them  have  resulted  from  a  want 
of  nerve  at  just  the  moment  when  an  unwav¬ 
ering  sight  and  steady  pull  would  have  accom¬ 
plished  the  object.  If  one  is  to  succeed,  he 
must  fix  his  eye  on  the  mark,  and  never  think 
otherwise  than  that  he  shall  hit  it.  Many  a 
huntsman  whose  markmansliip  is  none  of  the 
best  has  astonished  himself  by  shots  madei 
under  circumstances  when  he  must  up  gun 
and  blaze  away,  with  scarcely  time  given  him 
to  know  what  he  is  firing  at.  This  was  be¬ 
cause  he  had  no  opportunity  to  hesitate  or 
waver  when  pressing  the  trigger.  Let  an 
enterprise  be  ever  so  boldly  projected  and 
energetically  pushed,  if  the  nerve  fails  at  the 
last  moment,  good-by  to  success. 

4829.  PURPOSE,  Persevering.  On  one  bright 
summer  day,  the  boy  Warren  Hastings,  then 
just  seven  years  old,  lay  on  the  bank  of  the 
rivulet  which  flows  through  the  old  domain  of 
his  house  to  join  the  Isis.  There,  as  threescore 
and  ten  years  later  he  told  the  tale,  rose  in  his 
mind  a  scheme,  which,  through  all  the  turns  of 
his  eventful  eai’eer,  was  never  abandoned.  He 
would  recover  the  estate  which  had  belonged 
to  his  fathers.  He  would  be  Hastings  of 
Davlesford.  This  purpose,  formed  in  infancy 
and  poverty,  grew  stronger  as  his  intellect 
expanded,  and  as  his  fortune  rose.  He  pur¬ 
sued  his  plan  with  that  calm  but  indomitable 
force  of  will  which  was  the  most  striking  pecu¬ 
liarity  of  his  character.  When,  under  a  trop¬ 
ical  sun,  he  ruled  fifty  millions  of  Asiatics,  his 
hopes,  amidst  all  the  cares  of  war,  finance,  and 
legislation,  still  pointed  to  Daylesford.  And 
when  his  long  public  life,  so  singularly  check¬ 
ered  with  good  and  evil,  with  glory  and  oblo¬ 
quy,  had  at  length  closed  forever,  it  was  to 
Daylesford  that  he  retired  to  die.  Macaulay. 

4836.  PURPOSE,  Steadiness  of.  Many  who 
slumber  in  nameless  graves,  or  wander  through 
the  tortures  of  a  wasted  life,  have  had  memo¬ 
ries  as  capacious,  and  faculties  as  fine,  as 
Macaulay ;  but  they  lacked  the  steadiness  of 
purpose,  and  patient  thoughtful  labor,  which 
multiplied  the  “  ten  talents  ”  into  “  ten  other 
talents  beside  them.”  It  is  the  old  lesson, 
voiceful  from  every  life  that  has  a  moral  in  it; 
from  Bernard  Palissy,  selling  his  clothes,  and 
tearing  up  his  floor,  to  add  fuel  to  the  furnace, 
and  wearying  his  wife,  and  amusing  his  neigh¬ 
bors  with  dreams  of  his  white  enamel,  through 
the  unremunerative  years ;  from  William  Ca¬ 
rey,  panting  after  the  moral  conquest  of  India, 
whether  he  sat  at  the  lapstone  of  his  early 
craft,  or  wielded  the  ferule  in  the  village-school, 
or  lectured  the  village  elders  when  the  sab¬ 
bath  dawned,  —  it  is  the  old  lesson,  a  worthy 
purpose,  patient  energy  for  its  accomplish¬ 
ment,  a  resoluteness  that  is  undaunted  by  diffi¬ 
culties,  and,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  success. 

W.  M.  Punshon. 

4831.  QUARRELS,  Avoiding.  Gotthold  said 
to  one  who  had  left  another  rather  than  avenge 
an  insult,  “  Tell  me,  my  friend,  were  you  climb¬ 
ing  a  hill,  and  were  a  great  stone  or  block  to 


QTJ  AHREL8. 


QUrETlSTESS. 


541 


be  rolled  down  towardsyou,  would  you  consider 
it  disgraceful  to  step  aside,  and  allow  it  to 
rush  past  ?  If  not,  what  disgrace  can  there 
be  in  avoiding  and  giving  way  to  a  man  insti¬ 
gated  by  drink  or  anger,  until  he  has  had  time 
tor  reflection,  and  his  agitated  mind  finds  rest 
in  repentance?  He  who  breaks  his  will  and 

ields  is  ascending  ;  he  who  gives  the  reins  to 

is  passions  is  falling.” 

4832.  QUARRELS,  Brevities.  The  Rev.  W. 
Howelsonce  said,  the  best  way  to  settle  a  quar¬ 
rel  was  to  “  let  the  innocent  forgive  the 
guilty.”  The  Rev.  John  Clark  of  Frome  was 
asked,  one  day,  how  he  kept  from  being  in¬ 
volved  in  quarrels.  He  answered,  “  By  letting 
the  angry  person  always  have  the  quarrel  to 
himself.”  “  The  quarrels  of  professors  are 
often  the  reproach  of  their  profession.” 

Henry. 

4833.  QUARRELS,  Domestic.  Mr.  Johnston 
of  West  Africa  says,  that  in  visiting  a  sick 
communicant,  his  wife  being  present,  he  asked 
them  several  questions,  one  of  which  was,  if 
they  lived  in  peace  together.  The  man  an¬ 
swered,  “  Sometimes  I  say  a  word  my  wife  no 
like,  or  my  wife  talk  or  do  what  I  no  like ; 
but,  when  we  want  to  quarrel,  we  shake  hands 
together,  shut  the  door,  and  go  to  prayer :  and 
so  we  get  peace  again.”  • 

4834.  QUARRELS,  End  of.  “  We  could  soon 
finish  you  up  1  ”  said  some  lemons  to  a  bottle  of 
carbonate  of  soda.  “  I  could  soon  take  the  taste 
out  of  you  !  ”  answered  the  soda.  “  Let  us  try 
our  strength,”  said  the  lemons.  “  With  all  my 
heart  1  ”  said  the  soda.  And  to  work  they  went, 
trying  with  all  their  might  to  extinguidi  each 
other.  Fizz  went  the  lemons  ;  fizz  went  the 
6oda ;  and  they  went  on  fizzing,  till  there  was 
nothing  of  either  of  them  left,  and  only  a  nau¬ 
seous  puddle  showed  where  the  fight  had  been. 

483.>.  QUARRELS,  Inclination  to.  Thou  wilt 
quarrel  with  a  man  that  hath  a.  hair  more  or  a 
hair  less  in  his  beard  than  thou  hast.  Thou 
wilt  quarrel  with  a  man  for  cracking  nuts,  hav¬ 
ing  no  other  reason  but  because  thou  hast  hazel 
eyes.  Thy  head  is  full  of  quarrels  as  an  egg 
is  full  of  meat.  Skakspeare. 

4836.  QUARRELS,  Occasion  of.  There  is  a 
story  of  two  knights  who  fell  into  a  quarrel 
about  a  shield.  One  asserted  that  it  was  made 
of  gold ;  the  other,  that  it  was  not  gold,  but 
silver.  Now,  neither  were  right ;  yet  both  were 
correct  as  to  that  part  of  the  shield  which  he 
saw.  Looking  at  it  from  different  points  of 
view,  not  having  the  same  stand-point,  as  it  is 
called,  they  quarrelled  ;  and  the  quarrel  was  a 
mistake.  These  two  knights  saw  one  and  the 
same  shield  ;  but,  looking  on  it  from  opposite 
sides,  each  saw  a  different  face,  —  this  was  of 
silver,  that  of  gold. 

4837.  QUARRELS,  Provoking.  A  feud  long 
existed  between  the  towns  of  Great  Basle  and 
Little  Basle  in  Switzerland.  The  inhabitants 
of  Great  Basle  showed  their  contempt  tor  their 
neighbors  by  attaching  the  figure  of  a  black 
face  to  the  town-clock,  out  of  whose  mouth  pro¬ 
truded  a  long  red  tongue  every  time  the  bell 
Btruck,  making  faces  at  Little  Basle.  This 


relic  of  barbarism  now  makes  one  of  the  curi¬ 
osities  of  Basle ;  being  laid  aside  as  all  provo¬ 
cations  should  be. 

4838.  QUARRELS,  Unprofitable  I  never  love 

those  salamanders  that  are  never  well  but  when 
they  are  in  the  fire  of  contentions.  I  will 
rather  suffer  a  thousand  wrongs  than  offer  one. 
I  have  always  found  that  to  strive  with  a  supe¬ 
rior  is  injurious  ;  with  an  equal,  doubtful ;  with 
an  inferior,  sordid  and  base ;  with  any,  full  of 
unquietness.  Bp.  Hall. 

4839.  QUESTION,  The  Important.  John  Bacon, 
an  eminent  English  sculptor,  whose  works 
were  admired  by  thousands,  ordered  a  plain 
tablet,  with  the  following  inscription,  to  be 
placed  near  his  grave  :  “  What  I  was  as  an  art¬ 
ist  seemed  to  be  of  some  importance  while  1 
lived  ;  but  what  I  really  was  as  a  believer  in 
Christ  Jesus  is  the  only  thing  of  importance  to 
me  now.” 

4840.  QUIETNESS,  Advantage  of.  The  still 
and  quiet  soul  is  like  a  ship  that  lies  quiet  in 
the  harbor:  you  may  take  in  what  goods  you 
please  whilst  the  ship  lies  still.  So,  when  the 
soul  lies  quiet  under  the  hand  of  God,  it  is 
most  fitted  to  take  in  much  of  God,  of  Christ, 
of  heaven,  of  the  promises,  and  of  ordinances ; 
but,  when  souls  are  unquiet,  they  are  like  a 
ship  in  a  storm :  they  can  take  in  nothing. 

Brooks. 

4841.  QUIETNESS,  Brevities.  The  really  and 
substantially  happy  people  in  the  world  are 

always  calm  and  quiet.  —  Boyd. - Stillness 

of  spirit  is  like  the  canvas  for  the  Iloly  Spirit 
to  draw  his  various  graces  upon.  —  Dr.  Love.. 

- The  heart  that  is  to  be  filled  to  the  brim 

with  holy  joy  must  be  held  still.  —  Bowes. - 

The  child  of  God  should  live  above  the  world, 
moving  through  it,  as  some  quiet  star  moves 
through  the  blue  sky,  clear,  serene,  and  still.  — 
Hetty  Bowman. 

4842.  QUIETNESS,  Education  of  All  birds, 
when  they  are  first  caught  and  put  into  the  cage, 
fly  wildly  up  and  down,  and  beat  themselves 
against  their  little  prisons,  but,  within  two  or 
three  days,  sit  quietly  upon  their  perch,  and 
sing  their  usual  notes  with  their  usual  melody. 
So  it  fares  with  us  :  when  God  first  brings  us 
into  a  strait,  we  wildly  flutter  up  and  down, 
and  beat  and  tire  ourselves  with  striving  to 
get  free  ;  but  at  length  custom  and  experience 
will  make  our  narrow  confinement  spacious 
enough  for  us  ;  and  though  our  feet  should  be 
in  the  stocks,  yet  shall  we,  with  the  apostles, 
be  able  even  there  to  sing  praises  to  our  God. 

Hopkins. 

4843.  QUIETNESS,  Heavenly,  A  little  child’s 
idea  of  heaven  was  very  beautiful.  Her  moth¬ 
er  was  of  a  gentle,  meek,  retiring  spirit ;  but 
her  father  was  pompous,  proud,  and  officious, 
a  tyrant  in  his  own  domain.  The  mother 
died  ;  and  poor  Essie  was  left  to  the  care  of 
others,  and  to  her  father’s  rough  words,  un¬ 
shielded  by  a  mother’s  aid.  One  day,  Essie 
said  to  her  nurse,  “  In  heaven,  where  my  moth¬ 
er  lives,  every  one  is  kind.  No  one  ever  gets 
angry,  or  speaks  loud  there.  Everybody  loves 
everybody  :  mustn’t  that  be  beautiful  ?  Oh, 


542 


QUIETNESS. 


READING. 


how  much  I  should  love  to  be  there,  and  never 
be  afraid  any  more  !  ” 

1814.  QUIETNESS,  Necessity  of,  There  is  a 
restlessness  and  a  fretful  ness  in  these  days, 
which  stand  like  two  granite  walls  against  god¬ 
liness.  Contentment  is  almost  necessary  to  god¬ 
liness,  and  godliness  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
contentment.  A  very  restless  man  will  never 
be  a  very  godly,  and  a  very  godly  man  will 
never  be  a  very  restless  man.  “  Be  still,  and 
know  that  I  am  God.” 

4845.  QUIETNESS,  Secret  of.  A  sergeant 
noted  for  his  boisterousness  was  so  changed 
by  religion,  that  his  comrades  asked  him  what 
made  him  “  so  still.”  He  told  them  that  he 
had  found  something  that  would  keep  him 
quiet  all  the  rest  of  his  life. 

4846.  RACE,  Helps  in  the.  A  Scotch  preach¬ 
er,  reading  the  Hundred  and  Nineteenth 
Psalm,  “  I  will  run  the  way  of  Thy  command¬ 
ments  when  Thou  shalt  enlarge  my  heart,” 
added,  “  Well,  David,  what  is  your  first  reso¬ 
lution  ?  —  ‘I  will  run.’  Run  away,  David, 
what  hinders  you  ?  What  is  your  next  V  — 
‘  1  will  run  the  way  of  Thy  commandments.’ 
Better  run  yet,  David.  What  is  your  next? 
—  ‘  I  will  run  the  way  of  Thy  command¬ 
ments  when  Thou  shalt  enlarge  my  heart.’ 
No  thanks  to  you,  David  :  we  could  all  run  as 
well  as  you  with  such  help.” 

4844.  RACE,  Hinderances  in  the.  Atlanta  — 
according  to  fable  —  was  an  athletic  yet 
charming  maiden,  who  challenged  all  her  suit¬ 
ors  to  run  with  her  in  the  race.  She  offered 
herself  as  the  prize  to  the  conqueror,  but  at¬ 
tached  death  as  a  penalty  to  failure.  Many 
competed  with  her,  and  lost  their  lives.  At 
last,  Hippomenes,  the  judge,  overcome  by  her 
charms,  offered  himself  for  the  contest.  Un¬ 
seen,  he  took  three  golden  apples,  and  they 
sprang  forth  from  the  goal,  and  skimmed  along 
the  sand.  Hippomenes  felt  himself  failing,  and 
threw  down  one  of  the  golden  apples  to  detain 
the  virgin.  She,  amazed,  stopped  to  pick  it  up, 
while  he  shot  ahead.  She  soon  overtook  him, 
when  he  threw  another  apple,  which  she 
stopped  to  get.  Again  she  shot  by  him.  One 
apple  remained,  which  he  threw  to  one  side ; 
and  she,  self-confident  or  undecided,  turned 
aside  for  it ;  and  he  reached  the  goal,  and  won 
the  prize.  The  golden  apples  defeated  her,  as 
they  have  many  others,  in  the  race  of  life. 

4848.  RACE,  The  Olympian.  The  Olympian 
Games  were  consecrated  to  Jupiter,  and  were 
held  in  the  stadium,  an  immense  arena  of 
about  six  hundred  feet  in  length,  surrounded 
by  rising  tiers  of  benches  to  accommodate  ten 
thousand  spectators.  Upon  the  arena  were 
the  judges  of  the  course,  who  proclaimed  aloud 
the  names  of  the  competitors,  and  challenged 
any  one  to  speak  if  they  knew  any  thing  against 
the  freedom  and  virtue  of  those  who  were 
about  to  contend  for  the  prize.  These  com- 
etitors  had  been  long  in  training ;  they  had 
een  keeping  their  bodies  in  subjection,  and 
exercising  themselves,  in  order  that  they 
might,  if  possible,  succeed  on  this  eventful  day. 
There  is  every  stimulus  to  excite  their  energy.  | 


Upon  the  pillars  of  the  race-course  were  mot¬ 
toes  bearing  the  inscriptions,  “  Excel,”  “  Hast¬ 
en,”  “  Finish  the  course.”  There  were  tho 
judges  waiting  to  confer  the  prize  on  the  suc¬ 
cessful  competitors ;  there  was  the  sacred  tri¬ 
pod  with  the  coveted  prize  upon  it,  which  en¬ 
titled  the  wearer  of  it  to  a  triumphal  reception 
into  his  native  city  when  he  returned,  to  be 
commemorated  all  over  the  world,  as  he  sup¬ 
posed  ;  there  were  the  throngs  of  spectators 
all  around.  The  competitor  looked  upward. 
First  he  was  bewildered  by  the  great  cloud  of 
witnesses  whom  he  beheld,  and  then  he  be¬ 
gan  to  recognize  amongst  the  multitude,  — 
here,  princes  and  consuls  with  their  ambassa¬ 
dors  from  foreign  states,  vying  one  with  an¬ 
other  in  the  splendor  of  their  attire  and  the 
number  of  their  retinue  ;  there,  fellow-citizens, 
who  were  looking  as  interested  spectators  anx¬ 
ious  for  the  credit  of  their  town  ;  yonder,  lit¬ 
erary  men,  who  would  describe  his  deeds ;  and 
there,  warriors,  who,  with  the  eye  of  experience, 
were  looking  down  upon  the  events  of  that  day, 
—  Olympic  victors,  who  had  already  trod  that 
arena,  and  won  that  prize.  As  he  looked 
upward  and  around,  conscious  that  the  eye  of 
Greece  and  of  the  world  was  upon  him.  how,  at 
the  appointed  signal,  did  he  cast,  aside  every 
weight  and  every  encumbrance  !  He  loitered 
not,  he  looked  not  aroumk  his  eye  was  upon 
the  goal,  and  thither,  with  all  eagerness,  he 
urged  his  course. 

4849.  RACES,  Influence  of.  “Harper’s  Weekly" 
pictures  this  thus  :  A  carriage  is  returning 
from  the  races.  On  the  back  seat,  Youth  re¬ 
clines,  with  Craft  at  his  side,  picking  his  pock¬ 
et  ;  opposite,  on  the  front  seat,  sits  Youth 
again,  with  the  Wanton  at  his  side.  Mephis- 
topheles  mounts  the  box,  while  Death,  filling 
the  cup,  is  behind.  A  sign-board  in  the  back¬ 
ground  points  to  home.  It  reads,  {jgp’To 

HELL. 

4850.  READING,  Benefit  of.  Reading  serves 
for  delight,  for  ornament,  and  for  ability.  The 
crafty  contemn  it  ;  the  simple  admire  it;  the 
wise  use  it.  Reading  makes  a  full  man  ;  con¬ 
ference,  a  ready  man  ;  and  writing,  an  exact 
man.  He  that  writes  little  needs  a  great 
memory ;  he  that  confers  little,  a  present  wit ; 
and  he  that  reads  little,  much  cunning  to  seem 
to  know  that  which  he  does  not.  Lord  Bacon. 

4851.  READING,  Diligent.  Pliny  the  Elder 
employed  a  person  to  read  to  him  during  his 
meals  ;  and  he  never  travelled  without  a  book 
and  a  portable  writing-desk  by  his  side.  He 
made  extracts  from  every  work  he  read.  Pliny 
the  Younger  read  upon  all  occasions,  whether 
riding,  walking,  or  sitting,  —  whenever  a  mo¬ 
ment’s  leisure  afforded  him  an  opportunity. 

Zimmerman. 

4852.  READING,  Kinds  of.  The  first  class 
of  readers  may  be  compared  to  an  hour¬ 
glass  ;  their  reading  being  as  the  sand :  it 
runs  in  and  runs  out,  and  leaves  not  a  ves¬ 
tige  behind.  A  second  class  resembles  a 
sponge,  which  imbibes  every  thing,  and  returns 
it  in  nearly  the  same  state,  only  a  little  dirtier. 
A  third  class  is  like  a  jelly-bag,  which  allows 


EEADIN  Gr. 


EEASON. 


543 


all  that  is  pure  to  pass  away,  and  retains  only 
the  refuse  and  dregs.  The  fourth  class  may 
be  compared  to  the  slave  of  Golconda,  who, 
casting  aside  all  that  is  worthless,  preserves 
only  the  pure  gems.  Coleridge. 

4853.  READING,  Slow.  F.  W.  Robertson 
says  that  it  will  take  him  six  months  to  read  a 
small  octavo  on  chemistry.  Miss  Martineau 
often  read  only  a  page  in  an  hour.  Comte 
read  but  few  books,  but  thoroughly  digested 
what  he  did  read. 

4854.  READING,  Stimulus  of.  It  is  like  the 

harp  and  hand  of  the  Hebrew  minstrel  in  the 
analogous  case  of  the  Hebrew  prophet.  The 
external  operations  of  another’s  skill  influenced 
the  soul,  and  awoke  to  action  the  dormant  en¬ 
ergies,  of  the  gifted  seer.  The  sound  of  the 
instrument  aroused  and  animated  the  pro¬ 
phetic  impulse  :  it  drew  forth  from  the  soul  it 
touched  what  it  did  not  put  there,  but  what 
would  not  have  come,  nevertheless,  but  for  the 
external  stimulus  it  brought.  T.  Binny. 

4855.  READING,  Useful.  I  know  what 

reading  is ;  for  I  could  read  once,  and  did.  I 
read  hard,  or  not  at  all ;  never  skimming, 
never  turning  aside  to  merely  inviting  books  : 
and  Plato,  Aristotle,  Butler,  Thucydides, 
Sterne,  Jonathan  Edwards,  have  passed  like 
the  iron  atoms  of  the  blood  into  my  mental 
constitution.  F.  ]V.  Robertson. 

4856.  READING,  Useless.  Multifarious  read¬ 

ing  weakens  the  mind  more  than  doing  nothing ; 
for  it  becomes  a  necessity  at  last,  like  smoking, 
and  is  an  excuse  for  the  mind  to  lie  dormant 
whilst  thought  is  poured  in,  and  runs  through, 
a  clear  stream,  over  unproductive  gravel,  on 
which  not  even  mosses  grow.  It  is  the  idlest 
of  all  idleness,  and  leaves  more  of  impotency 
than  any  other.  F.  W.  Robertson. 

485?.  READY.  Always.  “  Ready  for  Either  ” 
is  the  significant  legend  that  underspans  the 
seal  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  which 
presents  an  ox  standing  with  a  plough  on  one 
side,  and  an  altar  on  the  other.  Ready  for  labor 
or  for  sacrifice  should  all  Christians  ever  be. 

4858.  REASON,  and  the  Bible.  A  carpenter 
sees  by  his  eye,  when  he  applies  the  square, 
whether  the  wood  be  straight  or  not ;  but  yet 
his  eye  (without  which  he  could  not  see)  is  not 
the  judge  to  try  whether  the  wood  be  straight 
or  not :  of  that,  the  square  alone  is  the  judge. 
So  reason  in  man,  without  which,  it  is  true,  he 
could  not  judge,  is  not  the  square  to  try  what 
is  right  or  wrong  in  order  to  salvation.  The 
word  of  God  alone  can  determine  that. 

Spencer. 

4859.  REASON,  Failure  of.  A  traveller,  going 
to  a  certain  village  to  see  a  friend,  met  an  old 
man,  and  asked  him  the  way.  The  old  man 
said,  “  Go  straighton,  sir,  and,  when  you  come 
to  the  end  of  this  path,  turn  to  the  left.”  The 
gentleman  went  on,  and,  coming  to  the  end, 
found  two  turnings,  and  thought,  “  Surely  the 
old  man  is  wrong:  this  must  be  the  way,  —  to 
the  right.”  So  reason  seemed;  but  faith  is 
the  simple  belief  of  competent  testimony  :  so 
lie  took  the  turn  to  the  left,  and  found  faith 
proved  itself  a  better  guide  than  reason. 


4860.  REASON,  Goddess  of.  She  was  a  per¬ 
sonification  of  the  intellectual  powers  of  man, 
deified  by  the  French  Revolutionists  in  1793, 
and  substituted  as  an  object  of  worship  for  the 
Deity  of  Christians.  It  was  decreed  that  the 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  should  be  converted 
into  a  temple  of  reason ;  and  a  festival  was  i 
instituted  for  the  first  day  of  each  decade,  to 
supersede  the  Catholic  ceremonies  of  Sunday. 
The  first  festival  of  the  sort  was  held  with 
great  pomp  on  the  10th  of  November.  A 
young  woman,  the  wife  of  Momoro,  a  well- 
known  printer,  represented  the  Goddess  of 
Reason.  She  was  dressed  in  white  drapery ; 
an  azure  mantle  hung  from  her  shoulders  ;  and 
her  flowing  hair  was  covered  with  the  cap  of 
liberty.  She  sat  upon  an  antique  seat,  in- 
twined  with  ivy,  and  borne  by  four  citizens. 
Young  girls  dressed  in  white,  and  crowned 
with  roses,  preceded  and  followed  her.  The 
services  of  the  occasion  consisted  of  speeches, 
processions,  and  patriotic  hymns. 

4861.  REASON,  Powerless.  A  child  tried  to 
put  together  the  parts  of  a  dissecting-map,  but, 
not  knowing  the  place  of  each,  failed.  He  then 
broke  them  up  to  make  them  fit ;  and  his  failure 
was  greater  than  ever.  The  child  is  human 
reason  attempting  to  put  together  the  plans 
of  God.  The  more  it  tries,  the  worse  its  con¬ 
fusion. 

4862.  REASON,  Region  of.  When  we  go  into 
the  region  of  reason  with  the  great  reasoner, 
the  father  of  lies,  we  meet  him  on  his  own  plat¬ 
form  :  no  wonder  he  overcomes  us.  But 
when  we  meet  him  in  the  simplicity  of  faith, 

“  I  believe  it  because  God  says  it,”  his  fiery 
darts  are  quenched  in  a  moment.  Evans. 

4863.  REASON,  Scope  of.  Faith  may  lay 
hold  of  truths  far  transcending  reason  or  ex¬ 
perience.  An  African  king  had  never  seen 
water  become  solid  so  that  men  could  walk  on 
it ;  but  he  did  right  to  believe  it  on  the  tes¬ 
timony  of  Englishmen.  Reason  can  climb 
high  mountains ;  but  faith  is  like  the  eagle, 
which  can  soar  upwards  from  their  summits. 
The  cashier  at  a  banker’s  counter  uses  his  ut¬ 
most  skill  in  deciding  whether  the  signature 
in  a  check  be  the  genuine  handwriting  of  a 
customer  of  the  bank  who  has  funds  there; 
but,  having  once  decided  the  point,  he  hesitates 
no  further,  and  pays  over  the  amount.  So 
reason  is  usefully  employed  in  answering  the 
question,  “  What  hath  God  spoken  V  ”  but, 
that  settled,  we  must  doubt  no  longer. 

Union  Magazine. 

4864.  REASON,  Triumph  over.  Several  learn¬ 

ed  men  tried  to  persuade  a  great  scholar  to 
believe  in  Christianity ;  but  all  their  labor 
was  in  vain.  A  plain  honest  person  referred 
not  so  much  to  logical  reasoning  as  to  the  work 
of  the  Divine  Spirit ;  and  the  scholar  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  When  I  heard  no  more  than  human 
reason,  I  opposed  it  with  human  reason ;  but, 
when  I  heard  the  Spirit,  I  was  obliged  to  sur¬ 
render.”  Thus  it  is,  that,  trusting  to  their  own 
wisdom,  the  wisest  are  lost ;  while  those  who 
are  taught  of  the  Spirit  know  the  way  of  God 
in  truth.  Buck. 


544 


REASON. 


RECORD. 


4865.  REASON,  Weakness  of.  Faith  having 
seated  itself  upon  the  high  tower  and  moun¬ 
tain  (God’s  onmipoteney  and  all-sufficiency), 
it  hath  a  great  prospect :  it  can  look  over 
all  the  world,  and  look  into  another  world  too. 
But  now  Reason, — it  gets  upon  some  little 
mole-hill  of  creature  ability,  and,  if  it  can  see 
over  two  or  three  hedges,  it  is  well.  And  there¬ 
fore,  oh,  what  a  pain  it  is  to  be  tied  to  Reason  ! 
I  suppose  you  will  all  say,  that,  if  a  man  were 
able  to  go  on  a  journey  of  two  or  three  hundred 
miles  afoot,  he  were  a  very  good  footman.  Yet, 
if  you  will  tie  him  to  carry  a  child  of  four  or 
five  years  old  with  him,  you  will  say  it  would 
be  a  great  luggage  to  him ;  and  the  man  would 
say,  “  Pray  let  this  child  be  left  at  home,  or 
though  he  may  run  along  in  my  hand  half  a 
mile,  or  go  a  mile  with  me,  yet,  notwithstand¬ 
ing,  I  must  carry  him  the  rest  of  the  way ;  and 
when  I  come  at  any  great  water,  or  have  to  go 
over  any  hill,  I  must  take  him  upon  my  back, 
and  that  will  be  a  great  burden  to  me.”  And 
thus  it  is  between  Faith  and  Reason.  Reason, 
at  the  best,  is  but  a  child  to  Failh.  Faith  can 
foot  over  mountains  and  difficulties,  and  wade 
through  afflictions,  though  they  be  very  wide ; 
but  when  Reason  comes  to  any  affliction,  to 
wade  through  that,  and  to  go  over  some  great 
difficulties,  —  then  it  cries  out,  and  says,  “O 
Faith,  good  Faith,  go  back  again  1  good 
Faith,  go  back  again  1  ”  —  “  No  1  ”  says  Faith ; 
but  I  will  take  thee  upon  my  back,  Reason.” 
And  so  Faith  is  fain  to  do  indeed, —  to  take 
Reason  upon  its  back.  But,  oh,  what  a  lug¬ 
gage  is  Reason  to  Faith!  Faith  never  works 
better  than  when  it  works  most  alone. 

W.  Bridge. 

4866.  RECIPROCITY,  Proverbs,  The  dog 
that  starts  the  hare  is  as  good  as  the  one  that 
catches  it.  He  who  holds  the  ladder  is  as  bad 

as  the  burglar.  —  German. - He  sins  as 

much  who  holds  the  sack  as  he  who  puts 

into  it.  —  French. - Lie  for  him,  and  he’ll 

swear  for  you.  —  English. -  One  hand 

washes  the  other.  —  Greek. - A  sinus  asi- 

num  fricat.  —  Latin. 

4867.  RECKLESSNESS,  Proverbs.  In  for  a 
penny,  in  for  a  pound.  He  that  takes  the 
Devil  into  his  boat  must  ferry  him  over  the 

sound.  —  English. - It  is  the  first  shower 

that  wets.  —  Italian. - It  is  all  the  same 

whether  a  man  has  both  legs  in  the  stocks,  or 

one.  —  German. - There  is  nothing  like 

being  bespattered  for  making  one  defy  the 
slough.  —  French. 

4868.  RECOGNITION,  Future.  The  wife  of 
the  Welsh  minister,  John  Evans,  asked  her 
husband,  “  Do  you  think  we  shall  be  known  to 
each  other  in  heaven  V  ”  He  replied,  “  To  be 
sure  we  shall :  do  you  think  we  shall  be  greater 
fools  there  than  we  are  here  ?  ” 

4869.  RECOGNITION,  Hope  of.  I  must  con¬ 
fess,  as  the  experience  of  my  own  soul,  that 
the  expectation  of  loving  my  friends  in  heaven 

f  rinoipally  kindles  my  love  to  them  on  earth, 
f  I  thought  I  should  never  know  them,  and, 
consequently,  never  love  them,  after  this  life  is 
ended,  I  should  in  reason  number  them  with 


temporal  things,  and  love  them  as  such ;  but 
I  now  delightfully  converse  with  my  pious 
friends,  in  a  firm  persuasion  that  I  shall  con¬ 
verse  with  them  forever ;  and  I  take  comfort 
in  those  of  them  who  are  dead  or  absent,  as 
believing  I  shall  shortly  meet  them  in  heaven, 
and  love  them  with  a  love  which  shall  then 
be  perfected.  Baxter. 

4870.  RECOGNITION,  Instinctive.  A  little 
girl  of  ethereal  spirit,  who  lost  her  mother  be¬ 
fore  she  could  remember,  would  say  to  her 
devoted  friends,  “  Now  tell  me  about  my 
mamma.”  She  listened  with  delight  to  the  oft- 
told  story.  Then  her  request  would  be  to  be 
taken  where  she  could  see  her  mother’s  por¬ 
trait,  upon  which  she  would  gaze  for  hours. 
As  she  was  dying,  her  attentive  friend  whis¬ 
pered,  “  Do  you  know  me,  darling  ?  ”  but 
awoke  no  response.  Just  at  the  last,  while 
gazing  upward,  she  cried,  with  transport  in  her 
tone,  “  Mother  1  ”  and  passed  to  her  mother’s 
embrace. 

4871.  RECONCILIATION,  through  Christ.  The- 
mistocles  having  offended  King  Philip,  and 
not  knowing  how  to  regain  his  favor,  took 
young  Alexander,  his  son,  in  his  arms,  and  so 
presented  himself  before  the  king ;  and,  when 
he  saw  the  young  child  smile  upon  him,  his 
wrath  was  soon  appeased  towards  him.  The 
sinner  should  approach  God  with  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ  in  his  arms. 

4872.  RECONCILIATION,  Comfort  of.  A  boy 
who  had  offended  his  father  came  to  him,  say¬ 
ing,  “  Papa,  I  cannot  learn  my  lesson  unless 
you  are  reconciled.  I  am  sorry  I  have  of¬ 
fended  you,  and  hope  I  shall  never  do  so  again. 
I  hope  you  will  forgive  me.”  This  confession 
won  from  the  father  the  kiss  of  reconciliation. 
“  Now,”  exclaimed  the  boy,  “  I  will  learn  Latin 
and  Greek  with  anybody.” 

4873.  RECONCILIATION,  Defined,  To  the 
question,  “  What  is  reconciliation  ?  ”  asked  at  a 
school-examination,  a  scholar  replied,  “  Second 
friendship.” 

4874.  RECONCILIATION,  Need  of.  Certainly 

a  soul,  sensible  what  the  loss  of  communion 
with  God  is,  counts  it  hath  not  all  its  errand 
done  when  it  hath  naked  peace  given  it. 
Should  God  say,  “  Soul,  I  am  friends  with  thee, 
I  have  ordered  thou  shalt  never  go  to  hell, 
here  is  a  discharge  under  my  hand  that  thou 
shalt  never  be  arrested  for  any  debt  more ;  but 
as  for  any  fellowship  with  me,  or  fruition  of  me, 
thou  canst  expect  none ;  I  have  done  with 
thee,  forever  being  acquainted  more  with  thee,” 
— certainly  the  soul  would  take  little  joy  in 
her  peace.  Were  the  fire  out  as  to  positive 
torments,  yet  a  hell  would  be  left  in  the  dismal 
darkness  which  the  soul  would  sit  under  foi 
want  of  God’s  presence.  A  naughty  heart 
seeks  reconciliation  without  any  longing  after 
fellowship  with  God.  Like  the  traitor,  if  the 
king  will  but  pardon  and  save  him  from  the 
gallows,  he  is  ready  to  promise  him  never  to 
trouble  him  at  court :  ’tis  his  own  life,  not  the 
king’s  favor,  he  desires.  GurnalL 

4875.  RECORD,  Universal.  Nature  will  be 
reported.  All  things  are  engaged  in  writ- 


RECOVERY. 


REDEMPTION. 


545 


ing  their  own  history.  The  plant  and  the 
pebble  go  attended  by  their  own  shadows. 
The  rock  leaves  its  scratches  on  the  mountain¬ 
side  ;  the  river,  its  bed  in  the  soil ;  the  animal 
leaves  its  bones  in  the  stratum ;  the  fern  and 
,he  leaf,  their  modest  epitaph  in  the  coal.  The 
falling  drop  makes  its  sepulchre  in  the  sand  or 
stone.  Not  a  footstep  in  the  snow,  or  along  the 
ground,  but  prints,  in  characters  more  or  less 
lasting,  a  map  of  its  march.  Every  act  of  man 
inscribes  itself  on  the  memory  of  its  fellows, 
and  in  his  own  face.  The  air  is  full  of  sound, 
the  sky  of  tokens ;  the  ground  is  all  memo¬ 
randa  ;  and  every  object  is  covered  over  with 
hints  which  speak  to  the  intelligent. 

4876.  RECOVERY,  Method  of.  A  man  starts 
to  make  his  course  through  the  woods  to  a 
mountain  which  he  sees  in  the  distance ;  and 
he  takes  a  line  in  that  direction.  As  he  goes 
on,  partly  from  carelessness,  and  partly  from 
a  want  of  knowledge  as  to  the  latitude,  he  de¬ 
flects  from  the  right  path,  and  wanders  round 
and  round,  not  knowing  where  he  is;  and,  by 
and  by,  he  comes  to  an  opening  and  an  eleva¬ 
tion,  where  he  gets  another  sight  of  the  moun¬ 
tain;  and  he  says  to  himself,  “  Well,  I  am  all 
wrong.  When  I  started,  that  mountain  bore 
away  so,  and  I  am  away  off  here ;  and  there  is 
no  way  for  me  now  but  to  go  right  back,  and 
take  another  line.”  Why  may  he  not  as  well 
take  a  line  where  he  is,  and  go  directly  to  the 
mountain  from  there?  Would  it  not  be  as 
easy,  and  probably  a  little  easier?  Beecher. 

4877.  RECREATION,  Benefit  of.  Lute-strings 
sound  all  the  sweeter  for  being  sometimes  let 
down ;  and  fields  sowed  every  year  become 
barren.  So  it  is  with  both  body  and  mind. 

4878.  RECREATION,  Need  of.  A  primitive 
Christian,  playing  with  birds,  vindicated  his 
conduct  by  comparison  with  the  bow,  which,  if 
constantly  bent,  becomes  useless.  “  Recrea¬ 
tion  is  a  second  creation.” 

4879.  REDEMPTION,  Cost  of.  Yonder  ermine, 

flung  so  carelessly  over  the  proud  beauty’s 
shoulder,  cost  terrible  battles  with  polar  ice 
and  hurricane.  All  choicest  things  are  reck¬ 
oned  the  dearest.  So  is  it,  too,  in  heaven’s 
inventories.  The  universe  of  God  has  never 
witnessed  aught  to  be  reckoned  in  comparison 
with  the  redemption  of  a  guilty  world.  That 
mighty  ransom  no  such  contemptible  things  as 
silver  and  gold  could  procure.  Only  by  one 
price  could  the  Church  of  God  be  redeemed 
from  hell,  and  that  the  precious  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  —  the  Lamb  without  blemish  or  spot, — 
the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  T.  L.  Cuyler. 

4880.  REDEMPTION,  Emblem  of.  About  the 
tenth  century,  the  cross  became  the  only  sym¬ 
bol  of  the  Christian  faith,  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  fish,  a  previous  emblem.  From  the  death 
of  Christ,  it  had  been  the  symbol  of  redemp¬ 
tion. 

4881.  REDEMPTION,  Experienced.  A  wicked 
rich  man,  who  felt  himself  independent  both  of 
God  and  man,  was  driven  into  a  church  where 
he  heard  the  text,  “  Ye  are  not  your  own  ;  for 
ve  are  bought  with  a  price,”  and  a  plain  ser¬ 

36 


mon  on  redemption.  That  he  was  not  his  own 
was  a  new  thought,  which  entered  his  soul,  and 
led  him  soon  to  seek  and  serve  his  Redeemer 

4882.  REDEMPTION,  Explained.  It  was  not 
a  mere  rescue,  as  a  slave  liberated  by  the  com¬ 
passion  of  his  master ;  nor  as  of  a  debtor  set 
free  at  his  earnest  entreaties  by  his  ereditoi 
and  lord,  as  in  the  parable  of  the  ten  thousand 
talents  ;  nor  was  it  accomplished  by  the  exer¬ 
tion  of  force  only,  as  Abraham  delivered  Lot, 
and  David  his  followers  from  the  Amalekites 
at  Ziklag.  But  this  deliverance  from  Satan’s 
dominion  is  a  redemption ,  something  purchased 
back,  a  rescue  by  a  ransom  price  paid  down. 
It  implies  a  valuable  consideration,  as  it  were, 
first  given ;  a  full  discharge  of  all  that  was  due 
to  the  law,  righteousness,  and  truth  of  God,  b) 
a  substitute  or  surety,  “  a  daysman  coming  be¬ 
tween  ”  the  offended  Majesty  of  heaven  and1 
us,  and  making  a  perfect  satisfaction  to  Divine 
Justice  on  our  behalf.  “  Christ”  hath  in  this- 
manner,  and  no  other,  “redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us.” 

Bp.  D.  Wilson .. 

4883.  REDEMPTION,  Gratitude  for.  A  gen¬ 
tleman,  visiting  a  slave-mart,  was  deeply  moved1 
by  the  agony  of  a  slave-girl,  who  had  been  del¬ 
icately  reared,  and  feared  that  she  should  fall 
into  the  hands  of  a  rough  master.  The  gen-* 
tleman  inquired  her  price,  paiddt  to  the  slave- 
trader,  then  placed  the  bill  of  sale  in  her  own. 
hands,  telling  her  that  she  was  free,  and  could 
now  go  home.  The  slave-girl  could  not  real¬ 
ize  the  change  at  first,  but,  running  after  her 
redeemer,  cried,  “  He  has  redeemed.me  I  he  has 
redeemed  me  1  Will  you  let  me  be  your  ser¬ 
vant?”  IIow  much  more  should  we  serve 
Him  who  has  redeemed  us  from  sin,  death, 
and  hell  ? 

4884.  REDEMPTION,  Illustration  of.  Some 
children  had  a  beautiful  white  pet  lamb,  which 
was  stolen  from. them,  and  sold  to  the  butcher. 
The  children  discovered  the  lamb  first  as  it  was 
being  led  to  the  slaughter.  They  tried  to  get 
possession  of  it,  but  the  butcher  would  not  give 
it  to  them.  A  gentleman,  seeing  the  grief  of 
the  children,  said,  “  Give  them  the  lamb  :  I’ll 
pay  for  him.”  The  price  was  paid,  the  lamb 
was  saved.  This  is  redemption.  The  lamb 
was  helpless  :  the  children,  could  not  redeem 
it,  but  a  generous  man.  did.  This  is  what 
Christ  has  done  for  us. 

4883.  REDEMPTION,  Plan  of.  Suppose  a 
large  graveyard,  surrounded  by  a  high  wall, 
with  only  one  entrance  by  a  large  iron  gate, 
which  is  fast  bolted.  Within  these  walls  are 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  human 
beings,  of  all  ages  and  of  all  classes,  by  one 
epidemic  disease  bending  to  the  grave.  The 
grave  yawns  to  swallow  them,  and  they  must 
all  die.  There  is  no  balm  to  relieve  them,  no 
physician  there :  they  must  perish.  This  is 
the  condition  of  man  as  a  sinner :  all,  all,  have 
sinned,  and  the  soul  that  sinneth  shall  die. 
While  man  was  in  this  deplorable  state,  Mercy, 
an  attribute  of  Deity,  came  down  and  stood 
at  the  gate,  looked  at  the  scene,  and  wept  over 
it,  exclaiming,  “  Oh  that  I  might  enter  1  I 


546 


REDEMPTION". 


REFORM. 


would  bind  up  their  wounds ;  I  would  relieve 
tlieir  sorrows ;  I  would  save  their  souls.” 
While  Mercy  stood  weeping  at  the  gate,  an 
embassy  of  angels,  commissioned  from  the 
court  of  heaven  to  some  other  world,  passing 
over,  paused  at  the  sight ;  and  Heaven  forgave 
that  pause.  Seeing  Mercy  standing  there, 
they  cried,  “  Mercy,  Mercy,  can  you  not  enter  ? 
can  you  look  upon  this  scene,  and  not  pity  ? 
can  you  pity,  and  not  relieve  ?  ”  Mercy  re¬ 
plied,  “  I  can  see ;  ”  and  in  her  tears  she  added, 

“  I  pity,  but  cannot  relieve.”  —  “  Why  can 
you  not  enter  ?  ”  —  “  Oh  I  ”  said  Mercy,  “  Jus¬ 
tice  has  barred  the  gate  against  me,  and  I 
cannot,  must  not,  unbar  it.”  At  this  moment, 
Justice  himself  appeared,  as  it  were  to  watch 
the  gate.  The  angels  inquired  of  him,  “  Why 
will  you  not  let  Mercy  in  ?  ”  Justice  replied, 

“  My  law  is  broken,  and  it  must  be  honored : 
die  they  or  Justice  must.”  At  this,  there  ap¬ 
peared  a  form  among  the  angelic  band,  like 
unto  the  Sou  of  God,  who,  addressing  himself 
to  Justice,  said,  “What  are  thy  demands?” 
Justice  replied,  “My  terms  are  stern  and 
rigid.  I  must  have  sickness  for  their  health  ; 

I  must  have  ignominy  for  their  honor ;  I  must 
have  death  for  life ;  without  the  shedding  of 
blood,  there  is  no  remission.” — “Justice,” 
said  the  Son  of  God,  “  I  accept  thy  terms. 
On  me  be  this  wrong,  and  let  Mercy  enter.” 
—  “When,”  said  Justice,  “will  you  perform 
this  promise.”  Jesus  replied,  “  Four  thousand 
years  hence,  upon  the  hill  of  Calvary,  without 
the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  I  will  perform  it  in  my 
own  person.”  The  deed  was  prepared  and 
signed  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God. 
Justice  was  satisfied ;  and  Mercy  entered, 
preaching  salvation  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
The  deed  was  committed  to  the  patriarchs ; 
by  them  to  the  kings  of  Israel  and  the  proph¬ 
ets  ;  by  them  it  was  preserved  till  Daniel’s 
seventy  weeks  were  accomplished  ;  and,  at  the 
appointed  time,  Justice  appeared  on  the  hill 
of  Calvary,  and  Mercy  presented  to  him  the 
important  deed.  “Where”  said  Justice,  “is 
the  Son  of  God  ?  ”  Mercy  answered,  “  Behold 
him  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  bearing  his  own 
cross;”  and  then, he  departed,  and  stood  aloof 
at  the  hour  of  trial.  Jesus  ascended  the  hill, 
while  in  his  train  followed  his  weeping  Church. 
Justice  immediately  presented  him  with  the 
important  deed,  saying,  “  This  is  the  day  when 
this  bond  is  to  be  executed.”  When  he  re¬ 
ceived  it,  did  he  tear  it  in  pieces,  and  give  it 
to  the  winds  of  heaven?  No :  he  nailed  it  to 
his  cross,  exclaiming  “It  is  finished  1”  Justice 
called  on  holy  fire  to  come  down,  and  consume 
the  sacrifice.  Holy  fire  descended  :  it  swal¬ 
lowed  his  humanity ;  but,  when  -it  touched 
his  divinity,  it  expired,  and  there  was  darkness 
over  the  whole  heavens ;  but,  glory  to  God  in 
the  highest  1  on  earth  peace,  and  good-will  to 
men.  Christmas  Evans. 

4880.  REDEMPTION,  Slighted.  If  a  thief 
has  committed  many  thefts  and  murders,  and, 
after  his  wicked  deeds  become  known,  the  son 
of  a  king  should  be  arraigned  and  condemned 
for  the  same,  and  so  bear  the  punishment 


thereof,  and  this  thief  be  discharged  and  par¬ 
doned  ;  if  the  thief  should  rejoice  and  scoff 
when  he  seeth  the  son  of  a  king  suffer  die  pun¬ 
ishment  that  he  deserved,  — such  a  caitiff  de- 
serveth  a  most  horrible  death  :  even  so  it  was 
with  us.  Behold  our  Saviour  Christ,  the  only 
Son  of  God,  was  imprisoned,  and  wc  delivered ; 
he  condemned,  and  we  pardoued ;  he  put  to 
death,  and  to  all  shame,  and  we  received  to 
honor.  Cawdray. 

4887.  REDEMPTION,  Theatre  of.  Man  and 

all  things  were  made  in  concert,  to  form  part 
of  the  same  great  system,  of  which  man’s  life 
was  to  be  the  key-note,  and  man  himself  was 
to  be  the  head.  And  the  whole  system,  the 
whole  structure  of  man  and  of  the  world,  is 
moulded  to  be  the  theatre  of  the  redemption 
of  the  sinner.  Not  in  Eden,  but  there  on 
Calvary,  and  in  heaven,  which  -is  the  child 
of  Calvary,  we  see  realized  the  whole  idea  of 
God.  J.  B.  Brown . 

4888.  REDEMPTION,  Yearning  for.  The 

elect  yearned,  and  knew  what  they  yearned 
for;  the  nations  yearned,  and  knew  not  for 
what.  But  still  they  yearned ;  for  as  the 
earth  in  its  long  polar  night  seeks  to  supply 
the  absence  of  the  day  by  the  generation  of 
the  Northern  Lights ;  so  does  each  people  in 
the  long  night  of  its  heathen  darkness  bring 
forth,  in  its  yearning  after  the  life  of  Christ, 
a  faint  and  glimmering  substitute  for  the  same. 
From  these  dreamy  longings  after  the  break 
of  day  have  proceeded  oracles,  priests,  sacri¬ 
fices,  lawgivers,  and  the  like.  Men  have 
nowhere  given  up  hoping,  nor  acquiesced  in 
the  world’s  evil  as  the  world’s  law.  Every¬ 
where  they  have  had  a  tradition  of  a  time 
when  they  were  nearer  to  God  than  now,  a 
confident  hope  of  a  time  when  they  should  be 
brought  nearer  again.  Abp.  Trench. 

4889.  REFINEMENT,  Basis  of.  Refinement 
is  one  of  the  outworkings  of  faith  in  the  spirit¬ 
ual.  It  is  the  lifting  of  one’s  self  upwards 
from  the  merely  sensual,  the  effort  of  the  soul 
to  etherealize  the  common  wants  and  uses 
of  life.  A  really  refined  man  who  ignores 
Christianity  is  a  creature  to  beget  wonder. 

Beecher. 

4890.  REFINEMENT,  Unnatural.  There  are 
some  men  who  are  so  outrageously  cultivated, 
that  they  are  miserable  the  moment  they  are 
away  from  all  which  is  exquisite.  It  is  a  pity 
that  such  men  were  born  into  a  rough  world 
like  this,  where  God  forgot  to  finish  up  rocks, 
and  to  make  tree-trunks  smooth,  and  to  slope 
the  mountains  down  gently  to  the  plains.  That 
is  true  cultivation  which  gives  us  sympathy 
with  every  form  of  human  life,  and  enables  us 
to  work  most  successfully  for  its  advancement. 
Refinement  that  carries  us  away  from  our  fel¬ 
low-men  is  not  God’s  refinement.  Beecher. 

4891.  REFLECTION,  Wise.  A  wise  man  re¬ 
flects  before  he  speaks  ;  a  fool  speaks,  and  tiled 
reflects  on  what  he  has  uttered. 

From  the  French. 

4892.  REFORM,  Godless,  Coleridge  one  day, 
i  when  some  one  was  enlarging  on  the  tendency 
I  of  some  good  scheme  to  regenerate  the  world, 


reform;. 


REGENERATION.  547 


threw  a  little  thistle-down  into  the  air,  which 
he  happened  to  see  by  the  road-side,  and  said, 
“  The  tendency  of  this  thistle-down  is  towards 
China  1  but  I  know,  with  assured  certainty,  it 
will  never  get  there ;  nay,  it  is  more  than 
probable,  that  after  sundry  eddyings  and  gyra¬ 
tions  up  and  down,  backwards  and  forwards,  it 
will  be  found  somewhere  near  the  place  where 
it  grew.  Such  is  the  history  of  the  grand 
schemes  of  ameliorating  mankind  apart  from 
divine  power !  ” 

4893.  REFORM,  Method  of.  A  man  has  learned 
to  read  of  a  very  poor  master.  He  makes  up 
his  mind  that  he  will  take  lessons  of  a  rhetorical 
teacher.  lie  takes  his  books,  and  reads,  and, 
as  he  reads,  drawls  his  words,  and  runs  them 
together,  and  makes  bad  work  of  it  generally; 
and  the  teacher  says,  “  Stop  !  stop !  stop  !  What 
sort  of  reading  is  that?  That  will  never  do  in 
the  world.  You  arc  no  reader  at  all.”  And  the 
man  says,  “  Then  I  suppose  I  must  go  back, 
and  read  my  A  B  C’s  again.”  He  has  already 
learned  them  :  he  simply  reads  poorly,  without 
proper  emphasis,  without  any  appreciation  of 
the  sense,  and  without  indicating  the  pauses ; 
and  what  has  he  to  do  but  to  start  where  he 
is,  and  do  the  riirht  and  best  thing  ?  Beecher. 

4894.  REFORM,  Partial.  Some  men,  when 

they  attempt  to  reform  their  lives,  reform  those 
things  for  which  they  do  not  much  care.  They 
take  the  torch  of  God’s  word,  and  enter  some 
indifferent  chamber,  and  the  light  blazes  in, 
and  they  see  that  they  are  very  sinful  there ; 
and  then  they  look  into  another  room,  where 
they  do  not  often  stay,  and  are  willing  to  admit 
that  they  are  very  sinful  there  ;  but  they  leave 
unexplored  some  cupboards  and  secret  apart¬ 
ments  where  their  life  really  is,  and  where 
they  have  stored  up  the  things  which  are 
dearest  to  them,  and  which  they  will  neither 
part  from  nor  suffer  rebuke  for.  Beecher. 

4895.  REFORM,  Personal.  Human  nature  is 
like  a  bad  clock  :  it  may  point  to  the  right 
time  now  and  then,  or  be  made  to  strike 
the  hours,  but  its  inward  frame  is  all  wrong. 
Striving  against  nature  by  our  own  efforts  is 
like  holding  a  weathercock  by  the  hand  :  as 
soon  as  the  force  is  removed,  it  will  veer  with 
the  wind. 

4896.  REFORM,  Progress  of.  If  there  were  a  I 
hundred  violins  together,  all  playing  below 
concert  pitch,  and  I  should  take  a  real  Cre¬ 
mona,  and  with  the  hand  of  a  Paganini  should 
bring  it  strongly  up  to  the  true  key,  and  then 
should  sweep  my  bow  across  it  like  a  storm, 
anil  make  it  sound  forth  clear  and  resonant, 
what  a  demoniac  jargon  would  the  rest  of  the 

laying  seem  !  Yet  the  other  musicians  would 

e  enraged  at  me.  They  would  think  all  the 
discord  was  mine,  and  I  should  be  to  them  a 
demoniac.  So  it  is  with  reformers.  The  world 
thinks  the  discord  is  with  them,  and  not  in  its 
own  false  playing.  Beecher. 

4897.  REFUGE,  Accessible.  A  party  of  travel¬ 
lers  in  the  desert  were  overtaken  by  the  fierce 
simoom.  Like  blinding  snow,  driven  by  the 
winds  of  March,  came  the  hot  sands.  Before 
the  simoom  had  reached  its  height,  they  came 


suddenly  upon  a  rude  building  of  stone,  well 
protected  with  roof  and  doors,  which,  the  hand 
of  charity  had  erected  there  in  the  desert  for 
a  shelter.  With  joy  they  rushed  into  it,  closed 
the  doors,  and  were  safe.  So  when  the  storm 
of  indignation  sweeps  the  earth ;  when  the 
blasts  of  the  Almighty  hide  the  sun,  and  rock 
the  solid  globe  ;  when,  at  mid-day,  there  is 
darkness  that  may  be  felt  ;  when  man  and 
beast  groan  with  terror,  and  the  pilots  of  the 
desert  lose  their  reckoning  and  resign  them¬ 
selves  to  fate,  —  then  is  heard  a  voice  above 
the  tempest,  “  Come,  my  people,  enter  thou 
into  thy  chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about 
thee;  hide  thyself  for  a  little  moment,  till  the 
indignation  be  overpast :  for,  behold  1  the  Lord 
cometh  out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity.” 

4898.  REFUGE,  Cities  of.  In  Samoa,  the 
manslayer,  or  the  deliberate  murderer,  flies  to 
the  house  of  the  chief  of  the  village,  or  to  the 
house  of  the  chief  of  another  village  to  which 
he  is  related  by  the  father’s  or  the  mother’s 
side.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  he  is  perfectly 
safe  if  he  only  remains  there.  In  such  in¬ 
stances,  the  chief  delights  in  the  opportunity 
of  showing  his  importance.  In  Samoa,  a  chief’s 
house  is  literally  his  fortification,  except  in 
times  of  open  rebellion  and  actual  war. 

T  urner. 

4899.  REGENERATION,  Definition  o£  It  is  that 
mighty  change  in  man  wrought  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  by  which  the  dominion  which  sin  has 
over  him  in  his  natural  state,  and  which  he 
deplores  and  struggles  against  in  his  present 
state,  is  broken  and  abolished ;  so  that,  with 
full  choice  of  will  and  the  energy  of  right 
affection,  he  serves  God  freely,  and  runs  in 
the  way  of  his  commandments.  R.  Watson. 

4909.  REGENERATION,  Effect  of.  A  miner 
who  had  lived  in  a  deep  mine  in  Hungary, 
never  having  seen  the  light  of  the  sun,  may 
have  received  accounts  of  prospects,  and.  by 
the  help  of  a  candle,  may  have  examined  a  few 
engravings  of  them ;  but  let  him  be  brought 
out  of  the  mine,  and  set  on  the  mountain,  what 
a  difference  appears  !  Newton. 

4901.  REGENERATION,  Emblems  of.  Regen¬ 
eration  is  compared  to  the  retiming  of  an  in- 
i  strument.  clothing  the  body  with  new  garments, 
grafting  a  tree,  casting  metal  figures.  Bowes. 

199*2.  REGENERATION,  Miracle  of.  Inspect¬ 
ing  some  young  grafts  on  the  stock  of  a  fruit- 
tree.  which  were  shown  him  by  a  friend,  and 
which  had  grown  with  extraordinary  vigor, 
and  reached  in  a  short  time  to  a  great  height, 
Gotthold  observed,  “  This  also  is  one  of  the 
miracles  of  nature,  which  we  have  daily  before 
our  eyes,  but  seldom  contemplate  or  improve 
to  our  edification.  A  wild  stock  has  all  its 
branches  pruned  away,  and  is  hewn  down  to  a 
span’s  length.  It  is  then  split,  has  foreign 
shoots  inserted  into  it,  and  is  afterwards  bound  ; 
and  not  only  does  it  adopt  the  strange  shoots, 
and  nourish  them  with  its  sap  and  vigor,  but 
even  permits  them  to  gain  the  mastery  so  far 
as  to  make  it  forget  its  wildness,  and  bea I 
beautiful  and  delicious  truit.” 


54S  R.EG-ElSrERA.TION'. 


RELIEF. 


4903.  REGENERATION,  Nature  of.  The  wild 
olive  may  be  rendered  fruitful,  but  it  will  al¬ 
ways  bear  corrupt  fruit.  If  you  take  a  branch 
of  the  wild  olive,  and  ingraft  it  upon  a  good 
olive-tree,  i'  becomes  like  a  new  creation. 
That  which  was  useless,  or  worse,  imbibes  the 
virtuous  qualities  of  the  good  olive,  and  pro¬ 
duces  its  fruit.  So  in  regeneration.  The  sinner 
may  be  very  fruitful,  but  it  will  always  be  in 
iniquity.  He  may  lop  off  some  extraneous 
oranches,  but  can  never  bring  forth  the  fruits 
of  grace  till  lie  is  ingrafted  into  Christ,  and 
becomes  a  tree  of  the  Lord’s  planting. 

4904.  REGENERATION,  Necessity  of.  None 
go  to  heaven  but  they  that  are  made  meet  for 
it.  As  it  was  with  Solomon’s  temple,  so  it  is 
with  the  temple  above.  It  was  “  built  of  stone, 
made  ready  before  it  was  brought  thither,” 
namely  of  “  living  stones,  wrought  for  the  self¬ 
same  thing ;  ”  for  they  cannot  be  laid  in  that 
glorious  building  just  as  they  came  out  of  the 
quarry  of  depraved  nature.  Jewels  of  gold 
are  not  meet  for  service,  and  far  less  jewels  of 
glory  for  unrenewed  sinners.  Beggars  in  their 
rags  are  not  meet  for  kings’  houses,  nor  sinners 
to  “  enter  into  the  king’s  palace,”  without  the 
“  raiment  of  needle-work.”  What  wise  man 
would  bring  fish  out  of  water  to  feed  on  his 
meadows  ?  or  send  his  oxen  to  feed  in  the 
sea  ?  Even  as  little  are  the  unregenerated 
meet  for  heaven,  or  is  heaven  meet  for  them. 

Boston. 

4905.  REGENERATION,  Purification  in.  The 
early  Christians  have  told  us,  that  in  the  first 
ages  of  the  gospel,  when  an  adult  came  to  be 
baptized,  he  put  off  his  old  clothes  before  he 
went  into  the  water,  and  put  on  new  and  clean 
raiment  when  he  came  out  of  it ;  to  signify 
that  he  had  put  off  his  old  and  corrupt  nature, 
and  his  former  bad  principles  anil  corrupt 
practices,  and  become  a  new  man.  Salter. 

4906.  REGENERATION,  Real.  Regeneration 
is  a  thorough,  real,  change.  The  Lord  God 
makes  the  creature  a  new  creature,  as  the 
goldsmith  melts  down  the  vessel  of  dishonor, 
and  makes  it  a  vessel  of  honor.  Man  is,  in  re¬ 
spect  of  his  spiritual  state,  altogether  disjointed 
by  the  fall ;  every  faculty  of  the  soul  is,  as  it 
were,  dislocated :  in  regeneration,  the  Lord 
looseth  every  joint,  and  sets  it  right  again.  It 
is  a  change  into  the  likeness  of  God.  Every 
thing  that  generates,  generates  its  like.  The 
child  bears  the  image  of  the  parent ;  and  they 
that  are  born  of  God,  bear  God’s  image.  It  is 
a  universal  change :  all  things  become  new. 
It  is  a  blest  leaven,  that  leavens  the  whole 
lump,  the  whole  spirit,  and  soul  and  body.  .  .  , 
One  gets  not  only  a  new  head  to  know  reli¬ 
gion,  or  a  new  tongue  to  talk  of  it,  but  a  new 
heart  to  love  and  embrace  it.  When  the  Lord 
opens  the  sluice  of  grace  on  the  soul’s  new 
birthday,  the  waters  run  through  the  whole 
man,  to  purify  and  make  him  fruitful.  Boston. 

4907.  REGENERATION,  and  Reformation.  Mere 

reformation  differs  as  much  from  regeneration, 
as  whitewashing  an  old  rotten  house  differs 
from  taking  it  down  and  building  a  new  one 
in  its  room.  Toplady. 


4908.  REGENERATION,  Result  of.  The  infant 
born  into  the  world  is  the  man  in  miniature. 
All  the  parts  of  the  body,  and  all  the  faculties 
of  the  mind,  are  there  in  embryo.  So  the  re¬ 
generated  sinner  is  the  saint  in  embryo.  The 
new  principles  are  there,  the  new  affections 
are  there,  the  saint  is  there,  but  in  infancy. 

Wan Haw 

4909.  REJOICING,  Christian.  Rejoice  with 
a  rejoicing  universe.  Rejoice  with  the  morn¬ 
ing  stars,  and  let  your  adoring  spirit  march 
to  the  music  of  hymning  spheres.  Rejoice 
with  the  jocund  spring  in  its  gush  of  hope 
and  its  dancing  glory,  with  its  swinging 
insect-clouds  and  its  suffusion  of  multitudi¬ 
nous  song ;  and  rejoice  with  golden  autumn, 
as  he  rustles  his  grateful  sheaves,  and  clasps 
his  purple  hands,  as  he  breathes  his  story 
of  fruition,  his  anthem  of  promises  fulfilled ; 
as  he  breathes  it  softly  in  the  morning  still¬ 
ness  of  ripened  fields,  or  flings  it  in  iEolian 
sweeps  from  lavish  orchards  and  from  branch¬ 
es  tossing  bounty  into  mellow  winds.  Re¬ 
joice  with  infancy,  as  it  guesses  its  wonder¬ 
ing  way  into  more  and  more  existence,  and 
laughs  and  carols  as  the  field  of  pleasant 
life  enlarges  on  it,  and  new  secrets  of  delight 
(low  in  through  fresh  and  open  senses.  Rejoice 
with  the  second  youth  of  the  heaven-born  soul, 
as  the  revelations  of  a  second  birth  pour  in 
upon  it,  and  the  glories  of  a  new  world  amaze 
it.  Rejoice  with  the  joyful  believer  when  he 
sings,  “  O  Lord  1  I  will  praise  thee :  though 
thou  wast  angry  with  me,  thine  anger  is 
turned  away ;  thou  comfortedst  me.  Behold, 
God  is  my  salvation.”  Rejoice  with  him 
whose  incredulous  ecstasy  has  alighted  on 
the  great  gospel-secret ;  whose  eye  is  beam¬ 
ing  as  none  can  beam  save  that  which  for 
the  first  time  beholds  the  Lamb ;  whose  awe¬ 
struck  countenance  and  uplifted  hands  are 
evidently  exclaiming,  “  This  is  my  beloved, 
and  this  is  my  friend.”  Rejoice  with  saints 
and  angels,  as  they  rejoice  in  a  sight  like  this. 
Rejoice  with  Immanuel,  whose  soul  now  sees 
of  its  travail.  Rejoice  with  the  ever-blessed 
Three,  and  with  a  heaven  whose  work  is  joy. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

49BO.  REJOICING,  Daily.  The  calendar  of 
the  sinner  has  only  a  few  days  in  the  year 
marked  as  festival  days  ;  but  every  day  of  the 
Christian’s  calendar  is  marked  by  the  hand  of 
God  as  a  day  of  rejoicing. 

49 1 1.  RELIEF,,  Promised.  During  the  long 
and  terrible  siege  of  Lucknow,  the  garrison  re¬ 
solved  never  to. surrender;  and  the  women  and 
children  under  their  protection  determined 
never  to  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  the  bloody 
Sepoys.  They  sent  a  messenger  through  the 
enemies’  lines  to  Sir  Henry  Havelock,  who 
was  approaching  for  their  deliverance.  lie  re¬ 
turned  the  reply',  “  Hold  out :  I  am  coming, 
and  will  be  with  you  soon.”  With  a  small 
force  he  had  to  fight  his  way,  and  even  to  await 
re-enforcements ;  but  the  devoted  Havelock 
kept  his  promise.  At  length  the  sound  of  his 
guns  was  heard,  and  he  was  soon  hailed  as  the 
deliverer.  Besieged  soul,  your  resistless  Lord 


RELIGIOlSr. 


RELIGION. 


549 


sends  you  a  similar  answer.  Hold  out :  he  is 
coming  to  your  relief. 

4912.  RELIGION,  Advantage  of.  Mahmoud, 
the  conqueror  of  India,  found  at  Somnat  a 
great  idol,  and  cried  to  his  followers,  “  God  is 
one  :  destroy  this  false  idol !  ”  The  Brahmins 
fell  before  him,  pleading,  “  Spare  our  god  Som¬ 
nat,  and  we  will  give  thee  gold,  pearls,  and 
jewels  of  rarest  lustre.”  The  ruthless  con¬ 
queror  clove  the  idol  with  a  blow  of  his  battle- 
axe,  when  out  rolled  pearls,  jewels,  and  gold, 
a  hundred-fold  more  than  the  promised  ran¬ 
som.  Such  reward  does  religion  give  to  those 
who  renounce  the  specious  bribes  of  the  world 
for  the  cross  of  Christ. 

4913.  RELIGION,  Advised.  A  company  of 
infidels,  seeing  one  of  their  number  greatly 
troubled  at  the  approach  of  death,  advised  him 
to  embrace  Christianity,  saying,  “  If  it  be  false, 
it  can  do  you  no  harm  ;  but,  if  it  should  be  true, 
you  will  be  a  great  gainer.” 

4914.  RELIGION,  Artificial.  When  Arch¬ 
deacon  Hare  first  visited  Rome,  some  of  his 
Protestant  friends,  it  is  said,  who  knew  his  love 
of  art  and  the  personal  sympathy  which  he 
had  with  the  Eternal  City,  trembled  for  the 
effect  it  might  produce  upon  his  mind.  These 
fears  were  groundless.  Rome  was  all,  and  more 
than  all,  he  had  imagined.  But  the  splendid 
vision  left  him  a  stronger  Protestant  than  it 
found  him.  “  I  saw  the  Pope,”  he  used  to  say, 
“  apparently  kneeling  in  prayer  for  mankind  ; 
but  the  legs  that  kneeled  were  artificial :  he 
was  in  his  chair.  That  sight  was  enough  to 
counteract  all  the  aesthetical  impressions  of  the 
worship,  if  they  had  been  a  hundred  times 
stronger  than  they  were.”  Thus  it  is  with  all 
mere  ritualism  and  other  formalism,  —  the  legs 
which  kneel  arc  artificial. 

49A5.  RELIGION,  Ashamed  of.  What  would 
the  queen  think  of  her  soldiers,  if  they  should 
swear  they  were  loyal  and  true,  and  were  to 
say,  “  Your  Majesty,  we  prefer  not  to  wear 
these  regimentals :  let  us  wear  the  dress  of 
civilians!  We  arc  right  honest  men  and  up¬ 
right,  but  do  not  care  to  stand  in  your  ranks, 
acknowledged  as  your  soldiers :  we  had  rather 
slink  into  the  enemy’s  camp,  and  into  your 
camps  too,  and  not  wear  any  thing  that  would 
mark  us  as  being  your  soldiers.”  All  1  some 
of  you  do  the  same  with  Christ.  You  are  going 
to  be  secret  Christians,  are  you,  and  slink  into 
the  Devil’s  camp,  and  into  Christ’s  camp,  but 
acknowledged  by  none?  Spurgeon. 

4916.  RELIGION,  Beginning  of.  The  way  to 
begin  a  Christian  life  is  not  to  study  theology. 
Piety  before  theology.  Right  living  will  pro¬ 
duce  right  thinking.  Yet  many  men,  when 
their  consciences  are  aroused,  run  for  cate¬ 
chisms  and  commentaries  and  systems.  They 
do  not  mean  to  be  shallow  Christians.  They 
intend  to  be  thorough,  if  they  enter  upon  the 
Christian  life  at  all.  Now,  theologies  are  well 
in  their  place ;  but  repentance  and  love  must 
come  before  all  other  experiences.  Beecher. 

4917.  RELIGION,  Blessings  of.  And  in  mani-  I 
fold  ways  does  religion  bless  the  poor  man  in 
his  pilgrimage.  Faith  is  a  rod  with  which  he 


cleaves  Red  Seas  of  difficulty ;  and  God’s  word 
is  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and  of  fire  by  night, 
amidst  the  rocks  of  a  sandy  wilderness.  And 
sabbaths  are  wells  of  water ;  and  ordinances 
are  beautiful  and  shady  palm-trees ;  and  prayer 
brings  down  manna  every  morning ;  and  the 
sight  of  the  cross  heals  the  bite  of  fiery  ser¬ 
pents  ;  and  hope  is  a  spy  going  beforehand,  to 
bring  back  the  clusters  of  Esheol.  And  then, 
at  last,  God’s  presence  is  as  the  ark,  in  the 
midst  of  the  river;  and  the  pilgrim  passes  dry- 
shod  into  “  the  land  that  floweth  with  milk  and 
honey.”  J.  Stoughton. 

4918.  RELIGION,  Brevities.  Measure  not 
men  by  Sundays,  without  regarding  what  they 

do  all  the  week  after.  —  Fuller. - A  man 

without  religion  is  like  a  horse  without  a  bridle. 
—  From  the  Latin. 

4919.  RELIGION,  Ceremonies  o£  When  corn 

runs  into  straw  and  chaff,  those  that  feed  on  it 
may  well  be  thin  and  lean ;  but,  when  it  runs 
into  ears  and  kernel,  thou  mayest  expect  such 
as  eat  of  it  to  be  flit  and  well-favored.  When 
religion  runs  into  formalities  and  ceremonies, 
her  followers  can  never  be  thriving  spiritually. 
They  may  starve,  for  all  the  gaudy  flowers 
wherewith  several  dishes  on  her  table  are 
decked  and  set  forth.  G.  Swinnock. 

4920.  RELIGION,  A  Child’s.  A  little  boy  in 
this  city  attended  a  prayer-meeting,  was  con¬ 
victed  of  sin,  went  home,  and  began  to  pray 
aloud  in  his  room.  His  father,  a  wicked  man, 
heard  him,  and  told  him  he  must  stop  that  or 
leave  his  home.  The  boy  thought  it  over,  and 
decided,  that,  as  much  as  he  loved  father  and 
mother,  he  loved  Jesus  better.  He  gathered 
and  tied  up  a  few  things  in  his  handkerchief, 
and  then  went  to  say  good  by.  His  mother, 
surprised,  asked  where  he  was  going.  He  re¬ 
plied,  “  I  dpn’t  know  :  father  says  I  can’t  stay 
here  if  I  pray,  and  I  can’t  stop  praying.” 
The  father  said  if  this  was  his  religion  he 
wanted  it  too.  The  boy  prayed  with  both 
parents,  and  soon  all  three  were  serving  God 
together. 

4921.  RELIGION,  Conscience  in.  When  a  man 

performs  that  which  his  judgment  calls  upon 
him  to  do,  he  finds  great  serenity  of  mind,  and 
is  like  the  upper  region,  wherein  turbulent 
meteors  make  no  confusion  ;  so  that  you  must 
never  judge  of  the  truth  of  any  way  in  religion 
by  the  comfort  and  peace  of  conscience  you 
find  therein;  for  all  Turks,  Jews,  papists,  and 
heretics  have  much  quietness  of  conscience  in 
discharging  that  traditional  religion  they  are 
brought  up  in,  and  would  be  much  troubled  in 
conscience  to  deny  or  apostatize  from  their 
way,  until  their  consciences  be  rectified  out  of 
God’s  word.  Burgess. 

4922.  RELIGION,  Consolation  of.  Dr.  Gros- 
venor,  on  the  death  of  his  wife,  said,  “  I  have 
met  with  an  irreparable  loss ;  but  the  cross  of 
a  dying  Jesus  is  my  support.  I  flv  from  one 
death  for  refuge  to  another.”  tliny  the 
Younger,  in  like  distress,  says  that  study  was 
his  only  relief. 

4923.  RELIGION,  Constrained.  The  religion 
of  some  people  is  constrained :  they  are  like 


550 


RELIGION. 


EELIGIOUT, 


people  who  use  the  cold  bath,  not  for  pleas¬ 
ure,  but  necessity  and  their  health  ;  they  go  in 
with  reluctance,  and  are  glad  when  they  get 
out.  But  religion  to  a  true  believer  is  like 
water  to  a  fish  :  it  is  his  element,  he  lives  in  it, 
and  he  could  not  live  out  of  it.  J.  Newton. 

4924.  RELIGION,  Difficulties,  Men  do  not 

refuse  to  cross  the  ocean  because  of  storms ;  or 
to  travel  by  rail  because  of  accidents ;  or  to 
enter  into  business  because  of  losses;  or  to 
fight  in  the  battle-field  because  of  cannon, 
sword,  deaths ;  or  to  study  science  and  phil¬ 
osophy,  because  of  mysteries  ;  nor  should  men 
object  to  the  study  and  practice  of  religion, 
because  of  the  various  difficulties  which  may 
stand  connected  with  it.  Bate. 

4925.  RELIGION,  Double  Mind  in.  It  has  been 
said  that  men  carry  on  a  kind  of  coasting-trade 
with  religion.  In  the  voyage  of  life  they  profess 
to  be  in  search  of  heaven,  but  take  care  not  to 
venture  so  far  into  their  approximations  to  it  as 
entirely  to  lose  sight  of  the  earth ;  and,  should 
their  frail  vessel  be  in  danger  of  shipwreck, 
they  will  gladly  throw  their  darling  vices  over¬ 
board,  as  other  mariners  their  treasures,  only 
to  fish  them  up  again  when  the  storm  is  over. 

Colton. 

4926.  RELIGION,  Enjoyment  of.  Religion  is 
not  like  the  prophet’s  roll,  sweet  as  honey  when 
it  was  in  his  mouth,  but  as  bitter  as  gall  in  ids 
belly.  Religion  is  no  sullen  Stoicism,  no 
sour  Pharisaism  :  it  does  not  consist  in  a  few 
melancholy  passions,  in  some  dejected  looks  or 
depressions  of  mind ;  but  it  consists  in  freedom, 
love,  peace,  life,  and  power ;  the  more  it  comes 
to  be  digested  into  our  lives,  the  more  sweet 
and  lovely  we  shall  find  it  to  be.  Those  spots 
and  wrinkles  which  corrupt  minds  think  they 
see  in  the  face  of  religion  are,  indeed,  no¬ 
where  else  but  in  their  own  deformed  and 
misshapen  apprehensions.  It  is  no  wonder, 
when  a  defiled  fancy  comes  to  be  the  glass,  if 
you  have  an  unlovely  reflection.  John  Smith. 

4927.  RELIGION,  Ennobling.  All  who  have 

been  great  and  good  without  Christianity 
would  have  been  greater  and  better  with  it. 
If  there  be,  among  the  sons  of  men,  a  single 
exception  to  this  maxim,  the  divine  Socrates 
may  be  allowed  to  put  in  the  strongest  claim. 
It  was  his  high  ambition  to  deserve,  by  deeds 
and  not  by  creeds,  an  unrevealed  heaven,  and 
by  works,  not  by  faith,  to  enter  an  unpromised 
land.  Colton. 

4928.  RELIGION,  Extent  of.  When  a  man 

is  told  that  the  whole  of  religion  is  summed 
up  in  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  man,  he 
is  ready  to  cry  out  like  Charoba,  in  Gebir,  at 
the  first  sight  of  the  sea,  “  Is  this  the  mighty 
ocean  ?  Is  this  all  ?  ”  Yes,  all !  but  how 
small  a  part  of  it  do  your  eyes  survey  !  Only 
trust  yourself  to  it;  launch  out  upon  it;  sail 
abroad  over  it;  you  will  find  it  has  no  end  ;  it 
will  carry  you  round  the  world.  Hare. 

4929.  RELIGION,  False  and  True.  You  have 
Pilate  washing  his  hands  in  hypocrisy,  as  well 
as  you  have  David  washing  his  hands  in  in- 
nocency.  You  have  the  Sadducees  with  their 
doctrine,  as  well  as  the  apostles  with  their 


doctrine.  You  have  the  Pharisee  with  his 
prayer,  as  well  as  the  publican  with  h.s  prayer, 
You  have  the  exorcists  with  their  Jesus, 
as  well  as  Paul  with  his  Jesus.  You  have 
Satan  with  his  Scripture,  as  well  as  Christ 
with  his  Scripture.  You  have  Cain  with  his 
sacrifice,  as  well  as  Abel  with  his  sacrifice. 
You  have  Ahithophel  with  his  wisdom,  as 
well  as  Solomon  with  his  wisdom.  You 
have  Jezebel  with  her  fasts,  as  well  as  Anna 
with  her  fasts.  You  have  the  harlot  with 
her  vows,  as  well  as  Jacob  with  his  vow.  You 
have  the  devils  with  their  faith,  as  well  as 
Christians  with  their  faith.  Henry  Smith. 

4939.  RELIGION,  Formal.  Dcedalus',  by  art, 
made  images  to  move  of  themselves,  insomuch 
that  people  thought  they  were  living.  Formal¬ 
ists  do  so  counterfeit  and  play  devotion,  that 
others  think  they  are  living  saints :  they  are 
religious  mountebanks.  J.  Watson. 

4931.  RELIGION,  Freeness  of.  Religion  is 

like  the  coin  of  a  realm,  intended  for  all 
classes  of  the  people,  and  circulates  among 
all  classes.  It  is  like  the  air,  the  common 
source  and  sustainer  of  life  to  all  men.  It  is 
like  the  sun,  giving  light  to  all  who  walk  with 
open  eyes  in  its  rays.  Bate. 

4932.  RELIGION,  Healthfnlness  of.  Col.  A. 
J.  Edgerton,  while  commanding  a  brigade  iu 
Louisiana,  in  which  sickness  and  death  were 
extremely  prevalent,  was  requested  to  prohibit 
religious  meetings,  as  “  religion  tended  to  de¬ 
press  the  spirits  of  the  men,”  and  to  injure 
their  health.  He  caused  a  careful  examina¬ 
tion  to  be  made,  and  learned,  that,  while  two- 
fifths  of  the  whole  regiment  had  died,  only 
one-eighth  of  the  Christians  in  it  had  died. 

4933.  RELIGION,  Indeoision  in.  A  member 
of  the  Methodist  Church  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  of  a  certain  State  where  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  clerk  to  ascertain  the  religious 
persuasion  of  its  members.  As  the  clerk  came 
on  his  known  errand,  all  readily  gave  their  per¬ 
suasion  but  this  professor.  He  hesitated.  The 
clerk  said,  “  Shall  I  put  you  down  ‘  Independ¬ 
ent  ’  ?  ”  He  assented.  After  the  clerk  had 
passed,  he  called  him  back ;  and,  to  quiet  his 
conscience,  said,  “  I  favor  the  Methodists.” 
There  was  a  prayer-meeting  kept  up  by  the 
members  of  the  legislature  that  season ;  but  he 
was  not  there.  When  he  returned  home,  there 
were  meetings  accessible;  but  he  was  not  found 
in  them.  The  last  report  of  him  is,  he  no 
longer  favors  any  religion. 

4934.  RELIGION,  Influence  of.  Just  as  the 

sun  gleams  over  the  palace,  and  into  the  cot¬ 
tage,  flushing  alike  with  its  splendor  the  coun¬ 
cil-chamber  of  the  monarch  and  the  kitchen 
of  the  peasant ;  as  the  all-pervasive  light  tills 
the  vast  dome  of  the  sky,  and  the  tiny  cup  of 
the  flower:  so  religion  illumines  at  once  the 
heaven  of  our  hopes,  and  the  earth  of  our 
cares.  Secularities  become  hallowed ;  toil 
brightens  with  the  smile  of  God ;  business  be¬ 
comes  crystalline  ;  light  from  God  comes 
through  it  to  us ;  glances  from  us  go  through 
it  to  God.  S.  Coley. 

4935.  RELIGION,  Living  for.  Men  will  wr an- 


REEICGIOlSr. 


RELIGION. 


551 


gle  for  religion,  write  for  it,  fight  for  it,  lie 
for  it ;  any  thing  but —  lice  for  it.  C.  Colton. 

4936.  "  RELIGION,  Necessity  of.  There  are 
times  when  the  atheist’s  faith  fails  him,  and  the 
great  implanted  instinct  of  Nature  comes  out. 
So  it  was  with  Bion  the  atheist  philosopher, 
who,  on  his  death-bed,  offered  prayers  and 
vows  to  God  for  his  recovery.  In  weakness 
and  want,  the  creature  cries  after  the  Creator, 
as  the  child  for  its  mother. 

4937.  RELIGION,  Neutrality  in.  Pliny  tells 
of  a  mongrel  eagle,  that  has  one  foot  like  a 
goose  for  the  water  ;  and  another  natural,  by 
which  it  seeks  its  prey  in  the  air.  It  would 
seem  to  have  the  advantage  of  air  and  water; 
but  it  loses  both.  The  common  crow  seizes 
upon  it,  and  makes  it  an  easy  prey,  —  fit  em¬ 
blem  of  those  who  seek  to  serve  both  God  and 
Satan. 

4938.  RELIGION,  Ordeal  of.  “  Now,  when 
the  Empress  Helena,  the  mother  of  Constan¬ 
tine,  heard  of  his  conversion  to  Christianity, 
she  reproached  him,  and  told  him  it  would 
have  been  better  for  him  to  have  lbllowed  the 
God  of  the  Jews  than  the  God  of  the  Chris¬ 
tians  (for  Helena  at  this  time  inclined  to 
Judaism).  And  Constantine  wrote  to  her,  that 
she  should  bring  with  her  the  wisest  of  the 
Jewish  rabbis,  and  that  they  should  hold  an 
argument  with  Sylvester.  So  she  repaired  to 
Rome,  bringing  with  her  one  hundred  and 
forty  of  the  doctors  most  learned  in  the  law  ; 
and  the  emperor  appointed  a  day  on  which  to 
listen  to  them.  He  named  as  arbitrators  two 
famous  Greek  philosophers,  Crato  and  Zeno ; 
and  it  was  wisely  decreed  beforehand,  that 
only  one  should  speak  at  a  time,  and  all  the 
others  should  keep  silence  till  he  had  finished. 
And  Sylvester,  being  inspired  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  clearly  convicted  these  men  out  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  put  them  to  silence.  Thun 
the  most  learned  among  the  doctors,  who  was 
also  a  magician,  defied  Sylvester  to  a  trial  of 
the  power  of  his  God,  and  said  to  him  with 
scorn,  ‘  Dost  thou  know  the  name  of  the  Om¬ 
nipotent,  —  that  name  which  no  creature  can 
hear  and  live?  I  know  it.  Let  them  bring  me 
a  wild  bull,  the  fiercest  that  can  be  found;  and, 
when  I  have  uttered  that  name  in  his  ear,  he 
will  fall  dead.’  Then  they  brought  in  a  fierce 
bull,  which  it  required  a  hundred  men  to  re¬ 
strain.  And  when  Zambri  the  magician  had 
whispered  that  terrible  name  in  his  ear,  he 
rolled  his  eyes,  and  tell  dead  to  the  ground. 
Then  the  Jews  cried  out  aloud,  and  threw 
themselves  with  fury  upon  Sylvester.  The  two 
philosophers  were  struck  dumb;  and  even  Con¬ 
stantine  was  staggered.  But  Sylvester  said 
calmly,  1  The  name  which  he  has  pronounced 
cannot  be  that  of  God,  but  of  Satan  ;  for 
Christ,  who  is  our  Redeemer,  does  not  strike 
dead  the  living,  but  restores  life  to  the  dead. 
The  power  to  kill  belongs  equally  to  men  and  to 
wild  beasts :  lions,  tigers,  serpents,  can  destroy 
life.  Let  Zambri  restore  with  a  word  the 
creature  he  has  slain ;  as  it  is  written,  “  I  will 
kill,  I  will  make  alive.’’  ’  Therefore  the  judges 
desired  Zambri  to  restore  the  bull  to  life ;  but 


he  could  not  do  it.  Then  Sylvester  made  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  and  commanded  the  bull  to 
rise  and  go  in  peace.  And  the  bull  rose  up 
as  tame  and  as  gentle  as  if  he  had  been  in  the 
yoke  from  the  hour  of  his  birth.  Then  the 
Jews  and  the  doctors,  and  all  others  present, 
being  confounded  by  this  miracle,  believed  and 
were  baptized.” 

4939.  RELIGION,  Occasional.  Too  many  of 

us  are  like  the  little  girl,  who,  at  the  close  of 
her  evening-prayer  one  day,  said,  “  Now, 
good-by,  God;  good-by,  Jesus  Christ:  I’m 
going  to  Boston  to-morrow.”  C.  D.  Foss. 

4940.  RELIGION,  Power  o£  A  young  slave 
was  converted  in  the  West  Indies,  whose  mas¬ 
ter  Hogged  him,  and  finally  resolved  to  whip 
him  to  death  if  he  did  not  renounce  his  re¬ 
ligion.  While  the  lash  was  being  cruelly  ap¬ 
plied,  his  master  tauntingly  asked,  “  What  does 
your  Jesus  do  for  you  now  ?  ”  The  slave  re¬ 
plied,  “  He  helps  me  to  bear  dese  strokes, 
massa,  with  patience.  In  the  very  agony  of 
death,  the  question  was  repeated.  The  slave- 
boy  answered  feebly,  “Even  dis,  massa, — dat 
me  can  pray  for  you,  and  forgive  you.” 

4941.  RELIGION,  Proxy.  A  certain  man 
who  would  never  go  to  church,  when  lie  heard 
the  bell,  would  say  to  his  wife,  “  Go  thou  to 
church,  and  pray  for  thee  and  me.”  One  night, 
he  dreamed  that  both  he  and  his  wife  were 
dead,  and  they  knocked  together  at  heaven’s 
gate  for  entrance.  St.  Peter  (by  the  legend) 
is  the  porter,  and  suffered  the  wife  to  enter  in, 
but  kept  the  husband  out,  answering  him,  “  She 
is  gone  in  both  for  herself  and  thee.  As  thy 
wife  went  to  church  for  thee,  so  she  must  go  to 
heaven  for  thee.” 

4942.  RELIGION,  Rejecting.  There  arc  men 
who  imagine  they  should  do  well  enough  if  they 
could  throw  the  Bible  overboard,  and  the  min¬ 
isters  after  it,  and  sink  the  whole  church  in  the 
sea.  It  is  as  if  a  man  with  a  shattered  limb 
should  think  to  better  himself  by  thrusting  the 
doctors  and  their  instruments  out  of  doors. 
They  did  not  break  his  leg,  but  only  propose 
to  set  it.  Under  the  hand  of  the  poorest  of 
them,  the  limb  will  be  better  than  if  the  shat¬ 
tered  bone  were  left  to  heal  unsplintered. 

Beecher. 

4943.  RELIGION,  Self-Commending.  As  there 
would  need  nothing  else  to  deter  and  affright 
men  from  sin  but  its  own  ugliness  and  deform¬ 
ity,  were  it  presented  to  a  naked  view,  and 
seen  as  it  is ;  so  nothing  would  more  effectu¬ 
ally  commend  religion  to  the  minds  of  men 
than  the  displaying  and  unfolding  the  excel¬ 
lences  of  its  nature,  than  the  true  native 
beauty  and  inward  lustre  of  religion  itself. 
Neither  the  evening  nor  the  morning  star 
could  so  sensibly  commend  itself  to  our  bodily 
eyes,  and  delight  them  with  its  shining  beau¬ 
ties,  as  true  religion  (which  is  an  undefiled 
beam  of  the  uncreated  light)  would  to  a  mind 
capable  of  conversing  with  it.  John  Smith. 

4944.  RELIGION,  Self-Denial  in.  Religion, 
in  one  sense,  is  a  life  of  self-denial;  just  as 
husbandry,  in  one  sense,  is  a  work  of  death. 
You  go  aud  bury  a  seed,  and  that  is  husband- 


552 


RELIGION-. 


RELIGION-. 


ry ;  but  you  bury  one  that  you  may  reap  a 
hundred-fold.  Self-denial  does  not  belong  to 
religion  as  characteristic  of  it :  it  belongs  to 
human  life.  The  lower  nature  must  always  be 
denied  when  you  are  trying  to  rise  to  a  higher 
sphere.  It  is  no  more  necessary  to  be  self- 
denying  to  be  a  Christian  than  it  is  to  be  an 
artist,  or  to  be  an  honest  man,  or  to  be  a  man 
at  all,  in  distinction  from  a  brute.  Beecher. 

4945.  RELIGION,  Sinister  Motives  in.  Of 
how  many  may  it  be  said,  as  Tacitus  of  Gal- 
ba,  no  man  fitter  to  be  an  emperor,  if  he  had 
not  been  an  emperor  !  How  many  have  been 
good  commonwealth’s  men,  gallant  patriots, 
till  they  came  to  be  statesmen  !  As  if  men 
minded  goodness  only  to  make  them  great, 
and  then  bid  it  farewell,  as  he  that  always 
had  a  fishing-net  spread  on  his  table  till  he 
got  a  bishopric,  and  then  caused  it  to  be  laid 
aside,  saying  he  had  what  he  fished  for. 

Venning. 

4946.  RELIGION,  Spirit  of.  It  must  be  un¬ 

derstood  that  “  being  religious  ”  is  not  a  work 
apart  by  itself,  but  a  spirit  of  faith  and  right¬ 
eousness  flowing  out  from  the  centre  of  a  regen¬ 
erated  heart  into  all  the  enjoyments  and  inter¬ 
course  of  the  world.  Not  merely  the  preacher 
in  the  pulpit,  and  the  saint  on  his  knees,  may 
do  the  work  of  religion  ;  but  the  mechanic,  who 
smites  with  the  hammer  and  drives  the  wheel ; 
the  artist  seeking  to  realize  his  pure  ideal  of 
the  beautiful ;  the  mother  in  the  gentle  offices 
of  home;  the  statesman  in  the  forlorn  hope  of 
liberty  and  justice ;  and  the  philosopher,  whose 
thought  treads  reverently  among  the  splendid 
mysteries  of  the  universe.  Dr.  Chapin. 

4947.  RELIGION,  Standard  of.  All  religion 
must  lie  Scripture  religion;  all  worship,  Scrip¬ 
ture  worship  ;  all  zeal,  Scripture  zeal :  so  that, 
let  a  man  have  never  such  sublime  knowledge, 
and  such  burning  zeal,  yet,  if  it  be  not  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  law  and  the  testimony,  there  is  no 
light  in  him.  To  say,  “  It’s  upon  my  con¬ 
science  ;  it’s  upon  my  spirit ;  I  find  much  com¬ 
fort  and  much  sweetness  in  religion,”  —  all  this 
is  nothing;  for  all  false  religions  can  and  do 
say  this.  But  hast  thou  the  Word  of  God  to 
warrant  thee?  Doth  that  justify  thee?  All 
things  else  are  but  an  empty  shadow. 

Bur  gets. 

4948.  RELIGION,  Strength  of.  Skill  and 
science  have  wrought  wonders.  The  world 
6tands  amazed  at  their  achievements.  They 
have  tamed  fierce  beasts  of  prey,  and  brought 
even  the  elements  of  Nature  into  subjection. 
They  have  spanned  the  ocean,  annihilated  dis¬ 
tance,  joined  remote  continents,  given  life  to 
steam,  a  tongue  to  the  wire,  and  a  voice  to  the 
lightning.  But  there  are  passions  in  the  hu¬ 
man  heart  more  fierce  than  beasts  of  prey ; 
and  disturbing  forces  more  tumultuous  than 
Nature’s  stormy  winds  and  tempests,  and  more 
difficult  of  control  than  the  subtle  but  omnipo¬ 
tent  element  of  electricity.  No  mere  human 
ekill  can  master  these.  Christian  science,  the 
science  taught  in  the  school  of  Christ,  alone 
can  enable  you  to  obtain  the  mastery  here. 

R.  Roberts. 


4949.  RELIGION,  Sunday.  A  week  filled 
up  with  selfishness,  and  the  sabbath  stuffed 
full  of  religious  exercises,  will  make  a  good 
Pharisee,  but  a  poor  Christian.  There  are 
many  persons  who  think  Sunday  is  a  sponge 
with  which  to  wipe  out  the  sins  of  the  week. 
Now,  God’s  altar  stands  from  Sunday  to  Sun¬ 
day  ;  and  the  seventh  day  is  no  more  for  reli¬ 
gion  than  any  other.  It  is  for  rest.  The  whole 
seven  are  for  religion ;  and  one  of  them  for  rest. 

Beecher. 

4950.  RELIGION,  Tasting.  The  Gauls,  when 

they  had  tasted  the  sweet  wine  of  Italy,  asked 
where  the  grapes  grew,  and  would  never  be 
quiet  till  they  came  there.  They  who  taste  the 
sweet  wine  of  true  religion,  its  consolations, 
&c.,  will  never  rest  until  they  come  into  its 
full  enjoyment.  Venning. 

4951.  RELIGION,  Temporal  Advantage  of.  A 

poor  man  who  had  been  a  follower  of  Jesus 
about  twelve  months  thus  spoke  of  the  advan¬ 
tage  he  had  derived  from  religion  since  he  had 
embraced  it :  “  This  year,  I  have  had  a  good 

crop  on  my  little  piece  of  land ;  I  have  got  a 
fat  pig  in  my  sty,  and  some  money  in  my 
pocket :  last  year  this  time,  I  had  nothing : 
the  whole  went  to  the  public-house.  I  know 
religion  is  a  good  thing  for  body  as  well  as 
soul.” 

4952.  RELIGION,  Test  of.  A  painter  has 
undertaken  to  portray  on  his  canvas  flames  of 
fire.  He  does  it  so  exactly,  that  you  can 
hardly  detect  it  from  real  flames.  But  look  1 
you  see  flies  and  other  insects  passing  across 
it :  they  could  never  pass  across  real  flames. 
Just  so,  spiritual  insects,  in  the  shape  of  sins, 
will  pass  across  the  mere  professor,  which 
they  could  never  do  across  one  who  had  the 
power  of  real  religion  in  his  heart :  the  for¬ 
mer  has  but  the  “  form  ”  of  flames  “  of  godli¬ 
ness,”  the  influential  power  is  wanting. 

Rev.  Dr.  Jenkyn. 

4953.  RELIGION,  Treasure  in.  In  the  “  green¬ 
room  ”  at  Dresden,  where  for  centuries  the 
Saxon  princes  have  gathered  their  gems  and 
treasures,  until  they  have  become  worth  mil¬ 
lions  of  dollars,  may  be  seen  a  silver  egg,  a 
present  to  one  of  the  Saxon  queens,  which, 
when  you  touch  a  spring,  opens,  and  reveals 
a  golden  yolk.  Within  this  is  hid  a  chicken, 
whose  wing,  "being  pressed,  also  flies  open,  dis¬ 
closing  a  splendid  gold  crown  studded  with 
jewels.  Another  secret  spring  being  touched, 
hidden  in  the  centre  is  found  a  magnificent 
diamond-ring.  The  treasures  of  religion  are 
not  discovered  at  the  first  view  ;  but,  when  laid 
open,  are  found  to  be  greater  than  any  king 
ever  possessed.  Their  value  will  appear  great¬ 
er  and  greater  to  all  eternity. 

4954.  RELIGION,  Valuing,  JElian  reports 
of  one  Nicostratus,  that  being  a  skilful  artifi¬ 
cer,  and  finding  a  curious  piece  of  art,  he  was 
so  much  taken  with  it,  that  a  spectator,  be¬ 
holding  him  very  intent  in  viewing  the  work¬ 
manship,  asked  him  what  pleasure  he  could 
take  in  gazing  so  long  upon  such  an  object. 
He  answered,  “  Hadst  thou  my  eyes,  thou 
wouldst  be  as  much  ravished  as  I  am.”  So 


RELIGION'. 


may  we  say  of  carnal  persons,  had  they  the 
hearts  and  dispositions  of  believers,  they 
would  be  as  much  delighted  with  all  means  of 
communion  with  God,  as  they  are,  and  account 
that  their  privilege  which  now  they  esteem 
their  vexation.  C.  Buck. 

4955.  RELIGION,  Variety  in.  Let  us  not 

conceive  of  all  genuine  religion  as  moving  in 
one  groove  of  feeling  and  practice,  and  refuse 
to  acknowledge  any  man  as  a  Christian  be¬ 
cause  he  does  not  run  upon  our  particular 
groove.  There  are  several  points  of  view  from 
which  Christianity  may  be  surveyed ;  and 
although  it  be  one  and  the  same  object  from 
whatever  point  we  look,  yet  eyes  placed  on 
different  levels  will  see  it  grouped  in  different 
perspectives.  Dr.  Goulburn. 

4956.  RELIGION,  Walk  in.  When  Diogenes 

heard  Zeno  with  subtle  arguments  endeavor¬ 
ing  to  prove  that  there  was  no  motion,  he 
suddenly  starts  up,  and  walks.  Zeno  asking 
the  cause  thereof  said  Diogenes,  “  Hereby  I 
confute  you,  and  prove  that  there  is  motion.” 
Walking  with  God  is  the  best  way  to  confute 
them  that  think  religion  to  be  but  a  notion  : 
living  religion  will  prove  that  there  is  re¬ 
ligion.  ■  Venninq. 

495 7.  REMORSE,  Effect  of.  The  cruel  A1 
Montaser,  having  assassinated  his  father,  was 
afterwards  haunted  by  remorse.  As  he  was 
one  day  admiring  a  beautiful  painting  of  a 
man  on  horseback,  with  a  diadem  encircling 
his  head,  and  a  Persian  inscription,  of  which 
he  inquired  the  meaning,  he  was  told  that  it 
signified,  “  I  am  Shiunyeh,  the  son  of  Kosru, 
who  murdered  my  father,  and  possessed  the 
crown  only  six  months.”  He  turned  pale,  as 
if  struck  by  a  sentence  of  death.  Frightful 
dreams  interrupted  his  slumbers;  and  he 
died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five. 

W/iitecross. 

4958.  REMORSE,  Example  of  Chryses,  a  rich 
landlord,  ordered  his  steward  to  turn  out  a 
poor  widow  with  four  children,  one  of  them 
too  sick  to  be  moved,  because  she  could  not 
pay  her  rent.  They  were  driven  out  amid 
many  tears  and  much  crying.  Chryses  lay 
down  to  rest  in  his  summer-house  ;  but  a  brook 
which  flowed  near  seemed  to  imitate  the  cry¬ 
ing  of  the  poor  children.  Then  he  heard  dis¬ 
tant  thunder,  which  seemed  to  him  as  the  voice 
of  justice.  He  arose,  and  sent  his  servant  to 
bring  back  the  poor  widow  ;  but  she  could  not 
be  found.  He  heard  that  the  sick  child  had 
starved  in  the  wood,  and  was  filled  with 
remorse.  His  gardens  and  luxuries  became 
1  .iteful  to  him.  He  became  delirious.  Every 
sound  was  an  accusing  voice.  So  he  died. 

4959.  REMORSE,  Horror  of.  John  Randolph 
in  his  last  illness  said  to  his  doctor,  “  Re¬ 
morse,  Remorse,  Remorse.  Let  me  see  the 
word.  Show  it  to  me  in  a  dictionary.”  There 
being  none  in  the  room,  he  said  to  the  doctor, 
“Write  it,  then.”  He  wrote  it  on  both  sides 
of  a  card  at  Randolph’s  direction.  It  was 
underlined  as  he  wished  it.  He  gazed  upon 
it,  and  then  said,  “  Remorse  1 — you  don’t  know 
what  it  means :  you  don’t  know  what  it 


REPENTANCE.  553 

means.”  Soon  he  added,  “  I  cast  myself  upon 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  mercy.” 

4960.  REMORSE,  Torments  of.  Remorse  not 
only  turns  God  and  his  creation  against  us, 
but  turns  us  against  ourselves  ;  makes  the  soul 
act  like  the  serpent,  which  stings  itself  to 
death.  “  Think  not,”  says  Cicero,  “  that 
guilt  requires  the  burning  torches  of  the  Furies 
to  agitate  and  torment  it.  Frauds,  crimes,  re¬ 
membrances  of  the  past,  terrors  of  the  future, 
—  these  are  the  domestic  furies  that  are  ever 
present  to  the  mind  of  the  impious.” 

Dr.  Thomas 

4961.  REMORSE,  Warning.  A  gentleman 

died  recently  at  his  residence  in  one  of  our  up¬ 
town  fashionable  streets,  leaving  eleven  millions 
of  dollars.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyte¬ 
rian  Church,  in  excellent  standing,  a  good  hus¬ 
band  and  father,  and  a  thrifty  citizen.  On 
his  death-bed,  he  suffered  with  great  agony  of 
mind,  and  gave  continual  expression  to  his  re¬ 
morse  for  what  his  conscience  told  him  had 
been  an  ill-spent  life.  “  Oh  !  ”  he  exclaimed  ; 
and  his  weeping  friends  and  relations  gathered 
about  his  bed,  —  “  oh,  if  I  could  only  live  my 
years  over  again !  Oh !  if  I  could  only  be 
spared  for  a  tew  years,  I  would  give  all  the 
wealth  I  have  amassed  in  a  life-time.  It  is  a 
life  devoted  to  money-getting  that  I  regret.  It 
is  this  which  weighs  me  down,  and  makes  me 
despair  of  the  life  hereafter.”  His  clergyman 
endeavored  to  soothe  him ;  but  he  turned  his 
face  to  the  wall.  “  You  have  never  reproved 
my  avaricious  spirit,”  he  said  to  the  minister. 
“  You  have  called  it  a  wise  economy  and  fore¬ 
thought  ;  but  I  now  know  that  riches  have  been 
only  a  snare  for  my  poor  soul.  I  would  give 
all  I  possess  to  have  hope  for  my  poor  soui !  ” 
The  terror  and  remorse  of  his  death-bed  ad¬ 
ministered  a  lesson  not  to  be  lightly  dismissed 
from  memory.  N.  Y.  Daily  Star. 

4962.  REPENTANCE,  Amendment  in.  Re¬ 
pentance  without  amendment  is  like  continual 
pumping  in  a  ship  without  stopping  the  leaks. 

Palmer. 

4963.  REPENTANCE,  Brevities.  Repentance 
begins  in  the  humiliation  of  the  heart,  and 
ends  in  the  reformation  of  life.  — Mason.  — — 
Real  repentance  consists  in  the  heart  being 

broken  J'or  sin  and  from  sin.  —  Nevins. - 

There  is  no  going  to  the  Fair  Haven  of  glory 
without  sailing  through  the  narrow  strait  of 

repentance.  —  Dyer. - The  way  to  heaven 

is  by  Weeping  Cross. 

4964.  REPENTANCE,  Calls  to.  They  come 
in  the  thunder’s  roar,  in  the  lightning’s  flash, 
from  the  shining  stars,  from  the  rolling  earth, 
from  the  fading  flower,  from  the  churchyard 
stones,  from  the  funeral-train  ;  they  come  on 
every  birth-day,  on  every  sick-day,  with  every 
sorrow,  with  every  mercy,  persistently  calling, 
“  Repent.” 

4965.  REPENTANCE,  Chango  in.  Nazianzen 
compares  the  soul  to  a  pair  of  writing-tables, 
out  of  which  must  be  washed  whatsoever  was 
written  with  sin,  and  instead  thereof  must  be 
entered  the  writing  of  grace  :  both  the°c  ore 
necessary  in  true  repentance. 


554 


REPENTANT  CK. 


REPENTA  NCE. 


4966.  REPENTANCE,  Consecration  with.  Chro¬ 
matins,  a  heathen,  sought  a  cure  from  one  of 
the  early  Christians  tvho  was  reputed  to  have 
the  gilt  of  healing.  As  a  condition  thereto, 
he  demanded  that  all  the  idols  in  his  house 
should  be  broken.  The  heathen  gave  his  keys 
to  the  Christian,  who  went  about  the  house,  and 
destroyed  all  the  idols  he  could  find,  and  then 
went  to  praying  for  the  desired  cure ;  but  in 
vain.  The  sick  man  was  as  sick  as  ever. 
The  Christian  said,  “  There  is  yet  an  idol  in 

our  house,  that  must  be  destroyed.”  The 

eathen  confessed  that  he  had  one  of  beaten 
gold,  of  great  value,  that  he  desired  to  save. 
When  it  was  broken,  Chromatius  was  healed. 

4967.  REPENTANCE,  Daily.  He  that  re¬ 

pents  every  day  lor  the  sins  of  every  day, 
when  he  conies  to  die  will  have  the  sin  but  of 
one  day  to  repent  of.  Short  reckonings  make 
long  friends.  P.  Henry. 

4968.  REPENTANCE,  Delaying.  If  we  put 

off  repentance  another  day,  we  have  a  day 
more  to  repent  of,  and  a  day  less  to  repent  in. 
—  Mason. - He  that  hath  promised  par¬ 

don  on  our  repentance  hath  not  promised  life 
till  we  repent.  —  Quarles. - You  cannot  re¬ 

pent  too  soon,  because  you  know  not  how  soon 
it  may  be  too  late.  —  Fuller. - True  re¬ 

pentance  is  never  too  late  ;  but  late  repentance 
is  seldom  true. 

4969.  REPENTANCE,  Delight  of.  “  Which  is 
the  most  delightful  emotion  ?  ”  said  an  instruct¬ 
or  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  to  his  pupils,  after 
teaching  them  the  names  of  our  various  feel¬ 
ings.  The  pupils  turned  to  their  slates :  one 
wrote  “joy;”  another,  “hope;”  another, 
“  gratitude ;  ”  another,  “  love.”  One  turned 
back  with  a  countenance  full  of  peace;  and 
the  teacher  was  surprised  to  find  on  her  slate 
the  word  “  repentance.”  He  turned  to  her, 
and  asked  why  it  was  the  most  delightful 
emotion.  “  Oh  1  ”  said  she  in  the  expressive 
language  of  looks  and  gestures,  “it  is  so 
delightful  to  be  humbled  before  God !  ” 

4979.  REPENTANCE,  Easy.  If  a  man  sets 
about  climbing  a  steep  cliff  when  he  is  young 
and  active,  and  has  the  free  use  of  his  limbs, 
he  has  a  great  advantage :  the  old  and  the 
crippled  are  pretty  sure  to  fail.  So  it  is  with 
repentance.  The  young  can  mount  the  hill, 
if  they  set  about  it  in  good  earnest,  with  much 
less  evil.  But  they  who  are  old  in  sin  ;  they 
whose  souls  have  become  stiff  through  years 
of  wickedness,  and  have  grown  double,  so  to 
say,  by  always  looking  earthward,  —  how  can 
they  make  the  efforts  which  are  needed  for 
such  a  task  ?  Of  all  hopeless  miracles,  the 
miracle  of  a  death-bed  repentance  seems  one 
of  the  most  hopeless.  A.  W.  Hare. 

4971.  REPENTANCE,  Fickle.  Many  persons 

who  appear  to  repent  are  like  sailors  who 
throw  their  goods  overboard  in  a  storm,  and 
wish  for  them  again  in  a  calm.  Mead. 

4972.  REPENTANCE,  Fruits  of.  Thomas 
Olivers  was  an  itinerant  cobbler,  who  spent  his 
time  working,  carousing,  and  contracting 
debts.  He  congratulated  himself  on  his  skill 
in  defrauding  his  creditors.  This  reprobate 


Welshman  was  at  last  rescued  by  Methodism, 
and  became  one  of  Mr.  Wesley’s  itinerant 
corps.  So  great  had  been  his  wickedness,  that 
his  friends  thought  he  must  have  had  some 
terrible  fright.  Ilis  uncle  said  to  him,  “  Thou 
hast  been  so  wicked,  thou  hast  seen  the  Devil.” 
His  conscience  was  awakened.  Of  his  old 
debts  he  said,  “  I  felt  as  great  sorrow  and  con¬ 
fusion  as  if  I  had  stolen  every  sum  I  owed.” 
He  resolved  to  pay  the  last  cent  with  money 
due  him  from  the  estate  of  one  of  his  kindred. 
With  part  of  his  money,  he  bought  a  horse, 
and  started  on  his  memorable  journey  from 
town  to  town,  preaching  Christ,  and  paying  his 
debts.  Pie  went  to  Whithurst  to  pay  a  six¬ 
pence.  Before  his  strange  pilgrimage  was 
ended,  he  paid  about  seventy  debts,  principal 
and  interest,  and  had  to  sell  his  horse,  saddle, 
and  bridle  to  finish  his  payments.  Such  fruits 
of  repentance  were  followed  by  great  religious 
prosperity  and  usefulness. 

4973.  REPENTANCE,  Late,  The  ancient 

warriors  would  not  accept  an  old  man  into 
their  army,  as  being  unfit  for  service.  The 
Circassians,  a  kind  of  mongrel  Christians,  are 
said  to  divide  their  life  between  sin  and  devo¬ 
tion  ;  dedicating  their  youth  to  rapine,  and 
their  old  age  to  repentance.  Buck. 

4974.  REPENTANCE,  Persuasive  to.  If  a  sick 
man,  going  to  a  renowned  physician,  should 
meet  those  whom  he  had  healed  on  the  way, 
who  should  say,  “  He  has  healed  us :  go  to 
him,  and  he  will  heal  you,”  he  would  be  en¬ 
couraged,  and  hasten  to  him.  Every  repent¬ 
ant  sinner  should  hasten  to  the  Great  Phy¬ 
sician,  who  has  healed  many. 

4975.  REPENTANCE,  Plea  of.  The  cry  of 
the  penitent  soul,  “  Have  mercy  on  me,”  is 
more  acceptable  to  Jesus  than  the  chant  of 
angels,  the  melody  of  golden  harps  swept  by 
seraphic  fingers,  or  the  loud  swelling  anthem 
of  heaven,  though  it  be  “  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters.”  Though  in  the  highest  heaven,  this 
plea  enters  his  delighted  ear,  and  secures  his 
almighty  aid. 

4976.  REPENTANCE,  Present  Dnty  o£  Thales, 
one  of  the  Grecian  sages,  being  urged  by  his 
mother  to  change  his  condition  in  life,  told  her 
it  was  too  soon ;  and  afterwards,  being  again 
urged,  he  said  it  was  too  late.  A  Roman  gen¬ 
tleman  who  had  squandered  a  great  estate 
applied  to  Tiberius  for  relief  in  Ids  poverty, 
but  was  dismissed  with  the  answer,  “  You  are 
risen  too  late.”  Such  will  be  the  fate  of  neg- 
lecters  of  repentance. 

4977.  REPENTANCE,  Reception  of.  When  a 
man  undertakes  to  repent  towards  his  fellow- 
men,  it  is  repenting  straight  up  a  precipice ; 
when  he  repents  towards  law,  it  is  repenting 
into  the  crocodile’s  jaws;  when  he  repents 
towards  public  sentiment,  it  is  throwing  him¬ 
self  into  a  thicket  of  brambles  and  thorns ; 
but,  when  he  repents  towards  God,  he  repents 
towards  all  love  and  delicacy.  God  receives  the 
soul  as  the  sea  the  bather,  to  return  it  again, 
purer  and  whiter  than  he  took  it.  Beeclicr. 

4978.  REPENTANCE,  Refusal  o£  If  we  refuse 
to  repent  now,  we  do  not  so  much  refuse  to  do 


REPENTANCE. 


REPROOF. 


555 


our  own  duty  as  to  accept  of  a  reward.  It  is 
the  greatest  and  dearest  blessing  that  ever 
God  gave  to  men,  that  they  may  repent ;  and 
therefore  to  deny  it  or  to  delay  it  is  to  refuse 
health  brought  by  the  skill  of  the  Physician  : 
it  is  to  refuse  liberty  indulged  to  us  by  our 
gracious  Lord.  Bp.  Taylor. 

4979.  REPENTANCE,  in  Sickness.  The  Em¬ 
peror  Sigismund,  having  made  promises  of 
amendment  in  a  fit  of  sickness,  asked  the 
Archbishop  of  Cologne  how  he  might  know 
if  his  repentance  was  sincere.  lie  answered, 
“  If  you  are  as  careful  to  perform  in  your  health 
as  you  are  forward  to  promise  in  your  sickness, 
you  may  safely  draw  that  inference.” 

49§9.  REPENTANCE,  Sincere.  Frank  Tea- 
bout,  a  liquor-seller  of  Decorah,  Io.,  during 
a  religious  revival  in  that  place  made  up  his 
mind  to  lead  a  new  life.  He  had  a  fine  lot  of 
liquors  on  hand,  but  “  did  not  sell  oiF  the  bad 
beverage  by  the  wholesale,  or  send  it  else¬ 
where  to  do  its  mischief,  and  so  remunerate 
himself  for  liis  outlay ;  but  he  carted  the  whole 
stock  down  in  front  of  the  meeting-house,  and 
there  he  made  a  bonfire  of  it.  While  the  peo¬ 
ple  inside  the  house  were  rejoicing  in  the  light 
of  the  divine  presence,  the  outer  glare  de¬ 
noted  that  a  notable  prodigal  was  returning. 

4981.  REPENTANCE,  Thorough.  I  pray  you 
dig  deep.  Christ’s  palace-work  and  his  new 
dwelling,  laid  upon  hell  felt  and  feared,  is 
most  firm;  and  heaven,  grounded  and  laid 
upon  such  a  hell,  is  sure  work,  and  will  not 
wash  away  with  winter  storms.  Rutherford. 

4982.  REPENTANCE,  Universal.  If  a  ship 

have  three  leaks,  and  two  be  stopped,  the  third 
will  sink  the  ship.  If  a  man  has  two  severe 
wounds,  and  cures  one,  the  neglected  one  will 
kill  him.  Spencer. 

4983.  REPRIEVE,  Almost  too  late.  A  young 

soldier,  a  member  of  the  Tenth  New-IIampshire 
Regiment,  was  arrested  while  endeavoring  to 
pass  the  guard  in  citizens’  clothes.  He  was 
charged  with  desertion,  tried  by  court-martial, 
and  condemned  to  be  executed  at  Norfolk  on 
the  following  day  at  noon.  He  affirmed  that  he 
had  no  thought  of  desertion,  and  only  left  his 
regiment  for  a  special  purpose,  and  for  a  few 
hours.  Effort  was  made  to  secure  a  pardon  ; 
but  it  did  not  arrive.  The  chaplain  visited 
him ;  and  he  tried  to  get  ready  to  die.  A  lit¬ 
tle  before  the  time  for  execution,  he  was 
taken  from  his  cell  towards  the  field  where  his 
coffin  and  grave  had  been  prepared.  On  the 
way,  the  hoped-lor  reprieve  overtook  him. 
The  train  was  halted,  and  the  reprieve  read  to 
the  prisoner.  He  threw  his  arms  around  the 
neck  of  the  guard,  and  wept  aloud.  Strong 
men  sympathized  in  his  relief,  and  wept  like 
children.  • 

4984.  REPROBATE,  Emblem  of  the,  The 
spectacle  of  this  house,  forsaken  by  man,  and 
falling  into  ruin,  shall  now  remind  me  of  the 
wretchedness  of  that  soul,  which,  persevering 
in  a  course  of  sin  and  impenitence,  God  in 
righteous  judgment  forsakes.  It  is  the  haunt 
of  the  foul  birds  of  night  and  hell,  which  fly  in 
and  out  at  their  pleasure.  All  about  it  is  crum¬ 


bling  to  pieces,  and  preparing  for  everlasting 
destruction.  The  worst  punishment  which 
can  be  inflicted  upon  man  in  this  present  life 
is  when  God  withdraws  from  him  the  hand  of 
grace,  gives  him  up  to  a  reprobate  mind, 
and  permits  him  to  walk  according  to  the 
inclinations  of  his  wicked  heart.  In  that  case, 
Satan  has  gained  the  game,  and  bridles  and 
saddles  the  steed  to  ride  it  at  his  pleasure. 
The  man  becomes  a  ball,  which  the  devils  toss 
from  hand  to  hand,  and  plunge  out  of  one  sin 
into  another.  Ills  mind  is  a  forge,  in  which 
internal  spirits  manufacture  the  works  and 
weapons  of  darkness.  Gotthold. 

4985.  REPROBATE,  Pate  of  the.  It  is  said  of 
Antoninus,  Archbishop  of  Florence,  that,  after 
he  had  heard  the  confession  of  a  wretched 
usurer,  he  gave  no  other  absolution  than  this  : 
“  God  be  merciful  to  thee,  if  he  please,  and 
forgive  thee  thy  sins,  which  I  do  not  believe, 
and  bring  thee  to  eternal  life,  which  is  impos¬ 
sible.” 

4986.  REPROOF,  Advantage  of.  The  reproof 

of  a  good  man  resembles  fuller’s  earth  :  it  not 
only  removes  the  spots  from  our  character,  but 
it  rubs  off  when  it  is  dry.  Wilkinson. 

4987.  REPROOF,  Benefit  of.  To  reprove  a 

brother  is  like  as,  when  he  has  fallen,  to  help 
him  up  again  ;  when  he  is  wounded,  to  help  to 
cure  him  ;  wlieu  he  hath  broken  a  bone,  to  help 
to  set  it ;  when  he  is  out  of  the  way,  to  put  him 
into  it ;  when  he  is  fallen  into  the  fire,  to  pluck 
him  out ;  when  he  hath  contracted  defilement, 
to  cleanse  him.  P.  Henry. 

4988.  REPROOF,  Giving.  To  reprove  small 
faults  with  undue  vehemence  is  as  absurd  as 
if  a  man  should  take  a  great  hammer  because 
he  saw  a  fly  on  his  friend’s  forehead. 

4989.  REPROOF,  Hating.  If  you  cannot  bear 

to  be  handled,  it  is  a  proof  you  have  ugly  sores, 
which  are  not  the  less  dangerous  for  being 
skinned  over.  Henry. 

4990.  REPROOF,  Necessity  of.  There  was  a 
foolish  law  among  the  Lacaedemonians,  that 
none  should  tell  his  neighbor  any  ill  news  be¬ 
fallen  him ;  but  every  one  should  be  left  to  find 
it  out  for  himself.  There  are  many  that  would 
be  glad  if  there  were  a  law  that  would  tie  up 
ministers’  mouths  from  scaring  them  with  their 
sins.  Most  are  more  careful  to  run  from  the 
discourse  of  their  misery  than  to  get  out  of 
the  danger  of  it ;  are  more  offended  with  the 
talk  of  hell  than  troubled  for  that  sinful  state 
that  shall  bring  them  thither.  But,  alas  !  when, 
then,  shall  ministers  have  a  fitting  time  to  tell 
sinners  of  their  danger,  if  not  now  ?  Here¬ 
after  there  remain  no  more  offices  of  love  to  be 
done  for  them.  Hell  is  a  pest-house:  there 
cannot  be  written  so  much  on  the  door  of  it, 
as,  “  Lord,  have  mercy  on  them  that  are  in  it.” 

Spencer. 

4991.  REPROOF,  Obligation  for.  Considering 
how  many  difficulties  a  friend  has  to  surmount 

j  before  he  can  bring  himself  to  repi'ove  me,  I 
ought  to  be  very  much  obliged  to  him. 

J.  Foster. 

4992.  REPROOF,  Receiving.  Lais  broke  her 
looking-glass  because  it  showed  the  wrinkles 


556 


REPROOF. 


RESOLUTIONS. 


on  her  face.  Many  men  are  angry  with  them 
that  tell  them  their  faults ;  when  they  should 
be  angry  only  with  the  faults  that  are  told 
them.  Venning. 

4993.  REPROOF,  Required.  As  he  who  stands 

by  and  sees  another  commit  murder  without 
giving  an  alarm  is  accounted  accessory  to  the 
murder ;  or  as  he  who  sees  a  blind  man  run¬ 
ning  into  a  pit,  in  which  he  is  drowned,  and 
makes  no  cifort  to  save  him,  is  guilty  of  death  : 
so  is  he  who  sees  his  brother  kill  his  soul  with¬ 
out  an  effort  to  prevent  it.  Cawdray. 

4994.  REPROOF,  Rule  for.  Rev.  Henry 

Martyn  used  to  lay  down  this  rule  for  himself, 
to  know  when  to  speak,  and  when  to  abstain 
from  speaking,  in  reproving  sin  :  when  he  felt 
some  love  to  the  person ,  and  hatred  to  the  sin. 

4993.  REPUTATION,  Proverbs.  All  is  not 
gold  that  glitters.  Likely  lies  in  the  mire, 

and  unlikely  gets  over.  —  English. - Every 

glowworm  is  not  a  fire.  —  Italian. - The 

mountain  is  in  labor,  and  will  bring  forth  a 
mouse.  —  Latin. 

4996.  RESCUE,  Marvellous.  A  soldier  of  the 
English  army,  while  on  shipboard  going  to  the 
Orient,  was  severely  Hogged  for  some  slight 
offence.  Maddened  by  the  punishment,  as  soon 
as  released,  he  threw  himself  overboard.  A 
high  sea  was  running,  and  all  hope  of  rescue 
vanished.  While  he  was  struggling  amid  the 
boiling  waves,  a  large  albatross  made  a  swoop 
at  him.  In  the  agonies  of  the  death-struggle, 
he  seized  it.  The  bird  fluttered,  and  tried  to 
escape  ;  thus  supporting  the  soldier  for  a  long 
time  till  a  boat  could  be  lowered,  which 
reached  and  rescued  him. 

4997.  RESIGNATION,  Hopeful.  I  was  called 
upon  to  visit  an  individual,  a  part  of  whose 
face  had  been  eaten  away  by  a  cancer.  In  his 
agony,  I  said,  “  Supposing  that  Almighty  God 
were  to  give  you  your  choice,  whether  would 
you  prefer  your  cancer,  your  pain,  and  your  suf¬ 
ferings,  with  a  certainty  of  death  before  you,  but 
of  immortality  hereafter,  or  health,  prosperity, 
long  life  in  the  world,  and  the  risk  of  losing 
your  immortal  soul  V  ”  — “  Ah,  sir  !  ”  said  the 
man,  “  give  me  the  cancer,  the  pain,  the  Bible, 
the  hope  of  heaven,  and  others  may  take  the 
world,  long  life,  and  prosperity.”  W.  Trefit. 

4998.  RESIGNATION,  Perfect.  A  woman 
when  she  was  ill,  being  asked  whether  she 
wished  to  live  or  die,  replied,  “  Which  God 
pleaseth.”  —  “  But,”  said  some  one  standing 
by,  “if  God  were  to  refer  it  to  you,  which 
would  you  choose  ?  ”  —  “  Truly,”  said  she,  if 
God  were  to  refer  it  to  me,  I  would  even  refer 
it  to  him  again.” 

4999.  RESIGNATION,  Prayer  of,  From  my 

cross,  my  burden,  my  adversity,  I  will  not  ask 
to  be  relieved  until  it  please  Thee  to  relieve 
me.  Nay,  I  have  no  desire  even  to  be  in 
heaven,  so  long  as  it  is  Thy  pleasure  that  I 
should  serve  Thee  and  Thy  Church  in  this  life 
of  misery  and  toil.  Let  Thy  will  be  my  heaven ; 
Thy  counsel,  my  wisdom ;  Thy  good  pleasure, 
my  satisfaction  !  Gotthold. 

5000.  RESOLUTION,  Christian.  Anselm  was 
a  man  of  holy  resolution.  “I  had  rather,” 


saith  he,  “  go  to  hell  pure  from  sin  than  tc 
heaven  polluted  with  that  filth.”  And  saith 
another,  “  I  will  rather  leap  into  a  bonfire  than 
wilfully  to  sin  against  God.”  T.  Brooks. 

500I1.  RESOLUTION,  Power  of.  It  was  reso¬ 
lution  made  Empedocles  sacrifice  himself  to 
the  flames  of  iEtna.  It  was  resolution  made 
Anaxarchus,  when  his  bones  were  crushed, 
make  sport  with  his  tormentors,  and  cry  out, 
“  Break,  break,  the  carcass  of  Anaxarchus ;  but 
his  mind  you  shall  never  break.”  It  was  res¬ 
olution  made  Regulus  fling  himself  into  the 
merciless  arms  of  his  enemies,  and  suffer  him¬ 
self  to  be  stung  and  pricked  to  death.  It  was 
resolution  made  Attalus  sit  down  cheerfully 
in  the  fiery  chair  his  persecutors  had  prepared 
for  him,  and  say,  “  It’s  not  we  that  do  eat  chil¬ 
dren,  but  it’s  you  that  devour  innocent  Chris¬ 
tians.”  It  was  resolution  made  Blandina 
encourage  her  fellow-Christian,  thougli  she  was 
wounded,  torn,  bruised,  racked,  and  miserably 
handled.  It  was  resolution  made  Job  bear  his 
losses  and  ulcers  with  invincible  magnanimity. 
It  was  resolution  made  David  run  through  a 
troop,  and  leap  over  walls.  Anthony  Ilorneck. 

5992.  RESOLUTIONS,  Deceitful.  Epictetus 

tells  us  of  a  gentleman  returning  from  banish¬ 
ment,  who,  in  his  journey  towards  home,  called 
at  his  house,  told  a  sad  story  of  an  imprudent 
life,  the  greatest  part  of  which  being  now 
spent,  he  was  resolved  for  the  future  to  live 
philosophically,  and  entertain  no  business;  to 
be  candidate  for  no  employment ;  not  to  go  to 
the  court ;  nor  to  salute  Caesar  with  ambitious 
attendances ;  but  to  study  and  worship  the  gods, 
and  die  willingly,  when  nature  or  necessity 
called  him.  It  may  be  this  man  believed  him¬ 
self;  but  Epictetus  did  not.  And  he  had  rear 
son ;  for  letters  from  Caesar  met  him  at  the 
doors,  and  invited  him  to  court ;  and  he  forgot 
all  his  promises,  which  were  warm  upon  his 
lips;  and  grew  populous,  secular,  and  ambi¬ 
tious,  and  gave  the  gods  thanks  for  his  prefer¬ 
ment.  Thus  many  men  leave  the  world  when 
their  fortune  has  left  them ;  and  they  are  se¬ 
vere  and  philosophical,  and  retired  forever,  if 
forever  it  be  impossible  to  return :  but  let  a 
prosperous  sunshine  warm  and  refresh  their 
sadness,  and  make  it  but  possible  to  break  their 
purposes,  and  there  needs  no  more  temptation : 
their  own  heart  is  enough.  Bp.  Taylor. 

5993.  RESOLUTIONS,  Transient.  Theocritus 
tells  of  a  fisherman  that  dreamed  that  he  had 
taken  a  “  fish  of  gold ;  ”  on  which  being  over¬ 
joyed,  he  made  a  vow  that  he  would  never  fish 
more ;  but,  when  he  waked,  he  soon  declared 
his  vow  to  be  null,  because  he  found  his  golden 
fish  was  escaped  away  through  the  holes  of  his 
eyes  when  he  first  opened  them.  Just  so  we 
do  in  the  purposes  of  religion.  Sometimes,  in 
a  good  mood,  we  seem  to  see  heaven  opened, 
and  all  the  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem  paved 
with  gold  and  precious  stones ;  and  we  are  rav¬ 
ished  with  spiritual  apprehensions,  and  resolve 
never  to  return  to  the  low  affections  of  the 
world  and  the  impure  adherences  of  sin  :  but 
when  this  flash  of  lightning  is  gone,  and  we 
converse  again  with  the  inclinations  and  habit- 


RESPONSIBILITY. 


REST. 


557 


ual  desires  of  our  false  hearts,  those  other 
desires  and  fine  considerations  disband,  and  the 
resolutions  taken  in  that  pious  fit  melt  into 
indifference  and  old  customs.  Bp.  Taylor. 

5001.  RESPONSIBILITY,  Individual.  Daniel 
Webster  was  once  asked,  “  What  is  the  most 
important  thought  you  ever  entertained  ?  ” 
He  replied,  after  a  moment’s  reflection,  “  The 
most  important  thought  I  ever  had  was  my 
individual  responsibility  to  God.” 

5005.  RESPONSIBILITY,  Recognized.  A  cap¬ 
tain  whose  ship  was  nearing  a  reef  gave  orders 
to  keep  off.  To  a  remark  of  approval,  the  cap¬ 
tain  replied,  “  It  is  necessary  that  I  should  be 
very  careful,  because  I  have  souls  on  board. 
I  think  of  my  responsibility,  and  remember 
that  souls  are  very  valuable.”  The  like  con¬ 
sideration  should  be  as  common  to  every  man 
as  it  is  appropriate. 

500G.  RESPONSIBILITY,  Unavoidable.  Rev. 
John  Thomas  of  Serampore  was  one  da}',  after 
addressing  a  crowd  of  nadves  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ganges,  accosted  by  a  Brahmin  as  follows  : 
“  Sir,  don’t  you  say  that  the  Devil  tempts  man 
to  sin  V  ”  —  “  Yes,”  answered  Mr.  Thomas. 
“  Then,”  said  the  Brahmin,  “  certainly  the 
fault  is  the  Devil’s  :  the  Devil,  therefore,  and 
not  man,  ought  to  suffer  the  punishment.”  Mr. 
Thomas,  observing  a  boat  with  several  men  on 
hoard  descending  the  river,  replied,  *•  Brahmin, 
do  you  see  yonder  boat  ?  ”  —  “  Yes.”  —  “  Sup¬ 
pose  I  was  to  send  some  of  my  friends  to  de¬ 
stroy  every  person  on  board,  and  bring  me  all 
that  is  valuable  in  the  boat :  who  ought  to 
suffer  punishment,  — - 1  for  instructing  them, 
or  they  for  doing  this  wicked  act  ?  ”  —  “  Why,” 
answered  the  Brahmin  with  great  emotion, 
“  you  ought  all  to  be  put  to  death  together.” 
—  “  Ay,  Brahmin,”  replied  Mr.  Thomas ;  “  and, 
if  you  and  the  Devil  sin  together,  the  Devil 
and  you  will  be  punished  together.” 

5007.  RESPONSIBILITY,  Universal.  If  you 
can  find  a  place  between  the  throne  of  God 
and  the  dust  to  which  man’s  body  crumbles, 
where  the  focal  responsibilities  of  law  do  not 
weigh  upon  him,  I  will  find  a  vacuum  in  Na¬ 
ture.  They  press  upon  him  from  God  out  of 
eternity,  and  from  the  earth  out  of  Nature, 
and  from  every  department  of  life,  as  constant 
and  all-surrounding  as  the  pressure  of  the  air. 

Beecher. 

5008.  REST,  Absenoe  of.  Legends  of  the 
Wandering  Jew  run  thus:  When  Jesus 
was  led  to  death,  oppressed  by  the  weight  of 
the  cross,  lie  wished  to  rest  himself  near  the 

ate  of  the  house  of  Ahasuerus.  This  man, 

owever,  sallied  forth,  and  thrust  him  away. 
Jesus  turned  towards  him,  saying,  “I  shall 
rest;  but  thou  shalt  move  on  till  I  return.” 
And  from  that  time  he  has  had  no  rest,  and  is 
obliged  incessantly  *o  wander  about.  Another 
version  is  that  given  by  Matthew  of  Paris,  a 
monk  of  the  thirteenth  century  :  When  Jesus 
was  led  from  the  tribunal  of  Pilate,  to  death, 
the  doorkeeper,  named  Cartaflilous,  pushed 
him  from  behind  with  his  foot,  saying,  “  Walk 
on,  Jesus,  quickly  :  why  dost  thou  tarry  ?  ” 
Jesus  looked  at  him  gravely,  and  said,  “I 


walk  on  ;  but  thou  shalt  tarry  till  I  come.” 
And  this  man,  still  alive,  wanders  from  place 
to  place  in  constant  dread  of  the  wrath  to 
come.  A  third  legend  adds,  that  this  wander¬ 
ing  Jew  falls  sick  every  hundred  years,  but 
recovers,  and  renews  his  strength. 

5009.  REST,  Brevities.  lie  that  would  rest 
must  work.  Rest  is  tor  heaven,  toil  is  for 
earth.  There  will  be  no  Monday  in  heaven ; 
and  we  shall  not  have  to  begin  the  old  round 
of  toil  afresh  as  soon  as  the  sabbath’s  peace 
is  past.  There  will  be  an  everlasting  sab¬ 
bath. 

5010.  REST,  in  Christ.  The  needle  in  the 
compass  never  stands  still  till  it  comes  right 
against  the  north  pole.  The  wise  men  of 
the  East  never  stood  still  till  they  were  right 
against  the  star  which  appeared  unto  them; 
and  the  star  itself  never  stood  still  till  it  came 
right  against  that  other  Star,  which  shone 
more  brightly  in  the  manger  than  the  sun  did 
in  the  firmament.  So  the  heart  of  man  can 
find  no  rest  till  it  comes  to  Christ. 

5011.  REST,  Condition  of.  The  nearer  the 
soul  is  to  God,  the  less  its  perturbations ;  as 
the  point  nearest  the  centre  of  a  circle  is  sub¬ 
ject  to  the  least  motion. 

REST,  Going  to.  The  Princess  Eliza¬ 
beth,  daughter  of  Charles  I.,  was  found  dead 
one  day,  with  her  head  leaning  on  the  Bible, 
and  the  Bible  open  at  the  words,  “  Come  unto 
me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest.”  Her  monument  in  New¬ 
port  Church  consists  of  a  female  figure  reclin¬ 
ing  her  head  on  a  marble  book,  with  the  above 
text  engraved  on  the  book. 

591‘J.  REST,  Heavenly.  O  weary  sons 
and  daughters  of  Adam  1  you  will  not  have  to 
drive  the  ploughshare  into  the  unthankful 
soil  in  heaven ;  you  will  not  need  to  rise  to 
daily  toils  before  the  sun  hath  risen,  and  labor 
still  when  the  sun  hath  long  ago  gone  to  his 
rest :  but  ye  shall  be  still,  ye  shall  be  quiet,  ye 
shall  rest  yourselves.  Toil,  trouble,  travail, 
and  labor  are  words  that  cannot  be  spelled 
in  heaven :  they  have  no  such  things  there ; 
for  they  always  rest.  Spurgeon. 

5011.  REST,  at  Last.  The  pass  of  Glencroe 
in  Scotland  is  reached  by  a  long,  steep,  and 
winding  path ;  but  at  its  top  is  a  stone  with 
the  inscription,  “Rest,  and  be  thankful.”  Such 
is  the  pilgrim’s  path  ;  but  at  its  end  is  heaven, 
on  whose  gates  may  be  read  a  similar  inscrip¬ 
tion. 

5915.  REST,  Nature  of.  An  old  legend  says, 
that  Rabbi  Judah  and  his  brethren,  the  seven 
pillars  of  wisdom,  sat  in  the  temple  on  a  feast- 
day,  disputing  about  rest.  One  said,  that  it 
was  to  have  attained  sufficient  wealth,  yet  with¬ 
out  sin  ;  the  second,  it  was  fame  and  praise  of 
all  men ;  the  third,  it  was  the  possession  of  pow¬ 
er  to  rule  the  state ;  the  fourth,  that  it  con¬ 
sisted  only  in  a  happy  home ;  the  fifth,  that  it 
must  be  in  the  old  age  of  one  who  is  rich,  pow¬ 
erful,  famous,  surrounded  by  children’s  chil¬ 
dren  ;  the  sixth  said,  that  all  that  were  vain, 
unless  a  man  kept  all  the  ritual  law  of  Mo¬ 
ses.  Then  Rabbi  Judah  said,  “  Ye  have  all 


558 


REST. 


RESULTS. 


spoken  wisely,  but  one  thing  more  is  neces¬ 
sary  :  he  only  can  find  rest,  who,  to  all  these 
things,  addeth  this,  that  he  keepeth  the  tradi¬ 
tion  of  the  elders.”  There  sat  in  the  court  a 
fair-haired  boy,  playing  with  his  lilies  in  his 
lap,  and  hearing  the  talk,  dropped  them  with 
astonishment  from  his  hands,  looked  up,  and 
said,  ‘‘  Nay,  nay,  fathers,  he  only  loveth  rest 
who  loves  his  brother  as  himself,  and  God 
with  his  whole  heart  and  soul.  He  is  greater 
than  wealth  and  fame  and  power,  happier  than 
a  happy  home,  happy  without  it,  better  than 
honored  age,  he  is  a  law  to  himself,  and  above 
all  tradition.”  The  doctors  were  astonished. 
They  said,  “  When  Christ  cometh,  shall  he 
tell  us  greater  things  ?  ”  And  they  thanked 
God ;  for,  they  said,  old  men  are  not  always 
wise;  yet  God  be  praised,  that  out  of  the 
mouth  of  this  young  suckling  has  his  praise 
become  perfect!  T.  Parker. 

5©M».  BEST,  Not  on  Earth.  There  is  a  tradi¬ 
tion  of  an  Indian  chief  who  with  his  tribe  fled 
before  the  prairie-fires,  till  he  had  crossed  a 
broad  river ;  when  he  struck  his  tent-pole  into 
the  ground,  and  cried,  “Alabama!”  (Here  we 
may  rest !)  He  was  no  prophet.  Hostile 
tribes  overpowered  them ;  and  they  found  only 
graves  where  they  sought  a  home.  This  is, 
maybe,  a  parable  of  the  soul :  for  it,  earth  has 
no  Alabama. 

5017.  REST,  Search  for,  Augustus  the  Em¬ 
peror,  hearing  that  a  gentleman  of  Rome,  not¬ 
withstanding  a  great  burden  of  debt  wherewith 
he  was  oppressed,  slept  quietly,  and  took  his 
ease,  desired  to  buy  the  bed  that  he  lodged  on. 
His  servants  marvelling  thereat,  he  gave  them 
this  answer :  That  it  seemed  unto  him  to  be 
some  wonderful  bed,  and  worth  the  buying, 
whereon  a  man  could  sleep  that  was  so  deeply 
engaged.  Spencer. 

5©i8.  RESTITUTION,  Examples.  A  boy  of 
thirteen  was  so  impressed  by  a  sermon  on  this 
subject,  that  he  hastened  to  pay  a  farmer  for  a 
few  apples  which  he  had  taken  from  his 
orchard.  A  minister  received  a  parcel  to  be 
restored  to  its  rightful  owner  after  the  lapse 
of  fifty  years. 

RESTITUTION,  Necessity  of.  There  is 
a  story  of  a  man  who  gave  much  alms  to  the 
poor,  who,  walking  one  day  very  solitary,  an 
angel  met  him  in  likeness  of  a  man,  and,  walk¬ 
ing  with  him,  brought  him  at  last  to  a  deep 
valley,  where  was  a  pit  burning  with  fire  and 
brimstone,  and  therein  three  gibbets  :  upon  one 
of  them  did  hang  a  man  by  the  tongue,  upon 
another  a  man  by  the  hands,  and  on  the  third 
hung  no  man  at  all.  The  good  man,  much 
marvelling  at  the  strangeness  of  such  a  sight, 
asked  the  angel  what  the  men  were  that 
hanged  in  those  tormenting  flames.  He  told 
him  that  he  which  hanged  by  the  tongue  was 
his  grandfather,  who  purchased  the  land  and 
house  wherein  he  now  dwelt  by  false  oaths, 
lying,  perjury,  and  was  therefore  hanged  by 
the  tongue ;  and  that  the  other  was  his  own 
father,  who  by  strong  hand  kept  that  which 
his  father  before  him  had  wickedly  gotten  ;  and 
that  the  third  gallows  was  prepared  for  him 


unless  he  made  restitution  :  and  so  the  angel 
vanished.  The  man,  being  left  alone,  went 
sadly  home,  and,  the  next  day,  sent  for  the  true 
owners,  and  restored  the  lands  unto  them ; 
whereat  his  wife  and  ehi’dren  were  much 
amazed,  saying  that  he  would  make  them  all 
beggars.  “  Oh  1  ”  says  he,  “  it  is  better  to  beg 
a  little  while  in  this  world  than  to  burn  for¬ 
ever  in  the  world  to  come ;  better  to  lose  house 
and  lands  here  than  to  be  deprived  of  God 
and  goodness  hereafter.”  Spencer. 

5020.  RESTITUTION,  Substitutionary,  A  coal- 
merchant  in  one  of  our  American  cities  was 
approached  by  a  minister  in  regard  to  the  sal¬ 
vation  of  his  soul.  The  merchant  declared  it 
an  impossibility  for  him  ever  to  become  a 
Christian.  He  gave  as  a  reason  his  mode  of 
business.  For  a  long  term  of  years,  he  had,  ac¬ 
cording  to  a  too  general  custom,  given  short 
weight.  He  had  thus  grown  rich,  and  now 
felt  the  inconsistency  of  seeking  religion  with¬ 
out  restitution.  This  was  impossible :  many 
of  his  customers  were  dead,  others  beyond  his 
knowledge.  The  thought  of  the  poor  who  had 
paid  for  coal  they  had  never  received  rested 
heavily  on  him.  He  asked  the  minister  if  he 
thought  the  substitution  of  a  gift  to  the  poor 
would  be  acceptable  to  God.  The  minister 
advised  him  to  try  it.  A  large  donation,  more 
than  equal  in  amount  of  his  unjust  gains,  was 
accordingly  made,  and  the  merchant  sought 
God  in  earnest.  He  was  happily  converted, 
and  is  to-day  a  prominent  member  of  the 
church. 

5021.  RESTITUTION,  Tardy.  As  a  gentle¬ 
man' in  London  entered  his  house,  he  found  a 
well-dressed  female  sitting  on  the  stairs,  who 
asked  pardon  for  the  liberty  she  had  taken, 
saying,  that,  hearing  the  alarm  of  a  mad-dog, 
she  had  taken  refuge  in  his  house.  On  hear¬ 
ing  her  story,  he  gave  her  some  refreshment ; 
and  she  left,  thanking  him  for  his  civility.  In 
the  evening,  his  lady  missed  her  gold  watch  ; 
and  it  was  concluded  the  female  was  the  thief. 
Fifteen  years  afterwards,  the  watch  was  re¬ 
turned,  with  a  note  from  this  woman,  saying, 
the  gospel  had  changed  her  heart,  and  she  de¬ 
sired  to  return  the  watch  to  its  rightful  owner. 

5022.  RESTITUTION,  a  Test.  If  we  do  not 
restore  that  which  we  have  injuriously  de¬ 
tained  from  another,  our  repentance  is  not  real, 
but  feigned  and  hypocritical.  St.  Augustine. 

5023.  RESTRAINT,  Fatal.  A  contented 

citizen  of  Milan,  who  had  never  passed  beyond 
its  walls  during  sixty  years,  being  ordered  by 
the  governor  not  to  stir  beyond  its  gates,  be¬ 
came  immediately  miserable,  and  felt  so 
powerful  an  inclination  to  do  that  which  he 
had  so  long  contentedly  neglected,  that,  on  his 
application  for  a  release  from  this  restrain!, 
being  refused,  he  became  quite  melancholy, 
and  at  last  died  of  grief.  Burton. 

5©24.  RESULTS,  Expected.  Anglers,  when 
they  have  long  waited,  and  perceive  that 
notlnng  doth  as  much  as  nibble  at  the  bait,  da 
not  impatiently  throw  away  the  rod,  or  break 
the  hook  and  line,  but  pull  up  and  look  upon 
the  bait,  and  so  throw  it  in  again.  Thus 


RESm^RECTIOKT. 


EESURRECTION.  559 


should  every  good  Christian  do,  though  he  hath 
fished  all  night,  and  caught  nothing,  though  he 
hath  been  much  in  prayer  and  labor.  Spencer. 

5025.  RESURRECTION,  Analogies  of  the.  Look 
at  the  unattractive  insect  that  lies  upon  the 
blade  of  grass  or  upon  the  cabbage-leaf;  and, 
in  a  few  short  days,  you  find  that  insect 
floating  in  the  air  in  all  the  beauteous  colors 
of  the  rainbow.  Look  at  the  dry  root  in  the 
gloomy  season  of  winter ;  and,  when  spring 
comes  forth,  you  find  that  root  bloom  into  a 
beauteous  rose.  Look  at  the  egg-shell :  in 
that,  there  is  the  eagle,  that  is  to  wing  its  flight 
above  all  other  birds,  and  rivet  its  eye  upon 
the  meridian  sun.  The  doctrine  of  the  resur¬ 
rection  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  analogies 
of  Nature  or  the  experience  of  our  common 
history.  Dr.  Camming. 

5023.  RESURRECTION,  Analogy  of  the.  One  of 
the  most  wonderful  passages  in  the  life-history 
of  the  infusoria  is  the  encysting  process  which 
at  certain  times  they  undergo,  and  which  serves 
to  preserve  them  under  circumstances  which 
do  not  permit  the  continuance  of  their  ordinary 
activity.  Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  cyst, 
the  movements  of  the  animal  gradually  dimin¬ 
ish,  and  finally  cease  altogether :  its  form 
becomes  more  rounded ;  its  oval  aperture  closes ; 
and  its  cilia  are  cither  lost  or  retracted.  The 
surface  of  the  body  then  exudes  a  gelatinous 
excretion,  which  hardens  around  it  so  as  to 
form  a  complete  codin-like  case,  in  which  the 
torpid  animal  remains  embedded  until  the 
fostering  influences  of  warmth  and  humidity 
again  recall  it  to  an  active  life.  Hartwig. 

5027.  RESURRECTION,  Astonishment  at  the. 
Mr.  MofFatt  was  preaching  upon  the  resur¬ 
rection,  when  Macaba,  a  notorious  chief,  cried 
out,  “  What  are  those  words  about  the  dead  ? 

—  the  dead  arise  V  ”  —  “  Yes,”  said  the  mission¬ 
ary:  “all  the  dead  shall  arise.”  —  “Will  my 
father  arise?” — “Yes,”  answered  the  mis¬ 
sionary.  “  Will  all  the  slain  in  battle  arise  ?  ” 

—  “Yes,”  answered  the  missionary.  “Will 
a'l  that  have  been  killed  and  eaten  by  lions, 
tigers,  and  crocodiles,  arise?”  —  “  Yes,  and 
come  to  judgment.”  —  “  Hark  1  ”  shouted  the 
chief,  turning  to  the  warriors.  “  Ye  wise  men, 
did  your  ears  ever  hear  such  strange  and  un¬ 
heard-of  news?  Uid  you  ever  hear  such  news 
as  this  ?  ”  turning  to  an  old  man,  the  wise  man 
of  his  tribe.  “  Never  1  ”  answered  the  old 
man.  The  chief  then  turned  to  the  mission¬ 
ary,  and  said,  “  Father,  I  love  you  much :  but 
the  words  of  a  resurrection  are  too  great  for 
me.  I  do  not  wish  to  hear  about  the  dead 
rising  again.  The  dead  cannot  rise  :  the 
dead  shall  not  rise  1  ”  —  “  Tell  me,  my  friend, 
why  not,”  said  the  missionary.  “  I  have  slain 
my  thousands  :  shall  they  arise  ?  ” 

5029.  RESURRECTION,  Credibility  of  the.  There 
is  a  story  of  a  servant  receiving  a  silver  cup 
from  his  master,  who  suffers  it  to  fall  into  a 
vessel  of  aquafortis,  and,  seeing  it  disappear, 
contends,  in  argument  with  a  fellow-servant, 
that  its  recovery  is  impossible,  till  the  master 
comes  on  the  scene,  and  infuses  salt  water, 
which  precipitates  the  silver  from  the  solution ; 


and  then,  by  melting  and  hammering  the  metal, 
he  restores  it  to  its  original  shape.  A  skeptic 
was  so  struck  with  this  apologue,  that  he  re¬ 
nounced  his  dissent,  and  became  a  Christian. 

5029.  RESURRECTION,  to  Damnation.  If'aman 
were  ordered  to  bed,  and,  after  he  had  slept,  to 
execution,  it  would  make  his  heart  ache  within 
him ;  yet  a  thousand-fold  worse  than  this  is 
the  condition  of  the  impenitent.  Caivdray. 

5030.  RESURRECTION,  and  Death.  When  we 
pluck  down  a  house,  with  intent  to  rebuild  it, 
or  repair  the  ruins  of  it,  we  warn  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  out  of  it,  lest  they  should  be  soiled  with 
the  dust  and  rubbish,  or  offended  with  the 
noise,  and  so,  for  a  time,  provide  some  other 
place  for  them ;  but,  when  we  have  new  trim¬ 
med  and  dressed  up  the  house,  then  we  bring 
them  back  to  a  hetter  habitation.  Thus  God, 
when  he  overturneth  this  rotten  room  of  our 
flesh,  calleth  out  the  soul  for  a  little  time,  and 
lodgeth  it  with  himself  in  some  corner  of  his 
kingdom,  repaireth  the  imperfections  of  our 
bodies  against  the  resurrection,  and  then,  hav¬ 
ing  made  them  beautiful,  yea,  glorious  and 
incorruptible,  he  doth  put  our  souls  back  again 
into  their  acquainted  mansions.  Chrysostom. 

5031.  RESURRECTION,  Emblems  of  the.  God 
has  filled  all  Nature  with  continual  emblems  of 
this  doctrine.  He  has  given  a  great  number 
of  illustrations  in  the  arrangements  of  Nature 
and  Providence.  What  is  night  but  the  death 
of  day  ?  What  is  morning  but  its  resurrection 
from  the  shades  of  darkness  ?  What  is  win¬ 
ter  but  the  death  of  the  year?  In  the  dead 
leaves,  you  see  emblems  of  death  scattered 
wherever  you  go.  What  is  spring  but  a  resur¬ 
rection  ?  Look  at  that  unsightly  seed,  without 
any  appearance  of  life,  thrown  into  the  earth ; 
and  then,  the  particles  separating,  there  springs 
up  the  plant  1  Behold  it  unfolding  and  budding 
and  blossoming,  and  casting  its  fragrance  all 
around  !  that  is  its  resurrection.  We  see  the 
insect-tribe  give  their  evidence  ;  living  fre¬ 
quently  and  absolutely  in  different  states  and 
elements,  —  sometimes  crawling,  as  a  worm; 
then  lying  in  apparent  torpor ;  then  bursting 
the  shell,  and,  with  wings  of  beauty  and  activ¬ 
ity,  skimming  the  atmosphere.  It.  Watson. 

5032.  RESURRECTION,  Faith  in  the,  Madame 
de  Gasparin  visited  a  crypt  at  Palermo,  where 
thousands  of  skeletons,  in  every  variety  of  posi¬ 
tion,  were  seen.  There  were  the  mingled  bones 
and  the  nameless  dust,  an  indistinguishable 
mass  1  She  took  a  handful  of  the  dust,  gazed 
upon  it,  and  was  filled  with  doubt  of  the  pos¬ 
sibility  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  She 
hastened  back  into  the  daylight,  when  she  sud¬ 
denly  saw  the  symbol  I.  N.  R.  I. ;  and  a  voice 
echoed  in  her  heart,  “  Believest  thou  that  I 
am  able  to  do  this  ?  ”  She  responded,  “  Yea, 
verily,  Thou  wilt  do  it;”  and  from  that  day 
forth  never  doubted  the  doctrine  of  the  resur¬ 
rection. 

5033.  RESURRECTION,  Germ  of  the.  The  Jew¬ 
ish  rabbins  taught  the  existence  of  a  little 
indestructible  bone  at  the  base  of  the  spinal 
column,  called  “  luz,”  from  which  they’  sup¬ 
posed  the  resurrection-body  to  spring.  Of  this 


560  TtESUTNRIECTIOISr. 


RESURRECTION. 


we  have  the  following  legend  :  Hadrian  asked 
R.  Joshua  Ben  Ilananiah,  “  How  doth  a  man 
revive  again  in  the  world  to  come  ?  ”  lie  an¬ 
swered  and  said,  “  From  luz  in  the  backbone.” 
Saitli  he  to  him,  “  Demonstrate  this  to  me.” 
Then  he  took  luz,  a  little  bone  out  of  the 
backbone,  and  put  it  in  water,  and  it  was  not 
steeped  ;  he  put  it  in  the  fire,  and  it  was 
not  burned  ;  he  brought  it  to  the  mill,  and 
that  could  not  grind  it ;  he  laid  it  on  the  an¬ 
vil  and  knocked  it  with  a  hammer,  but  the 
anvil  was  cleft,  and  the  hammer  broken. 

5034.  RESURRECTION,  Harvest  of  the.  Look¬ 

ing  at  those  grassy  mounds  in  the  light  of  this 
truth,  the  eye  of  faith  sees  them  change  into 
a  field  sown  with  the  seeds  of  immortality. 
Blessed  field  1  What  flowers  shall  spring  there  1 
What  a  harvest  shall  be  gathered  there  1  In 
the  neighboring  fields,  “  whatsoever  a  man 
soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap ;  ”  but  here  how 
great  the  difference  between  what  is  sown 
amid  mourners’  tears,  and  what  shall  be  reaped 
amid  angels’ joys  1  between  the  poor  body  that 
we  restore  to  the  earth,  and  the  noble  form 
that  shall  spring  from  its  ashes !  Those  who 
saw  Lazarus’  putrid  corpse,  with  health  glow¬ 
ing  on  its  cheek,  saw  nothing  to  match  the 
change  the  grave  shall  work  on  these  moulder¬ 
ing  bones.  ,  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5035.  RESURRECTION,  Heathen  Ideas  of  the. 

The  heathen  sorrowed  without  hope.  A  shat¬ 
tered  pillar;  a  ship  gone  to  pieces; 'a  race 
lost ;  a  harp  lying  on  the  ground  with  snapped 
strings,  with  all  its  music  lost;  a  flower-bud 
crushed  with  all  its  fragrance  in  it,  —  these 
were  the  sad  utterances  of  their  hopeless  grief. 
The  thought  that  death  was  the  gate  of  life 
came  not  in  to  cheer  the  parting,  or  brighten 
the  sepulchre.  Bonar. 

5036.  RESURRECTION,  Joy  of  the,  As  a 
cripple  would  rejoice  to  hear  that  his  limbs 
should  be  restored  perfect,  or  the  beggar  that 
he  should  be  clad  in  silk  and  gold ;  so  much 
more  ought  Christians  to  rejoice  to  hear  of 
the  restoration  of  the  integrity  and  innocency 
of  the  body  in  the  resurrection.  Cawdray. 

503?.  RESURRECTION,  Legend  of.  In  the 
Decian  persecution,  six  Ephesian  young  men 
fled  into  a  cave  on  Mt.  Coelian.  Their  pur¬ 
suers  discovered  them,  and  stopped  up  the 
mouth  of  the  cave.  There  they  fell  asleep. 
In  the  reign  of  Theodosius,  a  heresy  arose, 
which  denied  the  resurrection.  At  this  time, 
an  Ephesian  discovered  the  cavern  on  Mt. 
Coelian ;  and,  when  the  light  penetrated  it,  the 
seven  young  men  arose,  as  if  from  the  sleep  of 
a  single  night.  One  of  them  was  sent  to  the 
city  for  food,  and  wondered  much  at  the 
changes  everywhere  visible.  At  the  baker’s, 
he  offered  strange  coin  in  payment  for  bread, 
and  was  dragged  before  the  bishop;  where  the 
truths  of  this  legend  came  out.  The  principal 
inhabitants  of  the  city  went  to  the  cave,  and 
found  the  young  men  with  the  freshness  of 
roses  on  their  cheeks,  and  a  holy  light  around 
them.  Theodosius  himself  came,  to  whom 
they  said,  “  Believe  in  us,  O  emperor  1  for  we 
have  been  raised  before  the  day  of  judgment, 


in  order  that  thou  mightest  believe  in  tht, 
resurrection  of  the  dead.”  Then  they  gave  up 
the  ghost.  This  resurrection  occurred  after  a 
sleep  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  years. 

5038.  RESURRECTION,  Marvel  of  the,  If 

this  earth  could  but  have  its  mantle  torn  awaj 
for  a  little  while,  if  the  green  sod  could  be  cut 
from  it,  and  we  could  look  about  six  feet  deep 
into  its  bowels,  what  a  world  it  would  seeml 
What  should  we  see  ?  Bones,  carcasses,  rot¬ 
tenness,  worms,  corruption.  And  you  would 
say,  Can  these  dry  bones  live  ?  Can  they 
start  up V  Yes  1  “In  a  moment,  in  the  twin¬ 
kling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump,  the  dead  shall 
be  raised.”  He  speaks  :  they  are  alive.  See 
them  scattered  1  bone  comes  to  his  bone. 
See  them  naked  1  flesh  comes  upon  them. 
See  them  still  lifeless  1  “  Come  from  the  four 

winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these 
slain  !  ”  When  the  wind  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
comes,  they  live;  and  they  stand  upon  their 
feet  an  exceeding  great  army.  Spurgeon. 

5039.  RESURRECTION,  Personal.  As,  when 
different  seeds  are  cast  into  the  ground  togeth¬ 
er,  each  produces  its  proper  herb  ;  so  the  bod¬ 
ies  of  meti,  though  mingled  in  the  dust,  shall 
each  receive  its  own  flesh  in  the  resurrection. 

Cawdray. 

5®  40.  RESURRECTION,  Power  in  the,  Do  you 
see  that  beautiful  little  humming-bird  dancing 
from  flower  to  flower,  like  a  spirit  of  flowers  ? 
He  was  once  confined  to  the  little  mummy 
shell  ;  but  God  brought  him  out.  See  that 
looking-glass  ;  how  perfectly  you  can  see  your 
face  and  form,  and  every  hair  on  your  forehead, 
in  it  1  But  had  you  seen  the  coarse  sand  lie 
on  the  seashore,  before  the  workmen  began, 
would  you  think  that  they  could  make  such  a 
thing  from  that  sand  ?  So  God  will  raise  us 
up  from  the  grave  by  his  wisdom  and  power. 

Dr.  J.  Todd. 

5®41.  RESURRECTION,  Recognition  of  the, 
The  Jewish  synagogues  are  called  Beth  Chay- 
im,  house  of  the  living.  The  Greek  original 
of  cemetery,  means  a  sleeping-place.  The  Ger¬ 
mans  call  the  burying-place  God's  acre.  The 
rosemary,  which  has  been  sometimes  distrib¬ 
uted  at  funerals,  is  symbolic  of  the  hope  of 
resurrection.  The  Jews,  as  they  carried  a 
corpse  to  burial,  had  a  custom  of  plucking  a 
handful  of  grass,  denoting,  that,  as  the  cropped 
grass  would  grow  again,  so  the  dead  would 
come  up  in  his  season. 

5042.  RESURRECTION,  Similes  of  the.  Both 
philosophers  and  divines  have  written  of  the 
phoenix,  that  first  she  is  consumed  to  ashes  by 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  that  afterwards  of  her 
ashes  arises  a  young  one  ;  and  in  this  manner 
is  her  kind  preserved.  Again  :  swallows, 
worms,  and  flies,  which  have  lain  dead  in  the 
winter  season,  in  the  spring,  by  the  virtue  of 
the  sun’s  heat,  revive  again ;  so,  likewise,  men 
fall  in  swoons  and  trances,  being  for  a  time 
without  breath  or  show  of  life,  and  yet  after¬ 
wards  come  again.  And  so  (to  use  Paul’s  ex- 
ample^),  before  the  corn  can  grow,  and  bear 
fruit,  it  must  first  be  cast  into  the  ground,  and 
there  rot.  And,  if  this  were  not  seen  by  ex 


EESUEKECTIOX. 


RETRIBUTION'.  561 


perienre,  men  would  not  believe  it.  Again  : 
every  present  day  is  as  it  were  dead  and 
buried  in  the  night  following  ;  and  afterwards 
it  returns  again  the  next  morning.  Perkins. 

5043.  RESURRECTION,  Type  of  the.  A  vase 
closely  sealed  was  found  in  a  mummy-pit  in 
Egypt,  by  the  English  traveller  Wilkinson, 
who  sent  it  to  the  British  Museum.  The  li¬ 
brarian,  having  unfortunately  broken  it,  dis¬ 
covered  in  it  a  few  peas,  old,  wrinkled,  and 
as  hard  as  a  stone.  The  peas  were  planted 
carefully  under  a  glass,  on  the  4th  of  June, 
1844  ;  and,  at  the  end  of  thirty  days,  these 
seeds  were  seen  to  spring  up  into  new  life. 
They  had  been  buried,  probably,  about  three 
thousand  years  ago,  perhaps  in  the  time  of 
Moses,  and  had  slept  all  that  time,  apparently 
dead,  yet  still  living,  in  the  dust  of  the  tomb. 

Gaussen. 

5044.  RETALIATION,  Example  of.  A  trav¬ 
eller  to  the  Levant  tells  of  two  boys,  one  of 
whom  stabbed  the  other  in  a  quarrel,  the  dag¬ 
ger  entering  his  throat,  piercing  his  tongue, 
and  grazing  the  roof  of  his  mouth.  When  it 
was  known,  a  young  man  stood  forth,  and  asked 
for  the  relatives  of  the  wounded  boy.  It  ap- 

earing  that  he  had  no  friends,  the  young  man 
ecame  his  avenger,  started  after  the  assassin, 
caught  him  after  a  hard  race,  brought  him 
back.  The  wounds  of  his  victim  were  then 
examined ;  and  a  precisely  similar  one  was  in¬ 
flicted  upon  him.  lie  was  thrown  bleeding 
upon  the  sand,  where  both  lay  bleeding  side 
by  side,  an  illustration  of  the  old  law  of  an 
eye  for  an  eye. 

5045.  RETALIATION,  Legend  of.  One  day, 
Ambrose  went  to  the  prefect  Macedonius,  to 
entreat  favor  for  a  poor  condemned  wretch  ; 
but  the  doors  were  shut  against  him,  and  he 
was  refused  access.  Then  he  said,  “  Thou, 
even  thou,  shalt  fly  to  the  church  for  refuge, 
and  shalt  not  enter.”  And,  a  short  time  after¬ 
wards,  Macedonius,  being  pursued  by  his  ene¬ 
mies,  fled  for  sanctuary  to  the  church ;  but, 
though  the  doors  were  wide  open,  he  could  not 
find  the  entrance,  but  wandered  around  in 
blind  perplexity  till  he  was  slain. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

5046.  RETIREMENT,  Advised.  Depart  from 

the  highway,  and  transplant  thyself  in  some 
enclosed  ground  ;  for  it  is  hard  tor  a  tree  that 
stands  by  the  wayside  to  keep  her  fruit  till  it 
be  ripe.  Chrysostom. 

5047.  RETIREMENT,  Examples  of.  A  captain 
of  Adrian’s  guards,  who  retired  from  active 
life,  aged  sixty,  dictated  the  following  epitaph 
for  himself:  “  Here  lies  Similis,  who  lived  but 
seven  years,  though  he  died  at  sixty-seven.” 
An  oflieer  asked  a  discharge  of  Charles  V., 
assigning  as  a  reason,  that  there  ought  to  be  a 
pause  between  the  hurry  of  life  and  the  day 
of  death. 

5048.  RETREAT,  Impossible.  At  the  battle 
of  Nieuport,  in  the  year  1G00,  Prince  Maurice 
sent  away  his  ships,  that  there  might  be  no 
means  of  retreat  for  his  troops.  In  leading 
them  to  engage,  he  said,  “  My  friends,  you 
have  Nieuport  behind  you,  which  is  in  posses- 

36 


sion  of  the  enemy,  the  sea  on  vour  left,  a 
river  on  the  right,  and  the  encmv  in  front : 
there  is  no  other  way  for  you  to  pass,  but  over 
the  bodies  of  these  men.”  By  this  heroic  res¬ 
olution,  he  gained  a  battle  which  saved  the  re¬ 
public,  and  did  himself  the  highest  honor. 

Percy. 

5049.  RETREAT,  Preventing.  When  Cortez 
set  out  to  make  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  he 
caused  his  ships  to  be  burned  in  sight  of  his 
followers,  so  that  all  might  feel  that  there  was 
no  hope  for  them  except  in  victory.  Their 
desperation  made  them  perform  prodigies  of 
valor,  and  secured  them  the  conquest. 

5059.  RETRIBUTION,  Exact.  The  huntsman 
of  Farmestcin  was  shot  dead  in  the  forest  by 
some  unknown  hand.  Twenty  years  after,  his 
son,  who  had  obtained  the  same  position,  shot 
at  a  stag,  but,  missing  it,  hit  an  unseen  man. 
As  he  lay  dying,  he  said  to  the  huntsman,  “  I 
am  the  man  who  shot  your  father,  just  here, 
under  this  oak.  The  very  ground  where  we 
now  are  was  dyed  with  his  blood ;  and  it  has 
evidently  been  destined  that  you,  son  of  the 
murdered  man,  should  on  this  precise  spot, 
without  any  thought  or  intention  of  such  a 
thinn,  avenge  the  act  on  me.  God  is  just,”  he 
exclaimed,  and  presently  expired. 

5058.  RETRIBUTION,  Examples  of.  Herod 
the  Great,  the  slayer  of  the  innocents,  and 
first  persecutor  of  Christianity,  was  over¬ 
whelmed  with  agonizing  physical  disease;  and 
his  numerous  family  was  extinct  in  a  hundred 
years.  Pontius  Pilate,  who  condemmed  Christ, 
was  soon  after  expelled  from  office,  and  com¬ 
mitted  suicide.  The  persecutor  Nero,  after 
slaying  thousands  of  Christians,  among  them 
Peter  and  Paul,  attempted  to  take  his  own 
life ;  but,  failing  through  cowardice,  called 
others  to  his  aid.  The  persecutor  Domitian 
was  murdered  by  his  own  people.  So  was  it 
with  the  Emperors  Caius,  Severus,  and  Ileli- 
ogabalus.  Scarcely  one,  if  any,  of  the  promi¬ 
nent  persecutors  of  the  Church  escaped  signal 
retribution.  The  Emperor  Claudius  was  eaten 
of  worms.  Decius,  Gallus,  Aurelian,  Maximin, 
all  persecutors  of  the  Church,  died  deaths  of 
violence.  Maximinus  put  out  the  eyes  of 
thousands  of  Christians ;  soon  after  which  a 
fearful  disease  of  the  eyes  broke  out  among 
his  people,  of  which  himself  died  in  great 
agony.  Valens,  who  caused  fourscore  pres¬ 
byters  to  be  sent  to  sea  in  a  ship,  and  burnt 
alive,  himself  defeated  by  the  Goths,  fled  to 
a  cottage,  where  he  was  burnt  alive. 

505£.  RETRIBUTION,  Peculiar.  It  is  Stated, 
that  a  proud,  haughty,  impious  man  built  a 
costly  mansion  in  New  Jersey,  from  which  the 
Redeemer  was  purposely  excluded.  A  poor 
but  pious  woman  called  on  the  owner  one  day, 
and  asked  a  small  contribution  to  aid  a  reli¬ 
gious  work  in  which  she  was  engaged.  He 
defied  her  and  her  Master.  She  told  him  that 
his  lordly  estate  would  be  used  some  day  to 
train  holy  men  for  the  ministry  of  that  Saviour 
whom  he  despised.  And  so  it  has  proved. 
That  costly  mansion  is  now  occupied  by  the 
Drew  Theological  Seminary. 


562 


RETKrBXJTIOKT. 


EEYENGE. 


5053.  RETRIBUTION,  Social,  Society  is  like 

the  echoing  hills.  It  gives  back  to  the  speaker 
his  words,  groan  for  groan,  song  for  song. 
Wouldest  thou  have  tliy  social  scenes  to  re¬ 
sound  wi  th  music  ?  then  speak  ever  in  the 
melodious  strains  of  truth  and  love.  “  With 
what  measure  ye  mete  it  shall  be  measured  to 
you  again.’''  Dr.  Thomas. 

5054.  RETRIBUTION,  Unexpected.  The  dog 
of  Montargis  vainly  defended  his  master, 
Aubri  de  Montdidier,  when  set  upon  by  his 
mortal  foe  Macaire,  then  lay  day  and  night 
on  the  forest-grave  where  Macaire  hoped  his 
crime  was  hidden,  only  going  to  the  house  of 
his  master’s  chief  friend  in  Paris  for  his  daily 
meal,  until  at  length  he  was  followed,  the 
ground  searched,  the  murder  discovered,  and 
the  corpse  freshly  buried.  Afterwards,  the 
dog’s  furious  attacks  upon  Macaire  were 
deemed  an  accusation ;  and  the  matter  was  put 
to  the  proof  by  the  ordeal  of  combat  in  the 
Isle  de  Notre  Dame.  The  dog  had  a  tub  into 
which  he  might  retire  ;  the  man,  a  club  and  a 
shield.  The  combat  was  so  lengthy,  that 
Macaire,  no  doubt  from  the  force  of  conscience, 
was  so  worn  out,  that  he  fainted  away,  and,  on 
coming  to  himself,  owned  the  deed. 

Golden  Deeds. 

5055.  REVELATION,  Light  of.  A  solitary 

traveller  lands  upon  some  unknown  coast  at 
morning  twilight.  Mists  veil  the  landscape 
and  obscure  the  sky.  Adjacent  things  assume 
unreal  shapes,  and  distant  ones  are  still  more 
shrouded  with  vagueness  and  uncertainty. 
Upwards  he  walks  along  the  beach,  whose 
paths  are  washed  by  each  returning  tide,  oblit¬ 
erating  every  step  of  man.  He  looks  around, 
in  this  uncertainty,  for  something  to  direct 
him.  With  strained  eyes  he  sees,  or  thinks 
he  sees,  the  adjacent  town  ;  yet  all  may  he  but 
fancy  or  illusion.  That  which  he  takes  to  be 
the  neighboring  spire  may  only  be  some  tall 
and  upright  tree ;  and  that  which  seems  the 
body  of  the  church  may  prove  a  mound  or 
hillock.  Yet  on  he  goes,  believing,  hoping, 
seeking ;  when,  lo  1  the  sun  rises,  mists  dis¬ 
perse,  uncertainty  rolls  westward  her  thick 
clouds  of  obscurity,  and  all  the  landscape 
brightens  beneath  his  view  in  the  full  blaze 
of  day.  Thus  it  is  with  the  man  who  fondly 
seeks  in  Nature’s  twilight  to  find  out  God,  or 
understand  him  to  perfection  ;  and  so  irradi¬ 
ating  is  the  light  of  revelation  when  it  dawns 
upen  the  soul.  Roigg. 

5056.  REVELATION,  Needed.  Varro,  a  Roman 

writer  of  the  first  century  B.C.,  states,  that,  in 
his  day,  he  had  been  at  the  pains  to  collect 
the  various  opinions  on  the  question,  “  What 
is  the  true  object  of  human  life?”  in  other 
words,  “  What  is  the  supreme  good  Y  ”  He 
had  reckoned  up  as  many  as  three  hundred  and 
twenty  different  answers.  How  needful  is 
divine  revelation!  and  how  essential  to  those 
who  are  starting  in  life,  that  a  heavenly  guide 
should  teach  them  the  true  end  and  purpose 
of  earthly  existence  !  Biblical  Treasury. 

5057.  REVENGE,  Determined.  You  may  have 
read  of  a  real  instance  of  a  Spaniard,  who, 


being  injured  by  another  inhabitant  of  th* 
same  town,  resolved  to  destroy  him.  The  other 
was  apprised  of  this,  and  removed  with  the 
utmost  secrecy,  as  he  thought,  to  another  town 
at  a  considerable  distance,  where,  however,  he 
had  not  been  more  than  a  day  or  two,  before 
he  found  that  his  enemy  also  was  there.  He 
removed  in  the  same  manner  to  several  parts 
of  the  kingdom  remote  from  each  other ;  but 
in  every  place  quickly  perceived  his  deadly 
pursuer  was  near  him.  At  last,  lie  went  to 
South  America,  where  he  had  enjoyed  his 
security  but  a  very  short  time,  before  his  re¬ 
lentless  pursuer  came  up  with  him,  and  accom¬ 
plished  his  purpose.  J.  Foster. 

5058.  REVENGE,  Implication  of  A  young 
man  who  had  great  cause  of  complaint  against 
another  told  an  old  hermit  that  he  was  re¬ 
solved  to  be  avenged.  The  good  old  man  did 
all  that  he  could  to  dissuade  him ;  but  seeing 
that  it  was  impossible,  and  the  young  man 
persisted  in  seeking  vengeance,  he  said  to  him, 
“  At  least,  my  young  friend,  let  us  pray  to- 

etlier  before  you  execute  your  design.”  Then 
e  began  to  pray  in  this  way  :  “  It  is  no  longer 
necessary,  O  God  1  that  thou  shouldst  defend 
this  young  man,  and  declare  thyself  his  pro¬ 
tector,  since  he  has  taken  upon  himself  the 
right  of  seeking  his  own  revenge.”  The 
younw  man  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  old 
hermit,  and  prayed  for  pardon  for  his  wicked 
thought,  and  Teelared  that  he  would  no  longer 
seek  revenge  of  those  who  had  injured  him. 

5059.  REVENGE,  Meanness  of  Revenge  is  a 

cruel  word  :  manhood ,  some  call  it ;  but  it  is 
rather  doghood.  The  manlier  any  man  is,  the 
milder  and  more  merciful,  as  Julius  Caesar, 
who,  when  he  had  Pompey’s  head  presented 
to  him,  wept,  and  said,  “  I  seek  not  revenge, 
but  victory.”  John  Trapp. 

5060.  REVENGE,  Noble.  A  rude  undertaker 
struck  a  weeping  boy  away  from  his  mother’s 
coffin,  and  elicited  the  retort,  “  I’ll  kill  you  for 
that  1  ”  At  a  later  day,  the  undertaker  was 
arraigned  for  trial  in  a  criminal  court.  A 
young  man  volunteered  for  his  defence,  whose 
genius  entranced  all,  and  secured  his  acquittal. 
The  acquitted  thanked  his  volunteer  advocate. 
He  refused  thanks,  reminded  the  other  of  the 
scene  at  his  mother’s  coffin,  and  said  that  he 
had  now  sweet  revenge. 

5061.  REVENGE,  Pleasure  of  The  pleasur* 

of  revenge  is  like  the  pleasure  of  eating  chalk 
and  coals :  a  foolish  disease  made  the  appe¬ 
tite,  and  it  is  entertained  with  an  evil  reward. 
It  is  like  the  feeding  of  a  cancer  or  a  wolf :  the 
man  is  restless  until  it  be  done ;  and,  when  it  is, 
every  man  secs  how  infinitely  he  is  removed 
from  satisfaction  or  felicity.  Bp.  Taylor. 

5062.  REVENGE,  Punishment  of  On  him 

that  takes  revenge,  revenge  shall  be  taken ; 
and  by  a  real  evil  he  shall  dearly  pay  for  the 
goods  that  are  but  airy  and  fantastical.  It  is 
like  a  rolling  stone,  which,  when  a  man  hath 
forced  up  a  hill,  will  return  upon  him  with  a 
greater  violence,  and  break  those  bones  whose 
sinews  gave  it  motion.  Bp.  Taylor . 

!  5063.  REVENGE,  Right.  A  young  girl  in 


RE^RKNCE. 


REVIVALS. 


563 


South  Africa  was  seized  in  a  wood  by  a  savage 
enemy  of  her  father’s,  who  cut  off  both  her 
hands,  and  then  sent  her,  bleeding,  home. 
Many  years  passed :  the  poor  girl  recovered 
from  her  wounds.  One  day,  there  came  to  her 
father’s  door  a  poor  man  who  asked  for  alms. 
The  girl  knew  him  at  once  as  the  cruel 
man  that  had  cut  off  her  hands.  She  went 
into  the  hut.  ordered  a  servant  to  take  him 
bread  and  milk,  as  much  as  he  could  eat ;  and 
sat  down  and  watched  him.  When  he  had 
done,  she  dropped  the  covering  that  had  hid 
her  handless  wrists  from  view,  and,  holding 
them  up  before  him,  uttered  a  sentence  mean¬ 
ing,  “  I  have  had  my  revenge  1  ”  —  the  very  sen¬ 
tence  he  had  uttered  when  he  so  cruelly 
maimed  her.  The  man  was  overwhelmed. 
The  secret  was,  the  girl  had  become  a  Chris¬ 
tian. 

5064.  REVERENCE,  Christian.  The  traveller 
in  Eastern  countries  lays  off  his  sandals,  tar¬ 
nished  with  the  dust  of  the  way,  at  the  gate  of 
the  palace  which  he  would  enter.  The  Chris¬ 
tian  pilgrim  should  lay  aside  his  week-day 
thoughts,  and  devoutly  enter  the  church,  and 
engage  in  the  worship  of  the  Most  High. 

5065.  REVERENCE,  Decay  of.  Most  of  our 
churches  have  two  doors.  Superstition  crept  in 
long  since  at  the  one  ;  and  profaneness,  in  later 
days,  shouldered  in  at  the  other.  Spencer. 

5066.  REVERENCE,  Example  of.  Robert 
Boyle  never  mentioned  the  name  of  God  with¬ 
out  a  visible  pause  in  his  discourse. 

5067.  REVIVALS,  Agents  of.  These  are  usual¬ 
ly  praying  people.  A  Bible,  a  religious  book, 
a  child’s  words,  some  startling  providence,  has 
precipitated  a  revival.  The  earnest  prayers 
and  labors  of  one  person  have  turned  a  whole 
community  upside  down.  God  uses  his  people 
to  do  his  work  ;  and,  if  these  fail,  he  can  har¬ 
ness  his  enemies  to  draw  the  car  of  salvation. 

506S.  REVIVALS,  Aim  for,  There  are  preach¬ 
ers  by  myriads  and  majorities,  and  deeply' 
pious  ones  too,  that  never  once  in  all  their 
iives  distinctly  concentrated  their  purposes  to 
the  single  point  of  converting  men.  Their 
efforts  are  to  finish  an  eloquent  sermon,  to 
develop  theological  or  biblical  truth,  to  thrill 
aesthetically  an  audience,  to  pour  forth  general 
religious  emotion,  to  spread  a  popular  fame,  to 
gather  crowds,  to  build  a  large  church,  &c. 
Verily  these  have  often  their  reward,  namely, 
success  in  their  objects.  But  here  is  a  lone¬ 
some  preacher  who  does  not  object  to  all 
these ;  but  with  or  without  them,  by  study, 
by  closet,  by  pulpit,  by  pastoral  work,  some  or 
all,  he  means  to  convert  souls,  and  just  so  many 
as  he  can.  Where  this  is  attained,  all  the 
other  success  is  well  enough.  Where  this  is 
not  attained,  all  the  other  success  does  not 
comfort  him  a  penny' :  he  goes  off  crest-fallen 
and  disappointed,  indignant  at  the  Devil  and 
himself.  He  will  not  stay  there  where  Satan 
has  beaten  him  ;  but  he  will  go  where,  please 
God,  he  can  get  some  souls.  Dr.  Whedon. 

5069.  REVIVALS,  Anxiety  for.  Mr.  Finney 
tells  of  a  blacksmith  whose  agony  became  so 
great  at  thought  of  the  condition  of  the  church 


|  and  of  sinners,  that  he  could  not  work ;  so 
locked  up  his  shop,  and  spent  the  afternoon 
in  prayer.  This  was  followed  by  a  powerful 
revival. 

5070.  REVIVALS,  Beginning  of.  Some  revivals 
resemble  underground  rivers,  running  un¬ 
known  to  everybody  till  they  discover  them¬ 
selves.  Most  revivals  of  God’s  work  I  have 
thought  begin  in  this  secret  way.  ,/.  Caugliey. 

5071.  REVIVALS,  Constant.  Constant  revival, 
no  autumn,  no  winter,  but  perpetual  summer, 
is  that  which  the  church  needs,  and  which 
must  precede  the  coming  millennium. 

5072.  REVIVALS,  Decision  in.  Jacob  Knapp, 
who  began  revival-services  in  Penn  Yan, 
N.Y.,  and  continued  them  night  after  night, 
for  three  weeks,  without  a  conversion,  while 
unbelievers  were  triumphing  in  his  supposed 
defeat,  said,  “  My  bones  bleach  in  Penn  Yan, 
or  I  see  the  work  of  the  Lord  prosper.”  That 
very  night,  a  tide  of  conviction  swept  through 
the  town  ;  and  a  mighty  revival  followed.  God 
honors  earnestness  and  devotion  to  his  own 
work. 

5073.  REVIVALS,  Description  of.  A  revival 

is  the  spring  of  religion,  the  renovation  of  life 
and  gladness.  It  is  the  season  in  which  young 
converts  burst  into  existence  and  beautiful  ac¬ 
tivity.  The  Church  resumes  her  toil  and  labor 
and  care  with  freshness  and  energy.  The  air 
all  around  is  balmy,  and  diffusing  the  sweetest 
odors.  The  whole  landscape  teems  with  living 
promises  of  abundant  harvest  of  righteousness 
and  peace.  It  is  the  jubilee  of  holiness.  A 
genial  warmth  pervades  and  refreshes  the 
whole  Church.  Showers  of  “  vernal  delight 
and  joy  ”  descend  gently  and  copiously.  De¬ 
lightful  influences  are  wafted  by  every  breeze. 
Where  the  dead  leaves  of  winter  still  linger, 
the  primrose  and  the  daisy  spring  up  in  modest 
loveliness.  Trees  long  barren  put  forth  the 
buds  of  beauty  and  power.  The  whole  val¬ 
ley  is  crowned  with  fragrant  and  varied  blos¬ 
soms.  Forms  of  beauty  bloom  on  every  side, 
and  Zion  is  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth.  If 
tlie  spirit  that  renews  the  face  of  the  earth  is 
a  spirit  of  beauty  in  the  elegance  of  the  germs, 
the  tints  of  the  buds,  the  verdure  of  the  foliage, 
the  splendor  of  the  blossoms,  and  the  witch¬ 
ing  glories  of  the  matured  fruits  of  Nature, 
“  how  great  is  His  beauty  ”  when  acting  out 
His  lovely  and  holy'  perfections  in  revivals  of 
religion.  Dr.  Jenkyn. 

5074.  REVIVALS,  Effects  of.  In  the  revival 
shadowed  in  the  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry 
bones,  there  was  first  a  noise,  and  then  a  shak¬ 
ing,  throughout  all  the  plain.  Revivals  always 
produce  vigorous  stirrings  in  a  church,  and  ex¬ 
citement  in  a  neighborhood.  The  smooth  and 
chilling  ice  of  the  frigid  latitudes  of  formality 
is  disturbed  and  broken  up  ;  and  all  the  barks 
and  ships  that  were  frozen  in  them  are  set  at 
liberty.  The  snows  of  winter  are  melted  from 
the  face  of  the  earth,  and  all  men  awaken  to 
activity  and  labor.  Revivals  disturb  the  for¬ 
malist,  tile  indolent,  the  lukewarm,  and  the 
wicked.  They  produce  a  turbulence  in  the 
conscience,  an  agitation  in  the  mind,  tumult  in 


564 


RICH. 


the  emotions,  commotion  in  the  sympathies, 
and  vigorous  animation  in  all  the  faculties. 

Dr.  Jerikyn. 

5075.  REVIVALS,  Intercession  in.  A  cripple 
boy  in  England,  during  the  progress  of  a  re¬ 
vival,  though  lie  could  not  go  to  the  services, 
used  to  single  out  his  unconverted  acquaint¬ 
ances,  set  apart  a  time,  and  pray  for  them  by 
name.  This  he  continued  to  do  till  nearly 
fifty  were  converted  in  answer  to  his  prayers. 

6076.  REVIVALS,  Prayer  for.  A  pious  sick 
man  in  the  western  part  of  New  York  used  to 
pray  for  the  preachers  and  churches  of  his  ac¬ 
quaintance  daily,  at  set  hours.  In  his  diary 
was  found  entries  like  this,  “  To-day  I  have 
been  enabled  to  offer  the  prayer  of  faith  for  a 
revival  in  such  a  church.”  So  through  the 
list.  It  is  said  that  each  church  was  soon  en¬ 
joying  a  revival,  and  nearly  in  the  order  of 
time  named  in  the  diary. 

5077.  REVIVALS,  Result  of.  A  Roman- 
Catholic  peasant-boy  in  Ireland  is  reported  to 
have  listened  attentively  to  a  priest  earnestly 
denouncing  the  “  revival,”  and  warning  the 
people  against  it  as  the  work  of  the  Devil. 
“  Alt,  thin,  your  riverince  1  ”  replied  the  lad, 
“  it  must  be  a  new  divil ;  for  that’s  not  the 
way  the  ould  divil  used  to  make  the  people 
behave  themselves.” 

507S.  REVIVALS,  Results  in.  A  word,  a 
look,  which  at  one  timt  would  make  no  im¬ 
pression,  at  another  time  wounds  the  heart ; 
and,  like  a  shaft  Hying  with  the  wind,  pierces 
deep,  which,  with  its  own  natural  force,  would 
scarce  have  reached  the  object  aimed  at. 

Sterne. 

5079.  REVIVALS,  Waiting  for.  Far  in  the 
woods  of  Maine,  in  the  winter  months,  there 
are  a  hundred  camps  ;  and  scores  of  axemen 
are  busy  cutting  down  the  huge  trees,  and 
measuring  the  logs,  and  sorting  them,  and 
throwing  them  into  deep  gullies,  where  they 
will  lie  dry  and  undisturbed  until  the  snows 
melt,  and  the  spring  floods  come;  and  then 
they  will  be  borne  out  of  the  ravines  into  the 
ever  deep-flowing  river,  and  from  thence  to 
some  Penobscot  or  Kennebec  ;  and  there,  col¬ 
lected  together,  and  bound  in  mighty  rafts, 
they  will  float  down  to  tide-waters.  So  men 
are  lying,  dry  logs  along  empty  channels,  hop¬ 
ing  that  some  revival  freshet  will  come,  and 
sweep  them  down  to  deep  waters  of  piety. 

Beecher. 

5080.  REWARD,  Certain.  Dionysius  caused 
musicians  to  play  before  him,  and  promised 
them  a  great  reward.  When  they  came  for 
their  reward,  he  told  them  they  had  already 
had  it  in  their  hopes  of  it.  God  does  not  dis¬ 
appoint  his  servants.  Christ  says,  “  My  re¬ 
ward  is  with  me.” 

5081.  REWARD,  Divine.  Bishop  Kingsley’s 
is  the  proudest  ecclesiastical  distinction  of  the 
century.  If  spared  to  complete  his  tour,  his 
name  will  have  historic  conspicuity  as  the  first 
of  his  office  who  ever  inspected  the  Lord’s 
great  flock  the  whole  world  round.  History 
relates,  that,  when  the  first  actual  circumnavi¬ 
gator  of  the  globe  reported  to  his  king,  the 


king  embraced  him  with  delight,  elevated  him 
at  once  to  noble  rank,  and  granted  him  a  coat 
of  arms  of  fit  devices,  in  which  a  globe  was 
bordered  with  the  proud  inscription,  Piimun 
me  circumdedisti.  Such  a  reception,  such  dis¬ 
tinctions,  await  our  toiling  bishop  at  the  hands 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Dr.  W.  F.  Warren. 

5982.  REWARD,  Emblem  of.  The  crown  has 
been,  a  symbol  of  victory,  and  of  reward  for  su¬ 
perior  virtue,  from  all  antiquity.  In  very  an¬ 
cient  pictures,  a  hand  is  seen  coming  out  of 
heaven  presenting  a  wreath  or  circlet ;  after¬ 
wards  it  is  an  angel,  who  descends  with  a 
crown,  which,  is  sometimes  a  coronet  of  gold 
and  jewels,  sometimes  a  wreath  of  palm  or 
myrtle. 

5083.  REWARDS,  Equality  of.  Spurgeon  calls 
the  great  Whitefield,  and  a  poor  needle-woman 
from  the  bed  of  a  charity-hospital,  before  the 
divine  throne  to  receive  their  reward.  They 
stand  side  by  side,  and  each  alike  hears  the 
“  Well  done.” 

5084.  REWARD,  not  in  Life,.  Plutarch  tells 
of  a  complaint  which  came  from  the  Islands 
of  the  Blessed,  because  improper  persons  were 
sent  there  by  the  judges  in  the  earthly  courts. 
It  was  found  that  titled  and,  Doble  persons 
went  before  the  judges  with  their  friends,  who 
solemnly  swore  that  they  deserved  to  be  sent 
to  the  Islands  of  the  Blessed,  when  they  de¬ 
served  the  contrary.  It  was  then  decreed  by 
eternal  doom,  that  no  judgment  should  be 
passed  till  after  death,  and  then  only  by  spir¬ 
its  who  could  discern  the  qualities  of  those 
whom  they  judged. 

5985.  REWARD,  Time  of.  As  the  workman 
is  paid  after  his  work  is  done,  so  the  Chris¬ 
tian  is  rewarded  when  life  is  ended. 

5989.  REWARD,  Title  to.  As  he  who  runs 
in  a  race  must  run  to  the  end  to  be  crowned; 
so  the  Christian  must  be  faithful  unto  death  to 
receive  eternal  life.  Cawdray. 

5987.  RICH,  Exposure  of  the.  During  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  a  revival,  a  lady  of  wealth,  who  saw 
the  poor  crowding  to  Christ,  cried  aloud,  “  O 
my  God  1  is  there  no  mercy  for  the  rich  ?  ” 

5988.  RICH,  Neglecting  the.  A  brave  man 
told  us,  that  there  was  a  man  in  his  congrega¬ 
tion  who  was  wealthy.  If  he  had  been  a  poor 
man,  he  would  have  spoken  to  him  about  his 
soul ;  but,  being  a  wealthy  man  he  thought  it 
would  be  taking  too  much  liberty.  At  last, 
one  of  the  members  happened  to  say  to  him, 
“  Mr.  So-and-so,  have  you  found  a  Saviour?  ” 
and,  bursting  into  tears,  the  man  said,  “  Thank 
you  for  speaking  to  me :  I  have  been  in  dis¬ 
tress  for  months,  and  thought  the  minister 
might  have  spoken  to  me.  Oh,  I  wish  he 
had  1  I  might  have  found  peace  1  ”  Spurgeon. 

5089.  RICH,  Simile  of  the.  It  were  no  bad 
comparison  to  liken  mere  rich  men  to  camels 
and  mules ;  for  they  often  pursue  their  devious 
way  over  hills  and  mountains,  laden  with  India 
purple,  with  gems,  aromas,  and  generous  wines 
upon  their  backs,  attended,  too,  by  a  long  line 
of  servants  as  a  safeguard  on  their  way.  Soon, 
however,  they  come  to  their  evening  halting- 
place,  and  forthwith  their  precious  burdens 


RICHES. 


RICHES. 


are  taken  from  their  backs;  and  they,  now 
wearied,  and  stripped  of  their  lading  and  their 
retinue  of  slaves,  show  nothing  but  livid  marks 
of  stripes.  So,  also,  those  who  glitter  in  gold 
and  purple  raiment,  when  the  evening  of  life 
comes  rushing  on  them,  have  nought  to  show 
but  marks  and  wounds  of  sin  impressed  upon 
them  by  the  evil  use  of  riches.  St.  A  ugustine. 

5090.  RICHES,  Abused.  If  riches  have  been 
your  idol,  hoarded  up  in  your  coffers,  or  lav¬ 
ished  out  upon  yourselves,  they  will,  when  the 
day  of  reckoning  comes,  be  like  the  garment 
of  pitch  and  brimstone  which  is  put  on  the 
criminal  condemned  to  the  flames.  Hervey. 

5091.  RICHES,  Better  than.  Xenophon  tells 
us,  that  when  Cyrus  gave  Artabasus,  one  of 
his  courtiers,  a  cup  of  gold,  he  gave  Chrysan- 
tas,  his  favorite,  nothing  but  a  kiss ;  which 
occasione  1  this  speech  from  Artabasus  to  Cy¬ 
rus  :  “  Sir,  the  cup  you  gave  me  was  not  so 
good  gold  as  the  kiss  you  gave  Ckrysantas.” 
God  gives  wicked  men  many  times  gold,  but 
without  kisses ;  and  godly  men  kisses,  but  with¬ 
out  gold  :  yet  they  may  say,  there  is  more 
gold  in  their  kisses  than  in  other’s  gold. 

Venning. 

5092.  RICHES,  Burden  of.  The  Hebrew 

word  signifies  “heavy.”  For  riches  are  a 
burden  ;  and  they  that  will  be  rich  do  but  load 
themselves  with  thick  clay.  There  is  a  bur¬ 
den  of  care  in  getting  them,  of  fear  in  keep¬ 
ing  them,  of  temptation  in  using  them,  of 
guilt  in  abusing  them,  of  sorrow  in  losing 
them,  and  a  burden  of  accounts  at  last  to 
be  given  up  concerning  them.  Henry. 

5093.  RICHES,  Danger  of.  Mr.  Cecil  went 
to  see  a  rich  hearer,  and  said,  “  I  understand 
you  are  very  dangerously  situated.”  The 
man  replied,  “ I  am  not  aware  of  it.”  —  “I 
thought  it  probable  you  were  not ;  and  there¬ 
fore  I  called  upon  you.  I  hear  you  are  get¬ 
ting  rich  :  take  care  ;  for  it  is  the  road  by  which 
the  Devil  loads  thousands  to  destruction.” 

5094.  RICHES,  Deception  of.  He  that  sees  a 

flock  of  birds  sitting  on  his  ground  cannot 
make  sure  of  them ;  so  he  that  has  riches, 
and  thinks  himself  fully  possessed  of  them, 
may  be  deceived,  and  soon  deprived  of  them. 
A  small  spark  of  fire  may  set  them  flying,  a 
thief  may  steal  them,  an  unfaithful  servant 
may  embezzle  them.  A  soldier,  a  wreck  at  sea, 
a  bad  debtor  at  land,  —  there’s  a  hundred  ways 
to  set  them  packing.  They  have  wings,  and 
hop  from  branch  to  branch,  from  one  man  to 
another;  seldom  to  him  that  is  the  true  owner 
of  them.  Spencer. 

5095.  RICHES  Defined.  I  take  him  to  be 
the  truly  rich  man  that  lives  upon  what  he  has, 
owes  nothing,  and  is  contented;  for  there  is  no 
determinate  sum  of  money,  nor  quantity  of 
estate,  that  can  make  a  man  rich,  since  no  man 
is  truly  rich  that  has  not  so  much  as  perfectly 
satiates  his  desire  of  having  more ;  for  the  de¬ 
sire  of  more  is  want,  and  want  is  poverty. 

Howe. 

5096.  RICHES,  Fatal.  When  the  Washing¬ 
ton  steamer  was  burnt,  one  of  the  passengers, 
on  the  first  alarm  of  fire,  ran  to  his  trunk,  and 


505 

took  from  it  a  large  amount  of  gold  and  silver 
coin,  and,  loading  his  pockets,  ran  to  the  deck, 
and  jumped  overboard.  As  a  necessary  con* 
sequence,  he  went  down  immediately.  His 
treasure  was  his  ruin. 

5097.  RICHES,  Fear  of.  Good  men,  like  St. 
Gregory  and  Luther,  have  feared  lest  they 
should  have  their  portion,  like  Dives,  in  this 
life;  bad  men,  that  they  should  not  have  it. 

5098.  RICHES,  Fleeting.  You  would  think 
him  an  absurd  man,  who,  when  he  sees  an  eagle 
in  his  field,  would  take  great  care  how  to  fence 
it  in  there;  whereas  no  fence  can  secure  it, 
make  it  as  high  as  he  can.  The  eagle,  when 
she  list,  will  make  use  of  her  wings,  and 
fly  away :  she  will  do  it  certainly.  Such 
winged  things  are  the  enjoyments  of  this  life. 
There  is  nothing  so  certain  as  our  utter  uncer¬ 
tainty  of  having  them  or  keeping  them. 

D.  Clarkson. 

5099.  RICHES,  Infelicity  of.  In  one  of  Eng¬ 
land’s  great  cathedrals  rests  one  whose  grave¬ 
stone,  according  to  his  own  directions,  bears 
but  the  single  word,  Miserrimus,  “most  miser¬ 
able.”  He  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  position, 
or  his  sepulchre  could  not  have  been  there. 
This  is  not  an  infrequent  confession  of  the  rich. 

51©©.  RICHES,  Influence  of.  Many  a  Chris¬ 
tian  do  you  find  among  the  rich  and  the  titled, 
who,  as  a  less  encumbered  man,  might  have 
been  a  resolute  soldier  of  the  eross  ;  but  he  is 
now  only  a  realization  of  the  old  Pagan  fable, 
—  a  spiritual  giant  buried  under  a  mountain  of 
gold.  Oh  1  many,  many,  such  we  meet  in  our 
higher  classes,  pining  with  a  nameless  want, 
pressed  by  a  heavy  sense  of  the  weariness  of 
existence,  strengthless  in  the  midst  of  afflu¬ 
ence,  and  incapable  even  of  tasting  the  profu¬ 
sion  of  comfort  which  is  heaped  around  them. 

F.  ]V.  Robertson. 

51©9.  RICHES,  for  Jesus.  Pripees  have  melt¬ 
ed  pearls  into  the  wine  wherewith  they  enter¬ 
tained  monarehs :  let  us  do  the  same.  Let  us 
make  rich  offerings  to  Jesus  ;  let  our  duties  be 
more  faithfully  discharged,  our  labors  more 
willingly  performed,  and  let  our  zeal  be  more 
eminently  fervent.  Spurgeon. 

5962.  RICHES,  Living  for.  A  gentleman  of 
this  city,  who  rose  from  a  boy  in  the  poor- 
house  to  the  possession  of  eight  millions,  ac¬ 
quired  by  his  own  energy,  died  recently  amid 
deep  regret,  declaring  that  his  life  had  been  a 
failure. 

5103.  RICHES,  Loss  of.  Croesus,  whose  name  ■ 
is  a  synonyme  for  great  wealth,  was  himself 
taken  captive,  stripped  of  all  his  treasures, 
and  in  old  age  was  supported  by  the  charity  of 
Cyrus. 

5104.  RICHES,  Love  of.  Some  have  been  so 

wedded  to  their  riches,  that  they  have  used  all 
the  means  they  could  to  take  them  with  them. 
Athenteus  reporteth  of  one,  that,  at  the  hour  of 
his  death,  he  devoured  many  pieces  of  gold, 
and  sewed  the  rest  in  his  coat,  commanding 
that  they  should  be  all  buried  with  him.  Her- 
mocrates,  being  loath  that  any  man  should 
enjoy  his  goods  after  him,  made  himself,  by  his 
will,  heir  of  his  own  goods.  Grey 


56G 


RICHES. 


RIGHT. 


5105.  RICHES.  Road  to.  You  want  to  double 
your  riches,  and  without  gambling  or  stock- 
jobbing.  Share  it.  Whether  it  be  material  or 
intellectual,  its  rapid  increase  will  amaze  you. 
W  hat  would  the  sun  have  been,  had  he  folded 
himself  up  in  darkness?  Surely  he  would 
have  gone  out.  So  would  Socrates.  This 
road  to  wealth  seems  to  have  been  discovered 
some  three  thousand  years  ago ;  at  least,  it 
was  known  to  Hesiod,  and  has  been  recom¬ 
mended  by  him  in  the  one  precious  line  he  has 
left  us.  But  even  he  complains  of  the  fools, 
who  did  not  know  that  half  is  more  than  the 
whole.  And  ever  since,  though  mankind  have 
always  been  in  full  chase  after  riches,  though 
they  hare  not  feared  to  follow  Columbus  and 
Gama  in  chase  of  it,  though  they  have  waded 
through  blood,  and  crept  through  falsehood, 
and  trampled  on  their  own  hearts,  and  been 
ready  to  ride  on  a  broomstick,  in  chase  of  it, 
very  few  have  ever  taken  the  road,  albeit  the 
easiest,  the  shortest,  and  the  surest.  Hare. 

514)6.  RICHES,  Roles  lor.  A  London  merchant 
wrote  down  these  four  rules  for  his  own  guid¬ 
ance,  and  embodied  them  in  his  practice  for 
fifty  years.  “  If  rich,  be  not  too  joyful  in  hav¬ 
ing,  too  solicitous  in  keeping,  too  anxious  in 
increasing,  nor  too  sorrowful  in  losing.”  The 
Lord  gave  him  wealth,  and  he  used  it  well. 

Denton. 

51<®’7.  RICHES,  Standard  of.  No  man  can 
tell  whether  he  is  rich  or  poor  by  turning  to 
his  ledger.  It  is  the  heart  that  makes  a  man 
rich.  He  is  rich  or  poor  according  to  what  he 
is,  not  according  to  what  he  has.  Beecher. 

51©§.  RICHES,  Torment  of.  A  certain  duke 
has  a  passion  for  costly  diamonds.  His  house 
resembles  a  castle  rather  than  a  mansion,  and 
is  surrounded  with  a  lofty  wall,  over  which  no 
one  can  climb  without  giving  alarm.  His 
treasure  is  kept  in  a  safe  let  in  the  wall  of  his 
bedroom,  so  that  it  cannot  be  reached  with¬ 
out  first  waking  or  murdering  the  owner  :  the 
safe  is  so  constructed,  that  it  cannot  be  forced 
without  discharging  four  guns,  and  setting  an 
alarm  bell  a-ringing  in  every  room.  His  bed¬ 
room,  like  a  prisoner’s  cell,  has  but  one  small 
window  ;  and  the  bolt  and  lock  of  the  massive 
door  are  of  the  stoutest  iron.  In  addition  to 
these  precautions,  a  case  containing  twelve 
loaded  revolvers  stands  by  the  side  of  his  bed. 
Might  we  not  inscribe  over  it,  “  Diamonds  are 
mv  portion  :  therefore  do  I  fear  ”  ? 

Rev.  R.  Gray. 

i'lOO.  RICHES,  Unsatisfactory.  Worldly 
riches  are  like  nuts :  many  clothes  are  torn  in 
getting  them,  many  a  tooth  broke  in  cracking 
rent ;  but  never  a  belly  filled  with  eating  them. 

Venning. 

511©.  RICHES,  Vanity  of.  A  distinguished 
man  lay  on  his  death-bed,  when  a  great  mark 
of  distinction  and  honor  was  brought  to  him. 
Turning  a  cold  glance  on  the  treasure  he 
would  once  have  clutched  with  an  eager  grasp, 
he  said  with  a  sigh,  “  Alas  1  this  is  a  very  fine 
thing  in  this  country ;  but  I  am  going  to  a  coun¬ 
try  where  it  will  be  of  no  use  to  me.” 

Dr.  Haven. 


5111.  RICHES,  of  the  Wicked.  Such  riches 
are  deceitful  shadows,  which  cover  an  appar¬ 
ent  good  under  an  undoubted  evil :  they  are 
hands  that  take  their  master  by  the  throat ; 
they  are  poniards  with  a  golden  haft,  which 
delight  the  eyes  with  vain  seemings,  and  pierce 
the  heart  with  mortal  wounds ;  they  are  preci¬ 
pices  furnished  with  precious  jewels,  such  as 
Heliogabalus  desired  to  illustrate  his  death 
with ;  they  are  heights  which  are  not  meas¬ 
ured  but  by  their  falls ;  they  are  deadly  poi¬ 
sons  steeped  in  a  golden  cup.  N.  Caussin. 

5112.  RIDICULE,  Bearing.  A  pious  poor 
man  was  much  ridiculed  on  account  of  his 
religion.  Being  asked  if  these  daily  persecu¬ 
tions  did  not  make  him  ready  to  give  up  his 
profession,  he  replied,  “  No  I  Our  minister  once 
said  in  his  sermon,  that,  if  we  were  so  foolish 
as  to  permit  such  people  to  laugh  us  out  of 
religion  till  at  last  we  dropped  into  hell, 
they  could  not  laugh  us  out  again.” 

5113.  RIDICULE,  Indifference  to.  What 

would  the  nightingale  care  if  the  toad  despised 
her  singing  V  She  would  still  sing  on,  and 
leave  the  cold  toad  to  his  dank  shadows.  And 
what  care  I  for  the  sneers  of  men  who  grovel 
upon  earth?  I  will  still  sing  on  in  the  ear 
and  bosom  of  God.  Beecher. 

5114.  RIDICULE,  Result  of.  A  young  lady 
was  deeply  interested  in  religion  with  several 
associates.  Most  of  them  had  praying  friends 
who  labored  for  their  conversion ;  but  she 
was  opposed  in  her  home,  and  ridiculed  in 
her  seriousness,  until,  at  last,  she  gave  it  all 
up.  Soon  God  sent  a  fatal  disease,  which 
preyed  rapidly  upon  her ;  but  her  friends  would 
not  permit  death  to  be  mentioned  to  her.  At 
last,  they  yielded  to  her  entreaties  to  send  for 
a  minister.  She  was  already  sightless ;  and,  in 
answer  to  his  questions,  she  said  her  sins 
appeared  to  her  “  like  mountains  piled  on 
mountains.”  It  was  in  vain  he  pointed  her  to 
the  Lamb  of  God.  The  eyes  of  her  soul  were 
sightless,  as  well  as  those  of  her  body.  The 
last  words  she  uttered  were,  “  I  am  afraid  1  ” 
as  her  soul  stood  shivering  on  the  brink  of  the 
ds.rk  stream. 

505.  RIGHT,  Choice  of.  That  eloquent 
statesman  Henry  Clay  had  just  propounded  a 
political  scheme  to  an  associate.  “  It  will  ruin 
your  prospects  for  the  presidency,”  suggested 
his  friend.  “Is  it  right?”  said  Mr.  Clay. 
“  Yes,”  was  the  answer.  Mr.  Clay  continued, 
“  I  would  rather  be  right  than  president.” 

5116.  RIGHT,  Decision  of.  Tliemistoeles  con¬ 
ceived  a  plan  for  the  aggrandizement  of  Athens, 
and  asked  an  assembly  of  the  people  to  ap¬ 
point  a  man  to  decide  upon  it.  Aristides  the 
Just  was  named ;  and,  when  he  heard  the  plan, 
he  declared  that  nothing  could  be  more  to  the 
advantage  of  Athens,  but  nothing  could  be 
more  unfair.  The  project  was  therefore  aban¬ 
doned. 

5117.  RIGHT,  Importance  of  When  Tissa- 
phernes,  finding  himself  superior  in  forces, 
violated  the  peace  he  had  sworn  to  observe, 
and  commenced  hostilities  against  Agesilaus, 
the  latter  said,  “I  am  very  happy  at  this 


RIGHT. 


EOMANISM. 


567 


event;  because  Tissapliernes,  by  his  perfidy, 
has  engaged  the  gods  on  my  side.”  The  re¬ 
sult  was,  that  Agesilaus  came  off  triumphant, 
and  Tissapliernes  lost  the  battle  and  his  life. 
“  How  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  ”  said  Agesi- 
laus :  “  it  is  a  strange  delirium  in  those  who 
are  making  war  against  heaven,  to  expect  the 
stars  should  be  favorable  to  their  designs.” 

Percy. 

5118.  RIGHT,  Majority  of.  A  man  in  the 
right,  with  God  on  bis  side,  is  in  the  majority, 
though  he  be  alone  ;  for  God  is  multitudinous 
above  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Beecher. 

5119.  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Human.  How  can  a 
man  trust  in  his  own  righteousness  ?  It  is 
like  seeking  shelter  under  one’s  own  shadow. 
He  may  stoop  to  the  very  ground;  and,  the 
lower  we  bend,  we  still  find  that  our  shadow  is 
beneath  us.  But,  if  a  man  flee  to  the  shadow 
of  a  great  rock  or  of  a  wide-spreading  tree,  he 
will  find  abundant  shelter  from  the  rays  of  the 
noonday  sun.  So  human  merits  are  unavail¬ 
ing  ;  and  Christ  alone  is  able  to  save  to  the 
uttei  most  those  who  come  unto  God  by  him. 

Dr.  Medhurst. 

5120.  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Imputed.  All  colors 

are  wrapped  up  in  the  sunlight,  which,  as  is 
well  known,  may  be  seen  resolved  into  its 
elementary  colors  in  the  prism  or  rainbow. 
Apart  from  the  sunlight,  no  object  has  any 
color,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact,  that,  as  soon  as 
light  is  withdrawn  from  the  landscape,  the  colors 
fade  from  the  robe  of  Nature.  The  difference 
of  color  in  different  objects  while  the  sun  is 
shining  is  produced  by  some  subtle  difference 
of  texture  or  superficies,  which  makes  each 
object  absorb  certain  rays,  and  reflect  cer¬ 
tain  other  rays,  in  different  proportions.  Now 
Christ  is  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  in  whom 
dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily, 
—  the  fair  color  of  every  grace  and  Christian 
virtue.  When  Christ  is  shining  upon  the  heart, 
then  these  virtues  are  manifested  there,  —  by 
one,  Christian  graces  of  one  description ;  by  an¬ 
other,  of  another,  according  to  their  different 
receptivity  and  natural  temperament ;  just  as, 
when  the  sun  is  shining,  colors  are  thrown  upon 
a  landscape,  and  reflected  by  the  different  ob¬ 
jects  in  different  proportions.  But  as  no  part 
of  the  landscape  has  any  color  in  the  absence  of 
the  sun,  nor  can  acquire  any  independently 
of  the  sun,  so  Christians  have  no  grace  except 
from  Christ,  nor  hold  any  virtue  independently 
of  him.  Dr.  Goulbourn. 

5121.  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Provision  of.  As  when 

a  child  travels  in  his  father’s  company  all  is 
paid  for,  but  the  father  himself  carries  the 
purse ;  so  the  expenses  of  a  Christian’s  war¬ 
fare  and  journey  to  heaven  are  paid  for  and 
discharged  for  him  by  the  Lord  in  every  stage 
and  condition.  Gurnall. 

5122.  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Required.  IIow  fool¬ 
ish  and  ignorant  we  should  esteem  an  artificer, 
who,  having  taken  a  piece  of  iron,  should  melt 
and  mould,  file  and  polish  it,  and  then  imagine 
that  it  has  become  gold  !  It  shines,  it  is  true ; 
but  is  its  brilliancy  a  proof  that  it  is  no  longer 
iron  ?  And  does  not  God  require  pure  and 


refined  gold  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  perfect  righteous¬ 
ness  and  a  perfect  holiness  ?  Malan 

5123.  ROCK,  Building  on  the.  Men  who  stand 

on  any  other  foundation  than  the  rock  Christ 
Jesus  are  like  birds  who  build  their  nests  ia 
trees  by  the  side  of  rivers.  The  bird  sings  in 
the  branches,  and  the  river  sings  below ;  but, 
all  the  while,  the  waters  are  undermining  the 
soil  about  the  roots,  till,  in  some  unsuspected 
hour,  the  tree  falls  with  a  crash  into  the  stream : 
and  then  the  nest  is  sunk,  the  home  is  gone,  and 
the  bird  is  a  wanderer.  But  birds  that  hide 
their  young  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  are  un¬ 
disturbed,  and  after  every  winter,  coming  again, 
they  find  their  nests  awaiting  them,  and  all 
their  life  long  brood  in  the  same  places,  undis¬ 
turbed  by  stream  or  storm.  Beecher. 

5124.  ROCK,  Legend  of  a.  A  legend  says,  that 
a  powerful  and  rich  king,  troubled  in  heart  in 
spite  of  all  his  possessions,  went  to  a  holy  der- 
vise,  and  asked  him  for  the  secret  of  happiness. 
The  dervise  led  him  forth  in  front  of  a  high 
rock,  on  the  top  of  which  an  eagle  had  built 
her  nest.  Then  the  dervise  said,  “  Imitate  that 
bird  :  build  thy  throne  in  heaven,  and  thou 
shalt  reign  there  unmolested  and  in  peace.” 

5125.  ROCK,  Resting  on  the.  A  short  time 
since,  I  called  to  see  one  of  my  hearers,  who 
was  near  death.  She  was  an  aged  woman, 
remarkably  quiet  and  unobtrusive,  whose  life 
had  adorned  the  gospel.  I  took  her  proffered 
hand,  and  said,  “  How  is  it  with  you  V  ”  In  a 
cjuiet  way,  yet  with  considerable  earnestness, 
she  replied,  “  Well,  sir,  I  am  on  thf.  Rock.” 

Rev.  James  Smith. 

512G.  ROMANISM,  Apostasy  of.  As  the  car¬ 
cass  of  a  dead  man  that  weareth  a  living  man’s 
garment  is  not  a  living  man,  though  he  look 
never  so  like  him ;  even  so  the  Church  of 
Rome  now  is,  of  a  spouse  of  Christ,  become  an 
harlot.  Cawdray. 

5127.  ROMANISM,  Priests  of.  When  Chief- 
Justice  Whiteside  of  England  visited  Italy,  a 
dozen  years  ago,  he  was  struck,  he  tells  us, 
with  the  multitude  of  priests,  and  asked  a 
Roman-Catholic  friend  what  they  could  possi¬ 
bly  find  to  do.  “  Find  to  do  !  ”  answered  his 
friend  :  “  they  have  more  to  do  than  they  can 
possibly  get  through.”  —  “  How  can  that  be  ?  ” 
was  the  natural  rejoinder.  “  What  have  they 
to  do  ?  ”  —  “  They  have  to  say  masses  for  the 
dead,”  was  the  reply.  “  You  see  no  man  in 
good  circumstances  likes  to  die  without  leav¬ 
ing  money,  perhaps  a  hundred  crowns,  or  eveu 
five  hundred,  for  masses  lor  his  soul,  —  masses 
to  get  him  out  of  purgatory.  Or,  if  he  loses 
his  wife  or  his  child,  he  goes  to  the  priest  to 
order  a  hundred  masses  for  the  benefit  of  the 
soul  of  the  departed.  Now,  lor  all  Italy,  this 
makes  such  an  enormous  demand,  that  the 
priests  are  always  some  tens  of  thousands  of 
masses  in  arrear  ;  that  is,  they  were  paid  last 
year,  or  the  year  before,  for  masses  which  they 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  say.”  —  “  But  what 
happens,  then,”  said  Mr.  Whiteside,  “  if,  as 
you  say,  they  are  always  getting  into  arrear  ?  ” 
—  “  Oh !  then  they  send  a  petition  to  the  pope ; 
and  he  sets  it  ail  straight.”  —  “  How  does  he  da 


568 


SABBATH. 


SABBATH-BREAKING. 


that  ?  ”  asked  Mr.  Whiteside.  “  Oh !  he  issues 
a  decree  once  in  every  two  or  three  years,  that 
so  many  thousand  masses  which  have  not  been 
said  shall  be  entered  in  the  chancery  of 
heaven  as  if  they  had  been  said  ;  and  that, 
you  know,  makes  all  right.” 

5128.  SABBATH,  Advantage  of  the.  An  asso¬ 
ciation  of  twenty  physicians  voted  yea  unani¬ 
mously  on  the  question :  “  Is  the  position 
taken  by  Dr.  Farre,  in  his  testimony  before 
the  Committee  of  the  British  House  of  Com¬ 
mons,  in  your  view,  correct  V  ”  —  that  men  who 
labor  six  days  in  a  week  will  be  more  healthy 
and  live  longer,  other  things  being  equal, 
than  those  who  labor  seven ;  and  that  they 
will  do  more  work,  and  do  it  in  a  better  man¬ 
ner.” 

5129.  SABBATH,  Benefit  of.  The  sabbath  is 

God’s  special  present  to  the  working-man ; 
and  one  of  its  chief  objects  is  to  prolong  his 
life,  and  preserve  efficient  his  working  tone.  In 
the  vital  system,  it  acts  like  a  compensation- 
pond  :  it  replenishes  the  spirits,  the  elasticity, 
and  vigor,  which  the  last  six  days  have  drained 
away,  and  supplies  the  force  which  is  to  fill 
the  six  days  succeeding ;  and,  in  the  economy 
of  existence,  it  answers  the  same  purpose  as, 
in  the  economy  of  income,  is  answered  by  a 
savings  bank.  Dr.  Blakie. 

5130.  SABBATH,  Blessings  of  the.  It  is  impos¬ 

sible  to  estimate  the  blessed  effect  produced 
upon  a  nation’s  health  and  happiness,  when, 
on  the  return  of  each  Sunday,  millions  are 
thus  set  free  from  toil ;  when  the  ledger  is 
closed  on  the  desk ;  when  the  hammer  rests 
upon  the  anvil,  and  the  wheel  in  the  factory ; 
when  the  mine  sends  forth  its  crowds  into  the 
light  and  glory  of  this  new-born  day ;  and 
when  men  can  rest  their  wearied  frames,  or 
tread  the  green  earth  or  hoary  mountain,  and 
breathe  the  fresh  air,  and  look  calmly  upon 
the  blue  sky  overhead,  or  listen  to  the  sound¬ 
ing  stream  or  beating  sea-wave  ;  and  when 
the  very  dumb  cattle  partake  of  the  universal 
blessing.  Dr.  Macleod. 

5131.  SABBATH,  Breaking  the.  An  infidel 
says,  he  has  learned  by  sad  experience,  that  a 
curse  follows  those  who  break  the  sabbath. 

5132.  SABBATH,  and  the  Chnroh.  It  is  not 

too  much  to  say,  that,  without  the  Sunday,  the 
Church  of  Christ  could  not  as  a  visible  society 
exist  on  the  earth.  Dr.  Macleod. 

5133.  SABBATH,  Forgetting  the,  A  minister 
described  a  boy  with  a  short  memory,  and 
explained  that  he,  by  breaking  the  sabbath, 
showed  that  he  did  not  remember  the  fourth 
commandment. 

5134.  SABBATH,  Good  Deeds  on  the.  A  Jew 
who  had  done  a  worthy  act  on  the  sabbath, 
which  others  refused  to  do,  was  reproached 
for  it,  and  replied,  “  Good  deeds  have  no  sab¬ 
bath.” 

5135.  SABBATH,  Light  of  the.  Through  the 
week,  we  go  down  into  the  valleys  of  care  and 
shadow.  Our  sabbaths  should  be  hills  of 
light  and  joy  in  God’s  presence ;  and  so,  as 
time  rolls  by,  we  shall  go  on  from  mountain- 
top  to  mountain-top,  till  at  last  we  catch  the 


glory  of  the  gate,  and  enter  in  to  go  no  more 
out  forever.  Beecher. 

5136.  SABBATH,  Observance  of  the.  The 
Queen  of  England  is  scrupulous  in  the  observ¬ 
ance  of  the  sabbath,  not  allowing  matters  of 
state  to  encroach  upon  holy  time,  not  even  if 
presented  by  the  nobility. 

5137.  SABBATH,  Parable  of  the.  Ivrumtnacher 
tells  of  an  Israelite  named  Boni,  a  resident 
of  Mesopotamia,  whom  the  Lord  called  to  make 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  land  of  his  fathers.  Tak¬ 
ing  his  family,  he  started  westward  through  the 
wilderness.  When  he  was  weary  with  a 
journey  of  six  parasangs,  he  came  upon  a  tent  by 
the  way  ;  and  a  man  said  to  him,  “  Rest  here.” 
When  rested,  the  man  guided  him  forth.  At 
the  end  of  six  parasangs  more,  he  found  another 
tent  with  refreshments ;  and  so  on  to  the  end 
of  his  journey  in  the  promised  land.  The 
life  of  man  is  a  pilgrimage.  Six  parasangs  are 
six  days :  the  seventh  is  the  day  of  rest,  the 
tent  of  refreshment  by  the  way.  The  fool 
passes  by  the  tent,  and  perishes  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness  ;  but  the  wise  man  rests  there,  and  reaches 
the  land  of  promise. 

5138.  SABBATH,  Tested.  An  infidel  defied 
the  law  of  the  sabbath,  and  boasted  that  he 
would  do  all  the  work  on  a  certain  piece  of 
ground  on  Sunday,  and  have  the  best  crop  in 
town.  All  was  done  up  to  threshing  the 
wheat,  which  was  being  done,  when  a  flash  of 
lightning  fired  the  barn  ;  and  the  result  of  a 
summer’s  labor  was  destroyed. 

5139.  SABBATH,  Test  of  Keeping.  For  a  num¬ 
ber  of  years,  a  flour-mill  was  worked  seven 
days  in  a  week.  In  making  a  change  of  super¬ 
intendents,  it  was  ordered  that  the  works 
should  be  stopped  at  eleven  o’clock  Saturday 
night,  and  to  start  none  of  them  till  one  o’clock 
on  Monday  morning.  The  same  men,  during 
the  year,  ground  many  thousands  of  bushels 
more  than  had  ever  been  ground  in  a  single 
year  in  that  establishment ;  and  the  men,  hav¬ 
ing  time  for  rest  and  sabbath-duties,  were 
more  healthy,  punctual,  and  diligent. 

5140.  SABBATH,  Universality  of  the.  A  wo¬ 
man  forgot  to  send  home  some  work  on  Satur¬ 
day.  Sunday  morning,  she  told  a  little  girl 
who  lived  with  her  to  put  on  her  things,  and 
take  the  bundle  under  her  shawl  to  the  lady’s 
house.  “  Nobody  will  see  it,”  she  said.  “  But 
is  it  not  Sunday  under  my  shawl,  aunty?” 
asked  the  child. 

5141.  SABBATH,  World  without  a.  A  world 
without  a  sabbath  would  be  like  a  man  with¬ 
out  a  smile,  like  a  summer  without  flowers, 
and  like  a  homestead  without  a  garden.  It  is 
the  jovous  day  of  the  whole  week.  Beecher. 

5142.  SABBATH-BREAKING,  End  of.  A  poor 
man,  hung  some  time  ago  for  the  crime  of 
murder,  said  the  first  step  to  his  getting  into 
crime  was  breaking  the  sabbath. 

5143.  SABBATH-BREAKING,  Evils  of.  A  dis¬ 
tinguished  merchant,  who  for  twenty  years  did 
a  vast  amount  of  business,  remarked  to  Dr. 
Edwards,  “  Had  it  not  been  for  the  sabbath, 
I  have  no  doubt  I  should  have  been  a  maniac 
long  ago.”  This  was  mentioned  in  a  company 


8-AJBB  A.TH-BRE  AJECEN"  Gr. 


SACRIFICE. 


569 


of  merchants,  when  one  remarked,  “  That  is 

the  case  exactly  with  Mr. - .  He  was  one 

of  our  greatest  importers.  He  used  to  say, 
that  the  sabbath  was  the  best  day  in  the  week 
to  plan  successful  voyages ;  showing  that  his 
mind  had  no  sabbath.  He  has  been  in  the 
insane-hospital  for  years,  and  will  probably 
die  there.”  Many  men  are  there,  or  in  the 
maniac’s  grave,  because  they  had  no  sabbath. 
They  broke  a  law  of  Nature,  and  of  Nature’s 
God,  and  found  “  the  way  of  the  transgressor 
to  be  hard.”  Such  cases  are  so  numerous, 
that  a  writer  remarks,  “  We  never  knew  a  man 
work  seven  days  in  a  week  who  did  not  kill 
himself  or  kill  his  mind.” 

5144.  SABBATH-BREAKING,  Influence  of.  An 
Oriental  legend  tells,  that,  while  Solomon  was 
once  on  his  way  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Queen 
of  Sheba,  he  came  to  a  valley  in  which  dwelt 
a  peculiar  tribe  of  monkeys.  Upon  inquiring 
into  their  history,  he  learned  that  they  were 
the  posterity  of  a  colony  of  Jews,  who,  set¬ 
tling  in  that  region  many  years  before,  had,  by 
habitually  profaning  the  sabbath,  degenerated 
into  the  brutes  he  found  them. 

5145.  SABBATH -BREAKING,  Rebuked.  A 
gentleman,  desiring  to  correct  some  sabbath¬ 
breaking  boys,  told  them  of  a  man,  who,  in  a 
lonely  road,  was  met  by  another,  to  whom  he 
gave  six  pounds,  retaining  only  one  to  pay  his 
expenses  to  the  end  of  his  journey.  The  re¬ 
ceiver  then  turned  upon  him,  knocked  him 
down,  and  robbed  him  of  his  last  pound.  The 
boys  cried  out  in  indignation.  The  gentleman 
said,  “  This  is  just  what  you  are  doing,”  and 
showed  the  boys  how,  when  God  had  given 
them  six  days,  they  were  robbing  him  of  the 
seventh. 

5146.  SACRAMENT,  Legend  of  the.  A  certain 
heretic  called  Bovidilla  entertained  doubts  of 
the  Real  Presence  in  the  sacrament,  and,  after 
a  long  argument  with  the  saint,  required  a 
miracle  in  proof  of  this  favorite  dogma  of  the 
Roman-Catholic  Church.  St.  Antony,  who 
was  about  to  carry  the  Host  in  procession,  en¬ 
countered  the  mule  of  Bovidilla,  which  fell 
down  on  its  knees  at  the  command  of  the  saint, 
and,  although  its  heretic  master  endeavored 
to  tempt  it  aside  by  a  sieve-full  of  oats,  re¬ 
mained  kneeling  fill  the  Host  had  passed. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

5147.  SACRAMENT,  A  Memorial.  If  a  friend 
give  us  a  ring  at  his  death,  we  wear  it  to  keep 
up  the  memory  of  our  friend ;  much  more, 
then,  ought  we  to  keep  up  the  memorial  of 
Christ’s  death  in  the  sacrament.  Titos.  Watson. 

5148.  SACRAMENT,  Preparation  for  the.  We 
dress  ourselves  when  we  come  to  the  table  of 
some  great  monarch ;  so  we  should  think  with 
ourselves,  we  are  going  to  the  table  of  the 
Lord,  therefore  should  prepare  ourselves  with 
holy  meditation  and  heart-consideration. 

5149.  SACRAMENT,  Prioe  of  the.  Cleopatra 
put  a  jewel  in  a  cup,  which  contained  the 
price  of  a  kingdom :  this  sacred  cup  we  are  to 
drink  of,  enriched  with  the  blood  of  God,  is 
above  the  price  of  a  kingdom. 

5150.  SACRAMENT,  Unworthy  of  the.  When 


a  pagan  beheld  Christians  receiving  the 
blessed  sacrament,  and  observed  with  what 
reverence  and  devotion  they  demeaned  them¬ 
selves  in  that  holy  business,  he  was  inquisitive 
what  that  action  meant.  It  was  answered  by 
one  of  them,  that  God,  having  first  emptied 
their  hearts  of  all  their  sins,  as  pride,  envy, 
covetousness,  contention,  luxury,  and  the  rest, 
did  now  enter  into  them  himself,  with  a  pur¬ 
pose  to  dwell  there.  He  was  silent  for  the 
present,  but  followed  and  watched  them  whom 
he  saw  to  be  communicants  in  that  action  for 
two  days  together;  and  peiceiving  some  of 
them  to  fall  into  quarrels,  unoleanness,  rapa¬ 
city,  and  drunkenness  so  soon,  he  declared  his 
censure  of  them  with  this  exclamation,  “  I 
confess  that  your  religion  may  be  good,  your 
devotion  good,  your  profession  good  ;  but  your 
hospitality  is  stark  nought,  that  you  will  not 
give  your  God  two  days’  lodging.”  Spencer. 

5151.  SACRIFICE,  Attractions  o£  No  one  can 
make  sacrifice  tor  another,  without  establishing 
a  new  bond  of  interest  between  them.  A  boy 
is  rescued  from  death,  and,  ever  after,  he  loves 
to  tell,  “  That  man  once  saved  my  life.”  The 
rescuer,  too,  feels  a  special  interest  in  the  one 
he  has  saved. 

5152.  SACRIFICE,  Christ’s.  We  have  read 

of  Leonidas  and  his  brave  three  hundred  stop¬ 
ping  the  ravaging  march  of  the  Persians  at 
Thermopylae,  and  devoting  themselves  to  the 
salvation  of  their  country.  We  have  read  of 
the  King  of  the  Loerians,  who  when  his  son 
had  broken  the  laws,  the  demand  of  which 
was  that  both  eyes  should  be  put  out,  miti¬ 
gated  the  punishment  by  giving,  in  exchange 
for  one  of  them,  an  eye  of  his  own  ;  thus  en¬ 
during,  self-devotedly,  a  part  of  the  suffering 
allotted  to  his  child.  We  have  read  of  the 
queen  who  sucked  the  poison  from  the  wound 
of  the  king  her  consort,  though  convinced  that 
death  would  be  the  consequence  of  her  heroic 
act.  And  numerous  have  been  the  instances 
wherein  soldiers  have  caught  the  death-blows 
intended  for  their  commanders,  —  not  merely 
risking,  but  devoting,  their  own  lives  for  the 
salvation  of  a  life  which  they  held  to  be  more 
important  than  their  own.  And  is  such  con¬ 
duct  reprobated  by  the  general  mass  of  man¬ 
kind?  Far  from  it.  Why,  then,  should  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ  be  ?  T.  Ragg. 

5153.  SACRIFICE,  History  o£  All  nations 
have  offered  sacrifice  to  some  beings  whom 
they  have  deified.  There  is  no  region  where 
the  pilgrim’s  foot  can  travel,  where  you  will 
not  find  offerings,  some  sanguinary,  some  libid¬ 
inous,  some  foolish,  but  all  to  propitiate  the 
anger,  or  secure  the  protection,  of  some  fan¬ 
cied  object  of  worship.  There  comes  a  cry 
groaning  out  of  the  great  heart  of  humanity, 
“  What  is  the  acceptable  sacrifice  ?  ”  Strange 
divinations  and  streaming  altars  ;  cakes  for  the 
queen  of  heaven,  and  prostrations  before  the 
brazen  image ;  children  for  the  insatiate  Mo¬ 
loch  passing  through  the  scorching  fire,  —  these 
are  the  responses  from  classical  and  pagan 
times.  African  Fetichism,  Hindoo  immola¬ 
tions,  and  Burman  cruelties,  and  the  atroci- 


570 


SACRIFICE. 


SAINTS. 


ties  of  savage  cannibalism,  —  these  are  the 
hollow  answers  from  the  uninstructed  con¬ 
sciences  of  heathens.  Cold  morality,  and  ru¬ 
brical  exactitude,  and  sacramental  efficacy, 
and  ascetical  self-denial,  —  these  are  the  po¬ 
lite  and  conventional  theories  of  modern  for¬ 
malism.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

5151.  SACRIFICE,  Principle  of.  When  a 
teacher  was  wanted  by  Dr.  Mason  of  Bur- 
mah  for  the  warlike  Bghais,  he  asked  his 
boatman  Shapon,  if  he  would  go;  and  re¬ 
minded  him,  that,  instead  of  the  fifteen  rupees 
a  month  which  he  now  received,  he  could 
have  only  four  rupees  a  month  as  a  teacher. 
After  praying  over  the  matter,  he  came  back ; 
and  Dr.  Mason  said,  “  Well,  Shapon,  what  is 
your  decision  ?  Can  you  go  to  the  Bghais  for 
four  rupees  a  month  ?  ”  Shapon  answered, 
“  No,  teacher :  I  could  not  go  for  four  rupees 
a  month;  but  I  can  do  it  for  Christ.”  And 
for  Christ’s  sake  he  did  go. 

5155.  SACRIFICE,  Vain.  He  that  offers  in 
sacrifice,  O  Pamphilus !  a  multitude  of  bulls 
and  of  goats,  of  golden  vestments,  or  purple 
garments,  or  figures  of  ivory,  or  precious 
gems,  and  imagines  by  this  to  conciliate  the 
favor  of  God,  is  grossly  mistaken,  and  has  no 
solid  understanding  ;  for  he  that  would  sacri¬ 
fice  with  success  ought  to  be  chaste  and  char¬ 
itable,  no  corrupter  of  virgins,  no  adulterer, 
no  robber  or  murderer  for  the  sake  of  lucre. 

From  the  Greek. 

5156.  SAFETY,  The  Believer's.  A  gentle¬ 
man  crossing  a  dreary  moor  came  upon  a  cot¬ 
tage.  When  about  to  leave,  he  said  to  its 
occupant,  “  Are  you  not  afraid  to  live  in  this 
lonely  place?”  —  “  Oh,  no  !  ”  said  he;  “for 
faith  closes  the  door  at  night,  and  mercy  opens 
it  in  the  morning.” 

5157.  SAFETY,  in  Omniscience.  When  one 
asked  Alexander  how  he  could  sleep  so  sound¬ 
ly  and  securely  in  the  midst  of  danger,  he  told 
him  that  Parmenio  watched.  He  might 
well  sleep  when  Parmenio  watched.  Oh,  how 
securely  may  they  sleep  over  whom  He  watcli- 
eth  that  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps  ! 

Biblical  Treasury. 

5158.  SAFETY,  Under  the  Cross.  Some¬ 
where  in  the  East,  there  is  said  to  be  a  tree 
which  is  a  non-conductor  of  electricity.  The 
people  know  it ;  and,  when  a  storm  comes,  they 
flee  towards  it  for  safety.  Beautiful  picture  of 
the  Saviour !  —  beautiful  emblem  of  the  tree 
on  Calvary  !  It  is  a  non-conductor  of  wrath. 

llev.  Thomas  Jones. 

5159.  SAINTS,  Anthority  for.  At  the  time 
of  the  consecration  of  the  new  cathedral  at 
Milan,  a  miraculous  dream  revealed  to  St. 
Ambrose  the  martyrdom  of  two  holy  men, 
Gervasius  and  Protasius,  and  the  place  where 
their  bodies  reposed.  The  remains  were  dis¬ 
interred,  conveyed  in  solemn  procession  to  the 
cathedral,  and  deposited  beneath  the  high 
altar ;  and  St.  Gervasius  and  St.  Protasius 
became,  on  the  faith  of  a  dream,  distinguished 
saints  in  the  Roman  calendar.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

5160.  SAINTS,  Comparisons  o£  Saints  are 
compared  to  the  sun,  to  the  stars,  lights, 


Mount  Zion,  Lebanon,  treasure,  jewels,  gold, 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  stones  of  a  crown, 
lively  stones,  babes,  little  children,  obedient 
children,  members  of  the  body,  soldiers,  run¬ 
ners  in  a  race,  wrestlers,  good  servants,  stran¬ 
gers  and  pilgrims,  sheep,  lambs,  calves  of  the 
stall,  lions,  eagles,  doves,  thirsting  deer,  good 
fishes,  dew  and  showers,  watered  gardens, 
unfailing  springs,  vines,  branches  of  the  vine, 
pomegranates,  good  figs,  lilies,  willows  by  the 
water-courses,  trees  planted  by  rivers,  cedars 
in  Lebanon,  palm-trees,  corn,  wheat,  salt.  Bate. 

5161.  SAINTS,  Faults  of  the.  In  a  great 
naval  contest  of  England,  we  are  told  that  one 
ship  ran  aground,  so  as  to  be  entirely  out  of 
reach  of  the  enemy,  but  contributed  very 
much  to  the  victory  by  serving  as  a  beacon  to 
the  other  ships  bearing  down  into  action.  It 
was  not  a  way  of  contributing  to  the  victory 
which  any  brave  captain  would  choose ;  but 
it  would  be  a  matter  of  rejoicing,  even  in  this 
way,  to  serve  one’s  country.  And  so,  though  we 
would  not  choose  that  holy  men  of  old  should 
have  fallen  into  sins,  we  rejoice  that  the  great 
Captain  of  our  salvation  is  making  use  of  their 
failures  to  swell  the  triumphs  of  his  people, 
and  to  bring  glory  to  his  great  name.  Lewis. 

5162.  SAINTS,  God's  Jewels.  The  saints  are 
God's  jewels.  They  are  highly  esteemed  by 
him,  and  are  dear  to  him.  They  are  comely 
with  the  comeliness  that  he  puts  upon  them, 
and  he  is  pleased  to  glory  in  them  :  they  are 
a  royal  diadem  in  his  hand.  He  looks  upon 
them  as  his  own  proper  goods,  his  choice  goods, 
his  treasure  laid  up  in  his  cabinet,  and  the 
furniture  of  his  closet :  the  rest  of  the  world 
is  but  lumber  in  comparison  with  them. 

M.  Henry. 

5163.  SAINTS,  Mission  of  the.  Each  of  God’s 
saints  is  sent  into  the  world  to  prove  some 
part  of  the  divine  character.  Perhaps  I  may 
be  one  of  those  who  shall  live  in  the  valley  of 
ease,  having  much  rest,  and  hearing  sweet 
birds  of  promise  singing  in  my  ears.  The  air 
is  calm  and  balmy,  the  sheep  are  feeding  round 
about  me,  and  all  is  still  and  quiet.  Well, 
then,  I  shall  prove  the  love  of  God  in  sweet 
comrnunings.  Or  perhaps  I  may  be  called 
to  stand  where  the  thunder-clouds  brew,  where 
the  lightnings  play,  and  tempestuous  winds 
are  howling  on  the  mountain-top.  Well,  then, 
I  am  born  to  prove  the  power  and  majesty  of 
our  God  :  amid  dangers  he  will  inspire  me 
with  courage ;  amid  toils  he  will  make  me 
strong.  Perhaps  it  shall  be  mine  to  preserve 
an  unblemished  character,  and  so  prove  the 
power  of  sanctifying  grace  in  not  being  allowed 
to  backslide  from  my  professed  dedication  to 
God.  I  shall  then  be  a  proof  of  the  omnipo¬ 
tent  power  of  grace,  which  alone  can  save 
from  the  power  as  well  as  the  guilt  of  sin. 

Spurgeon. 

5164.  SAINTS,  in  the  World.  Some  rivers, 

as  historians  tell  us,  pass  through  others  with¬ 
out  mingling  with  them ;  just  so  should  a 
saint  pass  through  this  world.  Venning. 

5165.  SAINTS,  Worship  of  False.  A  legend 
says,  that,  while  St.  Martin  was  inexorable  in 


SA-LV^TIOIST. 


SALVATION. 


571 


breaking  down  the  altars  of  the  heathens,  he 
opposed  himself  to  some  of  the  superstitions 
of  the  people.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Tours, 
there  was  a  little  chapel  in  which  the  people 
worshipped  a  supposed  martyr.  The  saint, 
believing  their  worship  misplaced,  went  and 
stood  upon  the  sepulchre,  and  prayed  that  the 
Lord  would  reveal  to  him  who  was  buried 
there.  Suddenly  he  beheld  a  dark  spectral 
form,  of  horrible  aspect,  standing  near;  and 
he  said,  “  Who  art  thou  ?  ”  And  the  shade  re¬ 
plied  that  he  was  a  robber,  who  had  been  exe¬ 
cuted  there  for  his  crimes,  and  was  now  suffer¬ 
ing  the  torments  of  hell.  Then  St.  Martin 
destroyed  the  chapel ;  and  the  people  resorted 
to  it  no  more.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

5166.  SALVATION,  for  All.  If  I  were  to 
come  as  an  accredited  agent  to  you  from  the 
upper  sanctuary,  with  a  letter  of  invitation  to 
you,  with  your  name  and  address  on  it,  you 
would  not  doubt  your  warrant  to  accept  it. 
Well,  here  is  the  Bible,  —  your  invitation  to 
come  to  Christ.  It  does  not  bear  your  name 
and  address;  but  it  says,  “  Whosoever :  ”  that 
takes  you  in.  It  says,  “  All:"  that  takes  you 
in.  It  says,  “  If  any :  ”  that  takes  you  in. 
What  can  be  surer  and  freer  than  that? 

Dr.  Chalmers. 

5167.  SALVATION,  Altar  of.  Our  altar  is 
foursquare  :  it  has  a  face  each  way,  and  it  has  a 
horn  upon  each  corner,  that  the  manslayer 
who  flees  for  safety  may  touch  it ;  and  he  who 
touches  that  altar  touches  it  lor  safety.  Evans. 

5168.  SALVATION,  Attainable.  Whoever 
reached  within  three  thousand  cubits  of  the 
city  of  refuge  was  safe.  If  the  sinner  shall 
but  touch  the  hem  of  Christ’s  garment,  he 
shall  live. 

5169.  SALVATION,  Common.  The  gospel 

river  of  life  does  not  branch  out  into  divers 
streams.  There  is  not  a  broad  sweep  of  water 
for  the  rich,  the  intellectual,  and  the  cultivated, 
and  a  little  scant  runnel  where  the  poor  may 
now  and  then  come  and  get  healed  by  the  side 
of  its  precarious  wave.  There  is  no  costly 
sanatorium  beneath  whose  shade  patrician  lep¬ 
rosy  may  get  by  itself  to  be  fashionably 
sprinkled  and  healed.  Naaman,  with  all  his 
retinue  watching,  must  come  and  dip  and 
plunge  like  common  men  in  Jordan.  There 
is  no  sort  of  salvation  except  the  one  ransom 
and  deliverance  that  is  purchased  for  rich  and 
poor  together  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord  Je¬ 
sus  Christ ;  and  the  poor  beggar,  his  garment 
ragged  from  the  havoc  of  a  hundred  storms, 
and  his  flesh  bleeding  from  the  ulcers  of  a 
hundred  wounds,  may  dip  eagerly  into  the 
same  Bethesda,  and  emerge  unscarred  and 
comely  as  a  child.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

5170.  SALVATION,  not  Compulsion.  “  Well, 
then,"  said  a  sceptic  to  me  on  one  occasion, 
“  why  is  the  world  not  saved  ?  ”  —  “  My  friend," 
said  I,  “  you  misconceive  the  power  required  to 
convert  souls.”  There  was  a  little  boy  in  the 
roo;  n  ;  and  I  illustrated  my  meaning  by  saying, 
“  Suppose  I  will  that  that  little  boy  leave  the 
room.  There  are  two  ways  in  which  I  could 
give  effect  to  that  will.  I  could  take  him  in 


my  arms,  and  by  superior  muscular  force  re¬ 
move  him  ;  or  I  could  take  him  on  my  knee, 
speak  lovingly  and  persuasively  to  him  in  or¬ 
der  to  induce  him  to  leave  the  room  himself. 
If  I  adopted  the  former,  I  should  merely  have 
removed  his  body :  his  volition  would  be 
against  me,  and  he  would  feel  that  I  had  done 
him  violence.  If  I  succeed  in  the  latter,  I 
should  have  influenced  his  mind  ;  and  he  him¬ 
self  would  use  his  own  limbs,  and  wi.h  a  hap¬ 
py  smile  depart.”  Rev.  D.  Thomas ,  D.D. 

5171.  SALVATION,  Experience  of.  An  Indian, 
when  asked  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  him, 
gathered  some  dry  leaves  into  a  circle,  and,  pla¬ 
cing  a  worm  in  the  centre,  set  them  on  fire.  As 
the  flames  drew  nearer  on  every  side,  and  were 
about  to  consume  the  worm,  lie  lifted  it  out, 
and,  placing  it  safely  on  a  rock,  looked  up  and 
said,  “  This  is  what  Jesus  did  for  me.” 

5172.  SALVATION,  by  Faith  and  Grace.  Faith 
saves,  and  grace  saves,  —  faith  as  the  instru¬ 
ment,  and  grace  as  the  divine  efficacy ;  faith 
the  channel,  and  grace  the  heavenly  stream  ; 
faith  the  finger  that  touches  the  garment’s 
fringe,  and  grace  the  virtue  that  pours  from 
the  Saviour’s  heart.  Faith  cannot  scale  the 
dreadful  precipice  from  which  Nature  has 
fallen ;  but  it  can  lay  hold  on  the  rope  which 
grace  has  let  down  even  into  his  hands  from 
the  top,  and  which  will  draw  up  again  with 
all  the  burden  faith  can  bind  to  it.  And  this 
is  all  the  mystery  of  faith’s  saving.  Christ 
reaches  down  from  heaven,  and  faith  reaches 
up  from  earth ;  and  each  hand  grasps  the  other, 
—  one  in  weakness,  the  other  in  power. 

Dr.  Ilorje. 

5173.  SALVATION,  from  Fire.  A  minister  of 
the  gospel  one  day  saw  a  piece  of  ivy  intwined 
round  a  brand  in  the  fire.  He  took  it  out, 
planted  it  in  front  of  his  house.  It  took  root, 
grew,  grew  higher,  and  spread  wider,  until  it 
covered  the  front  most  luxuriantly,  forming  a 
beautiful  ornament,  and  admired  by  the  pass¬ 
ers-by.  To  all  inquiries,  he  gives  the  history 
of  its  planting  and  growth,  and  then  asks  the 
(juestion,  “  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  from 
the  burning  ?  ” 

5174.  SALVATION,  Free.  Shall  the  husband¬ 

man,  for  the  sake  of  the  harvest,  waste  his 
strength,  and  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day,  and  then,  when  the  ripe  corn  tempts 
the  sickle,  in  very  wantonness  refuse  to  reap, 
and  let  it  be  destroyed?  Shall  the  Lord 
Jesus  undertake  to  suffer  for  us,  shall  he  ac¬ 
tually  toil  and  groan  and  grieve,  and  die  for 
us,  and  then  let  the  fruit  of  all  his  sufferings 
be  lost,  and  leave  us  to  perish  in  our  sins? 
No  1  it  cannot  be.  It  is  impossible  to  exagger¬ 
ate  the  certainty  and  freeness  of  that  salvation 
that  is  in  Christ  for  all  who  will  but  lay  hold 
of  it.  It  is  impossible  that  any  thing  in  the 
universe  can  lie  between  you  and  eternal  life, 
if  you  but  accept  it  as  11  the  gift  ”  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Caird. 

5175.  SALVATION,  a  Gift.  Once  there  was 
a  poor  woman  who  greatly  desired  a  bunch  of 
grapes  from  the  king’s  conservatory  for  her 
sick  child.  She  took  half  a  crown,  and  went  to 


572 


SAJLv^vrioisr. 


the  king’s  gardener,  and  tried  to  purchase  the 
grapes,  but,  was  rudely  repulsed.  A  second 
effort,  with  more  money,  met  like  results.  It 
happened  that  the  king’s  daughter  heard  the 
angry  words  of  the  gard  ;ner,  and  the  crying 
of  the  woman,  and  inquired  into  the  matter. 
When  the  poor  woman  had  told  her  story,  the 
princess  said,  “  My  dear  woman,  you  were  mis¬ 
taken.  My  father  is  not  a  merchant,  but  a 
king ;  his  business  is  not  to  sell,  but  to  give :  ” 
whereupon  she  plucked  the  bunch  from  the 
vine,  and  gently  dropped  it  into  the  woman’s 
apron.  So  the  woman  obtained  as  a  free  gift 
what  the  labor  of  many  days  and  nights  had 
proved  unable  to  procure  her. 

5170.  SALVATION,  Instantaneous.  God  can 
do  much  work  in  a  short  time.  Many  are  the 
examples  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  of  God's 
working  this  faith  in  men’s  hearts,  even  like 
lightning  falling  from  heaven.  So,  in  the  same 
hour  that  Paul  and  Silas  began  to  preach,  the 
jailer  repented,  believed,  and  was  baptized,  as 
were  three  thousand  by  St.  Peter  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost,  who  all  repented  and  believed 
on  his  first  preaching.  And,  blessed  be  God ! 
there  are  now  many  living  proofs  that  he  is 
still  mighty  to  save.  J.  Wesley. 

5177.  SALVATION,  Joy  at.  A  highly  es¬ 
teemed  young  man  was  rescued  from  the  water, 
and  appeared  to  be  dead.  At  length,  he  began 
to  show  signs  of  life  ;  and  a  thrill  of  joy  ran 
through  the  crowd  as  it  was  whispered  around, 
“  He  breathes  !  ”  How  much  greater  the  joy 
of  men  and  angels  over  newly-born  souls  ! 

5178.  SALVATION,  Neglected.  Simply  11  neg¬ 

lect  the  great  salvation,”  and  you  will  make 
your  everlasting  ruin  sure.  Many  foolish, 
faithless  parents  have  stood  by  the  grave  of  a 
child  which  they  dug  with  their  own  hands. 
How  ?  Did  they  administer  slow  poison,  or 
strike  an  assassin-knife  through  the  young 
heart?  No;  but  they  killed  their  child  just 
as  surely  by  simple  neglect  of  the  first  laws  of 
health.  Many  a  father,  too,  has  wrung  his 
hands  in  agony  before  a  prison-cell  which  held 
a  ruined  son,  or  over  the  letter  which  told  him 
of  a  son’s  disgrace;  and  on  those  very  hands 
rested  the  guilt  of  that  boy’s  ruin.  Why  ? 
Had  they  led  that  son  into  sabbath-breaking 
or  theft  cr  profligacy ?  No;  but  they  had  let 
the  youth  alone,  and  left  him  to  rush  into  them 
unrestrained.  Neglect  was  the  boy’s  ruin. 
There  is  no  need  that  the  man  in  a  skiff  amid 
Niagara’s  rapids  should  row  towards  the  cata¬ 
ract:  resting  on  his  oars  is  quite  enough  to 
send  him  over  the  awful  verge.  Cuyler. 

5179.  SALVATION,  Negleoting.  Most  of  the 
calamities  of  life  are  caused  by  simple  neglect. 
By  neglect  of  education,  children  grow  up  in 
ignorance;  by  neglect,  a  farm  grows  up  to 
weeds  and  briers  ;  by  neglect,  a  house  goes  to 
decay ;  by  neglect  of  sowing,  a  man  will  have 
no  harvest ;  by  neglect  of  reaping,  the  harvest 
would  rot  in  the  fields.  No  worldly  interest 
can  prosper  where  there  is  neglect ;  and  why 
may  il  not  be  so  in  religion  ?  There  is  noth¬ 
ing  in  earthly  affairs  that  is  valuable  that  will 
not  be  ruined  if  it  is  not  attended  to ;  and 


why  may  it  not  be  so  with  the  concerns  of  the 
soul  ?  Let  no  one  infer,  therefore,  that  be¬ 
cause  he  is  not  a  drunkard,  or  an  adulterer,  or 
a  murderer,  that  therefore  he  will  be  saved. 
Such  an  inference  would  be  as  irrational  as  it 
would  be  for  a  man  to  infer,  that,  because  he  is 
not  a  murderer,  his  farm  will producea  harvest; 
or  that,  because  he  is  not  an  adulterer,  therefore 
his  merchandise  will  take  care  of  itself.  Sal¬ 
vation  would  be  worth  nothing  if  it  cost  no 
effort;  and  there  will  be  no  salvation  where 
no  effort  is  put  forth.  Dr.  A.  Barnes. 

5180.  SALVATION,  Plan  of.  The  plan  of 
salvation  is  likened  unto  a  vine  which  has 
fallen  down  from  the  boughs  of  an  oak.  It  lies 
prone  upon  the  ground  ;  it  crawls  in  the  dust; 
and  all  its  tendrils  and  claspers,  which  were 
formed  to  hold  it  in  the  lofty  place  from  which 
it  had  fallen,  are  twined  around  the  weed  and 
the  bramble,  and,  having  no  strength  in  itself, 
it  lies  fruitless  and  corrupting,  tied  down  to  the 
base  things  of  the  earth.  Now,  how  shall  the 
vine  arise  from  its  fallen  condition  ?  But  one 
way  is  possible  for  the  vine  to  rise  again  to 
the  place  from  whence  it  had  fallen.  The 
bough  of  the  lofty  oak  must  be  let  down,  or 
some  communication  must  be  formed  connected 
with  the  top  of  the  oak,  and  at  the  same  time 
with  the  earth ;  then,  when  the  bough  of  the 
oak  was  let  down  to  the  place  where  the  vine 
lay,  its  tender  claspers  might  fasten  upon  it, 
and,  thus  supported,  it  might  raise  itself  up, 
and  bear  fruit  again  in  the  lofty  place  from 
whence  it  fell.  So  with  man.  His  affections 
had  fallen  from  God,  and  were  fastened  to 
the  base  things  of  the  earth.  Jesus  Christ 
came  down,  and  by  his  humanity  stood  upon 
the  earth,  and  by  his  divinity  raised  his  hands, 
and  united  himself  with  the  deity  of  the  ever¬ 
lasting  Father.  Thus  the  fallen  affections  of 
man  may  fasten  upon  him,  and  twine  around 
him,  until  they  again  ascend  to  the  bosom  of 
the  Godhead  from  whence  they  fell. 

J.  B.  Walker. 

5181.  SALVATION,  Possible,  I  thank  God 
for  that  word  “  whosoever.”  If  God  had  said 
there  was  mercy  for  Richard  Baxter,  I  am  so 
vile  a  sinner,  that  I  would  have  thought  he 
meant  some  other  Richard  Baxter ;  but,  when 
he  says  whosoever,  I  know  that  includes  me, 
the  worst  of  all  Richard  Baxters.  Baxter. 

5182.  SALVATION,  Power  of.  What  was  it 
by  which  the  Lord  prepared  Edwards,  the 
Wesleys,  and  Whitefield,  to  herald  the  blessed 
Jesus  to  the  multitudes  with  such  simplicity 
and  power? — just  this  very  experience  of  full 
salvation.  What  was  it  that  gave  Luther 
power  to  break  his  own  Roman  fetters,  and  be¬ 
come  the  champion  of  the  free? — just  this 
experience  of  the  power  of  Jesus  in  him  for 
full  salvation.  What  was  it  that  gave  the 
apostles  power  to  come  forth  into  the  light 
themselves,  and  shed  the  light  in  such  efful¬ 
gence  upon  a  benighted  world  ?  —  Christ  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  risen  in  their  own  souls. 

W.  E.  Boardman. 

5183.  SALVATION,  Safety  of.  Men  appoint 
walls  and  bulwarks  for  salvation ;  but  God  ap- 


SALVA-TIOISr. 


satajst. 


573 


points  salvation  for  walls  and  bulwarks.  Sal¬ 
vation  is  often  without  walls  and  bulwarks, 
and  walls  and  bulwarks  without  salvation. 
Salvation  is  the  safer  safeguard.  Venning. 

5184.  SALVATION,  Selling.  Judas  sold  his 

salvation  very  cheap,  —  for  thirty  pieces  of  sil¬ 
ver  :  and  yet  they  that  paid  the  money  paid 
very  dear ;  for  they  bought  their  own  damna¬ 
tion.  Venning. 

5185.  SALVATION,  Simplicity  of.  A  physician 
who  was  anxious  about  his  soul  asked  a  be¬ 
lieving  patient  of  his  how  he  should  find 
peace.  Ilis  patient  replied,  “  Doctor,  I  have 
felt  that  I  could  do  nothing,  and  I  have  put  my 
case  in  your  hand :  I  am  trusting  in  you. 
This  is  exactly  what  every  poor  sinner  must  do 
in  the  Lord  Jesus.”  He  saw  the  simplicity  of 
the  way,  and  soon  found  peace  in  Christ. 

5188.  SALVATION,  by  a  Testament.  George 
Creedy  went  into  the  battle  of  White-oak 
Swamp  with  a  Testament  in  his  pocket.  A 
Minie-ball  shattered  his  arm,  then  struck  the 
Testament,  splitting  it;  and  was  thereby  di¬ 
verted  from  its  course,  and  the  soldier’s  life 
saved.  How  often  has  the  Testament  turned 
the  missiles  of  death  from  the  exposed  soul ! 

5187.  SALVATION,  not  by  Works.  Observe 
what  happens  when  the  cry  rises  at  sea,  “  A 
man  overboard  1  ”  With  others  on  deck,  you 
rush  to  the  side;  and,  leaning  over  the  bul¬ 
warks,  with  beating  heart  you  watch  the  place 
where  the  rising  air-bells  and  boiling  deep  tell 
that  he  has  gone  down.  After  some  moments 
of  breathless  anxiety,  you  see  his  head  emerge 
from  the  wave.  Now,  that  man,  I  shall  sup- 
ose  is  no  swimmer ;  he  has  never  learned  to 
reast  the  billows;  yet,  with  the  first  breath  he 
draws,  he  begins  to  beat  the  water ;  with  vio¬ 
lent  efforts,  he  attempts  to  shake  off'  the  grasp 
of  death,  and  by  the  play  of  limbs  and  arms 
to  keep  his  head  from  sinking.  It  may  be  that 
these  struggles  but  exhaust  his  strength,  and 
sink  him  all  the  sooner;  nevertheless,  that 
drowning  one  makes  instinctive  and  convulsive 
efforts  to  save  himself.  So,  when  first  brought 
to  feel  and  cry, “ 1  perish  1  ”  when  the  horri¬ 
ble  conviction  rushes  into  the  soul,  that  we  are 
lost ;  when  we  feel  ourselves  going  down  be¬ 
neath  a  load  of  guilt  into  the  depth  of  the 
wrath  of  God,  —  our  first  effort  is  to  save  our¬ 
selves.  Like  a  drowning  man,  who  will  cluich 
at  straws  and  twigs,  we  seize  on  any  thing, 
however  worthless,  that  promises  salvation. 
Thus,  alas  I  many  poor  souls  toil,  and  spend 
weary,  unprofitable  years,  in  the  attempt  to  es¬ 
tablish  a  righteousness  of  their  own,  and  find 
in  the  deeds  of  the  law  protection  from  its 
curse.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5388.  SANCTIFICATION,  Internal.  Many 
have  clean  hands,  but  unclean  hearts.  They 
wash  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter,  when 
all  is  fiuhy  within.  Now,  the  former  without 
the  latter  profits  a  man  no  more  than  it  profited 
Pilate,  who  condemned  Christ,  to  wash  his 
hands  in  the  presence  of  the  people  :  he  washed 
his  hands  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  yet  had 
a  hand  in  the  death  of  Christ.  The  Egyptian 
temples  were  beautiful  on  the  outside;  but 


within  you  shall  find  nothing  but  some  serpent 
or  crocodile.  “He  is  not  a  Jew  which  is  one 
outwardly.”  Judas  was  a  saint  without,  but  a 
sinner  within  ;  openly  a  disciple,  but  secretly  a 
devil.  Mead. 

5189.  SANCTIFICATION,  Nature  of.  I  must 
tell  you  we  do  not  well  understand  what  sanc¬ 
tification  and  the  new  creature  are.  It  is  no 
less  than  tor  a  man  to  be  brought  to  an  entire 
resignation  of  his  own  will  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  to  live  in  the  offering-up  of'  his  soul  con¬ 
tinually  in  the  flames  of  love,  as  a  whole  burnt- 
offering  to  Christ ;  and,  oh !  how  many  who 
profess  Christianity  are  unacquainted  experi¬ 
mentally  with  his  work  upon  their  souls  1 

Ahp.  Usher. 

5190.  SANCTIFICATION,  Preserving.  History 

records,  that,  in  the  days  of  Tiberius,  it  was 
thought  a  crime  to  carry  a  ring  stamped  with 
the  image  of  Augustus  into  any  mean  or  sordid 
place,  where  it  might  be  polluted.  IIow  much 
may  those  who  profess  to  be  a  holy  people  learn 
even  from  a  heathen  1  Bowes. 

5191.  SANCTIFICATION,  Process  of,  It  is 
wonderful  to  see  how  the  little  events  of  our 
daily  life  tend  to  our  sanctification,  though  we 
know  it  not  at  the  time.  Every  week  seems 
so  like  the  other  1  But  you  know  when  the 
sculptor  begins  his  work,  he  strikes  great 
pieces  off  the  block.  Every  stroke  tells  visibly. 
But,  when  the  statue  is  nearly  finished,  he 
takes  the  fine  chisel,  and  strikes  off'  but  a  little 
dust  at  a  time.  You  scarcely  see  the  effects 
of  the  blow  ;  yet  then  it  is  directed  with  most 
art  and  skill,  —  then  the  work  is  nearly  done. 

Doing  and  Suffering. 

5192.  SATAN,  Complimenting.  A  priest  toid 
a  dying  Spaniard  how  the  Devil  tormented 
the  wicked  that  went  to  hell.  The  Spaniard 
replied,  “  I  hope,  my  lord  the  Devil  is  not  so 
cruel.”  Then  the  priest  reproved  him  lor  call¬ 
ing  the  Devil  “my  lord.”  —  “Excuse  me,” 
said  the  don  :  “  I  know  not  into  what  hands  I 
fall;  and,  if  I  happen  into  his,  I  hope  he  will 
use  me  the  better  for  giving  him  good  words.” 

5193.  SATAN,  Distinguishing.  It  is  observed 

by  some,  that  God  never  suffered  the  Devil  to 
assume  any  human  shape,  but  with  some  char¬ 
acter  whereby  his  body  might  be  distinguished 
from  the  true  body  of  a  man;  and  surely  the 
Devil  cannot  so  exactly  counterfeit  an  angel 
of  light,  but  that,  by  a  discerning  mind,  he 
may  be  distinguished  from  him :  as  they  say  a 
beggar  can  never  act  a  prince  so  cunningly, 
but  that  his  behavior,  sometimes  sliding  into 
the  coarse  way  and  principles  of  his  education, 
will  betray  the  meanness  of  his  pedigree  to  one 
of  a  truly  noble  extraction.  A  base  imitation 
will  always  fall  short  of  the  copy  from  whence  it 
is  taken  ;  and  though  sin  and  error  may  take 
up  the  mantle  of  truth,  and  clothe  themselves 
with  it,  yet  he  that  is  inwardly  acquainted  with 
truth,  and  an  ingenuous  lover  and  pursuer  of 
it,  will  be  able  to  find  out  the  imposture,  ho 
will  be  able  to  see  through  the  veil  into  the 
naked  deformity  of  them.  John  Smith. 

5194.  SATAN,  Exposed.  Milton  relates,  how 
that,  suspecting  Satan  to  be  in  the  garden  of 


SAT-AJST 


SATISFACTION .. 


574 

Eden,  two  angels  instituted  a  search.  They 
found  a  toad  at  the  ear  of  Eve,  as  she,  to¬ 
gether  with  her  husband,  reposed  in  one  of  its 
bowers,  whispering  evil  in  her  ear.  One  of 
the  angels  (Ithuriel)  touched  the  toad  with  his 
spear ;  and  up  rose,  in  all  his  fallen  grandeur 
and  malignity,  the  Tempter,  the  Devil.  We 
are  exposed  to  evil :  when  we  would  do  good, 
evil  is  present  with  us.  It  is  sometimes  diffi¬ 
cult  to  detect ;  but  touch  it  with  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  that  is  more  powerful  than  Ithuriel’s 
spear,  and  the  evil  will  appear  in  its  true  col¬ 
ors.  Biblical  Treasury. 

5105.  SATAN,  Food  of.  The  raven  croaks 
and  flaps  his  wings  above  corruption,  and  riots 
in  luxury  on  the  cafttasses  of  the  dead;  so 
Satan  feeds  his  infernal  appetite  upon  the  cor¬ 
rupt  and  dead  souls  of  mankind.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5106.  SATAN,  Misrepresented.  We  remember 
hearing  the  late  Bishop  Villiers  remarking  on 
the  dangerous  tendency  of  those  old  pictures, 
so  familiar  to  us  all,  and  so  often  exhibited  to 
children,  in  which  Satan  was  represented  as 
some  grim,  dark,  ugly  monster,  the  very  sight 
of  whom  was  terrible  to  behold.  A  broad- 
shouldered  Scotchman,  looking  at  Ary  Schef¬ 
fer’s  painting  of  the  “  Temptation  of  the  Lord,” 
said,  as  he  pointed  to  the  figure  of  Satan,  “If 
that  chiel  cam  to  me  in  sic  an  ugly  shape,  I 
think  he  wud  hae  a  teuch  job  wi’  me  too.”  — 
“  I  could  not,”  adds  John  de  Liefde,  the  nar¬ 
rator  of  the  incident,  “help  smiling;  but  I  felt 
there  was  much  truth  in  the  remark.” 

Biblical  Treasury. 

5107.  SATAN,  Overcome.  When  the  devils 
saw  Christ  on  the  cross,  there  stood  the  exult¬ 
ing  fiend,  smiling  to  himself.  “  Ah  1  I  have 
'he  King  of  glory  now  in  my  dominions ;  I 
have  the  power  of  death,  and  I  have  the  power 
over  the  Lord  Jesus.”  He  exerted  that  power, 
till  the  Lord  Jesus  had  to  cry  out  in  bitter 
anguish,  “  My  Cod,  my  Cod !  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?  ”  But,  ah  !  how  short-lived  was 
hellish  victory  1  how  brief  was  the  Satanic 
triumph!  He  died;  and  “It  is  finished!” 
shook  the  gates  of  hell.  Down  from  the  cross, 
the  conqueror  leaped,  pursued  the  fiend  with 
thunderbolts  of  wrath :  swift  to  the  shades  of 
hell  the  fiend  did  fly,  and  swift  descending 
went  the  conqueror  after  him  :  and,  seizing 
him,  he  chained  him  to  his  chariot-wheel  ; 
dragged  him  up  the  steeps  of  glory ;  angels 
shouting  all  the  while,  “  lie  hath  led  captivity 
captive,  and  received  gifts  for  men.”  Now, 
Devil,  thou  saidst  thou  wouldst  overcome  me 
when  I  came  to  die.  Satan,  I  defy  thee,  and 
laugh  thee  to  scorn  1  My  master  overcame 
thee,  and  I  shall  overcome  thee  yet.  Spurgeon 

5168.  SATAN,  Promises  of.  “I  have  read  of 
King  Canute,”  says  an  excellent  minister, 
“  that  promised  to  make  him  the  highest  man 
in  England  who  should  kill  King  Edmund  his 
rival ;  which  when  one  had  performed,  and 
expected  his  reward,  he  commanded  him  to  be 
hung  on  the  highest  tower  in  London.  So 
Satan  promises  great  things  to  people  in 
pursuit  jf  their  lusts ;  but  he  puts  them  off  with 
great  mischief.  The  promised  crown  turns  to 


a  halter,  the  promised  comfort  to  a  torment, 
the  promised  honor  into  shame,  the  promised 
consolation  into  desolation,  and  the  promised 
heaven  turns  into  a  hell.”  Whitecross, 

5166.  SATAN,  Proverb.  “  To  offer  a  candle 
to  God,  and  another  to  the  Devil.”  This  prov¬ 
erb  is  illustrated  by  a  painting  which  Robert 
de  la  Mark  caused  to  be  executed,  representing 
St.  Margaret  and  the  Devil,  and  himself  on  his 
knees  before  them  with  a  candle  in  each  hand, 
and  a  scroll  issuing  from  his  mouth,  containing 
the  words,  “  If  God  will  not  aid  me,  the  Devil 
surely  will  not  fail  me.” 

5200.  SATAN,  Eaga  of.  Satan  is  compared 
to  a  raging  lion.  It  is  said  that  the  lion  always 
roars  loudest  in  a  storm,  amid  the  crash  of 
thunder  and  the  flash  of  lightning.  So  it  is 
with  Satan  when  the  storm  of  truth  shakes  the 
houses  of  the  wicked. 

5201.  SATAN,  Subtlety  of.  An  enemy,  before 

he  besiegeth  a  city,  surroundeth  it  at  a  distance 
to  see  where  the  wall  is  the  weakest,  best  to 
be  battered,  lowest,  easiest  to  be  scaled  ;  ditch 
narrowest  to  be  bridged,  shallowest  to  be 
waded  over ;  what  place,  if  not  regularly  forti¬ 
fied,  where  he  may  approach  with  least  danger, 
and  assault  with  most  advantage :  so  Satan 
walketh  about  surveying  all  the  powers  of  our 
souls,  where  he  may  most  probably  lay  his 
temptations,  —  as  whether  our  understandings 
are  easier  corrupted  with  error,  or  our  fancies 
with  levity,  or  our  wills  with  frowardness,  or 
our  affections  with  excess.  Spencer. 

5202.  SATIETY,  Example  of.  A  father  gave 
his  son  a  box  of  many-colored  shells  from  the 
seashore,  which  afforded  him  and  his  play¬ 
mates  continual  delight.  The  father  thought 
to  give  his  son  a  greater  pleasure,  and  took  him 
to  the  seaside,  where  the  most  beautiful  shells 
were  abundant.  The  boy  ran  about  among 
them,  picking  one  here  and  there,  and  throwing 
them  down  for  some  prettier  one,  till  he  be¬ 
came  tired,  threw  away  what  he  had  collected, 
and  returned  home  out  of  humor  and  empty- 
handed,  and  gave  away  what  he  had  betore. 
The  father  saw  that  little  with  simplicity  is 
better  than  much  and  satiety. 

5263.  SATISFACTION,  Example  of.  There 
is  a  story  of  an  old  farmer  whose  little  boy 
came  to  him  one  morning,  and  said,  “Father, 
the  old  black  sheep  has  brought  a  pair  of  twin 
lambs,” — “Good!  that  is  the  most  profitable 
sheep  I  ever  owned.” — “  But,  father,  one  of 
the  lambs  is  dead.” — “All  right,  my  son:  the 
other  will  do  better.” — “But  both  of  them 
are  dead.” — “It’s  just  as  well:  the  old  sheep 
will  get  fat  now.” — “But, father, the  old  sheep 
is  dead  too.” — “I  am  glad  of  it:  she  was  a 
troublesome  old  thing,  always  the  ringleader 
of  the  flock.  ’  ’ 

5201.  SATISFACTION,  Lesson  of.  If  I  had 

been  made  a  firefly,  it  would  not  become  me  to 
say,  ‘  ‘If  God  had  only  made  me  a  star,  to  shine 
always,  then  I  would  shine.”  It  is  my  duty, 
if  I  am  a  firefly,  to  fly  and  sparkle,  and  fly  and 
sparkle ;  not  to  shut  my  wings  down  over  my 
phosphorescent  self  because  God  did  not  make 
me  a  sun  or  a  star.  Beecher. 


S-A-VIOTTR. 


SCEPTICISM. 


575 


5205.  SAVIOUR,  Example  of  a.  Three  little 
boys  were  playing  on  a  high  point  of  the  sea¬ 
shore.  The  tide  flowing  in,  they  were  sur¬ 
rounded  by  water,  and  unable  to  escape.  A 
fisherman  discovered  their  situation,  and  res¬ 
cued  them  just  as  the  water  reached  to  their 
necks.  He  was  the  boys’  savior. 

5206.  SAVIOUR,  Love  of  the.  Like  the  sun¬ 

shine  that  tails  with  magical  flicker  on  pearl 
and  ruby,  lance  and  armor,  in  the  royal  hall, 
yet  overflows  the  shepherd’s  home,  and  quivers 
through  the  grating  of  the  prisoner’s  cell ; 
pours  glory  over  the  mountain-range ;  flames 
in  playful  splendors  on  the  wave ;  floods  the 
noblest  scenes  with  day,  yet  makes  joy  for  the 
insect;  comes  down  to  the  worm,  and  has  a 
loving  glance  for  the  life  that  stirs  in  the 
fringes  of  the  wayside  grass ;  silvers  the  moss 
of  the  marsh  and  the  scum  of  the  pool ;  glistens 
in  the  thistle-down  ;  lines  the  shell  with  crim¬ 
son  fire,  and  fills  the  little  flower  with  light; 
travels  millions  and  millions  of  miles,  past 
stars,  past  constellations,  and  all  the  “dread 
magnificence  of  heaven,”  on  purpose  to  visit 
the  sickly  weed,  to  kiss  into  vividness  the 
sleeping  blooms  of  spring,  and  to  touch  the 
tiniest  thing  with  the  gladness  that  makes  it 
great :  so  docs  the  Saviour’s  love,  not  deterred 
by  our  unworthiness,  not  offended  by  our 
slights,  come  down  to  teach  and  bless  the 
meanest  and  the  lowliest  life  in  the  new  crea¬ 
tion.  lie  restores  the  bruised  reed  :  the  weak¬ 
est  natures  share  his  visits,  and  revive  beneath 
his  smile.  C.  Stanford. 

5207.  SCANDAL,  Fable  of.  An  old  couple 
living  in  the  west  of  England  had  come  up  to 
a  happy  old  age  without  ever  a  jarring  word. 
The  Devil  looked  upon  them,  and  thought  they 
were  injuring  his  cause,  and  tried  for  over 
twenty  yeais  to  create  a  quarrel  between  them. 
At  length  he  became  discouraged,  and  was 
about  to  give  up  the  case,  when  he  met  a  neigh¬ 
bor,  who  volunteered  to  do  what  he  could  not ; 
for  which  she  was  to  receive  a  pair  of  shoes. 
The  old  woman  at  once  went  to  work.  She 
told  Mrs.  Fdumford,  that  a  change  was  coming 
over  her  happy  husband  ;  but,  to  cure  him,  she 
must  shave  off  the  lock  growing  under  his 
chin.  She  next  met  Mr.  Blumford,  and  talked 
to  him  much  in  the  same  way.  When  he  was 
asleep,  Mrs.  Blumford  thought  she  would  do  as 
advised  ;  but,  as  she  held  the  razor  in  her  hand, 
her  husband  awoke.  From  that  time,  there  was 
constant  wrangling  between  the  old  couple. 
The  Devil  hastened  to  meet  his  faithful  emis¬ 
sary,  ai  d  reward  her  for  her  success.  He 
handed  ihe  shoes  to  her  over  a  fence,  on  the 
end  of  a  long  pole.  She  asked  him  why  he 
had  handed  them  to  her  in  that  way.  “  Be¬ 
cause,”  replied  he,  “any  one  who  has  the 
cunning  a  id  meanness  to  do  as  you  have  done 
don’t  get  nearer  than  twenty  feet  of  me.” 
After  a  while,  the  old  woman  died ;  and,  when 
she  appliel  for  admission  to  the  lower  regions, 
the  Devil  would  not  let  her  in  for  fear  she 
might  dethrone  him,  as  she  was  so  much  his 
superior.  So  the  old  woman  is  yet  condemned 
to  wander  over  the  world,  creating  quarrels 


and  strife  in  peaceful  families  and  neighbor¬ 
hoods.  Her  name  is  Madame  Scandal.  When 
she  died,  the  young  Scandals  were  left  orphans ; 
but  the  Devil,  in  consideration  of  the  services 
done  by  the  mother,  adopted  them ;  and  so  he 
is  father  to  the  respectable  class  called  scandal¬ 
mongers.  j 

5208.  SCANDAL,  Formula  of,  “  Mother,  Jasper 
told  me  that  she  heard  Grate  Wood’s  wife  say 
that  John  Hardstone’s  aunt  mentioned  to  her 
that  Mrs.  Trusty  was  present  when  the  Widow 
Barnam  said  that  Capt.  Ileartall’s  cousin 
thought  Ensign  Doolittle’s  sister  believed  that 
old  Mrs.  Oxby  reckoned  that  Sam  Trifle’s 
better-half  had  told  Mrs.  Spaulding  that  her 
mother  told  her  that  Mrs.  Bagatelle  had  two 
husbands.” 

5209.  SCANDAL,  Legend  of.  Two  nuns  of 
the  sisterhood  of  St.  Scholastica,  though  in 
other  respects  exemplary,  and  faithful  to  their 
religious  profession,  were  much  given  to  scan¬ 
dal  and  vain  talk.  Which  being  told  to  St. 
Benedict,  it  displeased  him  greatly ;  and  he 
sent  to  them  a  message,  that  if  they  did  not 
refrain  their  tongues,  and  set  a  better  example 
to  the  community,  he  would  excommunicate 
them.  The  nuns  were  at  first  alarmed  and 
penitent,  and  promised  amendment ;  but  the 
habit  was  too  strong  for  their  good  resolves. 
They  continued  their  vain  and  idle  talking; 
and,  in  the  midst  of  their  folly,  they  died,  and, 
being  of  great  and  noble  lineage,  they  were 
buried  in  the  church  near  the  altar.  And  after¬ 
wards,  on  a  certain  day,  as  St.  Benedict  sol¬ 
emnized  mass  at  that  altar,  and  at  the  moment 
when  the  officiating  deacon  uttered  the  usual 
words,  “  Let  those  who  are  excommunicated, 
and  forbidden  to  partake,  depart  and  leave 
us,”  behold  1  the  two  nuns  rose  up  from  their 
graves  ;  and  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  with 
faces  drooping  and  averted,  they  glided  out  of 
the  church.  And  thus  it  happened  every  time 
that  the  mass  was  celebrated  there ;  until  St. 
Benedict,  taking  pity  upon  them,  absolved 
them  from  their  sins,  and  they  rested  in  peace. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

5210.  SCEPTICISM,  Modem.  I  put  you  on 
your  guard  against  the  scepticism  of  our  time. 
And  do  you  think  that  I  am  about  to  enlarge 
upon  the  scepticism  of  Rousseau,  of  Diderot,  of 
Voltaire,  of  Bolingbroke,  of  Hobbes,  and  of 
Hume?  —  that  was  swept  away  with  their  ashes, 
and  is  buried.  The  great  scepticisms  of  our 
time  are  market-scepticism,  political  scep¬ 
ticism,  and  religious  scepticism.  Men  who 
feel  that  it  would  be  wicked  to  sacrifice  great 
pecuniary  interests  for  the  sake  of  principle ; 
men  who  think  it  would  be  a  tempting  of  Prov¬ 
idence  to  refuse  profitable  business-specula¬ 
tions,  to  leave  profitable  situations,  or  to  refuse 
dividends  of  evil ;  men  whose  consciences  will 
not  permit  them,  as  the  members  of  a  corpora¬ 
tion,  to  expose  its  wickedness ;  men  who  stand 
in  the  market,  and  feel  that  they  have  a  right  to 
do  any  thing  that  wins,  —  these  men  are  infi¬ 
dels.  You  need  not  tell  me  that  they  believe 
in  the  Bible  :  they  believe  in  an  empty  Bible, 
—  a  Bible  of  the  letter  and  not  a  Bible  of  the 


576 


scepticism:. 


SCOLD. 


spirit,  which  says  to  a  man,  “  Sacrifice  your 
right  hand  before  you  do  your  integrity.” 

Beecher. 

5213.  SCEPTICISM,  Reason  for.  Those  who 
would  draw  conclusions  unfavorable  to  Chris¬ 
tianity  from  the  circumstances  that  many 
believers  have  turned  sceptics,  but  few  sceptics 
believers,  have  forgotten  the  answer  of  Arees- 
ilaus,  to  one  that  asked  him  why  many  went 
from  other  sects  to  the  Epicureans,  but  none 
from  the  Epicureans  to  the  other  sects.  “  Be¬ 
cause,”  said  he,  ‘‘of  men,  some  are  made 
eunuchs  ;  but  of  eunuchs  never  any  were  made 
men.”  In  matters  of  religion,  it  too  often  hap¬ 
pens  that  belief  goes  before  examination  ;  and 
we  take  our  ereed  from  our  nurse,  but  not  our 
conviction.  If  the  intellectual  food  should 
afterwards  rise  upon  the  stomach,  it  is  because, 
in  this  unnatural  order  of  things,  the  act  of 
swallowing  has  preceded  the  ceremony  of  tast¬ 
ing.  C.  Colton. 

5212.  SCHOLAR,  Dull.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke 
was,  in  early  life,  a  notoriously  dull  scholar. 
He  could  hardly  learn  the  alphabet,  and  be¬ 
came  discouraged  through  the  severity  of  his 
teachers.  His  teacher  presented  him  to  a 
stranger  as  a  grievous  dunce.  Laying  his  hand 
on  his  head,  the  stranger  said,  “  This  lad  will 
make  a  good  scholar  yet.”  After  this,  he  wet 
his  books  with  his  tears.  One  day,  after  a 
terrible  rebuke  from  his  teacher,  he  felt  as  if 
something  had  given  way  in  his  head.  Ever 
after,  he  was  able  to  master  any  lesson. 

5213.  SCIENCE,  an  Agent.  We  glory  in  the 

conquests  of  science;  but  we  look  upon  science 
as  merely  an  agent.  Science  may  be  a  botanist ; 
but  who  started  the  vital  fluid  in  the  veins  of 
the  herb  and  flower  ?  Science  may  be  a  geol¬ 
ogist ;  but  who  wrote  the  rock-covered  page 
whose  hieroglyphics  she  would  translate  ? 
Science  may  be  an  astronomer ;  but  who  built 
the  worlds,  who  projected  the  comets,  whose 
mysterious  paths  she  traces?  Science  may  be  an 
agriculturalist :  she  may  open  the  earth’s  breast 
and  cast  in  most  precious  seed;  but,  if  the  foun¬ 
tains  of  dew  be  stayed,  Science  herself  will  die 
of  thirst!  Be  it  observed,  then,  that  science 
is  an  agent,  not  a  cause,  and  that,  while  we 
rejoice  in  its  agency,  we  are  bound  to  acknowl¬ 
edge  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  Infinite 
Intf.cligence.  Dr.  J.  Parker. 

5214.  SCIENCE,  Biblical.  The  science  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  most  excellent  of  sciences. 
Let  no  one  turn  away  from  the  Bible  because 
it  is  not  a  book  of  learning  and  wisdom.  It  is. 
Would  ye  know  astronomy? — it  is  here:  it 
tells  you  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  and  the 
Star  of  Bethlehem.  Would  you  know  botany? 

—  it  is  here :  it  tells  you  of  the  plant  of  renown, 

—  the  Lily  of  the  Valley  and  the  Rose  of 
Sharon.  Would  you  know  geology  and  min¬ 
eralogy  ?  —  you  shall  learn  it  here :  for  you 
may  read  of  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  the  White 
Stone  with  the  name  engraven  thereon,  which 
no  man  knoweth  saving  he  that  receiveth  it. 
Would  ye  study 'history  ?  —  here  is  the  most 
ancient  of  all  the  records  of  the  history  of 
the  human  race.  Whatever  your  science  is, 


come  and  bend  over  this  book :  your  science  is 
here.  Come  and  drink  out  of  this  fair  fount 
of  knowledge  and  wisdom,  and  ye  shall  find 
yourselves  made  wise  unto  salvation. 

Spurgeon. 

523.5.  SCIENCE,  Godless.  Godless  science 
reads  Nature  only  as  Milton’s  daughters  did 
Hebrew  ;  rightly  syllabling  the  sentences,  but 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  meaning.  5.  Coley. 

521®.  SCOFFER,  Punished.  One  evening,  a 
young  girl,  mocking  religious  people,  proceeded 
to  speak  of  her  “  experience,”  and,  in  conclu¬ 
sion,  shouted,  “  Glory  to  God  1  I  have  found 
peace,  I  am  sanctified,  I  am  now  fit  to  die.” 
As  the  words  passed  her  lips,  she  fell  senseless 
to  the  floor,  and  was  taken  up  a  corpse. 

S.  S.  Times. 

5217.  SCOFFER,  Silenced,  To  a  young  in¬ 
fidel  who  was  scoffing  at  Christianity  because 
of  the  misconduct  of  its  professors,  the  late 
Dr.  Mason  once  said,  “  Did  you  ever  know  an 
uproar  to  be  made  because  an  infidel  went 
astray  from  the  paths  of  morality  ?  ”  The  in¬ 
fidel  admitted  that  he  had  not.  “  Then  do  you 
not  see,”  said  Dr.  Mason,  “  that,  by  expecting 
professors  of  Christianity  to  be  holy,  you  admit 
it  to  be  a  holy  religion,  and  thus  pay  it  the 
highest  compliment  in  your  power?  ” 

521S.  SCOFFERS,  Overruled.  A  pious  old 
woman,  in  great  want,  laid  the  case  of  h(r 
need  before  the  Lord  in  prayer.  She  was 
overheard  by  two  wild  young  men,  who  then 
had  two  loaves  with  them  as  they  returned 
from  town.  They  thought  to  mock  her  prayers 
by  tumbling  the  loaves  down  the  chimney. 
She  then  thanked  the  Lord  for  this  relief. 
The  young  men  thought  it  time  to  tell  her 
that  they,  and  not  the  Lord,  threw  down  the 
bread.  She  replied,  “  The  Lord  sent  it,  if  the 
Devil  brought  it.” 

5219.  SCOFFS,  Expected.  If  ye  were  not 

strangers  here,  the  dogs  of  the  world  would  not 
bark  at  you.  The  world  is  one  of  the  enemies 
that  we  have  to  fight  with,  but  a  vanquished 
and  overcome  enemy,  and  like  a  beaten  and 
forlorn  soldier ;  for  our  Jesus  hath  taken  the 
armor  from  it.  You  shall  not  be  free  from 
the  scourge  of  the  tongue,  nor  of  disgraces, 
even  if  it  were  buffeting  and  spitting  upon 
the  face,  as  was  our  Saviour’s  case,  if  you 
follow  Christ.  Rutherford. 

5220.  SCOLD,  Enduring  a.  Xantippe,  wife 
of  Socrates,  was  a  woman  of  furious  temper. 
At  one  time,  having  vented  all  the  reproaches 
upon  him  that  her  fury  could  suggest,  he  went 
out  and  sat  before  the  door.  His  calm  and 
unconcerned  behavior  irritated  her  so  much 
the  more ;  and,  in  the  excess  of  her  rage,  she 
ran  up  stairs,  and  emptied  a  vessel  upon  his 
head ;  at  which  he  only  laughed,  and  said 
that  so  much  thunder  must  needs  produce  a 
shower.  Aleibiades,  his  friend,  talking  with 
him  about  his  wife,  told  him  he  wondered  how 
he  could  bear  such  an  everlasting  scold  in  the 
same  house  with  him.  He  replied,  “  I  have 
so  accustomed  myself  to  expect  it,  that  it  now 
offends  me  no  more  than  the  noise  of  carriage* 
in  the  streets.” 


SCOLDS. 


SCRIPTURES. 


577 


5221.  SCOLDS,  Treatment  for.  In  the  early 
period  of  Methodism,  some  of  Mr.  Wesley’s 
opponents  took  up  a  wagon-load  of  Methodists, 
and  carried  them  before  a  justice.  One  of  the 
accusers  said,  “  They  pretend  to  do  better 
than  other  people ;  and,  besides,  they  pray 
from  morning  till  night.”  The  magistrate 
asked  if  they  had  done  any  thing  else.  “  Yes, 
sir,”  said  an  old  man,  “  an’t  please  your  wor¬ 
ship,  they  converted  my  wife.  Till  she  went 
among  them,  she  had  such  a  tongue  1  and  now 
she  is  quiet  as  a  lamb.”  —  “  Carry  them  back, 
carry  them  back  1  ”  said  the  magistrate,  “  and 
let  them  convert  all  the  scolds  in  the  town.” 

5222.  SCORN,  Bearing.  As  Pericles  was 
sitting  before  others  in  a  meeting,  a  foul- 
mouthed  fellow  railed  upon  him  all  the  day 
long :  at  night,  when  it  was  dark,  and  the 
meeting  broke  up,  the  fellow  followed  him,  and 
railed  at  him,  even  to  his  door,  and  he  took 
no  notice  of  him  what  he  said ;  but,  when  he 
tame  home,  this  is  all  he  said  to  him,  “  It  is 
lark:  I  pray  let  my  man  light  you  home.” 

Jeremiah  Burroughs. 

5223.  SCORNER,  Addressed.  Rest  thee  well 

assured,  O  scorner  1  that  thy  laughs  cannot 
alter  truth,  thy  jests  cannot  avert  thine  inevit¬ 
able  doom.  Though  in  thy  hardihood  thou 
shouldst  make  a  league  with  death,  and  sign 
a  covenant  with  hell,  yet  swift  justice  shall 
overtake  thee,  and  strong  vengeance  strike 
thee  low.  In  vain  dost  thou  jeer  and  mock, 
for  eternal  verities  are  mightier  than  thy  soph¬ 
istries  ;  nor  can  thy  smart  sayings  alter  the 
divine  truth  of  a  single  word  of  this  volume 
of  Revelation.  Oh  1  why  dost  thou  quarrel 
with  thy  best  friend,  and  ill  treat  thy  only 
refuge  ?  There  yet  remains  hope,  even  for 
the  scorner,  — hope  in  a  Saviour’s  veins,  hope 
in  the  Father’s  mercy,  hope  in  the  Holy 
Spirit’s  omnipotent  agency.  Spurgeon. 

5224.  SCRIPTURES,  Adaptation  of  the.  How 

marvellous  is  the  adaptation  of  Scripture  for 
the  race  for  whom  it  was  revealed  !  In  its 
pages  every  conceivable  condition  of  human 
experience  is  reflected  as  in  a  mirror.  In  its 
words,  every  struggle  of  the  heart  can  find 
appropriate  and  forceful  expression.  It  is  ab¬ 
solutely  inexhaustible  in  its  resources  for  the 
conveyance  of  the  deepest  feelings  of  the  soul. 
It  puts  music  into  the  speech  of  the  tuneless 
one,  and  rounds  the  periods  of  the  unlettered 
into  an  eloquence  which  no  orator  can  rival. 
It  has  martial  odes  to  brace  the  warrior’s 
courage,  and  gainful  proverbs  to  teach  the 
merchant  wisdom  :  all  mental  moods  can  rep¬ 
resent  themselves  in  its  amplitude  of  words. 
It  can  translate  the  doubt  of  the  perplexed ;  it 
can  articulate  the  cry  of  the  contrite ;  it  fills 
the  tongue  of  the  joyous  with  carols  of  thank¬ 
ful  gladness ;  and  it  gives  sorrow  words,  lest 
grief,  that  does  not  speak,  should  whisper  to 
the  heart,  and  bid  it  break.  Happy  we,  my 
friends,  who,  in  all  the  varieties  of  our  religious 
life,  have  this  copious  manual  divinely  provided 
to  our  hand.  IF.  M.  Punshon. 

5225.  SCRIPTURES,  Comparisons  of  the.  A 
letter  from  the  “  Father  of  mercies  ”  to  his  chil- 

87 


j  dren  at  school ;  a  languet  where  all  are  bid¬ 
den,  “  come  and  welcome;  ”  a  book  in  cipher , 
which  none  but  believers  can  decipher ;  a 
prism,  which  only  glistens  when  held  to  the 
light ;  a  portrait ,  from  which  the  eye  of  some 
dear,  entreating  friend  seems  to  follow  us 
whichever  way  we  turn  ;  the  magazine  and 
storehouse  of  the  Christian  soldier,  wherefrom 
he  must  gather  all  his  weapons ;  the  spiritual 
barometer  to  discern  the  heart’s  true  state ;  the 
telescope,  revealing  the  glories  of  the  upper 
world ;  the  map  and  chart  of  the  celestial 
city.  Bowes. 

5226.  SCRIPTURES,  Effect  of  the.  A  minis¬ 
ter  in  Illinois  offered  to  give  any  impenitent 
man  ten  dollars  who  would  read  one  chapter 
of  the  Bible  on  his  knees  every  morning  for 
three  months,  commencing  with  the  prayer, 
“  O  God  1  send  thy  Holy  Spirit  to  convict  me 
of  sin,  and  to  lead  me  in  the  way  of  truth.” 
It  was  accepted  by  a  boastful  infidel' who  at¬ 
tempted  to  do  his  part.  He  got  on  well  for  a 
few  day  ;  but  then  conviction  fastened  heavily 
upon  him  ;  then  despair  seized  him;  when  he 
sent  for  the  minister  to  pray  for  him,  and,  after 
a  night’s  pleading,  he  found  peace. 

5227.  SCRIPTURE,  False.  A  little  boy,  when 
asked  what  was  his  favorite  text  in  the  Bible, 
repeated  the  stirring  order  of  Gen.  Dix  when 
he  was  Secretary  of  War :  “  If  any  man  hauls 
down  the  American  flag,  shoot  him  on  the 
spot.”  A  great  Sunday-school  man,  when  en¬ 
couraging  teachers  to  meet  often  together  for 
mutual  improvement,  enforced  his  remarks  by 
adding,  “  As  the  good  book  says,  ‘  Birds  of  a 
feather  should  flock  together.’  ”  Dr.  Peirce. 

5228.  SCRIPTURES,  Influence  of  the.  Father 
Ilyacinthe,  an  eloquent  and  fearless  Roman- 
Catholic  priest  in  Paris,  while  recently  preach¬ 
ing  a  charity-sermon  in  Lyons,  in  behalf  of 
the  asylum  for  the  poor,  having  asked  his 
audience,  which  was  composed  of  the  prin¬ 
cipal  Roman-Catholic  families,  if  they  knew 
why  Prussia  triumphed  on  the  field  of  battle 
in  the  war  with  Austria,  said,  “  It  is  because 
the  nation  is  more  enlightened,  more  reli¬ 
gious,  and  because  every  Prussian  soldier  has 
the  Bible  in  his  knapsack.  I  will  add,  that 
what  produces  the  power  and  superiority  of 
Protestant  peoples  is,  that  they  possess  and 
read  the  Bible  at  their  own  firesides.  I  have 
been  twice  in  England,  and  have  learned  that 
the  Bible  is  the  strength  of  that  nation.” 

5229.  SCRIPTURES,  Memorizing  the.  Jerome 
says  of  Nepotian,  that,  by  reading  and  medi¬ 
tation,  he  had  made  his  soul  a  library  of  Christ. 
Theodosius  the  Younger  was  so  familiar  with 
the  word  of  God,  that  he  made  it  a  subject  of 
conversation  with  the  old  bishops  as  if  he  had 
been  one  of  them.  Augustine  says,  that,  after 
his  conversion,  he  ceased  to  relish  even  Cicero, 
his  former  favorite  author,  and  that  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  were  his  pure  delight.  Tertullian  spent 
a  greater  part  of  his  time  in  reading  the 
Scriptures,  and  committed  large  portions  of 
them  to  memory.  In  his  youth,  Beza  learned 
all  Paul’s  Epistles  in  Greek  so  thoroughly, 
that,  when  he  was  eighty  years  old,  he  could 


578 


SCrtrPTTJRK. 


SEED. 


repeat  them  in  that  language.  Cranmer  is 
said  to  have  been  able  to  repeat  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament  from  memory.  Luther  was  one  of  the 
most  indefatigable  students  of  the  Bible  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  Ridley  said,  “  The 
walls  and  trees  of  my  orchard,  could  they 
speak,  would  bear  witness  that  there  I  learned 
by  heart  almost  all  the  Epistles.”  Dr.  Plummer. 

5230.  SCRIPTURE,  Profit  of.  A  proud  scoffer 
in  Massachusetts  was  converted  through  the 
text,  “  A  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion.” 
It  made  him  feel,  that  he,  if  a  lion,  was  a  dead 
one,  and  not  as  good  as  the  Christians  whom 
he  had  called  “  silly  dogs.” 

5231.  SCRIPTURES,  Reading  the.  I  might 

pause  over  every  verse  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
say,  “  Such  a  verse  was  blessed  to  so  many 
souls  ;  then  why  not  to  me  ?  I  am  at  least  in 
the  pool  of  Bethesda ;  I  am  walking  amongst 
its  porches  ;  and  who  can  tell  but  that  the 
angel  will  stir  the  pool  of  the  word  whilst  I 
lie  helplessly  by  the  side  of  it,  waiting  for 
the  blessing  ?  ”  Spurgeon. 

5232.  SCRIPTURES,  Search  the.  There  is  a 
ship  at  sea.  A  heavy  fog  has  come  on  :  there 
is  nothing  to  be  seen  all  round  about ;  the 
very  stars  are  shut  out  of  view,  and  no  longer 
serve  to  guide  the  vessel’s  course ;  and  as 
the  man  at  the  masthead  hoarsely  cries  out, 
“  Breakers  ahead  1  ”  and  the  crew  furl  the 
sails,  and  the  helmsman  turns  the  wheel,  what 
is  the  captain  about,  old  sailor  as  he  is,  now 
poring  over  his  charts,  and  now  glancing  at 
the  compass,  and  now  loudly  giving  his  orders  V 
What  can  he  mean  by  looking  so  often  and 
so  eagerly  at  that  map-looking  thing  of  his  ? 
That  is  his  chart  by  which  his  course  is  guided ; 
and  he  is  searching  it  to  find  where  he  is,  and 
how  he  may  steer  his  ship  in  safety,  to  keep 
clear  of  a  rock  here,  and  a  shallow  there,  and 
make  a  good  passage  through  the  channel, 
and  save  his  crew  and  his  cargo,  and  at  length 
gain  the  harbor.  So  says  the  Great  Teacher, 

Search  the  Scriptures.”  J.  II.  Wilson. 

5233.  SCRIPTURES,  Study  of  the,  The  word 

of  God  is  the  water  of  life ;  the  more  ye  lave 
it  forth,  the  fresher  it  runneth  :  it  is  the  fire  of 
God’s  glory ;  the  more  ye  blow  it,  the  clearer 
it  burneth :  it  is  the  corn  of  the  Lord’s  field ; 
the  better  ye  grind  it,  the  more  it  yieldeth : 
it  is  the  bread  of  heaven  ;  the  more  it  is  broken 
and  given  forth,  the  more  it  remaineth  :  it  is 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit;  the  more  it  is  scoured, 
the  brighter  it  shineth.  Bp.  Jewel. 

5234.  SCRIPTURES,  Sublimity  of  the.  All  other 
sciences  are  but  poor  and  beggarly  elements  if 
compared  with  this.  What  doth  the  naturalist, 
but  only  busy  himself  in  digging  a  little  drossy 
knowledge  out  of  the  entrails  of  the  earth? 
The  astronomer  who  ascends  highest  mounts 
no  higher  than  the  celestial  bodies,  —  the  stars 
and  planets,  which  are  but  the  outworks  of 
heaven.  But  the  Scripture  pierceth  much 
farther,  and  lets  us  into  heaven  itself :  there 
it  discovers  the  majesty  and  the  glory  of  God 
upon  his  throne ;  the  eternal  Son  of  God  sitting 
at  his  right  hand,  making  a  prevailing  and 
authoritative  intercession  for  us ;  the  glittering 


train  of  cherubim  and  seraphim,  an  innu¬ 
merable  company  of  angels,  and  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect :  so  that,  indeed,  when 
you  have  this  book  laid  open  before  you,  you 
have  heaven  itself,  and  all  the  inconceivable 
glories  of  it,  laid  open  to  your  view. 

Bp.  Hopkins. 

5235.  SCRIPTURE,  Treasures  of.  Pebbles  in 
great  abundance  may  be  found  along  the  high¬ 
way,  or  on  the  shores  of  the  ocean ;  but  dia¬ 
monds  and  pearls  are  a  rarity.  They  are  only 
reached  by  skilful  and  determined  divers,  who, 
at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  struggle  to  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  deep  sea,  and  grasp  for  the  shells 
in  which  the  beautiful  gems  are  deposited. 

Caugheu. 

5236.  SECRET,  Keeping  a.  Charles  ii.  of 
England,  when  importuned  to  communicate 
something  of  a  private  nature,  said,  “  Can 
you  keep  a  secret?  ”  —  “  Most  faithfully,”  re¬ 
turned  the.  nobleman.  “  So  can  I,”  was  the 
answer  of  the  king. 

5237.  SECRET,  Sins  in.  The  vampire  sucks 
the  blood  of  its  victim  quietly,  while  he  sleeps 
unconscious  of  danger.  He  does  his  work  so 
effectually,  that  death  often  supervenes  with¬ 
out  a  note  of  warning.  Such  is  the  effect  of 
secret  sins. 

5238.  SECTS,  Folly  of,  If,  among  painters 
of  the  human  face  and  form,  there  should 
spring  up  a  sect  of  the  eyes,  and  another  sect 
of  the  nose,  a  sect  of  the  hand,  and  a  sect  of 
the  foot,  and  all  of  them  should  agree  but  in 
the  one  thing,  of  forgetting  that  there  was  a  liv¬ 
ing  spirit  behind  the  features  more  important 
than  them  all,  they  would  too  much  resemble 
the  schools  and  cliques  of  Christians  ;  for  the 
spirit  of  Christ  is  the  great  essential  truth: 
doctrines  are  but  the  features  of  the  face,  and 
ordinances  but  the  hands  and  feet.  Beecher. 

5239.  SECURITY,  Christian.  Faith  is  the 

Christian’s  foundation,  and  hope  is  his  anchor, 
and  death  is  his  harbor,  and  Christ  is  his  pilot, 
and  heaven  is  his  country ;  and  all  the  evils  of 
poverty,  or  affronts  of  tribunals  and  evil  judges, 
of  fears  and  sad  apprehensions,  are  but  like  the 
loud  winds  blowing  from  the  right  point,  —  they 
make  a  noise,  but  drive  faster  to  the  harbor. 
And  if  we  do  not  leave  the  ship,  and  jump  into 
the  sea ;  quit  the  interest  of  religion,  and  run 
to  the  securities  of  the  world  ;  cut  our  cables, 
and  dissolve  our  hopes ;  grow  impatient;  hug 
a  wave  and  die  in  its  embraces,  —  we  are  safe 
at  sea,  safer  in  the  storm  which  God  sends  us, 
than  in  a  calm  when  we  are  befriended  by  the 
world.  Jeremy  Taylor. 

524®.  SECURITY,  Emblem  of.  A  man  in  a 
trance  saw  himself  locked  up  in  a  house  of 
steel,  through  the  walls  of  which,  as  through 
walls  of  glass,  he  could  see  his  enemies  assail¬ 
ing  him  with  swords,  spears,  and  bayonets ; 
but  his  life  was  safe,  for  his  fortress  was  locked 
within.  So  is  the  Christian  secure  amid  the 
assaults  of  the  world.  C.  Evans. 

5241.  SEED,  Analogy  of.  The  seeds  of 
plants  are  often  covered  with  a  flinty  case,  or 
wrapped  in  a  bathing-coat,  and  may  lie  dor¬ 
mant  for  years.  They  contain  in  themselves 


SEED. 


SELF. 


579 


all  the  nourishment  required  for  germination, 
and,  as  soon  as  favorable  conditions  are  reached, 
awaken  to  active  life.  Many  seeds  have  feath¬ 
ery  appendages,  so  that  the  wind  takes  them 
up,  and  wafts  them  far  from  the  place  of  growth, 
perhaps  to  the  isles  of  the  sea.  Some  seeds 
have  wings,  as  the  maple  and  birch,  and  fly 
with  the  wind.  Streams,  rivers,  floods,  and 
tides  carry  the  seeds  from  land  to  land.  The 
beasts  of  the  earth,  and  birds  of  the  air,  as 
well  as  whirlwinds  and  floods,  scatter  the  seed. 
0  sower  of  the  good  seed,  rejoice ! 

5242.  SEED,  Wayside.  A  minister  travel¬ 
ling  by  stage-coach  urged  the  Christian  doc¬ 
trine  of  forgiveness  with  great  point  and  pow¬ 
er.  Suddenly  a  young  lady,  who  during  the 
whole  of  the  journey  had  appeared  to  be 
deeply  absorbed  in  thought,  rose,  drew  out  a 
poniard  which  was  concealed  under  her 
gown,  and,  approaching  the  minister,  said 
with  much  emotion,  “  Monsieur,  you  see  this 
blade  :  it  was  about  to  pierce  the  heart  of  my 
husband.  I  was  going  to  find  that  faithless 
one  ;  I  was  desirous  of  avenging  myself ;  1  have 
heard  you,  God  be  thanked !  You  have  saved 
two  victims ;  ”  and,  throwing  away  the  pon¬ 
iard,  she  added,  “  There  is  the  efi'ect  of  your 
words.” 

5243.  SEEKING  CHRIST,  Condition  o£  A 
celebrated  philosopher  of  antiquity,  who  was 
accustomed  to  receive  large  sums  from  his 
pupils  iu  return  for  his  instructions,  was  one 
day  accosted  by  an  indigent  youth,  who  re 
quested  admission  into  the  number  of  his  dis¬ 
ciples.  “  And  what,”  said  the  sage,  “  will  you 
give  me  in  return  ¥  ”  —  “I  will  give  you  my¬ 
self,”  was  the  reply.  “  I  accept  the  gift,”  re¬ 
plied  the  sage,  “  and  engage  to  restore  you  to 
yourself  at  some  future  period,  much  more  val¬ 
uable  than  you  are  at  present.”  In  similar 
language,  does  our  Great  Teacher  address  those 
who  apply  to  him. 

5244.  SEEKING  CHRIST,  Confident.  A  young 
lady  in  a  revival-service,  being  asked  how  long 
she  had  been  seeking  the  Saviour,  replied,  *•  I 
have  not  been  seeking  him  at  all,  or  I  should 
have  found  him.” 

5245.  SEEKING  CHRIST,  Earnestly.  A  wicked 
Kentucky  soldier,  deeply  convicted,  prayed  all 
night  without  relief.  In  the  morning,  he  met 
his  chaplain  on  his  horse,  and  asked  him  to  pray 
for  him.  He  promised.  “  1  mean  now,"  said 
the  man.  “  What !  here  in  the  road  ?  ”  — “  Yes, 
here,  chaplain,  now.”  The  chaplain  dismount¬ 
ed  ;  and  they  knelt  by  the  road  to  pray,  and 
were  joined  by  others ;  when  the  answer  came 
to  earnest  prayer. 

5246.  SEEKING  CHRIST,  Result  of.  As  sure 
as  God  is  God,  if  you  seek  him  aright,  through 
Christ,  the  day  shall  come  when  the  kiss  of 
full  assurance  shall  be  on  your  lip.  Thou 
mayest  have  despised  him ;  but  thou  shaft 
know  him  yet  to  be  thy  Father  and  thy  Friend. 
Yes,  marvel  not :  thou  mayest  have  plunged 
into  the  kennel  of  sin,  and  made  thy  elothes 
black  with  iniquity;  but  thou  shaft  one  day 
stand  before  his  throne  white  as  the  angels 
be ;  and  that  tongue  that  once  cursed  him 


shall  yet  sing  his  praise.  If  thou  be  a  rea 
seeker,  the  hands  that  have  been  stained  with 
lust  shall  one  day  grasp  the  harp  of  gold,  and 
the  head  that  has  plotted  against  the  Most 
High  shall  yet  be  girt  with  gold.  Strange 
though  it  seem,  it  shall  be  strangely  true. 

Spurgeon. 

5247.  SELF,  Death  o£  A  saint  cares  not 

how  ill  it  goes  with  him,  so  it  go  well  with  Je¬ 
sus  Christ :  he  saith,  as  Mephibosheth  to  David, 
“  Yea,  let  him  take  all.  inasmuch  as  my  lord 
the  king  is  come  again  in  peace  unto  his 
house.”  So  it  may  go  well  with  God’s  name, 
Moses  cares  not  though  his  be  blotted  out 
of  the  book  of  life.  And  said  John,  “  He 
must  increase ;  but  I  must  decrease :  this  my 
joy,  therefore,  is  fulfilled.”  Venning. 

5248.  SELF,  Deliverance  from.  How  great  is 
the  ease  and  pleasure  which  we  feel  in  being 
delivered  from  that  soul-wasting  monster  selfi 
that  was  fed  and  sustained  at  a  dearer  rate, 
and  with  more  costly  sacrifices  and  repasts, 
than  can  be  paralleled  by  either  sacred  or 
other  history ;  that  hath  made  more  desola¬ 
tion  in  the  souls  of  men  than  ever  was  made 
in  their  towns  and  cities,  where  idols  were 
served  only  by  human  sacrifices,  or  monstrous 
creatures  satiated  with  only  such  refection, 
or  where  the  lives  and  safety  of  the  most  were 
to  be  bought  but  by  the  constant  successive 
tribute  of  the  blood  of  not  a  few ;  that  hath 
devoured  more,  and  preyed  more  cruelly  upon 
human  lives,  than  Moloch  or  Minotaur  1  When 
this  monstrous  idol  is  destroyed,  and  trodden 
down,  what  a  jubilee  doth  it  make  1  what 
songs  of  triumph  and  praise  doth  it  furnish  and 
supply  to  the  poor  soul  now  delivered  and  re¬ 
deemed  from  death  and  bondage  1  John  Howe. 

5249.  SELF,  Slaves  to.  Alexander  could 
conquer  the  legions  of  Persia ;  but  he  could  not 
conquer  his  passions.  Caesar  triumphed  in  a 
hundred  battles ;  but  he  fell  a  victim  to  the 
desire  of  being  a  king.  Bonaparte  vanquished 
nearly  the  whole  of  Europe ;  but  he  could  not 
vanquish  his  own  ambition.  And  in  humbler 
life,  nearer  home,  in  our  own  every-day  affairs, 
most  of  us  are  drawn  aside  from  the  path  of 
duty  and  discretion,  because  we  do  not  resist 
some  temptation,  or  overcome  some  prejudice. 

S.  (J.  Goodrich . 

5250.  SELF,  Victory  over.  A  man  that  is 

born  a  conqueror  over  his  own  corruptions  and 
over  himself,  he  is  greater  than  ever  was  the 
greatest  conqueror ;  and  it  is  better  to  be  made 
in  this  kind  a  victor  over  his  own  passions 
than  to  be  universal  emperor  of  all  the  world. 
Saith  Seneca,  there  are  many  men  that  have 
subdued  principalities,  kingdoms,  cities,  towns, 
and  countries,  and  brought  them  under  their 
own  mastery;  but  there  are  few  that  have 
guided  themselves,  but  still  there  is  a  tiger 
within  them  that  disgraceth  and  obscureth  their 
outward  conquest  by  reason  of  foul  seethings 
and  corruption  in  their  own  flesh  :  therefore, 
for  a  man  to  get  the  victory,  and  to  overcome 
himself,  is  to  get  the  victory,  and  to  overcome 
all  the  world  ;  for  man  is  a  microcosm,  a  little 
world,  as  St.  Austin  saith.  Day. 


580  SKLir-COMPLACKJNTCE:. 


SHXJS1-inORGi-ETir’XJTJHrKSS. 


5251.  SELF-COMPLACENCE,  Examples  of.  Self- 

complacence,  that  is,  greatly  delighting  in  one’s 
self,  or  in  the  goods  which  he  faneieih  himself 
to  enjoy,  or  in  the  works  which  he  peribrmcth ; 
when  men  in  the  contemplation  of  their  works 
and  achievements  go  strutting  about,  and  say¬ 
ing  with  that  vain  prince,  “  Is  not  this  great 
Babylon  that  I  have  built  ?  ”  when,  reflecting 
on  their  possessions,  they  applaud  and  bless 
themselves,  like  the  rich  man  in  the  gospel : 
“  Soul,”  saith  he,  looking  upon  his  accumulated 
store,  “  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  lor  many 
pears.”  Dr.  Barrow. 

5252.  SELF-COMPLACENCE,  Fable  of.  One 
day,  Narcissus,  who  had  resisted  all  the  charms 
of  others,  came  to  an  open  fountain  of  silvery 
clearness.  He  stooped  down  to  drink,  and  saw 
his  own  image,  and  thought  it  some  beautiful 
water-spirit  living  in  the  fountain.  He  gazed, 
and  admired  the  eyes,  the  neck,  the  hair,  the 
lips.  He  tell  in  love  with  himself.  In  vain  he 
sought  a  kiss  and  an  embrace.  He  talked  to  the 
charmer,  but  received  no  response.  He  could 
not  break  the  fascination,  and  so  he  pined 
away  and  died.  The  moral  is,  think  not  too 
much  nor  too  highly  of  yourself. 

5253.  SELF-CONTROL,  Brevities.  What  is 
the  best  government  V  —  that  which  teaches  us 

to  govern  ourselves.  —  Goethe. - He  is  a 

fool  who  cannot  be  angry ;  but  he  is  a  wise 
man  who  will  not.  —  Proverb.  - The  con¬ 

stancy  of  sages  is  nothing  but  the  art  of  locking 
up  their  agitation  in  their  hearts.  —  La  Roche¬ 
foucauld. 

5254.  SELF-CONTROL,  Importance  of.  If  a 

person  mounts  a  high-spirited  horse,  it  is  im¬ 
portant  that  he  should  be  able  to  control  him ; 
otherwise  he  may  be  dashed  in  pieces.  If  an 
engineer  undertakes  to  conduct  a  locomotive, 
it  is  necessary  that  he  should  be  able  to  guide 
or  check  the  panting  engine  at  his  pleasure ; 
else  his  own  life  and  the  lives  of  others  may  be 
sacrificed.  But  it  is  still  more  indispensable 
that  an  individual  who  is  intrusted  with  the 
care  of  himself  should  be  able  to  govern  him¬ 
self.  S.  G.  Goodrich. 

5255.  SELF-DECEPTION,  Fatal.  Many  de¬ 
stroy  themselves  by  false  lights,  who,  being 
wedded  to  their  own  opinions,  and  adoring  the 
cnimeras  of  their  spirit,  think  themselves  full 
of  knowledge,  just,  and  happy;  that  the  sun 
riseth  only  for  them,  and  that  all  the  rest  of 
the  world  is  in  darkness :  they  conceive  that 
they  have  the  fairest  stars  for  conductors  ;  but, 
at  the  end  of  their  career,  they  find  (too  late) 
that  this  pretended  life  was  but  an  ignis  fatuus, 
which  led  them  to  a  precipice  of  eternal  flames. 

N.  Caussin. 

5256.  SELF-DENIAL,  Heroic.  An  accident 
occurred  in  a  coal-pit,  in  which  several  lives 
were  lost;  but  a  man  and  a  boy,  catching  hold 
of  a  chain  hanging  by  the  side  of  the  pit,  were 
saved  from  impending  death.  As  soon  as  pos¬ 
sible,  a  man  was  sent  down  with  a  rope  to  render 
assistance.  He  came  first,  in  his  descent,  to  a 
boy  named  Daniel  Harding.  On  his  reaching 
him,  the  noble-minded  lad  instantly  cried  out, 

Don’t  mind  me,  I  can  still  hold  on  a  little ; 


but  Joseph  Brown,  who  is  a  little  lower  down 
is  nearly  exhausted  :  save  him  first.”  Joseph 
Brown  was  saved  first ;  and  the  noble  boy  was 
then  drawn  up  to  light  and  life. 

5257.  SELF-DENIAL,  Necessity  for.  The  will 

of  God  is  a  path  leading  straight  to  God.  The 
will  of  man,  which  once  ran  parallel  with  it,  is 
now  another  path,  not  only  different  from  it,, 
but,  in  our  present  state,  directly  contrary  to  it : 
it  leads  from  God.  If,  therefore,  we  walk  in 
the  one,  we  must  necessarily  quit  the  other. 
We  cannot  walk  in  both.  Indeed,  a  man  of 
faint  heart  and  feeble  hands  may  go  in  two 
ways,  one  after  the  other  ;  but  he  cannot 
walk  in  two  ways  at  the  same  time,  —  follow  his 
own  will,  and  follow  the  will  of  God  :  he  must 
choose  the  one  or  the  other;  denying  God’s 
will  to  follow  his  own,  or  denying  himself  to 
follow  the  will  of  God.  J.  Wesley. 

5258.  SELF-EXAMINATION,  Daily.  It  is  re¬ 
ported  of  Sextus,  that,  every  night  before  he 
slept,  he  asked  of  his  own  heart,  “  What  evil 
hast  thou  this  day  amended  ?  what  vice  hast 
thou  shunned?  what  good  hast  thou  done? 
in  what  part  art  thou  bettered  ?  ”  Such  re¬ 
view  is  always  profitable. 

5259.  SELF-EXAMINATION,  True,  Around 

the  clief-d' oeuvres  in  the  galleries  of  Europe, 
artists  are  always  congregated.  You  may  see 
them  standing  before  Raphael’s  Transfigura¬ 
tion,  copying  with  the  nicest  care  every  line 
and  tint  of  that  matchless  work ;  glancing  con¬ 
stantly  from  their  canvas  to  the  picture,  that, 
even  in  the  minutest  parts,  they  may  reproduce 
the  original.  But  if,  at  one  side,  you  saw  an 
artist  who  only  looked  up  occasionally  from  his 
work,  and  drew  a  line,  but  filled  in  here  a  tree 
or  a  waterfall,  and  there  a  deer  or  a  cottage, 
just  as  his  fancy  suggested,  what  kind  of  a 
copyist  would  you  call  him  ?  Now,  true  self- 
examination  lies  in  ascertaining  how  nearly  we 
are  reproducing  Christ.  He  is  painted  for  us 
in  no  gallery ;  but  his  life  glows  fourfold  in  the 
Gospels,  and  our  hearts  are  the  canvas  upon 
which  we  are  to  copy  it.  Let  us  not  take  occa¬ 
sional  glimpses,  and  work,  meanwhile,  upon 
learthly  designs ;  but  let  us  look  long  and  ear¬ 
nestly  till  our  lives  reflect  the  whole  divine 
image..  Beecher. 

5260.  SELF-EXAMINATION,  Urged.  Remem¬ 

ber  that  the  time  you  have  for  self-examina¬ 
tion  is,  after  all,  very  short.  Soon  thou  wilt 
know  the  great  secret.  I  perhaps  may  not 
say  words  rough, enough. to  rend  off  the  mask 
which  thou,  hast  now  upon  thoe  ;  but  there  is 
one  called  Death  who  will  stand  no  compli¬ 
ment.  You  may  masquerade  it  out  to-day  in 
the  dress  of  the  saint ;  but  Death  will  soon  strip 
you,  and  you  must  stand, before  the  judgment- 
seat  after  Death  has  discovered  you  in  all  youl 
nakedness,  be  that  naked  innocence  or  naked 
guilt.  Spurgeon. 

5261.  SELF-FORGETFULNESS,  Philanthropic). 
A  rough  and  dusty  private  soldier  was  picked 
up  at  the  battle  of  Resaca,  who  was  bleeding 
profusely  from  an  awful  shell-wound  in  his 
mouth.  The  first  sensation  after  such  a  wound 
is  one  of  intense  thirst.  He  was  offered  a 


SELF-GO  VEPUSnyEENT. 


SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.  5  S 1 


drink  from  a  bright  new  tin  cup,  but  refused  it. 
Being  asked  why,  he  said,  “  My  mouth  is  all 
bloody,  sir  ;  and  it  might  make  the  tin  cup 
bad  for  the  others.”  Mr.  Lawrence,  who  tells 
the  story,  says  that  the  words  that  immortal¬ 
ized  Chevalier  Bayard  or  Sir  Philip  Sidney 
did  not  equal  this  hero’s  answer. 

5262.  SELF-GOVERNMENT,  Difficulty  of.  Pe¬ 
ter  the  Great  once  struck  his  gardener,  who, 
being  a  man  of  great  sensibility,  took  to  his 
bed,  and  died  in  a  few  days.  Peter,  hearing 
of  this,  exclaimed  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
“  Alas !  I  have  civilized  my  own  subjects ; 
1  have  conquered  other  nations :  yet  I  have 
not  been  able  to  civilize  or  to  conquer  my¬ 
self.” 

5263.  SELFISHNESS,  Abandoning.  A  man 

who  emigrates  from  the  low  country  of  selfish¬ 
ness,  where  are  perpetual  chills  and  fevers,  to 
the  high  lands  of  benevolence,  goes  from  sick¬ 
ness  and  barrenness  to  the  realm  of  health 
and  plenty  and  joy,  where  his  hand  can 
almost  pluck  the  fruits  from  the  tree  of  life 
itself.  Beecher. 

5264.  SELFISHNESS,  Common.  A  white 
man  and  an  Indian,  returning  from  a  hunt,  had 
a  fine  turkey  and  a  carrion-buzzard  to  divide 
between  them.  Said  the  white  man,  “  I  will 
take  the  turkey,  and  you  shall  take  the  buz¬ 
zard  ;  or  else  you  may  take  the  buzzard,  and 
I  will  take  the  turkey.”  —  “  Ah  1  ”  said  the 
Indian,  “  you  no  say  turkey  for  poor  me  once.” 

5265.  SELFISHNESS,  Contrast  of.  A  team 
was  running  away  with  a  small  child,  when  a 
mother,  seeing  its  danger,  cried  in  agony,  “  Stop 
that  wagon,  and  save  the  child  1  ”  as  loud  as  she 
could.  A  heartless  man  said,  “  Silly  woman, 
don’t  fret  yourself :  it  isn't  your  child.”  The 
woman  replied,  “  I  know  it ;  but  it  is  somebody's 
child.” 

5266.  SELFISHNESS,  Cultivating.  The  mother 

who  is  so  unselfish  that  she  surrenders  all  her 
time  and  pleasure  to  her  child  fills  that  child’s 
mind  with  an  exaggerated  idea  of  its  own  im¬ 
portance,  and  makes  it  selfish,  though  that  is 
the  last  thing  the  unselfish  mother  would  de¬ 
sire.  Bowes. 

5267.  SELFISHNESS,  Proof  of.  A  plate  of 
apples  was  being  passed  to  some  children, 
when  a  little  girl  took  a  fine  red  one.  Her 
next  neighbor  cried,  “  How  greedy  you  are  to 
take  the  largest  1  I  meant  to  take  that  my¬ 
self.” 

5268.  SELF-KNOWLEDGE,  Importanco  of.  Know 
thyself  is  one  of  the  most  useful  and  comprehen¬ 
sive  precepts  in  the  whole  moral  system ;  and 
it  is  well  known  in  how  great  a  veneration 
this  maxim  was  held  by  the  ancients,  and  in 
how  high  esteem  the  duty  of  self-examina¬ 
tion  necessary  to  it.  Thales  the  Milesian, 
the  prince  of  the  philosophers,  who  flour¬ 
ished  about  a.m.  3330,  and  was  contemporary 
with  Josiah,  King  of  Judah,  is  said  to  be  the 
first  author  of  it,  who  used  to  say,  that  “  for  a 
man  to  know  himself  is  the  hardest  thing  in 
the  world.”  It  was  afterwards  adopted  by 
Chylon  the  Lacmdemonian ;  and  is  one  of 
those  three  precepts  which  Pliny  affirms  to 


have  been  consecrated  at  Delphos  in  golden 
letters.  It  was  afterwards  greatly  admired 
and  frequently  adopted  by  others,  till  at  length 
it  acquired  the  authority  of  a  divine  oracle, 
and  was  supposed  to  have  been  given  origi¬ 
nally  by  Apolio  himself ;  of  which  general 
opinion,  Cicero  gives  us  this  reason,  “  Because 
it  hath  such  a  weight  of  sense  and  wisdom  in 
it  as  appears  too  great  to  be  attributed  to  any 
man.”  And  this  opinion  of  its  coming  origi¬ 
nally  from  Apollo  himself  perhaps  was  the 
reason  that  it  was  written  in  golden  capitals 
over  the  door  of  his  temple  at  Delphos. 

J.  Mason. 

5269.  SELF-MURDER,  Danger  of.  If  a  man 
is  lost,  he  has  only  himself  to  blame.  It  is  told 
of  some  poor  h<  athens,  that,  to  please  their 
god,  they  put  themselves  to  death  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  way :  they  took  a  little  boat,  went 
out  into  the  deep  water,  then  took  a  little  ves¬ 
sel  in  their  hand,  put  it  over  the  boat,  filled  it 
with  water ;  and  then  poured  the  water  into, 
the  boat.  So  they  went  on  and  on  ;  the  boat 
kept  filling  and  filling :  presently  it  began  to 
tremble,  and  then  sank,  and  thus  they  died. 
This  is  just  what  the  sinner  does.  He  goes  on 
in  sin  for  a  month.  What  is  he  doing  ?  He  is 
putting  water  in  the  boat.  He  goes  on  for  a 
year.  He  is  putting  water  in  the  boat.  He 
goes  on  yet  longer.  Take  care,  take  care  1 
the  boat  is  filling.  The  sinner  is  filling  it. 
Stop  !  or  it  may  sink  forever. 

Rev.  Thomas  Jones. 

5270.  SELF-MURDER,  Penalty  of.  Sinner, 

thou  wilt  drive  the  dagger  into  thine  heart 
thyself.  If  thou  despisest  the  gospel,  thou  art 
preparing  fuel  for  thine  own  bed  of  flames, 
thou  art  hammering  out  the  chain  for  thine 
own  everlasting  binding ;  and,  when  damned, 
thy  mournful  reflection  will  be  this :  “  I  have 
damned  myself,  I  cast  myself  into  this  pit ;  for 
I  rejected  the  gospel.  I  am  the  miserable  sui¬ 
cide  of  my  own  soul.”  Spurgeon. 

5271.  SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Fatal.  The 

greatest  step  to  heaven  is  out  of  our  own 
doors,  over  our  own  threshold.  It  hath  cost 
many  a  man  his  life  when  his  house  was  on 
fire,  a  covetousness  to  save  some  of  the  stuff ; 
which  venturing  among  the  flames  to  preserve, 
he  has  perished  himself.  More  have  lost  their 
own  souls  by  thinking  to  carry  some  of  their 
own  stuff  with  them  to  heaven,  —  such  a  good 
work  or  duty,  —  which  they,  like  lingering  Lot, 
have  been  loath  to  leave,  and  have  themselves 
perished.  Gurnall. 

5272.  SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Folly  of.  A 
Chinese  convert,  says  Dr.  Medhurst,  illustrates 
this  as  follows  :  “  IIow  can  a  man  trust  in  his 
own  righteousness  Y  It  is  like  seeking  shelter 
under  one’s  own  shadow  :  we  may  stoop  to  the 
very  ground,  and,  the  lower  we  bend,  we  still 
find  that  our  shadow  is  beneath  us.  But,  if  a 
man  flee  to  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  or  a 
wide-spreading  tree,  he  will  find  shelter  from 
the  noonday  sun.  So  human  merits  are  un¬ 
availing,  and  Christ  alone  is  able  to  save  to 
the  uttermost  those  who  come  unto  God  by 

him.” 


582  SELjr'-RIG-HTTCOTJS^rESS. 


SERMON  S. 


5273.  SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS,  Work  of.  Phi¬ 
dias,  the  great  sculptor,  was  employed  by  the 
Athenians  to  make  a  statue  of  the  Goddess 
Diana;  and  he  succeeded  so  well  as  to  produce 
a  clief-d' ceurre.  But  the  artist  became  enamored 
of  his  own  work,  and  was  so  anxious  that  his 
name  should  go  down  to  posterity,  that  he  se¬ 
cretly  engraved  his  name  in  one  of  the  folds 
of  the  drapery;  which  when  the  Athenians 
discovered,  they  indignantly  banished  the  man 
who  had  polluted  the  sanctity  of  their  goddess. 
So  would  self-righteous  sinners  act  with  the 
pure,  spotless  robe  of  Him  who  knew  no  sin. 

Bowes. 

5274.  SELF-SACRIFICE,  Rewarded.  Two  fish¬ 

ermen,  a  few  years  ago,  were  mending  their 
nets  on  board  their  vessel  on  one  of  the  lakes 
in  the  interior  of  Argyleshire,  at  a  considera¬ 
ble  distance  from  the  shore,  when  a  sudden 
squall  upset  their  boat.  One  of  them  could 
not  swim ;  and  the  only  oar  which  floated  was 
caught  by  him  that  could  swim.  His  sinking 
companion  cried,  “  Ah,  my  poor  wife  and  chil¬ 
dren,  they  must  starve  now  I  ”  —  “  Save  your¬ 
self  :  I  will  risk  my  life  for  their  sakes,”  said 
the  other,  thrusting  the  oar  beneath  the  arms 
of  the  drowning  man.  He  committed  himself 
instantly  to  the  deep,  in  danger  of  perishing 
for  the  safety  of  his  companion.  That  mo¬ 
ment,  the  boat  struck  the  bottom,  and  started 
the  other  oar  by  their  side ;  and  thus  both  were 
enabled  to  keep  afloat  till  they  were  picked 
up.  Biblical  Treasury. 

5275.  SELF-SUFFICIENCY,  Influence  of.  A 
man  who  shows  himself  too  well  satisfied  with 
himself  is  seldom  pleased  with  others ;  and 
they,  in  return,  are  little  disposed  to  like  him. 

La  Rochefoucauld. 

5276.  SELF-WILL,  Fruits  of.  It  is  only  when 

a  man  will  not  enter  into  his  Father’s  counsels ; 
will  not  suffer  the  highest  tastes  to  develop 
themselves,  and  the  higher  appetites  to  indulge 
their  cravings  with  the  bread  of  God ;  will 
grovel  when  God  gives  him  wings  to  soar ;  will 
go  on  the  belly,  snake-like,  when  God  lifts  him 
and  his  front  face  to  face  with  heaven ;  will 
clamor  for  flesh  when  the  bread  of  God  is  in 
his  very  hand,  —  it  is  only  then,  when  the  evil 
becomes  deadly,  and  deepens  into  spiritual  sin 
of  the  darkest  dye  and  most  incurable  malig¬ 
nity,  that  God  stays  his  hand,  and  closes  his 
witness,  withdraws  his  guardian  angel,  and 
leaves  the  will  to  itself.  J.  B.  Brown. 

5277.  SELF-WILL,  Idolatry.  He  that  will 
not  submit  himself  to  nor  comply  with  the 
eternal  and  uncreated  will,  but,  instead  of  it, 
endeavors  to  set  up  his  own  will,  makes  him¬ 
self  the  most  real  idol  in  the  world,  ana  txalts 
himself  against  all  that  is  called  God,  and 
ought  to  be  worshipped.  To  worship  a  graven 
image,  or  to  make  cakes  and  burn  incense  to 
the  queen  of  heaven,  is  not  a  worse  idolatry 
than  it  is  for  a  man  to  set  up  self-will,  to  de¬ 
vote  himself  to  the  serving  of  it,  and  to  give 
up  himself  to  a  compliance  with  his  own  will, 
as  contrary  to  the  Divine  and  Eternal  Will. 

John  Smith. 

5278.  SENSE,  CarnaL  I  have  read  of  a  glass 


kept  in  an  idol  temple  in  Smyrna,  that  would 
make  beautiful  things  appear  deformed,  and 
deformed  things  appear  beautiful.  Carnal  sense 
is  such  a  glass  to  wicked  men  :  it  makes 
heavenly  things  which  are  beautiful  to  appear 
deformed,  and  earthly  things  which  are  de¬ 
formed  to  appear  beautiful.  Venning. 

5279.  SENSE,  Organs  of.  The  nervous  fila¬ 
ments  of  the  senses  are  finer  than  a  spider’s 
thread ;  yet  they  are  the  avenues  of  communi¬ 
cation  between  the  world  without  and  the 
world  within.  They  spread  themselves  out 
over  a  little  space  at  the  roots  of  the  tongue, 
and  all  the  savors  of  Nature  become  tributa¬ 
ries  to  our  pleasure.  They  unfold  themselves 
over  a  little  space  in  the  olfactory  organs,  aad 
we  catch  the  perfumes  of  all  the  zones.  They 
are  ramified  over  a  little  space  in  the  hollow 
of  the  ear ;  and  the  myriad  voices  of  Nature, 
from  the  shrill  insect  or  the  mellifluous  song¬ 
bird  to  the  organ-tones  of  heaven’s  cathedral, 
the  thunder,  the  cataract,  and  the  ocean,  be¬ 
come  our  orchestra.  They  line  a  spot  in  the 
interior  of  the  eye  so  small  that  the  tip  of  the 
finger  may  cover  it ;  when,  lo !  the  earth  and 
the  heavens,  to  the  remotest  constellations 
that  seem  to  glitter  feebly  on  the  confines  of 
space,  are  painted  quick  as  thought  in  the 
chambers  of  the  brain.  By  these  senses,  we 
hold  connection  with  all  external  things,  as 
though  millions  of  telegraphic  wires  were 
stretched  from  every  outward  object,  and  came 
in  converging  lines  to  find  their  focus  in  oui 
organs,  and  through  these  inlets  to  pour  their 
pictures,  their  odors,  and  their  songs  into  the 
all-capacious  brain.  Nay,  better  than  this; 
for  we  have  the  picture,  the  perfume,  and  the 
music,  without  the  encumbrance  of  the  wires. 

Horace  Mann. 

5280.  SENSIBILITIES,  Fine.  Fine  sensibili¬ 

ties  are  like  woodbines,  delightful  luxuries  of 
beauty  to  twine  round  a  solid,  upright  stem  of 
understanding ,  but  very  poor  things,  if,  unsus¬ 
tained  by  strength,  they  are  left  to  creep  along 
the  ground.  J.  Foster. 

5281.  SEPARATION,  from  the  World.  Alex¬ 
ander  the  Great,  when  he  was  invited  to  run 
a  race  amongst  the  common  multitude,  gave 
them  this  answer,  “  Were  I  not  the  son  of  a 
king,  I  did  not  care  what  company  I  kept ; 
but,  being  the  son  of  a  prince,  I  must  employ 
myself  in  such  company  as  is  suitable  to  my 
birth  and  breeding.”  Thus  stood  he  upon  the 
honor  of  his  family,  and  would  not  disgrace 
his  princely  nature  so  far  as  to  be  familiar 
amongst  the  vulgar  rabble.  So  should  Chris¬ 
tians  be  separate  from  the  world.  Spencer. 

5282.  SERMONS,  Making.  Whilst  Thomas 
Shepherd,  a  contemporary  of  Jonathan  Ed¬ 
wards,  was  on  his  dying-bed,  several  young 
ministers  came  to  see  him.  He  looked  at  them 
with  great  interest  and  solemnity,  and  uttered 
these  weighty  words :  “  Your  work  is  great, 
and  calls  for  great  seriousness.  As  to  myself, 
I  can  say  three  things,  —  that  the  study  of 
every  sermon  cost  me  tears;  that,  before  I 
preached  a  sermon,  I  got  good  by  it  myself ; 
and  that  I  always  went  up  into  the  pulpit 


SERMOISTS. 


SHEEP. 


583 


as  if  I  were  to  give  my  account  to  my  Mas¬ 
ter.’’  «/•  0.  Wilson. 

5283.  SERMONS,  Reading.  Dr.  Guyse  was 

blind  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life ;  but  he  still 
determined  to  preach.  After  the  morning- 
service  of  the  first  day,  an  old  lady  of  his  con¬ 
gregation,  enraptured  with  his  discourse,  fol¬ 
lowed  him  into  the  vestry  with  much  enthu¬ 
siasm,  and  exclaimed,  “Doctor,  I  wish  you 
had  been  blind  these  twenty  years;  for  you 
never  preached  so  good  a  sermon  in  your  life 
as  you  have  done  to-day.”  The  remark  was 
not  wholly  without  foundation  ;  for  the  doctor 
had  been  accustomed  to  read  his  sermons; 
but,  when  he  preached  extemporaneously,  his 
delivery  was  more  animated  and  more  natu¬ 
ral.  Percy. 

5284.  SERMONS,  Repeating.  A  poor,  juice¬ 
less  sermon  should  never  be  preached  the  first 
time ;  but  a  nutritious,  savory  discourse  may 
be  made  all  the  better  on  a  second  delivery. 
Dr.  Addison  Alexander  preached  his  glorious 
sermon  on  the  “Faithful  Saying,”  until  he 
wore  out  the  manuscript;  and  Dr.  Griffin 
repeated  his  elaborate  discourse  on  the 
“  Worth  of  the  Soul  ”  ninety  times.  He  never 
wearied  of  it;  nor  did  his  audience  either. 
His  congregations  change  constantly,  and 
memories  are  leaky.  A  first-rate  practical  ser¬ 
mon  ought  to  be  repeated  (with  extempore 
improvements)  about  once  in  five  years.  Few¬ 
er  sermons  and  richer  should  be  a  settled  pas¬ 
tor’s  aim.  Whitefield  attained  great  finish 
and  power  by  giving  the  same  discourse  over 
again  through  all  his  missionary  tours. 

T.  L.  Cuyler. 

5285.  SERMONS,  Short.  Luther,  in  an  enu¬ 

meration  of  nine  qualities  of  a  good  preacher, 
gives  as  the  sixth,  that  “  he  should  know  when 
to  stop.”  Boyle  has  an  essay  on  “  Patience 
under  Long  Preaching.”  This  was  never  more 
wanted  since  the  commonwealth  than  now,  in 
our  own  day,  especially  among  our  young 
divines  and  academics,  who  seem  to  think  that 
their  performances  can  never  be  too  much  at¬ 
tended  to.  I  never  err  this  way  myself  but 
my  conviction  always  laments  it ;  and,  for  many 
years  after  I  began  preaching,  I  never  offended 
Ln  this  way.  I  never  exceeded  three-quarters 
of  an  hour,  at  most.  I  saw  one  excellency 
was  within  my  rt  ach,  —  it  was  brevity  ;  and  I 
determined  to  obtain  it.  W.  Jay. 

5286.  SERMONS,  Test  of.  “  What  sort  of  a 
sermon  do  you  like  V  ”  said  Dr.  Rush  to  Robert 
Morris,  one  day.  “  I  like,  sir,”  replied  Mr. 
Morris,  “  that  kind  of  preaching  which  drives 
a  man  into  the  corner  of  his  pew,  and  makes 
him  think  the  Devil  is  after  him.” 

5287.  SERMONS,  Writing.  Henry  Melvill  is 
the  most  popular  preacher  in  London.  He 
prepares  and  preaches  but  one  sermon  in  a 
week,  which  he  always  writes  twice,  very  often 
three  times.  Prof.  Park,  in  his  eloquent 
memoir  of  the  late  Mr.  Homer,  communicates 
the  following  facts  : The  editor  o+’  Massilon’s 
Lent  Sermons  regards  it  as  a  prodigy,  that  he 
finished  a  discourse  in  so  short  a  time  as  ten  or 
twelve  days.  This  eminent  preacher  some¬ 


times  rewrote  a  single  sermon  fifteen  or  even 
twenty  times.  A  distinguished  scholar  in  our 
own  land  rewrote  the  most  useful  of  his  sermons 
thirteen  or  fourteen  times,  and  labored,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  a  literary  friend,  two  whole  days 
on  as  many  sentences.  A  living  divine,  who 
has  been  called  the  prince  of  our  pulpit  ora¬ 
tors,  spent  a  fortnight  on  a  single  discourse, 
which  has  already  accomplished  more  good 
than  four  thousand  which  were  written  by 
another  of  our  pastors  at  the  rate  of  two  a 
week.  W.  Ballcam. 

5288.  SERVICE,  Coastant.  As  the  fire  never 

went  out  on  the  altar  of  burnt  offering,  so 
Christians  ought  to  be  continually  engaged  in 
the  service  of  God.  Cawdray. 

5289.  SERVICE,  Heartless.  God  cries,  “  Bring 

thy  heart,  orbring  nothing.”  Like  a  jealous  hus¬ 
band  when  he  hath  a  wife,  yet  he  is  jealous 
whether  he  hath  her  heart ;  so,  whatsoever 
thou  do,  yet  God  is  jealous  still,  and  respects 
not  what  thou  doest,  but  whether  thou  do  it 
from  the  heart,  that  is,  of  mere  love  towards 
him.  If  Pilate  had  washed  his  heart  when  he 
washed  his  hands,  he  had  been  cleaner  than 
Naaman  when  he  came  out  of  Jordan  ;  if  the 
Shechemites  had  circumcised  their  hearts  when 
they  circumcised  their  flesh,  they  had  saved 
their  souls  when  they  had  lost  their  lives;  if 
Cain  had  offered  his  heart  when  he  offered  the 
fruits,  his  offering  had  been  as  acoeptable  as 
Abel’s.  But  as  swine’s  flesh  was  like  sheep’s 
flesh,  yet  was  not  accepted  because  it  came 
from  an  unclean  beast;  so  Cain’s  offering,  Pi¬ 
late’s  washing,  the  Shechemitoe’  circumcision, 
the  Pharisee’s  prayer  and  fasts  and  alms, 
were  as  fair  as  the  apostles’ :  yet  they  had  no 
reward,  but  “  Woe  to  you  hypocrites  !  ”  because 
they  wanted  the  heart,  which  is  like  the  fire 
that  kindleth  the  sacrifice.  Henry  Smith. 

5290.  SERVICE,  Selfish.  Many  men  seek 
themselves  in  seeking  God,  and  serve  him 
that  they  may  serve  themselves  of  him. 

Venning. 

5291.  SERVICE,  Sinister.  Some  men  are 
kind  to  others  but  for  their  own  ends ;  and, 
when  they  have  once  attained  the  end  for 
which  they  were  kind,  there’s  an  end  of  their 
kindness :  they  will  serve  you  for  their  needs  ; 
and,  when  you  have  served  their  needs,  you 
shall  observe  that  they  will  neither  serve  nor 
observe  you  any  longer.  Alas  !  do  not  men 
serve  God  thus  V  Doth  not  rich  Jacob  forget 
to  pay  what  poor  Jacob  did  promise  V 

Venning. 

5292.  SHEEP,  The  Lost.  Here’s  a  farmer 
owns  a  hundred  sheep.  Well,  at  night  he 
counts  ’em  ;  and  he  makes  one  short.  He  goes 
over  them  again :  perhaps  lie’s  reckoned 
wrong.  No  :  its  only  ninety-nine  again.  He 
goes  in  to  his  wife,  who  is  sitting  by  the  kitch¬ 
en-fire  waiting  till  he  comes  to  supper.  “  Why, 
lass,  there’s  one  gone.  Poor  thing !  he  must 
have  got  over  the  wall.”  (Ah !  the  Devil’s 
always  ready  to  help  a  poor  sheep  of  Christ 
over  the  wall.)  He  starts  in  search  of  him. 
By  and  by  he  sees  the  foot-marks.  Ah,  yon¬ 
der  he  is  1  But  now  he  has  to  mind  where  he 


584 


SICIS3STESS. 


SKLEISrCE. 


treads  :  he  lias  to  make  a  spring  now  and  then 
over  some  boggy  place;  and  the  land  is  all 
sopping  wet.  But  he  sees  the  track  of  the 
wanderer;  and  now  he  hears  “Ba-a!”  and 
the  great  soft  eyes  of  the  creature  stare  up  at 
him  from  a  quagmire,  as  if  to  say,  “  O  master, 
help  me  out !  ”  lie  takes  him  up,  and  puts 
him  over  his  shoulders ;  and  the  black  mud 
drips  down  his  jacket :  but  he  doesn’t  mind 
that.  At  last,  he  comes  to  the  brook  that 
skirts  his  orchard ;  and  then  he  washes  all  the 
filth  away,  and  the  poor  thing  trots  into 
the  fold  with  such  a  happy  bleat,  as  if  to  say, 
“  Thank  you,  sir !  ”  Now,  that’s  how  Jesus 
fetches  back  his  wanderer ;  only  he  doesn’t  put 
him  across  his  shoulders.  He  puts  him  into 
his  bosom ;  and  then  he  takes  and  washes  him 
in  the  fountain  filled  with  his  own  precious 
blood.  That’s  what  he  did  for  me  eight  years 
ago.  And  that’s  what  he  is  ready  to  do  for 
you.  Hallelujah !  Richard  Weaver. 

5293.  SICKNESS,  Benefit  of.  Thou  art  called 

on  earth  an  evil :  ah !  how  often  art  thou  a 
good,  a  healing  balsam,  under  whose  benign 
influence  the  soul  rests  after  its  hard  struggles 
and  its  wild  storms  are  still !  More  than  once 
hast  thou  prevented  suicide,  and  preserved 
from  madness.  The  terrible,  the  bitter  words 
which  destroy  the  heart  are  by  degrees  oblit¬ 
erated  during  the  feverish  dreams  of  illness  : 
the  terrors  which  lately  seemed  so  near  us  are 
drawn  away  into  the  distance ;  we  forget  —  God 
be  thanked !  —  we  forget ;  and  when,  at  last,  we 
arise  with  exhausted  strength  from  the  sick¬ 
bed,  our  souls  often  awake  as  out  of  a  long 
night  into  a  new  morning.  So  many  things, 
during  the  illness  of  the  body,  conspire  to 
soften  the  feelings,  —  the  still  room,  the  mild 
twilight  through  the  window-curtains,  the 
low  voices,  and  then,  more  than  all,  the  kind 
words  of  those  who  surround  us,  —  their  at¬ 
tention,  their  solicitude,  perhaps  a  tear  in  their 
eyes,  —  all  this  does  us  good,  does  us  essential 
good.  Fredrika  Bremer. 

5294.  SICKNESS,  Deceitfulness  of.  In  King 

Edward’s  days,  as  long  as  the  heat  of  the 
plague  lasted,  there  was  crying  out,  “  Peccavi, 
mercy  ;  good  Lord,  mercy,  mercy  I  ”  Then 
lords  and  ladies,  and  people  of  the  best  sort, 
cried  out  to  the  ministers,  “  For  God’s  sake 
tell  us  what  we  shall  do  to  avoid  the  wrath  of 
God.  Take  these  bags  ;  pay  so  much  to  such 
a  one  whom  I  deceived ;  so  much  to  restore 
unto  another,  whom,  in  bargaining  I  over¬ 
reached  ;  give  so  much  to  the  poor,  so  much  to 
pious  uses,  &c.”  But,  after  the  sickness  was 
over,  they  were  just  the  same  men  as  they 
were  before.  Bp.  Reynolds. 

5295.  SICKNESS,  Educational.  We  learn 

more  true  divinity  by  our  trials  than  by  our 
books.  The  great  reformer  said,  “  Prayer  is 
the  best  book  in  my  library.”  He  might  have 
added  affliction  as  the  next.  Sickness  is  the 
best  doctor  of  divinity  in  all  the  world ;  and 
trial  is  the  finest  exposition  of  Scripture. 
This  is  so  inestimable  a  mark  of  the  love  of 
our  blessed  Lord,  that  we  might  almost  desire 
trouble  for  the  sake  of  it.  Spurgeon. 


5296.  SICKNESS,  Patience  In.  A  minister, 

visiting  a  once  active  Christian,  said,  “  I  little 
expected  to  see  you  so  patient:  it  must  be  a 
great  trial  to  one  of  your  active  mind  to  lie 
here  so  long  doing  nothing.”  —  “  Not  at  all, 
sir;  not  at  all,”  said  she.  “  When  I  was  well, 
I  used  to  hear  the  Lord  say  to  me  day  by  day, 

1  Betty,  go  here ;  Betty,  go  there ;  Betty,  do 
this ;  Betty,  do  that ;  ’  and  I  used  to  do  it  as 
well  as  I  could  :  and  now  I  hear  him  say  every 
day%  ‘  Betty,  lie  still  and  cough.’” 

5297.  SICKNESS,  Promises  in.  Some  make 

many  fair  promises  of  obedience ;  but  it  is  on 
the  rack  and  in  the  furnace,  or  as  children 
under  the  rod  :  “  Oh  !  if  I  might  but  recover 
this  sickness,  or  be  eased  of  this  affliction,  I 
would  then  be  a  new  man,  and  redeem  my 
misspent  time.”  And  yet  many  of  these, 
like  Pharaoh,  when  they  have  any  respite, 
find  out  ways  to  shift  and  delude  their  own 
promises,  and,  like  melted  metal  taken  out  of 
the  furnace,  return  again  unto  their  own  hard¬ 
ness.  Bp.  Reynolds. 

5298.  SICKNESS,  Proverbs.  A  creaking  gate 

hangs  long  on  its  hinges. —  English. - The 

flawed  pots  are  the  most  lasting.  —  French. 

- The  sins  of  our  youth  we  atone  for  in 

our  old  age.  —  Latin.  -  Old  young,  old 

long.  —  English. 

5299.  SICKNESS,  A  Reminder.  Sickness,  the 

mother  of  modesty,  puts  us  in  mind  of  our 
mortality,  and,  while  we  drive  on  heedlessly  in 
the  full  career  of  worldly  pomp  and  jollity, 
kindly  pulls  us  by  the  ear,  and  brings  us  to  a 
proper  sense  of  our  duty.  Burton. 

5300.  SICKNESS,  Submission  in.  A  revival 
was  progressing  in  a  church,  of  which  a  cer¬ 
tain  Christian  was  an  influential  member. 
Severe  illness  prevented  any  active  work.  A 
friend  calling  mentioned  the  fact  complaining- 
ly.  The  sufferer  cheerfully  replied,  “  My  part 
is  to  lie  here  and  cough.” 

5301.  SICKNESS,  Use  of.  During  Dr.  Pay- 
son’s  last  illness,  a  friend  coming  into  Ins 
room  said,  “  Well,  I  am  sorry  to  see  you  lying 
here  on  your  back.”  — “  Do  you  not  know  what 
God  puts  us  on  our  backs  for  ?  ”  said  Dr.  Pay- 
son,  smiling.  “  No,”  was  the  answer.  “  In 
order  that  we  may  look  upward.” 

5302.  SILENCE,  Amendment  by.  It  was  the 
wisdom  of  Sulpitius  Severus,  who  being  de¬ 
ceived  by  the  Pelagians,  and  acknowledging 
the  fault  of  his  loquacity,  was  careful  of  silence 
afterwards  unto  his  death,  and  good  reason 
too,  says  St.  Jerome,  that  the  sin  which  he 
had  committed  by  overspeaking  might  be 
amended  by  holding  his  peace  ever  after. 

Spencer. 

5303.  SILENCE,  Wisdom  of.  A  courtier  in 
the  retinue  of  Alexander  the  Great  paid  a 
visit  to  the  studio  of  Apelles  the  celebrated 
painter,  and  was  received  with  the  considerar 
tion  due  to  his  rank.  This  excited  his  vanity 
and  talkativeness,  which,  unhappily,  sallied 
forth  upon  the  fine  art  in  question,  exposing 
his  ignorance  in  a  variety  of  questions  and 
criticisms.  Apelles  interrupted  him  at  length 
in  an  undertone :  “  Do  you  see  those  boys  that 


SIMPLICITY. 


SENT. 


585 


are  grinding  my  colors  ?  While  you  were 
silent,  they  admired  you,  dazzled  with  the 
splendor  of  the  purple  and  gold  with  which 
your  habit  glitters;  but,  ever  since  you  began 
to  talk  about  what  you  do  not  understand, 
they  have  done  nothing  but  laugh  at  you.” 

5304.  SIMPLICITY.  Want  of.  A  learned 
theological  professor  was  once  engaged  to 
address  a  Sunday  school.  He  read  a  number 
of  verses  from  the  Bible,  and  then  said,  “Chil¬ 
dren,  I  intend  to  give  you  a  summary  of  the 
truth  taught  in  this  portion  of  the  Scripture.” 
Here  the  pastor  touched  him,  and  suggested 
that  he  had  better  explain  to  the  school  what 
“  summary  ”  meant.  So  he  turned  round,  and 
said  to  the  children,  “  Your  pastor  wants  me 
to  explain  what  summary  means;  and  I  will  do 
so.  Well,  children,  summary  is  an  abbreviated 
synopsis  of  a  thing.” 

5305.  SIN,  or  Affliotion.  The  ermine  chooses 

to  die  rather  than  defile  her  beautiful  skin. 
There  is  more  evil  in  a  drop  of  sin  than  in  a 
sea  of  affliction  :  affliction  is  but  like  a  rent  in 
a  coat;  sin,  a  prick  at  the  heart.  In  affliction, 
there  is  some  good ;  in  this  lion,  there  is  some 
honey  to  be  found.  St.  Augustine  saith,  “  Af¬ 
fliction  is  God’s  flail  to  thresh  oft'  our  husks ; 
not  to  consume,  but  refine.”  There  is  no  good 
in  sin  :  it  is  the  spirit  and  quintessence  of  evil. 
Sin  is  worse  than  hell;  for  the  pains  of  hell 
only  are  a  burden  to  the  creature ;  but  sin  is  a 
burden  to  God.  T.  Watson. 

5306.  SIN,  Allurements  of.  We  have  heard 

of  a  singular  tree,  that  forcibly  illustrates  the 
deceitfulness  of  sin.  It  is  called  the  Judas 
tree.  The  blossoms  appear  before  the  leaves, 
and  they  are  of  brilliant  crimson.  The  flaming 
beauty  of  the  flowers  attracts  innumerable  in¬ 
sects;  and  the  wandering  bee  is  drawn  to  it  to 
gather  honey.  But  every  bee  that  alights 
upon  the  blossoms  imbibes  a  fatal  opiate,  and 
drops  dead  from  among  the  crimson  flowers  to 
the  earth.  Beneath  this  enticing  tree,  the 
earth  is  strewed  with  the  victims  of  its  fatal 
fascinations.  That  fatal  plant  that  attracts 
only  to  destroy  is  a  vivid  emblem  of  the 
deceitfulness  and  deadliness  of  sin.  For  the 
poison  of  sin’s  bewitching  flowers,  there  is 
but  one  remedy :  it  is  found  in  the  “  leaves  of 
the  tree  of  life  ”  that  groweth  on  Mount  Cal¬ 
vary.  Cuyler. 

5307.  SIN,  Alternative  of.  A  minister  was 
once  speaking  about  sin  finding  us  out.  He 
said,  “If  you  do  not  find  out  your  sin,  and 
bring  it  to  Calvary,  to  get  it  pardoned,  and 
washed  away  through  the  blood  of  Jesus,  your 
sin  will  find  you  out,  and  bring  you  to  judg¬ 
ment  to  be  condemmed,  and  sent  away  by 
Jesus  Christ  to  everlasting  punishment.” 
“  Oh  !  ”  thought  a  little  girl  who  had  told  her 
mother  a  lie,  —  “  oh,  that  lie  1  I  must  either 
find  it,  and  bring  it  to  Calvary,  or  it  will  cause 
me  to  be  punished  forever.”  She  rested  not 
till  she  knew  what  it  was  to  have  sin  for¬ 
given. 

5308.  SIN,  Besetting.  The  bosom  sin  in 
grace  exactly  resembles  a  strong  current  in 
Nature,  which  is  setting  full  upon  dangerous 


shoals  and  quicksands.  If,  in  your  spiritual 
computation,  you  do  not  calculate  upon  your 
besetting  sin,  upon  its  force,  its  ceaseless 
operation,  and  its  artfulness,  it  will  sweep 
you  on  noiselessly,  and  with  every  appearance 
of  calm,  but  surely  and  effectually,  to  your 
ruin.  So  may  we  see  a  gallant  ship  leave  the 
dock,  fairly  and  bravely  rigged,  and  with  all 
her  pennons  flying.  And  the  high  sea,  when 
she  has  cleft  her  way  into  it,  is  un  wrinkled  as 
the  brow  of  childhood,  and  seems  to  laugh 
with  many  a  twinkling  smile  ;  and,  when  night 
falls,  the  moonbeam  dances  upon  the  wave, 
and  the  brightness  of  the  day  has  left  a  deli¬ 
cious  balminess  behind  it  in  the  air.  The  ship 
is  anchored  negligently  and  feebly,  and  all  is 
then  still,  save  the  gentle  drowsy  gurgling, 
which  tells  that  water  is  the  element  in  which 
she  floats.  But,  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  the 
anchor  loses  its  hold ;  and  then  the  current, 
deep  and  powerful,  bears  her  noiselessly 
whither  it  will :  and  in  the  morning  the  wail 
of  desperation  rises  from  her  decks;  for  she 
has  fallen  on  the  shoal.  And  the  disconsolate¬ 
ness  of  the  dreary  twilight,  as  the  breeze 
springs  with  the  daybreak,  and  with  rude 
impact  dashes  her  planks  angrily  against  the 
rock,  contrasts  strangely  with  the  comfort  and 
peacefulness  of  the  past  evening. 

Dr.  Goulburn. 

5309.  SIN,  Curse  of.  O  sin  !  how  hast  thou 
cursed  us !  Thou  hast  thrown  up  a  barrier 
between  ourselves  and  God.  With  thy  chilling 
breath,  thou  hast  extinguished  the  light  of  our 
household  joys  ;  thou  bast  unstrung  our  harp, 
and  filled  the  air  with  discordant  cries ;  thou 
hast  unsheathed  the  sword,  and  bathed  it  in 
human  blood ;  thou  hast  dug  every  grave  in 
the  bosom  of  the  fair  earth ;  but  for  thee,  we 
should  not  have  known  the  name  of  widow  or 
orphan,  tear  and  sigh,  sorrow  and  death ;  but 
for  thee,  our  hearts  had  been  untorn  by  a  pang, 
and  our  joy  pure  as  the  ecstasies  of  heaven. 

Dr.  J.  Parker. 

5310.  SIN,  Curse  upon.  Look  outward,  and 

behold  a  curse  in  the  creature,  —  vanity,  emp¬ 
tiness,  vexation,  disappointments,  every  crea¬ 
ture  armed  with  a  sting  to  revenge  its  Maker’s 
quarrel.  Look  inward,  and  behold  a  curse  in 
the  conscience,  —  accusing,  witnessing,  con¬ 
demning,  haling  to  the  tribunal  of  vengeance ; 
first  defiling  with  the  allowance,  and  after  ter¬ 
rifying  with  the  remembrance,  of  sin.  Look 
upward,  and  behold  a  curse  in  the  heavens,  — 
the  wrath  of  God  revealed  from  thence  upon 
all  unrighteousness.  Look  downward,  and 
behold  a  curse  in  the  earth,  —  death  ready  to 
put  a  period  to  all  the  pleasures  of  sin,  and 
like  a  trap-door  to  let  down  into  hell,  where 
nothing  of  sin  will  remain  but  the  worm  and 
the  fire.  Look  into  the  Scripture,  and  see 
the  curse  there  described,  —  an  everlasting 
banishment  from  the  glory  of  God’s  presence, 
an  everlasting  destruction  by  the  glory  of  his 
power.  Bp.  Reynolds. 

5311.  SIN,  Death  in.  The  tale  of  the  goblet 
which  the  genius  of  a  heathen  fashioned  was 
true,  and  taught  a  moral  of  which  many  a 


586 


snsr. 


death-bed  furnisJies  the  melancholy  illustration. 
Having  made  the  model  of  a  serpent,  he  fixed 
it  in  the  bottom  of  the  cup.  Coiled  for  the 
spring,  a  pair  of  gleaming  eyes  in  its  head,  and 
in  its  open  mouth  fangs  raised  to  strike,  it  lay 
beneath  the  ruby  wine.  Nor  did  he  who 
raised  that  golden  cup  to  quench  his  thirst,  and 
quaff  the  delicious  draught,  suspect  what  lay 
below,  till,  as  he  reached  the  dregs,  that  dread¬ 
ful  head  rose  up,  and  glistened  before  his  eyes. 
So,  when  life’s  cup  is  nearly  emptied,  and  sin’s 
last  pleasure  quaffed,  and  unwilling  lips  are 
draining  the  bitter  dregs,  shall  rise  the  ghastly 
terrors  of  remorse  and  death  and  judgment 
upon  the  despairing  soul.  Be  assured,  a  ser¬ 
pent  lurks  at  the  bottom  of  guilt’s  sweetest 
pleasure.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5312.  SIN,  Death  of.  There  is  nothing  so 

hard  to  die  as  sin.  An  atom  may  kill  a  giant, 
a  word  may  break  the  peace  of  a  nation,  a 
spark  burn  up  a  city  ;  but  it  requires  earnest 
and  protracted  struggles  to  destroy  sin  in  the 
soul.  Dr.  Thomas. 

5313.  SIN,  Deceitfolness  of  It  hath  many 

secret  ways  of  insinuating  ;  it  is  like  a  Delilah  ; 
it  is  like  Jael  to  Sisera.  Sin  is  a  sweet  poison, 
it  tickleth  while  it  stabbeth.  The  first  thing 
that  sin  doth  is  to  bewitch,  then  to  put  out  the 
eyes,  then  to  take  away  the  sense  and  feeling ; 
to  do  to  a  man  as  Noah’s  daughters  did  to 
him,  —  make  him  drunk,  and  then  he  doth  he 
knoweth  not  what.  As  Joab  came  with  a  kind 
salute  to  Abner,  and  thrust  him  under  the  fifth 
rib,  while  Abner  thought  of  nothing  but  kind¬ 
ness,  so  sin  comes  smiling,  comes  pleasing 
and  humoring  thee,  while  itgiveth  thee  a  deadly 
stab.  Anthony  Burgess. 

5314.  SIN,  Delusion  of  Transport  yourself 
to  such  scenes  as  Hogarth  painted.  Here  is  a 
man  in  a  damp,  dark  cell,  seated  on  a  heap 
of  straw,  and  chained  like  a  wild  beast  t.o  the 
wall.  He  smiles,  sings,  laughs  ;  the  straw  is 
a  throne ;  his  bare  cell,  a  palace ;  these  rough 
keepers,  obsequious  courtiers  ;  and  he  himself, 
a  monarch,  the  happiest  of  mortals,  an  object 
of  envy  to  crowned  kings.  Strange  delusion. 
Yet  is  that  man  not  more  beside  himself, 
who,  with  a  soul  formed  for  the  purest  enjoy¬ 
ments,  delights  in  the  lowest  pleasures ;  who, 
content  with  this  poor  world,  rejects  the 
heaven  in  his  offer ;  who,  surest  sign  of  insan¬ 
ity,  hates  in  a  heavenly  Father  and  a  Saviour 
those  who  love  him ;  who,  in  love  with  sin, 
hugs  his  chains ;  lying  under  the  wrath  of 
God,  is  merry,  sings,  and  dances  on  the  thin 
crust,  that,  ever  and  anon  breaking  beneath 
the  feet  of  others,  is  all  that  separates  him 
from  an  abyss  of  fire  ? 

5315.  SIN,  Destructive.  When  Nicephorus 
Phocas  had  built  a  strong  wall  about  his  palace 
for  his  own  security,  in  the  night-time,  he 
heard  a  voice  crying  to  him,  “  O  emperor ! 
though  thou  build  tliy  wall  as  high  as  the 
clouds,  yet,  if  sin  be  within,  it  will  overthrow 
all.” 

5316.  SIN,  Detection  of  One  night,  some 
years  ago,  a  person  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh 
awoke  to  find  that  his  house  had  been  plun¬ 


dered.  The  alarm  was  .raised;  nor  wan  it 
long  ere  the  officers  of  justice  found  a  clew. 
The  thief,  wounding  his  hand  as  he  escaped  by 
the  window,  had  left  a  red  witness  behind  him. 
The  watchman  flashed  his  lantern  upon  tho 
spot.  Drop  by  drop,  the  blood  stained  the 
pavement.  They  tracked  it  on  and  on  and 
ever  on,  till  their  silent  guide  conducted  them 
along  an  open  passage,  and  up  a  flight  of 
steps,  stopping  at  the  door  of  a  house.  They 
broke  in  ;  and  there  they  found  the  bleeding 
hand,  the  booty,  and  the  pale,  ghastly  criminal. 
Now,  a  shower  of  rain  would  have  washed 
away  the  stain ;  a  fall  of  snow  would  have 
concealed  it ;  the  foot  of  some  midnight  revel¬ 
ler  would  have  effaced  it :  but,  no,  —  the  crime 
was  one  of  peculiar  atrocity,  and  there  God 
kept  the  damning  spot.  And  unless  they  be 
forgiven,  washed  away  in  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
so  shall  your  sins  find  you  out.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

53 B  j'.  SIN,  Effects  of.  We  might  illustrate 
the  evil  of  sin  by  the  following  comparison : 
“  Suppose  I  were  going  along  a  street,  and 
were  to  dash  my  hand  through  a  large  pane 
of  glass,  what  harm  would  I  receive  ?  ”  — 
“  You  would  be  punished  for  breaking  the 
glass.”  —  “Would  that  be  all  the  harm  I 
should  receive  V  ”  —  “  Your  hand  would  be  cut 
by  the  glass.”  —  “Yes;  and  so  it  is  with  sin. 
If  you  break  God’s  laws,  you  shall  be  punished 
for  breaking  them ;  and  your  soul  is  hurt  by 
the  very  act  of  breaking  them.”  J.  Inglis. 

5318.  SIN,  Emblem  of.  The  dragon  is  the 
first  great  symbol  of  sin,  and,  with  numerous 
variations,  runs  through  mythology  and  art. 
The  serpent  is  also  a  frequent  emblem.  A 
snake,  winding  his  scaly  length  round  and 
round  a  globe,  represents  the  universality  of 
sin. 

5319.  SIN,  First.  The  first  sin,  that  is  still 
running  like  currents  of  fire  through  all  the 
ramifications  of  humanity ;  the  first  sin,  that 
has  made  the  earth  heave,  surge,  groan,  and 
travail  together  in  pain,  —  robbed  heaven  of 
some  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  built  the  great 
state-prison  of  hell,  kindled  its  first  fires,  and 
awakened  groans  that  never  end. 

Dr.  Beaumont. 

5329.  SIN,  Fleeing  from.  We  often  say, 
“  Flee  from  sin  as  from  the  face  of  a  serpent.” 
Perhaps  very  few  of  you  know  how  a  man  feels, 
when,  for  the  first  time,  he  finds  himself,  as  I 
remember  finding  myself,  within  a  few  inches 
of  a  serpent,  —  when  he  sees  the  cobra  di 
capella  rearing  its  head  ready  to  strike,  and 
knows  that  one  stroke  of  those  fangs  is  death, 
certain  death.  That  moment  he  experiences 
a  varied  passion,  impossible  to  describe.  Fear, 
hatred,  loathing,  the  desire  to  escape,  the 
desire  to  kill,  all  rush  into  one  moment,  mak¬ 
ing  his  entire  being  thrill.  Now,  take  two 
men  :  one  is  in  the  face  of  that  serpent ;  the 
other  is  in  the  presence  of  the  old  serpent 
called  Satan,  the  Devil :  one  is  in  danger  of 
the  sting ;  the  other  is  in  danger  of  committing 
sin.  Which  of  the  two  has  most  reason  to  flee  ? 
O  thou !  that  art  tempted  to  sin  this  day 
against  God,  flee  from  sin  as  from  the  face  of 


SEN". 


SEN". 


587 


a  serpent :  a  far  deadlier  serpent  is  that  old 
serpent  the  Devil  than  the  other. 

W.  Arthur. 

5321.  SIN,  Given  np  to.  How  often  does 

it  happen  in  the  history  of  these  wilful  sin¬ 
ners  of  the  flesh,  that,  after  a  while,  all  things 
seem  to  smile  upon  them  and  prosper  them 
according  to  their  heart’s  desires  1  Are  they 
mad  for  gold? — gold  seems  to  roll  in  upon 
them.  Are  they  mad  for  pleasure  ?  —  their  se¬ 
ductive  arts  are  successful,  and  victims  come 
readily  to  their  lure.  Are  they  mad  for  drink  ? 
—  those  around  them,  kindred,  friends,  cease  to 
strive  with  them,  and  give  it  up  as  hopeless. 
Shame,  too,  abandons  them  :  they  may  wallow 
in  beer  or  gin,  nobody  cares.  It  is  very  won¬ 
derful  to  see  how  often,  if  a  man  is  bent  on  an 
end  which  is  not  God’s  end,  God  gives  it  him, 
and  it  becomes  his  curse.  God  does  not  curse 
us.  He  leaves  us  to  ourselves :  that  is  curse 
enough;  and  from  that  curse  what  arm  can 
save  us  1  We  will  have  it,  and  we  shall  have 
it.  We  leap  through  all  the  barriers  which  he 
has  raised  around  us  to  limit  us ;  yea,  though 
they  be  rings  of  blazing  fire,  we  will  through 
them  and  indulge  our  lust ;  and,  in  a  moment, 
he  sweeps  them  all  out  of  our  path  :  perhaps 
roses  spring  to  beguile  where  flames  so  lately 
flamed  to  warn.  J.  B  Brown. 

5322.  SIN,  Growth  of.  As  a  rope  is  twined 

from  many  threads,  so  is  sin  very  rarely  single ; 
but  one  grows  out  of  another ;  and  often  the 
new  is  committed  to  cover  or  excuse  the  old. 
Wicked  suggestions  are  the  first  threads,  the 
cherishing  of  tfijse  with  satisfaction  the  second, 
the  sinful  purpose  the  third ;  the  execution  of 
it  then  twists  the  cord,  and  perseverance  in  it 
binds  the  sinner  to  his  ruin.  Gotthold. 

5323.  SIN,  Habits  of.  The  Arabs  have  a 
fable  of  a  miller,  who  was  one  day  awakened 
by  having  the  nose  of  a  camel  thrust  into  the 
window  of  a  room  where  he  was  sleeping.  “  It 
is  very  cold  out  here,”  said  the  camel :  “  I  only 
want  to  get  my  nose  in.”  The  miller  granted 
his  request.  After  a  while,  the  camel  asked 
that  he  might  get  his  neck  in ;  then  his  fore 
feet;  and  so,  little  by  little,  crowded  in  his 
whole  body.  The  miller  found  his  companion 
troublesome ;  for  the  room  was  not  large  enough 
for  both.  When  he  complained  to  the  camel, 
he  received  for  answer,  “  If  you  do  not  like  it, 
you  may  leave :  as  for  myself,  I  shall  stay 
where  I  am.” 

5324.  SIN,  Hatred  of.  I  preach  and  think 

that  it  is  more  bitter  to  sin  against  Christ 
than  to  suffer  the  torments  of  hell.  —  Chrysos¬ 
tom.  - If  hell  were  on  one  side,  and  sin  on 

the  other,  I  would  rather  leap  into  hell  than 
willingly  sin  against  my  God.  —  Anselm. 

5325.  SIN,  Hidden.  Certain  great  iron 
castings  have  been  ordered  for  a  railway 
bridge.  The  thickness  has  been  calculated 
according  to  the  extent  of  the  span  and  the 
weight  of  the  load.  The  contractor  constructs 
his  moulds  according  to  the  specification,  and, 
when  all  is  ready,  pours  in  the  molten  metal. 
In  the  process  of  casting,  through  some  defect 
in  the  mould,  portions  of  air  lurk  in  the  heart 


of  the  iron,  and  cavities  like  those  of  a  honey¬ 
comb  are  formed  in  the  interior  of  the  be  im ; 
but  all  defects  are  hid,  and  the  flaws  are  effect¬ 
ively  concealed.  The  artisan  has  covered  his 
fault;  but  he  will  not  prosper.  As  soon  as  it 
is  subjected  to  a  strain,  the  beam  gives  way. 
Sin  covered  becomes  a  rotten  hollow  in  a 
human  soul ;  and,  when  the  strain  comes,  the 
false  gives  way.  Rev.  William  Arnot. 

532G.  SIN,  Immortality  of.  The  hydra  of 
fable  had  nine  heads,  the  middle  one  of  which 
was  immortal.  The  monster  ravaged  the 
country  of  Argos.  Hercules  went  forth  to 
destroy  him.  He  struck  off  the  hydra’s 
heads ;  but,  as  often  as  he  did  it,  in  place  of 
each  grew  two  new  ones.  At  length,  he  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  burning  away  the  heads  of  the  hydra, 
and  in  burying  the  immortal  head  under  a 
huge  rock. 

5327.  SIN,  Impressions  of.  The  great  stone 
book  of  Nature  reveals  many  strange  records 
of  the  past.  In  the  red  sandstone,  there  are 
found,  in  some  places,  marks  which  are  clearly 
the  impressions  of  showers  of  rain,  and  these 
so  perfect,  that  it  can  even  be  detected  in 
which  direction  the  shower  inclined,  and  from 
what  quarter  it  proceeded ;  and  this,  ages  ago. 
Even  so  sin  leaves  its  track  behind  it,  and 
God  keeps  a  faithful  record  of  all  our  sins. 

Biblical  Treasury. 

5323.  SIN,  Indestructibility  o£  If  you  cut  a 
gash  in  a  man’s  head,  you  may  heal  it;  but 
you  can  never  rub  out,  nor  wash  out,  nor  cut 
out,  the  scar.  It  may  be  a  witness  against  you 
in  his  corpse :  still  it  may  be  covered  by  the 
coffin,  or  hidden  in  the  grave ;  but  then  it  is 
not  till  decomposition  shall  take  place,  that  it 
shall  entirely  disappear.  But,  if  you  smite  a 
soul,  the  scar  remains :  no  coffin  or  grave  shall 
hide  it;  no  revolution,  not  even  the  upturning 
of  the  physical  universe,  shall  obliterate  it;  no 
fire,  not  even  the  eternal  furnaces  of  hell,  shall 
burn  it  out.  Dr.  Thomson. 

5329.  SEN,  Indulgence  in.  He  that  allows 
himself  in  any  sin,  or  useth  any  unnatural 
dalliance  with  any  vice,  does  nothing  else,  in 
reality,  than  entertain  an  incubus  demon :  he 
prostitutes  a  wanton  soul,  and  forces  it  to  com¬ 
mit  lewdness  with  the  Devil  itself. 

John  Smith. 

5330.  SIN,  Inward.  If  a  man  covets,  he 

steals.  If  a  man  has  murderous  hate,  he  mur¬ 
ders.  If  a  man  broods  dishonest  thoughts,  ho 
is  a  knave.  If  a  man  harbors  sharp  and  bitter 
jealousies,  envies,  hatreds,  though  he  never 
express  them  by  his  tongue,  or  shape  them  by 
his  hand,  they  are  there.  There  are  many 
good-seeming  men,  who,  if  all  their  day’s 
thoughts  and  feelings  were  to  be  suddenly  de¬ 
veloped  into  acts  visible  to  the  eye,  would  run 
from  themselves,  as  men  in  earthquakes  run 
from  the  fiery  gapings  of  the  ground  and  sul¬ 
phurous  cracks  that  open  the  way  to  the 
uncooled  centre  of  perdition.  Beecher. 

5331.  SIN,  Love  of.  If  it  were  possible  lor 
those  who  have  been  for  ages  in  hell  to  return 
to  the  earth  (and  not  to  be  regenerated),  I  firmly 
believe,  that,  notwithstanding  all  they  have 


588 


srN\ 


snsr. 


suffered  for  sin,  they  would  still  love  it,  and 
return  to  the  practice  of  it.  Ryland. 

5332.  SIN,  Masked.  It  is  said  of  Alciliiades, 
that  he  embroidered  a  curtain  with  lions  and 
eagles,  the  most  stately  of  beasts  and  birds, 
that  he  might  the  more  closely  hide  the  pic¬ 
ture  that  was  under,  full  of  owls  and  satyrs,  the 
most  sadly  remarkable  of  other  creatures. 
Thus  Satan  embroiders  the  curtain  with  the 
image  of  virtue,  that  he  may  easily  hide  the 
foul  picture  of  sin  that  is  under  it.  Spencer. 

5333.  SIN,  aa  Master.  When  the  morning 
eun  is  bright,  and  the  summer  breezes  gently 
blowing  from  the  shore,  the  little  river-boat  is 
enticed  from  the  harbor  to  start  on  her  trip  of 
pleasure  on  the  clear,  calm  sea.  All  Nature 
seems  to  enlist  in  her  service.  The  fair  wind 
fills  her  sails,  the  favorable  tide  rolls  onward 
in  her  course,  the  parted  sea  makes  way  for 
her  to  glide  swiftly  and  merrily  on  her  happy 
voyage ;  but  having  thus  been  her  servants, 
and  carried  her  whither  she  would,  these  soon 
become  her  masters,  and  carry  her  whither  she 
would  not.  The  breeze  that  swelled  her  sails 
has  become  a  storm,  and  rends  them ;  the 
waves  that  quietly  rippled  for  her  pleasure 
now  rise  in  fury,  and  dash  over  her  for  her 
destruction  ;  and  the  vessel  which  rode  in  the 
morning  as  a  queen  upon  the  waters  sinks 
before  night  comes  on,  the  slave  of  those  very 
winds  and  waves  winch  had  beguiled  her  to 
use  them  as  her  servants.  So  it  is  with  sin. 

Morse. 

5334.  SIN,  Memorial  of.  A  rich  landlord 
once  cruelly  oppressed  a  poor  widow.  Her 
son,  a  little  boy  of  eight  years,  saw  it.  He 
afterwards  became  a  painter,  and  painted  a 
life-likeness  of  the  dark  scene.  Years  after¬ 
wards,  he  placed  it  where  the  man  saw  it.  He 
turned  pale,  trembled  in  every  joint,  and 
offered  any  sum  to  purchase  it,  that  he  might 
put  it  out  of  sight.  Thus  there  is  an  invisible 
painter  drawing  on  the  canvas  of  the  soul  a 
life-likeness  reflecting  correctly  all  the  passions 
and  actions  of  our  spiritual  history  on  earth. 
Eternity  will  reveal  them  to  every  man.  We 
must  meet  our  earth-life  again. 

5335.  SIN,  Multiplication  of.  Sin  is  like  a 

stone  which  is  cast  into  the  water,  and  multi¬ 
plies  itself  by  infinite  circles.  Basil. 

5336.  SIN,  One.  If  but  one  sin  be  unrepented 

of,  the  man  continues  still  a  bond-slave  of  hell. 
By  one  little  hole,  a  ship  will  sink  into  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  sea.  The  stab  of  a  penknife  to  the 
heart  will  as  well  destroy  a  man  as  all  the 
daggers  that  killed  Caesar  in  the  senate-house. 
The  soul  will  be  strangled  with  one  cord  of 
vanity  as  well  as  with  all  the  cart-ropes  of 
iniquity  :  only  the  more  sins,  the  more  plagues 
and  fiercer  flames  in  hell ;  but  he  that  lives 
and  dies  impenitent  in  one,  it  will  be  bis  de¬ 
struction.  One  dram  of  poison  will  despatch 
a  man,  and  one  reigning  sin  will  bring  him  to 
endless  misery.  R.  Bolton. 

5337.  SIN,  Pleasures  of.  The  Persian  king 
gave  Themistocles  a  goodly  pension,  assigning 
Magnesia,  with  the  revenue  of  fifty  talents,  for 
his  bread,  Lampsacum  for  his  wine,  and  Myos 


for  his  meat ;  but  all  the  while  he  fed  high  and 
drank  deep  he  was  infinitely  afflicted,  and  every 
thin^  went  cross  to  his  undertaking,  and  ha 
could  not  bring  his  ends  about  to  betray  his 
country  ;  and,  at  last,  he  mingled  poison  with 
his  wine,  and  drank  it  off,  having  first  entreated 
his  friends  to  steal  for  him  a  private  grave  in  his 
own  country.  Such  are  the  pleasures  of  the 
most  pompous  and  flattering  of  sins :  their 
meat  and  drink  are  good  and  pleasant  at 
first,  and  it  is  plenteous  and  criminal,  but  its 
employment  is  base  ;  it  is  so  against  a  man’s 
interest,  and  against  what  is  and  ought  to  be 
dearest  to  him,  that  he  cannot  persuade  bis 
better  parts  to  consent,  but  must  fight  against 
them  and  all  their  arguments.  Bp.  Taylor. 

5338.  SIN,  Poison  of.  Were  a  cup  of  pleas¬ 

ant  wine  put  into  your  hands,  and  you  knew 
for  certain  that  a  deadly  poison  was  mixed  up 
with  the  wine,  which  would  rack  you  with  the 
fiercest  pains,  and  ere  long  tear  soul  and  body 
in  sunder,  who  would  drink  it  ?  —  who  would 
not  dash  it  from  him  forthwith  ?  Yet,  if  we 
had  but  faith,  we  should  know  and  feel  that  sin 
is  deadlier  than  the  deadliest  poison,  that  it 
racks  us  with  fiercer  pains,  and  gives  us  over 
to  a  more  terrible  dissolution ;  for  it  cuts  us 
off  from  God,  —  from  Him  who  is  the  only 
source  of  all  blessing  and  peace.  Hare. 

5339.  SIN,  Portion  of.  The  consul  Q.  S.  Csepio 
had  taken  the  city  of  Toulouse  by  an  act  of 
more  than  common  perfidy  and  treachery,  and 
possessed  himself  of  the  immense  hoards  of 
wealth  stored  in  the  temples  of  the  Gaulish 
deities.  From  this  day  forth,  he  was  so  hunted 
by  calamity,  all  extremest  evils  and  disasters, 
all  shame  and  dishonor,  fell  so  thick  on  himself 
and  all  who  were  his,  and  were  so  traced  up 
by  the  moral  instinct  of  mankind  to  this  ac¬ 
cursed  thing  which  he  had  made  his  own,  that 
any  wicked  gains  fatal  to  their  possessor  ac¬ 
quired  this  name ;  and  of  such  a  one  it  would 
be  said,  “  He  has  gold  of  Toulouse.”  Trench. 

5340.  SIN,  Presumption  in.  There  is  a  Grecian 
fable  of  a  diver  who  boasted  of  his  skill  to  bring 
up  treasures  from  the  sea.  To  test  his  power, 
the  people  threw  many  a  silver  cup  and  many 
a  golden  coin  into  deep  water  ;  all  of  which  he 
brought  to  the  surface  with  triumph.  But  one 
day'  a  disguised  fiend  threw  a  tinsel  crown  into 
a  whirlpool,  and  challenged  the  confident  diver 
to  bring  it  up ;  promising  him,  if  he  succeeded, 
the  power  to  wear  it,  and  to  transmit  it  to  his 
children.  Down  he  sprung  after  the  bau¬ 
ble  ;  but  the  Nereids  of  the  sea,  hearing  the 
clangor  of  the  crown  when  it  fell  upon  their 
grottos,  closed  around  him  as  he  was  grasping 
the  prize,  and  held  him  fast  till  he  perished. 
The  most  daring  may  dare  once  too  often. 

5341.  SIN,  a  Quicksand.  It  sometimes  hap¬ 
pens  on  the  coast  of  Britain  or  Scotland,  that 
a  person  walking  on  the  strand  will  suddenly 
find  difficulty  in  walking.  The  shore  is  like 
pitch,  to  which  the  soles  of  his  feet  cling.  The 
coast  appears  perfectly  dry  ;  but  the  footprint 
that  he  leaves  is  immediately  filled  with  water. 
Nothing  distinguishes  the  sand  which  is  solid 
from  that  which  is  not.  He  passes  on  unawaie 


sest. 


SENT. 


589 


of  his  danger.  Suddenly  he  sinks  :  he  looks 
at  his  feet ;  the  sand  covers  them.  He  wishes 
to  turn  back  ;  but  with  every  effort  sinks  more 
deeply.  With  indescribable  terror,  he  finds  he 
is  involved  in  a  quicksand.  He  throws  down 
his  burden ;  but  it  is  already  too  late.  The 
slow  burial  of  hours  continues.  The  sand 
reaches  to  his  waist,  to  his  ehest,  to  his  neck : 
now  only  his  face  is  visible.  He  cries.  The 
sand  fills  his  mouth,  and  all  is  silent ;  his 
eyes,  then  the  night  of  death.  What  a  strik¬ 
ing  emblem  of  the  danger  of  sin ! 

5342.  SIN|  Rebound  of.  There  is  an  Austra¬ 
lian  missile  called  the  boomerang,  which  is 
thrown  so  as  to  describe  singular  curves,  and 
fall  at  last  at  the  feet  of  the  thrower.  Sin  is  a 
kind  of  boomerang,  which  goes  off  into  space 
curiously,  but  turns  again  upon  its  author,  and 
with  tenfold  force  strikes  the  guilty  soul  that 
launched  it. 

5343.  SIN,  Regarding.  St.  Augustine,  in  his 
youth,  was  in  the  habit  of  praying  against  lust 
and  uncleanness,  and  secretly  desired  that  God 
would  not  hear  him.  How  many,  now-a-days, 
like  him,  pray  against  sin,  but  desire  not  to  be 
heard  because  of  the  inward  secret  love  which 
they  have  to  some  particular  habituated  sins  1 

5344.  SIN,  Remorse  of.  On  the  walls  of  one 
of  the  Egyptian  temples  is  said  to  be  the  in¬ 
scription,  “  The  impious  shall  commit  iniquity 
without  recompense,  but  not  without  remorse.” 

5345.  SIN,  Service  of.  A  certain  tyrant  sent 
for  one  of  his  subjects,  and  said  to  him,  “  What 
is  your  employment  ?  ”  He  said,  “  I  am  a  black¬ 
smith.”  —  “  Go  home,  and  make  me  a  chain  of 
such  a  length.”  He  went  home  :  it  occupied 
him  several  months ;  and  he  had  no  wages  all 
the  time  he  was  making  it.  Then  he  brought 
it  to  the  monarch ;  and  he  said,  “  Go  and 
make  it  twice  as  long.”  He  brought  it  up 
again ;  and  the  monarch  said,  “  Go  and  make 
it  longer  still.”  Each  time  he  brought  it,  there 
was  nothing  but  the  command  to  make  it 
longer  still  ;  and,  when  he  brought  it  up  at 
last,  the  monarch  said,  “  Take  it,  and  bind 
him  hand  and  foot  with  it,  and  cast  him  into 
a  furnace  of  fire.”  These  were  the  wages  of 
making  the  chain.  Here  is  a  meditation  for 
you  to-night,  ye  servants  of  the  Devil.  Your 
master,  the  Devil,  is  telling  you  to  make  a 
chain.  Some  have  been  fifty  years  welding  the 
links  of  the  chain  ;  and  he  says,  “  Go  and  make 
it  still  longer.”  Next  sabbath  morning,  you 
will  open  that  shop  of  yours,  and  put  another 
link  on  ;  next  sabbath,  you  will  be  drunk,  and 
put  on  another  link  ;  next  Monday,  you  will 
do  a  dishonest  action  :  and  so  you  will  keep 
on  making  fresh  links  to  this  chain  ;  and,  when 
you  have  lived  twenty  more  years,  the  Devil 
will  say,  “  More  links  on  still  1  ”  And  then, 
at  last,  it  will  be,  “  Take  him,  and  bind  him 
hand  and  foot,  and  cast  him  into  a  furnace  of 
fire.”  “  For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death.” 

Spurgeon. 

5346.  SIN,  Snares  of.  Among  the  first  set¬ 
tlers  of  Brunswick,  Me.,  was  Daniel  Malcolm, 
a  man  of  undaunted  courage,  and  an  inveter¬ 
ate  enemy  of  the  Indians.  Early  in  the  spring, 


he  ventured  alone  into  the  forest  for  the  purpose 
of  splitting  rails,  not  apprehensive  of  Indians 
so  early  in  the  season.  While  engaged  in  his 
work,  and  having  opened  a  log  with  small 
wedges  about  half  its  length,  he  was  surprised 
by  Indians,  who  crept  up,  and  secured  his 
musket  standing  by  his  side.  “  Sungurnum- 
by,”  said  the  chief,  “  now  me  got  you  ;  long  me 
want  you ;  you  long  speak  Indian ;  long  time 
worry  him  ;  me  have  got  you  now  ;  look  up 
stream  to  Canada.”  —  “  Well,”  said  Malcolm, 
“you  have  me;  but  just  help  me  open  this  log 
before  I  go.”  They  all  (five  in  number)  agreed. 
Malcolm  prepared  a  large  wooden  wedge,  care¬ 
fully  drove  it,  took  out  his  small  wedges,  and 
told  the  Indians  to  put  in  their  fingers  to  the 
partially  clefted  wood,  and  help  pull  it  open. 
They  did :  he  then  suddenly  struck  out  his 
blunt  wedge ;  and  the  elastic  wood  instantly 
closed  fast  on  their  fingers,  and  he  secured 
them  all. 

5317.  SEN,  Striving  against.  Where  are  the 
heroes  “  who  resist  unto  blood,  striving  against 
sin  ”  ?  Should  we  weep,  or  laugh,  at  the  fool¬ 
ishness  of  mankind,  childi slily  spending  their 
indignation  and  force  against  petty  evils,  and 
maintaining  a  friendly  peace  with  the  fell  and 
mighty  principle  of  destruction?  It  is  just  as 
if  men  of  professed  courage,  employed  to  go 
and  find  and  destroy  a  tiger  or  a  crocodile 
that  has  spread  alarm  or  havoc,  on  being  asked 
at  their  return,  “  Have  you  done  the  deed  V  ” 
should  reply,  “  We  have  not  indeed  destroyed 
the  tiger  or  crocodile;  but  yet  we  have  acted 
heroically  :  we  have  achieved  something  great, 
—  we  have  killed  a  wasp.”  Or  like  men  en¬ 
gaged  to  exterminate  a  den  of  murderers,  who 
being  asked  at  their  return,  “  Have  you  accom¬ 
plished  the  vengeance  V  ”  should  say,  “  We 
have  not  destroyed  any  of  the  murderers ;  we 
did  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  attempt  it :  but 
we  have  lamed  one  of  tlieir  dogs."  J.  Foster. 

5348.  SIN,  Temporal  Evils  of.  It  is  the  Tro¬ 

jan  horse  :  it  hath  sword  and  famine  and  pes¬ 
tilence  in  the  belly  of  it.  Sin  is  a  coal,  that 
not  only  blacks,  but  burns.  Sin  creates  all  our 
troubles:  it  puts  gravel  into  our  bread,  worm¬ 
wood  in  our  cup.  Sin  rots  the  name,  consumes 
the  estate,  buries  relations.  Sin  shoots  the 
flying  roll  of  God’s  curses  into  a  family  and 
kingdom  (Zech.  v.  4).  It  is  reported  of  Pho- 
eas,  having  built  a  wall  of  mighty  strength 
about  his  city,  there  was  a  voice  heard,  “  Sin 
is  in  the  city,  and  that  will  throw  down  the 
wall.”  T.  Watson. 

5349.  SIN,  Tri3ing.  There  is  an  Indian 
story  of  a  morsel  of  a  dwarf,  who  asked  (he 
king  to  give  him  all  the  ground  he  could  cover 
with  three  strides.  The  king,  seeing  him  so 
small,  said,  “  Certainly  ;  ”  whereupon  the  dwarf 
suddenly  shot  up  into  a  tremendous  giant,  cov¬ 
ered  all  the  land  with  the  first  stride,  all  the 
water  with  the  second,  and  with  the  third 
knocked  the  king  down,  and  took  his  throne. 

Rev.  James  Bolton. 

5350.  SIN,  Universal,  The  existence  of  sin  ; 
of  sin  as  an  acknowledged  fact ;  of  sin  as  an  ac- 

I  knowledged  evil,  which  has  not  only  tainted  the 


590 


SENT. 


SESEKTER. 


nature,  but  wbicb  has  poured  its  corruption 
upon  every  part  of  every  man ;  found  every¬ 
where,  —  alike  in  the  crowded  city  streets,  and 
among  the  scantier  tribes  of  the  savanna; 
alike  where  refinement  and  civilization  gild 
and  soften  crime,  and  where,  in  the  swarthy- 
bearded  Druse,  it  reigns  tameless  as  the  pennon 
that  flutters  upon  the  lance  of  his  djcrrid ; 
alike  in  sordid  man  and  lost  woman,  in  gener¬ 
ous  youth  and  smiling  babe,  in  all  circum¬ 
stances,  in  all  countries,  in  all  parallels  of 
latitude,  in  all  diversities  of  language,  —  there 
is  no  escape,  and  there  is  no  exception  from  this 
disastrous  uniformity  of  evil.  The  fountain 
has  been  corrupted,  and  the  streams  of  neces¬ 
sity  must  flow  polluted  and  impure.  Every 
mouth  must  be  stopped ;  for  all  the  world  is 
guilty  before  God.  W.  M.  Punshon. 

5351.  SIN,  Views  of.  Gotthold  said,  “  To 
good  men,  sin  and  infirmity  are  festering  sores, 
which  give  them  pain,  and  from  which  they 
seek  to  be  relieved.  By  the  ungodly,  on  the 
contrary,  sin  and  infirmity  are  prized  as  a 
jewel,  and  regarded  as  a  distinction  and  an 
ornament.” 

5352.  SIN,  Watching  against.  As  it  is  of  no 
use  to  watch  and  shut  one  gate  of  a  city  against 
an  enemy,  if  all  the  others  are  wide  open  to 
him  ;  so  it  is  not  enough  to  keep  out  one  sin, 
but  all  must  be  abandoned. 

5353.  SINCERITY,  Misguided.  It  is  often 
said  it  is  no  matter  what  a  man  believes  if  he 
is  only  sincere.  This  is  true  of  all  minor 
truths,  and  false  of  all  truths  whose  nature  it 
is  to  fashion  a  man’s  life.  It  will  make  no 
difference  in  a  man’s  harvest  whether  he  think 
turnips  have  more  saccharine  matter  than  po¬ 
tatoes,  whether  corn  is  better  than  wheat. 
But  let  the  man  sincerely  believe  that  seed 
planted  without  ploughing  is  as  good  as  with, 
that  January  is  as  favorable  for  seed-sowing 
as  April,  and  that  cockle-seed  will  produce  as 
good  a  harvest  as  wheat,  and  will  it  make  no 
difference?  A  child  might  as  well  think  he 
could  reverse  that  ponderous  marine  engine 
which  night  and  day,  in  calm  and  storm, 
] doughs  its  way  across  the  deep,  by  sincerely 
taking  hold  of  the  paddh-wheel,  as  a  man 
might  think  he  could  reverse  the  action  of  th» 
elements  of  God’s  moral  government  through 
a  misguided  sincerity.  They  will  roll  over 
such  a  one,  and  whelm  him  in  endless  ruin. 

Beecher. 

535ft.  SINGING,  Congregational.  It  is  with 
the  singing  of  a  congregation  as  with  the  sigh¬ 
ing  of  the  wind  in  the  forest,  where  the  notes 
of  the  million  rustling  leaves,  and  the  boughs 
striking  upon  each  other,  altogether  make  a 
harmony,  no  matter  what  be  the  individual 
discords. 

5355.  SINGULARITY,  Cause  of  Let  those 

who  would  affect  singularity  with  success  first 
determine  to  be  very  virtuous,  and  they  will 
be  sure  to  be  very  singular.  Colton. 

5356.  SINNER,  Addressed.  There  is  a  city 
to  be  sacked,  and  you  are  in  it.  Soldiers  are 
at  the  gates.  The  command  is  given  that  every 
man  in  the  city  is  to  be  slaughtered,  save  he 


who  can  give  the  password.  “  Sleep  on,  sleep 
on  :  the  attack  is  not  to-day.  Sleep  on,  sleep 
on  1  ”  —  “  But  it  is  to-morrow,  sir.”  —  “  Ay, 
sleep  on,  sleep  on  :  it  is  not  till  to-morrow. 
Sleep  on,  procrastinate,  procrastinate  1  ”  — 
“  Hark  1  I  hear  a  rumbling  at  the  gates ;  the 
battering-ram  is  at  them  ;  the  gates  are  totter¬ 
ing.”  —  “  Sleep  on,  sleep  on  :  the  soldiers  are 
not  yet  at  your  doors.  Sleep  on,  sleep  on  ;  ask 
for  no  mercy  yet ;  sleep  on,  sleep  on  !  ”  — 
“  Ay ;  but  1  hear  the  shrill  clarion  sound  :  they 
are  in  the  streets.  Hark  to  the  shrieks  of  men 
and  women  !  They  are  slaughtering  them :  they 
fall,  they  fall,  they  fall  1  ”  —  “  Sleep  on  : 
they  are  not  at  your  door.”  —  “  But  hark!  they 
are  at  the  gate  :  with  heavy  tramp  I  hear  the 
soldiers  marching  up  the  stairs.”  —  “  Nay, 
sleep  on,  sleep  on :  they  are  not  yet  in  your 
room.”  —  “  Why,  they  are  there  !  they  have 
burst  open  the  door  that  parted  you  from 
them,  and  there  they  stand!”  —  “No,  sleep 
on,  sleep  on  :  the  sword  is  not  yet  at  your 
throat.  Sleep  on,  sleep  on  !  ”  It  is  at  your 
throat :  you  start  with  horror.  Sleep  on, 
sleep  on  i  But  you  are  gone  !  “  Demon,  why 

didst  thou  tell  me  to  slumber?  It  would  have 
been  wise  in  me  to  have  escaped  the  city  when 
first  the  gates  were  shaken.  Why  did  I  not 
ask  for  the  password  before  the  troops  came  ? 
Why,  by  all  that  is  wise,  —  why  did  1  not  rush 
into  the  streets,  and  cry  the  password  when 
the  soldiers  were  there  ?  Why  stood  I  till  the 
knife  was  at  my  throat  ?  Ay,  demon  that 
thou  art,  be  cursed ;  but  I  am  cursed  with  thee 
forever  1  ”  You  know  the  application  :  it  is  a 
parable  you  can  all  expound  ;  ye  need  not  that 
I  should  tell  you  that  death  is  after  you,  that 
justice  must  devour  you,  that  Christ  crucified 
is  the  only  password  that  can  save  you. 

Spurgeon. 

5357.  SINNER,  Advised.  If  you  feel  that 
you  are  not  a  believer,  write  down  this  word, 
“  condemned ;  ”  and  if  you  are  a  believer  in 
Jesus,  and  put  your  trust  in  him  alone,  write 
down  “  forgiven.”  Do  it,  even  though  you  have 
to  write  the  dreary  word  “  condemned.”  We 
lately  received  into  church-fellowship  a  young 
man,  who  said,  “  Sir,  I  wrote  down  the  word 
‘  condemned,’  and  I  looked  at  it :  there  it  was ; 
I  had  written  it  myself,  condemned."  As  he 
looked,  the  tears  began  to  flow,  and  his  heart 
began  to  break  ;  and  ere  long  he  fled  to  Christ, 
put  the  paper  in  the  fire,  and  wrote  down  “  for¬ 
given.”  This  young  man  was  about  the  sixth 
who  had  been  brought  to  the  Lord  in  the  same 
way  ;  and  there  have  been  several  since. 

Spurgeon. 

5358.  SINNER,  Conviction  of  the.  And  even 

more,  men  should  be  ashamed  of  needing  deep 
convictions  of  sin  before  they  repent  before 
God.  He  must  be  a  mean  and  a  very  wicked 
man  who  will  not  submit  to  God  till  he  has 
been  dealt  with  by  such  terrors.  Magnanimous 
repentance  never  waits  for  the  spur  of  remorse 
before  it  bounds  towards  the  injured  one  with 
confession  and  reconciliation.  Beecher. 

5359.  SINNER,  Indifferent.  An  Indian  was 
discovered  floating  asleep  in  his  canon  above 


SINNER. 


SIKNHRS. 


591 


the  falls  of  Niagara.  His  sleep  was  heavy ; 
and  no  efforts  or  calls  could  arouse  him.  The 
current  swept  him  against  a  projecting  rock 
which  set  his  canoe  whirling  about  in  the 
stream.  “  lie  is  safe !  ”  cried  the  spectators ; 
hut  even  this  did  not  arouse  him.  Onward 
sped  the  canoe,  till  the  dreadful  noise  of  the 
fall  aroused  the  Indian.  It  was  too  late  for 
escape  or  effort.  His  canoe  plunged  into  the 
yawning  gulf,  and  his  soul  sank  into  eter¬ 
nity. 

5369,  SINNER,  Position  of  the.  It  is  said  that 
the  waters  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Riv¬ 
ers  originate  within  a  few  yards  of  each  other, 
on  the  top  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  One  of 
them  flows  thence  into  the  peaceful  Pacific; 
while  the  other  flows  in  the  opposite  direction 
into  the  stormy  Atlantic.  Such  is  the  position 
which  the  thoughtful  sinner  occupies.  He 
may  launch  upon  the  river  of  life,  and  pass 
thence  to  the  port  of  eternal  bliss,  or,  failing 
this,  he  will  float  upon  the  river  of  death  to 
the  dark  abyss  of  perdition. 

5361.  SINNER,  Reception  of  the.  Every  lov¬ 
ing  word  that  God  speaks  to  us  acts  back 
again,  and  makes  music  in  his  heart.  He  nev¬ 
er  says  with  a  scowl,  “  Here  comes  that  poor, 
limping  sinner  again.”  The  path  of  the  sin¬ 
ner  back  to  God  is  brighter  ami  brighter  all 
the  way  up  to  the  smile  of  the  face  and  the 
touch  of  the  hand  ;  and  that  is  salvation. 

Beecher. 

5363.  SINNER,  Repentance  of  the.  There 
are  those  who  will  not  come  into  God’s  king¬ 
dom  unless  they  can  come  as  Dante  went  into 
paradise,  —  by  going  through  hell.  They  wish 
to  walk  over  the  burning  marl,  and  to  snuff  the 
sulphureous  air.  If  a  man  has  done  wrong,  his 
own  thoughts  should  turn  him  to  reparation ; 
but,  if  they  do  not,  the  first  intimation  from 
the  injured  friend  should  suffice.  Beecher. 

5363.  SINNERS,  Asleep.  Some  time  since, 
in  Paris,  a  poor  somnambulist  was  observed 
pacing  backwards  and  forwards  on  the  top  of 
a  house  six  stories  high,  at  nightfall.  An  anx¬ 
ious  crowd  was  assembled  to  watch  her  move¬ 
ments.  She  was  evidently  dreaming  of  some 
coming  festival,  and  was  humming  to  herself  a 
lively  air.  Again  and  again  she  approached 
the  verge  of  the  eminence  on  which  she  was 
standing;  and  again  and  again  she  receded, 
always  smiling,  and  always  unconscious.  At 
length,  her  eye  caught  sight  of  a  candle  in  an 
opposite  house.  She  awoke.  There  was  a 
cry,  a  heavy  fall,  and  all  was  over.  Thus  will 
it  be  at  last  with  the  ungodly.  The  light  of 
the  other  world,  as  it  streams  in  upon  them, 
will  awaken  them  from  sleep ;  but  as  they 
awake,  it  will  only  be  to  discover  the  preci¬ 
pice  on  which  they  have  so  long  been  stand¬ 
ing,  and  down  the  steps  of  which  they  must 
now  plunge.  Morse. 

536 1.  SINNERS,  Carelessness  of.  Sinners  are 
like  idle  swimmers,  that  go  carelessly  floating 
down  the  stream  rather  than  exert  themselves 
to  swim  against  the  current,  and  gain  the  bank. 
They  must  reach  the  sea  at  last ;  and  when  they 
bear  the  breakers,  and  see  the  foaming  crests 


of  the  waves,  they  become  alarmed ;  but  it  is 
too  late.  The  stream  is  now  too  strong  for 
them,  their  limbs  are  benumbed  and  enervated 
from  want  of  exertion  ;  and,  unfitted  and  unpre¬ 
pared,  they  are  hurried  into  the  ocean  of  eter- 
uity. 

5365.  SINNERS,  Comparisons  of.  The  follow-  , 

ing  are  some  of  the  phrases  which  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  use  to  set  forth  the  state  and  character 
of  sinners.  They  are  compared  to  “  Abomi¬ 
nable  branches,  ashes  under  the  feet,  bad 
fishes,  beasts,  the  blind,  brass  and  iron,  briers 
and  thorns,  bulls  of  Bashan,  carcasses  trod¬ 
den  under  feet,  chaff,  clouds  without  water, 
corn  blasted,  corrupt  trees,  deaf  adders,  dogs, 
dross,  early  dew  that  passeth  away,  evil  figs, 
fading  oaks,  fiery  oven,  fire  of  thorns,  fools 
building  upon  sand,  fuel  of  fire,  garden  with¬ 
out  water,  goats,  grass,  grass  on  the  house¬ 
tops,  green  bay-trees,  green  herbs,  heath  in 
the  desert,  horses  rushing  into  the  battle,  idols, 
lions  greedy  of  prey,  melting  wax,  morning 
clouds,  moth-eaten  garments,  passing  whirl¬ 
winds,  potsherds,  raging  waves  of  the  sea, 
reprobate  silver,  scorpions,  serpents,  smoke, 
stony  ground,  stubble,  swine,  tares,  troubled 
sea,  visions  of  the  night,  wandering  stars, 
wayward  children,  wells  without  water,  whit¬ 
ed  sepulchres,  wild  ass’s  colts.”  Ba'e. 

5366.  SINNERS,  Excuse  of.  Every  man 

would  infer,  from  the  absence  of  some  one 
sin,  the  presence  of  a  positive  virtue ;  but 
the  conclusion  is  evidently  an  unsound  one. 
The  poet  Milton  paints  the  fallen  angels  as 
each  possessing  a  distinctive  character, — one 
swayed  by  love  of  gold,  another  by  a  love 
of  splendor,  and  a  third  by  fraud,  and  another 
by  force  ;  yet  this  difference  of  characteristic 
has  never  been  reckoned  as  excusing  the  re¬ 
bellion  of  any  ;  and  just  as  little  can  the  diver¬ 
sity  of  man’s  character  be  held  as  excusing  the 
sin  of  any  given  individual.  That  soil  would 
be  described  as  polluted  which  produced  only 
weeds ;  and  this,  though  it  did  not  produce 
every  kind  of  weed,  —  though  the  soil  at  the 
tropics  did  not  yield  the  same  species  as  the 
soil  in  the  arctic  regions.  Dr.  McCosh. 

5367.  SINNERS,  Punishment  of.  God  is  not 
only  able  to  cast  wicked  men  into  hell ;  but  he 
can  most  easily  do  it.  Sometimes  an  earthly 
prince  meets  with  a  great  (leal  of  difficulty  to 
subdue  a  rebel  that  has  found  means  to  fortify 
himself,  and  has  made  himself  strong  by  the 
numbers  of  his  followers ;  but  it  is  not  so 
with  God.  There  is  no  fortress  that  is  any 
defence  from  the  power  of  God.  Though 
hand  join  in  hand,  and  vast  multitudes  of 
God’s  enemies  combine  and  associate  them¬ 
selves,  they  are  easily  broken  in  pieces:  they 
are  as  great  heaps  of  light  chaff  before  the 
whirlwind,  or  large  quantities  of  dry  stubble 
before  the  devouring  flames.  We  find  it  easy 
to  tread  on  and  crush  a  worm  that  we  see 
crawling  on  the  earth ;  so  it  is  easy  for  us  to 
cut  or  singe  a  slender  thread  that  any  thing 
hangs  by  :  thus  easy  is  it  for  God,  when  he 
pleases,  to  cast  his  enemies  dowD  to  hell. 
What  are  we,  that  we  should  think  to  stand 


592 


snsnsTERS. 


SLEEP. 


before  Iliin  at  whose  rebuke  the  earth  trem¬ 
bles  ?  Jonathan  Edwards. 

5368.  SINNERS,  Waiting  for,  A  Scotch 
woman,  whose  husband  went  to  sea  a  few 
days  after  their  marriage,  used  to  go  to  a 
neighboring  headland,  and  watch  for  his  re¬ 
turning  ship,  or,  lying  in  bed,  listen  for  his 
footfall.  So  God  waits  for  the  returning 
prodigal. 

5369.  SLANDER,  Bearing.  A  prisoner  stand¬ 
ing  at  the  bar  in  the  time  of  his  trial  seemed 
to  smile  when  heavy  things  were  laid  against 
him.  One  that  stood  by  asked  him  why  he 
smiled.  “  Oh  1  ”  said  he,  “  it  is  no  matter  what 
the  evidence  say,  so  long  as  the  judge  says 
nothing.”  It  is  no  matter  what  the  world  says, 
so  long  as  God  approves. 

5370.  SLANDER,  Description  of,  The  tongue 
of  the  slanderer  is  a  devouring  fire,  which  tar¬ 
nishes  whatever  it  touches ;  which  exercises 
its  fury  on  the  good  grain  equally  as  on  the 
chaff,  on  the  profane  as  on  the  sacred  ;  which, 
wherever  it  passes,  leaves  only  desolation  and 
ruin  ;  digs  even  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
and  fixes  itself  on  things  the  most  hidden ; 
turns  into  vile  ashes  what  only  a  moment  be¬ 
fore  had  appeared  to  us  so  precious  and  bril¬ 
liant;  acts  with  more  violence  and  danger 
than  ever  in  the  time  when  it  was  apparently 
smothered  up  and  almost  extinct ;  which  black¬ 
ens  what  it  cannot  consume,  and  sometimes 
sparkles  and  delights  before  it  destroys. 

Massillon. 

5371.  SLANDER,  Envious.  The  worthiest 
persons  are  frequently  attacked  by  slanders, 
as  we  generally  find  that  to  be  the  best  fruit 
which  the  birds  have  been  pecking  at.  Bacon. 

5372.  SLANDER,  Improved,  When  any  one 
was  speaking  ill  of  another  in  the  presence  of 
Peter  the  Great,  he  would  shortly  interrupt 
him,  and  say,  “  Well,  no ;  but  has  he  not  a 
bright  side  ?  Come,  tell  me  what  have  you 
noticed  as  excellent  in  him  1  It  is  easy  to 
splash  mud ;  but  I  would  rather  help  a  man 
to  keep  his  coat  clean.” 

5373.  SLANDER,  Listening  to.  Calumny 
would  soon  starve  and  die  of  itself,  if  nobody 
took  it  in,  and  gave  it  lodging.  —  Leighton. 

- There  would  not  be  so  many  open  mouths 

if  there  were  not  so  many  open  ears.  —  Bishop 
Hall. 

5374.  SLANDER,  Poisonons.  This  slander  is 

compared  to  poison  :  “  the  tongue  is  an  unruly 
evil,  full  of  deadly  poison.”  The  deadliest 
poisons  are  those  for  which  no  test  is  known. 
There  are  poisons  so  destructive,  that  a  single 
drop  insinuated  into  the  veins  produces  death 
in  three  seconds ;  and  yet  no  chemical  science 
can  separate  that  virus  from  the  contaminated 
blood,  and  show  the  metallic  particles  of  poison 
glittering  palpably,  and  say,  “  Behold  1  it  is 
there.”  F.  W.  Robertson. 

5375.  SLANDER,  Recorded,  A  gentleman 
writes,  that  he  once  saw  the  title,  “  Slander 
Boole,”  printed  on  the  binding  of  a  small  ledger. 
On  examining  it,  he  found  that  the  various 
members  of  the  household  were  charged  so 
much  apiece  for  each  slander.  The  accounts 


were  very  neatly  and  correctly  kept,  credits 
entered,  &c.,  as  in  a  merchant’s  office.  He 
was  informed  that  this  plan  of  fining  for  slan¬ 
der  originated  with  a  young  girl,  with  a  view 
to  prevent  evil  speaking  and  its  consequences. 

5376.  SLAVERY,  Moral.  James  II.  on  his 

death-bed  thus  addressed  his  son,  “  There  is 
no  slavery  like  sin,  and  no  liberty  like  God’s 
service.”  Was  not  the  dethroned  monarch 
right  ?  What  think  you  of  the  fetters  of  bad 
habits  ?  What  think  you  of  the  chains  of 
indulged  lust?  The  drunkard  who  cannot 
resist  the  craving  for  the  wine,  —  know  you  a 
more  thorough  captive?  The  covetous  man, 
who  toils  night  and  day  for  wealth,  —  what  is  he 
but  a  slave  ?  The  sensual  man,  the  ambitious 
man,  the  worldly  man,  those  who,  in  spite 
of  the  remonstrances  of  conscience,  cannot 
break  away  from  inthralment,  —  what  are 
they,  if  not  the  subjects  of  a  tyranny  than 
which  there  is  none  sterner,  and  none  more 
degrading  ?  H.  Melvill. 

5377.  SLAVERY,  Remorse  for.  St.  Baron, 
before  bis  conversion  to  Christianity,  caused 
one  of  his  slaves  to  be  severely  beaten,  and 
then  sold.  After  his  conversion,  he  could  not 
rest  till  he  had  induced  this  slave  to  cause  his 
imprisonment,  where  he  deplored  constantly 
his  crime  against  his  human  and  Christian 
brother. 

537S.  SLEEP,  Description  of.  Sleep,  death’s 
beautiful  brother,  fairest  phenomenon,  poeti¬ 
cal  reality,  thou  sweet  collapsing  of  the  weary 
spirit,  thou  mystery  that  every  one  knows, 
thou  remnant  of  primeval  innocence  and 
bliss ;  for  Adam  slept  in  paradise.  To  sleep, 
—  there’s  a  drowsy  mellifluence  in  the  very 
word  that  would  almost  serve  to  interpret  its 
meaning,  —  to  shut  up  the  senses  and  hood¬ 
wink  the  soul ;  to  dismiss  the  world  ;  to  escape 
from  one’s  self ;  to  be  in  ignorance  of  our  own 
existence ;  to  stagnate  upon  the  earth,  just 
breathing  out  the  hours,  not  living  them; 
“  Doing  no  mischief,  only  dreaming  of  it ;  " 
neither  merry  nor  melancholy,  something  be¬ 
tween  both,  and  better  than  either.  Best 
friend  of  frail  humanity ;  and,  like  all  other 
friends,  it  is  best  estimated  in  its  loss. 

Longfellow. 

5379.  SLEEP,  Guardian  of.  Alexander,  being 
asked  how  he  could  sleep  so  soundly  in  the 
midst  of  danger,  answered  that  he  might  well 
sleep ;  for  Parmenio  watched.  Over  all  He 
watches  who  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps. 

5380.  SLEEP,  Inopportune.  In  a  town  not 
far  from  Boston,  as  the  clergyman  was  holding 
forth,  one  of  the  deacons  fell  into  a  doze.  The 
preacher  happening  to  use  the  words,  “  What 
is  the  price  of  all  earthly  pleasures  ?  ”  the 
good  deacon,  who  kept  a  small  store,  thinking 
the  inquiry  respecting  some  kind  of  merchan¬ 
dise,  immediately  answered,  “  Seven  and  six¬ 
pence  a  dozen.” 

5381.  SLEEP,  Neglected.  Whoever  by  work, 
pleasure,  sorrow,  or  by  any  other  cause,  is  re¬ 
gularly  diminishing  his  sleep,  is  destroying  his 
life.  A  man  may  hold  out  for  a  time ;  but 
Nature  keeps  close  accounts,  and  no  man  can 


SLEEP. 


SMALL  TIAING-S. 


593 


dodtre  her  settlements.  We  have  seen  im¬ 
poverished  railroads  that  could  not  keep  the 
track  in  order,  nor  spare  the  engines  to  be 
thoroughly  repaired  ;  every  year,  track  and 
equipment  deteriorated  ;  by  and  by  comes  a 
crash ;  and  the  road  is  in  a  heap  of  confusion 
and  destruction.  So  it  is  with  men.  Beecher. 

538*2.  SLEEP,  Pleasures  of.  May  Morpheus 
shed  his  benignant  influence  upon  your  eye¬ 
lids  that  are  now  heavy  with  watching,  and 
diffuse  a  pleasing  languor  through  your  limbs 
that  are  fatigued  by  labor  1  May  he  cause  the 
most  delightful  dreams  to  sport  around  you, 
fill  your  imagination  with  gay  ideas,  and  keep 
far  from  you  whatever  might  chase  them  awav 
too  soon  !  Fenelon. 

5383.  SLEEP,  Preparation  for.  Sleep  is 
Death’s  younger  brother,  and  so  like  him,  that 
I  never  dare  trust  him  without  my  prayers. 

Sir  T.  Brown. 

5384.  SLEEP,  Providence  in.  A  farmer  re¬ 
siding  on  the  line  of  the  Atlantic  and  Great 
Western  Railroad  dreamed  that  a  deep  fill 
near  by  had  been  washed  away,  and  that  a 
train  with  its  load  of  passengers  had  plunged 
into  it.  Early  in  the  morning,  he  went  to  the 

f)lace,  and  found  it  all  right.  During  the  fbl- 
owing  night,  his  dream  troubled  him  so  much, 
that  he  arose,  took  a  lantern,  and  went  again 
to  the  place.  He  found  the  fill  washed  away, 
and  was  just  in  time  to  signal  an  approaching 
train  heavily  laden  with  people,  who,  but  for 
this  sleepless  man,  would  have  plunged  into 
the  yawning  gulf.  Thus  wakeful  Christians 
are  giving  the  signal  of  danger  to  sleeping 
sinners. 

5385.  SLEEP,  Repair  in.  Waking  consumes, 
sleep  replaces ;  waking  exhausts,  sleep  repairs  ; 
waking  is  death,  sleep  is  life.  The  man  who 
sleeps  little,  repairs  little ;  if  he  sleeps  poorly, 
he  repairs  poorly  ;  if  he  uses  up  all  the  day  less 
than  he  accumulates  at  night,  he  will  gain  in 
life  and  vigor  ;  if  he  uses  up  all  that  he  gains 
at  night,  he  will  just  hold  his  own  ;  if  lie  uses 
more  by  day  than  he  gathers  at  night,  he  will 
lose  ;  and,  if  this  last  process  be  long  continued, 
he  must  succumb.  A  man  who  would  be  a  good 
worker  must  see  to  it  that  he  is  a  good  sleeper. 
Human  life  is  like  a  mill :  sometimes  the 
stream  is  so  copious,  that  one  needs  care  but 
little  about  his  supply.  Now,  often,  the  stream 
that  f-rns  the  mill  needs  to  be  economized. 
A  dam  is  built  to  hold  a  larger  supply.  The 
mill  runs  the  pond  pretty  low  through  the 
day ;  but,  by  shutting  down  the  gate,  the  night 
refills  the  pond,  and  the  wheels  go  merrily 
around  again  the  next  day.  Once  in  a  while, 
when  spring  rains  are  copious,  and  freshets 
overflow,  the  mill  may  run  night  and  day; 
but  this  is  rare.  Ordinarily,  the  mill  should 
run  by  day,  and  the  pond  fill  up  by  night. 

Beecher. 

5386.  SLEEP,  Unusual.  Herodotus  alludes 
incredulously  to  a  race  of  Scythians  or  Tar¬ 
tars  who  were  reported  to  sleep  six  months 
continuously  in  a  vear. 

5387.  SMALL  BEGINNINGS,  Examples  of.  The 
Loudon  Bible  Society,  which  is  the  parent 
38 


of  our  own  noble  institution,  was  the  result 
of  a  conversation  between  a  poor  litle  Welsh 
child  and  his  minister.  A  few  words  from 
Pres.  Dwight  secured  to  American  science 
the  honored  name  of  Silliman.  It  was  the  re¬ 
monstrance  of  an  idle  classmate  which  was  the 
means  of  arousing  Paley  to  a  proper  exercise 
of  his  high  powers.  “  It  is  a  sin  for  you  to  be 
idle,”  he  said.  “  You  have  talent,  you  can  do 
something  in  the  world  :  I  cannot.”  The  power 
of  evil  seeds  to  multiply  fast  seems  far  greater 
than  the  power  of  the  good.  A  single  seed 
of  the  Canada  thistle,  hid  away  among  the 
straws  of  a  packing-box,  or  clinging  to  the 
surface  of  a  railway  train,  will,  if  dropped  in 
a  friendly  soil,  be  sufficient  to  devastate  whole 
acres.  Mrs.  McConauqhy. 

5388.  SMALL  THINGS,  Danger  ot.  Bahlur 
the  Good,  one  of  the  gods  of  Northern  mythol¬ 
ogy,  received  premonitions  of  approaching 
death.  To  guard  against  this  fate,  his  mother, 
Frigga,  exacted  an  oath  from  fire  and  water, 
from  all- the  metals,  from  stones,  trees,  diseases, 
beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  and  poisons,  that  none 
of  them  should  harm  her  son.  The  other  gods- 
now  regarded  Baldur  as  immortal,  and  amused) 
themselves  by  hurling  darts  or  stones  at  him, 
while  others  struck  at  him  with  their  swords 
and  battle-axes ;  but  all  this  harmed  him  not. 
Then  one  of  the  gods  cut  a  sprig  of  mistletoe, 
which  appeared  harmless  compared  to  the 
missiles  he  had  already  withstood,  and  hurled 
it  at  him.  It  pierced  him  through  and  through, 
and  Baldur  fell  down  lifeless.  Ilis  mother  laid 
all  things  that  she  considered  dangers  to  her 
son’s  life  under  oath  to  do  him  no  harm ;  but 
the  mistletoe,  insignificant  and  feeble,  she 
passed  by.  Many  a  man  who  would  have 
resisted  great  crimes  or  dangers  has  been 
pierced  through,  and  fallen,  by  some  little 
thing. 

5389.  SMALL  THINGS,  Development  of.  Wis¬ 

dom  sees  the  great  in  the  small.  What  could 
be  more  trivial  than  the  heaving  of  the  lid  of 
a  tea-kettle  V  —  yet  in  that  motion  lay  the 
germ  of  ocean  steamers,  railways,  and  mills. 
Development  dilates  the  small  into  the  great. 
By  that  law,  sparks  flame  into  conflagrations, 
fountains  flow  into  streams,  and  the  minute 
swells  into  the  magnificent.  The  seeds  of 
many  a  world-famed  change  were  dropped  iu 
silence ;  night-dews  watered  them  when  no 
eyes  looked  on  :  but  at  length  they  bore  fruit 
in  the  hearts  of  millions ;  and  the  harvest  of 
them  waved  over  all  the  breadth  of  a  conti¬ 
nent.  S.  Coley. 

5390.  SMALL  THINGS,  Effects  of.  The  great 
effects  produced  by  the  co-operation  of  small 
causes  is  in  nothing  better  illustrated  than  in 
the  productions  of  that  form  of  life  which  we 
commonly  call  microscopic.  The  great  bars 
which  are  impediments  to  commerce  at  the 
mouths  of  our  principal  rivers,  and  at  the  en¬ 
trances  to  the  great  harbors  of  the  world,  are 
many  of  them  formed  almost  wholly  by  the 
labors  of  animalcules,  who  have  deposited 
their  small  skeletons  and  shells  in  a  form  that 
we  call  sand,  but  which  is  wholly  distinct  from 


594  SlttA-LL  THINGS. 


SMILES. 


the  ordinary  sand  of  the  shores  or  river-sides. 
They  are  usually  of  miscroscopic  smallness, 
invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  yet,  in  their  great 
number,  doing  work  equal  to  the  work  of  men 
for  ages.  For  he  would  be  an  adventurous 
man  that  would  undertake  to  dam  up  the 
mouth  of  New-York  Harbor,  as  these  infinites¬ 
imally  small  animals  seem  determined  to  do, 
and  have  already  largely  succeeded  in  doing. 

Dr.  Haven. 

5391.  SMALL  THINGS,  God  in.  He  upholds 
the  sparrow’s  wing,  clothes  the  lily  with  his 
own  beautifying  hand,  and  numbers  the  hairs 
of  his  children.  He  holds  the  balancings  of 
the  clouds.  He  maketh  the  small  drops  of 
rain.  He  numbers  every  blade  of  grass  in  the 
fields,  and  atom  of  sand  on  the  ocean’s  shores. 
He  descends  to  an  infinite  detail,  and  builds 
a  little  universe  in  the  smallest  things.  He 
carries  on  a  process  of  growth  in  every-  tree 
and  flower,  and  living  thing;  accomplishes  in 
each  an  internal  organization ;  and  works  the 
functions  of  an  internal  laboratory,  too  delicate 
for  eye  or  instrument  to  trace.  He  articulates 
the  members,  and  impels  the  instincts,  of  every 
living  mote  that  shines  in  the  sunbeam.  .  .  . 
God  is  as  careful  to  finish  the  mote  as  the  planet, 
both  because  it  consists  only  with  his  perfec¬ 
tion  to  finish  every  thing,  and  because  the  per¬ 
fection  of  his  greatest  structures  is  the  result 
of  perfection  in  their  smallest  parts  or  parti¬ 
cles.  On  this  patience  of  detail  rests  all  the 
ojory  and  order  of  the  created  universe,  spir¬ 
itual  and  material.  God  could  thunder  the 
year  round  ;  he  could  shake  the  ribs  of  the 
world  with  perpetual  earthquakes ;  he  could 
blaze  on  the  air,  and  brush  the  affrighted 
mountains  each  day  with  his  comets ;  but  if 
he  could  not  feed  the  grass  with  his  dew,  and 
breathe  into  the  little  lungs  of  his  insect  fam¬ 
ily;  if  he  could  not  expend  his  care  on  small 
things,  and  descend  to  an  interest  in  their 
perfection,  —  his  works  would  be  only  crude 
and  disjointed  machines,  compounded  of  mis¬ 
takes,  and  maleformations,  without  beauty  and 
order,  and  fitted  to  no  perfect  end. 

Dr.  Buslmell. 

5392.  SMALL  THINGS,  Importance  of,  An 

on-looker,  observing  the  slight  taps  given  to  a 
statue  by  Canova,  spoke  as  if  he  thought  the 
artist  to  be  trifling,  but  was  rebuked  by  this 
reply :  “  The  touches  which  you  ignorantly 
hold  in  such  small  esteem  are  the  very  things 
which  make  the  difference  between  the  failure 
of  a  bungler  and  the  chef-d'oeuvre  of  a  master.” 

S.  Colei/. 

5393.  SMALL  THINGS,  Influence  of.  It  is 

hard  to  say  what  is  really  little :  many  things  | 
which  appear  so  turn  out  to  be  possessed  of 
an  importance  beyond  our  foresight,  and  run 
on  to  issues  over  which  we  have  no  control. 
The  difference  of  an  inch  in  the  fall  of  a  rain¬ 
drop  on  a  roof  may  determine,  according  to 
the  slope  it  hits,  the  whole  course  of  its  perco¬ 
lations,  and  decide  which  of  two  seas  it  shall 
finally  reach,  though  their  waters  are  wide  of 
each  other  as  the  opposite  shores  of  a  king¬ 
dom.  If  we  did  not  believe  in  the  reign  of  a 


God,  it  would  be  terrible  to  think  that  life  has 
in  it  turns  equally  decisive.  S.  Coley 

5394.  SMALL  THINGS,  Make  Life,  It.  is  to  be 
observed,  that,  even  as  the  world  judges,  small 
things  constitute  almost  the  whole  of  life. 
The  great  days  of  the  year,  for  example,  are 
few  ;  and,  when  they  come,  they  seldom  briim 
any  thing  great  to  us.  Aud  the  matter  of  all 
common  days  is  made  up  of  little  things  or 
ordinary  transactions.  Scarcely  once  in  a 
year  does  any  thing  really  remarkable  befall 
us.  If  I  were  to  begin  and  give  an  inventory  of 
the  things  you  do  in  a  single  day,  — your  mus¬ 
cular  motions,  each  of  which  is  accomplished 
by  a  separate  act  of  will;  the  objects  you  see; 
the  words  you  utter  ;  the  contrivances  you 
frame;  your  thoughts,  passions,  gratifications, 
and  trials,  —  many  of  you  would  not  be  able  to 
hear  it  recited  with  sobriety.  But  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty-five  such  days  make  up  a  year; 
and  a  year  is  a  twentieth,  fiftieth,  or  seventi¬ 
eth  part  of  your  life.  And  thus,  with  the  ex¬ 
ception  of  some  few  striking  passages  or  great 
and  critical  occasions,  perhaps  not  more  than 
five  or  six  in  all,  your  life  is  made  up  of  com¬ 
mon,  and,  as  men  are  wont  to  judge,  unimpor¬ 
tant  things.  But  yet,  at  the  end,  you  have 
done  an  amazing  work,  and  fixed  an  amazing 
result.  You  stand  at  the  bar  of  God,  and  look 
back  on  a  life  made  up  of  small  things ;  but 
yet  a  life  how  momentous  for  good  or  evil  1 

Dr.  Bushnell. 

5395.  SMALL  THINGS,  Pivotal.  Cromwell 

was  actually  on  board  a  ship  in  the  Thames 
(one  of  a  company  set  upon  emigrating  from 
the  country  which  afterwards  lie  ruled),  when, 
lo  1  before  she  could  get  off,  down  came  an 
“  order  in  council  ”  forbidding  them  to  sail. 
Had  the  monarch  been  prescient,  how  gladly 
would  he  have  let  them  go  I  Cromwell  turned 
back  to  his  fens,  to  become  thereafter  the 
victor  of  Marston-Moor  and  Naseby  and 
Worcester  fights,  and  to  give  that  sharp 
Whitehall  lesson  to  Royalists,  which  a  wit  of 
the  last  age  said  has  made  kings  ever  since 
awake  with  a  crick  in  their  necks  on  Charles 
the  Martyr’s  day.  Take  another  case  :  money 
freely  offered  by  an  actor  cheered,  aided,  and 
held  back  Bonaparte  from  suicide.  Had  the 
generosity  of  Talma  been  wanting  to  that 
nameless,  unpatronized,  needy  adventurer, 
who  can  tell  what  the  history  of  the  nineteenth 
century  would  have  been  ?  We  only  know, 
that,  following  that  loan,  came  thrones  emp¬ 
tied,  kingdoms  redistributed,  millions  slain, 
Wellington  a  duke,  and  the  third  Napoleon  m 
emperor.  N.  Coley. 

5396.  SMILE,  Defined.  It  is  the  color  which 

love  wears,  and  cheerfulness  and  joy,  —  these 
three ;  it  is  the  light  in  the  window  of  the 
face,  by  which  the  heart  signifies  to  father, 
husband,  or  friend  that  it  is  at  home  aud  wait¬ 
ing.  Beecher. 

5397.  SMILES,  Qualities  of.  The  rains  of 
summer  fall  alike  upon  all  trees  and  shrubs; 
but  when  the  storm  passes,  and  every  leal' 
hangs  dripping,  each  gentle  puff  of  wind 
brings  down  the  petty  shower,  and  every  drop 


SMILES. 


SOLDIERS. 


595 


brings  with  it  something  of  the  nature  of  the 
leaf  or  blossom  on  which  it  hung,  —  the  road¬ 
side  leaf  yields  dust;  the  walnut-leaf,  bitter¬ 
ness;  some  flowers  poison;  while  the  grape- 
blossom,  the  rose,  the  sweetbrier,  lend  their 
aroma  to  the  twinkling  dew,  and  send  them 
down  in  perfumed  drops.  And  so  it  is  with 
smiles,  which  every  heart  perfumes  according 
to  its  nature :  selfishness  is  acrid ;  pride, 
bitter  ;  good  will,  sweet  and  fragrant.  Beecher. 

5398.  SMILES,  Villain.  A  picture  of  a  pre¬ 

cipice  reflected  in  a  deep  pit,  transcendently 
beautiful;  a  small  cascade  from  the  top,  fall¬ 
ing  and  fretting  on,  point  after  point,  of  the 
rocky  precipice ;  most  beautiful  aquatic  green 
in  many  recesses  of  the  precipice,  nourished 
by  this  water  (I  wandered  and  gazed  here 
five  years  since) ;  dismal,  sombre  look  of  the 
farthest  point  of  the  shelving  rock,  visible  down 
through  the  dark  water  of  the  pit ;  pretty, 
innocent  dimples  on  the  surface  of  this  pit, 
caused  by  a  gentle  breath  of  air.  Analogy : 
deep  villain  smiles.  J.  Foster. 

5399.  SMOKING,  Beware  of.  A  clergyman 
j  d vised  a  mother  that  he  had  seen  her  son 
smoking,  only  to  be'  repulsed.  Two  years 
later,  she  was  glad  to  ask  him  to  do  something 
for  her  besotted  son  ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The 
son  died  in  a  few  years  a  drunkard  and  a 
suicide. 

5199.  SMOKING,  Incident  of.  Tobacco  was 
first  brought  into  repute  in  England  by  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh.  By  the  caution  he  took  in 
smoking  it  privately,  he  did  not  intend  it  should 
be  copied.  But  sitting  one  day  in  deep  medi¬ 
tation,  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth,  he  inadver¬ 
tently  called  to  his  man  to  bring  him  a  tankard 
of  small-beer.  The  fellow,  coming  into  the 
room,  threw  all  the  liquor  into  his  mast'  r’s 
face,  and,  running  down  stairs,  bawled  out, 
“  Fire,  help  1  Sir  Walter  has  studied  till  his 
head  is  on  fire,  and  the  smoke  bursts  out  at  his 
mouth  and  nose  I  ” 

5191.  SOBRIETY,  Scriptural.  All  the  sobri¬ 
ety  which  religion  needs  or  requires  is  that 
which  real  earnestness  produces.  Tears  and 
shadows  are  not  needful  to  sobriety ;  smiles 
and  cheerfulness  are  as  much  its  elements. 
When  men  say,  Be  sober,  they  usually  mean, 
Be  stupid  ;  but  when  the  Bible  says,  Be  sobei, 
it  means,  Rouse  up,  and  let  fly  the  earnestness 
and  vivacity  of  life.  The  old  scriptural  sobri¬ 
ety  was  effectual  doing;  the  later,  ascetic 
sobriety  is  effectual  dulness.  Beecher. 

5199.  SOCIETY,  Demands  of.  Society  is  a 
sphere  that  demands  all  our  energies,  and  de¬ 
serves  all  it  demands.  lie,  therefore,  that 
retires  to  cells  and  to  caverns,  to  stripes  and  to 
famine,  to  court  a  more  arduous  conflict  and 
to  win  a  richer  crown,  is  doubly  deceived  :  the 
conflict  is  less,  the  reward  is  nothing,  lie 
may,  indeed,  win  a  race,  if  he  can  be  admitted 
to  have  done  so  who  had  no  competitors, 
because  he  chose  to  run  alone ;  but  he  will  be 
entitled  to  no  prize,  because  he  ran  out  of  the 
course.  Colton. 

519*.  SOCIETY,  Proverbs.  Tell  me  the  com¬ 
pany  you  keep,  and  I’ll  tell  you  who  you  are. 


Tell  me  with  whom  thou  goest,  and  I’ll  tell 

thee  what  thou  doest.  —  English. - He  that 

goes  with  wolves  learns  to  howl.  —  Spanish. 

- He  that  lies  down  with  dogs  gets  up  with 

fleas.  —  Spanish. 

5494.  SOCIETY,  Selection  of  Reject  the  so¬ 
ciety  of  the  vicious ;  shun  the  agreeable  infidel 
and  the  accomplished  profligate ;  .  lay  it  down 
as  a  fixed  rule,  that  no  brilliancy  of  connec¬ 
tion,  no  allurement  of  rank  or  fashion,  no  agree¬ 
ableness,  no  wit  or  flattery,  shall  tempt  you  to 
associate  with  profligate  or  openly  irreligious 
men.  Make  this  an  absolute  rule.  It  is  im¬ 
possible  not  to  suffer  by  its  neglect.  If  you 
do  not  fall  into  their  vices,  still  your  heart  will 
be  estranged  from  the  love  of  God.  Gresley. 

5495.  SOLDIER,  Conversion  of  a.  An  anxious 
soldier,  who  had  long  sought  pardon  in  vain, 
found  peace  as  follows :  “  Suppose  the  lieuten¬ 
ant  should  send  for  you  to-night  to  report  to 
him,  what  would  you  do?”  —  “I’d  report, 
sir.”  —  “  Right  off  ?  ”  —  “  Certainly,  sir :  I  obey 
orders.”  —  “  When  you  came  to  his  quarters, 
what  would  you  say?”  —  “I’d  give  him  the 
salute,  and  say,  ‘  Lieutenant,  what’s  the  or¬ 
ders?”’ —  “And  you  got  the  orders?”  — 
“Then  I  would  do  ’em,  sir.”  —  “  Well,  now, 
Tom,  the  Lord  Jesus  has  sent  me  to  you 
to-night,  and  orders  you  to  report  to  him  at 
once.”  —  “I’ll  do  it,  I’ll  doit,  sir,”  making  a 
move  as  if  going  to  headquarters  to  report.  It 
was  then  explained  to  him  that  Christ  was 
present,  that  his  orders  required  him  to  use  all 
bis  influence  to  lead  his  relatives  and  associates 
to  repentance ;  which  he  promised  to  do,  and 
then  knelt  down  to  “  report  to  Jesus,”  saying, 
“  Here  I  am,  Jesus :  I  report  for  duty.  All 
you  order  me  to-night  and  to-inorrow,  and  as 
long  as  I  live,  I  am  going  to  do.”  He  went 
out,  saying,  “  I  am  under  orders,”  and,  within 
twelve  hours,  found  peace  and  hope  in  Christ. 

549G.  SOLDIERS,  Christian,  The  story  of 
the  six  thousand  six  hundred  Christians  com¬ 
prising  the  Theban  legion  is.  that,  having  been 
led  over  the  Alps  by  Maximin,  they  were 
ordered  to  sacrifice  to  heathen  gods,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  informed  that  their  work  was 
to  extirpate  the  Christians  in  Gaul.  They 
unanimously  refused  both,  and  were  ordered 
to  be  decimated.  Those  upon  whom  the  lot 
fell  rejoiced  at  this  their  great  honor.  Thrice 
was  this  repeated;  when  the  tyrant,  unmoved 
by  such  heroism,  ordered  a  general  massacre. 
The  army  was  let  loose  upon  the  noble  band. 
The  Christian  soldiers  made  no  resistance. 
They  threw  down  their  arms:  they  were  cut 
down  with  the  sword,  shot  wi.li  arrows, 
trampled  with  horses,  hung  upon  trees,  till  not 
one  remained  a.ive. 

5497.  SOLDIERS,  Dandy.  It  is  not  a  man’s 
part  merely  to  keep  his  armor  bright ;  to  hang 
around  the  edge  of  the  fight,  and,  whenever  he 
secs  it  bulging  out  towards  him,  to  retreat  to  a 
hill,  and,  if  any  dust  has  fallen  upon  his  armor, 
to  set  to  work  at  once  to  brush  it  off.  It  is  a 
man’s  business  to  go  down  to  the  battle,  and 
to  use  his  sword  when  he  gets  there.  Man 
was  not  meant  to  be  an  armor-keeper:  but 


596 


SOLDIERS. 


SORROW 


there  are  men  who  go  all  their  lives  scrubbing 
up  their  armor;  keeping  their  hope  bright, 
and  their  faith  bright,  but  never  using  them. 
Miserable,  scouring  Christians  1  Beecher. 

5408.  SOLDIERS,  Praying.  During  the  prog¬ 
ress  of  the  battle  at  Gettysburg,  a  young  soldier 
picked  up  a  “  Soldier’s  Prayer-Book,”  covered 
with  blood,  and  soiled  from  the  trampling  of 
feet,  and  placed  it  in  his  blouse-pocket.  Later 
in  the  day,  be  came  to  a  wounded  sergeant, 
who  said,  " Friend,  I  must  die;  I  am  not  pre¬ 
pared  to  die  :  can  you  not  pray  for  me  ?  ”  — 

“  No,”  replied  the  young  man  :  “  I  have  never 
prayed  tor  myself ;  and  how  can  I  ask  mercy 
for  you  ?  ”  —  “  Young  man,”  said  the  sergeant, 
“I  am  dying!  Maybe  God  will  hear  you. 
Pray  for  me,  quick  !  I  have  not  long  to  live. 
Pity  a  fellow-soldier,  and  help  him  to  plead  for 
pardon.”  At  this  moment,  the  young  man 
thought  of  the  book  in  his  pocket,  drew  it  out, 
and  found  the  prayer  for  a  dying  soldier,  knelt 
by  his  side,  and  repeated  the  words.  The 
sergeant  thanked  him,  closed  his  eyes,  and 
died.  The  young  man  hastened  to  other  parts 
of  the  field ;  but  everywhere  he  heard  the 
voice  of  the  dying  soldier,  “  Pray  for  me.” 
The  thought  of  praying  for  others,  and  not  tor 
himself,  fastened  conviction  upon  him,  which 
resulted  in  prayer  for  himself,  and  his  clear 
conversion. 

5400.  SOLITUDE,  Pleasures  of.  The  man 
with  a  taste  tor  solitude  is  generally  a  great 
reader,  and  has  an  imaginative  sympathy  with 
alien  circumstances  of  life.  He  tastes  the 
wealth  of  Croesus ;  he  touches  Juliet’s  lips  ;  be 
groans  with  Job  under  the  exhortations  of  his 
friends.  By  this  curious  sympathy,  he  pro¬ 
jects  himself  into  distant  times  and  lands.  lie 
passes  into  Abraham’s  tent.  For  him,  Pharaoh 
is  not  a  mummy ;  Cleopatra  has  not  lost  her 
swarthy  bloom.  He  peoples  vacancy ;  he 
selects  his  friends  from  the  race,  and  depends 
neither  for  solace  nor  amusement  nor  interest 
on  contemporary  acquaintance.  The  man  who 
is  familiar  with  Homer  and  Shakspeare  need 
not  tear  his  hair  because  Tompkins  omits  to 
leave  his  card.  And  in  this  way,  knowing  all 
forms  and  conditions  of  life,  —  success,  reverse, 
health,  illness,  wealth,  poverty,  —  the  vicissi¬ 
tudes  of  fortune  do  not  surprise  him,  or  take 
him  off  his  guard.  If  he  is  called  upon  to  fight, 
he  fights  like  a  general  on  ground  which  he 
has  carefully  reconnoitred.  In.  whatever  cir¬ 
cumstances  he  is  placed,  he  is  never  lonely  : 
such  a  man  ha9  companionship  on  a  throne  or 
in  a  dungeon.  Wherever  he  goes,  he  is  walk¬ 
ing  in  human  footsteps ;  and  he  knows  in  whose 
footsteps  he  walks.  I  can  feel  no  pain,  which 
some  one  has  not  felt  before  me ;  and'  no  valu-. 
able,  spiritual  or  material,  can  come  into,  my 
possession,  which  has  not  already  belonged  to 
some  one.  /Eneas  Sage. 

5410.  SOLITUDE,  and  Society.  A  certain 
degree  of  solitude  seems  necessary  to  the  full 
growth  and  spread  of  the  highest  mind  ;  and 
therefore  must  a  very  extensive  intercourse 
with  men  stifle  many  a  holy  germ,  and  scare 
away  the  gods,  who  shun  the  restless  tumult  of  I 


noisy  companies,  and  the  discussion  of  potty 
interests.  7 Vovalis. 

5411.  SON,  Correcting  a.  Like  as  if  two 

children  should  fight,  and  a  man  passing  by 
should  part  them,  and  afterwards  beat  the  one, 
and  let  the  other  go  free,  every  one  that  seeth 
this  will  say  that  that  child  which  he  beat  is 
his  own  son  :  even  so  when  God  ehastiseth  us, 
if  we  submit.  Cawdray. 

5412.  SONGS,  on  the  Battle-Field,  A  Western 
captain,  as  he  lay  on  the  battle-field  of  Shiloh, 
suffered  greatly  from  a  fatal  gunsliot-wound 
through  both  thighs,  and  from  thirst.  He  said, 
“  The  stars  shone  out  clear  and  beautiful  above 
the  dark  field;  and  I  began  to  think  of  that  great 
God  who  had  given  his  Son  to  die  a  death  of 
agony  for  me;  and  that  he  was  up  there, —  up 
above  the  scene  of  suffering,  and  above  those 
glorious  stars ;  and  I  felt  that  I  was  going 
home  to  meet  him,  and  praise  him  there  ;  and 
I  felt  that  I  ought  to  praise  God,  even  wounded, 
and  on  the  battle-field.  I  could  not  help  sing¬ 
ing  that  beautiful  hymn,  ‘  When  I  can  read 
my  title  clear,’  &c.  And,”  said  he,  “  there 
was  a  Christian  brother  in  the  brush  near  me. 
I  could  not  see  him  ;  but  I  could  hear  him. 
He  took  up  the  strain  ;  and  beyond  him  another 
and  another  caught  it  up,  all  over  the  terrible 
battle-field  of  Shiloh.  That  night,  the  echo 
was  resounding ;  and  we  made  the  field  of  battle 
ring  with  the  hymns  of  praise  to  God.” 

5413.  SONGS,  in  the  Night.  It  was  not  un¬ 
common  for  soldiers  who  had  to  undergo  ampu¬ 
tation  to  drive  the  gloom  away  with  songs. 
One,  as  he  lay  upon  the  amputating-table, 
quieted  his  pain  by  making  the  hospital  resound 
with  the  hymn,  “  How  sweet  the  name  of  Jesus 
sounds !  ”  &c.  Another,  in  like  circumstances, 
sang,  “  There  ’ll  be  no  sorrow  there,”  &c. 

5414.  SORROW,  Comfort  in.  I  say  there  is 

comfort,  real  and  deep,  in  thinking  that  the 
path  of  sorrow  we  tread  has  been  beaten 
smooth  and  wide  by  the  feet  of  the  best  that 
ever  trod  this  world;  that  our  blessed  Saviour 
was  a  Man  of  Sorrows  ;  and  that  the  best  of 
his  Church  have  been  suffered  to  journey  by 
no  other  path  than  that  their  Master  went.  It 
is  not  alone  that  the  mourner  travels  through 
this  vale  of  tears :  apostles  and  prophets  are 
of  the  company ;  saints  and  martyrs  go  with 
him ;  and  the  sorrowful  face  of  the  Great 
Redeemer,  though  sorrowful  now  no  more, 
remains  forever  with  the  old  look  of  brotherly 
sympathy  to  his  servants’  eyes  and  hearts. 
Nothing  hath  come  to  us,  nothing  will  come  to 
us,  but  has  been  shared  by  better  men.  Search 
out  the  human  being  suffering  the  sharpest 
sorrow,  and  we  can  match  it  in  the  best  of  the 
Church  of  God.  Boyd. 

5415.  SORROW,  Compensation  of.  As  this 
globe  is  but  a  dot  compared  with  the  heavenly 
worlds,  so  the  sorrows  of  earth  are  insignifi¬ 
cant  compared  to  the  joys  of  heaven. 

5416.  SORROW,  Discipline  of.  Sorrow  is  the 
noblest  of  all  discipline.  Our  nature  shrinks 
from  it;  but  it  is  not  the  less  for  the  greatness 
of  our  nature.  It  is  a  scourge ;  but  there  is 
healing  in  its  stripes.  It  is  a  chalice,  and  the 


SORROW. 


SOTTT,. 


597 


drink  is  bitter ;  but  strength  proceeds  from  the 
bitterness.  It  is  a  crown  of  thorns ;  but  it  he¬ 
roines  a  wreath  of  light  on  the  brow  which 
it  has  lacerated.  It  is  a  cross  on  which  the 
spirit  groans;  but  every  Calvary  has  an  Olivet. 
To  every  place  of  crucifixion  there  is  likewise 
a  place  of  ascension.  The  sun  that  was 
shrouded  is  unveiled,  and  heaven  opens  with 
hopes  eternal  to  the  soul  which  was  nigh  unto 
despair.  H.  Giles. 

5117.  SORROW,  False  Remedy  for.  You  that 
in  your  sorrows  give  yourselves  to  mirth  and 
pastime,  and  merry  meetings,  thinking  thereby 
to  drive  them  away,  you  do  rather  increase 
ind  augment  them.  Just  like  the  pelican, 
of  whom  it  is  reposed,  that,  being  naturally 
afraid  of  fire,  the  shepherds  are  wont  to  carry 
some  coals,  and  lay  them  by  her  nest,  and  the 
poor  silly  creature  keeps  fluttering  with  her 
wings,  thinking  thereby  to  extinguish  and  put 
them  out,  but  does  but  inflame  and  kindle 
them ;  and  by  this  means  the  fire  burns  both 
her  nest  and  self  too.  So,  for  us  to  go  to 
worldly  joys  and  pastimes  to  quench  the  sor¬ 
rows  and  troubles  of  our  minds,  is  the  ready 
way  rather  to  increase  than  remove  them. 

Christopher  Love. 

54A§.  SORROW,  Mission  of.  It  is  said,  that 
gardeners  sometimes,  when  they  would  bring 
a  rose  to  richer  flowering,  deprive  it  for  a  sea¬ 
son  of  light  and  moisture.  Silent  and  dark  it 
stands,  dropping  one  fading  leaf  after  another, 
and  seeming  to  go  down  patiently  to  death. 
But  when  every  leaf  is  dropped,  and  the  plant 
stands  stripped  to  the  uttermost,  a  new  life  is 
even  then  working  in  the  buds,  from  which 
shall  spring  a  tender  foliage  and  a  brighter 
wealth  of  flowers.  So,  often,  in  celestial 
gardening,  every  leaf  of  earthly  joy  must  drop 
before  a  new  and  divine  bloom  visits  the  soul. 

Mrs.  It.  B.  Stowe. 

5419.  SOUL,  Assimilation  of.  The  soul  is 

always  stamped  with  the  same  characters  as 
are  engraven  upon  the  end  it  aims  at;  and 
while  it  converses  with  it,  and  sets  itself  before 
it,  “  it  is  turned  as  wax  to  the  seal,”  to  use 
that  phrase  in  Job.  Man’s  soul  conceives  all 
its  thoughts  and  imaginations  before  his  ends, 
as  Laban’s  ewes  did  their  young  before  the 
rods  in  the  watering-troughs.  He  that  pur¬ 
sues  any  worldly  interest  or  earthly  thing  as 
his  end  becomes  himself  also  “  earthly ;  ”  and, 
the  more  the  soul  directs  itself  to  God,  the 
more  it  becomes  godlike,  deriving  a  print  of 
that  glory  and  beauty  upon  itself  with  which 
it  converseth.  John  Smith. 

5420.  SOUL,  Degradation  of  the,  Ah,  me  !  to 
think  of  such  a  soul  being  made  to  grind  like 
a  blinded  Samson  at  the  wheel  of  your  sensual 
pleasures,  when  it  has  a  wing  scarcely  in¬ 
ferior  to  the  seraph’s  in  strength,  and  might 
yet  prove  capable  of  a  flight  as  high  !  —  to 
think  of  its  being  confined  to  the  duties  of  the 
workshop,  seldom  rising  above  the  question, 
What  wages  can  I  earn  ?  when  the  bound¬ 
less  universe  is  its  proper  field  of  discovery, 
and  does  not  afford  it  a  too  ample  range  1  —  to 
think  of  its  being  made  the  drudge  of  the 


body,  knowing  no  better  employment  than  to 
pamper  its  lusts,  when  it  could  make  the 
highest  world  its  footstool,  and,  while  suns  and 
systems  roll  in  all  their  grandeur  at  its  feet, 
could  levy  tribute  from  them  all  1  The  degra¬ 
dation  of  such  a  soul  can  neither  be  described 
nor  imagined.  In  vain  do  we  look  around  us 
to  find,  or  exercise  the  imagination  to  con¬ 
ceive  of,  any  thing  that  will  adequately  illus¬ 
trate  its  extent.  I  have  thought  of  the  eagle, 
which,  soaring  above  the  range  of  human 
vision,  gazes  with  unfaltering  eye  on  the  splen¬ 
dor  of  the  noonday  sun,  and  basks  in  his 
golden  beams  :  I  have  thought  of  the  degra¬ 
dation  of  the  noble  bird  when  chained  to  a 
stone  in  the  dungeon  wall.  I  thought  of  an  angel 
smitten  with  insanity,  its  noble  intellect  de¬ 
ranged,  leaving  the  heaven  where  in  its  youtl 
it  soared  and  sang,  to  find  employment  in 
heaping  together  the  dust  of  the  earth.  I 
have  thought,  too,  of  the  king  reduced  to  the 
condition  of  the  beggar ;  and  thus  have  I  at¬ 
tempted  to  picture  by  comparison  the  most 
deplorable  calamity,  —  the  waste,  the  destruc¬ 
tion,  of  a  human  soul.  But  I  have  tried  in 
vain.  Its  degradation  cannot  be  described  by 
any  illustration  which  the  universe  can  fur¬ 
nish  or  the  imagination  create.  Landels. 

5421.  SOUL,  Dissatisfied.  A  great  thinker 

has  said,  “  Give  a  man  half  a  universe,  and  he 
will  at  once  quarrel  with  the  holder  of  the 
other  half.  What  he  needs  is  God’s  infinite 
universe  all  to  himself.”  I  do  not  think  God’s 
infinite  universe  would  do.  I  think  David 
comprehended  it  better,  when  he  said,  “  My 
soul  panteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God.” 
There  is  that  in  man  which  the  knowledge  of 
the  living  God  only  can  satisfy,  wliieh  having 
God,  has  all  things  in  him.  .1.  B.  Brown. 

5422.  SOUL,  Doors  of  the.  The  door  by 

which  the  world  enters  the  soul,  in  the  act  of 
opening  shuts  the  door  by  which  heaven  en¬ 
ters.  Hence,  it  happens  that  those  who  have 
their  door  constantly  open  towards  the  world 
have  their  door  constantly  shut  towards 
heaven.  While  worldly  gains  and  pleasures, 
scenes  and  sounds,  are  freely  entering  the  soul 
by  an  open  door,  the  King  of  heaven  stands 
knocking  at  the  shut  door.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  the  door  freely  opens  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  to  heavenly  gains  and  joys,  the 
door  by  which  the  world  enters  closes.  The 
worldly  door  being  shut,  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
the  soul  banquet  together.  The  soul  is  then 
in  her  glory  :  she  is  dead  to  the  world,  and  the 
world  is  dead  to  her.  J.  Pulsford. 

5123.  SOUL,  Emblem  of  the.  A  city  which 
was  strongly  besieged  by  a  potent  enemy,  by 
holding  long  out,  was  brought  to  extreme 
want.  No  hope  of  relief  appeared.  Famine 
and  sword  attended,  —  the  one  without,  af¬ 
frighting,  and  the  other  within,  dismaying  the 
poor  inhabitants ;  insomuch  that  they  were  at 
their  wits’  end,  and  held  a  serious  consultation 
what  was  best  to  be  done  for  their  better 
safety.  The  result  was  this,  that  there  should 
be  a  considerable  number  of  dead  bodies  (of 
which  there  were  many  lying  starved  in  the 


598 


SOUL. 


SOTJL. 


streets)  clad  in  armor,  and  set  on  the  walls 
in  the  still  of  the  night,  that  so,  in  the  morn¬ 
ing,  the  enemies,  upon  sight  thereof,  might  be 
amazed ;  which  fell  out  accordingly  :  for  it  was 
thereby  conceived  that  some  fresh  supplies 
had  been  brought  in  to  their  assistance ;  and 
thereupon  the  siege  was  raised  and  the  city 
relieved.  This  distressed  city,  so  strongly  be¬ 
sieged,  is  the  soul  of  man  :  the  potent  enemy 
that  lieth  before  it  is  the  Devil,  that  great 
commander-in-chief  over  all  such  regiments  as 
the  world  and  the  flesh  can  possibly  raise  for 
his  service.  Spencer. 

5421.  SOUL,  Enemies  of  the.  Love  fools  her, 
ambition  mocks  her,  covetousness  rusts  her, 
lust  enflames  her,  hope  tickles  her,  pleasure 
melts  her,  despair  depresses  her,  anger  burns 
her,  hatred  sours  her,  envy  gnaws  her,  jeal¬ 
ousies  prick  her,  revenge  exasperates  her, 
cruelty  hardens  her,  fear  freezes  her,  and  sor¬ 
row  consumes  her.  N.  Caussin. 

5425.  SOUL,  Funeral  of  a  Lost.  What,  if  it 
be  lawful  to  indulge  such  a  thought, —  what 
would  be  the  funeral-obsequies  of  a  lost  soul  ? 
Where  shall  we  find  the  tears  fit  to  be  wept  at 
such  a  spectacle  ?  or,  could  we  realize  the  ca¬ 
lamity  in  all  its  extent,  what  tokens  of  commis¬ 
eration  and  concern  would  be  deemed  equal 
to  the  occasion  ?  Would  it  suffice  for  the  sun 
to  veil  his  light,  and  the  moon  her  brightness  ? 
to  cover  the  ocean  with  mourning,  and  the 
heavens  with  sackcloth?  Or,  were  the  whole 
fabric  of  Nature  to  become  animated  and  vocal, 
would  it  be  possible  for  her  to  utter  a  groan 
too  deep,  or  a  cry  too  piercing,  to  express  the 
magnitude  and  extent  of  such  a  catastrophe  ? 

Robert  Ilall. 

5426.  SOUL,  House  for  the.  What  if  a  man 
should  see  his  neighbor  getting  workmen  and 
building-materials  together,  and  should  say  to 
him,  “  What  are  you  building  ?  ”  and  he  should 
answer,  “  I  don’t  exactly  know.  I  am  wait¬ 
ing  to  see  what  will  come  of  it.”  And  so 
walls  rush  up,  and  room  is  added  to  room, 
while  the  man  looks  idly  on ;  and  all  the  by¬ 
standers  exclaim,  “  What  a  fool  he  is  I  ”  Yet 
this  is  the  way  many  men  are  building  their 
characters  for  eternity  ;  adding  room  to  room, 
without  plan  or  aim,  and  thoughtlessly  wait¬ 
ing  to  see  what  the  effect  will  be.  Such 
builders  will  never  dwell  in  “  the  house  of  God, 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.” 
Many  men  build  as  cathedrals  were  built,  —  the 
part  nearest  the  ground  finished,  but  that 
part  which  soars  towards  heaven,  the  turrets 
and  the  spires,  forever  incomplete.  A  kitch¬ 
en,  a  cellar,  a  bar,  and  a  bedroom  :  these  are 
the  whole  of  some  men,  the  only  apartments 
in  their  soul-house.  Many  men  are  mere 
warehouses  full  of  merchandise  :  the  head,  the 
heart,  are  stuffed  with  goods.  Like  those 
houses  in  the  lower  streets  of  the  city  which 
were  once  family  dwellings,  but  are  now  used 
for  commercial  purposes,  there  are  apartments 
in  their  souls  which  were  once  tenanted  by 
taste  and  love  and  joy  and  worship ;  but  they 
are  all  deserted  now,  and  the  rooms  are  filled 
with  earthy  and  material  things.  Beecher. 


5427.  SOUL,  A  Hunted.  The  legend  says, 

that  one  day,  as  St.  Anselm,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  was  riding  to  his  manor  of  llerse,  a 
hare,  pursued  by  the  huntsman  and  dogs,  ran 
under  the  housings  of  his  mule,  and  cowered 
there  for  refuge.  The  hounds  stood  at  bay. 
The  foresters  laughed ;  but  St.  Anselm  wept, 
and  said,  “  This  poor  hare  reminds  me  of  the 
soul  of  a  sinner  beset  by  fiends  impatient  to 
seize  their  prey.”  And  he  forbade  them  to  pur¬ 
sue  the  creature ;  which  limped  away,  while 
hounds  and  huntsman  remained  motionless  a? 
if  bound  by  a  spell.  Mrs.  Jameson 

5428.  SOUL,  Imprisoned.  Our  soul  is  in  our 
body,  as  the  bird  is  in  the  shell,  which  soor 
breaks,  and  the  bird  flies  out :  the  shell  of  the 
body  breaking,  the  soul  flies  into  eternity. 

T.  Watson. 

5429.  SOUL,  Insurance  of  the.  A  little  boy 
on  his  father’s  knee  said,  “  Pa,  is  your  soul  in¬ 
sured  ?  ”  —  “  Why  do  you  ask,  my  son  ?  ” —  “  I 
heard  Uncle  George  say,  that  you  had  your 
house  insured,  and  your  life  insured ;  but  he 
did  not  believe  you  had  thought  of  your  soul, 
and  he  was  afraid  you  would  lose  it :  won’t  you 
get  it  insured  right  away  ?  ”  It  was  all  too  true ; 
and  the  question  led  the  father  to  seek  the 
divine  guaranty  of  his  soul’s  well-being. 

543®.  SOUL,  KneU  for  a,  If  a  bell  were 
hung  high  in  heaven,  which  the  angels  swung 
whenever  a  man  was  lost,  how  incessantly 
would  it  toll  in  days  of  prosperity  for  men 
gone  down,  for  honor  lost,  for  integrity  lost, 
and  for  manhood  lost,  beyond  recall  1  Beecher. 

5431.  SOUL,  Life  in  the.  There  are  apart¬ 

ments  in  the  soul  which  have  a  glorious  out¬ 
look  ;  from  whose  windows  you  can  see  across 
the  river  of  death,  and  into  the  shining  city 
beyond :  but  how  often  are  these  neglected 
for  the  lower  ones,  which  have  earthward- 
looking  windows  I  There  is  the  apartment  of 
Veneration.  Its  ceilings  are  frescoed  with  an¬ 
gels,  and  all  exquisite  carvings  adorn  its  walls ; 
but  spiders  have  covered  the  angel  ceiling,  and 
dust  has  settled  on  the  delicate  mouldings. 
The  man  does  not  abide  there.  The  door  of 
Conscience  is  rusted  so  it  cannot  be  opened. 
Hope  has  but  one  downward-looking  window  ; 
and  Faith  and  Worship  are  cold  and  cheer¬ 
less.  All  these  are  shut  up  in  most  soul- 
houses.  In  lower  apartments,  you  shall  hear 
in  some  riot  and  wassail  (for  the  passions 
never  keep  Lent,  but  are  always  holding  Car¬ 
nival)  ;  and  in  others  sighs  and  lamentations 
of  wounded  hopes  ;  and  in  others  the  groan- 
ings  of  disappointed  ambition  ;  and  in  others 
bickerings  and  strifes ;  while  in  others  there 
are  sleep  and  stupidity.  Ah !  most  men  live 
in  these  wretched  apartments.  Beecher. 

5432.  SOUL,  Loss  of  the.  The  vanity  of  the 
purchase  and  the  value  of  the  loss  is  such,  that 
no  man,  conscious  of  his  immortality  in  the  next 
state,  but  must  acknowledge  that  he  is  an  infi¬ 
nite  loser  and  prodigious  fool  that  gains  the 
world  by  the  loss  of  his  soul.  It  is  said  of 
the  ancient  Germans,  that,  in  their  commerce 
with  the  Romans,  receiving  silver  for  their 
amber,  that  has  no  virtue  bu‘  to  draw  straws  tc 


SOUL. 


SOUL. 


599 


It,  they  were  amazed  at  the  price.  And  cer¬ 
tainly  the  great  Tempter  cannot  but  wonder  at 
the  foolish  exchange  that  men  make  in  giving 
their  immortal  souls  to  him  for  perishing  vani¬ 
ties  ;  and,  having  this  scornful  advantage,  will 
much  more  upbraid  them  hereafter  than  ever 
he  allured  them  here.  Hence  it  was  a  good 
saying  of  one  to  a  great  lord  upon  his  showing 
him  his  stately  house  and  pleasant  gardens, 
“  Sir,  you  had  need  make  sure  of  heaven,  or 
else,  when  you  die,  you  will  be  a  very  great 
loser.”  Yes;  “  and  what  shall  it  profit  a  man 
if  he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own 
soul  ?  ”  IT.  Bales. 

5433.  SOUL,  False  Props  of  the.  Just  as,  in  a 

neglected  garden,  you  may  see  the  poor  creep¬ 
ers  making  shift  to  sustain  themselves  as  best 
they  can,  —  one  convolvulus  twisting  round 
another,  and  both  dragging  on  the  ground ;  a 
clematis  leaning  on  the  door,  which  will  by 
and  by  open,  and  let  the  whole  mass  fall  down  ; 
a  vine  or  a  passion-flower  wreathing  round  a 
prop  which  all  the  while  chafes  and  cuts  it : 
so  in  this  fallen  world  it  is  mournful  to  see  the 
efforts  which  human  souls  are  making  to  get 
some  sufficient  object  to  lean  upon  and  twine 
round.  One  clasps  a  glittering  prop,  and  it 
scathes  him.  The  love  of  money  blasts  his 
soul ;  and  it  hangs  round  its  self-chosen  stay 
a  blighted,  withered  thing.  Another  spreads 
himself  more  amply  over  a  broad  surface  of 
creature-comforts,  —  a  snug  dwelling,  and  a 
well-furnished  library,  and  a  pleasant  neigh¬ 
borhood,  with  the  command  of  every  thing 
which  heart  can  wish,  or  fortune  buy :  but 
death  opens  the  door ;  and,  with  nothing  but 
vacancy  to  bear  upon,  he  falls  over  on  the 
other  side,  a  helpless  and  dejected  being. 
And  a  still  greater  number,  groping  about 
along  the  ground,  cleave  to  one  another,  and 
intertwine  their  tendrils  mutually,  and  by 
forming  friendships  and  congenial  intimacies, 
and  close  relations,  try  to  satisfy  their  leaning, 
loving  nature  in  this  way.  But  it  answers  little 
end.  The  make  of  man’s  soul  is  upward ;  and 
one  climber  cannot  lift  another  off  the  ground. 
And  the  growth  of  man’s  soul  is  luxuriant; 
and  that  growth  must  be  stifled,  checked,  and 
scanty,  if  he  have  no  larger  space  over  which 
to  diffuse  his  aspirations,  his  affections,  and 
his  efforts,  than  the  surface  of  a  fellow-crea¬ 
ture’s  soul.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

5434.  SOUL,  A  Moralist's.  A  good,  true, 
honorable,  and  noble  moral  man  was  reduced 
by  severe  sickness,  and  sent  for  a  friend.  The 
friend  says,  “  Near  his  last,  I  sat  down  upon 
the  bedside,  and  tried  to  talk  to  him.  lie  was 
all  attention ;  but,  when  I  had  finished  what 
I  had  to  say,  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  me,  and 
then  upon  his  wife  and  children,  and  said,  ‘  I 
am  dying,  and  am  going  to  hell !  Too  late, 
too  late  !  —  lost  and  forever  1  ’  If  ever  I  saw 
horror  and  gloom,  and  a  countenance  from 
which  the  last  ray  of  hope  had  faded  away 
into  the  blackness  of  despair,  it  was  there. 
We  were  stupefied :  the  house  was  bathed  in 
tears.  Many  a  poor  man  and  woman  that  he 
had  assisted  was  there ;  but  their  cries  and  pe¬ 


titions  could  not  save  him.  His  words  as  to 
dying  were  true ;  and  turning  over,  as  if  to 
hide  his  face  from  us,  in  a  violent  convul¬ 
sion  he  burst  a  blood-vessel,  and  was  a  dead 
man.” 

5435.  SOUL,  Only  One.  God,  saitli  Chrysos¬ 

tom  hath  given  a  man  two  eyes  :  if  he  lose  one, 
he  hath  another.  But  he  hath  but  one  soul :  if 
he  lose  that,  it  is  irrecoverable ;  it  can  never  be 
made  up  again.  T.  Watson. 

5436.  SOUL,  Passions  of  the.  How  mighty  are 

the  passions  of  the  soul,  how  strong  its  hate  1 
When  once  it  penetrates  an  object,  its  hold  is 
unshaken.  The  principle  that  binds  the  plan¬ 
ets  lets  go  its  grasp  in  the  wreck  of  dissolving 
Nature  ;  but  mortal  hate  rises  victorious  over 
the  dissolution  of  all  things.  Survey  its  love. 
The  shock  of  battle,  the  loss  of  all  things,  the 
flames  of  the  martyr’s  stake,  death  itself,  which 
destroys  every  thing  physical,  cannot  shake  it; 
for  “  it  is  stronger  than  death.”  Behold  its 
ambition  !  Earth  is  lost  in  it  as  a  drop  in  the 
ocean.  The  universe  cannot  fill  it.  Measure 
now  the  depths  of  its  deathless  passions,  and 
then  all  the  depths  of  its  capacity  to  suffer. 
Oh  for  some  fountain  to  cool  its  passions  1  Oh 
for  some  balm  to  heal  its  wounds  1  Oh  for  some 
anodyne  to  moderate  its  pulsations!  Religion 
leads  to  “a  fountain  filled  with  blood,  drawn 
from  Immanuel’s  veins.”  lip.  Thomson. 

5437.  SOUL,  Peace  of.  Rest  unto  our  souls  ! 

—  ’tis  all  we  want,  the  end  of  all  our  wishes 
and  pursuits.  Give  us  a  prospect  of  this,  we 
take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  and  fly  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  have  it  in  pos¬ 
session,  till,  after  many  miserable  experiments, 
we  have  been  seeking  everywhere  for  it  but 
where  there  is  a  prospect  of  finding  it :  that 
is  within  ourselves,  —  in  a  meek  and  lowly 
disposition  of  heart.  Sterne. 

5438.  SOUL,  Rejected.  As  a  man  who  bor¬ 

rows  a  thing  of  his  neighbor  to  use,  if  he  spoils 
it,  the  neighbor  will  not  take  it  back  again  ; 
so  men  who  ruin  their  souls  by  sin  cannot  re¬ 
turn  them  to  God  at  death,  but  he  refuses  to 
receive  them.  Cawdraij. 

5439.  SOUL,  Religion  in  the.  Religion  in  the 

soul  of  man  is  like  some  precious  thing  in  a 
vessel  of  ill-seasoned  timber.  Not  only  does 
the  rough  wear  of  this  rude  world  sore  batter 
it ;  but  the  burning  sun  of  secularity,  the  glow 
of  daily  business,  is  enough  to  fill  it  full  of 
flaws  and  fissures:  and  it  is  only  by  putting  it 
to  steep  overnight  in  the  Pool  of  Siloali,  that 
the  chinks  will  close,  and  the  cracked  and 
leaky  firkin  be  rendered  fit  for  another  morn¬ 
ing’s  use.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

5440.  SOUL,  Responsible  for  the.  “  Two  things 
a  master  commits  to  his  servant’s  care,”  saith 
one,  —  “  the  child  and  the  child’s  clothes.”  It 
will  be  a  poor  excuse  for  the  servant  to  say  at 
his  master’s  return,  “  Sir,  here  are  all  the 
child’s  clothes  neat  and  clean  ;  .but  the  child  is 
lost.”  Much  so  with  the  account  that  many 
will  give  to  God  of  their  souls  and  bodies  at 
the  great  day,  —  “  Lord,  here  is  my  body ;  I  was 
very  grateful  for  it ;  I  neglected  nothing  that 
belonged  to  its  content  and  welfare :  but  as  lor 


600 


SOTJXu 


SOUL. 


my  soul,  tliat  is  lost  and  cast  away  forever ;  I 
took  little  care  and  thought  about  it.”  Flavel. 

5441*  SOUL,  Best  for  the.  O  Lord  Jesus! 
inv  heart  cries  out  from  its  depths  that  thou 
art  very  God.  In  thee,  I  find  rest  and  satisfac¬ 
tion.  Thy  heart  opens  like  summer  to  one 
who  navigates  from  high  northern  latitudes, 
and  takes  me  into  its  tropical  embrace.  All 
thoughts  and  feelings  that  rise,  singing,  in  my 
soul,  fly  home  to  thee  as  birds  to  their  nests. 
And  thy  stores  are  infinite.  When  the  mother 
tires  of  the  child,  and  puts  it  away  from  the 
bosom  where  it  draws  its  sweet  life  ;  when  the 
friend  who  has  yearned  for  love  says  to 
the  loving  one,  “  Enough,  I  am  sated ;  ”  when 
the  soul  that  has  known  only  dreary  wastes  of 
experience,  having  come  at  last  to  a  realm 
of  song  and  bloom,  calls  back  the  darkness 
and  the  desert,  —  even  then,  O  Lord  !  I  shall  not 
weary  of  thee.  But  where  in  my  heart  there 
is  one  drop  of  affection,  I  would  increase  it  till 
it  should  be  as  the  unmeasured  ocean ;  where 
now  I  look  at  thee  with  adoring  eyes,  I  would 
multiply  my  glances  till  my  face  should  glow  as 
does  the  sky  when  night  reveals  the  stars ;  I 
would  dedicate  myself  to  thee,  —  various,  uni¬ 
versal,  total  self,  —  to  thee  my  King  and  my 
God !  Beecher. 

5442.  SOUL,  in  Enins,  Suppose  a  luxuri¬ 

ant  harvest  shooting  into  perfection,  waving 
in  the  wind,  ripening  in  the  sun,  and  flattering 
the  fond  hope  of  the  husbandman  by  the  fair 
promise  of  abundance.  Should  you  see  this 
hope  blasted,  and  the  whole  produce  of  the 
fields  destroyed  by  a  universal  blight  of 
an  overwhelming  tempest,  you  would  weep 
over  the  desolation,  and  turn  with  horror  from 
the  scene.  Suppose  a  community  cemented 
•by  friendship,  inspired  by  patriotism,  obedient 
to  the  laws,  rising  in  opulence,  in  dignity,  in 
character.  Again  :  suppose  it  divided  by  sus¬ 
picion,  irritated  by  parties,  distracted  by  vio¬ 
lence,  its  cities  depopulated,  its  fields  drenched 
with  the  blood  of  their  inhabitants,  and  an¬ 
archy  and  civil  discord  completing  its  destruc¬ 
tion.  Were  you  witness  of  this  mournful 
tragedy,  were  you  spectators  of  these  acts  of 
violence,  did  you  behold  this  “  wide-spread 
ruin,”  what  language  could  describe  the  agita¬ 
tion  of  your  feelings  ?  But  what  are  these 
when  compared  to  the  destruction  of  man  ? 
What  can  so  affect  our  feelings  as  the  soul  of 
man  in  ruins  V — this  fair  temple  of  God, 
broken  down  by  vice,  and  made  the  abode  of 
every  frightful  monster  and  detestable  abomi¬ 
nation  ;  this  efflux  of  the  divinity,  sinking  into 
depravity  and  wretchedness  and  infamy,  till 
it  is  swept  by  the  besom  of  destruction,  and 
driven  by  an  avenging  God  into  the  pit  of 
everlasting  misery  1  R.  Watson. 

5443.  SOUL,  A  Seeking.  When  Archimedes 
had  found  out  the  resolution  of  a  question  in 
mathematics,  he  cried  out,  as  one  ravished,  “  I 
have  found  it,  I  have  found  it !  ”  So  when  a 
soul  that  has  been  seeking  Jesus  Christ  meets 
with  him,  she,  ravished  with  joy,  cries  out,  “I 
have  found  Him  whom  my  60ul  loveth  1  ” 

Venning. 


5444.  SOUL,  Selling  a.  A  young  lady  undei 
deep  conviction  turned  her  attention  to  reli 
gion.  A  worldly  brother  said  to  her,  “  E.,  if  you 
will  give  this  nonsense  all  up,  and  be  yourself 
again,  I  will  give  you  five  dollars.”  She  took 
the  money ;  and  from  that  time  her  destiny 
seemed  sealed.  She  lived  without  religion,  anc 
died  without  hope.  It  was  sad  work  for  botl 
brother  and  sister. 

5445.  SOUL,  Shipwreck  of  a.  Capt.  B.’s  regi¬ 

ment  was  quartered  at  Malta.  From  the 
Auberge  de  Castile,  he  could  command  a  beau¬ 
tiful  view  of  the  harbor.  Standing  one  day  at 
his  window,  he  beheld  a  ship  sailing  out  of  the 
harbor.  As  he  gazed  upon  the  beautiful 
object,  he  observed  her  suddenly  tremble:  the 
masts  went  overboard  as  she  sank.  She  had 
struck  on  a  rock  ;  and  so  severe  was  the  shock, 
that  she  instantly  went  down.  The  solemn 
spectacle  was  the  voice  of  God  to  his  con¬ 
science.  Such  was  its  arousing  effect  on  his 
feelings,  he  instantly  fell  upon  his  knees,  ex¬ 
claiming,  “  Such  will  be  the  shipwreck  of  my 
soul,  O  Lord !  if  thou  dost  not  undertake  for 
me.”  From  that  moment,  he  saw  himself  a 
sinner,  and,  seeking  Jesus,  found  salvation 
through  bis  peace-speaking  blood.  Reid. 

5446.  SOUL,  Starving  the.  The  Duke  D’ Alva, 
at  the  Fuyck  Sconce,  before  Haarlem,  having 
promised  the  soldiers  their  lives,  caused  them 
to  perish  with  hunger.  Being  confronted  with 
his  promise,  he  answered  that  he  had  given 
them  assurance  of  their  lives,  but  not  that 
they  should  have  meat  or  drink.  Such  is  the 
folly  of  him  that  talks  of  saving  his  soul,  but 
denies  it  the  means  of  salvation.  Spencer. 

5447.  SOUL,  Stiife  for  the.  Did  you  ever 

think  of  the  value  of  a  soul  ?  Ah  1  ye  have 
not  heard  the  howls  and  yells  of  hell,  ye  have 
not  heard  the  mighty  songs  and  hosannas  of 
the  glorified,  ye  have  no  notion  of  what  eter¬ 
nity  is,  or  else  ye  would  know  the  value  of  a 
soul.  Spurgeon. 

5448.  SOUL,  Support  of  the.  Should  a  vine 
wind  its  thousand  tendrils  round  a  trellis,  its 
life  would  be  destroyed  if  they  were  rudely  cut 
and  torn  away.  Now,  the  soul  has  more  ten¬ 
drils  than  any  climbing  vine  ;  and,  if  they  have 
all  clung  about  the  Lord  Jesus  as  their  divine 
support,  how  worse  than  death  will  it  be  to 
wake  up  in  the  awful  judgment  to  find  that  he 
is  but  a  creature,  and  to  be  wrenched  forever 
from  him  !  If  Christ  be  not  God,  then  to 
worship  him  is  idolatry;  and  the  Father  has 
deluded  and  deceived  the  world.  Beecher. 

5449.  SOUL,  Thirsty.  Artaxerxes,  ready  to 
perish  of  thirst,  was  constrained  to  drink  of 
puddle-water,  of  which  he  professed  that  he 
never  drank  wine  with  more  delight.  Venning. 

5450.  SOUL,  Trifling  with  the.  When  Lytim- 
achus  was  engaged  in  a  war  with  the  Getse. 
ho  was  so  affected  with  the  torments  of  thirst, 
that  he  offered  his  kingdom  to  his  enemies  for 
permission  to  quench  it.  His  exclamation 
when  he  had  drank  the  water  with  which  they 
furnished  him  is  wonderfully  striking  :  “  Ah, 
wretched  me  1  who,  for  such  a  momentary  grat¬ 
ification,  have  lost  so  great  a  kingdom !  ”  This 


SOXJXi. 


SOXJXjS. 


601 


Is  the  case  of  those,  who,  for  the  momentary 
leasures  of  sin,  part  with  the  kingdom  of 
eaven. 

5451.  SOUL,  Value  of  a.  A  city  is  nothing 
when  weighed  in  the  balance  against  a  human 
soul.  Phidian  Jupiter  was  a  statue  of  gold 
and  ivory  so  magnificent,  that  a  man  that  died 
without  seeing  it  might  be  commiserated  ;  and 
a  man  that  had  seen  it  might  say,  “  Now  let 
me  die  in  peace.”  That  statue,  whose  annual 
disclosure  was  so  august,  that  men  and  women 
in  their  enthusiasm  fell  before  it  with  outcries 
and  exclamations  ;  that  statue,  which  I  would 
willingly  have  made  a  pilgrimage  to  see,  if  it 
had  been  saved  from  mediaeval  violence  and 
iconoclasm,  —  was  wonderful  beyond  all  de¬ 
scription.  But  one  poor  soul  dragged  out  of  the 
slough,  and  saved,  and  beginning  to  speak  the 
language  of  heaven,  and  to  shout  the  praises 
of  God,  is  more  wonderful  and  more  glorious 
in  the  sight  of  angels  and  of  God  than  the 
lordliest  statue  of  the  greatest  of  all  artists; 
and  I  would  go  farther  to  save  one  soul  than  to 
see  a  million  Phidian  works  of  art.  Beecher. 

5452.  SOUL,  Yearnings  of  the.  Men  sigh  on, 
not  knowing  what  the  soul  wants,  but  only  that 
it  needs  something.  Our  yearnings  are  home¬ 
sicknesses  for  heaven  ;  our  sighings  are  for  God  ; 
just  as  children  that  cry  themselves  asleep 
away  from  home,  and  sob  in  their  slumber, 
know  not  that  they  sob  for  their  parents. 
The  soul’s  inarticulate  moanings  are  the  affec¬ 
tions  yearning  for  the  Infinite,  and  having  no 
one  to  tell  them  what  it  is  that  ails  them. 

Beecher. 

5453.  SOUL-SAVTNG,  Importance  of.  When 
Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  was  on  his  dying-bed,  a 
ministerial  brother  said  to  him,  “  Dr.  Beecher, 
you  know  a  great  deal :  tell  us  what  is  the 
greatest  of  all  things.”  He  replied,  “It  is  not 
theology  ;  it  is  not  controversy  :  it  is  to  save 
souls.” 

5454.  SOUL-SAVING,  Passion  for,  It  is  said 
of  the  learned  John  Smith,  “that  he  had  re¬ 
solved  very  much  to  lay  aside  other  studies, 
and  to  travail  in  the  salvation  of  men’s  souls, 
after  whose  good  he  most  earnestly  thirsted.” 
Of  Alleine,  author  of  “The  Alarm  to  Uncon¬ 
verted  Sinners,”  it  is  said  that  “  he  was  ir  fin¬ 
itely  and  insatiably  greedy  of  the  convei  sion 
of  souls ;  and  to  this  end  he  poured  out  his 
very  heart  in  prayer  and  preaching.”  Bun- 
yan  said,  “  In  my  preaching,  I  could  not  be 
satisfied  unless  some  fruits  did  appear  in  my 
work.”  “  I  would  think  it  a  greater  happiness,” 
said  Matthew  Henry,  to  gain  one  soul  to  Christ 
than  mountains  of  silver  and  gold  to  myself.  If 
I  do  not  gain  souls,  I  shall  enjoy  all  other  gains 
with  very  little  satisfaction ;  and  I  would  rather 
beg  my  bread  from  door  to  door  than  undertake 
this  great  work.”  Doddridge,  writing  to  a 
friend,  remarked,  “  I  long  for  the  conversion 
of  souls  more  sensibly  than  for  any  thing  be¬ 
sides.  Methinks  I  could  not  only  labor,  but 
die  for  it,  with  pleasure.” 

5455.  SOUL-SAVING,  Purpose  of.  Braiuerd 
could  say  of  himself  on  more  than  one  occa¬ 
sion,  “  I  cared  not  where  or  how  I  lived,  or 


what  hardships  I  went  through,  so  that  I  could 
but  gain  souls  to  Christ.  While  I  was  asleep, 
I  dreamed  of  these  things ;  and,  when  I  waked, 
the  first  thing  I  thought  of  was  this  great  work. 
All  my  desire  was  for  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  and  all  mv  hope  was  in  God.” 

5156.  SOUL-SAVING,  Reward  of.  After  a 
Roman  army  had  won  a  victory,  various  re¬ 
wards  were  given  to  the  soldiers  whose  ser¬ 
vices  had  been  most  distinguished.  He  who 
had  first  mounted  a  rampart,  he  who  had  first 
scaled  a  wall,  he  who  had  fix'st  entered  the  ene¬ 
my’s  camp, — each  of  these  received  an  hon¬ 
orable  public  recompense;  but  the  highest 
reward  of  all  —  the  highest  which  any  soldiei 
could  receive, — was  given  to  him  who  had  saved 
the  life  of  a  citizen.  This  reward  was  the 
civic  crown  made  of  oak-leaves,  and  adorned 
with  this  inscription,  “  ob  civem  servatum.” 
This  crown  was  bestowed  by  the  prince  him¬ 
self.  The  person  who  received  it  was  admit¬ 
ted  to  peculiar  social  honor.  He  sat  next  the 
senate  on  grand  public  occasions.  When  he 
entered,  the  entire  audience  rose  as  a  mark  of 
their  respect.  It  was  an  honor  which  even 
Augustus  himself  was  proud  to  wear. 

Rev.  J.  R.  Berry. 

5457.  SOULS,  Anxiety  for.  Fleming  men¬ 
tions  one  John  Welsh,  often,  in  the  coldest 
winter-nights,  found  weeping  on  the  ground, 
and  wrestling  with  the  Lord,  on  account  of  his 
people,  and  saying  to  his  wife  when  she 
pressed  him  for  an  explanation  of  his  distress, 
“  I  have  the  souls  of  three  thousand  to  answer 
for,  while  I  know  not  how  it  is  with  many  of 
them.” 

5458.  SOULS,  Forgotten.  A  little  girl,  while 

travelling  with  her  mother,  made  the  acquaint¬ 
ance  of  an  aged  man,  through  his  little  grand¬ 
daughter.  The  child  said  to  her  new  friend, 
“  I  got  a  grandpa ;  and  lie’s  a  good  man,  and 
loves  Jesus.  Don’t  you  love  Jesus  ?  ”  That 
simple  question  led  the  aged  man,  who  was  a 
sceptic,  to  give  his  heart  to  Christ.  “  No 
one,”  said  he,  “  ever  took  that  much  interest 
in  me  before,  to  ask  the  simple  question  that 
the  child  put  to  me ;  and  I  am  now  in  my 
eighty-third  year.”  S.  S.  Times. 

5459.  SOULS,  Feeble.  Feeble  souls  are  like 

those  tracts  of  land  which  have  neither  depth 
nor  richness  of  soil,  yet,  however  arid,  produce 
something  to  serve  the  world.  The  sandy  and 
stormy  deserts  of  the  Cape  are  covered  with 
heath  of  every  line  and  form  to  beautify  the 
scene  and  to  charm  the  traveller’s  eye.  Even 
so  the  feeblest  soul  can  display  some  phase  of 
feeling  and  character  that  shall  add  a  beauty 
to  its  sphere.  The  world  wants  the  heath  as 
well  as  the  oak ;  and  the  genial  heavens  shine 
alike  on  both.  “  Even  the  most  feeble  are 
necessary.”  Dr.  Thomas. 

54G0.  SOULS,  The  Judgment  of.  In  the  devo¬ 
tional  pictures  which  exhibit  St.  Michael  as 
lord  of  souls,  he  is  winged  and  unarmed, 
and  holds  the  balance.  In  each  scale  sits  a 
little  naked  figure,  representing  a  human  soul. 
One  of  these  is  usually  represented  with  hands 
joined  as  in  thankfulness,  —  he  is  the  beato, 


602 


SOTJUS. 


SOWING. 


the  elected  :  the  other  is  in  an  attitude  of  hor¬ 
ror, —  he  is  the  rejected,  the  reprobate;  and 
often,  but  not  necessarily,  the  idea  is  com¬ 
pleted  by  the  introduction  of  a  demon,  who  is 
grasping  at  the  descending  scale,  either  with 
his  talons,  or  with  the  long  two-pronged  hook, 
6uch  as  is  given  to  Pluto  in  the  antique  sculp¬ 
ture.  Mrs.  Jameson.  ' 

5461.  SOULS,  Neglected.  A  teacher  had 
among  her  pupils  a  young  man  of  reckless 
habits.  At  length,  when  she  heard  that  he 
was  fast  drifting  to  ruin,  she  found  courage 
to  speak  to  him.  The  young  man  was  much 
affected  bv  her  earnest  appeal,  influenced  as 
he  knew  she  was  by  love  for  his  soul ;  and, 
when  he  had  mastered  his  emotion,  he  said  to 
her  in  a  tremulous  voice,  “  Had  any  one  ever 
before  spoken  to  me  as  you  have  to-night,  I 
might  have  been  a  Christian  long  ago ;  but  no 
one  has  thought-  me  worth  saving.” 

S.  S.  Times. 

5462.  SOULS,  Passion  for.  All  the  great 
revivalists  of  the  Church  have  had  what  has 
been  called  a  passion  for  souls.  John  Smith, 
the  mighty  Wesleyan  preacher,  used  to  say, 

“  I  am  a  broken-hearted  man  ;  not  for  myself, 
but  on  account  of  others.  God  has  given  me 
such  a  sight  of  the  value  of  precious  souls, 
that  I  cannot  live  if  souls  are  not  saved.  Oh, 
give  me  souls,  or  else  I  die  !  ” 

5463.  SOULS,  Peril  of.  Oh  !  hast  thou  ever 

thought  how  many  souls  sink  to  hell  every 
hour  ?  Did  the  dreary  thought  that  the  death- 
knell  of  a  soul  is  tolled  by  every  tick  of  yonder 
clock  ever  strike  thee  ?  Hast  thou  never 
thought  that  myriads  of  thy  fellow-creatures 
are  in  hell  now,  and  that  myriads  more  are 
hastening  thither?  and  yet  dost  thou  sleep? 
What  1  physician,  wilt  thou  sleep  when  men 
are  dying  ?  Sailor,  wilt  thou  sleep  when  the 
wreck  is  out  at  sea,  and  the  life-boat  is  wait¬ 
ing  for  hands  to  man  it  ?  Christian,  wilt  thou 
tarry  while  souls  are  being  lost  ?  I  do  not 
say  that  thou  canst  save  them  (God  alone 
can  do  that)  ;  but  thou  mayest  be  the  instru¬ 
ment  :  and  wouldst  thou  lose  the  opportunity  , 
of  winning  another  jewel  for  thy  crown  in 
heaven  ?  wouldst  thou  sleep  while  work  is 
being  done  ?  Spurgeon. 

5464.  SOULS,  Piloting.  As  the  pilot-boats 

cruise  far  out,  watching  for  every  whitening 
sail,  and  hover,  through  day  and  night,  all 
about  the  harbor,  vigilant  to  board  every  ship, 
that  they  may  bring  safely  through  the  Nar¬ 
rows  all  the  wanderers  of  the  ocean  ;  so  should 
we  watch  off  the  gate  of  salvation  for  all  the 
souls,  tempest-tossed,  beating  in  from  the  sea 
of  sin,  and  guide  them  through  the  perilous 
straits,  that  at  last,  in  still  waters  they  may 
cast  the  anchor  of  their  hope.  Beecher. 

5465.  SOULS,  Sympathy  for.  During  the 
troublous  times  of  Scotland,  when  the  popish 
courts  and  aristocracy  were  arming  themselves 
to  suppress  the  Reformation  in  that  land,  the 
cause  of  Protestant  Christianity  was  in  im¬ 
minent  peril.  Late  on  a  certain  night,  John 
Knox  was  seen  to  leave  his  study,  and  to  pass 
from  the  house  down  into  an  enclosure  to 


the  rear  of  it.  He  was  followed  by  a  friend  ; 
when,  after  a  few  moments  of  silence,  his 
voice  was  heard  as  if  in  prayer.  In  another 
moment,  the  accents  deepened  into  intelligible 
words  ;  and  the  earnest  petition  went  up  from 
his  struggling  soul  to  heaven,  “  O  Lord  1  <dve 
me  Scotland,  or  I  die  !  ”  Then  a  pause  of 
hushed  stillness ;  when  again  the  petition 
broke  forth,  “  O  Lord  !  give  me  Scotland,  or 
I  die  !  ”  Once  more  all  was  voiceless,  noise¬ 
less;  when,  with  a  yet  intenser  pathos,  the 
thrice-repeated  intercession  struggled  forth, 
“  O  Lord  1  give  me  Scotland,  or  I  die  1  ”  And 
God  gave  him  Scotland  in  spite  of  Mary  and 
her  popish  missionaries. 

5466.  SOULS,  Transmigration  of.  Ovid  rep¬ 
resents  Pythagoras  addressing  his  disciples  as 
follows  :  “  Souls  never  die,  but  always,  on  quit¬ 
ting  one  abode,  pass  to  another.  I  myself  can 
remember,  that,  in  the  time  of  the  Trojan 
War,  I  was  Euphorbus,  the  son  of  Panthus, 
and  fell  by  the  spear  of  Menelaus.  Lately, 
being  in  the  temple  of  Juno  at  Argos,  I  recog¬ 
nized  my  shield  hanging  up  there  among  the 
trophies.  All  things  change  ;  nothing  perishes. 
The  soul  passes  hither  and  thither,  occupying 
now  this  body,  and  now  that;  passing  from  the 
body  of  a  beast  into  that  of  a  man,  and  thence 
to  a  beast  again.  As  wax  is  stamped  with 
certain  figures,  then  melted,  then  stamped 
anew  with  others,  yet  is  always  the  same  wax, 
so  the  soul,  being  always  the  same,  yet  wears 
at  different  times  different  forms.”  The  an¬ 
cients  called  this  Metempsychosis,  or  the  trans¬ 
migration  of  souls. 

546'3'.  SOULS,  Winning.  Pyrrhias,  a  mer¬ 
chant  of  Ithaca,  seeing  an  aged  man  captive 
in  a  pirate’s  ship,  took  compassion  on  him, 
and  redeemed  him,  and  with  him  bought  like¬ 
wise  his  commodity,  which  the  pirate  had 
taken  from  him,  being  certain  barrels  of  pitch. 
The  old  man,  perceiving  that  not  for  any  ser¬ 
vice  that  he  could  do  him,  nor  for  the  gain  of 
his  commodity,  but  merely  out  of  charity, 
Pyrrhias  had  done  this,-  discovered  to  him  a 
.great  mass  of  treasure  hidden  in  the  pitch ; 
whereby  he  grew  exceedingly  wealthy,  having 
obtained  an  answerable  blessing  for  so  good 
an  act  of  piety.  How  much  greater  shall  be 
the  reward  lor  rescuing  souls  !  Spencer. 

5469.  SOWING,  Early.  One  spring  morn¬ 
ing,  a  little  boy  planted  a  single  seed  in  a 
bank  of  earth.  It  grew,  budded,  and  blos¬ 
somed  into  sweet  blue  violets,  unseen  by  the 
child-planter.  It  also  seeded :  and  the  seed 
fell  out  upon  the  bank  of  earth ;  and  next 
spring,  more  violets  grew  ;  and  so  for  years, 
increasing  every  season.  The  boy,  grown  a 
man  in  a  foreign  land,  desired  to  visit  his  child¬ 
hood’s  home.  When  he  came  to  the  wide 
bank  of  violets,  he  remembered  how,  years 
belore,  he  had  planted  there  a  single  seed. 
“  Can  it  be,”  he  said,  “  that  all  these  have 
sprung  from  the  single  seed  I  planted?  I  will 
never  waste  a  seed  again.”  See  in  this  the 
importance  of  doing  little  deeds  of  kindness 
early  in  childhood. 

5469.  SOWING,  Opportune.  Everv  prudent 


SOWING. 


SPIRIT. 


603 


husbandman  observes  bis  fittest  season  to  sow 
seeds  :  and  therefore  some  he  sows  in  the  au¬ 
tumn  and  fall  of  the  leaf,  and  some  in  the 
spring  and  renewing  of  the  year;  some  he 
sows  in  dry  season,  and  some  he  sows  in  wet ; 
some  he  sows  in  moist  clay,  and  some  he  sows 
in  a  sandy,  dry  ground.  And  so  all  spiritual 
husbandmen  must  wisely  observe  tbeir  fittest 
seasons  for  the  sowing  of  the  immortal  seed 
which  God  has  put  into  their  hands.  Brooks. 

5470.  SOWING,  and  Reaping.  There  is  an 
old  story  of  a  Frenchman,  who  persuaded  some 
Missouri  Indians  to  exchange  fur  for  gunpow¬ 
der,  representing  that  they  could  obtain  a  fine 
crop  by  sowing  it.  The  Indians  prepared  a 
field,  and  sowed  the  powder,  and  set  a  guard 
to  watch  it.  As  it  did  not  come  up,  they  saw 
that  they  had  been  deceived.  Some  time  after, 
the  partner  of  the  deceiver  visited  these  In¬ 
dians  with  a  large  stock  of  goods,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  trade.  The  Indians  each  took  such 
things  as  pleased  him  till  all  were  gone.  The 
Frenchman  went  to  the  head  chief,  and  de¬ 
manded  redress.  The  chief  assured  him  that 
full  justice  should  be  done  as  soon  as  the  har¬ 
vest  of  gunpowder  should  be  gathered.  This 
was  poor  consolation  for  his  loss,  but  such  a 
rebuke  as  his  partner’s  perfidy  deserved. 

5471.  SOWING,  Result  of.  One  day,  the 
master  of  Lukman,  an  Eastern  fabulist,  said 
to  him,  “  Go  into  such  afield,  and  sow  barley.” 
Lukman  sowed  oats  instead.  At  the  time  of 
harvest,  his  master  went  to  the  place,  and,  see¬ 
ing  the  green  oats  springing  up,  asked  him, 
“  Did  I  not  tell  you  to  sow  barley  here  ?  Why, 
then,  have  you  sown  oats?”  lie  answerel, 
“  I  sowed  oats  in  the  hope  that  barley  would 
grow  up.”  His  master  said,  “  What  foolish 
idea  is  this  ?  Have  you  ever  heard  of  the 
like  ?  ”  Lukman  replied,  “  You  yourself  are 
constantly  sowing  in  the  field  of  the  world  the 
seeds  of  evil,  and  yet  expect  to  reap  in  the 
resurrection-day  the  fruits  of  virtue.  There¬ 
fore  I  thought,  also,  I  might  get  barley  by  sow¬ 
ing  oats.”  The  master  was  abashed  at  the 
reply,  and  set  Lukman  free. 

5472.  SPEAKING,  Demand  for.  A  king  of 
Lydia  had  a  son  dumb  from  his  birth.  So  he 
grew  to  manhood.  He  went  out  with  his  fa¬ 
ther,  whom  he  deeply  loved,  to  fight  the  Per¬ 
sians.  A  soldier  was  about  to  slay  the  king 
before  the  eyes  of  his  son.  Fear  and  love  un¬ 
loosed  his  tongue  ;  and  he  cried,  “  Spare  him  : 
he  is  the  king  1  ”  Will  not  the  danger  to 
which  our  friends  are  exposed  unloose  our 
tongues  ? 

5473.  SPEAKING,  Evil.  “Is  she  a  Chris¬ 
tian  ?  ”  asked  a  celebrated  missionary  in  the 
East,  of  one  of  the  converts  who  was  speaking 
unkindly  of  a  third  party.  “  Yes,  I  think  she 
is,”  was  the  reply.  “  Well,  then,  since  Jesus 
loves  her  in  spite  of  that,  why  is  it  that  you 
can’t  ?  ”  The  rebuke  was  felt,  and  the  fault¬ 
finder  instantly  withdrew.  Some  days  later, 
the  same  party  was  speaking  to  the  missionary 
in  a  similar  spirit  about  another  person.  The 
same  question  was  put,  —  “  Is  she  a  Chris¬ 
tian  ?  ”  In  a  half-triumphant  tone,  as  if  the 


speaker  were  beyond  the  reach  of  gunshot  this 
time,  it  was  answered,  “  I  doubt  if  she  truly 
is.”  —  “  Oh  1  then,”  rejoined  the  missionary, 
“  I  think  that  you  and  I  should  feel  such  ten¬ 
der  pity  for  her  soul  as  to  make  any  harshei 
feeling  about  her  quite  impossible.” 

Family  Treasury. 

5  474.  SPEAKING,  of  Jesus.  “  I  was  visiting 
at  my  brother’s  one  time,”  says  a  lady,  “  when 
Richard,  his  little  boy,  stopped  suddenly  in 
his  play,  and  looked  steadily  at  me  for  a 
minute.  ‘  What  are  you  thinking  about?  ’  1 
asked.  1  If  you  are  a  Christian,  auntie  :  are 
you  ?  ’ —  ‘I  hope  so,  dear.’  —  ‘  But  you  never 
speak  of  Jesus.  If  you  loved  him  very  much, 
would  you  not  talk  about  him  sometimes  ?  ’  — 

‘  We  may  love  a  person  without  speaking  of 
him,’  I  replied.  ‘  May  we  ?  I  did  not  know 
that.  You  love  to  talk  of  your  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  your  papa  and  'mamma,  don't 
you,  auntie  ?  ’  —  ‘  Yes.’  —  ‘  And  then  you 
speak  of  other  people  and  things  you  like ; 
but  you  speak  no  word  for  Jesus.  Don’t  you 
love  him,  auntie  ?  ’  — ‘  Yes.’  —  ‘  Then  I  should 
think  you  could  not  help  speaking  of  him 
sometimes.’  ” 

5475.  SPEECH,  Fitness  of.  Words  must  be 

fitted  to  a  man’s  mouth.  ’Twas  well  said  of  the 
fellow  who  was  to  make  a  speech  lor  my  lord 
mayor,  when  he  desired  to  take  measure  of 
his  lordship’s  mouth.  Selden. 

5476.  SPEECH,  Free.  He  who  indulges  in 

liberty  of  speech  will  hear  things  in  return 
which  he  will  not  like.  Terrence. 

5477.  SPHERE,  for  All.  An  old  carpenter 
tells  how  his  son  brought  home  a  crooked  and 
apparently  useless  piece  of  timber,  for  which 
he  rebuked  him.  The  son  bore  it  patiently, 
saying,  “  There’s  a  place  for  it  somewhere.” 
Shortly  after,  they  built  a  queer  house,  and 
found  a  place  which  only  that  crooked  timber 
would  fit,  and  it  seemed  made  lor  that  place. 
So  the  carpenter  says  there’s  a  place  for  every 
one,  —  for  the  crooked  as  well  as  the  straight. 

5478.  SPIRIT,  Activity  of.  Inertness  is  the 
quality  of  matter.  Neither  dust  nor  globe 
would  ever  move,  were  it  not  set  in  motion  by 
a  foreign  force.  And,  whilst  life  in  trees  and 
flesh  moves,  it  ever  moves  by  impulses  over 
which  it  has  no  control :  hence  in  these  forms 
it  moves  in  the  beaten  track  of  ages.  Each 
plant  acts  under  the  same  circumstances  in  the 
same  way,  rejects  and  appropriates,  as  did  the 
first  parent  of  its  kind  which  grew  in  the  gar¬ 
den  of  Eden.  Each  individual  of  the  various 
tribes  of  earth  and  air  and  sea  does  the  same 
thing,  in  the  same  manner,  as  did  its  primal 
siie.  But  spirit  we  consider  self-moving  and 
self-controlling.  Each  chooses  its  own  line  of 
action,  and  determines  its  own  pace.  Each 
is  a  distinct  fountain  of  influences,  —  out¬ 
pouring  streams  that  never  flowed  before ;  a 
self-acting  machine,  performing  evolutions  and 
producing  results  the  like  of  which  has  never 
been  before,  and  never  will  be  again. 

Dr.  Thomas. 

5479.  SPIRIT,  Aid  of  the.  Spiritual  plough¬ 
man,  sharpen  thy  ploughshare  with  the 


604 


SPIRIT. 


SPIRITUAL  TiIF'R. 


Spirit !  Spiritual  sower,  dip  thy  seed  in 
the  Spirit,  so  shall  it  germinate;  and  ask  the 
Spirit  to  give  thee  grace  to  scatter  it,  that  it 
may  fall  into  the  right  furrows  I  Spiritual 
warrior,  whet  thy  sword  with  the  Spirit,  and 
ask  the  Spirit,  whose  word  is  a  sword  in¬ 
deed,  to  strengthen  thine  arm  to  wield  it  I 

Spurgeon. 

5480.  SPIRIT,  A  Counsellor.  There  are  two 

sorts  of  advocates :  the  one  plead  before  the 
judges  ;  the  other  are  consulting  advocates, 
who  instruct  and  advise  their  clients.  Jesus 
is  an  advocate  of  the  first  of  these  classes.  He 
is  our  pleading  advocate  before  the  Judge. 
But  the  Holy  Ghost  is  our  chamber  counsellor, 
who  advises,  instructs,  and  comforts  us;  gives 
us  courage  to  address  ourselves  to  God,  bold¬ 
ness  to  speak  to  him  so  that  we  may  prevail. 
Happy  are  we  in  having  two  such  advocates, 
—  one  of  whom  pleads  for  us  in  heaven  ;  and 
the  other  teaches  us  to  form  our  requests  on 
earth !  Dubose. 

5481.  SPIRIT,  Diversities  of  the.  Mark  the 
rain  that  falls  from  above :  the  same  shower 
that  drops  out  of  one  cloud  increaseth  sundry 
plants  in  a  garden,  and  severally,  according  to 
the  condition  of  every  plant.  In  one  stalk,  it 
makes  a  rose  ;  in  another,  a  violet ;  diverse  in 
a  third,  and  sweet  in  all.  So  the  Spirit  works 
its  multifarious  effects  in  several  complexions, 
and  all  according  to  the  increase  of  God. 

Jeremy  Taylor. 

5 182.  SPIRIT,  Identity  of.  There  is  no  per¬ 
manent  identity  in  any  corporeal  organization  : 
such  organization  is  composed  of  particles,  all 
of  which  are  in  a  state  of  constant  flux.  Cor¬ 
poreally,  the  man  cannot  say  that  he  is  the 
same  as  he  was  when  a  youth.  The  body  is 
like  a  river :  every  particle  is  in  rapid  flow, 
in  constant  circulation  ;  and  is  the  same  only  in 
form  and  function,  never  a  moment  the  same 
In  all  its  materials.  But  we  think  of  spirit  as 
being  ever  the  same  in  essence ;  a  simple  in¬ 
divisible  substance,  that  can  never  lose  a  par¬ 
ticle  of  itself,  and  that  can  never  have  any  new 
element  wrought  into  its  being.  It  may  change 
its  conditions  ;  it  may  vary  its  moods ;  it  may 
alter  its  realms  of  action,  and  new  thoughts 
and  feelings  may  stream  through  it  in  endless 
succession  :  but  iff  its  essence  it  is  evermore 
the  same  ;  the  everlastingly  identical  ego ,  or 
self  of  being.  Truly  does  Dr.  Reid  remark, 
“  that  all  mankind  place  their  personality  in 
something  that  cannot  be  divided,  or  consist  of 
parts.”  Dr.  Thomas. 

5483.  SPIRIT,  The  Indwelling.  The  indwell¬ 
ing  of  God  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  common 
mark  of  all  believers  in  Christ.  It  is  the  shep¬ 
herd’s  mark  of  the  flock  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  dis¬ 
tinguishing  them  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 
It  is  the  goldsmith’s  stamp  on  the  genuine  sons 
of  God,  which  separates  them  from  the  dross 
and  mass  of  false  professors.  It  is  the  king’s 
own  seal  on  those  who  are  his  peculiar  people, 
proving  them  to  be  his  own  property.  It  is  the 
earnest  which  the  Redeemer  gives  to  his  be¬ 
lieving  disciples,  while  they  are  in  the  body,  as 
a  pledge  of  the  full  redemption  yet  to  come  on 


the  resurrection-morning.  This  is  the  case  ol 
all  believers.  They  all  have  the  Spirit. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Ryle, 

5484.  SPIRIT,  Need  of  the.  In  vain  do  the 
inhabitants  of  London  go  to  their  conduits  for 
supply  unless  the  man  who  has  the  master-key 
turns  the  water  on;  and  in  vain  do  we  think 
to  quench  our  thirst  at  ordinances,  unless  God 
communicates  the  living  water  of  his  Spirit. 

Salter. 

5485.  SPIRITUAL  LIFE,  Impulsive,  You 

may  galvanize  a  paralyzed  limb,  and,  by  gal¬ 
vanism,  may  restore  the  circulation,  and  so 
restore  life  to  it :  but  the  galvanism  is  not  the 
life ;  it  only  rouses  the  dormant  powers  of  life. 
Galvanism  is  a  certain  development  of  electri¬ 
city, —  the  same  mysterious  agent,  which,  in 
another  form,  darts  to  and  fro  among  the  clouds 
of  heaven.  The  life  of  the  limb,  on  the  other 
hand,  consists  in  its  answering  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  made,  in  its  habitual  subser¬ 
vience  to  the  will,  in  the  power  of  contracting 
and  relaxing  its  muscles,  when  the  will  gives 
it  notice  to  do  so.  Now,  the  professing  Chris¬ 
tian  who  is  not  spiritually  alive  is  a  paralyzed 
member  of  the  body  of  Christ.  Impulses  from 
a  heavenly  agent,  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  ever 
and  anon  sent  through  the  medium  of  God’s 
ordinances  in  the  body  of  Christ,  and  impart  a 
convulsive,  fitful  motion  even  to  those  limbs 
which  are  paralyzed.  It  does  not,  however, 
follow  that  the  paralyzed  limbs  are  restored. 
In  some  cases,  they  may  be ;  in  some,  they  may 
not.  At  all  events,  the  fitful  movement  of  the 
limb .  is  one  thing,  its  permanent  vitality 
another.  Dr.  Goulburn. 

5486.  SPIRITUAL  LIFE,  Liberty  of  the,  The 
heavenly  life  imparted  is  liberty  and  truth  and 
peace :  it  is  the  removal  of  bondage  and  dark¬ 
ness  and  pain.  So  far  from  being  a  mechani¬ 
cal  constraint,  as  some  would  represent,  it  is 
the  removal  of  the  iron  chain  with  which  guilt 
had  bound  the  sinner.  It  acts  like  an  army  of 
liberation  to  a  down-trodden  country,  like  the 
warm  breath  of  spring  to  the  frost-fettered 
tree.  For  the  entrance  of  true  life  or  living 
truth  into  man’s  soul  must  be  liberty,  not 
bondage.  “  The  truth  shall  make  you  free.” 

Dr.  Sonar. 

5487.  SPIRITUAL  LIFE,  Miracle  of.  It  is 
not  only  the  first  act  of  conversion  which  dis¬ 
plays  divine  power ;  but  the  whole  of  the 
Christian’s  career,  until  he  comes  to  perfection, 
is  a  clear  display  of  the  same.  The  spiritual 
life  may  be  likened  unto  the  burning  bush 
which  Moses  saw  in  Iioreb  :  it  burnt,  but  it 
was  not  consumed.  Such  is  the  Christian : 
like  a  bush,  he  is  most  fitting  fuel  for  the  flame ; 
yet  the  flame  does  not  hurt  him.  It  kindles 
about  him  ;  but  he  is  not  destroyed.  Or  the 
Christian  life  may  be  likened  to  walking  upon 
water.  As  Peter  trod  the  waves,  and  did  not 
sink  so  long  as  his  faith  looked  to  Jesus;  so  the 
believer  every  day,  in  every  footstep  that  he 
takes,  is  a  living  miracle.  Faith  too,  in  its 
life,  may  be  compared  to  flying  :  “  They  shall 
mount  up  on  wings  as  eagles.”  “  I  bear  you 

I  as  upon  eagles’  wings.”  The  believer,  every 


SPIRITUAL  LIFE. 


STEALING-. 


clay,  takes  venturesome  flights  into  the  atmos¬ 
phere  of  heaven,  rises  above  the  world,  leaves 
its  cares  and  its  wants  beneath  his  feet,  and 
that,  too,  with  no  other  wings  but  those  of 
faith  and  love.  Herein  is  a  continued  and 
splendid  miracle  of  the  divine  power. 

Spurgeon. 

5488.  SPIRITUAL  LIFE,  Test  of.  If  a  tree 
is  not  growing,  it  is  sure  in  the  long  run  to  be 
dying.  And  so  are  our  souls.  If  they  are  not 
growing,  they  are  dying;  if  they  are  not  get¬ 
ting  better,  they  are  getting  worse.  This  is 
why  the  Bible  compares  our  souls  to  trees; 
not  out  of  a  mere  pretty  fancy  of  poetry,  but 
for  a  great,  awful,  deep,  world-wide  lesson,  that 
every  tree  in  the  fields  may  be  a  pattern,  a 
warning,  to  us  thoughtless  men,  that  as  that 
tree  is  meant  to  grow,  so  our  souls  are  meant 
to  grow.  As  that  tree  dies  unless  it  grows,  so 
our  souls  must  die  unless  they  grow. 

C.  Kingsley. 

5489.  SPIRITUAL-MINDEDNESS,  Lesson  of, 

If  you  will  go  to  the  banks  of  a  little  stream, 
and  watch  the  flies  that  come  to  bathe  in  it, 
you  will  notice,  that,  while  they  plunge  their 
bodies  in  the  water,  they  keep  their  wings  high 
out  of  the  water;  and,  after  swimming  about  a 
little  while,  they  fly  away  with  their  wings  un¬ 
wet  through  the  sunny  air.  Now,  that  is  a 
lesson  for  us.  Here  we  are  immersed  in  the 
cares  and  business  of  the  world ;  but  let  us 
keep  the  wings  of  our  soul,  our  faith,  and  our 
love,  out  of  the  world,  that,  with  these  un¬ 
clogged,  we  may  be  ready  to  take  our  flight  to 
heaven.  Rev.  J.  Inglis. 

5499.  SPIRITUAL-MINDEDNESS,  Method  of. 
A  beautiful  flower,  the  wood-sorrel,  grows 
among  the  trees  in  the  sylvan  scenes  of  Eng¬ 
land.  It  has  shining  green  leaves,  and  trans¬ 
parent  bells  with  white  veins.  When  it  is 
gathered  roughly,  or  the  evening  dew  falls,  or 
the  clouds  begin  to  rain,  its  foliage  closes  and 
droops;  but,  when  the  air  is  bright  and  calm, 
it  unfolds  all  its  loveliness.  Like  this  sensi¬ 
tive  flower,  spirituality  of  mind,  when  touched 
by  the  rough  hand  of  sin,  or  the  cold  dew  of 
worldliness,  or  the  noisy  rain  of  strife,  hides 
itself  in  the  quietude  of  devout  meditation ; 
but,  when  it  feels  the  influence  of  sunny  and 
serene  piety,  it  expands  in  the  beauty  of  holi¬ 
ness,  the  moral  image  of  God.  P.  J.  Wright. 

5491.  STABILITY,  Christian.  An  established 
experienced,  hopeful  Christian  is,  in  the 
world?  like  an  iceberg  in  a  swelling  sea.  The 
waves  rise  and  fall.  Ships  strain  and  shiver, 
and  nod  on  the  agitated  waters.  But  the  ice¬ 
berg  may  be  seen  from  far,  receiving  the 
breakers  on  its  snow-white  sides,  casting  them 
off’  unmoved,  and,  where  all  else  is  rocking  to 
and  fro,  standing  stable  like  the  everlasting 
hills.  The  cause  of  its  steadiness  is  its  depth. 
Its  bulk  is  bedded  in  calm  water  beneath  the 
tumult  that  rages  on  the  surface.  Although, 
like  the  ships,  it  is  floating  in  the  water,  it  re¬ 
ceives  and  throws  off’  the  angry  waves  like  the 
rocks  that  gird  the  shore.  Behold  the  condi¬ 
tion  and  attitude  of  Christians  1  They  float  in 
the  same  sea  of  life  with  other  men,  and  bear 


60', 

the  same  bufferings ;  but  they  are  not  driven 
hither  and  thither,  the  sport  of  wind  and  water. 
The  wave  strikes  them,  breaks  over  them,  and 
hisses  past  in  foam  ;  but  they  remain  unmoved. 
They  were  not  caught  by  surprise  while  they 
had  a  slight  hold  of  the  surface.  The  chief 
part  of  their  being  lies  deep  beyond  the  reach 
of  these  superficial  commotions.  Their  life, 
“  hid  with  Christ  in  God,”  bears  without  break¬ 
ing  all  the  strain  of  the  storm.  Dr.  Arnot. 

5492.  STABILITY,  Example  of.  The  Macro - 
cystis  pyrifera  is  a  marine  plant,  rising  from  a 
depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred 
feet,  and  floating,  for  many  fathoms,  on  the 
surface  of  the  sea.  Darwin  says,  “  I  know  few 
things  more  surprising  than  to  see  this  plant 
growing  and  thriving  amid  the  great  breakers 
of  the  Western  Ocean,  which  no  masses  of 
rock,  however  hard,  can  long  resist.  The  stem 
is  round,  slimy,  and  smooth,  and  seldom  has  a 
diameter  of  so  much  as  an  inch.”  IIow  great  its 
resistance  to  withstand  the  strain  of  such  a  sea  1 
In  spite  of  storm  and  breakers,  the  species 
maintains  itself  from  century  to  century ;  for 
the  strength  with  which  it  clings  to  the  naked 
rock,  and  faces  the  fury  of  the  elements,  has 
been  poised  by  the  wisdom  of  God.  Ilartwig. 

5493.  STABILITY,  How  Secured.  The  root 

fixes  the  plant  in  the  soil ;  and  trees  strike 
their  roots  deeper  and  wider  in  exposed  or 
stormy  places  than  in  sheltered  situations. 
Virgil  believed,  or  professed  to  have  believed, 
in  tbe  notion,  that  the  roots  of  the  oak  pene¬ 
trate  as  deeply  into  the  ground  as  its  branches 
ascend  “  high  towards  heaven  ;  ”  and,  although 
this  deep  penetration  of  the  roots  is  but  a 
poetic  fiction,  the  Mantuan  bard  was  justified 
in  observing  that  a  tree  with  such  roots  as  the 
oak  might  well  defy  the  winds  and  winter’s 
rage.  Gorrie. 

549 1.  STABILITY,  Means  of.  As  we  tie  a  ten¬ 
der  tree  to  some  other  tree  that  it  may  not  be 
broken  by  the  winds,  and  cast  anchor  in  a 
storm  to  fix  the  ship  that  it  may  not  be  driven 
by  the  tempest;  so  ought  we  to  join  and  apply 
our  weak  and  faint  hearts  to  the  firm  pillar  of 
God’s  word,  and  fix  the  ship  of  our  souls  by  the 
anchor  of  hope,  that  it  sink  not.  John  Arndt. 

5495.  STANDARD,  Lifting  up  a.  When  Sylla 
beheld  his  army  giving  way  before  that  of  Ar- 
chelaus,  the  general  of  Mithridates,  he  alighted 
from  his  horse,  laid  hold  of  an  ensign,  and, 
rushing  with  it  into  the  midst  of  his  enemies, 
cried  out,  “  ’Tis  here,  Human  soldiers,  that  I 
intend  to  die  1  But  for  your  parts,  when  you 
shall  be  asked  where  it  was  that  you  left  your 
general,  remember  to  say  it  was  on  the  field 
of  Orehomemura.”  The  soldiers  returned  to 
their  ranks,  renewed  the  fight,  and  became  the 
victors  in  the  field  from  which  they  were  about 
to  flee. 

519G.  STEALING,  Excuse  for.  It  is  said  that 
a  prisoner  standing  at  the  bar,  indicted  for 
felony,  was  asked  by  the  judge  what  he  could 
say  for  himself.  “  Truly,  my  lord,”  says  he, 
“  I  did  mean  no  hurt  when  I  stole  :  it  is  an 
evil  custom  that  I  have  gotten :  I  have  been 
used  to  it  ever  since  I  knew  any  thing.”  — 


GOG  STEWARDSHIP. 


SUCCESS. 


“ Why,  then,”  says  the  judge,  “if  it  be  thy 
custom  to  steal,  it  is  my  custom  to  hang  up 
thieves.”  Spencer. . 

549^.  STEWARDSHIP,  Recognized.  A  beggar 
upon  the  way  asked  something  of  an  honorable 
lady.  She  gave  him  sixpence,  saying,  “  This  is 
more  than  ever  God  gave  me.”  —  “  0  madam !  ” 
says  the  beggar,  “  madam !  you  have  abun¬ 
dance,  and  God  hath  given  all  that  you  have : 
say  not  so,  good  madam.” — “  Well,”  says  she, 
“  I  speak  the  truth ;  for  God  hath  not  given, 
but  lent  unto  me  what  I  have,  that  I  may  be¬ 
stow  it  upon  such  as  thou  art.”  Spencer. 

5498.  STUDY,  Advantage  of.  If  you  devote 

your  time  to  study,  you  will  avoid  all  the  irk¬ 
someness  of  this  life ;  nor  will  you  long  for 
the  approach  of  night,  being  tired  of  the  day ; 
nor  will  you  be  a  burden  to  yourself,  nor  your 
society  insupportable  to  others.  Seneca. 

5499.  STUDY,  Necessity  o£  King  Ptolemy 
Lagus  asked  Euclid,  “  if  there  was  not  a 
shorter  and  easier  way  to  the  knowledge  of 
geometry  than  he  had  laid  down  in  his  ‘  Ele¬ 
ments.’  ”  He  answered,  “  There  is  no  royal 
road  to  geometry.”  Nor  is  there  a  royal  road 
to  .any  study,  —  to  achievement  or  success  any¬ 
where.  It  is  by  the  old  plebeian  path  of  rugged 
toil  that  men  reach  the  heights  of  attainment 
and  the  temple  of  fame. 

5500.  STUPIDITY,  Transformed.  St.  Thomas 

Aquinas  was  called  the  “  Dumb  Ox  ”  by  his 
fellow-pupils  at  Cologne  on  account  of  his  si¬ 
lence  and  apparent  stupidity.  Ilis  teacher 
detected  the  genius  that  was  wrapped  up  un¬ 
der  his  taciturnity,  and  remarked,  that,  if  that 
ox  should  once  begin  to  bellow,  the  world 
would  be  filled  with  its  noise.  He  was  after¬ 
wards  known  as  the  “  Angel  of  the  Schools  ” 
and  the  “  Angelic  Doctor.”  Wheeler. 

5501.  STYLE,  Brevities.  A  sentence  well 

couched  takes  both  the.  sense  and  the  un¬ 
derstanding.  —  Feltliam. - Proper  words  in 

proper  places  make  the  true  definition  of 

style.  —  Swift. - Style  shows  the  man, 

whether  in  speaking  or  writing. 

5502.  SUBMISSION,  Cheerful.  Rev.  Ephraim 
Peabody  was  attacked  with  bleeding  at  the 
lungs,  and  was  obliged  to  resign  his  pastoral 
duties.  His  only  child  was  laid  in  the  grave  ; 
his  young  wife  had  temporarily  lost  the  use  of 
her  eyes ;  his  home  was  broken  up ;  and  his 
prospects  were  very  dark.  They  had  sold 
their  furniture,  and  went  to  board  in  a  tavern. 
One  day,  as  he  came  in  from  a  walk,  his  wife 
said  to  him,  “I  have  been  thinking  of  our  situ¬ 
ation  here,  and  have  determined  to  be  submis¬ 
sive  and  patient.”  —  “  Ah  !  ”  said  he,  “  that  is 
a  good  resolution :  let  us  see  what  we  have  to 
submit  to.  I  will  make  a  list  of  our  trials. 
First,  we  have  a  home  :  we  will  submit  to  that. 
Secondly,  we  have  the  comforts  of  life  :  we  will 
submit  to  that.  Thirdly,  we  have  each  other. 
Fourthly,  we  have  a  multitude  of  friends. 
Fifthly,  we  have  a  God  to  take  care  of  us.” 
—  “  Ah  1  ”  said  she,  “  I  pray  you  to  stop,  and 
I  will  say  no  more  about  submission.” 

5593.  SUBMISSION,  Contrast  of.  A  fond 
father,  expecting  the  death  of  an  infant  son, 


was  exhorted  to  submit  to  the  divine  will. 
He  said,  “I  cannot  give  him  up.  I  pray  God 
to  spare  this  child  to  me,  whatever  may  be  the 
consequences.”  The  child  was  spared,  but 
was  a  constant  grief  to  his  father,  became  a 
hardened  wretch,  and  paid  the  penalty  of  his 
crimes  upon  the  gallows. 

5594.  SUBMISSION,  to  Defeat.  James  II., 
after  his  defeat  at  La  Hogue,  expressed  his 
satisfaction  thereat,  because  what  God  orders 
is  best,  and  nothing  is  well  done  which  is  not 
done  by  him. 

5595.  SUBMISSION,  Example  of.  Dr.  Hay, 
an  eminent  English  surgeon  of  high  prospects, 
when  inj  ured  apparently  for  life,  said,  “  If  it 
be  the  will  of  God  that  I  should  be  confined 
to  my  sofa,  and  he  command  me  to  pick  straws 
during  the  remainder  of  my  life,  I  hope  I  shall 
feel  no  repugnance  to  his  good  pleasure.” 

5596.  SUBMISSION,  Heathen.  Zeno  lost  all 

his  goods  by  shipwreck ;  yet  he  counted  it  the 
best  voyage  he  ever  made,  because  it  drove 
him  to  the  study  of  virtue  and  philosophy. 
Seneca  says  he  enjoyed  his  relations  as  one 
that  was  to  lose  them,  and  lost  them  as  one 
who  had  them  still  in  possession.  Buck. 

5507.  SUBMISSION,  Natura  in.  When  the 
brave  man  gives  his  shattered  arm  to  the  sur¬ 
geon’s  knife,  will  may  prevent  even  the  quiver 
of  an  eyelid ;  but  no  will  and  no  courage  can 
reverse  his  sensations,  or  prevent  the  operation 
from  inflicting  pain.  When  the  heart  is  raw, 
and  smarting  from  recent  bereavement,  let 
there  be  the  deepest  and  most  reverential  sub¬ 
mission  to  the  highest  will,  is  it  possible  not  to 
wince  ?  Can  any  cant  demand  for  submission 
extort  the  profession  that  pain  is  pleasure  ? 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

5508.  SUBMISSION,  Necessity  of.  This  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  following  incident  in  the 
life  of  Nelson  :  In  time  of  war,  a  French  offi¬ 
cer  was  once  brought  into  his  presence.  He 
went  boldly  up  to  the  great  admiral,  and  held 
out  his  hand.  Nelson  drew  back.  “  Give  me 
your  sword,”  said  he,  “  and  then  I  will  take 
your  hand.” 

5509.  SUBMISSION,  Prompt.'  At  the  siege 
of  Barcelona,  a  ball  struck  off  the  head  of  an 
officer’s  son,  a  fine  young  man  of  twenty  years. 
The  father,  lifting  his  eyes  from  his  headless 
child  to  heaven,  only  said,  “  Thy  will  be 
done.” 

5510.  SUBMISSION,  Proper.  men  that 
monster-taming  Hercules  overcame  all  in  the 
Olympics,  Jupiter  at  last,  in  an  unknown 
shape,  wrestled  with  him  :  the  victory  was  un¬ 
certain,  till  at  length  Jupiter  descried  himself, 
and  Hercules  yielded.  No  striving  with 
supreme  powers :  we  must  submit  ourselves 
unto  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  acknowledge 
our  offences,  call  to  him  for  mercy.  If  ha 
strike,  as  it  is  with  them  that  are  wounded 
with  the  spear  of  Achilles,  he  alone  must  help. 

Burton. 

5511.  SUCCESS,  Basis  of.  John  Freadley’s 
never-varying  motto  was,  “  Self-dependence 
and  self-reliance.”  He  says,  “  My  observations 
through  life  satisfy  me  that  at  least  nine-tenths 


SUCCESS. 


SUFFFRIXG. 


607 


of  those  most  successful  in  business  start  in  life 
without  any  reliance  except  upon  their  own 
heads  and  hands,  —  hoe  their  own  row  from  the 
jump.” 

5.512.  SUCCESS,  Dangers  of.  Two  cocks  con¬ 
tended  for  the  sovereignty  of  a  dunghill.  The 
fight  was  cruel  and  bloody,  and  was  maintained 
for  a  long  time  with  equal  advantage  on  both 
gides.  At  last,  one  retires,  and  goes  and  hides 
himself  in  a  hole.  The  conqueror  flies  upon 
the  top  of  a  house,  claps  his  sides  with  his 
rrings,  and  proudly  crows  over  his  victory.  A 
vulture  that  was  hovering  in  the  air  heard 
him,  and  spied  him  out :  he  fell  suddenly  upon 
him,  and  carried  him  off  in  his  talons. 

5513.  SUCCESS,  Examples  of.  The  world- 
renowned  Rothschilds  ascribe  their  success  to 
the  following  rules  :  “  Be  an  off-hand  man  : 
make  a  bargain  at  once.  Never  have  any  thing 
to  do  with  an  unlucky  man  or  plan.  Be  cau¬ 
tious  and  bold.”  John  Jacob  Astor,  when  re¬ 
quested  to  furnish  incidents  of  his  life,  replied, 
“  My  actions  must  make  my  life.”  Stephen 
Girard’s  fundamental  maxim  was,  “  Take  care 
of  the  cents :  the  dollars  will  take  care  of  them¬ 
selves.”  Amos  Lawrence  said,  when  asked  for 
advice,  “  Young  man,  base  all  your  actions 
upon  a  principle  of  right ;  preserve  your  integ¬ 
rity  of  character;  and,  in  doing  this,  never 
reckon  the  cost.”  A.  T.  Stewart,  the  merchant- 
prince  of  New  York,  says,  “  No  abilities,  how¬ 
ever  splendid,  can  command  success  without  in¬ 
tense  labor  and  persevering  application.”  Nich¬ 
olas  Longworth,  the  Cincinnati  millionnaire, 
says,  “  I  have  always  had  these  two  things  be¬ 
fore  me  :  Do  what  you  undertake  thoroughly. 
Be  faithful  in  all  accepted  trusts.” 

5511.  SUCCESS,  Key  to.  There  was,  accord¬ 
ing  to  fable,  a  woodman  in  a  forest  cutting 
down  trees,  when  he  heard  a  band  of  robbers 
approaching,  and  saw  a  long  train  of  horses 
come  winding  over  the  hills  where  he  was. 
He  quickly  climbed  into  one  of  the  trees, 
where  he  could  watch  their  motions  without 
being  seen.  They  rode  up  on  their  horses  till 
they  came  to  a  great  rock,  where,  dismounting, 
the  captain  of  the  band  walked  up  to  the  rock, 
and  said,  “  Open  Sesame  I  ”  The  very  mo¬ 
ment  this  word  was  spoken,  a  great  door  flew 
open ;  and  they  all  went  in,  and  stowed  away 
their  plunder  in  the  cave.  The  woodman 
watched  in  great  surprise  while  all  this  was 
going  on.  lie  remembered  the  wonderful 
word  “  Sesame,”  which  opened  the  door.  So 
he  remained  quiet  until  the  robbers  were 
gone.  As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight,  he 
came  down  from  the  tree,  and  went  up  to  the 
rock,  and  cried  out,  “  Open  Sesame  !  ”  In¬ 
stantly  the  door  flew  open,  and  he  went  in. 
Then  he  gazed  in  wonder  on  all  the  precious 
things  which  were  gathered  together.  He 
filled  his  panniers,  or  donkey-baskets,  with 
gold  and  silver,  as  much  as  the  animals  could 
carry,  and  went  home  a  rich  man.  He  was 
made  rich  by  the  power  of  the  word  “  Sesame.” 
Our  key  to  wealth  is  labor  and  perseverance. 

5585.  SUCCESS,  Motive  to.  It  is  a  truth 
the  importance  of  which  can  hardly  be  over 


estimated,  that  nearly  every  successful  mem¬ 
ber  of  any  profession  whatever  owes  his  success 
largely  to  the  fact  that  he  has  pursued  it,  not 
from  a  slavish  hunger  after  emoluments,  but 
from  a  genuine  love  for  it,  and  satisfaction  in 
discharging  its  duties  efficiently  and  well.  A 
ploughman,  if  he  is  worth  his  wages,  likes  to 
see  the  furrows  run  evenly  and  symmetrically. 
The  mason  likes  to  see  his  work  justified  by 
the  plumb-line  and  spirit-level ;  and,  in  the 
higher  walks  of  life,  every  man  who  deserves, 
and  almost  every  man  who  earns,  distinction, 
seeks  and  finds  his  reward  far  more  in  his 
work  than  in  his  pay.  Saturday  Review. 

5516.  SUCCESS,  Opinions  of.  Half  the  fail¬ 
ures  in  life  arise  from  the  pulling  in  one’s 

horse  as  he  is  leaping  —  Chapin. - The 

world  estimates  men  by  their  success  in  life, 
and,  by  general  consent,  success  is  evidence 

of  superiority.  —  Everett. - There  is  nothing 

like  a  fixed,  steady  aim,  with  an  honorable 
purpose.  It  dignifies  your  nature,  and  insures 

your  success.  —  Beecher. - David  Ricardo, 

the  celebrated  political  economist,  had  what 
he  called  his  own  three  golden  rules,  the  ob¬ 
servance  of  which  he  used  to  press  on  his 
friends.  They  were  :  “  Never  refuse  an  option 
when  you  can  get  it.  Cut  short  your  losses. 
Let  your  profits  run  out.”  Many  a  man  has 
lost  being  a  great  man  by  splitting  into  two 
middling  ones.  —  Phillips. 

5517.  SUCCESS,  Secret  of.  The  Duke  of 
Wellington  used  often  to  remark,  that  the 
secret  of  success  lay  in  embracing  every  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  being  useful;  and  that  he  never 
forgot  the  golden  rule  which  he  learned  in  the 
church  catechism,  —  “  of  doing  your  duty  in  that 
station  of  life  to  which  it  shall  please  God  to 
call  you.” 

5518.  SUCCESS,  Unsatisfactory.  Success  is 
full  of  promise  till  men  get  it;  and  then  it  is  a 
last  year’s  nest,  from  which  the  bird  has  flown. 

Beecher. 

5519.  SUCCESS,  Way  to.  It  is  the  old  route 
of  labor,  along  which  are  many  landmarks  and 
many  wrecks.  It  is  lesson  after  lesson  with 
the  scholar,  blow  after  blow  with  the  laborer, 
crop  after  crop  with  the  farmer,  picture  after 
picture  with  the  painter,  step  after  step,  and 
mile  after  mile,  with  the  traveller,  that  secures 
what  all  desire,  success.  Alexander  desired 
his  preceptor  to  prepare  for  him  some  easier 
and  shorter  way  to  learn  geometry  ;  but  he  was 
told  that  he  must  be  content  to  travel  the 
same  road  as  others. 

5529.  SUFFERING,  Analogy  of.  Why  must 
Christ  be  chastised  for  my  peace  ?  How  is  it 
that  the  ground  has  to  be  wounded  by  spade 
and  plough,  and  put,  as  it  were,  to  the  torture, 
under  harrows,  before  it  will  produce  bread- 
corn  for  us  V  How  is  it,  that,  when  the  corn  is 
produced,  it  must  also  be  subjected  to  torture, 
—  must  be  bruised  under  millstones,  ground  and 
reground,  —  before  it  will  make  bread  for  us  ? 
How  is  it,  that,  even  then,  the  bread  is  not 
committed  to  the  stomach  before  it  has  been 
further  bruised  and  mangled  by  the  teeth. 
How  is  it  that  plauts,  flowers,  and  fruits  onlv 


608 


sxrPFEE-Esra-. 


SUFFERING. 


yield  their  latent  virtues  when  bruised  ?  Why  I 
is  vegetable  life  sacrificed  for  us  ?  Why  is  ! 
animal  life  slain  for  us  ?  Why  does  every  , 
creature  come  into  the  world  through  the  gate  j 
of  sorrow  ?  How  is  it  that  all  things  are  I 
secreted  within  chaff  or  skin  or  shell,  and  | 
that  violence  must  be  done  to  chaff,  skin,  and  , 
shell  in  order  to  reach  the  hidden  good  ?  j 
Finding  the  answer  to  these  questions  will  i 
help  to  the  opening  of  the  higher  question. 

Pulsford.  | 

5531.  SUFFERING,  Bearing.  When  we  are  | 
pierced  with  afflictions,  the  way  is  not  to  go 
to  God,  and  say,  “Take  away  this  thorn  I” 
God  says,  “  No.  I  put  it  there  to  bleed  you 
where  you  are  plethoric.”  Suffering  well 
borne  is  better  than  suffering  removed.  Suf¬ 
fering  did  not  slip  in,  as  theologians  make  so 
many  things  to  have  done,  at  the  fall ;  but  it 
is  a  part  of  God’s  original  method.  Beecher. 

5522.  SUFFERING,  with  Christ.  Phocion, 

an  Athenian  captain,  being  condemned  to 
death,  and  seeing  one  Enippus  condemned  j 
to  the  same  death,  but  very  fearful,  he  com-  | 
forts  him  with  these  words  :  “  Is  it  not  enough  | 
to  thee  that  thou  art  to  die  with  Phocion  V  ”  i 
Should  it  not  comfort  us  in  suffering,  that  we  | 
die  with  Christ  V  S.  Coley.  I 

5523.  SUFFERING,  Conduct  under.  Seeing  a  | 

piece  of  suffering  is  carved  to  every  one  of  us, 
less  or  more  as  Infinite  Wisdom  has  thought  | 
good,  our  part  is  to  harden  and  habituate  j 
our  soft  and  thin-skined  nature  to  endure  fire  i 
and  water,  devils,  lions,  men,  losses,  grieved  j 
hearts,  as  those  that  are  looked  upon  by  God,  j 
angels,  men,  and  devils.  Rutherford,  j 

5524.  SUFFERING,  Conversion  through,  A  j 
soldier  who  had  lost  his  right  arm  from  the  j 
shoulder  said  to  an  agent  of  the  Christian  j 
Commission,  “  It  seems  to  me  I  can’t  be  grate-  j 
ful  enough  for  losing  my  arm.  It  made  me  | 
thoughtful,  and  opened  the  way  for  your  | 
delegates  to  visit  me,  and  ended  in  my  finding  j 
Christ.  ‘  It  is  better,’  I  think,  “  to  enter  into  j 
life  halt  or  maimed,  rather  than,  having  two 
hands  or  two  feet,  to  be  cast  into  everlasting 
fire.’  ” 

5525.  SUFFERINGS,  Fellowship  of.  Oh  1  how 

sweet  a  cross  it  is  to  see  a  cross  betwixt  Christ 
and  us ;  to  hear  our  Redeemer  say,  at  every 
sigh,  and  every  blow,  and  every  loss  of  a  be¬ 
liever,  “  Half  mine  !  ”  Rutherford. 

5526.  SUFFERING,  Honors  of.  Thuanus  tells, 
that  a  Gallic  lord,  being  led  forth  to  martyr¬ 
dom  in  company  with  some  equally  faithful 
though  plebeian  professors,  saw  that,  out  of 
regard  to  his  rank,  the  officers  put  on  him  no 
chains,  while  each  of  his  brethren  bore  them  ; 
upon  which  he  cried,  “  Let  me,  I  pray  you,  be 
clipped  of  none  of  my  honors  :  I,  too,  for  love 
of  Jesus,  would  wear  a  chain  1  ”  S.  Coley. 

5527.  SUFFERING,  Joy  in,  A  soldier  wlio 
had  been  shot  through  a  shoulder  and  a  leg, 
and  had  also  lost  an  arm,  radiant  with  joy,  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  Oh  1  my  wounds  are  nothing  now. 

I  can  bear  them  all :  I  have  peace  within.” 

5528.  SUFFERING,  Ministry  of.  How  comes 
it,  that  whatever  is  of  a  useful  nature,  and 


intended  to  be  profitable  to  the  world,  must 
suffer  much,  and  be  subjected  to  every  kind 
of  ill  treatment ;  but  that  man,  who  himself 
does  with  other  things  as  he  lists,  is  unwilling 
to  suffer,  or  permit  God  to  deal  as  he  lists  with 
him  ?  Wheat,  which  is  the  noblest  of  all  the 
products  of  the  earth,  is  here  threshed,  trod 
upon,  swept  about,  tossed  in  the  air,  sifted, 
shaken,  and  shovelled,  and  afterwards  ground, 
resifted,  and  baked,  and  so  arrives  at  last 
upon  the  tables  of  princes  and  kings.  Gotthold. 

5529,  SUFFERING,  Resignation  in,  Let  me 
wither  and  wear  out  mine  age  in  a  discomfort¬ 
able,  in  an  unwholesome,  in  a  penurious  prison, 
and  so  pay  my  debts  with  my  bones,  and  re¬ 
compense  the  wastefulness  of  my  youth  with 
the  beggary  of  my  age;  let  me  wither  in  a 
spital  under  sharp  and  foul  and  infamous  dis¬ 
eases,  and  so  recompense  the  wantonness  of 
my  youth  with  that  loathsomeness  in  mine 
age :  yet,  if  God  withdraw  not  his  spiritual 
blessings,  his  grace,  Iris  patience;  if  I  can 
call  my  suffering  his  doing,  my  passion  his 
action,  —  all  this  that  is  temporal  is  but  a  cater¬ 
pillar  got  into  one  corner  of  my  garden,  but  a 
mildew  fallen  upon  one  acre  of  my  corn  :  the 
body  of  all,  the  substance  of  all,  is  safe  as 
long  as  the  soul  is  safe.  Dr.  Dunne. 

5539.  SUFFERING,  Rewarded.  Agrippa, 
grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  once  expressed 
a  desire  that  his  friend  Caligula  might  soon 
come  to  the  throne.  Old  Tiberius,  the  reign¬ 
ing  monarch,  felt  such  a  wish,  however  flatter¬ 
ing  to  Caligula,  to  be  so  little  kindly  to  him¬ 
self,  that  he  threw  the  author  of  it  into  a 
loathsome  dungeon.  But  the  very  day  Ca¬ 
ligula  reached  imperial  power,  Agrippa  was 
released,  the  new  emperor  gave  him  purple 
tor  his  rags,  tetrarchies  for  his  narrow  cell ; 
and,  carefully  weighing  the  gyves  that  fet¬ 
tered  him,  for  every  link  of  iron  bestowed 
on  him  one  of  gold.  Think  you  that  day 
Agrippa  wished  his  hand-cuffs  and  his  leg- 
locks  had  been  lighter  V  Will  Jesus  forget 
the  well-wishers  of  his  kingdom,  who,  for  his 
sake,  have  borne  the  burden  and  wore  the 
chain  ?  His  scales  will  be  forthcoming  ;  and 
assuredly  those  faithful  in  great  tribulation 
shall  be  beatified  with  greater  glory.  5.  Coley. 

5531.  SUFFERING,  Utility  of.  I  know  enough 

of  gardening  to  understand,  that,  if  I  would 
have  a  tree  grow  upon  its'  south  side,  I  must 
cut  off  the  branches  there.  Then  all  its  forces 
go  to  repairing  the  injury ;  and  twenty  buds 
shoot  out,  where,  otherwise,  there  would  have 
been  but  one.  When  we  reach  the  garden 
above,  we  shall  find,  that,  out  of  those  very 
wounds  over  which  we  sighed  and  groaned  on 
earth,  have  sprung  verdant  branches,  bearing 
precious  fruit,  a  thousand-fold.  Beecher. 

5532.  SUFFERING,  Vicarious.  Suffering  in 
human  life  is  very  widely  vicarious.  Every 
man  feels  this  in  himself ;  one  part  of  his  being 
paying  another’s  penalty.  If  he  loves  over¬ 
much,  it  is  not  love  that  suffers,  but  conscien 
tiousness.  If  his  passions  are  unduly  excited, 
it  is  his  moral  nature  that  feels  the  transgres¬ 
sion.  If  the  brain  be  overwrought,  the  body 


sihtt'erestg-. 


SXJNX)A.Y  SCHOOL.  609 


feels  it.  The  first  lesson  of  life  is  one  of  vi¬ 
carious  suffering.  As  we  go  to  the  ship  to  see 
friends  depart,  and  leave  them  with  cheers 
and  benedictions,  and  wafted  kisses ;  so,  when 
a  young  spirit  is  about  to  be  launched  into  this 
earthly  life,  one  would  think  that  troops  of 
angels  would  attend  it,  and  with  hope  and 
gladness  see  it  on  its  way.  But  no.  Silently 
it  passes  the  bounds  of  the  unseen  land ;  and 
the  gate  which  opens  to  admit  it  to  this  is  a 
gate  of  tears  and  moans.  Through  the  sor¬ 
row  of  another  is  it  ushered  into  existence. 
Love  cannot  clasp  all  it  yearns  for  in  its  bosom, 
without  first  suffering  for  it.  The  child  lives 
upon  its  parent’s  life.  The  child  which  has 
no  one  to  suffer  for  it  is  a  miserable  wretch. 
And  from  this  point  onward,  in  every  relation 
of  life,  one  man  suffers  for  another’s  benefit.  It 
is  the  law  of  social  life ;  and  I  do  not  see  why 
we  should  think  it  strange  that  Christ  obeyed 
the  same  law,  only  in  a  grander  way. 

Beecher. 

5533.  SUFFERING,  Voluntary.  Prometheus 
is  fabled  to  have  offended  Jupiter  by  befriend¬ 
ing  mankind,  and  teaching  them  the  arts.  The 
angry  Jove  caused  him  to  be  chained  to  a 
rock  On  Mount  Caucasus.  There  a  vulture 
preyed  upon  his  liver,  which  was  renewed  as 
fast  as  it  was  devoured.  Prometheus  possessed 
a  secret  by  which  he  might  have  freed  him¬ 
self  at  any  time  from  his  cruel  torture ;  but 
this  he  disdained  to  do.  lie  has  therefore 
beoome  the  symbol  of  magnanimous  endurance 
of  unmerited  suffering. 

5531.  SUICIDE,  Epicurean.  Our  pious  an¬ 
cestors  enacted  a  law,  that  suicides  should  be 
buried  where  four  roads  meet,  and  that  a  cart¬ 
load  of  stones  should  be  thrown  upon  the 
body.  Yet  when  gentlemen  or  ladies  commit 
suicide,  not  by  cord  or  steel,  but  by  turtle-soup 
or  lobster-salad,  they  may  be  buried  in  conse¬ 
crated  ground,  and  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Church ;  and  the  public  are  not  ashamed  to  read 
an  epitaph  on  their  tombstones  false  enough 
to  make  the  marble  blush.  Were  the  barba¬ 
rous  old  law  now  in  force,  that  punished  the 
body  of  the  suicide  for  the  offence  of  his  soul, 
we  should  find  many  a  Mount  Auburn  at  the 
cross-roads.  H.  Mann. 

5535.  SUICIDE,  Example  of.  There  is  a  well- 
known  Greek  story  of  a  penniless  man,  who, 
going  out  with  a  rope  in  his  hand  to  hang  him¬ 
self.  found  a  purse  of  money,  which  induced 
him  l  o  throw  the  rope  away  ;  whereas  the  own¬ 
er  of  the  purse  coming  back  to  look  for  his 
property,  and  finding  only  the  rope  instead, 
straightway  hanged  himself. 

553G.  SUN,  Desire  for  the.  Dr.  Hayes,  the 
arctic  explorer,  graphically  describes  the  re¬ 
turn  of  the  sun  after  an  absence  of  long  cold 
months.  For  several  days,  the  golden  flush 
deepens,  until  the  burning  forehead  of  the 
“  king  of  day  ”  rises  above  the  horizon,  to  cir¬ 
cle  round  it  for  half  the  year.  The  inexpres¬ 
sible  delight  with  which  the  morning  glory  is 
hailed,  he  says,  almost  makes  one  cease  to 
wonder  that  the  sun  has  had  devout  worship¬ 
pers. 


5537.  SUNDAY,  Record  of.  On  the  sides  of 
an  English  coal-mine,  limestone  is  in  constant 
process  of  formation.  When  the  miners  are 
at  work,  the  dust  of  the  coal  colors  the  forma¬ 
tion  black  :  when  they  rest,  it  is  white.  For 
each  sabbath,  the  sabbath  has  a  white  line ; 
hence  it  is  called  “  The  Sunday  Stone.”  There 
is  also  a  record  of  the  Sundays  of  all  people. 

5538.  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS,  Influence  o£  A  lit¬ 
tle  boy  learned  in  Sunday  school  the  text, 
“  When  my  father  and  mother  forsake  me,  the 
Lord  will  take  me  up.”  While  working  in  a 
coal-mine,  the  water  burst  in,  and  cut  off  all 
escape.  Some  days  after,  his  body  was  found, 
and  near  it  the  above  text,  cut  in  the  soft  coal. 
The  Lord  had  indeed  taken  him  up. 

5539.  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS,  Mission  of.  Among 

the  old  Romans,  there  prevailed  the  touching 
custom  of  holding  the  face  of  every  new-born 
infant  towards  the  heavens,  signifying,  by  thus 
presenting  its  forehead  to  the  stars,  that  it  was 
to  look  above  the  world  into  celestial  glories. 
It  was  a  vain  superstition  ;  but  Christianity 
dispels  the  fable,  and  gives  us  a  clear  realiza¬ 
tion  of  that  pagan  yearning,  in  the  deep  soli* 
citude  which  all  its  disciples  cherish  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  young.  The  great  de¬ 
sign  of  the  Sunday-school  organization  is  to 
turn  the  faces  of  the  little  children  towards 
heaven,  and  prepare  their  spirits  for  immortal 
glory.  Biblical  Treasury .- 

5540.  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS,  Origin  of.  The 

utility  of  an  establishment  of  this  sort  was  first 
suggested  by  a  group  of  little  miserable- 
wretches,  whom  I  observed  one  day  in  the 
street  where  many  people  employed  in  the 
pin-manufactory  reside.  I  was  expressing  my 
concern  to  one,  at  their  forlorn  and  neglected 
state,  and  was  told,  that,  if  I  were  to  pass 
through  that  street  upon  Sundays,  it  would 
shock  me,  indeed,  to  see  the  crowds  of  children 
who  were  spending  that  sacred  day  in  noise 
and  riot,  to  the  extreme  annoyance  of  all  de¬ 
cent  people.  I  immediately  determined  to 
make  some  effort  to  remedy  the  evil.  Having 
found  four  persons  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  instruct  children  in  reading,  I  engaged  to 
pay  the  sum  required  for  receiving  and  in¬ 
structing  such  children  as  I  should  send  to 
them  every  Sunday.  The  children  were  to 
come  soon  after  ten  in  the  morning,  and  stay 
till  twelve ;  they  were  then  to  go  home,  and 
return  at  one  ;  and,,  after  reading  a  lesson,  they 
were  to  be  conducted  to  church.  After  church, 
they  were  to  be  employed  in  reading  the  cate¬ 
chism  till  after  five,  and  then  to  be  dismissed, 
with  an  injunction  to  go  home  without  making 
a  noise,  and  by  no  means  to  play  in  the  street. 
This  was  the  general  outline  of  the  regula¬ 
tions.  Railces. 

5511.  SUNDAY  SCHOOL,  Preaching  in.  Hen¬ 
ry  Ward  Beecher  once  remarked,  that,  the 
longer  he  lived,  the  more  he  valued  those  ser¬ 
mons  preached  where  one  man  was  the  minis¬ 
ter,  and  one  man  the  congregation ;  where  the 
sermon  was  from  eye  to  eye,  from  heart  to 
heart,  and  there  could  be  no  question  as  to  who 
was  intended  by  the  appeal.  Such  preaching 


80 


G10  stttstd^y  schools. 


sxisricioY. 


the  Sunday  school  secures.  Or,  as  Dr.  Duryea 
puts  it,  the  sick  man  needs  not  a  lecture  on 
medicine,  but  a  prescription.  His  pulse  must 
be  felt,  his  symptoms  considered,  and  the  rem¬ 
edy  for  his  particular  disorder  directed.  In 
the  sabbath  school,  the  sin-sick  soul  can  be 
thus  cared  for.  It  is  wrong,  then,  to  set  med¬ 
ical  students,  or  even  old  professors,  lecturing 
at  the  desk,  when  every  minute  is  needed  by 
the  home  physician  for  the  examination  and 
counsel  of  his  cases  in  the  domestic  class-cir¬ 
cle.  The  Congregationalism 

5542.  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS,  Rescues  of,  Six 
little  children  got  into  a  boat,  and  were  swept 
away  to  sea.  All  that  could,  put  out  in  search 
of  them.  Great  anxiety  filled  the  place.  All 
night,  the  children  were  drifting  on  the  cruel 
sea.  Next  day,  a  fisherman  discovered  and 
rescued  them.  The  cry,  “  They  are  safe  !  ” 
ran  through  the  town.  The  work  of  the  Sun¬ 
day  school  is  to  rescue,  not  six,  but  millions  of 
children  who  are  drifting  to  ruin. 

5543.  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS,  Result  of.  The 
child  of  an  intemperate  father,  just  before  her 
death,  asked  him  to  promise  her  two  things : 
one  was  to  give  up  drink,  which  he  promised  ; 
and  the  other  was  to  pray,  which  he  said  he 
did  not  know  how  to  do.  She  told  him  she 
would  teach  him  what  she  had  learned  in  Sun¬ 
day  school.  He  knelt  by  her  bed,  and  repeated 
the  words  after  her.  He  became  earnest  in 
prayer  for  himself,  and  cried  to  God  till  light 
came  to  his  soul.  When  he  rose  up,  he  found 
his  child  smiling,  but  still.  She  had  gone  to 
rejoice  with  the  angels  over  her  repentant 
father. 

5544.  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER,  Example  of. 
Pres.  Harrison  taught  for  several  years  in  a  hum¬ 
ble  sabbath  school  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio. 
The  sabbath  before  he  left  home  for  Wash¬ 
ington,  to  assume  the  duties  of  chief-magistrate 
of  the  nation,  he  met  his  Bible-class  as  usual. 
And  his  last  counsel  on  the  subject  '{j  his 
gardener  at  Washington,  when  advised  to  keep 
a  dog  to  protect  his  fruit,  was,  “  Rather  set  a 
sabbath-school  teacher  to  take  care  of  the 
boys.” 

5545.  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  TEACHER,  Honor  of 
the.  It  seems  to  me  that  every  Sunday-school 
teacher  has  a  right  to  put  “  Reverend  ”  before 
his  name  as  much  as  I  have;  or  if  not,  if  he 
discharges  his  trust,  he  certainly  is  a  “  Right 
Honorable.”  He  teaches  his  congregation, 
and  preaches  to  his  class.  I  may  preach  to 
more,  and  he  to  less  ;  but  still  he  is  doin<r  the 
same  work,  though  in  a  smaller  sphere.  I  am 
sure  I  can  sympathize  with  Mr.  Carey,  when 
he  said  of  his  son  Felix,  who  left  the  mission¬ 
ary  work  to  become  an  ambassador,  “Felix 
has  drivelled  into  an  ambassador  ;  ”  meaning 
to  say,  that  lie  was  once  a  great  person  as  a 
missionary,  but  that  he  had  afterwards  ac¬ 
cepted  a  comparatively  insignificant  office. 

Sjiurgeon. 

5516.  SUPERINTENDENT,  Warning  of  a,  A 
Sundav-school  superintendent,  as  he  saw  one 
of  his  boys  near  a  place  of  temptation,  said 
kmdly  to  him,  “  Take  care,  George,  take  care  1  ” 


Twelve  years  after,  that  superintendent  was 
met  by  a  stranger,  who  told  him  that  he  was 
that  boy,  and  that  his  caution  had  saved  him 
from  ruin. 

__  5547.  SUPERSTITION,  Exposed.  When  John 
Knox  betran  the  work  of  reform  in  Glasgow, 
the  idea  prevailed,  that,  if  a  heretic  should  but 
touch  the  great  bell  in  the  church  there,  he 
would  be  struck  dead  instantly.  He  accepted 
the  test  on  condition  that  the  bell  should  be 
lowered  into  the  street.  He  declared  that  it 
should  either  kill  him,  or  he  it.  Then  he  stood 
over  it,  anathematized  the  Church  of  Rome, 
the  pope,  and  the  wicked  priests.  The  super¬ 
stitious  crowd  looked  in  vain  to  see  the  bold 
heretic  fall  dead.  Instead,  men  armed  with 
hammers,  at  Knox’s  order,  broke  the  bell  in 
fragments.  Thus  a  great  imposture  was  de¬ 
tected,  Romanism  defeated,  and  Protestantism 
established. 

5548.  SUPPLIES,  Spiritual.  He  that  has 

joined  himself  to  the  mountain-spring  has  its 
voice  continually  in  his  dwelling,  night  and 
day,  summer  and  winter,  without  work  or 
stroke  of  laboring  pump,  clear,  sweet,  and 
cheerful;  running  of  its  own  accord,  and  sing ■ 
ing  at  its  work  ;  more  musical  than  any  lute, 
and  bringing  in  its  song  suggestions  of  its 
home,  —  the  dark  recess,  the  rock  which  was 
its  father,  the  cloud  which  was  its  mother,  and 
the  teeming  heaven  bright  and  broad  above 
both  rock  and  cloud.  Beecher . 

5549.  SUPPORT,  Omnipresent.  Just  as  the 

mountain  supports  the  tiny  blade  of  grass  and 
the  modest  floweret,  as  well  as  the  giant  pine 
or  cedar;  just  as  that  ocean  bears  up  in  safety 
the  sea-bird  seated  on  its  crested  waves,  as 
well  as  the  leviathan  vessel :  so,  while  the 
great  Keeper  of  Israel  can  listen  to  the  arch¬ 
angels’  song  and  the  seraphs’  burning  devo¬ 
tions,  he  can  carry  in  his  bosom  the  feeblest 
lamb  of  the  fold,  and  lead  gently  the  most 
sorrowing  spirit.  lieu.  J.  R.  Macduff. 

5550.  SURRENDER,  Foil.  As  one  whose 
watch  does  not  keep  good  time  takes  it  to  the 
watchmaker,  and  gives  it  to  him,  without  con¬ 
dition,  to  be  put  in  repair  ;  so  should  sinners 
give  their  hearts  unconditionally  to  Christ,  who 
is  the  true  and  only  repairer  of  souls. 

5551.  SURRENDER,  A  Late.  In  one  of  the 
army  hospitals  lay  a  wounded  officer,  around 
whom  the  shadows  of  eternity  began  to  fall. 
While  strong  and  rich,  he  resisted  God  ;  but 
now,  when  conquered,  he  was  willing  to  listen 
to  the  terms  of  surrender.  He  could  not  un¬ 
derstand  them.  At  last  the  words,  “  Believe 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved,”  “  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,” 
applied  to  his  soul  with  power  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  reached  his  heart.  His  face  grew  bril¬ 
liant.  With  momentary  strength,  he  raised 
himself  from  the  pillow ;  and,  stretching  out 
his  arms,  he  exclaimed  with  thrilling  earnest¬ 
ness,  “  I  accept  the  terms  :  I  surrender  1  ” 
That  was  his  last  word  as  his  soul  went  to 

TY-jppf  i  f-q  M  n  k-pr 

5552.  SUSPICION,  Evils  o£  If  thou  begin 


SUSPICION'. 


SYMPATHY. 


611 


to  suspect  evil  of  another,  the  next  thing  is  to 
conclude  it,  and  the  next  to  report  it.  Tliis 
suspicion  is  a  strange  shadow,  that  every  ac¬ 
tion  of  another  will  cast  upon  our  minds,  espe¬ 
cially  if  we  be  beforehand  a  little  disaffected 
towards  them.  Thus,  very  dreams  increased 
suspicion  against  Joseph  in  his  brethren. 
And  if  once  a  man  be  out  of  esteem  with  us, 
let  him  then  do  what  he  will,  be  it  never  so 
virtuous  and  commendable,  suspicion  will  still 
be  the  interpreter ;  and,  where  suspicion  is  the 
interpreter  of  men’s  actions,  slander  and  de¬ 
traction  will  be  the  gloss  and  comment  upon 
them.  Indeed,  suspicion  is  always  too  hasty 
in  concluding;  and  many  times  our  jealousies 
and  distrusts,  upon  very  small  occasion,  prompt 
us  to  conclude  that  what  we  have  thus  sur¬ 
mised  is  certainly  come  to  pass  :  and  so  we 
take  shadows  for  enemies,  and  report  that 
confidently  for  truth,  which  yet  we  never  saw 
acted  but  only  in  our  own  fancies. 

Bp.  Hopkins. 

5553.  SUSPICION,  Proneness  to.  Never  put 
much  confidence  in^such  as  put  no  confidence 
in  others.  A  man  prone  to  suspect  evil  is 
mostly  looking  in  his  neighbor  for  what  he  sees 
in  himself.  As  to  the  pure  all  things  are  pure, 
even  so  to  the  impure  all  things  are  impure. 

Hare. 

5551.  SWEARING,  Canse  of.  I  verily  believe, 
that,  if  God  had  never  made  the  third  com¬ 
mandment,  there  would  never  have  been  so 
many  oaths  in  the  world  :  but  it  springs  from 
a  mere  malignancy  of  spirit  in  man  against 
God  because  he  has  forbidden  it ;  for  no  profit 
can  arise  from  the  practice.  Burroughs. 

5555.  SWEAEING,  Excuse  for.  An  elector  of 
Cologne  (who  was  also  an  archbishop),  one 
day  swearing  profanely,  asked  a  peasant,  who 
seemed  to  wonder,  what  he  was  so  surprised 
at.  “  To  hear  an  archbishop  swear,”  was  the 
answer.  “  I  swear,”  replied  the  elector,  “  not 
as  an  archbishop,  but  as  a  prince.” —  “  But, 
my  lord,”  said  the  peasant,  “  when  the  prince 
goes  to  the  Devil,  what  will  become  of  the 
archbishop  ?  ” 

5550.  SWEARING,  Payment  for.  “  What 
does  Satan  pay  you  for  swearing  ?  ”  asked  one 
gentleman  of  another.  “  He  don’t  pay  me 
any  thing,”  was  the  reply.  “  Well,  you  work 
cheap,  —  to  lay  aside  the  character  of  a  gentle¬ 
man  ;  to  indict  so  much  pain  on  your  friends 
and  civil  people;  to  suffer;  and,  lastly,  to 
risk  your  own  precious  soul,  and  for  nothing, — 
you  certainly  do  work  cheap,  very  cheap  in¬ 
deed.” 

5557.  SWEARING,  Punishment  of.  Louis  IX, 

of  France  punished  any  one  who  was  con¬ 
victed  of  swearing,  by  scaring  their  lips  with  a 
hot  iron ;  and,  when  some  complained  that  the 
punishment  was  too  severe,  he  replied,  “  I 
would  to  God,  that,  by  searing  my  own  lips,  I 
could  banish  out  of  my  realm  all  abuse  of 
oaths !  ”  Bowes. 

5558.  SWEARING,  Remedy  for.  Every  time, 

whenever  thou  shalt  find  thyself  to  have  let 
slip  an  oath,  punish  thyself  lor  it  by  missing 
the  next  meal.  Chrysostom. 


5559.  SWEARING,  Satanic.  A  thoughtless, 
conceited  young  man  was  boasting  of  the  num¬ 
ber  of  languages  he  knew.  In  French,  he  was 
a  complete  Parisian  ;  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
were  as  familiar  to  him  as  his  old  gloves.  In 
Italy,  he  had  passed  for  a  native.  Now  and 
then  he  popped  out  an  oath,  swearing  that  he 
thought  he  knew  almost  all  languages.  An 
elderly  man,  who  had  listened  attentively  to 
his  address,  suddenly  stopped  him  by  asking 
him  if  he  were  at  all  acquainted  with  “  the 
language  of  Canaan.”  Cope. 

5500.  SYMPATHY,  Benefit  of.  Every  man 
rejoices  twice  when  he  has  a  partner  of  his 
joy.  A  friend  shares  my  sorrow,  and  makes  it 
but  a  moiety ;  but  he  swells  my  joy,  and  makts 
it  double.  For  so  two  chanuels  divide  the  river, 
and  lessen  it  into  rivulets,  and  make  it  forda¬ 
ble,  and  apt  to  be  drunk  up  by  the  first  revels 
of  the  Syrian  star ;  but  two  torches  do  not 
divide,  but  increase,  the  flame.  And  though  my 
tears  are  the  sooner  dried  up  when  they  run 
on  my  friend’s  cheeks  in  the  furrows  of  com¬ 
passion,  yet,  when  my  flame  hath  kindled  his 
lamp,  we  unite  the  glories,  and  make  them 
radiant,  like  the  golden  candlesticks  that  burn 
before  the  throne  of  God,  because  they  shine 
by  numbers,  by  light,  and  joy. 

5531.  SYMPATHY,  of  Christ.  At  the  siege 
of  Motts,  during  the  glorious  career  of  Marl¬ 
borough,  the  Duke  of  Argylc  joined  an  attack¬ 
ing  corps  when  it  was  on  the  point  of  shrink¬ 
ing  from  the  contest ;  and  pushing  among  them, 
open-breasted,  he  exclaimed,  “  You  see,  broth¬ 
ers,  I  have  no  concealed  armor :  I  am  equally 
exposed  with  you.  I  require  none  to  go  where 
I  shall  refuse  to  venture.  Remember,  you  fight 
tor  the  liberties  of  Europe,  and  the  glory  of 
your  nation,  which  shall  never  suffer  by  my 
behavior  ;  and  I  hope  the  character  of  a  Brit¬ 
on  is  as  dear  to  every  one  of  you.”  This  spirit 
animated  the  soldiers.  The  assault  was  made, 
and  the  work  was  carried.  Percy. 

5562.  SYMPATHY,  Human.  Though  the 
lower  animals  have  feeling,  they  have  no  fel¬ 
low-feeling.  Have  not  I  seen  the  horse  enjoy 
his  feed  of  corn  when  his  yoke-fellow  lay 
a-dying  in  the  neighboring  stall,  and  never  turn 
an  eye  of  pity  on  the  sufferer  V  They  have 
strong  passions,  but  no  sympathy.  It  is  said 
that  the  wounded  deer  sheds  tears;  but  it  be¬ 
longs  to  man  only  to  “  weep  with  them  that 
weep,”  and  by  sympathy  to  divide  another’s 
sorrows,  and  double  another's  joys.  When 
thunder,  following  the  dazzling  flash,  has  burst 
among  our  hills,  when  the  horn  of  the  Switzer 
has  rung  in  his  glorious  valleys,  when  the  boat¬ 
man  has  shouted  from  the  bosom  of  a  rock-girt 
loch,  wonderful  were  the  echoes  I  have  heard 
them  make ;  but  there  is  no  echo  so  fine  or 
wonderful  as  that,  which,  in  the  sympathy  of 
human  hearts,  repeats  the  cry  of  another’s  sor¬ 
row,  and  makes  me  feel  his  pain  almost  as  if  it 
were  my  own.  They  say,  that,  if  a  piano  is 
struck  in  a  room  where  another  stands  un¬ 
opened  and  untouched,  who  lays  his  ear  to 
that  will  hear  a  string  within,  as  if  touched 
by  the  hand  of  a  shadowy  spirit,  sound  the 


612 


SYMPATHY. 


TAHE-B  EARER. 


same  note ;  but  more  strange  how  the  strings 
of  one  heart  vibrate  to  those  of  another ;  how 
woe  wakens  woe ;  how  your  grief  infects  me 
with  sadness;  how  the  shadow  of  a  passing 
funeral  and  nodding  hearse  casts  a  cloud  on 
the  mirth  of  a  marriage-party ;  how  sympathy 
may  be  so  delicate  and  acute  as  to  become  a 
pain.  There  is,  for  example,  the  well-authen¬ 
ticated  case  of  a  lady  who  could  not  even  hear 
the  description  of  a  severe  surgical  operation, 
but  she  felt  all  the  agonies  of  the  patient,’ 
grew  paler  and  paler,  and  shrieked  and  faint¬ 
ed  under  the  horrible  imagination. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

5563.  SYMPATHY,  Influence  of.  Rev.  II.  C. 
Trumbull,  preaching  to  the  inmates  of  a  pris¬ 
on,  said,  that  the  only  difference  between  him¬ 
self  and  them  was  owing  to  the  grace  of  God. 
Afterwards,  one  of  the  prisoners  sent  for  him, 
and  asked,  “  Did  you  mean  what  you  said 
about  sympathizing  with  us,  and  that  only  the 
help  of  God  made  you  differ  from  us  ?  ”  Be¬ 
ing  answered  in  the  affirmative,  the  prisoner 
said,  “  I  am  here  for  life  ;  but  I  can  stay  here 
more  contentedly  now  that  I  know  I  have  a 
brother  out  in  the  world.”  That  prisoner  be¬ 
haved  so  well,  that  he  was  pardoned.  He 
died  in  the  last  war,  thanking  God  to  the  last 
for  the  preacher’s  words  of  sympathy. 

5564.  SYMPATHY,  Law  of.  As  in  the  elec¬ 
tric  shock,  every  one  feels  the  same  shock  who 
holds  the  same  chain ;  or  as  in  the  singular 
acoustic  law  by  which  several  instruments 
have  a  sympathetic  vibration,  so  that,  if  one 
note  be  struck  violently  on  one,  there  will  be  a 
faint  vibration  on  the  other ;  or  like  the  still 
more  delicate  and  mysterious  tracery  of  nerves 
which  run  throughout  the  whole  human  body, 
the  meanest  member  cannot  suffer  without  all 
the  members  feeling  with  it. 

5565.  SYMPATHY,  Power  of.  Happy  is  the 
man  who  has  that  in  his  soul  which  acts  upon 
the  dejected  as  April  airs  upon  violet  roots. 
Gifts  from  the  hand  are  silver  and  gold  ;  but 
the  heart  gives  that  which  neither  silver  nor 
gold  can  buy.  To  be  full  of  goodness,  lull  of 
cheerfulness,  full  of  sympathy,  full  of  helpful 
hope,  causes  a  man  to  carry  blessings  of  which 
he  is  himself  as  unconscious  as  a  lamp  of  its. 
own  shining.  Such  a  one  moves  on  human 
life  as  stars  move  on  dark  seas  to  bewildered, 
mariners  ;  as  the  sun  wheels,  bringing  all  the 
seasons  with  him  from  the  south.  Beecher. 

5566.  SYMPATHY,  Promptness  of.  Sympathy 
is  as  the  lightning;  it  is  quick  as  thought;  it 
waits  not  to  make  its  selections ;  it  is  irre¬ 
spective  of  considerations,  and  of  partialities, 
and  of  tastes,  and  of  cold  prudence.  If  the 
stone  on  which  I  have  set  my  foot  proves  to  be 
loose,  I  catch  hold  of  my  companion’s  arm ;  and 
I  do  so  without  ceremony  or  the  intervention 
of  a  thought.  Or,  if  I  see  that  my  companion 
is  in  danger  of  a  fall,  I  catch  hold  of  his  arm, 
to  save  him,  without  ceremony  or  the  inter¬ 
vention  of  a  thought.  Or  if,  on  my  path,  I  find 
some  one  —  a  stranger  —  who  has  just  fallen, 
and  has  broken  a  limb,  and  is  bleeding,  I  start 
forward  without  ceremony  or  the  intervention 


of  a  thought  (on  the  supposition  that  I  am  nc 
descendant  of  the  Priest  or  of  the  Levite). 

Isaac  Taj  lor. 

556 7.  SYMPATHY,  Sensitive.  Like  the  sea- 
anemone,  which  feels  the  first  returning  wave 
upon  the  rock,  anil  throws  out  all  its  tendrils; 
so  the  tender  nature  of  some  individuals  will 
give  forth  all  its  sympathies  at  the  slightest 
intimations  of  woe.  Rev.  J.  Everett. 

5563.  SYMPATHY,  Sentimental.  A  poor 
woman  was  reduced  to  extreme  poverty  by  the 
loss  of  her  cow,  her  only  means  of  support.  A 
neighbor,  who  was  unable  to  give  aid,  person¬ 
ally  went  round  to  different  ones  to  solicit 
money  to  buy  another  one.  He  went  from 
one  to  another,  and  told  the  pitiful  tale.  Each 
offered  sorrow  and  regret,  but  none  practical 
assistance.  He  became  impatient  after  being 
answered  as  usual  by  a  plentiful  shower  of 
feeling,  and  exclaimed,  “  Oh,  yes  1  I  don’t 
doubt  your  feeling ;  but  you  don’t  feel  in  the 
right  place.”  —  “  Oh  1  ”  said  he,  “  I  feel  with 
all  my  heart  and  soul.”  —  “  Yes,  yes,”  replied 
the  solicitor,  “  I  don’t  doubt  that  either ;  but 
I  want  you  to  feel  in  your  pocket.” 

5569.  SYMPATHY,  for  Sinners.  A  devoted 
elder,  burdened  tor  souls,  one  morning  called 
upon  a  sceptical  blacksmith  for  whom  he  had 
been'  wrestling  in  prayer.  With  deep  feeling, 
he  said,  “  Mr.  R.,  I  am  greatly  concerned  for 
your  salvation,  —  greatly  concerned  for  your 
salvation  1  ”  and  burst  into  tears.  He  could 
say  no  more,  and  returned  home.  “  Greatly 
concerned  for  my  salvation  1  ”  it  rung  through 
the  blacksmith’s  ears  like  a  thunder-clap  in  a 
clear  sky.  “  Greatly  concerned  I  ought  to  be 
for  my  own  salvation.  What  shall  I  do?” 
It  was  a  new  and  unanswerable  argument  for 
religion.  He  went  to  his  Christian  wife,  and 
asked  her  what  to  do.  She  advised  him  to 
follow  the  elder  home.  He  did  so,  and,  greet¬ 
ing  him,  said,  •'  I  am  come  to  tell  you  that  I 
am  greatly  concerned  for  my  own  salvation.” 
They  prayed  together ;  and  the  man,  whom  no 
logic  could  reach,  was  converted,  —  a  striking 
testimony  to  the  power  of  sympathy. 

5370.  TACT,  Power  of.  A  little  manage¬ 
ment  will  often,  avoid  resistance,  which  a  vast 
force  will  strive  in  vain  to  overcome. 

5571.  TACT,  Eule  of.  Grant  graciously 

what  you  cannot  refuse  safely,  and  conciliate 
those  you  cannot  conquer.  Colton. 

5572.  TALE-BEARER,  Description  of  the.  In 
the  common  form  of  a  prying  disposition,  the 
tale-bearer  incurs  the  penalty  of  no  one  trust¬ 
ing  him  with  a  secret,  except  for  publication. 
In  this  case,  they  use  him  for  a  live  advertise¬ 
ment,  like  the  bill-carriers  in  the  streets,  with 
whom  he  only  differs  in  the  fact  that  they 
carry  their  bills  openly,  and  “  above  board  ;  ” 
and  he  secretly,  and  like  a  spaniel,  between 
his  teeth.  Every  social  circle  has  some  such 
amateur  gazette,  who  lives,  like  a  soldier  s  nog, 
on  the  bits  and  scraps  he  picks  up  in  the  bar¬ 
racks,  and  whose  office  it  is  to  fetch  and  carry 
for  every  man  in  the  regiment.  Thus  it  is  no 
such  honorable  pest,  nor  half  so  innocent,  as  its 
animal  prototype.  The  poor  dog,  at  least 


TAX/E-OBK-AJFfcETt. 


TALK. 


613 


wags  no  man's  tail  but  his  own ;  but  the  biped 
tale-bearer  is  a  mischievous  wag  with  other 
people’s.  J '•  B.  Owen. 

5573.  TALE-BEARER,  Evil  of  the.  A  vine  or 

a  rose-tree  may  as  well  flourish  when  there  is 
a  secret  worm  lurking  and  gnawing  at  the  root 
of  them,  as  the  peace  of  those  societies  thrive 
that  have  such  concealed  plagues  wrapped  up 
in  their  hearts  and  bowels.  Dr.  South. 

5574.  TALE-BEARER,  Punishment  of  the.  As 

there  is  a  parity  of  guilt  between  the  thief  and 
the  receiver,  so  there  seems  to  be  the  like  be¬ 
tween  the  teller  and  the  hearer  of  a  malicious 
report ;  and  that  upon  very  great  reason.  For 
who  would  knock  where  he  despaired  of  en¬ 
trance  ?  Or  what  husbandman  would  cast  his 
seed  but  into  an  open  and  a  prepared  furrow  ? 
So  it  is  most  certain,  that  ill  tongues  would  be 
idle,  if  ill  ears  were  not  open.  And  therefore 
it  was  an  apposite  saying  of  one  of  the  ancients, 
that  both  the  teller  and  hearer  of  false  stories 
ought  equally  to  be  hanged ;  but  one  by  the 
tongue,  the  other  by  the  ears  :  and,  were  every 
one  of  them  so  served,  I  suppose  nobody  would 
be  so  fond  of  those  many  mischiefs  brought  by 
such  persons  upon  the  peace  of  the  world,  as 
to  be  concerned  to  cut  them  down,  unless,  per¬ 
haps,  by  cutting  off  the  forementioned  parts  by 
which  they  hung.  Dr.  South. 

5575.  TALENTS,  Classified,  The  highest 

order  of  talent  is  certainly  the  power  of  reve¬ 
lation,  —  the  power  of  imparting  new  proposi¬ 
tions  of  important  truth  :  inspiration,  there¬ 
fore,  while  it  continued  in  a  given  mind,  might 
be  called  the  paramount  talent.  The  second 
order  of  talent  is,  perhaps,  the  power  of  devel¬ 
opment,  —  the  power  of  disclosing  the  reasons 
and  the  proofs  of  principles,  and  the  causes  of 
facts.  The  third  order  of  talents  is,  perhaps, 
the  power  of  application,  —  the  power  of  adapt¬ 
ing  truth  to  effect.  J.  Foster. 

5576.  TALENTS,  Misguided.  An  illustration 
is  furnished  in  the  history  of  Combe,  the  un¬ 
happy  author  of  “  Dr.  Syntax  in  Search  of  the 
Picturesque.”  “  We  find,”  says  a  reviewer  in 
“  The  Companion  to  the  Library,”  “  this  im¬ 
provident  man,  and  all  within  a  few  years, 
figuring  as  a  boy  at  Eton ;  a  scholar  at  Oxford  ; 
a  student  in  the  Temple,  with  a  very  handsome 
independent  fortune ;  a  barrister  pleading  with 
success ;  a  man  of  fashion  intimately  associat¬ 
ing  with  lords  and  ladies,  and  calling  himself 
(from  his  courtly  dress  and  splendid  liveries) 

‘  the  Duke ;  ’  and  then  an  outcast  spendthrift ; 
a  private  soldier  ;  a  novice  in  a  French  monas¬ 
tery,  playing  the  monk  to  get  his  bread  for  the 
time  being  ;  a  strolling  player ;  a  gentleman’s 
servant ;  and  a  waiter  at  an  inn  at  Swansea. 
It  was  after  all  these  metamorphoses,  that  he 
turned  himself  into  an  author.  Ilis  last  scene 
of  all  was  the  King’s  Bench ;  there  he  wrote 
‘  Syntax’  and  some  other  works ;  and  there 
he  died,  after  an  imprisonment  (for  debt)  of 
twenty  years.” 

5577.  TALENTS,  Needed.  Gainsborough  be¬ 
came  so  enamored  of  the  music  made  upon  a 
fiddle  by  the  great  violinist  Giardino,  that  he 
was  frantic  until  he  purchased  the  instrument 


(like  the  servant-girl  in  “  The  Spectator,”  he 
thought  the  music  lay  in  the  fiddle),  which 
he  purchased  at  a  high  figure,  but  was  sur¬ 
prised  and  shocked  when  he  found  that  the 
music  of  the  instrument  remained  behind  with 
Giardino :  and  all  the  scraping  and  screwing 
he  could  apply  he  could  not  coax  out  the  mu¬ 
sic  that  had  given  him  so  much  pleasure. 

Caughey. 

5578.  TALENTS,  Neglected.  A  man  went  to 
the  bank  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  asking  and 
receiving  specie  for  bills  to  the  amount  of  a 
thousand  dollars.  He  had  kept  these  bills 
just  as  he  had  received  them  more  than  twenty 
years.  If  he  had  deposited  them  in  a  savings 
bank,  and  allowed  them  to  remain  on  interest, 
he  might  have  drawn  almost  three  times  the 
amount  at  the  end  of  this  long  interval.  How 
many  men  will  appear  at  the  judgment  to  give 
an  account  of  their  stewardship,  with  their  tal¬ 
ents  as  little  improved  by  wise  and  diligent 
use.  I 

5579.  TALENTS,  Use  of.  An  Eastern  alle¬ 
gory  runs  thus  :  A  merchant,  going  abroad 
for  a  time,  gave  respectively  to  two  of  his 
friends  two  sacks  of  wheat  each,  to  take  care 
of  against  his  return.  Y  ears  passed  :  he  came 
back,  and  applied  for  them  again.  The  first 
took  him  into  his  storehouse,  and  showed  them 
him  ;  but  they  were  mildewed  and  worthless. 
The  other  led  him  out  into  the  open  country, 
and  pointed  out  field  after  field  of  waving 
corn,  the  produce  of  the  two  sacks  given  him. 
Said  the  merchant,  “  You  have  been  a  faith¬ 
ful  friend.  Give  me  two  sacks  of  that  wheat : 
the  rest  shall  be  thine.” 

5580.  TALK,  Amount  of.  Perhaps  it  will 
not  be  an  extravagant  estimate  to  suppose  that 
all  are  engaged  in  conversation,  on  an  average, 
five  hours  a  day.  In  a  public  address,  an 
ordinary  speaker  proceeds  at  the  rate  of  about 
fifteen  octavo  pages  an  hour.  It  is  safe  for  us 
to  adopt  that  rate  in  estimating  conversation. 
We  have,  then,  on  an  average,  five  hours’ 
conversation  a  day,  proceeding  at  the  rate  of 
fifteen  pages  an  hour.  This  makes  a  volume 
of  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  pages  a  week. 
In  threescore  years  and  ten,  the  conversational 
aggregate  would  amount  to  a  library  contain¬ 
ing  the  very  respectable  number  of  three  thou¬ 
sand  six  hundred  and  forty  volumes  octavo. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Crane. 

5581.  TALK,  Highfalutin.  Andrew  Jackson 
was  once  making  a  stump-speech  in  a  country 
village  out  West.  Just  as  he  was  concluding, 
Amos  Kendall,  who  sat  behind  him,  whispered, 
“  Tip  ’em  a  little  Latin,  general  :  they  won’t 
be  satisfied  without  it.”  The  “  Hero  of  New 
Orleans  ”  instantly  thought  of  a  few  phrases 
he  knew,  and,  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  wound  up 
his  speech  by  exclaiming,  “  E  pluribus  unum.” 
“  Sine  qua  non.”  “  Ne  plus  ultra."  “  Multum 
in  parvo.”  The  effect  was  tremendous ;  and 
the  shouts  could  be  heard  for  miles.  Jeffers. 

5582.  TALK,  Much.  But  some  men  will 
never  be  cured  without  a  cancer  or  a  quinsy  : 
and  such  persons  are  taught  by  all  men  what 
to  do ;  for,  if  they  would  avoid  all  company  as 


G14 


TALKERS. 


TEACHER, 


willingly  as  company  avoids  them,  they  might 
quickly  have  a  silence  great  as  midnight,  pru¬ 
dent  as  the  Spartan  brevity.  But  God’s  grace 
is  sufficient  to  all  that  will  make  use  of  it ;  and 
there  is  no  way  for  the  cure  of  this  evil  but  the 
direct  obeying  of  a  counsel,  and  submitting  to 
the  precept,  and  fearing  the  divine  threaten¬ 
ing  ;  always  remembering,  that,  of  every  word 
a  man  speaks,  he  shall  give  account  at  the  day 
of  judgment.  I  pray  God  show  us  all  mercy 
in  that  day,  and  forgive  us  the  sins  of  the 
tongue  !  Bp.  Taylor. 

5583.  TALKERS,  Advice  to.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Burridge  being  visited  by  a  very  loquacious 
young  lady,  who  engrossed  all  the  conversation 
of  the  interview  with  small-talk  concerning 
herself,  when  she  arose  to  retire,  he  said, 
“  Madam,  before  you  withdraw,  I  have  one 
piece  of  advice  to  give  you ;  and  that  is,  when 
you  go  into  company  again,  after  you  have 
talked  half  an  hour  without  intermission,  I 
recommend  it  to  you  to  stop  a  while,  and  see  if 
any  other  of  the  company  has  any  thing  to 
say.” 

5584.  TALKERS,  Great.  How  many  are 

great  talkers,  or  great  orators,  if  that  sounds 
better?  We  have  the  art  of  saying  much  on  a 
little  ;  whereas  we  most  want  the  art  of  saying 
much  in  a  little.  Pavilion. 

5585.  TALKING,  Consistent.  A  pious  ser¬ 
geant  of  a  colored  regiment  at  Point  of  Rocks, 
when  invited  to  take  part  in  a  meeting,  said, 
“  ’Pears  like  I  could  say  more  in  five  minutes 
dan  I  could  live  all  my  life  long.”  Words  are 
but  wind ;  life  is  real ;  but,  when  both  are  in 
harmony,  their  influence  is  mighty. 

5586.  TALKING,  Professional.  They  commit 

an  impropriety  who  talk  much  of  subjects  per¬ 
taining  to  their  profession  or  business  or 
amusements.  It  savors  of  selfishness,  if  not  of 
vanity,  to  be  ever  harping  upon  our  daily  em¬ 
ployments,  and  to  allow  such  themes  to  swal¬ 
low  up  those  that  are  of  general  interest.  A 
magistrate  once  gave  Ur.  Johnson  a  long, 
tedious  account  of  the  exercise  of  his  criminal 
jurisdiction,  the  result  of  which  was  his  having 
sentenced  four  convicts  to  transportation.  The 
doctor,  in  an  agony  of  impatience  to  get  rid  of 
such  a  companion,  exclaimed,  “  I  heartily  wish, 
sir,  I  were  a  fifth.”  G.  W.  Harvey. 

5587.  TALKING,  Religions.  In  Germany, 
when  light  is  first  brought  into  a  room,  they 
say,  “  God  grant  light  eternal !  ”  and,  in  some 

arts  of  England,  “  God  grant  us  the  light  of 

eaven !  ”  Were  there  more  light  in  our 
hearts,  there  would  be  less  of  the  works  of 
darkness  in  our  lives.  We  are  like  the  actor, 
who,  looking  upward,  cried,  “  O  heaven  1  ” 
and  with  his  hand  pointed  to  the  earth. 

5588.  TALKING,  Rule  of.  Let  your  words 

be  few,  especially  when  your  betters  or  stran¬ 
gers,  or  men  of  more  experience  or  understand¬ 
ing,  are  in  the  place;  for  you  do  yourself  at 
once  two  great  mischiefs :  1.  You  betray 

and  discover  your  own  weakness  and  folly. 
2.  You  rob  yourself  of  that  opportunity 
which  you  might  otherwise  have  to  gain  knowl¬ 
edge,  wisdom,  and  experience,  by  hearing 


those  that  you  silence  by  your  impertinent 
talking.  Sir  M.  Ilale. 

5580.  TASTE,  Discrimination  of.  May  not 
taste  be  compared  to  that  exquisite  sense  of 
the  bee,  which  instantly  discovers  and  extracts 
the  quintessence  of  every  flower,  and  disre¬ 
gards  all  the  rest  ?  Greville. 

5500.  TASTE,  and  Genius.  Taste,  in  all 
probability  from  the  Latin  tactum  and  tango , 
“  to  touch,”  seems  to  designate  the  capacity  to 
derive  pleasure  from  an  object.  Genius  desig¬ 
nates  the  power  we  have  for  accomplishing 
any  object.  He  who  derives  particular  pleas¬ 
ure  from  music  may  be  said  to  have  a  taste 
for  music :  he  who  makes  very  great  profi¬ 
ciency  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  music  may 
be  said  to  have  a  genius  for  it.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  we  may  have  a  taste  without 
having  genius  ;  but  it  would  not  be  possible  to 
have  genius  for  a  thing  without  having  a  taste 
for  it ;  for  nothing  can  so  effectually  give  a 
taste  for  any  accomplishment  as  the  capacity 
to  learn  it,  and  the  susceptibility  of  all  its 
beauties ;  which  circumstances  are  inseparable 
from  genius.  G.  Crabb. 

5591.  TASTE,  No  Accounting  for.  Dr.  Liv¬ 
ingstone  once  gave  a  chief  who  came  to  visit 
him  a  piece  of  bread,  with  preserved  apricots, 
for  his  lunch.  As  he  seemed  to  relish  it,  the 
doctor  asked  if  his  country  produced  any  food 
equal  to  it.  “  Ah  !  ”  said  the  chief,  “  did  you 
ever  taste  white  ant  ?  ”  On  his  replying  that 
he  had  not,  he  said,  “  Well,  if  you  had,  you 
never  could  have  desired  to  eat  any  thing  bet¬ 
ter.”  There  is  a  large  grub,  the  larva  of  a 
beetle,  which  feeds  on  the  palm-tree,  which  is 
considered  a  great  delicacy  in  the  East  Indies. 
Capt.  Steadman,  who  ate  of  them  fried  in 
butter,  declares  their  flavor  to  be  “  like  a  com¬ 
bination  of  all  the  spices  in  India.” 

Bib.  Treasury. 

5592.  TATTLING,  Cure  for.  The  heights  of 
Mt.  Taurus  are  infested  by  eagles,  who  prey 
upon  any  cranes  that  may  fly  near  them. 
When  flying,  the  crane  keeps  up  a  constant 
cackle.  This  noise  brings  the  eagles  down 
upon  them.  It  is  said  that  the  older  cranes, 
sensible  of  their  weakness,  before  they  venture 
upon  a  flight  take  a  stone  in  their  mouths  large 
enough  to  enforce  silence. 

5593.  TAK,  Legend  of  the  Devil  and  the.  A  large 
sum  of  money  having  been  collected  by  Ed¬ 
ward,  king  and  saint,  for  the  tribute  called 
Danegelt,  it  was  conveyed  to  the  palace,  and 
the  king  was  called  to  see  it.  At  the  sight 
thereof,  he  started  back,  exclaiming,  that  he 
beheld  a  demon  dancing  upon  the  money,  and 
rejoicing.  Thereupon,  he  commanded  that  the 
gold  should  be  restored  to  its  owners,  and  re¬ 
leased  his  subjects  from  that  grievous  tribute. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

5594.  TEACHER,  A  Bad.  He  that  will  learn 
of  none  but  himself  is  sure  to  have  a  fool  for 
his  master. 

5595.  TEACHER,  Duplicity  of  a.  As  I  was  on 
my  way  to  the  schoolhouse,  I  passed  the  teach¬ 
er  and  a  lady,  who  inquired  how  her  son  was 
doing.  The  teacher  told  her  her  son  was  doing 


TEACHER. 


TEACHIN  Gr. 


615 


well,  —  very  well,  indeed.  In  course  of  the 
day,  the  teacher  said  to  one  of  the  boys,  as  he 
failed  to  spell  the  word  put  to  hi.n,  “John 
Ellis,  you  are  the  most  indolent  and  worst  be¬ 
haved  boy  in  school.  I  saw  your  mother  this 
morning ;  and  I  had  a  great  mind  to  tell  her 
what  kind  of  a  boy  you  are.  I  will  do  so  if 
you  don’t  do  better.”  The  lesson  made  a  very 
deep  impression  on  me.  I  never  trusted  that 
teacher  :  when  he  told  me  about  the  lessons,  I 
never  felt  sure  that  I  could  trust  him.  I  know 
that  we  must  learn  to  distrust ;  but  it  is  a  les¬ 
son  which  it  is  not  desirable  for  the  young 
mind  to  learn  too  soon.  Walton. 

5596.  TEACHER,  A  Model.  A  wren  built  her 

nest  in  a  box,  so  situated,  that  a  family  had  an 
opportunity  of  observing  the  mother-bird  in¬ 
structing  the  young  ones  in  the  art  of  singing 
peculiar  to  the  species.  She  fixed  herself  on 
one  side  of  the  opening  in  the  box,  directly 
before  her  young,  and  began  by  singing  over 
her  whole  song  very  distinctly.  One  of  the 
young  then  attempted  to  imitate  her.  After 
proceeding  through  a  few  notes,  its  voice  broke, 
and  it  lost  the  tune.  The  mother  immediately 
recommenced  where  the  young  one  had  failed, 
and  went  very  distinctly  through  with  the  re¬ 
mainder.  The  young  bird  made  a  second 
attempt,  commencing  where  it  had  ceased  be¬ 
fore,  and  continuing  the  song  as  long  as  it 
was  able;  and,  when  the  note  was  again  lost, 
the  mother  began  anew  where  it  stopped,  and 
completed  it.  Then  the  young  one  resumed  the 
tune,  and  finished  it.  This  done,  the  mother 
sang  over  the  whole  series  of  notes  a  second 
time,  with  great  precision  ;  and  a  second  of 
the  young  attempted  to  follow  her.  The  wren 
pursued  the  same  course  with  this  as  with  the 
first ;  and  so  with  the  third  and  fourth.  It 
sometimes  happened  that  the  young  one  would 
lose  the  tune  three,  four,  or  more  times  in  the 
same  attempt ;  in  which  case,  the  mother  uni¬ 
formly  began  where  they  ceased,  and  sung  the 
remaining  notes  :  and,  when  each  had  com¬ 
pleted  the  trial,  she  repeated  the  whole  strain. 
Sometimes  two  of  the  young  commenced  to¬ 
gether.  The  mother  observed  the  same  conduct 
towards  them  as  when  one  sang  alone.  This 
was  repeated  day  after  day,  and  several  times 
in  a  d.iy.  Percy. 

5597.  TEACHER,  Prayer  for  a.  “  O  Lord  1 
bless  de  teacher  who  come  so  far  to  ’struct  us 
in  de  way  to  heaven  1  llock  her  in  de  cradle  of 
love  !  Backen  de  word  of  power  in  her  heart, 
dat  she  may  have  souls  for  her  hire,  and  many 
stars  in  her  crown  in  de  great  gittin’-up  morn- 
in’  when  de  general  roll  is  called  1  And, 
when  all  de  battles  is  over,  may  she  fill  all 
kivered  with  victory,  be  buried  wid  de  honors 
of  war,  and  rise  to  wear  de  long  white  robe  in 
glory,  and  walk  de  shinin’  streets  in  silver 
slippers,  down  by  de  golden  sunrise,  close  to 
de  great  white  throne  ;  and  dere  may  she 
strike  glad  hands  wid  all  her  dear  scholars, 
and  praise  you,  O  Lord  !  forever  and  forever  1 
For  Jesus’  sake.  Amen.” 

5598.  TEACHER,  Prayers  of  a.  “  Do  you 
think,”  I  asked,  “that  the  Lord  will  let  me 


see  in  this  life  the  salvation  of  the  souls  for 
whom  I  pray  V  ”  —  “I  cannot  say  as  to  that. 
When  I  was  a  child  in  the  sabbath  school  in 
the  old  country,”  she  continued,  “  my  faithful 
teacher  used  to  say,  ‘  I  have  prayed  too  much 
for  my  class  for  one  of  them  to  be  lost.’  I  was 
a  thoughtless  girl  at  the  time,  and  remember 
wondering  at  it,  and  thinking  it  a  very  self- 
confident  remark.  She  was  so  sure  :  ‘  I  shall 
have  them  all,’  she  would  say.  ‘  I  shall  say  to 
Christ  at  the  judgment,  Here  am  I  and  the 
class  thou  hast  given  me.’  ”  —  “  And  were  they 
all  converted  ?  ”  I  asked.  “  Yes.  She  did  not 
live  to  see  it;  but  my  eyes  have  seen  it,  —  the 
last  of  the  sixteen  gathered  into  the  fold.” 

Witnessing  for  Jesus. 

5599.  TEACHERS,  All.  Spencer  tells  of  a 
king  who  went  about  his  kingdom  feigning 
sickness,  when  everybody  had  a  remedy  for  his 
complaint;  and  he  was  a  fool  who  was  not  a 
physician.  So  it  is  everywhere.  lie  is  a  fool 
that  cannot  teach  others  the  way,  whether  he 
walks  in  it  himself  or  not. 

5390.  TEACHERS,  Danger  of  False.  In  the  war 
on  the  Rhine,  in  1  794,  the  French  got  possession 
of  the  village  of  Rhinthal  by  a  very  curious 
ruse  de  guerre  of  one  Joseph  Werek,  a  trum¬ 
peter.  This  village  was  maintained  by  an 
Austrian  party  of  six  hundred  hussars.  Two 
companies  of  foot  were  ordered  to  make  an 
attack  on  it  at  ten  o’clock  at  night.  The 
Austrians  had  been  apprised  of  the  intended 
attack,  and  were  drawn  up  ready  to  charge 
on  the  assailing  party.  On  perceiving  this, 
Werek  detached  himself  from  bis  own  party, 
and  contrived,  by  favor  of  the  darkness,  to 
slip  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy;  when,  taking 
his  trumpet,  he  first  sounded  the  rally  in  the 
Austrian  manner,  and,  next  moment,  the  re¬ 
treat.  The  Austrians,  deceived  by  the  signal, 
were  off  in  an  instant  at  full  gallop ;  and  the 
French  became  masters  of  the  village  without 
striking  a  blow.  Percy. 

5399 .  TEACHERS,  Encouragement  for.  A  bishop 
of  the  Church  of  England,  who  was  tutor  to  a 
princess,  said  to  her,  “  I  find  that  my  instruc¬ 
tions  have  made  you  but  little  better.”  She 
replied,  “  Ah  1  But,  my  lord,  you  do  not  know 
how  much  worse  I  should  have  been  without 
them.” 

5392.  TEACHERS,  Influence  of.  A  certain 
philosopher  was  always  talking  very  much  to 
his  friends  about  the  garden  in  which  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  walking,  and  where  he  carried 
on  his  studies.  At  length,  one  of  them  came 
to  see  him  ;  and  he  found  this  extraordinary 
garden  was  a  patch  of  ground  about  twice  the 
size  of  the  floor  of  his  own  room.  “  What !  ” 
said  he,  “is  this  your  garden?  It’s  not  very 
broad.”  —  “  No,”  said  the  philosopher,  “  it’s 
not  very  broad ;  but  it’s  a  wondrous  height  1  ” 
And  so  I  would  say  to  you,  Sunday-school 
teachers:  your  work  in  your  class  is  not  a  very 
large  one ;  but  it’s  a  wondrous  height.  It  goes 
up  to  heaven  :  to  conceive  of  it  aright,  it 
goes  right  out  to  eternity. 

Scottish  S.  S.  Teachers'  Magazine. 

5693.  TEACHING,  Adapted,  A  little  girl  was 


616 


TEACH3N Gr. 


TEACHING. 


asked  whether  she  would  visit  Aunt  Mary  or 
Aunt  Jane.  She  chose  to  visit  Aunt  Jane, 
u  because  she  made  lots  of  gingei’-snaps,  and 
kept  them  on  the  lower  shelf.”  So  the  lesson 
should  be  made  interesting  to  the  scholar. 

5604.  TEACHING,  Early.  I  have  heard  of 
a  father  who  objected  to  teach  his  child  to 
pray.  The  child  broke  his  leg ;  and,  while  his 
leg  was  being  taken  off,  he  continued  to  curse 
and  swear  all  the  time.  “  See  1  ”  said  the  physi¬ 
cian,  “  you  have  a  point  of  conscience  about 
teaching  your  child  to  pray ;  but  Satan  has  no 
conscience  about  teaching  him  to  swear.” 

Spurgeon. 

5605.  TEACHING,  by  Example.  I  was  in 
Italy  last  year ;  and,  in  crossing  the  Alps  with 
my  wife,  the  sun  was  so  hot,  that  it  scorched 
her  face.  She  asked  me  to  get  her  some  elder- 
dower  water.  I  started  off  to  a  chemist;  and, 
as  I  did  not  know  a  word  of  the  Italian  lan¬ 
guage,  I  looked  through  the  jars  and  bottles 
in  his  shop,  but  could  not  find  any  thing  of  the 
kind.  I  tried  to  jabber  something  in  French  ; 
but  he  did  not  understand  me,  because  it  was 
no  language  at  all.  I  went  down  to  a  little 
brook  that  ran  through  the  town,  and,  walking 
along  the  edge,  I  came  to  an  elder-flower-tree. 
I  got  a  handful  of  flowers,  walked  off  to  the 
shop,  and  held  it  up  to  the  man ;  and  he 
knew  in  an  instant  what  I  meant.  I  think  it 
is  not  easy  to  convey  the  gospel  to  the  heart 
by  merely  talking  of  it ;  but  if  you  can  say 
by  your  own  life,  “  This  is  the  life  of  Christ, 
this  is  the  joy  of  being  a  Christian,”  you  will 
be  much  more  likely  to  make  converts. 

Spurgeon. 

5606.  TEACHING,  Importance  of.  The  teacher 
is  like  the  switchman,  who  holds  the  key  to 
the  switches  on  the  railroad.  If  he  does  his 
duty  faithfully,  the  train  will  reach  its  destina¬ 
tion  safely  :  if  he  neglects  it,  disaster  and  ruin 
follow.  A  misplaced  switch  or  a  wrong  signal 
may  send  hundreds  into  eternity  unprepared. 

5607.  TEACHING,  Impression  in.  In  tele¬ 
graphy,  there  is  a  custom  of  repeating  the 
despatches  to  make  sure  that  they  are  cor¬ 
rectly  rendered  at  the  office  of  delivery.  New 
York  says  to  New  Orleans,  “Is  Mr.  A. good?” 
The  reply  is,  “  Note  good  for  any  amount.” 
This  reply  secured  the  purchase  of  five  thousand 
dollars’  worth  of  goods  on  time.  By  letter,  the 
party  learned  that  the  despatch  should  have 
been,  “  Not  good  for  any  amount.”  The  fail¬ 
ure  to  repeat,  a  single  letter  added,  — and  the 
result  was  a  loss  of  five  thousand  dollars.  The 
teacher  must  know  that  the  instruction  is 
rightly  received. 

5608.  TEACHING,  Pictorial.  Be  exceedingly 
minute  in  the  details  of  what  you  describe. 
Take  very  short  steps,  and  take  each  one  very 
distinctly.  If,  for  instance,  you  are  narrating 
to  a  man,  you  may  simply  say,  if  such  an  inci¬ 
dent  occur  in  the  course  of  the  narrative,  that 
your  hero  “  went  down  to  the  shore,  and  got 
into  a  boat  and  pushed  off'.”  Your  hearer  has 
probably  got  into  a  boat  often  enough  to  un¬ 
derstand  it.  But,  if  you  are  talking  to  a  child, 
he  will  be  more  mterested  if  you  say,  “  He 


went  down  to  the  shore,  and  found  a  boat 
there.  One  end  of  the  boat,  the  front  part, 
which  they  call  the  bows,  was  up  against  the 
shore,  a  little  in  the  sand :  the  other  end  was 
out  on  the  water,  and  moved  up  and  down 
gently  with  the  waves.  There  were  seats 
across  the  boat,  and  two  oars  lying  upon  the 
seats.  The  man  stepped  upon  the  bows  of 
the  boat :  it  was  fast  in  the  sand,  so  that  it 
did  not  sink  under  him.  Then  he  took  up 
one  of  the  oars,  and  began  to  push  against  the 
shore  to  push  himself off.  But,  as  he  was  stand¬ 
ing  upon  the  bows,  ’  his  weight  pressed  the 
bows  down  hard  upon  the  sand,  and  so  he 
could  not  push  the  boat  off.  Then  he  went 
to  the  other  end  of  the  boat,  stepping  over 
the  seats.  The  other  end  of  the  boat  is  the 
stern.  The  stern  sank  a  little ;  and  the  boat 
rocked  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and  made 
the  oar  which  was  on  the  seats  rattle.  There 
was  nothing  but  water  under  the  stern  of  the 
boat,  and  that  was  what  made  it  unsteady. 
The  man  stepped  carefully ;  and,  when  he  was 
fairly  in  the  stern,  he  reached  his  oar  out 
again,  and  now  he  could  push  it  off.  The 
bows  rubbed  slowly  back  off  the  sand,  and,  in 
a  minute,  the  whole  boat  was  floating  in  the 
water.”  Abbott. 

5609.  TEACHING,  Purpose  in.  It  is  said  of 
Pericles  the  Athenian  orator,  that,  before  he 
went  out  to  address  the  people,  he  prayed  to 
the  gods  that  nothing  might  go  out  of  his 
mouth  but  what  might  be  to  the  purpose. 
What  an  example  does  this  heathen  set  for 
the  Christian  preacher  and  teacher  1  How 
much  is  uttered  by  these  public  instructors, 
which,  as  far  as  any  one  can  see,  is  to  no  pur¬ 
pose  whatever,  except  to  fill  up  the  hour  1 

Bib.  Treasury. 

561®.  TEACHING,  Successful.  A  man  who 
commenced  life  as  an  errand-boy  rose  rapidly, 
through  his  untiring  industry  and  earnestness, 
to  the  head  of  an  extensive  business,  which  he 
conducted  very  successfully.  Meeting  an  old 
friend  one  day,  he  spared  a  few  moments  to 
describe  to  him  briefly  the  extent  of  his  pros¬ 
perity  and  of  his  prospects.  His  friend  in¬ 
quired  the  secret  of  his  success.  “  I  put  my 
soul  into  it,”  replied  the  prosperous  shopkeep¬ 
er.  “  It  is  only  by  throwing  my  soul  into  my 
business,  that  I  made  it  succeed.”  So  must 
the  teacher  do. 

5611.  TEACHING,  Textual.  In  “  Uncle  Tom’s 
Cabin,”  Topsy  is  presented  to  us  standing 
demurely,  with  her  hands  crossed,  before  Miss 
Ophelia,  on  a  certain  Sunday  afternoon,  to  say 
her  catechism.  Topsy  had  a  good  memory,  and 
learned  “  to  say  ”  her  catechism  very  fast ;  but 
Miss  Ophelia  took  no  trouble  to  “make  it 
plain.”  Thus  the  saying  of  the  catechism 
proceeds  ;  and  Topsy  repeats,  “  Our  first  par¬ 
ents  fell  from  the  state  wherein  they  were 
created,”  &c.  But  there  is  a  twinkle  in  Top- 
sy’s  eye  :  some  idea  has  evidently  crossed  her 
mind.  Miss  Ophelia  observes  this,  and  asks, 
“  What  is  it,  Topsy  ?  ”  —  “  Please,  missus,  was 
that  ar’  State  Kentuk  ?  ”  —  “  What  state, 
Topsy  ?  ”  —  “  That  State  they  fell  out  of :  I 


TKACHnSTG-. 


nsed  to  hear  massa  say  we  all  come  from  Ken¬ 
tucky.” 

5612.  TEACHING,  Useful.  A  deaf  man  was 

remarkable  for  his  accurate  knowledge  of 
almost  all  subjects  which  depended  particu¬ 
larly  upon  his  intercourse  with  others.  He 
was  once  asked  the  reason  of  this ;  when  he 
replied,  “  People  do  not  waste  their  breath 
talking  nonseuse  to  me  through  a  speaking- 
trumpet.”  If  they  had  any  thing  to  say,  it 
was  always  to  the  purpose,  and  put  in  the 
fewest  possible  words.  The  Christian  teacher 
should  set  before  him  a  direct  purpose ;  a  great 
and  lofty  object,  and  make  every  thing  bear 
upon  it.  Ilis  great  aim  is  to  explain  God’s 
truth,  and  apply  it  to  the  saving  of  the  souls 
of  his  scholars.  Biblical  Treasury. 

5613.  TEARS,  Definition  of.  The  safety- 

valves  of  the  heart  when  too  much  pressure 
is  laid  on.  Albert  Smith. 

5614.  TEARS,  False.  Sooner  mayest  thou 
trust  thy  pocket  to  a  pickpocket  than  give 
loyal  friendship  to  the  man  who  boasts  of 
eyes  to  which  the  heart  never  mounts  in  dew. 
Only  when  man  weeps  he  should  be  alone ;  not 
because  tears  are  weak,  but  they  should  be  se¬ 
cret.  Tears  are  akin  to  prayer.  Pharisees 
parade  prayers,  impostors  parade  tears. 

Bulwer. 

5615.  TEARS,  Joyous.  Tears  of  joy  are  the 

dew  in  which  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  is 
mirrored.  Richter. 

5616.  TEARS,  Kinds  of.  They  are  good  tears 
which  burst  from  our  hearts  when  we  look  upon 
Him  whom  we  have  pierced,  and  weep  as  a 
mother  that  weepeth  for  an  only  son  ;  the  tears 
which  Christ  wept  over  Jerusalem,  fallen  and 
impenitent,  foreseeing  its  relentless  doom  ;  the 
tears  of  compassion  which  he  wept  over  the 
sorrows  of  the  house  of  Lazarus ;  the  tears 
which  Paul  shed,  when,  in  the  city  of  Ephesus, 
he  went,  by  night  and  by  day,  from  house  to 
house,  entreating  the  people  to  be  reconciled 
unto  God.  Not  the  bitter  and  disappointed 
mood  of  Jonah  when  he  was  exceedingly  dis¬ 
pleased  and  very  angry  because  the  Lord  had 
relented  of  his  threatenings  against  Nineveh, 
and  entreated  God,  saying,  “  Take,  I  beseech 
thee,  my  life  away  from  me,  for  it  is  better 
for  me  to  die  than  to  live ;  ”  but  the  mood  of 
Jeremiah  the  prophet,  when  he  exclaimed, 
“  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead  ?  Is  there  no 
physician  there?  Why,  then,  is  not  the  health 
of  the  daughter  of  my  people  recovered  ?  ” 
“  Ob  that  my  head  were  water,  and  mine  eyes 
a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and 
night  for  the  daughters  of  my  people  1  ”  Not 
the  tears  of  pride  which  come  reluctant  from  the 
steeled  head,  like  water  dropping  from  the 
flinty  rock,  but  the  tears  of  pride  humbled  and 
convinced  by  the  power  of  God,  which  flow 
copiously  like  the  stream  which  issued  from  the 
rock  when  it  had  been  smitten  by  the  wand  of 
Moses,  the  messenger  of  God.  Not  the  tears 
of  natural  desire  after  a  worldly  good,  nor  the 
tears  of  natural  sorrow  for  a  worldly  good  re¬ 
moved,  but  the  tears  of  spiritual  desire  after 
spiritual  good,  or  the  tears  of  sorrow  when 


TEMPER.  617 

God  hath  hidden  his  countenance,  or  removed 
our  candlestick  out  of  its  former  place. 

E.  Iroing. 

5617.  TEARS,  Relief  of.  A  maniac,  while 
listening  to  a  thrilling  recital,  was  moved  to 
tears.  Lifting  her  withered  finger,  she  ex¬ 
claimed,  “Do  you  see  that  tear?  It  is  the 
first  tear  that  I  have  shed  for  seven  years ;  and 
it  will  relieve  my  poor  burning  head.  I  have 
often  wished  that  I  could  weep;  but  I  could 
not.” 

5618.  TEARS,  Transformed.  The  tears  you 
shed  will  be  changed  into  wine,  which  you 
will  drink  with  unconceivable  delight  in  heav¬ 
en  ;  or  they  will  become  pearls,  and  adorn 
your  crown  of  honor  in  the  life  eternal. 

Beecher. 

5619.  TEARS,  Vale  of.  The  vale  of  tears  is 
very  low,  and  descends  far  beneath  the  ordi¬ 
nary  level ;  some  parts  of  it,  indeed,  are  tun¬ 
nelled  through  rocks  of  anguish.  A  frequent 
cause  of  its  darkness  is,  that,  on  either  side  of 
the  valley,  there  are  high  mountains  called  the 
mountains  of  sin.  These  rise  so  high,  that 
they  obscure  the  light  of  the  sun.  Behind 
these  Andes  of  guilt,  God  hides  his  face,  and 
we  are  troubled.  Then  how  densely  dark  the 
pathway  becomes  1  Indeed,  this  is  the  very 
worst  thing  that  can  be  mentioned  of  this 
valley ;  for,  if  it  were  not  so  dark,  pilgrims 
would  not  so  much  dread  passing  through  it. 

Spurgeon. 

5629.  TEMPER,  Christian.  Archbishop  Usher 
was  never  known  to  do  an  ill  office  to  any  one 
Mr.  Ilervey  was  never  known  to  be  in  a  pas- 
sion.  The  father  of  Philip  Henry,  on  account 
of  his  amiability,  was  called  “  Heavenly 
Henry.”  Bishop  Burnet  says  of  Bishop  Leigh¬ 
ton,  that,  during  a  strict  intimacy  of  many 
years,  he  never  saw  him  in  any  other  temper 
than  that  in  which  he  would  wish  to  live  and 
die. 

5621.  TEMPER,  Controlled.  Dr.  Boerhave, 
being  asked  whether  he  knew  what  it  was 
to  be  angry,  and  by  what  means  he  had  so  en¬ 
tirely  suppressed  that  ungovernable  passion, 
answered,  that  he  was  naturally  quick  of  resent¬ 
ment,  but  that  he  had,  by  daily  prayer  and 
meditation,  at  length  attained  to  this  mastery 
over  himself. 

5622.  TEMPER,  Disturbed.  Many  Christians 
who  bear  the  loss  of  a  dear  child,  or  of  all 
their  property,  with  the  most  heroic  Christian 
fortitude,  are  entirely  vanquished  by  the 
breaking  of  a  dish  or  the  blunders  of  a  servant. 

Newton. 

5623.  TEMPER,  Natural.  Easy,  good-tem¬ 

pered,  affable  persons,  whose  hearts  are  never¬ 
theless  unrenewed  by  grace,  may  be  compared 
to  ripe  plums  and  apricots,  which,  however 
soft  and  smooth  on  the  outside,  yet  have  a 
hard  stone  within.  Dr.  Arrowsmith. 

562  4.  TEMPER,  Peaceful.  Of  Rev.  Mr. 
Brewer  of  Stepney,  it  is  said,  “  He  was  deaf 
when  he  could  hear,  blind  when  he  could  see, 
dumb  when  he  could  speak ;  that  he  extin- 
,  guished  all  the  fires  he  could,  and  never  kin- 
,  died  any.” 


618 


TEMPER. 


TEMPERANCE. 


5625.  TEMPER,  A  Placid.  Firmin  Abauzit, 
who  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven 
years,  was  a  person  of  such  a  serene  disposi¬ 
tion,  that  he  was  not  known  to  have  been  out 
of  temper  during  the  whole  of  his  long  life. 
Some  persons,  doubting  the  possibility  of  such 
a  meek  disposition,  applied  to  a  female  who 
had  kept  his  house  for  thirty  years  to  try 
to  provoke  him,  on  the  promise  of  money 
if  she  succeeded.  Knowing  that  her  master 
was  very  fond  of  having  his  bed  comfortably 
made,  she  neglected  it.  Next  morning,  Abau¬ 
zit  reminded  her  of  the  neglect.  She  said  she 
had  forgotten  it ;  and  nothing  more  was  said. 
The  ensuing  night,  the  bed  was  again  unmade  ; 
and  the  woman,  being  reminded  of  it,  made 
some  frivolous  excuse.  At  length,  on  the 
third  morning,  her  master  said,  “  You  have  not 
yet  made  my  bed  :  it  is  evident  you  are  deter¬ 
mined  not  to  do  it.  Well,  I  suppose  you  find 
the  job  troublesome;  but  it  is  of  little  conse¬ 
quence,  for  I  begin  to  be  used  to  it  already.” 
Moved  by  such  kindness  and  goodness  of  tem¬ 
per,  the  servant  discontinued  the  experiment 
she  had  been  prevailed  upon  to  make,  and  was 
again  forgiven.  Percy. 

5623.  TEMPER,  Quarrelsome.  There  is  in 
some  persons  an  excessive  liability  to  be  of¬ 
fended  ;  a  morbid  sensibility,  which  is  kindled 
to  anger  by  the  least  possible  injury,  whether 
that  injury  is  intentional  or  unintentional. 
They  are  all  combustible,  and  ignite  by  a 
spark.  A  word,  nay,  a  look,  is  enough  to  in¬ 
flame  them.  They  are  ever  ready  to  quarrel 
with  any  or  every  body,  and  remind  us  of 
what  Cromwell  said  of  John  Lilburne,  that  he 
was  so  quarrelsome,  that,  if  he  could  find  nobody 
else  to  quarrel  with,  John  would  quarrel  with 
Lilburne,  and  Lilburne  with  John. 

J.  A.  James. 

5627.  TEMPER,  and  Religion.  If  religion 

has  done  nothing  for  your  temper,  it  has  done 
nothing  for  your  soul.  Clayton. 

5628.  TEMPER,  Subjection  of  the.  Too  many 
have  no  idea  of  the  subjection  of  their  temper 
to  the  influence  of  religion  ;  and  yet  what  is 
changed  if  the  temper  is  not?  If  a  man  is  as 
passionate,  malicious,  resentful,  sullen,  moody, 
or  morose  after  his  conversion  as  before  it, 
what  is  he  converted  from  or  to?  J.  A.  James. 

562!>.  TEMPER,  Tested.  A  friend  once  found 
Wilberforee  in  the  greatest  agitation,  looking 
for  a  despatch  he  had  mislaid,  for  which  one 
of  the  royal  family  was  waiting.  At  the 
moment,  as  if  to  make  it  still  more  trying  to 
his  temper,  a  disturbance  was  heard  in  the 
nursery  overhead.  “  Now,”  thought  the  friend, 
“  surely  for  once  his  temper  will  give  way.” 
The  thought  had  hardly  passed  through  his 
mind,  when  Wilberforee  turned  to  him,  and 
said,  “  What  a  blessing  it  is  to  hear  those  dear 
children  !  Only  think  what  a  relief,  among 
other  hurries,  to  hear  their  voices,  and  to  know 
they  are  well.” 

5630.  TEMPER,  Variation  of.  The  sea  is  not 
so  calm  in  summer,  but  hath  its  commotions ; 
the  mountain  so  firm,  but  may  be  moved  with 
an  earthquake.  Dogs  in  a  chase  bark  some¬ 


times  at  their  own  masters.  So  do  men  in  theii 
passions  let  fly  at  their  best  friends.  When 
the  taste  is  vitiated,  it  mistakes.  When  there 
is  a  suffusion  in  the  eye  (as  in  case  of  the 
jaundice),  it  apprehends  colors  like  itself:  so 
here.  Abraham  felt  the  motion  of  trepidation ; 
meek  Moses  was  over-angry  at  Meribali;  so 
was  Job,  Jonas,  Jeremiah,  &c.  John  Trapp. 

5631.  TEMPER,  Whining.  There  is  a  class 
of  persons  in  this  world,  by  no  means  small, 
whose  prominent  peculiarity  is  whining.  They 
whine  because  they  are  poor,  or,  if  rich,  because 
they  have  no  health  to  enjoy  their  riches; 
they  whine  because  it  is  too  shiny ;  they  whine 
because  it  is  too  rainy ;  they  whine  because 
they  have  “  no  luck,”  and  others’  prosperity 
exceeds  theirs ;  they  whine  because  some 
friends  have  died,  and  they  are  still  living ;  they 
whine  because  they  have  aches  and  pains,  and 
have  aches  and  pains  because  they  whine; 
and  they  whine  no  one  can  tell  why. 

T.  S.  Arthur. 

5632.  TEMPERANCE,  Advantage  o£  A  Ger¬ 

man  spoke  as  follows  at  a  temperance-meet¬ 
ing  :  “  I  shall  tell  you  how  it  vas.  I  put  my 

hand  on  my  head :  there  vas  von  big  pain. 
Then  I  put  mine  hand  on  my  pody ;  and 
there  vas  another.  There  vas  very  much 
pains  in  all  my  pody.  Then  I  put  mine  hand 
in  my  pocket;  and  there  vas  nothing.  Now 
there  is  no  more  pain  in  my  head.  The  pains 
in  my  pody  are  all  gone  away.  I  put  mine 
hands  in  my  pocket,  and  there  isli  twenty 
toiiars.  So  I  shall  shtay  mit  de  temperance.” 

5633.  TEMPERANCE,  Decision.  William 
Wirt,  the  famous  orator  and  statesman,  early 
in  his  career  fell  into  dissipation.  His  first 
wife  died  of  a  broken  heart.  Established  in 
Richmond,  Va.,  where  his  habits  were  known, 
he  sued  for  the  hand  of  Miss  Gamble.  They 
were  mutually  pleased  with  each  other ;  and 
she  assented,  on  condition  that  he  should 
“  never  again  taste,  touch,  or  handle  any  intoxi¬ 
cating  drinks.”  He  regarded  the  condition  in¬ 
sulting  to  his  honor,  and  drank  harder  than 
ever.  One  day,  she  found  him  lying  in  the  hot 
sun,  and  covered  his  face  with  her  handker¬ 
chief.  Coming  to  himself,  he  went  to  a  grog¬ 
shop,  and  was  about  to  put  the  glass  to  his 
lips,  when  he  dropped  it,  exclaiming,  “Enough, 
enough  !  ”  He  had  discovered  the  name  upon 
the  handkerchief,  and  was  filled  with  shame. 
At  her  invitation,  he  visited  her  again,  ac¬ 
cepted  her  conditions,  and  under  her  influence 
rose  to  great  distinction 

5634.  TEMPERANCE,  Dubious.  In  a  certain 
town,  a  meeting  was  called  to  suppress  the 
crying  sin  of  intemperance.  It  is  well  known 
to  the  “  wool-growing  ”  part  of  the  community, 
that  their  sheep  must  be  effectually  washed,  in 
order  to  cleanse  the  wool  for  the  manufacturer, 
once  a  year.  Now  this  is  a  laborious  business ; 
not  only  so,  but  a  very  wet  and  cold  business, 
as  the  sheep  should  be  washed  early  in  the 
season,  before  the  wool  begins  to  fall.  In  con¬ 
sequence,  the  good  people  of  the  town  resolved, 
under  heavy  penalties,  that  they  would,  in  no 
case  whatever,  drink  any  ardent  spirits,  save  at 


TEMP  T^RAJN  C  E. 


TEMPTATION-.  619 


the.  business  of  washing  sheep.  Not  many 
days  after,  it  was  observed  that  one  of  those 
who  composed  the  aforesaid  meeting  was  a 
“  little  the  worse  for  liquor.”  He  was  charged 
with  the  fact ;  but  he  protested  he  had  lived 
up  to  the  very  spirit  and  letter  of  the  resolu¬ 
tion.  He  was  asked  how  that  could  be. 
“  Why,”  said  he,  “  I  have  a  sheep  in  that  pen, 
which  I  regularly  wash  seven  limes  a  day.’' 

5635.  TEMPERANCE,  Motive  for.  When  Ad¬ 
miral  Farragut’s  son  was  about  ten  years  old, 
the  father  said  in  his  hearing,  that  when  he 
was  old  enough  to  make  a  compact,  and  keep 
it,  he  had  a  bargain  to  offer  him.  The  son 
rose  up,  and  asked  his  father  what  the  compact 
was.  The  admiral  said,  “  The  proposal  I  in¬ 
tend  to  make  is  this :  If  ^ou  will  not  smoke 
nor  chew  tobacco,  drink  intoxicating  drinks 
nor  strong  wines,  till  you  are  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  I  will  then  give  you  one  thousand  dol¬ 
lars.”  —  “I  am  old  enough  to  make  that  bar¬ 
gain  now,”  said  young  Farragut:  “I  will 
accept  the  offer.”  The  bargain  was  closed  ; 
and,  when  young  Farragut  was  twenty-one,  the 
cash  was  handed  over. 

5636.  TEMPERANCE,  Patron-Saint  of.  St. 

Ranieri  was  a  hermit,  and  dwelt  for  twenty 
years  in  the  deserts  of  Palestine,  performing 
many  penances  and  pilgrimages,  and  being 
favored  with  many  miraculous  visions.  On 
one  occasion,  when  the  abstinence  to  which  he 
had  vowed  himself  was  sorely  felt,  he  beheld 
in  his  sleep  a  rich  vase  of  silver  and  gold, 
wrought  with  precious  stones ;  but  it  was  full 
of  pitch  and  oil  and  sulphur.  These  being 
kindled  with  fire,  the  vase  was  burning  to 
destruction :  none  could  quench  the  flames. 
And  there  was  put  into  his  hands  a  little  ewer 
full  of  water,  two  or  three  drops  of  which  ex¬ 
tinguished  the  flames.  And  he  understood 
that  the  vase  signified  his  human  frame ;  that 
the  pitch  and  sulphur  burning  within  it  were  the 
appetites  and  passions ;  that  the  water  was 
the  water  of  temperance.  Thenceforward 
Ranieri  lived  wholly  on  coarse  bread  and  wa¬ 
ter.  He  had,  moreover,  a  particular  reverence 
for  water,  and  most  of  his  miracles  were  per¬ 
formed  by  means  of  water ;  whence  he  was 
called  in  his  own  city  San  Ranieri  dell’  Acqua. 
In  a  Roman-Catholic  country,  St.  Ranieri 
would  now  be  the  patron  of  temperance  socie¬ 
ties.  This,  however,  did  not  prevent  him  from 
punishing  a  fraudulent  host  of  Messina,  who 
mixed  water  with  the  wine  he  sold  his  custom¬ 
ers  ;  and  to  whom  the  saint  revealed  the  arch¬ 
enemy  seated  on  one  of  his  casks,  in  the  shape 
of  a  huge  cat,  with  bat-like  wings,  to  the  great 
horror  of  the  said  host,  and  to  the  wonder  and 
edification  of  all  believers.  Returning  to  his 
own  city  of  Pisa,  after  many  years,  he  edified 
the  people  by  the  extreme  sanctity  of  his  life  ; 
and  after  performing  many  miracles,  healing  j 
the  sick,  restoring  the  blind  to  sight,  and  ex¬ 
pelling  demons,  so  that  the  most  obstinate 
were  converted,  he  died,  and  was  by  angels 
carried  into  heaven.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

5637.  TEMPLE,  Entering  the.  As  the  king 
when  he  enters  a  town  finds  the  streets 


through  which  he  is  to  pass  cleaned,  and  his 
palace  adorned ;  so  much  more  ought  we, 
whom  God  hath  chosen  for  his  temple,  to  pu¬ 
rify  ourselves  from  all  uncleanness,  and  to 
adorn  the  place  of  his  habitation  with  all  vir¬ 
tue  and  loveliness.  Cawdray. 

5638.  TEMPLE,  Meaning  of.  Our  associa¬ 
tions  with  this  word  are  largely  of  a  material 
kind.  A  house,  an  edifice,  bricks,  stone,  orna¬ 
ment,  and  splendor  at  once  occur  when  we 
catch  the  word.  But  let  us  go  up  to  the  foun¬ 
tain-head  of  its  meaning,  and  study  it  in  the 
light  of  its  primitive  idea.  It  belongs  to  a 
large  family  of  words.  The  root  is  “  tem,’' 
and  signifies  “  cut.”  Tempi um  means  a  por¬ 
tion  cut  off.  But  whence  its  special  religious 
associations?  The  Roman  augurs,  when  they 
wished  to  observe  the  heavens,  went  forth 
with  the  sacred  rod  in  their  hands,  and  marked 
out  therewith  a  portion  of  the  sky.  Whatever 
passed  within  that  portion  was  the  subject 
of  their  augury ;  no  more.  This  was  the 
“  templum,”  the  separated  space,  cut  out  of 
the  blue  heavens  for  sacred  uses.  Thence  the 
word  came  to  be  appropriated  to  any  enclosed 
spot  which  might  be  separated  to  sacred  uses ; 
thence  to  sanctuaries,  houses  of  prayer,  and 
the  like.  The  fundamental  notion  is  not  con¬ 
struction,  but  separation,  the  severing  of  a 
portion  of  the  material  of  the  universe  for 
higher  use  and  honor  than  the  residue  enjoyed. 

J.  B.  Brown. 

5639.  TEMPTATION,  Analogy  o£  Mr.  Pullen, 

a  farmer  in  Africa,  watched  a  snake  in  the 
water,  which  had  fixed  its  eye  upon  a  frog  sit¬ 
ting  amongst  the  grass  on  the  bank.  The 
frog,  though  greatly  alarmed,  seemed  unable 
to  stir,  until  Mr.  Pullen  gradually  pushed  a 
rush  growing  near,  so  that  it  intervened  be¬ 
tween  the  eye  of  the  snake  and  its  intended 
victim  ;  when  the  frog,  as  if  suddenly  liberated, 
darted  away.  Mr.  Pullen’s  ideas  were  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  popular  notion  that  the 
snake  has  the  power  of  exercising  some  mes¬ 
meric  or  other  influence  through  the  steady 
fixing  of  its  eye ;  and  whatever  intercepts  this 
gaze  breaks  the  charm,  and  sets  the  prisoner 
free.  Ellis. 

5610.  TEMPTATION,  Averted.  Little  Henry 
was  slowly  recovering,  and  just  able  to  be 
about  the  room,  when  his  sister  came  in  eating 
a  piece  of  cake.  Henry’s  mother  had  told 
him  that  it  would  not  be  safe  for  him  to  have 
what  the  other  children  did  till  he  was  strong¬ 
er.  His  appetite  was  coming  back  :  the  cake 
looked  inviting.  “  Jennie,”  said  he,  “  you 
must  run  right  out  of  the  room  away  from  me 
with  that  cake ;  and  I'll  keep  my  eyes  shut  while 
you  go,  so  that  I  sha'n’t  want  it.” 

5611.  TEMPTATION,  Benefit  o£  It  is  said 
that  Napoleon  once  ordered  a  coat  of  mail. 
When  the  artisan  completed  it,  he  .delivered  it 
to  the  emperor,  who  ordered  him  to  put  it 
onto  himself.  Then  Napoleon,  taking  a  pistol, 
fired  shot  after  shot  at  the  man  in  armor.  It 
stood  this  severe  test ;  and  the  emperor  be¬ 
stowed  upon  the  maker  a  large  reward. 

5642.  TEMPTATION,  after  Blessing.  Satan, 


620 


TK3VEPT  A-TIOIST. 


TEMPTATION. 


like  a  pirate,  sets  on  a  skip  that  is  richly 
laden  ;  so  when  a  soul  hath  been  laden  with 
spiritual  comforts,  now  the  Devil  will  be  shoot¬ 
ing  at  him  to  rob  him  of  all.  The  Devil  en¬ 
vies  to  see  a  soul  feasted  with  spiritual  joy. 
Joseph’s  party-colored  coat  made  his  brethren 
envy  him,  and  plot  against  him.  After  David 
had  the  good  news  of  the  pardon  of  his  sin 
(which  must  needs  fill  with  consolation)  Sa¬ 
tan  presently  tempted  him  to  a  new  sin  in 
numbering  the  people;  and  so  all  his  comfort 
leaked  out,  and  was  spilt.  T.  Watson. 

5643.  TEMPTATION,  Courting.  We  read  a 
story  of  a  virtuous  lady  that  desired  of  St. 
Athanasius  to  procure  for  her,  out  of  the  num¬ 
ber  of  the  widows  fed  from  the  ecclesiastical  cor- 
ban,  an  old  woman,  morose,  peevish,  and 
impatient,  that  she  might,  by  the  society  of  so 
ungentle  a  person,  have  often  occasion  to  ex¬ 
ercise  her  patience,  her  forgiveness,  and  char¬ 
ity.  I  know  not  how  well  the  counsel  suc¬ 
ceeded  with  her:  I  am  sure  it  was  not  very 
safe.  And  to  invite  the  trouble,  to  triumph 
over  it,  is  to  wage  a  war  of  an  uncertain  issue, 
for  no  end  but  to  get  the  pleasures  of  the  vic¬ 
tory,  which  oftentimes  do  not  pay  for  the 
trouble,  never  for  the  danger.  Bp.  Taylor. 

5644.  TEMPTATION,  Danger  of.  I  have  been 

much  affected  with  the  following  reflection  : 
Though,  if  not  greatly  deceived,  I  have  had 
some  degree  of  experimental  acquaintance 
with  Jesus  Christ  for  almost  forty  years  ; 
though  I  have  borne  the  ministerial  character 
for  upwards  of  twenty-five  years;  though  I 
have  been  perhaps  of  some  little  use  in  the 
Church  of  God ;  and  though  I  have  had  a 
greater  share  of  esteem  among  religious  peo¬ 
ple  than  I  had  any  reason  to  expect :  yet, 
after  all,  it  is  possible  for  me,  in  one  single 
hour  of  temptation,  to  blast  my  character, 
to  ruin  my  public  usefulness,  and  to  render 
my  warmest  Christian  friends  ashamed  of 
owning  me.  Booth. 

5645.  TEMPTATION,  Degrees  in.  John  New¬ 

ton  says  Satan  seldom  comes  to  Christians 
with  great  temptations,  or  with  a  temptation 
to  commit  a  great  sin.  You  bring  a  green  log 
and  a  candle  together,  and  they  are  very  safe 
neighbors ;  but  bring  a  few  shavings,  and  set 
them  alight,  and  then  bring  a  few  small  sticks 
and  let  them  take  fire,  and  the  log  be  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  you  will  soon  get  rid  of 
your  log.  And  so  it  is  with  little  sins.  You 
will  be  startled  with  the  idea  of  committing  a 
great  sin ;  and  so  the  Devil  brings  you  a  little 
temptation,  and  leaves  you  to  indulge  yourself. 
“  There  is  no  great  harm  in  this,”  “  no  great 
peril  in  that ;  ”  and  so  by  these  little  chips  we 
are  first  easily  lighted  up,  and  at  last  the  green 
log  is  burned.  Bib.  Treasury. 

5646.  TEMPTATION,  Escape  from.  “The 
Chronicles  of  Froissart”  relate  the  issue  of 
a  siege,  which  took  place  in  the  days  of  chiv¬ 
alry,  and  somewhere,  I  think,  in  France. 
Though  gallantly  defended,  the  outworks  of 
the  citadel  had  been  carried.  The  breach 
was  practicable  :  to-morrow  was  fixed  for  the 
assault.  That  none,  alarmed  at  the  desperate 


state  of  their  fortunes,  might  escape  under 
the  cloud  of  night,  the  besiegers  guarded 
every  sally-port,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  sweep 
of  wall.  They  had  the  garrison  in  a  net,  and 
only  waited  for  the  morrow  to  secure  or  to 
slaughter  them.  The  night  wore  heavily  on : 
no  sortie  was  attempted ;  no  sound  came  from 
the  beleaguered  citadel ;  its  brave  but  ill- 
starred  defenders  seemed  to  wait  their  doom  in 
silence.  The  morning  came  :  with  its  dawn, 
the  stormers  rushed  at  the  breach ;  sword  in 
hand,  they  poured  in  to  find  the  nest  empty, 
cold.  The  bird  was  flown,  the  prey  escaped. 
But  how  ?  That  was  a  mystery :  it  seemed  a 
miracle,  till  an  opening  was  discovered,  that 
led  by  a  flight  of  steps  down  into  the  bowels 
of  the  rock.  They  descended,  and  explored 
their  way  with  cautious  steps  and  lighted 
torches,  until  this  subterranean  passage  led 
them  out  a  long  way  off  from  the  citadel, 
among  quiet,  green  fields,  and  the  light  of  day. 
It  was  plain,  that,  by  this  passage,  the  doors  of 
which  stood  open,  their  prey  had  escaped 
under  cover  of  night.  A  clever  device,  a  wise 
precaution.  It  was  a  refuge  of  the  besieged, 
provided  against  such  a  crisis.  And  when 
affairs  seem  desperate,  and  the  worst  has 
come  to  the  worst,  how  should  it  encourage 
God’s  people  to  remember  that  he  has  promised 
them  as  safe  a  retreat  1  Dr.  tluthrie. 

5647.  TEMPTATION,  Experience  of.  Oh 

the  temptations  which  have  harassed  me  for 
the  last  three  months  1  I  have  met  with 
nothing  like  them  in  books.  I  dare  not  men¬ 
tion  them  to  any  mortal,  lest  they  should 
trouble  him  as  they  have  troubled  me;  but 
should  I  become  an  apostate,  and  write  against 
religion,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  could  bring  for¬ 
ward  objections  that  would  shake  the  faith 
of  all  the  Christians  in  the  world.  What  I 
marvel  at  is,  that  the  Arch-Deceiver  has  never 
suggested  them  to  some  of  his  scribes  to  have 
them  published.  They  would,  or  I  am  much 
mistaken,  make  fearful  work  with  Christians 
for  a  time,  though  God  would  doubtless  enable 
them  to  overcome  in  the  end.  It  seems  to  me 
that  my  state  has  been  far  worse  than  that  of 
Mansoul  when  Diabolus  and  his  legions  broke 
into  the  town.  They  could  not  get  into  the 
castle,  the  heart ;  but  my  castle  is  full  of 
them.  Dr.  Payson. 

5648.  TEMPTATION,  Fatal.  Bishop  Janes 
visited  a  sick  reprobate,  who  cried  at  his  ap¬ 
proach,  “  Art  thou  come  to  torment  me  before 
my  time  ?  ”  He  could  not  move  the  hardened 
man.  A  second  visit  met  with  the  same  recep¬ 
tion.  The  bishop  learned  that  he  had  once 
been  appointed  a  class-leader  by  Mr.  Wesley  ; 
but,  in  an  hour  of  sore  temptation,  he  fell. 
He  died  in  despair,  crying,  “I  am  lost,  lost , 
lost  1  ” 

5649.  TEMPTATION,  Fearful.  Summerfield, 
whose  piety  could  be  felt  in  the  midst  of  great 
temptation,  exclaimed,  I  view  myself  as  the 
most  abandoned  of  all  sinners  :  I  am  tempted 
to  wish  that  1  was  openly  profane,  as  being  in 
a  more  likely  way  to  obtain  the  salvation 
of  God  than  in  my  present  state.  1  know 


TEMPTATION. 


TEMPTATION. 


621 


not  what  to  do.  Lord  !  pity  me  in  my  low 
estate !  ” 

•5650.  TEMPTATION,  Fenceless.  A  liquor 
seller,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  spread  saw-dust 
over  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  his  saloon,  and 
then  saturated  it  wi.h  whiskey.  A  reformed 
inebriate,  passing  by  this  doorway  to  hell, 
inhaled  the  ciu  icing  fumes,  yielded  to  the 
old  tempter,  entered  the  saloon,  drank,  and 
was  ruined.  lie  should  have  lied  from  the 
jolluted  spot  as  a  man  flies  for  his 
ife. 

5652.  TEMPTATION,  Final.  A  few  hours 
before  his  death,  Knox  awoke  from  a  sleep, 
and,  being  asked  the  cause  of  his  sighing  so 
deeply,  replied,  li  I  have  formerly,  during  my 
frail  life,  sustained  many  contests  and  many 
assaults  of  Satan  ;  but  at  present  that  roaring 
lion  hath  assailed  me  most  furiously,  and  put 
forth  all  his  strength  to  devour,  and  make  an 
end  of  me  at  once.  Often  before  has  he  placed 
my  sins  before  my  eyes,  often  tempted  me  to 
despair,  often  endeavored  to  insuare  me  by  the 
allurements  of  the  world ;  but  with  these 
weapons,  broken  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
the  word  of  God,  he  could  not  prevail.  Now 
he  has  attacked  me  in  another  way  :  the  cun¬ 
ning  serpent  has  labored  to  persuade  me  that 
I  have  merited  heaven  and  eternal  blessedness 
by  the  faithful  discharge  of  my  ministry.  But 
blessed  be  God,  who  has  enabled  me  to  beat 
down  and  quench  this  fiery  dartl  ”  M'Crie. 

5852.  TEMPTATION,  Illustration  of.  The 
cockatrice,  or  basilisk,  the  king  of  serpents, 
is  said  to  have  sprung  from  the  egg  of  a  cock 
hatched  under  toads  or  serpents.  On  his 
head  was  a  crest  or  crown :  his  body  was 
covered  with  scales  like  a  coat  of  mail,  and 
supported  by  short  limbs.  One  species  burned 
up  whatever  they  approached  ;  another  caused 
immediate  death  by  their  look.  This  fearful 
snake  had  his  mortal  foe  in  the  shape  of  the 
little  weasel,  who  never  shrank  from  the  en¬ 
counter,  and  never  failed  to  vanquish  him. 

5653.  TEMPTATION,  Invited.  Temptations 
are  enemies  outside  the  castle,  seeking  entrance. 
If  there  be  no  false  retainer  within  who  holds 
treacherous  parley,  there  can  scarcely  be  even 
an  oiler.  No  one  would  make  overtures  to  a 
bolted  door  or  a  dead  wall.  It  is  some  face  at 
the  window  that  invites  proffer.  The  violence 
of  temptation  addressed  to  us  is  only  another 
way  of  expressing  the  violence  of  the  desire 
within  us.  It  costs  nothing  to  reject  what  we 
do  not  wish  ;  and  the  struggle  required  to  over¬ 
come  temptation  measures  the  strength  in  us 
of  the  temptable  element.  Men  ought  not  to 
say,  “  IIow  powerfully  the  Devil  tempts  1  ”  but, 
“  How  strongly  I  am  tempted  1  ”  Beecher. 

5651.  TEMPTATION,  Inviting.  Satan  tempts 
most  when  he  thinks  his  policies  will  more 
easily  prevail :  some  are  fitter  to  receive  the 
impression  of  temptation,  as  soft  wax  is  fitter 
to  receive  the  impression  of  the  seal.  The 
apostle  speaks  of  “  vessels  fitted  for  destruc¬ 
tion  :  ”  so  there  are  vessels  fitted  for  tempta¬ 
tion.  Some,  like  the  sponge,  suck  in  Satan’s 
temptations.  T.  Watson. 


5655.  TEMPTATION,  Objeot  of.  As  a  founder 
when  he  has  cast  a  bell,  does  not  at  once  fix 
it  in  the  steeple,  but  first  tries  it  with  his  ham¬ 
mer,  to  see  if  there  be  any  flaw ;  so  God  tries 
his  saints  on  earth  before  he  takes  them  to 
heaven.  Bowes. 

5856.  TEMPTATION,  Out-riding.  A  fleet  of 
a  hundred  vessels  lay  at  anchor  in  a  port  of 
the  Mediterranean,  when  a  fearful  storm  burst 
upon  them,  and  drove  all  save  one  upon  the 
shore.  The  wonder  was  how  that  one  could 
have  held  its  anchorage.  It  was  found  that  its 
anchor  had  grappled  into  another,  which  lay 
firmly  embedded  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  So 
the  soul  anchored  to  Christ  will  be  able  to  out¬ 
ride  all  the  storms  of  temptation. 

5857.  TEMPTATION,  Legend  of.  St.  Anthony 
of  Alexandria  was  left  great  riches,  a  noble 
name,  and  an  only  sister.  He  felt  himself 
called  to  a  hermit-life,  sold  his  possessions, 
distributed  the  money  to  the  poor,  and,  staff 
in  hand,  hastened  to  the  desert.  Here  he 
dwelt  for  some  time  in  great  sanctity  and  rigid 
self-denial ;  and,  observing  the  lives  of  the 
hermits  around  him,  he  thought  to  attain  per¬ 
fection  by  imitating  from  each  the  virtue  for 
which  he  was  most  distinguished,  —  the  chastity 
of  one,  the  humility  of  another,  the  silent  devo¬ 
tion  of  a  third.  He  would  pray  with  him  who 
prayed,  fasted  with  him  who  mortified  his 
body,  and  mingled  contrite  tears  with  him 
who  wept.  Thus  he  united  in  himself  all 
their  various  merits,  and  became,  even  in  his 
youth,  an  object  of  admiration  and  wonder  and 
reverence  to  all.  But  the  sight  of  such  amaz¬ 
ing  virtue  and  sanctity  was  naturally  displeas¬ 
ing  to  the  enemy  of  mankind,  who  had  saga¬ 
city  enough  to  foresee  that  the  example  of  this 
admirable  saint  would  lessen  his  own  power 
in  the  world,  and  deprive  him  of  many  vota¬ 
ries  :  therefore  he  singled  him  out  as  an  object 
of  especial  persecution,  and  gave  him  over  to 
his  demons  to  be  tormented  in  every  possible 
way.  They  began  by  whispering  to  him  in 
the  silence  of  his  cell,  of  all  that  he  had  sacri¬ 
ficed  for  this  weary  life  of  perpetual  rigor  and 
self-denial ;  they  brought  to  mind  his  noble 
birth,  his  riches,  and  all  that  riches  could  ob¬ 
tain,  —  delicate  food,  rich  clothing,  social 
delights.  They  pictured  to  him  the  fatigue 
of  virtue,  the  fragility  of  his  own  frame,  the 
brevity  of  human  life;  and  they  sang  to  him 
in  sweetest  accents,  “  While  thou  livest,  enjoy 
the  good  things  which  have  been  provided  for 
thee.”  The  saint  endeavored  to  drown  these 
promptings  of  the  Devil  in  the  voice  of  prayer, 
lie  prayed  till  the  drops  stood  on  his  brow  ; 
and  at  length  the  demon  ceased  to  whisper  to 
him,  but  only  to  have  recourse  to  stronger 
weapons :  for,  seeing  that  wicked  suggestions 
availed  not,  Satan  raised  up  in  his  sight  the 
sensible  images  of  forbidden  things.  He 
clothed  his  demons  in  human  forms;  they 
spread  before  Anthony  a  table  covered  with 
delicious  viands;  they  hovered  round  him  in 
the  shape  of  beautiful  women,  who,  with  the 
softest  blandishments,  allured  him  to  sin.  The 
saint  strove  against  this  temptation  with  all 


622 


TEM^PTATIOlSr. 


TEMPTATION. 


his  might,  and  prayed  and  conquered.  But, 
in  his  anguish,  lie  resolved  to  flee  yet  farther 
from  men  and  from  the  world ;  and,  leaving 
the  company  of  the  hermits,  travelled  far,  far 
away  into  the  burning  desert,  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  a  cave,  whither,  as  be  hoped,  Satan 
would  not  follow  to  molest  him.  He  fasted 
more  rigorously  than  ever ;  ate  but  once  a  day, 
or  once  in  two  or  three  days ;  slept  on  the 
bare  earth,  and  refused  to  look  upon  any  living 
creature.  But  not  for  this  did  the  cruel  demon 
relax  in  his  persecution.  As  he  had  already 
tried  in  vain  the  allurements  of  appetite  and 
pleasure,  so  now  he  thought  to  subdue  the 
saint  by  the  influence  of  pain.  Spirits  in  hid¬ 
eous  forms  pressed  round  him  in  crowds, 
scourged  him,  tore  him  with  their  talons, 
chased  him  from  his  cell ;  and  one  of  the 
hermits  he  had  left  behind,  who  was  wont  to 
carry  him  food,  found  him  lying  on  the  sands 
senseless,  apparently  dead.  Then  he  flung 
down  the  food  he  had  brought ;  and,  taking  the 
miserable  sufferer  in  his  arms,  he  carried  him 
to  one  of  the  cells,  where,  after  a  long  time,  he 
was  restored  to  his  senses  and  recollection. 
But  no  sooner  had  Anthony  opened  his  eyes, 
and  beheld  around  him  his  sympathizing 
brethren,  than  he  closed  them  again,  and 
desired  to  be  taken  back  to  his  cave ;  which 
vas  done,  and  they  laid  him  on  the  ground 
tnd  left  him.  And  Anthony  cried  out,  and 
defied  the  demon,  saying,  “  Ida !  thou  Arch- 
Tempter  1  didst  thou  think  I  had  fled  ?  lo, 
here  I  am  again,  I,  Anthony  1  I  challenge  all 
thy  malice ;  I  spit  on  thee ;  I  have  strength 
to  combat  still  1  ”  When  he  had  said  these 
words,  the  cavern  shook  ;  and  Satan,  rendered 
furious  by  his  discomfiture,  called  up  his 
fiends,  and  said,  “  Let  us  now  affright  him 
with  all  the  terrors  that  can  overwhelm  the 
soul  of  man.”  Then  hideous  sounds  were 
heard ;  lions,  tigers,  wolves,  dragons,  serpents, 
scorpions,  all  shapes  of  horror,  “  worse  than 
fancy  ever  feigned,  or  fear  conceived,”  came 
roaring,  howling,  hissing,  shrieking,  in  his 
ears;  scaring  him,  stunning  him:  but,  in  the 
midst  of  these  abominable  and  appalling 
shapes  and  sounds,  suddenly  there  shone  from 
heaven  a  great  light,  which  fell  upon  Anthony, 
and  all  these  terrors  vanished  at  once ;  and  he 
arose  unhurt,  and  strong  to  endure.  And  he 
said,  looking  up,  “  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  where 
wert  thou  in  those  moments  of  anguish  ?  ” 
And  Christ  replied  in  a  mild  and  tender  voice, 
“  Anthony,  I  was  here  beside  thee,  and  rejoiced 
to  see  thee  contend  and  overcome.  Be  of  good 
heart ;  for  I  will  make  thy  name  famous 
through  all  the  world.”  So  he  was  comforted  ; 
but  he  resolved  to  go  yet  farther  from  all 
human  intercourse,  all  human  aid.  And  he 
took  his  stalf  and  wandered  forth,  and,  as  he 
traversed  the  desert,  he  saw  heaps  of  gold,  and 
vases  of  silver,  lying  in  his  path ;  but  he  knew 
full  well  they  were  the  delusions  of  Satan  :  he 
would  not  look  upon  them,  but  turned  his  eyes 
away,  and,  lo  !  they  dissolved  into  air. 

5658.  TEMPTATION,  Luther's.  Luther  says, 
“  Once  upon  a  tune,  the  Devil  came  to  me,  and 


said,  ‘Martin  Luther,  you  are  a  great  sinner, 
and  you  will  be  damned.'  —  ‘  Stop,  stop  1  ’  said 
I,  ‘  one  thing  at  a  time.  I  am  a  great  sinner: 
that  is  true,  though  you  have  i  o  right  to  tell 
me  of  it.  I  confess  it.  What  next?  —  There¬ 
fore  you  will  be  damned.  That  is  not,  good 
reasoning.  It  is  true  I  am  a  great  sinner; 
but  it  is  written,  “  Jesus  Christ  came  to  save 
sinners :  ”  therefore  I  shall  be  saved.’  So  I 
cut  the  Devil  off  with  his  own  sword ;  and  he 
went  away  mourning,  because  he  could  not  cast 
me  down  by  calling  me  a  sinner.” 

5659.  TEMPTATION,  Resisting.  One  night, 
as  St.  Dunstan  was  working  at  his  forge,  the 
most  terrible  howls  and  cries  were  heard  to 
proceed  from  his  cell.  The  Devil,  as  he  re¬ 
lated,  had  visited  him  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful 
woman,  and  endeavored  to  tempt  him  from  his 
holy  work.  He  seized  the  disguised  demon  by 
the  nose  with  his  red-hot  tongs,  which  caused 
him  to  roar  with  pain,  and  to  flee  discomfited. 

Mrs.  Jameson. 

5669.  TEMPTATION,  Seourity  in.  I  see  the 
unclean  spirit  rising  like  a  winged  dragon, 
circling  in  the  air,  and  seeking  for  a  resting- 
place.  Casting  his  fiery  glances  towards  a  cer¬ 
tain  neighborhood,  he  spies  a  young  man  in 
the  bloom  of  life,  and  rejoicing  in  his  strength, 
seated  on  the  front  of  his  cart,  going  for  lime. 
“  There  he  is  1  ”  said  the  old  dragon  :  his 
veins  are  full  of  blood,  and  his  bones  of  marrow ; 
I  will  throw  into  his  bosom  sparks  from  hell ;  I 
will  set  all  his  passions  on  fire;  I  will  lead 
him  from  bad  to  worse,  until  he  shall  perpe¬ 
trate  every  sin  ;  I  will  make  him  a  murderer, 
and  his  soul  shall  sink,  never  again  to  rise,  in 
the  lake  of  fire.”  By  this  time,  I  see  it  descend, 
with  a  fell  swoop,  towards  the  earth;  but, 
nearing  the  youth,  the  dragon  heard  him 
sing,— 

“  Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah  1 
Pilgrim  through  Hi  s  barren  land: 
am  weal;,  but  thou  art  mighty : 

Hold  mu  with  lliy  powerful  hand. 

Strong  Deliverer, 

Be  thou  still  my  strength  and  shield.” 

“  A  dry,  dry  place,  this,”  says  the  dragon  ;  and 
away  he  goes.  But  I  see  him  again  hovering 
about  in  the  air,  and  casting  about  for  a  suita¬ 
ble  resting-place.  Beneath  his  eye  there  is  a 
flowery  meadow,  watered  by  a  crystal  stream; 
and  he  descries  among  the  kine  a  maiden, 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  picking  up  here 
and  there  a  beautiful  flower.  “  There  she  is  1  ” 
says  Apollyon  intent  upon  her  soul :  “  I  will 
poison  her  thoughts;  she  shall  stray  from  the 
paths  of  virtue  ;  she  shall  think  evil  thoughts, 
and  become  impure;  she  shall  become  a  lost 
creature  in  the  great  city,  and,  at  last,  I  will 
cast  her  down  from  the  precipice  into  everlast¬ 
ing  burnings.”  Again  lie  took  his  downward 
flight ;  but  he  no  sooner  came  near  the  maiden, 
than  he  heard  her  sing  the  following  words, 
with  a  voice  that  might  have  melted  the 
rocks : — 

“  Other  refuge  have  I  none; 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee: 

Leave,  ah!  leave  me  not  alone; 

Still  support  and  comfort  me.” 


TEEVEPTAATION’. 


TESTS. 


623 


“  This  place  is  too  dry  for  me,”  says  the  dragon ; 
and  off  he  flies.  Now  he  ascends  from  the 
meadow,  like  some  great  balloon,  but  very 
much  enraged,  and  breathing  forth  “  smoke 
and  fire,”  and  threatening  ruin  and  damnation 
to  all  created  things.  “  I  will  have  a  place  to 
dwell  in,”  he  says,  “in  spite  of  decree,  cov¬ 
enant,  or  grace.”  As  he  was  thus  speaking, 
he  beheld  a  woman,  “  stricken  in  years,”  busy 
with  her  spinning-wheel  at  her  cottage-door. 
“  Ah,  I  see !  ”  says  the  dragon  :  “  she  is  ripe  for 
destruction;  she  shall  know  the  bitterness  of 
the  wail  which  ascends  from  the  burning  marl 
of  belli  ”  He  forthwith  alights  on  the  roof  of 
her  cot;  when  he  hears  the  old  woman  repeat 
with  trembling  voice,  but  with  heavenly  feeling, 
the  words,  “  For  the  mountains  shall  depart, 
and  the  hills  be  removed;  but  my  kindness 
shall  not  depart  from  thee.”  “  This  place  is  too 
dry  for  me,”  says  the  dragon ;  and  away  he 
goes  again.  .  .  .  “  In  yonder  cottage  lies  old 
William,  slowly  wasting  away.  He  has  borne 
the  heat  and  the  burden,  and  altogether  has 
had  a  hard  life  of  it.  He  has  very  little 
reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  mercies  he  has 
received,  and  has  not  found  serving  God  a 
very  profitable  business :  I  know  1  can  get 
him  to  ‘  curse  God  and  die.’  ”  Thus  musing, 
away  he  flew  to  the  sick  mail’s  bed-side  ; 
but,  as  he  listened,  he  heard  the  words, 
“  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  Thou 
art  with  me :  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff,  they 
comfort  me.”  Mordlied  and  enraged,  the 
dragon  took  his  flight,  saying,  “  I  will  return 
to  the  place  from  whence  I  came  ” 

Christmas  Evans. 

5661.  TEMPTATION,  Triumph  over.  Were  I 
to  adopt  the  figurative  language  of  Banyan, 
1  might  date  this  letter  from  the  land  of  Beu¬ 
lah,  of  which  I  have  been  for  some  weeks  a 
happy  inhabitant.  The  celestial  city  is  full  in 
my  view.  Its  glories  beam  upon  me ;  its 
breezes  fan  me ;  its  odors  are  wafted  to  me ; 
its  sounds  strike  upon  my  ears ;  and  its  spirit 
is  breathed  into  my  heart.  Nothing  now  sepa¬ 
rates  me  from  the  river  of  death,  which  now 
appears  but  as  an  insignificant  rill,  that  may 
be  crossed  at  a  single  step,  whenever  God  shall 
give  permission.  The  Sun  of  Righteousness 
has  been  gradually  drawing  nearer  and  nearer, 
appearing  larger  and  brighter  as  he  ap¬ 
proached;  and  now  he  fills  the  whole  hemi¬ 
sphere,  pouring  forth  a  flood  of  glory,  in  which 
1  seem  to  float  like  an  insect  in  the  beams  of 
the  sun  ;  exulting,  yet  almost  trembling,  while 
1  gaze  on  this  excessive  brightness ;  wonder¬ 
ing  with  unutterable  wonder  why  God  should 
deign  to  shine  thus  upon  a  sinful  worm.  .  .  .  O 
my  sister,  my  sister  1  could  you  but  know  what 
awaits  the  Christian,  could  you  know  only  so 
much  as  I  know,  you  could  not  refrain  from 
rejoicing,  and  even  leaping  for  joy.  Labors, 
trials,  troubles,  would  be  nothing  :  you  would 
rejoice  in  alflietions,  and  glory  in  tribulations, 
and,  like  Paul  and  Silas,  sing  God's  praises  in 
the  darkest  night  and  in  the  deepest  dungeon. 
Vou  have  known  a  little  of  my  trials  and  con¬ 


flicts,  and  know  that  they  have  neither  been 
few  nor  small;  and  I  hope  that  this  glorious 
termination  of  them  will  serve  to  strengthen 
your  faith  and  elevate  your  hope.  Dr.  Pay  son. 

5 362.  TEMPTATION,  Watching  against.  Any 
thing  else  were  the  height  of  rashness.  Who 
sleeps  by  a  magazine  of  gunpowder  needs  to 
take  care  even  of  sparks ;  who  walks  on  slip¬ 
pery  ice,  let  him  not  go  star-gazing,  but  look 
to  his  feet,  and  take  care  of  falling.  Whatever 
provokes  sin,  though  beautiful  as  Bathsheba; 
what  is  in  its  nature  calculated,  and  by  the 
cunning  fiend  intended,  to  draw  us  into  trans¬ 
gression,  —  is  a  danger  against  which  we  can¬ 
not  be  too  much  upon  our  guard.  Though  in 
themselves  innocent,  pleasures  are  sought  at 
too  great  hazard  that  grow  on  dizzy  crag,  or 
among  the  grass  where  adders  creep,  or  in  the 
lofty  crevice  of  stone  tottering  wall,  or  on 
the  brink  of  a  swollen  flood.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5683.  TEMPTATION,  Well  -  Circumstanced. 
Stand  with  me,  in  imagination,  at  the  hour  of 
midnight,  and  gaze  upon  the  fire  in  yonder 
city.  A  large  cluster  of  houses  is  wrapped  in 
flames,  which,  roaring  aloud,  send  their  broad 
red  sheets,  and  their  ever-darting  fiery  tongues, 
far  up  into  the  gloomy  sky.  At  length  they 
spread  to  an  aviary,  containing  nearly  a  thou¬ 
sand  beautiful  canary-birds.  Unable  to  remove 
them,  unwilling  to  stand  and  see  them  burned, 
their  owner  opens  the  door  of  their  prison- 
house,  and  the  bewildered  birds  fly  into  the 
air.  Mounted  above  the  flames,  they  hover  for 
a  while  in  seeming  safety.  Now  they  whirl  in 
circles  above  the  fearful  blaze,  as  it'  held  by 
some  irresistible  fascination ;  now  sweeping 
downwards  and  upwards,  as  if  irresolute  of 
purpose,  they  linger  a  little  longer ;  and  first 
one,  and  then  another,  drops  into  the  burning 
pile,  and  every  songster  is  destroyed.  Such  is 
the  fascination  of  temptation.  Dr.  Wise. 

5864.  TEMPTATION,  Without,  Not  to  be 
tempted  of  the  Devil  is  the  greatest  tempta¬ 
tion  out  of  hell.  The  Devil’s  war  is  better 
than  the  Devil’s  peace.  Carnal  hypocrisy  is  a 
dumb  and  silent  thing ;  but  it  is  terrible  to  be 
carried  to  hell  without  any  noise  of  feet.  The 
wheels  of  Satan’s  chariot  are  sometimes  oiled 
with  carnal  rest ;  and  then  they  go  without 
rattling  or  noise. 

5885.  TEMPTATION,  Wisdom  of.  The  Devil 
doth  not  know  the  hearts  of  men  ;  but  he  may 
feel  their  pulse,  know  their  temper,  and  so, 
accordingly,  can  apply  himself.  As  the  hus¬ 
bandman  knows  what  seed  is  proper  to  sow  in 
such  soil ;  so  Satan,  finding  out  the  temper, 
knows  what  temptation  is  proper  to  sow  in  such 
a  heart.  That  way  the  tide  of  a  man’s  consti¬ 
tution  runs,  that  way  the  wind  of  temptation 
blows.  Satan  tempts  the  ambitious  man  with 
a  crown,  the  sanguine  man  with  beauty,  the 
covetous  man  with  a  wedge  of  gold.  He  pro¬ 
vides  savory  meat,  such  as  the  sinner  loves. 

T.  Watson. 

5666.  TESTS,  True.  I  stopped  on  my  way 
down  stairs,  last  evening,  to  speak  to  Jennie 
Barnes,  who  had  just  gone  to  bed  in  her  little 
cosey  room.  I  bent  over  to  kiss  her.  “Jennie,” 


624  THLAJNITiirTJ  IHSTESS. 


THLAjsrivSGrvxisra-. 


saifl  I,  “do  you  love  Jesus?”  —  *•  Oil,  yes!” 
she  answered.  “  Are  you  sure  ?  How  do  you 
know  ?  ”  —  “  Wily,  of  course  I  know,”  said  she  : 
“don’t  I  feel  it  all  over  inside?”  —  “That’s 
good  !  ”  thought  I.  “  I  wish  every  one  had  that 
same  consciousness  of  love  :  there  wouldn’t  be 
so  many  fearful  trembling  Christians.  Do  you 
think  that  Jesus  knows  that  you  love  him, 
Jennie  ?  ”  —  “  Why,  of  course  1  ”  she  answered 
again.  “  Don't-  he  know  every  thing  ?  Don’t 
he  look  right  down  into  my  heart,  and  see  it 
there  ?  ”  —  “  Well,  Jennie,”  I  continued,  “  how 
shall  I  know  it  ?  1  can’t  look  into  your  heart.” 
Jennie  sprang  instantly  to  her  feet.  On  the 
wall  at  the  side  of  her  bed  hung  a  large  pic¬ 
ture-sheet,  containing  twelve  scenes  in  the  life 
of  Christ ;  and  a  number  of  short  texts  were 
printed  here  and  there  around  the  gayly-col- 
ored  border.  Putting  her  tiny  fingers  on  one 
of  these,  without  speaking,  she  turned  around, 
and  looked  triumphantly  up  into  my  face.  I 
put  up  t  he  gas,  and  read  the  words,  “  If  ye  love 
me,  keep  my  commandments.” 

Protestant  Churchman. 

5667.  THANKFULNESS,  Demand  for.  If  an 
exhausted  and  needy  traveller  should  rest  at' 
the  foot  of  a  castle,  and  some  one  from  the  walls 
above  should  reach  him  a  supply  for  all  his 
needs,  could  he  keep  from  looking  up  to  see 
who  had  relieved  him  ?  So  it  is  not  possible 
for  the  true  Christian,  who  lives  daily  out  of  the 
alms-basket  of  God’s  providence,  not  to  look 
with  thankfulness  to  that  Father  who  liberally 
supplies  all  his  need.  Spencer. 

5868.  THANKFULNESS,  Emblem  of.  The  heath 
in  the  desert  wants  rain  far  more  than  the 
water-lily.  But  let  the  showers  come  down 
upon  the  heath  in  the  desert,  there  is  no  mo¬ 
tion,  no  sign,  that  the  shower  is  welcomed,  or  is 
working.  On  the  other  hand,  the  moment  the 
rain  begins  to  fall  upon  the  water-lily,  though 
it  is  rooted  in  water,  and  has  its  chief  element 
in  water,  its  leaves  seem  to  be  clapping  their 
hands ;  and  the  whole  plant  rejoices  in  the  fall¬ 
ing  of  the  rain.  Rev.  S.  Martin. 

5689.  THANKFULNESS,  Example  of.  The  room 
is  clean,  even  airy;  a  bright  little  fire  burns  in 
the  grate ;  and  in  a  four-post  bed  you  will  see 
sitting  up  a  woman  of  sixty-four  years  of  age, 
with  her  hands  folded  and  contracted,  and  her 
whole  body  crippled  and  curled  together  as  the 
disease  cramped  it,  and  rheumatism  has  fixed 
it,  for  eight  and  twenty  years.  For  sixteen  of 
these  years,  she  has  not  moved  from  her  bed, 
or  looked  out  of  the  window,  or  even  lifted 
her  hand  to  her  own  face  ;  and  also  is  in  con¬ 
stant  pain,  while  she  cannot  move  a  limb.  But 
listen  1  She  is  so  thankful  that  God  has  left 
her  that  great  blessing,  the  use  of  one  thumb ! 
Her  left  hand  is  clinched  and  still',  and  utterly 
useless;  but  she  has  a  two-pronged  fork  fas¬ 
tened  to  a  stick,  with  which  she  can  take  off 
her  great  old-fashioned  spectacles,  and  put 
them  on  again,  with  amazing  effort.  By  the 
same  means,  she  can  feed  herself ;  and  she  can 
sip  her  tea  through  a  tube,  helping  herself  with 
this  one  thumb.  And  there  is  another  thing 
she  can  accomplish  with  her  fork :  she  can 


turn  over  the  leaves  of  a  large  Bible  when 
placed  within  her  reach.  A  recent  visitor  ad¬ 
dressed  her  with  the  remark,  that  she  was  all 
alone.  “  Yes,”  she  replied  in  a  peculiarly 
sweet  and  cheerful  voice,  “  I  am  alone,  and 
yet  not  alone.”  —  “  How  is  that  ?  ”  —  “I  feel 
that  the  Lord  is  constantly  with  me.”  —  “  How 
long  have  you  lain  here?”  —  “For  sixteen 
years  and  four  months ;  and  for  two  years  and 
four  months  I  have  not  been  lifted  out  of  my 
bed  to  have  it  made  :  yet  I  have  much  to 
praise  and  bless  the  Lord  for.”  —  “  What  is  the 
source  of  your  happiness?”  —  “The  thought 
that  my  sins  are  forgiven,  and  dwelling  on  the 
great  love  of  Jesus  my  Saviour.  I  am  content 
to  lie  here  so  long  as  it  shall  please  him  that 
I  should  stay,  and  to  go  whenever  he  shall 
call  me.”  The  Book  and  its  Mission. 

5670.  THANKFULNESS,  Reasons  for.  Plato, 
looking  through  the  dim  spectacles  of  Nature, 
gave  thanks  unto  God  for  three  things :  First, 
That  God  created  him  a  man,  and  not  a  beast; 
Secondly,  That  he  was  born  a  Grecian,  and  not 
a  barbarian  ;  Thirdly,  That  not  only  so,  but  a 
philosopher  also.  But  Christians,  that  are  bet¬ 
ter  bred  and  taught,  turn  the  stream  of  their 
thanks  into  another  manner  of  channel :  First, 
That  God  hath  created  them  after  his  own 
image ;  Secondly,  That  he  hath  called  them 
out  of  the  common  crowd  of  this  world,  and 
made  them  Christians;  Thirdly,  and  more 
especially,  That,  amongst  those  that  bear  the 
name  of  Christ,  he  hath  made  them  faithful 
ones ;  like  a  few  quick-sighted  men  amongst 
a  company  of  blind  ones  ;  like  the  light  in  Go¬ 
shen,  when  all  Egypt  was  dark  besides;  or 
like  Gideon’s  fleece,  only  watered  with  the  dew 
of  heaven,  whilst  the  rest  of  the  earth  was  dry, 
and  destitute  of  his  favor.  Great  cause  of 
thankfulness  indeed  1  Spencer. 

5871.  THANKFULNESS,  Standard  of.  As 
physicians  judge  of  the  condition  of  men’s 
hearts  by  the  pulse  which  beats  in  their  arms, 
and  not  by  the  words  which  proceed  from 
their  mouths;  so  we  may  judge  the  thankful¬ 
ness  of  men  by  their  lives  rather  than  their 
professions. 

5672.  THANKSGIVING,  Day  of.  Dr.  Frank¬ 
lin  says,  that,  in  a  time  of  great  despondency 
among  the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  it 
was  proposed  in  one  of  their  public  assemblies 
to  proclaim  a  fast.  An  old  farmer  arose,  spoke 
of  their  provoking  heaven  with  their  com¬ 
plaints,  reviewed  their  mercies,  showed  that 
they  had  much  to  be  thankful  for,  and  moved, 
that,  instead  of  appointing  a  day  of  fasting,  they 
should  appoint  a  day  of  thanksgiving.  This 
was  accordingly  done,  and  the  custom  has  been 
continued  ever  since. 

5673.  THANKSGIVING,  Memorial  of.  We 
ascended  on  the  north-west  side,  winding  round 
the  foot  of  the  rock,  and  making  our  way 
through  narrow  and  intricate  paths.  I  re¬ 
marked,  that  our  old  guide  every  here  and  there 
placed  a  stone  on  a  conspicuous  bit  of  rock,  or 
two  stones  one  upon  the  other,  at  the  same 
time  uttering  some  words,  which  I  learnt  were 
a  prayer  for  our  safe  return.  This  explained 


THEATRE. 


THIRST. 


625 


to  me  what  I  had  frequently  seen  before  in  the 
East,  and  particularly  on  a  high  road  leading 
to  a  great  town,  whence  the  town  is  lirst  seen, 
and  where  the  Eastern  traveller  sets  up  his 
stone  accompanied  by  a  devout  exclamation, 
as  it  were  in  token  of  his  safe  arrival.  The 
action  of  our  guide  appears  to  illustrate  the 
vow  which  Jacob  made  when  he  travelled  to 
Padan-Arum,  in  token  of  which  he  placed  a 
stone,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar.  A  stone  on 
the  road  placed  in  this  position,  or  one  stone 
upon  another,  implies  that  some  traveller  has 
there  made  a  vow  or  a  thanksgiving.  Morier. 

5874.  THEATRE,  Associations  of  the.  Of  the 
French  Revolution,  the  celebrated  Edmund 
Burke  writes,  “  While  courts  of  justice  were 
thrust  out  by  Jacobin  tribunals,  and  silent 
churches  were  only  funereal  monuments  of 
departed  religion ;  ”  when  Paris  “  was  like  a 
den  of  outlaws,  a  lewd  tavern  for  revel  and 
debaucheries,”  —  there  were  in  that  city  “  no 
fewer  than  twenty-eight  theatres  crowded  every 
night.”  From  debauchery,  blasphemy,  and 
butchery,  in  the  daytime,  to  the  theatre  at 
night ;  from  the  theatre  at  night,  back  to 
butchery,  blasphemy,  and  debauchery  in  the 
daytime.  W.  P.  Breed,  D.D. 

5675.  THEATRE,  Example  of  Going  to  the.  A 
gentleman  of  wealth  and  high  position,  but 
not  a  professor  of  Christ,  had  just  returned 
from  New  York,  when  he  remarked  to  a 
friend,  “  I  saw  the  Rev.  Mr.  K.  and  his  wife 
at  the  theatre  one  evening,  and  I  was  deter¬ 
mined  he  should  know  that  I  saw  him.  So  I 
went  around,  and  spoke  to  him.”  What  good 
influence  could  the  preacher  exert  over  him 
after  that  ?  Besides,  if  he  could  go  once,  oth¬ 
ers  could  many  times. 

5676.  THEATRE,  Influence  of  the.  Said  a 
broken-hearted  mother,  bursting  into  tears, 
“  O  my  child  1  Oh  !  my  child  is  just  committed 
to  prison  ;  and  I  fear  he  will  never  return  to 
his  father’s  house.  Oh,  that  theatre  !  He  was 
a  virtuous,  kind  youth  till  the  theatre  proved 
his  ruin !  ” 

5677.  THEATRE,  Moral  Dangers  of  the.  I  do 
not  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  pronounce  the 
theatre  to  be  one  of  the  broadest  avenues  that 
lead  to  destruction ;  fascinating,  no  doubt  it  is, 
but,  on  that  account,  the  more,  delusive  and  the 
more  dangerous.  Let  a  young  man  once  ac¬ 
quire  a  taste  for  this  species  of  entertainment, 
and  yield  himself  up  to  its  gratification,  and 
he  is  in  great  danger  of  becoming  a  lost  char¬ 
acter,  rushing  upon  his  ruin.  All  the  evils 
that  can  waste  his  property,  corrupt  his  mor¬ 
als,  blast  his  reputation,  impair  his  health,  im- 
bitter  his  life,  and  destroy  his  soul,  lurk  in  the 
purlieus  of  a  theatre.  Vice,  in  every  form, 
lives  and  moves,  and  has  its  being  there. 
Myriads  have  cursed  the  hour  when  they  first 
exposed  themselves  to  the  contamination  of 
the  stage.  Light  and  darkness  are  not  more 
opposed  to  each  other  than  the  Bible  and  the 
play-book.  If  the  one  be  good,  the  other  must 
be  evil.  If  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  obeyed, 
the  theatre  must  be  avoided.  The  only  way 
to  justify  the  stage,  as  it  is,  as  it  has  ever  been, 

40 


as  it  is  ever  likely  to  be,  is  to  condemn  the 
Bible :  the  same  individual  cannot  defend 
both.  Hannah  More. 

5678.  THEATRE,  Pleasures  of  the.  A  lady  in 
company  was  once  speaking  of  the  pleasures 
of  going  to  the  theatre.  First,  there  was  the 
pleasure  of  thinking  of  the  scenes  which  were 
to  be  acted  before  going ;  secondly,  the  pleas¬ 
ures  of  witnessing  them  when  there  ;  thirdly, 
the  pleasures  of  remembering  them  after  they 
were  over.  An  old  gentleman  who  heard  the  re¬ 
marks  observed,  “  There  is  one  pleasure  which 
you  have  forgotten.” — “What  is  that?” 
inquired  the  lady.  “  The  pleasure  of  think¬ 
ing  of  the  theatre  when  you  come  to  die.”  — 
“  Ah  !  ”  said  the  lady,  “  1  never  took  that  into 
the  calculation.” 

5679.  THEATRE,  Rule  for  Attending  the.  Some 
years  ago,  two  ministers  were  walking  in  front 
of  the  Old  Park  Theatre.  One  of  them  said 
to  the  other,  who  was  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Hall, 
“  I  was  never  in  a  theatre  in  my  life ;  and  I 
want  to  go  once  and  see  a  tragedy  performed 
by  a  great  actor :  I  want  to  see  and  hear  what 
constitutes  the  power  of  the  stage.”  To  this 
Dr.  Hall  replied,  “  I  would  like  to  see  the 
same  thing;  but  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
never  to  go  to  any  place  where  I  would  be 
unwilling  to  die.  Now,  I  should  be  very 
sorry  to  die  while  seeing  a  play  in  a  thea¬ 
tre.” 

5680.  THEATRE,  Whining  over  the.  A  Chris¬ 

tian  had  better  go  to  the  theatre  than  to  go 
home  whining  because  he  can't  go.  If  it  is 
worth  while  to  do  any  thing  for  Christ,  it 
is  worth  while  to  do  it  with  your  head  up, 
and  with  your  whole  heart.  Beecher. 

5681.  THEORY,  Correct.  One  clear  frosty 

morning,  an  eminent  Cambridge  don,  famous 
for  encyclopedic  information,  accompanied 
some  of  his  young  friends  to  the  ice,  and,  in 
going,  talked  to  them  with  such  science  about 
skating,  that  they  expected  from  him  marvel¬ 
lous  feats  of  clever  gyration.  To  their  sur¬ 
prise,  his  skill  proved  to  be  but  small,  and  his 
tumbles  woful.  “  Doctor,”  at  length  cried 
one,  as  he  lifted  the  fallen  professor,  “  how  is 
this  ?  ”  —  “  Easily  explained,  easily  explained,” 
was  the  ready  reply.  “  I,  you  see,  am  up  iD 
theory,  but  down  in  practice.”  5.  Coley. 

5682.  THEORY,  Impracticable.  Sir  Isaac  New¬ 
ton  had  a  pet  cat  and  kitten,  who  frequently 
interrupted  his  studios  by  calling  him  to  open 
the  door.  To  prevent  this,  he  cut  a  large  hole 
in  the  door  for  the  cat,  and  a  small  one  for 
the  kitten,  and  waited  to  see  the  success  of 
his  remarkable  plan.  Behold !  the  cat  went 
through  the  large  hole,  and  the  kitten  followed 
through  the  same  hole  1 

5683.  THIRST,  Awful.  Travellers  in  the 
desert  cry  in  vain,  “  Water,  water !  ”  Vis¬ 
ions  of  fountains  and  groves  rise  before  them, 
but  are  often  only  optical  illusions.  Gold, 
liberty,  life,  every  thing,  would  they  give  for 
water.  Seamen  awreek,  with  water  all  around 
them,  suffer  in  the  same  manner.  Their  burn¬ 
ing  thirst  they  seek  to  quench  with  urine,  the 
blood  of  animals,  and  sometimes  with  humaD 


626 


THIRST. 


THOUGHT. 


blood.  To  such  how  grateful  would  the  invi¬ 
tation  be,  “  Come  ye  to  the  waters  ”  ! 

5684.  THIRST,  Enduring.  The  camel  is  en¬ 
abled,  by  the  peculiar  construction  of  its  stom¬ 
ach,  to  carry  a  supply  of  water  sufficient  for 
seven  or  eight  days  together.  This  power 
adapts  it  to  the  region  in  which  it  is  found, 
and  to  the  service  of  man  in  traversing  the 
desert.  It  has,  also,  great  acuteness  of  scent, 
and,  when  ready  to  fail  through  the  weariness 
of  a  long  march,  will  detect  the  distant  stream 
or  fountain.  Then  new  vigor  animates  it,  and, 
sniffing  the  air,  it  strides  on  till  it  can  imbibe 
the  refreshing  waters. 

5685.  THIRST,  Unquenchable.  A  German 
had  his  side  torn  by  a  shell  in  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  and  lay  down,  sheltered  by  his 
blanket  from  the  scorching  sun,  to  die.  A 
burning  thirst  caused  his  greatest  suffering. 
A  delegate  put  a  canteen  to  his  lips  to  relieve 
him.  His  disappointment  and  agony  were 
intense  when  he  found  that  he  could  not  swal¬ 
low.  Every  effort  was  in  vain ;  and  death 
came  swiftly  on.  This  case  is  analogous  to  the 
fate  of  one  whose  soul-thirst,  has  been  neglected 
till  relief  is  impossible. 

5686.  THOUGHT,  Compelling.  One  young 
man  said  to  another,  when  asked  to  become  a 
Christian,  “  1  don’t  think  much  about  it ;  not 
any  more  than  I  can  help.”  —  “But  you  do 
think,  sometimes  V  ”  —  “  Yes,  when  you  (or 
some  one  else)  make  me;  but  I  put  it  out  of 
mind  as  soon  as  I  can.” 

5687.  THOUGHT,  and  Feeling.  There  is 
much  contention  among  men  whether  thought 
or  feeling  is  the  better  ;  but  feeling  is  the  bow, 
and  thought  the  arrow ;  and  every  good  archer 
must  have  both.  Alone,  one  is  as  helpless  as 
the  other.  The  head  gives  artillery  ;  the  heart, 
powder.  The  one  aims,  and  the  other  fires. 

Beecher. 

5688.  THOUGHT,  Grinding.  Anselm  says, 

“  Our  heart  is  like  a  mill,  ever  grinding, 
which  a  certain  lord  gave  in  charge  to  his 
servant,  enjoining  that  he  should  only  grind 
in  it  his  master’s  grain,  whether  wheat, 
barley,  or  oats,  and  telling  him  that  lie 
must  subsist  on  the  produce.  But  that  ser¬ 
vant  has  an  enemy,  who  is  always  playing 
tricks  on  the  mill.  If,  any  moment,  he  finds 
it  unwatclied,  he  throws  in  gravel  to  keep 
the  stones  from  acting,  or  pitch  to  clog  them, 
or  dirt  and  chaff’  to  mix  with  the  meal.  If  the 
servant  is  careful  in  tending  his  mill,  there 
flows  forth  a  beautiful  flour,  which  is  at  once  a 
service  to  his  master,  and  a  subsistence  to  him- 1 
self;  but  if  he  plays  truant,  and  allows  his  ene¬ 
my  to  tamper  with  the  machinery,  the  bad 
outcome  tells  the  tale;  his  lord  is  angry;  and 
he  himself  is  starved.”  This  mill,  ever  grind¬ 
ing,  is  the  heart ;  thoughts. are  the  grain;  the 
Devil  is  the  watchful  enemy  :  he  throws  in  bad 
thoughts,  which  can  only  be  prevented  by 
watchfulness  and  prayer. 

5689.  THOUGHT,  Immortality  of.  It  is  a 
well-known  fact,  that  persons  who  have  been 
rescued  from  drowning  have  had  the  most 
wonderful  activity  and  power  given  to  their 


memories  just  before  they  became  insensible; 
so  that  in  a  moment  of  time  their  whole  lives 
have  been  photographed,  as  it  were,  and  field 
up  before  them.  They  have  lived  over  years 
of  time  in  a  single  moment.  Every  one  can 
recall  periods  when  a  measure  of  the  same  ac¬ 
tivity  has  been  given  to  memory,  and  when 
the  leaves  of  the  past  have  been  unfolded 
with  a  rapidity  scarcely  before  conceived  of, 
and  when  revelations  have  been  made  of  what 
seemed  buried  in  oblivion,  so  utterly  had  it 
passed  away  from  the  mind.  Some  simple  as¬ 
sociation,  a  familiar  voice,  a  strain  of  music, 
an  incident  recalled,  or  even  a  state  of  mind, 
is  sufficient  to  vivify  the  dead  past.  The  ex¬ 
tent  to  which  the  memory  is  capable  of  recall¬ 
ing  the  past,  even  when  it  seemed  utterly  for¬ 
gotten,  is  illustrated  by  many  a  curious  chap¬ 
ter  ot  facts.  One  of  the  most  striking  is  that 
of  an  illiterate  servant-girl,  who,  in  the  delirium 
of  a  fever,  astonished  nil  who  were  about  her  by 
repeating  long  passages  from  Greek  and  Latin 
authors,  with  which  it  was  well  known  she 
had  no  ordinary  acquaintance.  The  mystery 
was  solved  by  learning  that  she  had  once  been 
at  service  in  the  family  of  a  learned  clergyman, 
who  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  aloud  from 
his  favorite  authors ;  portions  of  which  she  had 
heard,  but  without  any  knowledge  of  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  what  she  heard.  The  mere  sound  of 
the  words  had  so  impressed  itself  upon  her 
memory,  that  the  delirium  of  the  fever,  like  the 
chemicals  applied  to  the  daguerrotype-plate, 
brought  out  the  impression  as  distinct  and 
clear  as  at  first.  Thornton. 

5690.  THOUGHT,  Men  of.  The  great  men 
of  earth  are  the  shadowy  men,  who,  having 
lived  and  died,  now  live  again  and  forever 
through  their  undying  thoughts.  Thus  living, 
though  their  footfalls  are  heard  no  more,  their 
voices  are  louder  than  the  thunder,  and  un¬ 
ceasing  as  the  flow  of  tides  or  air.  Moses  was 
not  half  living  when  he  was  alive.  His  real 
life  has  been  since  he  died.  The  prophets 
seemed  almost  useless  in  their  time.  They  did 
little  for  themselves  or  for  the  Church  of  their 
day ;  but,  when  you  look  at  the  life  they  have 
lived  since,  you  will  find  that  they  have  been 
god’s  pilots  guiding  the  Church  through  all 
perils.  From  their  black  bosoms,  they  sent 
forth  the  blast  of  his  lightning  and  the  roar  of 
his  thunder ;  and  to-day,  if  the  Church  needs 
rebuke  and  denunciation,  it  is  they  who  must 
hurl  it.  I  could  have  killed  old  Jeremiah,  if 
I  could  have  got  at  his  ribs ;  but  I  should  like 
j  to  see  the  archer  that  could  hit  him  now. 
Martin  Luther  was  mighty  when  he  lived ; 
but  the  shadowy  Luther  is  mightier  than  a 
regiment,  of  fleshly  Luthers.  When  he  was 
on  earth,  he  in  some  sense  asked  the  pope  leave 
to  be,  and  the  emperor  and  the  elector  leave 
to  be ;  he  asked  the  stream  and  the  wheat  to 
give  him  sustenance  fora  day:  but  now  that 
his  body  is  dead,  now  that  that  rubbish  is  out 
of  the  way,  he  asks  no  leave  of  pope  or  elector 
or  emperor,  but  is  the  monarch  of  thought, 
and  the  noblest  defender  of  the  faith  to  the  end 
of  time.  Beecher. 


THOUGHT. 


THOUGHTS. 


627 


5691.  THOUGHT,  Pleasures  of.  How  vastly 

disproportionate  are  the  pleasures  of  the  eat¬ 
ing  and  of  the  thinking  man  1  —  indeed,  as  dif¬ 
ferent  as  the  silence  of  an  Archimedes  in  the 
study  of  a  problem,  and  the  stillness  of  a  sow 
at  her  wash.  Nothing  is  comparable  to  the 
pleasure  of  an  active  and  prevailing  thought,  — 
a  thought  prevailing  over  the  difficulty  and 
obscurity  of  the  object,  and  refreshing  the  soul 
with  new  discoveries  and  images  of  things, 
and  thereby  extending  the  bounds  of  apprehen¬ 
sion,  and  enlarging  the  territories  of  reason. 

Dr.  South. 

5692.  THOUGHT,  Power  of.  The  basis  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  was  a 
thought  in  the  mind  of  Rev.  Mr.  Charles  of 
Bala ;  that  of  the  Antislavery  Society  of 
England,  a  thought  of  Thomas  Clarkson.  A 
thought  sent  Moffat  to  Africa,  Morrison  to 
China,  Williams  to  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
and  Judson  to  Bttrmah.  These  were  thoughts 
that  took  life  and  organization. 

5693.  THOUGHT,  Remorseful.  A  convict, 
on  being  removed  from  one  prison  to  another, 
was  asked  how  he  liked  his  new  house.  “  Not 
at  all,”  was  the  reply.  “  Are  you  not  clothed 
and  fed  as  well  here  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  better.”  — 
“  Is  your  labor  harder  ?  ”  —  “  No,  not  so 
hard.”  —  “  Are  you  not  treated  with  kind¬ 
ness  V  ”  —  “  Yes.”  —  “  Then  why  not  like  it  V  ” 
—  “  Because  I  am  allowed  to  speak  to  no  one. 
I  go  to  the  table,  and  sit  and  think.  I  go  about 
my  work  all  day  to  think  ;  and  at  night  the  iron 
door  shuts  me  in  my  solitary  cell  to  think, 
think,  think;  and  I  cannot  endure  it!  ” 

5694.  THOUGHT,  Result  of.  A  disloyal 
thought  hath  in  it  the  nature  of  the  formed 
evil  to  which  it  tends.  Here  is  seminal  apos¬ 
tasy.  The  cockatrice-egg,  long  enough  hatched, 
becomes  a  serpent,  anil  therefore  ought  to  be 
crushed  betime.  A  man's  heart  now  begins 
sinfully  to  tempt  him,  as  he  is  never  tempted 
with  effect  till  he  be  led  away  by  his  own 
heart,  and  enticed  ;  and  now  is  the  conception 
of  that  sin,  which,  being  finished,  is  eventually 
mortal,  and  brings  forth  death.  John  Ilowe. 

5695.  THOUGHTS,  Amount  of.  If  the  flow 
of  a  day’s  mind-and-heart-expericnces  were 
written,  it  would  be  a  volume,  and  one’s  life  a 
Bodleian  Liltrary  ;  but  the  “  book  of  remem¬ 
brance”  is  yonder,  and  the  life  is  daguerro- 
typed  on  the  sensitive  pages  of  the  future. 

Beecher. 

5696.  THOUGHTS,  A  Basket  of.  Suppose  a 
man  should  find  a  great  basket  by  the  way- 
side,  carefully  packed,  and,  on  opening  it,  he 
should  find  it  filled  with  human  thoughts,  all 
the  thoughts  which  had  passed  through  one 
single  brain  in  one  year  or  five  years,  —  what 
a  medley  they  would  make  1  How  many 
would  be  wild  and  foolish,  how  many  weak 
and  contemptible,  how  many  mean  and  vile, 
how  many  so  contradictory  and  crooked,  that 
they  could  hardly  lie  still  in  the  basket  1  And 
suppose  lie  should  be  told  that  these  were  all 
his  own  thoughts,  children  of  his  own  brain  : 
how  amazed  would  he  be  1  how  little  pre¬ 
pared  to  see  himself  as  revealed  in  those 


thoughts  I  And  how  would  he  want  to  run 
away  and  hide,  if  all  the  world  were  to  see  the 
basket  opened,  and  see  his  thoughts  1 

Dr.  Todd. 

5697.  THOUGHTS,  Company  in.  The  man 

who  has  learnt  to  think  well  and  rightly  never 
need  be  alone ;  for  he  can  people  solitude,  and 
cheer  the  dreariness  of  night,  with  bright  and 
pure  thoughts.  He  may  languish  innocently 
in  the  dungeon,  whither  the  tyrant’s  hand  has 
thrust  him,  or  he  may  be  stretched  on  his 
restless  couch  in  the  hospital,  or  he  may  lie 
emaciated  on  his  pallet  of  straw  in  his  lonely 
garret :  but  alone  he  cannot  be ;  for  holy  and 
happy  thoughts,  like  angels  of  mercy,  flit  too 
and  fro  before  his  mental  vision,  and  become 
liis  joyful  companions.  R.  Roberts. 

5698.  THOUGHTS,  Envious.  A  Burmese 
potter,  says  the  legend,  became  envious  of  the 
prosperity  of  a  washerman,  and,  to  ruin  him, 
induced  the  king  to  order  him  to  wash  one  of 
his  black  elephants  white,  that  he  might  be 
lord  of  the  white  elephant.  The  washerman 
replied,  that,  by  the  rules  of  his  art,  he  must 
have  a  vessel  large  enough  to  wash  him  in. 
The  king  ordered  the  potter  to  make  such  a 
vessel.  When  made,  it  was  crushed  by  the 
first  step  of  the  elephant  in  it.  Many  trials 
failed ;  and  the  potter  was  ruined  by  the  very 
scheme  he  had  intended  should  crush  his 
enemy. 

5699.  THOUGHTS,  God’s.  Thinking  is  creat¬ 

ing  with  God,  as  thinking  is  writing  with  the 
ready  writer ;  and  worlds  are  only  leaves 
turned  over  in  the  process  of  composition 
about  his  throne.  Beecher. 

5700.  THOUGHTS,  Heavenward.  Every  day, 
from  my  window,  I  see  the  gulls  making  cir¬ 
cuits,  and  beating  against  the  north  wind. 
Now  they  mount  high  above  the  masts  of  ves¬ 
sels  in  the  stream,  and  then  suddenly  drop  to 
the  water’s  edge,  seeking  to  find  some  eddy 
unobstructed  by  the  steady-blowing  blast; 
till,  at  length,  abandoning  their  efforts,  they 
turn,  and  fly  with  the  wind ;  and  then  how 
like  a  gleam  of  light  do  their  white  wings  flash 
down  the  bay  faster  than  eye  can  follow  I  So, 
when  we  cease  to  resist  God’s  divine  influ¬ 
ences,  and,  turning  towards  him,  our  thoughts 
and  feelings  are  upborne  by  the  breath  of  his 
spirit,  how  do  they  make  such  swift  heaven¬ 
ward  flight  as  no  words  can  overtake.  Beecher. 

5701.  THOUGHTS,  Known  to  God.  The 
thoughts  of  a  man’s  heart,  —  what  millions  are 
there  of  them  in  a  day  1  The  twinkling  of  the 
eye  is  not  so  sudden  a  thing  as  the  thinking  of 
a  thought;  yet  those  thousands  and  thousands 
of  thoughts  which  pass  from  thee,  that  thou 
canst  not  reckon,  —  they  are  all  known  to  God. 

A.  Burgess. 

5702.  THOUGHTS,  Sinful.  The  true  Chris¬ 
tian  finds  it  infinitely  more  difficult  to  beat 
down  one  sinful  thought  from  rising  up  in  him 
than  to  keep  down  a  thousand  sinful  thoughts 
from  breaking  out  into  open  action.  Here  lies 
the  chief  labor,  —  to  fight  a  phantasm  or  airy 
apparition,  such  as  thoughts  are.  He  sets 
himself  chiefly  against  these  heart-sins,  because 


628 


'THOTTGHTS. 


TBIE. 


he  knows  that  these  are  sins  that  are,  most  of 
all,  contrary  to  grace,  and  do,  most  of  all, 
weaken  and  waste  grace.  Outward  sins  are 
like  the  many  caterpillars,  that  devour  the 
verdure  and  flourishing  of  grace ;  but  heart- 
sins  are  like  so  many  worms,  that  gnaw  the 
very  roots  of  grace.  Hopkins. 

5703.  THOUGHTS,  Vain.  One  of  the  beset- 
ing  evils  of  the  present  day  is  the  indulgence 
in  trifling,  useless,  vain,  and  volatile  thoughts. 
These  must  be  distinguished  from  thoughts 
that  are  positively  vicious,  polluted,  and  im¬ 
pious.  They  are,  nevertheless,  very  injurious, 
and,  when  habitually  indulged  in,  exert  a  bale¬ 
ful  influence  on  the  character.  Books  of  travel 
inform  us,  that,  in  hotter  climates,  the  locusts 
swarin  so  thickly  in  the  air  as  sometimes  to 
hide  from  the  traveller  the  light  of  the  sun, 
and  cast  a  dark  and  cold  shadow  on  his  path¬ 
way.  So  it  is  in  the  world  of  mind.  Swarms 
of  vain  thoughts  are  ever  floating  over  some 
minds,  intercepting  the  beams  of  truth  from 
falling  on  the  heart,  and  thus  keeping  that 
heart  barren  of  all  virtue  and  goodness.  Or, 
like  a  set  of  evil  birds  falling  on  the  newly- 
sown  field,  these  winged  wanderers  of  thought 
fall  on  the  heart,  and  pick  up  many  a  precious 
seed  sown  by  the  hand  of  the  great  Husband¬ 
man,  which,  otherwise,  would  have  brought 
forth  much  fruit.  If  we  would  avoid  the  evil, 
we  must,  like  the  farmer,  set  up  something  to 
scare  these  flitting  spirits  away.  Nothing  can 
do  this  so  effectually  as  the  presence  of  nobler 
and  better  thoughts.  R.  Roberts. 

570-1.  THREATENING,  Benefit  of.  Rosenmiil- 
ler  quotes  from  an  Arabian  writer  the  follow¬ 
ing  receipt  for  curing  a  palm-tree  of  barren¬ 
ness,  —  “  Thou  must  take  a  hatchet,  and  go  to 
the  tree  with  a  friend,  unto  whom  thou  sayest, 

‘  I  will  cut  down  this  tree ;  for  it  is  unfruitful.’ 
He  answers,  ‘  Do  not  so :  this  year  it  will  cer¬ 
tainly  bear  fruit.’  But  the  other  says,  ‘  It 
must  needs  be ;  it  must  be  hewn  down,’  and 
gives  the  stem  of  the  tree  three  blows  with  the 
back  of  the  hatchet.  But  the  other  restrains 
him,  crying,  ‘  Nay,  do  it  not  1  thou  wilt  certainly 
have  fruit  from  it  this  year  :  only  have  patience 
with  it,  and  be  not  over-hasty  in  cutting  it 
down.  If  it  still  refuses  to  bear  fruit,  then 
cut  it  down.’  Then  will  the  tree  that  year  be 
certainly  fruitful,  and  bear  abundantly.” 

Trench. 

5705.  THREATENING,  Benevolence  of.  A  shep¬ 
herd,  foreseeing  a  snow-storm,,  that  will  drift 
deep  in  the  hollows  of  the  hill,  where  the  silly 
sheep  seeking  refuge  would  find  a  grave,  pre¬ 
pares  shelter  in  a  safe  spot,  and  opens  its  door. 
Then  he  sends  his  dog  after  the  wandering 
flock  to  frighten  them  into  the  fold.  The  bark 
of  the  dog  behind  them  is  a  terror  to  the 
timid  sheep;  but  it  is  at  once  the  sure  means 
of  their  safety,  and  the  mark  of  the  shepherd’s 
care.  Without  it,  the  prepared  told  and  the 
open  entrance  might  have  proved  of  no  avail. 
The  terror  which  the  shepherd  sent  into  the 
flock  gave  the  finishing  touch  to  his  tender 
care,  and  effect  to  all  that  had  gone  before. 
Such,  precisely,  in  design  and  effect,  are  the 


terrible  things  of  God’s  word:  not  one  of 
them  indicates  that  he  is  unwilling  to  receive 
sinners.  They  are  the  overflowings  of  divine 
compassion.  They  are  sent  by  the  Good 
Shepherd  to  surround  triflers  on  the  brink  of 
perdition,  and  compel  them  to  come  into  the 
provided  refuge  ere  its  door  be  shut.  The 
terrors  of  the  Lord  are  not  the  salvation  of 
men ;  but  they  have  driven  many  to  the  Sa¬ 
viour.  Arnot. 

5706.  THRIFT,  Proverbs.  What  is  not  needed 

is  dear  at  a  farthing.  —  Latin. - A  fat  kitch¬ 

en  has  poverty  for  a  neighbor.  Saving  is  the 

first  gain. —  Italian. - Keep  a  thing  seven 

years,  and  you’ll  find  use  for  it.  A  fool  may 
make  money ;  but  it  needs  a  wise  man  to  spend 
it.  A  good  bargain  is  a  pick  purse.  —  English. 

- One  cannot  have  a  good  pennyworth  of 

bad  ware.  —  French. 

5707.  TIME,  Appreciation  of.  “Millions  of 
money  for  an  inch  of  time  1  ”  cried  Elizabeth, 
the  Queen  of  England,  upon  her  dying-bed. 
Reclining  upon  a  royal  couch,  with  ten  thou¬ 
sand  dresses  in  her  wardrobe,  and  a  kingdom 
on  which  the  sun  never  set  at  her  feet,  she, 
who  had  wasted  more  than  half  a  century, 
would  now  barter  millions  for  an  inch  of 
time. 

5708.  TIME,  Complaining  of,  We  all  com¬ 

plain  of  the  shortness  of  time ;  and  yet  we 
have  more  than  we  know  what  to  do  with. 
Our  lives  are  spent  either  in  doing  nothing  at 
all,  or  in  doing  nothing  to  the  purpose,  or  in 
doing  nothing  that  we  ought  to  do.  We  are 
always  complaining  that  our  days  are  few, 
and  acting  as  though  there  would  be  no  end 
of  them.  Seneca. 

5709.  TIME,  Depredations  o£  Time  is  the 

most  subtle,  yet  the  most  insatiable  of  depre¬ 
dators,  and,  by  appearing  to  take  nothing,  is 
permitted  to  take  all ;  nor  can  it  be  satisfied 
until  it  has  stolen  the  world  from  us,  and  us 
from  the  world.  It  constantly  flies,  yet  over¬ 
comes  all  things  by  flight;  and,  although  it  is 
the  present  ally,  it  will  be  the  future  con¬ 
queror,  of  death.  Time,  the  cradle  of  hope, 
but  the  grave  of  ambition,  is  the  stern  cor¬ 
rector  of  fools,  but  the  salutary  counsellor  of 
the  wise ;  bringing  all  they  dread  to  the  one, 
and  all  they  desire  to  the  other :  but,  like 
Cassandra,  it  warns  us  with  a  voice  that 
even  the  sagest  discredit  too  long,  and  the 
silliest  believe  too  late.  Wisdom  walks  before 
it,  opportunity  with  it,  and  repentance  behind, 
it:  he  that  has  made  it  his  friend  will  have 
little  to  fear  from  his  enemies,  will  have  little 
to  hope  from  his  friends.  Colton. 

5710.  TIME,  a  Destroyer.  I  saw  a  temple 
reared  by  the  hands  of  man,  standing  with  its 
high  pinnacle  in  the  distant  plain.  The  streams 
beat  about  it,  the  God  of  Nature  hurled  his 
thunder-bolts  against  it ;  yet  it  stood  as  firm 
as  adamant.  Itevelry  was  in  the  hall ;  the 
gay,  the  happy,  the  young,  the  beautiful,  were 
there.  I  returned,  and,  lo  1  the  temple  was  no 
more.  Its  high  walls  lay  in  scattered  ruin ; 
moss  and  grass  grew  rankly  there;  and,  at  the 
midnight  hour,  the  owl’s  long  cry  added  to  the 


TEVEHL 


TEVLE. 


629 


solitude.  The  young  and  gay  who  had  rev¬ 
elled  there  had  passed  away.  I  saw  a  child 
rejoicing  in  his  youth,  the  idol  of  his  mother, 
and  the  pride  of  his  father.  I  returned,  and 
that  child,  had  become  old.  Trembling  with 
the  weight  of  years,  he  stood,  the  last  of  his 
generation,  a  stranger  amidst  all  the  desola¬ 
tion  around  him.  I  saw  an  old  oak  standing 
in  all  its  pride  upon  the  mountain :  the  birds 
were  carolling  in  its  boughs.  I  returned,  and 
saw  the  oak  was  leafless  and  sapless  :  the  winds 
were  playing  at  their  pastime  through  the 
branches.  “  Who  is  the  destroyer  ?  ”  said  I  to 
my  guardian  angel.  “  It  is  Time,”  said  he. 
“  When  the  morning-stars  sang  together  for 
joy  over  the  new-made  world,  he  commenced 
his  course,  and  when  he  has  destroyed  all 
that  is  beautiful  on  the  earth,  plucked  the 
sun  in  his  sphere,  veiled  the  moon  in  blood ; 
yea,  when  he  shall  have  rolled  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  away  as  a  scroll,  then  shall  an 
angel  from  the  throne  of  God  come  forth,  and, 
with  one  foot  upon  the  land,  lift  up  his  hand 
towards  heaven,  and  swear  by  heaven’s  Eter¬ 
nal,  time  was,  but  time  shall  be  no  more.” 

Paulding. 

5711*  TIME,  End  of.  There  was  an  ancient 
custom  of  putting  an  hour-glass  into  the  cof¬ 
fin  of  the  dead  to  signify  that  their  time  had 
run  out,  a  useless  notification  to  them.  Better 
put  the  hour-glass  into  the  hand  of  every  liv¬ 
ing  man,  and  show  them  the  grains  gliding 
steadily  out.  Soon  all  will  be  gone. 

5712.  TIME,  Flight  of.  When  young,  our 
years  are  ages ;  in  mature  life,  they  are  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  days  ;  in  old  age,  they 
have  dwindled  to  a  few  weeks.  Time  is, 
indeed,  the  messenger  with  wings  at  his  feet. 
Yesterday,  he  took  my  wife ;  to-day,  my  son ; 
to-morrow,  he  will  take  me. 

Madame  de  Gasparin. 

5713.  TIME,  Fragments  o£  In  the  Palace  of 
Industry,  there  were  several  curious  specimens 
of  art,  wrought  by  humble  individuals  out  of 
such  fragments  of  time  as  they  could  secure 
from  their  regular  occupations.  Oh  the  pre¬ 
ciousness  of  moments !  no  gold  or  gems  can  be 
compared  to  them.  Yet  all  have  them ;  while 
some  are  thereby  enriched,  and  others  leave 
themselves  in  poverty.  The  wealth  of  time  is 
like  gold  in  the  mine,  like  the  gem  in  the 
pebble,  like  the  diamond  in  the  deep.  The 
mine  must  be  worked,  the  pebble  ground  and 
polished,  the  deep  fathomed  and  searched. 

J.  Stoughton. 

5714.  TIME,  Improvement  of.  The  learned 
Grotius  had  for  his  motto  Ilora  ruit.  By  it  he 
lived,  improving  every  moment ;  yet  so  great 
was  his  sense  of  non-improvement,  that  at  his 
death  he  cried,  “  I  have  wasted  my  life  in  inces¬ 
sant  toil,  and  have  done  nothing.” 

5715.  TIME,  Influencing.  It  is  notorious  to 

philosophers,  that  joy  and  grief  can  hasten 
and  delay  time.  Locke  is  of  opinion,  that  a 
man  in  great  misery  may  so  far  lose  his  meas¬ 
ure  as  to  think  a  minute  an  hour,  or,  in  joy, 
make  an  hour  a  minute.  Steele. 

5716.  TIME,  Irrecoverable.  A  woman  in  the 


agonies  of  despair  cried  out  to  those  who 
sought  to  comfort  her,  “  Call  back  time  again  1 
If  you  can  call  back  time  again,  then  there 
may  be  hope  for  me  ;  but  time  is  gone.” 

5717.  TIME,  No  Leisure.  Dionysius  the  Sili- 
cian  employed  his  time  so  well,  that,  being 
asked  by  one  who  wanted  to  speak  with  him  if 
he  were  at  leisure,  he  answered,  “  Heaven  for¬ 
bid  that  I  should  ever  have  any  leisure-time  1  ” 

Scraggs. 

5718.  TIME,  Loss  of.  We  arc  doomed  to 
suffer  a  bitter  pang  as  often  as  the  irrecoverable 
flight  of  our  time  is  brought  home  with  keen¬ 
ness  to  our  hearts.  The  spectacle  of  a  lady 
floating  over  the  sea  in  a  boat,  and  waking 
suddenly  from  sleep  to  find  her  magnificent 
ropes  of  pearl  necklace  by  some  accident  de¬ 
tached  at  one  end  from  its  fastenings,  the  loose 
string  hanging  down  into  the  water,  and  pearl 
after  pearl  slipping  off  forever  into  the  abyss, 
brings  before  us  the  sadness  of  the  case.  That 
particular  pearl  which  at  the  very  moment  is 
rolling  off  into  the  unsearchable  deep  carries 
its  own  separate  reproach  to  the  lady’s  heart; 
but  it  is  more  deeply  reproachful  as  the  rep¬ 
resentative  of  so  many  other  uncounted  pearls 
that  have  already  been  swallowed  up  irrecov¬ 
erably  while  yet  she  was  sleeping,  and  of  many 
besides  that  must  follow  before  any  remedy  can 
be  applied  to  what  we  may  call  this  jewelly 
hemorrhage. 

5719.  TIME,  Neglected.  Many  sitting  up 

long  at  play  have  to  go  to  bed  in  the  dark. 
Life  here  is  a  play  whose  bed  is  eternity.  Let 
us,  then,  give  over  play  before  our  candle  is  out, 
and  we,  left  in  darkness,  have  to  take  up  our 
bed  in  hell  to  all  eternity.  Spencer. 

5720.  TIME,  Never  Recovered.  Lost  wealth 
may  be  restored  by  industry,  the  wreck  of 
health  regained  by  temperance,  forgotten 
knowledge  restored  by  study,  alienated  friend¬ 
ship  smoothed  into  forgetfulness,  even  forfeit¬ 
ed  reputation  won  by  penitence  and  virtue ; 
but  who  ever  looked  upon  his  vanished  hours, 
recalled  his  slighted  years,  stamped  them 
with  wisdom,  or  effaced  from  heaven’s  record 
the  fearful  blot  of  wasted  time  V 

Mrs.  Sigourney. 

5721.  TIME,  Picture  of.  It  was  wittily  said, 
that  by  some  time  was  thus  pictured  of  old  : 
Time  to  come  had  the  head  of  a  fawning  dog ; 
time  present,  the  head  of  a  stirring  lion  ;  time 
past,  the  head  of  a  biting  wolf ;  so  teaching, 
that  though  silly  souls  fancy  still  their  best 
days  are  to  come,  yet,  if  they  bestir  not  well 
themselves  in  their  present  ones,  they  will  be 
very  miserably  torn  and  bitten  in  their  future. 

Burgess. 

5722.  TIME,  Saving.  Said  Gen.  Mitchell  to 
an  army  officer  who  apologized  for  a  little 
delay,  “  Only  a  few  moments  1  I  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  calculating  the  value  of  the 
thousandth  part  of  a  second.” 

5723.  TIME,  a  Treasure.  An  Italian  philoso¬ 
pher  expressed  in  his  motto,  “  that  time  was 
his  treasure,”  —  an  estate,  indeed,  which  will 
produce  nothing  without  cultivation,  but  which 
will  always  abundantly  repay  the  labors  of  in- 


630 


TIME. 


TOBACCO. 


dustry,  and  satisfy  the  most  extensive  desires, 
if  no  part  of  it  be  suffered  to  lie  waste  by  neg¬ 
ligence,  to  be  overrun  with  noxious  plants,  or 
laid  out  for  show  rather  than  use. 

Dr.  Johnson. 

5724.  TIME,  Treasuring.  Boyle  remarks, 
“  that  sand-grains  are  easily  scattered  ;  but 
skilful  artificers  gather,  melt,  and  transmute 
them  to  glass,  of  which  they  make  mirrors, 
lenses,  and  telescopes.  Even  so  vigilant  Chris¬ 
tians  improve  parenthetic  fragments  of  time, 
employing  them  in  self-examination,  acts  of 
faith,  and  researches  of  holy  truth  ;  by  which 
they  become  looking-glasses  for  their  souls, 
and  telescopes  revealing  their  promised  heav¬ 
en.”  Jewellers  save  the  very  sweepings  of 
their  shops,  because  they  contain  particles 
of  precious  metal.  Should  Christians,  whose 
every  moment  was  purchased  for  them  by  the 
blood  of  Christ,  be  less  careful  of  time? 
Surely  its  very  minutiae  should  be  more  treas¬ 
ured  than  grains  of  gold  or  dust  of  diamonds. 

S.  Coley. 

5725.  TIME,  Trifling  with.  Every  day,  every 
hour  in  the  day,  is  a  talent  of  time ;  and  God 
expects  the  improvement  of  it,  and  will  charge 
the  non-improvement  of  it  upon  you  at  last. 
Caesar,  observing  some  ladies  at  Rome  to  spend 
much  of  their  time  in  making  much  of  little 
dogs  and  monkeys,  asked  them  whether  the 
women  in  that  country  had  no  children  to  make 
much  of. 

5726.  TIME,  Unnoted.  When  the  famous 
Baron  de  Trench  came  out  of  his  dark  dun¬ 
geon  in  Magdeburg,  where  he  could  not  dis¬ 
tinguish  night  from  day,  and  in  which  the 
King  of  Prussia  had  kept  him  imprisoned  for 
ten  years,  he  imagined  that  he  had  been  in  it 
for  a  much  shorter  period,  because  he  had  no 
means  of  marking  how  the  time  had  passed, 
and  he  had  seen  no  new  events,  and  had  had 
even  few  thoughts.  His  astonishment  was 
extreme  when  he  was  told  how  many  years 
had  thus  passed  away  like  a  painful  dream. 

L.  Gaussen. 

5727.  TIME,  Use  of.  Time  is  life’s  freight¬ 

age,  wherewith  some  men  trade,  and  make  a 
fortune ;  and  others  suffer  it  to  moulder  all 
away,  or  waste  in  extravagance.  Time  is  life’s 
book,  out  of  which  some  extract  wondrous 
wisdom  ;  while  others  let  it  lie  uncovered,  and 
then  die  fools.  Time  is  life’s  tree,  from 
which  some  gather  precious  fruit,  while  others 
lie  down  under  its  shadow,  and  perish  with 
hunger.  Time  is  life’s  ladder,  whereby  some 
raise  themselves  up  to  honor  and  renown  and 
glory  ;  and  some  let  themselves  down  into  the 
deeps  of  shame,  degradation,  and  ignominy. 
Time  will  be  to  us  what,  by  our  use  of  the 
treasure,  we  make  it, —  a  good  or  an  evil,  a 
blessing  or  a  curse.  J.  Stoughton. 

5728.  TIME,  Used.  Among  the  ancient  In¬ 
dians  there  were  a  set  of  men  called  gymnoso- 
phists,  who  bad  a  great  aversion  to  sioth  and 
idleness.  When  the  tables  were  spread  for 
their  repasts,  the  assembling  youths  were  asked 
by  their  masters  in  what  useful  task  they  had 
been  employed  from  the  hour  of  sunrise. 


One,  perhaps,  represented  himself  as  having 
been  an  arbitrator,  and  succeeded,  by  his 
prudent  management,  in  composing  a  differ¬ 
ence  between  friends.  A  second  had  been 
paying  obedience  to  his  parent’s  commands. 
A  third  had  made  some  discovery  by  bis  own 
application,  or  learned  something  by  another’s 
instruction.  But  he  who  had  done  nothing  to 
deserve  a  dinner  was  turned  out  of  doors  with¬ 
out  one,  and  obliged  to  work  while  the  others 
enjoyed  the  fruits  of  their  application. 

Knowles. 

5729.  TIME,  Value  of.  Queen  Charlotte 
said,  “  I  am  always  quarelling  with  time :  it  is 
so  short  to  do  something,  and  so  long  to  do 
nothing.”  John  Bradford  used  to  say,  “I 
count  that  hour  lost  in  which  I  have  done 
no  good  by  my  pen  or  tongue.”  Seneca  taught, 
that  time  was  the  only  thing  of  which  it  is  a 
virtue  to  be  covetous.  Dr.  Cotton  Mather 
would  express  his  regret  after  the  departure  of 
a  visitor  that  had  wasted  his  time,  “  I  had 
rather  have  given  him  a  handful  of  money 
than  have  been  kept  thus  long  out  of  my 
study.”  Ilenry  Martyn  won  the  honorable 
title,  “  The  man  that  never  wasted  an  hour.” 

5730.  TIME,  Waste  of.  The  amount  of 

time  wasted  in  some  men’s  lives  is  fearfully 
large.  Not  to  mention  the  time  which  is 
wasted  in  sleep,  dress,  and  gossip ;  look  at  the 
time  wasted  in  reveries,  absence  of  mind,  air- 
balloon  imaginations,  and  wild-goose  chases, 
searching  for  new  inventions  without  finding 
them  ;  making  schemes,  and  never  executing 
them ;  writing  manuscripts  with  a  view  to  pub¬ 
lish,  and  never  publishing  them ;  brooding  ovei 
imaginary  fears,  and  never  realizing  them  ;  in¬ 
dulging  in  sanguine  hopes  which  never  ripen 
into  fruit ;  battling  with  expected  spectral  ap¬ 
pearances  which  never  were  seen;  crossing 
bridges  and  streams  and  forests  which  never 
came  in  the  way  ;  meeting  objections  of  oppo¬ 
nents  which  were  never  raised ;  preparing  de¬ 
fences  of  character  upon  points  which  were 
never  assailed ;  quaking,  shaking,  moaning, 
groaning,  grumbling,  over  aches,  pains,  losses, 
woes,  and  death,  which  only  existed  in  the 
dreams  of  a  diseased  brain.  Bale. 

5731.  TIME,  Worth  o£  To  show  us  the 
worth  of  time,  God,  most  liberal  of  all  other 
things,  is  exceedingly  frugal  in  the  dispensing 
of  that;  for  he  never  gives  us  two  moments  to¬ 
gether,  nor  grants  us  a  second  till  he  has  with¬ 
drawn  the  first,  still  keeping  the  third  in  his 
own  hands,  so  that  we  are  in  perfect  uncer¬ 
tainty  whether  we  shall  have  it  or  not.  The 
true  manner  of  preparing  for  the  last  moment 
is  to  spend  all  the  others  well,  and  ever  to  ex¬ 
pect  that.  We  dote  upon  this  world  as  if  it 
were  never  to  have  an  end,  and  neglect  the 
next  as  if  it  were  never  to  have  a  beginning. 

Fenelon 

5732.  TOBACCO,  Abandoning.  Sammy  Hick, 
the  Micklefield  blacksmith,  one  day  gave  six¬ 
pence  to  a  poor  widow.  She  blessed  him,  and 
could  hardly  find  words  enough  with  which  to 
express  her  thanks.  He  said  to  himself,  “Well, 
if  sixpence  makes  that  poor  creature  so  happy, 


TOBACCO. 


TONGUE. 


631 


oh !  how  many  sixpences  have  I  spent  in  filling 
my  mouth  with  tobacco  1  ”  He  made  a  vow 
instantly,  never  to  let  a  pipe  enter  his  lips 
a^ain.  Soon  afterwards,  he  was  taken  very 
ill,  and  a  doctor  said  to  him,  “  Mr.  Hick,  you 
must  resume  your  pipe.”  —  “I  will  not,”  he  re¬ 
plied.  “  Then,”  said  the  doctor,  “  if  you  do 
not,  you  will  not  live.”  —  “Bless  the  Lord! 
then,”  said  Sammy,  “  I  shall  go  to  heaven.  1 
have  made  a  vow  to  the  Lord  that  the  pipe 
shall  never  enter  my  mouth  again  ;  and  it  never 
shall.”  He  kept  his  vow,  and  lived  to  be  an 
old  man.  Rev.  T.  E.  Thorsby. 

5733.  TOBACCO,  Marks  of.  “  I’ve  got  a  boy 
for  you,  sir.”  —  “  Glad  of  it :  who  is  he  ?  ” 
asked  the  master-workman  of  a  large  estab¬ 
lishment.  The  man  told  the  boy’s  name,  and 
where  he  lived.  “  Don’t  want  him,”  said  the 
master-workman  :  “  he  has  got  a  bad  mark.” 
—  “A  bad  mark,  sir  !  What  V  ”  —  “I  meet 
him  every  day  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth.  I 
don’t  want  smokers.” 

5734.  TOBACCO,  Smoking.  There  is  a  story 
of  a  Quaker  lady,  who  was  addicted  to  smok¬ 
ing  tobacco.  She  had  indulged  in  the  habit 
until  it  had  increased  so  much  upon  her,  that 
she  not  only  smoked  her  pipe  a  large  portion 
of  the  day,  but  frequently  sat  up  for  this  pur¬ 
pose  in  the  night.  After  one  of  these  noctur¬ 
nal  entertainments,  she  fell  asleep,  and  dreamed 
that  she  died,  and  approached  heaven.  Meet¬ 
ing  an  angel,  she  asked  him  if  her  name  was 
written  in  the  book  of  life.  He  disappeared, 
but  replied,  upon  returning,  that  he  could  not 
find  it.  “  Oh!  ”  said  she,  “  do  look  again  :  it 
must  be  there.”  He  examined  again,  but  re¬ 
turned  with  sorrowful  face,  saying,  “  It  is  not 
there.”  —  “  Oh  1  ”  she  said  in  agony,  “  it  must 
be  there  1  I  have  the  assurance  it  is  there  ! 
Do  look  again  I  ”  The  angel  was  moved  to 
tears  by  her  entreaties,  and  again  left  her  to 
renew  his  search.  After  a  long  absence,  he 
came  back,  his  face  radiant  with  joy,  and  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  I  have  found  it ;  but  it  was  so 
clouded  with  tobacco-smoke  that  it  could  hard¬ 
ly  be  seen.”  The  woman,  upon  waking,  im¬ 
mediately  threw  her  pipe  away,  and  never 
indulged  in  smoking  again. 

5735.  TONGUE,  Danger  of  the.  Slander  is 

like  the  Greek  fire  in  ancient  warfare,  which 
burned  unquenehed  beneath  the  water;  or  like 
the  weeds,  which,  when  you  have  extirpated 
them  in  one  place,  are  sprouting  forth  vigor¬ 
ously  in  another  spot  at  the  distance  of  many 
hundred  yards.  F.  W.  Robertson. 

5736.  TONGUE,  Fault-finding.  Those  who 
find  pleasure  in  dwelling  upon  and  amplifying 
the  limits  of  others,  to  the  partial  or  total  ob¬ 
livion  of  their  own.  remind  me  of  Hogarth’s 

Suaint  picture  in  false  perspective ;  wherein 
le  trees  that  line  the  road,  and  the  sheep 
travelling  along  it,  grow  larger  and  more  dis¬ 
tinct  as  they  recede  from  the  eye. 

F.  IF.  Robertson. 

5737.  TONGUE,  Good  and  Evil  of  the.  The 
heathen  philosopher  Xanthus,  expecting  some 
friends  to  dine  with  him,  ordered  his  servant 
<£sop  to  provide  the  best  things  the  market 


could  supply.  Tongues  only  were  provided ; 
and  these  the  cook  was  ordered  to  serve  up 
with  different  sauces.  Course  after  course 
was  supplied,  each  consisting  of  tongue.  “  Did 
I  not  order  you,”  said  Xanthus  in  a  violent 
passion,  “  to  buy  the  best  victuals  the  market 
afforded  ?  ”  —  “  And  have  I  not  obeyed  your 
orders  ?  ”  said  iEsop.  “  Is  there  any  thing  bet¬ 
ter  than  a  tongue  ?  Is  not  the  tongue  the 
bond  of  civil  society,  the  organ  of  truth  and 
reason,  and  the  instrument  of  our  praise  and 
adoration  of  the  gods  ?  ”  Xanthus  ordered 
him  to  go  again  to  the  market  on  the  morrow, 
and  buy  the  worst  things  he  could  find.  iEsop 
went,  and  again  he  purchased  tongues,  which 
the  cook  was  ordered  to  serve  as  before. 
“  What !  tongues  again  ?  ”  exclaimed  Xanthus. 
“  Most  certainly,”  rejoined  iEsop,  “  the  tongue 
is  surely  the  worst  thing  in  the  world.  It  is 
the  instrument  of  all  strife  and  contention,  the 
inventor  of  lawsuits,  and  the  source  of  division 
and  wars  :  it  is  the  organ  of  error,  oflies,  cal¬ 
umny  and  blasphemies.” 

5738.  TONGUE,  A  Gossiping.  A  man,  who, 
for  a  moment’s  gossiping  gratification,  drops  an 
idle  word  affecting  a  neighbor’s  character,  re¬ 
sembles  that  Scotchman,  who,  from  partiality 
to  the  flora  of  his  native  land,  sowed  a  little 
thistle-down  in  the  British  colony  where  he 
had  raised  his  tabernacle,  and  where  that  nui¬ 
sance  to  agriculturists  had  been  unknown  up 
to  that  time.  It  grew  and  flourished ;  and 
breezes —  like  the  active  wind  of  talk,  that 
soon  propagates  a  slander  —  carried  the 
winged  seeds  hither  and  thither,  to  found  for 
their  obnoxious  species  thousands  of  new 
homes.  It  is  as  unsafe  to  keep  company  with 
one  whose  tongue  is  hung  too  loosely  as  to 
ride  in  a  vehicle  whose  linchpins  are  loose. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

5739.  TONGUE,  Government  of  the.  Socrates, 

the  ecclesiastical  historiographer,  reports  a 
story  of  one  Pambo,  a  plain,  ignorant  man, 
who  came  to  a  learned  man,  and  desired  him 
to  teach  him  some  psalm  or  other.  lie  began 
to  read  unto  him  the  Thirty-ninth  Psalm,  “  I 
said,  I  will  take  heed  to  my  ways,  that  I  sin 
not  with  my  tongue.”  Having  passed  this  first 
verse,  Pambo  shut  the  book,  and  took  his 
leave,  saying  that  he  would  go  learn  that  point 
first.  When  he  had  absented  himself  for  the 
space  of  some  months,  he  was  demanded  by 
his  reader  when  he  would  go  forward  Y  He 
answered,  that  he  had  not  yet  learned  his  old 
lesson  ;  and  he  gave  the  very  same  answer  to 
one  that  asked  the  like  question,  forty-nine 
years  after.  Spencer. 

5740.  TONGUE,  Mischief  of  the.  I  saw  a  ter¬ 
rible  fire  some  time  ago,  or,  rather,  I  saw  the 
reflection  of  it  in  the  sky  :  the  heavens  were 
crimsoned  with  it.  It  burned  a  large  manu¬ 
factory  to  the  ground  ;  and  the  firemen  had 
hard  work  to  save  the  buildings  which  sur¬ 
rounded  it.  They  poured  streams  of  water  od 
it  from  fifteen  engines ;  but  it  licked  it  up,  and 
would  have  its  course  till  the  walls  gave  way. 
That  terrible  fire  was  kindled  by  a  farthing 
rushlight.  Some  years  ago,  I  saw  the  black 


632 


TON-GTTK. 


TRANSFOEMATION'. 


ashes  of  what  the  night  before  was  a  splendid  I 
farm-yard,  with  hay-ricks,  corn-stacks,  stables,  I 
and  cow-sheds ;  and  lying  about  upon  them 
were  the  carcasses  of  a  number  of  miserable 
horses  and  bullocks,  which  had  perished  in 
the  flames.  All  that  was  done  by  a  lucifer 
match.  In  America,  the  Indians  strike  a  spark 
from  a  flint  and  steel,  and  set  fire  to  the  dry 
grass ;  and  the  flames  spread  and  spread,  until 
they  sweep  like  a  roaring  torrent  over  prairies 
as  large  as  England,  and  men  and  cattle  have 
to  flee  for  their  lives.  “  Behold,  how  great  a 
matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  1  ”  and  the  tongue 
is  a  fire.  •  A  few  rash  words  will  set  a  family, 
a  neighborhood,  a  nation,  by  the  ears :  they 
often  have  done  so.  Half  the  law-suits  and 
half  the  wars  have  been  brought  about  by  the 
tongue.  Husband  and  wife  have  separated  for¬ 
ever,  children  have  forsaken  their  homes, 
bosom-friends  have  become  bitter  foes,  —  all 
on  account  of  fiery  arrows  shot  by  this  power¬ 
ful  little  member.  J.  Bolton. 

5741.  TONGUE,  Restraint  of  the.  Give  not 
thy  tongue  too  great  a  liberty,  lest  it  take  thee 
prisoner.  A  word  unspoken  is,  like  the  sword 
in  the  scabbard,  thine ;  if  vented,  thy  sword 
is  in  another's  hand.  If  thou  desire  to  be 
held  wise,  be  so  wise  as  to  hold  thy  tongue. 

Quarles. 

5742.  TONGUE,  Sins  of  the.  A  bitter  word 
dropped  from  our  lips  against  a  brother  is  like 
a  pistol  fired  amongst  mountains.  The  sharp 
report  is  caught  up  and  intensified  and  echoed 
by  rocks  and  caves,  till  it  emulates  the  thun¬ 
der.  So  a  thoughtless,  unkind  word,  in  pass¬ 
ing  from  mouth  to  mouth,  receives  progressive 
exaggerations,  and,  snowball-like,  increases  as 
it  rolls.  Gossip-mongers  are  persons  who  tear 
the  bandages  from  social  wounds,  and  prevent 
their  heaiing :  they  are  persons  who  bring 
flint  and  steel,  and  acid  and  alkali  together, 
and  are  justly  chargeable  with  all  the  fire  and 
ebullition.  A  whisper-word  of  slander  is  like 
that  fox,  with  a  firebrand  tied  to  its  tail,  that 
Samson  sent  among  the  standing-corn  of  the 
Philistines.  It  brings  destruction  into  wide 
areas  of  peace  and  love.  Evil-speaking  is 
like  a  freezing  wind,  that  seals  up  the  spar¬ 
kling  waters,  and  tender  juices  of  flowers,  and 
binds  up  the  hearts  of  men  in  uncharitable¬ 
ness  and  bitterness  of  spirit,  as  the  earth  is 
bound  up  in  the  grip  of  winter. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

5743.  TRACT,  Influence  of  a.  In  J - ,  some 

years  ago,  lived  an  infidel,  who  was  so  bitter 
in  his  enmity  to  religion,  that  no  one  dared 
mention  the  subject  to  him;  but  the  heart 
of  a  poor  woman,  who  kept  a  small  grocery, 
yearned  for  his  conversion ;  and  she  prayed 
constantly  that  God  would  in  some  way  bring 
him  to  himself.  One  day,  the  man  sent  a  boy 
to  her  for  some  soap.  With  a  silent  prayer  to 
God  for  his  blessing,  she  wrapped  the  soap  in 
the  tract,  “  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,”  and 
sent  it  to  him.  After  a  time,  he  presented 
himself  for  admission  to  the  church,  and  said, 
when  he  first  saw  the  tract,  he  was  very  angry ; 
but  the  words,  “  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,” 


sounded  in  his  ears  wherever  he  went ;  and  ho 
found  no  rest  till  he  found  it  in  Jesus. 

M.  E.  K. 

5744.  TRACT,  Result  of  a.  A  society  was 
some  years  ago  established  to  distribute  tracts 
by  post  in  the  higher  circles.  <  >ne  of  these 
tracts  entitled,  “  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God,” 
was  enclosed  in  an  envelope,  and  sent  by  post 
to  a  gentleman  well  known  for  his  ungodlj 
life  and  his  reckless  impiety.  He  was  in  his 
study  when  he  read  this  letter  among  others. 
“  What’s  that  ?  ”  said  he.  “  ‘  Prepare  to  meet 
thy  God.’  Who  has  had  the  impudence  to 
send  me  this  cant?  ”  And,  with  an  inipreca* 
tion  on  his  unknown  correspondent,  he  arose 
to  put  the  paper  in  the  fire.  “  No ;  I  won’t  do 
that,”  he  said  to  himself :  “  on  second  thought, 
I  know  what  I  will  do.  I’ll  send  it  to  my 

friend  B - :  it  will  be  a  good  joke  to  hear 

what  he’ll  say  about  it.”  So  saying,  he  en¬ 
closed  the  tract  in  a  fresh  cover,  and,  in  a 
feigned  hand,  directed  it  to  his  boon  companion. 

Mr.  B - was  a  man  of  bis  own  stamp,  and 

received  the  tract,  as  his  friend  had  done,  with 
an  oath  at  the  Methodistical  humbug,  which 
his  first  impulse  was  to  tear  in  pieces.  “  I’ll 
not  tear  it  either,”  said  he  to  himself.  “  Pre¬ 
pare  to  meet  thy  God  ”  at  once  arrested  his 
attention,  and  smote  his  conscience.  The 
arrow  of  conviction  entered  his  heart  as  he 
read,  and  he  was  converted.  Almost  his  first 
thought  was  for  his  ungodly  associates.  “  Have 
I  received  such  blessed  light  and  truth,  and 
shall  I  not  strive  to  communicate  it  to  others  ?  ” 
He  again  folded  the  tract,  and  enclosed  and 
directed  it  to  one  of  his  companions  in  sin. 
Wonderful  to  say,  the  little  arrow  hit  the  mark. 
His  friend  read.  He  also  was  converted ;  and 
both  are  now  walking  as  the  Lord’s  redeemed 
ones.  Biblical  Treasury. 

5745.  TRACTS,  Strange  Use  of.  An  American 
vessel  was  once  boarded  by  a  Malay  merchant 
in  the  Indian  seas ;  and  almost  the  first  ques¬ 
tion  was,  if  he  had  any  good  books  or  tracts 
to  dispose  of.  “  Why,  what  do  you  want  of 
them  ?  You  cannot  read  them,”  said  the 
captain.  “  True,”  replied  the  Malay ;  “  but  I 
have  a  use  for  them.  If  one  of  your  people, 
or  an  Englishman,  comes  to  trade  with  me,  I 
give  him  a  tract,  and  watch  what  he  does  with 
it.  If  he  reads  it  soberly,  and  treats  it  with 
respect,  I  take  it  he  is  honest,  and  will  not 
cheat  me ;  but,  if  he  throws  it  down  with  an 
oath,  I’ll  have  nothing  to  do  with  him,  for  he 
can’t  be  trusted.” 

5746.  TRAITORS,  Opinion  Regarding.  Benedict 
Arnold  once  asked  a  loyal  captain  what  the 
Americans  would  do  with  him  if  they  caught 
him.  He  replied,  “  I  believe  they  would  first 
cut  off  your  lame  leg,  which  was  wounded  in 
the  cause  of  freedom  and  virtue  at  Quebec, 
and  bury  it  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  after¬ 
wards  hang  the  remainder  of  your  body  on  a 
gibbet.” 

5747.  TRANSFORMATION,  Common.  Trans¬ 
formations  are  not  unfrequent  in  mythology. 
Daphne,  when  wooed  by  Apollo,  was  changed 
into  a  laurel-tree ;  the  goddess  lo  was  changed 


TRAJSTSF'OR.MLA.TION’. 


TREASURE. 


633 


into  a  beautiful  heifer  by  the  power  of  Jove ; 
in  jealousy,  Juno,  the  queen  of  gods,  changed 
Callisto  into  a  bear,  who  often  fled  from  the 
wild  beasts,  forgetting  that  she  was  a  bear 
herself.  Diana  transformed  Actseon  into  a 
stag  to  be  hunted  by  his  own  pack.  Latona 
changed  the  railing  rustics  into  frogs,  who  have 

pvfiflL'PM  pvpr  cinpp 

5748.  TRANSFORMATION,  Process  o£  When 
Io,  who  had  been  transformed  into  a  heifer, 
was  restored  to  her  former  self,  it  was  curious 
to  observe  the  process.  The  coarse  hairs  fell 
from  her  body ;  her  horns  shrank  up  ;  her  eyes 
grew  narrower,  her  mouth  shorter ;  hands 
and  fingers  came,  instead  of  hoofs,  to  her  fore 
feet:  in  fine,  there  was  nothing  left  of  the 
heifer  except  her  beauty.  At  first,  she  was 
afraid  to  speak,  for  fear  she  should  low ;  but 
gradually  she  recovered  confidence,  and  was 
restored  to  her  father  and  sisters. 

5749.  TRANSMIGRATION,  Process  of.  In  one 

of  the  heathen  temples  of  Canton  are  seen 
plaster  representatives  of  the  transmigration 
of  souls.  A  boy  is  changing  into  a  dog ;  a  man 
has  horns  growing  from  his  forehead,  his  feet 
and  hands  are  changing  to  hoofs,  a  tail  is 
sprouting  from  his  back  ;  another  is  changing 
into  an  ass,  &e.  B.  B.  Atterbun/. 

5759.  TRANSUBSTANTIATION,  Absurdity  of. 
A  Protestant  lady  in  England  had  a  Romanist 
husband.  The  priest,  who  was  admitted  on 
the  husband’s  account,  sought  to  convert  her. 
lie  particularly  insisted  upon  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  and  grew  troublesome  by 
his  importunity.  To  avoid  being  further  teased 
by  him,  she  one  day  seemed  to  be  overcome  by 
his  arguments,  and  agreed  to  attend  at  mass 
with  her  husband  the  following  sabbath,  pro¬ 
vided  she  might  be  allowed  to  prepare  the 
wafer  herself.  The  priest,  not  suspecting  any 
thing,  and  glad,  on  any  terms,  to  secure  such  a 
convert,  gave  his  consent.  The  lady,  accord¬ 
ingly,  appeared  at  the  chapel  with  her  hus¬ 
band  ;  and  after  the  consecration  of  the  wafer, 
which  she  had  brought  with  her,  she  solemnly 
demanded  of  the  priest  whether  it  was  really 
converted  into  the  body  of  Christ.  To  which 
question,  he,  without  hesitation,  replied,  that 
there  was  a  conversion  made  of  the  whole  sub¬ 
stance  of  the  bread  into  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  that  there  remained  no  more  of  its  form  or 
substance.  “  If  this  be  really  the  case,”  said 
she,  “you  may  eat  the  wafer  without  any  dan¬ 
ger;  but,  as  for  myself  I  should  be  afraid  to 
touch  it,  as  it  is  mixed  with  arsenic.”  The 
priest  dared  not  risk  his  life  upon  his  doctrine. 
The  husbam  I  was  so  confounded,  that  lie  never 
again  attended  mass.  Bib.  Treasury . 

5751.  TRANSUBSTANTIATION,  Irrational.  A 
former  Duke  of  Buckingham  sent  for  a  popish 
priest  to  converse  with  him,  who  accordingly 
came,  elated  with  the  honor.  After  the  usual 
compliments  on  both  sides,  the  duke  called  for 
a  bottle  of  wine,  and  drawing  the  cork,  and 
stroking  it,  asked  the  priest  if  he  ever  saw  so 
fine  a  courser  in  his  life.  “  I  have  not,”  added 
he,  “ a  more  beautiful  horse  in  my  stables.”  The 
priest,  astonished  to  hear  him  talk  such  non¬ 


sense,  began  to  think  he  was  insane ;  and,  feai* 
ing  to  incense  him,  said  mildly,  “  My  lord  duke, 
this  is  only  a  cork.”  —  “A  cork,  indeed  1  Pray, 
how  do  you  prove  it  to  be  a  cork  ?  ”  said  the 
duke.  “  By  the  evidence  of  my  senses,”  replied 
the  priest.  “  If  I  handle  it,  I  feel  it  is  a  cork  ; 
if  I  taste  it,  I  know  it  to  be  a  cork  ;  if  I  apply  it 
to  my  nose,  I  smell  it  is  a  cork  ;  if  I  look  at  it, 
I  see  it  is  a  cork.”  Here  the  conversation 
dropped.  After  some  time,  however,  the  duke 
said  he  had  lately  been  thinking  much  upon 
transubstantiation,  but,  having  some  doubts 
upon  the  subject,  had  sent  for  him  to  resolve 
them.  “  How  do  you  prove,”  said  the  duke, 
“  that  the  bread  in  the  Lord’s  Supper  is  trans¬ 
formed  into  the  body  of  Christ  ?  ”  —  “I  prove 
it,”  replied  the  priest.  “  by  the  words  of  Christ 
himself :  ‘  This  is  my  body.’  ”  —  “  Hold 
there  1  ”  said  the  duke  :  “  I  have  you  by  your 
own  argument.  If  I  handle  it,  I  feel  it  is 
bread  ;  if  I  taste  it,  I  know  it  to  be  bread ;  if  I 
apply  it  to  my  nose,  I  smell  it  is  bread ;  if  I 
look  at  it,  I  see  it  is  nothing  but  bread.”  The 
poor  priest  was  confounded,  and  went  off  about 
his  business.  Bib.  Treasury. 

575 2.  TREACHERY,  Reward  of.  Philip,  Duke 

of  Austria,  paid  the  ambassadors  of  Charles 
I V.  (who  had  betrayed  their  trust)  in  counter¬ 
feit  coin  ;  whereof  when  they  complained,  it 
was  answered,  that  false  coin  is  good  enough 
for  false  knaves.  James  I.,  King  of  Scotland, 
was  murdered  in  Perth  by  Walter,  Earl  of 
Athol,  in  hope  to  have  the  crown  ;  and  crowned 
he  was  indeed,  but  with  a  crown  of  red-hot 
iron  clapped  upon  his  head,  being  one  of  the 
tortures  wherewith  he  ended  at  once  his  wicked 
days  and  devices.  And  Guy  Fawkes,  that 
Spanish  pioneer,  should  have  received  his  re¬ 
ward  of  five  hundred  pounds  at  an  appointed 
place  in  Surrey;  but,  instead  thereof,  he  had 
been  paid  home  with  a  brace  of  bullets  for  his 
good  service,  if  justice  had  not  come  in  with  a 
halter  by  way  of  prevention.  Thus  traitors 
have  always  become  odious,  though  the  treason 
were  commodious.  Spencer. 

5753.  TREACHERY,  Wiokedness  of.  Of  all 
the  vices  to  which  human  nature  is  subject, 
treachery  is  the  most  infamous  and  detestable ; 
being  compounded  of  fraud,  cowardice,  and 
revenge.  The  greatest  wrongs  will  not  justify 
it,  as  it  destroys  those  principles  of  mutual 
confidence  and  sec  irity  by  which  only  society 
can  subsist.  The  Romans,  a  brave  and  gen¬ 
erous  people,  disdained  to  practise  it  towards 
their  declared  enemies.  Christianity  teaches 
us  to  forgive  injuries  ;  but  to  resent  them  un¬ 
der  the  disguise  of  friendship  and  benevolence 
argues  a  degeneracy  at  which  common  human¬ 
ity  and  justic6  must  blush.  L.  M.  Stretch. 

5754.  TREASURE,  in  Heaven.  A  lady  was 
once  visiting  at  the  house  of  a  minister  who 
had  two  sons.  These  two  little  boys  were 
amusing  themselves  with  some  beautiful  toys. 
The  lady,  on  seeing  them,  said,  “  Well,  boys, 
are  these  your  treasures  ?  ”  —  “  No,  ma’am,” 
said  the  elder ;  “  these  are  not  our  treasures : 
these  are  our  playthings.  Our  treasures  are 
in  heaven.” 


634 


TEEASIJEE. 


TRIALS. 


5755.  TREASURE,  Safe.  Paulinus,  when  he 
■was  told  that  the  Goths  had  sacked  Nola,  and 
plundered  him  of  all  that  he  had,  lifted  up  his 
eyes  to  heaven,  and  said,  “  Lord,  thou  knowest 
where  I  have  laid  up  my  treasure  1  ” 

5756.  TREASURE,  Unused.  A  nobleman 
showed  a  friend  his  large  collection  of  the  rich¬ 
est  gems,  and  remarked,  that  they  yielded  him 
no  income.  The  other  replied,  that  ho  had 
two  stones  that  cost  him  ten  florins  each,  that 
yielded  him  two  hundred  florins  a  year.  The 
common  stones  were  useful ;  the  idle  treasures 
useless. 

5757.  TREE  OF  LIFE,  Fruit  of  the.  In  East¬ 
ern  poetry,  they  tell  of  a  wondrous  tree,  on 
which  grew  golden  apples  and  silver  bells ; 
and,  every  time  the  breeze  went  by  and  shook 
the  fragrant  branches,  a  shower  of  these  golden 
apples  fell,  and  the  living  bells  chimed  and 
tinkled  forth  their  airy  ravishment.  On  the 
gospel  tree  there  grow  sweet  blossoms,  and 
bells  more  melodious  than  those  which  mingled 
with  the  pomegranates  on  Aaron’s  vestments, 
—  holy  feelings,  heaven-taught  joys  ;  and  when 
the  Holy  Spirit  breathes  upon  the  evangelized 
soul,  there  is  the  shaking-down  of  mellow 
fruits  and  the  flow  of  healthy  odors  all  around, 
and  the  gush  of  sweetest  music,  whose  gentle 
tones  ami  joyful  echoes  are  wafted  through  all 
the  recesses  of  the  soul. 

5758.  TREE  OF  LEFE,  Rejecting  the.  We 

have  known  men,  upon  whose  grounds  were 
old,  magnificent  trees  of  centuries’  growth, 
lifted  up  into  the  air  with  vast  breadth,  and 
full  of  twilight  at  mid-day,  who  cut  down  all 
these  mighty  monarchs,  and  cleared  the  ground 
bare  ;  and  then,  when  the  desolation  was  com¬ 
pleted,  and  the  fierce  summer  gazed  full  into 
their  faces  with  its  fire,  they  bethought  them¬ 
selves  of  shade,  and  forthwith  set  out  a  gen¬ 
eration  of  thin,  shadowless  sticks,  and  pined 
and  waited  till  they  should  stretch  out  their 
boughs  with  protection,  and  darken  the  ground 
with  grateful  shadow.  Such  folly  is  theirs  who 
refuse  the  tree  of  life,  the  shadow  of  the  Al¬ 
mighty,  and  sit,  instead,  under  feeble  trees  of 
their  own  planting,  whose  tops  will  never  be 
broad  enough  to  shield  them,  and  whose 
boughs  will  never  discourse  to  them  the  music 
of  the  air.  Beecher. 

5755).  TRIALS,  Benefit  of.  Stars  shine  bright¬ 
est  in  the  darkest  night ;  torches  are  the  bet¬ 
ter  for  beating  ;  grapes  come  not  to  the  proof 
till  they  come  to  the  press ;  spices  smell  sweet¬ 
est  when  pounded;  young  trees  root  the  faster 
for  shaking ;  vines  are  the  better  for  bleeding; 
gold  looks  the  brighter  for  scouring ;  glow¬ 
worms  glisten  best  in  the  dark  ;  juniper  smells 
sweetest  in  the  fire  ;  pomander  becomes  most 
fragrant  for  chasing ;  the  palm-tree  proves  the 
better  for  pressing;  camomile,  the  more  you 
tread  it,  the  more  you  spread  it.  Such  is  the 
condition  of  all  God’s  children  ;  they  are  the 
most  triumphant  when  most  tempted,  most 
glorious  when  most  afflicted,  most  in  the  favor 
of  God  when  least  in  man’s  ;  as  their  conflicts, 
so  their  conquests ;  as  their  tribulations,  so  their 
triumphs.  True  salamanders,  that  live  best  in 


the  furnace  of  persecution ;  so  that  heavj 
afflictions  are  the  best  benefactors  to  heavenlj 
affections.  And  where  afflictions  hang  heav¬ 
iest,  corruptions  hang  loosest;  and  grace  that 
is  hid  in  Nature,  as  sweet  water  in  rose-leaves, 
is  then  most  fragrant  when  the  fire  of  afflic¬ 
tion  is  put  under  to  distil  it  out.  Spence). 

5769.  TRIALS,  Best.  Whether  God  come 
to  his  children  with  a  rod  or  a  crown,  if  he 
come  himself  with  it,  it  is  well.  Welcome, 
welcome,  Jesus  1  what  way  soever  thou  contest, 
if  we  can  get  a  sight  of  thee.  And  sure  I  am 
that  it  is  better  to  be  sick,  providing  Christ 
come  to  the  bedside,  and  draw  by  the  cur¬ 
tains,  and  say,  “  Courage  1  I  am  thy  salva¬ 
tion  1  ”  than  to  enjoy  health,  being  lusty  and 
strong,  and  never  to  be  visited  of  God. 

S.  Rutherford. 

5761.  TRIALS,  Effects  of.  Trial  brings  man 
face  to  face  with  God, —  God  and  he  touch; 
and  the  flimsy  veil  of  bright  cloud  that  hung 
between  him  and  the  sky  is  blown  away;  he 
feels  that  he  is  standing  outside  the  earth,  with 
nothing  between  him  and  the  Eternal  Infinite. 
Oh !  there  is  something  in  the  sick-bed,  and 
the  aching  heart,  and  the  restlessness  and  the 
languor  of  shattered  health,  and  the  sorrow 
of  affections  withered,  and  the  stream  of  life 
poisoned  at  its  fountain,  and  the  cold,  lonely 
feeling  of  utter  rawness  of  heart  which  is  felt 
when  God  strikes  home  in  earnest,  that  forces 
a  man  to  feel  what  is  real,  and  what  is  not. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

5762.  TRIALS,  Import  of.  Our  heavenly 
Father  deals  with  us  somewhat  after  the  man¬ 
ner  of  an  ancient  painter  with  his  pupil.  The 
young  artist  produced  a  picture  of  much  merit, 
which  was  greatly  admired  by  all.  His  young 
heart  then  swelled  with  vanity.  He  laid  aside 
his  palette  and  pencil,  and  sat  daily  before  his 
easel,  admiring  the  offspring  of  his  own  genius. 
One  morning,  he  found  his  beautiful  creations 
expunged  from  the  canvas.  He  wept  bitter¬ 
ly.  Ilis  master  appeared,  and  said,  “I  have 
done  this  for  your  benefit :  the  picture  was 
ruining  you.”  —  “  How  so  V  ”  demanded  the 
pupil.  “  Because,  in  the  admiration  of  your 
own  talents,  you  were  losing  your  love  of  the 
art  itself.  Take  your  pencil  and  try  again.” 
The  youth  dried  his  tears,  seized  his  pencil, 
and  produced  a  masterpiece,  which,  but  for 
this  severe  trial,  he  would  in  all  probability 
have  never  executed. 

5763.  TRIALS,  Influence  o£  It  is  the  broken 
rock  that  sends  forth  streams  of  living  water 
through  the  wilderness.  It  is  the  broken 
ground  that  opens  its  bosom  for  the  reception 
of  the  incorruptible  seed  which  springs  up, 
and  which  brings  forth  fruit  abundantly.  It 
is  the  broken  cloud  that  discharges  itself  in 
showers  that  usher  in  the  spring,  and  cheer 
the  thirsty  ground.  It  is  the  broken  alabaster 
wherewith  the  poor  penitent  anoints  the  feet 
of  the  Saviour,  and  which  fills  the  whole  house 
with  the  odor  of  the  precious  spikenard.  It  is 
the  broken  body,  which  the  nails  of  the  cross, 
and  the  spear  of  a  mortal  enemy,  have  pierced, 
that  furnishes  the  blood  that  cleanses  the  soul 


TRIADS. 


TRIALS. 


635 


from  all  sin.  It  is  the  broken  veil  that  opens  I 
into  the  holiest  of  all,  and  gives  to  the  believ¬ 
ing  soul  bright  glimpses  into  the  glory  that  is 
vet  to  be  revealed.  It  is  the  broken  grave 
that  announces  the  reality  of  the  resurrection, 
and  proclaims  to  the  unbelieving  disciple  that 
the  Saviour  is  risen  indeed.  It  is  the  broken 
corn  that  is  separated  from  the  chaff,  and  laid 
up  in  the  garner  of  the  husbandman,  or 
changed  into  the  bread  of  life.  And  it  is 
the  broken  berries  which  the  millstones  of  the 
olive-press  have  crushed,  that  give  forth 
the  precious  oil  which  fills  the  dark  tabernacle 
with  the  radiance  of  a  clear  and  tranquilliz¬ 
ing  light.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

5764.  TRIALS,  Necessary.  Fire  and  ham¬ 
mer  and  file  are  necessary  to  give  the  metal 
form ;  and  it  must  have  many  a  grind,  and 
many  a  rub,  ere  it  will  shine  :  so,  in  trial,  char¬ 
acter  is  shaped  and  beautified  and  brightened. 

S.  Coley. 

5765.  TRIALS,  Perfection  by.  It  is  rough 

work  that  polishes.  Look  at  the  pebbles  on 
the  shore!  Far  inland,  where  some  arm  of 
the  sea  thrusts  itself  deep  into  the  bosom  of  the 
land,  and,  expanding  into  a  salt  loch,  lies  gir¬ 
dled  by  the  mountains,  sheltered  from  the 
storms  that  agitate  the  deep,  the  pebbles  on 
the  beach  are  rough,  not  beautiful ;  angular, 
not  rounded.  It  is  where  long  white  lines  of 
breakers  roar,  and  the  rattling  shingle  is 
rolled  about  the  strand,  that  its  pebbles  are 
rounded  and  polished.  As  in  Nature,  as  in 
the  arts,  so  in  grace;  it  is  rough  treatment 
that  gives  souls,  as  well  as  stones,  their  lustre. 
The  more  the  diamond  is  cut,  the  brighter  it 
sparkles;  and  in  what  seems  hard  dealing, 
their  God  has  no  end  in  view  but  to  per¬ 
fect  his  people’s  graces.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5766.  TRIALS,  Preventives  of  Sin.  We  never 

know  how  near  we  are  to  danger.  We  are 
like  blind  men  wandering  near  the  edge  of  a 
precipice,  the  mouth  of  a  well,  or  the  margin 
of  a  deep  pit;  and  then  God,  by  a  severe 
wrench  it  may  be,  and  a  violent  jerk  that  puts 
us  to  some  pain  and  gives  us  a  severe  shock, 
plucks  us  from  the  ruin  that  we  saw  not.  Oh  ! 
what  hair-breadth  escapes  from  destruction, 
effected,  perhaps,  by  some  distressing  visita¬ 
tion,  shall  we  in  eternity  be  made  to  under¬ 
stand  that  we  experienced  on  earth  !  We  now 
often  stand  amazed  at  some  sore  trial ;  we  can¬ 
not  conjecture  why  it  was  sent ;  we  see  no 
purpose  it  was  to  serve,  no  end  it  was  to  ac¬ 
complish  :  but  there  was  an  Omniscient  Eye 
that  saw  what  we  did  not  and  could  not  see ; 
and  He  sent  forth  this  event  to  pluck  our  feet 
from  the  net  which  had  been  spread  for  them. 
How  we  shall  adore  God  in  heaven  for  these 
preventing  mercies  that  came  in  the  form  of 
some  dark  and  inexplicable  event,  but  which 
filled  us  at  the  same  time  with  lamentation 
and  woe  !  J.  A.  James. 

5767.  TRIALS,  Purification  by.  When  I  was 
at  Shields,  I  went  into  a  glass-house ;  and, 
standing  very  attentive,  I  saw  several  masses 
of  burning  glass,  of  various  forms.  The  work¬ 
man  took  a  piece  of  glass,  and  put  it  into  one 


I  furnace ;  then  he  piit  it  into  a  second  ;  and  then 
into  a  third.  I  said  to  him,  “  Why  do  you  put 
this  through  so  many  fires  ?  ”  He  answered, 
“  Oh,  sir  1  the  first  was  not  hot  enough,  t'.i  the 
second ;  and  therefore  we  put  it  into  a  third, 
and  that  will  make  it  transparent.”  Whitefield. 

576S.  TRIALS,  Reviewed.  Madam,  when  ye 
are  come  to  the  other  side  of  the  water,  and 
have  set  down  your  foot  on  the  shore  of  glori¬ 
ous  eternity,  and  look  back  again  to  the  waters 
and  to  your  wearisome  journey,  and  shall  see, 
in  that  clear  glass  of  endless  glory,  nearer  to 
the  bottom  of  God’s  wisdom,  ye  shall  then  be 
forced  to  say,  “  If  God  had  done  otherwise 
with  me  than  he  hath  done,  I  had  never  come 
to  the  enjoying  of  this  crown  of  glory.” 

R  utherford. 

5769.  TRIALS,  Tests.  The  surest  way  to 

know  our  gold  is  to  look  upon  it  and  examine 
it  in  God’s  furnace,  where  he  tries  it  for  that 
end,  that  we  may  see  what  it  is.  If  we  have 
a  mind  to  know  whether  a  building  stands 
strong  or  no,  we  must  look  upon  it  when  the 
wind  blows.  If  we  would  know  whether  that 
which  appears  in  the  form  of  wheat  has  the 
real  substance  of  wheat,  or  be  only  chaff,  we 
must  observe  it  when  it  is  winnowed.  If  we 
would  know  whether  a  staff  be  strong,  or  a 
rotten,  broken  reed,  we  must  observe  it  when 
it  is  leaned  on,  and  weight  is  borne  upon  it. 
If  we  would  weigh  ourselves  justly,  we  must 
weigh  ourselves  in  God’s  scales,  that  he  makes 
use  of  to  weigh  us.  Jonathan  Edwards. 

5770.  TRIALS,  Universal.  Let  a  man  be  in 

the  most  propitious  circumstances,  he  is  sure 
to  have  something  to  pain  his  heart.  Naaman 
was  a  great  man,  but  he  was  a  leper  ;  Paul  a 
great  apostle,  but  he  had  a  thorn  in  the  flesh ; 
David  a  mighty  sovereign,  but  his  house  was 
not  right  with  God.  Man  looks  to  new  rela¬ 
tionships,  and  fancies  they  will  be  a  beautiful 
garden,  on  which  the  sun  will  shine,  and  the 
(lews  descend ;  but  he  will  find  a  grave  there, 
lie  looks  to  new  departments  of  business  as  a 
garden  ;  but  he  will  find  a  grave  there.  There 
is  some  cloud  on  every  landscape,  a  mildew  on 
every  flower.  Dr.  Thomas. 

5771.  TRIALS,  Use  of.  Outward  attacks  and 

troubles  rather  fix  than  unsettle  the  Christian, 
as  tempests  from  without  only  serve  to  root 
the  oak  faster;  whilst  an  inward  canker  will 
gradually  rot  and  decay  it.  Ii.  More. 

5772.  TRIALS,  Useful.  As  the  musician 

straineth  his  strings,  and  yet  he  breaketh  none 
of  them,  but  maketh  thereby  a  sweeter  melody 
and  better  concord  ;  so  God,  through  affliction, 
makes  his  own  better  unto  the  fruition  and 
enjoying  of  the  life  to  come.  Cawdray. 

5773.  TRIALS,  Wisdom  of.  Unthinking  peo¬ 
ple  would  like  a  world  where  corn  should  grow 
spontaneously,  and  plenty  ever  lie  ready  to 
hand.  They  would  have  their  path  beautified 
by  flowers  fairer  than  those  of  Eden,  and  re¬ 
freshed  by  zephyrs  balmier  than  those  of  the 
sunny  south.  They  would  banish  care,  and 
make  work  obsolete.  How  would  all  this 
issue?  Doubtless  in  the  degeneracy  of  our 
race  into  a  crowd  of  soft  and  slothful  Syba* 


636 


TRrBTJXiA.TION’. 


TRINITY. 


rites.  God  is  too  wise  for  this.  He  knows 
comfort  to  be  of  far  less  importance  than  char¬ 
acter.  and  acts  on  that  knowledge.  S.  Coley. 

5774.  TRIBULATION,  Defined.  We  all  know, 

in  a  general  way,  that  this  word  means  afflic¬ 
tion,  sorrow,  anguish;  but  it  is  worth  our  while 
to  know  how  it  means  this.  It  is  derived  from 
the  Latin  tribulum,  which  was  the  threshing 
instrument  or  roller  whereby  the  Roman  hus¬ 
bandman  separated  the  corn  from  the  husks  ; 
and  tribulatio,  in  its  primary  significance,  was 
the  act  of  this  separation.  But  some  Latin 
writer  of  the  Christian  Church  appropriated 
the  word  and  image  for  the  setting-forth  of  a 
higher  truth;  and  sorrow,  distress,  and  adver¬ 
sity  being  the  appointed  means  for  separating, 
in  men,  of  their  chaff'  from  their  wheat,  of 
whatever  in  them  was  light  and  trivial  and 
poor  from  the  solid  and  the  true,  therefore  he 
called  their  sorrows  and  their  griefs  tribulatio, 
—  threshings,  that  is,  of  the  inner,  spiritual 
man,  without  which  there  could  be  no  fitting 
him  for  the  heavenly  garner.  Trench. 

5775.  TRIFLES,  Fighting  about.  In  the  year 
1005,  some  soldiers  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Modena  ran  away  with  a  bucket  from  a  pub¬ 
lic  well  belonging  to  the  State  of  Bologna. 
The  implement  might  be  worth  a  shilling ;  but 
it  produced  a  quarrel  which  worked  into  a 
long  and  bloody  war.  Henry  the  King  of 
Sardinia,  for  the  Emperor  Henry  the  Second, 
assisted  the  Modenese  to  keep  possession  of 
the  bucket ;  and,  in  one  of  the  battles,  was 
made  prisoner.  His  father,  the  emperor,  of¬ 
fered  a  chain  of  gold  that  would  encircle  Bo¬ 
logna,  which  is  seven  miles  in  compass;  but  in 
vain.  After  twenty  years’  imprisonment,  — 
his  father  being  dead,  —  he  pined  away  and 
died.  His  monument  is  still  extant  in  the 
church  of  the  Dominicans.  The  fatal  bucket  is 
still  exhibited  in  the  tower  of  the  Cathedral  of 
Modena,  enclosed  in  an  iron  cage. 

5776.  TRIFLES,  Hazard  of.  Small  miseries, 
like  small  debts,  hit  us  in  so  many  places,  and 
meet  us  at  so  many  turns  and  corners,  that 
what  they  want  in  weight  they  make  up  in 
number,  and  render  it  less  hazardous  to  stand 
the  fire  of  one  cannon-ball  than  a  volley  com¬ 
posed  of  such  a  shower  of  bullets.  Colton. 

5777.  TRIFLES,  Hinderanoe  of.  A  beautiful 
but  somewhat  complicated  machine  was  being 
exhibited  to  a  group  of  mechanics,  when  sud¬ 
denly  its  movements  were  altogether  stopped 
by  a  small  screw  becoming  loose.  The  exhib¬ 
itor  requested  his  auditors  to  be  patient  while 
he  remedied  the  evil,  telling  them  that  the 
machine  was  as  useless  without  the  screw  as 
the  screw  would  be  without  the  machine. 

G.  Mogridqe. 

5778.  TRIFLES,  Important.  The  bullet  that 
sent  death  to  Pres.  Lincoln  was  a  trifling 
affair,  yet  it  sent  mourning  into  every  civilized 
nation  of  the  globe.  A  broken  rail  is  insignifi¬ 
cant,  yet  close  by  it  sits  Death  in  greedy  an¬ 
ticipation  of  a  bloody  feast.  A  word,  a  look, 
an  act,  a  single  neglect,  may  make  a  life,  mar 
a  fortune,  ruin  a  good  name,  kindle  war,  or  over¬ 
throw  an  empire. 


5779.  TRIFLES,  Power  of.  Willis  observes, 

that,  when  visiting  Kenilworth,  he  was  struck 
with  observing  on  some  of  the  ruins  of  solid 
masonry  that  in  one  place  the  swelling  root  of  a 
creeper  had  lifted  one  arch  from  its  base,  and 
the  protruding  branch  of  a  chance  spring-tree 
(sown  perhaps  by  a  field-sparrow)  had  un¬ 
seated  the  keystone  of  the  next.  And  so  per¬ 
ish  castles  and  reputations,  the  masonry  of  the 
human  hand  and  the  fabrics  of  human  thought, 
not  by  strength,  which  they  feared,  but  by  the 
weakness  of  trifling  things,  which  they  despised. 
Little  did  John  O’Gaunt  think,  when  these 
rudely-hewn  blocks  were  heaved  into  their 
seats  by  his  herculean  workmen,  that,  after 
resisting  fire  and  foe,  they  would  be  sapped 
and  overthrown  at  last  by  a  vine-tendril  and  a 
sparrow  1  Bowen. 

5780.  TRIFLES,  There  are  No.  Tell  our  gay 

tri tiers  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  trifle  upon 
earth.  Can  any  thing  be  a  trifle  which  has  an 
effect  eternal  ?  Edward  Young. 

5781.  TRINITY,  Company  of  the.  You  are 

now  alone ;  but  you  may  have  for  the  seeking 
three  always  in  your  company,  —  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  Rutherford. 

5782.  TRINITY,  Consecration  to  the.  I  com¬ 
mit  myself  to  my  faithf  ul  Creator,  mv  intimate 
Redeemer,  my  true  and  approved  Comforter. 

Bengel. 

5783.  TRINITY,  General  Belief  of  a.  That 
nearly  all  the  pagan  nations  of  antiquity,  in 
their  various  theological  systems,  acknowl¬ 
edged  a  kind  of  trinity  in  the  divine  nature, 
has  been  fully  evinced  by  those  learned  men 
who  have  made  the  heathen  mythology  the 
subject  of  their  elaborate  inquiries.  The  al¬ 
most  universal  prevalence  of  this  doctrine  in 
the  Gentile  kingdoms  must  be  considered  as  a 
strong  argument  in  favor  of  its  truth.  The 
doctrine  itself  bears  such  striking  internal 
marks  of  a  divine  original,  and  is  so  very  un¬ 
likely  to  have  been  the  invention  of  mere 
human  reason,  that  there  is  no  way  of  account¬ 
ing  for  the  general  adoption  of  so  singular  a 
belief,  but  by  supposing  that  it  was  revealed 
by  God  to  the  early  patriarchs,  and  that  it 
was  transmitted  by  them  to  their  posterity. 

Bp.  Tomline. 

5784.  TRINITY,  Incomprehensible.  A  gentle¬ 
man,  passing  a  church  with  Daniel  Webster, 
asked  him,  “  How  can  you  reconcile  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  Trinity  with  reason  ?  ”  The  states¬ 
man  replied  by  asking,  “  Do  you  understand 
the  arithmetic  of  heaven  ?  ”  The  application 
is  evident. 

5785.  TRINITY,  Inexplicable.  You  believe 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  light,  whether  flowing 
from  the  sun  or  any  other  luminous  body ;  but 
you  cannot  comprehend  either  its  nature,  or 
the  manner  wherein  it  flows.  How  does  it 
move  from  Jupiter  to  the  earth  in  eight  min¬ 
utes,  two  hundred  thousand  miles  in  a  mo¬ 
ment  ?  How  do  the  rays  of  the  candle  brought 
into  the  room  instantly  disperse  into  every 
corner  ?  Again :  here  are  three  candles,  yet 
there  is  but  one  light.  Explain  this,  and  I 
will  explain  the  Three-One  God.  J.  Wesley. 


TRINITY. 


IROUBLE. 


637 


5786.  TRINITY,  Mystery  of  the.  St.  Augus¬ 
tine  tells  us,  that,  while  busied  in  writing  his 
discourses  on  the  Trinity,  he  wandered  along 
the  seashore,  lost  in  meditation.  Suddenly  he 
beheld  a  child,  who,  having  dug  a  hole  in  the 
sand,  appeared  to  be  bringing  water  from  the 
sea  to  fill  it.  Augustine  inquired  what  was 
the  object  of  his  task.  He  replied,  that  he 
intended  to  empty  into  this  cavity  all  the  wa¬ 
ters  of  the  great  deep.  “  Impossible  !  ”  ex¬ 
claimed  Augustine.  “  Not  more  impossible,” 
replied  the  child,  “  than  for  thee,  O  Augus¬ 
tine  !  to  explain  the  mystery  on  which  thou 
art  now  meditating.” 

5787.  TRINITY,  Rejeotion  of  the.  At  the 
command  of  your  soul,  your  hand  is  lifted  up. 
But  who  is  able  to  account  for  this  ?  —  for  the 
connection  between  the  actions  of  the  mind 
and  the  outward  actions?  Nay,  who  can  ac¬ 
count  for  muscular  motion  at  all,  in  any  in¬ 
stance  of  it  whatever  ?  When  one  of  the  most 
ingenious  physicians  in  England  had  finished 
his  lecture  on  that  head,  he  added,  “  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  have  told  you  all  the  discoveries 
of  our  enlightened  age.  And  now,  if  you  un¬ 
derstand  one  jot  of  the  matter,  you  understand 
more  than  I  do.”  The  short  of  the  matter  is 
this :  those  who  will  not  believe  any  thing  but 
what  they  can  comprehend  must  not  believe 
that  there  is  a  sun  in  the  firmament ;  that  there 
is  even  light  shining  around  them  ;  that  there 
is  air,  though  it  encompasses  them  on  every 
side ;  that  there  is  any  earth,  though  they  stand 
upon  it.  They  must  not  believe  that  they 
have  a  soul ;  no,  nor  that  they  have  a  body. 

J.  Wesley. 

5788.  TRINITY,  The  Three  Persons  in  the. 

The  three  persons  in  the  blessed  Trinity  are 
distinguished,  but  not  divided;  three  sub¬ 
stances,  but  one  essence.  This  is  a  divine 
riddle,  where  one  makes  three,  and  three  make 
but  one.  Our  narrow  thoughts  can  no  more 
comprehend  the  Trinity  in  Unity  than  a  little 
nutshell  will  hold  all  the  water  in  the  sea. 
Let  me  shadow  it  out  by  this  similitude :  In 
the  body  of  the  sun  there  is  the  substance  of 
the  sun,  the  beams,  and  the  heat.  The  beams 
are  begotten  of  the  sun,  the  heat  proceeds  both 
from  the  sun  and  the  beams ;  but  these  three, 
though  different,  are  not  divided :  they  all 
three  make  but  one  sun.  So,  in  the  blessed 
Trinity,  the  Son  is  begotten  of  the  Father,  the 
Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from  both ;  and  though 
they  are  three  distinct  persons,  yet  but  one 
God.  T.  Watson. 

5789.  TRINITY,  Unity  in.  The  light  of  the 

sun,  the  light  of  the  moon,  and  the  light  of 
the  air,  in  nature  and  substance,  are  one  and 
the  same  light :  and  yet  they  are  three  distinct 
lights;  the  light  of  the  sun  being  of  itself,  and 
from  none;  the  light  of  the  moon  from  the 
sun;  and  the  light  of  the  air  from  them  both. 
So  the  divine  nature  is  one,  and  the  persons 
three;  subsisting,  after  a  diverse  manner,  in 
the  one  and  the  same  nature.  Spencer. 

5790.  TRIUMPH,  The  Final,  Our  glory  is 
not  yet  revealed.  We  are  like  warriors  fight¬ 
ing  for  the  victory  :  we  share  not  as  yet  in  die 


!  6hout  of  them  that  triumph.  Even  up  is 
heaven,  they  have  not  their  full  reward.  When 
a  Roman  general  came  home  from  the  wars, 
he  entered  Rome  by  stealth,  and  slept  at  night, 
and  tarried  by  day,  perhaps  for  a  week  or  two, 
among  his  friends.  He  went  through  the 
streets ;  and  people  whispered,  “  That  is  the 
general,  the  valiant  one  ;  ”  but  he  was  not  pub¬ 
licly  acknowledged.  But,  on  a  certain  set  day, 
the  gates  were  thrown  wide  open  ;  and  the 
general,  victorious  from  the  wars  in  Africa  or 
Asia,  with  his  snow-white  horses  bearing  the 
trophies  of  his  many  battles,  rode  through  the 
streets,  which  were  strewn  with  roses,  while 
the  music  sounded,  and  the  multitudes,  with 
glad  acclaim,  accompanied  him  to  the  Capitol. 
That  was  his  triumphant  entry.  Those  in 
heaven  have,  as  it  were,  stolen  there.  They 
are  blessed  ;  but  they  have  not  had  tlioir  public 
entrance.  They  are  waiting  till  their  Lord 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with 
the  trump  of  the  archangel  and  the  voice  of 
God ;  then  shall  their  bodies  rise  ;  then  shall 
the  world  be  judged  ;  then  shall  the  righteous 
be  divided  from  the  wicked ;  and  then,  up- 
streaming  in  marvellous  procession,  leading 
captivity  captive  for  the  last  time,  the  Prince 
at  their  head,  the  whole  of  the  blood-washed 
host,  wearing  their  white  robes,  and  bearing 
their  palms  of  victory,  shall  march  up  to  their 
crowns  and  to  their  thrones,  to  reign  for  ever 
and  ever  1  Spurgeon. 

579B.  TROUBLE,  Benefit  of.  There  is  a  story 
told,  that,  in  the  olden  times,  Artaxerxes  and 
another  great  king  were  engaged  in  a  furious 
fight.  In  the  middle  of  the  battle,  a  sudden 
eclipse  happened ;  and  such  was  the  horror  of 
all  the  warriors,  that  they  made  peace  there 
and  then.  Oh,  if  an  eclipse  of  trouble  should 
induce  you  to  ground  arms,  and  seek  to  be  rec¬ 
onciled  unto  God  !  Sinner,  you  are  fighting 
against  God,  lifting  the  arm  of  your  rebellion 
against  him.  Happy  shall  you  be  if  that 
trouble  which  is  now  fallen  upon  you  should 
lead  you  to  throw  down  the  weapons  of  your 
rebellion,  and  lly  to  the  arms  of  God. 

Spurgeon. 

5792.  TROUBLE,  Braving.  We  should  brave 

trouble  as  the  New-England  boy  braves  winter. 
The  school  is  a  mile  away  over  the  snowy  hill, 
yet  he  lingers  not  by  the  fire;  but  with  his 
books  slung  over  his  shoulder,  and  his  cap 
tied  closely  under  his  chin,  he  sets  out  to  face 
the  storm.  And  when  he  reaches  the  topmost 
ridge,  where  the  powdered  snow  lies  in  drifts, 
and  the  north  wind  comes  keen  and  biting, 
does  he  shrink  and  cower  down  beneath  the 
fences,  or  run  into  the  nearest  house  to  warm 
himself?  No :  he  buttons  up  his  coat,  and 
rejoices  to  defy  the  blast,  and  tosses  the  snow- 
wreaths  with  his  loot;  and  so  erect  and  fear¬ 
less,  with  strong  heart  and  ruddy  cheek,  he 
goes  on  to  his  place-  at  school.  Beecher. 

5793.  TROUBLE,  Cause  of.  I  think  half  the 
troubles  for  which  men  go  slouching  in  prayer 
to  God  are  caused  by  their  intolerable  pride. 
Many  of  our  cares  are  but  a  morbid  way 
of  looking  at  our  privileges.  We  let  our 


638 


TROUBLE. 


TROUBLE. 


blessings  get  mouldy,  and  then  call  them 
curses.  Beecher. 

5794.  TROUBLE,  Certain.  Every  man  has 
his  turn  of  trouble  and  sorrow,  whereby  (some 
more,  some  less)  all  men  are  in  their  times 
miserable.  I  never  yet  could  meet  with  the 
man  that  complained  not  of  somewhat. 

Bp.  Hall. 

5795.  TROUBLE,  Conduct  under.  Some  have 

floated  on  the  sea,  and  trouble  carried  them 
on  its  surface,  as  the  sea  carries  cork.  Some 
have  sunk  at  once  to  the  bottom,  as  foundering 
ships  sink.  Some  have  run  away  from  their 
own  thoughts.  Some  have  coiled  themselves 
up  into  a  stoical  indifference.  Some  have 
braved  the  trouble,  and  defied  it.  Some  have 
carried  it,  as  a  tree  does  a  wound,  until  by  new 
wood  it  can  overgrow  and  cover  the  old  gash. 
A  few  in  every  age  have  known  the  divine  art 
of  carrying  sorrow  and  trouble  as  wonderful 
food,  as  an  invisible  garment  that  clothed 
them  with  strength,  as  a  mysterious  joy,  so 
that  they  suffered  gladly,  rejoicing  in  infirmity, 
and,  holding  up  their  heads  with  sacred  pres¬ 
ages  whenever  times  were  dark  and  troublous, 
let  the  light  depart  from  their  eyes,  that  they 
might  by  faith  see  nobler  things  than  sight 
could  reach.  Beecher. 

5796.  TROUBLE,  Design  of.  Why  should 

you  carry  troubles  and  sorrows  unhealed? 
There  is  no  bodily  wound  for  which  some 
herb  doth  not  grow,  and  heavenly  plants  are 
more  medicinal.  Bind  up  your  hearts  in  them  ; 
and  they  shall  not  only  give  healing,  but 
leave  with  you  the  perfume  of  the  blessed 
gardens  where  they  grew.  Thus  it  may  be 
that  sorrows  shall  turn  to  riches ;  for  heart- 
troubles  in  God’s  husbandry  are  not  wounds, 
but  the  putting-in  of  the  spade  before  the 
planting  of  seeds.  Beecher. 

5797.  TROUBLE,  Dignity  of.  As  to  a  valiant 
soldier,  nothing  is  more  noble,  and  worthy  of 

E raise,  than  to  carry  the  armor  and  arms  of 
is  prince ;  so  a  true  Christian  esteemeth 
nothing  of  greater  value?  and  more  honorable, 
than  to  bear  the  arms  and  badges  of  Christ , 
that  is,  crosses  and  afflictions.  Cawdray. 

5798.  TROUBLE,  Disposing  of.  If  you  tell 
your  troubles  to  God,  you  put  them  into  the 
grave  :  they  will  never  rise  again  when  you 
have  committed  them  to  him.  If  you  roll 
your  burden  anywhere  else,  it  will  roll  back 
again,  like  the  stone  of  Sisyphus.  Spurgeon. 

5799.  TROUBLE,  Discipline  of  It  is  a  benefi¬ 
cent  arrangement  of  Providence,  that  “  the 
Divinity  which  shapes  our  ends  ”  weaves  our 
sorrows  into  elements  of  character ;  and  that 
all  the  disappointments  and  conflicts  to  which 
the  living  are  subject,  the  afflictions,  physical 
and  mental,  personal  and  relative,  which  are 
the  common  lot,  may,  rightly  used,  become 
the  means  of  improvement,  and  create  in  us 
sinews  of  strength.  Trouble  is  a  marvellous 
mortifier  of  pride  and  an  effectual  restrainer 
of  self-will.  Difficulties  string  up  the  energies 
to  loftier  effort,  and  intensity  is  gained  from 
repression.  By  sorrow,  the  temper  is  mel¬ 
lowed,  and  the  feeling  is  refined.  When 


suffering  has  broken  up  the  soil,  and  made  tha 
furrows  soft,  there  can  be  implanted  the  hardy 
vitues  which  out-brave  the  storm.  In  short, 
trial  is  God’s  glorious  alchemistry,  by  which 
the  dross  is  left  in  the  crucible,  the  baser 
metals  are  transmuted,  and  the  character  is 
riched  with  the  gold.  IF.  M.  Punshon. 

5800.  TROUBLE,  Ending.  Many  of  our 

troubles  are  God  dragging  us ;  and  they  would 
end  if  we  would  stand  upon  our  feet,  and  go 
whither  he  would  have  us.  Beecher. 

5801.  TROUBLE,  Everywhere.  Every  roof  is 
agreeable  to  the  eye  until  it  is  lifted ;  and  then 
we  find  tragedy,  and  moaning  women,  and 
hard-eyed,  husbands,  and  deluges  of  Lethe. 

Emerson. 

5802.  TROUBLES,  Legacy  of.  The  very  fact 
that  you  have  troubles  is  a  proof  of  His  faith¬ 
fulness  ;  for  you  have  got  one  half  of  His  legacy, 
and  you  will  have  the  other  half.  You  know 
that  Christ’s  last  will  and  testament  has  two 
portions  in  it.  “  In  the  world,  ye  shall  have 
tribulation  :  ”  you  have  got  that.  The  next 
clause  is,  “  In  me,  ye  shall  have  peace.”  You 
have  that  too.  “  Be  of  good  cheer :  I  have 
overcome  the  world.”  That  is  yours  also. 

Spurgeon. 

5803.  TROUBLE,  Onr  Portion.  Men  are  born 

to  trouble  at  first,  and  exercised  in  it  all  their 
days.  There  is  a  cry  at  the  beginning  of  life, 
and  a  groan  at  its  close.  Arnot. 

5804.  TROUBLE,  Peace  in.  The  mighty 

wind  which  blows  over  and  about  the  fruit- 
tree  of  the  garden  does  not  apparently  affect 
the  roots  and  lower  part  of  the  trunk.  They 
abide  in  peace.  All  it  does  is  to  shake  the 
branches,  break  off  the  rotten  ones,  blow  away 
the  dead  leaves,  and  shake  off  the  ripe  fruit 
for  use.  So,  when  trouble  comes  from  God, 
the  soul  maintains  the  roots  of  its  faith  and 
love  in  the  Rock  of  Ages  unmoved.  All  that 
it  does  is  to  destroy  what  is  superfluous  and 
corrupt  about  us,  and  to  draw  from  us  the 
manifestation  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit  for 
the  practical  use  of  others  and  the  commenda¬ 
tion  of  the  Saviour’s  religion.  Our  heart  is 
kept  in  peace.  Bate. 

5805.  TROUBLE,  Proverbs.  Let  your  trouble 
tarry  till  its  own  day  comes.  The  darkest 
hour  is  that  before  the  dawn.  When  things 
come  to  the  worst,  they’ll  mend.  —  English. 

- When  the  tale  of  bricks  is  doubled, 

Moses  comes.  —  Hebrew. - He  is  miserable 

once  who  feels  it,  but  twice  who  fears  it  before 
it  comes.  —  Oriental. 

5806.  TROUBLE,  Resignation  in.  Did  you 
never  see  the  lily  as  it  stands  in  the  garden  in 
the  summer?  God  sends  it  the  pure  sunshine, 
and  it  seems  to  rejoice  in  his  warm  beams  ; 
he  sends  it  the  cooling  dews,  and  it  seems 
to  drink  in  their  sweetness  like  milk.  The 
clouds  gather,  the  storm  rages,  the  rain  pours 
down,  the  wind  sweeps  along.  See  1  the  lily 
has  shut  up  its  blossoms,  and  folds  its  leaves, 
and  meekly  bows  its  head ;  and  it  bends  to  the 
wind,  and  asks  no  eyes  to  gaze  on  it  while  the 
storm  lasts.  God  has  taught  it  to  do  thus  till 
the  smile  shall  again  follow  the  tempest.  It  is 


TROUBLE. 


IITST  ENT  GOD. 


639 


not  injured.  It  open,  and  smiles  again.  So 
does  God  teach  the  good.  The  Christian  thus 
is  glad  when  blessed  ;  and,  when  troubles  and 
sorrows  come,  he  meekly  bows,  and  waits  till 
God  remembers  him,  and  removes  the  storm. 

Dr.  J.  Todd. 

5807.  TROUBLE,  Scattered.  In  autumnal 

mornings,  mists  settle  over  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  anil  lie  cold  and  damp  upon  the 
meadows  and  the  hillsides ;  and  it  is  not  till 
the  sun  rises,  and  shines  down  warm  upon 
them,  that  they  begin  to  move  :  and  then  there 
are  swayings  and  wreathings  and  openings, 
till  at  length  the  spirit  which  has  tormented 
the  valley  can  stay  no  longer,  but  rises,  and 
disappears  in  the  air.  So  it  is  when  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  shines  upon  the  troubles 
which  brood  over  our  souls.  Shining  but  a 
little,  they  only  fluctuate;  but,  if  the  sun  will 
shine  long,  they  lift  themselves,  and  vanish  in 
the  unclouded  heaven.  Beecher. 

5808.  TROUBLE,  Seeking  God  in.  Rev.  R. 
Cecil  once  fell  into  the  bands  of  four  highway¬ 
men.  Perceiving  his  danger,  the  thought 
struck  him,  “  Here  is  an  occasion  for  faith,” 
and  also  “  Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble.” 
He  silently  prayed  for  deliverance.  The  leader 
of  the  band  asked  him  who  he  was.  Mr.  Cecil 
told  them  his  name  and  business.  The  leader 
said,  “  Sir,  I  know  you  and  have  heard  you 
preach:  let  the  gentleman’s  horse  go.  We 
wish  you  good-night.”  Mr.  Cecil  had  with  him 
sixteen  pounds  at  the  time. 

.5809.  TROUBLE,  Universal.  A  gentleman 
was  passing  by  where  a  large  flock  of  sheep 
were  feeding.  Seeing  the  shepherd  was  about 
to  eat  his  dinner,  he  stopped  his  horse  and  en¬ 
tered  into  conversation  with  him  to  this  effect : 
“  Well,  shepherd,  you  seem  to  be  contented, 
and  have  few  cares  to  perplex  you.  I,  who  am 
a  man  of  very  large  property,  cannot  but  look 
upon  such  as  you  with  envy.”  —  “  Why,  sir,” 
replied  the  shepherd,  “  ’tis  true  I  have  no 
troubles  like  yours :  I  could  do  well  enough 
were  it  not  for  that  black  ewe  there ;  that  is 
the  plague  of  my  life.  I  no  sooner  sit  down 
to  take  up  my  book  or  my  dinner,  than  off  she 
goes,  and  takes  the  whole  flock  with  her.” 

5810.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Activity  with.  As 
rowers  in  a  boat  turn  their  backs  to  the  shore, 
and  trust  to  the  man  at  the  helm,  whose  eye  is 
fixed  upon  it;  so  should  we  proceed  in  duty 
through  life, — turn  our  back  from  our  anxious 
cares  for  the  future,  and  leave  the  guidance  of 
them  all  to  God,  who  guides  the  helm.  Bowes. 

5811.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Brevities.  Trust  in 

the  Lord,  and  keep  your  powder  dry.  —  Crom¬ 
well. - We  lie  to  God  in  prayer  if  we  do  not 

reh/  upon  him  after  prayer.  —  Swinnock. 

5812.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Comfort  of.  I  have 

been  thinking  of  many  expressions  of  Ruther¬ 
ford’s  this  morning,  before  I  was  up.  I  feel 
one  the  burden  of  the  song :  “  I  lay  my  head  to 
rest  on  the  bosom  of  Omnipotence.”  While 
I  can  keep  hold  of  this,  it  shall  be  a  fine  day, 
whether  it  rains,  hails,  or  shines.  Cecil. 

5813.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Duty  and.  Do  thy 
part  with  industry,  and  leave  the  event  with 


God.  I  have  seen  matters  fall  out  so  unexpect¬ 
edly,  that  they  have  taught  me,  in  all  affairs, 
neither  to  despair  nor  to  presume ;  not  to 
despair,  for  God  can  help  me ;  not  to  presume, 
for  God  can  cross  me.  I  will  never  despair, 
because  I  have  a  God ;  I  will  never  presume, 
because  I  am  but  a  man.  Fellham. , 

5814.  TRUST,  in  Man.  As  a  traveller  over¬ 
taken  by  a  storm,  having  sought  the  shelter  of 
some  fair-spread  oak,  finds  relief  for  some 
time,  till,  suddenly,  the  fierce  wind  tears  some 
strong  branch,  which,  falling,  hurts  the  unsus¬ 
pecting  passenger  ;  so  fares  it  with  not  a  few 
who  run  for  shelter  to  the  shade  of  some  great 
man.  “  Had  I  served  my  God,”  said  poor 
Wolsey,  “as  fiiithfully  as  I  have  served  my 
king,  he  would  not  have  forsaken  me  now.” 

5815.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Proof  of.  There  was 

an  action  that  Alexander  the  Great  did,  which 
I  use  only  to  express  what  I  mean  by  trusting 
in  God.  When  he  was  sick,  there  comes  a 
friend  that  was  always  close  with  him,  who 
was  a  physician ;  and  lie  prepared  him  a  potion ; 
but,  before  it  was  given,  there  was  a  letter  de¬ 
livered  to  him  to  signify  that  that  very  potion 
was  poison.  When  his  friend  came  with  his 
potion  in  his  hands,  Alexander  takes  the  letter 
that  was  sent  to  give  him  notice  of  the  trea¬ 
son,  and  drinks  off  the  cup  with  one  hand,  and 
reaches  the  letter  with  the  other ;  so  he  drank 
off  the  cup  before  he  showed  the  letter.  IIow 
he  trusted  him  !  If  he  had  failed  him,  Alexan¬ 
der  had  lost  his  life.  He  did  not  first  show 
him  the  letter,  and  hear  what  he  had  to  say ; 
but  he  showed  that  he  trusted  him.  And 
know,  except  thou  do  it  thus,  God  is  not  ready 
to  help  thee.  Preston. 

5816.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  in  Persecution.  The 

blows  by  which  people  are  endeavoring  to  sub¬ 
vert  the  bouse  of  God  are  so  rude,  and  the 
assaults  made  upon  it  are  so  frequent,  that  it  is 
not  only  the  winds  and  the  rain  that  beat  upon 
it,  according  to  our  Lord’s  prediction,  but  hail 
and  lightning.  Had  1  not  perceived  that  the 
Lord  was  preserving  the  vessel,  I  should  long 
ago  have  thrown  the  helm  into  the  sea.  I 
behold  him  through  the  tempest  strengthening 
the  cordage,  adjusting  the  yards,  spreading  the 
sails,  and  commanding  the  very  winds.  Should 
I  not,  then,  be  a  coward,  unworthy  the  name 
of  man,  were  I  to  abandon  my  post  ?  I  commit 
myself  wholly  to  bis  sovereign  goodness.  Let 
him  govern;  let  him  hasten  or  delay;  let  him 
plunge  us  into  the  bottom  of  the  abyss  :  we  will 
tear  nothing.  Zwinglc. 

5817.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Test  of.  Fresenius,  a 
pious  minister  at  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  one 
day  found  his  mother,  who  was  a  widow,  con¬ 
cerned  about  a  dollar  which  she  much  needed 
at  the  time,  but  did  not  know  whence  to  pro¬ 
cure.  Not  being  himself  able  at  that  instant  to 
furnish  her  with  one,  he  said,  “  I,  likewise,  be¬ 
lieve  you  must  have  the  dollar :  I  accordingly 

I  turn  this  hour-glass,  and  assure  you,  that,  if  the 
I  dollar  is  really  needed,  it  will  positively  lie 
here  on  the  table  before  the  hour-glass  is  run 
down.  If  it  does  not  lie  here,  God  will  con¬ 
vince  us,  after  this  hour,  that  it  was  not  as  in- 


640 


TRUST  TST  GOD. 


TRUTH. 


dispensable  as  we  imagine.”  The  hour-glass 
was  scarcely  run  out  one-half  when  a  messen¬ 
ger  arrived,  who  had  traversed  an  eight-hours’ 
walk,  bringing  a  dollar  which  some  one  was 
owing  to  Fresenius. 

5Si8.  TRUST  IN  GOD,  Value  of.  Several 
German  princes  were  once  extolling  the  glory 
of  their  realms.  One  boasted  of  his  excellent 
vineyards  ;  another  of  his  hunting-grounds ; 
another  of  his  mines.  At  last,  Abelard,  Duke 
of  Wurtemberg,  took  up  the  subject,  and  said, 

“  I  own  that  I  am  a  poor  prince,  and  can  vie 
with  none  of  these  things  :  nevertheless,  I,  too, 
possess  a  noble  jewel  in  my  dominion ;  for 
were  I  to  be  without  attendants,  either  in  the 
open  country  or  wild  forests,  I  could  ask  the  first 
of  my  subjects  whom  I  met  to  stretch  himself 
upon  the  ground,  and  confidently  place  my 
head  upon  his  bosom,  and  fall  asleep  without 
the  slightest  apprehension  of  injury.”  Was 
not  this  a  precious  jewel  for  a  prince  ?  I,  how¬ 
ever,  have  something  better ;  for  I  can  rest  my 
head  and  heart  in  the  lap  of  God’s  providence, 
and  upon  the  bosom  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
with  a  perfect  assurance  that  neither  man  nor 
Devil  can  touch  me  there.  Gotthold. 

5819.  TRUTH,  Adherence  to.  Park,  in  his 
travels,  relates  that  a  party  of  Moors  made  an 
attack  on  the  flocks  of  a  village ;  and  a  youth  of 
the  place  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  affray. 
The  natives  conveyed  him  home,  while  his 
mother  preceded  the  mournful  group,  and,  with 
streaming  eyes,  would  exclaim,  “  He  never, 
never,  never  told' a  lie.” 

582®.  TRUTH,  Application  of.  The  art  of 
causing  the  eyes  of  a  portrait  to  be  looking  at 
a  spectator,  no  matter  how  he  may  change  his 
position  (and,  if  there  were  twenty  persons  in 
the  room,  each  would  receive  a  similar  impres¬ 
sion),  is  not  confined  to  the  limner  alone,  as 
the  Spirit  of  God,  aided  by  conscience,  exhib¬ 
its  a  similar  phenomenon  frequently  in  a  living 
preacher,  when  preaching  “  the  gospel  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.”  A 
truth  which  might  seem  and  was  intended  for 
general  application,  I  have  known  to  bend  in  a 
particular  direction,  and  strike  a  sinner  as  if 
directly  aimed  at  him,  like  as  a  shaft  of  light¬ 
ning,  direct  from  the  bosom  of  the  thunder¬ 
cloud,  curves  from  the  straight  line  in  which  it 
was  launched,  without  any  visible  cause,  and 
strikes  and  fires  a  building  quite  on  an  angle. 
Some  sinners,  like  certain  bulky  substances  in 
a  thunder-storm,  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  at¬ 
tract  the  lightnings  of  truth.  Caughey. 

5821.  TRUTH,  Characteristics  of.  Truth  is  the 
most  glorious  thing :  the  least  filing  of  this 
gold  is  precious.  Truth  is  ancient;  its  gray 
hairs  may  make  it  venerable;  it  comes  from 
Him  who  is  the  Ancient  of  Days.  Truth  is 
unerring  :  it  is  the  star  which  leads  to  Christ. 
Truth  is  pure  (Psa.  cxix.  140)  :  it  is  compared 
to  silver  refined  seven  times  (Psa.  xii.  6). 
There  is  not  the  least  spot  on  truth’s  face  :  it 
breathes  nothing  but  sanctity.  Truth  is  trium¬ 
phant  :  it  is  like  a  great  conqueror ;  when  all 
its  enemies  lie  dead,  it  keeps  the  field,  and  sets 
up  its  trophies  of  victory.  Truth  may  be  op¬ 


posed,  but  never  quite  deposed.  In  the  timi 
of  Diocletian,  things  seemed  desperate,  truth 
ran  low :  soon  after  was  the  golden  time  of 
Constantins,  and  ihen  truth  did  again  lift  up 
its  head.  When  the  water  in  the  Thames  is 
lowest,  a  high  tide  is  ready  to  come  in.  God 
is  on  truth’s  side,  and  so  long  there  is  no  fear 
but  it  will  prevail.  “  The  heavens  being 
on  fire  shall  be  dissolved”  (2  Pet.  iii.  12), 
but  not  that  truth  which  came  from  heaven 
(1  Pet.  i.  25).  T.  Watson. 

5822.  TRUTH,  Common-Place.  Common-place 

truth  is  of  no  use,  as  it  makes  no  impression : 
it  is  no  more  instruction  than  wind  is  music. 
The  truth  must  take  a  particular  hearing,  as 
the  wind  must  pass  through  tubes,  to  be  any 
thing  worth.  J.  Foster. 

5823.  TRUTH,  Conception  of.  As  a  small  mis¬ 
take  in  levelling  an  arrow  at  the  hand  makes  a 
great  difference  at  the  mark,  so  a  small  mis¬ 
take  in  the  notion  of  truth  makes  a  wide  dif¬ 
ference  in  the  practice  of  the  ungodly. 

Hopkins. 

5824.  TRUTH,  Contract  with.  If  a  man  be 
sincerely  wedded  to  truth,  he  must  make  up 
his  mind  to  find  her  a  portionless  virgin,  and 
he  must  take  her  for  herself  alone.  The  con¬ 
tract,  too,  must  be  to  love,  cherish,  and  obey 
her,  not  only  until  death,  but  beyond  it,  for 
this  is  a  union  that  must  survive  not  only 
death,  but  time,  the  conqueror  of  death.  Colton. 

5825.  TRUTH,  Defined.  “  What  is  truth  ?  ” 
was  once  asked  of  a  deaf  and  dumb  boy.  He 
moved  his  finger  in  a  straight  line.  “  What  is 
falsehood  ?  ”  He  made  a  zigzag  motion  with 
his  finger.  Truth  is  the  straight  line,  false¬ 
hood  is  the  crooked  way. 

5826.  TRUTH,  Description  of  Truth,  the 
mother  of  Virtue,  is  painted  in  garments  as 
white  as  snow.  Her  looks  are  serene,  pleasant, 
courteous,  cheerful,  and  yet  modest :  she  is  the 
pledge  of  all  honesty,  the  bulwark  of  honor, 
the  light  and  joy  of  human  society.  She  is 
commonly  accounted  the  daughter  of  Time  or 
Saturn,  because  Truth  is  discovered  in  the 
course  of  time  ;  but  Democritus  feigns  that  she 
lies  hid  in  the  bottom  of  a  well. 

Andrew  Toolce. 

582 <•  TRUTH,  Discovering.  If  Archimedes, 
upon  the  discovery  of  a  mathematical  truth, 
was  so  ravished,  that  he  cried  out,  “  I  have 
found  it,  I  have  found  it  1  ”  what  pleasure  must 
the  discovery  of  a  divine  truth  give  to  a  sanc¬ 
tified  soul  1  “  Thy  words  were  found  of  me,” 

says  Jeremiah,  “  and  I  did  eat  them  ;  and  Thy 
word  was  to  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my 
heart.”  Truth  lies  deep,  as  the  rich  veins  of 
gold  do  :  if  we  will  get  the  treasure,  we  must 
not  only  beg,  but  dig  also.  ./.  Fletcher. 

5828.  TRUTH,  Distortion  of.  Concave  mirrors 
magnify  the  features  nearest  to  them  into 
undue  and  monstrous  proportions ;  and  in  com¬ 
mon  mirrors  that  are  ill  cast,  and  of  uneven 
surface,  the  most  beautiful  face  is  distorted  into 
deformity.  So  there  are  many  minds  of  this 
description  :  they  distort  and  magnify,  dimin¬ 
ish  or  discolor,  almost  every  gospel  truth  which 
they  reflect.  Dr.  Guthrie 


TRUTH. 


TRUTH. 


641 


5829.  TRUTH,  Divine.  Suppose  that  a  per¬ 
son  wishing  to  send  a  message  from  London  to 
Edinburgh  by  lightning  knows  how  to  con¬ 
struct  an  electric  battery ;  but,  when  he  comes 
to  consider  how  he  will  transmit  the  impulse 
through  hundreds  of  miles,  lie  looks  at  an  iron 
wire,  and  says,  “  This  is  dull,  senseless,  cold ; 
has  no  sympathy  with  light :  it  is  unnatural,  in 
fact  irrational,  to  imagine  that  this  dark  thing 
can  convey  a  lightning-message  in  a  moment.” 
From  this,  he  turns  and  looks  at  a  prism.  It 
glows  with  the  many-colored  sunbeam.  He 
might  say,  “  This  is  sympathetic  with  light,” 
and,  in  its  (lashing,  imagine  that  he  saw  proof 
that  his  message  would  speed  though  it ;  but, 
when  he  puts  it  to  the  experiment,  it  proves 
that  the  shining  prism  will  convey  no  touch  of 
his  silent  fire,  but  that  the  dull  iron  will  trans¬ 
mit  it  to  the  farthest  end  of  the  land.  And  so 
with  God’s  holy  truth.  It  alone  is  adapted  to 
carry  into  the  soul  of  man  the  secret  fire  which 
writes  before  the  inner  eye  of  the  soul  a  mes¬ 
sage  from  the  unseen  one  in  the  skies. 

Dr.  T.  W.  Jenkyn. 

5830.  TRUTH,  Immortality  of.  The  truth 

may  change  its  form,  it  may  be  hid  for  years 
and  generations;  but  as  tin  old  wheat-seeds, 
wrapped  in  the  mummies  of  Egypt,  now,  after 
ages,  sought  out  by  prying  travellers,  and  plant¬ 
ed,  are  found  not  to  have  lost  their  germ,  but 
to  have  kept  it  through  the  sleep  of  three 
thousand  years,  so  God’s  truths,  hid  in  dead 
forms  and  institutions,  slumbering  in  the  grave 
of  old  books  and  libraries,  or  banished  from 
polite  society  to  live  in  the  rags  of  the  vulgar, 
do  at  length  come  forth  with  unimpaired  germ, 
losing  no  more  by  their  burial  than  did  Christ 
their  Master.  Like  him,  they  carry  an  un¬ 
quenched  heart  through  the  grave.  They 
bring  forth  light  from  its  darkness ;  and,  in 
spite  of  brute  force  and  watchful  authority,  they 
stand  again  upon  the  earth,  and  look  abroad 
with  eyes  of  immortality.  Beecher. 

5831.  TRUTH,  Iafinence  of.  Abd-el-Ivader 
obtained  permission  from  his  mother  to  go 
to  Bagdad,  and  devote  himself  to  the  service 
of  God.  “  At  parting,  she  wept ;  then,  taking 
out  eighty  dinars,  she  told  me,  that,  as  I  had  a 
brother,  half  of  that  was  all  my  inheritance. 
She  made  me  promise  when  she  gave  it  to  me, 
that  I  wouhl  never  tell  a  lie,  and  afterwards 
bade  me  farewell,  exclaiming,  ‘  Go,  my  son  :  I 
consign  thee  to  God.  We  shall  not  meet  again 
till  the  day  of  judgment.’  I  went  on  well  till 
I  came  near  to  Hamadom,  when  our  kafilah 
was  plundered  by  sixty  horsemen.  One  fellow 
asked  me  what  I  had  got.  ‘  Forty  dinars,’  said 
I,  ‘arc  sewed  under  my  garments.’  lie  laughed, 
thinking,  no  doubt,  I  was  joking  with  him. 

‘  What  have  you  got  ?  ’  said  another.  I  gave 
him  the  same  answer.  When  they  were  divid¬ 
ing  the  spoil,  I  was  called  by  the  chief:  ‘  What 
property  have  you  got,  my  little  fellow  ?  ’  said 
he.  ‘  I  have  told  two  of  your  people  already,’  I 
replied.  ‘I  have  forty  dinars  sewed  up  care¬ 
fully  in  my  clothes.’  lie  ordered  them  to  be 
ripped  open,  and  found  my  money.  ‘  And  how 
came  you,’  said  he  with  surprise,  ‘  to  declare 

41 


so  openly  what  has  been  so  carefully  hidden  ?  ’ 
—  ‘Because,’  I  replied,  ‘  I  will  not  be  false  to  my 
mother,  to  whom  I  have  promised  that  I  will 
not  tell  a  lie.’  —  ‘  Child,’  said  the  robber,  ‘  hast 
thou  such  a  sense  of  thy  duty  to  thy  mother 
at  thy  years,  and  I  am  insensible,  at  my  age, 
of  the  duty  I  owe  to  my  God  ?  Give  me  thy 
hand,  innocent  boy,  that  I  may  swear  repent¬ 
ance  upon  it.'  lie  did  so.  His  followers  were 
all  alike  struck  with  the  scene.  ‘  You  have 
been  our  leader  in  our  guilt,’  said  they  to  their 
chief :  ‘  be  the  same  in  the  path  of  virtue  1  ’ 
And  they  instantly,  at  his  order,  made  restitu¬ 
tion  of  the  spoil,  and  vowed  repentance  on  my 
hand.” 

5832.  TRUTH,  Inexhaustible.  Helena  depos¬ 
ited  the  chief  parts  of  the  real  cross  in  a  church 
built  for  the  purpose  on  Mount  Calvary.  The 
remainder  was  conveyed  to  Constantine,  who 
reserved  a  portion  for  himself;  and  the  other 
portion  yvas  sent  to  Rome.  Here  the  Bishop 
of  Jerusalem  exhibited  to  the  eyes  of  eager 
pilgrims  these  remnants  of  the  cross.  Those 
whose  means  would  permit  obtained,  at  their 
full  price,  small  pieces  of  the  cross  set  in  gold1, 
and  gems.  So  innumerable  were  the  pieces 
which  had  been  taken  from  it  for  the  faithful, 
and  that  the  wonder  might  not  pass  into  incre¬ 
dulity,  the  proper  authorities  gave  the  world 
an  assurance,  that  the  holy  wood  possessed, 
the  power  of  self-multiplication,  yet  remained 
intact  and  entire  as  at  the  first. 

5833.  TRUTH,  Liberating.  For  all  the  prac 
tical  purposes  of  life,  Truth  might  as  well  be 
in  prison  as  in  the  folio  of  a  schoolman ;  and 
those  who  release  her  from  the  cob-webbed 
shelf,  and  teach  her  to  live  with  men,  have  the 
merit  of  liberating,  if  not  of  discovering  her. 

Colton. 

5834.  TRUTH,. Love  for.  Galeazius,  a  gentle¬ 
man  of  great  wealth,  who  suffered  martyrdom 
at  St.  Angelo  in  Italy,  being  much  entreated 
by  his  friends  to  recant,  replied,  “  Death  is 
much  sweeter  to  me  with  the  testimony  of 
truth  than,  life  with,  its  least  denial.” 

5835.  TRUTH,  Media  o£  I  have  noticed  at 

a  railway  station  the  porter,  with  a  lantern 
bright  and  polished  inside,  casting  forth  a  most 
brilliant  white  light;  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  he 
has  turned  the  glass,  and  the  inside  polish  has 
disappeared,  and  the  pure  brilliant  light  has 
changed  into  a  dull  red  or  heavy  green.  How 
often,  in  looking  at  the  truth  of  the  Scripture 
in  itself,  we  see  the  beauty,  purity,  and  force 
of  it  1  but  when  the  mind  of  man  is  turned 
over  it,  with  his  prejudices  of  education,  family 
religion,  position  in  life,  how  often  do  we  set 
the  internal  excellences  and  the  pure  heaven- 
inspired  light  exchanged  into  nothing  but  the 
reflection  of  the  turned-on  glass  1  Bate. 

5836.  TRUTH,  Motto  of.  The  poet  Tenny¬ 
son  has  the  following  motto  in  incrusted  tiles 
on  the  pavement  of  his  entrance-hall  :  “  Y 
Gwyr  yn  Erbyn  y  byd,”  —  the  truth  against  the 
world. 

5837.  TRUTH,  Never  Lost.  Nothing  which 
comes  into  the  world  in  the  way  of  divine 
truth  is  ever  lost.  You  may  open  your  cage, 


642 


TRUTH. 


TRUTH. 


and  let  jour  singing-bird  fly  out,  and  he 
siay  wander  away,  and  the  song  he  sang 
you  may  never  hear  in  your  home  again  ;  but 
when  God  opens  the  door  of  heaven,  and  lets 
some  singing  truth,  angel-winged,  fly  down  to 
earth,  it  is  never  lost,  but  one  catches  the 
strain  here,  and  another  repeats  it  there,  till 
at  length  it  becomes  choral.  Beecher. 

5838.  TRUTH,  Origin  of.  Men  never  make 

truths :  they  only  recognize  the  value  of  this 
currency  of  God.  They  find  truths  as  men 
sometimes  find  bills,  in  the  street,  and  only 
recognize  the  value  of  that  which  other  par¬ 
ties  have  drawn.  Beecher. 

5839.  TRUTH,  Perfection  of.  Truth  is  so  great 

a  perfection  as  to  have  led  Pythagoras  to  say, 
that,  if  God  were  to  render  himself  visible  to 
men,  he  would  choose  light  for  his  body,  and 
truth  for  his  soul.  Palmer. 

5840.  TRUTH,  Power  of.  A  Roman  gentle¬ 
man,  it  is  said,  kept  off’  a  whole  band  of  soldiers 
who  were  sent  to  murder  him,  by  his  eloquence, 
which  was  stronger  than  their  anger  or  design. 
Such  is  truth  in  her  influence  upon  those  who 
seek  to  murder  her,  when  they  listen  to  her 
charming  voice. 

5841.  TRUTH,  Practical.  A  father  found  a 
favorite  cherry-tree  hacked  and  ruined.  He 
cried  sternly  to  his  son,  “  George,  who  did 
this  ?  ”  He  looked  at  his  father  with  a  quivering 
lip,  and  said,  “  Father,  I  can’t  tell  a  lie  :  I  did 
it.”  —  “  Alas  !  ”  said  the  father,  “  my  beautiful 
tree  is  ruined ;  but  I  would  rather  lose  all  the 
trees  I  have  than  have  a  liar  for  my  son.” 
The  boy  who  feared  a  lie  more  than  punish¬ 
ment  became  the  hero  of  his  country,  the 
great  Gen.  Washington. 

5842.  TRUTH,  Proverbs  of.  Truth  is  mighty, 

and  shall  prevail.  —  Latin. - It  takes  a  good 

many  shovelfuls  of  earth  to  bury  the  truth. 

—  Swiss. - Truth  seldom  goes  without  a 

scratched  face.  Truth  is  God’s  daughter. 

5843.  TRUTH,  Rewarded.  Hegiage  was  a 
celebrated  Arabian  warrior,  but  ferocious  and 
cruel.  Among  a  number  of  prisoners  whom 
he  had  condemned  to  death  was  one,  who, 
having  obtained  a  moment’s  audience,  said, 
“  You  ought,  sir,  to  pardon  me,  because,  when 
Abdurrahman  was  cursing  you,  I  represented 
to  him  that  he  was  wrong ;  and  ever  since 
that  time  I  have  lost  his  friendship.”  Hegiage 
asked  him  if  he  had  any  witness  of  his  having 
done  this ;  and  the  soldier  mentioned  another 
prisoner,  who  was  likewise  about  to  suffer 
death.  The  prisoner  was  called  and  inter¬ 
rogated,  and,  having  confirmed  the  fact,  Hegi¬ 
age  granted  the  first  his'  pardon.  He  then 
asked  the  witness  if  he  had  likewise  taken 
his  p  irt  against  Abdarrahman.  But  he,  still 
respecting  truth,  answered  that  he  had  not, 
because  lie  believed  it  was  not  his  duty  to 
do  so.  Hegiage,  notwithstanding  his  feroci¬ 
ty,  was  struck  with  the  prisoner’s  greatness 
of  spirit.  “  Well,”  said  he,  after  a  moment’s 
pause,  “  suppose  I  were  to  grant  you  life 
and  liberty,  should  you  still  be  my  ene¬ 
my':1” —  “No,”  said  the  prisoner.  “That’s 
enough,  "  said  Hegiage,  “your  bare  word  is 


sufficient :  you  have  given  undoubted  proof 
of  your  love  for  truth.  Go,  preserve  the  life 
that  is  less  dear  to  you  than  honor  and 
sincerity :  your  liberty  is  the  just  reward  of 
your  virtue.” 

5844.  TRUTH,  Scattered,  Truth  indeed  came 
once  into  the  world  with  her  divine  Master, 
and  was  a  perfect  shape  most  glorious  to  look 
on ;  but  when  he  ascended,  and  his  apostles 
after  him  were  laid  asleep,  then  straight  arose 
a  wicked  race  of  deceivers,  who,  as  that  story 
goes  of  the  Egyptian  Typhon,  with  his  con¬ 
spirators,  how  they  dealt  with  the  good  Osiris, 
took  the  virgin  Truth,  hewed  her  lovely  form 
into  a  thousand  pieces,  and  scattered  them  to 
the  four  winds.  From  that  time  ever  since,  the 
sad  friends  of  truth,  such  as  durst  appear, 
imitating  the  careful  search  that  Isis  made  for 
the  mangled  body  of  Osiris,  went  up  and  down 
gathering  up  limb  by  limb,  still  as  they  could 
find  them.  We  have  not  yet  found  them  all, 
nor  ever  shall  do,  till  her  Master’s  second 
coming :  he  shall  bring  together  every  joint 
and  member,  and  shall  mould  them  into  an 
immortal  feature  of  love'  jess  and  perfection. 

Milton. 

5845.  TRUTH,  Seeking.  Truth  is  a  great 

stronghold,  barred  and  fortified  by  God  and 
Nature,  and  diligence  is  properly  the  under¬ 
standing’s  laying  siege  to  it ;  so  that,  as  in  a 
kind  of  warfare,  it  must  be  perpetually  upon 
the  watch,  observing  all  the  avenues  and 
passes  to  it,  and  accordingly  make  its  ap¬ 
proaches.  Dr.  South. 

5846.  TRUTH,  Sweetness  of.  The  priests  of 
Mercury,  as  Plutarch  tell  us,  in  eating  of  their 
holy  things,  were  wont  to  cry  out,  “  Sweet  is 
the  truth  1  ”  But  how  sweet  and  delicious  that 
truth  is  which  holy  and  heaven-born  souls 
feed  upon  in  their  mysterious  converse  with 
the  Deity,  who  can  tell  but  they  that  taste  it  ? 

John  Smith. 

5847.  TRUTH,  in  Trifles.  I  have  seldom 
known  any  one  who  deserted  truth  in  trifles 
that  could  be  trusted  in  matters  of  importance. 

Paley. 

5848.  TRUTH,  Vastness  of.  The  truth  is  in¬ 
finite  as  the  firmament  above  you.  In  child¬ 
hood,  both  seem  near  and  measurable ;  but 
with  years  they  grow  and  grow,  and  seem 
farther  off  and  farther,  and  grander  and 
deeper  and  vaster,  as  God  himself;  till  you 
smile  to  remember  how  you  thought  you  could 
touch  the  sky,  and  blush  to  recollect  the  proud 
and  self-sufficient  way  in  which  you  used  to 
'  talk  of  knowing  or  preaching  “  the  truth.” 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

5849.  TRUTH,  View  of.  “  It  is  a  pleasure 
to  stand  upon  the  shore  and  to  see  ships  tossed 
upon  the  sea,  a  pleasure  to  stand  in  the  win¬ 
dow  of  a  castle  and  to  see  a  battle  and  the 
adventures  thereof  below ;  but  no  pleasure  is 
comparable  to  the  standing  upon  the  vantage- 
ground  of  truth,  a  hill  not  to  be  commanded, 
and  where  the  air  is  always  clear  and  serene, 
and  to  see  the  errors  and  wanderings  and 
mists  and  tempests  in  the  vale  below.”  Cer¬ 
tainly  it  is  heaven  upon  earth  to  have  a  man’s 


TRUTH. 


UNBELIEF. 


643 


mind  move  in  charity,  rest  in  Providence,  and 
turn  upon  the  poles  of  truth.  Lord  Bacon. 

5850.  TRUTH,  Weapons  of.  Truth  is  not 
defended  by  physical  weapons.  Peter  in  de¬ 
fending  Christ  was  defending  truth  ;  and  yet 
Christ  forbade  the  use  of  the  sword.  “  The 
weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty,  through  God,  to  the  pulling-down  of  the 
stronghold  of  Satan.”  Truth  shudders  in  her 
palace  of  light  as  she  beholds  men  attempting 
to  promote  her  interests  by  the  employment  of 
material  forces ;  truth  sits  not  on  a  throne 
that  is  bristling  with  bayonets :  her’s  is  a 
throne  established  on  the  immovable  basis  of 
eternal  right  and  infinite  love.  Dr.  J.  Parker. 

5851  •  TRUTH  AND  ERROR,  Forms  of.  Truth, 
like  life,  will  make  its  own  form :  error  only 
lives  as  it  is  wrapped  in  tine  clothes.  Chris¬ 
tianity  was  a  principle  of  living  truth,  “a 
seed  ;  ”  and,  though  small,  only  give  it  soil,  and 
it  will  build  up  structures  for  itself.  The  little 
acorn  will  build  in  oaken  forests  for  itself  a 
home,  before  which  the  most  magnificent 
palace  of  kings  shall  appear  mean,  and  that 
shall  flourish  in  strength  and  beauty  when 
those  palaces  are  dust.  Truth  never  studies 
appearances,  error  does  ;  truth  is  content  with 
the  form  of  a  mustard-seed,  error  seeks  all  the 
pageantry  that  art  can  invent  and  wealth  pro¬ 
cure.  Dr.  Thomas. 

5852.  TYRANTS,  Family.  For  his  rule  over 
his  family,  and  for  his  conduct  to  wife  and 
children,  subjects  over  whom  his  power  is 
monarchial,  any  one  who  watches  the  world 
must  think  with  trembling  of  the  account 
which  many  a  man  will  have  to  render.  For 
in  our  society  there  is  no  law  to  control  the 
king  of  the  fireside,  lie  is  master  of  property, 
happiness,  life  almost.  lie  is  free  to  punish, 
to  make  happy  or  unhappy,  to  ruin  or  to  tor¬ 
ture.  He  may  kill  a  wife  gradually,  and  be 
no  more  questioned  than  the  grand  seignior 
who  drowns  a  slave  at  midnight.  He  may 
make  slaves  and  hypocrites  of  his  children,  or 
friends  and  freemen,  or  drive  them  into  revolt 
and  enmity  against  the  natural  laws  of  love. 

I  have  heard  politicians  and  coffee-house  wise¬ 
acres  talking  over  the  newspaper,  and  railing 
at  the  tyranny  of  the  emperor,  and  wondered 
how  these,  who  are  monarchs  too  in  their  way, 
govern  their  own  dominions  at  home,  where 
each  man  rules  absolute.  When  the  annals 
of  each  little  reign  are  shown  the  Supreme 
Master  under  whom  Sve  hold  sovereignty,  his¬ 
tories  will  be  laid  bare  of  household  tyrants 
cruel  as  Amurath,  savage  as  Nero,  and  reckless 
and  dissolute  as  Charles.  Thackera;/. 

5853.  UNBELIEF,  Analogy  of.  As  a  child 
brought  up  in  a  dungeon  cannot  believe  when 
told  of  the  beauties  of  the  sun  and  the  outside 
world,  no  more  can  the  natural  man  the  doc¬ 
trines  of  religion. 

5854.  UNBELIEF,  Deadly.  Unbelief  of: 
divine  truth  is  a  destitution  of  the  only  effi¬ 
cient  principles  by  which  the  moral  and , 
spiritual  life  can  be  sustained.  The  experi¬ 
mentalist  may  display  a  vessel  from  which  air 
has  been  more  or  less  exhausted,  and  may  tell  I 


us  there  is  nothing  pernicious  in  it ;  but,  if  we 
discover  a  deficiency  of  support  for  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  we  shall  charge  him  with  a  poor 
equivocation.  An  exclusion  of  those  truths 
which  are  supereminently  moral,  such  as  the 
perfect  holiness  or  rectitude  of  God,  and  the 
destination  of  man  to  glorify  and  enjoy  him 
(truths  which  revelation  alone  demonstrates), 
is  an  exclusion  of  the  only  sufficient  aliment 
of  true  virtue.  We  may  as  well  expect  a 
singing-bird  to  be  vocal  in  a  receiver  where  he 
has  little  or  no  air  to  respire,  as  expect  the 
genuine  exercise  of  real  goodness  from  him 
who  has  no  faith  in  God.  Shepherd. 

5855.  UNBELIEF,  Deeply-Rooted.  How 

deeply  rooted  must  unbelief  be  in  our  hearts, 
when  we  are  surprised  to  find  our  prayers  an¬ 
swered,  instead  of  feeling  sure  that  they  will 
be  so,  if  they  are  only  offered  up  in  faith,  and 
accord  with  the  will  of  God  I  Hare. 

5856.  UNBELIEF,  and  Faith.  See  these 

electric  wires  that  are  shooting  their  mysterious 
threads  throughout  our  land,  communicating 
between  city  and  city,  between  man  and  man, 
however  distant ;  dead,  yet  instinct  with  life ; 
silent,  yet  vocal  with  hidden  sound ;  carrying, 
as  with  a  lightning-burst,  the  tidings  of  good 
or  evil  from  shore  to  shore.  Separate  their 
terminating  points  by  one  hair’s  breadth  from 
the  index,  or  interpose  some  non-conducting 
substance,  and  in  a  moment  intercourse  is 
broken.  No  tidings  come  and  go.  The  stop¬ 
page  is  as  entire  as  if  you  had  cut  every  wire 
in  pieces,  and  cast  these  pieces  to  the  winds. 
But  refasten  the  several  points,  or  link  them 
to  the  index  with  some  conducting  material, 
and  instantaneously  the  intercourse  is  renewed. 
Joy  and  sorrow  flow  again  along  the  line. 
Men’s  thoughts,  men’s  feelings,  men’s  deeds, 
rumors  of  war  or  assurance  of  peace,  news  of 
victory  or  defeat,  the  sounds  of  falling  thrones, 
the  shouts  of  frantic  nations,  all  hurrying  on 
after  each  other  to  convey  to  ten  thousand 
throbbing  hearts  the  evil  or  the  good  which 
they  contain.  The  non-conductor  is  unbelief. 
It  interposes  between  the  soul  and  all  heavenly 
blessings,  all  divine  intercourse.  It  may  seem 
a  thing  too  slight  to  effect  so  great  a  result, 
yet  it  does  so  inevitably.  It  shuts  off  the 
communication  with  the  source  of  all  glad  tid¬ 
ings.  It  isolates  the  man,  and  forbids  the 
approach  of  blessing.  That  conductor  is  faith. 
In  itself  it  is  nothing,  but  in  its  connection 
every  thing.  It  restores  in  a  moment  the 
broken  communication;  and  this  is  not  from 
any  virtue  in  itselfj  but  simply  as  the  conduct¬ 
ing  link  between  the  soul  and  the  fountain  of 
ali  blessings  above.  II.  I  Sonar. 

5857.  UNBELIEF,  Forms  of.  There  are  the 
various  ramifications  of  the  subtle  spirit  of 
unbelief.  Atheism,  discarding  its  former  au¬ 
dacity  of  blasphemy,  assuming  now  a  modest 
garb  and  mendicant  whine,  asking  our  pity 
for  its  idiosyncrasy,  bewailing  its  misfortune  in 
not  being  able  to  believe  there  is  a  God; 
rationalism,  whether  in  the  transcendentalism 
of  Hegel,  or  in  the  allegorizing  impiety  of 
Strauss,  or  in  the  pantheistic  philosophy  of 


644 


■cnsnBEX.rKif1. 


TJisrH^AjprjnsrKSS. 


Fichte,  eating  out  the  heart  of  the  gospel, 
into  which  its  vampire-fangs  have  fastened  ; 
lalitudinurianism  on  a  sentimental  journey  in 
search  of  the  religious  instinct,  doling  out  its 
equal  and  niggard  praise  to  it  wherever  it  is 
found,  in  Feticism,  Thuggism,  Mohammed- 
ism,  or  Christianity ;  that  species  of  active 
and  high-sounding  scepticism,  which,  tor  want 
of  a  better  name,  we  may  call  a  Credophobia, 
which  selects  the  confessions  and  catechisms 
as  the  objects  of  its  especial  hostility,  and  ] 
which,  knowing  right  well,  that,  if  the  banner  j 
is  down,  the  courage  fails,  and  the  army  will  j 
be  routed  or  slain,  “  furious  as  a  wounded  bull, 
runs  tearing  at  the  creeds,”  —  these,  with  all 
their  offshoots  and  dependencies  (for  their 
name  is  Legion)  grouped  under  the  generic 
style  of  infidelity,  have  girt  themselves  for  the 
combat,  and  are  asserting  and  endeavoring  to 
establish  their  empire  over  the  intellects  and 
consciences  of  men.  And  as  this  spirit  of  un¬ 
belief  has  many  sympathies  with  the  spirit  of 
superstition,  they  have  entered  into  unholy 
alliance,  —  “  Herod  and  Pilate  have  been 
made  friends  together,”  —  and,  joined  hand  in 
hand,  they  are  arrayed  against  the  truth  of  God. 
O  rare  John  Bunyan  1  Was  he  not  among 
the  prophets  ?  Listen  to  his  description  of 
the  last  army  of  Diabolus  before  the  final  tri¬ 
umph  of  Immanuel.  “  Ten  thousand  doubters, 
and  fifteen  thousand  bloodinen  ;  and  old  In¬ 
credulity  was  again  made  general  of  the  army.” 

W.  M.  Punslion. 

585§.  UNBELIEF,  an  Obstruction.  An  empty 
vessel  capable  of  holding  water,  if  tightly 
corked  none  can  enter  it,  though  water  is 
poured  upon  it  in  great  abundance ;  nay,  it 
may  be  thrown  into  the  sea,  and  still  remain 
empty.  So  it  is  with  our  hearts.  Unbelief 
closes  them  so  that  the  water  of  life  cannot 
fill  them,  however  abundantly  it  may  be  poured 
upon  and  around  us. 

5859.  UNBELIEF,  Victim  of.  A  vessel  named 
“  The  Thetis”  was  cruising  in  the  Mediterrane¬ 
an  in  search  of  a  shoal  or  bank,  or  something  of 
that  kind,  said  to  exist  beneath  the' treacherous 
waters.  The  captain,  after  he  had  adopted  all 
the  means  he  thought  necessary,  having  failed, 
abandoned  the  enterprise,  declaring  that  the 
reported  danger  was  all  a  dream.  An  officer 
on  board  formed  a  different  judgment,  went 
out  by  himself  on  an  expedition  afterwards 
into  the  very  same  latitude  and  longitude,  and 
there  discovered  a  reef  of  rocks,  which  he  re¬ 
ported  at  the  Admiralty ;  and  it  was  inserted 
in  the  charts,  the  discoverer  being  rewarded 
with  a  high  appointment.  The  intelligence 
came  to  the  captain’s  ears  :  he  would  not  be¬ 
lieve  in  the  discovery.  He  was  a  shrewd, 
clever,  practical  man,  but  unscientific,  incred¬ 
ulous,  and  obstinate.  “  The  whole  thing  is  a 
falsehood,”  he  exclaimed,  adding,  “  If  ever  I 
have  the  keel  of  ‘  Thu  Thetis  ’  under  me  in  those 
waters  again,  if  I  don’t  carry  her  clean  over 
where  the  chart  marks  a  rock,  call  me  a  liar, 
and  no  seaman.”  Two  years  after,  he  was 
conveying  in  the  same  vessel  the  British  am¬ 
bassador  to  Naples.  One  windy  night,  he  and 


the  master  were  examining  the  chart  on  deck 
by  the  light  of  the  lantern,  when  the  lattei 
pointed  out  the  sunken  rock  on  the  map. 

“  What  1  ”  exclaimed  the  old  seaman,  “  is  this 
invention  to  meet  me  in  the  teeth  again  ?  No 
I  swore  I  would  sail  over  that  spot  the  first 
chance  I  had  ;  and  I’ll  do  it.”  He  went  down 
into  the  cabin,  merrily  related  the  story  to  the 
company,  and  said,  “  Within  five  minutes,  we 
shall  have  passed  the  spot.”  There  was  a 
pause.  Then,  taking  out  his  watch,  he  said, 

*•  Oh  1  the  time  is  past.  We  have  gone  over 
the  wonderful  reef.”  But  presently  a  grating 
touch  was  felt  on  the  ship’s  keel,  then  a  sudden 
shock,  a  tremendous  crash  :  the  ship  had 
foundered.  Through  great  exertions,  most  of 
the  crew  were  saved :  but  the  captain  would 
not  survive  his  own  mad  temerity  ;  and  the  last 
seen  of  him  was  his  white  figure,  bareheaded, 
and  in  his  shirt,  from  the  dark  hull  of  “  The 
Thetis,”  as  the  foam  burst  round  her  bows  and 
stem.  He  perished,  a  victim  of  unbelief.  So 
perish  multitudes.  Rev.  John  Stoughton. 

5869.  UNCTION,  Necessity  of  the.  A  legend 
of  the  middle  ages  affirms,  that  a  certain  great 
preacher  failed  to  keep  his  appointment  by 
reason  of  sickness.  The  prior  was  much  dis¬ 
tressed  ;  when,  at  the  very  moment,  there  came 
to  the  priory  a  brother  in  the  garb  of  the  or¬ 
der.  Learning  the  cause  of  the  prior’s  trouble, 
he  said,  “  Ah  1  you  must  trust  in  the  Lord.  I 
hope  that  God  by  me  will  supply  this  want  of 
yours.  Let  me  enter  into  your  library  for  a 
tew  moments.”  In  the  pulpit,  the  strange 
brother  discoursed  wondrously  of  sin,  misery, 
hell,  and  heaven,  moving  all  present  to  tears 
by  his  eloquence.  In  the  audience  was  a  holy 
man,  who  recognized  tlie  strange  preacher  as 
none  other  than  Frater  Diabolus,  the  Devil 
turned  preacher.  After  the  sermon,  he  said 
to  the  Devil,  “  Oh  1  thou  acursed  one,  vile  de¬ 
ceiver,  how  couldst  thou  take  this  office  upon 
thee  ?  ”  Diabolus  replied,  “  Think  you  my 
discourse  would  prevent  a  single  soul  from 
seeking  damnation  ?  Not  so  :  the  most  finished 
eloquence  and  profoundest  learning  are  worth¬ 
less  beside  one  drop  of  unction.  There  was 
no  unction  in  my  sermon.  You  see  how  I  have 
moved  the  people;  but  they  will  forget  all, 
they  will  practise  nothing  :  and  hence  all  the 
words  they  have  heard  will  serve  to  their 
greater  judgment.” 

5861.  UNHAPPINESS,  Universal.  We  might 
ask  the  successful  lawyer ;  and  the  wariest, 
luckiest,  most  self-complacent  of  them  all, 
would  answer,  as  Lord  Eldon  was  privately  re¬ 
cording  when  the  whole  bar  envied  the  chan¬ 
cellor,  “  A  few  weeks  will  send  me  to  dear 
Encomb  as  a  short  resting-place  between  vexa¬ 
tion  and  the  grave.”  We  might  say  to  the 
golden  millionnaire,  “  You  must  be  a  happy 
man,  Mr.  Rothschild.”  —  “  Happy  1  me  happy? 
What!  happy,  when,  just  as  you  are  going  to 
dine,  you  have  a  letter  put  into  your  hand, 
saying,  1  If  you  do  not  send  me  five  hundred 
pounds,  I  will  blow  your  brains  out.’  Happy, 
when  you  have  to  sleep  with  pistols  at  your 
pillows  1  ”  We  might  ask  the  world-famed 


TrNTF'ORMITY. 


rnsnoisr. 


645 


warrior,  and  get  for  our  answer  the  “  miserere  ” 
of  the  emperor  monk,  or  the  sigh  of  a  broken 
heart  from  St.  Helena.  We  might  ask  the 
dazzling  wit;  and  faint  with  a  glut  of  glory, 

et  disgusted  with  the  creatures  that  adored 

im,  Voltaire  would  condense  the  essence  of 
his  existence  into  one  word,  “ennui.”  And 
we  might  ask  the  world’s  poet,  and  we  should 
be  answered  with  an  imprecation  by  that  splen¬ 
did  genius  who  “  drank  every  cup  of  joy, 
heard  every  trump  of  fame,  drank  early, 
deeply  drank,  drank  draughts  that  might  have 
quenched  common  millions,  then  died  of  thirst 
becau.  n  there  was  no  more  to  drink.” 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

5«62.  UNIFORMITY.  Undesirable.  Unifor¬ 
mity  in  religion  is  noi  lesirable.  It  is  by  no 
means  desirable,  even  if  you  could  obtain  it. 
For  one  thing,  it  is  very  unbeautiful.  A  pal¬ 
ace  with  every  aspect  like  every  other  aspect, 
and  every  wing  like  every  other  wing,  and 
every  window  like  every  other  window,  and 
every  column  like  every  other  column,  would 
be  a  tame  and  spiritless  palace.  A  city  with 
every  street  a  second  edition  of  every  other 
street,  and  every  house  in  every  street  a  sec¬ 
ond  edition  of  every  other  house  in  every  other 
street,  would  not  be  a  very  beautiful  city.  A 
landscape  without  lakes,  without  rivers,  with¬ 
out  hills,  without  mountains,  without  rocks, 
without  forests,  is  dead  and  spiritless.  One 
star  dilfereth  from  another  star  in  glory,  and, 
if  it  were  not  so,  would  the  heavens  be  as 
beautiful  as  they  are?  Would  you  like  to 
have  the  stars  all  of  the  same  size,  divided 
into  equal  distances,  and  measured,  as  it  were, 
bj  rule  ?  Are  not  the  stars  more  beautiful 
because  they  are  scattered  carelessly  yonder 
in  the  deep  blue,  sometimes  numbers  of  them 
together,  and  at  another  time  a  tiny  star  shin¬ 
ing  forth  almost  solitary  and  alone  in  the  dis¬ 
tance  Y  Would  tlie  heavens  be  as  beautiful  as 
they  are  if  it  were  not  so?  And  would  it  be 
as  beautiful,  dear  friends,  if  you  could  bind 
every  minister  to  preach  the  same  as  every 
other  minister  all  over  England,  if  there  could 
be.  one  formula,  if  the  prayers  and  every  thing 
here  on  the  sabbath  morning  were  exactly  the 
same  as  the  prayers  in  every  other  place,  and 
if  we  were  in  all  things  exactly  alike  ? 

T.  Jones. 

5863.  UNION,  Attaining.  If  a  vine-branch  is 
to  sprout,  and  throw  out  new  suckers  and 
shoots,  the  tube  by  which  it  communicates 
with  the  stock  of  the  tree  must  adhere  tightly 
to  the  stem,  and  be  well  open  for  the  passage 
of  the  sap.  If  you  desire  to  see  the  colors  of 
furniture  in  this  room,  whose  shutters  are 
closed,  throw  open  the  shutters,  and  admit  the 
full  flood  of  sunlight.  And  if  you  desire  to  see 
the  dead  heart  put  forth  the  energies  of  spirit¬ 
ual  life,  and  the  dark  heart  illumined  by  the 
fair  colors  of  spiritual  grace,  throw  wide  open 
the  passage  of  communication  between  Christ 
and  it.  Dr.  Goulburn. 

58GI.  UNION,  Christian.  The  union  of 
Christians  to  Christ  their  common  head,  and, 
by  means  of  the  influence  which  they  derive 


from  him,  one  to  another,  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  loadstone :  it  not  only  attracts  the 
particles  of  iron  to  itself  by  the  magnetic 
virtue,  but,  by  this  virtue,  it  unites  them  one 
among  another.  Cecil. 

5865.  UNION,  The  Final.  An  old  fable  tells 
us,  that  the  majestic  form  of  Truth  once  walked 
the  earth,  but  was  dismembered,  and  that  the 
sundered  parts  are  wandering  up  and  down  in 
ceaseless,  weary  search,  each  for  the  others, 
since  each  is  still  and  ever  instinct  with  the 
old  common  life  ;  and  it  is  this  instinct  which 
impels  the  search ;  and  this  search  thus  contains 
a  prophecy  of  the  union  of  all  the  fragments 
in  one  radiant  form  at  last.  And  so  shall  it  be 
with  the  riven  body  of  our  Lord  ;  for  each  sep¬ 
arate  member  is  still  vital  with  the  memory  of 
the  old  and  loving  union,  and  it  will  never  be 
at  rest  till  it  finds  all  the  others ;  and  bone 
shall  come  to  bone,  and  flesh  to  flesh,  and  it 
shall  be  all  clothed  upon  with  the  grace  of  an 
endless  life ;  and  it  shall  be  fairer  than  any  of 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  men,  all  glorious 
without  and  within ;  and  it  shall  be  holy  and 
without  blemish ;  love  shall  distil  from  its  lips, 
and  its  words  shall  be  like  celestial  music  ;  and 
it  shall  bear  upon  its  placid  brow  the  victor’s 
wreath,  and  in  its  hands  the  victor’s  palm ; 
and  all  this  shall  it  be  because  it  is  the  bride 
of  the  Lamb ;  and  the  bridegroom  will  adorn 
his  spouse,  for  whom  he  gave  his  very  life  in 
ransom,  with  all  manner  of  precious  stones, 
and  lead  her  into  the  temple  of  God;  and  she 
shall  live  with  him  in  that  heavenly  city,  and 
go  no  more  out  forever.  Prof.  II.  D.  Smith. 

5866.  UNION,  Heavenly.  We  think  much 

of  our  Thames;  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  of 
the  Nile ;  the  Hindoo,  of  the  Ganges ;  the 
German,  of  the  Rhine ;  the  American  of  the 
St.  Lawrence.  But  go  down  to  the  ocean. 
Ask  it,  “  Where  are  these  rivers  ?  ”  And,  could 
it  answer,  it  would  say,  “  I  know  no  Thames ;  I 
know  no  Rhine ;  I  know  no  Nile  :  they  are  all 
lost  in  the  ocean.”  So  the  distinctions  of 
sects,  ?  c.,  are  but  rivers,  which  will  be  lost  in 
the  ocean  of  heaven’s  bliss.  There  is  but  one 
heaven.  Rev.  Thomas  Jones. 

5867.  UNION,  Incomplete.  Charles  V.,  Em¬ 
peror  of  Germany,  at  the  close  of  his  active 
and  stirring  life,  retired  to  a  monastery,  where 
he  amused  himself  by  constructing  clocks.  The 
emperor  is  said  to  have  expressed  no  less  regret 
than  astonishment  at  the  remembrance  of  his 
own  folly  in  having  used  such  violent  meas¬ 
ures  to  make  about  twenty  millions  of  people 
agree  in  their  religious  sentiments;  when  he 
found,  after  repeated  experiments,  with  all  his 
skill,  he  was  unable  to  make  two  clocks  go  ex¬ 
actly  alike  for  any  length  of  time.  Bowes. 

5868.  UNION,  Influence  of.  Separate  the 
atoms  which  make  the  hammer,  and  each 
would  fall  on  the  stone  as  a  snowflake ;  but 
welded  into  one,  and  wielded  by  the  firm  arm 
of  the  quarryman,  it  will  break  the  massive 
rocks  asunder.  Divide  the  waters  of  Niagara 
into  distinct  and  individual  drops,  and  they 
would  be  no  more  than  the  falling  rain  ;  but,  in 
their  united  body,  they  would  quench  the  fires 


646 


tnsnoisr. 


UNIVERSArJSM. 


of  Vesuvius,  and  have  some  to  spare  for  the 
volcanoes  of  other  mountains.  Dr.  Guthrie. 

5869.  UNION,  Mutual.  In  actual  experience, 

both  the  union  and  the  delight  in  it  are  mutual : 
“  My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his.”  The 
vine  holds  the  branch,  and  the  branch  holds 
the  vine.  These  two  are  one  attachment.  The 
mother  clings  to  her  child;  and  the  child, 
when  danger  threatens,  clings  to  his  mother. 
If  the  child  were  dead,  the  corpse  would  no 
longer  clasp  the  mother ;  but  neither  would 
the  mother  continue  to  clasp  the  corpse. 
These  two  graspings  stand  or  fall  together. 
You  must  have  both  or  neither.  Such  is  the 
relation  between  Christ  the  Redeemer  and 
Christians  the  redeemed.  Arnot. 

5870.  UNION,  Power  of.  Union  is  power. 

The  most  attenuated  thread,  when  sufficiently 
multiplied,  will  form  the  strongest  cable.  A 
single  drop  of  water  is  a  weak  and  powerless 
thing  ;  but  an  infinite  number  of  drops  united 
by  the  force  of  attraction  will  form  a  stream, 
and  many  streams  combined  will  form  a  river ; 
till  rivers  pour  their  water  into  the  mighty 
oceans,  whose  proud  waves,  defying  the  power 
of  man,  none  can  stay  but  He  who  formed 
them.  And  thus  forces,  which,  acting  singly, 
are  utterly  impotent,  are,  when  acting  in  combi¬ 
nation,  resistless  in  their  energies,  mighty  in 
power.  Salter. 

5871.  UNION,  Proverbs.  Not  Hercules  him¬ 
self  could  resist  such  odds.  —  Latin. - Three 

helping  each  other  are  as  good  as  six.  —  Span¬ 
ish.  - Three  brothers,  three  castles.  —  Ital¬ 
ian.  - Three,  if  they  unite  against  a  town, 

will  ruin  it.  —  Arabian. 

5872.  UNION,  Reason  for.  During  one  of  the 
wars  between  the  English  and  French,  two 
war-vessels  met  in  fearful  encounter.  It  was 
too  dark  to  distinguish  friends  from  foes  ;  but 
each  supposed  itself  engaged  with  the  common 
enemy.  When  the  darkness  lifted,  both  ships 
were  seen  Hying  the  English  Hag.  They  sa¬ 
luted  each  other,  and  grieved  sadly  over  their 
disastrous  mistake.  Churches  and  Christians 
sometimes  fall  into  similar  error.  Daylight  is 
coming  on,  and  Christians  begin  to  see  friends 
in  those  in  the  darkness  supposed  to  be  ene¬ 
mies. 

5873.  UNION,  Spiritual.  As  by  one  and  the 
same  soul  all  the  members  of  the  body  are 
united  with  the  head,  and  quickened ;  so  all 
the  faithful,  although  they  are  upon  the  earth, 
and  the  Head  is  in  heaven,  yet  they  are  in 
very  deed,  by  one  and  the  same  Spirit,  united 
with  him,  and  abide  and  live  in  him. 

Cawdray. 

5874.  UNITARIANISM,  Christless.  As  the 
Epicureans  had  a  deism  without  a  God,  so  the 
Unitarians  have  a  Christianity  without  a 
Christ,  and  a  Jesus  but  no  Saviour.  Hare. 

5875.  UNITARIANISM,  Hostile.  Dr.  Priestly, 
a  Unitarian,  said  to  Dr.  Miller,  a  Trinitarian, 
“  I  do  not  wonder  that  you  Calvinists  enter¬ 
tain  and  express  a  strongly  unfavorable  opinion 
of  us  Unitarians.  The  truth  is,  there  neither 
can  nor  ought  to  be  any  compromise  between 
us.  If  you  are  right,  we  are  not  Christians  at 


all ;  and,  if  we  are  right,  you  are  gross  idola¬ 
ters.”. 

5876.  UNITARIANISM,  Unbelief  of.  What  i, 

Unitarianism  but  a  stumbling  at  the  simplicity 
of  the  cross?  They  were  Unitarians  who 
stood  at  the  cross  when  Christ  died:  they  said, 
“  Let  him  come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we 
will  believe  on  him.”  That  has  been  the 
Unitarian  character  ever  since  :  they  will 
receive  Jesus  anywhere  but  on  his  cross  ;  but 
up  there,  dying  in  man’s  stead,  he  is  so  com¬ 
monplace,  that  these  great  gentlemen  run  to 
philosophy  and  vain  deceit  sooner  than  lay 
hold  on  that  which  the  commonest  may  as 
fully  understand  as  they.  Spv/ryeon. 

5877.  UNITY,  Evangelical.  Very  true,  there  are 
minor  differences,  but  yet  there  is  real  unity. 
Ours  is  not  a  unity  like  that  of  the  waters  of 
a  stagnant  pool,  over  which  the  purifv  ing 
breath  of  heaven  sweeps  in  vain.  Ours  is  not 
the  unity  of  darkness,  like  the  cloud-covered 
midnight  sky,  where  neither  moon  nor  star 
appears.  Ours  is  not  a  unity  of  a  forced  con¬ 
formity,  such  as  is  found  in  polar  seas,  where 
eternal  winter  has  locked  up  the  waves  in  fet¬ 
ters  ;  but,  rather,  the  unity  of  evangelical  Prot¬ 
estants  is  like  the  fountain  flowing  ever  fresh 
and  free  from  the  rock ;  like  the  rainbow  that 
combines  the  seven  prismatic  colors  into  one 
glorious  arch  of  promise  spanning  the  heavens ; 
like  old  ocean’s  unfettered  How  as  its  waves 
rush  in  all  their  majesty  and  might  “disiinct 
as  the  billows,  but  one  as  the  sea.”  Weir. 

5878.  UNITY,  Not  Uniformity.  It  is  noted  by 

one  of  the  Fathers,  that  Christ’s  coat  indeed 
had  no  seam ;  but  the  Church’s  vesture  was  of 
divers  colors :  whereupon  he  saith,  “  In  the 
vestment  there  may  be  diversity,  but  no 
schism  :  ”  they  be  two  things,  unity  and  uni¬ 
formity.  Lord  Bacon. 

5879.  UNITY,  Power  of.  A  thousand  grains 
of  powder  or  a  thousand  barrels  scattered,  a 
grain  in  a  place,  and  fired  at  intervals,  would 
burn,  it  is  true,  but  would  produce  no  concus¬ 
sion.  Placed  together  in  effective  position, 
they  would  lift  up  a  mountain,  and  cast  it  into 
the  sea.  Even  so  the  whole  Church,  filled 
with  faith,  and  fired  by  the  Holy  One  who  gave 
the  tongues  of  fire  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost, 
will  remove  every  mountain,  fill  up  every  val¬ 
ley,  cast  up  the  highway  of  the  Lord,  and 
usher  in  the  jubilee  of  the  redemption. 

W.  E.  Boardman. 

5880.  UNIVERSALISM,  Absurd.  One  said  to 
a  Universalist,  “  You  believe  that  Christ  died 
to  save  all  men  ?  ” —  “  Yes,  I  do.”  —  “  And 
you  don’t  believe  there  is  a  hell  ?  ”  —  “  No,  I 
do  not.”  —  “You  don’t  believe  there  is  any 
punishment  hereafter  ?  ”  —  “  No,  I  do  not : 
men  are  punished  for  their  sins  in  this  life.” 
—  “  Well,  let  us  put  your  system  together.  It 
amounts  to  just  this:  that  Christ  died  to  save 
us  from  nothing  at  all !  Not  from  hell,  because, 
a:cording  to  you,  there  is  none;  not  from 
punishment  in  a  future  state  of  being,  for  be 
receives  his  whole  punishment  in  this  life. 
Yours  is  the  absurd  spectacle  of  ropes  and  life- 
preservers  thrown,  at  an  immense  expense,  to  a 


■LnsnvjER.sA.LiSM;. 


man  who  is  on  dry  land,  and  in  no  danger  of 
being  drowned.  Let  me  tell  you  that  your 
religion  is  stark  infidelity.  If  you  heartily 
believe  the  Bible,  you  could  not  believe  Uni- 
versalism.”  Central  Presbyterian. 

5881.  UNIVERSALIS!!,  Dishonors  God.  An 
Orthodox  clergyman  once  addressed  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Swain,  a  noted  controversialist  of  the 
Unversalist  denomination,  thus :  “  All  my 
arguments  will  not  change  your  opinions,  nor 
yours  mine ;  but  be  sure  of  one  thing,  —  you 
worship  one  God.  I  another.  You  worship 
a  God  whom  you  can  insult  and  spit  upon 
with  impunity :  I  worship  a  God  who  will  be 
served  according  to  his  own  laws,  and  who 
guards  jealously  his  honor.”  The  remark 
went  home ;  and  Mr.  Swain  never  preached 
Universalism  again. 

5882.  UNIVERSALISM,  Fruits  o£  A  clergy¬ 

man  was  preaching  in  a  town  which  was  much 
infected  with  the  Universalist  heresy,  —  that  all 
men,  whatever  may  be  their  character,  shall 
ultimately  be  saved.  A  preacher  of  this  doc¬ 
trine,  who  was  present  with  a  view  to  “  with¬ 
stand  the  truth,”  became  greatly  enraged  in 
the  progress  of  his  discourse.  It  was  no  sooner 
closed  than  he  began  to  challenge  the  preacher 
to  a  defence  of  his  doctrines.  As  it  was  rather 
late,  the  clergyman  who  had  been  preaching 
declined  a  formal  debate,  but  proposed  that 
each  should  ask  the  other  three  questions,  to 
which  a  direct  answer  should  be  returned. 
This  being  agreed  to,  the  Universalist  began. 
He  put  his  questions,  which  were  promptly  an¬ 
swered.  It  then  came  to  the  clergyman’s  turn. 
His  first  question  was,  “  Uo  you  pray  in  your 
family  ?  ”  Thunderstruck  and  dismayed,  the 
preacher  of  smooth  things  knew  not  what  to 
say.  At  length  he  asked,  “  Why  Y  what  has 
that  to  do  with  the  truth  of  my  doctrine  Y” 
—  “  Much,”  was  the  reply  :  ‘“By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them.’  ”  At  last  he  frankly  con¬ 
fessed  that  he  did  not.  Then  for  the  second 
question  :  •'  When  you  get  somewhat  displeased, 
do  you  not  sometimes  make  use  of  profane 
language  Y  ”  This  was  carrying  the  war  into 
the  innermost  temple  of  his  infidel  abomina¬ 
tions.  There  was  no  door  of  escape.  Answer 
he  must.  It  was  of  no  use  to  deny  it.  He 
confessed  he  was  profane.  “  I  will  go  no  fur¬ 
ther,”  said  the  pious  clergyman  :  “  1  am  satis¬ 
fied  ;  ”  and,  turning  to  the  congregation,  added, 
“I  presume  you  are  also.  You  dare  not  trust 
your  welfare  to  a  prayerless  and  profane 
guide.”  Every  one  saw  and  felt  the  force  of 
this  practical  argument.  A  dozen  lectures  on 
the  subject  would  not  have  done  half  so  much 
good.  Whit  ter  oss. 

5883.  UNIVERSALISM,  License  o£  A  girl 
twelve  years  of  age  heard  two  friends  speak¬ 
ing  of  a  third.  “lie  is  a  Universalist,”  said 
one.  “  Ah  !  that  is  a  dangerous  doctrine,”  re¬ 
marked  the  other.  The  young  girl  looked 
quickly  up,  and  ask  J,  “  Aunty,  what  does  a 
Universalist  believe  Y  ”  —  “  That  everybody 
will  finally  be  saved,  whatever  his  course 
may  have  been  in  this  life,”  responded  her 
relative.  “  How  I  wish  that  were  so  1  ”  said 


universe:.  C47 

the  child ;  “  for  then  I’d  be  wicked  all  the 
time.” 

5881.  UNIVERSALISTS,  Insincerity  of.  A 
Christian  physician  who  had  been  associated 
in  office  with  several  Universalists  was  asked 
how  a  man  of  such  amiable  character  as  him¬ 
self  could  believe  in  future  punishment,  and 
advised  to  adopt  their  faith.  The  doctor 
asked  them,  “  Do  you  believe  in  a  future 
state Y”  They  replied,  “We  do.”  —  “You 
believe  that  death  will  introduce  all  men  to  a 
state  of  perfect  happiness  ?  ”  —  “  Of  this  we 
have  no  doubt.”  —  “  Are  you  now  happy  ?  ”  — 
“  We  are  not :  we  are  far  from  it.”  —  “  How  do 
men  act  when  they  are  unhappy,  and  know 
that  happiness  is  within  their  reach  Y  ” —  “  They 
endeavor  to  attain  that  happiness.”  —  “  In  this 
box,”  said  the  doctor,  taking  a  tin  box  in  his 
hand,  “  are  pills,  which,  if  you  swallow  each  of 
you  one,  will,  without  pain,  carry  you  within 
one  hour  out  of  this  world  of  trouble,  and,  if 
your  doctrine  be  true,  place  you  in  a  world  of 
perfect,  felicity.  Will  you  accept  one  of  them  ?  ” 

—  “  No,  sir.”  When  they  all  refused,  the  doctor 
said,  “  You  must  excuse  me,  gentlemen,  from 
embracing  your  doctrine  until  I  have  better 
evidence  that  you  believe  it  yourselves.” 

5885.  UNIVERSALISTS,  Uncertainty  of.  An 
obstinate  Universalist  in  New  England,  return¬ 
ing  home  with  his  ox-team,  was  overheard 
soliloquizing,  “  Of  course  the  doctrine  of  uni  ver- 
sal  salvation  is  true.  Do  you  suppose  I’ve 
been  talking  and  arguing  and  thinking  and 
reading  for  thirty  years  on  what  wasn’t  true  ? 
I’d  be  a  pretty  fool,  wouldn’t  I Y  Now,  for  all 
these  ministers  and  churches  and  revivals  ” 
(and  here  he  inserted  an  oath,  which  was  with¬ 
out  any  meaning  if  his  doctrine  was  true) 
“  I  don’t  care  the  crack  of  a  whip.  They 
can’t  frighten  me  into  religion  as  they  did  old 
Whistler.  He’ll  be  back  cheering  me  on  by 
the  time  I  take  to  wheels  again.  No  1  I  tell 
you  they  can’t  move  me  :  I’m  as  firm  as  a 
rock.  I  know  what  I  believe  as  well  as  if  I 
were  a  parson.  My  doctrine  is  true :  I  know 
it  is  ;  and  yet,  and  yet,”  —  and,  turning  round, 
he  laid  his  stick  gently  across  the  backs  of  his 
dumb  listeners,  and  added  in  a  sepulchral  tone, 

—  “  and  yet  I’d  give  that  yoke  of  oxen  to  be 

sure  of  it."  Watchman  and  Reflector. 

5886.  UNIVERSE,  Extent  of  the.  The  tele¬ 
scope  led  me  to  see  a  system  in  every  star  . 
the  microscope  leads  me  to  see  a  world  in 
every  atom.  The  one  taught  me  that  this 
mighty  globe,  with  the  whole  burden  of  its 
people  and  its  countries,  is  but  a  grain  of  sand 
on  the  high  field  of  immensity :  the  other 
teaches  me  that  every  grain  of  sand  may  har¬ 
bor  within  it  the  tribes  and  families  of  a  busy 
population.  The  one  told  me  of  the  insignifi¬ 
cance  of  the  world  I  tread  on  :  the  other  re¬ 
deems  it  from  all  its  insignificance;  for  it  tells 
me  that  in  the  leaves  of  every  forest,  and  in  the 
flowers  of  every  garden,  and  in  the  waters  of 
every  rivulet,  there  are  worlds  teeming  with 
life,  and  numberless  as  are  the  glories  of  tho 
firmament.  The  one  has  suggested  to  me, 
that,  beyond  and  above  all  that  is  visible  io 


648 


TJS-AGrE. 


TTSEETJIANTESS. 


man,  there  may  be  fields  of  creation  which 
sweep  immeasurably  along,  and  carry  the  im¬ 
press  of  the  Almighty’s  hand  to  the  remotest 
scenes  of  the  universe :  the  other  suggests  to 
me,  that,  within  and  beneath  all  that  minute¬ 
ness  which  the  aided  eye  of  man  has  been 
able  to  explore,  there  may  lie  a  region  of  in¬ 
visibles  ;  and  that,  could  we  draw  aside  the 
mysterious  curtain  which  shrouds  it  from  our 
senses,  we  might  see  there  a  theatre  of  as 
many  wonders  as  astronomy  has  unfolded,  a 
universe  within  the  compass  of  a  point,  so 
small  as  to  elude  all  the  powers  of  the  micro¬ 
scope,  but  where  the  wonder-working'  God 
finds  room  for  the  exercise  of  all  his  attributes, 
where  he  can  raise  another  mechanism  of 
worlds,  and  fill  and  animate  them  all  with  the 
evidences  of  his  glory.  Dr.  Chalmers. 

5887.  USAGE,  Proverbs.  Use  will  make  a 

man  live  in  a  lion’s  den.  Custom  is  s:cond 
nature.  Once  a  use,  and  ever  a  custom.  —  Eng¬ 
lish. - Continuance  becomes  usage. —  Ital¬ 

ian. 

5888.  USAGE,  Reciprocal.  A  young  man 
overtook  a  lady  on  the  street,  and  accosted 
her  with,  “How  does  the  world  use  you?” 
—  “Well,”  she  replied:  “  how  does  it  use 
you  ?  ” —  “  The  world  uses  me  well,”  he  said  ; 
“  but  the  people  in  it  do  not.”  —  “  Do  you  use 
the  people  in  it  well  ?  ”  This  is  the  key  to 
good  usage. 

5889.  USE,  Proverbs.  The  used  key  is  al¬ 
ways  bright.  Drawn  wells  have  sweetest 
water.  Standing  pools  gather  filth.  —  English. 
- “  If  I  rest,  I  rust,”  says  the  key.  — German. 

5890.  USEFULNESS,  after  Death.  The  ce¬ 
dar  is  the  most  useful  when  dead.  It  is  the 
most  productive  when  its  place  knows  it  no 
more. '  There  is  no  timber  like  it.  Firm  in 
grain,  and  capable  of  the  finest  polish,  the 
tooth  of  no  insect  will  touch  it,  and  Time  him¬ 
self  can  hardly  destroy  it.  Diffusing  a  per¬ 
petual  fragrance  through  the  chamber  which 
it  ceils,  the  worm  will  not  corrode  the  book 
which  it  protects,  nor  the  moth  corrupt  the 
garment  which  it  guards :  all  but  immortal 
itself,  it  transfuses  its  amaranthine  qualities 
to  the  objects  around  it.  Every  Christian  is 
useful  in  his  life ;  but  the  goodly  cedars  are  the 
most  useful  afterwards.  Luther  is  dead ;  but 
the  Reformation  lives.  Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

5891.  USEFULNESS,  Example  o£  Sixty -five 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  lay  on  the  second 
floor  of  a  Virginia  barn,  just  under  the  roof, 
which  was  scorched  by  a  July  sun.  A  delegate 
of  the  Christian  Commission  gave  them  some 
relief,  and  asked  the  soldier-nurse  to  wash  their 
hands  and  feet.  “  I  did  not  enlist  to  wash 
men’s  feet,”  was  the  reply.  “  Bring  me  the 
water  then,  and  I  will.”  And  he  did  it  most 
faithfully. 

5892.  USEFULNESS,  Examples  of.  Luther 
and  Calvin,  the  reformers.  Wesley  and 
Whitefield.  John  Howard  the  philanthropist, 
upon  whose  grave  in  Russia  was  engraved  the 
motto,  “  He  lived  for  others.”  Clarkson,  Wil- 
bcrforce,  and  Buxton,  the  statesmen.  The 
Thorntons,  merchants.  Mrs.  Fry,  the  mer¬ 


chant’s  wife.  Robert  Raikes,  the  founder  « * 
Sunday  schools.  Bowes, 

5893.  USEFULNESS,  of  the  Poor.  Thomas 

Cranfield  the  tailor,  laboring  among  the  brick¬ 
layers  in  Sunday  and  infant  schools  and 
other  gooil  works.  John  Pounds  the  cobbler, 
the  founder  of  ragged-schools.  Harlan  Page 
the  joiner,  one  of  whose  chief  rules  was  to  aim 
at  doing  good  to  individuals.  Out  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  of  his  sabbath  schol¬ 
ars  at  Coventry,  eighty-four  gave  evidence  of 
true  piety,  and  six  became  preachers  of  the 
gospel.  Bowes. 

5894.  USEFULNESS,  Possible  to  All.  Many, 

influenced  by  fear  or  pride,  refuse  to  shine  as 
twijjklii  g  stars,  because  they  cannot  Same  as 
blazing  suns.  They  will  not  pour  the  murmurs 
of  the  cascade  around  them,  because  they  can¬ 
not  rush  and  roar  like  Niagara.  They  will 
not  fan  the  fevered  brow  of  humanity  with  the 
light  wing  of  zephyr,  because  they  have  not 
been  permitted  by  nature  and  grace  to  career 
with  the  whirlwind.  Now,  all  such  men  should 
remember  that  gunboats  are  often  more  useful 
than  three-deckers.  The  sun  is  useful ;  so  is 
a  torch  carried  to  men  lost  in  a  caveru.  A 
chariot  of  fire  and  horses  of  fire  were  sent  to 
take  Elijah  to  heaven;  but  the  ravens  were 
sent  to  feed  him.  Remington. 

5895.  USEFULNESS,  Providential.  One  liv¬ 
ing  quite  retired  from  the  scenes  of  public  and 
active  life  says,  “  As  I  was  driving  up  a  nail 
the  other  day,  I  thought  to  myself,  ‘  All  I  want 
of  that  nail  is  to  be  still  and  hold  on.  I  should 
be  much  dissatisfied  with  that  nail,  if,  in  the 
wish  to  be  useful,  it  should  leave  its  place,  and 
go  bustling  over  the  house,  interfering  with 
the  comfort  and  endangering  the  safety  of  the 
household.’  Then  I  thought  there  were  some 
human  nails ;  and  I  concluded  I  was  one :  so 
here  I  am,  waiting  to  hold  whatever  may  be 
hung  upon  me.” 

5896.  USEFULNESS,  Rale  of.  Sydney  Smith 

recommends  it  as  a  rule,  to  try  to  make  at 
least  one  person  happy  every  day,  and  adds 
the  calculation,  —  take  ten  years,  and  you  will 
have  made  three  thousand  six  hundred  and 
fifty  persons  happy,  or  brightened  a  small 
town  by  your  contribution  to  the  fund  of  gen¬ 
eral  joy.  Bowes. 

5897.  USEFULNESS,  Illustrated.  A  gentle¬ 
man,  while  addressing  some  children,  took  out 
his  watch,  and  asked  them  what  it  was  for. 
“  To  keep  time,”  the  children  answered. 
“  Well,  suppose  it  won’t  keep  time,  and  can’t 
be  made  to  keep  time,  what  is  it  good  for?”  — 
“It  is  good  for  nothing,”  they  replied.  He 
then  took  out  a  lead-pencil,  and  asked  what  it 
was  for.  “  It  is  to  mark  with,”  was  the  an¬ 
swer.  “  But  suppose  the  lead  is  out,  and  it 
won’t  mark,  what  is  it  good  for?”  —  “It  is 
good  for  nothing.”  He  then  took  out  a  pocket- 
knife,  and  asked  what  was  its  use.  “  To 
whittle  with,”  said  some.  “  To  cut  with,” 
said  others.  “  Suppose  that  it  has  no  blade 
then  what  is  it  good  for  ?  ”  —  “  Good  for  noth¬ 
ing.”  -  -  “  Then  a  watch  or  pencil  or  knife  i» 
good  for  nothing  unless  it  can  do  the  thing  for 


"V-A-CIT/T..  A.TIOIV. 


VbAJSnTY. 


649 


which  it  was  made  ?  ”  —  “  No,  sir,”  the  chil¬ 
dren  all  answered.  “  Well,  children,  what  is  a 
boy  or  girl  made  for  ?  ”  The  children  hesi¬ 
tated.  “  What  is  the  answer  to  the  question, 
‘  What  is  the  chief  end  of  man  ?  ’  ”  asked  the 
gentleman.  “  To  glorify  God,  and  enjoy  him 
forever.”  —  “  Now,  then,  if  a  boy  or  girl  does 
not  do  what  he  or  she  is  made  for,  and  glorify 
God,  what  is  he  or  she  good  for?  ”  And  the 
children  all  answered,  without  seeming  to  think 
how  it  would  sound,  “  Good  for  nothing.” 

5898.  VACILLATION,  Illustration  of.  Cache 
River,  a  little  stream  that  empties  into  the 
Ohio  five  miles  above  Cairo,  is  decidedly  the 
most  serpentine  stream  in  America.  From  its 
mouth  to  its  source  is  a  distance  of  thirty-six 
miles.  The  stream,  however,  is  one  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  long,  showing  a  waste  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  miles  in  crooks. 

5899.  VALOR,  True.  An  officer  of  distinc¬ 
tion  and  tried  valor  refused  to  accept  a  chal¬ 
lenge  sent  by  a  young  officer,  but  returned  the 
following  answer :  “  I  fear  not  your  sword,  but 
the  sword  of  my  God’s  anger.  I  dare  venture 
my  life  in  a  good  cause,  but  cannot  hazard  my 
soul  in  a  bad  one.  I  will  charge  up  to  the 
cannon’s  mouth  for  the  good  of  my  country ; 
but  I  want  courage  to  storm  hell.”  While  cross. 

5909.  VANITY,  All  is.  I  once  heard  of  a 
sagacious  man,  who,  being  on  his  death-bed, 
was  solicited  to  leave  some  memorial  to  his 
friends.  Unable  to  articulate,  he  made  signs 
to  have  pen  and  ink  brought  to  him,  and  with 
these  traced  two  great  circles,  or  nothings, 
upon  a  sheet  of  paper.  After  his  decease, 
there  was  much  speculation  what  these  could 
mean.  The  common  conjecture  was,  that  he 
intended  to  signify  that  the  body  and  the  soul 
have  their  appointed  circuits,  and  that,  when 
these  are  finished,  they  return  severally 
to  their  origin,  —  the  body  to  the  earth,  and 
the  spirit  unto  God.  In  my  opinion,  however, 
the  two  ciphers  must  have  been  intended  to 
show  the  nullity  of  all  teirestrial  things,  just 
a  ■  the  wisest  of  monarehs  could  find  nothing 
but  vanity  and  vexation  in  the  learning,  pleas¬ 
ures,  joys,  honor,  wealth,  and  glory  of  the 
world.  Gotthold. 

5901.  VANITY,  Earthly.  Mr.  Locke,  about 
two  months  before  his  death,  drew  up  a  letter  to 
a  certain  gentleman,  and  left  his  direction  on  it : 
“  To  be  delivered  to  him  after  my  decease.” 
Ip  it  are  these  remarkable  words  :  “  This  life 
is  a  scene  of  vanity  that  soon  passes  away,  and 
affords  no  solid  satisfaction  but  in  the  con¬ 
sciousness  of  doing  well,  and  in  the  hopes  of 
another  life.  This  is  what  I  can  say  upon 
experience,  and  what  you  will  find  to  be  true 
when  you  come  to  make  up  the  account.” 

Whitecross. 

5902.  VANITY,  Human,  There  was  one 
Michael  Fenwick  that  travelled  with  Wesley 
as  a  sort  of  groom,  nurse,  and  occasional  ex- 
horter.  The  good  man  was  vain  enough  to 
complain,  one  day,  that  his  name  was  never- 
inserted  in  Wesley’s  published  “  Journals.” 
In  the  next  number  of  the  “  Journals  ”  he  found 
his  name  in  a  connection  that  probably  did  not 


serve  to  increase  his  vanity.  “  I  left  Epworth,” 
wrote  Wesley,  “  with  great  satisfaction,  and 
about  one  preached  at  Clayworth.  I  think 
none  were  unmoved  but  Michael  Fenwick, 
to  ho  fell  fast  asleep  under  an  adjoining  hay¬ 
rick.”  Dr.  Haven. 

5903.  VANITY,  Memento  of.  Pope  Adrian  VI. 
had  this  inscription  on  his  monument :  “  Here 
lies  Adrian  VI.,  who  was  never  so  unhappy  in 
any  period  of  his  life  as  at  that  in  which  he  was 
a  prince.” 

5904.  VANITY,  of  Office.  What  are  they 
when  they  stand  upon  the  highest  pinnacles 
of  worldly  dignities,  but  bladders  swelled  up 
with  the  breath  of  the  popular  rout  ?  —  noth¬ 
ings  set  astrut ;  chessmen,  that  on  the  board 
play  the  kings  and  nobles,  but  in  the  bag  are 
of  the  same  materials  and  rank  with  others. 

Hopkins. 

5905.  VANITY,  Personal.  Such  vain  solilo¬ 
quies  do  men  ordinarily  make  :  “  Thou  hast 
(saith  a  man  to  himself)  rare  endowments  of 
soul,  and  wonderful  skill  and  ability  in  this 
and  that  matter ;  thou  art  master  of  excel¬ 
lent  things;  thou  hast  managed  very  impor¬ 
tant  business ;  hast  accomplished  hard  designs; 
hast  achieved  brave  feats  with  great  wit  and 
industry ;  thou  hast  framed  and  vented  very 
curious  orations,  very  facetious  speeches,  very 
nervous  and  pithy  discourses ;  thou  hast  put 
obligations  upon  this  man  and  that;  thou  hast 
got  much  credit  and  interest  among  men  ;  the 
world  much  looketh  on  thee,  loveth  and  prized, 
thee  hugely,  resoundeth  with  thy  fame  and 
praise  ;  surely  thy  worth  is  notable,  thy  deserts 
are  egregious ;  how  happy  art  thou  in  being 
such  a  person,  in  performing  such  things,  in 
enjoying  such  advantages!”  Dr.  Barrow. 

590G.  VANITY,  of  Pleasure.  As  well  try  to 
fill  the  yawning  chasm  with  a  few  grains  of 
sand  as  satisfy  the  gulf  of  the  soul’s  desires 
with  the  pleasure  of  an  empty  world.  Macduff. 

5907.  VANITY,  Proof  of.  The  vanity  of  the 
world  also  appears  in  this,  that  a  little  cross 
will  imbitter  great  comforts.  One  dead  fly  is 
enough  to  corrupt  a  whole  box  of  the  world’s 
most  fragrant  ointment.  There  are  so  many 
ingredients  required  to  make  up  worldly  feli¬ 
city,  —  as  riches,  health,  honor,  friends,  good 
name,  and  the  like,  that,  if  these  be  wanting, 
the  whole  composition  is  spoiled.  You  may  as 
soon  grasp  a  bundle  of  dreams,  or  take  up  an 
armful  of  your  shadow,  as  fill  the  boundless 
desires  of  your  soul  with  earthly  enjoyments. 

Hopkins. 

5908.  VANITY,  Proofs  of.  They  who  speak 
well  of  themselves  show  their  vanity ;  while 
those  who  keep  silence,  or  speak  ill  of  them¬ 
selves,  do  so  from  the  same  motive. 

5909.  VANITY,  Rebuked.  A  young  clergy¬ 

man  boasting  among  his  relations  of  having 
been  educated  at  two  colleges,  Harvard  ana 
Cambridge,  an  aged  divine  being  present 
said,  “  You  remind  me  of  an  instance  I  knew, 
of  a  calf  that  sucked  two  cows.”  —  “  What  was 
that  ?  ”  said  a  third  person.  “  Why,  sir,  the 
consequence  was,  that  he  was  a  very  great 
calf.”  J.  Beaumont. 


650 


YA2STITY. 


•vice. 


5910.  VANITY,  Uniyersal.  Wherefore  be¬ 

think  thyself  at  length,  O  deluded  world  !  and 
write  over  all  thy  school-doors,  “  Let  not  the 
wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom  ;  ”  over  all  thy 
court-gates,  “  Let  not  the  mighty  man  glory  in 
his  might ;  ”  over  all  thy  exchanges  and 
banks,  “  Let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his 
riches.”  Write  upon  thy  looking-glasses  Batli- 
sheba’s  motto,  “  Favor  is  deceitful,  and  beauty  is 
vain;”  upon  thy  mews  and  artillery-yards, 
that  of  the  Psalmist,  “  God  delighteth  not  in 
the  strength  of  a  horse ;  he  taketh  not 
pleasure  in  the  legs  of  a  man  ;  ”  upon  thy  tav¬ 
erns,  inns,  and  ale-houses,  that  of  Solomon, 
“  Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  is  raging, 
and  whosoever  is  deceived  thereby  is  not 
wise ;  ”  upon  thy  magazines  and  wardrobes, 
that  of  our  Saviour,  “  Lay  not  up  for  your¬ 
selves  treasures  on  earth,  where  moth  and  rust 
doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break  through 
and  steal.”  Write  upon  thy  counting-houses 
that  of  Habakkuk,  “  Woe  to  him  that  inereas- 
eth  that  which  is  not  his,  how  long  ?  and  to 
him  that  loadeth  himself  with  thick  clay ;  ” 
thy  playhouses,  that  of  Paul,  “  Lovers  of  pleas¬ 
ure  more  than  lovers  of  God ;  ”  thy  banquet- 
ing-houses,  that  of  the  same  holy  apostle, 
“  Meats  for  the  belly,  and  the  belly  for  meats  ; 
but  God  shall  destroy  both  them  and  it ;  ”  yea, 
upon  all  thine  accommodations,  that  of  the 
Preacher,  “  Vanity  of  vanities  :  all  is  vanity 
and  vexation  of  spirit.”  Dr.  Arrowsmitli. 

5911.  VANITY,  of  Vanities.  It  is  at  this 

moment,  more  than  ever,  we  are  justified  in 
saying  with  the  wise  man,  “  Vanity  of  vani¬ 
ties  :  all  is  vanity.”  Where  is  now  the  splen¬ 
dor  of  the  consulate  ?  where  their  brilliancy 
of  lamps  and  torches?  the  feast  of  joyous 
assemblies  ?  Where  are  the  crowns  and  mag¬ 
nificent  ornaments  ?  where  the  flattering 
reports  of  the  city,  the  acclamations  of  the 
circus,  the  adulations  of  thousands  of  spec¬ 
tators  ?  All  have  passed  away.  The  wind  by 
one  blast  has  swept  the  leaves  ;  and  now  they 
show  to  us  a  dead  tree  torn  from  its  roots, 
so  violent  has  been  the  tempest.  It  lies  a 
broken  ruin.  Where  are  the  pretended  friends, 
the  swarm  of  parasites,  the  tables  charged 
with  luxury,  the  wine  circulated  during  en¬ 
tire  days?  where  the  various  refinements 
of  feasting,  the  supple  language  of  slaves? 
What  has  become  of  them  all  ?  — a  dream  of 
the  night  which  vanishes  with  the  day;  a 
flower  of  spring  which  fades  in  the  summer ; 
a  shade  which  passes ;  a  vapor  which  scat¬ 
ters  ;  a  bubble  of  water  which  bursts ;  a 
spider’s  web  which  is  torn  down.  “  Vanity 
of  vanities :  all  is  vanity.”  Inscribe  these 
words  on  your  walls,  on  your  vestments,  on 
your  palaces,  on  your  streets,  your  houses,  on 
your  windows,  on  your  doors  ;  inscribe  them 
on  your  consciences,  in  order  that  they  may 
represent  it  incessantly  to  your  thoughts. 
Repeat  them  in  the  morning;  repeat  them  in 
the  evening ;  and,  in  the  assemblies  of  fashion, 
let  each  repeat  to  his  neighbor,  “  Vanity  of 
vanities  :  all  is  vanity.”  St.  Chrysostom. 

5912.  VERACITY,  Parental,  Lord  Chatham 


was  noted  for  his  veracity  in  keeping  prom¬ 
ises.  On  one  occasion,  he  had  promised 
that  his  son  should  be  present  at  the  pulling- 
down  of  a  garden  wall.  The  wall  was,  how¬ 
ever,  taken  down  during  his  absence,  through 
forgetfulness ;  but,  feeling  the  importance  of 
his  word  being  .  eld  sacred,  Lord  Chatham 
ordered  the  workmen  to  rebuild  it,  that  his 
son  might,  witness  its  demolition  according  to 
his  father's  promise.  Trench. 

59E  3.  VICE,  Commonness  of.  Nothing  is  more 
widely  diffused  or  more  constantly  near  us 
than  atmospheric  air;  yet  few  ever  notice  its 
existence,  and  fewer  its  nature.  Dust  and 
chaff  and  feathers,  that  sometimes  move  up 
and  down  in  it,  attract  our  regard  more  than 
the  air  in  which  they  float ;  yet  these  are  trifles 
which  scarcely  concern  us  :  and  in  this  we  live 
and  move,  and  have  our  being.  The  air  affects 
our  life  and  happiness  more  than  those  occa¬ 
sional  meteoric  phenomena  which  excite  the 
wonder  of  us  all.  Such  is  sin :  it  pervades 
humanity ;  but,  in  proportion  to  its  profusion, 
men  are  blind  to  its  presence.  Arnot. 

5914.  VICE,  Confession  of.  Why  is  there  no 
man  who  confesses  his  vices  ?  It  is  because 
he  has  not  yet  laid  them  aside.  It  is  a  wak¬ 
ing  man  only  who  can  tell  his  dreams.  Seneca. 

5915.  VICE,  Gilded.  Men  often  abstain 

from  the  grosser  vices  as  too  coarse  and  com¬ 
mon  for  tbeir  appetites  ;  while  the  vices  which 
are  frosted  and  ornamented  are  served  up  to 
them  as  delicacies.  Beecher. 

5919.  VICE,  Penalty  of.  The  good  make  a 
better  bargain,  and  the  bad  a  worse,  than  is 
usually  supposed  ;  for  the  rewards  of  the  one, 
and  the  punishments  of  the  other,  not  unfre- 
quently  begin  on  this  side  of  the  grave  ;  for 
vice  has  more  martyrs  than  virtue;  and  it 
often  happens  that  men  suffer  more  to  be  lost 
than  to  be  saved.  Colton. 

5917.  VICE,  Picture  of.  Come,  sinner,  pre¬ 

pare  thy  pencil ;  mingle  the  richest  colors  thou 
canst  get ;  draw  thy  sinful,  careless  life,  give  it 
a  beautiful  virgin’s  face  ;  draw  all  the  charms 
that  thy  fancy  can  find  out ;  here  draw  the 
adoration  the  world  pays  unto  her,  there  the 
bows  and  cringes  whereby  both  great  and 
small  insinuate  into  her  favor.  On  her  head 
draw  a  tree  whose  fruit  is  gold,  and  the  dew 
thereof  hardens  into  pearls  ;  let  her  right  hand 
grasp  a  crown,  her  left  drop  gifts  on  her  clients 
and  votaries.  But,  when  this  proud  peacock 
is  drawn  thus  in  all  her  dazzling  circles,  forget 
not  to  draw  her  ugly  feet.  I  mean  an  unquiet, 
roaring,  disturbed,  distracted,  trembling  con¬ 
science  ;  for  in  this  dismal  shape  doth  that 
lovely  mermaid  end.  A.  Horneck. 

5918.  VICE,  Pleasures  of.  You  have  seen 

the  canopy  of  heaven  covered  with  the  black 
clouds  of  a  thunder-storm,  and  every  now  and 
then  the  darkness  has  been  made  more  visible 
or  sensible  by  sudden  flashes  of  lightning. 
Just  like  these  flashes  are  the  pleasures  of  the 
world  :  they  last  but  for  a  moment,  and  leave 
darkness  and  misery  behind ;  whereas  true 
happiness  sheds  a  continual  daylight  on  the 
soul.  Penny  Magazine. 


VICE. 


veste. 


651 


5919.  VICE,  Restraint  of.  In  Mr.  Ralph 
Wells’s  school  the  other  day,  the  lesson  was 
about  God’s  all-seeing  eye.  On  the  blackboard, 
Mr.  Wells  placed  the  words,  “  Thou  God  seest 
me.”  He  then  held  up  a  vase  of  water,  in 
which  a  gold-fish  was  swimming  about.  “  Now, 
children,”  said  Mr.  Wells,  “  see  this  fish  hide. 
Do  you  see  him  now  ?  ”  —  “  Yes,  sir,”  the 
children  shouted.  “  Do  you  see  him  now  ?  ” 

—  “  Yes,  sir.”  —  “  Now  do  you  see  him  ?  ”  — 
“  Yes,  sir  :  yes,  sir,”  they  all  said.  “  Can’t  he 
hide  from  you  ?  ”  —  “  No,  sir.”  —  “  Why  ?  ”  — 
“  Because  we  see  right  through  the  glass.”  — 
“  So,”  said  Mr.  Wells,  “  God  sees  right  through 
our  hearts.  We  cannot  hide  from  him.”  My 
little  readers,  every  time  you  see  a  vase  and 
its  goldfish,  remember  the  words  of  this  little 
lesson,  Thou  God  seest  me.  Picture  Paper. 

5929.  VICE,  Similes.  The  way  of  vice  is 
as  the  entrance  to  a  pit :  it  is  easy  to  go  down, 
but  difficult  to  return.  As  an  old  stain  is  not 
easily  removed,  so  habitual  vices  are  not  easily 
overcome.  The  most  dangerous  vice  is  that 
which  most  resembles  virtue,  as  the  most 
deceiving  devil  is  an  angel  of  light. 

5921.  VICE,  Somewhere.  P  res.  Lincoln  used 
to  tell  this  story  of  himself.  lie  was  riding 
one  day  on  the  stage-coach  in  Illinois,  when 
the  driver  asked  him  to  treat.  “  I  never  use 
liquor,”  was  Mr.  Lincoln’s  reply,  “  and  can¬ 
not  induce  others  to  do  so.”  —  “  Don’t  chew 
neither?”  —  “No,  sir.”  —  “Nor  smoke?”  — 
“No,  sir:  I  never  use  tobacco  in  any  form.” 

—  “Well,”  replied  the  disgusted  Jehu,  “I 
hain’t  much  opinion  of  you  fellers  with  no 
small  vices.  I  allers  noticed  they  make  it  up 
in  big  ones.” 

5922.  VICE,  Tide  of.  One  of  the  affecting 
features  in  a  life  of  vice  is  the  longing,  wistful 
outlooks  given  by  the  wretches  who  struggle 
with  unbridled  passions,  towards  virtues  which 
are  no  longer  within  their  reach.  Men  in  the 
tide  of  vice  are  sometimes  like  the  poor  crea¬ 
tures  swept  down  the  stream  of  mighty  rivers, 
who  see  people  safe  on  shore,  and  trees  and 
flowers,  as  they  go  quickly  past ;  and  all  things 
that  are  desirable  gleam  upon  them  for  a  mo¬ 
ment  to  heighten  their  trouble,  and  to  aggra¬ 
vate  their  swift-coming  destruction.  Beecher. 

5923.  VICISSITUDE,  Expected.  A  Christian, 
being  only  a  traveller  through  the  world,  must 
expect  a  traveller’s  fore,  —  bad  roads  some¬ 
times,  bad  weather,  and  bad  accommodation  ; 
but  since  Lis  journey  is  short,  and  his  city  is 
in  heaven,  all  his  actions,  sull'erings,  prayers, 
and  conversation  turn  that  way.  Bogutsky. 

5924.  VICISSITUDE,  Human.  It  is  not  un¬ 
usual  for  captains,  in  time  of  war,  to  start  on  a 
voyage  under  sealed  orders,  not  to  be  opened 
till  they  reach  a  certain  place.  So  we  all  sail 
under  sealed  orders,  not  knowing  our  destina¬ 
tion  till  the  last  port  is  made,  and  heaven  or 
hell  is  gained. 

5925.  VICISSITUDE,  Parable  of.  One  day, 
David,  the  King  of  Israel,  sat  on  Mount  Zion. 
His  harp  was  before  him,  and  he  leaned  his 
head  upon  it.  Then  the  Prophet  Gad  eame  to 
him,  and  said,  “  Whereon  muses  my  lord  the 


king?”  David  answered,  “  On  the  continual 
changes  of  my  destiny.  How  many  songs  of 
joy  and  gratitude  have  I  sung  to  this  harp  1 
—  but  how  many  songs  also  of  mourning  and 
sorrow  !  ”  —  “  Be  thou  like  unto  the  harp,”  said 
the  prophet.  “  What  meanest  thou  ?  ”  asked  the 
king.  “  Behold  !  ”  answered  the  man  of  God, 
“  both  thy  sorrow  and  thy  joy  drew  heavenly 
sounds  from  the  harp,  and  animated  its  strings. 
Thus  let  j.  ,  and  sorrow  form  thy  heart  and 
thy  life  to  a  elostial  harp.”  Krummacher. 

5926.  VICTORY,  Certain.  Soldier  of  the 
cross,  the  hou;  is  coming  when  the  note  of 
victory  shall  be  proclaimed  throughout  the 
world.  The  battlements  of  the  enemy  must 
soon  succumb  ;  the  swords  of  the  mighty 
•  must  soon  be  given  up  to  the  Lord  of  lords. 

What  1  soldier  of  the  cross,  in  the  day  of 
victory  wouldst  thou  have  it  said  that  thou 
didst  turn  thy  back  in  the  day  of  battle  ? 
Dost  thou  not  wish  to  have  a  share  in  the 
conflict,  that  thou  mayest  have  a  share  in 
the  victory  ?  If  thou  hast  even  the  hottest 
part  of  the  battle,  wilt  thou  flinch  and  fly  ? 
Thou  shalt  have  the  brightest  part  of  the  vic¬ 
tory  if  thou  art  in  the  fiercest  of  the  conflict. 
Wilt  thou  turn,  and  lose  thy  laurels  ?  Wilt 
thou  throw  down  thy  sword  ?  Shall  it  be 
with  thee  as  when  a  standard-bearer  fainteth  ? 
Nay,  man,  up  to  arms  again  I  for  the  victory 
is  certain.  Though  the  conflict  be  severe,  I 
beseech  you,  on  to  it  again  1  On,  on,  ye  lion- 
hearted  men  of  God,  to  the  battle  once  more  1 
for  ye  shall  yet  be  crowned  with  immortal 
glory.  Spurgeon. 

5927.  VICTORY,  Emblem  of.  The  palm  was 
the  ancient  classical  symbol  of  victory  and 
triumph,  and  was  early  assumed  by  the  Chris¬ 
tians  as  the  universal  emblem  of  martyrdom. 
In  pictures  of  martyrdoms,  an  angel  descends 
with  the  palm.  It  is  engraved  on  the  martyrs’ 
tombs,  and  placed  in  their  hands  by  the  paint¬ 
ers.  Tlie  martyr  thought  little  of  the  suffering, 
but  much  of  the  victory,  of  his  death. 

5928.  VIGILANCE,  Safety  in.  “  Eternal  vigi¬ 
lance  is  the  price  of  safety,”  were  the  magnetic 
words  of  Patrick  Henry  that  ushered  in  the 
successful  war  of  the  Revolution.  A  like 
watchfulness  is  necessary  to  the  success  of 
the  Christian. 

5929.  VIGILANCE,  Use  of.  Vigilance  is  the 

safety-lamp  of  life.  What  the  lighthouse  is  to 
the  vessel  in  the  murky  night,  nearing  the  rock 
and  treacherous  banks ;  what  the  torch  is  to 
the  traveller  who  has  been  enveloped  in  thick 
mists ;  what  the  lantern  is  to  the  miner  who 
creeps  from  gallery  to  gallery  along  the  low 
corridors  which  penetrate  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  wherein  the  fire-damp  hangs  round  about 
his  way ;  what  the  genial  blaze  on  the  cottage 
hearth  is  to  the  shepherd  as  he  comes  from 
afar  over  the  morass  or  moor ;  what  the  branch 
of  the  green  tree  was  to  Columbus  as  it  floated 
past  his  vessel’s  side,  the  sure  and  blessed  har¬ 
binger  of  a  not  distant  land,  —  such  is  vigilance 
to  man’s  life.  J.  C.  M.  Bellew. 

5939.  VINE,  B ranches  and  Buds.  In  a  Sunday- 
school  class,  the  other  day,  a  teacher  was  trying 


652 


virtue:. 


virtue:. 


to  show  the  dependence  of  the  branches  upon 
the  vine,  —  for,  if  the  vine  dies,  the  branch  dies 
also,  —  and  said  earnestly,  “  Jesus  is  the  vine  : 
we  are  the  branches  of  the  vine,  and  derive 
all  our  comfort  and  happiness  from  him.”  — 
“  Yes,”  said  a  bright  little  fellow  of  eight 
years,  “Jesus  is  the  vine,  the  grown-up  people 
are  the  branches,  and  we  (the  children)  are 
the  little  buds ;  ”  showing  that  he  clearly  un¬ 
derstood  the  parable,  and  giving  to  the  great 
truth  a  simplicity  which  the  minds  of  the 
smaller  children  could  hardly  fail  to  compre¬ 
hend. 

5931.  VIRTUE,  Abode  of.  For  when  Virtue 

came  from  heaven  (as  the  poet  feigns),  rich 
men  kicked  her  up,  wicked  men  abhorred  her, 
courtiers  scoffed  at  her,  citizens  hated  her  ;  and, 
that  she  was  thrust  out  of  doors  in  every  place, 
she  came  at  last  to  her  sister  Poverty,  where 
she  had  found  good  entertainment.  Poverty 
and  Virtue  dwell  together.  Burton. 

5932.  VIRTUE,  Admiring.  Such  as  profess  to 
admire  virtue,  but  do  not  practise  it,  are  like  a 
harp,  which  gives  a  pleasing  sound  to  others, 
but  the  instrument  itself  receives  no  pleasure. 

Diogenes. 

5933.  VIRTUE,  in  Adversity.  Virtue  is  like 

precious  odors,  most  fragrant  when  they  are 
incensed  or  crushed  ;  for  prosperity  doth  best 
discover  vice,  but  adversity  doth  best  discover 
virtue.  Lord  Bacon. 

5934.  VIRTUE,  Beauty  o£  There  is  something 

in  the  glow  of  precious  stones  that  peculiarly 
fits  them  to  serve  for  spiritual  figures.  There 
is  about  them  a  subtle  light,  —  a  brilliancy 
that  burns  without  fire ;  that  consumes  noth¬ 
ing,  and  requires  no  supply ;  that  forever 
shines  without  oil;  that  is  ever-living,  unwast- 
ing,  unchanged  by  any  of  the  natural  elements. 
A  diamond  that  glows  in  the  sunlight  flashes 
yet  more  beautifully  in  the  night.  No  mould 
can  get  root  upon  it. ;  no  rust  can  tarnish 
it ;  no  decay  can  waste  it.  The  jewels  that 
were  buried  two  thousand  years  ago,  if  now 
dug  up  from  royal  and  priestly  tombs,  would 
come  forth  as  fair  and  fresh  as  they  were  when 
the  proud  wearer  first  carried  them  in  his  dia¬ 
dem,  —  fit  emblems  by  which  to  represent 
spiritual  qualities,  and  the  beauty  and  imper¬ 
ishableness  of  Christian  virtue.  And  a  com¬ 
pany  of  holy  men  resting  upon  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  may  well  be  compared  to  a 
palace  built  upon  broad  foundations,  and 
sparkling  to  the  very  summit  with  living 
stones,  which  throw  back  to  the  sun  a  differing 
flash  through  every  hour  of  his  rise  or  fall 
through  the  long  day.  Beecher. 

5935.  VIRTUE,  Charm  o£  Virtue  is  the  uni¬ 
versal  charm ;  even  its  shadow  is  courted 
when  the  substance  is  wanting.  Dr.  Blair. 

5936.  VIRTUE,  Diffusion  of.  As  a  burning 
candle  in  a  man’s  hand  gives  light  to  him,  and 
to  all  that  are  in  and  around  the  house  ;  or  as 
he  that  is  perfumed  cannot  keep  the  odor  to 
himself:  so  such  as  have  the  knowledge  of 
God  have  not  only  comfort  themselves,  but  they 
are  a  comfort  and  a  light  to  the  Church  and 
a  light  also  to  pagans  and  infidels.  Cawdray. 


593V.  VIRTUE,  Dubious.  A  little  boy  named 
Jamie,  who  loved  music,  and  could  hardly 
keep  his  feet  still  when  he  heard  it,  received 
the  idea  that  dancing  was  not  right.  One 
day,  when  the  piano  was  giving  forth  a 
sprightly  tune,  his  uncle  observed  that  Jamie 
danced  briskly  with  one  foot,  but  kept  the 
other  still.  He  asked  Jamie,  “  Why  don’t 
you  dance  with  both  feet?  ”  Pointing  to  his 
quiet  foot,  he  replied,  “  This  foot  belongs  to 
the  Church.” 

5938.  VIRTUE,  Nobility  of.  Virtue  alone  is 
true  nobility ;  therefore  the  most  virtuous  are 
the  most  noble.  A  virtuous  friend  should  be 
esteemed  above  a  vicious  relation  ;  for  the  ties 
of  virtue  are  more  binding  than  those  of  blood, 
and  every  good  person  is  nearer  related  to 
another  good  person  than  he,  can  possibly  be 
to  any  of  his  immoral  relations.  A  ntisthenes. 

5939.  VIRTUE,  Permanence  of.  When  King 

Demetrius  had  sacked  and  razed  the  city  of 
Magaera  to  the  very  foundation,  he  demanded 
of  Stilpo  the  philosopher  what  losses  he  had 
sustained.*  “None  at  all,”  said  Stilpo ;  “for 
war  can  make  no  spoil  of  virtue.”  And  'tis 
said  of  Bias,  that  his  motto  was,  Omnia  mea 
mecum  porto,  “  I  carry  all  my  goods  with  me  ;  ” 
viz.,  his  goodness.  Venning. 

5940.  VIRTUE,  Power  of.  Virtue,  like  fire, 
turns  all  things  into  itself:  our  actions  and 
our  friendships  are  tinctured  with  it,  and 
whatever  it  touches  becomes  amiable.  Seneca 

5941.  VIRTUE,  Rejected.  One  Sunday,  Dr 
Blair,  warming  in  his  presentation  of  his  fa¬ 
vorite  theme,  thus  apostrophized  virtue  :  “0 
Virtue  !  if  thou  wort  embodied,  how  all  men 
would  love  thee  !  ”  His  colleague,  Dr.  Walker, 
in  the  afternoon,  in  the  course  of  his  sermon, 
rejoined  as  follows  :  “  Virtue  has  been  em¬ 
bodied.  Did  all  men  love  her?  No:  she 
was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  who,  after 
defaming,  insulting,  and  scourging  her,  led  her 
to  Calvary,  where  they  crucified  her  between 
two  thieves.” 

5942.  VIRTUE,  Similei  of.  As  a  precious 

stone  retains  its  value  even  when  cast  in  the 
dust,  so  does  the  virtue  of  righteous .  men 
either  in  prison  or  in  prosperity.  As  we  eat 
nuts  or  fruit,  using  the  kernel,  but  throwing 
the  rind  and  shell  away,  so  ought  we  to  be  in 
love  with  virtue,  despising  its  shadow  when 
separated  from  itself.  As  a  body  casts  the 
least  shadow  at  noon,  so,  the  more  virtue  is  in 
a  man,  the  less  ostentation  and  boasting  will 
be  observed  in  him.  Cawdray. 

5943.  VIRTUE,  Slighted,  Virtue  loses  not 

its  worth  by  being  slighted  by  the  world,  any 
more  than  a  pearl  or  a  jewel  is  disesteemed 
by  filthy  swine,  ot  tie  foolish  cock,  who  may 
prefer  barleycorns  to  them.  Scraggs. 

5944.  VIRTUE,  Value  o£  To  little  minds 

alone  is  it  necessary  to  recommend  virtue  by 
great  names.  If  an  action  be  not  intrinsically 
good,  the  name  of  Socrates,  of  Caesar,  of  Cato, 
or  of  Plato,  can  stamp  no  excellence  on  it ; 
and,  if  a  sentiment  be  false,  it  cannot  be,  ren¬ 
dered  otherwise  by  affixing  a  large  number  of 
the  greatest  names  to  it.  Scraggs. 


VIRTUES. 


VOWS. 


653 


5945.  VIRTUES,  Counterfeit.  Every  virtue 

has  its  counterfeit.  It  is  desirable  to  be  wise, 
but  not  as  Eve  sought  wisdom.  Husbands 
should  love  their  wives,  but  not  as  Adam  did, 
in  hearkening  to  Eve  when  she  urged  him  to 
sin.  We  ought  to  worship  God,  but  not  as 
Cain  did,  disregarding  God’s  appointed  way. 
Wives  should  obey  their  husbands,  but  not  as 
Sarah  did  Abraham,  in  consenting  to  tell  a 
lie.  Servants  should  take  care  of  their  mas¬ 
ter’s  property,  but  not  as  Abraham’s  and 
Lot’s  herdsmen,  to  quarrel  about  it.  Children 
should  obey  their  parents,  but  not  as  Jacob 
obeyed  Rebecca.  We  should  desire  to  for¬ 
ward  the  accomplishment  of  God’s  declared 
will,  but  not  as  Rebecca  did,  by  doing  evil 
that  good  might  come..  B.  E.  Nicholls. 

5946.  VIRTUES,  Great.  Do  not  be  troubled 

because  you  have  not  great  virtues.  God 
made  a  million  spears  of  grass  where  he  made 
one  tree.  The  earth  is  fringed  and  carpeted, 
not  with  forests,  but  with  grasses.  Only  have 
enough  of  little  virtues  and  common  fidelities, 
and  you  need  not  mourn  because  you  are 
neithei  a  hero  nor  a  saint.  Beecher. 

5947.  VIRTUES,  Growth  of.  It  is  reported 

that  L’raba  in  Peru  is  of  so  rich  a  soil,  that  the 
seeds  of  cucumbers  and  melons  sown  will  bear 
ripe  fruits  in  twenty-eight  days  after;  so, 
mart,  persons  are  much  sooner  ripe  in  many 
virtues  than  others  are.  Indeed,  those  who 
have  been  remarkable  for  any  virtue  have,  in 
general,  been  observed  to  give  some  early 
specimens  and  instances  of  it  in  their  youth ; 
and  a  man  that  has  observed  the  first  dawning 
might  easily  predict  an  illustrious  day  to  suc¬ 
ceed  it.  Wanle  >/. 

5948.  VOLUPTUOUSNESS,  Enervates.  I  had 
often  heard  Mentor  say,  that  the  effeminate 
and  voluptuous  are  never  brave,  and  I  now 
found  by  experience  that  it  was  true ;  for  the 
Cyprians,  whose  jollity  had  been  so  extrava¬ 
gant  and  tumultuous,  now  sunk  under  a  sense 
of  their  danger,  and  wept  like  women.  I  heard 
nothing  but  the  screams  of  terror  and  the 
wailings  of  hopeless  distress:  some  lamented 
the  loss  of  pleasures  that  were  never  to  return, 
and  some  made  idle  vows  of  sacrifice  to  the 
gods,  if  they  reached  their  port  in  safety  ;  but 
none  had  presence  of  mind  either  to  under¬ 
take  or  direct  the  navigation  of  the  vessel. 

Fen  el  on. 

5949.  VOW,  Kept.  Mr.  Chase  says,  that, 
at  the  cabinet-meeting  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  Antietam,  and  just  prior  to  the  issue 
of  the  September  Proclamation,  the  President 
entered  upon  the  business  before  them,  by 
saying  that  the  time  for  the  enunciation  of 
the  emancipation  policy  could  no  longer 
be  delayed.  Public  sentiment,  he  thought, 
would  sustain  it ;  many  of  his  warmest 
friends  and  supporters  demanded  it;  and  he 
had  promised  his  God  that  lu:  would  do  it. 
The  iast  part  of  this  was  uttered  in  a  low  tone, 
and  appeared  to  be  heard  by  no  one  but  See. 
Chase,  who  was  sitting  near  him.  He  asked 
the  President  if  lie  correctly  understood  him. 
Mr.  Lincoln  replied,  “  I  made  a  solemn  vow 


before  God,  that,  if  Gen.  Lee  was  driven  back 
from  Pennsylvania,  I  would  crown  the  result 
by  the  declaration  of  freedom  to  the  slaves.” 
He  issued  his  proclamation,  and  four  million 
slaves  became  free  men. 

5950.  VOW,  A  Strange.  A  minister  now 
living  relates  the  following.  In  early  life,  his 
father  felt  called  to  the  ministry,  but  asked 
God  to  excuse  him,  and  made  a  vow  to  give 
his  eldest  son  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
The  vow  was  apparently  accepted  of  God,  as 
the  father  felt  no  longer  the  pressure  of  this 
special  duty,  and  prospered  in  his  religious 
life.  Twenty  years  later,  the  son  was  con¬ 
verted,  and  felt,  that,  if  he  would  be  religious 
at  all,  he  must  be  a  minister.  He  accepted 
the  duty  gladly,  prepared  for  it;  and,  after  his 
ordination,  his  father  said  to  him,  for  the  first 
time  informing  him  of  the  vow,  “  My  son,  you 
have  a  double  duty  to  do.  You  have  your 
own  work  and  mine  also.” 

5951.  VOWS,  Broken.  Vows  are  easily  made, 
but  more  easily  broken.  A  sea-captain,  while 
upon  a  single  plank  in  the  wide  ocean,  vowed 
to  devote  his  life  to  God  if  he  should  be 
saved,  but  forgot  his  vow  as  soon  as  his  feet 
were  on  the  solid  earth.  Mrs.  Judson,  in  the 
beginning  of  her  religious  life,  twice  forgot  her 
vows ;  falling  easily  into  the  old  habit  of 
dancing  when  in  the  society  of  dancing  people. 

5952.  VOWS,  Custom  of.  The  saints  in  dis¬ 

tress,  especially,  used  to  make  their  prayers 
with  vows.  Hence  prayer,  in  Greek,  is  called 
a  service  with  vows.  Mr.  Philpot,  martyr, 
first  coining  into  Sinithfield  to  suffer,  kneeled 
down,  and  said,  “I  will  pay  my  vows  in  thee, 
O  Sinithfield.”  J.  Trapp. 

5955.  VOWS,  Heathen.  Vows  are  very  com¬ 
mon  in  Samoa.  Horses,  canoes,  land,  &e., 
were  promised  to  the  gods  or  their  high  priests, 
on  condition  of  recovery  from  sickness.  The 
same  sort  of  thing  is  carried  on  still  to  a  great 
extent.  If  a  child  is  sick,  his  ungodly  father 
may  vow  amendment,  and  attention  to  the 
word  of  God,  on  condition  that  the  son  recov¬ 
ers.  In  some  cases,  the  conditional  amend¬ 
ment  ends  in  real  conversion  ;  but  in  most 
instances,  perhaps,  the  party  soon  returns,  like 
“  the  sow  that  was  washed,  to  her  wallowing 
in  the  mire.”  Turner. 

5954.  VOWS,  Instinctive.  The  Archbishop 
of  Cologne,  being  asked  by  the  Emperor  Sigis- 
mund  how  to  attain  true  happiness,  replied, 
"  Perform  when  thou  art  well  what  thou  prom¬ 
ised  when  thou  wast  sick.” 

5955.  VOWS,  Legend  of.  A  certain  man, 
who  was  very  desirous  of  having  an  heir  to 
his  estate,  vowed,  that,  if  his  prayer  were 
granted,  the  first  time  he  took  his  son  to 
church,  he  would  offer  a  cup  of  gold  on  the 
altar  of  St.  Nicholas.  A  son  was  granted,  and 
the  father  ordered  the  cup  of  gold  to  be  pre¬ 
pared  ;  but,  when  it  was  finished,  it  was  so 
wonderfully  beautiful,  that  he  resolved  to  keep 
the  cup  for  himself,  and  caused  another,  of  less 
value,  to  be  made  for  the  saint.  Alter  some 
time,  the  man  went  on  a  journey  to  accomplish 
his  vow  ;  and,  being  on  the  way,  he  ordered 


054 


vows. 


'WALR.iF’ACFLTC, 


his  little  son  to  bring  him  water  in  the  golden 
cup  he  had  appropriated,  but,  in  doing  so,  the 
child  fell  into  the  water,  and  was  drowned. 
Then  the  unhappy  father  lamented  himself, 
and  wept,  and  repented  of  his  great  sin.  And, 
repairing  to  the  Church  of  St.  Nicholas,  he 
o tiered  up  the  silver  cup ;  but  it  fell  from  the 
altar ;  and  a  second  and  a  third  time  it  fell : 
and,  while  they  all  looked  on  astonished,  be¬ 
hold  1  the  drowned  boy  appeared  before  them, 
and  stood  on  the  steps  of  the  altar  bearing  the 
golden  cup  in  his  hand.  He  related  how  the 
good  St.  Nicholas  had  preserved  him  alive, 
and  brought  him  there.  The  father,  full  of 
gratitude,  offered  up  both  the  cups,  and  re¬ 
turned  home  with  his  son  in  joy  and  thanks¬ 
giving.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

5956.  VOWS,  Non-Performance  of.  Andreas, 

a  Hungarian  king,  having  vowed  to  go  to  the 
holy  wars,  went  to  Jerusalem  with  all  his 
forces ;  and  when  there  bathed  himself  as  if 
to  wash  off  his  promise,  and  returned  home 
again,  without  striking  a  blow.  Such  is  the 
case  of  many  at  present.  Spencer. 

5957.  VOWS,  Paying.  Once  being  on  a 
journey  in  the  East,  we  discerned  a  miserable- 
looking  object  lying  in  the  road  before  us, 
which,  covered  with  dirt  and  dust,  we  could 
scarcely  conceive  to  be  a  human  being.  When 
we  came  nearer,  we  found  a  poor  infatuated 
creature,  who,  having  bound  himself  by  a  vow 
that  he  would  travel  to  some  sacred  city, 
measuring  his  length  on  the  ground  the  whole 
way,  was  now  engaged  in  the  fulfilment  of  his 
vow.  We  watched  him  for  some  time  in 
silence.  He  laid  on  his  breast  at  full  length 
with  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  holding  a  stick  at 
arm’s-length,  with  which  he  marked  the 
ground ;  then  rising,  and  touching  the  spot 
marked  with  his  feet,  he  again  prostrated  him¬ 
self  on  the  ground.  Intent  on  his  task,  he 
seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  us  or  of  surround¬ 
ing  objects.  We  noticed  that  his  nose,  chest, 
knees,  and  stick  were  actually  worn  away. 
On  asking  him  the  reason  of  all  this,  he 
stopped  a  moment  to  look  at  us,  and,  on  repeat¬ 
ing  the  question,  answered  that  it  was  a  vow. 
He  had  already  been  two  or  three  months  on 
his  way,  and  that  his  journey  would  not  be 
finished  for  as  long  a  time.  We  gave  him  a 
piece  of  money,  and  asked  him  to  go  no 
farther ;  but  he  mournfully  shook  his  head, 
and,  clasping  his  hands  together,  entreated 
that  we  would  not  hinder  him.  This  poor 
deluded  being  unconsciously  preached  a  ser¬ 
mon  to  us  on  the  words  in  Eccles.  v.  4, 
“  When  thou  vowest  a  vow  unto  God,  defer 
not  to  pay  it,  for  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  fools : 
pay  that  which  thou  hast  vowed.”  C.  W. 

5958.  WAR,  Cost  of.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  cost  this  country  not 
less  than  a  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  and 
a  million  of  precious  lives.  This  sum  would 
have  supported  a  missionary  to  every  three 
hundred  pagans  in  the  world ;  and  the  men 
might  better  have  been  given  to  this  work 
than  to  have  pined  in  prisons,  or  laid  down  in 
unmarked  graves. 


5959.  WAR,  Desolations  of.  War  is  that 
miserable  desolation  that  finds  a  land  before  it 
like  Eden,  and  leaves  it  behind  like  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  a  desolate  and  forsaken  wilder¬ 
ness.  Let  it  be  sowed  with  the  seed  of  man 
and  beast  as  a  field  with  wheat,  war  will  eat  it 
up.  T.  Adams. 

59GO.  WAR,  Unchristian.  The  absolute  incon¬ 
sistency  of  war  with  the  gospel  was  the  prev¬ 
alent  belief  of  the  early  Christians.  Justin 
Martyr,  A.D.  140,  quoting  the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  says,  “  That  these  things  have  come  to 
pass,  you  may  be  readily  convinced ;  for  we 
who  were  once  slayers  of  one  another  do  not 
now  fight  against  our  enemies.”  Irenseus, 
Bishop  of  Lyons,  167,  discusses  the  same  proph¬ 
ecy,  and  proves  its  relation  to  our  Saviour 
by  the  fact,  that  the  followers  of  Jesus  had 
disused  the  weapons  of  war,  and  no  longer 
knew  how  to  fight.  Tertullian,  200,  indeed 
alludes  to  Christians  who  were  engaged  in 
military  pursuits,  but,  on  another  occasion, 
informs  us,  that  many  soldiers  quitted  those 
pursuits  in  consequence  of  their  conversion  to 
Christianity  ;  and  repeatedly  expresses  his  own 
opinion,  that  any  participation  in  war  is  un¬ 
lawful  for  believers  in  Jesus,  not  only  because 
of  the  idolatrous  practices  in  the  Roman 
armies,  but  because  Christ  has  forbidden  the 
use  of  the  sword  and  the  revenge  of  injuries. 
Origen,  230,  in  his  work  against  Celsus,  says, 
“  We  no  longer  take  up  the  sword  against  any 
nation ;  nor  do  we  learn  any  more  to  make  war. 
We  have  become,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus,  the 
children  of  peace.  By  our  prayers,  we  fight 
for  our  king  abundantly,  but  take  no  part  in 
his  wars,  even  though  he  urge  us.”  Amine. 

5961.  WAR,  Weapons  of  I  have  been  labor¬ 
ing  among  a  people  who  once  delighted  in  war  ; 
but,  since  Christianity  has  prevailed  there,  war 
has  ceased  altogether ;  and  they  are  astonished 
how  they  ever  engaged  in  all  those  deeds  of 
savage  cruelty,  which,  according  to  their  usual 
practice,  threatened  the  extermination  of  their 
race :  but  now  the  Prince  of  Peace  reigns 
there.  I  have  seen  the  musket-barrel  taken 
from  the  stock,  and  carried  to  the  anvil,  and 
beaten  into  a  spade  or  a  hoe,  though  not  into 
a  ploughshare ;  for  the  plough  does  not  yet 
turn  up  their  fruitful  soil  :  and  the  warrior  who 
has  used  it  in  battle  now  employs  it  in  cul¬ 
tivating  the  land.  They  have  even  gone  fur¬ 
ther  in  illustration  of  this  beautiful  description 
of  the  prophet ;  for  they  have  devoted  the 
implements  of  war  to  the  service  of  the  sanc¬ 
tuary.  The  last  sabbath  I  was  there,  1  went 
into  one  of  their  chapels,  and  ministered  to  a 
large  congregation  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
persons.  A  rude  sort  of  pulpit  was  erected, 
and  stairs  led  up  to  it ;  the  railings  of  which, 
smooth  and  polished,  were  literally  composed 
of  the  handles  of  warriors’  spears,  who  had 
thus  transferred  their  weapons,  with  them¬ 
selves,  to  a  nobler  and  better  purpose,  — the  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  sanctuary  of  God.  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis. 

5962.  WARFARE,  Bravery  in.  The  Spartan 
mothers  used  to  counsel  their  sons:  “  If  youi 
sword  be  too  short,  add  a  step  to  it.” 


WARFARE. 


WATCHCARE  OF  GOD.  655 


5063.  WARFARE,  Help  in  the.  As  God  en¬ 
couraged  Joshua  to  fearlessness,  promised  to 
be  with  him  and  give  him  the  victory,  so  he 
does  all  who  enlist  for  the  holy  war.  lie  shall 
give  them  complete  victory  over  their  three¬ 
fold  foe,  and  eternal  reward  in  the  heavenly 
city. 

5964.  WARFARE,  Mohammedan.  The  Mo¬ 
hammedans  have  a  custom  of  inscribing  texts 
from  the  Koran  upon  their  sword-blades.  They 
do  their  missionary  work  with  this  emblem  of 
civil  power.  The  pope  and  the  false  prophet 
are  alike  in  this. 

5965.  WARFARE,  Motto  for  the.  No  pain,  no 

palm  ;  no  thorn,  no  throne;  no  gall,  no  glory; 
no  cross,  no  crown.  William.  Penn. 

5966.  WARFARE,  Perpetual.  Among  men 
engaged  in  war,  peace  may  be  made  to  the  ad¬ 
vantage  of  all  parties;  but,  in  the  spiritual 
warfare,  there  is  no  peace.  It  would  be  the 
peace  of  the  wolf  with  the  lamb,  of  the  fire 
with  the  tow,  —  the  peace  of  submission  to 
Satan  and  eternal  death. 

5967.  WARFARE,  Persistent.  Towards  sun¬ 
set  of  the  long,  bloody  day  of  Waterloo,  when 
the  surviving  remnants  of  the  old  Imperial 
Guards  were  summoned  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  the  scarred  veterans  of  fifty  victories 
cried  out,  “  The  Old  Guard  dies :  it  never 
surrenders  !  ” 

596§.  WARNING,  Heeding.  Walden,  a  mer¬ 
chant  of  Lyons,  seeing  one  drop  down  dead  in 
the  streets,  went  home  and  repented,  changed 
his  life,  and  became  a  preacher,  and  was  the 
father  and  the  founder  of  the  people  called 
Waldenses.  ’Tis  good  to  take  warning  by 
others’  harms,  and,  by  the  sight  of  their  death, 
to  look  after  our  own  life.  Venning. 

59G9.  WARNING,  Rejeoted.  A  traveller  who 
was  pursuing  his  journey  on  the  Scotch  coast 
was  thoughtlessly  induced  to  take  the  road  by 
the  sands  as  the  most  agreeable.  This  road, 
which  was  safe  only  at  low  tides,  lay  on 
the  beach  between  the  sea  and  the  lofty  cliffs 
which  bound  the  coast.  Pleased  with  the 
view  of  the  inrolling  waves  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  abrupt  and  precipitous  rocks  on  the 
other,  he  loitered  on  the  way,  unmindful  of 
the  sea,  which  was  gradually  encroaching  upon 
the  intervening  sands.  A  man,  observing 
font  the  lofty  cliffs  the  danger  he  was  incur¬ 
ring,  benevolently  descended,  and,  arresting  his 
attention  by  a  loud  halloo,  warned  him  not  to 
iroceed.  “  If  you  pass  this  spot,  you  lose  your 
ast  chance  of  escape.  The  tides  are  rising. 
They  have  already  covered  the  road  you  have 
jassed,  and  they  are  near  the  foot  of  the  cliffs 
lefore  you  ;  and  by  this  ascent  alone  you  can 
escape.”  The  traveller  disregarded  the  warn¬ 
ing.  He  felt  sure  he  could  make  the  turn  in 
the  coast  in  good  time,  and,  leaving  his  volun¬ 
teer  guide,  he  went  more  rapidly  on  his  way. 
Soon,  however,  he  discovered  the  real  danger 
of  his  position.  Ilis  onward  journey  was  ar¬ 
rested  by  the  sea.  lie  turned  in  haste ;  but,  to 
liis  amazement,  he  found  that  the  rising  waters 
h  id  cut  off  his  retreat.  He  looked  up  to  the 
cliffs ;  but  they  were  inaccessible.  The  waters 


were  already  at  his  feet.  He  sought  higher 
ground,  but  was  soon  driven  off.  His  last  ref¬ 
uge  was  a  projecting  rock  ;  but  the  relents 
less  waters  rose  higher  and  higher ;  they 
reached  him ;  they  arose  to  his  neck  :  he  ut¬ 
tered  a  despairing  shriek  for  help,  and  no  help 
was  near,  as  he  had  neglected  ids  last  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  escape.  The  sea  closed  over;  and 
it  was  the  closing-in  upon  him  of  the  night 
of  death.  Biblical  Treasury. 

5970.  WARNING,  Tims  for.  AVarn  the  boat¬ 

man  before  he  enters  the  current ;  and  then,  if 
he  is  swept  down  the  rapids,  he  destroys  him¬ 
self.  AVarn  the  man  before  he  drinks  the  cup 
of  poison  :  tell  him  it  is  deadly ;  and  then,  if  he 
drinks  it,  his  death  lies  at  his  own  door.  And 
so,  let  us  warn  you  before  you  depart  this  life ; 
let  us  preach  to  you  while  as  yet  your  bones 
are  full  of  marrow,  and  the  sinews  of  your 
joints  are  not  loosed.  Spurgeon. 

5971.  WARNING,  Voioe  of.  There  is  a  story 
which  tells  of  a  bell  which  was  suspended  on 
a  rock  of  the  ocean  dangerous  to  navigation. 
The  waves  of  the  ocean,  beating  upon  it,  caused 
it  to  give  a  noise  of  warning  to  keep  off  the 
approaching  mariner.  It  is  said,  that.,  at  one 
time,  some  pirates  destroyed  the  bell  to  prevent 
the  warning.  Not  long  after,  these  very  pi¬ 
rates  struck  upon  this  rock,  and  were  lost. 
How  many  there  aue  who  take  pains  to  hush 
or  remove  the  voice  of  warning  coming  forth 
from  the  point  of  danger,  who,  as  soon  as  the 
warning  ceases,  founder  upon  the  rock  of 
temptation,  and  are  lost  forever !  Dr.  Me  Cosh. 

5972.  WATCHCARE  OF  GOD,  Constant.  A  lit¬ 
tle  boy  was  running  about  in  an  apartment, 
amusing  himself,  as  children  are  accustomed 
to  do.  His  money  was  -potsherds,  his  house 
bits  of  wood,  his  horse  a  stick,  and  his  child 
a  doll.  In  the  same  apartment  sat  his  father, 
at  a  table,  occupied  with  important  matters  of 
business,  which  he  noted  and  arranged  for  the 
future  benefit  of  his  young  companion.  The 
child  frequently  ran  to  him,  asked  many  fool¬ 
ish  questions,  and  begged  one  thing  alter  an¬ 
other  as  necessary  for  his  diversion.  The  fa¬ 
ther  answered  briefly,  did  not  intermit  his 
work,  but,  all  the  time,  kept  a  watchful  eye  over 
the  child,  to  save  him  from  any  serious  fall  or 
injury.  Gotthold  was  a  spectator  of  the  scene, 
and  thought  with  himself :  “  How  beautiful  an 
adumbration  of  the  fatherly  care  of  God  I  AVe 
too,  who  are  old  children,  course  about  in  the 
world,  and  often  play  at  games  which  are 
much  more  foolish  than  those  of  our  little 
ones :  we  collect,  and  scatter,  build  and  demol¬ 
ish,  plant  and  pluck  up,  ride  and  drive,  eat 
and  drink,  sing  and  play,  and  fancy  that  we 
are  performing  great  exploits,  well  worthy  of 
God’s  special  attention.  Meanwhile,  however, 
the  Omniscient  is  sitting  by,  and  writing  our 
days  in  his  book.  He  orders  and  executes  all 
that  is  to  befall  us,  overruling  it  for  our  best 
interests  in  time  and  eternity ;  and  yet  his 
eye  never  ceases  to  watch  over  us  and  the 
childish  sports  in  which  we  are  engaged,  that 
we  may  meet  with  no  deadlv  mischief.” 

5973.  WATCHCARE  OF  GOD,  Example  of  the 


656 


W^YTCI-IFULlNnCSS. 


WATCHFULNESS. 


David  Zeisberger  was  travelling  with  several 
Christian  Indians.  They  went  to  sleep,  one 
night,  in  a  room  where  several  barrels  of  gun¬ 
powder  were  stored,  grains  of  which  were 
scattered  about  the  floor.  The  host  urged 
them  not  to  take  a  candle  into  the  room,  but 
yielded,  on  a  promise  of  the  utmost  caution. 
The  missionaries  went  to  sleep.  A  traveller 
who  had  the  candle  in  special  charge  forgot 
to  extinguish  it.  In  the  morning,  Zeisberger 
called  out  one  of  his  brethren,  and  said,  “  Had 
we  not  had  the  eye  of  Ilim  upon  us  who  never 
slumbereth  nor  sleepeth,  we  should  all  have 
been  this  night  precipitated  into  eternity.  I 
slept  soundly,  being  extremely  fatigued,  and 
was  in  my  first  sleep,  when  I  felt  as  if  some  one 
roused  me.  I  sat  up,  and  saw  the  wick  of  the 
candle  hanging  down  on  one  side,  in  a  flame, 
and  on  the  point  of  falling  into  the  straw ; 
which  I  was  just  in  time  to  prevent.  I  could 
not  fall  asleep  again,  but  lay  awake  silently 
thanking  the  Lord  for  the  extraordinary  pres¬ 
ervation  we  had  experienced.” 

5971.  WATCHFULNESS,  Analogy  of.  An  army 
in  actual  war  always  establishes  its  pickets, 
sends  out  its  scouts,  and  posts  its  sentinels, 
that  they  may  know  the  movements  of- the 
enemy,  and  be  ready  to  meet  him.  The  gen¬ 
eral  who  should  omit  these  precautionary  meas¬ 
ures  would  be  dismissed  in  disgrace,  or  his 
army  overwhelmed  in  defeat.  The  sentinel 
who  should  neglect  his  duty,  or  sleep  at  his 
post,  would  be  punished  with  death.  The 
Christian’s  foe  is  more  relentless  and  numer¬ 
ous.  The  sentinel  always  keeps  guard  before 
the  king’s  palace.  Much  more  should  the 
guard  be  constant  and  vigilant  that  have  care 
of  the  town  of  Mansoul. 

5975.  WATCHFULNESS,  Christian.  As  the 

sentinel  on  duty  watches  for  the  coming  foe  ; 
as  the  sailor  on  deck  watches  for  the  coming 
danger  from  storm  or  breakers  ;  as  the  watch¬ 
man  watches  for  the  thief  who  seeks  to  plun¬ 
der  ;  as  Satan  watches  for  opportunities  to 
sow  tares,  and  ruin  souls  ;  as  the  worldling 
watches  for  “  chances  ”  to  make  a  bargain  ;  as 
the  pleasure-taker  watches  for  seasons,  times, 
and  companies  for  personal  enjoyment ;  as  the 
lover  of  knowledge  watches  all  openings  for 
the  increasing  of  his  knowledge :  so  should 
the  Christian  watch  for  the  approach  of  his 
enemies,  and  be  prepared  for  conflict  and  vic¬ 
tory.  He  should  watch  lor  the  dangers  which 
beset  his  passage  to  the  haven  of  rest,  and,  by 
the  wisdom  which  cometh  from  above,  avoid 
them  :  he  should  watch  for  all  occasions  of 
usefulness  in  all  ways  in  his  power  ;  for  all  op¬ 
portunities  of  laying  up  treasure  in  heaven ; 
for  all  means  of  promoting  his  purity  and  hap¬ 
piness  ;  for  all  sources  whence  may  flow  an  in¬ 
crease  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  “  What  I  say  unto  one,  I  say  unto 
all,  Watch.”  “  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  en¬ 
ter  not  into  temptation.”  Bate. 

5976,  WATCHFULNESS,  Demand  for.  As  the 
sailor  off  Cape  May  rides  by  that  dangerous 
coast  in  safety,  how  often  does  he  bless  the 
care  and  skill  that  has  placed  a  lighthouse  so 


brilliant,  that,  for  thirty  miles  around,  he  can 
see  and  avoid  the  dangers  which  formerlv 
made  it  such  a  fearful  spot  for  the  mariner  I 
A  lantern  twelve  feet  long  and  eight  feet  in 
diameter,  with  two  immense  wicks  fed  with 
petroleum-oil,  surrounded  by  glass  prisms  sci¬ 
entifically  arranged,  is  placed  under  the  care 
of  an  intelligent  Christian  man.  This  lantern, 
when  lighted,  is  made  to  revolve  by  an  im¬ 
mense  weight,  which  must  be  wound  up  every 
half-hour.  During  the  long,  dark,  stormy 
winter  nights,  no  drowsy  guard  can  be  trusted 
with  the  care  of  the  light,  lest  the  storm- 
beaten  crew  trusting  to  its  beams  tor  their 
lives  go  down  amid  the  waves. 

American  Messenger. 

5977.  WATCHFULNESS,  Duty  of,  A  believ¬ 

er’s  watchfulness  is  like  that  of  a  soldier.  A 
sentinel  posted  on  the  walls,  when  he  discerns 
a  hostile  party  advancing,  does  not  attempt  to 
make  head  against  them  himself,  but  informs 
his  commanding  officer  of  the  enemy’s  ap¬ 
proach,  and  leaves  him  to  take  the  proper 
measures  against  the  foe.  So  the  Christian 
does  not  attempt  to  fight  temptation  in  his 
own  strength :  his  watchfulness  lies  in  observ¬ 
ing  its  approach,  and  in  telling  God  of  it  by 
prayer.  W.  Mason. 

5978.  WATCHFULNESS,  Natural.  Men  are 
afraid  of  breaking  down  where  they  are 
strongest,  but  are  seldom  afraid  of  their  weak¬ 
nesses.  If  a  man  is  hard,  he  fears  mellowness. 
A  proud  man  watches  lest  he  should  let  him¬ 
self  down.  A  selfish  man  is  vigilant  against 
being  unduly  tempted  by  profuse  kindness ; 
and  no  man  has  a  more  salutary  fear  of  rash 
generosity  than  he  whose  pores  are  sealed  so 
tight,  that  all  the  suns  of  prosperity  cannot 
open  them.  Men  are  apt  to  guard  themselves 
where  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  be  overcome ; 
but  they  are  quite  careless  of  those  open 
avenues  through  which  temptation  comes  and 
goes  so  easily,  that  they  are  unconscious  of 
wrong-doing  because  they  are  not  pained  by  it. 

Beecher. 

5979.  WATCHFULNESS,  Necessary.  Gotthold 
said,  “  Whatever  else  you  may  do,  I  beseech 
you  see  that  you  keep  with  care  the  precious 
jewel  of  your  immortal  soul.  In  these  days 
of  ours,  means  have  been  devised  for  searching 
and  recovering  lost  things  out  of  navigable 
rivers  and  even  the  tempestuous  sea ;  but  who 
knows  how  to  rescue  a  lost  soul  from  the  abyss 
of  hell  ?  ”  —  “  Alas  1  ”  exclaimed  one  of  the 
company,  “this  jewel  is  far  from  safe  when 
intrusted  to  such  care  as  ours ;  and  He  who  is 
the  Keeper  of  Israel,  and  neither  slumbers  nor 
sleeps,  must  undertake  the  larger  share  of  the 
task.”  To  which  Gotthold  replied,  “  How 
true  that  is  1  ” 

5980.  WATCHFULNESS,  Need  of.  A  falcon 
was  observed  haunting  the  neighborhood  of  a 
house  where  a  young  goat  was  sheltered.  One 
day,  when  the  family  were  absent,  the  falcon 
flew  against  the  window-pane,  broke,  and 
passed  through  it.  He  buried  his  talons  in  the 
goat’s  back,  but,  being  unable  to  escape  with 
his  prey,  was  himself  captured.  Satan  watches 


"WATCHFULNESS. 


WAY. 


657 


Ms  chance  to  seize  every  soul  of  man  for  his 
prey.  We  must  watch  against  surprise. 

5981.  WATCHFULNESS,  Overcome.  Argus  is 
fabled  to  have  had  a  hundred  eyes  in  his  head, 
only  two  of  which  ever  slept  at  once.  Jupiter 
sent  Mercury  to  slay  him.  Mercury  put  on 
his  winged  slippers,  took  his  sleep-producing 
wand,  and  hastened  to  the  side  of  Argus.  lie 
presented  himself  in  the  guise  of  a  shepherd 
with  his  flock.  Mercury  began  to  play  upon 
the  Pandean  pipes.  Argus  listened,  delighted 
with  the  new  kind  of  music,  and  invited  the 
young  shepherd  to  sit  beside  him.  Mercury 
sat  down,  told  stories,  and  played  the  most 
soothing  strains  upon  his  pipes,  till  it  grew  late, 
hoping  to  lock  in  sleep  the  watchful  eyes  of 
Argus.  At  length,  as  Mercury  played,  and 
told  a  long  story  of  the  discovery  of  his  won¬ 
derful  instrument,  he  saw  the  hundred  eyes  all 
closed.  The  head  of  Argus  leaned  upon  his 
breast,  when  Mercury  cut  it  off  with  a  stroke, 
and  tumbled  it  down  the  rocks.  The  hundred 
eyes  availed  not  while  the  watcher  slept. 
Juno  took  them,  and  set  them  in  the  feathers 
of  the  tail  of  her  peacock,  where  they  remain 
to  this  day. 

5982.  WATCHFULNESS,  Personal.  “  When 
I  was  a  boy,”  said  an  old  man,  “  we  had  a 
schoolmaster  who  had  odd  ways  of  catching 
the  boys.  One  day,  he  called  to  us,  ‘  Boys,  I 
must  have  closer  attention  to  your  books.  The 
first  one  of  you  that  sees  another  boy  idle,  I  want 
you  to  inform  me,  and  I  will  attend  to  the  case.’ 

—  ‘  Ah  1  ’  thought  I  to  myself,  ‘  there  is  Joe 
Simmonds,  that  I  don’t  like.  I’ll  watch  him ; 
and,  if  I  see  him  look  off  bis  book,  I’ll  tell.’  It 
was  not  long  before  I  saw  Joe  look  ofl’his  book; 
and  immediately  I  informed  the  master.  *  In¬ 
deed  1  ’  said  he.  ‘  How  did  you  know  he  was  V  ’ 

—  ‘  I  saw  him,’  said  I.  ‘  You  did  1  And  were 
our  eyes  on  your  book  when  you  saw  him  ?  ’ 
was  caught ;  and  I  never  watched  for  idle 

boys  again.” 

598a.  WATCHFULNESS,  Relief  from.  A  na¬ 
tive  hunter  passed  a  whole  night  within  a  few 
aces  of  a  wounded  tiger.  The  man’s  bare 
nees  were  pressed  upon  the  hard  gravel ;  but 
he  dared  not  shift,  even  by  a  hair’s-breadth, 
his  uneasy  posture.  A  bush  was  between  him 
and  the  wild  beast.  Ever  and  anon  the  tiger, 
as  he  lay  with  glaring  eyes  fixed  upon  it,  ut¬ 
tered  his  hoarse  growl  of  anger  :  his  hot  breath 
absolutely  blew  upon  the  cheek  of  the  wretched 
man,  and  still  he  moved  not.  The  pain  of  this 
cramped  position  increased  every  moment ; 
suspense  became  almost  intolerable :  but  the 
motion  of  a  limb,  the  rustling  of  a  leaf,  would 
have  been  death.  He  heard  the  gong  of  the 
village  strike  each  hour  of  that  fearful  night, 
that  seemed  to  him  as  “eternity;  and  yet  he 
lived.”  The  tormenting  mosquitoes  swarmed 
around  his  face ;  but  he  dared  not  brush  them 
off.  That  fiend-like  eye  met  his  whenever  he 
ventured  a  glance  towards  the  horrid  spell  that 
bound  him;  and  a  hoarse  growl  grated  on  the 
stillness  of  the  night  as  a  passing  breeze  stirred 
the  leaves  that  sheltered  him.  Hours  rolled 
>11.  and  his  powers  of  endurance  were  well-nigh 
12 


exhausted,  when  at  length  the  welcome  streaks 
of  light  shot  up  from  the  eastern  horizon.  On 
the  approach  of  day,  the  tiger  rose,  and  stalked 
away  with  a  sulky  pace  to  a  thicket  at  some 
distance ;  and  the  stiff  and  wearied  watcher 
felt  that  he  was  safe.  Good  Words. 

5984.  WATCHFULNESS,  Use  of.  Never  trust 
thou  this  heart  of  thine,  that  it  will  be  well 
ordered  and  kept  in  good  frame  though  thou 
carry  not  always  so  heavy  a  hand  and  nar¬ 
row  an  eye  over  it.  No :  if  thou  look  not  thus 
straitly  to  it,  it  will  be  gone,  as  a  wild  horse, 
if  a  man  once  let  go  the  bridle  as  he  is  walking 
on  his  journey;  and  then,  when  he  is  once 
gone,  he  will  not  be  gotten  again  in  haste,  but 
a  man  must  spend  as  much  time  in  recovering 
him  as  would  have  been  sufficient  to  have 
despatched  the  whole  journey.  So  will  it  fare 
with  thy  heart,  if  once  thou  let  go  this  bridle 
of  watchfulness  :  it  will  run  out  so  far,  that  it 
will  be  long  ere  thou  wilt  catch  it  again. 

Dyke. 

5935.  WATER,  Description  of.  Not  in  the 
simmering  still,  over  smoky  fires  choked  with 
poisonous  gases,  and  surrounded  with  the 
stench  of  sickening  odors  and  corruption,  doth 
your  Father  in  heaven  prepare  the  precious 
essence  of  life,  —  pure  cold  water.  But  in  the 
glade  and  glassy  dell,  where  the  red  deer  wan¬ 
ders  and  the  child  loves  to  play,  —  there  God 
brews  it;  and  down,  low  down,  in  the  deepest 
valleys,  where  the  fountain  murmurs  and  the 
rills  sing ;  and  high  up  in  the  mountain-tops 
where  the  naked  granite  glitters  like  gold  in 
the  sun,  where  storm-clouds  brood  and  the 
thunder-storms  crash ;  and  far  out  on  the 
wide,  wide  sea,  where  the  hurricane  howls 
music,  and  the  big  wave  rolls  the  chorus, 
sweeping  the  march  of  God,  —  there  he  brews 
it,  beverage  of  life,  health-giving  water.  And 
everywhere  it  is  a  thing  of  beauty,  gleaming 
in  the  dewdrop,  singing  in  the  summer-rain, 
shining  in  the  ice-gem,  till  they  seem  turned 
to  living  jewels  ;  spreading  a  golden  vein  over 
the  setting  sun,  or  a  white  gauze  around  the 
midnight  moon  ;  sporting  in  the  cataract ; 
sleeping  in  the  glacier ;  dancing  in  the  hail- 
shower  ;  folding  its  bright  snow-curtains  softly 
around  the  wintry  world;  and  weaving  the 
many-colored  iris,  that  seraph’s  zone  of  the 
sky,  whose  warp  is  the  raindrops  of  the  earth, 
all  checkered  over  with  the  celestial  flowers 
by  the  mystic  hand  of  refraction,  —  that  blessed 
life-water.  No  poison  bubbles  on  its  brink  ;  its 
foam  brings  not  madness  and  murder ;  no 
blood  stains  its  liquid  glass ;  pale  widows  and 
starving  children  weep  not  burning  tears  in 
its  depths.  Speak  out,  my  friends :  would 
you  exchange  it  tor  the  demon’s  drink,  alcohol? 

Denton. 

5986.  WAT,  The  Narrow.  Al  Sirat  is  abridge 
extending  from  this  world  to  the  next,  over 
the  abyss  of  hell,  which  must  be  passed  by 
every  one  who  would  enter  the  Mohammedan 
paradise.  It  is  very  narrow  ;  the  breadth  be¬ 
ing  less  than  the  thread  of  a  famished  spider, 
according  to  some  writers  :  others  compare  it 
to  the  edge  of  a  sword  or  of  a  razor.  The 


* 


658 


"WEAK. 


WEALTH. 


deceased  cross  with  a  rapidity  proportioned 
to  their  virtue.  Some  pass  with  the  rapidity 
of  lightning ;  others  with  the  speed  of  a  horse 
at  full  gallop;  others  still  slower,  on  account 
of  the  weight  of  their  sins ;  and  many  fall 
down  from  it,  and  are  precipitated  into  hell. 

Wheeler. 

5987.  WEAK,  Power  of  the,  A  young  man 
in  the  Boston  noon  prayer-meeting  related 
that  he  gave,  while  in  the  cars  from  Salem,  a 
few  days  since,  to  a  little  girl  but  four  or  five 
years  of  age,  a  small  card  having  upon  it  the 
words,  “  Stand  up  for  Jesus.”  The  lively  little 
miss  went  around  to  the  passengers,  reading  it 
to  each  of  them,  and  saying  in  her  childlike 
simplicity,  “  Stand  up  for  Jesus :  won’t  you 
stand  up  for  Jesus?”  Then  she  went  to  her 
mother,  and  said,  “  Mamma,  I  want  you  to  lift 
me  on  to  the  seat :  I  want  to  stand  up  for 
Jesus!”  The  mother  burst  into  tears  under 
conviction,  and  is  now  a  rejoicing  Christian. 

5988.  WEAK,  Victory  of  the.  It  is  a  lovely 

spectacle  to  behold  the  timid  and  feeble  defend¬ 
ing  the  citadel  of  truth ;  not  with  hard  blows  of 
logic,  or  sounding  cannonade  of  rhetoric,  but 
with  that  tearful  earnestness  and  implicit  con¬ 
fidence  against  which  the  attacks  of  revilers 
are  utterly  powerless.  Overthrown  in  argu¬ 
ment,  they  overcome  by  faith ;  covered  with 
contempt,  they  think  it  all  joy  if  they  may 
but  avert  a  solitary  stain  from  the  escutcheon 
of  their  Lord.  “  Call  me  what  thou  wilt,” 
says  the  believer,  “  but  speak  not  ill  of  my 
Beloved.  Here,  plough  these  shoulders  with 
your  lashes,  but  spare  yourselves  the  sin  of 
cursing  him  1  Ay,  let  me  die  :  I  am  all  too 
happy  to  be  slain  if  my  Lord’s  most  glorious 
cause  shall  live.”  Spurgeon. 

5989.  WEAKNESS,  Human.  It  is  with  us  as 
with  children  learning  to  walk,  who  can  stand 
up  no  longer  than  they  are  held  by  the  hand  ; 
or  those  who  are  learning  to  swim,  who  sink 
to  the  bottom  as  soon  as  they  are  left  alone. 
If  God  does  not  hold  us  up,  we  shall  faint,  and 
fail  utterly. 

5999.  WEAKNESS,  Natural.  In  a  town  on 
the  Penobscot  River  lived  two  worthy  men, 
neighbors  and  friends ;  but  they  could  never 
agree  on  political  questions.  In  dispute  one 
day,  one  of  the  disputants  lost  temper,  and 
called  the  other  “  liar,”“  fool,”  “  knave,”  and. 
so  on.  This  was  his  weakness.  He  easily  lost 
soil-control,  then  was  very  abusive,  and  then 
repented.  On  the  occasion  referred  to,  he  was 
so  chagrined  at  the  exhibition  he  had  made 
of  passion,  that  he  soon  called  upon  his  neigh¬ 
bor,  penitent,  and  purposing  an  apology.  We 
give,  in  substance,  the  apology  :  “  I  am  ashamed 
of  myself  tor  being  so  abusive  in  my  talk  to 
you.  To  think  I  should  call  a  neighbor  and 
friend  ‘  liar,’  ‘  fool,’  and  ‘  knave.’  I  am  sorry  ; 
and  I  have  come  to  apologize.  Forgive  me. 

1  know  not  why  it  is,  that,  in  im  talk  with  you, 

I  lose  my  temper;  but  the  fact  is,  you  always 
talk  so  much  like  a — jackass  I  can’t  help  it.” 

5993.  WEAKNESS,  Plea  of,  Weakness 
always  appeals  to  our  sympathy.  Ask  the 
earctul  mother  which  child  receives  the  great¬ 


est  share  of  her  thought  and  attention.  It  Is 
not  the  one  who  is  strong,  and  able  to  take 
care  of  himself,  but  the  sickly  and  weak  one, 
that  is  pressed  closest  to  the  mother’s  heart. 
So  with  God.  Oh,  ye  trembling  ones,  take  lieartl 
Your  weakness  is  your  strength.  “  When  I 
am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.” 

5992.  WEALTH,  Abuse  of.  I  am  no  advocate 

for  meanness  of  private  habitation.  I  would 
fain  introduce  into  it  all  magnificence,  care, 
and  beauty,  where  they  are  possible ;  but  I 
would  not  have  that  useless  expense  in  un¬ 
noticed  fineries  or  formalities,  —  cornicing  of 
ceilings,  and  grainings  of  doors,  and  fringing  of 
curtains,  and  thousands  of  such  things,  —  which 
have  become  foolishly  and  apathetically  habit¬ 
ual  ;  things  on  which  common  appliance  hang 
whole  trades,  to  which  there  never  belonged 
the  blessings  of  giving  one  ray  of  real  pleasure, 
or  becoming  of  the  remotest  or  most  contempt¬ 
ible  use  ;  things  which  cause  half  the  expense 
of  life,  and  destroy  more  than  half  its  com¬ 
fort,  manliness,  respectability,  freshness,  and 
facility.  I  speak  from  experience  :  I  know 
what  it  is  to  live  in  a  cottage  with  a  deal  lloor 
and  roof,  and  a  hearth  of  mica-slate ;  and  I 
know  it  to  be  in  many  respects  healthier  and 
happier  than  living  between  a  Turkey  carpet 
and  a  gilded  ceiling,  beside  a  steel  grate  and 
polished  fender.  I  do  not  say  that  such  things 
have  not  their  place  and  propriety ;  but  I  say 
this  emphatically,  that  a  tenth  part  of  the  ex¬ 
pense  which  is  sacrificed  in  domestic  vanities, 
if  not  absolutely  and  meaninglessly  lost  in 
domestic  comforts  and  incumbrances,  would, 
if  collectively  afforded  and  wisely  employed, 
build  a  marble  church  for  every  town  in  Eng¬ 
land.  Ruskin. 

5993.  WEALTH,  Blinding.  Nothing  hides  a 
blemish  so  completely  as  cloth  of  gold.  —  Hare. 

- As  riches  and  favor  forsake  a  man,  we 

discover  him  to  be  a  fool;  but  nobody  could 
find  it  out  in  his  prosperity.  —  La  Brugere. 

5994.  WEALTH,  Cares  of.  The  late  Stephen 
Girard,  when  surrounded  by  immense  wealth, 
and  supposed  to  be  taking  supreme  delight  in 
its  accumulation,  wrote  thus  to  a  friend :  “  As 
to  myself,  I  live  like  a  galley-slave,  constantly 
occupied,  and  often  passing  the  night  without 
sleeping.  I  am  wrapped  in  a  labyrinth  of 
affairs,  and  worn  out  with  care.  I  do  not  value 
fortune.  The  love  of  labor  is  my  highest  emo¬ 
tion.  When  I  rise  in  the  morning,  my  only 
effort  is  to  labor  so  hard  during  the  day,  that, 
when  night  comes,  I  may  be  enabled  to  sleep 
soundly.” 

5995.  WEALTH,  not  Happiness.  The  insuffi¬ 
ciency  of  mere  wealth  alone  to  confer  happi¬ 
ness  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  life  of 
Nathan  Myers  Rothschild,  the  Jew,  who  died 
in  London  some  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  one 
of  the  most  devoted  worshippers  that  ever  laid 
a  withered  soul  on  the  altar  of  Mammon. 
For  years,  he  wielded  the  purse  of  the  world, 
opening  and  closing  it  to  kings  and  emperors 
as  he  listed  ;  and,  upon  certain  occasions,  was 
supposed  to  have  more  influence  in  Great  Bri¬ 
tain  than  the  proudest  and  wealthiest  of  its 


WKAi/ra. 


WEALTH. 


659 


□obles,  —  perhaps  more  influence  than  the 
Houses  of  Parliament  taken  together.  He 
once  purchased  bills  of  the  government,  in  a 
single  day,  to  the  amount  of  twenty  million 
dollars,  and,  with  the  profits  on  a  single  loan, 
purchased  an  estate  at  the  cost  of  seven  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Yet,  with  all 
his  colossal  wealth,  he  was  a  miserable  man, 
and,  with  sorrowful  earnestness,  once  exclaimed 
to  a  gentleman  who  was  congratulating  him 
on  the  gorgeous  magnificence  of  his  palatial 
mansion,  and  thence  inferring  that  he  was 
happy,  “ Happy  1  me  happy  1 ” 

5996.  WEALTH,  and  Hell.  A  gentleman, 
being  shown  through  the  magnificent  grounds 
of  a  nobleman,  said  to  the  owner,  “  Well,  my 
lord,  all  this  and  heaven  would  be  noble;  but 
this  and  hell  would  be  terrible.” 

5997.  WEALTH,  Leaving,  Mahmoud,  the 
first  Mohammedan  conqueror  who  entered 
India,  when  a  mortal  disease  was  consuming 
him,  ordered  all  his  costly  apparel,  and  his 
vessels  of  silver  and  gold,  and  his  pearls  and 
precious  stones,  to  be  displayed  before  him. 
In  the  royal  residence  at  Ghuznee,  which  he 
called  the  Palace  of  Felicity,  he  drew  from 
this  display,  wherewith  he  had  formerly  grati¬ 
fied  the  pride  of  his  eye,  a  mournful  lesson, 
and  wept  like  a  child.  “  What  toils,”  said  he, 
“  what  dangers,  what  fatigues,  both  of  body 
and  mind,  have  I  endured  for  the  sake  of  ac¬ 
quiring  these  treasures,  and  what  cares  in  pre¬ 
serving  them  !  and  now  I  am  about  to  die  and 
leave  them.” 

5998.  WEALTH,  Moderate.  There  is  noth¬ 

ing  keeps  longer  than  a  middling  fortune,  and 
nothing  melts  away  sooner  than  a  great  one. 
Poverty  treads  upon  the  heels  of  great  and  un¬ 
expected  riches.  La  Bruy'ere. 

5999.  WEALTH,  Pursuit  of.  Very  few  men 

acquire  wealth  in  such  a  manner  as  to  receive 
pleasure  from  it.  Just  as  long  as  there  is  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  chase,  they  enjoy  it;  but 
when  they  begin  to  look  around,  and  think  of 
settling  down,  they  find  that  that  part  by 
which  joy  enters  is  dead  in  them.  They  have 
spent  their  lives  in  heaping  up  colossal  piles 
of  treasure,  which  stand,  at  the  end,  like  the 
Pyramids  in  the  desert  sands,  holding  only  the 
dust  of  kings.  Beecher. 

6900.  WEALTH,  Rating.  We  say  a  man  is 
“made.”  What  do  we  mean?  —  only  that  he 
is  worth  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  And 
we  say  a  man  is  ruined  when  he  has  lost  his 
property.  When  shall  we  learn  that  “  a  man’s 
life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the 
things  which  he  possesseth  ”  ? 

6901.  WEALTH,  Seouring.  Wealth  is  an  ap¬ 
plication  of  mind  to  nature;  and  the  art  of 
getting  rich  consists  not  in  industry,  much  less 
in  saving,  but  in  a  better  order,  in  timeliness, 
in  being  at  the  right  spot.  One  man  has 
stronger  arms  or  longer  legs ;  another  sees,  by 
the  course  of  streams,  the  growth  of  markets, 
where  land  will  be  wanted,  makes  a  clearing 
to  the  river,  goes  to  sleep,  and  wakes  up  rich. 
Steam  is  no  stronger  now  than  it  was  a  hun¬ 
dred  years  ago ;  but  it  is  put  to  better  use.  A 


clever  fellow  was  acquainted  with  the  expan¬ 
sive  force  of  steam  ;  he  also  saw  the  wealth  of 
wheat  and  grass  rotting  in  Michigan.  Then 
he  cunningly  screws  on  the  steam-pipe  to  the 
wheat-crop.  Puli'  now,  O  steam  I  The  steam 
puffs  and  expands  as  before ;  but  this  time  it 
is  dragging  all  Michigan  at  its  back  to  hungry 
New  York  and  hungry  England.  Coal  lay  in 
ledges  under  the  ground  since  the  flood,  until 
a  laborer,  with  pick  and  windlass,  brings  it  to 
the  surface.  We  may  well  call  it  black  dia¬ 
monds.  Every  basket  is  power  and  civiliza¬ 
tion  ;  for  coal  is  a  portable  climate.  It  carries 
the  heat  of  the  tropics  to  Labrador  and  the 
polar  circle ;  and  it  is  the  means  of  translat¬ 
ing  itself  whithersoever  it  is  wanted.  Watt 
and  Stephenson  whispered  in  the  ear  of  man¬ 
kind  their  secret,  that  a  half-ounce  of  coal  will 
diaw  two  tons  a  mile ;  and  coal  carries  coal,  by 
rail  and  by  boat,  to  make  Canada  as  warm  as 
Calcutta,  and  with  its  comforts  bring  its  indus¬ 
trial  power.  Emerson. 

6002.  WEALTH,  Slave  of.  The  Duke  of 

Brunswick,  whose  diamonds  are  valued  at  two 
million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
dares  not  leave  Paris  at  any  period  of  the  year: 
his  diamonds  keep  him  chained  there.  He 
dares  not  sleep  away  a  single  night.  Then  he 
lives  in  a  house  constructed  not  so  much  for 
comfort  as  security.  It  is  burglar-proof,  sur¬ 
rounded  on  every  side  by  a  high  wall :  the  wall 
itself  is  surmounted  by  a  lofty  iron  railing  de¬ 
fended  by  innumerable  sharp  spear-heads, 
which  are  so  contrived,  that,  if  any  person 
touches  one  of  them,  a  chime  of  bells  begins 
instantly  to  ring  an  alarm  :  this  iron  railing 
cost  him  £2,821.  He  keeps  his  diamonds  in  a 
thick  wall :  his  bed  is  placed  against  it,  that 
no  burglar  may  break  into  it  without  killing, 
or  at  least  waking  him,  and  that  he  may  amuse 
himself  without  leaving  his  bed.  The  safe  is 
lined  with  granite  and  with  iron  :  if  it  is  opened 
by  violence,  a  discharge  of  fire-arms,  which 
will  inevitably  kill  the  burglar,  takes  place; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  a  chime  of  bells  in 
every  room  in  the  house  is  set  ringing.  He 
has  but  one  window  in  his  bedroom ;  the  sash 
of  the  stoutest  iron,  and  cannot  be  entered 
unless  one  be  master  of  the  secret  combination 
of  the  lock.  A  case  of  a  dozen  six-barelled 
revolvers,  loaded  and  capped,  lies  upon  a  table 
within  reach  of  his  bed.  Jeffers. 

6003.  WEALTH,  Sudden.  Gotthold  saw  a 
bee  flutter  for  a  while  around  a  pot  of  honey, 
and  at  last  light  upon  it,  intending  to  feast  to 
its  heart’s  content.  It,  however,  fell  in,  and, 
being  besmeared  in  every  limb,  miserably  per¬ 
ished.  On  this  lie  mused,  and  said,  “  It  is  the 
same  with  temporal  prosperity,  and  that  abun¬ 
dance  of  wealth,  honor,  and  pleasure,  which 
are  sought  for  by  the  world  as  greedily  as 
honey  is  by  the  bee.  A  bee  is  a  happy  crea¬ 
ture  so  long  as  it  is  assiduously  occupied  in 
gathering  honey  from  the  flowers,  and  by  slow 
degrees  accumulating  a  store  of  it.  When, 
however,  it  meets  with  a  hoard  like  this,  it 
knows  not  what  to  do,  and  is  betrayed  into 
ruin.” 


660 


WEALTH. 


WICKKD. 


6004.  WEALTH,  Unhappiness  of.  The  name 
of  Croesus,  the  fifth  and  last  King  of  Lydia, 
who  reigned  five  hundred  fifty-seven  years 
before  Christ,  is  become  a  proverb  to  describe 
the  possession  of  immense  riches.  When  So¬ 
lon,  the  legislator  of  Athens,  and  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  the  ancient  sages  of  Greece, 
came  to  Sardis,  where  Croesus  held  his  court,  he 
was  received  in  a  manner  suitable  to  the  repu¬ 
tation  of  so  great  a  man.  The  king,  attended 
bv  his  courtiers,  appeared  in  all  his  regal  pomp 
».nd  splendor,  dressed  in  the  most  magnificent 
apparel.  Solon,  however,  did  not  discover 
surprise  or  admiration.  This  coldness  and  in¬ 
difference  astonished  and  displeased  the  king ; 
who  next  ordered  that  all  his  treasures,  his 
magnificent  apartments,  and  costly  furniture, 
his  diamonds,  statues,  and  paintings,  should  be 
shown  to  the  philosopher.  When  Solon  had 
seen  all,  he  was  brought  back  to  the  king,  who 
asked  whether  he  had  ever  beheld  a  happier 
man  than  he.  “  Yes,”  replied  Solon,  —  “  one 
Tellus,  a  plain  but  worthy  citizen  of  Athens, 
who  lived  all  his  days  above  indigence,  saw  his 
country  in  a  flourishing  condition,  had  chil¬ 
dren  who  were  universally  esteemed,  and,  hav¬ 
ing  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  those  chil¬ 
dren’s  children,  died  gloriously  fighting  tor  his 
country.”  Such  an  answer,  in  which  gold  and 
silver  were  accounted  as  nothing,  seemed  to 
Croesus  to  indicate  a  strange  ignorance  and 
stupidity.  However,  as  he  flattered  himself 
with  being  ranked  in  the  second  degree  of  hap- 
iness,  he  asked  him  whether,  after  Tellus,  he 
new  another  happier  man.  Solon,  answered, 
“  Cleobis  and  Biton  of  Argos,  two  brothers, 
perfect  patterns  of  fraternal  affection,  and  of 
the  respect  due  from  children  to  their  parents. 
Upon  a  solemn  festival,  their  mother,  a  priest¬ 
ess  of  Juno,  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  temple  ; 
and,  the  oxen  not  being  ready  for  her  chariot, 
they  put  themselves  in  the  harness,  and  drew 
it  thither  amidst  the  blessings  of  the  people. 
Every  mother  present  congratulated  the  priest¬ 
ess  on  the  piety  of  her  sons.  She,  in  the 
transport  of  her  joy  and  thankfulness,  earnest¬ 
ly  entreated  the  goddess  to  reward  her  children 
with  the  best  thing  that  heaven  could  give  to 
man.  Her  prayers  were  heard  :  when  the  sac¬ 
rifice  was  over,  they  fell  asleep  in  the  temple, 
and  there  died  in  a  soft  and  peaceful  slumber.” 
—  “  What,  then  !  ”  exclaimed  Croesus,  “  you  do 
not  reckon  me  in  the  number  of  the  happy  ?  ”  — 
“  King  of  Lydia,”  replied  Solon,  “  true  philos¬ 
ophy,  considering  what  an  infinite  number  of 
vicissitudes  and  accidents  the  life  of  man  is 
liable  to,  does  not  allow  us  to,  glory  in  any 
prosperity  we  enjoy  ourselves,  or  to  admire 
happiness  in  others,  which*  perhaps,  may 
prove  only  transient  or  superficial.  No  man 
can  be  esteemed  happy  but  he  whom  heaven 
blesses  with  success  to  the  last.  For  those 
who  are  perpetually  exposed  to  dangers,  we 
account  their  happiness  as  uncertain  as  the 
crown  to  a  champion  before  the  combat  is  de¬ 
termined.”  It  was  not  long  before  Croesus 
experienced  the  truth  of  what  Solon  had  told 
him.  Being  defeated  by  Cyrus,  King  of  Per¬ 


sia,  and  his  capital  taken,  he  was  himself  taken 
prisoner,  and,  by  order  of  the  conqueror,  laid 
bound  upon  a  pile  to  be  burnt  alive.  The  un¬ 
fortunate  prince  now  recollected  the  admoni¬ 
tion  of  the  Athenian  sage,  and  cried  aloud, 

O  Solon,  Solon,  Solon  !  ”  Cyrus,  who  with 
the  chief  officers  of  his  court  was  present,  was 
curious  to  know  why  Croesus  pronounced  that 
name  with  so  much  vehemence.  Being  told 
the  reason,  and  reflecting  upon  the  uncertainty 
of  all  sublunary  things,  he  was  touched  with 
commiseration,  ordered  the  monarch  to  be 
taken  from  the  pile,  and  treated  him  afterwards 
with  honor  and  respect. 

6005.  WEALTH,  Useless.  An  Arab  once  lost 
his  way  in  the  desert,  and  was  in  danger  of 
dying  from  hunger.  At  last,  he  found  one  of 
the  cisterns  out  of  which  the  camels  drink, 
and  a  little  leather  bag  near  it.  “  God  be 
thanked  1  ”  exclaimed  he.  “  Ah  I  here  are 
some  dates  or  nuts :  let  me  refresh  myself.” 
He  opened  the  bag,  but  only  to  turn  away  in 
disappointment.  Alas  1  they  were  only  pearls. 
What  value  were  they  to  one  who  was,  like 
Esau,  “  at  the  point  to  die  ”  ? 

6006.  WEALTH,  Way  to.  The  way  to  wealth 

is  as  plain  as  the  way  to  market.  It  depends 
chiefly  on  two  words,  “  industry  and  frugality ;  ” 
that  is  waste  neither  time  nor  money,  but  make 
the  best  use  of  both.  Without  industry  and 
frugality,  nothing  will  do,  and,  with  them,  every 
thing.  Franklin. 

6007.  WELLDOING,  Ceaseless.  As  the  sun 
never  leaves  off  shining,  though  clouds  some¬ 
times  obscure  its  light ;  so  we  must  never  cease 
to  do  well,  even  to  our  enemies  and  persecutors. 

Cawdray. 

6008.  WELL  DOING,  Important.  It  was  said 
of  one  of  the  emperors  of  Rome,  that  he  was 
careful  of  what  was  done  by  him,  but  careless 
of  what  was  said  of  him.  Bradford  says,  “  ‘  Do 
well  and  bear  ill  ’  is  written  upon  the  gates  of 
heaven,” 

6669.  WICEED,  Danger  of  the.  As  a  man 
cannot  maintain  himself  upon  the  ice,  or  upon 
slippery  shelving  rocks ;  so  the  wicked  glide 
swiftly  yet  surely  to  their  ruin,  while  “hell 
from  beneath,  is  moved  to  meet  them  at  their 
coming.” 

6010.  WICKED,  End  of  the.  Their  frail 
vessels,  though. built  of  the  best  materials,  yet 
corrupted  by  the  worm  of  sin,  being  conveyed 
by  the  ebb  of  time  down  the  smooth  river  of 
life,  are  now  hurried  beyond  the  bar  of  death 
into  the  fiery  and  unfathomable,  sea  of  divine 
wrath.  In  this  most  tempestuous  ocean, 
tossed  by  the  furious  winds  of  Almighty  indig¬ 
nation  upon  the  raging  billows  of  insupporta¬ 
ble  torment,  they  suffer  a  speedy  and  an  eter¬ 
nal  shipwreck.  Dashed  upon  the  rocks  of  ruin, 
or  swallowed  up  in  the  gulf  of  despair,  they 
are  entirely  lost ;  and  not  one  broken  piece  of 
holiness  or  happiness  remains,  nor  so  much  as 
a  single  plank  of  hope,  upon  which  they  may 
expect,  though  after  millions  of  ages,  to  escape 
to  some  land  of  rest.  But  — 

“  The  hopeless  soul, 

Bound  to  the  bottom  of  the  flaming  pool, 


WICKED. 


WIFE. 


661 


Though  loath,  and  ever  loud  blaspheming,  owns 

’Tis  justly  doomed  to  pour  eternal  groans; 

To  talk  to  fiery  tempests,  and  implore 

The  raging  flame  to  give  its  fury  o’er; 

To  writhe,  to  toss,  to  pant  beneath  its  loaJ, 

And  bear  the  weight  of  an  offended  God.” 

And  now  they  have  no  sleepy  opiates  to  make 
them  forget  for  one  moment  their  misery ;  no 
amusement  to  divert  their  attention  from  their 
intolerable  pain ;  and  no  consolation  left  to 
lighten,  in  any  degree,  the  dreadful  weight 
of  their  sufferings.  J.  Benson. 

601  !•  WICKED,  Fears  and  Hopes  of  the.  He 
has  his  fears ;  they  are  realized :  he  has  his 
hopes ;  they  are  frustrated  and  lost.  The 
fears  are  well  founded,  the  hopes  delusive  and 
vain.  They  are  based  and  built  on  false  and 
deceitful  views  of  himself  and  God.  They 
have  no  foundation  in  truth.  They  are  like 
the  house  built  on  the  sand,  which  may  stand 
in  the  summer’s  sunshine  and  calm,  but  gives 
way  with  tremendous  and  utter  downfall  be¬ 
fore  the  storm  and  the  flood  of  winter.  “  His  ex¬ 
pectation  shall  perish.”  He  flattered  himself 
with  its  stability ;  but  it  was  while  it  was  un¬ 
tried  :  in  the  eDd,  he  is  buried  in  its  ruins. 
“  ilis  hope  is  as  the  giving-up  of  the  ghost.” 
The  vision  that  has  deceiveil  him,  the  unreal 
hantom  that  has  cheated  his  eyes,  and  allured 
is  wandering  steps  onward  and  upward  to  the 
gates  of  hell,  shall  vanish  then  in  “  the  black¬ 
ness  of  darkness  forever :  ”  all  his  fears  filfilled, 
all  his  hopes  blasted.  Dr.  R.  Wardiaw. 

601*2.  WICKED,  Future  State  of  the.  He 
who  rightly  understands  the  laws  that  govern 
the  material  world  can  predict  with  utmost 
certainty  when  eclipses  shall  take  place,  when 
old  ocean  shall  overflow  its  boundaries,  or 
when  another  comet  shall  sway  the  vaulted 
heavens.  So  a  man’s  destiny.  Tell  us  the 
moral  principles  that  reign  over  a  man’s  soul, 
and  we  will  predict  his  condition  a  thousand 
years,  ay,  a  thousand  ages,  hence,  unless  these 
principles  are  eradicated.  Homilist. 

6013.  WICKED,  Misery  of  the.  Emilius, 
giving  a  reason  for  putting  away  his  wife,  said, 
“  Where  this  shoe  pincheth  me  none  but  my¬ 
self  know.”  God  also  knows  ;  and  he  says, 
“  The  wicked  are  like  the  troubled  sea  when  it 
cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and 
dirt.” 

6014.  WICKED,  Punishment  of  the.  If  ye 
wanted  the  best  proof  that  “  He  will  not  at  all 
acquit  the  wicked,”  ye  should  borrow  the 
black  wings  of  a  miserable  imagination,  and 
fly  beyond  the  world,  through  the  dark  realm 
of  chaos,  on,  far  on,  where  those  battlements 
of  fire  are  gleaming  with  a  horrid  light.  If 
through  them,  with  a  spirit’s  safety,  you  would 
fly,  and  would  behold  the  worm  that  never 
dies,  the  pit  that  knows  no  bottom,  and  could 
you  there  see  the  fire  unquenchable,  and  lis¬ 
ten  to  the  shrieks  and  wails  of  men  that  are 
banished  forever  from  God  ;  if,  sirs,  if  it  were 
possible  for  you  to  hear  the  sullen  groans,  and 
hollow  moans,  and  shrieks  of  tortured  ghosts, 
—  then  would  you  come  back  to  this  world, 
amazed  and  petrified  with  horror,  and  you 


would  say,  “  Indeed,  he  will  not  acquit  the 
wicked.”  Sr surgeon. 

6015.  WICKED,  Shelter  of  the.  A  story  is  told 
of  a  stag,  who,  when  pursued  by  the  hunter, 
concealed  himself  among  the  branches  of  a 
thicket.  He  browsed  off  the  foliage  which 
concealed  and  protected  him ;  when  he  was 
discovered  by  his  pursuers,  and  slain.  So 
God’s  people  are  a  screen  to  the  wicked. 
How,  then,  should  they  be  treated  ? 

6016.  WICKED,  Treasures  of  the.  Every  man 
is  treasuring  up  stores  for  eternity,  —  the  good 
are  laying  up  treasures  in  heaven,  where  moth 
doth  not  corrupt ;  the  evil  and  impenitent  are 
“  treasuring  up  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath.”  What  an  idea  is  this  I  Treasures  of 
wrath !  Whatever  the  impenitent  man  is 
doing,  he  is  treasuring  up  wrath.  He  may  be 
getting  wealth  :  but  he  is  treasuring  up  wrath. 
He  may  be  getting  fame  ;  but  he  is  treasuring 
up  wrath.  He  may  be  forming  pleasing  con¬ 
nections;  but  he  is  also  treasuring  up  wrath  : 
every  day  adds  something  to  the  heap.  Every 
oath  the  swearer  utters,  there  is  something 
gone  to  the  heap  of  wrath.  Every  lie  the  liar 
tells,  every  licentious  act  the  lewd  man  com¬ 
mits,  adds  something  to  the  treasure  of  wrath. 
The  sinner  has  a  weightier  treasure  of  wrath 
to-day  than  he  had  yesterday ;  he  will  have  a 
weightier  to-morrow  than  he  has  to-day.  When 
he  lies  down  at  night,  he  is  richer  in  vengeance 
than  when  he  arose  in  the  morning.  He  is 
continually  deepening  and  darkening  his  eter¬ 
nal  portion.  Every  neglected  Sabbath  in¬ 
creases  his  store  of  wrath ;  every  forgotten 
sermon  adds  something  to  the  weight  of  punish¬ 
ment.  All  the  checks  of  conscience,  all  the 
remonstrances  of  friends,  all  the  advice  and 
prayers  of  parents,  will  be  taken  into  the  ac¬ 
count  ;  and  all  will  tend  to  increase  the  treas¬ 
ures  of  wrath  laid  up  against  the  day  of  wrath. 

J.  A.  James. 

6017.  WICKED,  Triumph  of  the.  The  triumph 
of  the  wicked  is  always  short.  When  they 
feel  themselves  secure  from  evil,  and  begin  to 
boast  of  their  triumph,  then  judgment  over¬ 
whelms  them.  So  it  was  with  Belshazzar, 
Herod,  and  the  fool  of  the  gospel.  “  How 
soon  Abel’s  blood  called  for  vengeance  of  Cain  ! 
We  cannot  sin  so  quickly,  but  God  seeth  us  as 
quickly.  How  many  have  been  stricken  while 
the  oath  hath  been  in  their  mouths,  as  Jero¬ 
boam  was  stricken  while  he  spoke,  that  they 
might  see  why  they  were  stricken.  Though  a 
man  sin  often,  and  steal  his  sins  as  it  were 
without  punishment,  yet  at  last  he  is  taken 
napping,  even  while  the  wickedness  is  in  his 
haud,  and  his  day  is  set  when  he  shall  pay  for 
all,  whether  it  be  after  twelve  months  or  twelve 
years  :  when  it  coineth,  it  will  be  soon.” 

6018.  WICKEDNESS,  Depth  o£  I  have  seen 
men  who,  I  thought,  ought  to  have  a  whole 
conversion  for  each  one  of  their  faculties. 
Their  natures  were  so  unmitigatedly  wicked, 
that  it  cost  more  for  them  to  be  decent  than  it 
would  for  other  men  to  be  saints.  Beecher. 

6019.  WIFE,  A  Bad.  I  pity  from  my  heart 
the  unhappy  man  who  has  a  bad  wile.  She  is 


662 


WIFE. 


WIFE. 


shackles  on  his  feet,  a  palsy  to  his  hands,  a 
burden  on  his  shoulder,  smoke  to  his  eyes,  vin¬ 
egar  to  his  teeth,  a  thorn  to  his  side,  a  dagger 
to  his  heart.  Osborne. 

6020.  WIFE,  A  Cheerful.  The  tear  of  a 
loving  girl,  says  an  old  book,  is  like  a  dew- 
drop  on  the  rose ;  but  that  on  the  cheek  of  a 
wife  is  a  drop  of  poison  to  her  husband.  Try 
to  appear  cheerful  and  contented,  and  your 
husband  will  be  so  ;  and,  when  you  have  made 
him  happy,  you  will  become  so,  not  in  appear¬ 
ance,  but  in  reality.  The  skill  required  is  not 
so  great.  Nothing  flatters  a  man  so  much  as 
the  happiness  of  his  wife  :  he  is  always  proud 
of  himself  as  the  source  of  it.  Justus  Moser. 

6021.  WIFE,  A  Christian.  A  pleasure-loving 
husband  boasted  of  the  good  temper  of  his  wife ; 
and  a  wager  was  laid,  that  she  would  rise  at 
midnight  and  give  the  company  a  supper  with 
perfect  cheerfulness.  It  was  put  to  the  test : 
the  boast  of  the  husband  was  found  true. 
One  of  the  company  thus  addressed  the  lady, 
“  Madam,  your  civility  fills  us  all  with  surprise. 
Our  unreasonable  visit  is  in  consequence  of  a 
wager,  which  we  have  certainly  lost.  As  you 
are  a  very  religious  person,  and  cannot,  there¬ 
fore,  approve  of  our  conduct,  give  me  leave  to 
ask  what  can  possibly  induce  you  to  behave 
with  so  much  kindness  to  us?”  —  “  Sir,”  re¬ 
plied  she,  “  when  I  married,  my  husband  and 
myself  were  both  unconverted.  It  has  pleased 
God  to  call  me  out  of  that  dangerous  condi¬ 
tion.  My  husband  continues  in  it.  I  tremble 
for  his  future  state.  Were  he  to  die  as  he  is, 
he  must  be  miserable  forever.  I  think  it, 
therefore,  my  duty  to  render  his  present  ex¬ 
istence  as  comfortable  as  possible.”  This  reply 
affected  the  whole  company.  It  left  a  deep 
impression  on  the  husband’s  mind.  “  Do  you, 
my  dear,”  said  he,  “  really  think  I  should  be 
eternally  miserable  ?  I  thank  you  for  the 
warning.  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  will  change 
my  conduct.”  From  that  time,  he  became 
another  man,  a  serious  Christian,  and  a  good 
husband. 

6022.  WIFE,  Faithfulness  of  a.  As  I  was  con¬ 
versing  with  a  pious  old  man,  I  inquired  what 
were  the  means  of  his  conversion.  For  a  mo¬ 
ment  he  paused  :  I  perceived  I  had  touched  a 
tender  string.  Tears  gushed  from  his  eyes, 
while,  with  deep  emotion,  he  replied,  “  My  wife 
was  brought  to  God  some  years  before  myself. 
I  persecuted  and  abused  her  because  of  her 
religion.  She,  however,  returned  nothing  but 
kindness,  constantly  manifesting  an  anxiety 
to  promote  my  comfort  and  happiness  ;  and  it 
was  her  amiable  conduct,  when  suffering  ill 
treatment  from  me,  that  first  sent  the  arrows 
of  conviction  to  my  soul.”  N.  Y.  Observer. 

6023.  WIFE,  Meaning  of.  And  now  let  us 
see  whether  the  word  “  wife  ”  has  not  a  lesson. 
It  literally  means  a  weaver.  The  wife  is  the 
person  who  weaves.  Before  our  great  cotton 
and  cloth  factories  arose,  one  of  the  principal 
employments  in  every  house  was  the  fabrica¬ 
tion  of  clothing  :  every  family  made  its  own. 
The  wool  was  spun  into  thread  by  the  girls, 
who  were  therefore  called  spinsters  ;  the  thread 


j  was  woven  into  cloth  by  their  mother,  who. 
accordingly,  was  called  the  weaver,  or  the' 
wife;  and  another  remnant  of  this  old  truth 
we  discover  in  the  word  “  heirloom,”  applied 
to  any  old  piece  of  furniture  ^which  has  come 
down  to  us  from  our  ancestors,  and  which 
though  it  may  be  a  chair  or  bed,  shows  that 
a  loom  was  once  a  most  important  article  in 
every  house.  Thus  the  word  “wife”  means 
weaver;  and,  as  Trench  well  remarks,  “in  the 
word  itself  is  wrapped  up  a  hint  of  earnest, 
in-door,  stay-at-home  occupations,  as  being 
fitted  for  her  who  bears  this  name.” 

6024.  WIFE,  Obeying  a.  A  man  once  asked 
a  cadi  whether  a  husband  ought  to  obey  his 
wife ;  and  the  cadi  answered  that  he  need  not 
do  so.  Then  the  man  continued,  “  My  wife 
pressed  me  this  morning  to  bring  thee  a  pot  of 
beef-suet.  So  I  have  done  well  in  not  obey¬ 
ing  her.”  Then  said  the  cadi,  “  Verily  it  is 
sometimes  right  even  to  obey  a  sensible  wife.” 

Kelly. 

6025.  WIFE,  A  Prayerless.  “  Rebekah,  I 

am  a  lost  man.  Ihou  opposed  our  family 
worship  and  my  secret  prayer.  You  drew  me 
away  into  temptation,  and  to  neglect  every 
religious  duty.  I  believe  my  fate  is  sealed. 
Rebekah,  you  are  the  cause  of  my  everlasting 
ruin.”  Terrible  in  eternity  will  be  the  re-union 
of  those  who  helped  each  other  on  the  down¬ 
ward  road,  partners  in  impiety,  and  wedded 
for  perdition.  Cuyler. 

6026.  WIFE,  Proverbs.  If  you  want  a  wife, 
choose  her  on  Saturday,  not  on  Sunday.  No 
woman  is  ugly  when  she  is  dressed.  —  Spanish. 

- Choose  neither  jewel  nor  woman  nor 

linen  by  candle-light.  —  Italian. -  Take 

your  wife’s  first  advice,  but  not  her  second. 

—  English. - You  may  ding  the  Deil  into 

a  wife ;  but  ye’ll  ne’er  ding  him  out  o’  her.  — 
Scotch. 

6027.  WIFE,  Qualities  of  a.  An  old  author 
says,  “  A  good  wife  should  be  like  three  things  ; 
which  three  things  she  should  not  be  like. 
First,  she  should  be  like  a  snail,  to  keep  within 
her  own  house ;  but  she  should  not  be  like  the 
snail,  to  carry  all  she  has  upon  her  back.  Sec¬ 
ondly,  she  should  be  like  an  echo,  to  speak 
when  spolcen  to ;  but  she  should  not  be  like  an 
echo,  always  to  have  the  last  word.  Thirdly, 
she  should  be  like  a  town-clock,  always  to  keep 
time  and  regularity ;  but  she  should  not,  like 
a  town-clock,  speak  so  loud  that  all  the  town 
may  hear  her.” 

6028.  WIFE,  Testimonial  to.  When  Mr. 
Disraeli  retired  from  the  premiership,  he  was 
offered  a  place  among  the  hereditary  aris¬ 
tocracy  with  the  title  of  earl.  He  declined 
it  with  the  intimation,  that,  if  there  was  any 
reward  thought  to  be  deserved,  he  wished  it 
conferred  upon  his  wife,  to  whom  he  attributed 
all  his  success.  On  the  day  he  retired  from 
power,  his  wife  took  her  place  among  the  noble 
ladies  of  England  by  the  title  of  Viscountess 
Beaconsfield.  Once  in  a  crisis  of  his  career, 
he  was  to  explain  his  financial  scheme  to  the 
House.  He  entered  his  carriage  absorbed  in 
his  theme,  his  wife  quietly  taking  a  seat  beside 


WILL. 


WILL  OF  GOD. 


663 


him.  In  getting  in,  her  finger  was  caught  by 
the  door,  which,  shutting  upon  it,  held  it  so 
fast,  that  she  could  not  withdraw  it.  Fearful 
of  driving  figures  and  arguments  from  his 
head,  she  uttered  no  cry,  nor  made  any  move¬ 
ment,  until  they  reached  the  House;  nor  did 
Disraeli  hear  of  it  till  long  after.  All  that 
evening  the  faithful  wife  sat  in  the  gallery, 
that  her  husband’s  quick  eye  might  not  miss 
her  from  it,  bearing  her  pain  like  a  martyr, 
and  like  a  woman  who  loves. 

6029.  WELL,  Authority  of.  Our  bodies  are 

our  gardens,  to  the  which  our  wills  are  garden¬ 
ers  ;  so  that  if  we  will  plant  nettles,  or  sow 
lettuce ;  set  hyssop,  and  weed  up  thyme  ;  sup¬ 
ply  it  with  one  gender  of  herbs,  or  distract  it 
with  many,  either  to  have  it  sterile  with  idle¬ 
ness,  or  manured  with  industry,  —  why,  the 
power  and  corrigible  authority  of  this  lies  in 
our  wills.  Shakspeare. 

6030.  WILL,  Enthralled.  The  unfortunate 
poet  Burns  declared,  that  if  a  barrel  of  rum 
were  placed  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  a 
loaded  cannon  were  ready  to  be  fired  upon 
him  if  he  approached  it,  he  had  no  choice, 
but  must  go  for  the  rum. 

6031.  WILL,  Inactive.  During  the  war  in 
Canada  between  the  French  and  English, 
when  Gen.  Amherst  was  marching  across  the 
country  to  Canada,  the  army  coming  to  one 
of  the  Lakes,  which  they  were  obliged  to 
pass,  found  the  French  had  an  armed  vessel 
of  twelve  guns  upon  it  The  general  was  in 
great  distress  :  his  boats  were  no  match  for 
her.  While  he  was  pondering  on  what  should 
be  done,  Gen.  Putnam  came  to  him,  and  said, 
“  General,  that  ship  must  be  taken.”  —  “  Ay,” 
says  Amherst,  “  I  would  give  the  world  she 
was  taken.”  —  “  I’ll  take  her,”  says  Putnam. 
Amherst  smiled,  and  asked  how.  “  Give  me 
some  wedges,  a  beetle,  and  a  few  men  of  my 
own  choice.”  Amherst  granted  Putnam’s  re¬ 
quest.  AVhen  night  came,  Putnam,  with  his 
materials  and  men,  stole  quietly  in  a  boat 
under  the  vessel’s  stern,  and  in  an  instant 
drove  in  the  wedges  behind  the  rudder  in  the 
little  cavity  between  the  rudder  and  ship,  and 
left  her.  In  the  morning,  the  sails  were  seen 
fluttering  about:  she  was  adrift  in  the  middle 
of  the  lake,  was  soon  blown  ashore,  and  cap¬ 
tured. 

6032.  WILL,  Perverted.  A  number  of  mari¬ 

ners  on  a  certain  occasion,  following  infallibly 
the  direction  of  the  compass,  finally  found 
themselves  in  an  enemy’s  port,  where  they 
were  seized,  and  made  slaves.  The  cause  of 
this  was,  the  captain,  in  order  to  betray  the 
ship,  had  concealed  a  large  loadstone  at  a 
little  distance  on  one  side  of  the  needle.  So 
men  are  misguided  by  a  perverted  will  acting 
upon  the  conscience.  They  follow  what 
course  the  conscience  directs,  and  are  led  into 
moral  bondage.  The  conscience  is  deceived 
by  the  will.  Dr.  McCosh. 

6033.  WILL,  Power  of.  I  remember  admir¬ 
ing  an  instance  of  this  kind  in  a  firm,  saga¬ 
cious,  and  estimable  old  man,  whom  I  well 
knew,  and  who  has  long  been  dead.  Being 


on  a  jury  in  a  trial  of  life  and  death,  he' was 
satisfied  of  the  innocence  of  the  prisoner  :  the 
other  eleven  were  of  the  opposite  opinion. 
But  he  was  resolved  the  man  should  not  be 
condemned  ;  and,  as  the  first  effort  for  pre¬ 
venting  it,  very  properly  made  application 
to  the  mind s  of  his  associates,  spending  several 
hours  in  laboring  to  convince  them.  But  he 
found  he  made  no  impression,  while  he  was 
exhausting  the  strength  which  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  to  reserve  for  another  mode  of  operation, 
lie  then  calmly  told  them,  that  it  should  now 
be  a  trial  who  could  endure  confinement  and 
famine  the  longest;  and  that  they  might  be 
quite  assured  he  would  sooner  die  than  release 
them  at  the  expense  of  the  prisoner's  life.  In 
this  situation,  they  spent  about  twenty-four 
hours;  when,  at  length,  all  acceded  to  his  ver¬ 
dict  of  acquittal.  J.  Foster. 

6034.  WILL,  Proverbs.  Where  there’s  a  will, 
there’s  a  way.  Where  the  will  is  ready,  the 
feet  are  light.  One  man  may  lead  the  horse 
to  water ;  but  fifty  can’t  make  him  drink. 
Nothing  is  impossible  to  a  willing  mind.  — 

English. - A  good  knight  is  not  at  a  loss 

for  a  lance.  A  voluntary  burden  is  no  bur¬ 
den.  A  thing  done  perforce  is  not  worth  a 

rush.  —  Italian. - The  will  does  it.  The 

will  is  the  soul  of  the  work.  —  German. 

693-3.  WILL,  Responsibility  of.  No  action 
will  be  considered  blameless,  unless  the  will 
was  so ;  for  by  the  will  the  act  was  dictated. 

Seneca. 

6936.  WILFULNESS,  Example  of.  A  minis¬ 
ter,  praying  over  a  child  apparently  dying, 
said,  “  If  it  be  Thy  will,  spare.”  The  poor 
mother’s  soul,  yearning  for  her  beloved,  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  It  must  be  Ilis  will :  I  cannot  bear 
i/s !  ”  The  minister  stopped.  Contrary  to 
expectation,  the  child  recovered.  But  the 
mother,  after  almost  suffering  martyrdom  by 
him  while  a  stripling,  lived  to  see  him  hanged 
before  he  was  two  and  twenty. 

6037.  WILL  OF  GOD,  Strange  Idea  o£  A 
mercenary  Swiss,  seeking  a  wife  for  his  son, 
knocked  one  evening  late  at  a  window,  begged 
the  old  people  to  look  out,  and  then  began, 
“  It  is  God’s  will  that  my  boy  and  your  girl 
should  come  together.  I  have  had  to  make 
up  my  mind  to  it,  and  so  will  you  ;  but  I 
should  like  to  ask  what  dower  you  mean  to 
give  her  ?  —  about  a  thousand  pounds,  I  fancy.” 
—  “I  approve  the  match,”  returned  the  other 
party ;  “  but  I  can’t  think  of  giving  her  more 
than  a  hundred  pounds.”  —  “  You  don’t  mean 
it?”  said  the  other.  “Indeed  I  do;  not  one 
halfpenny  more;  and  even  that  is  too  much.” 
“  Then  ”  replied  the  former,  “  it  is  not  God’s 
will  that  the  two  should  come  together.  The 
Lord’s  purposes  are  unfathomable,  and  his 
ways  past  finding  out.  Good-night.  No  of¬ 
fence,  I  hope.”  —  “  Quite  the  reverse,”  said 
the  other,  and  quietly  closed  the  window. 

6038.  WILL  OF  GOD,  Submission  to  the.  Soc¬ 
rates,  whe.  the  tyrant  threatened  death  to 
him,  told  him  he  was  willing.  “Nay,  then,” 
said  the  tyrant,  “  you  shall  live  against  your 

I  will.”  —  “Nay,  but,”  said  Socrates,  “what- 


664 


WINE. 


wisdom:. 


ever  you  do  with  me,  it  shall  be  my  will.” 
And  a  certain  Stoic,  speaking  of  God,  said, 
“  What  God  wills  I  will ;  what  God  wills  I 
■will  not ;  if  he  will  that  I  live,  I  will  live  ;  if 
it  be  his  pleasure  that  I  die,  I  will  die.”  Ah  ! 
how  should  the  will  of  Christians  stoop  and 
lie  down  at  the  foot  of  God’s  will  1  “  Not  my 

will,  but  Thine,  be  done.”  Venniny. 

6039.  WINE,  Danger  of,  I  had  a  widow’s 
son  committed  to  my  care.  He  was  heir  to  a 
great  estate.  He  went  through  the  different 
stages,  and  finally  left  with  a  good  moral  char¬ 
acter  and  bright  prospects.  But,  during  the 
course  of  his  education,  he  had  heard  the  senti¬ 
ment  advanced,  which  I  then  supposed  cor¬ 
rect,  that  the  use  of  wines  was  not  only  admis¬ 
sible,  but  a  real  auxiliary  to  the  temperance 
cause.  After  he  had  left  college,  for  a  few 
years  he  continued  to  be  respectful  to  me.  At 
length  he  became  reserved.  One  night,  he 
rushed  unceremoniously  into  my  room  ;  and  his 
appearance  told  the  dreadful  secret.  He  said 
he  came  to  talk  with  me.  He  had  been  told 
during  his  senior  year  that  it  was  safe  to  drink 
wine ;  and  by  that  idea  he  had  been  ruined. 
I  asked  him  if  his  mother  knew  this.  He  said 
no :  he  had  carefully  concealed  it  from  her.  I 
asked  him  if  he  was  such  a  slave,  that  fie  could 
not  abandon  the  habit.  “  Talk  not  to  me  of 
slavery,”  said  he,  “  I  am  ruined  ;  and  before  I 
go  to  bed  I  shall  quarrel  with  the  bar-keeper 
of  the  Tontine  for  brandy  or  gin  to  sate  my 
burning  thirst.  In  one  month,  this  young 
man  was  in  his  grave.  It  went  to  my  heart. 
Wine  is  the  cause  of  ruin  to  a  great  propor¬ 
tion  of  the  young  men  of  our  country. 

Prof.  Goodrich. 

6940.  WINE,  Spirit  of.  O  thou  invisible 

spirit  of  wine,  if  thou  hast  no  name  to  be  known 
by,  let  us  call  thee  Devil !  Shakspeare. 

6941.  WISDOM,  Brevities.  The  intellect  of 
the  wise  is  like  glass :  it  admits  the  light  of 

heaven,  and  reflects  it.  —  Hare. - It  is  more 

easy  to  be  wise  for  others  than  for  our¬ 
selves.  —  La  Rochefoucauld. - No  man  is 

at  all  times  wise.  —  Pliny. - Young  men 

are  apt  to  think  themselves  wise  enough,  as 
drunken  men  are  to  think  themselves  sober 
enough.  —  Chesterfield. 

6042.  WISDOM,  Conflict  of.  “Hold  thy 
peace!  ”  says  Wisdom  to  Folly.  “  Hold  thy 
peace  !  ”  replies  Folly  to  Wisdom.  “  Fly  !  ’ 
cries  Li  rht  to  Darkness  ;  and  Darkness  echoes 
back,  “  Fly  !  ”  The  latter  chase  has  been  going 
on  since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  without 
an  inch  of  ground  gained  on  either  side.  May 
we  believe  that  the  result  has  been  different 
in  the  contest  between  wisdom  and  folly? 

Hare. 

6943.  WISDOM,  Confounded.  Wisdom  had 
had  its  time,  and  time  enough ;  it  had  done  its 
all,  and  that  was  little  enough  ;  it  had  mode 
the  world  worse  than  it  was  before  it  stepped 
upon  it;  and  “now,”  says  God,  “foolishness 
shall  overcome  wisdom ;  now  ignorance,  as  ve 
call  it.  shall  sweep  away  science;  now  (saith 
Go  1)  humble,  childlike  faith  shall  crumble  to 
the  dust  all  the  colossal  systems  your  hands 


have  piled.”  He  calls  his  warriors.  Christ 
puts  his  trumpet  to  his  mouth,  and  up  come 
the  warriors,  clad  in  fishermen’s  garb,  with  the 
brogue  of  the  lake  of  Galilee,  —  poor  humble 
mariners.  Here  are  the  warriors,  O  Wisdom  f 
that  are  to  confound  thee ;  these  are  the  heroer 
who  shall  overcome  thy  proud  philosophers; 
these  men  are  to  plant  their  standard  upon  thy 
ruined  walls,  and  bid  them  fall  forever ;  these 
men  and  their  successors  are  to  exalt  a  gospel 
in  the  world  which  ye  may  laugh  at  as  absurd, 
which  ye  may  sneer  at  as  folly,  but  which 
shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and  shall  be 
glorious  even  to  the  highest  heavens. 

S]turgeon. 

6944.  WISDOM,  Divine.  Were  the  air 

divested  of  its  undulating  quality,  we  should 
be  deprived  of  all  the  advantages  of  speech 
and  conversation,  and  of  all  the  pleasures  of 
music.  Were  it  deprived  of  its  reflective 
powers,  the  sun  would  appear  in  one  part  of  the 
sky  in  dazzling  brightness ;  while  all  around 
would  appear  dark  as  midnight,  and  the  stars 
would  be  visible  at  noonday".  Were  it  de¬ 
prived  of  its  refractive  powers,  instead  of  the 
gradual  approach  of  day  and  the  night,  which 
we  now  experience,  we  should  be  transported 
all  at  once  from  midnight  darkness  to  the 
splendors  of  noonday,  and,  at  sunset,  should 
make  a  sudden  transition  from  the  splendors 
of  day  to  all  the  horrors  of  midnight.  In  fine, 
were  the  oxygen  of  the  air  completely  extracted, 
destruction  would  seize  on  all  the  tribes  of  the 
living  world,  throughout  all  the  regions  of 
earth,  air,  and  sea.  Dr.  Dick. 

6945.  WISDOM,  Example  of.  The  property' 
of  cords  contracting  their  length  by  moisture 
became  generally  known,  it  is  said,  on  the 
raising  of  the  Egyptian  obelisk  in  the  square 
facing  St.  Peter’s,  at  Rome,  by  order  of  Pope 
Sixtus  Y.  The  great  work  was  undertaken  in 
the  year  1586  ;  and  the  day  for  raising  the 
obelisk  was  marked  with  great  solemnity. 
High  mass  was  celebrated  at  St.  Peter’s ;  and 
the  architect  and  workmen  received^  the  bene¬ 
diction  of  the  pope.  The  blast  of  a  trumpet 
was  the  given  signal,  when  engines  were  set  in 
motion  by  an  incredible  number  of  horses;  but 
not  until  after  fifty-two  unsuccessful  attempts 
had  been  made,  was  the  huge  block  lifted  from 
the  earth.  As  the  ropes  which  held  it  had 
somewhat  stretched,  the  base  of  the  obelisk 
tould  not  reach  the  summit  of  the  pedestal ; 
when  a  man  in  the  crowd  cried  out,  “  Wet  the 
ropes!”  This  advice  was  followed;  and  the 
column,  as  of  itself,  gradually  rose  to  the  re¬ 
quired  height,  and  was  placed  upright  on  the 
pedestal  prepared  for  it.  Biblical  Treasury. 

6946.  WISDOM,  Excellency  of.  I  called  upon 
God,  and  the  Spirit  of  Wisdom  came  to  me.  I 
preferred  her  before  sceptres  and  thrones,  and 
esteemed  riches  nothing  in  comparison  of  her. 
Neither  compared  I  unto  her  any  precious 
stone,  because  all  gold,  in  respect  of  her,  is  as  a 
little  sand ;  and  silver  shall  be  counted  as  clay 
to  her.  I  loved  her  above  health  and  beauty, 
and  chose  to  have  her  instead  of  light;  for  the 
light  that  tometh  from  her  never  goeth  out 


'wis-dom:. 


WISHES. 


665 


All  good  things  together  came  to  me  with  her, ' 
and  innumerable  riches  in  her  hands.  And  I  i 
rejoiced  in  them  all,  because  Wisdom  goeth  be-  | 
fore  them.  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  i 

6047.  WISDOM,  Goddess  of.  Minerva  is  the  | 
fabled  goddess  of  wisdom.  She  had  no  mother,  1 
but  sprang  forth,  full  armed,  from  the  head  of 
Jupiter. 

604§.  WISDOM,  Homan.  An  old  man  of  very 
acute  physiognomy,  answering  to  the  name  of 
Jacob  Wilmot,  was  brought  before  the  Police 
Court.  His  clothes  looked  as  if  they  might 
have  been  bought  second-handed  in  his  youthful 
prime;  for  they  had  suffered  more  from  the 
rubs  of  the  world  than  the  proprietor  himself. 

“  What  business  ?  ”  —  “  None  :  I’m  a  traveller.” 

—  “A  vagabond,  perhaps  ?  ”  —  “  You  are  not 
far  from  wrong  :  travellers  and  vagabonds  are 
about  the  same  thing.  The  difference  is,  that 
the  latter  travel  without  money,  and  the  former 
without  brains.”  —  “  AVhere  have  you  trav¬ 
elled?  ”  —  “  All  over  the  continent.”  —  “  For 
what  purpose  ?  ”  —  “  Observation.”  — What 
have  you  observed  ?  ”  —  “A  little  to  commend, 
much  to  censure,  and  very  much  to  laugh  at.” 

—  “  Humph  1  what  do  you  commend  ?  ”  —  “A 
handsome  woman  that  will  stay  at  home,  an  I 
eloquent  preacher  that  will  preach  short  ser-  | 
mons,  a  good  writer  that  will  not  write  too  | 
much,  and  a  fool  that  has  sense  enough  to  ! 
hold  his  tongue.”  —  “  What  do  you  censure  ?  ”  j 

—  “  A  man  who  marries  a  girl  for  her  fine  I 
clothing,  a  youth  who  studies  law  or  medicine  1 
while  he  has  got  the  use  of  his  hands,  and  the  1 
people  who  elect  a  drunkard  to  office.”  — 1 
“  What  do  you  laugh  at  ?  ”  —  “I  laugh  at  a  | 
man  who  expects  his  position  to  command  that  I 
respect  which  his  personal  qualities  and  quali-  1 
fixations  do  not  merit.”  He  was  dismissed.  1 

Haven.  | 

6049.  WISDOM.  Humility  of.  I  have  heard 
of  a  young  man  who  went  to  college ;  and, 
when  he  had  been  there  one  year,  his  parent 
said  to  him,  “  What  do  you  know  ?  Do  you 
know  more  than  when  you  went  ?  ”  —  “  Oh, 
yes !  ”  said  he  :  “I  do.”  Then  he  went  the  sec¬ 
ond  year,  and  was  asked  the  same  question, 

“  Do  you  know  more  than  when  you  went?  ” 

—  “  Oh,  no  !  ”  said  he  :  “  I  know  a  great  deal 
less.”  —  “  Well,”  said  the  father,  “  you  are  get¬ 
ting  on.”  Then  he  went  the  third  year,  and 
was  asked  the  same  question,  “  What  do  you 
know  now  ?  ”  —  “  Oh  1  ”  said  he,  “  I  don’t 
think  I  know  any  thing.”  —  “  That  is  right,” 
said  the  father :  “  you  have  now  learned  to 
profit,  since  you  say  you  know  nothing.”  He 
who  is  convinced  that  he  knows  nothing  of  | 
himself,  as  he  ought  to  know,  gives  up  steering 
his  ship,  and  lets  God  put  his  hand  on  the  rud¬ 
der.  lie  lays  aside  his  own  wisdom,  and  cries, 
“  O  Gud  !  my  little  wisdom  is  east  at  thy  feet : 
my  little  judgment  is  given  to  thee.”  Spurgeon. 

6950.  WISDOM,  Neglect  of.  Nobody  giving 
any  attention  to  old  Diogenes  while  discours¬ 
ing  of  virtue  and  philosophy,  he  fell  to  sing¬ 
ing  a  funny  song  ;  and  multitudes  crowded  to 
hear  him.  “  Ye  gods!  ”  he  said,  “  how  much 
more  is  folly  admired  than  wisdom  !  ” 


6051.  WISDOM,  Proof  of.  The  mouth  of  the 
whale  offers  an  instance  of  ingenuity  and  fore¬ 
sight.  Comparing  it  to  human  inventions,  it  is 
a  shrimping-net.  While  no  one  could  have  di¬ 
vined  that,  the  largest  animal  of  all  creation 
should  have  been  commanded  to  seek  its  food 
among  the  smallest,  that  millions  should  be 
daily  destroyed  to  support  one  life ;  so,  how¬ 
ever,  has  it  been  ordered.  But,  had  the  whale 
been  condemned  to  swallow  all  the  water  which 
it  must  draw  into  its  mouth  together  with  its 
prey,  the  inconveniences  which  would  have 
followed  are  obvious.  To  prevent  this,  it  is 
provided  with  a  singular  piece  of  machinery, 
consisting  of  a  series  of  flat  hoops,  meeting 
from  both  sides  of  the  mouth  into  arches,  and 
carrying  ranges  of  bristles,  which  form  a  strain¬ 
er  and  also  a  kind  of  net.  The  water  is  thus 
rejected,  and  the  mass  of  shrimps  is  delivered 
to  the  throat.  Macculloch. 

6952.  WISDOM,  a  Result.  What  we  call 
wisdom  is  the  result,  not  the  residuum,  of  all 
the  wisdom  of  past  ages.  Our  best  institu¬ 
tions  are  like  young  trees  growing  upon  the 
roots  of  the  old  trunks  that  have  crumbled 
away.  Beecher. 

6053.  WISDOM,  Seeking.  Most  persons  pro¬ 
ceed  as  .if  they  expected  to  obtain  wisdom  as 
Abu  Zeid  al  Hassan  declares  some  Chinese 
philosophers  thought  oysters  got  their  pearls, 
viz.,  by  gaping.  Magoon. 

6051.  WiSDOM,  Worth  of.  If  the  mountains 
were  pearl,  if  every  sand  of  the  sea  were  a  dia¬ 
mond,  it  were  not  comparable  to  wisdom. 
Without  wisdom,  a  person  is  like  a  ship  with¬ 
out  a  pilot,  —  in  danger  to  split  upon  rocks. 
The  price  of  wisdom  is  above  rubies.  The 
ruby  js  a  precious  stone,  transparent,  of  a  red 
fiery  color.  It  is  reporteil  of  one  of  the  kings 
of  India,  he  wore  a  ruby  of  that  bigness  and 
splendor,  that  he  might  be  seen  by  it  in  the 
dark  ;  but  wisdom  casts  a  more  sparkling  color 
than  the  ruby  :  it  makes  us  shine  as  angels. 

J.  Watson. 

6055.  WISH,  Punished.  It  is  probable  that 
God  punishes  the  wish  as  much  as  he  does  the 
actual  performance ;  for  what  is  performance 
but  a  wish  perfected  with  power?  and  what  is 
a  wish  but  a  desire  wanting  opportunity  of 
action,  —  a  desire  sticking  in  the  birth,  and  mis¬ 
carrying  for  lack  of  strength  and  favorable  cir¬ 
cumstances  to  bring  it  into  the  world  ? 

Dr.  South. 

6056.  WISHES,  Common.  Suppose  an  angel 
were  to  descend  from  heaven  into  the  midst  of 
a  congregation  assembled  for  worship,  and 
promise  to  give  each  whatever  he  should  ask 
tor.  If  the  angel  should  visit  each  in  turn, 
and  record  each  wish,  what  a  record  would  he 
have  of  the  worldliness,  folly,  guilt,  or  frenzy 
of  the  worshippers !  Remember  that  God  does 
so  visit  his  congregations,  saying  to  each, 
“  What  wilt  thou  that  I  shall  do  unto  thee  ?  ” 
Think  it  over,  and  answer  in  the  light  of  eter¬ 
nity. 

6057.  WISHES,  Magic.  The  story  recounts 
how,  when  Fortunatus  had  been  exposed  to  great 
dangers  from  wild  beasts,  and  was  in  a  state  of 


666 


WISHES. 


WITNESS. 


starvation,  lie  suddenly  beheld  a  beautiful  lady 
standing  by  his  side,  with  a  bandage  over  her 
eyes,  leaning  upon  a  wheel,  and  looking  as  if 
she  were  going  to  speak.  The  lady  did  not 
wait  long  before  she  addressed  him  in  these 
words  :  “  Know,  young  man,  that  my  name  is 
Fortune.  I  have  power  to  bestow  wisdom, 
strength,  riehes,  health,  beauty,  and  long  life. 
One  of  these  I  am  willing  to  bestow  on  you. 
Choose  for  yourself  whieh  it  shall  be.”  Fortu- 
natus  immediately  answered,  “  Good  lady,  I 
wish  to  have  riches  in  such  plenty,  that  I  may 
never  again  know  what  it  is  to  be  so  hungry 
as  I  now  find  myself”  The  lady  then  gave 
him  a  purse,  and  told  him,  that,  in  all  the 
countries  where  he  might  happen  to  be,  he 
need  only  put  his  hand  into  his  purse  as  often 
as  he  pleased,  and  he  would  be  sure  to  find  in 
it  pieces  of  gold  ;  that  the  purse  should  never 
fail  of  yielding  the  same  sum  as  long  as  it 
should  be  kept  by  himself  and  children. . .  The 
sultan  led  Fortunatus  to  a  room  almost  filled 
with  jewels,  opened  a  large  closet,  and  took 
out  a  cap,  which  he  said'  was  of  greater  value 
than  all  the  rest.  Fortunatus  thought  the 
sultan  was  joking,  and  told  him  he  had  seen 
many  a  better  cap  than  that.  “  Ah  !  ”  said  the 
latter,  “  that  is  because  you  do  not  know  its 
value.  Whoever  puts  this  cap  on  his  head, 
and  wishes  to  be  in  any  part  of  the  world,  will 
find  himself  there  in  a  moment.”  The  story 
has  a  moral  ending,  inasmuch  as  the  possession 
of  this  inexhaustible  purse  and  wish-cap  are 
the  cause  of  ruin  to  Fortunatus  and  his  sons. 

Wheeler. 

6058.  WISHES,  Three.  I  asked  a  student 
what  three  things  he  most  wished.  He  said, 
“  Give  me  books,  health,  and  quiet,  and  I  care 
for  nothing  more.”  I  asked  a  miser ;  and  he 
cried,  “  Money,  money,  money !  ”  I  asked  a 
pauper ;  and  lie  faintly  said,  “  Bread,  bread, 
bread!”  I  asked  a  drunkard ;  and  he  called 
loudly  for  strong  drink.  I  asked  the  multitude 
around  me ;  and  they  lifted  up  a  confused  cry, 
in  which  I  heard  the  words,  “  Wealth,  fame, 
and  pleasure !  ”  I  asked  a  poor  man,  who  had 
long  borne  the  character  of  an  experienced 
Christian.  He  replied,  that  all  his  wishes 
might  be  met  in  Christ.  He  spoke  seriously  ; 
and  I  asked  him  to  explain.  He  said,  “  I 
greatly  desire  three  things :  first,  that  I  be 
found  in  Christ;  secondly,  that  I  may  be  like 
Christ ;  thirdly,  that  I  may  be  with  Christ.” 

6059.  WIT,  Captivation  of.  There  is  no 
quality  of  the  mind  nor  of  the  body,  that  so 
instantaneously  and  irresistibly  captivates  as 
wit.  An  elegant  writer  has  observed,  that  wit 
may  do  very  well  for  a  mistress ;  but  that  he 
should  prefer  reason  for  a  wife.  He  that  de¬ 
serts  the  latter,  and  gives  himself  up  entirely 
to  the  guidance  of  the  former,  will  certainly 
fall  into  many  pitfalls  and  quagmires,  like  him 
who  walks  by  Hashes  of  lightning  rather  than 
by  the  steady  beams  of  the  sun.  C.  Colton. 

6060.  WIT,  Defined.  Wit  consists  chiefly  in 

joining  things  by  distant  and  fanciful  rela¬ 
tions,  which  surprise  us  because  they  are  un¬ 
expected.  Karnes. 


6061.  WIT,  Effects  of  Wit  is  one  of  tha 
few  things  that  has  been  rewarded  more  than 
it  has  been  defined.  A  certain  bishop  said  to 
his  chaplain,  ,l  What  is  wit  ?  ”  The  chaplain 

replied,  “  The  rectory  of  B -  is  vacant : 

give  it  to  me,  and  that  will  be  wit.”  —  “  Prove 
it,”  said  his  lordship,  “  and  you  shall  have  it.’ 

“  It  would  he  a  good  thing  well  applied ,”  rejoined 
the  chaplain.  The  dinner  daily  prepared  for 
the  royal  chaplains  at  St.  James’s  was  reprieved, 
for  a  time,  from  suspension,  by  an  effort  of  wit. 
King  Charles  had  appointed  a  day  for  dining 
with  his  chaplains ;  and  it  was  understood  that 
this  step  was  adopted  as  the  least  unpalatable 
mode  of  putting  an  end  to  the  dinner.  It  was 
Dr.  South’s  turn  to  say  grace ;  and,  whenever 
the  king  honored  his  chaplains  with  his  pres¬ 
ence,  the  prescribed  formula  ran  thus  :  “  God 
save  the  king,  and  bless  the  dinner !  ”  Our 
witty  divine  took  the  liberty  of  transposing  the 
words  by  saying,  “  God  bless  the  king,  and 
save  the  dinner  !  ”  “  And  it  shall  be  saved,” 

said  the  monarch.  C.  Colton. 

6962.  WIT,  Triumphs  of  The  conquest  of 
wit  over  the  mind  is  not,  like  that  of  the  Ro¬ 
mans  over  the  body,  a  conquest  regulated  by 
policy,  and  perpetuated  by  prudence ;  a  con¬ 
quest  that  conciliated  that  it  subdued,  and 
improved  all  that  it  conciliated.  The  triumphs 
of  wit  should  rather  be  compared  to  the  inroads 
of  the  Partliians,  splendid,  but  transient ;  a 
victory  succeeding  by  surprise,  and  indebted 
more  to  the  sharpness  of  the  arrow  than  the 
strength  of  the  arm,  and  to  the  rapidity  of  an 
evolution  rather  than  to  the  solidity  of  a 
phalanx.  C.  Colton. 

6063.  WITNESS,  A  Material,  A  rich  old 
citizen  of  Bergamo  had  lent  to  one  of  his 
countrymen  at  Florence  four  hundred  crowns, 
which  he  advanced  without  any  witness,  and 
without  requiring  a  written  acknowledgment. 
When  the  stipulated  time  had  elapsed,  th? 
creditor  required  his  money  ;  but  the  borrower, 
well  apprised  that  no  proof  could  be  brough* 
against  him,  positively  denied  that  he  had  ever 
received  it.  After  many  fruitless  attempts  to 
recover  it,  the  lender  was  advised  to  resort  tc 
the  duke,  who  would  find  some  method  of 
doing  him  justice.  Alessandro  accordingly 
ordered  both  the  parties  before  him  ;  and  after 
hearing  the  assertions  of  the  one,  and  the  posi¬ 
tive  denial  of  the  other,  he  turned  to  tht 
creditor,  saying,  “  Is  it  possible,  then,  friend, 
that  you  can  have  lent  your  money  when  no 
one  was  present  ?  ”  —  “  There  was  no  one  in¬ 
deed,”  replied  the  creditor :  “  I  counted  out 
the  money  to  him  on  a  post.”  —  “  Go  bring  the 
post  then,  this  instant,”  said  the  duke  ;  “  and 
I  will  make  it  confess  the  truth.”  The  cred¬ 
itor,  though  astonished  on  receiving  such  an 
order,  hastened  to  obey,  having  first  received 
a  secret  caution  from  the  duke  not  to  be  very 
speedy  in  his  return.  Meantime  the  duke 
employed  himself  in  transacting  the  affairs  of 
his  other  suitors,  till,  at  length,  turning  to  the 
borrower,  he  said,  “  This  man  stays  a  long 
time  with  his  post.”  —  “  It  is  so  heavy,  sir,” 
replied  the  other,  “  that  he  could  not  yet  have 


■WITNESS. 


■WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  6C7 


brought  it.”  Again  Alessandro  left  him,  and, 
returning  some  time  afterward,  carelessly  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  What  kind  of  men  arc  they  that 
lend  their  money  without  evidence?  Was 
there  no  one  present  but  the  post?”  —  “No, 
indeed,  sir  1  ”  replied  the  knave.  “  The  post  is 
a  good  witness  then,”  said  the  duke,  “  and 
shall  make  thee  pay  the  man  his  money.” 

6061.  WITNESS,  Naturo  a.  In  a  village 
church  in  one  of  the  midland  counties,  at  the 
side  of  a  beautiful  tomb  in  the  chancel,  there 
is  a  flourishing  young  forest-tree  some  nine  or 
ten  feet  high.  Its  history  is  remarkable.  One 
Lord’s  Day,  a  boy,  talking  with  his  companions 
in  this  part  of  the  chancel,  was  detected  by  the 
schoolmaster  playing  with  a  horse-chestnut. 
The  master  took  it  from  him.  and  threw  it  on 
one  side.  It  flew  over  the  tomb,  and  settled 
between  that  anil  the  wall.  There  for  many 
weeks  it  remained,  unthought  of.  Having 
lodged  in  a  crevice,  where  some  considerable 
quantity  of  dust  appears  to  have  lodged  before¬ 
hand,  it  found  sufficient  soil  and  moisture  to 
take  root.  By  and  by  its  existence  was  dis¬ 
covered  ;  and,  the  fact  being  thought  interest¬ 
ing  and  uncommon,  it  was  allowed  to  remain. 
It  was  a  witness,  a  speaking  tree:  it  was  the 
living  witness  of  that  boy  who  played  in  God’s 
house  on  the  sabbath.  Biblical  Treasury. 

6063.  WITNESS,  The  Omniscient.  There  is  a 
little  machine,  called  an  “  odometer,”  made 
something  like  a  clock,  which  can  be  fastened 
on  a  carriage,  and  in  some  way  connected 
with  the  motion  of  the  wheels.  It  is  so  ar¬ 
ranged,  that  it  marks  off  correctly  the  number 
of  miles  that  the  carriage  ru;.s,  A  stable- 
keeper  once  had  one  upon  a  carriage  that  he 
kept  for  letting ;  and  by  this  means  he  could 
tell  just  how  many  miles  any  one  went  who 
hired  it  of  him.  Two  young  men  once  hired  it 
to  go  to  a  town  some  ten  miles  distant.  Instead 
of  simply  going  and  returning,  as  they  prom¬ 
ised  to  do,  they  rode  to  another  town  some 
five  miles  farther ;  making  the  distance  they 
passed  over  some  thirty  miles.  When  they 
returned,  the  owner  of  the  establishment,  with¬ 
out  being  noticed  by  the  young  men,  glanced 
upon  the  face  of  the  measuring  instrument, 
and  discovered  how  many  miles  they  had  trav¬ 
elled.  “  Where  have  you  been  ?  ”  he  then 
asked  them.  “  Where  we  were  going,”  was 
the  answer.  “  Have  you  not  been  farther  than 
that  ?  ”  —  “  Oh,  no !  ”  they  answered.  “  How 
many  miles  have  you  been  in  all  ?  ”  —  “  Twen¬ 
ty.”  He  touched  the  spring,  the  cover  opened; 
and  there  on  the  face  of  the  instrument  the 
thirty  miles  were  found  recorded.  The  young 
men  were  astonished  at  this  unerring  testimo¬ 
ny  of  an  unseen  witness  that  they  had  carried 
with  them  all  the  way.  The  steps  of  all  are 
measured;  and  the  witnesses  are  ready  against 
all  sin. 

6066.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Abiding. 
Believers  have  a  double  testimony,  one  with¬ 
out,  and  one  within  ;  and  this  witness  within 
us  will  go  with  us,  which  way  soever  we  go : 
it  will  accompany  us  through  all  straits  and 
difficulties.  The  external  testimony  may  be 


taken  from  us.  our  Bibles,  our  teachers,  our 
friends ;  or  they  may  imprison  us  where  we 
cannot  enjoy  them :  but  they  cat  not  take  from 
us  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  This  witness  within 
is  a  permanent,  settled,  habituate,  standing 
witness.  Ambrose. 

6087.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Certainty  of. 
The  soul  as  intimately  and  evidently  perceives 
when  it  loves,  delights,  and  rejoices  in  God, 
as  when  it  loves  and  delights  in  any  thing  on 
earth.  And  it  can  no  more  doubt  whether  it 
loves,  delights,  and  rejoices,  or  not,  than 
whether  it  exists  or  not.  If,  therefore,  this  be 
just  reasoning,  he  that  now  loves  God,  that 
delights  and  rejoices  in  him  with  a  humble 
joy,  a  holy  delight,  and  an  obedient  love,  is 
a  child  of  God.  But  I  thus  love,  delight,  and 
rejoice  in  God.  Therefore  I  am  a  child  of 
God.  Then  a  Christian  can  in  no  wise  doubt 
of  his  being  a  child  of  God.  Of  the  former 
proposition,  he  has  as  full  an  assurance  as  he 
has  that  the  Scriptures  are  of  God ;  and,  of 
his  thus  loving  God,  he  has  an  inward  proof, 
which  is  nothing  short  of  self-evidence.  Tlius 
“  the  testimony  of  our  own  spirit  ”  is  with  the 
most  intimate  conviction  manifested  to  our 
hearts,  in  such  a  manner  as,  beyond  all  reason¬ 
able  doubt,  to  evince  the  reality  of  our  son- 
ship.  J.  Wesley. 

6968.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Definition 

of  the.  The  testimony  of  the  Spirit  is  an  in¬ 
ward  impression  of  the  soul,  whereby  the 
Spirit  of  God  directly  “  witnesses  to  my  spirit 
that  I  am  a  child  of  God ;  ”  that  Jesus  Christ 
hath  loved  me,  and  given  himself  for  me;  and 
that  all  my  sins  are  blotted  out,  and  I,  even  I, 
am  reconciled  to  God.  John  Wesley. 

6969.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Instan¬ 

taneous.  The  witness  of  the  Spirit,  from  its 
nature  as  a  witness,  must  be  instantaneous. 
A  witness  deposes  to  a  particular  fact;  and 
there  must  be  a  particular  instant  of  time 
when  his  testimony  is  given.  The  mathemati¬ 
cian  slowly,  by  the  use  of  single  ciphers  and 
symbols,  works  out  his  problems  in  order  to 
find  a  result  concerning  which  he  is  altogether 
in  doubt;  the  chemist  slowly  and  cautiously 
conducts  experiments  to  find  out  the  nature 
of  substances  concerning  which  he  is  totally 
ignorant ;  but  a  witness  enters  a  court  to 
depose  to  a  fact  of  which  he  has  already  a  full 
knowledge,  and  whose  testimony  the  court  is 
now  waiting  to  hear.  lie  who  believes  in 
Jesus  Christ  is  in  a  scriptural  condition  to  re¬ 
ceive  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  that  he  is  a 
child  of  God ;  and  the  case  neither  requires 
nor  admits  that  the  witness  should  be  gradu¬ 
ally  imparted.  When  a  parent  has  forgiven 
his  child,  he  does  not  gradually  reveal  that  l'act 
to  him,  but  gives  immediate  proof  in  his  coun¬ 
tenance  and  actions,  if  not  in  words,  that  he 
again  loves  him.  S.  Ilulme. 

6070.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Loss  of  tha. 
This  is  what  I  wish  you  not  to  rest  without. 
Do  not  face  death  without  it:  do  not!  How 
awful  to  go  to  appear  before  the  living  God, 
if  you  have  not  the  testimony  in  your  souls 
that  you  are  born  of  him  I  John  Bunyan  well 


668  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


WOMAN. 


describes  a  poor,  wretched,  self-deceived  pil¬ 
grim,  who  had  trusted  to  a  vague  and  general 
belief  without  actual  conversion,  coming  to 
the  gate  of  the  celestial  city,  but  refused  an 
entrance,  because  “  he  had  no  certificate  to 
be  taken  in.”  “  He  fumbled,”  says  he,  “  in 
his  bosom  for  it ;  but  he  found  none.  Then 
I  saw  the  shining  ones  commanded  to  bind 
him  head  and  heels,  and  throw  him  into  the 
hole  at  the  side  of  the  hill.”  Beware,  lest 
thou  art  as  he!  Dr.  A.  Clarke. 

6071.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Mysterious. 

How  the  Spirit  interpenetrates  man’s  nature, 
and  works  in  our  faculties,  God  has  not  re¬ 
vealed,  nor  does  consciousness  inform  us. 
Here,  then,  philosophy  has  no  data  on  which 
to  base  a  theory ;  lor  both  consciousness  and 
the  Bible  are  entirely  silent.  As  the  opera¬ 
tions  of  God  in  the  processes  of  Nature  are 
incomprehensible,  so  also  are  the  operations 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart  of  man.  This 
analogy  is  employed  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  is 
calculated  to  rebuke  and  repress  speculations 
on  subjects,  which,  to  human  reason,  are  abso¬ 
lutely  mysterious.  “  The  wind  bloweth  where 
it  listeth.”  S.  Hulmc. 

6072.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Necessary. 

If  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  did  not  bear  testi¬ 
mony  to  paternal  love,  our  tongue  would  remain 
silent;  for  we  could  not  in  prayer  call  him 
Father,  unless  we  were  assured  that  he  was 
really  so.  Our  own  mind  of  itself,  independ¬ 
ent  of  the  preceding  testimony  of  the  Spirit, 
could  not  produce  this  persuasion  that  we  are 
the  sons  of  God.  Calvin. 

6073.  WITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT,  Similes  of. 

Like  as  fire  is  known  not  to  be  painted  fire, 
but  true  fire,  by  heat  and  by  the  flame ;  so 
there  are  two  witnesses  of  our  adoption,— 
God’s  Spirit  and  our  spirit.  Like  as  if  a  king 
or  nobleman  should,  of  mere  love  and  favor, 
take  in  a  beggar,  nay  a  traitor,  even  so  God 
did  with  us.  Cawdray. 

6074.  WIVES,  Devoted.  Guelph,  Duke  of 
Bavaria,  was  besieged  in  his  castle,  and  com¬ 
pelled  to  capitulate  to  the  Emperor  Conrad 
III.  His  lady  demanded  for  herself  and  the 
other  ladies  of  the  castle  safe  conduct  to  a 
place  of  safety,  with  whatever  they  could 
carry ;  which  was  granted.  To  the  astonish¬ 
ment  of  all,  these  ladies  of  quality  appeared, 
bearing  their  husbands  on  their  backs.  The 
emperor  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  conju¬ 
gal  devotion  of  the  wives,  that  he  pardoned  the 
husbands  for  their  sakes. 

6075.  WIVES,  Duty  of.  It  is  not  without 
significance  that  the  Church  ordains  that  there 
shall  be  a  gold  ring  used  in  solemnizing  mar¬ 
riage.  Of  gold  it  must  be,  intimating  that  love 
should  abound  betwixt  the  married  couple,  — 
love  the  best  of  graces ;  and  round  it  must  be, 
to  show  that  love  must  continue  to  the  end. 
Besides,  this  ring  must  be  put  by  the  man  upon 
the  four®  finger  of  the  woman,  signifying  there¬ 
by,  that  as  there  is  a  vein  in  that  finger  which 
corresponds  with  the  heart,  so  she  should  be  cor¬ 
dially  affected  to  her  husband,  havingno  thought 
of  any  other  man  as  long  as  he  lives.  Spencer. 


6076.  WOMAN,  without  Christ.  I  marvel  how 

a  woman,  with  her  need  of  love,  with  her  sen¬ 
sitive,  yearning,  clasping  nature,  can  look  into 
the  face  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  not  put  her 
arms  about  his  neck,  and  tell  him  with  gushing 
love,  that  she  commits  herself,  body  and  soul, 
into  his  sacred  keeping.  Beecher. 

6077.  WOMAN,  Creation  of.  The  people  at 
Fakaafo,  of  the  Tokelau  group,  say  that  the 
first  woman  was  made  of  the  loose  earth,  or 
dust  of  the  ground.  The  story  run  thus : 
The  first  man,  who  had  previously  been  a 
stone,  thought,  one  day,  he  would  make  a 
woman.  He  collected  the  light  earth  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground  in  the  form  of  a  human 
body,  with  head,  arms,  and  legs.  He  then 
plucked  out  one  of  his  left  ribs,  and  thrust  it 
into  the  breast  of  his  earth-model.  Instantly 
the  earth  became  alive  ;  and  up  starts  a  woman. 
He  called  her  Ici  (according  to  English  or¬ 
thography.  it  would  be  Eevee),  which  is  their 
word  for  rib.  How  like  to  our  Eve  !  T urner. 

6678.  WOMAN,  Degradation  of.  The  farmers 
of  the  Upper  Alps,  though  by  no  means 
wealthy,  live  like  lords  in  their  houses  ;  while 
the  heaviest  portion  of  agricultural  labor  de¬ 
volves  on  the  wife.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing 
to  see  a  woman  yoked  to  the  plough  along 
with  an  ass,  while  the  husband  guides  it.  A 
farmer  of  the  Upper  Alps  accounts  it  an  act 
of  politeness  to  lend  his  wife  to  a  neighbor 
who  is  too  much  oppressed  with  work ;  and  the 
neighbor,  in  his  turn,  lends  his  wife  for  a  few 
days’  work  whenever  the  favor  is  requested. 

Percy. 

6079.  WOMAN,  without  Devotion.  A  woman 

without  devotion,  were  she  composed  as  a 
Pandora,  and  had  she  all  the  beauties  which 
the  heart  can  desire  and  the  imagination  feign, 
is  a  bee  without  a  sting,  which  will  make  neith¬ 
er  honey  nor  wax ;  is  a  savage  beast  that  Nature 
hath  lodged  in  a  painted  house  ;  is  a  case  cov¬ 
ered  with  precious  stones,  to  preserve  a  dung¬ 
hill.  N.  Caussin. 

6080.  WOMAN,  Ignored.  A  bright  little  girl, 
eight  or  nine  years  old,  who  had  heard  much 
talk  on  the  subject  of  woman’s  rights,  came 
home  from  meeting  one  day,  and  asked  in  a 
somewhat  indignant  tone,  “Mamma,  what 
makes  the  minister  always  say  Amen  ?  Why 
don’t  he  ever  say  A  woman  ?  ” 

6081.  WOMAN,  Power  of  a  Holy.  Great  is 
the  power  of  a  woman  when  she  applies  her¬ 
self  to  virtue.  Behold  at  one  instant  (Matt, 
xv.)  how  one  of  that  sex  assails  God  and  the 
Devil ;  prevailing  with  the  one  by  submission, 
and  conquering  the  other  by  command  !  And 
He  which  gave  the  wild  sea  arms  to  contain  all 
the  world  finds  his  own  arms  tied  by  the 
chains  of  a  prayer  which  himself  did  inspire. 
She  draws  unto  her  by  a  pious  violence  the 
God  of  all  strength,  such  was  the  fervency  of 
her  prayer,  such  the  wisdom  of  her  answers, 
and  such  the  faith  of  her  words.  As  He  passed 
away  without  speaking,  she  hath  the  boldness 
to  call  him  to  her.  To  be  short,  she  is  strong¬ 
er  than  the  patriarch  Jacob;  for,  when  he  did 
wrestle  with  the  angel,  he  returned  lame  from 


WOIVLAJNr. 


WOMEN, 


6G9 


the  conflict :  but  this  woman,  after  she  had 
been  so  powerful  with  God,  returns  straight  to 
her  house,  there  to  see  her  victories,  and  pos¬ 
sess  her  conquests.  Caussin. 

60S2.  WOMAN,  Proverbs.  What’s  sauce  for 
the  goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander.  —  English. 

- There  are  only  two  good  women  in  the 

world  :  one  of  them  is  dead,  and  the  other  is 
not  to  be  found.  One  hair  of  a  woman  draws 

more  than  a  bell-rope.  —  German.  - A 

woman's  counsel  is  no  great  thing;  but  he  who 
does  not  take  it  is  a  fool.  Women,  wind,  and 

fortune  soon  change.  —  Spanish. - Women 

are  wise  off-hand,  and  fools  on  reflection. 
Whatever  a  woman  wills  she  can.  —  Italian. 

- What  a  woman  wills,  God  wills.  — 

French. - A  woman’s  tongue  is  her  sword, 

and  she  does  not  let  it  rust.  —  Chinese. 

6983.  WOMAN,  Eeform  of  an  Abandoned.  The 
legend  of  St.  Mary  of  Egypt  runs  thus : 
Towards  the  year  of  our  Lord  365,  there  dwelt 
in  Alexandria  a  woman  whoce  name  was 
Mary,  and  who  in  the  infamy  of  her  life  far 
exceeded  Mary  Magdalene.  After  passing 
seventeen  years  in  every  species  of  vice,  it 
happened  that  one  day,  while  roving  along 
the  seashore,  she  beheld  a  ship  ready  to  sail, 
and  a  large  company  preparing  to  embark. 
She  inquired  whither  they  were  going.  They 
replied,  that  they  were  going  up  to  Jerusalem, 
to  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  true  cross.  She 
was  seized  with  a  sudden  desire  to  accompany 
them.  On  their  arrival  at  Jerusalem,  she 
joined  the  crowds  of  worshippers  who  had 
assembled  to  enter  the  church;  but  all  her 
attempts  to  pass  the  threshold  were  in  vain  : 
whenever  she  thought  to  enter  the  porch,  a 
supernatural  power  drove  her  back  in  shame, 
in  terror,  in  despair.  Struck  by  the  remem¬ 
brance  of  her  sins,  and  filled  with  repentance, 
she  humbled  herself,  and  prayed  for  help  :  the 
interdiction  was  removed ;  and  she  entered  the 
church  of  God,  crawling  on  her  knees.  Thence¬ 
forward  she  renounced  her  wicked  and  shame¬ 
ful  life ;  and,  buying  at  a  baker’s  three  small 
loaves,  she  wandered  forth  into  solitude,  and 
never  stopped  or  reposed  till  she  had  penetrat¬ 
ed  into  the  deserts  beyond  the  Jordan,  where 
she  remained  in  severest  penance,  living  on 
roots  and  fruits,  and  drinking  water  only.  Her 
garments  dropping  off,  she  was  miraculously 
clothed.  The  three  small  loaves  lasted  through 
the  forty-eight  years  of  her  hermitage.  A 
lion  helped  to  dig  her  grave,  and,  when  her  body 
was  committed  to  it,  retired  gently,  according 
to  the  report  of  Father  Zosimus,  who  saw  it, 
and  rejoiced  at  the  grace  shown  to  the  penitent. 

6081.  WOMAN,  Slighting,  Most  females  will 
forgive  a  liberty  rather  than  a  slight:  and  if 
any  woman  were  to  hang  a  man  for  stealing  her 
picture,  although  it  were  set  in  gold,  it  would 
be  a  new  case  in  law  ;  but  if  lie  carried  off  the 
setting,  and  left  the  portrait,  I  would  not  answer 
for  his  safety.  Colton. 

G085.  WOMAN,  Solace  of.  As  the  vine 
which  has  long  twined  its  graceful  foliage 
about  the  oak,  and  been  lifted  by  it  in  sun¬ 
shine,  will,  when  the  hardy  plant  is  rifted  by 


the  thunderbolt,  cling  round  it  with  its  caress¬ 
ing  tendrils,  and  bind  up  its  shattered  boughs, 
so  is  it  beautifully  ordered  by  Providence  that 
woman,  who  is  the  mere  dependant  and  orna¬ 
ment  of  man  in  his  happier  hours,  should  be 
his  stay  and  solace  when  smitten  with  sudden 
calamity ;  winding  herself  into  the  rugged 
recesses  of  his  nature,  tenderly  supporting  the 
drooping  head,  and  binding  .up  the  broken 
heart.  Washington  Irving. 

G086.  WOMAN,  Speaking  in  Church.  The  le¬ 
gend  says,  that  once,  when  St.  Bernard  entered 
the  great  church  at  Spire,  Germany,  the  im¬ 
age  ,tf  the  virgin  saluted  him,  saying,  “  Good- 
morrow,  Bernard  !  ”  lie  replied,  “  Oh  1  your  la¬ 
dyship  hath  forgot  yourself.  It  is  not  lawful 
for  a  woman  to  speak  in  the  church.” 

6087.  WOMAN,  Sympathy  of.  There  is  one 
in  the  world  who  feels  for  him  who  is  sad  a 
keener  pang  than  he  feels  for  himself;  there  is 
one  to  whom  reflected  joy  is  better  than  that 
which  comes  direct ;  there  is  one  who  rejoices 
in  another’s  honor  more  than  in  any  which  is 
one’s  own ;  there  is  one  on  whom  another’s 
transcendent  excellence  sheds  no  beam  but 
that  of  delight ;  there  is  one  who  hides  anoth¬ 
er’s  infirmities  more  faithfully  than  one’s  own  ; 
there  is  one  who  loses  all  sense  of  self  in  the 
sentiment  of  kindness,  tenderness,  and  devo¬ 
tion  to  another,  —  that  one  is  woman. 

]V ashing 'on  Irving. 

GOSS.  WOMEN,  Eastern  Contempt  of.  In  all 
parts  of  the  East,  females  are  spoken  of  as 
being  much  inferior  to  men  in  wisdom;  and 
nearly  all  their  sages  have  proudly  descanted 
on  the  ignorance  of  women.  In  the  Hindoo 
book  called  tbe  “  Kurral,”  it  is  declared,  “  All 
women  are  ignorant.”  In  other  works,  similar 
remarks  are  found  :  “  Ignorance  is  a  woman’s 
jewel.  Female  wisdom  is  from  the  Evil  One. 
The  feminine  qualities  are  four,  —  ignorance, 
fear,  shame,  and  impunity.  To  a  woman  dis¬ 
close  not  a  secret.  Talk  not  to  me  in  that 
way  :  it  is  all  female  wisdom.”  Roberts. 

6089.  WOMEN,  Educated.  The  wives  of  Lu¬ 
ther,  Jonathan  Edwards,  Burke,  Fennitnore 
Cooper,  Mill,  and  Hitchcock,  have  shown  how 
greatly  educated  women  may  aid  their  hus¬ 
bands  in  literary  pursuits.  Educated  mothers 
are  qualified  to  instruct  their  children,  and  to 
awaken  in  them  a  taste  for  learning.  The 
mother  of  Miss  Maria  Mitchell  was  much  dis¬ 
tinguished  in  her  youth  for  her  fondness  of 
books.  The  distinguished  and  wise-hearted 
Duchess  of  Kent  was  able  to  arrange  and  su¬ 
perintend  the  whole  manner  of  the  education 
of  her  daughter,  the  illustrious  Queen  of'  Eng¬ 
land  ;  and  she  did  this,  making  it  her  great  pur¬ 
pose  to  train  her  to  be  worthy  of  the  crown 
which  she  now  wears.  “  I  was  mainly  educat¬ 
ed  by  my  mother.”  says  Sarah  Josepha  Hale. 
Alfred’s  mother  made  hin^all  ho  was  in  his 
own  age,  and  all  that  he  is  to  ours.”  Felicia 
Hemans  had  an  accomplished  mother.  The 
mother  of  the  great  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
a  woman  of  rare  attainments  and  of  a  bright 
genius.  Cuvier’s  mother  was  pious,  a  lover  of 
Nature,  and  used  to  accompany  him  to  and 


670 


WOIEN'. 


WORD. 


from  school,  and  to  point  out  the  interesting 
natural  objects  they  met,  and  to  excite  in  him 
a  taste  for  the  study  of  the  works  of  God.  She 
stimulated  his  passion  for  reading,  and  judi¬ 
ciously  selected  his  books ;  and  he  acquired 
in  childhood  an  accurate  and  extensive  histor¬ 
ical  knowledge.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he 
formed  a  society  of  intelligent  lads.  Says  M. 
Girardin,  “There  is  no  instance  of  a  mother 
who  can  read  and  write  whose  children  are 
not  likewise  able  to  read  and  write.” 

Pittsburg  Gazette.  \ 

6090.  'WOMEN,  Education  of.  The  mother, 
under  whose  sole  influence  the  child  is  for  I 
years,  from  whom  it  acquires  its  tastes  and  | 
character,  should  not  only  be  educated,  but 
educated  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  and 
have  her  mind  stored  with  varied  learning,  so 
that  she  may  be  able  to  answer  the  multitude 
of  questions  that  will  be  put  to  her  by  her  in¬ 
quisitive  child  on  art,  science,  literature,  and 
religion,  and  thus  to  stimulate  his  curiosity, 
and  awake  his  mind.  An  ignorant  and  nar¬ 
row-minded  woman  will  not  be  likely  to  make 
her  son  or  daughter  the  opposite  of  herself. 
And,  if  she  is  never  to  become  a  wife  or  moth¬ 
er,  her  happiness,  and  her  influence  for  good, 
other  things  being  equal,  as  a  teacher,  physi¬ 
cian,  a  writer,  or  in  any  capacity,  will  be  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  her  education.  On 
this  point,  history  is  full  of  examples. 

Pittsburg  Gazette. 

6091.  WOMEN,  Influence  of.  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke  long  ago  set  down  one  woman  as  equal 
to  seven  men  and  a  half.  A  later  estimate, 
on  more  dubious  authority,  accounts  one 
woman  as  equal  to  fifteen  men. 

6092.  WOMEN,  Pleasing.  If  thou  wouldst 

please  the  ladies,  thou  must  endeavor  to  make 
them  pleased  with  themselves.  Fuller. 

6093.  WOMEN,  Poetry.  Women  are  the 
poetry  of  the  world  in  the  same  sense  as  the 
stars  are  the  poetry  of  heaven.  Clear,  light¬ 
giving,  harmonious,  they  are  the  terrestrial 
planets  that  rule  the  destinies  of  mankind. 

Hargrave. 

6094.  WOMEN,  Power  of.  When  women 
know  the  power  of  their  sex,  and  exercise  it, 
the  consequences  have  been  very  surprising. 
The  hero,  the  magistrate,  the  philosopher,  and 
the  prince  think  no  more  of  their  grandeur  or 
tl/.eir  power ;  all  restraint,  all  reserve,  are  laid 
aside  tor  a  time,  and  puerile  freedom  of  speech 
succeeds  to  studied  harangues  and  the  most 
grave  and  solemn  looks ;  the  man  of  business 
and  of  retirement,  the  young  and  the  old,  drop 
their  characters  before  women.  The.  studious 
man  leaves  his  closet,  the  merchant  his  nego¬ 
tiations,  and  sometimes  the  general  quits  the 
field,  and  the  judge  descends  from  the  bench, 
to  enjoy  the  company  of  their  favorite  females. 
But,  further  still,  notwithstanding  only  men  take 
the  lead,  and  appear  as  pub’ic  characters,  yet 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  all  of  them  are 
in  some  degree  influenced  by  women  in  what 
they  do.  .Since,  therefore,  women  have  such 
power,  (dther  directly  or  indirectly,  it  is  of  the 
gieatest  importance  that  they  should  have  a 


good  education,  and  all  possible  means  made 
use  of  to  make  them  wise,  and  to  keep  them 
strictly  virtuous.  Scrags. 

6995.  WORD,  Christ  oalled  the,  Mr.  William 
Greenfield  was  once  in  company  at  the  house 
of  a  friend  with  a  gentleman  of  deistical  prin¬ 
ciples,  a  stranger  to  him,  who  put  him  the  fol¬ 
lowing  among  many  other  questions,  “  Can 
you  give  me  the  reason  why  Jesus  Christ 
is  called  the  Word  ?  What  is  meant  by 
‘  the  Word  ?  ’  It  is  a  curious  term.”  Mr. 
Greenfield,  unconscious  of  the  motive  or  the 
sceptical  principles  of  the  inquirer,  replied, 

“  I  suppose,  as  words  are  the  medium  of  com¬ 
munication  between  us,  the  term  is  used  in 
Sacred  Scriptures  to  demonstrate  that  he  is 
the  only  medium  between  God  and  man  :  I 
know  no  other  reason.” 

6096.  WORD,  Comfort  of  the.  When  we 
buffet  with  a  baffling  tempest,  how  gladdening 
is  the  glimmer  even  of  a  lamp  seen  through 
the  drift,  telling  us  of  comfort  and  of  home ! 
When  we  have  long  been  driven  by  the  waves, 
and  tossed,  so  that  hope  has  fled,  and  exertion 
become  paralyzed,  how  welcome  the  haven  of 
our  rest  1  When  strangers  have  long  been  our 
only  associates  in  a  foreign  land,  where  no 
familiar  face  was  near  to  greet  us  with  a  smile, 
how  pleasant  to  know 

“  There  is  an  eye  will  mark 
Our  coming,  and  look  brighter  when  we  come”  ! 

And  how  much  more  gladdening  that  word 
of  God  which  irradiates  the  path  of  a  believer, 
—  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  a  pillar  of  fire  by 
night!  In  joy  or  sorrow,  in  youth  or  in  age, 
in  his  home,  in  his  place  of  toil  or  of  business, 
amid  unceasing  activities,  or  when  the  sands 
of  life  are  ebbing  low,  such  a  man  has  a  direc 
tory  at  every  hour  of  need,  a  counsellor  in 
every  difficulty,  —  enough  to  crown  his  weary 
life  with  a  portion  of  the  joy  of  God. 

Dr.  Tweedie. 

6097.  WORD,  The  Eternal.  On  the  door  of 

the  mosque  in  Damascus,  which  was  once  a 
Christian  church,  but  for  twelve  centuries  has 
ranked  among  the  holiest  of  the  Mahometan 
sanctuaries  are  inscribed  these  words :  “  Thy 
kingdom,  O  Christ!  is  an  everlasting  kingdom, 
and  thy  dominion  endureth  throughout  all 
generations.”  Though  the  name  of  Christ  has 
been  regularly  blasphemed,  and  the  disciples 
of  Christ  regularly  cursed,  for  twelve  hundred 
years  within  it,  the  inscription  has,  never¬ 
theless,  remained  unimpaired  by  time,  and  un¬ 
disturbed  by  man.  It  was  unknown  during 
the  long  reign  of  Mahometan  intolerance  and 
oppression  ;  but  when  religious  liberty  was 
partially  restored,  and  the  missionaries  were 
enabled  to  establish  a  Christian  church  in  that 
city,  it  was  again  brought  to  light,  encoura¬ 
ging  them  in  their  work  of  faith,  and  labor  of 
love.  Bate. 

6998.  WORD,  A  Providential.  One  day,  as 
Felix  Neff  was  walking  in  Lausanne,  he  saw 
at  a  distance  before  him  a  man,  whom  he  took 
for  one  of  his  friends,  lie  made  up  to  him, 
tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and,  before  look¬ 
ing  him  in  the  face,  asked  him,  “  liow  does 


WORD. 


WORDS. 


671 


your  soul  prosper,  my  friend  ?  ”  The  stranger 
immediately  turned  round,  and  looked  at  him 
in  surprise.  Neff  perceived  his  mistake,  apol¬ 
ogized,  and  went  his  way.  About  three  or 
four  years  afterward,  a  person  came  to  Neff, 
and,  introducing  himself,  said  he  was  indebted 
to  him  for  his  inestimable  kindness.  Neff  did 
not  recognize  the  man,  and  begged  that  he 
would  explain  himself.  The  stranger  replied, 
“  Have  you  forgotten  a  certain  person  whose 
shoulder  you  once  touched  in  one  of  the  streets 
of  Lausanne,  and  whom  you  asked,  *  How  does 
your  soul  prosper  ?  ’  It  was  I.  Your  inquiry 
led  me  to  serious  reflection ;  and  now  I  find  it 
is  well  with  my  soul.” 

6099.  WORD,  Tho  Purifying.  I  have  heard 
of  one,  who,  returning  from  a  sermon,  highly 
commended  it  to  some ;  and,  being  demanded 
what  he  remembered  of  it,  answered,  “  Truly, 
I  remember  nothing  at  all ;  but  only,  while  I 
heard  it,  it  made  me  resolve  to  live  better  than 
ever  I  have  done :  and  so,  by  God’s  grace,  I 
will.”  To  the  same  purpose,  1  have  some¬ 
where  read  a  story  of  one  who  complained  to 
an  aged  holy  man  that  he  was  much  discour¬ 
aged  from  reading  the  Scripture,  because  his 
memory  was  so  slippery,  that  he  could  fasten 
nothing  upon  it  which  he  read.  The  old  her¬ 
mit  (for  so,  as  I  remember,  lie  wan  described) 
bid  him  take  an  earthen  pitcher,  and  fill  it  with 
water;  when  he  had  done  it,  he  bid  him 
empty  it  again,  and  wipe  it  clean,  that  nothing 
should  remain  in  it.  Which  when  the  other 
had  done,  and  wondered  to  what  this  tended, 
“  Now,”  saith  he,  “  though  there  be  nothing  of 
the  water  remaining  to  it,  yet  the  pitcher  is 
cleaner  than  it  was  before  :  so,  though  thy 
memory  retain  nothing  of  the  word  thou  read- 
est,  yet  thy  heart  is  the  cleaner  for  its  very 
passage  through.”  Bp.  Hopkins. 

6109.  WORD,  The  Tried,  All  human  specu¬ 
lations  have  alloy  about  them ;  that  Word  is 
perfect.  All  human  speculations  fail;  that 
Word  abideth.  The  Jew  hated  it;  but  it 
lived  on,  while  the  veil  was  torn  away  from 
the  shrine  which  the  Shechinah  had  forsaken, 
and  while  Jerusalem  itself  was  destroyed. 
The  Greek  derided  it;  but  it  has  seen  his 
philosophy  effete,  and  his  Acropolis  in  ruins. 
The  Roman  threw  it  to  the  flames :  but  it  rose 
from  its  ashes,  and  swooped  down  upon  the 
fallen  eagle.  The  reasoner  cast  it  into  the 
furnace,  which  his  own  malignity  had  heated 
“seven  times  hotter  than  its  wont;”  but  it 
came  out  without  the  smell  of  fire.  The  papist 
fastened  serpents  around  it  to  poison  it ;  but  it 
shook  them  off,  and  felt  no  harm.  The  infidel 
cast  it  overboard  in  a  tempest  of  sophistry  and 
“arcasm  ;  but  it  rode  gallantly  upon  the  crest 
of  the  proud  waters.  And  it  is  living  still, 
yet  heard  in  the  loudest  swelling  of  the  storm  ; 
it  has  been  speaking  all  the  while  ;  it  is 
speaking  now.  The  world  gets  higher  at 
its  every  tone;  and  it  shall  ultimately  speak  in 
power,  until  it  has  spoken  this  dismantled 
planet  up  again  into  the  smiling  brotherhood 
of  worlds  which  kept  their  first  estate;  and 
God,  welcoming  the  prodigal,  shall  look  at  it 


as  he  did  in  the  beginning,  and  pronounce  it 
to  be  very  good.  IF.  M.  Punshon. 

6101.  WORDS,  Bad.  Bad  words  are  as  in¬ 
fluential  as  the  plague  and  the  pestilence. 
They  have  wrought  more  evil  than  battle, 
murder,  and  sudden  death.  They  creep 
through  the  ear  into  the  heart,  call  up  all  its 
bad  passions,  and  tempt  it  to  break  God’s  com¬ 
mandments.  A  few  bad  words  got  into  the 
ear  of  the  mother  of  mankind  ;  and  they  led 
her  on  to  eat  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  thus  tt, 
bring  death  into  the  world.  G.  Mogridge. 

6192.  WORDS,  Cruel.  You  may  tame  the 
wild  beast;  the  conflagration  of  the  American 
forest  will  cease  when  all  the  timber  and  the 
dry  wood  is  consumed  :  but  you  cannot  arrest 
the  progress  of  that  cruel  word  which  you  ut¬ 
tered  carelessly  yesterday  or  this  morning. 

F.  fV.  Robertson. 

6193.  WORDS,  Dying.  Just  before  Melanc- 
thon  died,  he  expressed  a  wish  to  hear  some 
choice  passages  of  Scripture  read;  and,  this 
desire  having  been  met,  he  was  asked  by  his 
son-in-law,  Sabinus,  whether  he  w'ould  have 
any  thing  else :  to  which  he  replied  in  those 
emphatic  words,  “  Aliud  nihil,  nisi  coelum!” 
“  nothing  else  but  heaven.”  And,  shortly  after 
this,  he  gently  breathed  his  last. 

6191.  WORDS,  Fitly  Spoken.  The  following 
anecdote  is  told  of  Richard  Weaver.  In  a 
railroad  carriage,  a  navvy  was  swearing  terri¬ 
bly.  The  guard,  knowing  Richard’s  habit  of 
speaking  to  every  one,  whispered  to  him, 
“Better  let  him  alone:  he  is  so  violent,  that 
he  would  strike  you  if  his  passions  were  raised.” 
Richard  got  close  to  him,  and  said,  “  Give  me 
your  hand,  my  friend.”  He  then  whispered 
into  his  ear,  “  Why  arc  you  calling  on  my 
Father  ?  ”  —  “I  know  nothing  of  your  father,” 
answered  the  swearer.  “  I’ll  tell  you  his  name 
and  character,”  said  Richard ;  and  then  he 
repeated  the  text,  “  God  so  loved  the  world,” 
&c.,  and  enlarged  upon  it.  As  if  struck  by 
some  sudden  conviction,  the  man  answered, 
“  These  were  the  last  words  my  mother  said  to 
me.” — “Then  let  us  pray,”  said  Richard, 
“  that  God  may  make  them  the  means  of  your 
salvation.”  They  did  so;  and  Richard  met 
him  not  long  after  a  changed  man. 

6195.  WORDS,  Hard.  Hard  words  are  like 
hailstones  in  summer,  beating  down  and 
destroying  what  they  would  nourish  were  they 
melted  into  drops. 

6106.  WORDS,  Influence  of  Bad.  “I  don’t 
want  to  hear  naughty  words,”  said  little 
Charlie  to  one  of  his  school-fellows.  “  It  does 
not  signify,”  said  the  other  boy  :  “  they  go  in 
at  one  ear,  and  out  at  the  other.” — “No,” 
replied  Charlie.  “  The  worst  of  it  is,  when 
naughty  words  get  in  the g  stick;  so  I  mean  to 
do  my  best  to  keep  them  out." 

6807.  WORDS,  Power  of.  “  Make  one  honest 
effort  for  your  soul’s  salvation,”  said  a  professor 
of  Brown  University'  to  young  Malcom,  then  a 
student  in  the  institution.  The  student  went 
to  his  room,  and  shut  himself  up  with  God. 
The  expression,  “  Make  one  honest  effort,” 
sounded  in  his  cars.  lie  obeyed.  He  Strug- 


672 


WORDS. 


WORK. 


gled.  He  cast  himself  on  Christ, 
from  that  room  an  altered  man. 


He  came 
In  after¬ 
years,  the  preaching  of  our  dear  friend  Malcorn 
has  been  blessed  with  revival  influences  that 
have  brought  scores  to  the  cross,  among 
them,  two  now  in  the  Presbyterian  ministry. 
“  I  never  can  forget'</ia<  word,  which  was  once 
whispered  to  me  in  an  inquiry-meeting,”  said  a 
Christian  to  his  friend.  “  What  word  Y  ”  — 
“  It  was  the  word  ‘  eternity.’  A  young  pious 
companion,  who  was  yearning  for  the  salvation 
of  my  soul,  came  up  to  my  pew,  and  simply 
whispered  ‘  eternity  ’  in  my  ear  with  solemn 
tenderness,  and  left  me.  But  that  word  did 
not  leave  me :  it  drove  me  to  the  cross  for  sal¬ 
vation.”  Cuyler. 

6108.  WORDS,  Useless.  I  hate  any  thing  that 
occupies  more  space  than  it  is  worth.  I  hate 
to  see  a  load  of  bandboxes  go  along  the  street, 
and  I  hate  to  see  a  parcel  of  big  words  without 
any  thing  in  them.  Hazlitt. 

6100.  WORDS,  Use  of.  Be  simple,  be  unaf¬ 
fected,  be  honest,  in  your  speaking  and  writing. 
Never  use  a  long  word  where  a  short  one  will 
do.  Call  a  spade  a  spade,  and  not  a  well-known 
oblong  instrument  of  manual  husbandry ;  let 
home  be  home,  not  a  residence ;  a  place  a  place, 
not  a  locality ;  and  so  of  the  rest.  Where  a 
short  word  will  do,  you  always  lose  by  using 
a  long  one.  You  lose  in  clearness ;  you  lose 
in  honest  expression  of  your  meaning;  and,  in 
the  honest  opinion  of  all  men  who  are  quali¬ 
fied  to  judge,  you  lose  in  reputation  for  ability. 
The  only  true  way  to  shine  even  in  this  false 
world  is  to  be  modest  and  unassuming.  False¬ 
hood  may  be  a  very  thick  crust;  but,  in  the 
course  of  time,  truth  will  find  a  place  to  break 
through.  Elegance  of  language  may  not  be 
in  the  power  of  all  of  us  ;  but  simplicity  and 
straight-forwardness  are.  Write  much  as  you 
would  speak  ;  speak  as  you  think.  If  with 
your  inferiors,  speak  no  coarser  than  usual ;  if 
with  your  superiors,  no  finer.  Be  what  you 
say ;  and,  within  the  rules  of  prudence,  say 
what  you  arc.  Dean  Alford. 

6116.  WORDS,  Vain.  In  many  words,  there 
is  often  much  fencing,  but  no  weapons  where¬ 
with  the  enemy  is  wounded ;  there  is  much 
running,  but  no  chariot  that  winneth  the  race ; 
much  seemeth  to  be  said,  but  it  is  an  empty 
moving  of  the  tongue  :  and,  if  there  be  any 
item  of  worth  in  a  multitude  of  words,  it  is  by 
chance,  as,  when  a  blind  man  shooteth  many 
arrows,  perhaps  one  may  be  near  the  mark. 

Spencer. 

6111.  WORK,  Benefit  of.  Men  who  have  half 
a  dozen  irons  in  the  fire  are  not  the  men  to  go 
crazy.  It  is  the  man  of  voluntary  or  compelled 
leisure  who  mopes  and  pines,  and  thinks  him¬ 
self  into  the  madhouse  or  the  grave.  Motion 
is  all  Nature’s  law.  Action  is  man’s  salvation, 
physical  and  mental.  And  yet  nine  men  out 
of  ten  are  wistfully  looking  forward  to  the  cov¬ 
eted  hour  when  they  shall  have  leisure  to  do 
nothing,  or  something,  only  if  they  feel  to  like 
it,  — the  very  siren  that  has  lured  to  death  many 
a  “successful”  man.  He  only  is  truly  wise 
who  lays  himself  out  to  work  till  life’s  latest 


hour ;  and  that  is  the  man  who  will  live  tha 
longest,  and  live  to  the  most  purpose. 

6112.  WORK,  Cheerfulness  in.  “Are  you  not 
wearying  for  our  heavenly  rest  Y  ”  said  White- 
field  one  day  to  an  old  clergyman.  “  No, 
certainly  not  1  ”  he  replied.  “  Why  not  Y  ” 
was  the  surprised  rejoinder.  “  Why,  my  good 
friend,”  said  the  old  minister,  “  if  you  were  to 
send  your  servant  into  the  fields  to  do  a  cer¬ 
tain  portion  of  work  for  you,  and  promised  to 
give  him  rest  and  refreshment  in  the  evening, 
what  would  you  say  if  you  found  him  languid 
and  discontented  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
and  murmuring,  ‘  Would  to  God  it  were  even¬ 
ing  1  ’  —  would  you  not  bid  him  be  up  and 
doing,  and  finish  his  work,  and  then  go  home 
and  get  the  promised  rest  Y  Just  so  does  Goa 
say  to  you  and  me.” 

6113.  WORK,  Christian.  The  builder  builds 
for  a  century ;  we  for  eternity.  The  painter 
paints  for  a  generation  ;  we  forever.  The  stat 
uary  cuts  out  the  marble  that  soon  perishes , 
let  us  try  to  cut  out  the  likeness  of  Christ  to 
endure  for  ever  and  ever.  A  hundred  thousand 
men  were  employed  in  Egypt  to  construct  a 
pyramidal  tomb  for  a  dead  king ;  let  us  feel 
that  we  are  engaged  in  a  far  nobler  work  in  con¬ 
structing  temples  for  the  living  God.  In  my 
humble  judgment,  the  poorest  parish-school  in 
our  land,  with  no  other  ornament  than  the 
dewdrop?  of  the  morning  to  gild  it,  and 
the  sunbeams  to  shine  upon  it,  is  a  nobler 
spectacle  than  the  loftiest  European  cathedral, 
with  its  spires  glistening  in  the  setting  and 
rising  suns  of  a  thousand  years.  Dr.  Camming. 

6114.  WORK,  Encouragement  to.  In  the  mu¬ 
seum  at  Rotterdam  is  the  first  piece  painted  by 
the  renowned  Rembrandt.  It  is  rough,  without 
marks  of  genius  or  skill,  and  uninteresting,  ex¬ 
cept  to  show  that  he  began  as  low  down  as  the 
lowest.  In  the  same  gallery  is  the  master¬ 
piece  of  the  same  artist,  counted  of  immense 
value.  What  years  of  patient  study  and  prac¬ 
tice  intervene  between  the  two  pieces  !  If  all 
have  not  genius,  all  have  the  power  to  work  ; 
and  this  is  greater  than  genius. 

6115.  WORK,  Examples  of.  Luther  preached 
almost  daily  ;  he  lectured  constantly  as  a  pro¬ 
fessor  ;  he  was  burdened  with  the  care  of  all 
the  churches ;  his  correspondence,  even  as  now 
extant,  fills  many  volumes ;  he  was  perpetually 
harassed  with  controversies,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  voluminous  writers  of  his  day.  The 
same,  and  even  more,  may  be  said  of  Calvin. 
While  in  Strasburg,  he  preached  or  lectured 
every  day.  In  Geneva,  he  was  pastor,  profes¬ 
sor,  and  almost  magistrate.  He  lectured  every 
other  day ;  on  alternate  weeks,  he  preached 
daily ;  he  was  overwhelmed  with  letters  from 
all  parts  of  Europe,  and  was  the  author  of 
works  numerous  and  bulky,  that  any  man 
of  our  day  would  think  more  than  enough 
to  occupy  his  whole  undivided  time :  and  all 
this,  too,  in  the  midst  of  perpetual  infirmity 
of  the  flesh. 

6116.  WORK,  Exhortation  to.  Weep  with  them 
that  weep,  if  you  cannot  relieve  them.  Be¬ 
stow  personal  service,  if  you  cannot  give  gold 


» 


WORK. 


WORK. 


673 


Teach  children,  if  you  be  not  competent  as  an 
instructor  of  men.  Be  a  support  to  the  house¬ 
hold,  if  you  are  not  able  to  become  a  pillar  of 
the  state.  Be  a  lamp  in  the  chamber,  if  you 
cannot  be  a  star  in  the  sky.  Gladden  the  cir¬ 
cle  of  home,  if  it  transcend  your  powers  to  illu¬ 
mine  the  town.  Talk  to  the  few,  if  you  have 
no  vocation  to  preach  to  the  crowd.  .S'.  Coley. 

6117.  WORK,  with  God.  Dr.  Phillip,  in  a 
missionary  speech,  alluded  to  a  remark  made 
by  Mr.  Newton  :  “  ‘  When  I  get  to  heaven,  I 
shall  see  three  wonders  there.  The  first  won¬ 
der  will  be  to  see  many  people  there  whom  I 
did  not  expect  to  see ;  the  second  wonder  will 
be  to  miss  many  people  whom  I  did  expect  to 
gee  ;  and  the  third,  and  greatest  wonder  of  all, 
wdl  be  to  find  myself  there.’  I  have  also 
seen  three  wonders.  I  have  seen  men  of  great 
wealth  and  of  great  talent,  who  have  had 
many  opportunities  of  forwarding  the  cause  of 
God,  do  nothing ;  I  have  seen  many  humble 
and  despised  individuals,  but  whose  hearts 
were  right  with  God,  do  wonders ;  but  the 
greatest  wonder  of  all  is  to  find  that  so  humble 
an  individual  as  I  am  should  have  been  at  all 
useful  in  the  work.  I  take  nothing  unto  my¬ 
self  but  shame  and  humility  before  God.” 

611§.  WORK,  A  Good  Day's.  A  Christian  man 
in  a  Western  city  resolved  that  he  would  never 
allow  a  day  to  pass  without  speaking  to  some 
one  on  the  subject  of  personal  salvation.  He 
was  returning  home  late  one  evening,  burdened 
with  the  thought  that  the  day  had  gone  by, 
and  no  one  had  been  invited  to  Christ.  He 
saw  a  man  leaning  against  a  lamp-post,  put  his 
hand  gently  on  the  shoulder  of  the  stranger, 
and  said,  “  May  I  ask  you  if  you  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  ”  The  stranger  resented 
the  freedom,  and  replied  curtly,  that  that  was  a 
personal  matter  in  which  nobody  else  had  any 
concern.  But  the  Christian  replied  kindly,  that 
they  were  fellow-travellers  to  another  world, 
and  one  could  not  be  indifferent  whether 
others  had  a  good  hope  of  entering  heaven. 
After  a  few  more  words  had  passed  between 
them,  they  parted,  the  Christian  fearing  that 
he  had  given  offence,  but  carrying  the  matter 
to  the  closet  for  earnest  prayer.  Three  months 
alter,  just  as  he  had  retired  for  the  night,  a 
knock  was  heard  at  the  door.  He  inquired 
what  was  wanted;  and  a  gentleman  replied  he 
would  like  to  see  him.  On  opening  the  door, 
he  recognized  the  stranger  met  at  the  lamp- 
post.  The  latter  grasped  him  convulsively  by 
the  hand,  and  said,  “  The  question  you  put  to 
me,  ‘  Do  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  V  ’  has 
been  ringing  ever  since  in  my  ear ;  and  I  have 
come  to  ask  you  what  I  must  do  to  be  saved.” 
They  prayed  and  talked  together;  and  in  a  few 
days  the  stranger  was  rejoicing  in  hope  of 
pardon.  He  became  an  earnest  and  devoted 
Christian. 

61110.  WORK,  Health  of.  It  is  not  work  that 
kills  men  :  it  is  worry.  Work  is  healthy  :  you 
can  hardly  put  more  upon  a  man  than  he  can 
bear.  Worry  is  rust  upon  the  blade.  It  is 
not  the  revolution  that  destroys  the  machinery, 
but  the  friction.  Beecher. 

4R 


6120.  WORK,  Honorable.  Nor  can  I  honor 
too  highly  the  faithful  and  industrious  me¬ 
chanic,  the  faithful  man  who  fills  up  his  chink 
in  the  great  economy  by  patiently  using  his 
hammer  or  his  wheel ;  for  he  does  something. 
If  he  only  sews  a  welt,  or  planes  a  knot,  he 
helps  to  build  up  the  solid  pyramid  of  this 
world’s  welfare  ;  while  there  are  those,  who, 
exhibiting  but  little  use  while  living,  might,  if 
embalmed,  serve  the  same  purpose  as  those 
forms  of  ape  and  ibis  insi'le  the  Egyptian  cav¬ 
erns,  —  serve  to  illustrate  the  shapes  and 
idolatries  of  human  conceit.  At  any  rate, 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  essential  nobility  of 
that  man  who  pours  into  life  the  honest  vigor 
of  his  toil  over  those  who  compose  the  feathery 
loam  of  fashion  that  sweeps  along  Broadwaj  ; 
who  consider  the  insignia  of  honor  to  comisc 
in  wealth  and  indolence;  and  who,  ignoring 
the  family  history,  paint  coats  of  arms  to  cover 
up  the  leather  aprons  of  their  grandfathers. 

Dr.  Chapin. 

6121.  WORK,  Law  of.  The  law  of  Nature 
is,  that  a  certain  quantity  of  work  is  necessary 
to  produce  a  certain  quantity  of  good  of  any 
kind  whatever.  If  you  want  knowledge,  you 
must  toil  for  it ;  if  food,  you  must  toil  for  it ; 
anil,  if  pleasure,  you  must  toil  for  it.  Ruskin. 

6122.  WORK,  Natural.  From  the  particle 
of  dust  at  our  feet  to  man,  the  last  stroke  of 
God’s  handiwork,  all  bear  the  impress  of  the 
law  of  labor.  The  earth  is  one  vast  laboratory 
where  decomposition  and  re-formation  are  con¬ 
stantly  going  on.  The  blast  of  Nature’s  fur¬ 
nace  never  ceases,  and  its  fires  never  burn  low. 
The  lichen  of  the  rock,  and  the  oak  of  the 
forest,  each  works  out  the  problem  of  its  own 
existence.  The  earth,  the  air,  and  the  water 
teem  with  busy  life.  The  world  is  animated 
with  the  same  spirit.  Onward  unceasingly, 
unwearied,  age  after  age,  it  pursues  its  course, 
itself,  with  all  it  contains,  a  perpetual  lesson  of 
industry  to  man.  The  joyous  song  of  labor 
sounds  out  from  the  million-voieed< earth,  and 
the  rolling  spheres  join  the  universal  chorus. 

6123.  WORK,  Perfect.  There  is  not  a  more 
necessary  and  consolatory  truth  than  this,  — 
reason  allows  it,  revelation  affirms  it,  —  “  the 
work  of  the  Lord  is  perfect."  Whatever  he 
does  sustains  its  consistency  and  answers  its 
end.  Neither  is  there  redundance  nor  defect. 
The  question  of  degrees,  the  scale  of  dimen¬ 
sions,  cannot  alter  the  fact.  Whether  the  emmet 
or  the  leviathan;  whether  the  atom  or  the 
world,  each  bears  a  stamp  of  entireness  and 
self-sufficience.  The  most  cautious  inspection, 
the  most  fertile  imagination,  can  discover  no 
want,  can  suggest  no  improvement.  You  can 
relieve  no  difficulty,  you  can  facilitate  no  pro¬ 
cess,  you  can  heighten  no  result.  The  system 
of  the  individual  is  as  faultless  as  that  of  the 
species,  the  economy  of  the  particle  as  that  of 
the  universe.  The  grain  embedded  on  the 
shore,  the  star  set  among  the  constellations  of 
the  sky,  in  their  differing  ranks  of  constituted 
nature,  exhibit  the  same  matchless  adjust¬ 
ment,  fitness,  and  application. 

Dr.  R.  W.  Hamilton. 


674 


WORK. 


WORK. 


6124.  WORK,  Power  of.  Dr.  Cary,  sur-  ] 
rounded  by  his  voluminous  works,  gave  the 
secret  of  his  success  thus :  “  I  can  plod.” 

6125.  WORK,  Preservation  for.  A  soldier  by 
the  name  of  Miller,  who  had  from  childhood, 
though  unconverted,  felt  a  strong  desire  to  be¬ 
come  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  on  his  conversion 
felt  a  renewal  of  his  call.  In  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  he  was  badly  wounded,  and  re¬ 
mained  twenty-four  hours  on  the  field.  The 
surgeon  refused  to  operate  upon  him,  because 
death  was  inevitable.  He  was  removed  to 
Fredericksburg,  again  examined  ;  and  his 
wounds  pronounced  fatal.  To  a  friend  he  said, 

“  The  surgeon  says  I  must  die ;  but  I  do  not  feel 
that  my  work  is  done  yet.  When  I  gave  myself 
to  God  last  winter,  I  promised  him  that  I  would 
labor  for  his  cause  in  the  gospel  ministry.  I 
feel  that  he  has  a  work  for  me  to  do ;  and  I 
believe  that  man  is  immortal  till  his  work  is 
done.”  A  few  days  after,  a  third  consultation  of 
surgeons  was  held,  whose  decision  was,  “  You 
will  recover ;  but  it  is  the  most  miraculous 
escape  we  have  ever  seen.”  At  a  fourth  ex¬ 
amination,  his  wounds  were  pronounced  mortal. 
After  many  months’  confinement,  he  was  able 
to  begin  his  preparation  for  the  ministry. 

6126.  WORK,  Reward  of.  A  few  years 
since,  Motley  shot  up  to  the  first  position  as 
a  historian.  Many  wondered  ;  but  it  was  no 
wonder.  He  had  wrought  patiently  for  years 
in  the  libraries  of  the  Old  and  New  Worlds, 
unseen  of  men.  The  success  of  the  great  artist 
Dore  has  years  of  study  in  the  hospitals,  and 
practice  in  the  studio,  behind  it.  This  path  to 
success  is  open  to  all. 

6127.  WORK,  versus  Sloth.  Asa  and  Ira 
were  two  brothers,  whose  farms  lay  side  by  side 
in  a  fertile  intervale.  When  the  young  corn, 
the  oats,  and  the  barley  were  springing  up,  the 
weeds  took  advantage  of  the  rich  soil,  and 
came  up  with  them.  “  Do  you  see,”  said  Asa, 
“  what  a  hold  the  weeds  are  taking  ?  There  is 
danger  of  their  choking  out  the  crops  entirely.” 

—  “  Well,  well,  we  must  be  resigned,”  said 
Ira.  “  Weeds  as  well  as  grain  were  a  part  of 
the  Creator’s  plan.”  And  he  lay  down  tor  his 
usual  afternoon  doze.  “  I  can  only  be  resigned 
to  what  I  cannot  help,”  said  Asa.  So  he  went 
to  work,  and  ploughed  and  hoed  until  the 
fields  were  clear  of  weeds.  “  The  army-worm 
is  in  the  neighborhood,”  said  Asa  to  Ira,  one 
day.  “  It  has  eaten  its  way  through  the  neigh¬ 
boring  meadows,  and  is  fast  moving  towards  us.” 

—  “  Ah  1  ”  exclaimed  Ira,  “  it  will  surely  de¬ 
stroy  what  the  weeds  have  not  choked  out.  I 
will  immediately  retire  to  pray  that  its  course 
may  be  stopped,  or  turned  aside.”  But  Asa 
replied,  “  I  pray  betimes  every  morning  for 
strength  to  do  the  work  of  the  day.”  And  he 
hastened  to  dig  a  trench  around  his  land, 
which  the  army-worm  could  not  pass  ;  while 
Ira  returned  from  his  prayers  only  in  season 
to  save  a  portion  of  his  crops  from  its  ravages. 
“  D  .  you  see,  Ira?  ”  said  Asa,  another  morn- 
in.:.  the  river  is  rising,  and  there  is  but  small 
chance  of  preventing  our  farms  from  being 
overflowed."  —  “  Alas  1  it  is  a  judgment  upon 


1  us  for  our  sins ;  and  what  can  we  do  ?  ”  said 
Ira,  throwing  himself  in  despair  upon  the 
ground.  “  There  are  no  judgments  so  severe 
as  those  which  our  own  sloth  brings  upon  us,” 
said  Asa.  And  he  went  quickly,  and  hired 
workmen,  with  whose  help  he  raised  an  em¬ 
bankment  that  withstood  the  flood ;  while  Ira 
witnessed  with  blank  looks  the  destruction  of 
all  his  wealth.  “  There  is  one  consolation,” 
said  he  :  “  my  children,  at  least,  are  left  me.” 
But,  while  Asa’s  sons  grew  up  strong  and  vir¬ 
tuous  men,  among  Ira’s  there  was  a  drunkard, 
a  gambler,  and  a  suicide.  “  The  ways  of  the 
Lord  are  not  equal,”  said  Ira  to  his  brother. 
“  Why  are  you  always  prospered,  while  I  am 
afflicted,  and  my  old  age  is  disgraced  V  ”  —  “I 
only  know  this,”  replied  Asa,  “  that  Heaven 
always  helped  me  to  meet  my  children’s  faults 
as  I  met  the  weeds,  the  caterpillars,  and  the 
flood ;  and  that  I  never  presumed  to  send  a 
petition  upward,  without  making  toil,  my  right- 
hand  servant,  the  messenger  of  my  prayer. 
Work  and  pray.” 

6128.  WORK,  Sphere  of.  In  the  marts  of 

commerce,  in  the  looms  of  labor,  while  the 
sun  is  climbing  hotly  up  the  sky,  and  the  race 
of  human  pursuits  and  competitions  is  going 
vigorously  on,  there  is  work  enough  for  the 
sincere  and  honest  workman.  The  sphere  for 
personal  improvement  was  never  so  large.  To 
brace  the  body  for  service  or  for  suffering ; 
to  bring  it  into  subjection  to  the  control  of  the 
master-faculty;  to  acquaint  the  mind  with  all 
wisdom  ;  to  hoard  with  miser’s  care  every  frag¬ 
ment  of  beneficial  knowledge  ;  to  twine  the 
beautiful  around  the  true,  as  the  acanthus-leaf 
around  the  Corinthian  pillar ;  to  quell  the  sin- 
ward  propensities  of  nature ;  to  evolve  into  the 
completeness  of  its  moral  manhood  ;  to  have 
the  passions  in  harness,  and  firmly  curb  them; 
“  to  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly  ;  ”  to  strive 
after  “  that  mind  which  was  also  in  Christ 
Jesus,”  —  here  is  a  field  of  labor  wide  enough 
for  the  most  resolute  will.  Punshon. 

6129.  WORK,  Tools  for.  Says  a  quaint  but 

forcible  author,  there  is  not  a  man  nor  a  thing 
now  alive  but  has  tools  to  work  with.  The 
basest  of  created  animalcules,  the  spider  itself, 
has  a  spinning-jenny  and  a  warping-mill  and 
power-looms  within  its  head  :  the  stupidest 
of  oysters  has  a  Pepin’s  digester  with  a  lime¬ 
stone  house  to  hold  it  in.  E.  L.  Magoon. 

6130.  WORK,  Undaunted.  Charles  the 
Twelfth,  King  of  Sweden,  whilst  besieged  in 
Stralsund,  was  one  day  dictating  a  letter  to  his 
secretary,  when  a  bombshell  from  the  enemy’s 
works  fell  upon  the  house  in  which  he  was, 
broke  through  the  roof,  and  burst  close  to  the 
apartment.  The  adjoining  floor  was  shivered 
to  pieces ;  but  his  own  room  was  uninjured. 
The  report  of  the  shell,  however,  which  seemed 
to  crush  the  whole  house  to  pieces,  alarmed 
the  secretary  ;  and  his  pen  fell  from  his  hand. 
“  What’s  the  matter?”  said  the  king  to  him 
with  a  composed  countenance.  “  Why  do  you 
not  continue  writing  ?  ”  —  “  Most  gracious 
sire,”  replied  the  latter,  “  the  bombshell  1  " 
—  “  Well,”  said  the  king,  “  what  has  the 


I 


WORK. 

bombshell  to  do  with  the  letter  ?  Go  on  with 
the  writing.” 

6131.  WORK,  Value  of.  Set  it  down  as  a 
fact  to  which  there  are  no  exceptions,  that  we 
must  labor  for  all  we  have,  and  that  nothing 
is  worth  possessing  or  offering  to  others  which 
costs  us  nothing.  Gilbert  Wakefield  tells  us, 
that  he  wrote  his  own  memoirs,  a  large  octavo, 
in  six  or  eight  days.  It  cost  him  nothing, 
and,  what  is  very  natural,  is  worth  nothing. 
You  might  yawn  scores  of  such  books  into 
existence ;  but  who  would  be  the  wiser  or 
better  ?  We  all  like  gold,  but  dread  the  dig¬ 
ging.  The  cat  loves  the  fish,  but  will  not 
wade  to  catch  them.  Dr.  J.  Todd. 

613:2.  WORKS,  Author  of.  The  work  savors 
of  the  workman.  If  the  poet  sickens,  his  verse 
sickens  ;  if  black,  venous  blood  flows  to  an 
author’s  brain,  it  beclouds  his  pages ;  and  the 
devotions  of  a  consumptive  man  scent  of  his 
disease  as  Lord  Byron’s  obscenities  smell  of 
gin.  Not  only  “  lying  lips,”  but  a  dyspeptic 
stomach,  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord. 

H.  Mann. 

6133.  WORKS,  Concomitant  with  Faith.  The 

eye  alone  seeth  in  the  body,  yet  the  eye  which 
seeth  is  not  alone  ;  the  fore-finger  alone  point- 
eth,  yet  that  finger  is  not  alone  on  the  hand ; 
the  hammer  alone  striketh  on  the  bell,  yet  the 
hammer  that  striketh  is  not  alone  in  the 
clock  ;  the  heat  alone  in  the  fire  burneth,  yet 
that  heat  is  not  alone  without  the  light;  the 
helm  alone  guideth  the  ship,  yet  the  helm  is 
not  without  the  tackling.  Thus  though  faith 
alone  doth  justify,  yet  that  faith  which  justili- 
eth  is  not  alone,  but  joined  with  charity  and 
good  works.  Though  good  works  are  not  the 
cause  why  God  crowneth  us,  yet  we  must  take 
them  in  our  way  to  heaven,  or  we  shall  never 
come  there.  Spencer. 

6134.  WORKS,  Duration  of.  A  party  of  sur¬ 
veyors  in  Arizona,  engaged  in  exploring  the 
country  for  railroad-routes,  lately  came  upon 
some  very  extensive  ruins  on  the  banks  of  the 
Little  Colorado  River.  They  extend  along 
the  river  for  many  miles.  Some  of  the  walls 
of  buildings  are  yet  in  place,  and  stand  six  or 
eight  feet  high.  The  streets  may  be  traced 
for  miles.  The  old  irrigating  canals  and 
ditches  are  yet  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation, 
anti  may  be  traced  for  miles  also.  The  ground 
is  strewed  with  broken  crockery.  The  party 
found  some  nearly  whole  vessels  of  curious 
form.  Many  of  the  walls  of  the  buildings 
were  built  of  hewn  stone,  and  put  up  in  a  work¬ 
manlike  manner.  To  all  appearance,  here 
once  stood  a  city  of  many  thousand  inhabit¬ 
ants.  Who  they  were,  or  to  what  tribes  they 
belonged,  there  is  no  record  left  to  show.  On 
the  east  bank  are  the  ruins  of  a  large  structure 
or  castle,  covering  several  acres  of  land  :  some 
of  the  walls  are  yet  standing  to  the  height  of 
twenty  or  thirty  feet. 

6133.  WORKS,  Human.  In  the  age  succeed¬ 
ing  the  flood,  they  piled  old  Babel’s  tower, 
and  said,  “  This  shall  last  forever.”  But  God 
confounded  their  language:  they  finished  it 
not.  Old  Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptian  mon- 


WORLD.  675 

archs  heaped  up  their  Pyramids,  and  they  said, 

“  They  shall  stand  forever  :  ”  and  so,  indeed, 
they  do  stand ;  but  the  time  is  approaching 
when  age  shall  devour  even  these.  The  most 
stable  things  have  been  evanescent  as  shad¬ 
ows  and  the  bubbles  of  an  hour,  speedily  de¬ 
stroyed  at  God’s  bidding.  Where  is  Nineveh  ? 
and  where  is  Babylon  V  Where  the  cities  of 
Persia  V  Where  are  the  high  places  of  Edom  ?  < 
Where  are  Moab  and  the  princes  of  Ammon  ? 
Where  are  the  temples  of  the  heroes  of 
Greece  ?  Where  the  millions  that  passed  from 
the  gates  of  Thebes  ?  Where  are  the  hosts 
of  Xerxes  V  or  where  the  vast  armies  of  the 
Roman  emperors  ?  Have  they  not  passed 
away  ?  And  though  in  their  pride  they  said, 

“  This  monarchy  is  an  everlasting  one,  this 
queen  of  the  seven  hills  shall  be  called  the 
eternal  city,”  its  pride  is  dimmed  ;  and  she 
who  sat  alone,  and  said,  “  I  shall  be  no  widow, 
but  a  queen  forever,”  —  she  hath  fallen,  hath 
fallen ;  and  in  a  little  while  she  shall  sink  like 
a  millstone  in  the  flood,  her  name  being  a 
curse  and  a  byword,  and  her  site  the  habita¬ 
tion  of  dragons  and  of  owls.  Man  calls  his 
works  eternal ;  God  calls  them  fleeting;  man 
conceives  that  they  are  built  of  rock ;  God 
says,  “  Nay,  sand ;  or,  worse  than  that,  they 
are  air.”  Man  says  he  erects  them  for  eternity  ; 
God  blows  but  for  a  moment,  and  where  are 
they  ?  Like  baseless  fabrics  of  a  vision,  they 
are  passed  and  gone  forever.  Spurgeon. 

6136.  WORKS,  Spiritual.  As  in  a  building, 

after  the  foundation  is  laid,  great  labor,  dili¬ 
gence,  and  expense  is  necessary  to  finish  and 
furnish  it ;  even  so  in  the  heavenly  edifice  of 
our  soul.  All  our  lifetime  is  to  be  employed  in 
building  up  the  walls  and  other  parts  of  our 
spiritual  structure,  by  the  exercise  of  all  vir¬ 
tues,  and  by  diligent  observance  of  God’s  com¬ 
mandments,  without  which  it  will  be  as  useless 
to  look  for  salvation,  as  it  would  be  to  expect 
to  have  a  house  because  a  foundation  had  been 
laid.  Cawdrag. 

6137.  WORLD,  Attachment  to  the.  A  pagan 

moralist  hath  represented  the  folly  of  an  at¬ 
tachment  to  this  world  almost  as  strongly  as 
a  Christian  could  express  it.  “  Thou  art  a 
passenger,”  says  he,  “and  thy  ship  put  into 
harbor  for  a  few  hours.  The  tide  and  the 
wind  serve,  and  the  pilot  calls  to  thee  to  de¬ 
part  ;  and  thou  art  amusing  thyself,  and  gath¬ 
ering  shells  and  pebbles  on  the  shore,  till  they 
set  sail  without  thee.”  So  is  every  Christian, 
who,  being  upon  his  voyage  to  a  happy  eternity, 
delays  and  loiters,  and  thinks  an  1  acts  as  if 
he  were  to  dwell  here  forever.”  Jortin. 

6138.  WORLD,  Attractions  of  the.  A  weeping- 
willow  stood  by  the  side  a  pond,  and,  in  the 
direction  of  that  pond,  it  hung  out  its  pensive- 
looking  branches.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
give  a  different  direction  to  these  branches. 
The  attempt  was  useless  :  where  the  water  lay, 
thither  the  boughs  would  turn.  However,  an 
expedient  presented  itself.  A  large  pond  was 
dug  on  the  other  side  of  the  tree  ;  and,  as  soon 
as  the  greater  quantity  of  water  was  found 
there,  the  tree,  of  its  own  accord,  bent  its 


676 


WORLD. 


WORLD. 


branches  in  that  direction.  What  a  clear 
illustration  of  the  laws  which  govern  the  hu¬ 
man  heart  1  It  turns  to  the  water, — the  poi¬ 
soned  waters  ot  sin  perhaps,  but  the  only 
streams  wi  h  which  it  is  acquainted. 

6139.  WORLD,  Awards  at  the  End  of  the.  The 
world  is  not  unfitly  compared  to  a  fishing-net, 
and  the  end  of  the  world  to  the  drawing-up 
of  the  nets.  While  the  nets  are  down,  there 
is  nothing  said  to  be  caught ;  for  the  nets  may 
break,  and  the  fish  escape.  But  at  the  end  of 
the  world,  when  the  nets  are  drawn  up,  it  will 
then  evidently  appear  what  every  man  hath 
caught;  and  then  those  that  have  fished  for 
riches  or  gain,  sovereignty  and  power  over 
their  brethren,  for  the  honors  and  preferments 
of  this  world,  may  say  with  Peter,  “  Master, 
we  have  toiled  all  the  night,  and  have  taken 
nothing.”  They  dreamt  of  riches  and  hon¬ 
ors  and  powers ;  but,  being  now  awake,  they 
find  nothing  in  their  hands  at  all.  But  those 
that  have  here  fished  for  godliness,  for  peace, 
and  for  the  honor  of  God,  may  say,  “  Lord,  at 
thy  word  we  have  let  down  our  nets,  and  have 
caught,  yea,  we  have  caught  abundantly ;  we 
have  fished  for  godliness,  and  have  gotten  life 
eternal ;  for  grace,  and  we  have  gotten  glory  ; 
for  goodness,  and  we  have  gotten  God  himself, 
who  is  the  fountain  of  all  goodness  and  glory.” 

Spencer. 

6140.  WORLD,  Barden  of  the,  In  the  morning, 

we  carry  the  world  like  Atlas;  at  noon,  we 
stoop  and  bend  beneath  it ;  and  at  night  it 
crushes  us  flat  to  the  ground.  Beecher. 

6141.  WORLD,  A  Burning.  During  the  last 
two  or  three  centuries,  upward  of  thirteen  fixed 
stars  have  disappeared.  One  of  them,  situated 
in  the  northern  hemisphere,  presented  a  pecu¬ 
liar  brilliancy,  and  was  so  bright  as  to  be  seen 
by  the  naked  eye  at  mid-day.  It  seemed  to 
be  on  fire.  It  appeared  at  first  of  a  dazzling 
white,  then  of  a  reddish  yellow,  and,  lastly,  of 
an  ashy  pale  color.  La  Place  supposes  that  it 
was  burned  up,  as  it  has  never  been  seen  since. 
The  conflagration  was  visible  about  sixteen 
months.  A  whole  system  on  fire,  —  the  great 
central  luminary  and  its  planets,  with  their 
plains,  mountains,  forests,  villages,  cities,  and 
inhabitants,  all  in  flames  consumed  ;  and  here 
we  have  a  presumptive  proof  of  the  truth, 
and  a  solemn  illustration  of  a  singular  passage 
in  a  very  old  book  :  “  The  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  great  noise  ;  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat ;  the  world  also,  and  the 
works  that  are  therein,  shall  be  burned  up.” 

6142.  WORLD,  Changes  of  the.  Ah,  this 
beautiful  world  1  I  know  not  what  to  think  of 
it.  Sometimes  it  is  all  sunshine  arid  gladness, 
and  heaven  itself  lies  not  far  off ;  and  then  it 
suddenly  changes,  and  is  dark  and  sorrowful, 
and  the  clouds  shut  out  the  day.  In  the  lives 
of  the  saddest  of  us,  there  are  bright  days, 
like  this,  when  we  feel  as  if  we  could  take  the 
great  world  in  our  arms.  Then,  come  gloomy 
hours,  when  the  fire  will  not  burn  on  our 
hearths,  and  all  without  and  within  is  dismal, 
cold,  and  dark.  Believe  me,  every  heart  has 
its  secret  sorrows,  which  the  world  knows  not ; 


and  ofttimes  we  call  a  man  cold  when  he  is 
only  sad.  Longfellow^ 

6143.  WORLD,  Choice  of  the.  It  was  an 

ancient  custom,  when  an  heir  was  impleaded 
as  an  idiot,  to  put  before  him  an  apple  or  a 
counter,  with  a  piece  of  gold,  and  try  which  lie 
would  take  :  if  he  took  the  apple  or  the  count¬ 
er,  and  not  the  gold,  he  was  cast  for  a  fool,  as 
unable  to  discern  the  true  worth  of  things. 
This  is  the  way,  however,  with  all  wicked  men, 
who  prefer  toys  to  treasure,  trifles  to  realities, 
present  troubles  to  eternal  joys.  Bowes. 

6144.  WORLD,  Corrupt.  We  live  in  a  world 

extremely  corrupt,  of  which  may  be  said,  it  is 
a  monster,  whose  understanding  is  a  pit  of 
darkness ;  his  reason,  a  shop  of  malice ;  his 
will,  a  hell,  where  thousands  of  passions  out¬ 
rageously  infest  him ;  his  eyes  are  two  conduit-  • 
pipes  of  fire,  out  of  which  fly  sparks  of  concu¬ 
piscence ;  his  tongue,  an  instrument  of  cursing; 
his  face,  a  painted  hypocrisy  ;  his  body,  a 
sponge  full  of  froth  ;  his  hands,  harpies’  talons  ; 
and,  to  conclude,  he  owns  no  faith  but  infidel¬ 
ity,  no  Lord  but  his  passions,  no  God  but  his 
bell)'.  N.  Caussin. 

6145.  WORLD,  Danger  of  the.  As  you  love 

your  souls,  beware  of  the  world  :  it  has  slain 
its  thousands  and  ten  thousands.  What  ruined 
Lot’s  wife  ? —  the  world.  What  ruined  Aelian  V 
—  the  world.  What  ruined  Hainan  ?  —  the 
world.  What  ruined  Judas?  —  the  world. 
What  ruined  Simon  Magus  ?  —  the  world. 
What  ruined  Demas  ?  —  the  world.  And 
“  what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  ”  % 

6146.  WORLD,  Deception  of  the.  It  is  said 
there  is  a  fiery  light  which  appears  in  marshy 
places,  floating  just  above  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  so  volatile  in  its  nature,  that  the  least 
breath  moves  it ;  and,  consequently,  those  who 
rush  towards  it  most  eagerly  create  a  current 
of  air  which  drives  it  from  them,  and  it  thus 
leads  them  on  to  miry  places  for  their  destruc¬ 
tion  ;  while,  if  they  would  quietly  sit  down,  it 
might  float  near  them,  or  rest  upon  them  when 
there  was  no  agitation  in  the  atmosphere  to 
repel  it.  So  is  it  with  the  great  things  of  this 
world  ;  they  often  fly  from  the  face  of  those 
who  pant  most  anxiously  in  the  chase  of  them  ; 
they  frequently  rest  upon  those  who  reach  after 
them  with  calm  and  persevering  industry. 

Lewis. 

6147.  WORLD,  Destmction  of  the.  The  cool 
night  arrived,  and,  about  half-past  eight,  I  was 
lying  half  asleep.  I  fancied  I  heard  a  rum¬ 
bling  like  distant  thunder.  I  had  not  heard 
such  a  sound  for  months ;  but  a  low,  uninter¬ 
rupted  roll  appeared  to  increase  in  volume, 
although  far  distant.  Hardly  had  I  raised  my 
head  to  listen  more  attentively,  when  a  confu¬ 
sion  of  voices  arose  from  the  Arab’s  camp  with 
a  sound  of  many  feet ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes, 
they  rushed  into  my  camp,  shouting  to  my 
men  in  the  darkness,  “  El  ba.hr !  El  bahr ! 

“  The  river,  the  river  1  ”  We  were  up  in  an 
instant ;  and  my  interpreter,  Mahomed,  in  a 
state  of  confusion,  explained  that  the  river  was 
coming  down,  and  that  the  supposed  distant 


WORLD. 


WORLD. 


677 


thunder  was  the  roar  of  the  approaching 
water.  Many  of  the  people  were  aleep  on  the 
clean  sand  of  the  river’s  bed:  these  were 
awakened  by  the  Arabs,  who  rushed  down  the 
steep  bank  to  save  the  skull  of  my  two  hippo¬ 
potami  that  were  exposed  to  try.  Hardly  had 
they  descended,  when  the  sound  of  the  river 
in  the  darkness  beneath  told  us  that  the  water 
had  arrived;  and  the  men  had  just  sufficient 
time  to  drag  their  heavy  burdens  up  the  bank. 
All  was  darkness  and  confusion ;  everybody 
was  talking,  and  no  one  listening :  but  the 
great  event  had  occurred,  —  the  river  had  ar¬ 
rived  “  like  a  thief  in  the  night,”  as  it  is  said 
the  end  of  the  world  shall  come.  Baker. 

614§.  WORLD,  Dissatisfaction  with  the.  Pope 
Adrian  IV.,  who  in  early  life  suffered  great 
hardships  from  poverty,  told  a  friend,  that 
all  the  hardships  of  his  life  were  nothing  in 
comparison  to  the  Papal  crown.  The  Emperor 
Diocletian  found  a  crown  so  heavy,  that  he  laid 
it  aside,  and  retired  to  private  life. 

6149.  WORLD,  End  of  the.  The  word  of 
God  holds  up  before  mankind  two  great  days, 
—  the  first  day  and  the  last.  The  first  was 
when  he  spake  this  earth  into  form  ;  the  last, 
when  it  shall  be  dissolved.  The  world  we  in¬ 
habit  had  a  birth-day  :  it  will  have  a  death-day. 
As  the  body  we  occupy  was  born,  and  must 
die ;  so  this  planetary  body  had  its  cradle,  and 
will  have  its  grave.  As  our  frames  testify  to 
the  presence  of  diseases  that  can  destroy  them, 
so  this  goodly  frame  of  earth  testifies  to  the 
presence  of  diseases  that  could  instantly  and 
easily  destroy  it.  Sir  Charles  Lyell  says,  “  In 
view  of  the  activity  of  these  elements,  the 
wonder  is,  not  that  the  earth  will  be  dissolved, 
but  that  it  exists  for  a  moment.” 

6150.  WORLD,  Exile.  A  holy  indifference 
to  present  things  makes  it  easy  to  part  with 
them,  and  death  less  fearful.  Chrysostom,  in 
a  letter  to  Ciriacus,  who  was  tenderly  sensible 
of  his  banishment,  wrote  to  him,  “  You  now 
begin  to  lament  my  banishment :  but  I  have 
done  so  for  a  long  time ;  for,  since  I  knew  that 
heaven  was  my  country,  I  have  esteemed  the 
whole  earth  a  place  of  exile.  Constantinople, 
from  which  I  am  expelled,  is  as  distant  from 
paradise  as  the  desert  to  which  they  send  me.” 

Buck. 

6151.  WORLD,  Folly  of  the.  God  sees  that  you 

are  naked  and  poor,  and  comes  to  you  with  a 
royal  wardrobe  and  all  supplies.  Suppose  you 
succeed  in  proving  that  there  is  no  food  nor  rai¬ 
ment  :  you  are  still  poor  and  naked.  What 
would  you  think,  if  there  were  to  be  an  insur¬ 
rection  in  a  hospital,  and  sick  man  should 
conspire  with  sick  man,  and,  on  a  certain  day, 
they  should  rise  up,  and  reject  the  doctors  and 
nurses  !  There  they  would  be,  —  sickness  and 
disease  within,  and  all  the  help  without !  Yet 
what  is  a  hospital  compared  to  this  fever-rid¬ 
den  world,  which  goes  swinging  in  pain  and 
anguish  through  the  centuries,  where  men  say, 
“We  have  got  rid  of  the  atonement,  and  we 
are  rid  of  the  Bible  ”  ?  Beecher. 

6152.  WORLD,  God’s  Use  of  this.  This  world, 
small  as  it  is,  is  made  of  use  by  the  Creator  to 


illustrate  principles  in  his  government,  “  to  the 
intent  that  now,  unto  principalities  and  powers 
in  heavenly  places  may  be  known  by  the 
Church,  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God.”  That 
this  world  is  the  smallest  but  two  in  the  plan¬ 
etary  system  is  no  more  a  valid  objection  to 
its  being  used  for  infinite  purposes  of  wisdom, 
than  it  would  be  to  object  to  the  size  of  the 
slate  on  which  La  Place  wrought  out  his 
logarithms  for  his  “  Mecanique  Celeste.”  God 
is  solving  problems  in  this  world  wiih  sin : 
the  results  may  enter  into  the  practical  knowl¬ 
edge  of  unnumbered  worlds,  as  the  answers 
to  problems  are  transferred  to  books  of  navi¬ 
gation,  and  are  the  confidence  of  them  that 
are  afar  off  upon  the  sea.  Our  own  Lex¬ 
ington  and  Bunker  Ilill  were  not  too  small 
for  transactions  which  brought  this  nation  into 
being ;  nor  did  one  field  in  Waterloo  prove 
too  small  to  have  the  destiny  of  half  of  Europe 
decided  there.  The  cross  of  a  Redeemer  has 
stood  here  :  things  are  associated  with  it  which 
we  are  told  “  angels  desire  to  look  into.” 

N.  Adams. 

6153.  WORLD,  Hatred  of  the.  From  the  fiery 

days  of  the  stakes  of  Smithfield,  even  until  now, 
the  world’s  black  heart  has  hated  the  Church; 
and  the  world’s  cruel  hand  and  laughing  lip 
have  been  forever  against  us.  The  host  of  the 
mighty  are  pursuing  us,  and  are  thirsty  for  our 
blood,  and  anxious  to  cut  us  off  from  the  earth. 
Such  is  our  position  unto  this  hour,  and  such 
must  it  be,  until  we  are  landed  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan,  and  until  our  Maker  comes  to 
reign  on  the  earth.  Spurgeon. 

6154.  WORLD,  Holding  to  the.  As  you  will 
sometimes  see  a  sear  and  sallow  leaf  hang  upon 
the  tree  all  through  winter,  tenacious  of  its 
hold,  dancing  and  whirling  in  the  playful  wind, 
out  of  beauty,  out  of  grace,  out  of  season  ;  so 
you  sometimes  may  see  some  worn-out,  godless 
sinners  clinging  to  this  world  when  they  have 
lost  all  their  use,  beauty,  and  goodness. 

Dr.  Guthrie. 

6155.  WORLD,  Ignorance  of  the.  He  that 
knows  a  little  of  the  world  will  admire  it 
enough  to  fall  down  and  worship  it ;  but  he 
that  knows  it  most  will  most  despise  it.  Colton. 

6156.  WORLD,  Inconstancy  of  the.  As  it  can¬ 
not  be  otherwise  than  that  the  sun  shining  in 
one  horizon  occasions  darkness  in  another,  so 
that  our  day  is  their  night,  and  the  reverse ; 
thus  it  is  with  the  things  of  the  world.  Many 
are  made  poor  that  the  few  may  become  rich ; 
one  is  made  honorable  by  another’s  disgrace ; 
one  full  by  another’s  emptiness.  If  the  day 
of  prosperity  smiles  upon  one,  the  day  of  ad¬ 
versity  lowers  upon  another ;  one  weeps,  and 
another  rejoices  ;  one  gains,  and  another  loses. 

Spencer. 

6157.  WORLD,  Infelicity  of  the.  A  child  ima¬ 
gines,  that,  as  soon  as  he  arrives  at  a  certain 
stature,  he  shall  enjoy  more  pleasure  than  he 
hath  enjoyed  in  his  childhood.  The  youth  per¬ 
suades  himself,  that  men  who  are  what  they  call 
settled  in  the  world  arc  incomparably  more 
happy  than  young  people  can  be  at  his  age. 
While  we  think  ourselves  condemned  to  live 


67s 


WORLD. 


WORLD. 


single,  solitude  seems  intolerable ;  and,  where 
we  have  associated  ourselves  with  others,  we 
regret  the  happy  days  spent  in  the  tranquillity 
of  solitude.  Thus  we  go  on  from  fancy  to 
fancy,  and  from  one  chimera  to  another, 
till  death  arrives,  subverts  our  imaginary 
projects  of  happiness,  and  makes  us  know  by 
our  own  experience  what  the  experience  of 
others  ought  to  have  taught  us  long  before,  that 
is,  that  the  whole  world  is  vanity,  and  that,  by 
changing  our  situation,  we  often  do  no  more 
than  change  our  kind  of  infelicity.  Saurin. 

615§.  WORLD,  Judgment  of  the,  As  a  guilty 
man  whose  conscience  doth  accuse  him  would 
never  see  the  judge,  and  a  traitor  would  never 
willingly  be  espied  of  his  prince,  nor  a  dis¬ 
loyal  person  of  one  that  knoweth  him,  and, 
on  the  other  side,  a  true  and  faithful  subject 
that  hath  done  dutiful  service,  desireth  the 
presence  of  the  prince  in  hope  to  be  well  re¬ 
warded  :  so  the  wicked  and  ungodly  ones  of 
the  world  are  grieved  to  hear  of  Christ’s  com¬ 
ing  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  ;  but 
they  that  have  lived  with  good  consciences  do 
groan  for  his  coming.  Cawdray. 

6159.  WORLD,  Love  of  the.  Crates  threw 
his  gold  into  the  sea,  saying,  “  I  will  destroy 
thee,  lest  thou  destroy  me  1  ”  If  men  do  not 
put  the  love  of  the  world  to  death,  the  love  of 
the  world  will  put  them  to  death.  Venning. 

6169.  WORLD,  Our  Own,  This  disordered 
universe  is  the  picture  of  your  own  mind.  We 
make  a  wilderness  by  encouraging  artificial 
wants,  by  creating  sensitive  and  selfish  feel¬ 
ings;  then  we  project  every  thing  stamped 
with  the  impress  of  our  own  feelings,  and  we 
gather  the  whole  of  creation  into  our  pained 
being.  “  The  whole  creation  groancth  and 
travaileth  in  pain  together  until  now.”  The 
world  you  complain  of  as  impure  and  wrong  is 
not  God’s  world,  but  your  world :  the  blight, 
the  dulness,  the  blank,  are  all  your  own.  The 
light  which  is  in  you  has  become  darkness, 
and  therefore  the  light  itself  is  dark. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

6161.  WORLD,  A  Petrified.  There  is  a 
strange  old  legend,  of  a  world  that  grew  color¬ 
less  in  a  single  night.  The  clouds  became 
lifeless,  spongy  vapors ;  the  waves  turned  pale 
and  motionless  ;  the  fire  fled  from  the  diamond, 
and  light  from  every  gem  ;  the  metal  gleam¬ 
ing  of  the  snake,  and  the  dyes  of  the  jewelled 
orbs,  faded  away  slowly,  as  the  stars  go  out  at 
daybreak.  The  world  turned  into  a  sculptor’s 
world,  and  all  was  animated  stone.  Those 
that  dwelt  upon  it  were  saddened  and  bewil¬ 
dered  at  the  change,  and  never  ceased  to  mourn 
for  the  beautiful  tints  of  flowers  and  grasses, 
and  the  vanished  hues  of  the  sunset  clouds. 
All  Nature  was  in  mourning,  and  wore  a  leaden- 
colored  robe.  Never  more  should  diamonds 
sparkle,  or  rubies  shine,  or  dewdrops  glisten 
in  the  morning  light.  Never  more  should 
there  be  a  rainbow  on  the  cloud,  or  silver  in 
the  falling  raindrops.  The  expanse  of  lake  or 
ocean  should  never  more  reflect  a  blue  heaven, 
or  the  stars,  or  the  sun.  The  world  had  passed 
into  eclipse,  —  into  the  shadow  of  death. 


6162.  WORLD,  Pilgrims  in  the.  It  was  said 
of  Athens,  that  it  was  a  good  place  to  pass 
through :  for  there  were  many  things  to  be 
learned  there  ;  but  it  was  not  a  good  place  to 
stay  in,  because  it  was  dangerous  to  live  there. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  this  world,  “  If  a 
man  but  passes  through  it,  he  shall  be  the  bet¬ 
ter  for  it;  but,  if  he  takes  up  his  abode  here, 
he  is  in  jeopardy  of  his  life,  both  present  and 
eternal.” 

6163.  WORLD,  Pleasures  of  the.  The  pleas¬ 
ures  of  the  world  are  not  like  the  waters  of 
the  Nile,  which  leave,  when  they  are  gone,  the 
germs  of  beauty  and  fertility  to  bud  and  blos¬ 
som,  and  cheer  the  heart  of  man  :  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  they  are  like  those  streams  polluted  by 
the  washings  of  poisonous  minerals,  depositing 
the  seeds  of  disease  and  death  to  all  who  drink 
them. 

6164.  WORLD,  Reckoning  of  the,  A  selfish 

and  fraudulent  inn-keeper  speaks  his  guests 
fair,  draws  and  serves  his  liquor  fresh,  places 
dice  and  cards  upon  the  table,  and  invites  the 
company  to  amuse  themselves,  and,  meanwhile, 
says  nothing  of  the  reckoning  :  but  it  is  not 
forgotten;  and  when,  at  last,  it  is  laid  before 
them,  it  makes  them  stare.  The  Devil  does 
the  same  with  the  world.  Gotthold. 

6165.  WORLD,  a  Snare.  Hunters  dig  pits 
in  the  earth,  then  cover  them  over,  and  place 
a  bait  or  lure  near  them  to  attract  the  prey, 
that  they  may  venture  upon  the  treacherous 
place,  and  fall  in  to  their  utter  ruin.  Thus  the 
Devil  makes  this  world  his  fatal  vault,  which 
lie  strews  over  with  pleasures  and  delights  : 
the  way  seems  smooth ;  but  it  is  slippery,  that 
man  may  the  surer  and  the  sooner  fall. 

Spencer. 

6166.  WORLD,  Spirit  of  the.  The  spirit  of 
the  world  is  forever  altering,  impalpable  ;  for¬ 
ever  eluding,  in  fresh  forms,  your  attempts  to 
seize  it.  In  the  days  of  Noah,  the  spirit  of  the 
world  was  violence.  In  Elijah’s  day,  it  was 
idolatry.  In  the  day  of  Christ,  it  was  power, 
concentrated  and  condensed  in  the  government 
of  Rome.  In  ours,  perhaps,  it  is  the  love  of 
money.  It  enters  in  different  proportions  into 
different  bosoms  ;  it  is  found  in  a  different  form 
in  contiguous  towns,  in  the  fashionable  water¬ 
ing-places,  and  in  the  commercial  city ;  it  is 
this  thing  at  Athens,  and  another  in  Corinth. 
This  is  the  spirit  of  the  world,  a  thing  in  my 
heart  and  yours  to  be  struggled  against,  not 
so  much  in  the  case  of  others  as  in  the  silent 
battle  done  within  our  own  souls. 

F.  W.  Robertson. 

6167.  WORLD,  a  Stage.  The  world  is  a 
great  show,  which  presents  us  various  scenes 
and  fantastic  characters,  —  princes,  politicians, 
warriors,  and  philosophers,  the  rich,  the  hon¬ 
orable,  the  learned,  and  the  wise,  and,  with 
these,  the  servant  and  the  beggar,  the  poor, 
the  weak,  and  the  despised.  Some  seldom 
come  from  behind  the  scenes  ;  others,  adorned 
with  honor  and  power,  are  followed  by  a  shout¬ 
ing  multitude,  and  fill  the  world  with  the 
noises  of  their  actions.  But,  in  a  little  time, 
the  scene  turns,  and  all  these  phantoms  disap- 


WORLD. 


WORLDLINESS. 


679 


pear.  The  king  of  terrors  clears  the  stage  of 
these  busy  actors,  and  strips  them  of  their  fic¬ 
titious  ornaments,  bringing  them  all  to  a  level, 
and  sending  them  down  to  the  grave :  all  the 
actors  in  a  drama  return  to  their  private  char¬ 
acter  when  the  action  is  over.  W.  Jones. 

6168.  WORLD,  Stooping  to  the.  Plutarch 
saith  of  Themisiocles,  that  he  accounted  it 
below  his  state  to  stoop  to  take  up  the  spoils 
(though  chains  of  gold)  which  the  enemy  had 
scattered  in  the  way,  but  said  to  one  of  his 
followers,  “  Thou  mayest;  for  thou  art  not 
Themistocles.”  It  is  tor  worldly  spirits,  it  is 
below  the  state  of  heaven-born  spirits,  to  stoop 
to  worldly  things  :  worldlings  may ;  they  are 
not  Themistocles,  they  are  not  saints.  Venning. 

6169.  WORLD,  Things  of  the.  The  things  of 
this  world,  like  Absalom’s  mule,  run  away  and 
leave  us  when  we  have  most  need  of  them. 

Venning. 

6170.  WORLD,  Uncertainty  of  the.  A  learned 

man  has  a  note  upon  the  names  of  the  two  first 
that  ever  were  born  into  the  world,  Cain  and 
Abel ;  whence,  said  he,  we  may  learn  a  very 
good  lesson,  and  that  from  the  very  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  their  names.  Cain  signifies  possession, 
and  Abel,  vanity,  to  show  that  Adam  and  Eve, 
who  had  all  the  world  before  them,  did  see 
nothing  but  vanity  in  all  their  possessions : 
and  it  were  well  if  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
Adam,  that  have  a  great  deal  less  of  the 
world  than  Adam  had,  would  not  set  their 
hearts  so  much  upon  the  vanities  and  uncer¬ 
tainties  thereof.  Spencer 

6171.  WORLD,  Unreliable.  There  is  an  old 
story,  of  a  man  residing  on  the  coast  of  Eng¬ 
land,  who,  seeing  his  neighbors  grow  rich  by 
trade  with  foreign  countries,  converted  his 
goods  into  gold,  went  to  Spain,  and  bought  a 
cargo  of  figs.  On  his  way  home,  a  great  storm 
at  sea  compelled  him  to  cast  his  figs  over¬ 
board.  Again  at  home,  his  friends  started  him 
at  farming.  While  ploughing,  one  day,  near  the 
shore,  he  cried,  “  Whoa  1  ”  to  the  driver;  then, 
gazing  at  the  sea,  he  said,  “  How  is  it  that  you 
look  so  smooth  now  ?  You  long  for  more  figs, 
do  you  ?  Your  fair  looks  shall  never  deceive 
me  again,  I  warrant  you.  Drive  on,  boy  1  ” 
The  world  is  as  treacherous  as  this  sea.  They 
are  few  who  have  not  been  deluded  by  it. 

6172.  WORLD,  Vanity  of  the.  What  can  all 

the  world  minister  to  a  sick  person,  if  it  repre¬ 
sents  all  the  spoils  of  nature,  and  the  choicest 
delicacies  of  land  and  sea  ?  Alas !  bis  appe¬ 
tite  is  lost :  and  to  see  a  pebble-stone  is  more 
pleasing  to  him ;  for  he  can  look  upon  that 
without  loathing,  but  not  so  upon  the  most 
delicious  fare  that  ever  made  famous  the 
Roman  luxury.  Perfumes  make  his  head 
ache.  If  you  load  him  with  jewels,  you  press 
him  with  a  burden  as  troublesome  as  his  grave¬ 
stone  ;  and  what  pleasure  is  in  all  those  pos¬ 
sessions  that  cannot  make  his  pillow  easy,  nor 
tame  the  rebellion  of  a  tumultuous  humor,  nor 
restore  the  use  of  a  withered  hand,  or  straighten 
a  crooked  finger  ?  Vain  is  the  hope  of  that 
man  whose  soul  rests  upon  vanity  and  such 
unprofitable  possessions  1  Bp.  Taylor. ! 


6173.  WORLD,  Way  of  the.  Some  of  the  un¬ 
converted  inhabitants  of  Greenland  had  heard 
that  the  world  would  be  destroyed  ;  and  as,  in 
that  case,  they  would  have  nowhere  to  go,  they 
expressed  a  desire  to  be  converted,  that  they 
might  go  with  the  believers.  “  But,”  added 
they,  “  as  the  destruction  will  not  happen  this 
year,  we  will  come  in  next  season.” 

6174.  WORLD,  Weakness  of  the.  The  great¬ 
est  vanity  of  this  world  is  remarkable  in  this, 
that  all  its  joys  summed  up  together  are  not 
big  enough  to  counterpoise  the  evil  of  one 
sharp  disease,  or  to  allay  a  sorrow.  For  im¬ 
agine  a  man  great  in  his  dominion  as  Cyrus, 
rich  as  Solomon,  victorious  as  David,  beloved 
like  Titus,  learned  as  Trismegist,  powerful  as 
all  the  Roman  greatness;  all  this,  and  the 
results  of  all  this,  give  him  no  more  pleasure 
in  the  midst  of  a  fever  or  the  tortures  of  the 
stone  than  if  he  were  only  lord  of  a  little  dish 
and  a  dishful  of  fountain-water.  Bp.  Taylor. 

6175.  WORLDLINESS,  Absorption  o£  If  you 
should  line  a  garment  with  linen,  it  would  do 
very  well ;  but  if  you  line  it  with  pitch  or  glue, 
that  will  stick  fast  to  the  body,  and,  in  all 
likelihood,  spoil  both  the  garment  and  the  man 
that  wears  it.  So,  when  the  world  is  glued 
to  your  hearts,  it  spoils  the  comforts  of  all  the 
mercies  that  you  enjoy  ;  and  so  it  may  be  said, 
that  the  otherwise  lawful  use  of  them  is 
abused,  when  they  are  either  used  too  affec¬ 
tionately  in  making  gods  of  them,  or  being  too 
eagerly  bent  in  the  gaining  of  them.  Spencer. 

6176.  WORLDLINESS,  The  Attraction  o£ 
Nearly  all  can  recall  that  favorite  fiction  of 
their  childhood,  —  the  voyage  of  Sinbad  the 
Sailor  into  the  Indian  Sea.  They  will  remem¬ 
ber  that  magnetic  rock  that  rose  from  the  sur¬ 
face  of  the  placid  waters.  Silently  Sinbad’s 
vessel  was  attracted  towards  it ;  silently  the 
bolts  were  drawn  out  of  the  ship’s  side,  one  by 
one,  through  the  subtle  attraction  of  that  mag¬ 
netic  rock.  And,  when  the  fated  vessel  drew 
so  near  that  every  bolt  and  clamp  were  un¬ 
loosed,  the  whole  structure  of  bulwark,  mast, 
and  spars,  tumbled  into  ruin  on  the,  sea,  and 
the  sleeping  sailors  awoke  to  their  drowning 
agonies.  So  stands  the  magnetic  roi  k  of 
worldliness  athwart  the  Christian’s  path.  Its 
attraction  is  subtle,  silent,  slow,  but  fearfully 
powerful  on  every  soul  that  floats  within  its 
range.  Under  its  enchanting  spell,  bolt  after 
bolt  of  good  resolution,  clamp  after  clamp  of 
Christian  obligation,  are  stealthily  drawn  out. 
What  matters  it  how  long  or  how  fair  has  been 
the  man’s  profession  of  religion,  or  how  flaunt- 
ingly  the  flag  of  his  orthodoxy  floats  from  the 
masthead  V  Let  sudden  temptation  smite  the 
unbolted  professor,  and  in  an  hour  he  is  a 
wreck.  lie  cannot  hold  together  in  a  tempest 
of  trial,  he  cannot  go  out  on  any  cruise  of 
Christian  service,  because  he  is  no  longer  held 
together  by  a  divine  principle  within.  It  has 
been  silently  drawn  out  of  him  by  that  mighty 
loadstone  of  attraction, — a  sinful,  Godless, 
self-pamperin<r,  Christ-rejecting  world.  Cuyler. 

6177.  WORLDLINESS,  Contrast  o£  In  the 
courts  of  kings  and  princes,  children  and  rude 


680 


'W'ORUDLnSTESS. 


WORLDLINESS. 


people  are  much  taken  with  pictures  and  rich 
shows,  and  teed  their  fancies  with  the  sight  of 
rich  hangings  and  tine  things ;  but  the  wise 
and  grave  statesman  passes  by  such  things  as 
not  worthy  of  notice  :  his  business  is  with  the 
king.  Thus  it  is,  that,  in  this  world,  most  men 
stay  in  the  out-rooms,  and  admire  the  low 
things  of  the  world,  and  look  upon  them  as 
pieces  of  much  excellence ;  but  the  spiritually- 
minded  man,  whose  eye,  desire,  and  ways  are 
unto  God,  looketh  over  all  these  things  that 
are  here  below  :  his  business  is  with  his  God. 
Let  them  doat  upon  the  world  that  are  in  love 
with  it,  whom  hath  he  in  heaven  but  God?  and 
there  is  none  upon  earth  that  he  desireth  be¬ 
sides  him  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  25).  Spencer. 

6178.  WORLDLINESS,  Crime  of.  For  every¬ 

where  he  is  a  Judas,  with  whom  his  worldly 
interests,  his  worldly  ambition,  prevail  over  his 
attachment  to  Christ  and  to  Christ’s  cause ; 
who  joins  the  Christian  society,  it  may  not  be 
to  make  gain  thereby,  but  who,  when  the  occa¬ 
sion  presents  itself,  scruples  not  to  make  what 
gain  he  can  of  that  connection ;  who,  beneath 
the  garb  of  the  Christian  calling,  pursues  a 
dishonest  traffic  ;  who,  when  the  gain  and  the 
godliness  come  into  collision,  sacrifices  the  god¬ 
liness  for  the  gain.  Dr.  Ilanna. 

6179.  WORLDLINESS,  Desoribed.  Worldliness 
is  the  spirit  of  childhood  carried  into  man¬ 
hood.  The  child  lives  in  the  present  hour: 
to-day  to  him  is  every  thing.  The  holiday 
promised  at  a  distant  interval  is  no  holiday  at 
all :  it  must  be  either  now  or  never.  Natural 
in  the  child,  and  therefore  pardonable,  this 
spirit,  when  carried  on  into  manhood,  of  course 
is  worldliness.  The  most  distinct  illustration 
given  us  of  this  is  the  case  of  Esau.  Esau 
came  from  the  hunting-field  worn  and  hungry  : 
the  only  means  of  procuring  the  tempting 
mess  of  his  brother’s  pottage  was  the  sacrifice 
of  his  father’s  blessing,  which,  in  those  ages, 
carried  with  it  a  substantial  advantage.  But 
that  birthright  could  be  enjoyed  only  after 
years;  the  pottage  was  present,  near  and  certain  : 
therefore  he  sacrificed  a  future  and  higher 
blessing  for  a  present  and  lower  pleasure.  For 
this  reason,  Esau  is  the  Bible  type  of  world¬ 
liness  :  he  is  called  in  Scripture  a  profane, 
that  is,  not  distinctly  a  vicious,  but  a  secular 
or  worldly  person,  — an  overgrown  child,  im¬ 
petuous,  inconsistent;  not  without  gleams  of 
generosity  and  kindliness,  but  overaccustomed 
to  immediate  gratification.  F.  W.  Robertson. 

6180.  WORLDLINESS,  Emptiness  o£  As  a  cup 
of  pleasant  wine  offered  to  a  condemned  man 
on  the  way  to  his  execution  ;  as  the  feast  of 
him  who  sat  under  a  naked  sword,  hanging  per¬ 
pendicularly  over  his  head  by  a  slender  thread  ; 
as  Adam’s  forbidden  fruit,  seconded  by  a  flam¬ 
ing  sword  ;  as  Belshazzar’s  dainties,  overlooked 
by  a  handwriting  against  the  wall,  —  such  .are 
all  the  empty  delights  of  the  world ;  in  tiieir 
matter  and  expectation,  earthly  ;  in  their  ac¬ 
quisition,  painful ;  in  their  fruition,  nauseous 
and  cloying;  in  their  duration,  dying  and 
perishing ;  in  their  operation,  hardening, 
effeminating,  leavening,  puffing  up,  estranging  | 


their  heart  from  God  ;  in  their  consequences, 
seconded  with  anxiety,  solitude,  fear,  sorrow, 
despair,  disappointment ;  in  their  measure, 
shorter  than  a  man  can  stretch  himself  on, 
narrower  than  a  man  can  wrap  himself  in ; 
every  way  defective,  and  disproportionable  to 
the  vast  and  spacious  capacity  of  the  soul  of 
man,  as  unable  to  fill  that,  as  the  light  of  a 
candle  to  give  day  to  the  whole  world. 

Spencer. 

6181.  WORLDLINESS,  End  of,  Never  shall  i 
forget  the  end  of  one  with  whom  I  was  well 
acquainted,  a  member  of  the  church  of  which 
I  was  pastor  at  Perth.  At  the  solicitation  of 
a  traveller  with  whom  he  did  business,  he  re¬ 
tired  one  evening  to  a  hotel.  For  the  first 
time  in  his  life  he  became  intoxicated,  went 
home,  and,  in  the  heat  of  passion  excited  by 
liquor,  inflicted  on  his  wife  injuries  of  which 
she  died.  In  due  time,  he  was  fried  :  the  evi¬ 
dence  was  conclusive ;  and  sentence  of  death 
was  pronounced.  Never  will  the  scene  be 
effaced  from  my  memory.  I  attended  •him  in 
his  cell,  and  was  the  last  to  leave  him  on  the 
scaffold ;  and  there,  within  sight  of  the  church 
of  which  he  had  been  forty  years  a  member, 
was  he  hanged  like  a  dog.  Rev.  Jabez  Burns. 

6182.  WORLD LINESS,  Fatal  to  the  Church.  In 

Brazil,  there  grows  a  common  plant,  which 
forest-dwellers  call  the  matador ,  or  “  murderer.” 
I  ts  slender  stem  creeps  at  first  along  the  ground ; 
but  no  sooner  does  it  meet  a  vigorous  tree, 
than,  with  clinging  grasp,  it  cleaves  to  it,  and 
climbs  it,  ahd,  as  it  climbs,  keeps,  at  short  in¬ 
tervals,  sending  out  arm-like  tendrils  that  em¬ 
brace  the  tree.  As  the  murderer  ascends,  these 
ligatures  grow  larger,  and  clasp  tighter.  Up, 
up,  it  climbs  a  hundred  feet,  nay,  two  hundred 
if  need  be,  until  the  last  loftiest  spire  is  gained 
and  fettered.  Then,  as  if  in  triumph,  the  par¬ 
asite  shoots  a  huge,  flowery  head  above  the 
strangled  summit,  and  thence,  from  the  dead 
tree’s  crown,  scatters  its  seed  to  do  again  the 
work  of  death.  Even  thus  worldliness  has 
strangled  more  churches  than  ever  persecution 
broke.  S.  Coley. 

6183.  WORLDLINESS,  Folly  of.  As  a  man 
who  looks  on  a  town  represented  on  a  map 
may  discern  the  order  of  the  streets  and 
houses ;  but,  if  the  whole  province  shall  be 
represented  on  the  same  paper,  that  town  will 
show  only  a  small  point ;  then,  if  the  whole 
world  shall  be  represented  on  the  same  size 
of  paper,  the  town  cannot  be  found,  and  the 
whole  province  will  scarcely  appear :  so  it  is 
great  folly,  or  rather  madness,  for  burgesses  of 
heaven  to  offend  God  for  the  getting  of  a 
small  portion  of  earth,  which  cannot  be  dis¬ 
covered  on  the  map,  and  will  appear  still  less 
when  looked  upon  from  heaven.  Cawdray. 

6184.  WORLDLINESS,  Overruled.  “  My  son,” 
said  a  banker  to  his  son,  “  I  want  to  give  you 
a  lesson  in  business.  Here  is  a  half-dollar. 
Now,  if  you  can  find  any  boy  whom  you  can 
trust,  who  will  take  this  money,  and  pay  you 
interest  for  it,  you  may  lend  it  to  him ;  and,  if 
you  invest  this  wisely,  I’ll  increase  your  caDital.” 

I  When  night  came,  the  banker  said,  “  My  son, 


WOKX.DL.rN’ESS. 


WORLDLING. 


681 


how  did  you  invest  your  money  to-day  ?  ”  — 
“  Well,  father,”  replied  the  little  fellow,  “  I 
saw  boy  on  the  street  without  any  shoes, 
and  he  had  no  dinner;  so  I  gave  him  my  fifty 
cents  to  buy  something  to  eat  with.”  —  “  You’ll 
never  make  a  business-man  in  the  world,” 
said  the  banker :  “  business  is  business.  But 
I  will  try  you  once  more.  Now,  here  is  a  dollar 
to  invest:  see  how  well  you  can  do  it.”  A 
loud  peal  of  laughter  from  the  boy  followed 
this  speech,  which  was  thus  explained  :  “  My 
Sunday-school  teacher  said  giving  to  the  poor 
was  lending  to  the  Lord  ;  and  she  said  he  would 
return  to  us  doable :  but  I  did  not  think  he 
would  do  it  quite  so  quick.”  James  R.  White. 

01.85.  WORLDLINESS,  Stream  of.  As  a  river 
leads  a  man  through  sweet  meadows,  green 
woods,  fertile  pastures,  fruit-laden  fields,  by 
glorious  buildings,  strong  forts,  famous  cities, 
yet  at  last  brings  him  to  the  salt  sea ;  so  the 
stream  of  this  world  carries  along  through 
rich  commodities,  voluptuous  delights,  stately 
dignities,  all  possible  content  to  flesh  and 
blood,  but,  after  all  this,  brings  a  tnan  to  death, 
after  death  to  iudgment,  after  judgment  to 
hell.  T.  Adams. 

6186.  WORLDLENESS,  Test  of  This  morn¬ 

ing,  I  have  read  another  of  Edwards’s  sermons, 
on  “  God  the  Christian’s  Portion.”  The  latter 
part  comes  very  close ;  and  I  feel  myself  at  a 
loss  what  to  judge  as  to  God’s  being  my  chief 
good.  He  asks,  whether  we  had  rather  live  in 
this  world  rich,  and  without  God  ;  or  poor,  and 
with  him.  Perhaps  I  should  not  be  so  much 
at  a  loss  to  decide  this  question  as  another; 
namely,  Had  I  rather  be  rich  in  this  world,  and 
enjoy  but  little  of  God ;  or  poor,  and  enjoy  much 
of  God  V  I  am  confident  the  practice  of  great 
numbers  of  professing  Christians  declares  that 
they  prefer  the  former ;  and,  in  some  instances, 
I  feel  guilty  of  the  same  thing.  Fuller. 

6187.  WORLDLINESS,  Vanity  of.  The  Ro¬ 
mans  painted  Honor  in  the  temple  of  Apollo, 
as  representing  the  form  of  a  man,  with  a  rose 
in  his  right  hand,  a  lily  in  his  left,  above  him 
a  marigold,  and  under  him  wormwood,  with 
the  inscription,  Levate,  “consider.”  The  rose 
denotes  that  man  flourishes  as  a  flower,  but  at 
length  is  withered,  and  cast  away.  The  lily 
denotes  the  favor  of  man,  which  is  easily  lost, 
and  is  soon  of  no  account.  The  marigold 
shows  the  fickleness  of  prosperity.  The  worm¬ 
wood  signifies,  that  all  the  delights  of  the 
world  are  sweet  in  execution,  but  bitter  in  ret¬ 
ribution.  Leoate,  consider  what  lesson  of 
earthly  vanity  is  here. 

6188.  WORLDLINESS,  Warning  against.  Mr. 

John  Eliot  was  once  on  a  visit  to  a  merchant ; 
and  finding  him  in  his  counting-house,  where 
he  saw  books  of  business  on  the  table,  and  all 
his  books  of  devotion  on  the  shelf,  he  said  to 
him,  “  Sir,  here  is  earth  on  the  table,  and 
heaven  on  the  shelf.  Pray,  don’t  think  so 
much  of  the  table  as  altogether  to  forget  the 
shelf.”  Whitecross. 

6189.  WORLDLING,  Belief  of  the.  He  believes 
that  the  fleeting  pleasures  of  the  flesh  are  more 
substantial  and  precious  than  the  enduring 


joys  of  the  Spirit;  that  the  ftful  admiration 
and  favor  of  feeble  man  are  more  to  be  desired 
than  the  grace  and  love  of  Almighty  God ; 
that  earth  is  truer  and  more  real  than  heaven ; 
that  a  life  of  a  few  years  is  longer,  and  of  more 
importance,  than  a  life  through  eternity  ;  that 
the  scarred  and  bloated  carcass  of  sin,  with 
its  death’s  head,  and  its  stinging  snakes  coil¬ 
ing  restlessly  around  it,  is  lovelier,  and  more 
to  be  desired,  than  the  pure  and  radiant  beauty 
of  holiness.  Archdeacon  Hare. 

6190.  WORLDLING,  Danger  of  the.  It  is  said, 

that  among  the  recent  discoveries  at  Pompeii 
was  a  woman  in  the  act  of  gathering  in  her 
apron,  rings,  bracelets,  and  other  valuable 
articles  of  jewelry.  It  would  seem  that  some 
wealthy  persons,  aware  of  the  coming  destruc¬ 
tion,  had  made  their  escape,  and  left  these 
things  behind  as  worthless  in  comparison  with 
life ;  but  she,  hoping  to  save  both,  delayed  the 
time  of  her  flight,  and,  alas !  was  overwhelmed 
in  the  terrific  judgment,  and  so  lost  her  life 
and  her  jewels.  How  forcibly  may  this  re¬ 
mind  us  of  covetous  worldlings,  who,  while 
God’s  people  in  the  last  day  shall  make  haste, 
like  Lot,  to  escape  to  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord,  shall  be  seeking  and  toiling  to  accumu¬ 
late  the  perishable  things  of  earth ;  when  the 
conflagration  of  the  world  shall  break  upon 
them,  and  they  and  their  possessions  shall  be 
consumed  together.  Bate. 

6191.  WORLDLING,  Dissatisfaction  of  the. 

Grimaldi,  a  noted  clown,  consulted  a  physi¬ 
cian  to  obtain  a  cure  for  his  melancholy,  and 
was  advised  to  go  and  listen  to  his  own  per¬ 
formances.  What  mockery  !  “  The  heart 

knoweth  its  own  bitterness.”  Disraeli  tells  of 
meeting  a  most  miserable  and  squalid  man, 
who  was  then  amusing  all  London  with  his 
witty  verses.  Thomas  Hood,  the  witty  comic 
poet,  found  the  world  only  a  gilded  cheat.  All 
who  have  chosen  the  world,  and  have  had  it, 
have  been  disappointed  and  disgusted  with 
their  portion. 

6192.  WORLDLING,  Envying  the  Rich.  How 
apt  many  are,  at  the  sight  of  a  rich  worldling, 
to  envy  him  for  what  he  hath  !  but,  for  my  part, 
I  rather  pity  him  for  what  he  wants.  He  hath 
a  talent ;  but  it  wants  improvement :  he  hath 
a  lamp ;  but  it  wants  oil :  he  hath  a  soul ;  but 
it  wants  grace  :  he  hath  a  star ;  but  it  wants 
the  sun  :  he  hath  the  creature,  but  wants  the 
Creator.  In  his  life,  he  doth  float  upon  a  tor¬ 
rent  of  vanity,  which  empties  itself  into  an 
ocean  of  vexation  ;  and,  after  death,  then  take 
this  unprofitable  servant,  bind  him  hand  and 
foot,  and  cast  him  into  outer  darkness  ;  go  set 
his  soul  adrift  forever  in  an  impetuous  lake  of 
fire  and  brimstone.  Where  now  is  the  object 
of  your  envy  V  It  is  not  his  silver  that  will 
now  anchor  him,  nor  his  gold  that  shall  land 
him,  nor  his  friends  that  can  comfort  him  : 
therefore,  if  he  be  worth  the  envying,  who  is 
worth  the  pitying  ?  If  this  be  felicity,  then 
give  me  misery.  Lord  1  rather  make  me  poor 
with  a  good  heart  than  rich  with  a  bad  con¬ 
science. 

61911.  WORLDLING,  Exposure  of  the.  I  read 


682 


WO  RLD  I^rNTG-. 


WORLDLING. 


of  a  traveller  in  India,  who  lost  his  way,  and 
took  lodgings  for  the  night  in  a  deserted  old 
castle.  During  the  night,  he  had  a  dreadful 
dream,  thought  death  in  hideous  forms  was  ad¬ 
vancing  upon  him.  In  fright  he  awoke,  and  oh  ! 
horror  of  horrors!  just  across  his  breast  lay  a 
huge  cobra-de-capello.  He  could  see  by  the  light 
of  the  moonbeams,  shining  through  a  crack  in 
the  wall,  the  gleam  of  his  fiery  eyes,  and  its 
forked  tongue  shooting  defiance  hi  his  face. 
Poor  man,  what  a  discovery  !  W. as  his  condi¬ 
tion  any  worse  now  than  before  the  discovery  ? 
Nay  ;  but  now  he  saw  it  and  felt  it.  S.  Coley. 

6191.  WORLDLING,  The  Mad.  I  saw  a  man 
beginning  a  long  journey.  It  was  a  most  peril¬ 
ous  journey,  through  a  wild,  inhospitable  coun¬ 
try.  It  did  not  seem  so  at  first.  A  green  and 
flowery  lane  led  from  his  dwelling.  The  road 
was  smooth,  the  day  bright,  friends  near,  the 
prospect  fair.  He  set  gayly  off  in  an  easy 
carriage,  attended  by  assiduous  servants,  and 
followed  by  wagons  loaded  with  all  curious 
provision  for  present  amusement  or  need. 
Song  and  fragrance  filled  the  morning  air;  and 
though,  as  the  early  hours  flew  by,  these  fled 
with  them,  still  his  spirits  were  high,  and  the 
wheels  rattled  merrily  over  the  graded  way. 
The  smiles  and  congratulations  of  friends  sa¬ 
luted  him  as  he  passed,  and  some  envied  him. 
He  counted  himself  happy ;  and,  rejoicing  in 
his  admirable  appointments,  gave  up  his  heart 
to  pleasure.  The  evening  of  the  first  day  has 
come,  and,  lo !  the  carriage  is  going  down  a 
hill.  How  steep  it  is  getting !  Faster  and 
faster  it  goes.  The  air  darkens;  the  gloom 
thickens  ;  it  grows  cold ;  and  faster,  faster,  rolls 
the  carriage  downward.  Nothing  can  check 
it.  He  tries ;  the  servants  try.  He  shrieks  for 
help  ;  but  in  vain.  Downward  dash  the  horses ; 
ami  see  !  —  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  a  river, 
dark,  and  without  a  bridge.  The  road  leads 
into  it.  In  rush  the  horses ;  and  with  struggles 
and  groans,  and  plunges  of  agony,  all  disap¬ 
pear.  But  our  traveller  did  not  die  in  the 
stream.  At  the  other  shore,  he  came  forth 
from  the  water,  cold,  desolate,  alone.  His  ser¬ 
vants  were  gone;  his  treasure  was  gone;  his 
amusements  were  gone ;  and  on  that  bleak 
shore,  in  that  bitter  clime,  bound  still  for  that 
awful  journey,  I  saw  him  standing,  pale,  weak, 
in  helpless  despair.  On,  on,  he  must  go.  He 
was  hungry,  but  he  had  no  food ;  thirsty,  but 
there  was  no  water ;  foot-sore,  but  he  must 
walk.  See,  he  totters ;  but  he  has  no  staff : 
dangers  assail  him  ;  but  he  has  no  defence  :  re¬ 
morse  gnaws  him ;  but  he  has  no  resource.  An 
irresistible  destiny  urges  him;  and  while  the 
hunger  ever  bites,  and  the  way  grows  rougher, 
and  horrors  thicken  about  him,  on,  on,  he  must 
go.  Yet  he  knew  all  this  from  the  first,  but 
counted  it  nothing.  All  his  preparations  were 
for  the  pleasant  road,  through  green  and  sunny 
fields.  He  seemed  rich  then ;  men  called  him 
so,  —  all  but  one  honest  soul,  who  frankly  told 
him  that  his  arrangements  were  short-sighted, 
wretched,  and  that,  if  he  went  thus,  his  folly 
was  as  egregious  as  soon  his  poverty  would 
be  dreadful.  But  he  was  called  a  rude  man 


for  his  pains,  and  bidden  begone.  Why  should 
he  be  ever  disturbing  the  present  joy  with  his 
doleful  prophecies?  The  very  sight  of  him 
made  one  melancholy;  and  his  voice  seemed  to 
toll  out  his  warning  like  a  dismal  bell  at  a 
funeral.  “  Let  us  use  the  joys  we  have  while 
we  have  them,  and  let  the  future  take  care  of 
itself!”  So  he  spoke;  and  so  he  went:  and 
now  there  he  is.  Nay,  you  need  not  tell  me 
that  my  picture  is  preposterous,  that  there  is 
no  such  fool  on  earth :  I  know  how  wise  the 
children  of  this  world  are  in  their  generation, 
and  how  unnatural  all  this  would  be  if  I  meant 
the  petty  concerns  of  this  life  alone.  But  sup¬ 
pose  I  strip  off  the  veil,  and  tell  you  that  eter¬ 
nity  is  that  awful  journey,  and  life  that  pleas¬ 
ant  lane,  and  the  body  that  easy  carriage  in 
which  the  soul  sets  out  so  gayly,  and  death  that 
bridgeless  river  where  friends  can  go  no 
farther,  and  servants  must  forsake  us,  and  all 
the  treasures  of  earth  go  down  forever? 
Where  now  is  the  unnaturalness?  Does  it 
not  become  natural  enough,  tame,  even,  from 
its  very  commonness  ?  Thus  from  your  own 
mouth  I  condemn  you,  and,  from  the  shock  you 
feel  where  the  whole  scene  is  bounded  by  an 
inch  of  time,  convict  you  of  unutterable  mad¬ 
ness  in  preparing  for  the  little  course  of  this 
life  only,  and  going  all  unfurnished  for  ever¬ 
lasting  ages.  Professor  Hoqe. 

6195.  WORLDLING,  Model  for  the.  I  once 
saw  the  ascent  of  an  air-balloon  :  it  was  bound 
to  the  earth  by  eight  cords.  As  the  process 
went  on  of  filling  with  gas,  it  seemed  strug¬ 
gling  to  get  free,  and  striving  to  break  the 
bonds  which  kept  it  down.  At  length,  one 
string  was  cut ;  and  immediately  the  part  at 
liberty  was  lifted  from  the  earth :  the  second 
and  third  were  loosened,  till,  the  last  being 
snapped  asunder,  it  rose  majestically  towards 
heaven,  showing  thereby  its  high  destination, 
and  evincing  the  object  for  which  it  struggled 
to  get  free.  There  is  a  picture  of  the  mind 
I  would  fain  possess,  —  a  mind  whose  affections 
are  in  heaven,  a  mind  filled  with  the  Spirit, 
and,  in  proportion  as  it  is  filled,  demonstrat¬ 
ing  its  character  by  its  ardent  aspiring  and 
earne.st  longings  after  its  heavenly  inheritance  : 
thus,  as  the  cords  are  cut  which  bind  the  soul 
to  earth,  it  will  rise  in  heart  and  affection  to 
the  region  where  it  fain  would  be.  C.  Simeon. 

6196.  WORLDLING,  Portion  of  the.  These 

two  lads  are  figures,  —  Passion,  of  the  men  of 
this  world,  and  Patience,  of  the  men  of  that 
which  is  to  come ;  for,  as  here  thou  seest,  Pas¬ 
sion  will  have  all  now,  this  year ;  that  is  to  say, 
in  this  world.  So  are  the  men  of  this  world  : 
they  must  have  all  their  good  things  now. 
They  cannot  stay  till  next  year,  that  is,  until 
the  next  world,  for  their  portion  of  good.  That 
proverb,  “  A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two 
in  the  bush,”  is  of  more  authority  with  them 
than  all  the  divine  testimonies  of  the  good  of 
the  world  to  come.  But  as  thou  sawest  that 
he  had  quickly  lavished  all  away,  and  had 
presently  left  him  nothing  but  rags  so  it 
will  be  with  all  such  men  at  the  end  of  this 
world.  Bumjan, 


WORLDLING. 


WORSHIP. 


GS3 


6197.  WORLDLING,  Race  of  the.  Two  rode 
a  race  tor  a  silver  cup  :  he  who  won  it  outran 
the  post  many  paces ;  indeed,  he  could  not 
stop  his  horse  in  his  full  career,  and  therefore 
ran  beyond  the  post,  or  else  he  would  not  have 
come  soon  enough  to  it.  But,  after  he  had 
won  the  wager,  he  reined  his  horse  back  again, 
and  returned  to  the  post,  where,  from  the 
judges  of  the  match,  he  received  the  cup,  the 
reward  of  his  victory.  Can  we  not  think  of 
many  who  have  designed  a  good  mark  to  them¬ 
selves,  and  propounded  pious  ends  and  aims  in 
their  intentions  ?  But  query  whether,  in  pur¬ 
suance  thereof,  they  were  not  forced  to  outrun 
the  mark,  so  impossible  is  it  to  stop  a  soul  in 
the  full  career  thereof,  and  whether  they  did 
not  overdo  and  exceed  what  they  intended. 
If  so,  it  is  honorable  and  profitable  for  such 
persons  to  go  back  to  the  post  which  they  have 
outrun. 

619$.  WORLDLING,  Reflection  for  the.  Soon 
the  world  will  be  burnt  up,  or  we  must  leave 
it;  why,  then,  should  night-dreams,  day-shad¬ 
ows,  water-froth,  and  common  wild-flowers 
run  away  with  our  heart  in  the  mean  time  ? 
When  a  real  believer  comes  to  the  water-side 
of  the  River  Jordan,  and  sets  his  feet,  as  it 
were,  in  the  boat  which  is  to  convey  him  over 
to  Canaan,  he  will  wonder  at  the  folly  of  him¬ 
self  and  others  in  loving  the  things  of  the 
world.  Rutherford. 

6199.  WORLDLING,  Selfishness  of  the.'  A 
merchant  who  would  feign  buy  a  quantity  of 
goods  examines  them,  approves  their  quality  ; 
but,  when  he  learns  the  price,  he  is  unwilling 
to  pay  it,  and  leaves  the  goods  unbought.  The 
worldling  approves  religion,  would  like  to 
have  it,  hopes  to  have  it  some  day,  but  is  not 
willing  to  pay  the  price  for  it.  He  thinks  he 
shall  obtain  greater  present  reward  in  the 
service  of  mammon,  and  hopes,  that,  at  the 
last,  he  may  in  some  way  slip  into  the  inherit¬ 
ance  of  the  saints,  and  thus  have  a  double  por¬ 
tion. 

6200.  WORLDLING,  Woe  of  the.  If  a  poor 

man,  having  all  his  wealth  about  him,  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  thieves,  and  be  robbed 
of  all,  he  would  take  on  pitifully ;  for  he  is  un¬ 
done  :  but  a  rich  man,  who  has  much  treasure 
locked  up  safely  at  home,  will  not  complain 
much  of  the  loss  of  a  few  shillings.  Thus  for 
worldlings  to  rage  and  take  on  when  they 
must  lose  their  life  or  peace  or  wealth  is  no 
marvel ;  for,  alas  !  when  these  things  are  gone, 
they  have  nothing  left :  but  the  Christian 
cares  not  though  he  may  be  stripped  of  all  in 
this  world ;  and  rejoices  in  death,  that  hastens 
him  to  a  better  possession.  Spencer. 

6201.  WORSHIP,  Absorption  in.  It  was  said 
of  Sir  William  Cecil,  some  time  Lord  Treas¬ 
urer  of  England,  that,  when  he  went  to  bed, 
he  would  throw  off  his  gown,  and  say,  “  Lie 
there,  lord-treasurer,”  as  bidding  adieu  to  all 
state  affairs,  that  he  might  the  more  quietly 
repose  himself :  so  when  we  go  to  any  religious 
duty,  whether  hearing  or  praying,  coming  to 
the  Lord’s  table,  or  in  any  other  religious  ad¬ 
dresses  whatsoever,  we  should  say,  “  Lie  by, 


world ;  lie  by,  all  secular  cares,  all  household 
affairs,  all  pleasures,  all  traffic,  all  thoughts 
of  sain  ;  lie  by  all ;  adieu  all  !  ”  Spencer. 

6202.  WORSHIP,  Assimilidcn  of.  Man  be¬ 

comes  assimilated  to  the  moral  character  of 
the  object  which  he  worships.  To  this  fact 
the  whole  history  of  the  idolatrous  world  bears 
testimony.  A  striking  instance  is  that  of  the 
Scythians,  and  other  tribes  of  the  Northmen, 
who  subdued  and  finally  annihilated  the  Ro¬ 
man  power.  Odin,  Thor,  and  others  of  their 
supposed  deities,  were  ideas  of  hero-kings,  — 
blood-thirsty  and  cruel,  clothed  with  attributes 
of  deity,  and  worshipped.  Their  worship 
turned  the  milk  of  human  kindness  into  gall 
in  the  bosoms  of  their  votaries ;  and  they 
seemed,  like  bloodhounds,  to  be  possessed  of  a 
horrid  delight  when  they  were  revelling  in 
scenes  of  blood  and  slaughter.  It  being  be¬ 
lieved  that  one  of  their  hero-gods,  after  de¬ 
stroying  great  numbers  of  the  human  race, 
destroyed  himself,  it  hence  became  disreputa¬ 
ble  to  die  in  bed  ;  and  those  who  did  not  meet 
death  in  battle  frequently  committed  suicide, 
supposing  that  to  die  a  natural  death  might 
exclude  them  from  favor  in  the  hall  of  Val¬ 
halla.  J.  B.  Walker. 

6203.  WORSHIP,  False.  Many  of  our  church¬ 
es  defy  Protestantism.  Grand  cathedrals  are 
they,  which  make  us  shiver  as  we  enter  them. 
The  windows  are  so  constructed  as  to  exclude 
the  light,  and  inspire  a  religious  awe.  The 
walls  are  of  stone,  making  us  think  of  our  last 
home.  The  ceilings  are  sombre,  and  the  pews 
coffin-colored.  Then  the  services  are  com¬ 
posed  to  these  circumstances ;  and  hushed 
music  goes  trembling  along  the  aisles ;  anti  men 
move  softly,  and  would  on  no  account  put  on 
their  hats  before  they  reach  the  door ;  but, 
when  they  do,  they  take  a  long  breath,  and 
have  such  a  sense  of  relief  to  be  in  the  free 
air,  and  comfort  themselves  with  the  thought 
that  they  have  been  good  Christians  I  Now, 
this  idea  of  worship  is  narrow  and  false.  The 
house  of  God  should  be  a  joyous  place  for  the 
right  use  of  all  our  faculties.  I  had  rather 
see  a  congregation  laugh,  when  it  is  a  sign  of 
life  in  them,  than  to  see  them  asleep  under 
appropriately  called  sound  sermons.  Beecher. 

6291.  WORSHIP,  Heathen.  To  the  heathen 
divinities,  especially  those  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  catalogue  as  the  superior  gods,  what 
theologians  have  called  the  physical  attributes 
of  deity  —  omnipotent  and  omnipresent  power 
—  were  generally  ascribed ;  but  their  moral 
character  was  always  defective,  and  generally 
criminal.  As  one  of  the  best  instances  in  the 
whole  mythology  of  the  ancients,  the  Roman 
Jupiter  might  be  cited.  Had  a  medal  beet) 
struck  of  this  best  of  the  gods,  on  one  side 
might  have  been  engraved  Almightiness ,  Omni 
presence,  Justice ;  and,  on  the  reverse.  Caprice, 
Vengeance,  Lust.  Thus  men  clothed  depraved 
or  bestial  deities  with  almighty  power ;  and 
they  became  cruel  or  corrupt  or  bestial  in 
their  affections  by  the  re-action  of  the  char¬ 
acter  worshipped  upon  the  character  of  the 
worshipper.  In  the  language  of  a  recent 


684 


WORSHIP. 


WORSHIP. 


writer,  “  They  clothed  beasts  and  deprn^ed 
beings  with  the  attributes  of  almightiness, 
and,  in  effect,  they  worshipped  almighty 
beasts  and  devils.”  And  the  more  they  wor¬ 
shipped,  the  more  they  resembled  them. 

J.  B.  Walker. 

6205.  WORSHIP,  Influence  of.  A  Thug  at 
Meirut,  who  had  been  guilty  of  many  mur¬ 
ders,  was  arrested,  and  cast,  heavily  ironed,  into 
prison.  There  a  missionary  visited  him,  and 

reached  Christ  to  him  with  such  success,  that 

e  professed  conversion.  As  he  was  brought 
before  the  judge,  and  confronted  by  many  wit¬ 
nesses,  he  said,  pointing  to  them,  “  No  need 
of  these :  I  am  ready  to  avow  the  crimes  of 
my  dreadful  life.”  He  then  proceeded  to 
declare,  that,  having  been  brought  up  among 
the  Thugs,  he  fully  believed,  that,  by  the 
shedding  of  the  blood  of  each  victim,  he  had 
not  only  pleased  the  dreadful  goddess  Kali, 
but  procured  her  favor  for  himself.  And  he 
recounted  murder  after  murder  in  which  he 
had  been  engaged,  some  of  them  attended 
with  such  cruelty,  that  those  present  who  had 
begun  to  feel  some  pity  for  him  again  shrunk 
back;  the  judge  himself  lifting  up  his  hands, 
and  exclaiming,  “  How  could  you  be  guilty  of 
enormities  like  these?”  The  only  reply  the 
poor  man  made  to  the  judge  was  to  place  his 
hand  in  the  bosom  of  his  linen  vest  to  take 
forth  a  little  book;  then,  holding  it  up  in  his 
hand,  he  said,  “  Had  I  but  received  this  book 
sooner,  the  book  of  Jesus,  my  Saviour  and  my 
God,  T  should  not  have  done  it.” 

6206.  WORSHIP,  Instinct  of.  There  is  in 

the  nature  of  man,  or  in  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  is  conditioned,  something  which 
leads  him  to  recognize  and  worship  a  superior 
being.  Man  is  a  religious  being  :  he  will  wor¬ 
ship.  The  history  of  the  various  races  of  men 
shows  that  all,  however  blindly,  are  feeling 
after  God.  Walker. 

6207.  WORSHIP,  Jewish.  It  is  said  that 

the  Jews  had  before  the  doors  of  their  syna¬ 
gogues  an  iron  plate  upon  which  to  clean  their 
shoes  before  entering ;  and,  having  entered, 
they  sat  silently  and  reverently,  considering 
who  it  was  with  whom  they  had  to  do.  Thus 
_t  was  of  old ;  but  of  late,  though  they  come  to 
the  synagogues  with  washed  hands  and  feet, 
they  are  as  reverent,  saith  one  that  was  an 
eye-witness,  as  grammar  boys  at  school  when 
the  master  is  absent.  Spencer. 

620$.  WORSHIP,  Love  for.  “I  have  in  my 
congregation,”  said  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
“  a  worthy  aged  woman,  who  has  for  many 
years  been  so  deaf  as  not  to  distinguish  the 
loudest  sound ;  and  yet  she  is  always  one  of  the 
first  in  the  meeting.  On  asking  the  reason  of 
her  constant  attendance,  as  it  was  impossible  for 
her  to  hear  my  voice,  she  answered,  “  Though 
I  cannot  hear  you,  I  come  to  God’s  house  be¬ 
cause  I  love  it,  and  would  be  found  in  his  ways  ; 
and  he  gives  me  many  a  sweet  thought  upon  the 
text  when  it  is  pointed  out  to  me :  another 
reason  is,  because  I  am  in  the  best  company, 
in  the  most  immediate  presence  of  God,  and 
among  his  saints,  the  honorable  of  the  earth. 


I  am  not  satisfied  with  serving  God  in  private : 
it  is  my  duty  and  privilege  to  honor  him  regu¬ 
larly  and  constantly  in  public.” 

6209.  WORSHIP,  Place  of.  It  was  formerly, 

and  for  hundreds  of  years,  only  in  one  place 
where  God  would  be  worshipped.  Salvation 
was  then  confined  to  the  Jews ;  and  where  the 
ark  of  the  covenant,  and  the  high  priest,  and 
the  altar,  and  all  the  symbols  of  salvation 
were,  there,  and  there  only,  would  God  be 
worshipped.  Thither  “  the  tribes  of  the  Lord 
went  up ;  ”  and,  when  banished  from  that  place, 
they  worshipped  “  towards  it.”  So  Solomon 
prayed  at  the  dedication  of  the  temple.  So 
Daniel,  in  captivity  in  Babylon,  threw  open  his 
window,  “and  prayed  towards  Jerusalem.” 
“  I  will  worship  toward  Thy  holy  temple.” 
There  the  great  God  actually  dwelt  in  the 
Holy  of  holies ;  and  only  there  would  he  be 
worshipped.  But  our  Lord  teaches  the  woman 
of  Samaria  that  this  whole  system  of  local 
worship  was  passing  away.  “  The  hour  was 
coming,”  nay,  “  was  come,”  when  the  moun¬ 
tain  of  Samaria  would  be  as  holy  as  Mount 
Zion,  the  steppes  of  Russia  and  the  prairies 
of  America  as  sacred  as  the  land  of  Canaan  ; 
when  neither  in  one  place  more  than  in  an¬ 
other  would  God  be  worshipped,  but  anywhere 
and  everywhere.  “  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in 
the  midst.”  That  is  my  church,  my  temple, 
my  holy  mountain,  in  the  midst  of  the  hearts 
of  my  praying  people.  “  To  all  that  in  every 
place  call  upon  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.”  Dean  Close. 

6210.  WORSHIP,  Pleasures  of.  I  know  of  no 

pleasure  so  rich,  none  so  pure,  none  so  hallow¬ 
ing  in  their  influences,  and  constant  in  their 
supply,  as  those  which  result  from  the  true  and 
spiritual  worship  of  God.  Pleasant  as  the  cool 
water-brooks  are  to  a  thirsty  hart,  so  pleasant 
will  it  be  to  us  to  approach  unto  the  living 
God.  R.  Watson. 

6211.  WORSHIP,  Preparation  for.  In  the 
spirit  of  that  significant  Oriental  usage  which 
drops  its  sandals  at  the  palace-door,  the  de¬ 
vout  worshipper  will  put  off  his  travel-tarnished 
shoes,  will  try  to  divest  himself  of  secular 
anxieties  and  worldly  projects,  when  the  place 
where  he  stands  is  converted  into  holy  ground 
by  the  words,  “  Let  us  worship  God.” 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

6212.  WORSHIP,  Sloth  in.  A  certain  monk 
in  one  of  the  dependent  cells  at  Subiaco  was 
always  inattentive  to  his  religious  duties,  and, 
at  the  hour  devoted  to  mental  prayer,  was  seen 
to  leave  the  choir,  and  wander  forth.  Bene¬ 
dict,  coming  to  reprove  him,  saw  that  he  was 
led  forth  by  a  demon  in  the  shape  of  a  little 
black  boy,  who  pulled  him  by  the  robe  (a  per¬ 
sonification  of  the  demon  of  sloth).  This  de¬ 
mon,  however,  was  visible  to  no  other  eyes  but 
those  of  the  saint,  who,  following  the  monk, 
touched  him  on  the  shoulder  with  his  staff,  and 
exorcised  the  demon,  who  from  that  hour 
troubled  the  sinner  no  more.  Mrs.  Jameson. 

6213.  WORSHIP,  Tenacity  for.  It  is  reported 
that  the  king  of  Morocco  told  the  English 


■WORSHIPPERS. 


WRATH. 


685 


ambassador,  in  King  John’s  time,  that  he  had 
read  St.  Paul’s  Epistles,  which  lit?  liked  so  well, 
that,  were  he  to  choose  his  religion,  he  would 
embrace  Christianity  ;  but  he  added  that  every 
one  ought  to  die  in  the  faith  wherein  he  was 
born.  So  it  is  with  many  in  this  day. 

Spencer. 

6214.  WORSHIPPERS,  Character  of.  The 

heathen  had  a  notion  that  the  gods  would  not 
like  the  service  and  sacrifice  of  any  but  such 
as  were  like  themselves ;  and  therefore  to 
the  sacrifice  of  Hercules  none  were  to  be 
admitted  that  were  dwarfs ;  to  the  sacri¬ 
fice  of  Bacchus,  a  merry  god,  none  that  were 
sad  and  pensive,  as  not  suiting  their  genius. 
An  excellent  truth  may  be  drawn  from  their 
folly  :  he  that  would  like  to  please  God  must 
be  like  God.  Salter. 

6215.  WORSHIPPERS,  Varieties  of.  The  tem¬ 
ple  itself  is  full  of  vacant  worship.  It  resounds 
with  rash  vows  and  babbling  voices.  It  is  the 
house  of  God ;  but  man  has  made  it  a  nest  of 
triflers,  a  fair  of  vanity,  a  den  of  thieves. 
Some  come  to  it,  as  reckless  and  irreverent  as 
if  they  were  stepping  into  a  neighbor’s  house. 
Some  come  to  it,  and  feel  as  if  they  had  laid 
the  Most  High  under  obligation,  because  they 
bring  a  sheaf  of  corn  or  a  pair  of  pigeons ; 
whilst  they  never  listen  to  God’s  word,  nor 
strive  after  that  obedience  which  is  better  than 
sacrifice.  Some  come,  and  rattle  over  empty 
forms  of  devotion,  as  if  they  would  be  heard 
because  of  their  much  speaking.  And  some, 
in  a  fit  of  fervor,  utter  vows  which  they  forget 
to  pay  ;  and,  when  reminded  of  their  promise 
by  the  “  angel  ”  of  the  Church,  they  protest 
that  there  must  be  some  mistake  :  they  repu¬ 
diate  the  vow,  and  say  it  was  an  error. 

Dr.  J.  Hamilton. 

6216.  WORTH,  Rewarded.  A  person  whose 
talents  had  raised  him  to  a  high  station  went 
to  return  his  thanks  to  the  minister  by  whom 
he  had  been  elevated.  The  minister  remarked, 
“  You  have  no  thanks  to  return  to  me.  I  had 
but  the  public  good  in  view ;  and  you  would 
not  have  had  my  approbation  if  I  had  found 
anybody  more  deserving  of  it  than  yourself.” 

Whitecross. 

6217.  WRATH,  Preaching.  Sometimes,  right 

solemnly  the  sacred  mysteries  of  eternal  wrath 
must  be  preached ;  but  far  oftener  let  us  preach 
the  wondrous  love  of  God.  There  are  more 
souls  won  by  wooing  than  by  threatening.  It 
is  not  hell,  but  Christ,  we  desire  to  preach.  O 
sinners  !  we  are  not  afraid  to  tell  you  of  your 
doom ;  but  we  do  not  choose  to  be  forever 
dwelling  on  that  doleful  theme.  We  rather 
love  to  tell  you  of  Christ,  and  him  crucified. 
We  want  to  have  our  preaching  rather  full  of 
the  frankincense  of  the  merits  of  Christ  than 
of  the  smoke  and  fire  and  terrors  of  Mount 
Sinai.  We  are  not  come  unto  Mount  Sinai, 
]but  unto  Mount  Zion,  where  milder  words 
declare  the  will  of  God,  and  rivers  of  salvation 
are  abundantly  flowing.  Spurgeon. 

6218.  WRATH,  Restrained.  As  Whitefield 
was  one  day  preaching  in  Plymouth,  a  ship¬ 
builder  named  Henry  Tanner,  who  was  work¬ 


ing  at  a  distance,  heard  his  voice,  and  resolved, 
with  some  of  his  companions,  to  go  and  drive 
him  from  the  place  where  be  stood.  For  this 
purpose,  they  filled  their  pockets  with  stones. 
When,  however,  he  heard  Mr.  Whitefield 
earnestly  inviting  sinners  to  Christ,  he  was 
filled  with  astonishment ;  his  resolution  failed 
him  ;  and  he  went  home  with  his  mind  deeply 
impressed.  On  the  following  evening,  he  again 
attendod,  and  heard  Mr.  Whitefield  on  the  sin 
of  those  who  crucified  the  Redeemer.  After  he 
had  forcibly  illustrated  their  guilt,  he  appeared 
to  look  earnestly  at  Mr.  Tanner,  as  lie  ex¬ 
claimed  with  great  energy,  “  Thou  art  the 
man  !  ”  These  words  powerfully  impressed 
him ;  and,  in  the  agony  of  his  soul,  he  cried, 
“  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner !  ”  The 
preacher  then  proceeded  to  proclaim  the  free 
and  abundant  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  A 
gleam  of  hope  entered  the  heart  of  the  peni¬ 
tent;  and  he  surrendered  himself  to  Christ. 
Mr.  Tanner  afterward  became  a  minister  of 
the  gospel,  and  labored  with  great  success  for 
many  years  at  Exeter. 

6210.  WRATH,  Subdued.  The  wrath  of  man 
shall  praise  God.  I  believe  the  last  song  of 
the  redeemed,  when  they  shall  ultimately  tri¬ 
umph,  will  celebrate  in  heavenly  stanzas  the 
wrath  of  man  overcome  by  God.  Sometimes, 
after  great  battles,  monuments  are  raised  to 
the  memory  of  the  fight ;  and  of  what  are  they 
composed  ?  They  are  composed  of  weapons 
of  death  and  of  instruments  of  war  which  have 
been  taken  from  the  enemy.  Now,  to  use  that 
illustration,  as  I  think  it  maybe  properly  used, 
the  day  is  coming  when  fury  and  wrath  and 
hatred  and  strile  shall  all  be  woven  into  a 
song ;  and  the  weapons  of  our  enemies,  when 
taken  from  them,  shall  serve  to  make  monu¬ 
ments  to  the  praise  of  God.  Rail  on,  rail  on, 
blasphemer  1  Smite  on,  smite  on,  tyrant  1 
Lift  thy  heavy  hand,  O  despot !  Crush  the 
truth,  which  thou  canst  not  crush ;  knock  from 
his  head  the  crown,  —  the  crown  that  is  far 
above  thy  reach,  poor  puny,  impotent  mortal 
as  thou  art  1  Go  on,  go  on  !  But  all  thou 
doest  shall  but  increase  his  glories.  For  aught 
we  care,  we  bid  you  still  proceed  with  all  your 
wrath  and  malice.  Though  it  shall  be  worse 
for  you,  it  shall  be  more  glorious  fir  our  Mas¬ 
ter  :  the  greater  your  preparations  for  war,  tho 
more  splendid  shall  be  his  triumphal  chariot 
when  he  shall  ride  through  the  streets  of 
heaven  in  pompous  array.  The  more  mighty 
your  preparations  for  battle,  the  more  rich  tho 
spoil  which  he  shall  divide  with  the  strong. 
O  Christian,  fear  not  the  foe  !  Remember,  the 
harder  his  blows,  the  sweeter  thy  song ;  the 
greater  his  wrath,  the  more  splendid  thy  tri¬ 
umph;  the  more  he  rages,  the  more  shall 
Christ  be  honored  in  the  day  of  his  appearing. 

Spurgeon. 

6220.  WRATH  OF  GOD,  Averting  the.  1  met 
to-day  with  a  picture  of  what  we  must  do  in 
order  to  be  saved.  There  was  a  large  regi¬ 
ment  of  soldiers  in  India  who  did  not  receive 
their  pay  for  six  months,  getting  only  their 
rations.  The  men  suspected  the  c  ommanding 


G86  WRATH  OH1  GOD. 


WRATH  OF  GOD. 


officer  had  kept  back  the  money ;  he  being  a  no¬ 
torious  gambler.  They  met  together,  and  deter¬ 
mined,  next  day,  when  called  out,  they  would 
not  obey  orders,  but  they  would  all  march  in  a 
body  to  the  general’s  house,  some  six  miles  dis¬ 
tant,  and  present  a  complaint  against  their 
commanding  officer  of  having  robbed  them  of 
their  pay.  The  day  came.  The  officer  gave 
his  orders  as  usual :  the  officers  and  non-com¬ 
missioned  officers  did  their  duty  ;  but  the  men 
stood  still.  He  ordered  every  tenth  man  to  be 
locked  up :  it  was  done,  no  resistance  being 
made.  The  drum  played,  and  the  rest  marched 
away  in  good  order,  and  filed  off  to  the  gen¬ 
eral’s  house.  They  presented  their  petition, 
and  reported  against  their  commanding  officer. 
The  general  thought,  “  Well,  if  we  let  them  do 
this,  all  discipline  will  be  broken.  We  must 
put  this  down.  They  ought  to  have  had  their 
pay ;  but  they  must  not  disobey  orders.” 
Next  morning,  to  their  great  surprise,  they 
saw  a  black  army  of  Sepoys,  with  field-pieces 
in  front,  and  cavalry,  all  ready  for  action. 
They  formed  into  a  line,  and  saluted  the  gen¬ 
eral.  The  black  men  got  ready,  and  so  did 
the  regiment :  they  fixed  their  pieces  ready 
for  the  charge ;  when  the  commanding  officer 
said,  “  Twenty-third,  obey  me  1  Handle  arms! 
Ground  arms !  ”  Then  he  ordered  the  Sepoys 
to  charge  them,  and  drive  them  from  their 
weapons,  and  gave  further  command  that  they 
should  be  stripped  of  all  their  accoutrements. 
Then,  having  disarmed  and  dishonored  them, 
he  said,  “I  will  forgive  you.”  I  think  that  is 
just  what  God  would  have  us  do.  We  have 
revolted  and  rebelled  against  him.  “  Ground 
arms  !  ”  saith  he.  “  Put  your  sins  away ;  put 
your  drunkenness,  your  self-righteousness, away. 
Ground  arms  !  ”  And  when  sin  is  renounced, 
and  we  are  ready  to  perish,  and  we  think  that 
the  law  is  ready  to  blow  us  in  pieces,  then  he 
says,  “  I  will  forgive  you.”  Spurgeon. 

6221.  WRATH  OF  G-OD,  Power  of.  A  timor¬ 
ous  man  can  fancy  vast  and  terrible  fears,  fire, 
sword,  tempests,  racks,  furnaces,  scalding  lead, 
boiling  pitch,  running  bell-metal,  and  being 
kept  alive  in  all  these  to  feel  their  torment ; 
but  these  come  far  short  of  the  wrath  of  God ; 
for,  first,  there  are  bounds  set  to  the  hurting- 
power  of  a  creature.  The  fire  can  burn  ;  but  it 
cannot  drown  :  the  serpent  can  sting;  but  he 
cannot  tear  in  pieces.  Secondly,  the  fears  of 
the  heart  are  bounded  within  those  narrow 
apprehensions  which  itself  can  frame  of  the 
hurts  which  may  be  done ;  but  the  wrath  of 
God  proceeds  from  an  infinite  justice,  and  is 
executed  by  an  omnipotent  and  unbounded 
power,  comprising  all  the  terror  of  all  other 
creatures  (as  the  sun  doth  all  other  light) 
eminently  and  excessively  in  it :  it  burns  and 
drowns  and  tears  and  stings  and  bruises  and 
consumes ;  and  Nature  can  feel  much  more  than 
reason  is  able  to  comprehend.  Bp.  Reynolds. 

6222.  WRATH  OF  GOD,  Restrained,  The 
wrath  of  God  is  like  great  waters  that  are 
dammed  for  the  present :  they  increase  more 
and  more,  and  rise  higher  ami  higher,  till  an 
outlet  is  given;  and,  the  higher  the  stream  is 


stopped,  the  more  rapid  and  mighty  is  its 
course  when  once  it  is  let  loose.  If  God  should 
only  withdraw  his  hand  from  the  flood-gate,  it 
would  immediately  fly  open,  ami  the  fiery  floods 
of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  God  would  rush 
forth  with  inconceivable  fury,  and  would  come 
upon  you  with  omnipotent  power ;  and  if  your 
strength  were  ten  thousand  times  greater  than 
it  is,  yea,  ten  thousand  times  greater  than  the 
strength  of  the  stoutest,  sturdiest  devil  in  hell, 
it  would  be  nothing  to  withstand  or  endure  it. 

Jonathan  Edwards. 

6223.  WRATH  OF  GOD,  why  Restrained.  The 
bow  of  God’s  wrath  is  bent,  and  the  arrow 
made  ready  on  the  string,  and  justice  bends  the 
arrow  at  your  heart,  and  strains  the  bow ;  and 
it  is  nothing  but  the  mere  pleasure  of  God,  and 
that  of  an  angry  God,  without  any  promise  or 
obligation  at  all,  that  keeps  the  arrow  one  mo¬ 
ment  from  being  made  drunk  with  your  blood. 

J.  Edwards. 

6224.  WRATH  OF  GOD,  Warning  of  the.  Ar¬ 
chibald  Boyle  was  a  resident  of  Glasgow,  and 
the  leading  member  of  a  wicked  and  infidel 
association  called  “  The  Hell  Club.”  The  ef¬ 
forts  of  its  members  were  to  outdo  each  other 
in  blasphemy  and  debauchery.  At  their  meet¬ 
ings,  Boyle,  by  his  culture,  boldness,  and  bril¬ 
liant  talents,  outshone  all ;  while,  outside  of  the 
club,  he  was  a  favorite  in  female  society  One 
night,  after  returning  from  his  carousals  in  the 
club,  he  dreamed,  that  as  he  was  riding  home 
on  his  black  horse,  in  the  darkness,  some  one 
seized  the  reins,  and  said,  “You  must  go  with 
me  !  ”  —  “  And  who  are  you  ?  ”  cried  Boyle, 
struggling  to  free  the  reins  from  the  intruder’s 
grasp.  “  That  you  will  see  by  and  by,”  was 
the  cold  reply.  Boyle  spurred  his  horse  cru¬ 
elly  ;  and  the  steed  flew  forward  with  a  speed 
that  nearly  deprived  his  rider  of  breath.  The 
mysterious  guide  still  kept  his  hold  of  the  reins. 
Boyle  made  one  more  desperate  effort  to  disen¬ 
gage  his  reins  from  the  iron  grasp  of  his  guide. 
His  horse  reared  and  plunged :  Boyle  was 
thrown,  and  fell  down,  down,  down,  with  ever- 
increasing  velocity.  Discovering  his  resistless 
attendant  at  his  side,  he  exclaimed,  “  Where 
are  you  taking  me  V  where  am  I  V  where  am  I 
going  ?  ”  —  “  To  hell,”  replied  the  unrelenting 
voice.  They  hurried  forward  till  the  echoes  of 
the  groans  and  yells  of  frantic  revelry  saluted 
their  ears.  They  entered  a  grand  arched  way, 
and  stood  within  the  precincts  of  hell.  There 
Boyle  beheld  the  inmates,  chasing  the  same 
phantoms  they  had  pursued  in  life.  He  soon 
perceived  that  he  was  surrounded  by  those 
whom  he  had  known  on  earth,  and  ventured  to 
address  his  former  friend  Mrs.  D.,  whom  he 
saw  sitting,  as  she  was  wont  on  earth,  appar¬ 
ently  absorbed  in  her  favorite  game  of  loo. 
“  Ha,  Mrs.  D. !  delighted  to  see  you  :  d’ye  know 
a  fellow  told  me  to-night  he  was  bringing  me 
to  hell  ?  Ha,  ha  1  if  this  be  hell,  what  a  devil¬ 
ish  pleasant  place  it  must  be  1  Ha,  ha  I  Come 
now,  Mrs.  D.,  for  auld  lang  syne,  do  just  stop 
for  a  moment,  rest,  and,”  he  was  about  to  add, 
“  show  me  through  the  pleasures  of  hell ;  ”  when 
she  answered,  with  a  shriek  that  awoke  awful 


WRATH  OF  GOD. 


WRONG. 


687 


echoes  as  loud  as  thunder,  “  There  is  no 
rest  in  riEi.L  !  ”  The  lady  unclasped  the  vest 
of  her  sorgeous  robe,  and  displayed  to  his  shud¬ 
dering  gaze  a  coil  of  living  snakes  writhing, 
stinging,  darting,  in  her  bosom.  Others  fol¬ 
lowed  her  example.  In  some,  he  saw  throbbing 
hearts,  on  which  distilled  drops  of  molten 
metal,  under  which  they  writhed  in  hopeless 
agony.  In  every  bosom,  he  saw  that  which  we 
cannot  conceive  or  describe,  so  horrible  was 
the  vision.  They  laughed  and  sang  and  blas- 
hemed,  as  they  had  done  on  earth.  Then  be 
eard  an  unearthly  voice  proclaim,  “  These  are 
the  pleasures  of  hell,”  which  echoed  mockingly 
like  distant  thunder.  He  saw  those  who  had 
been  dead  thousands  of  years,  still  engaged  in 
the  sinful  pleasures  they  loved  in  lile.  He 
saw  a  companion  of  his  boyish  profligacy  rush¬ 
ing  on,  as  if  in  the  heat  of  the  chase,  and 
called  after  him,  “  Stop,  speak  to  me  1  Oh, 
rest  one  moment !  ”  Scarcely  had  he  uttered 
the  words,  before  the  wild  yell  of  ten  thousand 
voices  stunned  his  terror-stricken  ear,  “  There 
is  no  rest  in  hell.”  Boyle  tried  to  shut  his 
eyes,  but  could  not :  he  tried  to  rest  upon  the 
pavement,  but  was  by  it  instantly  thrown  upon 
his  feet.  He  was  compelled  to  gaze  upon  the 
steady  torrent  of  woe  and  horror.  His  con¬ 
ductor  stood  again  by  his  side.  Boyle  ad¬ 
dressed  him,  “  Take  me  from  this  place  1  by  the 
living  God,  whose  name  I  have  so  often  out¬ 
raged,  I  adjure  thee,  take  me  from  this  place !  ” 
—  “  Canstthou  still  name  bis  name?  ”  replied 
his  guide,  “  Go,  then ;  but,  in  a  year  and  a  day, 
we  meet  to  part  no  more.”  At  this,  Boyle 
awoke,  feeling  that  these  last  words  were  as 
letters  of  fire  burned  into  his  very  heart.  He  I 
was  unable  to  leave  his  bed  for  several  days. 
The  impression  was  so  deep,  that  he  resolved 
never  again  to  attend  the  club.  His  old  com¬ 
panions  flocked  around  him,  and  used  every 
artifice  to  draw  him  back  to  his  old  ways.  At 
last,  one  of  them  won  upon  his  confidence  by 
feigning  similar  disgust  with  his  former  life. 
To  him,  Boyle  related  his  dream.  The  decoy 
then  turned  upon  him  with  great  power  of 
ridicule,  and  gained  his  purpose.  At  the  club, 
he  found  no  relief.  He  grew  haggard  and 
gray  under  the  lash  of  conscience  and  fear  of 
the  future.  He  shrank  from  the  annual  meet¬ 
ing,  when  the  time  allotted  him  by  his  guide 
in  his  dream  would  expire ;  but  his  companions 
forced  him  to  attend.  Every  nerve  of  his 
body  writhed  in  agony  at  the  first  sentence 
of  the  president’s  opening  address :  “  Gentle¬ 
men,  this  is  leap  year ;  therefore  it  is  a  year 
and  a  day  since  our  last  annual  meeting.” 
Boyle  would  have  rushed  from  the  room,  had 
he  dared.  He  could  bear  the  wrath  of  the 
Almighty  easier  than  the  sneers  of  his  fellows. 
They  plied  him  with  wine;  but  his  wit  was 
gloomy,  and  his  laugh  fiendish.  At  the  close, 
he  mounted  his  horse  to  ride  home.  In  the 
morning,  his  horse  was  diseovereil  grazing 
([tiictly  by  the  roadside,  and  a  few  yards  dis¬ 
tant  lay  the  stiffened  corpse  of  Archibald 
Boyle.  The  dream  was  fulfilled.  The  strange 
guide  claimed  him  at  the  appointed  time. 


6225.  WRECK,  A  Pitiful.  A  ship  that  has 

been  driven  by  wave  and  tempest  far  up  on 
the  beach,  where  no  tide  can  ever  come  to  lift 
her  off,  but  that  lies  there,  high  and  dry,  seams 
gaping,  sails  rotting,  spars  falling,  hated  of 
earth,  and  driven  out  from  the  water,  is  not 
half  so  pitiable  an  object  as  a  great  man  who 
by  policy,  policy,  policy,  has  been  carried  out 
of  the  deep  channels  of  honor,  and  lies  all 
awreck  upon  the  shore  of  good  men’s  opin¬ 
ions.  Beecher. 

6226.  WRONG,  Beginning  of.  An  old  writer 

says,  “  A  man  who  goes  to  law  finds  the  court 
full  of  invisible  hooks.  First  his  cloak,  then 
the  skirts  of  his  coat,  then  his  sleeves,  till 
every  thing,  every  thing,  is  torn  from  him,  and, 
like  a  gypsy,  he  escapes  because  there  is  no  fur¬ 
ther  hold  upon  him.”  The  youth  who  crosses 
the  threshold  of  the  court  of  vice  will  find  those 
invisible  hooks  sharper,  and  in  greater  abun¬ 
dance,  than  in  courts  of  law.  Once  caught, 
he  will  be  “  hooked  ”  in  every  direction.  One 
tempter  will  succeed  another;  each  handing 
him  over  to  the  next.  Thus  snared,  and 
dragged  from  vice  to  vice,  until  denuded  of 
every  virtue,  he  will  at  last,  in  all  probability, 
perish  in  unutterable  woe.  Dr.  Wise. 

6227.  WRONG,  One.  A  Jewish  captive, 
named  Zaniab,  determined  to  destroy  the 
false  prophet  Mohammed.  After  his  con¬ 
quest  of  Khaibar,  she  prepared  for  his  table  a 
shoulder  of  lamb  impregnated  with  a  subtle 
poison.  Mohammed  sat  down  to  his  meal,  but, 
at  the  first  taste,  discovered  something,  and 
instantly  spit  it  out.  In  the  instant,  enough 
of  the  poison  had  entered  his  system  to  injure 

I  his  health  for  life.  It  affected  him  to  the 
last.  In  the  paroxysms  of  death,  he  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  The  veins  of  my  heart  are  throb¬ 
bing  with  the  poison  of  Khaibar.”  One 
wrong,  one  sin,  one  mistake  even,  may  send 
its  poison  through  the  life,  like  the  poison  of 
Zaniab. 

6228.  WRONG,  Resistance  of.  As  it  is  said 
that  ferocious  animals  are  disarmed  by  tho 
eye  of  man,  and  will  dare  no  violence  if  he 
but  steadily  look  at  them,  so  it  is  when  right 
looks  upon  wrong.  Resist  the  Devil,  and  he 
will  flee  from  you;  offer  him  a  bold  front, 
and  he  runs  away.  He  goes,  it  may  be,  ut¬ 
tering  threats  of  rage ;  but  yet  he  goes. 

Bushnell. 

6229.  WRONG,  Result  of.  It  is  recorded  of 

Marius,  that,  after  his  overthrow  by  Sylla,  he 
was  always  in  consternation,  as  if  lie  heard 
the  sound  of  the  trumpets,  and  the  noise  of 
the  victorious  army  pursuing  him.  Ilis  fears 
were  no  longer  quiet  than  whilst  charmed  with 
wine  or  sleep:  he  therefore  was  continually 
drunk,  that  he  might  forget  himself,  his  ene¬ 
my,  and  his  danger.  Thus  men  make  a  piti¬ 
ful  shift  to  forget  their  latter  end,  and,  whilst 
they  are  following  their  secular  affairs  or  sen¬ 
sual  pleasures,  are  unconcerned  for  what  is  to 
be  hereafter.  Dr.  Bates. 

6230.  WRONG,  Revenging  a.  To  revenge  a 
wron'j  is  easy,  usual,  and  natural,  and,  as  the 
world  thinks,  savors  of  nobleness  of  mind  J 


688 


Yoxnsra-. 


YOTJTSTGr  3CB3KT. 


but  religion  teaches  the  contrary,  and  tells  us 
it  is  better  to  neglect  than  to  requite  it. 

J.  Beaumont. 

6231.  YOUNG,  Care  of  the.  A  gentleman 
was  walking  over  his  form  with  a  friend,  ex¬ 
hibiting  his  crops,  herds  of  cattle,  and  flocks 
of  sheep,  with  all  of  which  his  friend  was 
highly  pleased,  but  with  nothing  so  much  as 
his  splendid  sheep.  He  had  seen  the  same 
breed  frequently  before,  but  had  never  seen 
such  noble  specimens ;  and  with  great  ear¬ 
nestness  he  asked  how  he  had  succeeded  in 
rearing  such  flocks.  His  simple  answer  was, 
“  I  take  care  of  my  lambs,  sir.”  Here  was  all 
the  secret,  —  he  took  care  of  the  lambs.  Bowes. 

6232.  YOUNG,  Preaching  to  the.  St.  Augus¬ 
tine  was  accustomed  to  stop  often  in  his  ser¬ 
mons,  and  say,  “  Young  people,  this  is  for 
you.” 

6233.  YOUNG  LADY,  Christian.  The  beau¬ 

tiful  ideal  of  Grecian  mythology,  concerning 
the  goddess  whose  soft  and  delicate  tread 
caused  the  green  herb  and  lovely  flower  to 
spring  up  on  the  Island  of  Cypress,  becomes  a 
literal  fact  in  the  experience  of  a  Christian 
lady ;  for,  in  whatever  soul  God  enters  a  wel¬ 
comed  guest,  every  lovely  plant  springs  up, 
and  every  beauteous  flower  grows  with  divine 
fertility.  Dr.  Wise. 

6234.  YOUNG  LADY,  Influence  of  a.  You 

are  a  sister,  and  may  mould  a  brother’s  mind 
to  virtue  and  to  usefulness.  You  are  a  daugh¬ 
ter  ;  and,  for  your  sake,  your  father  may  put 
forth  efforts  of  unbounded  might.  You  may 
hereafter  bear  the  honored  name  of  wife,  and 
the  more  sacred  one  of  mother.  Your  influ¬ 
ence  may  then  determine  the  character  of 
your  husband,  and  fix  the  destiny  of  your  chil¬ 
dren.  It  may  make  your  son  an  Augustine, 
an  Oberlin,  a  Wesley ;  or  it  may  leave  him  to 
curse  his  race  with  pestiferous  teachings,  like 
So.cinus  or  Murray,  with  wars  of  ambition, 
like  Napoleon,  or  with  a  baleful  legacy  of  infi¬ 
delity  and  vice,  like  Hume  or  Carlyle.  Say 
not,  that,  because  you  are  a  woman,  your  influ¬ 
ence  must  be  limited,  but  remember  that  your 
sex  places  you  at  the  head-waters  of  the  great 
river  of  humanity,  where  a  pebble  may  change 
the  direction  of  the  streamlet.  Dr.  Wise. 

6235.  YOUNG  LADY,  Precaution  of  a,  In 
some  portions  of  the  frigid  zones,  the  inhab¬ 
itants  provide  themselves  with  habitations  be 
neath  the  surface  of  the  ground.  During  their 
brief  summer,  they  convey  large  stores  of  food 
and  fuel  to  these  subterranean  abodes.  When 
winter  comes,  they  enter,  and  live  peacefully 
there,  indifferent  to  the  desolating  storms  and 
dreary  snows  which  fall  and  rage  above  their 
heads.  Their  home  is  their  winter  world,  and 
it  contains  all  their  little  wants  demand. 
Hence,  they  live  in  secure  plenty,  smiling  at 
the  howling  storm,  which  leaves  their  abode 
untouched  and  safe.  Very  similar  is  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  religion  in  human  life.  What  if 
friends  are  false,  health  decays,  fortune  fails, 
wasting  storms  drive  furiously  around  her 
head  ?  Is  her  happiness  lost  ?  Nay,  she  has 
her  God  within  herself,  and  is  satisfied.  His 


presence  and  favor  constitute  her  heaven, 
though  her  visible  life  is  filled  with  discomfort 
and  woe.  Dr.  Wise. 

6236.  YOUNG  MAN,  Counsel  to  a.  A  minis¬ 

ter  says,  that  when  he  was  a  lad,  going  by  an 
insane  asylum,  an  emaciated  female  stretched 
her  bony  hand  through  the  iron  grating,  and 
called  out  to  him  in  startling  tones,  “Young 
man,  live  for  the  eternal  world,  live  for  the 
eternal  world  1  ”  “  These  words,”  said  he, 

“  never  were  effaced  from  my  mind ;  and,  when 
I  grow  up,  they  kept  ringing  in  my  ears.” 
God  can  use  even  the  insane  to  call  us  to  our 
duty.  What  more  appropriate  words  could 
be  sounded  in  the  ears  of  a  young  man  than 
these,  “  Live  for  the  eternal  world  !  ” 

6237.  YOUNG  MAN,  The  Idle.  His  place  in 

society  is  aptly  illustrated  by  certain  books  in 
a  Boston  library,  which  are  lettered  “  Suece- 
daneum  ”  on  their  backs.  “  Succedaneum  1  ” 
exclaims  the  visitor,  “  what  sort  of  a  book  is 
that  V  ”  Down  it  comes  ;  when,  lo  !  a  wooden 
block,  shaped  just  like  a  book,  is  in  their 
hands.  Then  he  understands  the  meaning  of 
the  title  to  be  “  In  the  place  of  another ;  ”  and 
that  the  wooden  book  is  used  to  fill  vacant 
places,  and  to  keep  genuine  volumes  from  fall¬ 
ing  into  confusion.  Such  is  an  idler  in  socie¬ 
ty  ;  a  man  in  form,  but  a  block  in  fact ;  living 
for  no  high  end,  giving  out  no  instruction  ;  a 
dumb,  despised  “  succedaneum  ”  among  man¬ 
kind.  Dr.  Wise. 

6238.  YOUNG  MEN,  Danger  to.  There  is  an 

Oriental  story  which  describes  an  enchanted 
hill,  whose  summit  concealed  an  object  of  in¬ 
comparable  worth.  It  was  offered  as  a  prize 
to  him  who  should  ascend  the  hill  without 
looking  behind  him ;  but  whoever  ventured  to 
secure  this  treasure  was  told,  that,  if  he  did 
look  backwards,  he  should  be  instantly  changed 
into  a  stone.  Many  a  princely  youth,  allured 
by  the  tempting  prize,  had  ventured  up  that 
fatal  hill ;  and  as  many  had  been  changed 
into  stones ;  for  the  adjacent  groves  were 
filled  with  most  melodious  voices,  and  with 
birds  of  sweetest  song,  whose  bewitching 
strains  and  enticements  followed  each  youth 
as  he  ascended,  until  he  suffered  his  curiosity 
to  control  his  hopes  and  fears,  turned  his 
head,  and  instantly  became  a  stone.  Hence, 
said  the  story,  the  hillside  was  covered  with 
stones.  To  every  young  man,  life  is  such  an 
enchanted  hill,  with  its  thousands  of  alluring 
voices,  and  its  unnumbered  victims,  who  have 
listened  to  some  fatal  charmer,  and  have  per¬ 
ished.  Dr.  Wise. 

6239.  YOUNG  MEN,  Power  of.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-seven,  Napoleon  executed  that  grand 
campaign  in  Italy  which  stamped  him  the  fore¬ 
most  captain  of  any  age,  drove  back  tire  rout¬ 
ed  Austrians  to  their  capital,  treated  with  the 
haughtiest  monarch  in  Europe  as  an  equal, 
and  exacted  from  the  terror-stricken  House 
of  Hapsburg  peace  on  his  own  terms.  At 
twenty-seven,  Calvin  put  forth  those  “  Insti¬ 
tutes,”  which  have  so  profoundly  affected  the 
theological  thought  of  the  world  ever  since. 
At  twenty-seven,  Summerfield  ascended,  leav- 


YOTHSTG-  SOLDIERS. 


YOUTH. 


689 


Ing  a  name  which  the  Church  will  cherish  for- 1 
ever,  not  merely  as  the  designation  of  a  re¬ 
markable  person,  but  as  the  delicious  aroma 
of  a  style  of  sympathetic  and  subduing  elo¬ 
quence,  unique  and  inimitable.  All  these 
men  were  forces  ;  and  whatever  men  are  des¬ 
tined  to  be  forces,  and  not  merely  respectable 
figure-heads,  are  generally  thrust  out  into  the 
arena  and  put  upon  their  metal  young. 

C.  D.  Foss. 

6240.  YOUNG  SOLDIERS,  Enthusiasm  o£ 

When  Paris  was  attacked  in  1814  by  the 
allied  armies,  the  Parisian  artillery  placed  on 
the  heights  of  Montmarte  was  served  by  the 
pupils  of  the  Polytechnic  School,  who  were 
principally  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  old. 
They,  of  course,  were  inexperienced  in  war; 
yet  they  rivalled  in  ardor  the  veterans  with 
whom  they  associated  ;  and  their  well-directed 
fire  filled  the  approaches  to  the  positions  with 
the  dead  bodies  of  the  enemy.  Thus  trans¬ 
formed  into  disciples  of  war,  they  served  the 
batteries  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  valor,  and 
never  shrunk  from  their  post  whilst  it  could 
be  retained.  Several  hundred  of  these  youths 
fell  in  the  dreadful  conflict.  Percy. 

6241.  YOUTH,  Decision  of  a.  At  Caesarea, 
in  Cappadocia,  a  child  named  Cyril,  in  a  time 
of  heavy  persecution  called  continually  upon 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  neither  threats 
nor  blows  could  divert  him  from  it.  Many 
children  of  his  own  age  persecuted  him,  and 
his  heathen  father  turned  him  out  of  doors. 
At  last,  he  was  brought  before  the  judge,  who 
threatened  him,  and  expostulated  with  him. 
With  undaunted  boldness  he  said,  “I  rejoice 
to  bear  your  reproaches :  God  will  receive  me. 
I  am  glad  that  I  am  expelled  out  of  our  house : 
I  shall  have  a  better  mansion.  I  fear  not 
death,  because  it  will  introduce  me  to  a  better 
life.”  He  was  condemned  to  the  flames,  with 
a  full  expectation  that  he  would  recant,  and 
save  his  life.  He  remained  firm,  saying,  “  Your 
fire  and  your  sword  are  insignificant :  I  go  to 
a  better  house  and  more  excellent  riches  ;  de¬ 
spatch  me  presently  that  I  may  enjoy  them.” 
He  suffered,  being  burned  to  death  amid  a 
throng  of  wondering  spectators. 

6242.  YOUTH,  Deformity  in.  A  child,  being 
asked  why  a  certain  tree  grew  crooked,  re¬ 
plied,  “  I  suppose  somebody'  stepped  on  it 
when  it  was  a  little  fellow.” 

6243.  YOUTH,  Duty  o£  Almighty  God  ever 
required  in  his  service  the  first-fruits  (Ex.  iii. 
19)  and  the  first-born  (Ex.  xiii.  2).  The 
firstlings  are  his  darlings  (Gen.  iv.  4)  ;  the 
fattest  lambs  are  fittest  for  his  sacrifice.  If 
the  King  of  Babylon  would  have  young  men, 
well  favored,  without  blemish,  and  such  as  had 
great  ability,  to  stand  before  him  (Dan.  i.  4), 
6hall  the  God  of  Israel,  even  the  King  of 
Glory,  have  none  to  stand  in  his  courts  but 
the  halt,  lame,  and  blind,  such  as  the  soul  of 
David  hated  V  “  Ye  shall  not  see  my  face,” 
saith  Joseph  to  his  brethren,  “  except  you 
bring  your  younger  brother  with  you”  (Gen. 
xliii.  3).  And  how  shall  we  behold  the  face 
of  our  blessed  Jesus,  if  we  do  not  remember 


him  in  the  days  of  our  jouth,  if  we  dedicate 
to  the  Devil  our  lovely  young  years,  and  offer 
unto  Him  nothing  else  but  the  dregs  of  our 
loathed  old  age?  Spencer. 

6244.  YOUTH,  Energy  of.  How  precious  a 

thing  is  youthful  energy  if  only  it  could  be  pre¬ 
served,  entirely  englobed  as  it  were,  within 
the  bosom  of  the  young  adventurer,  till  he  can 
come  and  offer  it  forth  a  sacred  emanation 
in  yonder  temple  of  truth  and  virtue  1  But, 
alas  1  all  along  as  he  goes  towards  it,  he  ad¬ 
vances  through  an  avenue  formed  by  a  long 
line  of  tempters  and  demons  on  each  side,  all 
prompt  to  touch  him  with  their  conductors, 
and  draw  this  divine  electric  element,  with 
which  he  is  charged,  away.  J.  Foster. 

6245.  YOUTH,  Exposure  of.  Fable  of  Andromeda. 
Cassiopia,  Queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  offended 
the  sea-nymphs  by  comparing  her  beauty  to 
theirs ;  and  they  sent  a  horrid  sea-monster  to 
ravage  along  her  coasts.  Andromeda,  her 
daughter,  was  chained  to  a  rock  on  the  mar¬ 
gin  of  the  sea,  there  to  await  the  coming  of  the 
monster  to  devour  her.  Thus  it  was  hoped 
to  appease  the  anger  of  the  goddesses.  Perseus, 
one  of  the  gods,  discovered  her  there.  They 
heard  a  frightful  sound,  and  beheld  the  mon¬ 
ster  rushing  through  the  waters  towards  his 
prey.  The  virgin  shrieked :  the  father  and 
mother  now  arrived,  only  embraced  the  victim, 
and  wept.  Perseus  cried,  “  There  will  be 
time  enough  for  tears  :  this  hour  is  all  we  have 
for  rescue  1  ”  Then  he  flew  upon,  and  rested 
not  till  he  had  slain,  the  monster. 

6246.  YOUTH,  Fountain  o£  According  to  a 
tradition  current  among  the  natives  of  Puerto 
Rico,  there  was  an  island  of  the  Bahama 
group  which  had  upon  it  a  marvellous  foun¬ 
tain,  whose  waters  produced  perpetual  youth. 
For  this  marvel  of  Nature,  Juan  Ponce  de 
Leon,  the  Spanish  navigator,  sought  long  and 
earnestly,  yet  in  vain. 

6247.  YOUTH,  Importance  of  Piety  in.  If  the 
tree  is  permitted  to  grow  up  and  to  grow 
old,  with  the  intention  of  making  it  new  then, 
there  is  danger,  lest,  through  storms  or  fire  or 
war,  it  may  be  suddenly  destroyed.  And, 
even  though  it  were  protected  from  all  these 
risks,  it  is  strange  that  any  one  should  deliber¬ 
ately  desire  that  the  soil  and  sun  and  air  should 
be  enjoyed  by  that  tree,  and  wasted  in  bearing 
bitter  fruit  all  the  days  of  its  strength,  and 
only  make  a  good  tree  in  its  old  age,  when  it 
scarcely  has  sap  sufficient  in  its  veins  to  bear 
any  fruit  at  ail.  See,  reader,  in  this  plain 
parable,  how  foolish,  how  false,  how  blasphe¬ 
mous,  is  the  desire  that  throbs  cowardly  and 
covertly  in  many  young  hearts,  to  waste  the 
broad  sunny  surface  of  life  in  sin,  and  throw  a 
narrow  stripe  of  its  withered,  rugged  edge  at 
last  as  an  offering  to  God  !  If  you  have  no  de¬ 
sire  to  be  good  and  do  good  throughout  the 
life  on  earth  that  lies  before  you.  how  can  you 
desire  to  be  good  and  do  good  in  the  eternity 
that  lies  beyond  ?  Be  not  deceived.  Ho  who 
is  weary  of  sin  wants  to  be  quit  of  it  now,  and 
instantly  to  enjoy  a  new  life.  He  who  says 
he  wants  to  be  holy,  but  would  rather  put  olf 


44 


690 


YOUTH. 


YOUTH. 


the  date  of  the  change,  lies  to  himself,  and  to 
the  world,  and  to  Goa.  Arnot. 

6248.  YOUTH,  Influence  on  “  Gather  up  my 

influence,  and  bury  it  with  me,  ”  exclaimed  a 
youth,  whose  unforgiven  spirit  was  sinking 
into  the  invisible  world.  Idle  request!  Had 
he  begged  bis  friends  to  bind  the  free  winds,  to 
chain  the  wild  waves,  to  grasp  the  fierce  light¬ 
ning,  or  make  -a  path  for  the  sand-blast,  his 
wish  would  have  been  more  possible ;  for  past 
influence  is  unchangeable,  and  can  never  be 
recalled  Dr.  Wise. 

6249.  YOUTH,  Learning  in.  Daniel  Web¬ 
ster  once  told  a  good  story  in  a  speech,  and 
was  asked  where  he  got  it.  “  I  have  had  it 
laid  up  in  my  head  for  fourteen  years,  and 
never  had  a  chance  to  use  it  till  to-day,”  said 
he.  My  little  friend  wants  to  know  what  good 
it  will  do  to  learn  the  “  rule  of  three,”  or  to 
commit  a  verse  of  the  Bible  or  the  Catechism. 
The  answer  is  this :  Some  time  you  will  need 
that  very  thing.  Perhaps  it  may  be  twenty 
years  before  you  can  make  it  fit  in  just  the 
right  place;  but  it  will  be  just  in  place  some 
time ;  and  then,  if  you  don't  have  it,  you  will 
be  like  the  hunter  who  had  no  ball  in  his  rifle 
when  a  bear  met  him.  “  Twenty-five  years  ago, 
my  teacher  made  me  study  surveying,”  said  a 
man  who  had  lately  lost  his  property ;  “  and 
now  I  am  glad  of  it.  It  is  just  in  place.  I  can 
get  a  good  situation  and  high  salary.”  The 
Bible  and  Catechism  are  better  than  that. 
They  will  be  in  place  as  long  as  we  live. 

6250.  YOUTH,  Negligence  in.  No  matter 

how  good  the  walls  and  the  materials  are,  if 
the  foundations  are  not  strong,  the  building 
will  not  stand.  By  and  by,  in  some  upper 
room,  a  crack  will  appear ;  and  men  will  say, 
“  There  is  the  crack  ;  but  the  cause  is  in  the 
foundation.”  So  if,  in  youth,  you  lay  the  foun¬ 
dations  of  your  character  wrongly,  the  penalty 
will  be  sure  to  follow.  The  crack  may  be  far 
down  in  old  age ;  but  somewhere  it  will  cer¬ 
tainly  appear.  Beecher. 

6251.  YOUTH,  Piety  in.  Rev.  Mr.  Bailey, 
when  but  a  little  boy,  used  to  lead  his  family 
in  prayer.  His  father,  a  very  wicked  man, 
was  struck  with  conviction,  which  led  to  his 
conversion  from  this  fact.  Dr.  Watts  and  Rev. 
Joseph  Alleine  were  celebrated  for  youthful 
piety. 

6252.  YOUTH,  Portrait  of.  The  ancients 

painted  a  young  man  stark  naked,  his  eyes 
veiled,  his  right  hand  bound  behind  him,  and 
his  left  hand  left  at  liberty,  and  Time  following 
him  close  at  the  heels,  and  ever  and  anon  pull- 
in^  a  thread  out  of  the  veil.  He  was  drawn 
naked  to  show  with  what  little  secrecy  he  had 
used  his  delights  and  pleasures ;  with  his  right 
hand  behind  him,  to  show  that  he  did  not  do 
any  thing  right ;  his  left  hand  free,  to  show 
that  he  did  all  things  awkwardly.  He  was 
portrayed  blind,  because  he  does  not  see  his 
own  follies;  but  Time,  behind  him,  opens 
his  eyes  little  by  little,  and  so  brings  him  to  a 
knowledge  of  his  errors.  Spencer. 

6253.  YOUTH,  Pre-occupation  of.  You  remem¬ 
ber  the  coachman  who  said  to  the  gentleman 


on  the  box,  “  Do  you  see  that  off  leader  there, 
sir  ?  ”  —  “  Yes  :  what  of  him  ?  ”  —  “  He  always 
shies,  sir,  when  he  comes  near  that  ’ere  gate. 
I  must  give  him  something  to  think  on.”  No 
sooner  said,  than  up  went  the  whirling  thong, 
and  came  down,  full  of  its  sting,  on  the  skittish 
leader’s  haunches.  He  had  “  something  else 
to  think  on  ”  (no  time  for  panic  or  affected 
panic),  and  flew  past  the  gate  like  lightning. 
If  we  can  but  give  youth,  in  time,  “  something 
else  to  think  on,”  we  may  keep  out  of  their 
minds,  by  pre-occupation,  more  evil  than  we 
can  ever  directly  expel.  H.  Rogers. 

6254.  YOUTH,  Protection  of.  Proprietors 
rear  strong  fences  round  young  trees,  while 
they  leave  aged  forests  to  take  their  chance. 
Permit  not  the  immortal  to  be  twisted  at  the 
very  starting  of  its  growth,  for  the  want  of 
such  protection  as  it  is  in  your  power  to  af¬ 
ford.  Arnot. 

6255.  YOUTH,  Eestraints  o£  A  young  man 
lay  in  an  upper  room  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
raving  with  delirium.  Friends  were  attentive 
to  him.  Ever  and  anon,  he  cried  out,  “  Hold 
me,  hold  me  1  ”  In  an  unguarded  moment, 
he  rushed  to  the  window,  threw  himself  upon 
the  pavement  below,  and  was  crushed  to 
death.  How  his  friends  regretted  their  fatal 
neglect  I  Many  a  reckless  youth,  as  he  is 
tempted  to  ruin,  should  cry  to  his  friends, 
“  Hold  me,  hold  me  1  ”  They  might  thus  save 
a  life  from  sin,  and  a  soul  from  death. 

6256.  YOUTH,  Retrospect  on.  The  retro¬ 

spect  on  youth  is  too  often  like  looking  back 
on  what  was  a  fair  and  promising  country, 
but  is  now  desolated  by  an  overwhelming  tor¬ 
rent,  from  which  we  have  just  escaped.  Or 
it  is  like  visiting  the  grave  of  a  friend  whom 
we  had  injured,  and  are  precluded  by  his 
death  from  the  possibility  of  making  him  an 
atonement.  J.  Foster. 

6257.  YOUTH,  Sinfulness  o£  It  is  a  fact 
well  known  in  husbandry,  that  the  earth  will 
bring  forth  briers,  thorns,  and  thistles  sponta¬ 
neously  ;  but  a  valuable  crop  has  to  be  planted, 
cultivated,  and  protected.  The  natural  heart 
is  like  the  soil.  It  produces  no  good  wheat 
spontaneously ;  and  it  is  by  untiring  effort  that 
the  tares  and  weeds  are  kept  down.  Deep  and 
constant  spiritual  culture  is  required  to  uproot 
the  plants  of  sin,  and  make  our  hearts  like 
fruitful  gardens. 

6258.  YOUTH,  Transitory.  Youth  is  not  like 

a  new  garment,  which  we  can  keep  fresh  and 
fair  by  wearing  sparingly.  Youth,  while  we 
have  it,  we  must  wear  daily,  and  it  will  fast 
wear  away.  J.  Foster. 

6259.  YOUTH,  Use  of.  The  human  soul  in 
youth  is  not  a  machine,  of  which  you  can 
polish  the  cogs  with  any  kelp  or  brick-dust 
near  at  hand,  and,  having  got  it  into  working- 
order,  and  good,  empty,  and  oiled  serviceable¬ 
ness,  start  your  immortal  locomotive  at  twenty- 
five  years  old,  or  thirty,  express  for  the  Strait 
Gate  on  the  Narrow  Road.  The  whole  period 
of  youth  is  one  essentially  of  formation,  edifi¬ 
cation,  instruction.  I  use  the  words  with  their 
weight  in  them,  in  taking  of  stores,  establish- 


Z^EjAXj* 


ZTVAJL. 


691 


ment  in  vital  habits,  hopes,  and  faiths.  There 
is  not  an  hour  of  it  but  is  trembling  with  des¬ 
tinies  ;  not  a  moment  of  which,  once  passed, 
the  appointed  work  can  ever  be  done  again, 
or  the  neglected  blow  struck  on  the  cold  iron. 
Take  your  vase  of  Venice  glass  out  of  the  fur¬ 
nace,  and  strew  chaff  over  it  in  its  transparent 
heat,  and  recover  that  to  its  clearness  and  en¬ 
vied  glory  when  the  north  wind  has  blown 
upon  it ;  but  do  not  think  to  strew  chaff  over 
the  child  fresh  from  God’s  presence,  and  to 
bring  heavenly  colors  back  to  him,  at  least  in 
this  world.  Ruskin. 

6260.  ZEAL,  Blind.  As  all  zeal  without 

discretion  is  as  an  offering  without  eyes,  which 
was  by  God  forbidden,  so,  likewise,  all  blind 
real  is  a  blind  offering,  which  God  will  never 
accept.  Cawdray. 

6261.  ZEAL,  Cautions.  As  Minerva  is  said 
to  have  put  a  golden  bridle  upon  Pegasus,  that 
he  should  not  fly  too  fast ;  so  our  Christian 
discretion  must  put  a  golden  bridle  upon  our 
Pegasus,  that  is,  our  zeal,  lest,  if  it  be  un¬ 
bridled,  it  make  us'run  out  of  course.  Cawdray. 

6262.  ZEAL,  Constancy  o£  We  do  not  value 
an  intermitting  spring  so  much  as  the  clear 
brooklet  which  our  childhood  knew,  and  which 
has  laughed  on  its  course  unheeding,  and 
which  could  never  be  persuaded  to  dry  up, 
though  it  has  had  to  battle  against  the  scorch- 
ings  of  a  jubilee  of  summers’  suns.  We  do  not 
guide  ourselves  by  the  glow-worm’s  bead  of 
light,  or  with  the  marsh-lamp’s  fitful  flame. 
No  :  we  look  to  the  ancient  sun,  which  in  our 
infancv  struggled  through  the  window,  and 
danced  upon  the  wall  of  the  nursery,  as  if  he 
knew  how  much  we  delighted  to  see  him  light 
up  the  flower-cup,  and  peep  through  the  shiv¬ 
ering  leaf.  And,  for  ourselves,  we  do  not 
value  the  affection  of  a  stranger  awakened  by 
some  casual  congeniality,  and  displayed  in 
kindly  greeting  or  in  occasional  courtesy. 
Our  wealth  is  in  the  patient  bearing,  and  the 
unnoticed  deed,  and  the  anticipated  wish,  and 
the  ready  sympathies,  which  make  a  summer 
and  a  paradise  wherever  there  is  a  home.  And 
not  only  in  the  natural  and  the  social  rela¬ 
tions,  but  in  the  enterprise  of  the  world,  in  the 
busy  activities  of  men,  the  necessity  for  uni¬ 
formity  in  earnestness  is  readily  acknowledged. 
Society  very  soon  brands  a  man  if  he  has  not 
got  a  perseverance  as  well  as  an  earnestness 
about  him.  Society  very  soon  puts  its  mark 
upon  the  man  who  lodges  in  a  succession  of 
Utopias ;  the  unwearied  but  the  objectless 
builder  who  never  roofs  his  house,  either  be¬ 
cause  he  was  unable  to  finish,  or  because 
some  more  brilliant  speculation  dazzled  the 
builder’s  brain.  The  world  has  got  so  matter- 
of-fact  now,  that  it  jostles  the  genius  off  the 
footpath ;  while  the  plodder,  whose  eye  spar¬ 
kles  less  brilliantly,  but  more  evenly  and  longer, 
steadily  proceeds  on  his  way  to  success. 

W.  M.  Punshon. 

6263.  ZEAL,  Demanded.  A  fearful  storm 
was  raging,  when  the  cry  was  heard,  “  Man 
overboard  !  ”  A  human  form  was  seen  man¬ 
fully  breasting  the  furious  elements,  in  the 


direction  of  the  shore ;  but  the  dominant 
waves  bore  the  straggler  rapidly  outward,  and, 
ere  boats  could  be  lowered,  a  fearful  space 
sundered  the  victim  from  help.  Above  the 
shriek  of  the  storm  and  roar  of  the  waters 
rose  his  rending  cry.  It  was  an  agonizing 
moment.  With  bated  breath  and  blanched 
cheek,  every  eye  was  strained  to  the  struggling 
man.  Manfully  did  the  brave  rowers  strain 
every  nerve  in  that  race  of  mercy ;  but  all 
their  efforts  were  in  vain.  One  wild  shriek 
of  despair,  and  the  victim  went  down.  A 
piercing  cry,  “  Save  him,  save  him  !  ”  rang 
through  the  hushed  crowd;  and  into  their 
midst  darted  an  agitated  man,  throwing  his 
arms  widely  into  the  air,  shouting,  “  A  thous¬ 
and  pounds  for  the  man  who  saves  his  life  1  ” 
but  his  starting  eye  rested  only  on  the  spot 
where  the  waves  rolled  remorselessly  over  the 
perished.  He  whose  strong  cry  broke  the 
stillness  of  the  crowd  was  captain  of  the  ship 
from  whence  the  drowned  man  fell,  and  was 
his  brother.  This  is  just  the  feeling  now  wanted 
in  the  various  ranks  of  those  bearing  commis¬ 
sion  under  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation. 
“  Save  him  !  he  is  my  brother.” 

Biblical  Treasury. 

6264.  ZEAL,  Demand  for.  The  Devil  held  a 

great  anniversary,  at  which  his  emissaries  were 
convened  to  report  the  results  of  their  several 
missions.  “  I  let  loose  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
desert,”  said  one,  “  on  a  caravan  of  Christians ; 
and  their  bones  are  now  bleaching  on  the 
sands.”  —  “  What  of  that  ?  ”  said  the  Devil  : 
“ their  souls  were  all  saved.”  —  “I  drove  the 
east  wind,”  said  another,  “  against  a  ship 
freighted  with  Christians ;  and  they  were  all 
drowned.”  —  “  What  of  that  ?  ”  said  the  Devil : 
“their  souls  were  all  saved.”  —  “For  ten 
years,  I  tried  to  get  a  single  Christian  asleep,” 
said  a  third ;  “  and  I  succeeded,  and  left  him 
so.”  Then  the  Devil  shouted,  and  the  night 
stars  of  hell  sang  for  joy.  Luther. 

6265.  ZEAL,  False.  A  false  zeal  in  religion 
is  always,  in  some  respect  or  other,  a  misdi¬ 
rected  zeal,  or  a  zeal  not  according  to  knowl¬ 
edge  ;  a  zeal  seeking  some  false  end,  or, 
while  proposing  to  itself  a  good  end,  seeking 
its  promotion  in  some  unauthorized  way. 
Jehu  had  a  good  zeal,  which  he  called  zeal 
for  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  His  fault  was  not  that 
he  was  too  zealous,  but  that  his  zeal  was  really 
directed  to  his  own  advancement.  The  Jews, 
in  the  days  of  Christ,  had  a  zeal  for  God  ;  but 
it  was  so  misdirected  as  to  fire  them  with  a 
frenzy  to  destroy  the  Son  of  God,  and  extin¬ 
guish  the  Light  of  the  world.  There  are 
countless  forms  of  false  zeal  now  at  work ;  but, 
in  all  cases,  they  sin  not  by  excess,  but  by  mis¬ 
direction.  Some  are  flaming  with  a  zeal  to 
spread  some  of  the  corruptions  of  Christianity, 
and  to  carry  men  away  from  its  great  and 
cardinal  truths.  Some  are  equally  zealous  to 
build  up  a  sect  or  a  party  on  other  founda¬ 
tions  than  those  which  God  has  laid  in  Zion  ; 
and  that  which  taints  their  zeal  is  the  pur¬ 
pose  to  which  they  employ  it,  and  not  any 
excessive  fervor  of  their  zeal  itself.  Bonar. 


692 


2SIAXla 


ZEAL. 


6266.  ZEAL,  Incentive  to.  Weary  and 
happy,  I  retired  to  rest,  soon  fell  asleep,  and 
dreamed  a  horrid  dream.  I  thought  1  died. 
Instead  of  finding  myself  in  heaven,  resistlessly 
•inking,  I  entered  a  gloomy  vault,  where  coun¬ 
tenances  stamped  with  hopeless  despair  sur¬ 
rounded  me.  “  Where  am  I ?  ”  —  “In  hell,” 
a  hollow  voice  replied.  “  And  are  these  sad 
souls  to  be  my  everlasting  companions  ?  ”  — 
“  Nay,  nay,”  was  answered  in  the  same  sepul¬ 
chral  tone,  “  lower  down,  lower  down  than 
this  for  unfaithful  ministers !  ”  It  is  no  fiction, 
that  of  all  hells  a  fallen  minister’s  would  prove 
most  terrible.  That  dream  enshrines  within 
its  grim  symbology  a  tremendous  truth. 

S.  Coley. 

6267.  ZEAL,  Ineffectual.  Some  years  ago,  a 
oung  woman  of  the  name  of  Wilson,  who 
ved  near  Philadelphia,  was  capitally  con¬ 
victed  of  crime,  and  condemned  to  die.  The 
day  of  execution  was  appointed.  In  the  mean 
time,  her  brother  used  his  utmost  efforts  to  ob¬ 
tain  a  pardon  from  the  governor.  He  at  length 
succeeded,  and  hastened  to  save  his  sister.  His 
horse  foamed  and  bled  as  he  spurred  him  on  ; 
and  there  was  no  doubt  of  his  succeeding,  but 
an  unpropitious  rain  had  swelled  the  stream  : 
he  was  compelled  to  pace  the  bank,  while  his 
heart  was  ready  to  break,  as  he  gazed  upon 
the  rushing  waters  that  threatened  to  blast  his 
only  hope.  The  very  moment  that  a  ford  was 
at  all  practicable,  he  dashed  through  the  river, 
and  arrived  at  the  place  of  execution  ;  but, 
alas !  he  was  too  late,  and  could  only  witness 
the  last  struggles  of  his  sister  on  the  fatal 
scaffold. 

6268.  ZEAL,  Ministerial.  The  most  remark¬ 
able  examples  of  zeal  are  found  in  the  records 
of  the  early  itinerant  ministers.  Richard 
Nolley,  one  of  these,  came  upon  the  fresh 
trail  of  an  emigrant  in  the  wilderness,  and 
followed  it  till  he  overtook  the  family.  When 
the  emigrant  saw  him,  he  said,  “  What,  a 
Methodist  preacher  1  I  quit  Virginia  to  be 
out  of  the  way  of  them ;  but  in  my  settlement 
in  Georgia  I  thought  I  should  be  beyond  their 
reach.  There  they  were ;  and  they  got  my 
wife  and  daughter  into  their  church.  Then  I 
come  here  to  Chocktaw  Corner,  find  a  piece 
of  land,  feel  sure  that  I  shall  have  some  peace 
from  the  preachers  ;  and  here  is  one  before  I’ve 
unloaded  my  wagon  1  ”  The  preacher  exhort¬ 
ed  him  to  make  his  peace  with  God,  that  he 
might  not  be  troubled  by  the  everywhere 
present  Methodist  preachers. 

6269.  ZEAL,  Posthumous,  Count  Ziska,  the 
brave  Bohemian  captain,  commanded,  that, 
after  death,  his  body  should  be  flayed,  and 
the  skin  be  made  into  drum-heads  to  send  dis¬ 
may  int<  the  hearts  of  their  enemies  when  his 
followers  went  out  to  battle  for  the  faith. 

6276  ZEAL,  and  Prudence.  Two  ships  were 
aground  at  London  Bridge.  The  proprietors 


of  one  sent  for  a  hundred  horses,  and  pulled 
it  to  pieces ;  the  proprietors  of  the  other 
waited  for  the  tide,  and  with  sails  and  rudder 
directed  it  as  they  pleased.  C.  Simeon. 

6271.  ZEAL,  Remarkable.  During  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg,  Chaplain  Eastman  was  so  badl) 
injured  by  a  fall  of  his  horse  as  to  be  compelled 
to  lie  down  on  the  field  for  the  night.  As  he 
lay  in  the  darkness,  he  heard,  a  voice  say,  “  O 
my  God  1  ”  and  thought,  “  How  can  I  get  at 
him  ?  ”  Unable  to  walk,  he  started  to  roll  to 
the  sufferer,  and  rolled  through  blood,  among 
the  dead  bodies,  till  he  came  to  the  dying  man, 
to  whom  he  preached  Christ.  This  service 
done,  he  was  sent  for  to  attend  a  dying  officer, 
to  whom  he  had  to  be  carried  by  two  soldiers. 
Thus  he  passed  the  long  night ;  the  soldiers 
carrying  him  from  one  dying  man  to  another 
to  whom  he  preached  Christ,  and  with  whom 
he  prayed,  while  he  was  compelled  to  lie  upon 
his  back  beside  them. 

6272.  ZEAL,  Stimulated.  A  young  man  re¬ 
plied  to  his  irreligious  mother’s  scorn,  “  I  am 
resolved  by  all  means  to  save  my  soul.”  After¬ 
wards,  he  fell  in  lukewarmness,  and  dreamed 
that  his  mother  upbraided  him  with  his  former 
answer.  This  so  impressed  him,  that  he  said 
on  awaking,  “  If  I  could  not  in  my  dream  en¬ 
dure  my  mother’s  upbraiding  my  folly  and 
lukewarmness,  how  shall  I  be  able  to  stand 
when  God  shall  call  me  to  an  account  in  the 
last  day,  and  the  angels  reproach  my  luke¬ 
warmness,  and  the  devils  aggravate  my  sins, 
and  all  the  saints  of  God  deride  my  follies 
and  hypocrisies  ?  ” 

6273.  ZEAL,  Too  Much.  An  Indian,  having 
heard  from  a  white  man  some  strictures  on 
zeal,  replied,  “  I  don’t  know  about  having  too 
much  zeal ;  but  I  think  it  is  better  the  pot 
should  boil  over  than  not  boil  at  all.” 

6274.  ZEAL,  True.  Let  us  take  heed  we 
do  not  sometimes  call  that  zeal  for  God  and 
his  gospel  which  is  nothing  else  but  our  own 
tempestuous  and  stormy  passion.  True  zeal 
is  a  sweet,  heavenly,  and  gentle  flame,  which 
maketh  us  active  for  God,  but  always  within 
the  sphere  of  love.  It  never  calls  for  fire 
from  heaven  to  consume  those  that  differ  a 
little  from  us  in  their  apprehensions.  It  is  like 
that  kind  of  lightning  (which  philosophers 
speak  of)  that  melts  the  sword  within,  but 
singeth  not  the  scabbard  :  it  strives  to  save 
the  soul,  but  hurteth  not  the  body.  Cudworth. 

6275.  ZEAL,  Uncontrolled,  Phaeton  took  upon 

him  to  drive  the  chariot  of  the  sun ;  but  through 
his  rashness  set  the  world  in  combustion.  What 
a  horse  is  without  a  rider,  or  a  ship  without  a 
rudder,  such  is  zeal  without  knowledge.  St. 
Bernard  hits  full  on  this  point.  Discretion 
without  zeal  is  slow-paced,  and  zeal  without 
discretion  is  strong-headed  ;  let,  therefore, 
zeal  spur  on  discretion,  and  discretion  rein  in 
zeal.  Spencer. 


TOPICAL  INDEX 


Reference  is  always  made  to  the  illustrations  by  number.  The  numbers  refer  to  synonymous  or 
related  general  subjects,  or  to  scattered  illustrations  of  the  topic  in  the  Index.  A  dash  between  two 
numbers  indicates  that  all  between  them  are  referred  to. 


Abilities,  1.  2.  534.  535.  1836.  2072.  2073.  2450-2456. 
3222-3224.  5575-5579. 

Absent-Mindedness,  3.  10.  11.  2332-2337. 
Abstinence,  4-9.  189.  281.  770.  1650-1671.  2236.  6632- 
5616.  6039  .  6040. 

Abstraction,  10.  11.  3.  2336. 

Action,  12-20.  21-23.  24-28.  1388-1401.  1634.  6111-6131. 
Actions,  21-23.  12-20.  24-28.  1603-1618.  2276.  6132-6136. 
Activity,  24-28.  12-20.  21-23.  1533-1542.  2650.  2821. 
2868  .  3248-3253  .  3506-3517. 

Adaptation,  29-32.  527.  763.  1158.  1161.  2651.  4425. 
4775. 

Adoption,  33-36.  3445-3451.  3689.  4123-4126. 
Adornment,  37  .  275.  1643.  1736.  2216-2229.  4272-4274. 
Advent,  38.  1166.  1677  .  3415-3427  .  3819  .  6139  .  6141. 
6147. 

Adversity,  39-48  .  75-92.  320-330  .  794.  1545-1552.  1980. 

2417.  3669-3672.  5294-5301.  5791-5809. 

Advice,  47.  48.  1112-1117.  6233-6238. 

Advocate,  49.  3333-3340.  3645-3348  .  5480. 
Affectation,  60-52.  202.  203.  1849-1854.  5251.  6252. 
Affection,  53-71.  2235.  2862.  184.  3676-3721. 
Affections,  72-74.  794.  865.  4318-4323. 

AFFLICTION,  75-92.  39-46.  320-330.  251.  1006-1009.  1187- 
1193.  2610.  3377.  5305.  5294-5301.  5791-5809. 

ACE,  93-104.  2607  .  3456,  3575.  4197-4210. 

AGED,  101-104,  618.  1078.  3456.  4197-4210. 
Agriculture,  1542  .  3248-3253. 

AIM,  105-108.  771.  3047  .  3601.  3654.  3655.  4827-4830.  5068. 
Allurements,  109-111.  195.  1220-1232  .  4436-4471.  5306. 
5639-5665. 

AMBITION,  112-120.  909.  1869.  1870.  3766.  4664-4687. 
Amen,  121-123. 

Amiability,  124.  3452-3471. 

Amusements,  125.  126.  195.  537.  538.  1221-1232.  4849. 

4877.  4878.  5674-5080. 

Ancestry,  127-129  .  3508. 

ANGEL,  130.  131.  367.  1267.  1826. 

Angels,  130-137  .  247.  1757. 

Anger,  138-149.  1052.  1069.  2481.  4318-4323  .  6620-5631. 
6217-6219. 

Animals,  150.  2751.  3466  .  3929. 

Annihilation,  151.  1268  .  3187-3201.  6419-5452. 
Answer  to  Prayer,  152-156.  864.  1226.  3333-3340. 
4526-4593. 

Antiquity,  157.  4736-4739. 

ANXIETY,  158-161,  505.  539-543.  2250.  1489.  1490.  1553- 
1558.  1562-1564. 

Apostasy,  102-166.  249-262  .  2169-2171.  2881. 
Apostate,  166.  918.  1725.  1768.  1932  .  2937  .  3406.  3832. 
Apostles,  167. 


Apostolic  Succession,  168.  169. 

Appearances,  171-174.  182.  186.  421.  3112-3117.  5304. 
Appearance  of  Evil,  170.  172.  175.  2600. 

Appetite,  176.  5279.  6030. 

Applause,  177.  178.  2473.  1861-1865. 

Ark,  179.  679.  783. 

Armor,  180.  181.  841.  1409-1411.  2551.  4355.  4766-4772. 
5156-5158. 

ART,  182-186.  544.  1826.  4381.  4382. 

Aspiration,  187.  188.  112-120.  909.  1045.  1869.  1870. 
Associates,  189-191.  789.  888-908.  1709.  1985. 
Association,  189-201.  751.  752.  888-908.  1970.  5402-5404. 
Assumption,  202.  203.  50-52.  2525.  1849-1854.  3767. 
4370.  4496. 

Assurance,  204-214.  1855  .  2338  .  3810-3812.  6060-6073. 
Atheism,  215-223.  376.  451.  3256-3274.  5210.  5211. 
Atheist,  220-223.  1722-1731.  2049.  3210.  3256-3274. 
Atonement,  224-232.  432-440.  3439.  5520.  5532.  6152. 
Attention,  233-235.  2482. 

Avarice,  236-246.  1136-1154.  2582-2589.  3713.  3760- 
3764.  3778-3780.  4112. 

Awakening,  1202.  1203.  1453.  5067-5079. 

Baby,  217.  248.  3791.  4033. 

Backslider,  249.  250.  166.  844.  918.  2681.  3406.  3832. 
Backsliders,  251-253.  774.  810.  833.  834.  843.  1094, 
1932. 

Backsliding,  254-262.  162-168.  189.  843.  1732. 

Badge,  263.  738.  1178.  1187.  3810-3813.  4726-4735. 
Balls,  264.  265.  1220-1232.  4230. 

Banner,  266.  2301.  2302. 

Baptism,  267.  268.  3255. 

Battle,  269.  270.  942-945.  1176.  4061.  6600.  5958-5967. 
5926. 

Beauty,  271-275.  3820. 

Beccars,  276.  1037  .  3350.  4352.  4366.  4479-4484. 
Begging,  277.  862.  1142. 

Beginning,  278-283  .  4867  .  3647-3650. 

Beginnings,  281-283  .  5387-5395. 

Believers,  284-289  .  735-752.  2074-2146. 

Believing,  290-295.  2483.  2074-2146. 

Beneficence,  296-309.  103.  310-319.  586-600.  2457-2464. 
3546-3548. 

Benevolence,  296-319.  586-600.  2457-2464.  3546-3548. 
Bereavement,  320-330.  622-625.  635.  1007.  1265-1376. 

3147  .  4301.  4997-4999  .  5502-5510. 

Best,  331.  2837  .  4775-4794  .  5972.  5973. 

Besetting-Sins,  332-334.  5305-5352.  5639-5665. 

Bible,  335-407.  12.  635  .  4132.  4133.  4211-4214  .  4754- 
4756  .  4658  .  5224-5235. 

Bigotry,  408-416.  1439-1446.  4644-4648.  5238. 

693 


694 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Biography,  417.  464-474.  3562-3624. 

Bishop,  •‘18.  541.  1501.  1959.  2291.  4598-4637. 

Blame,  419  .  559-563.  1506.  1659.  2738. 

Blasphemer,  420.  166.  1347. 

Blessed,  421.  1671.  3854-3858. 

BLESSINC,  422.  678.  1275.  1816. 

Blessings,  423—426.  3896-3902. 

Blindness,  427-431.  408  .  414  .  678.  2066-2070.  3589.  3678. 
Blood  of  Jesus,  432-440.  225.  229  .  713.  1761.  2120. 
2387. 

Boasting,  441-448.  1993.  2595.  2652.  2831.  3922-3926. 
4430-4432. 

Body,  449-456.  151.  1301.  2312.  2313.  5025-5043. 
Boldness,  457-463.  204.  924.  933-941.  1723.  2273.  2820. 
BOOK,  464-167.  379.  392.  3563.  4850-4850. 

Books,  464-474.  379.  392-405.  406  .  4143-4151.  4850-4856. 
Bounty,  2504  .  2518  .  423-426.  3896-3902. 

Boyhood,  475.  646.  616.  618.  6241-6259. 

Boys,  476-484.  474.  493.  619-650. 

Bravery,  485-493  457-463.  2251.  2273.  5899. 

Bread,  494-497.  2210.  2211.  3105.  4785. 

Bribery,  1109-1111.  1275.  3025.  3240-3242. 
Brotherhood,  498-501  638.  777.  780.  803-805.  2284- 
2286.  3680.  3708.  6863-5873. 

Brothers,  502.  504.  63-65.  69.  637.  3681. 

Burden,  505.  506.  158-161.  546.  1075.  1279.  1349  .  5092. 
Business,  507-513.  522-526.  539  .  550.  1339  .  3506-3517. 
4188-4191.  5999.  6001. 

Busy-Body,  5144517  .  559.  5207-5209  .  5369-5375.  5572- 
5574.  5592.  5735-5742. 

Calamities,  518.  320-330.  3669-3672. 

Calamity,  519-521.  3985-3987. 

Calling,  522-526.  1855-1860. 

Callings,  527.  507-513.  1867.  1868  .  4188-4191. 
Calumny,  529-531.  5207-5209  .  5369-5375. 

Calvinism,  532.  533.  1598-1602.  1855-1860.  4643. 
Capacity,  534.  535.  1.  2.  1836.  2450-2456.  5575-5579. 
Capiain,  536. 

Cards,  537.  538.  1088.  2427.  2428.  3365. 

CARE,  539-543.  158-161.  2539. 

Carelessness,  544.  635.  636.  4867. 

Cares,  545-554.  505.  506.  3799. 

Caste,  555.  500  .  786.  2545.  2757. 

Catechising,  556.  3601.  5603-5612. 

Caution,  557.  558.  1682.  4638.  4797-4802. 

Censor,  559.  1003.  2211.  2738. 

Censoriousness,  560.  772.  1171.  2737.  4371. 

Censure,  561-563.  419  .  588.  1171.  2248  .  2249. 

Chance,  564.  565.  29-32.  1158-1172. 

Change,  566.  567.  1044.  1066.  1073  .  5923-5925  .  6142. 
Character,  568-585  .  775.  790.  791.  1938  .  4379-4392. 
4494. 

Charity,  586-600.  296-319.  2457-2464.  3546-3548. 
Chastisement,  601.  602.  1107.  1108.  1545-1552. 
Chastity,  603.  1410  .  2067  .  2364  .  3559. 

Cheerfulness,  604-610.  94.  776.  3010.  2767-2797.  3383- 
3405.  3977. 

Child,  611-615.  280.  341.  607.  610.  807.  1319.  1604.  2081. 
3682. 

Childhood,  616-618  .  475.  646.  2234.  2240. 

Children,  619-650.  247  .  248  .  689.  1278.  1279.  1773-1775. 
2643.  2872. 

Choice,  651-654.  241.  762.  1733.  1855-1860.  3604.  5115. 
CHRIST,  655-734.  162.  210.  224-232.  407.  432-440.  921- 
924.  1593.  1594.  1626.  1994.  2393.  2394.  2790.  2826. 
2873.  3229.  3490.  3722-3726.  5561.  5930. 

Christian,  735-752.  3711.  284-299. 

Christianity,  753-769.  680.  854.  858.  871.  2570-2581. 
2622-2641.  4438.  4912-4956. 

Christians,  770-802.  284-289.  693.  1700-1721.  5159-5165. 


|  Christian  Union,  803-805.  498-501.  738.  777.  818.  1439- 
1446.  5863-5873.  5877-5879. 

I  Church,  806-841.  638.  666.  1814.  4778.  842-847. 
Churches,  842-847.  806.  841. 

Churlishness,  772.  2306  .  2389-2392.  2737.  4371. 
Circumspection,  850.  4797-4802. 

Citizen,  848.  849. 

Civility,  851-853.  1128-11  il.  4472-4478. 

Civiliz  ation,  854-856.  769.  821.  847.  877. 

Clemency,  857.  1884.  1891.  2430.  3903-3921. 

Closet,  858-860.  3351.  4577. 

Coincidence,  863.  864.  564.  565. 

Collection,  862.  276. 

Colors,  861. 

Comfort,  865-869.  75-92.  320-330.  345.  391.  926.  953. 

1006-1009.  1080.  1755.  2747. 

Commandments,  870-876.  575.  3480.  3529  .  3533. 
Commerce,  877.  3022. 

Communion,  878-887  .  200.  668.  1709.  1778.  3351.  5489- 
5490. 

Companions,  888-897.  192-201.  898.  1985. 

Company,  898-908.  469.  1709.  1970.  2938  .  3351. 
Comparison,  909.  681.  3172-3178. 

Compassion,  910.  911.  669.  729.  869.  2544.  3352.  3903- 
3921.  4452.  4453. 

Complaint,  912-914.  1219.  2737.  2738.  4052-4060.  4338. 

5503. 

Compromise,  419.  1411.  2032-2036.  2765. 

Conceit,  915.  916.  1169.  1170  .  2961.  2963  .  3767  .  5275. 
CONCORD,  917.  1897.  2798-2800.  4355-4369. 
Condemnation,  918.  1975.  1095-1106.  6220-6224. 
Conduct,  919.  920.  786.  795.  1452.  1821.  1857.  1858. 
3637. 

Confessing  Christ,  921-924.  268  .  269.  457.  458.  921- 
924.  1732-1749.  2037.  2038.  2915. 

Confession,  925-930.  921-924. 

Confessional,  931.  932.  2048.  2354. 

Confidence,  933-941.  204-214.  773.  1239.  1315.  1750. 
2106.  2252.  2488. 

Conflict,  942-945.  269.  270.  1283  .  5958-5967. 
Conflicts,  942-945.  2312  .  5958-5967. 

Conscience,  946-984.  1606.  2083.  2414.  2791.  3206.  4921. 
4957-4961. 

Consecration,  985-990.  1747.  2413.  4272.  4966.  5243. 
5550.  5551. 

Consequences,  991.  992.  4813-4821.  5024  .  5080-5086. 
Consideration,  993-997.  1016.  1017.  1322.  1430.  1431. 
1940.  2618.  4455. 

Consistency,  998-1005.  174.  175.  369.  1388-1401.  1618. 
1631.  2364. 

Consolation,  1006-1009.  320-330.  391.  622-625.  636. 
865-868.  1871-1875.  4922. 

Constancy,  1010-1015.  1126.  1388-1401.  1945.  3686. 
Contemplation,  1016.  1017.  1080.  1609  .  2068.  3849- 
3853.  4891. 

Contempt,  1018.  1019.  6222-5223. 

Contention,  1020-1025.  777  .  811.  1587.1588.  1595.  1869. 
3770.  4831-4838. 

Contentment,  1026-1045.  740.  1188.  1190.  2674.  2767- 
2797.  5203.  5204. 

Contrition,  1046.  1047.  1071.  2345.  3084-3086.  4373- 
4375. 

Controversy,  1048-1053.  1570-1572. 

Conversation,  1054-1062.  5475.  5476.  5580-5588.  6095- 
6110. 

Conversion,  1063-1091.  87  .  230.  567  .  873.  1773-1776. 

2234.  2449.  2654.  4123-4126.  4899-4908. 

Convert,  1092.  1893.  4127-4129.  4131. 

Converts,  1093.  1094.  402.  807.  1624. 

Conviction,  1095-1106.  31.  709.  951.  1453.  1459.  1467, 
1873.  2253. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


695 


Correction,  1107.  1108.  1545-1552.  1187-1193. 
Corruption,  1109-1111.  1113.  1454.  2828.  2831.  3805. 
Counsel,  1112-1117.  47.  48. 

Counsellors,  1118.  1119.  2855. 

COURAGE,  1120-1127.  457-463.  485.  493.  800.  933-941. 
5899. 

Courtesy,  1128-1131.  851-853.  3802-3809.  4472-4478. 
Courtship,  1132-1135.  3106.  3111.  3559  .  5634. 
Covetous,  1136-1141.  3978-3980. 

Covetousness,  1136-1154.  236-246.  2221.  2582-2589. 
3760-3764. 

Cowardice,  1155-1157.  1127  .  2251.  2254. 

Creation,  1158-1162.  185.  451.  452.  1796-1803.  3773. 

4089-1105.  4258.  5S86.  6137-6174. 

Creator,  1163.  215-220.  2494.  2496.  2497  .  4216-4261. 
Credulity,  1164-1166.  3773.  5547. 

CRIME,  1167.  1482.  1640  .  2744  .  2745.  5305-5352. 
Criminals,  1168.  5356-5368.  6008-6017. 

Crisis,  269.  629.  1391.  1866.  3570-3572.  5360.  4152-4155. 
4240-4253. 

Criticism,  1169-1171.  3408-3414. 

Cross,  1172-1186.  513. 

CROSSES,  1187-1193.  1545-1552.  3567  .  5759-5773. 

Crown,  1194-1200.  670.  1188.  2868-2935.  5082. 
Crucifixion,  1201-1203.  661.  1376.  1377. 

Cruelty,  1204-1208.  409.  669.  2222. 

CURE,  1209.  520.  671.  1299.  1740.  2660.  2829. 

Curiosity,  1210-1214. 

Curses,  1215.  1216.  423.  424.  1816.  4361.  5309.  5310. 
CUSTOM,  1217.  2746-2761.  4675.  5887.  6888. 

Cynic,  1218.  2738.  2241.  2737.  2738. 

Damage,  1219.  2220. 

Dancing,  1221-1232.  264.  265.  1429. 

Danger,  1233-1247.  47.  ISO.  181.  189.  368.  442.  1210- 
1215.  1676.  1929-1931.  3207.  3209.  3573.  4393-4395. 
6315. 

Darkness,  1248-1254.  427-431.  662.  801.  1728.  1871. 
2085.  2265. 

Daughter,  58.  2085.  2265.  3682. 

Day,  1255.  1256.  395. 

Day  OF  Grace,  1257-1259.  1416-1429.  3206-3209.  4152- 
4155.  4240-4253.  4701-4714. 

Dead,  1260-1264.  741.  810.  1265-1375.  1692-1772. 
Death,  1265-1375.  131.  205.  252.  341.  622-625.  642.  728. 

1182.  1245.  1602-1772.  2425.  2701-2708.  3574. 

Death  op  Christ,  1376.  1377.  224-232.  432-440.  672. 
725.  726.  2702. 

Debt,  1378-1383.  223.  3399.  4879-4888. 

Debtor,  1384.  1385.  4353  .  4354. 

Deceit,  1386.  1387.  1437.  1619  .  2172-2179.  2830.  3744- 
3754. 

Decision,  1388-1401.  255.  651.  658.  1117.  1257.  1733. 

1977  ,  3603.  3774  .  5000-5003  .  5048  .  5049. 

Deed,  1402-1404.  2960-2963.  6111-6131. 

Deeds,  1405-1408.  12-23.  2386.  4534.  6132-6136.  2593- 
2597. 

Defence,  1409-1411.  153.  180.  131.  841.  4535.  4766-4772. 
Degraded,  1412-1414.  179.  659.  703.  1248-1254.  1826. 
2672.  3378  .  5420. 

Deity,  1415  .  2470-2569  .  5781-5789. 

Delay,  1416-1429.  495.  4112-4118.  4240-4253.  4649. 

4656-4662.  4701-1714.  3569.  3356. 

Deliberation,  1430-1432.  993-997.  1016.  1017.  4891. 
Deliverance,  1433-1435.  1740.  3653.  4766-4772.  4996. 
5156-5158. 

Deliverer,  1436.  2159.  701.  6205.  5206. 

Delusion,  1437.  2213.  1386.  1387.  3997.  5255. 

Demons,  132.  891.  1438.  1500-1511. 
DLNOMINATIONALISM,  1439.  1440  .  408-416.  836-839. 
Denominations,  1441-1446  .  935  .  5238. 


Dependence,  1447-1451.  5989-5991. 

Deportment,  786.  795.  919.  1452. 

Depravity,  1453-1471.  427-431.  671.  801.  1109-1111 
2162-2108.  2675.  2828.  2831.  2842.  3081-3083.  4267 
4271.  6305-5352. 

Despair,  1482-1488  .  207.  1725.  1768  .  3261.  3308  .  3809 
3874-3878. 

Despondency,  1489.  1490.  771.  776.  3874-3878. 
Designs,  1472.  1473.  4454.  4455  .  5050-5054. 

Desire,  1474.  187.  188.  1762  .  3016.  3019  .  3228.  5592. 
Desires,  1475-1481.  3331.  3332.  6055-6058. 

Destiny,  444.  3623.  2365-2373.  3985-3987. 

Detection,  1566.  1494.  1632.  2243.  2745.  3113.  3120, 
4221-4233.  4813-1821.  5307.  5316. 

Detraction,  529-5(1.  1491-1495.  1497.  5369-5375. 
Deviation,  1498.  171-175.  5387. 

Development,  569.  570.  1494.  1836*.  2072.  3786,  3890. 
Devil,  1500-1510.  1630.  5192-5201.  5860. 

Devils,  1511.  132.  891. 

Devotion,  1512-1516.  384.  604.  1784.  2151-2161.  2965 
2985.  4822-4826. 

Devotedness,  1518-1520.  384.  868-860.  878-887.  1743. 
2237-2299. 

Difficulties,  1521-1530.  355.  1562-1564. 

Difficulty,  1531.  1532.  2627.  3704. 

I  Diligence,  1533-1542  511.  781.  1857.  1858.  2015.  3813. 
|  5511-5519.  5710-5731. 

;  Disappointment,  1543.  1544.  3620.  6157. 

Discipline,  1545-1552.  39-46  .  75-92.  545.  548.  601.  602. 

1107.  1108.  1187-1193.  1524.  1525. 

Discontent,  1553-1555>.  112-120,  1026-1045.  1556-1558. 

1578-1586*  1605.  3081-3984.  5900-6911. 
Discontentment,  1556-1558  .  5202.  6157.  5900-5911. 
DISCORD,  1559-1561.  811.  917.  1020-1025*  1587.  1588. 
1595.  2189. 

Discouragement,  1552-1564.  776.  1482-1488.  1543. 

1544.  1871-1875. 

Discovery,  1565.  1566.  958.  1632.  2058.  2059.  2243.  3647. 
4178-4183. 

Discretion,  1567-1569.  3408-3414.  6041-6054. 
Discussion,  1570-1572.  1048-1052. 

Dishonesty,  595.  1573.  1574.  2817.  4233.  5496. 
Disinterestedness,  1575.  3755.  5261.  5256.  5257. 
Disobedience,  1575-1578.  2335.  5305-5352. 
Dissatisfaction,  1579-1586.  912-914.  1026-1045.  1553- 
1558.  1605.  2858.  3042.  5420.  6148. 

Dissension,  1587.  1588.  1595.  1596. 

Distrust,  1589-1591.  158.  161.  1623-1625.  5552.  5553. 
Divinity,  1592.  1415.  2476-2569. 

Divinity  of  Christ,  1593.  1594.  672.  676.  677.  683. 
688  .  725.  1626* 

Divisions,  1595.  1587.  1588.  1596.  5863-5873.  5877-5879, 
Divorce,  1597.  3816.  3814-3832. 

Doctrine,  1598-1602.  532.  533.  1592.  1855-18*0. 

Doing  Good,  1603-1614.  15.  494-497.  615.  799.  1118. 
1119'.  1412.  1413.  1963.  1964.  1976.  2589.  2590.  2593- 
2595*  2699.  2785.  5890-5896. 

Doing  Right,  1615.  173.  315.  2853.  5115-5518. 

Doing  Well,  1616-1618.  19.  1974.  2869.  3595.  4242. 
6007.  6008. 

Double-Facedness,  1613.  1619.  2032-2038.  3243.  4129. 
4688.  4937. 

Double-Mindedness,  1620-1622.  2324-2328.  3243.  3311. 
4089.  5898.  5937. 

Doubt,  1623-1625.  208.  209.  1589-1591.  6552.  5553.  5853- 
5859. 

Doubting,  1626-1628.  290-295. 

Doubts,  1629  .  5853-5859. 

Dragon,  1630.  1978.  1968-1986  .  5660. 

Dreams,  1631-1637.  4384.  5159. 

Dress,  1633-1649.  2216-2229.  4671. 


696 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Drinking,  1650-1652.  4-9.  3326-3330. 

Drunkard,  1653-1655.  3682. 

Drunkards,  1670.  1671.  176.  281. 

Drunkenness,  1656-1669.  4-9.  176.  897.  3326-3330.  6632- 
5636. 

Duty,  1672-1691.  522-526.  7S6.  921-924.  1093.  1184.  1289. 

2330.  3780.  4024-4029.  4157-4172.  4173-4177. 

Dying,  1692-1699.  1260-1375.  2376.  2386. 

Dying  for  Others,  63.  65.  66.  732.  1377.  1694.  2151. 

2235.  2408.  2521.  2700.  5274. 

Dying  Testimonies,  1700-1772.  670.  1699. 

Early  Conversion,  1773-1775.  438.  689.  807.  1063. 
1068.  1776-1783.  3405.  6241. 

Early  Piety,  1776-1783  .  481.  624.  638  .  807.  1500.  1773- 
1775.  2079.  2234.  4920. 

Early  Rising,  1784-1787.  4932. 

Early  Training,  1788.  1789.  627.  629.  630.  641.  1167. 

1816-1841.  2132.  2563.  2564.  3216-3218.  3541. 
Earnestness,  1790-1795.  1351.  1515  .  3577  .  4116.  4507. 
6260-6275. 

Earth,  1796-1801.  185.  451.  452.  1158-1162.  1898.  4090- 
4105.  6137-6174. 

Earthly  Glory,  1804.  2180-2188.  2465-2475.  3034- 
3045.  5900-5911. 

Earthly  Greatness,  1805  .  2709-2727  .  5900-5911. 
Ease,  1S06-1808.  3245-3247.  3534.  3535.  4840-4845. 
Economy,  1809-1815.  2416.  5706. 

Education,  1816-1841.  396.  630.  640.  641.  1582.  3536- 
3544.  3576.  5499. 

Effort,  1842-1848.  106.  1603-1614.  2864.  4426.  5453- 
5456. 

Egotism,  1849-1854.  50-52.  202.  203.  1935.  2334.  5283. 
5266.  5275. 

Election,  1855-1860  .  525  .  651-654. 

Eloquence,  1861-1865.  184.  396.  2436.  6860. 

Emblems,  681.  909.  3172-3178. 

Emergency,  1866,  262.  629.  2062.  2063. 

Employment,  1867,  1868.  507-513.  527.  1339.  4188-4191. 
Emulation,  1869.  1870.  112-120.  187.  188.  1020-1025. 
Encouragement,  1871-1875.  495.  776.  1562-1564.  2089. 
2955-2957.  4740-4752. 

End,  1876.  38.  1166.  1801.  2701-2707.  3563. 

End  of  All  Things,  1877.  2469.  2474. 

End  of  the  World,  3415-3427.  6139.  6141.  6147. 
Endurance,  1878-1881.  210.  682.  814.  2151-2161.  3065. 

3704.  4406-4424. 

Enemies,  1882-1890.  3702. 

Enemy,  1891.  1892.  1975.  1976.  2942.  3456. 

Energy,  1893-1896.  1848.  4485.  6511-5519. 

Enjoyment,  1897.  1898.  1026-1045.  2767-2797. 
Enterprise,  1899.  1893-1896. 

Enterprises,  1900.  1402-1408.  4454.  4455. 

Enthusiasm,  1901-1905.  1790-1795.  6260-6275. 

Envy,  1906-1924.  2722.  2801.  2802.  3346.  3347.  6698. 
Error,  1925-1928.  1630.  2172-2179.  5819-5851. 

Escape,  1929.  1930.  699.  1433-1435.  4996. 

Escapes,  1931.  4393-4395. 

Estate,  1932.  1933.  622-527.  4188-4191.  6477. 

Esteem,  1934-1936.  1949-1954. 

Eternity,  1937-1962.  1223  .  2880  .  2942.  2943.  2946  .  3187- 
3201.  4616. 

Evangelist,  1962.  1963. 

Evidence,  1964-1967.  757.  760.  763.  766.  768. 

Evil,  1968-1986.  170.  175.  629-531.  1118.  1119.  2592. 

3782.  5044.  5045.  5305-5352. 

Evils,  1987-1989.  1167. 

Exaggeration,  1990.  1991.  2172-2179  .  3744-3764. 
Examination,  1992.  4178-4183. 

Example,  1993-2012.  174.  194.  685.  1007.  2236.  2743. 
3562-3624. 


Excess,  2013.  2014.  4281.  3999-4003. 

Excellence,  2015  .  572.  829.  3922-3926.  4753.  6216. 
Excitement,  2016-2018.  2276-2283. 

Excuses,  2019-2025.  509.  813.  1417.  1674.  3210.  3223, 
6366.  5555. 

Existence,  2026-2028.  3562.  3624. 

Expectation,  2029-2031.  2091.  3046-3071. 

Expediency,  2032-2036.  1411.  1619.  2172.  2176.  2179. 
2765. 

Experience,  2037-2057.  757.  1063-1091.  1095-1106.  2629. 
Experlment,  2058.  2059.  767.  156.  1565.  1566. 
Extravagance,  2060.  2061.  1866.  2212.  2213.  2221. 

2224.  I 

Extremity,  2062.  2063.  2092.  2210.  4786. 

Eye,  2064.  2065.  233.  771.  4223. 

Eyes,  2066-2070.  427.  431. 

Fable,  2071.  3172-3178.  4288-4290. 

Faculties,  2072.  2073.  1.  2.  634.  535.  2450-2456.  6575- 
6579. 

Faith,  2074-2146.  290-295.  612.  3446.  4542.  4859.  4863. 
4865.  5810-5818. 

Faith  and  Works,  2147-2150.  6133.  6136. 
Faithfulness,  2151-2161.  268.  W14.  1015.  1045.  1199. 
1518-1520.  1677.  1698.  2287-2299.  2301.  2302.  4162. 
4164.  4406-4424.  5926.  6927. 

Fall,  2162-2168.  274.  1453-1471.  2535.  3562.  3772.  3779. 
3794.  3796. 

Falling,  2169-2171.  162-166.  249-262.  2656.  2657  .  2662. 
Falsehood,  2172-2179.  1386.  1387.  2093.  3560.  3561. 
Fame,  2180-2188.  2469.  2473.  3034-3045.  4069-4073.  4995. 
Family,  2189-2X99.  2643.  2005.  2644.  3009-3019.  3106- 
3111.  4033-4046.  6019-6028. 

Family  Piety,  2200.  3229.  3869. 

Family  Prayer,  2201-2205.  614.  3229.  2208.  2209. 
Family  Religion,  2207.  2200-2206. 

Family  Worship,  2208.  2209.  279  .  2005.  2201-2206. 
Famine,  2210.  2211.  494-497.  2322.  2323. 

Fanatic,  2212.  1437. 

Fanaticism,  2213.  1164-1166,  1437.  2060.  2061.  2958. 
Fancy,  2214.  2215.  3179-3182.  3308.  3309. 

Farewell,  1062.  1735.  4317. 

Fashion,  2216-2229.  1638-1649.  1807.  4647. 

Fasting,  2230-2233.  3084-3086. 

Fate,  444.  2365-2373.  3985-3987. 

Father,  2234-2240  .  66  .  67  .  71.  907.  1125.  2005.  2343. 

2500.  3728.  4301-4313.  4543. 

Fault-Finder,  2241.  1218.  2737.  2738. 

Faults,  2242-2249.  588.  593.  1845.  2190.  3641-3656.  3678. 
5161. 

Fear,  2250-2272.  386.  441.  491.  782.  976.  1088.  1098. 

1155-1157.  1241.  1943.  2502.  6012. 

Fearlessness,  1703  .  2273.  2834  .  457-463.  1120-1127. 
Feast,  2274.  2275.  4316. 

Feeling,  2276-2283.  2010-2018. 

Fellowship,  2284-2286.  498-501. 

Fidelity,  2287-2299.  1010-1015.  1698.  2151-2161.  2300- 
2302.  2364.  2963. 

Firmness,  2300.  1388-1401.  5491-5494. 

Flag,  2031.  266.  2302.  6495. 

Flatterer,  2303.  2304-2311.  3044. 

Flattery,  2304-2311.  3044. 

Flesh,  2312.  2313.  449-456. 

Flood,  2314. 

Flowers,  2316.  3376. 

Fogy,  2316. 

Following  Christ,  2317-2321.  785.  3183-3189.  4399 
4405. 

Folly,  2324-2328.  1147.  1954.  2387.  4860.  6162. 

Food,  2322.  2323.  2210.  2211. 

Forbearance,  662  .  2199  .  2329  .  3651.  3662.  3905-3921. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


697 


Foreknowledge,  2330.  4221-4233. 

Forewarning,  2331.  6962-5967.  4654.  4655. 
Forgetfulness,  2332-2337.  341.  3.  10.  11. 
Forgiveness,  2333-2357.  229.  1186.  3399.  4292-4300. 
4940. 

Formalism,  2358-2362.  171.  258.  774  .  791.  810.  843.  844. 
2418.  3730-3736.  4547.  4914. 

Fortitude,  2363.  2364.  1945.  2151-2161.  1010-1015.  2963. 
Fortune,  2365-2373.  444  .  3619.  3729.  3985-3987. 
Foundation,  692.  719.  1096.  2853.  5123-5125. 

Fountain  of  Life,  2374-2379.  687  .  2851.  6985.  6683- 
5685. 

Freedom,  2380-2382.  1298.  1692.  2095.  3549-3557. 

Free  Grace,  2383-2388.  227.  228.  687.  816.  2661.  2663. 

3046.  3399.  3697.  3699.  4928.  5177. 

Fretfulness,  2389-2392.  2737.  2738.  4371.  6220.  5221. 
Fruitfulness,  288.  662.  807.  2417-2420.  4717.  6890-5896. 
Fruits,  169.  495.  2664  .  991.  992.  4813-4821.  5080-6086. 
Friend,  2393-2395.  2410-2414.  846. 

Friends,  2410-2414.  2928.  2930.  4868-4870. 

Friendship,  2396-2409.  498-501.  685.  1335. 

Frugality,  2415  .  2416.  1809-1815  .  5706. 

Funeral,  2421.  3617.  4050. 

Future,  2422-2424.  3436.  3486.  3606.  6012. 

Gain,  2425.  2426.  2570-2581.  3760-3764.  4237.  4912.  5087- 
6111.  5992-6006. 

Gambling,  2427.  2428.  637.  638.  2289.  3236. 

GAYETY,  2429.  264.  265.  1220-1232.  2216-2229.  3977. 
Generosity,  2430.  857.  1884.  1891.  2431.  3693.  3546- 
3548.  3755. 

Genius,  2432-2440.  2709-2718. 

Gentleman,  2441-2444.  3802-3809. 

Gentleness,  2445-2447.  3452-3471. 

Geologist,  2448.  4102.  4103. 

Geology,  2449.  2553.  4089-4105. 

Gifts,  2450-2456.  1.  2.  634.  635.  819.  1836.  2072.  2073. 
3965.  5575-5579. 

Giving,  2457-2464.  296-319.  586-600.  3546-3548. 

Glory,  '2465-2475.  1177.  1303.  1696.  1720.  1804.  2889. 
2890  .  2909. 

God,  2476-2569  .  276.  1158-1163.  1415.  1702.  1764.  1941. 
1946.  2468.  2610-2613.  2644.  2720.  3472-3477.  3727. 
3728.  4069.  4072.  4089-4091.  4217-4233.  4462.  4453. 
5972.  5973. 

Godliness,  2570-2581.  2603-2609.  3538.  4443-4448.  4912- 
4956. 

Gold,  2582-2589.  236-246.  1136-1154.  3760-3764.  4009- 
4018.  6087-6111.  5992-6006. 

Golden  Rule,  2590.  2591.  1118.  1119.  4278-4280.  4866. 
Good,  1118.  1119.  2591.  2592. 

Good  Deeds,  2593-2595.  1402-1408.  1769.  2386.  6134. 
Good  Name,  2596-2602.  4069-4073.  4995. 

Good  Works,  2614-2621.  3922-3926. 

Goodness,  2603-2609.  2484.  3781.  6489.  6490. 

Goodness  of  God,  2610-2613. 

Gospel,  2622-2641.  226.  680.  1172-1186.  3526.  3528.  4213. 

6166-5187. 

Gospels,  2642. 

Government,  2643-2648.  632.  814-816.  4157-4172.  4318. 
6262. 

Grace,  2649-2684  .  597.  687  .  2338-2357  .  2383-2388  .  2506. 

3482.  5166-6187. 

Graces,  2685-2692  .  5945-5947. 

Gratitude,  2693-2700.  923.  1034.  1436.  4883. 

GRAVE,  2701-2708.  1265-1375.  2893.  3562. 

Gravity,  2709.  1790-1795.  5004-5007.  6401. 

Great  Men,  2709-2718.  112-120.  443.  621.  1348.  1931. 

2431-2439.  2719-2727.  5900-6911. 

Greatness,  2719-2727.  179.  1325.  1787.  1804.  1805  .  2507. 
3096.  5900-5911. 


Greeting,  2728.  1062. 

Grief,  2729-2731.  320-330  .  5414-5418  .  5613-5619. 
Growth,  2732-2736.  573.  742.  846.  893.  1475.  1499.  1982, 
2658.  2665.  2666.  2669.  2685-2692.  4386. 

Grumblers,  2737  .  2738.  559-663.  845.  912-914.  2410. 
4052-4060. 

Guardian,  2739.  132.  133.  5399  .  5972  .  6973. 

Guidance,  2740-2742.  135.  422.  1931.  2096. 

Guide,  2743.  3602. 

GUILT,  2744.  2745.  230.  231.  946.  947.  954.  959.  962.  963. 
966.  975.  976.  1095-1108.  1639.  1640.  2838.  3303. 
3002-3007.  4967-4961. 

Habit,  2746-2761.  176.  549.  1532.  1823.  2723.  3747. 
1774.  6323. 

Habits,  2762-2764  .  2746-2761. 

Half-Measures,  2765.  419.  1411.  2032-2036. 
Happiness,  2767-2797.  204-214.  421.  508.  604-610.  613. 
743.  1307.  1681.  1754.  1771.  2043.  2097.  2608.  3783. 
4440. 

Hardening  the  Heart,  2766.  948.  957.  964.  965. 

1223.  1357.  1423.  2278.  274.  2766.  2839.  4112.  4118. 
Harmony,  2798  -  2800.  917.  1897  .  4355  -  4369  .  5877 
5879. 

Hatred,  2801.  2802  .  830  .  2574.  2631.  6153  .  3756-3759. 
Health,  4932.  1784-1787.  5293-5301. 

Hearers,  2803-2814.  178.  3075.  3076.  6214.  6215. 
Hearing,  2815-2820.  336.  6099.  6201-6213. 

Heart,  2821-2862.  240.  704.  1144.  2117.  3145.  3358. 
4549. 

Heathenism,  2863-2867.  104  .  590  .  871.  1310.  3144-3152. 
5035. 

Heaven,  2868-2935.  431.  1718.  1759  .  2775.  3014  .  3359. 
4868-4870. 

Heaven  and  Hell,  2936. 

HELL,  2937-2954.  1937.  4990.  4813-4821. 

Help,  2955-2957.  133.  319.  783.  2062.  2063.  2991.  4217. 
Heresy,  2958.  2213. 

Hermit-Life,  2959.  5402.  5046.  5047.  5409.  6410. 
Heroism,  2960-2963.  457-463.  484-493.  914.  1402.  2156. 
2294.  5256.  6406. 

High  Life,  1898.  3739-3743.  6090-6111. 

UlNDERANCES,  1075.  1521-1632.  1932.  2019-2025.  2413. 

2964.  3230  .  3231.  3627  .  3827  .  3831.  4847  .  6799. 
HOLINESS,  2965-2985.  84.  432-440.  1688.  1752.  2509.  2920. 
4379-4392.  5188-5191. 

Holy  Spirit,  2986-3008.  368.  823.  1095.  3220.  3721. 

6478-5484. 

Home,  3009-3019.  610.  693.  759.  2189-2199.  2245.  2894- 
2898  .  4033-4046. 

Honesty,  3020-3033.  488.  1118.  2020.  3240-3242.  3319- 
3321. 

Honor,  3034-3045.  448.  484  .  744.  1325.  1745.  1804.  1806. 

2180-2188.  2596-2602.  5900-5911. 

Honoring  Parents,  1125.  2234-2240.  4157-4172.  4033- 
4046.  4301-4313. 

Hope,  3046-3071.  204-214.  426  .  704.  1767.  1948.  2098. 

2897.  3673. 

Hospitality,  3072-3074.  692.  2210.  2211.  3296. 

House  OF  God,  3075.  3076.  2803-2820.  6201-6215. 
Humanity,  3077-3080.  3452-3471.  4428.  4433-4436.  6560- 
5569. 

Human  Nature,  3081-3083.  1453-1471.  3077-3088  .  4433- 
4436. 

Humiliation,  3084-3086.  730.  1046-1047.  1179.  2346. 

4373-4375.  4932-4982. 

Humility,  3087-3104  .  418.  448.  1111.  1179.  1750  .  2609. 

2652.  4430.  4431.  6049. 

I  Hungry,  2210.  2211.  3105.  4786.  494-497.  3072-3074. 
j  Husband,  3106-3111.  3706.  2189-2199.  4033-4016.  6019- 

I  6028. 


698 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Hypocrisy,  3112-3117.  182.  1386.  1387.  1618.  1619. 
4430—4432. 

Hypocrite,  3118-3120. 

IDEA,  3121.  3122.  4234-4239.  6689-6694. 

Ideas,  3123.  3124.  5695-6703. 

Identity,  3125.  4425.  5247-5250. 

Idleness,  3125-3143.  1533-1542.  1806-1808.  8245-3247. 
3534  .  3535.  6239. 

Idolatry,  3144-3148  .  366.  711.  2154.  2528.  2529.  2863- 
2866. 

Idols,  3149-3152.  3144.  3148.  6201-6215. 

IGNORANCE,  3153-3165.  360.  478.  1035.  1164-1166.  1248- 
1254.  1741.  2422.  2561.  2865.  3410. 

Illiberality,  3166.  3167.  777.  1136-1154.  1814.  2457. 
2462  .  4741.  4089. 

Illness,  3168.  3169.  1343.  1344. 

Illumination,  3170.  3171.  358.  1099.  1104.  2015.  3156. 
Illustration,  3172-3178  .  362  .  681.  909.  1838  .  2071. 

3542.  4288-4290.  4614.  4774. 

Image,  695. -2486.  2843.  3686. 

Imagination,  3179-3182.  464  .  2214.  2215.  3308.  3309. 
Imitation,  3183-3186.  12.  105.  695.  750.  892.  905.  1993- 
2012.  2317-2321. 

Immortality,  3187-3201.  494.  1937-1962.  2187.  3606. 
3884.  5419-5452. 

Impatience,  3202-3205.  4334-4345. 

Impenitence,  3206-3209.  1308.  1416-1429.  2492.  2766. 
4984.  4985. 

Imperfection,  3210.  760.  776.  3211.  4379-4392. 
Importunity,  3212.  3213.  3333-3340.  4526-4593. 
Impracticable,  3214.  4505-4508. 

Impressions,  3215-3220. 1823.  2543.  2991.  3179-3182.  2214. 
2215.  4654.  4655. 

Improvement,  157.  2732-2736.  4736-4739. 

Imputation,  3221.  5119-5122.  3222-3224. 

Inability,  3222-3224.  2525.  1453-1471.  5987-5991. 
Inactivity.  3225.  3125-3143.  3534.  3535. 
Inappropriateness,  3226.  2932. 

Incarnation,  3227.  733.  696. 

Inclination,  3228.  1474-1481.  3312-3315.  6055-6058. 
Inconsistency,  3229-3236  .  998-1005.  1208.  1227.  1993. 
2193.  4553.  5150.  5937. 

Inconstancy,  3237.  3238.  1619-1622.  3311.  5898.  6156. 
Incontinence,  3239.  603.  3558.  3559.  3737. 
Incorruptibility,  3240-3242.  1109-1111.  3020-3033. 

3319-3321. 

Indecision,  3243  .  2324-2328  .  2833. 1620-1622.  3732.  4239. 
4933. 

Indifference,  3244.  4119-4122.  6008-6018  .  6175-6200. 
Indolence,  3245-3247.  1806-1808.  3534.  3535. 

Industry,  3248-3253.  183.  781.  1812.  1867.  1868.  2410. 

2433.  3506-3517.  6111-6131. 

Inebriate,  3254.  176.  1653-1655.  1670.  1671. 

Infant  Baptism,  3255.  297.  268. 

Infidel,  3256-3258.  220-223. 

Infidelity,  3259-3267  .  215-220  .  365  .  371.  376  .  715.  2434. 
5210.  5211.  5853-5859. 

Infidels,  3268-3274.  220-222.  354.  386.  471.  1374.  1375. 
1722-1731.  3574.  4913. 

Influence,  3275-3286.  194.  465.  473.  474.  674.  577.  635. 
745.  1224.  3625-3640.  6234. 

Ingratitude,  3287-3294.  2334.  2337.  2737.  2738.  4677. 
4735. 

Inheritance,  675.  691.  746.  2508.  2537.  3725.  5080- 

5086. 

Inhospitality,  3296.  3072-3074. 

Injuries,  3296-3299.  2338-2357.  5057-5063. 

Injustice,  3300.  3301.  3428-3441.  6226-6230. 

Innocence,  3302-3307.  2744.  2745.  4822-4826. 

Insanity,  3308  .  3309.  1489.  1490.  4077.  3874-3878. 


Insignificance,  3224.  2525.  3629.  4191. 

Insincerity,  3310.  4735.  5553. 

Inspiration,  366.  371.  400.  873.  6224-5235.  4754-4756, 
3973-3976.  5055.  5056. 

Instability,  3311.  105-108.  778.  1213.  1620-1622.  180L 
4239,  6898. 

Instinct,  3312-3315.  1474-1481.  3605. 

Instruction,  3316.  630.  640.  641.  1816-1841.  6603- 
6612. 

Insult,  3317.  3318.  2590.  2591.  4192.  4278-4280.  4795- 
4796. 

Integrity,  3319-3321.  3025.  3043.  3240-3242. 

Intellect,  3322-3325.  3630.  3931-3940.  3941-3943. 
Intemperance,  3326-3330.  4-9.  176.  281.  1650-1671. 
5632-5636.  6039.  6040. 

Intentions,  3331.  3332.  1472.  1473.  4827-4830. 
Intercession,  3333-3340.  697.  2813.  3212.  3213.  3645- 
3648.  4526  4593.  5067  .  5069.  5075.  5076. 
Intolerance,  3341.  408-416.  4644-4648. 

Intoxication,  3342.  3343.  1656-1659. 

Invitation,  3344.  3345.  754.  1513.  2383.  2375. 

Jealousy,  3346.  3347.  411.  582.  1906-1924. 

Jesus,  3348-3376.  91.  341.  432-440.  2844.  2845.  3565. 
3653-3655. 

JEWELS,  3377-3379.  3578.  3942.  6162.  5934. 

Jews,  3380-3382. 

Joy,  3383-3405.  85.  102.  210.  749.  758.  870.  1077.  1303 
1714.  1769.  2194.  2348.  2637.  2901.  4909.  4910. 

Judas,  3406.  166.  2937.  4984.  4985. 

.Judge,  3407  .  3408-3427. 

(  Judging,  172.  693.  599.  760.  1405. 1975.  2262.  2562.  2563. 
2571.  3787. 

Judgment,  3408-3414.  259.  949.  1933.  6050-5053. 
Judgment-Day,  3415-3421.  580.  698.  1677.  1933.  5460. 
6139.  6141.  6158. 

Justice,  3428-3441.  2515.  3300.  3301.  3408-3414.  4299. 
Justice  and  Mercy,  3442.  3903-3931. 

Justification,  3443-3451.  229.  718.  2101.  4292-4300. 

Kindness,  3452-3471.  637.  669.  940. 1402-1406.  1882-1892. 

1979.  2192.  3077.  3078. 

King,  3472-3477.  3047.  3429. 

Kingdom  of  Christ,  2826.  656-734.  3478.  3479.  2622. 
2642. 

Kingdom  of  God,  3480.  3481.  4775-4794. 

Kingdom  of  Grace,  3482.  2649-2684. 

Kingdom  of  Heaven,  3483.  3484.  2868-2935. 

Kingdom  of  Satan,  3485.  1500-1510.  5192-5201. 
Knowledge,  3486-3505.  395.  576.  1440.  1816-1841.  2103. 
2515.  2516.  4221-4223.  4868-4870.  5268. 

Labor,  3506-3517.  12-28.  1533-1542.  2030.  3248-3253. 

5024.  5511-5519.  6111-6131. 

Lady,  3518.  3519.  2445-2447  .  3802-3809.  6233-6235. 
LAMB,  3520-3524.  807.  4329.  5292. 

LAW,  223.  3526-3533.  6226. 

Laughter,  3525  .  5396-5398. 

Laziness,  3534.  3535.  3325.  1806-1808.  3245-3247. 
Learning,  3536-3544.  1788.  1789.  1816-1824. 
Liberalism,  3545.  5857.  5880-5883. 

Liberality,  3546-3548  .  296-319.  586-600.  2457-2484. 
Liberty,  3549-3557  .  2380-2382. 

Licentiousness,  3558.  3559.  176.  770  .  3239. 

Lies,  3560.  3561.  2172-2179.  3744-3754. 

Life,  3562-3624.  369.  417  .  475.  919.  1255.  1256.  1302. 1318, 
2026-2028.  3047.  4827-4830.  2532. 

Little  Things,  3647-3650  .  278-283.  6387-6395  .  5775- 
6778. 

Long-Suffering,  3651.  3652.  2329.  4452.  4453. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


699 


Light,  3625-3640.  358  .  700.  745.  747.  784  .  825.  826.  1721. 

1972.  2118.  2293.  2639.  2995.  3976. 

Literature,  364.  379.  380.  388.  464-474.  4850-4856. 
Little  Sins,  3641-3646.  735.  736.  957.  1981.  5388. 
Looking  to  Jesus,  3653-3655.  878-887.  1528.  6166- 
5187. 

Loquacity,  3656-3657.  1863.  5580-5588. 

Lord’s  Dat,  3658.  5128-5145.  5537. 

Lord’s  Prayer,  3659-3661.  2238.  2355. 

Lord’s  Supper,  3662-3668.  5146-5150. 

Losses,  3669-3672.  444  .  510.  710  .  2754.  6103. 

Lost,  3673-3675.  354.  475.  699.  735.  736.  1726.  1768.  2228. 
2672  .  2849  .  4307  .  5292. 

Love,  3676-3721.  53-71.  256.  602.  1887.  2106.  2261. 

Love  of  Christ,  3722-3726.  17.  702.  703.  711.  1376. 
1377.  1760.  3687. 

Love  of  God,  3727.  3728.  73.  1763. 

Luck,  3729.  2365-2373.  3619.  3985-3987. 

Lukewarmness,  3730-3736.  737.  162-166.  254-262.  2358- 
2362.  3244. 

Lust,  3737  .  3738.  3239.  3558  .  3559. 

Luxury,  3739-3743.  751.  1639.  1640.  2924.  3133.  4757-4765. 
5948.  5992-6006. 

Lying,  3744-3754  .  2172-2179.  3560.  3561. 

Magnanimity,  3755.  1575.  1882-1890.  2430.  2719-2727. 
2960-2963. 

Malevolence,  3756.  1906-1924.  2801.  2802. 

Malice,  3757-3759.  1915.  2801.  2802. 

Mammon,  3760-3764.  236-246.  1136-1154.  3713.  4009- 
4018.  5087-5111.  5992-6006. 

Man,  3765-3800.  449-156.  1950.  2522.  2526.  3081-3083. 

3890-3895.  5419-5422.  5562. 

Manhood,  3801.  2441-2444.  4136-4139. 

Manners,  3802-3809.  1821.  851-853.  1128-1131.  4472- 
4478. 

Marks,  3S10-3S13.  263.  341.  785.  797  .  3615. 

Marriage,  3S14-3832.  1132-1135.  1597  .  2586.  6075. 
Martyrdom,  3833.  2154.  2292.  4396-4405.  6241. 
Martyrs,  3834.  651.  1010-1015.  1126.  1395.  1732-1749. 

2161.  2291.  2202.  2317. 

Maturity,  3835.  2732-2736.  4379-4392. 

Meanness,  3836.  445.  594.  3166.  3167.  4376.  4377.  6263- 
6268. 

Means,  3S31-3841.  2955-2957. 

Means  of  Grace,  2679.  3842-3844.  2815-2820.  3868. 
3869.  4509-4593. 

Mediation,  3845-3848.  224-232.  3333-3340. 
Meditation,  3849-3853.  993-997.  1016.  1017.  1609.  1952. 

2069.  4031.  4891. 

Meek,  3854-3858  .  2445-2447. 

Meekness,  3854-3867  .  3087-3104.  4649-4651. 

Meetings,  3S68  .  3869.  4594-1597. 

Meetness  for  Heaven,  1897.  2043.  3870-3873.  4649- 
4651.  4857. 

Melancholy,  3874-3878.  1605.  1482.  1490.  3308.  3309. 
Memory,  3879-38S9.  906.  973.  1083.  1407.  2026.  2332- 
2337.  3409.  5229.  5689. 

Men,  8890-3S95.  3765-3801.  3077-3083. 

Mercies,  423-426.  3S96-3902. 

Mercy,  3903-3921.  910.  911.  2515.  2523  .  2535.  3411.  3697- 
3769.  4452.  4453. 

Merit,  3922-3926.  572.  829.  2015.  4753.  6216. 
Millennium,  3927-3929.  95.  818.  5961. 

Millionnaire,  3930.  397S-3980. 

Mind,  3931-3940.  1816-1841.  3134  .  3322-3325. 

Minds,  3941  -3943.  2709-2727. 

Minister,  3944-3951.  177.  462.  1520.  1750-1767.  4572. 
4329-4331. 

Ministers,  3952-3961.  4572. 

Ministry,  3962-3972.  3094.  4598-4637. 


Miracles,  3973-3976.  451.  452.  2211.  4786.  2092.  4291. 
MIRTH,  3977  .  604-610  .  2429  .  3333-3405. 

Misers,  3978-3980.  4011.  1146.  1136-1141. 

Misery,  3981-3984  .  75-92.  1681.  2729-2731.  4281-4283. 
5414-5418.  5520-5533. 

Misfortune,  3985-3987  .  519-521.  1980  .  3669-3672. 
Missions,  3988-3996  .  282  .  827  .  2461.  3998  .  4417. 
Mistakes,  3997.  213.  1437.  5255. 

Mite,  3998.  3647-3650.  5387-5395.  5775-5778. 
Moderation,  3999-4003.  2013.  2014.  2652.  3581. 
Modesty,  4004-4008  .  3539  .  3087-3104. 

Moments,  1533-1542.  2015.  4808-4812.  6710-5731. 
Money,  4009-4018  .  2582-2589. 

Monument,  4019.  4876. 

Moralist,  4020-4023.  707  .  780  .  781.  5434. 

Morality,  4024-4029.  1081.  1672-1691.  4688-4692.  5931- 
5944. 

Morals,  4030.  395.  756.  1414.  5115-5118.  5945-5947. 
Mortality,  4031.  4032.  1317.  1265-1375.  2275.  4137. 
Mother,  4033-4046.  58.  59.  61.  635.  864.  1824.  2003. 

2189-2199.  2739.  3009.  3696.  3698.  3699.  6019-6028. 
Motives,  4047-4049.  16.  304.  315.  316.  696.  1962  4688. 
4692.  4858-4865. 

Mourning,  4050.  1370.  2729-2731. 

Murder,  4051.  3757.  5269.  5270.  5534.  5535. 
Murmuring,  4052-4060.  912-914.  2737.  2738. 

Music,  4061-1067.  3889.  5355.  5412.  5413. 

Mutarility,  566.  567.  1044.  1066.  1073.  4449.  4450. 
5923-5925.  6142.  6156. 

Mystery,  4068.  1326.  3600.  4291.  4787.  5236.  5237. 
Naked,  4084.  1638-1649. 

Name,  4069-4073.  663  .  684  .  704.  708  .  786  .  787  .  2180- 
2188  .  2527  .  2596-2602  .  3365. 

Nations,  4074-4083.  374. 

Natural  Man,  4085-4089.  427-431.  801.  1453-1471. 
2859.  4267-4271. 

Nature,  4090-4105.  317.  1158-1162.  2494.  2496.  2497. 

3585.  4717.  5886.  6137-6174. 

Necessity,  4106.  532.  533.  2380-2382.  4643. 

Need,  4107-4111.  631.  643.  678.  706.  2955.  4378.  4486- 
4492. 

Neglect,  4112-4118.  260.  375.  475.  788.  1259.  1416-1429. 
16S4.  3206-3209.  3599.  3569.  4240-4253.  4656-4662 
4701-4714.  5178.  5179. 

Neighbor,  3461.  6560. 

Neutrality,  4119-4122.  3244  .  6008-6018  .  6175-6200. 
New  Birth,  4123-4126.  1063-1091.  2823.  4899-4908. 

New  Creature,  4127-4129.  1063-1092. 

New  Heart,  4130.  1063-1091.  1329  .  2846.  1092. 

News,  4131.  356.  2622-2641. 

New  Testament,  4132.  4133.  341.  4S1.  3716.  4212-4214. 
New  Year,  4134.  4135. 

Nobility,  4136-4139.  498.  776.  789.  2015.  2709-2727. 
2908. 

Non-Resistance,  4140-4142.  4355-4369.  5958-5961. 
Novels,  4143-4151.  464-474.  4850-4856. 

Now,  4152-4155.  1257-1259.  1416-1429.  1845.  4240-4253. 
4701-4714.  4976. 

Oaths,  4156,  4718-4725  .  5553-5559. 

Obedience,  4157-4172.  479.  1108.  1552.  1576-1578.  2257. 
3709. 

Objection,  1019.  2019-2025.  2964.  3627. 

Obligation,  4173-4177.  1384.  1385.  2384.  5004  -5007, 
6497.  1672-1691.  4740-4752. 

Observation,  4178-4183.  1992. 

Obstinacy,  4184  .  4185  .  6036  .  5270.  5277. 

Occupation,  4188-4191.  607-513.  522-527.  1867. 

Ocean,  4186.  4187. 

Offence,  4192.  3317.  3318. 


700 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Offences,  4193-4195.  1058.  1181.  3296-3299. 

Offerings,  4196.  2450-2456.  5151-5155. 

Old  AGE,  4197-4210.  93-104.  495.  618.  1078.  1328. 

Oi.d  Testament,  4211-4214.  335-407.  4132.  4133. 
Omission,  4215.  4216.  4112-4118. 

Omnipotence,  4217.  711.  1241.  2525.  2530. 
Omnipresence,  4218-4220.  938,  2531.  2536.  2538.  3027. 
Omniscience,  4221-4233.  709.  1704.  2498.  2532,  2533. 
5919.  5972.  5973. 

Opinions,  4234-4239.  3121-3124.  4805.  5685-5703. 
Opportunity,  4240-4253.  629.  1258.  2715.  3535.  4152- 
4155.  4701-4714. 

Opposition,  4254.  4255.  4396-4405.  6112-5114.  5222.  6223. 
Oratory,  183.  396.  1861-1865.  2436.  6860. 

Ordeal,  2554  .  2566.  6759-5773.  4508.  6022. 

Order,  4256-4261.  4454.  4455.  4639. 

Ordinances,  4262-4266.  267.  268.  3662-3668.  5146-5150. 
Original  Sin,  4267-4271.  1453-1471.  2162-2168.  3081- 
3083. 

Ornaments,  37.  275.  1643.  4272-4274. 

Orphans,  4275-4277.  478.  612.  686. 

OTHERS,  4278-4280.  419.  2338-2357.  3511. 

Overdoing,  4281.  2013.  2014.  3999-4003. 

Pain,  4281-4283.  75-92.  1329.  1708.  3981-3984.  6414-5418. 
6520-5533. 

Pantheism,  4284-4286. 

Papist,  4287.  5126.  5127. 

Parables,  4288-4290  .  2090.  3172-3178. 

Paradoxes,  4291.  427-431.  3973-3976.  4068. 

PARDOI4  4292-4300.  229.  1102.  1186.  2338-2357.  2405. 
3443-3451. 

Parents,  4301-4313.  57-62.  70  .  71.  619-650.  1125.  2004. 
2234-2240.  4033-4046. 

Parsimony,  4314.  4315.  236-246.  1136-1154.  1814.  3166. 
3167. 

Parties,  4316.  2274.  2275.  891-908.  2643-2648. 

Parting,  4317.  1735.  1062. 

Passion,  4318-4323.  138-149.  176.  4427.  6620-5631.  6217- 
6219. 

Passions,  4324-4328.  1478  .  5436.  2016-2018  .  3676-3721. 
Pastor,  4329  .  4331.  1094.  3944-3931.  4598-4637. 

Path,  4332.  4333.  262.  734.  895.  2931. 

Patience,  4334-4345.  692.  1026-1045.  1878-1881.  183G 
612.  3860.  4406-4424. 

Patriotism,  4346-4351.  1678.  2155  .  2198.  2296.  2961. 
3556.  3701. 

Pauper,  276,  1037  .  4352.  3462.  4366. 

Payment,  4353.  4354.  591.  598.  2694.  3432.  3464-3468. 
4866.  5050-5054.  5080-5086. 

PEACE,  435.5-4369.  950.  971.  1239.  1329.  1708.  2199.  2848. 

4140-4142.  5008-5017. 

Pedantry,  4370.  60-52.  202.  203.  4663. 

Peevishness,  4371.  2389-2392.  2737.  2738.  500.  6220. 
6221. 

PEN,  4372.  362.  464-474. 

Penitence,  4373-4375.  1046.  1047.  1095-1106.  3084-3086. 
4962-4982. 

Penuriousness,  4376  .  4377.  1814  .  236-246.  1136-1154. 
3166.  3167. 

PENURY,  4378.  276.  4107-4111.  4479-4484.  4486-4492. 
Perfection,  4379-4392.  2965-2985.  3602.  3210.  3835. 
4822-4826. 

PERIL,  4393-4395.  180.  181.  442.  692.  773.  1233-1247. 
3569.  6359. 

Persecution,  4396-4405.  441.835.  1010-1016.  1181.2631. 

2960  .  3397  .  3833  .  3834.  5222  .  6223  .  5816. 
Perseverance,  4406-4424.  480.  1523.  1562-1564.  1697. 
1830.  1848.  1871.  2607.  2963.  3065.  3704.  4454.  6926. 
2927. 

PERSON,  4425  .  3125  .  6477  .  5247-5250. 


Personal  Effort,  4426.  802.  942.  1412.  1413.  160S- 
1614.  1842-1848.  6453-5456. 

Persons,  4427  .  4428.  3890-3895. 

Perversion,  4428.  2172-2179.  3059. 

Pets,  4429. 

Pharisaism,  4430-4432.  441-448.  1993.  2418.  3112-3117. 
4726-4735. 

Philanthropy,  4433-4436.  1334.  2961.  3077-3080.  3452- 
3471.  5560-5569. 

Philosophy,  4437-4440.  398.  4380.  2103.  6213-5215. 
Physicians,  4441.  4442.  422.  2961. 

Piety,  4443-4448.  384.  1512-1516.  2074-2146.  2570-2581. 
2965-2985.  3651.  3652.  4912-4956.  5188-5191.  6650- 
6659. 

Pilgrimage,  4449  .  4450  .  850.  3086.  6162. 

Pilot,  4451.  690.  939.  5464. 

PITY,  4452.  4453.  910.  911.  1933.  3905-3921. 

PLANS,  4454.  4455.  1472.  1473.  1900.  4505-4510. 
Pleasure,  44354471.  125.  126.  429.  1695.  1772.  6337. 
6163.  6238. 

Politeness,  4472-4478.  851-853.  1128-1131.  3802-3809. 
POOR,  4479-4484.  68.  310.  631.  789.  1277.  3350.  4352. 
4366. 

Popularity,  177.  178.  2473. 

Possible,  4485.  3214. 

Poverty,  44S64492.  762.  819.  1027.  1028.  1151.  2043. 

4366.  41074111.  4479  .  4484.  5931. 

Power,  44934504.  574.  577.  768.  1324.  2008.  2009.  2525. 
2670.  4217. 

Practice,  4505  4508.  3487.  6681.  6682.  3214.  4454.  4455, 
Praise,  4509  4  525.  712.  1433.  1711.  1717.  2912.  5667- 
5673. 

Prayer,  4526-4593.  152-156.  422.  481.  805.  841.  858- 
860.  864.  2447.  2503.  2518.  3101.  3212.  3213.  3333- 
3340.  3512. 

Prayer-Meetings,  4594  4597  .  3868.  3869. 

PREACHER,  4598  4  600.  177.  3944-3972.  4572.  5068.  5860. 
Preaching,  46014637.  1183.  2482.  2638.  3172-3178.3368. 

3526-3533.  5282-5287. 

Precaution,  4638.  657.  558.  6235. 

Precedence,  4639.  42564261. 

Precept,  4640.  4641.  2006.  2007.  3316.  3526-3533.  4774. 
5603-5612. 

Precocity,  4642.  1773-1783.  1788.  1789. 
Predestination,  4643.  632.  533.  2380-2382.  4106.  6037. 
6038. 

Prejudice,  46444648.  408416.  1439-1446.  6238. 
Preparation,  4649  4  651.  1688.  1758.  1954.  2884.  3565. 
3870-3873. 

Present,  4652.  4653.  1956.  1957.  41524155.  5710-5731. 
Presentiment,  4654.  4655.  1931.  2331.  5962-5967. 
Preservation,  1929-1931.  47664772.  47754794.  5972. 
6973. 

Presumption,  4656  4  662.  3651.  3767.  5216-5219.  5340. 
6008-6017. 

Pretension,  4663.  50-52.  202.  203.  4370. 

Pride,  4664-4687.  202.  441448.  793.  915.  916.  1849- 
1854.  1924. 

Principle,  4688.  4689.  4047-4049.  48584  865.  4827  4  830. 
Principles,  46904692.  40244030. 

Prison,  4693.  4694.  453. 

Privileges,  46954698.  42404253. 

Prize,  4699  .  2884.  1194-1200  .  4846  4  848.  6080-5086. 
Probation,  4700.  3562-3624.  5759-5773. 
Procrastination,  4701-4704.  280.  1416-1429.  1937. 

3206-3209.  3569.  41124118.  42404253. 

Prodigality,  4715.  4716.  3697.  3699.  4976. 
Productiveness,  4717  .  288  .  2417-2420.  6890-5896. 
Profanity,  47184  725.  492.  2886.  4156.  5553-5559 
Profession,  47264735.  171.  263.  822.  889.  921-924, 
3112-3117.  44304432. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


701 


Progress,  4736-4739.  255.  845.  1827.  2316.  2732-2736. 
3792. 

Promises,  4740-4752.  337.  1872.  2115.  2539.  41734177. 
5297. 

Promotion,  4753.  1872.  1045  .  2015  .  5890-5896. 
Prophecy,  4754-4756.  335-407. 

Prosperity,  4757-4765.  1932.  2412.  3739-3743.  5511-5519. 
Protection,  4766-4772.  153.  180.  649.  1407-1411.  1433- 
1435.  1929-1931.  2485.  5156-5158. 

Protestantism,  4773.  830.  753-769. 

Proverbs,  4774.  3172-3178. 

Providence,  4775-4794.  39-46.  75-92.  331.  631.  863. 
864.  1242.  1635.  1929-1931.  2118.  2485.  2540.  3202. 
3524.  4080. 

Provocation,  4795.  4796.  145.  3317.  3318.  3651.  4192- 
4195. 

Prudence,  4797-4802.  557.  559.  1434.  4455.  6041-6054. 
Psalms,  4803.  4804. 

Public  Sentiment,  4805.  1217.  4232-4239. 

Pulpit,  4806.  4807.  2635.  3944-3972.  4001-4637. 
Punctuality,  4S08-4812.  1533-1542.  5710-5731. 
PUNISHMENT,  4813-4821.  854-856.  976.  1333.  1491.  1492. 

2260.  2530.  2632.  2636.  2937.  2954.  6010.  6014. 
Puritt,  4822-4826.  84.  432-440.  2377.  2378.  2965-2985. 
5188-5191. 

Purpose,  4827-4830.  105-108.  3654.  3655.  3331.  3332. 
4858-4865. 

Quarrels,  4831-4838.  831.  2197.  1020-1025.  3770. 
Quenching  the  Spirit,  3570.  3572.  5321. 

Question,  4839.  2422-2424. 

Quietness,  4840-4845.  1239.  1806-1808.  2848.  4355-4369. 
5008-5017. 

Race,  4846-4848.  1200.  1243.  4699. 

Races,  4849.  125.  126. 

Reading,  4850-4856.  337  .  358.  384.  464-474.  1335.  2541. 
4143-4151. 

Ready,  4857.  642.  705.  1088.  1319.  1329.  1339.  134.  1372. 

1748.  3603.  3870-3873.  4649-4651. 

Reason,  4858-4865.  5055.  5056.  4047-4049.  4688.  4689. 
4827-4830. 

Reciprocity,  4866.  3464-3468  .  4278-4280  .  2590.  2591. 
Recklessness,  4867.  544.  635.  636. 

Recognition,  4868-4870  .  2393-2410.  2868-2935. 
Reconciliation,  4871-4874.  33-36.  224-232.  1888.  1889. 
2338-2357.  6066-6073. 

Record,  4875.  21.  1061.  3609.  4019.  4101.  4328.  5327. 
5334. 

Recovery,  4876.  249-253. 

Recreation,  4877  .  4878.  125.  126. 

Redeemer,  701.  224-232.  432-440.  1437. 

Redemption,  4879-4S88.  224-232.  432-440.  726.  2381. 
2382.  2542. 

Refinement,  4889.  4890.  2441-2447.  3518.  3519. 
Reflection,  4891.  795.  993-997.  1016.  1017.  2543.  3849- 
3853.  5685-5694. 

Reform,  4S92-4S96.  937.  2060.  4907.  1063-1091.  4433- 
4436. 

Reformers,  458-461.  830.  1124. 

REFUGE,  4897.  4898.  714.  1450.  2544.  3903-3921.  5156- 
5158. 

Regeneration,  4899-4908.  1063-1091.  2850.  2846.  4123- 
4126. 

Regret,  475.  906.  1095-1106.  5414-5418.  4957-4961. 
Rejoicing,  4909.  4910.  1307.  1312.  1734.  2043.  2637. 

3383-3405.  5667-5673. 

Relief,  4911.  4996.  2955-2957. 

Religion,  4912-4956.  102.  755-802.  1172-1186.  1833. 

2003.  2037-2057.  2570-2581.  4443-4448.  5166-5187. 
Remorse,  4957-4961.  715  .  946-984.  1205.  1724  .  2744. 
2745. 


Repentance,  4962-4982.  1046-1047.  1095-1106.  1343. 

1344.  2339.  3084-3086.  4154.  4373-4375. 

Reprieve,  4983.  2329.  3651.  3652.  4452.  4453. 
Reprobate,  4984.  4985.  166.  447.  3206-3209.  3406.  6008- 
6017.  6220-6224. 

Reproof,  4986-4994.  1003.  1064.  1742.  2248.  2249.  2289. 
5968-5971. 

Reputation,  4995.  585  .  2596-2602.  3751.  4070.  4073. 
Rescue,  4996.  1433-1435.  1929.  1930.  2682.  3464.  3708. 

4766-4772.  4911.  5166-5187. 

Resignation,  4997-4999  .  320-330.  1273.  5502-5510. 
Resolution,  5000-5003.  438.  1388-1401.  6029-6035. 
Responsibility,  5004-5007.  22.  423-426.  456.  646.  895. 

3221-3224.  3500.  4076.  4173-4177. 

Rest,  5008-5017  .  571.  933.  1766.  2707.  2708.  4355-4369. 
4840-4845. 

Restitution,  5018-5022.  1075.  2817. 

Restlessness,  520.  542.  978.  5008.  5016.  1579-1586 
3311.  5898. 

Restraint,  5023.  4740-4752.  5704  .  5705. 

RESULTS,  5024.  169.  3510.  991.  992.  4813-4821. 
Resurrection,  5025-5043.  151.  450.  567.  717.  1706. 
Retaliation,  5044.  5045.  1663  1726.  1975. 
Retirement,  5046.  5047  .  2959  .  5409  .  5410. 

Retreat,  5048.  5049.  255.  5600. 

Retribution,  5050-5054.  164.  1347.  1984.  2948.  4353. 

4354.  4428.  4789.  5698.  6220-6224. 

Revelation,  5055.  5056.  335-407.  4858-4865. 

Revenge,  5057-5063.  3317  .  3318  .  3296-3299. 
Reverence,  5064-5066.  3084-3104.  6201-6213. 
Revivals,  5067-5079.  385.  465.  1866.  1930  .  5453-5467. 
5560-5569. 

Reward,  5080-5086.  86  .  591.  598  .  748  .  771.  776.  1193- 
1200.  1739.  2159.  2299.  2546.  3464-3468.  4813-4821. 
Rich,  5087-5089  .  2547  .  5992-6006. 

Riches,  5090-5111.  236-246.  520.  2120.  2426.  2582-2589. 

2683.  3760-3764.  5992-6006. 

Ridicule,  5112-5114.  1651.  5222.  5223. 

Right,  5115-5118.  579.  870-873.  969.  1615.  2852.  4024- 
4030.  5931-5947. 

Righteousness,  5119-5122.  1346.  2570-2581. 

Rock,  5123-5125.  692.  719.  1560.  2548. 

Romanism,  5126.  5127  .  378.  385.  416.  931.  932.  1084 
1442.  4773.  5159. 

Ruin,  4-9.  1650-1671.  3796.  6225. 

Ruling  Passion,  1144.  1320.  1712.  2420.  2749  .  2560. 
3335.  4318-4323. 

Sabbath,  5128-5141.  170.  3658.  5537. 
Sabbath-Breaking,  5142-5145.  1167.  870-876. 
Sacrament,  5146-5150.  267  .  268.  3662-3668.  4262-4266 
Sacrifice,  6151-5155.  224-232.  702.  1743.  2519.  353. 
4196. 

Safety,  5156-5158.  690.  692.  1707.  2121.  1433-1435. 

4766-4772.  4897.  4898.  4996.  5239.  5240. 

Sailors,  180.  699.  728.  2121.  4720. 

Saints,  5159-5165.  284-289.  787.  1307.  1512-1520.  4443. 
4448. 

Salvation,  5166-5187.  87  .  92.  667  .  679.  720.  2122. 

2123.  2338-2357.  2383-2388.  4822-1826. 
Sanctification,  5188-5191.  432-440.  2965-2985.  4822. 
4826. 

Satan,  5192-5201.  109.  945.  1500-1510.  3485. 

Satiety,  5202.  3041.3042.  4468.  1556-1558.  5900-5911. 
Satisfaction,  5203.  5204.  678.  721.  1026-1045.  1706. 
2674.  2767-2797. 

Saviour,  5205  .  5206.  224-232.  655-734.  1436.  1765. 
Scandal,  5207-5209  .  514-517  .  5369-5375.  5735-5742. 
Scepticism,  5210.  5211.  215-223.  3259-3274.  5853-5859. 
Scholar,  5212.  482.  1305.  1539.  1816-1841.  3452.  5500. 
Science,  5213-5215.  183.  394.  4437-4410. 

Scoffer,  5216-5219.  420.  1347.  5222.  5223. 


702 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Scold,  6220.  6221.  2389-2392.  2737.  2738.  4371. 

Scorn,  5222.  5223.  1018.  1019.  4254.  4255.  5216-5219. 
Scriptures,  335-407.  5224-5235.  4132.  4133.  4211-4214. 
Secret,  5236  .  5237.  1306  .  3600  .  4068.  4787. 

Sects,  5238  .  408-416.  1441-1446. 

Security,  5239.  5240.  212.  257.  285.  821.  2485.  6156- 
515S. 

Seed,  5241.  5242.  767.  1463.  1774.  3881.  4468-5471. 
Seeking  Christ,  5243-5246.  179.  280.  656.  676.  106L 
1351.  2375  .  2376.  4373-4375  .  4962-4982. 

SELF,  5247-5250.  3125.  4425. 

Self-Complacence,  6251.  5252.  915.  1849-1854. 
Self-Confidence,  916.  941.  1169.  1170.  3767. 
Self-Control,  5253.  5254.  5262. 

Self-Deception,  213.  5255.  3997.  1437.  5261. 
Self-Denial,  5256.  5257.  770.  1683.  4272.  4944. 
Self-Examination,  5258-5260. 

Self-Forgetfulness,  5261.  1575. 

Self-Government,  5262.  2827.  5253.  5254.  2643-2648. 
Selfishness,  5263-5267.  503.  1849-1854.  4577.  4578. 
Self-Knowledge,  5268.  3501. 

Self-Murder,  5269.  5270.  5534.  5535. 

Self-Reliance,  648.  5511.  1893-1896.  2300.  5253.  5254. 
Self-Righteousness,  5271-5273.  432.  1081.  2676.  3922- 
3926. 

Self-Sacrifice,  5274.  2961.  2963.  3461.  4580.  5072. 
Self-Sufficiency,  5275.  1849-1854.  5900-5911. 
Self-Will,  4184.  4185.  5276.  5277.  412.  6036. 

Sense,  5278.  5279.  3322-3325.  3931-3940. 

Sensibilities,  5280.  3312-3315. 

Separation,  5281.  125.  126.  197.  792.  5354. 

Sermons,  5282-5287.  4601-4637.  4806.  4807. 

Service,  5288-5291.  257.  5962-5967.  6111-6133.  6201- 
6215. 

Shame,  921.  925.  930.  1018.  1019.  2624. 

Sheep,  5292.  3520-3524. 

8HEPIIERD,  3520-3524.  4329. 

Shouting,  3384.  3400.  4509-4525. 

Sickness,  5293-5301.  81.  82.  389.  1343.  1344.  3168.  3169. 
4581.  4932. 

Silence,  5302.  5303.  1751.  2677. 

Simplicity,  5304.  5819-5850. 

SlN,  5305-5352.  274.  332-334.  716.  1095-1106.  1349.  2744. 

2745.  3641-3646.  3713.  5142-5145.  5913-5922, 
Sincerity,  5353.  3310.  4735.  5912. 

Singing,  5355.  3889.  4061-4067.  5412.  5413. 
Singularity,  5354.  5281. 

Sinner,  5356-5362.  3067.  1167.  1168.  5913-5922.  6220- 
6224. 

Sinners,  5363-5368.  702.  703.  4813-4821.  6008-6018. 
Sister,  637.  5444. 

Slander,  5369-5375.  514-517.  529-531.  1229.  2597. 
Slavery,  5376  .  5377  .  72  .  315  .  2151.  2380-2382.  2767. 
Sleep,  5378-5386.  737.  1350. 

Small  Beginnings,  5387.  281-283.  3647-3610.  5775- 
5780. 

Small  Things,  5388-5395.  281-283.  1773.  3647-3650. 
5775-5780. 

Smiles,  5396-5398.  3108.  3525.  3583. 

Smoking,  5399  .  5400  .  5921.  5732-5734. 

Sobriety,  5401.  1790-1795.  2709. 

Sociality,  846.  1671.  1985.  2396-2409. 

Society,  5402-5404.  189-201.  789  .  888-908  .  2921. 
Soldiers,  5405-5408.  336.  391.  1088.  1122.  1123.  1306. 

2127.  5962-5969.  5926. 

Solitude,  5409.  5410.  2959.  5046.  5047. 

SON,  5411.  57  .  59-62.  1512.  3692.  4162  .  4164. 

Songs,  5412.  5413.  399.  4061-4067.  5355. 

Sorrow,  5414-5418  .  75-92  .  520.  2729-2731.  3623  .  4281- 
4283.  6414-5418.  5774.  5520-5523. 

SOUL,  5419-5452.  13.  449.  455.  456.  1327.  1958.  3187-3201. 


Soul-Saving,  5453-'.  456  541.  647.  786.  798.  1094.  1320. 

3866  .  4435  .  5067-5079  .  5569. 

Souls,  5457-5467.  5560-5569. 

SOWING,  5468-5471.  494.  495.  1774.  6241.  5242. 
Speaking,  5472-5474  .  921-930.  5580-5588. 

Speech,  5475.  5476.  1054-1062.  6095-6110. 

Sphere,  5477.  1689.  1932. 1933.  4425. 

Spirit,  430  .  3797  .  5478-5484  .  2986-3008.  5419-5452. 
Spiritual  Life,  5485-5488.  1512-1516.  2094.  2603.  4123- 
4126.  4S99-4908 . 

Spiritual-Mindedness,  5489  .  5490.  197  .  647  .  878-887. 

1476.  1512-1520.  1803. 

Stability,  5491-5494.  2300.  1388-1401. 

Standard,  6495.  268.  2301.  2302. 

Stealing,  5496.  1573.  1574.  2S17.  4233. 

Stewardship,  5497.  4173-4117.  4700.  5004-5007. 

Study,  5498.  5212.  54997*5519.  ''' 

Strife,  777.  1020-1025.  1587.  1588.  4831-4838. 
Stupidity,  5500.  5212. 

Style,  6501.  4256-4261. 

Submission,  5502-5510.  75-77.  2129.  2552.  4997-4999. 
5300.  5550.  5551.  6036.  6038. 

Success,  5511-5519  .  263.  1401.  1533-1542.  1846.  1893- 
1896.  3514.  4757-4765. 

Suffering,  5520-5533.  75-92  .  419  .  724-726.  1331.  2793. 

2794.  4281-4283.  5414-5418. 

Suicide,  5334.  5335.  1490.  5269.  5270. 

Sun,  5536.  662.  687  .  2553  .  2637  .  4453. 

Sunday,  5537.  3658.  4949.  5128-5145. 

Sunday  School,  5538-5543.  556.  641.  §47.  1604.  5594- 
6612. 

Sunday-School  Teacher,  5544.  5545.  5594-5612. 
Superintendent,  5546.  5533-5543. 

Superstition,  5547.  596.  1164-1166.  2213.  2863-2866. 
SUPPLIES,  5548  .  631.  642  .  721.  2062  .  2063  .  2153.  2211. 
4107-4111. 

Support,  728.  2322.  3223.  2485.  2499.  5549. 

Surrender,  5550.  5551.  985-990.  5502-5510. 

Suspicion,  5552.  5553.  976.  1589-1591.  1623-1629. 
Swearing,  5554-5559.  4718-4725.  4158. 

Sympathy,  5560-5569.  137.  174.  484.  3903-3921.  4433- 
4436.  4452.  4453. 

Tact,  5570.  5571.  534.  535. 

Tale-Bearer,  5572-5574.  514-517.  5592.  5369-5375.  5735- 
5742. 

Talents,  5575-5579.  1.  2  .  534.  535  .  2072.  2073.  2450- 
2456. 

Talk,  5580-5582.  5472-5474.  6095-6110. 

Talkers,  5583.  5584. 

Talking,  5585-5588.  1054-1062. 

Taste,  5589-5591.  651-654. 

Tattling,  5592.  5572-5574.  5369-5375. 

1  Tax,  5593. 

1  TEACnER,  5594-5598.  5544  .  5545. 

Teachers,  5594-5602.  611-650. 

Teaching,  5603-5612.  233-235.  556.  1788.  1789.  3316. 
5304. 

Tears,  5613-5619.  3583. 

Temper,  5620-5631.  138-149.  2481.  4318-4323.  6217- 
6219. 

Temperance,  5632-5636.  4-9.  189.  281.  1650-1671. 
Temple,  5637.  5638. 

Temptation,  5639-5665.  332-334.  109-111.  181.  187.  195. 
1230.  5192-5201. 

Tests,  5666.  2554.  2556.  2571.  3709.  3710.  3867  .  4508 
5022. 

Thankfulness,  5667-5671.  425.  2795.  4909.  4910. 
Thanksgiving,  5672.  5673.  1744.  5667-5671.  4509-4525. 
Theatre,  5674-5680.  195.  1058.  1998.  3571. 

Theory,  5681.  5682.  4505-4508. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


703 


Thirst,  5683-6685.  2520.  5985. 

Thought,  5685-5694.  198.  201.  3121-3124.  4234-4239. 
4891. 

Thoughts,  5695-5703.  552.  945.  4221.  4234-4239. 
Threatening,  5704  5705. 

Thrift,  5706.  1809-1815.  2415.  2416. 

Time,  5710-6731.  280.  781.  1722.  1784-1787.  1960.  4808- 
4812. 

Tobacco,  5732-5734.  5399.  5400.  5921. 

Tongue,  5735-5742.  2303-2311.  5592.  5369-5375.  6572- 
5574. 

Tracts,  5742-5745.  3998. 

Traitors,  5746.  5752.  5753. 

Transformation,  5747  .  5748  .  93.  894.  4588.  6466.  5749. 
Transmigration,  5749.  5747.  5748. 
Transubstantiation,  6750.  5751. 

Treachery,  5752.  5753.  5746. 

Treasures,  5754-5756  .  3377-3379  .  4953. 

Tree  of  Life,  5757.  5758. 

TRIALS,  5759-5773.  75-92.  320-330.  1006-1009.  1704.  2554. 
2556.  4700.  5414-5418. 

Tribulation,  5774.  39-46.  75-92.  320-330.  771.  794. 
1006-1009.  5791-5809. 

Trifles,  5775-5780.  16.  1773.  2190.  2779.  3469.  3641- 
3650.  3998.  5387-5395. 

Trinity,  5781-5789.  700.  2557. 

Triumph,  5790.  1696.  1754.  1692-1699.  2926.  4700.  6926. 
5927. 

Trouble,  6791-5809.  39^46.  75.  92.  645-554.  771.  794. 

865-868.  1006-1009.  2857. 

Trust  IN  God,  5810-5818.  159.  2074-2150.  2558. 

Truth,  5819-5850.  1925.  2994.  4633.  5115-5118.  5931- 
.  5944. 

Truth  and  Error,  5851.  1925-1928.  5819-5850. 
Truthfulness,  1388.  2172-2179.  3023.  5831.  3841.  6843. 
5847.  5912. 

Tyrants,  5852.  4496. 

Unbelief,  5853-5859.  215-222.  427-431.  3256-3274.  6210. 
5211. 

Unction,  5860  .  2649-2684  .  4493-4504. 

Unfruitfulness,  288.  1058.  5704.  2358-2362. 
Unhappiness,  5861.  253.  978.  1553-1558.  2181.  2182.  3874- 
3878.  3981-3984. 

Uniformity,  5862.  5878 

Union,  5863-5873.  498-501.  803-805.  818.  836-839.  1439- 
1446.  2798-2800. 

Unitarianism,  5874.  5876.  439.  676.  683. 

Unity,  5877-5879  .  498-501.  833  .  834  .  836-839  .  2523.  2534. 
2559.  5863-5873. 

Universalism,  5880-5883.  2943.  3574  .  4635.  6884.  5885. 
UNIVERSALISTS,  5884.  5885.  5880-5883. 

Universe,  5886.  1158-1162.  1796-1802.  4089-4105.  6137- 
6174. 

Unready,  1722.  1726.  1699.  1961.  2914  .  6008-6018  .  6175- 
6200. 

Unthankfulness,  425.  3287-3294.  2737.  2738. 

Usage,  5887.  6888.  1217.  2746-2761. 

USE,  5889.  1217  .  29-32  .  4505-4508. 

Usefulness,  5890-5896.  1404.  1512.  1515.  1603-1614. 

1831.  2593-2595.  3593. 

Uselessness,  5897.  3597.  3618.  5704. 

Vacillation,  5898.  1213.  1619-1622  .  4239. 

Valor,  5899  .  485-493.  1120-1127  .  2960-2963. 

Vanity,  5900-5911.  441-448.  520.  1727.  1802.  3543.  4686. 
5202.  6169  .  6172. 

Veracity,  5912.  493.  633.  2172-2179.  2562.  5819.  6850. 
Vice,  5913-5922.  5305-5352.  3641-3646.  2744.  2745.  6008-  I 

6019. 


Vicissitude,  5923-5925.  1044.  1066.  1073.  4449.  4456 
3620.  666.  567.  6142.  6156. 

Victory,  6926.  5927.  1371.  1713.  1761.  2140.  2926.  4700 
5790 

Vigilance,  5928.  5929.  181.  426.  850.  4099.  4593. 

Vine,  5930. 

Virtue,  5931-5944.  519.  3040  .  4024-4030.  5115-5118. 
Virtues,  5945-5947.  2685-2692.  4030. 

Voluptuousness,  5948.  3739-3743.  4757-4767.  5992- 
6006. 

Vow,  5949.  5950.  4196.  5831.  5841.  5843.  5847. 

Vows,  5951-5957.  4740-4752.  4196. 


Want,  1813.  1815.  4107-4111.  4479-4484.  4486-4492. 
WAR,  5958.  5961.  269.  270.  1176.  2131. 

Warfare,  5962-5967.  269.  270.  812.  942-945.  2822. 
Warning,  5968-5971.  368  .  984.  1221.  1637.  1246.  1247. 
3640.  4986-4994.  6224. 

Watchcare  OF  God,  5972.  5973.  331.  543.  939.  2499. 

2564.  2739.  4221-4233.  4775-4794.  5399. 
Watchfulness,  5974-5984.  181.  850.  4097.  4593.  5928. 
5929. 

Watchword,  279.  499.  713. 

Water,  5985  .  2374-2379  .  2520  .  5683-5685. 

WAY,  5986.  262.  734.  895.  2931. 

Weak,  5987.  6988.  269.  7S3.  2088.  2145.  2146. 
Weakness,  6989  -  5991.  831.  840.  1449  .  2692.  6387- 
6395. 

Wealth,  5992-6006.  236-246.  2426.  3760-3764.  3930 
4687.  4757.  4565. 

Well  Doing,  6007.  6008.  19.  1616-1618.  1974.  2869. 
3595.  4242. 

Wicked,  6009-6017  .  891.  894.  1374.  2029  .  2948  .  4765. 
4813-4821. 

Wickedness,  6018.  3067.  1167.  3641-3646.  4813.  4821. 
WIFE,  6019-6028.  53.  54.  185.  759.  2290.  3013.  3106-3111. 

3685.  3686.  3827.  3830.  4033-1046.  6074.  6075. 

WILL,  6029-6035.  583.  1388-1401.  3704  .  5000-5003. 
Wilfulness,  6036  .  2572  .  4184  .  4185  .  5276  .  5274. 

WILL  OF  God,  6037  .  6038.  532.  533.  4643. 

Wine,  6039.  6040.  4-9.  1650-1671.  5632-5636. 

Wisdom,  6041-6054.  1567-1569.  3408-3414. 

Wisdom  of  God,  29-31.  2566-2568.  6044.  6051.  4256- 
4261. 

Wishes,  6055-6058.  1474-1481.  3328. 

Wit,  6059-6062.  3322-3325. 

Witness,  6003-6065  .  708.  1751.  921-924.  1732-1749. 
Witness  of  the  Spirit,  6066-6073.  204-214.  1855, 
2338.  3810-3812. 

WIVES,  6074.  6075.  3106-3111.  4033-4046.  6019-6028. 
Woman,  6076-6087.  1768-1772.  1963.  1964.  2229.  6088- 
6094.  6233-6235. 

Women,  6088-6094  .  6076-6087  .  6019-6028. 

Word,  6095-6100  .  655-734. 

Words,  6101-6110.  187.  3471.  3656-3057  .  4475.  4476 
5580-5588. 

Work,  6111-6131.  263.  615.  802.  3374.  3506-3517.  4495. 
WORKS,  6132-6136.  708.  2074.  2084.  2147-2150.  2566 
2568.  2614-2621.  3615. 

World,  6137-6174.  1158-1162.  1341  1796-1803.  2111. 
3375.  4089-4105  .  5886. 

Worldliness,  6175-6188.  72.  92.  639.  553.  554.  751. 
1481.  1781.  3800. 

Worldling,  6189-6200.  449.  4961.  1722-1731. 

WORSHIP,  6201-6213.  2912.  2919.  2093.  2803-2820.  3076. 

3076.  3144-3152.  5064-5066. 

Worshippers,  6201-6215.  2803-2820.  2863-2866. 

Worth,  6216.  3922-3926.  2015.  572.  829. 

Wrath,  6217-6219.  138-149.  6017  .  4318-4323.  5620- 
5631. 


m 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


Wrath  or  God,  6220-6224.  918.  1975  .  2481.  2937-2954. 
4813-4821. 

Wreck,  6225,  4-9.  1650-1671.  3071. 

Wrong,  6226-6230.  1925-1928.  1968-1986.  3300.  3301. 
6305-5352. 

Yearning.  187.  188.  1474.  3018.  3019.  3592.  6683-6685. 
YOONO,  6231.  6232.  475.  646.  2423. 


Young  Ladt,  6233-6235.  1132-1135.  1357.  1827.  2228, 
3305.  3559. 

Young  Man,  6236.  6237.  1132-1135.  1834.  3603. 

Young  Men,  6238.  6239. 

Young  Soldiers,  6240  .  2012.  6405-5408. 

Youth,  6241-6259.  93. 117.  3303.  1774.  6231.  6232. 

ZEAL,  6260-6275.  1064.  1092.  1178.  1790-1795.  3M1. 


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